(RNS) — The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, the first ordained woman to lead the National Council of Churches and the U.S. office of the World Council of Churches, died in late March at the age of 93.
Campbell, who also was the director of religion at the Chautauqua Institution, was described as “an extraordinary ecumenist and activist” by Bishop Vashti McKenzie, the current NCC general secretary.
“Her vision was always forward-thinking, and her energy was contagious,” McKenzie wrote in an announcement in the April 5 newsletter of the National Council of Churches, a coalition of 37 Christian member denominations, including Protestant, Orthodox, evangelical, Anglican, historic African American and peace church traditions.
“Whether the focus was journeys to Switzerland or experiences at Chautauqua, Joan’s enthusiasm and dedication to the cause inspired all who worked alongside her.”
Campbell died March 29 in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, from complications of dementia, said the Rev. Leslie Copeland-Tune, the NCC’s chief operating officer.
At the Chautauqua Institution, an intellectual and arts-focused summer retreat center in southwestern New York state, Campbell fostered ecumenism and interfaith relations.
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National Council of Churches General Secretary the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, left, visits with the Rev. Billy Graham at The Interchurch Center in New York City in 1991. (RNS file photo)
“We are a diverse congregation of many denominations, even other religions, and that reality has been, of course — What are the words? — rich and full,” she said, speaking in an undated video of a worship service at Chautauqua, in a description she became known for.
The Youngstown, Ohio, native crossed many religious lines in her decades of work on social issues. She was a key player in high-level meetings with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and was the only woman among more than 200 clergy who processed into St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town at the Nobel …