The Rev Brian Duckworth

Methodist minister who became 'foreign secretary' to the British churches

Brian Duckworth, minister of the church: born Slough, Buckinghamshire 1 August 1933; ordained a Methodist minister 1957; Youth and Education Secretary, Free Church Federal Council 1957-60; Minister, Moseley Road Church, Birmingham 1960-65; Minister, Cyncoed and Radyr Churches, Cardiff 1965-70; Minister, Hinde Street Church, London 1970-76; Methodist Chaplain, London University 1970-76; Associate General Secretary and Secretary for International Affairs, British Council of Churches 1976-81; Secretary for International and Development Affairs, Methodist Division of Social Responsibility 1981-86, General Secretary 1986-92; Minister, Worcester Park 1992-98; Superintendent, Wimbledon Circuit 1995-98; married 1958 Mary Godbold (died 1992; three daughters), 1995 Sarah Middleton; died Haywards Heath, West Sussex 7 January 2003.

Brian Duckworth was a Methodist minister of rare distinction. Both as a theologian and as an administrator, more often than not out of the public limelight, he made a significant contribution to the British churches' understanding of social policy and of international affairs.

He was born in Slough, in 1933, but his family then moved to Sussex. His father was a Secretary of the National Farmers' Union, his mother a teacher. From Hove County Grammar School he went to St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and gained first class degrees in both Law and Theology. These disciplines remained important tools for Duckworth as both pastor and administrator.

No less important were his gifts as a communicator in both speech and writing. What he did, he did with such precision and in such depth that it often prevented him from reaching a wider public. He lacked the popularising gifts of his elder friend and mentor Donald Soper, but his contribution to the life of his own church and to the whole ecumenical movement was no less significant.

Duckworth's intellectual passion was tempered by a constant questioning of his own conclusions. He was a good listener, secure enough to learn from his critics but never afraid to criticise the institutions he loyally served. He was a reconciler rather than a controversialist, and his radical zest for the truth, which was always somewhere out ahead, never waned.

He began his career in 1957 as Youth Secretary of the Free Church Federal Council. His lifelong devotion to the cause of Christian unity was born at the Assembly of the World Council of Churches in New Delhi four years later. He returned to local ministry in Birmingham as a convinced internationalist. It was a time of great spiritual ferment. In the era of John Robinson's Honest to God many intellectuals were giving up on religious institutions. Duckworth was prepared for the long march through the institutions to transform both church and society. He proved to be a brilliant administrator who was prepared to combine passion for change with reflective patience. In his mind efficient bureaucracy was not at war with the Kingdom of God.

As a founding member of the Methodist Renewal Group Duckworth often challenged the Methodist Conference with new ideas. In 1965 he moved from the Midlands to the Cardiff Circuit of the Methodist Church and five years later to the heart of London. Based at Hinde Street in the West End, he was in his element as a chaplain to London University. His Roman Catholic friend and colleague was Bruce Kent. Always a learner, he embarked on a counselling course to refine his skills as a pastor.

Duckworth's administrative career was launched with his appointment in 1970 as Assistant General Secretary and Secretary for International Affairs of the British Council of Churches. In effect he became the "foreign secretary" of the churches of the British Isles. With analytical skill and a remarkable grasp of world affairs he brought together experts of widely varying views, ranging from within the Establishment to its most radical critics, to produce authoritative papers and reports and so to influence public policy on southern Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In the search for responsible action he was neither a fence sitter nor a propagandist. I succeeded him and know how hard it was to live up to his exacting standards.

In 1981 Duckworth moved to the Methodist Division of Social Responsibility, first as its International Secretary, then as its General Secretary. The agenda covered the whole area of social policy. He did not shun controversy. Sexual ethics and civil disobedience were among the issues that provided it. He remained influential far beyond Methodism in the field of human rights, development aid, European integration, and the ethics of war and peace. He worked with senior military men and with dedicated pacifists in the Conference on Christian Approaches to Defence and Disarmament, never satisfied with easy answers. His rigour could be uncomfortable, but he was too warm and good-humoured to make enemies.

His final phase of ministry was an ecumenical appointment in Worcester Park in 1992. Alongside this busy pastoral role, he was also hoping for more time with his family – his vivacious wife Mary and their three daughters; but, the same year, Mary died. In 1995 he was surprised by joy in his marriage to Sarah, a second creative partnership.

Retirement in 1998 took him back to his roots by the Sussex Downs. He now had to bring his characteristic concentration to understanding and managing a complex and rare form of cancer. He lived with it positively and actively. When others would have surrendered to illness, he travelled abroad. No natural introvert, he embarked on an inner journey that he was glad to share with those beside him.

One close companion wrote: "Even when in great discomfort he spoke movingly of his conviction that creation was miraculous, upheld and shot through with the goodness of God."

Paul Oestreicher