Rev. Sarah Edwards

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Alexander Edwards died Thursday, December 14, at the St. Mary Home in West Hartford after a lengthy illness. She was 85. She was born in New York City on February 17, 1921, the daughter of James and Hortense Alexander. She grew up in Scarsdale, New York. Rev. Edwards received a bachelor?s degree cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 1943, and a Master of Divinity degree cum laude from Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1950. Hartford Seminary awarded her an S.T.M. degree in Systematic Theology in 1966, and a Ph.D. in 1974. Rev. Edwards was ordained by the Connecticut Conference of the Congregational Christian Churches in a service held at the Litchfield Congregational Church in April, 1951. This was a pioneering event, since few women were in the ministry at that time. She served as an interim minister at several Congregational churches in northwest Connecticut. In addition, she was a popular keynote speaker at church conferences around the nation. From 1959 to 1966 she was a member of the Stewardship Council of the United Church of Christ. During the 1960?s she served on the Board of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, the first woman to do so. In 1968, she was a press representative of the Hartford Times at the World Council of Churches assembly in Uppsala, Sweden. Rev. Edwards was an adjunct professor of New Testament at Hartford Seminary for 25 years. She is fondly remembered by her students as a teacher of New Testament Greek, and a scholar who specialized in the Gospel of John. She was the co-author with the late Robert Berkey of two books: Christological Perspectives 1982, and Christology in Dialogue 1993. In addition, Rev. Edwards led a popular ecumenical study group for women in the Hartford area known as ?the Bible Ladies.? She also taught Bible study classes at the First Church of Christ in Farmington, where she was a member. Sally was predeceased by her husband of 58 years, the Rev. Robert L. Edwards, who was Senior Minister of Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford from 1956-1980. She is survived by a brother, Heywood Bea Alexander of Hanover, New Hampshire; a daughter, Edith Heywood Edwards; a son, the Rev. James D. Edwards of Stow, Ohio; a grandson, Lansing C. Edwards of Brookville, Ohio; and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 6, at 2:00 P.M. at First Church of Christ, 75 Main Street, Farmington CT 06032. Burial will take place next summer in Randolph, New Hampshire. Memorial contributions may be made to Hartford Seminary, 77 Sherman Street, Hartford CT 06105; or to First Church of Christ in Farmington.

Rev. Sarah Edwards

February 17, 1921 - December 14, 2006