July 11 Today in OPC History

On this date in 1952, Dr. F. Kingsley Elder was elected to the Committee on Christian Education by the Nineteenth General Assembly. He would continue to serve on the Committee for forty-four years, holding at various times the position of CE president and secretary and numerous subcommittee chairmanships.

Upon Dr. Elder's passing from this world into glory on June 30, 2008, Pastor Kevin Kisler of Covenant OPC, Rochester, wrote in New Horizons:

Kingsley - a physicist whose teaching career culminated in twenty-six years at Rochester Institute of Technology - was a willing servant within Christ's church. Introduced to the OPC in 1942 by Edmund Clowney, Kingsley devoted himself to this young denomination which "believed and studied the Bible, and preached the Gospel." Ordained an elder in 1952, he served actively until given emeritus status in 2005. He was a commissioner to thirty-eight general assemblies during that time. His love for God's Word manifested itself in service on the Committee on Christian Education (almost continuously from 1952 to 1999), during which he helped author the Modern English Study Version of the Westminster Confession of Faith. He served on the boards of Westminster Theological Seminary (thirty-nine years) and Great Commission Publications (twenty-four years).

Late in his life, Dr. Elder played a very important role in bringing the OPC into closer fellowship with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales.

Picture: F. Kingsley and Elinor Elder