Marj Carpenter joins Church Triumphant

The Outreach Foundation joins with others around the world in giving thanks to God for the life and love of Marj Carpenter. Marge served as Moderator of the 207th Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly (1995). She died on June 13 at 93 years old.

Marj was a Texas newspaper woman for many years before heading up the Presbyterian News Service and serving as mission interpreter for the Worldwide Ministries Division. She was truly one of a kind. In a book about the people of West Texas, Marj is described as “a tough, salty, scotch-sipping ex-newspaper reporter from Big Spring and, strangely, the region’s most famous contemporary Christian.”

After several terms as a trustee of The Outreach Foundation, Marj was named trustee emerita. She wrote several books including “To The Ends of the Earth” and “And a Little Bit Farther: More Stories of Mission” which are both available from Amazon. She was famous for her mission stories and her directness.

Marj often said, "I admit I am sinfully proud of being Presbyterian.” She told a reporter from the Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA), "It's a sin to be proud, but we don't waste that one much. When anybody asks what church we attend, we drop our heads and sheepishly say, 'Presbyterian.' But there are 90 million people out there in more than 120 countries who are very proud of being Presbyterian and Reformed, and we helped put them there."

Marj visited 568 mission stations in 126 countries around the world and probably saw more of how God was using Presbyterians in his mission than anyone else. She visited countless churches and gatherings sharing those stories well into her 80s.

Her family includes daughter, Carolyn Carpenter Stewart and her husband, Bo, of Winnsboro, Texas, son, Jim Bob Carpenter of Osprey, Florida, three grandchildren, Chad Carpenter of Houston, Texas, Cody Carpenter and wife Camille, of Lubbock, Texas, and Dusty Carpenter of Bradenton, Florida. A service celebrating Marj’s life and bearing witness to the resurrection will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Big Spring, Texas, at 10 AM on June 18th.

We pray for her family, her home congregation in Big Spring where she served as an elder and a long-time Sunday school teacher, and for the many friends who will grieve her passing. “Well done, good and faithful servant.”