wfn.org | Gift to World Methodist Council honors the Hales

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

July 13, 2001   News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
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By United Methodist News Service

A supporter of the World Methodist Council has established a trust for the
organization in honor of its outgoing general secretary and his wife.

Rachel Nall Cochran of Knoxville, Tenn., signed over a gift of stock, valued
around $300,000, at the council's office in Lake Junaluska, N.C., on July
12. The gift sets up the Rev. Dr. Joseph R. and Mary Richey Hale Endowment
Fund, which will provide general support for the council through an annual
disbursement.

A member of Church Street United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Cochran has
served on the council's executive committee. She also chaired the World
Methodist Museum Committee in 1982-83 and led a major expansion of the
museum. She organized and served as first president of the museum's support
group, Friends of the World Methodist Museum.

Cochran has served on the Committee of 100 at Emory University and on the
boards of colleges, universities and other institutions in Tennessee. She is
an international trustee of the Old Rectory in Epworth, England, home of the
Wesley family, and formed an American support group for that property. She
also was involved in the preservation campaign launched by the World
Methodist Council for restoration of Wesley's Chapel in London.

In a brief statement made during the stock transfer, Cochran referred to the
Hales as "among the finest representatives of Christ and his church" and
saluted their class, dignity, style and grace.

Hale said that Cochran's decision to establish a trust in their name came as
a complete surprise. "The honor she has bestowed by establishing this trust
is overwhelming," he added. "Mary and I both have enormous respect for
Rachel and for her sister, Charlotte. We have known and worked closely with
Rachel for over 25 years. She is a brilliant and visionary person who has
taught me many important lessons." He noted that Cochran also presented the
first gift "to set the pace" when the council's "Achieving the Vision"
endowment campaign was announced in 1999.

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United Methodist News Service
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