Council of Churches leader bridged gaps

The Rev. David Witheridge of Minneapolis, who led the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches for 28 years, helped bring into the fold a diversity of churches.

In the tumultuous 1960s he worked hard to bring people of all faiths and races together.

Witheridge, an American Baptist Church minister and a pioneer of social justice, died Dec. 20 at his home in Minneapolis. He was 94.

The Rev. Gary Reierson, president of the Council of Churches, said his predecessor was a "remarkable leader, bridging the gaps" between faiths and ethnic groups.

"People from very different faith traditions respected him enormously," said Reierson.

In 1936, Witheridge became a mechanical engineer after earning his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. He worked for his father's heating and ventilation business in Saginaw, Mich.

But he was called to be a preacher, said his son, Thomas of Roseville, and graduated from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, N.Y., in 1942. He later earned a master's degree in theology at the University of Chicago.

In the 1950s, he worked with the city of Minneapolis on fair and equal housing initiatives.

In the early 1960s, he supported efforts to help people with mental disabilities.

Under his leadership, the Council of Churches helped found the Division of Indian Work in Minneapolis.

In the 1960s, he stood up for civil rights, worked with black church leaders and helped establish fundraising efforts to revitalize deteriorating churches.

The Rev. Noah Smith of Golden Valley, a semi-retired African Methodist Episcopal minister, said Witheridge "had a global viewpoint. "He understood what we were going through -- the discrimination and barriers of the 1960s."

"He was so concerned about diversity and other cultures," said Hendrieth-Smith. "He recognized people for what they were, not how they appeared."

During the turmoil of the 1960s, he was torn about the Vietnam War. "He was able to not lose his temper and work with people on all sides and tried to bring them together," said his son, Thomas.

Taking a stance against war

In the late 1960s, his son attended an antiwar rally in Loring Park and heard his father "speak very clearly against the war," said his son.

"He had been reluctant, because it could endanger his organization [the Council of Churches]. But he couldn't put it off any longer," said his son.

When he retired in 1979, an alliance of black ministers honored him "as a faithful Christian, white presence in the black church community," according to a plaque.

In retirement, he learned German to better discover his family's heritage. He was a member of Grace-Trinity Community Church in Minneapolis

His wife, Elizabeth, a children's book author, died in 1995. In addition to Thomas, he is survived by his other son, James of Minneapolis, and one granddaughter,