09070
February 3, 2009
Former GA moderator John F. Anderson dies
Dallas native was strong supporter of desegregation, Presbyterian reunion
The Rev. John F. Anderson.
Photo credit: PNS file photo 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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