Rev. James Russell Hale Professional, Professorship, and Student Papers

James Russell Hale was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 14, 1918 to Robert Gifford and Dorothy (Graham) Hale. He graduated from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA in 1940. He received a Bachelor of Divinity (1944) and a Master of Sacred Theology (1951) from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. He was ordained in the Central Pennsylvania Synod in 1944. Hale received his Doctor of Education from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in the field of religion and the social sciences. Hale married Marjorie Elinor Hoerman on June 10, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York. They had two children, Douglas Graham, and Dean Edward. Pastor at: Gethsemane, Keyport, New Jersey and Reformation Long Branch, New Jersey 1944-46; Our Savior, Baltimore, Maryland 1946-1950; Redeemer, Ramsey, New Jersey 1950-1959; St. Paul’s, Collingswood, New Jersey 1959-1963; Instructor at Baltimore Deaconess School, 1948-1950 In 1962 he was an instructor Gettysburg Seminary. The next year, 1963 he became the Professor of Church and Community at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg until 1984. In 1989, Hale served as acting president for a year, and then from 1990-1991 he served as the Assistant to the President for continuing education, recruitment, and financial aid. The Rev. Dr. James Russell Hale died on Nov. 5, 1994 in Gettysburg, PA

His writings include: Hale, J. Russell. Touching Lives through Service: The History of Tressler Lutheran Services. Camp Hill, PA: Plank’s Suburban Press, 1994.

---. The Unchurched: Who They Are and Why they Stay Away. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1980.

---. Who are the Unchurched: An Exploratory Study. Washington, D.C.: Glenmary, 1977.

---. To Have and to Hold. Philadelphia: Lutheran Church Press, 1972.

Co-authored and contributed to other publications, books, periodicals, and scholarly journals including consulting with the Lutheran Church in America on the Comprehensive Study of the Doctrine of Ministry.

Sources Consulted: Hale, J. Russell. Touching Lives through Service: The History of the Tressler Lutheran Services. Camp Hill, PA: Plank’s Suburban Press, 1994.

Wentz, Abdel Ross. Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary Vol 2: Alumni Record. Harrisburg, PA: The Evangelical Press, 1964.