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J Richard Butler, 74, Executive Director of Church World Service in 1980s, Dies

February 2, 2005

J Richard Butler, a man who served the church and the world in many capacities during his 74 years, died at his home in New York on January 25, 2005, surrounded by loved ones. The cause was complications of prostate cancer, his wife, Barbara Butler, said.

At the time of his death, Mr. Butler served as Senior Executive Assistant to Joseph C. Hough, Jr., President of Union Theological Seminary on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Butler was originally recruited from a special project at the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) in 1998 to assist Union during a time of transition between presidents. When Dr. Hough assumed the presidency in 1999, he quickly selected Butler to be his trusted advisor "because of Dick's wide experience in the church and his reputation of absolute discretion," Hough said. "He was a highly effective bridge between the President's Office and other departments in the Seminary and between the Seminary and the larger world."

"Dick Butler was a man of justice who lived a life of great faith, conviction, diplomatic skill, and determined action in the name of truth. He assisted me in almost every aspect of my work, either as a sounding board or a wise counselor," said President Hough. "I made no major decisions without consulting him. He also did a tremendous amount of work for Union on church relations and, on his own initiative, assumed the responsibility of pastoral mentor to several of our M.Div. students."

Throughout his career, Butler demonstrated particular concern for world hunger and the churches' role in relief, refugee assistance, and development.

In 1960, he took a Middle East assignment on behalf of Church World Service (CWS), the international humanitarian agency. From 1962 to 1970 he was executive secretary of the Near East Council of Churches Committee on Refugee Work, coordinating ecumenical refugee programs in six countries. He and his family were based in Jerusalem until 1967. As a result of the 1967 Six Days War, Butler and his family relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, where he carried out a special assignment for the World Council of Churches, helping to coordinate its Middle East Emergency Appeal. In recognition of his work in the Middle East, Butler was installed as a knight of the Orthodox Order of the Holy Sepulchre by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1970. He received a number of other honors, including a medal from Jordan's King Hussein for his work with Palestinian refugees.

A member of the United Church of Christ, Butler served his denomination as program secretary of the Division of World Service, United Church Board for World Ministries, from 1970 to 1973, before being named CWS Middle East Director. During the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979, it was Butler who arranged for the U.S. hostages being held by students in Teheran to have a pastoral Christmas day visit by three U.S. clergy, the Rev. Dr. William Sloane Coffin of The Riverside Church in New York City, National Council of Churches USA's President William Howard, and Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, of Pax Christi.

Butler became CWS Associate Executive Director in 1978 and was elected Executive Director in 1985. As chief administrator for CWS, he directed a global humanitarian agency with a staff of more than 200 and work in more than 80 countries, including the United States. He was involved in negotiating major relationship changes between Church World Service and the National Council of Churches USA, both ministries of 35 (then 32) U.S. Protestant, Orthodox, Episcopal, African American, and Peace churches (denominations) and their 45 million members.

In his announcement to his constituency, the current Executive Director of Church World Service, the Rev. John L. McCullough said, "During his years at the helm of Church World Service, Dick focused on flexibility and excellence. He is quoted as saying, 'If we are to do God's work, we must do it well.' These are without doubt fitting watchwords as we continue a ministry Dick helped to shape through his fine leadership."

Following his resignation from CWS in 1988, Butler chaired, as a volunteer, the search committee that brought the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., to succeed the Rev. Dr. William Sloane Coffin, Jr., as Senior Minister of The Riverside Church in New York. Butler then assumed the title of managing publisher of the magazine Christianity and Crisis (C&C) and remained there until it closed its doors in April 1993. "The hands-on style Dick experienced running The Riverside Church search committee was a good transition from an agency with 200 staff to C&C's 'everyone-does-their-own-work' style," said his friend and colleague Leon Howell, who was the magazine's editor-publisher.

During the mid-1990s Butler again served The Riverside Church--this time in several administrative capacities. He was the organizer of the Fourth Fosdick Convocation on Preaching and Worship, held at the church in April 1997.

Butler grew up in Akron, Ohio. As a conscientious objector, he fulfilled his military obligation during the Korean War as a medical aide. He returned home to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and a Master of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, in Washington, D.C. From 1958-to 1959, he was an honorary fellow at the Rangoon-Hopkins Center for Southeast Asia Studies in Rangoon, Burma. A recent student at the New York Theological Seminary, Mr. Butler will be awarded his Master of Divinity degree posthumously this May.

Richard Butler is survived by his wife, Barbara Henshaw Butler, three children, Mark, Ann and Martha, and five grandchildren. A memorial service will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 26, 2005, at The Riverside Church, Riverside Drive at 121st Street in Manhattan, followed by a reception at Union Theological Seminary, 3041 Broadway. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that any memorial donations be sent to Wider Church Ministries, United Church of Christ, for the benefit of the Rawat-al-Zuhur School in Jerusalem (Wider Church Ministries, UCC, 700 Prospect Ave., Cleveland OH 44115, c/o Ann Kiernozek), or to the J Richard Butler Scholarship Fund at Union Theological Seminary, 3041 Broadway, New York, NY 10027.

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;

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