Disciples Historical Society

Explore the history of the Stone-Campbell Movement

Date of birth: November 22, 1927
Date of death: June 3, 2022 (95 years old)
Education: BA, Bethany College
B.D., Union Theological Seminary
Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics, Columbia University
Organization(s): National City Christian Church
Service œcuménique d’entraide (CIMADE)
Église Luthérienne de Glay
Centre de rencontres, de recherches et de formation de Glay
World Council of Churches
Division of Overseas Ministries
Christian Theological Seminary

William J. Nottingham was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania on November 22, 1927 to Jess and Alice Nottingham. In 1949, he married Patricia Anne Clutts. He received his B.A. from Bethany College (Bethany, W. Va.) in 1949, a B.D. Union Theological Seminary in 1953, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Columbia University in 1962.

Nottingham served as a pastor prior to entering Union Theological Seminary. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study in France, and he was called to National City Christian Church as associate pastor when he returned from his studies. The Nottingham family lived in France from 1958 to 1968 as fraternal workers for CIMADE and the World Council of Churches. Nottingham also pastored a French Lutheran congregation in Glay from 1962 to 1965.

From 1968 to 1994, Nottingham worked for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Division of Overseas Ministries (DOM) at the Indianapolis headquarters. He served as executive secretary for the Department of Latin American and the Caribbean from 1968 to 1976 and the Department of East Asia and the Pacific from 1976 to 1984. From 1984 to 1994, he was president of the DOM and executive secretary for the Department of Europe. 

Nottingham authored three books: Christian Faith and Secular Action: An Introduction to the Life and Thought of Jacques Maritain (1968), The Practice and Preaching of Liberation (1984)and with Charles R.Harper, The Great Escape That Changed Africa’s Future: The Church in Action and the Secret Flight of 60 African Students to France (2017). With his wife, he also translated a number of theological books from French to English.

In his retirement Nottingham was an adjunct professor at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1994 to 2004. Nottingham was involved in helping to free Lori Berenson, an American activist imprisoned in Peru and he made several trips there to visit her and other political prisoners.These encounters brought a message of hope and love to those he visited. He also attended numerous international church conferences, serving as a simultaneous interpreter from French or Spanish to English. Nottingham died on June 3, 2022. The Disciples of Christ Historical Society acquired the papers of William J. Nottingham in the summer of 2024.