THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 23, 1995 TAG: 9501230078
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
In his 30 years as sexton for Galilee Episcopal Church, Jesse Beale has served as handy man, security guard, and unofficial adviser to members of the clergy and congregation.
Sunday, about 2,000 parishioners heard him give his counsel from the pulpit.
Church members packed the stately oceanfront house of worship for over two hours Sunday morning to honor a tall and slightly stooped 65-year-old black man, who, in addition to their sexton, had been their gentle conscience and behind the scenes spiritual force for three decades.
The occasion was Beale's retirement. It also was Jesse Beale Day in this city of over 400,000. Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf made an official proclamation, replete with lots of wherefores and whereases.
Beale has helped white rectors better understand issues such as the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement, exclusion of blacks from the local country club and the concerns of the predominantly blackSeatack community.
He was saying goodbye, Sunday, but as he reminded listeners from the pulpit, they would never be far from his thoughts or his prayers. And he asked that he remain part of theirs.
Beale, with a thinning cap of graying hair and a wistful smile, admonished his audience to keep the faith, quoting St. Paul in the New Testament Book, I Corinthians,: ``Stand firm . . . let nothing move you . . . ''
On hand to wish Beale well and to tell Jesse Beale stories were former Rector John Jordan and former assistant William Brake , now rector of Pohick Episcopal Church in Northern Virginia, and current Galilee rector, John D. Burley.
``Jesse has a gift, the gift of prayer,'' said the feisty Jordan, who credits Beale with having a special relationship with the Almighty.
It was Beale, he said, who helped ease tensions in Virginia Beach in the spring of 1968 after King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. Beale arranged a meeting between ministers of several black and white churches in the city to discuss ways of banking the fires of hatred and hostility resulting from the assassination.
``If it hadn't been for Jesse, it would have been a bad time,'' Jordan told Galilee parishioners. ``We got the credit, but Jesse's the one who did that.''
Jordan said it was also Beale who carried out a program 10 to 15 years ago to house the homeless in the church sanctuary in bitter weather. ``We were the first church in the city to do this,'' Jordan said.
It was Beale who suggested and oversaw a church program, whereby those who were able, but down on their luck, could paint, sweep, patch or scrub church property to earn meal money, said Jordan. And it was Beale who had an instinctive eye for separating the free-loaders from the needy, so scarce church funds were never frittered away.
Brake, a candidate for the post of suffragan bishop of the Virginia Diocese of the Episcopal Church, recalled coming to Galilee in 1968 as an assistant pastor, two years out of seminary.
``I needed someone to guide me,'' he said. ``John Jordan did that, but Jesse took me into his office - the kitchen - to talk about life, the church and problems,'' he said. ``Jesse always had an answer to problems: talk to the Lord.''
Beale also was adept at discussing problems, theological and otherwise, over a friendly game of pool in an upstairs church classroom, Brake added.
Burley, who took the church helm from Jordan 1 1/2-years ago, acknowledged that he and Beale didn't share the length of service that Jordan and Beale did, or that Brake or former interim pastor Dale Hirst had. But, said Burley, Beale made a definite impression on him.
``The first time I met Jesse, it was almost part of the (church) search process,'' Burley told the congregation. ``He wouldn't let go of my hand until he looked into my eyes. I guess I passed muster.''
Beale began his special day by preaching at the 8 a.m. Sunday service at Galilee, then again at the 10:30 a.m. service.
He was not nervous, he said between services. ``I've done it before. Over the years I've served on the church Lay Committee and worked with young seminarians who were preparing their sermons. We'd sit down with them and critique 'em, then make a report at the end of the summer.''
Beale, a Murfreesboro, N.C., native, moved to Virginia Beach in 1956 and worked first for a local farm and lawn equipment company, a trucking company then the Virginia Beach Mosquito Control Commission before eventually landing a job as sexton at Galilee. It wasn't until 1974, during a Billy Graham Crusade at Scope in Norfolk, that he ``came to the Lord,'' Beale told the Galilee flock. Since then he has been on a mission to carry the ``word'' to the world at large.
``We have a lot to be thankful for, the world being what it is today,'' he said.
Beale said his ministry won't end with retirement, which actually began Jan. 15. He plans to continue visiting the elderly, and patients at Virginia Beach General Hospital and he will offer his services to troubled youngsters at the Pendleton Child Service Center.
Sharing the spotlight with Beale Sunday at Galilee was his wife, Kathaleen, and a host of nieces, nephews and in-laws, all of whom got a front pew view of Mayor Oberndorf presenting the guest of honor with a bound copy of the proclamation and an inscribed city mug.
In addition, Beale received a going-away check from Galilee congregation members and several other mementos, that were presented to him at a small reception following the last morning service.
Burley best summoned the prevailing feeling in a Dec. 12 letter to congregation members announcing Beale's retirement.
``We can say without any reservations, that Jesse Beale is the embodiment of the teachings of Jesus Christ,'' Burley wrote. ``He has meant a great deal to the family of Galilee and we will miss him.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
LAWRENCE JACKSON/Staff
Jesse Beale, center, gets a hug from well-wishers who came to hear
him address the Galilee Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach Sunday.
Beale retired as sexton after 30 years of service.
by CNB