Hugh McCullum: 1931-2008

Hugh McCullum, the first layperson ever appointed editor of the United Church Observer, died last month at his home in Toronto, according to a posting on the UCO website. McCullum was also the first non-member of the United Church to edit the magazine--from 1968-75, he was editor of the Anglican Church of Canada's national newspaper.

“Journalism for Hugh McCullum was always about advocacy, challenging readers to change what they could be changing,” said Muriel Duncan, who worked with McCullum as The Observer's managing editor and who succeeded him as editor. “He believed the church should be a passionate champion for the powerless, the voiceless, to go out beyond its comfort zone, to risk all for a just cause. And on good days, when the mix was right, Hugh McCullum brought us the news we didn't want to hear, convinced us we were implicated, and somehow made us believe we could do something about the injustice he'd found. The hope, he said, was in the struggle.”

The Globe and Mail published a longish obituary on McCullum this morning. Read it here.

McCullum was 76 and had been "in decling health" for two years.