10 notable Christian ministry leaders, influencers who died in 2024
Thelma Adair – Aug. 21, 2024
Thelma Adair, an educator and activist who became the first black woman to be elected moderator of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States, died eight days before her 104th birthday.
A native of Iron Station, North Carolina, Adair served as a professor for decades, was president of the advocacy group Church Women United in the 1980s, and served with the Peace Corps.
In 1976, Adair was elected moderator of the UPCUSA General Assembly, a predecessor denomination for the modern Presbyterian Church (USA), for their gathering in Baltimore, Maryland.
“If we’re going to follow Jesus Christ, we are following a radical,” she told those at the 1976 assembly. “We’re following a man who spoke out, acted and lived in a radical way.”
“You have power as an individual, and you have power you can find and possess as a group. There are avenues of action. Don’t go home apathetic. … Go home radicalized by your faith, if you follow Jesus Christ.”
