The Rev. Parke Renshaw PhD

[RCCAtl]

A servant of God has finished his work on earth. As John Shippee of the Regional Council of Churches said, “The Rev. Parke Renshaw, PhD, walked the walk, indeed many walks of Christian commitment and calling in ways few others have been able to do.” Committed to racial equality and working in the segregated South, Parke was a founding member of Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta. Committed to international reconciliation and to recentering missionary practice in the ways of Jesus, he learned the Portuguese language and Brazilian culture during his years of missionary service in Brazil. While there he taught both to fellow missionaries, exemplifying the calling and commitment to learn and be changed by those among whom he was serving. Back in Georgia, Parke was a staff member and later a volunteer leader and board member of the Christian Council of Atlanta and its successor organization, the Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta. In these roles he exemplified both the spirit and practice of Christian ecumenism and interfaith reconciliation. Parke worked tirelessly for the poor specifically with Georgia Citizens’ Coalition on Hunger planning and participating every year in Poor People’s Day. Parke was a faithful member of Trinity UMC and a devoted host of the Sunday School Class for the church's homeless friends. A gentle handsome man, Parke's soft slow voice belied his fierce commitment to justice, to furthering the Kingdom of God. We will miss Parke greatly. This world needs more like him.

A great quote from Parke, “I may not be Black but I am concerned and I am clergy.”