Life Members

During her active years in religion communication, Lois J. Anderson was a writer, editor, producer, trainer and administrator devoted to non-profit public service communication from 1953 to 2000 in New York City. During her half-century career in religion communication, Anderson served the American Baptist Church in the USA radio-TV department working with the program units of ABC, CBS, NBC and media training for clergy. At the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, she served with the Communication/Broadcast and Film Commission. She also served in public and church relations with Religion in American Life, the American Bible Society and Church Women United.

Lois Anderson died in September 2017.

The energetic Paul helped lead the Philadelphia RCC chapter for many years. He originally began his RCC membership with the D.C. chapter in the 1970s, where he helped plan the convention. He later moved to the Philadelphia chapter, where by coincidence he also planned the convention. “Two years in a row,” Brink said. “That was a busy time.” A communicator for the Society of Friends, Brink retired in 1993.

Paul Brink passed in November 2021.

Wilmer C. Fields was an RCC Life Member, having joined RCC in 1959. He served as national president from 1966-1967. Fields was one of the founders of the international Religion Communication Congress. Fields served as pastor of churches in Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi before entering the world of religion communications as editor of the Mississippi Baptist Record newspaper. He expanded his role as communicator when he became vice president for public relations with the Executive Committee, Southern Baptist Convention from 1959 until his retirement in 1987. In this capacity, he was also SBC press representative, 1959-1987; director of Baptist Press, 1959-87; and editor of The Baptist Program, 1959-72.

He was a member of the Associated Church Press from 1956-87, serving as its national president from 1967-69. He was a member of the Baptist Public Relations Association (BPRA) from 1959-87, and served as its national president from 1970-71. In addition, Fields was a member of the board of trustees of the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, Religion in American Life, the Nashville chapter of National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Nashville Council on Community Services, the Nashville United Way Campaign.

Wilmer C. Fields died in December 2018.

Lester Garner, an RCC Life Member, had fond memories of serving as president of the Philadelphia RCC chapter. During his career, Garner served as assistant director and then as executive director of Public Relations Services of the American Baptist Board of Educational Ministries.

Les Garner died in 2016.

Rev. Frederick (Fred) Gonnerman worked in church communications and public relations for 36 years. After his first call as a parish pastor in Painesville, Ohio, he spent five years as the Assistant Director of Public Information for The American Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minn. He went on to establish the Office of Information Services at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., where he worked from 1966-1989. He finished out his career by establishing and directing the Office of Public Relations at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Throughout his career, Gonnerman felt strongly about being an active member of the Religion Communicators Council. Over the years he received numerous DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial awards, served as the president of the Twin Cities (Minn.) Chapter, and served on the national board.

Fred Gonnerman died in August 2019

Born in London, England, Peter Hewitt’s childhood was greatly influenced by the ravages of World War II and especially the constant bombing by the German aircraft. A deep faith grew from these circumstances and they have constantly shaped his life. Over the course of his career, Peter served in the Royal Air Force, worked for the Washington Cathedral, Westminster Press, served for ten years as a consultant to religion publishers across the US, and was the first Religion Editor for Publishers Weekly. He finished his career working for the National Publishing Company for twenty-seven years.

An active member of RCC, Peter was former president of Philadelphia chapter and co-chair of the 1976 national convention. He comments, somewhat wryly, that he earned his first money as a choir boy during World War II and used it to purchase a Bible; and that he finished his career editing and producing Bibles in many languages and versions for use across America and around the world.

Peter Hewitt died February 19, 2021.

Everett Parker was the first director of Communications in 1957 for the newly-formed United Church of Christ. In that role he founded the United Church of Christ, Office of Communication, Inc., a media reform and accountability ministry with a civil rights agenda, that worked to improve the coverage and employment of women and people of color in broadcasting and other media. His reputation as an advocate for the public’s rights in broadcasting is forever linked to his successful legal challenge to deny the license renewal of WLBT-TV, Jackson, Miss. In a landmark decision in 1966, a federal circuit court ruled that citizen groups have standing (the right to be heard and appeal to the courts) before government regulatory agencies.

Everett C. Parker died in September 2015.

Roger C. Sadler worked as a commercial artist for the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church in New York City for twenty-five years, retiring in 2000.

Roger C. Sadler died in July 2015.