Compassion, Peace & Justice leaders to honor late colleague at General Assembly

Susan Stack was cornerstone of Presbyterian Health, Education & Welfare Association

By Rick Jones | Presbyterian News Service

Susan Stack. File photo

LOUISVILLE – On any given day, one could walk past Susan Stack’s office to find her poring over paperwork, writing reports or taking phone calls. It wasn’t just a job; it was her life. Stack served as an associate with the Presbyterian Health, Education & Welfare Association (PHEWA) for 34 years, helping people who dealt with everything from domestic violence to AIDS.

“In order to know Susan, you would have to be one of the persons from around the country who called in. It could be an issue they were dealing with such as alcohol and drugs, or it could be illness or domestic violence,” said the Rev. Nancy Troy, pastor of Briargate Presbyterian Church in Louisville and former executive director of PHEWA. “In all the issues that PHEWA cared for, Susan would talk with such sensitivity to people. She would really go beyond what she needed to do to understand, empathize and provide the resources that they needed.”

PHEWA is a separately incorporated organization that was created by the General Assembly in 1956 to make the church more responsive to the needs of those who often felt excluded or on the margins of the church. It is organized around 10 mission networks focusing on issues ranging from mental illness and criminal justice to community transformation and disability concerns. It maintains its connection to the church as part of Compassion, Peace & Justice (CPJ) ministry in the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Stack, who retired in 2016, passed away in February after an illness. She was 65.

“People were surprised when they heard about her death because she didn’t say much about her illness. It was her journey and she chose the people that she wanted to journey with her,” said Troy. “It was not about cutting people out of her life. It was her journey and Susan did what Susan always wanted to do and she made that decision and kept to that vow she made with herself.”

PHEWA leaders and Stack’s colleagues in CPJ will be honoring her at the 223rd General Assembly in St. Louis in a few weeks. She will posthumously receive the John Park Lee and Rodney T. Martin awards for her commitment and years of service.

“These two awards are fitting tributes to Susan,” said Sara Lisherness, director of CPJ. “She deeply believed in PHEWA’s ministry and lived by Micah 6:8: ‘What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’ ”

Retired pastor the Rev. Robert L. Brashear is a co-founder of one of the PHEWA networks currently known as the Presbyterian Association for Community Transformation. He described Stack as a “human search engine.”

“Susan was the first voice that people calling in would hear when searching for help. She was always able to listen to people as if what they were dealing with was vitally important. She would do everything in her power to connect them with the resources necessary to help solve their problems,” said Brashear. “Susan had an amazing capacity to know who around the country was doing what and what work they were doing. If you asked her who was doing the best work in urban ministry, for instance, she would name six people.” 

Both Brashear and Troy say Stack had deep roots in the denomination.

“She knew General Assembly policy. She would never write anything or let anything be written from our office that wasn’t consistent with church policy,” said Troy. “You don’t see that very much, but someone who has worked for the church for more than 34 years knows that.”

Colleagues found her to be an invaluable resource and minister in times of need.

“She was the face of the church for so many people who were broken, people who were marginalized,” said Troy. “She made the church look really good and I think she made it happen. It was more than just a job for her.”

“At the PMA board meetings, I would be our representative for PHEWA, and when I came to a meeting, Susan would have a file folder with everything in it that I needed and give me a briefing before I went into the meeting,” said Brashear. “She kept this in her head, and that’s what makes the church work —  people who aren’t always visible, but the ones that really keep it together and keep things moving.”

Brashear says Susan had a heartfelt passion for her work.

“It was her sense of what God was asking her to do and be in this world. She had an ability to listen and connect and the ability to know,” said Brashear. “She, in many ways, was a person that held it all together. She helped the different parts of PHEWA communicate with each other and it was an incredibly valuable role.”

Brashear will present the awards to Stack’s first and last supervisors — Lisherness and former PHEWA director Don Wilson. “She was a ‘corker,’ an endearing Brooklyn term, where I was born. Indefatigable, generous, compassionate, but didn’t suffer fools gladly, loyal, a wonderful woman who always kept me on my toes,” said Wilson.

“She represents all of those wonderful people in our church who are not necessarily ordained clergy or necessarily Presbyterians, but give long, dedicated service to the faith, hands and heart of the church,” said Brashear. “I think that’s a role that is often overlooked.”

PHEWA and CPJ are planning another gathering in Louisville this fall to honor and memorialize Stack’s life and ministry.