Paul Hardin Jr. (November 7, 1903 – June 22, 1996) was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in The Methodist Church in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, elected in 1960. He was Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in 1963 when he joined seven other white clergymen to write the letter '' A Call For Unity'', making a thinly veiled reference to

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

; King replied to this letter with his ''

Letter from Birmingham Jail The "Letter from Birmingham Jail", also known as the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "The Negro Is Your Brother", is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. It says that people have a moral responsibility to b ...

''. Paul was the son of Paul and Harriet (Wannamaker) Hardin. He attended

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

in 1920, where he studied law and then to

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates Minister (Christi ...

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in 1924, where he received his divinity degree in 1927. Hardin was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1929 and Elder in 1931. He was assigned to pastorates in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and in 1949 he was appointed to

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

First Methodist Church. Hardin was elected bishop on July 15, 1960, at the Southeastern Jurisdictional conference. For many years he was the resident bishop of the Columbia (South Carolina) area. From 1961 to 1964 he also had charge of the Alabama-West Florida Conference following the death of Bishop Bachman Gladstone Hodge. Bishop Hardin was a member of the General Board of Education; of the General Board of Christian Social Concerns; and president of the Council on World Service and Finance. He was a delegate to the General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference of 1960. He was a member of the Lake Junaluska Assembly and a trustee of Emory University. Bishop Hardin was installed as president of the United Methodist Church's Council of Bishops on April 15, 1971, in San Antonio, Texas. Bishop Hardin died in 1996.

Birth and family

Paul Hardin Jr. was born November 7, 1903, in Chester, South Carolina. He was the son of Paul and Harriet Wannamaker Hardin. He married Dorothy (Dot) Elizabeth Reel, who died in 1992. She was later buried at the Garrett-Hillcrest Cemetery/Memorial Gardens. They had three children, a daughter named Betsy Reel Hardin, and two sons, Paul III and Edward.

Death

Paul Hardin Jr. died Saturday June 22, 1996, at the age of 92. His service was held on June 25, 1996, at the First Methodist Church in Waynesville, North Carolina. He was buried in Garrett-Hillcrest Memorial Gardens next to his wife Dorothy.

Honorary titles

*Member of the Western North Carolina Conference for 20 years. *1949–1960—minister of the First Church in Birmingham, Alabama. *Resident bishop of South Carolina (Columbia) in the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference for 12 years. During that time, he also served as relief bishop to the Alabama-West Florida Conference and was President of the Council of Bishops, 1971–1972. *Member of the Rotary Club of Emory University for life. *Former Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Emory University.

Accomplishments

*Member of the General Board of Education *Member of the General Board of Christian Social Concerns *President of the Council on World Service and Finance *Delegate to the General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference of 1960 *Member of the Lake Junaluska Assembly *Trustee of Emory University *One of the signers of the letter to Martin Luther King Jr. when King was in the Birmingham Jail

Notes

External links

Oral History Interview with Paul Hardin Jr.
fro
Oral Histories of the American South
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardin, Paul Jr. Hardin, Paul Jr. Hardin, Paul Jr.

Hunt Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...