John Drew Godsey

Dr. Godsey was so kind to my children when we lived on Wesley's campus.

Professor Godsey served as a pastor/theologian to me and many classmates at Drew in the l960s...he touched us by reading Bonhoeffer's Letters from Prison & holocaust survivors letters, he shared his deep faith at memorial services for Drew students who died accidental deaths, shared Karl Barth jokes in class, stayed connected while he taught at Wesley, truly a grace-filled Southern gentleman and 'earthen vessel' of the Drew legacy. He validated a 'worldly theology' of my campus ministry, and...

John Godsey was my teacher, my friend, and pedecessor at Drew. When I joined the faculty in 1969, I took over his courses on Bonhoeffer and Friedrich Schleiermacher, and added Holocaust Studies. With Carl Michalson and Franz Hildebrand, Bonhoeffer's close friend, John represented the Golden Age of theology at Drew.

Dr. Godsey's dignity and integrity (not to mention his intellectual achievements) made a profound impression on me as a Drew Ph.D. candidate. During Drew's time of turbulence during the mid and late '60s, after the tragic loss of my first dissertation director Carl Michalson and two others who moved on to quieter pastures, he guided me steadily and wisely to that project's completion. I will always remember him with gratitude and admiration.

A Drew graduate in 1964, John Godsey taught me systematic theology (as a historian in college, I never knew what all that implied) taking us through Tillich's 2 volumes, then the Bonhoeffer and Barth courses (and KB came to Princeton once during those years and some of us got to go down to see his eminence). What a special, special man John was--the best of Methodism, of Drew, of his generation. We were certainly blessed to know him, have him as a teacher and be graced by his distinctive...

As a faculty member at Drew after John Godsey had left, I lived with the strong and continuing memories of his teaching and leadership. I very much appreciated the gracious way in which he affirmed and supported the school's efforts to rebuild.

John Godsey was my teacher in Systematic Theology and Karl Barth's Theology at Drew University and one of the inspirations for my attending the University of Basel. He was a messenger of God to me. Thank you, John.

I am so sad to hear about the death of Dr. Godsey. He was so supportive of me during the time in which I worked and attended Wesley Seminary. He also supported me during my pastoral internship at Bethesda UMC for two years. We connected right away when I found out he was from Bristol, and I was from Abingdon (20 minutes away). I will always treasure those days and remember what a great mentor he was. I will be praying for your family.