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Institute for Religion and Democracy
Press Releases -
April 19, 2005
IRD President Diane Knippers Dies
Contact: Mark Tooley
Diane Knippers 1952-2005
IRD President Diane Knippers died in Arlington,
Virginia on Monday, April 18 of complications
related to cancer. She was 53. Earlier this
year she was named by Time magazine as one of
America’s most 25 influential evangelicals.
Knippers was president of the IRD since 1993 and
had worked for IRD since 1982. She was a leader
of evangelical, renewal voices in mainline
Protestantism, especially in the Episcopal
Church, on whose Standing Commission on
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations she sat.
She also served on the boards of the National
Association of Evangelicals, the American
Anglican Council, the Religious Liberty
Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance,
Five Talents (an Anglican micro-enterprise
initiative), and the steering committee of
Anglican Mainstream, International. She had
written for The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly
Standard, and Christianity Today, and appeared
on CBS’s 60 Minutes, CNBC’s Capital Report, and
PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.
IRD Board Chairman J. Budziszewski, a professor
at the University of Texas in Austin, recalled
the story of Jesus’ devoted followers Mary and
Martha, from the tenth chapter of the Gospel of
Luke. Knippers was “that rare sort of disciple
who served with both the diligence and energy
shown by Martha, and the loving attention to her
Master's every word shown by Mary,” Budziszewski
said. “As she is gathered up to Christ, we lose
a dear friend and yokefellow.”
IRD Vice President Alan Wisdom, who worked with
Knippers for almost 20 years, described Knippers
as a “mentor” and a “faithful Christian witness
amidst church and political conflicts.”
“She was firm in her conviction of God’s truth,
and that firmness enabled her to show a great
serenity and warmth towards others,” Wisdom
said. “One of her consistent emphases was the
importance of nurturing a new generation of
church reformers. The members of the IRD staff
show the results of Diane’s wise influence. We
will miss her presence among us. But I am
confident that God’s grace has equipped us
through Diane, and will continue to equip us to
carry her work forward.
Knippers was diagnosed with cancer in 2003 but
maintained a full schedule almost until the
end. She had just begun a writing leave from
the IRD so she could work on books and articles.
Recently Knippers co-edited "Toward an
Evangelical Public Policy," which was organized
by the National Association of Evangelicals.
Her final public appearance was last month for a
speech she presented at an NAE luncheon on
Capitol Hill regarding that book.
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Date: 4/18/2005 |
