(CP) Clifton Kirkpatrick, a former stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and head of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, has died. He was 79.
Kirkpatrick died on Saturday at the Four Seasons Retirement Community in Columbus, Indiana, according to Presbyterian News Service (PNS), with a memorial service to be held at Strathmoor Presbyterian Church of Louisville, Kentucky, in March.
Kirkpatrick was preceded in death by his wife of over 50 years, Diane Worthington, who died in March of 2024. He is survived by a sister, two children and five grandchildren.
"A mighty good man was Cliff Kirkpatrick," said former PCUSA stated clerk, the Rev Gradye Parsons, in a statement quoted by PNS. "From the day he asked me to come work with him I quickly realized what a global understanding he had of God's church.
"He seriously faced the struggles of the PC(USA) and its detractors and I heard him say this quote a thousand times: 'Our role as Christians is not to be in the judgment seat but to be in the witness box.' We are all better for having lived our lives with him, with his leadership and with his faith."
A native of Harlingen, Texas, and born on May 1, 1945, Kirkpatrick held various roles in numerous local Christian organizations, including the Dallas Council of Churches, the Fort Worth Council of Churches, and Houston Metropolitan Ministries. He eventually served on the executive committee of the World Council of Churches.
Kirkpatrick went on to serve as director of Worldwide Ministries at PC(USA) and then was stated clerk for three consecutive four-year terms in 1996, 2000 and 2004. He was also a professor at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
In 2004, Kirkpatrick was also elected president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which later changed its name to the World Communion of Reformed Churches, serving until 2010.
WCRC Interim General Secretary Setri Nyomi released a statement saying that Kirkpatrick was "a dear friend whose leadership and pastoral gifts were very inspirational in my ministry and ecumenical engagement".
"We met for the first time in 1996 when the small team commissioned by WARC to put together the document 'Reformed Self-Understanding' met in Louisville," stated Nyomi.
"We were warmly welcomed by the then new stated clerk of the PCUSA. That was before my time as general secretary of WARC. Since then, Cliff made a mark on me. I saw him as an insightful theologian and ecumenical leader committed to justice."
In an interview with The Christian Post in 2005, Kirkpatrick addressed the issue of longstanding decline in the PCUSA, explaining that he believed a big factor was that "we have not been as effective in evangelism as God would have hoped us to be."
"The greatest challenge is to centre ourselves in Jesus Christ and to have a growing recognition that Jesus is the one who calls us to work for justice, to be a community, and to serve each other as the body of Christ," said Kirkpatrick.
"Jesus is our peace, purity and unity. We are not all alike, but what is more precious than those differences is the united belief that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour."
