Rev. Gerald E. Forshey 1932 ~ 2008
Please keep his wife Florence and his family in your prayers. We give thanks for the opportunity to have known Jerry and for the effect he has had on our lives and ministries.
Rest well Jerry. You, of all people, deserve it.
Clergyman strove for social justice
By Trevor Jensen
Chicago Tribune
May 22, 2008
Rev. Gerald E. Forshey, an activist Methodist pastor who regularly questioned church hierarchy and once spent five days in a Mississippi jail for trying to integrate local congregations, was also a film and art scholar who taught in the City Colleges of Chicago.
Rev. Forshey, 75, died of cancer at his La Grange home Saturday, May 17, said his wife, Florence.
Rev. Forshey came to Chicago in 1958 as pastor of Armitage Avenue Methodist Church. He also served a number of Chicago's United Methodist congregations, including as an associate pastor at St. Mark United Methodist Church in the Chatham neighborhood.
In 1963, Rev. Forshey was among 12 people, four of them Chicago-area Methodist ministers, arrested in Jackson, Miss., for trying to lead blacks into three local churches.
"For him, justice was the issue whether it was in the church or on the public square," said Rev. Philip Blackwell, senior pastor of the Chicago Temple.
In the late 1960s, Rev. Forshey was an outspoken member of a group of clergy called the Renewal Caucus that sought to effect change in the Methodist church from within. One offshoot of this group met regularly to consult on appointments made by the church's bishop.
"This group had come to trust each other in a way we did not trust the bureaucracy," said Rev. Martin Deppe, a friend and colleague.
"Within the church, we pushed for a level of flexibility. [Rev. Forshey] was the philosopher, he was the prod, he was the one who made us nervous."
Rev. Forshey's activism covered a breadth of issues as illustrated by the many protest buttons he collected over the years. "ERA, Welfare Rights, Indian Power, Anti-Gambling. Here's one that says, 'I'm not sure why I'm wearing this button,' " his wife said as she looked them over.
The perpetually disheveled Rev. Forshey cut a distinct figure among his fellow ministers. "He was the least genteel Methodist minister I knew," said Roy Larson, former religion editor at the Sun-Times.
Seeking to create a church without walls, Rev. Forshey started the Church of the New City in the 1970s, which met at the University of Illinois at Chicago for a couple of years before disbanding, his wife said.
By this time, he was on his way to a doctorate in the humanities from the University of Chicago and a teaching career. He taught for many years at Malcolm X College and Richard J. Daley College before retiring about 10 years ago.
Rev. Forshey was born in Long Beach, Calif., and grew up in Reno. While at University of California-Los Angeles, he became close to leaders of his Methodist church and decided to join the clergy, getting a master of divinity degree from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.
A lifelong fan of art, film and opera, he was drawn to Chicago by the local cultural scene, his wife said. Enthralled by metaphor, he wrote his doctoral dissertation on symbolism within cinematic religious spectaculars like "Ben Hur" and "The Ten Commandments" and filled his home with artwork depicting Don Quixote.
Last year, Rev. Forshey led a group on an art appreciation tour of Italy. He could discuss any number of works in great depth and length. "We'd still be there if we hadn't had a co-leader with a watch," said Blackwell, who was on the trip.
"His theology was very deep, a lot had to do with the redemptive nature of our imagination, that we could imagine things could be different," Blackwell said.
In addition to his wife, Rev. Forshey is survived by a brother, Ron.
Visitation is set for 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 W. 31st St., Brookfield. A memorial service will be at 5 p.m. Sunday at First United Methodist Church of Chicago, 77 W. Washington St.
ttjensen@tribune.com
Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune
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