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Bishop Edward Tullis, church visionary, dead at 88

Oct. 7, 2005

NOTE: A photograph is available with this story at http://umns.umc.org.

By United Methodist News Service

United Methodist Bishop Edward L. Tullis, 88, known throughout the
denomination as a visionary leader, died Oct. 6 at his home in Lake
Junaluska, N.C.

Elected to the episcopacy in 1972, he led the South Carolina and
Tennessee annual (regional) conferences for 12 years before retiring in
1984.

Tullis, a native of Cincinnati, was ordained in 1943 and served several
churches in Kentucky. He served as a member of six jurisdictional and
General Conference delegations and held a number of important mission
posts in the Southeastern Jurisdiction.

Throughout his career, he was a strong advocate for clergywomen. During
the 1956 General Conference, Tullis was among the delegates who voted to
give clergywomen full clergy rights.

Tullis, a minister for life, taught an intergenerational Sunday school
class at Long's Chapel United Methodist Church in Lake Junaluska, N.C.
That class has 200 members. He was a frequent teacher at Elder hostels
and retreats and worked with staff at the Southeastern Jurisdictional
Administration Council, developing training materials and resources for
Sunday school teachers.

"Edward Tullis was a well-rounded minister and practical churchman and
at the same time had a deep concern about the needs of people," said
Bishop James Mathews of Bethesda, Md. "He will be missed and
well-remembered because he made a valuable contribution to the church
universal."

According to the Rev. Mary John Dye, pastor of Hawthorne Lane United
Methodist Church, Charlotte, N.C., Tullis "was a constant source of
advice and encouragement for lay and clergy leaders across the church.
... He was a churchman to the core - forever a teacher about the essence
of the United Methodist Church."

Tullis is the author of First Church Sermons, Shaping the Church from
the Mind of Christ and Birth of the Book: The Story of the Origin and
Growth of the Bible. He recently completed a history of the Magee
Christian Education Foundations.

Tullis earned an associate's degree from Kentucky Wesleyan College and
earned a bachelor's degree from Louisville Theological Seminary. He was
the recipient of honorary degrees from Kentucky Wesleyan College, Union
College, Wofford College, Lambuth University and Claflin College.

Bishop Tullis and the late Mary Jane Tullis had two children, Frank L.
Tullis of Williamsburg, Va., and Jane Offut of Georgetown, Ky.; four
grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

In 1997, he married Katharine Crum Irwin who has two sons, Frank Jr., of
Carolina Beach, N.C., and Mason Crum Irwin of Sevierville, Tenn., and a
daughter, Katharine, deceased.

A memorial service will be held Oct. 10 at Long's Chapel United
Methodist Church in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Principal speakers will be the
Rev. Robert E. Fuquay Jr., pastor of the Long's Chapel Church, Bishop
William Willimon, Bishop William Morris and Bishop Charlene Kammerer.

Memorials may be sent to Long's Chapel United Methodist Church Building
Fund, P.O. Box 459, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745, or the Lake Junaluksa
Capital Fund, P.O. Box 67, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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