Alan Walker (theologian)

34
Alan Walker (theologian) bigraphy, stories - Australian theologian

Alan Walker (theologian) : biography

4 June 1911 – 29 January 2003

Alan Edgar Walker, OBE (4 June 1911 — 29 January 2003) was an Australian Methodist minister.

Alan Walker was:

  • involved in the formation of the World Council of Churches
  • Superintendent of the Methodist (later Uniting Church in Australia) Wesley Mission, Pitt Street, Sydney, 1958–1978 and one of the founders of the National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC) in 1955 and Lifeline in 1963
  • first world director of evangelism for the World Methodist Council, 1978 to 1988
  • involved in founding the World Methodist Evangelism Institute (located at the United Methodist-related Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, 1982.
  • Principal of the Pacific College of Evangelism, now the Alan Walker College of Evangelism, in Sydney, 1982–1995.

In 1986, Walker was awarded the World Methodist Peace Award and, in 1997, was one of the 100 people named as an Australian Living Treasure.

Lifeline

Walker launched Lifeline in Sydney, Australia in 1963 after a call from a distressed man who three days later took his own life. Walker launched a crisis line which initially operated out of the Methodist Central Mission in Sydney.

Lifeline Sydney was two years in planning and preparation, with 150 people attending a nine month training course to work at the Centre. A century old, dilapidated building owned by the Mission, on the fringes of downtown Sydney was renovated for the purposes of this new support centre. A staff of full-time employees was appointed to direct the work of these new telephone crisis support workers. The Director General of Post and Telephone Services authorised that this crisis support service should be listed on the Emergency Page of the Telephone Directory and the phones were installed.

March 1963 saw the opening of the first official Lifeline Centre. The initiative was well received with over 100 calls for help being answered on the first day. Now in its 50th year, Lifeline has over 11,000 volunteers and speaks to more than 500,000 people in crisis every year.(Lifeline Australia Annual Report 2011/12)

Biographies

Personal life

Alan Edgar Walker was born in Sydney 4 June 1911 to the Rev. Alfred Edgar Walker (1877—1966) and Violet Louisa Walker (née Lavis) (1881—1971). Walker was married to Winifred Walker (1916–2006) and they had four children.