The Rev. Dr. Robert William Edgar passed away on Tuesday, April 23rd. His death was sudden and unexpected, and prompted this remembrance from State of Belief host and Interfaith Alliance president Welton Gaddy:
It is with profound sadness and shock that I learned of the death of Rev. Bob Edgar, a dear friend of mine, an avid supporter of Interfaith Alliance, president of Common Cause, former General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and a former member of Congress.
Bob has been one of most consistent and loudest cheerleaders for the work of Interfaith Alliance. And, he has been a close personal friend with whom private conversations were always valuable. Less than a week ago in a meeting at the Aspen Institute I teased Bob about his puns and jokes, but I admired the fact that I never once heard him stop hoping or saw him without a smile on his face. Standing on the sidewalk around Dupont Circle last week, Bob and I talked for a long time about our work and concerns. We spoke seriously about the personal cost involved in our commitment to the kind of unrelenting activity required in trying to make our country a better, more secure, and more caring place to live. We both agreed the toll it took was worth it because of the passion we had for our work.
Bob Edgar will be missed by many of us who now, far too soon, grieve his death and who always will be grateful for his life.
In March of 2011, Welton traveled to Viet Nam with an American delegation that included Rev. Edgar. That June, we broadcast an interview recorded on location, that aptly sums up the spirit and the sense of mission that drove Bob Edgar. Click the player below to listen.
