“Hope Challenges the Futureto Outdo the Past”
Posted on 06. Jan, 2009 by Lutheran World Relief in Uncategorized
In Memoriam, Robert J. Marshall
We add our voices to the choruses of remembrance sounding now for the Rev. Dr. Robert J. Marshall (1918-2008) Dr. Marshall passed away on Monday, December 22, 2008. For more than a quarter of a century, he lived his faith on the board of Lutheran World Relief, from1968 to 1994. Fifteen of those years he was the chair of the board, exemplifying a senatorial demeanor, notes LWR Executive Vice-President, Jeff Whisenant. His tenure was characterized by an uncanny capacity to “unravel the strands of complex issues” with clarity and charity—charity in the best sense, meaning God’s unconditional love in Christ Jesus.
Our mourning carries, however, an undertone of thankfulness for the manner in which Dr. Marshall prepared LWR for the 21st century. In his own words: “Hope challenges the future to outdo the past.”
In his final annual report, Dr. Marshall noted that the staff of LWR was dedicated “to pouring themselves out, often away from home for weeks, conferring for long hours, prayerfully assessing opportunities and then recommending actions and working with fellow humans the world over to develop new hope.”
LWR’s mission abides: to fill the future with hope for each community and every generation.
Lutheran World Relief is a nonprofit organization that works with Lutherans and partners around the world to end poverty, injustice, and human suffering.
