Another friend remembered

I just watched a memorial service for the Rev. Hal Harrison, which was held at the Springfield, VT Congregational Church, UCC, and broadcast live over Facebook. So here I am in Alpine, WY able to be "present" at a service for a friend in Vermont that before the age of the Internet I would have been unable to attend. Hal was Associate Conference Minister of the Vermont Conference from 1976 to 1995. That means he started in that position the same year Shirley started as a lay pastor of the Guilford Community Church (Easter Sunday, 1976). And indeed, he came to Shirley's Installation Service the following year. A few years after that, Hal invited me to join a committee to explore the creation of a school of theology for lay persons in the Conference. We worked for at least two years and our work resulted in the formation of the Vermont Academy of Spiritual Training, which came to be known aa the VAST program. It was a 3-year program, meeting one Saturday a month, 10 months a year. Hal became the Dean of VAST and I became the teacher for the Biblical courses. I taught two groups, which meant I took two classes of about 12-20 students through 3 years of biblical study - a very satisfying experience. Hal was a joy to work with. He was a gentle, compassioate, learned and spiritual man, with a great sense of humor. I always felt understood and supported by him. Later, he became a passionate advocate for Shirley's efforts to be ordained via an alternative route that did not involve a seminary degree, but rather recognized her learning through several sources, including her successful experience as a pastor in Guilford - leading to her ordination in 1994. When Hal retired he moved to Havenwood-Heritage Heights Retirement Village in Concord, NH. I kept hoping it would work to visit him there, but it never did, though I did see him at meetings now and then. He died last month at the age of 90. He was blessed to be able to be involved in teaching and learning right up to the end. Thank you, Hal, for all you gave to me, and may you thrive in the life to come!

The Rev. Hal Harrison