Passage: The Rev. Ann Greene Whiting, 1948-2011

The Rev. Ann Greene Whiting, my friend and colleague of 23 years as well as my predecessor in this office, could be described in a singular phrase: “courage and conviction.” Yet she was so much more to the family, friends and colleagues now mourning her March 28 death from kidney failure at age 63.

Ann’s son, formally William Whiting IV but known to all as Will, alerted her vast network of friends and colleagues on March 25 that she had suffered kidney failure, and that all treatment but comfort medications had been stopped. As news of her imminent death spread across the Internet, prayers and accolades begin appearing in emails and on Facebook. Her communications compatriots posted such praises as “a great mentor,” “excellent journalist,” “good friend,” and “best lunch date ever!”

Weak as she was, Ann received her longtime friend and colleague, Donna Costa, on March 27. Ms. Costa told TPC that in their last conversation she and Rev. Whiting shared many “quirky” memories of their shared communications ministry. “Quirky” memories are endemic to the publishing business, but Ann Whiting had a way of finding opportunities and even humor in the most stressful situations.

She struggled with the question of ordination for many years, reluctant to submit her family to the stresses of the itinerant ministry required by The United Methodist Church. The 1992 advent of a permanent order of deacon, a type of specialized ministry that wouldn’t require her to move to a new pulpit every few years, seemed an answer to prayer, and she was among the first to take advantage of the opportunity.

For many years Rev. Whiting and Ms. Costa traveled annually to the communications conference held by the Dallas, TX-based United Methodist Reporter. Their former Southern New England Conference newspaper was the first regional UMR edition outside of the publication’s native Texas. Many of Rev. Whiting’s former UMR colleagues recall with hilarity her initiation of the jovial “Holy Order of Saint Pica” as a way to honor the sweat, tears, and yes, sometimes blood, of United Methodist communicators who often toiled without honor in obscurity. (A “pica” is a printer’s measure).

Then came April 19, 1995, which was always remembered by Ann and Will not as the day that Oklahoma City was bombed, but as the day that their husband and father, William "Bill" Whiting III, died. Bereft of her husband, who had successfully battled alcoholism during their marriage, Ann never remarried.

Rev. Whiting will be most remembered by supporters of Zion’s Herald as the first woman to serve as editor and publisher. In that role, she bravely stood up to attempts by United Methodist leadership to take editorial control of the publication, officially owned by the independent Boston Wesleyan Association. Her refusal to knuckle under to censorship pressure came at great cost; she was forced to resign as editor of the conference newspaper of which ZH was a part. Yet the conference leadership also lost in that power struggle. After Rev. Whiting’s forced departure, the Boston Wesleyan Association voted to uncouple the publication from the conference newspaper in order to preserve its editorial integrity. The decision led to the journal’s rebirth in 2000 as an independent social justice publication, renamed The Progressive Christian six years later to reflect its ecumenical scope.

By the time that Zion’s Herald was reborn, however, Rev. Whiting had accepted the position of editor and publisher of another independent newspaper, the Michigan Christian Advocate, serving the West Michigan and Detroit regional United Methodist conferences.

Her courage and conviction went with her to Michigan, and became part of the Advocate’s editorial stances as well. In particular her tenure was marked by her persistent editorial advocacy for The United Methodist Church to remove its doctrines holding homosexuality to be “incompatible with Christian teaching,” and to remove barriers to the admission of LGBT people as candidates for ordained ministry. Her courage in maintaining such stances, both editorially and personally, gained her many admirers, but also lost the Advocate some subscribers. The readership decline was also attributed to the rise of the Internet, and forced Rev. Whiting as the Advocate’s publisher to institute painful cutbacks.

In addition to her devotion to her work, she was devoted to her hobby of making beautiful quilts, and to the primary joys of her life: Will, and her two grandchildren, Grace and William Whiting V. A native of Providence, RI, Ann also is survived by her brother, William Greene, of Randolph, RI.

Her memorial service will be held Friday, April 1, at 11 a.m. at the Wesley Methodist Church 55 Woodland St., in Lincoln, RI, with burial in North Cemetery in Bristol, RI. Visiting hours are Thursday, March 31, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Smith-Mason Funeral Home, 398 Willett Avenue, Riverside, RI. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to a New England Conference summer camp and retreat center, Camp Aldersgate, 1043 Snake Hill Road, North Scituate, RI.

Correction: An earlier version of this article contained inaccurate date regarding the death of William Whiting III. This has been corrected.