wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Former GA moderator John F. Anderson dies

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>Former GA moderator John F. Anderson dies

Dallas native was strong supporter of desegregation,
Presbyterian reunion

>by Jerry L. Van Marter
>Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE ― The Rev. John F. Anderson, a staunch advocate
for Presbyterian reunion who served as the final moderator
of the Presbyterian Church in the United States before the
two main bodies of Presbyterians came back together in
1983, died Jan. 31 at his Dallas home. He was 88.

"John was a visionary leader in everything he did," the
Rev. Joe Clifford, pastor of First Presbyterian in Dallas
told the Dallas Morning News. "And he could take complex
theological concepts and explain them in a simple phrase
that would stay with you. He was a genius in that way."

Anderson, who grew up in First Church, followed his
grandfather and uncle as pastor of his home congregation.
He served two stints as pastor there, while his father was
pastor, later served two stints as a pastor of his home
congregation ― from 1951-1958 and from 1973 until his
retirement in 1984, when he was named pastor emeritus.

Anderson also served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church
in Orlando, FL, from 1958-1965 and as executive secretary
of the PCUS's Board of National Ministries.

Born and raised in Dallas, Anderson graduated from Austin
College in Sherman, TX, and Union Theological Seminary (now
Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian
Education) in Richmond, VA.

He served as a U.S. Navy chaplain in the Pacific during
World War II and served as pastor of First Presbyterian
Church in Tyler, TX, until returning to his beloved Dallas,
where he quickly established a reputation for community
activism, particularly in race relations.

Outspoken when many white pastors in Dallas remained
silent, Anderson said in 1955 after the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled against segregated schools: "I'm a Southerner, but
I'm also a Christian. Segregation has always been immoral.
It is now illegal." The Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce
named him Young Man of the Year in 1955 for his
anti-segregation efforts.

Anderson was known throughout the Dallas area because of
his weekly The Dallas Morning News column "Down to Earth"
in which he mixed folksy anecdotes with quotations from St.
Augustine, rounding off with words of encouragement rooted
in Christian faith.

A booster of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary,
Anderson and his wife, Nancy, has a campus building named
after them two years ago. Recalling a conversation with him
at the time, APTS President Theodore "Ted" Wardlaw, said
Anderson told him: "I want you to go back to Austin and
send us preachers who aren't boring ... The biggest
challenge in the Presbyterian Church is not heresy but
boredom."

A memorial service will be held Feb. 7 at First
Presbyterian Church of Dallas. In addition to his wife,
Anderson is survived by two sons, William and Paul; a
daughter, Rebecca Fischer; six grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren.

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