Rev. Dr Philip Potter - A world icon

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1 Rev. Dr Philip Potter - A world icon THOMSON FONTAINE Sunday April 10, 11:41 p.m. Roseau (TDN)-The world renowned Reverend Dr Philip Alford Potter is arguably the most famous Dominican and one of only a handful of persons ever to have such a profound influence on the course of world history. Growing up on the streets of Roseau in the 1920s the young Potter could never have dreamed that he would some day become one of the most recognizable names in the world as head of the World Council of Churches (WCC). Rev Potter with Pope Paul VI. The WCC represents over 350 protestant, Methodist, Anglican and orthodox catholic churches, with over half a billion adherents worldwide and at one time was considered the most influential Christian body outside the Roman Catholic Church. Much of the WCCs prestige and high world profile has been credited to Reverend Potter when he served as its Secretary General from In a ceremony marking his 85th birthday in Brazil in 2006, Reverend Dr. Samuel Kobia the then Secretary General observed that great strides were taken by the WCC under Philip Potter's leadership; among the most memorable were the development of the theological consensus document Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, the continuation of a courageous campaign against apartheid in southern Africa and other forms of racism throughout the world, a vigorous debate on the nature of post-colonial Christian mission, a co-ordinated witness for peace amid East-West tensions and the threat of nuclear annihilation, as well as an exploration of new forms of spirituality, worship and music drawing on the diverse traditions of the churches. Whenever the Council's positions brought controversy, Philip Potter acted as a thoughtful interpreter and bold defender of the WCC and its priorities. In April 2008, South African President Thabo Mbeki conferred on Reverend Philip Potter the country s highest civilian honor for foreign nationals, the Oliver Tambo Award. Mbeki noted that Potter was receiving the award for leading efforts against apartheid and his excellent

2 contribution to peace, justice, non-racism and equality in the world through the vehicle of Christianity. Under Potter s leadership he greatly improved the level of funding for black liberation groups including the African national Congress (ANC) led by Nelson Mandela. His efforts to fund the liberation struggles in Africa earned the ire of the West and he was often labeled as anti-west and a socialist. His Early Life Philip Alford Potter was born in Roseau, Dominica on August 19, His family owned the Potters estate, which borders with the town of Roseau and is now called Pottersville. He attended the Roseau Boys School before going on to the Dominica Grammar School. It was while at the Grammar School that he developed a habit of faithfully going once a week to the library. It was mainly through the books and magazines there that he discovered a whole world beyond Dominica and began dreaming of being a part of it. Upon graduation from high school, a young Potter set his sights on studying law and took up work with a local lawyer. He later got a stint with the country s attorney general. However, In March 1943 he felt God s calling on his life and after a year as a lay pastor left Dominica for Jamaica to begin his Rev Philip Potter. theological education at the Methodist Caenwood Theological College. Almost from the beginning the youthful Potter demonstrated his leadership credentials and he was selected to represent the Jamaica Student Christian Movement at the 1947 world conference on Christian youth in Oslo, Norway. According to Potter, it was a great moment for us. It was the first gathering of the church, the first big event, after the war. Churches had been on both sides of the conflict. I had come to Europe in 1947 to complete my studies in London at Richmond Methodist College. Then there was a world youth conference in Oslo in 1947.

3 "I was already known to Wim Visser 't Hooft, the first general secretary of the WCC. And here in Amsterdam were people who had been on both sides of the war. There were 100 of us youth delegates (50 men and 50 women). We constituted the choir! Then Visser 't Hooft asked me to address the Assembly on behalf of the youth. I spoke of our appreciation of being able to participate in this new relationship of churches." In 1948 he served as a spokesperson for youth at the assemblies of the World Council of Churches, at Amsterdam. A feat he would latter repeat in Evanston in Rev Potter with his wife in a 2009 photo. His study program complete, and as a newly ordained minister, Potter headed out to Nevis to preach the gospel. A few months later and using his ability to speak the Creole language, which he learned in Dominica, he moved to Haiti, where he would remain for four years. Potter recalls " It was very hard there. I was a bachelor living on my own in the manse. There was great poverty, and getting around was difficult. I had no car or jeep and had to cycle everywhere. One of my best friends was a neighbor s dog. One day I fell over and hurt myself when leaving a house I had been visiting, and the dog came up to me as I was lying on the ground and licked my face! To live among the poorest of the poor for four years was a most formative experience for me." From Haiti, he moved to London to work on the staff of the Methodist Missionary Society. In 1954 Potter took the fateful decision to move to Geneva to work in the WCC's youth department. He would remain with the WCC until his retirement in 1984.

4 Potter struck a compelling figure, standing well over 6 feet, he exuded an air of confidence and calm that would serve him well through his tumultuous reign at the WCC. There he dealt with competing demands concerning the persecuted church in Eastern Europe under communism, escalating East-West tensions, and the ugly specter of apartheid South Africa. His Work at the WCC Once in Geneva, Potter threw himself wholeheartedly into the organization s mission. Then in 1960 moved back to London as secretary for West Africa and the West Indies in the Methodist Missionary Society. From 1960 to 1968 he also served as chair of the World Student Christian Rev Potter in a visit to Germany. Federation and director of the WCC division of world mission and evangelism from 1967 to In 1972 he was elected Secretary General of the WCC becoming the first black person to hold the post as well as the first from the developing world. In August 1978, he drew severe criticism from white leaders in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia at the time) for approving a grant of $ to Robert Mugabe s Patriotic Front. The special fund to combat racism was set up by the WCC in Potter also came up against stiff opposition from some members who thought that the organization was becoming too political. The Patriotic Front grant especially disturbed the huge Evangelical Church in Germany (E.K.D.) and some openly pushed for an end to the fund. Undaunted, Potter in addressing the Executive Committee of the WCC in January 1979 called on the council to begin now to further combat racism in the 1980s. He spoke eloquently against "political and economic oppression" and called for a process of consultation where the churches would examine ways to involve themselves more directly in the fight against racism. In the end, and after lively debate, the central committee voted in favor of Potter's proposal for a long-term "consultation" over the antiracism program. Potter declared that most of the dissenters had come from "certain Western countries, which are most heavily involved in maintaining the racist systems in southern Africa." His comments were widely reported in the international news media including Time Magazine.

5 Rev Potter with farm labor leader Cesar Chavez in Geneva. Under his leadership the Fund was vastly expanded and hundreds of thousands of dollars were poured into organizations like Nelson Mandela s African National Congress in its fight against racism. Potter continued his fight for justice and developed progressive policies including the memorable theological consensus document Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, which laid the theological basis for the continuation of a courageous campaign against apartheid in South Africa and other forms of racism throughout the world. Potter's chief priority during his tenure was in mobilizing the general public and giving protestant churches a voice in the international arena. To achieve this goal he set up the WCC's Commission of the Churches in International Affairs (CCIA), which became active in assisting refugees, providing aid and mediating between conflicting parties in various locations around the world. Beyond his fight against inequality and racism, he stirred up a worldwide and explosive debate on the nature of the post-colonial Christian mission. At the time he encouraged the church to focus on maintaining peace in the face of rising tensions during the cold war and the threat of nuclear annihilation. In addition, he urged Christians to explore new forms of spirituality, worship and music, drawing on the diverse traditions of the churches. Reverend Potter has been highly commended for his uncompromising quest for Christian unity. In his push to unify the churches, Potter constantly engaged the Roman Catholic Church and counted Pope Paul VI among his friends. While preparing for the 1975 assembly of the WCC he received a letter from the Pope dated November 20, 1975, which read in part: To the Reverend Dr Philip Potter General Secretary World Council of Churches The ecumenical importance of the celebration by the World Council of Churches of its Fifth Assembly at Nairobi moves us to address you with words of friendship, encouragement and

6 Christian greetings. Because your desire for unity and reconciliation coincides with our own, we have been happy to appoint sixteen Catholic observers who are with you on this occasion. Be assured that our thoughts and fervent prayers are with you in these days. May God grant you courage and faithfulness and joy in doing his will, and the strength to move steadily forward, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit, towards the fulfillment of Christ's prayers to the Father: «... that they may be one, even as we are one» (Io. 17, 11). When he retired in 1984, a resolution of the WCC central committee described the underlying unity in all Dr Potter s efforts as his commitment to one ecumenical movement, one fellowship of churches, Rev Potter with the Dalai Lama. moving together along one pilgrim way, the hope of the one humanity promised by God. Life after the WCC After his retirement, Dr Potter continued to speak and lecture. In May 2008, South African President Thabo Mbeki conferred on Reverend Potter the country s highest civilian honor for foreign nationals, the Oliver Tambo Award. The award was in recognition for his efforts to combat racism and apartheid in Southern Africa. The citation said that Potter, WCC general secretary from 1972 to 1984, was receiving the award for leading efforts against apartheid and his excellent contribution to peace, justice, nonracism and equality in the world through the vehicle of Christianity. Later in that same year, he was honored by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) the same group that had voiced displeasure with his support of Robert Mugabe. In a statement released by the group, it stated, "it is in part thanks to Potter that today more than 560 million Christians in 349 churches in over 110 countries are members of the World Council of Churches."

7 Over the past several years he has received no fewer than nine honorary doctorates from universities across the globe including the University of the West Indies and the University of Cape Town - recognition of how much the ecumenical commitment to end apartheid owed to his leadership. The library of the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, which contains over 120,000 volumes, 1,300 specialized periodicals, some over a century old, and more than 12,000 boxes of archives containing nearly 20 million irreplaceable documents was renamed the Philip A. Potter Library. A youthful Rev Potter. Reverend Potter is also recipient of the Niwano Peace prize, which is awarded to distinguished religious leaders for their efforts to promote peace. Last year, he told a newspaper interviewer that while the accolades were great what really gave him pleasure was learning how Nelson Mandela when in prison heard that the churches of the world were with him and with all those suffering in the cause of freedom, and how much encouragement that brought them. During that same interview he reflected on the ecumenical movement of today. He talked rather nostalgically of something he thinks may have been lost at the level of church and ecumenical leadership - the close and friendly relationships that he had, for example, with Roman Catholics including Pope Paul VI and especially the short-lived Pope John Paul I who took a close personal interest in him when his first wife Doreen was close to death. "The personal aspect is always very important."

8 Today, at the age of 89, reverend Potter resides in Germany with his wife his wife, retired Lutheran bishop Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter who at one time headed the Lutheran Church in Germany. His first wife Doreen whom he met while in London was born in Panama and received her primary and secondary education in Jamaica. She was an accomplished pianist and violinist. Her song "Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ" and sung to her tune LINSTEAD is now widely sung all over the world and appears in most all denominational hymnals in the United States. Unfortunately, she died of cancer in 1980 at the age of 55. The wife of Rev Potter Bishop Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter. Dr Potter has credited his longevity to his abiding faith in God and his keen sense of humor. "When I left school, I worked with a lawyer and the attorney general. So I had a very early experience of what the world was like! I learnt the importance of humor. It's never been my style to be very formal and serious. I prefer a natural style of staying human and humorous. And I have a heritage that enabled me to do this. My grandmother came of aristocratic Irish stock. Her death when I was nine years old was the first tragedy of my life. But she used to tell me, Philip, always be a gentleman!'"