The Council on Christian Unity (the name of the Council as of 1954) called George G. Beazley, Jr. to be its president in 1961. Dr. Beazley became the Council’s first full-time executive. He was called from pastoral ministry where he had served Disciples’ congregations in Richmond, Missouri (1938-1947) and Bartlesville, Oklahoma (1947-1960). He was a consummate communicator. His folksy “Beazley Buzz” is still remembered for homespun accounts of his travels and ministry which were rich with less formal information on the ecumenical movement. He also established the ecumenical journal Midstream which communicated at a more scholarly level. Dr. Beazley died in 1973 on World Communion Sunday while traveling in the Soviet Union on an official visit to the Russian Orthodox Church. He is remembered for the pioneering work related to the Disciples’ participation in the Consultation on Church Union.
George G. Beazley, Jr., President of the Council on Christian Unity, 1961-1973