letter from the
EDITOR
This issue honors Gilbert C. Hanke, general secretary of the General Commission on United Methodist Men.
REV. RICH PECK Editor
• Served as convenor of
No, Gil did not suggest this as a subject.
meetings of chief executives of UM general agencies
In fact, when I suggested he write a “thank-you” article, he responded with a brief one-page article in which he expressed appreciation to the staff and volunteer members of the commission, the National Association of Conference Presidents, and the United Methodist Men Foundation.
• Coordinated meetings of leaders
I called him up.
• Served on the executive board of
“Gil, you’ve had more than a 50-year history with Methodist Men, would you be willing to write an article in which you express appreciation to all of those men who helped you along your spiritual journey?” I also asked him to dig though his personal archives to retrieve some photos from his colorful past. In early 2022, Gil will attain his 12-year limit as a top executive of a general agency of the UMC. He wants to leave before that time in order to give his successor some time to prepare for the postponed General Conference, now scheduled for August 29 to September 6, 2022. It is more than appropriate for the commission to honor him, not only for his service as chief executive officer, but for his years as president of Texas Conference UM Men, president of the National Association of Conference Presidents, president of the commission, and as a strong advocate for the creation of the commission at the 1996 General Conference in Denver.
2
During his 12-years as general secretary, Gil
of men’s ministries of several denominations
• Began Wesley Class Meetings with UM Men
• Served as founder and chief
executive of efforts to provide hearing aids for children of Haiti the Society of St. Andrew
• Worked with the YWCA to combat domestic violence
• Recruited and trained thee deployed staff members
• Advocated for the use of virtual meetings
• Coordinated, with staff
assistance, international prayer sessions via Zoom
• Coordinated meetings with
leaders of African-American Wesleyan denominations
• Expanded the number of Men’s
Ministry Specialists and Scouting Ministry Specialists
• Created Give Day • Devised a vetting system for affiliate organization
• Created a host of materials accessible on computers
Thanks, Gil.
