Editorial: Remembering the Fordhams

Words cannot express the loss and pain we feel in the passing of Henry and Sharon Fordham, president and first lady of the Allegheny East Conference. Few leader-couples have touched our lives as much as they did, and our hearts are with their family and conference family.

President Fordham was a quintessential Christian gentleman and friend who demonstrated genuine love for Jesus, for his dear wife, Sharon, for his family and for everyone he encountered.

He served with heart, led with humility and blessed countless lives.

He never passed up an opportunity to visit a member, pastor, employee or colleague who was sick, bereaved, in trouble or in need. Nor did he pass a hurting stranger without trying to help. I will never forget walking the streets of India with him during a mission trip. So many people sought financial assistance, and he gave everyone something.

He was a powerful preacher and mentor who wasn’t afraid to tackle difficult topics or speak the truth with love. Many a Sabbath morning found him arriving to speak at churches disguised as a homeless man. The object lessons were poignant, as he later revealed his true identity, reciting with fervor Matthew 25:35–40: “‘For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. ... Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’” (NKJV).