A Methodist preacher
for 70 years.
NEW YORK – Sir Alan Walker, whose ministry spanned most of the 20th century, died in Sydney on Jan 29, 2003 at the age of 91.
A Methodist minister, he was the first person to hold the position of World Director of Evangelism for the World Methodist Council (WMC), a post in which he served from 1978 to 1988.
The Rev Dr H. Eddie Fox, who succeeded him and still serves as the WMC’s evangelism director, noted that Sir Alan and his wife, Lady Winifred, travelled to 78 countries to proclaim the Gospel during the 1980s.
Sir Alan, whose honours included being knighted by Queen Elizabeth and receiving the 1986 World Methodist Peace Award, made his mark on the world by being a prophetic evangelist, the Rev Fox added.
The Rev Dr Joe Hale, retired General Secretary of the WMC, said: “We learned so much by watching and hearing the Walkers take courageous stands, seek the exercise of justice and pursue the cause of peace. We seek to follow the example they have set.”
The WMC’s current General Secretary, the Rev George Freeman, called Sir Alan’s work “a great legacy”.
A native of Sydney, Sir Alan was a Methodist preacher for 70 years. He led crusades across Australia in the 1950s and founded Lifeline, a telephone counselling service that is now international, in 1963.
After retiring from the WMC, he served as Principal of the Pacific College of Evangelism in Sydney until 1995. The school was later renamed Alan Walker College of Evangelism in Sydney.
He is survived by his wife, Lady Winifred Walker, a daughter and three sons. – United Methodist News Service.