William A. Perkins
1926-2005
A TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM A. PERKINS
“I find the wood from which you are cut important to the whole movement.” These are the words used many years ago in order to affirm the contribution to the ecumenical movement of William A. Perkins – “Bill” to his many friends.
Bill was one of the true ecumenical veterans. He had started his long and rich ecumenical journey as a US Episcopal Church fraternal worker with CIMADE in Europe as early as 1949. His commitment to the exchange of persons for service and study brought him very soon to what was then the small staff community of the WCC: from 1953 to 1958 he served as Associate Secretary in the Youth Department.
Bill was deeply convinced that the exchange of persons is an essential “incarnational” bond within the ecumenical movement. He believed that such an exchange nurtures ecumenical sharing of resources that will lead to action by the churches in expressing their unity. This vision brought him back to Geneva in 1978 when he was entrusted with the Study on Ecumenical Sharing of Resources and Personnel. “As we share our resources, we share ourselves, and in so doing, transcend our differences and separation,” was the statement Bill used to repeat throughout his life.
Bill’s true and most powerful gift, however, was enabling people, sisters and brothers from all over the world, to become full participants and partners in international programmes and the ecumenical work in general. Therefore, he was called in 1980 to become Assistant to the General Secretary, and later to undertake the responsibility of preparing the Seventh Assembly of the WCC, held in Canberra, Australia in 1991.
In an article on the quest for Christian unity, Bill Perkins once wrote that ecumenism "is not an 'optional extra' for Christians and churches, something added onto who we are or what we do. It is the perspective from which to view the world, a wide angle lens through which we see the Church and each other differently. It is a basic element of faith and of Christian identity. It is not just something good for the Church ('the bene esse'), but it is essential to the Church and Christian life ('the esse'). For me it's the only way to be a Christian."
Bill will be remembered by many as the “friend”, the “companion”, the one who did care about the others and always struggled to create for them the appropriate conditions for a meaningful participation. He was appreciated by many and will be remembered with gratitude.
Today we give thanks to our Lord for his life and ministry, for his contribution to the ecumenical movement, for his many gifts generously shared, for his patient and passionate commitment to the work of the WCC.
