30 years ago — June 1988
Thirty years ago, the 200th General Assembly met in St. Louis. The June issues of the Outlook were full of the news of the time. The National Black Presbyterian Caucus announced the presentation of the Edlar G. Hawkins Award for “extraordinary service in helping to achieve full and equal participation by black Presbyterians” to four people: H. Eugene Fairlough, pastor of Sojourner Truth Presbyterian Church in Richmond, California; Robert Coleman, Synod of the Trinity; Jesse C. Swanigan, consultant for McDonell-Douglas Aircraft in St. Louis; and Otis Turner of the denomination’s racial/ethnic ministry unit. The Outlook announced a new editor, Robert Bullock Jr., pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Allen, Texas, to replace retiring editor George Hunt (honored by the assembly for his service to the church). The assembly elected C. Kenneth Hall, pastor of Hill United Presbyterian Church in Butler, Pennsylvania, as moderator and re-elected James E. Andrews for another term as stated clerk. The assembly adopted the controversial study paper, “Christian obedience in a nuclear age” and worked out details covering a 14 million dollar deficit the Board of Pensions experienced in 1987.
