Church of the Brethren mourns the death of Hazel Peters.

The church is mourning the death of Hazel Peters, a longtime employee and volunteer of the Church of the Brethren whose stature and impact far exceeded her small physical size. Peters, 84, died Jan. 14 in Roanoke, Va. She was a member of the Central congregation in Roanoke.

Peters began her church career in 1949, when she was among the early groups to enter Brethren Volunteer Service. She went to Europe, working first with Brethren Service Commission tasks in Germany and with refugees in Austria, and later as M.R. Zigler's secretary in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1953 she became administrative assistant for the Brethren Service Commission's main office in Elgin, Ill., and "was at the heart of all Brethren Service activities" for the next 16 years, according to a staff citation, providing a vital link between the denomination's international ministries and the US church. She followed her Brethren Service tenure by serving as administrative assistant to general secretary Loren Bowman, and later as coordinator for the Personnel Office.

The citation read at her retirement from the General Board in 1981 said, "Hazel has style!... and that style always centers on people."

Peters "retired" by becoming an active volunteer with On Earth Peace in New Windsor, Md., for the next 14 years before finally returning to her home in Roanoke, where she continued to help On Earth Peace and also assisted in the Virlina District office.

"If the Brethren had saints," former On Earth Peace director Tom Hurst said, "Hazel would either top my list or come very, very close to the top."

A memorial service for Peters is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Central congregation in Roanoke. It was originally scheduled for Jan. 25 but was postponed by ice and snow in the region.

Source: Newsline 1/30/2004
top