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Clint Rabb, Mission Executive, Dies of Earthquake Injuries
Rev. Clinton Rabb, Mission Executive
Dies As Result of Earthquake Injuries
By Elliott Wrigh
New York, NY, Jan. 17, 2010”The Rev. Clinton Rabb, 61, a
leader in The United Methodist Church’s extensive mission volunteer
program, died on January 17 in a Florida hospital of injuries caused
when he was trapped for 55 hours in the ruins of a hotel destroyed by
the January 12 earthquake in Haiti.
The native of Texas was head of the office of Mission Volunteers
of the General Board of Global Ministries. He is the second staff member
of the agency to die from earthquake injuries. The Rev. Sam Dixon did
not survive, though rescue workers tried to free him. He was the
executive in charge of the United Methodist Committee on Relief
(UMCOR).
Clint Rabb was a tough and fearless advocate for the least
and most vulnerable of Gods children, said Bishop Joel N.
Martinez, the interim general secretary (CEO) of Global Ministries.
He traveled the world encouraging volunteer ministry in his
service on behalf of Christ and the church. He gave his life for others
and we celebrate his faithful witness.
Rabb and Dixon, along with a third colleague, the Rev. James
Gulley, who survived the earthquake, were in Haiti for meetings and
contacts aimed at improving health services in the poorest nation in the
Western Hemisphere. Global Ministries has long-standing relations with
the Methodist Church in Haiti, and dozens of volunteer mission groups
from United Methodist congregations in the United States send teams to
work in the country every year.
Our grief is overwhelming, in part because just hours ago we
were grateful for his rescue, said Bishop Bruce R. Ough of West Ohio,
president of the General Board of Global Ministries. He called Rabb
tireless, dedicated advocate for volunteers in mission around
the globe.
Long Career in Mission
Rabb grew up in northeast Texas, the son of Joe and Peggy Rabb.
He graduated in 1967 from Wolfe City High School in Hunt County,
northeast of Dallas. He had one sister, now Della Ging, and two
brothers, Robert and Joel. The Rabb family has been Methodist for
generations.
We lived as a family in the shadow of the Almighty, he
said in a 2001 article for New World Outlook, the mission magazine of
Global Ministries. We didn't do this in a conspicuous manner or
make a big deal of it. I was taken to church on Sundays, there were
prayers at meals, we tried to be good, and we were supposed to make life
in our community a little better.
A member of the Southwest Texas Annual (regional) Conference of
his denomination, he had served as head of the Mission Volunteers unit
of Global Ministries since 2006. The staff of this area works closely
with regional and jurisdictional mission volunteer networks, represented
by United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM). Thousands of UMVIM
teams work throughout the world, many in health services. The office
Rabb led also sponsors Individual Volunteer programs and mission
opportunities for retired persons.
Rabb has been with Global Ministries since 1996. Prior to
serving in the Mission Volunteers unit, he was an executive for special
initiatives in the Evangelization and Church Growth unit, working
particularly with new mission initiatives in Africa, Asia, Eastern
Europe, and Central Asia. Rabb crafted the In Mission Together Church
to Church Partnership Program, which links congregations, annual
conferences, volunteer efforts, and mission personnel. He has also
worked in the US with ministries involving African-American,
Mexican-American, and Vietnamese-American communities.
During a span of almost 20 years as a pastor and chaplain in
Texas, Rabb was engaged in a range of VIM teams, both domestically and
internationally. His work with new mission initiatives put him in
frequent contact with the Mission Volunteers program.
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