Ken Hall’s Influence Went Way Beyond Butler, PA

Ken Hall

A stranger looking at Ken Hall’s resume, which would list 38 years of service as pastor of Hill United Presbyterian Church in Butler, PA, might think Ken had a localized ministry. He did, but in addition to that, his ministry extended to Northern Ireland through his efforts as a founder of the Presbyterian Committee for Northern Ireland; it extended to the entire Presbyterian denomination, which elected him General Assembly Moderator in 1988; it extended across the church through his efforts as a Minister of Interpretation for the Presbyterian Foundation. Wearing his Foundation hat, Ken spoke extensively throughout the Synod of Living Waters about stewardship, and on one of those occasions, he was declared an honorary Southerner.

Many people on both sides of the Atlantic were saddened by his death on October 15, 2004.

Gary Luhr, Executive Director of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities, was in Belfast when news of Ken’s death reached Northern Ireland. He shared their reaction with board members of PCNI: “I attended the annual graduation ceremony for students from Northern Ireland who studied in the United States last year as part of the Business Education Initiative. Ken Hall was a key figure in launching BEI, which began ten years ago with a handful of students and a handful of Presbyterian colleges and today involves more than 150 students and more than 100 colleges…It was a black tie affair at the City Hall hosted by the Lord Mayor of Belfast…At the beginning of the evening, the Catholic priest giving the invocation asked everyone – some 300 people- to stand for a moment of silence in memory of Ken Hall.”

Pam and Steve Grace were among representatives of the PCNI board who attended the memorial service for Ken in Butler, PA. In sharing some of her impressions of the service with board members, she wrote: “Stories were told and smiles abounded –all of which led to the consensus that Ken was a Saint of the Lord whose very life and being bore witness to the faith he professed. If there was a text for the service, it would be the one said to be especially dear to Ken’s own experience of life and a bedrock of his faith:

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28…. It was good to prowl around this place – Butler and the Hill United Presbyterian Church – and to imagine Ken’s delight in returning home here from all his journeys for the church.”