Charles Purdham
Charles (Chuck) Purdham graduated summa cum laude from Hamline University in 1948. In 1951 he received the master of sacred theology degree from Boston University School of Theology. He served as a United Methodist Minister in the Minnesota Annual Conference for 38 years. During this time he led North United Methodist Church, Minneapolis, in a building program and Hillcrest United Methodist Church, Bloomington, in a remodeling campaign. While serving as District Superintendent, he led in the organization of three new congregations – the Hmong Community Methodist Church, La Puerta Abierta, and the Korean Methodist Church of Minnesota. In retirement he has served as Interim Minister in three congregations, Minister of Pastoral Care in the 1996 flood area of northwestern Minnesota, and Minister of Pastoral Care to the United Methodist pastors of Minnesota. During that time he was a volunteer interpreter at the Eastman Nature Center, Three Rivers County Park, and a member of the Speakers Bureau of the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN. Currently he is working with the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Project, based in Minnesota. A Hamline University Trustee since 1964, he was elected a life trustee in 1986. Chuck is a member of the Alumni Annual Fund Board of Directors, serves as class agent for 1948, has served on the Alumni Board of Directors, and has consistently attended alumni events and programs. As a Methodist minister who graduated from Hamline, he's been very active in promoting Hamline to the churches and has attended and supported Founder's Day activities as well as Contemporary Religious Thought seminars. He and his wife, Alice, have three children.
