George Carleton Lacy
Encyclopedia
George Carleton Lacy (Chinese
: ; Pinyin
: Lì Xuāndé; Foochow Romanized: Lĭk Sŏng-dáik; December 28, 1888 - December 11, 1951) was an American Methodist missionary and the last Methodist Bishop in Mainland China
.
, who arrived in Foochow in 1887 from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
and directed the Foochow Mission Press and after 1903 the Methodist Publishing House in Shanghai
. His mother Emma Nind Lacy, daughter of Mary Clarke Nind
, was also an American Methodist Episcopal missionary stationed in Foochow. His three brothers, Walter Nind, Henry Veere, and William Irving Lacy, and one sister, Alice, had also served as missionaries to China. Lacy attended mission schools in Foochow and Shanghai before he went to America, where he attended Ohio Wesleyan University
(B.A.
degree received in 1911), Garrett Biblical Institute (B.D.
degree received in 1913), Columbia University
and Northwestern University
(M.A.
degree received in 1914). He was made a doctor of divinity
in Garrett in 1928.
, Detroit and Wisconsin
before he was appointed as a Methodist missionary to China in 1914. He arrived in Shanghai in September 1914. After attending the Language School in Nanking, Lacy served as district superintendent in Kiangsi Province in 1916-1917 and 1919-1920, and president of William Nast College, Kiukiang . In 1918 he married Harriet Lang Boutelle, who had gone to Canton as a YWCA
secretary.
In 1921 Lacy was loaned by the Methodist Board of Missions to the American Bible Society
where he served as Secretary of its China Agency and in 1933 of the China Bible House formed with the British and Foreign Bible Society
. During that time he also served as China correspondent for Zion's Herald and The Christian Century
.
Lacy was named in 1921 agency secretary of the American Bible Society
in China and in 1933 secretary of the China Bible House and from 1921 to 1941 he had direction of translation and distribution of the Scriptures in many Chinese dialects from the society's office in Shanghai
. In 1928 and 1929 he studied at Union Theological Seminary
and Columbia University
in New York
while on furlough. In 1935 he was appointed member of the Joint Commission on the Unity of the Methodist Episcopal Church
and Methodist Episcopal Church, South
in China.
In 1941 Lacy was elected Bishop of the China Central Conference and was assigned to Foochow. When his episcopal area was occupied
by Japanese troops
he traveled extensively in inland China.
made it impossible to hold a general conference or elections. He officially resigned and turned his authority over to Bishop Chen Wenyuan . In 1950 when all foreign missionaries were forced to withdraw from China Lacy was the only Westerner in Foochow area denied an exit permit, detained under house arrest
by the newly established regime. During the closing months of his life he had been ill and only his faithful cook was allowed to see him. Within weeks after his request was finally granted, he died of a heart ailment
at Union Hospital, Foochow on December 11, 1951. Lacy was buried in the Foochow Mission Cemetery
with an unmarked tombstone, and his cook was the only one permitted to attend his funeral. In 1956 his remains were exhumed and paraded through the streets by Communist zealots.
. Born in Kuling on July 18, 1919, Creighton Lacy grew up in Shanghai and attended Shanghai American School
. He later went to the U.S. for college, where he received his A.B. from Swarthmore College
in 1941 and B.D. from Yale Divinity School
in 1944. In 1947 he returned to China with his wife Frances M. Thompson, a native from Mount Holly, North Carolina
whom he married in 1944. Creighton Lacy subsequently taught philosophy
at Nanking University, Bible
at Anglo-Chinese College, Foochow, theology
at Union Theological School, Foochow, and finally, along with other missionaries, was expelled from China in December 1950, returning to Yale University where he finished his Ph.D. in Christian Social Ethics in 1953. After graduation they moved to Durham, North Carolina
, where Creighton Lacy was a professor in the Duke Divinity School until 1991. On October 8, 2010, Creighton Lacy died at Duke Forest
, at age 91.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: ; Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Lì Xuāndé; Foochow Romanized: Lĭk Sŏng-dáik; December 28, 1888 - December 11, 1951) was an American Methodist missionary and the last Methodist Bishop in Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
.
Early years and education
George Carleton Lacy was born on December 28, 1888 in Foochow, China. His father was William Henry LacyWilliam Henry Lacy
William Henry Lacy was an American Methodist missionary to China.-Life:William Henry Lacy was born on January 8, 1858 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Northwestern University and the Garrett Bible Institute, and was ordained in 1883. In 1887 he was sent to Foochow as a missionary under...
, who arrived in Foochow in 1887 from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and directed the Foochow Mission Press and after 1903 the Methodist Publishing House in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. His mother Emma Nind Lacy, daughter of Mary Clarke Nind
Mary Clarke Nind
Mary Clarke Nind , known as "Our Little Bishop", was a philanthropist and worker for social justice. It was during her time living in Minnesota that she fulfilled her calling into missionary work.-Biography:...
, was also an American Methodist Episcopal missionary stationed in Foochow. His three brothers, Walter Nind, Henry Veere, and William Irving Lacy, and one sister, Alice, had also served as missionaries to China. Lacy attended mission schools in Foochow and Shanghai before he went to America, where he attended Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
(B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree received in 1911), Garrett Biblical Institute (B.D.
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
degree received in 1913), Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree received in 1914). He was made a doctor of divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
in Garrett in 1928.
Missionary life
Carleton Lacy had several pastorates in IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Detroit and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
before he was appointed as a Methodist missionary to China in 1914. He arrived in Shanghai in September 1914. After attending the Language School in Nanking, Lacy served as district superintendent in Kiangsi Province in 1916-1917 and 1919-1920, and president of William Nast College, Kiukiang . In 1918 he married Harriet Lang Boutelle, who had gone to Canton as a YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
secretary.
In 1921 Lacy was loaned by the Methodist Board of Missions to the American Bible Society
American Bible Society
The American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
where he served as Secretary of its China Agency and in 1933 of the China Bible House formed with the British and Foreign Bible Society
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world....
. During that time he also served as China correspondent for Zion's Herald and The Christian Century
The Christian Century
The Christian Century is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of U.S. mainline Protestantism, the biweekly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and reviews books, movies, and music...
.
Lacy was named in 1921 agency secretary of the American Bible Society
American Bible Society
The American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
in China and in 1933 secretary of the China Bible House and from 1921 to 1941 he had direction of translation and distribution of the Scriptures in many Chinese dialects from the society's office in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. In 1928 and 1929 he studied at Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
while on furlough. In 1935 he was appointed member of the Joint Commission on the Unity of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
and Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Methodist Episcopal Church, South
The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, or Methodist Episcopal Church South, was the so-called "Southern Methodist Church" resulting from the split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church which had been brewing over several years until it came out into the open at a conference...
in China.
In 1941 Lacy was elected Bishop of the China Central Conference and was assigned to Foochow. When his episcopal area was occupied
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
by Japanese troops
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
he traveled extensively in inland China.
Death
Carleton Lacy's tenure as Bishop was set to end in 1949 but the advent of the Communist governmentCommunist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
made it impossible to hold a general conference or elections. He officially resigned and turned his authority over to Bishop Chen Wenyuan . In 1950 when all foreign missionaries were forced to withdraw from China Lacy was the only Westerner in Foochow area denied an exit permit, detained under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
by the newly established regime. During the closing months of his life he had been ill and only his faithful cook was allowed to see him. Within weeks after his request was finally granted, he died of a heart ailment
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
at Union Hospital, Foochow on December 11, 1951. Lacy was buried in the Foochow Mission Cemetery
Foochow Mission Cemetery
Foochow Mission Cemetery was a Protestant cemetery once located on the north and south side of a hill at the west end of Maiyuan Road, Cangshan District, Fuzhou, China...
with an unmarked tombstone, and his cook was the only one permitted to attend his funeral. In 1956 his remains were exhumed and paraded through the streets by Communist zealots.
Family
Carleton Lacy's son, Creighton Boutelle "Corky" Lacy, was a long-time professor of World Christianity at the Duke Divinity SchoolDuke Divinity School
The Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina is one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 full time and 18 part time faculty and over 500 full time students. The current dean of The Divinity School is Richard B. Hays, who replaced...
. Born in Kuling on July 18, 1919, Creighton Lacy grew up in Shanghai and attended Shanghai American School
Shanghai American School
Shanghai American School is an international K-12 school located in Shanghai, China. Originally established in 1912, it accepts expatriate students from all countries around the world, and fosters them with an American educational environment.-Present:...
. He later went to the U.S. for college, where he received his A.B. from Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
in 1941 and B.D. from Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
in 1944. In 1947 he returned to China with his wife Frances M. Thompson, a native from Mount Holly, North Carolina
Mount Holly, North Carolina
Mount Holly is a small suburban city in northeastern Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. The city is situated on the western bank of the Catawba River in the Southern Piedmont area of North Carolina, north of Interstate 85, south of North Carolina State Highway 16, and west of Charlotte....
whom he married in 1944. Creighton Lacy subsequently taught philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at Nanking University, Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
at Anglo-Chinese College, Foochow, theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at Union Theological School, Foochow, and finally, along with other missionaries, was expelled from China in December 1950, returning to Yale University where he finished his Ph.D. in Christian Social Ethics in 1953. After graduation they moved to Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, where Creighton Lacy was a professor in the Duke Divinity School until 1991. On October 8, 2010, Creighton Lacy died at Duke Forest
Duke Forest
Duke Forest is a forest managed by Duke University for research, teaching, and recreation. It is located in the edge of the Piedmont in Durham County, Orange County, and Alamance County in North Carolina...
, at age 91.
Selected works
- Jesus for Chinese Youth, 1938
- Self-support in the Chinese Church, 1939
- The Great Migration and the Church in West China, Shanghai, 1941
- The Story of the Foochow Foreign Cemeteries, Foochow, 1951