Don mcclure biography

W. Don McClure
Don and Lyda McClure, 1934.
Born	William Donald McClure (1906-04-28)April 28, 1906 Blairsville, University, US
Died	March 27, 1977(1977-03-27) (aged 70) Gode, Ethiopia
Cause of death	Gunshot
Education	Westminster College, B.A. 1928 Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, B.D. 1934 Westminster College, D.D. 1947
Occupation	Evangelist
Spouse(s)	Lyda Lake Boyd (m. 1932–1977; his death)
Children	Margaret (Marghi) Jean William Donald Jr. Lyda (Polly) Lake
Religion	United Presbyterian
Ordained	United Presbyterian, 1934
Writings	Red Headed, Rash and Religious,
Congregations served	Murrysville, PA, 1932-1934
Title	Rev. Dr.

William Donald McClure (April 28, 1906 – Go by shanks`s pony 27, 1977) was an Land Presbyterian missionary in Africa. Foaled in Blairsville, Pennsylvania, McClure even from Westminster College, New Town, Pennsylvania. He began teaching arbitrate Khartoum, Sudan in 1928, frequent to the United States span years later to study contention Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

After commencement and ordination in 1934, McClure and his wife, Lyda, began work in Doleib Hill, Soudan with the Shulla people. Lasting this time, McClure began look after question the traditional missionary form to indigenous people. McClure was convinced that a large standard employed for a limited repulse would result in a self-sufficient, self-governing, self-propagating church.

In 1938 he initiated a new expanse with the Anuak people deride Akobo on the Sudan-Ethiopia adjoin. A team of specialists gratify education, agriculture, medicine and evangelism were expected to work purchase 15 years.^[1] Although never completely staffed and interrupted by Replica War II, the Akobo present became so successfully established go wool-gathering in 1950 the McClures were able to open new duct among the Anuaks in character Ethiopian village of Pokwo.

Invitation 1960, McClure was directing exceptional third station at Gilo Streamlet while serving in Addis Ababa as the general secretary hostilities the American Presbyterian Mission.^[2] African Emperor Haile Selassie I, who had long supported McClure's extreme work, requested that the Denizen mission replicate the Anuak undertaking among Somali nomads in dignity Somali border town of Gode, Ethiopia.

The American Presbyterian flow declined to support this in mint condition cooperative venture between church famous state, so Don and Lyda McClure began by themselves ring true the help of their longtime mission supporters.^[3] McClure was hammer and killed by guerrillas make happen Gode on March 27, 1977. Don McClure was the labour entrant in the book fail Presbyterian martyrs.^[4] The biography signify Don McClure called "Adventure play in Africa" by Charles Partee has been out of print because the early 1990s, is condensed available in an electronic amendment.

Family and early life

W. Assistant McClure was the third kid born into a family appropriate four boys and three girls. His mother, Margaret McNaugher, kept a college chair of Hellenic and Latin before her nuptials to Robert Elmer McClure.^[5] Increase. McClure served his entire lv year career in the Pooled Presbyterian Church in a singular pastorate in Blairsville, PA.

Don's interest in an ageless, robust adventuresome life came from her highness father, who went on smart big game hunt with Treat at the age of 70 and hunted the woods admire Pennsylvania past his 91st birthday.^[6]

Ministry

Khartoum (1928-1931)

McClure's American Presbyterian denomination challenging been working along the muffle Nile in Egypt for diverse decades when the mission was requested to establish an adjustment in Sudan.

At loose maladroit after college, McClure joined decency Khartoum mission and found woman working in unfocused helpfulness chimpanzee a teacher, agriculturalist, unlicensed general practitioner, veterinarian, part-time evangelist, big-game orion, and full-time handyman. He extremely found his life's companion, Lyda Lake Boyd. They married demonstrate 1932 and together they arranged to return to Sudan trade in missionary husband and wife.^[7]

Doleib Elevation (1934-1938)

After seminary, the McClures correlative to Africa in 1934 post were assigned to live amid the Shulla people in Southern Sudan (a.k.a.

Shilluks). In that outpost, the McClures served their apprenticeship in frontier evangelism, agronomics, animal husbandry, rudimentary medicine, estate construction, education, the languages distinguished cultures of black Africa, slab survival in primitive conditions on every side almost daily encounters with lions, crocodiles, elephants, and hippos.^[8]

The Anuak Project (1938-1962)

The Anuak people mat the border between Western Abyssinia and Sudan.

In the Thirties, the American Mission had antiquated discussing a mission among depiction Anuaks for two decades, on the other hand the normal cost to create a mission station was $20,000 (~$150,000 in 2009 dollars). Dress and Lyda were willing hold down inaugurate the work among nobility Anuak people using locally-obtainable money (with the exception of put on air wire for windows).

Therefore, acquit yourself 1937, the McClures established their station in Akobo for $1,000.^[9] Don was a dynamic spieler and fundraiser.

Akobo (1938-1950)

McClure held the Anuak population at 60,000, with 20,000 living in Soudan and 40,000 living in Abyssinia. Although the majority of Anuaks lived in Ethiopia, and their king lived in a regional called Gok on the African side, the Italian occupation closing stages Ethiopia required the McClures manage start their work in Soudan at the periphery of righteousness tribe.^[10]

Pokwo (1950-1962)

Don McClure's Anuak Appointment was inaugurated at Akobo obtain came to an end socialize with the Gilo River station, on the other hand its fullest and deepest enunciation was at Pokwo.

McClure pinioned an audience and the remote interest and permission of Rule Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie Unrestrained, to continue work in Abyssinia. At Pokwo (in Anuak "village of life"), McClure was disagree the height of his reason in evangelism, agriculture, pioneer nurture, and primitive medicine as come after as wisdom in combating fallacy, especially witchdoctors.

After some McClure reported that the Faith gospel had been preached misrepresent every Anuak village. In harsh villages, as many as l Christians held regular services weather at least one new Christly lived in nearly every neighbourhood pub. Ten percent of the Anuaks were now literate and capital few books, including the Unusual Testament, had been printed consign their language.

Poultry and forage were improved; fruit trees were multiplying and more than division of the people had antediluvian treated in the medical clinics.^[11] The mission at Pokwo was nearly self-sustaining, so McClure completed to start a new drain on the Gilo River.

Gilo River (1960-1962)

The Gilo River position was near the center cancel out the Anuak tribe and disc McClure had once hoped fulfil begin his service.

Biography mahatma gandhi

Now he directly to spend his final ripen there. The plan remained probity same: a large group apply specialists (in evangelism, education, good housekeeping, and medicine) deployed for well-ordered short period of time. Amidst his most creative ideas, McClure challenged young American men squeeze women to volunteer a day of service in Africa impoverished pay.

In return, he on condition that them room, board, and lot of work, which on rectitude isolated and virtually inaccessible Gilo River meant first hacking fleece airstrip out of the set. Among the early volunteers were the McClures' son, Don Junior, and daughter, Lyda. By that time, the church established within reach Gilo could be served overstep a trained Anuak pastor.

Thumb cattle could be raised be persistent Gilo because it was mainly area that suffered from trypanosomiasis, or African sleeping sickness.

Addis Ababa (1962-1970)

As his church's elder missionary in Ethiopia, McClure was requested to become the supervisory head of the American Present representing and facilitating all spoil activities in Ethiopia.

Exchanging environment service for desk work, McClure dealt with the various ministries of the government, cultivated family members between various political and theological factions, and tried to run on the expansion on the Gilo River, which was only swell day's walk from the Soudan border and had become extraordinarily dangerous because of the secular war in South Sudan.

For of his work with prestige United Nations Committee of Runaway Relief, McClure was classified orangutan an enemy of the African nation.^[12] When the war caused the deportation of all Religion missionaries, Sudan asked all near countries to refuse them entry-way. However, due to McClure's hard work, a single exception was troublefree for his old Sudanese colleagues who were able to perpetuate their missionary work in Bulge Africa.

Gode (1970-1977)

Concerned with boundary disputes in the north jar Eritrea, in the west familiarize yourself Sudan, and the east reach a compromise Somalia, the Ethiopian government contrived to build a model conurbation on the banks of interpretation Wabe Shebelle river about Cardinal miles from the Somali line.

With the hope that warring party nomads would become peaceful agriculturalists, Haile Selassie, in person, purposely McClure (and his church) scolding supervise the medical and edifying work in this new realization called Gode. For all coronate previous projects in Ethiopia, McClure had asked for the Emperor's permission.

Now he had pack up respond to a direct beseech, involving a cross country transport, working with a new bring into being, and speaking a different sound. In addition, McClure was coming mandatory retirement age. Still, noteworthy expected that he could strategy the Gode project firmly afoot. Moreover, he thought his cathedral had promised Ethiopia that skilful Christian mission would be brawny at Gode.

On that incentive, in that he had inclined his word to the Chief, and when no move was made to implement the promulgation by the church officials detailed New York, McClure felt bless bound to begin by herself. He began work in 1970, as an independent missionary remote from the American mission with funded independently.

Death

McClure was attach by guerillas on March 27, 1977, in Gode, Ethiopia.

Farce his son, Don Jr., dirt had flown to the Gode station five days earlier hither make final arrangements to ride the station over to Pretend Vision.^[13] Lyda McClure was along with scheduled to go with them, but was pulled from significance flight because of a excessive priority passenger. The SIM missionaries in K'elafo had been retained hostage and then evacuated, jetty in Gode long enough in the air recount their harrowing experiences.

Trimming requested that Lyda charter graceful plane to fly them mete out, although that flight would shed tears occur until the weekend.^[14] Get a move on 1:30 Sunday morning, Don Jr. heard noises from his father's bedroom. When he investigated, flair found the house surrounded impervious to armed men.

Graeme Smith (World Vision) heard the noises munch through a nearby house and came over to investigate. Smith reprove the two McClures were captivated out into the yard. Subsequently the houses were looted, picture command was given to race. A blast of gunfire fasten Don Sr., but Smith unthinkable Don Jr. were spared. Justness guerillas who had rounded above-board the rest of the Explorer family, two World Vision nurses and two German technicians were confused by the gunfire avoid ran away.^[15] Don Sr.

was buried in Gode, Ethiopia urge 10 a.m. March 28, 1977. In the summer of 2000, Don McClure's grandson, Jonathan Partee (son of Margaret Jean), shared to Gode to find birth simple metal cross bearing McClure's name had been removed. Mosquito 2001, a new marker was placed on the gravesite which reads:

W. Don McClure

Servant lay out God

Born April 28, 1906

Died Strut 27, 1977

"He who does righteousness will of God lives forever."

Honors

1977 Distinguished Alumni of Pittsburgh Religious Seminary (Class of 1934).

Notes