Remembering George Edwards
The Caldwell Memorial Chapel at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary was filled early on June 15, 2010, for the service "With Thanksgiving for the Life and Witness of George R. Edwards, February 1920-June 2, 2010." Many sat in the fellowship hall below to hear the broadcast of the solemn yet joyful celebration that featured brilliant organ prelude and postlude by Guy Younce, Music Director, and anthems by the Choir of the Central Presbyterian Church, where George and Jean have been loyal, active members for many years.
The Rev. Riley Edwards-Raudonat, Africa Liaison Secretary of the Association of Churches and Missions, South Western Germany, read the Gospel Lesson, Luke 4.14-30 and preached the homily: "Release to the Captives: Homage to a Hometown Prophet" tellingly illustrated by real life examples of his father's ministry. Representatives of local and national causes for which George had sacrificially labored offered Reflections that enlightened and uplifted the crowd of admirers who had gathered to pay their respects to this fallen leader and example of faithful, unwavering effort on behalf of peace, justice, and non-violence. In its report of George Edwards' death, the Louisville Courier-Journal quoted the Rev. Ann Deibert, co-pastor of Central Presbyterian: "If he was a one-issue person, it was God's justice for all of creation."
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My name is Arch Taylor, and I have been asked by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship to express our deep gratitude to George Edwards, along with his wife Jean, for his longstanding membership and generous support for our Fellowship. George’s membership goes back to the old days when Presbyterians were still separated, Northern and Southern. There were very few peacemakers in the old Southern Presbyterian Church, owing to its genesis in the Confederacy. An elderly minister named Henry Loftus kept records for the Southern Presbyterian Peace Organization. Our present Peace Fellowship resulted from the reunion of the two churches. George and Jean have been faithful members and active supporters from the earliest days. Through George and Jeans’ enthusiastic support and example, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship nowadays has a much larger membership and more vigorous program than the two former ones. George and Jean were among the first recipients of the annual Peace Seeker Award given by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. I consider myself honored to have been asked to speak of our appreciation for George Edwards and his remarkable wife Jean.
On a personal level, George and I had some things in common. Both of us were in our senior year at different Presbyterian Colleges when the war began in December 1941. We were both candidates for the ministry, and therefore we both qualified for deferment from the military draft. I accepted that deferment, and I spent the war years here at Louisville Seminary. As graduation approached, I inquired about the possibility of becoming a chaplain in the US Navy. They asked me my denomination, and I said, “Southern Presbyterian.” They checked their records and said, “Sorry, but we are over-supplied with Southern Presbyterian chaplains.” We southerners were a belligerent bunch!
George had the same opportunity for deferment from the draft as a ministerial candidate, but he publicly expressed his conscientious objection to the war. George spent the war years in alternate service, doing humane works to benefit others, in locations and types of work that endangered his own personal health. After the war George spent time doing reconstruction work among former enemies, in Italy. I did not know George in those days, and I was not privy to his inner thoughts, but to me his decision to seek CO status instead of accepting draft deferment was completely consistent with George’s character. There is a Hebrew adjective that describes George quite well: it is based on the verb tamam that basically means “to be complete.” The adjective is tamim, and it overflows with rich nuances. Depending on context tamim can mean among others, “complete” or “straightforward” or “dependable” or “upright.” Certainly George was all of those. But as I think of George and his choice of CO status instead of draft deferment, I think of “consistent.” At that early age George Edwards objected conscientiously to war; it would not be consistent in him to remain silent and take the easy way out by deferment. George Edwards was tamim. He was consistent. And each of you who knew him personally can recall situations, actions, and statements that exemplify just how consistent for peace and justice was George Riley Edwards.
