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Photo Courtesy of Courier Journal Click image to purchase a copy George R. Edwards 1920-2010
Terribly sad and stunning news -- Rev. George R. Edwards, a giant of the peace and justice world and co-founder of the Louisville FOR chapter, died June 2 at 90 at his Louisville home. If anybody ever deserved to live forever, George did. He worked tirelessly for a nonviolent and economically and racially just world. His thoroughly informed interpretations of The Bible challenged the assumptions of those in the church comfortable with segregation, war and homophobia. We must carry his work on and pray for his wife Jean. She was always with George on innumerable protests, vigils and workshops during their 63 years of marriage. But she was not “at his side” as it were, because they were always equals, at one another’s sides. Achieving equality of race, gender and sexual orientation was a key passion of their lives. George wrote a book on The Bible and gay rights and the couple protested, sometimes occupying buildings and refusing to leave, for opening housing in Louisville, more minority contracting by state government and The Fairness Ordinance, Louisville’s gay rights law. All who struggle for justice and a nonviolent world have lost a friend. George and Jean, in fact, were friends or acquaintances of Rev. Louis Coleman, Thomas Merton and Wendell Berry. Although of huge stature in the movement, George was, by any standard, a gentle giant. After protesting for justice and peace in causes ranging from Fairness to the Middle East, George and Jean would typically spend time working in their garden, baking and chatting with visitors. Surrounded in his small in-home office by scholarly works of theologians and activists and a poster of Albert Einstein, George could nonetheless just as easily talk about his grandchildren or a pie he was planning to bake. The term “humorous” just begins to describe George and Jean. They composed hilarious song parodies cleverly criticizing the militarism of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher and lauding the work of Louisville radical peace activist Father Jim Flynn. At speaking events, their colorful parlance usually stole the show – and anticipation of it increased attendance. It seems unnatural to think of Jean as a “solo act,” and from this point on, the empty space beside her when she speaks or rallies will be so conspicuous. So, we who believe in a world of love and truth, as George did his whole life, are called to be with Jean even more. --George Morrison, June 2010
Since 1915, The Fellowship of
Reconciliation in the United States has led campaigns to obtain legal rights for
conscientious objectors, win civil rights for all Americans, end the Vietnam War, oppose
U.S. intervention in the Third World, and reverse the superpowers’ arms race. An interfaith pacifist organization, the FOR has
members from many religious and ethnic traditions. It
is part of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, with affiliates in 40
countries. The Chapter was founded on
Armistice Day in 1975. In the development of its program FOR depends upon persons who seek to apply these principles to every area of life. If you are not already a member, we invite you to join us in this endeavor. Membership consists of signing the Statement of Purpose, indicating that you agree with FOR goals. |
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