Robert Hugh Craig

Robert Craig was born in Wooster, Ohio. He holds the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in English literature from Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware; the Master of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago; Master of the Science of Theology degree from McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago; and the Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. Dr. Craig’s Clinical Pastoral Education was at the University of Chicago Hospitals where he was one of Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s student researchers in her studies on death and dying.

From seminary graduation until 1979 he was Associate Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. He also taught as an adjunct faculty member at Eden Theological Seminary and St. Louis University School of Medicine.

For six years (1979-1985) he was Pastor of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For the New Mexico Conference of Churches, Rob served on the Board of Directors and carried on special duties in criminal justice and in media ministry. His media interest led him to host a weekly one-hour telephone talk program called “Religion on the Line” on ABC, which was broadcast in eighteen western states and parts of Canada and Mexico.

Rob served as Associate Professor and Associate Dean of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, from 1985 to 1990. He has, at times, served as Senior Lecturer in Ministry. He also served six terms on the seminary Board of Trustees. His major academic interests are leadership development for church organizations; changing church organizations so the they are more appropriate and consistent expressions of Christian faith; and the nature of ministry and mission of clergy with laity in a complex, dynamic, organizational world. He is co-author, with Robert Worley, of the book Dry Bones Live published by Westminster John Knox Press.

From 1990 through 1999 Rob served as Pastor and Head of Staff of The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in downtown Washington, D.C. His primary responsibilities included worship and preaching, administration of the congregation’s many boards and programs, provision of pastoral care, and heading of a staff of dozens who served the people who entered the church’s doors 4,000 times each week. He served with President Clinton on a White House Commission the President appointed to make recommendations about the future of the District of Columbia.

A call came in January of 2000 for Rob to be Executive Director of Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center. The New Mexico center had two sites, one near Abiquiu and the other in Santa Fe, combined as one mission of the Presbyterian Church (USA). His work areas were funds development, staff development, and community relations, with emphasis on the faith community. He was a member of the strategic planning committee for Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.

In October of 2007 Rob commenced his role as Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Columbus, Indiana. It was a wonderful context in which to complete active ministry. He retired from that position in December of 2012.

In his retirement in New Mexico, Rob is serving as Moderator of Laguna Pueblo United Presbyterian Church, participates in a Board Committee for Ghost Ranch Foundation, and is a volunteer Albuquerque Police Department Chaplain.

Rob married Sharon Hughes Craig in 1968. Sharon has been a special education teacher and does much community volunteering. They retired to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2013. In early 2019 Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller recognized Sharon as the city’s Senior Volunteer of the Year. Their daughter Caroline (Callie), her husband Peter, and granddaughter Amelia, are living in San Diego where she completed a post-doctoral appointment in neuro-science at the University of California – San Diego. Their son William (Will) and daughter-in-law Laurie are officers in the Handel Coaching Group in New York City. Rob’s New York grandchildren are Ray, Lela, and Hallie.

A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday afternoon, November 3, 2019 at 2:00 p.m., at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 5301 Ponderosa Ave., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110.

The service will be live-streamed at https://www.standrewabq.org.

Those wishing to make donations in memory of Rob are invited to contribute to any of the following:
-- St. Andrew Presbyterian Church Endowment Fund
5301 Ponderosa Ave, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110

-- National Ghost Ranch Foundation
280 Private Drive 1708
Abiquiu, NM 87510

-- Albuquerque Police Department Chaplain Unit Fund
400 Roma NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102