A memorial service for William Phelps “Bill” Thompson, former stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was held May 13 in First Church, La Grange, Ill.
Current PC(USA) Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick paid tribute to his predecessor in a sermon “A Life Worthy of its Calling” based on the Bible passage Ephesians 4:1-7, 15-16. Kirkpatrick’s sermon excerpts follow:
The first time I laid eyes on Bill Thompson was from the balcony of the War Memorial Auditorium in Boston, Mass., in late May of 1966. I was a first year student at Yale Divinity School, and our Presbyterian Polity class went together to the United Presbyterian Church in the USA General Assembly, which was meeting that week in Boston. We were told that one of the highlights of this Assembly would be the election of a new Stated Clerk, due to the vacancy created by the previous Clerk, Eugene Carson Blake, leaving the position to become the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches. Our professor thought — rightly, I believe — that one of the best lessons we could receive in Presbyterian polity was to experience a Stated Clerk election. We were to write a paper on this experience and our learning from it as our final project in the course.
I had never been to a General Assembly before and as a life long member of the PCUS (the “Southern Church”), not only the Assembly but also the whole operation of the UPUSA seemed like another world. We were given reports to the General Assembly to read in advance, so I had learned a bit about the Rev. Jack Meister, an outstanding pastor who was being nominated by the Stated Clerk Nomination Committee for this position. But like the majority of the commissioners, the person I was most impressed with was Bill Thompson.
Over the course of the Assembly I listened to Bill and others tell his story of being a lawyer and a faithful elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Wichita, Kansas. He told of how his life had been enriched by serving as moderator of the General Assembly the year before, and it was crystal clear from the mood of the Assembly how he had enriched the church in that service. I listened to how his passion for the law extended to the law of the church, which he saw as enriching for the body of Christ. I also heard in him a passion for the gospel and its call to join Christ in seeking to transform the world on behalf of God’s intention for justice, peace and reconciliation. I felt that afternoon that I was present for a historic and defining moment for American Presbyterianism — and indeed I was. …
One thing I remember Bill sharing was one of his favorite Scriptures, the passage we just read from Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. It wasn’t the last time I heard Bill speak on that text. It was one of his favorites, and like all stated clerks before or since, Bill was not hesitant to preach on the same text more than once, particularly if it was one that so eloquently captured the heart of the gospel. Like Paul, Bill shared with the Assembly his sense of call to serve Christ and the church faithfully — as an elder! He talked about how important it was in the church to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.” He reminded us all that there was one body and one Spirit, and he never tired of letting us know that to be Presbyterian is to be ecumenical! Most of all, he let us know that what was most important — for him and for the church — was for us to grow up in love into Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church and with whom Bill is united in heaven today.
This was a message that Bill not only spoke but also lived! It is a message we need to hear again today:
· As we give thanks to God for the many ways that Bill Thompson touched and enriched our lives and the lives of people all over the world,
· As we grieve the loss of his presence with us here on earth, and
· As we find hope in the sure and certain promise of the resurrection.
Our Book of Order, which Bill quoted often with a sense of authority like no other, reminds us that the Church of Jesus Christ is to be a “provisional demonstration of what God intends for all humanity.” That aspiration often seems like a distant hope in the midst of church life today. But I am convinced that in so many ways Bill Thompson was a “living demonstration” of the life worthy of our calling, which the Apostle Paul describes so eloquently in Ephesians, and we are the better for it. …
Bill was a man who deeply touched my life and the lives of so many that he encountered. His staff loved him. His family adored him. His church deeply admired him. And the church ecumenical held him in awe. He was truly one of the “great saints of the Church” for our time, and God has truly blessed us by allowing our lives to be touched by Bill’s. In many ways all of this was summed up in his nickname as “the Stately Clerk.” That title was one that reflected both the affection and respect with which people held Bill, and it fit him to a T! …
We know from personal experience that Bill Thompson belonged to God during his remarkable life and ministry and that he now belongs to God in a new way, now that his life on earth is over. We too belong to God, and God’s love is powerful enough even to fill our hearts with gratitude and hope in the midst of our grief. And to inspire us — each in our own way — to live, as Bill did so well, a life worthy of our calling!
To God be the glory!
