VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 4/9/10)—Beverly Griner McNally, vice president of the board of National Ministries, died on Tuesday, April 6, at her home in Pennington, N.J., after a battle with cancer. She was 73.
In addition to serving on the board of National Ministries, McNally served on the Committee on Christian Unity, and was a member of the General Board of American Baptist Churches USA. From 1991 to 1995 she served on the Statements of Concern Committee of ABCUSA. McNally was also active in serving the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey; she was a past president and a member of the Public Mission Committee. The national board of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty also benefited from McNally’s membership.
McNally was active in ecumenical organizations, including the New Jersey Council of Churches, the Trenton Ecumenical Area Ministry, Church Women United of Princeton, and New Jerseyans for Alternative to the Death Penalty.
A graduate of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., McNally taught nursery school in Trenton from 1968 to 1977. She also taught Sunday school at Christ Congregation in Princeton, where she was an active member for 40 years.
Of McNally’s contributions to National Ministries’ board, Executive Director Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III said: “Beverly McNally was a person of wise and tender spirit. She brought grace and calmness to our work and witness while at the same time exhibiting a tenacious commitment to realizing Kingdom values. She was both a leader and faithful supporter of the work and witness of American Baptist Home Mission Societies. We will miss her even as we continue to celebrate her life among us.”
Dr. Clifford Johnson, president of National Ministries, expressed his deep sorrow over the loss of the board’s vice president: “Beverly possessed the character of a true Christian. Her love for the church and the American Baptist Churches USA was clearly exhibited in all that she did, and many people were touched by her efforts. I will greatly miss her support and devotion as I begin my journey as president of National Ministries.”
Fellow National Ministries’ board member the Rev. Steve Case added, “Beverly and I were on so many boards and committees over the past 35 years, we knew each other well. Bev was a tremendous thinker and proponent of human rights for all people. She was a person of great faith and in her dying process continued to exude the dignity and grace she always had. She was a person who knew and appreciated Baptist history, in general, and the American Baptist Churches USA, in particular. Our loss is indeed heaven’s gain.”
Survivors include her husband, Tom; her daughter, Heather McNally; her daughter and son-in-law, Dawn and Randall Cobb, and their children, Jacqueline, Juliet and Benjamin. Condolences may be sent to the family at 5 East Acres Drive, Pennington, NJ, 08534.
A funeral service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 10, at Freitag Funeral Home in Bridgeton, N.J. Following the service, burial will take place at Overlook Cemetery in Bridgeton.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 15, at 10:30 a.m., at Christ Congregation in Princeton, NJ.
More details are available at www.freitagfuneralhome.com.
American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with 5,500 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.