As a fierce advocate for peace and justice, Bishop C. Dale White tackled some of the big issues of recent decades — nuclear disarmament, environmental concerns and Middle East peace.
But those strong convictions were balanced by a gentle and focused demeanor, United Methodist friends and colleagues say.
Jaydee Hanson, a longtime friend and former staff member of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, called it a “gentle fearlessness” that many people found engaging. “Dale had an abundance of vision but offered it in a way that people could adopt it,” he told United Methodist News Service.
White, 94, died March 29 after entering hospice care at Newbury Court in Concord, Massachusetts, where he had been living for several years.
He served as bishop in The United Methodist Church from 1976-84 in New Jersey and from 1984 to his retirement in 1992 in the New York Area.