Albert C. Winn, moderator of the 1979 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and a former president of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, died July 17 in Clemmons, N.C., a month shy of his 91st birthday.
Ordained in 1945, Winn served the Presbyterian Church as a pastor in Virginia and Georgia; as a Navy chaplain in the 1940s; as a professor at Stillman College in Alabama and the Louisville seminary; and as president of the seminary (where he also taught theology) from 1966 to 1973.
A graduate of Davidson College, where he was valedictorian of the class of 1942, and of both Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond and Princeton Theological Seminary, Winn wrote 10 books, including Ain’t Gonna Study War No More: Biblical Ambiguity and the Abolition of War (1993).
He also led the committee which wrote A Declaration of Faith (1977) for the PC(US), which many congregations used as an affirmation of faith. Another committee of which he was chair wrote Christian Obedience in a Nuclear Age (1988). He also founded the Covenant Network in Salem Presbytery, which seeks to preserve the unity of the church while striving for full inclusion of gay and lesbian Presbyterians.
In 1944, Winn married Grace Neely Walker, who preceded him in death. Survivors include four adult children, as well as five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held July 26 at 2 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 1416 Bolton Street, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27103.
Memorial gifts may be made to Trinity Presbyterian Church or to the Elms at Tanglewood, 3750 Harper Rd., Clemmons, N.C. 27012, or to any church, institution or peacemaking group that Winn served during his career in ministry.
