Earlier this year, NCB lost three dear friends: Laurel Gasque (March, Vancouver, British Columbia), Sharon Gallagher (June, Red Bluff, California), and Martha Chan (June, Berkeley).
Laurel came to Berkley in the late 1970s when her husband, Ward, left Regent College to serve as NCB’s first president. Laurel brought her expertise and passion as an art historian to NCB and to Radix Magazine. Many years later, back in Vancouver, she became a mentor and faithful prayer supporter to Craig Wong, NCB’s current executive director.
Sharon was deeply involved in the Christian World Liberation Front and other Christian counter-culture developments in Berkeley. In 1970, she, David Gill and others started a Christian “street newspaper” called Right On! Renamed Radix in 1976, it continues today as NCB’s official publication. From 1994 to 2016, Sharon served as NCB’s associate director, alongside Executive Director Susan Phillips. Throughout her career, Sharon advocated for the inclusion of women, challenging the formal informal barriers of the time.
Martha was a long-time friend and advisor to NCB. She was the visionary founder and leader of Educational Resources and Referrals China (ERRC) and the China Academic Consortium. NCB and ERRC are somewhat like sibling organizations, with distinct missions and personalities, and NCB a bit older, but both set in Berkeley, with deep connections with First Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, and in recent years even occupying adjacent offices. Martha was always ready to encourage, to ask good questions, and to offer help.
These three beloved sisters, passionate for gospel witness here and abroad, have made their indelible mark on what NCB is today. Our present desire to elevate the visual arts to “awaken theological imagination” harkens back to Laurel’s founding influence. Martha’s unswerving commitment to the Church in China inspires us to engage global voices today. And Sharon’s legacy of thoughtful writing continues as we further integrate Radix Magazine as the literary arm of NCB’s mission. For all that NCB is becoming, to these three we are deeply indebted.