NCNYUMC.ORG |Frank Halse Biography

Frank’s career covers the years 1952, when he first was accepted as a candidate for the ministry, through this year, 2005, which finds him still active in the Christian ministry, as well as being a member of a group of old friends scattered over the nation who are Christian, and still keep their hands in, working quietly to try to affirm the teachings of Jesus Christ wherever they are. They call themselves “The Coven”, and are subject to much internal humor.

2005 is also the celebration of Frank’s 50th anniversary of being ordained as a Traveling Elder of the United Methodist Church.

Frank still lectures on his favorite project of Family Studies. Living in retirement in Brandon, Florida, for eight years he was the Visiting Family Life Lecturer at the Family Care Center of Metropolitan Ministries, Inc., in Tampa, Florida, a United Methodist Inner City Ministry to broken and hurt families seeking to restructure their lives.

He also periodically contributes poetry and essays to the webpage of his home conference, the North Central New York Conference. He is a member of the Academy Of American Poets; the Poetry Society Of America; and is listed in the International Who’s Who In Poetry organization of Cambridge, England. He is also a member of the North American Paul Tillich Society. He frequently gives readings of his poetry, and has produced a half dozen poetry “chapbooks” which have been well received.

His career covers rural pastorates (Parish, New York, and Navarino, New York); campus ministry (Wesley Foundation at Potsdam, New York, and Methodist Chaplain at Syracuse University); pastorates at Pulaski, New York, Oswego, New York, and Cazenovia, New York, the latter two posts including lecturing on Adolescent Psychology, Stepfamily issues, and Philosophies of Christianity at SUNY Oswego, and Cazenovia College, as well as in various other universities, such as Long Island U. at Hutchings Psychiatric Center in Syracuse; Columbia U. in New York City; Boston University in Massachusetts; Parsons Family Life Center at Russell Sage College in Albany, New York, University Of Southern California at Griffiss Air Base, to name but a few.

In addition, he has presented lectures and workshops for churches, youth groups, retreats of all sorts, and civic groups on Family Life issues. He also functioned as a Family Life lecturer for the Oswego Country Correction Facility, and the Sheriff’s Departments of Oswego County and Onondaga County.

He has a national reputation for his work in Family Studies, including a five year hiatus when he retired to work as a full time Family Counselor and Director, building two rural/suburban units for the Child And Family Service Agency of Syracuse And Onondaga County in Baldwinsville, New York, and North Syracuse, New York – the Northwest Counseling Center and the County North Counseling Center. These were under the aegis of the United Way. He then returned to the formal ministry, and retired permanently 15 years ago, when he and Mrs. Halse moved to Brandon, Florida.

While at Syracuse University, Frank developed a reputation as a counselor/suicide counselor amongst the students there, as well as being recognized by Syracuse University for his work with families. He also edited the groundbreaking book on stepfamilies, “Stepfamilies: Living, Loving and Learning”, by Elizabeth Einstein (Macmillan), that won the American Psychological Association award the year it was published.

He has written newspaper columns on family life for several newspapers in the Central New York region, as well as appearing on many TV programs, and PBS specials; he built his own AM radio program in the difficult Vietnam War era. He was viewed as a peacemaker amid the frequent protests concerning that war.

Frank, and his wife, Joyce, natives of Malone, New York, have been married for 53 years, and have two daughters and seven grandchildren. Their oldest daughter, Laurie Halse Anderson Larrabee, is a prominent author of children’s books, and books for young adults. Their youngest daughter, Lisa Halse Stevens, is an entrepreneur in webpage design, and manages webpages for the Oswego Township. She is also engaged in restaurant management in the Oswego, New York area.

In 2005, Frank was selected to be included in a biographical directory published by Marquis Who’s Who, the leading biographical reference publisher of the highest achievers and contributors from across the country and around the world.

The list contains the names of the 100,000 people in America considered to be the most accomplished from across all fields of endeavor. Halse is profiled in the 2005 edition of Who’s Who In America, which is now available.

The honor came unexpectedly to Frank in July of 2004; the interim time before the public announcement was spent with Frank putting together a resume of his career, forwarding it to Marquis Publications, their checking out the veracity of the resume, their forwarding back a first look at how it will fit in the publication, Frank’s approval and return of that effort, and their final acceptance.

The manner in which one is named to Who’s Who is interesting in that one has to be a member of the organization before one can name anyone else. Said nominator always remains a secret, especially from the nominee.

Recently, Frank was named to a second Marquis Publication, Who’s Who In The World, a listing of some 45,000 people on the world scale who are judged to be accomplished in trying to make the world a better place.