National Council of Churches USA

The ecumenical family is richly diverse and populated with sisters and brothers whose lives were models of faith, fortitude and courage. Some made powerful impacts on the world stage while others lived out God's call in humbler settings. All of them, when they are gone, leave an enormous void. In this page we pause to remember some of them with gratitude and love.

He sought to demonstrate that the earliest Christians shared most of their beliefs in common, and the divisions developed centuries later. He served in the 1970s on the Anglo-Roman Catholic International Commission and declared that ecumenism is "a good cause to die for."

Chadwick was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1989. He was editor of The Journal of Theological Studies and the author of Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition: Studies in Justin, Clement and Origen (1966). His book The Early Church (1967) was a best seller. Chadwick was a professor of divinity at both Oxford and Cambridge universities in England.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said Chadwick was an "aristocrat among Anglican scholars." The Anglican church "may not have a pope," Williams said, "but it has Henry Chadwick."

The Rev. Dr. Richard D. N. “Dick” Dickinson, 78, former president Christian Theological Seminary, died suddenly May 24.

Dickinson served as president of CTS from 1986-1997. Prior to becoming president, he was the academic dean of CTS from 1974-1986. He also taught classes at CTS as a professor of Christian ethics from 1968 until his retirement.

“Dick was a mentor of mine and of many others now active in the ecumenical movement,” said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches and a former colleague of Dickinson’s. “He taught people of faith how development can truly liberate oppressed peoples so he leaves a powerful legacy.”

Dickinson was a member of the Indiana-Kentucky Conference of the United Church of Christ, and the first non-Disciple to lead CTS, which is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). When CTS participated in Project Understanding from 1972-1974, he was the CTS director of this effort to fight racism in Indianapolis churches and synagogues.

As dean of CTS Dickinson played seminal roles in reforming the Master of Divinity curriculum and developing a training program in inner-city ministry. Dickinson created Chrysalis, a Lilly Endowment-funded, four-year program that brought international professors to CTS and provided students with overseas educational experiences. Dickinson was also a member of the task force that oversaw the design and construction of Sweeney Chapel and the east wing of the seminary from 1985-1987.

CTS President Edward L. Wheeler said, “Dick was a gracious man who gave most of his life to fulfilling his ministry here at CTS. He was a respected scholar in the field of ethics. He was an ecumenist who had a global perspective and an appreciation for the value of diversity before it became popular. Therefore, he actively sought out persons of color for the CTS faculty and worked to retain them. Committed to issues of social justice, he was supportive of causes that were consistent with these deeply held values. His death comes as a profound shock and a personal loss. My prayers go out to Nancy and to the Dickinson family.” said Wheeler.

Krister Stendahl, a tireless ecumenist who was dean and a member of the faculty of Harvard Divinity School and a former bishop of Stockholm, Sweden, died Yesterday in Boston. He was 86. Harvard Divinity School immediately issued a statement expressing "immense sadness" and "immense thankfulness for a singular life wonderfully well lived." The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said Stendahl was a leading definer of ecumenism and how the churches should relate to other faiths." He was certainly a practitioner of the 'golden rule of ecumenism,'" Kinnamon said. "He taught us to try to 'understand others, even as you hope to be understood by them.' "

In an interview in the Spring 2007 issue of Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Stendahl advised Christians to listen carefully and honestly to one another. "Let the other define herself," he said. "Don't think you know the other without listening'. Compare equal to equal (not 'my' positive qualities to the negative ones of the other); and find beauty in the other so as to develop 'holy envy.' " Stendahl applied those principles in the 1970s when he chaired the World Council of Churches' Consultation on the Church and the Jewish People, a commission that prepared the way for much important interfaith work of the last 30 years.

At the time of his death, Stendahl was Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Divinity Emeritus at Harvard. He had been affiliated with the University since 1954. Harvard's news report of Stendahl's death said that "through his biblical scholarship, teaching, interfaith work, and church and academic leadership, exerted the kind of profound influence on other people's lives that transcends a single institution or country."

In his native Sweden, Stendahl was Bishop of Stockholm from 1984 to 1988, leading a reform effort on issues such as women's ordination, gay and lesbian rights, and the relationship of church and state. In the early 1990s, he was the first Myra and Robert Kraft and Jacob Hiatt Distinguished Professor of Christian Studies at Brandeis University, where he helped inaugurate a program designed to enhance shared values among students of many religious backgrounds. As dean at Harvard Divinity School, he quickly expanded the ethnic diversity of the school and was a firm supporter of women in ministry. Women from other seminaries in Boston flocked to his homiletics lectures to hone their preaching styles. According to an obituary in the New York Times, appreciative women seminarians referred to him affectionately as "Sister Krister." As a scholar, Stendahl shed new light on the writings of the Apostle Paul, pointing out that the Pauline epistles were brilliant treatises on Jewish law and the meaning of sin. Garry Wills, in his 2006 book “What Paul Meant,” said Stendfahl helped transport readers “back into the Spirit-haunted, God-driven world of Paul in the heady first charismatic days of Jesus’ revelation.”

Krister Strendahl is survived by his wife, Brita; his sons, John and Daniel; his daughter, Anna Langenfeld; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Professor Dr. Lukas Vischer, d. March 11, 2008

Professor Dr. Lukas Vischer, 81, a Presbyterian scholar and early leader in the worldwide Faith and Order movement, died March 11. Dr. Vischer was director of the World Council of Churches' Faith and Order office from 1965 to 1979. His death comes 19 days after the passing of his successor at WCC Faith and Order, the Rev. Dr. William Lazareth. "In a short span of time we have lost two giants in the international Faith and Order movement," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council of Churches USA who knew both men when he served on the WCC Faith and Order staff in Geneva. "The driving force in their lives was the vision of visible church unity," Kinnamon said. "There can be no greater honor to their memory than for the 35 member communions of the National Council of Churches to recommit themselves to this vision, and to the prayer of Jesus that all Christians may be one." As director of Faith and Order, Professor Vischer initiated the study process that led to the publication of Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, widely recognized as a milestone in the modern ecumenical movement. Lazareth and others continued the process and the BEM document is the preeminent guide for Christian churches striving to understand each other. BEM's famous text, adopted by WCC's Faith and Order at its plenary commission meeting in Lima, Peru in 1982, explores the growing agreement – and remaining differences – in fundamental areas of the churches’ faith and life. It remains the most widely-distributed and studied ecumenical document, and has been a basis for many “mutual recognition” agreements among churches and remains a reference today.

The Rev. Dr. William H. Lazareth, d. February 23, 2008

The Rev. William H. Lazareth, 79, director of the World Council of Churches Faith and Order Secretariat from 1980 to 1983 and a principle drafter of the WCC's Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM), died February 23 in Bar Harbor, Maine. Lazareth was a pastor and professor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "He was a great teacher," said NCC General Secretary Michael Kinnamon, who worked for Lazareth at the WCC in Geneva. "The BEM document, to which he made such a significant contribution, remains the preeminent guide for Christian churches striving to understand each other as they move closer to visible unity." This famous text, adopted by WCC's Faith and Order at its plenary commission meeting in Lima, Peru in 1982, explores the growing agreement – and remaining differences - in fundamental areas of the churches’ faith and life. It remains the most widely-distributed and studied ecumenical document, and has been a basis for many “mutual recognition” agreements among churches and remains a reference today. Lazareth was former bishop of the ELCA's Metropolitan New York Synod. He had a distinguished career as a college and seminary professor, author and leader with the ELCA, the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) the WCC. At the time of his death, Lazareth was a faculty member at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis., serving as Jerald C. Brauer Distinguished Professor of Lutheran Studies. He was also founding co-director of the online Augustine Institute at Carthage. A memorial service is planned for April 26 at 3 p.m. at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, White Plains, N.Y., where he was a member. A second memorial service will be held in Bar Harbor at a date to be determined.

Martha 'Twick' Morrison, d. February 7, 2008

Vicksburg, Miss., February 11, 2008 – A "celebration of life" was held in Vicksburg on February 9 for Martha ("Twick") Morrison, a widely-known leader in global mission and United Methodist Women, who died two days earlier following a battle against cancer. The service took place at the Crawford Street United Methodist Church, her home congregation, and followed an order she planned before her death. Twick Morrison, 76, was prominent in the global work of the church for more than 40 years. She served two four year terms as a director of the General Board of Global Ministries, from 1988 to 1996. She was also a director of the Women's Division for those years and a divisional vice president from 1992 to 1996. A native of Kentucky and a long-time resident of Mississippi, she was deeply devoted to racial justice and to the church's active role in promoting equality for all people. She also had a particularly strong interest in Latin America and in ministries in health care for women and children. She took an active part in the mission study schools of the Women's Division on regional and annual conference levels. Lois Dauway, an executive with the Women's Division and a long-time colleague with Morrison in the cause of social justice, called her a "powerful presence," adding: "She was a very savvy person who understood and loved the church enough to challenge its structure and policies."

The Rev. Stephen Alexander Feke, d. January 22, 2008
San Diego, Calif. The Rev. Stephen Alexander Feke, a Presbyterian minister for 62 years and Director of Budget for the National Council of Churches from 1958 to 1969, died January 22 at his home in San Diego. While at the NCC, Mr. Feke was responsible for the total development and management of a $30 million budget and worked closely with the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, and Church World Service. Following his tenure as NCC budget director, he served as Minister of Business Administration and Finance for Riverside Church, New York, from 1969 to 1974. At Riverside, he developed a stewardship program, the Every Member Canvas, which netted over $400,000 in new mission money. He also oversaw a special campaign for benevolence that collected over $350,000. Rev. Feke served as permanent clerk of the Presbyterian Synod of New Jersey and a member of the Fiscal Services Team for the Synod of the Northeast. He was the Presbyterian representative on the New Jersey Council of Churches, chair of the Presbytery's Committee on National Missions, and a member of the board of The Interchurch Center.