The February Sabbath Recorder (arriving soon in your mail, and on-line now) contains some special tributes to Pastor Joe Samuels. A new one below covers Pastor Joe’s long and valued involvement with the SDB World Federation. The tribute will appear in the next “SDB World” newsletter (edited by Janet Thorngate), coming in your mail soon with the World Fed’s annual mailing.

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We are sad to note the death on 24 December 2013 of a truly international Seventh Day Baptist. When CoWoCo (the First Consultation of World Conferences) met in the United States in 1964 to consider the idea of an international organization of Seventh Day Baptists, Joe A. Samuels, as a delegate from Jamaica, was one of the 11 who signed the proposed constitution. He was 28 years old.

When 11 Conferences became charter members in 1965, he was elected one of two vice presidents. Re-elected to that office several times, he became Vice President for North America when the executive committee was expanded to include vice presidents from each region.

He was much involved in hosting the 1997 sessions in his native Jamaica, then was elected President at the Brazil sessions in 2003 and in that role hosted the first full executive committee to be held between sessions, in 2005. Following the sessions he conducted as president in 2008, he was honored for 45 years in the organization.

President Dale Thorngate again presented a tribute on behalf of the Federation at the memorial service held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on 5 January. It was conducted by his nephew, Andrew Samuels. Services will be held later in other locations since “Pastor Joe” served churches in Jamaica, Canada, and the USA.