Bob Edgar reflects on tenure as NCC head�

PC(USA) - Presbyterian News Service - Bob Edgar reflects on tenure as NCC head�: "The general secretary of the National Council of Churches, the Rev. Bob Edgar, leaves his post at the end of August knowing that even his critics acknowledge he helped resuscitate a body that was seen as good as dead when he was appointed in 1999.

Edgar is returning to Washington, DC, to head up Common Cause, a grassroots advocacy group for good governance, with 36 state organizations and nearly 300,000 members. He knows the city well from his time as a member of the U.S. Congress from 1975-1987.

Among his accomplishments during eight years at the NCC: more focus on fewer initiatives; some allegiances with Christian evangelical groups on issues such as the environment and poverty; and a sturdier financial footing for a body that some, even Edgar, feared might shut down, given years of financial problems.

In a recent interview with Ecumenical News International, Edgar, 64, acknowledged that in his first year in office, “I wasn’t sure it was salvageable.”"