Richard McBride, chaplain emeritus, delivered the opening remarks at the N.C. Council of Churches 75th anniversary celebrations on May 18 at the Duke Divinity School on the campus of Duke University.
The Council’s first director and the moving force behind the Council’s founding was the late H. Shelton Smith, Ph.D., a 1917 graduate of Elon College. Smith, one of Elon’s most important and distinguished 20th century graduates, went on to found and head Duke University’s graduate school in religion.
McBride, who served as Elon’s chaplain from 1984-2009, described Smith as an ”author, educator and … activist minister who took his scholarship as it were into the streets, what today we call ‘civic engagement.’” McBride quoted from a letter in Elon University’s archives, written to Shelton Smith by an Elon professor when Smith was enrolled in the Ph.D. program at Yale, expressing the hope that Smith might return to Elon to teach. The professor’s letter concluded that “larger opportunities are likely to be given you.”
In 1993, Elon celebrated the centenary of Smith’s birth with a symposium led by Martin Marty, Ph.D., Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the History of Modern Christianity in the Divinity School, University of Chicago, whose principal address was entitled, “Human Nature, Human Nurture, Human Hatred, Divine Love: Professor Smith’s Legacy, Our Challenges.”
Elon University holds an annual lecture series in Smith’s honor to celebrate his legacy and to promote the exploration of the interface of Church and Society. This year’s speaker was Alton Pollard, dean of the School of Divinity at Howard University.
In addition to McBride, Dr. Richard Smith, Shelton Smith’s son, spoke about his father. Also in attendance from Elon were Phil Smith, interim chaplain of the college, and Larry Vellani, director of corporate and foundation relations.
The North Carolina Council of Churches is a statewide ecumenical organization promoting Christian unity and working towards a more just society. The Council enables denominations, congregations, and people of faith to individually and collectively impact the state on issues such as economic justice and development, human well-being, equality, compassion and peace, following the example and mission of Jesus Christ.