Burgess Carr

The Reverend Canon Burgess Carr (8 July 1935 – 14 May 2012) was a Liberian-born priest, religious leader, and professor. He was Secretary-General of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) from 1971 to 1978 and, in 1972, moderated the Addis Ababa Agreement, which ended the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972).

He was awarded the distinction of Grand Corodon in the Order of the Two Niles by Sudanese President Gaafar Nimeiry for his role in mediating the Addis Ababa Agreement and Commander in the Order of the Star of Africa by the Liberian President William Tubman for his involvement in relief and reconciliation efforts during the Nigerian Civil War (1960–1970).

Early life and education
Burgess Carr was born in Crozerville, Montserrado County, Liberia. He attended St. Patrick's Elementary School in Monrovia Liberia, and Episcopal High School in Grand Cape Mount County, Liberia. He graduated in 1958 from Cuttington College with a Bachelor of Science in agriculture, where his thesis was"The Comparative Growth and Performance of two Groups of Rhode Island Reds: One Group fed with a diet made from locally available feedstuffs, and the other Group fed with imported commercial feed."

Continuing on at Cuttington, he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1961 and was ordained as a Deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia the same year. In 1962, he was ordained as a Priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia, and joined the staff of Trinity Cathedral in Monrovia, Liberia, under the Deanship of the Very Rev. Dr. Seth C. Edwards, who had been the First President of Cuttington College. During the same year, he married Francesca Verdier, whom he had met at Cuttington.

In 1964, Burgess Carr travelled to the United States, where he began graduate studies in the Old Testament at Harvard University's Divinity School under the direction of G. Ernest Wright and Frank Moore Cross, Jr. He earned a Master of Theology there in 1966. He left further studies toward a Doctor of Theology at Harvard Divinity School to accept a position in Geneva, Switzerland at the World Council of Churches, where he was deeply involved in relief and reconciliation work during the Nigerian Civil War (1960–1970). It was for this work that he was awarded the distinction of Commander in the Order of the Star of Africa by the Liberian President William Tubman.

Career
Burgess Carr served with the World Council of Churches for four years from 1967 to 1971, first as Secretary for Africa (1967–1970) and then as Secretary for the Commission of Churches on International Affairs. He left the World Council of Churches in 1971 to accept the position of Secretary General of the All Africa Conference of Churches headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

Addis Ababa Agreement (1972)
During his time as Secretary General of the All Africa Conference of Churches, Carr moderated the discussions leading to the signing of the Addis Ababa Agreement (1972), which ended the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) in Sudan. He is widely credited with keeping the negotiations on track, and the trust and respect that he engendered was crucial to the success of the talks that produced the Agreement. He was awarded the Knight Great Band in the Humane Order of African Redemption by the Liberian President William V.S. Tubman Jr. and the Grand Cordon in the Order of the Two Niles by Sudanese President Gaafar Nimeiry for his role in mediating the Addis Ababa Agreement.

Teaching, pastoral work, and later career (1978–2000)
In 1978, after conflicts with member churches and Kenyan officials, Burgess Carr resigned from the All Africa Conference of Churches and returned to the United States. He settled in Boston, Massachusetts, where he began teaching at Harvard Divinity School. Carr subsequently taught at the Andover Newton Theological School, Boston University School of Theology, and the Episcopal Divinity School, while also a pastor at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Boston. In 1982, Burgess left Boston for New Haven, Connecticut, taking the position of Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Yale University's Berkeley Divinity School. In New Haven, he also served as Vicar of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. He later spent several years working for the Episcopal Migration Ministries, International Council for Voluntary Agencies, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, UNICEF, the Economic Commission for Africa and other international organizations. In 2000, Carr moved to Georgia, where he taught at the Interdenominational Theological Center and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University while serving as Vicar of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Decatur, Georgia.

Moratorium on missionaries
Carr was a critical student of colonialism and the neo-colonialism and paternalism of missionary work in Africa. He supported a "moratorium on missionaries" (a moratorium on African churches receiving funds and personnel from churches in Europe and North America).

Death
In 2004, Burgess was diagnosed with Lewy bodies disease. He suffered a stroke in 2007. He died on 14 May 2012.