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07155
March 19, 2007
Isabel "Dr. Izzie" Rogers dies
Former GA moderator "was an educator through and through"
by Jerry Van Marter
LOUISVILLE * Isabel Wood Rogers, lovingly known by generations of students at Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education as "Dr. Izzie," died March 18 of cancer. She was 82.
A native of Tallahassee, FL, Rogers graduated from Florida State University and earned advanced degrees from the University of Virginia (M.A.), PSCE (M.R.E.) and Duke University (Ph.D.).
She taught at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education from 1961-1998. Upon her retirement she was named professor emerita of applied Christianity. Prior to her work at PSCE, Rogers served as a campus minister at Georgia College.
General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick said Rogers will always be remembered first and foremost as a teacher. "Through her spoken and written words, and through her manner of life, she was an educator through and through," he said. "She displayed great energy and enthusiasm for teaching, seeming to be as interested as her learners in uncovering yet a new perspective on the subject at hand."
In 1987, Rogers was elected moderator of the 199th General Assembly, winning a fifth ballot victory in the closest election since Presbyterian reunion in 1983.
"Her disarming and approachable style of leadership was instrumental in helping to lead that assembly through some of the difficult issues faced by what was then a recently reunited denomination," said Kirkpatrick.
"Her leadership did not begin or end with the assembly, as she continued to be a voice for social justice concerns * the environment, women's issues, and inclusive language for God and the people of God, as well as the gifts of all of God's people," Kirkpatrick said.
"Izzie, until the end of her life, was called on to do more Bible studies than any other moderator because she was so good at them," said Marj Carpenter, former head of the Presbyterian News Service (PNS) and moderator of the 1996 General Assembly.
Shortly after reunion, Rogers was leading a Bible study in Ohio for leaders of the PC(USA)'s women's organizations. Carpenter, who was working for PNS at the time, recalled that she and Rogers were given sleeping accommodations on cots in the basement of the church. "Izzy told me, 'Marj, we gotta get out of the basement,'" Carpenter said. "The first thing she said to me after she was elected was, 'Marj, I got out of the basement, now you gotta get outta there, too.'" Carpenter was elected moderator nine years later.
According to the Presbyterian Outlook, in a 2000 interview with the PSCE alumni magazine Rogers said, "My task has always been to get people to think for themselves. The role of the moderator is to encourage people to raise questions, to think for themselves, to forge their own faith. I can't help being a teacher, and I really think our task is to try to lead people into that kind of openness and ability to talk together in diversity."
Services will be held Saturday, March 24, at Ginter Park Presbyterian Church in Richmond, VA. Interment will be in her native Florida.
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