wfn.org | UCC leader Charles Shelby Rooks dies

[powellb@ucc.org]

Proclamation, Identity and Communication Ministry
United Church of Christ
May 22, 2001
Barb Powell, press contact
(216) 736-2175
powellb@ucc.org
On the Web: www.ucc.org

United Church of Christ leader Charles Shelby Rooks dies

     NORFOLK, Va. -- The Rev. Dr. Charles Shelby Rooks, an influential
leader in the United Church of Christ and in the African-American religious
community, died Saturday, May 19, 2001. He was 76.
     Surrounded by family members, Rooks died at Sentara General Hospital
in Norfolk, Va., from complications following heart surgery.
     A memorial service will be held July 28 at 2 p.m. in the Amistad
Chapel of the United Church of Christ
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=92s Church House in Cleveland. In lieu
of flowers, the Rooks family has asked that donations be made to the Ro=
oks
Scholarship Fund, UCC Local Church Ministries, 700 Prospect Avenue,
Cleveland, OH 44115-1100.
     Rooks had a long career as pastor, scholar and administrator. He w=
as
executive vice president of the United Church of Christ=92s U.S. missio=
n
agency, the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries, from 1984 unti=
l
his retirement in 1992. As president of Chicago Theological Seminary fr=
om
1974 to 1984, he had been the first African American to lead a
predominantly white theological school. Earlier he had headed the Fund =
for
Theological
Education, Princeton, N.J., and had been pastor of Lincoln Memorial Tem=
ple,
United Church of Christ, in Washington, D.C.
     =93Shelby=92s commitment to theological education and the public
responsibility of the church will be an enduring legacy for a church
seeking leaders sensitive to the Gospel=92s demands of justice,=94 said=
 the
Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Churc=
h of
Christ.
     As chief executive officer of the United Church Board for Homeland=

Ministries -- based in New York City until 1989, and from 1990 on in
Cleveland -- Rooks oversaw programs involving outlays of $20 million a =
year
in health and welfare, higher education, evangelism and church extensio=
n,
Christian education, publication and social justice ministries.
     Rooks strengthened the United Church=92s educational ministries an=
d
supported a strong AIDS ministry as well as ministries for the homeless=
 and
for community action. Throughout his career, he advocated the training =
of
African-American church leaders. He was founding president of the Socie=
ty
for the Study of Black Religion and served for 14 years with the Fund f=
or
Theological Education in Princeton.
     For African Americans, Rooks said, =93The truth is this: only reli=
gion
provides the consistent meaning and value that enables oppressed people=
 not
only to survive, but to overcome their problems and difficulties.=94
     Author Henry J. Young lists Rooks as one of 14 major black religio=
us
leaders since 1949 along with the likes of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther K=
ing
Jr. and Malcolm X. Rooks himself was a frequent writer and lecturer. Hi=
s
articles appeared in more than 30 journals. He wrote three books:
Revolution in Zion: Reshaping African-American Ministry (New York City:=
 The
Pilgrim Press, 1989); The Hopeful Spirit (New York City: The Pilgrim Pr=
ess,
1987), and Rainbows and Reality (Atlanta: The ITC Press, 1985).
     Beyond the Homeland Board, Rooks had a long record of service to
denominational and ecumenical boards and councils. For many years he
chaired the board of directors of the UCC=92s Office of Communication,
helping to shape a program to combat discrimination in broadcasting. He=

chaired the seminary section of the denomination=92s Council on Higher
Education and served the National Council of Churches on the boards of =
its
Department of Ministry, Division of Church and Society, and Commission =
for
Higher Education.
     Rooks was born Oct. 19, 1924, in Beaufort, N.C. His family=92s roo=
ts in
the United Church tradition extend as far back as 1879, when his
great-great granduncle, Michael P. Jenkins, organized a Congregational
church in Beaufort. He subsequently lived in Harlem and Brooklyn, N.Y.,=
 and
in Norfolk, Va., where he graduated from Booker T. Washington High Scho=
ol.
     Following military service, Rooks earned a B.A. degree from Virgin=
ia
State University in 1949 and an M.Div. degree in 1953 from Union
Theological Seminary in New York. He did additional graduate study at
Columbia University Teachers College in New York, England=92s Mansfield=

College of Oxford University, The North American College in Rome, Italy=
,
and the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texa=
s.
     His first pastorate came in 1951 when he participated in one of th=
e
country=92s first interracial pastorates at the Shanks Village Protesta=
nt
Church in Orangeburg, N.Y., where he co-pastored with a white minister,=

Paul Kimmel. From 1953 to 1960, Rooks served as pastor of Lincoln Memor=
ial
Temple, a United Church congregation in Washington, D.C. He later serve=
d
interim pastorates at other UCC congregations in Washington, D.C., and
Baltimore.
     Rooks=92 service to the wider church began in earnest in the early=
 1960s
when he joined the Fund for Theological Education in Princeton as assoc=
iate
director. From 1967 to 1974, he served as the Fund=92s executive direct=
or.
     At 49, Rooks became president of Chicago Theological Seminary, a
graduate theological school related to the United Church of Christ. He =
held
this post from 1974 to 1984 and made a tremendous impact, increasing th=
e
seminary=92s minority enrollment from a mere handful to 30 per cent of =
the
student body.
     In 1983, Rooks was elected to head the Homeland Board and pushed f=
or
the implementation of a =93Ten Year Development Program=94 to form 15 n=
ew
congregations per year. He instituted inclusive language standards for =
the
Homeland Board and advocated and enforced affirmative action policies.
     Announcing his retirement in January 1992, Rooks cited health as o=
ne
of the reasons. He had had a heart attack in 1987.
     He held honorary degrees from nine institutions: College of Wooste=
r
(Ohio), Dillard University in New Orleans, Heidelberg (Ohio) College,
Howard University in Washington, D.C., Huston-Tillotson College in Aust=
in,
Texas, the Interdenominational Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Tallade=
ga
(Alabama) College, Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va., and
Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va.
     Rooks is survived by his wife of nine months, the former Elaine Hu=
nter
Young; sons Laurence Gaylord Rooks of Tempe, Ariz., and William P. Ever=
s of
McDonald, Pa., stepson Dr. James E. Young of Toledo, Ohio, and seven
grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his wife of almost 53 years=
,
the former Adrienne Martinez of New Orleans, and his daughter, Carol An=
n
Rooks.
     The United Church of Christ is the 1957 union of the Congregationa=
l
Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

                                 #   #   #
[EDITORS: A photo of Charles Shelby Rooks is available by contacting th=
e
UCC communication office at the number listed at the top of this releas=
e.]
=

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