wfn.org | Tribute to Eugene Stockwell

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World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
9 October 1996

EUGENE STOCKWELL

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has paid the following
tribute to the Rev. Dr Eugene Stockwell, who died in Atlanta on
Tuesday 8 October of cancer.  He was 73.

The Rev. Dr Eugene Stockwell was director of the WCC's Commission
on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) from 1984 until his
retirement in 1989.

Gene Stockwell, a US citizen, brought to the WCC a rich
experience in the life and mission of the church and the
ecumenical movement.  He had been a Methodist missionary in
Uruguay from 1953 to 1962, Latin America secretary for the Board
of Missions of the Methodist Church in the USA (1962-1964), and
associate general secretary for Overseas Ministries of the
National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (1972-1983).

He was closely associated with the CWME from 1973 to 1983, first
as a member and later as a consultant.  His links with the
international church led him to involvement in US President Jimmy
Carter's Commission on World Hunger, from 1978 to 1980.

To the directorship of the CWME Gene brought a deep commitment to
cooperation and unity in mission, coupled with the conviction
that mission was to be expressed in solidarity with the struggles
for justice.  He had participated in the 1980 Pataya conference
of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, and continued
to pursue active dialogue with evangelicals through the CWME.  At
the 1989 CWME mission conference in San Antonio, organised under
his directorship, Gene issued a strong appeal for cooperation and
unity in mission at the local level.

He discerned the call to mission as a call to obedience and
discipleship.  He was convinced that the churches were generally
aware of what faithfulness in mission meant for them in their
contexts; what they seemed to lack was a readiness to respond in
obedience to God's will.  This concern found its focus in the
theme chosen for the San Antonio conference: "Your Will be Done -
Mission in Christ's Way".

The WCC's current interest in culture as the locus and expression
of mission received strong impetus at its 1983 Sixth Assembly in
Vancouver.  After Vancouver Gene guided and shaped discussions on
gospel and culture through the International Review of Mission,
which he edited, and through ecumenical consultations.  Meetings
in Riano, Italy (1984) and M?laga, Spain (1987) laid the
groundwork for the current WCC study of the theme.

In addition to his leadership skills Gene radiated personal
warmth and sustained friendliness - gifts for which he was much
appreciated in Latin America, where he ministered during several
periods.  Whether as president of the Union Theological Seminary
(ISEDET) in Buenos Aires, as pastor of a local Methodist
congregation of the same city, or on solidarity visits to the
continent's hot spots he was trusted and respected as a
missionary "statesman".

To those who knew him personally Gene sent many written words of
encouragement and faith; he was indeed a faithful and tireless
letter-writer.

For all this and more the World Council of Churches is grateful. 
We thank God for the life of Gene Stockwell.  We commend
Margaret, his wife, their children and other members of his
family to God's abiding grace and comfort.

World Council of Churches
Press and Information Office
Tel:  (41.22) 791.61.52/51
Fax:  (41.22) 798 13 46
E-Mail: jwn@wcc-coe.org

P.O. Box 2100
CH-1211 Geneva 2