Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2011 with funding from
LYRASIS members and Sloan Foundation
http://www.archive.org/details/messenger1972121121roye
I
messenger
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN JANUARY
T[h(B pmirmd(n)^(Bm
©f M!(S)di(BirBit(Q)ir
r:=r^ n r\ r\ n r?^~i
I
I PATTERN
A E ^
R
PANEL
IIN£S
N U.
DS)
E E '
R
TYPE
SIZE
SLOT 0«
START
c: c'y
.!. „'. ''l.!!
CUST. ACCT. NO.
i'0-.f. oy/b
PATTERN NO
SPINE CUST PAT NO
'!(;:. ;:)>'::.[::.(Vi.-)!;:.K
i^L±
l'17-2y
SPECIAL PREP.
INSERT MATERIAL
FILLER
W/5Tufe
SEP
SHEETS
PARTS BOUND
CLOTH
EXT.
PRODUCT
I MAG
1 REF B
3 M PAM
COVER SIZE
i;:^R[:r{ HRTN! MIST IT BRAFvY
messenger
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN JANUARY
©f MI(n)dl(Birmit(Bir
©©[TDl^DI]!^^
Dsltl^SD^^
^^ From the General Board. At its November gathering the General
Board of the denomination acted to join Project Equality, heard a
study on equality for women, debated ownership of government bonds.
Q In South Asia - "A World That Wants to Help." The immense
proportions of Asia's new dilemma — the plight of Pakistan's refugees
in India — are complicated because "a world that wants to help does
not really know how." by Ronald E. Keener
10
The Paradoxes of the Moderator. The whole Christian experience
raises in Dale W. Brown a concern for the suffering people of the
uorld that leads to his parado.x: "Miking my job and being extremely
happy with my family, yet passionately unhappy with the injustices
of our world." by William H. Kuenning
A Statement Regarding Abortion. In a working paper prepared
by the .Annual Conference committee appointed to study the question
how the church should regard abortion, biblical, theological, ethical,
and medical considerations point to some answers. Reader response
is encouraged through a Discussion/Survey Checklist.
<^> Going on Faith in the Ghetto. Fiscal burdens beset a community
hospital ministry supported by the Church of the Brethren, by Gregg
W. Downey
In Touch profiles Billy Lewis, Navajo pastor; Nathan Miller, legislator;
and the Harry Brandts, lifelong communicators (2); "Celebration Is the
Name, Joy the Motivation," a review of recent books, by Paul E. Alwine
(23); "Events 72," observances to consider in congregational planning
(24); and an editorial, "Brethren and the Burgeoning Arts" (28)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E- Keener ' News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 1
JANUARY 1, 1972
PHOTO CRF.niTS: Cover arlwork by Mike
Norman: 2 flcfi) Merle Crou.sc: (right) Ron-
.iWl E. Keener: 2. 4, 5. II. 12. 18. 21 Don
flonick: 8 Heft) courtesy of UNICEF; (right)
courtesy of Church World Scr\icc
Messenger is the off]ci.Tl public.ition of the
Church of tfie Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter .^ug. 20, 1918, under -Act of
Congress of Oct. 17. 1917. Filing dale. Oct. 1.
1971. Messenger is a member of the Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Ser\ice and Eciuncnical Press
Ser\ice. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Re\ ised .Standard
Version.
Subscription rates: $4.20 per year for indi
\idual subscriptions: .$.1.60 per year for chiudi
group plan: 5.1.00 per year for every hoitie
plan: life subscription. .SfiO: husband and wife.
S7'i- If \ou mo\e clip old address from Mes-
senger and send with tu-w address.
\llov\ at least fifteen days for ad-
flrcss change. Messenger is owned
.111(1 published twice monthly by the
f;hurch of the Brethren General
Board. 1451 Duniiec .Ave.. Elgin. III.
nOi20. Second-class postage paid :u
Elgin. 111.. Jan. I, 1972. Cop\right
1972. Church of the Brethren General Board.
i
HEALTH CARE AND BROTHERHOOD
The Church of the Brethren should be
both humble and proud to be associated
with Bethany Brethren and Garfield Park
hospitals and the related health care facil-
ities. . . . These facilities give the people of
their community, who are poor and happen
to be black, the opportunity to have the
same kind of health services which have
long been available to the white and more
affluent people.
I have felt a lack of interest on the part
of the people of the Brotherhood since the
transition from an all-white, middle-class
community with an all-white hospital, to a
poor, predominantly black community with
a hospital having an integrated staff and
mostly black patients. . . .
As a graduate of Bethany Hospital School
of Nursing, a long-time employee at the
hospital, and, after being away for a number
of years, becoming a short-term employee
there each year for the past several years,
I feel that the real meaning of service is
being demonstrated in the Bethany Brethren
and Garfield Park hospitals community. I
find the experiences I have there, including
my contacts with patients and personnel,
very exciting; and I always have the desire
to share this excitement with others. There
is a continuous drama taking place with
many people, both black and white, playing
a part.
One of these people ... is Vernon Show-
alter, former administrator of Bethany
Brethren Hospital and now executive direc-
tor of both hospitals. . . . His dedication and
untiring efforts have resulted in i;ood health
care for many who perhaps otherwise would
have had none, and there is continuously
being added means of providing still better
and more inclusive health care.
What has resulted from the work of this
man, many other dedicated and interested
people, and the local church is what, I be-
lieve, "real brotherhood" is all about, and
those who have not been touched by it, at
least in a small way, have really missed
something that is very good.
Martha G. Andlregg
Kalamazoo, Mich.
NOT DELIBERATELY PATERNALISTIC
You have pulled together in a fine way
various people's feelings on the possible re-
turn of missionaries to Communist China
(Dec. 1). One point leaves me with a bit
of a guilty conscience. This point is our
comments on former missionary work being
paternalistic and imperialistic. This was cer-
tainly true, and still is in many parts of the
worldwide missionary enterprise.
The early missionaries started with the
m
©DTK
premise that everything Christian was good
(inchiding our American cuUure); and ev-
erything Confucian or pagan was bad (in-
cluding most of the Chinese culture). The
net result was to downgrade everything
Confucian, and upgrade everything under-
stood as Christian. The pattern was set,
and the older missionaries did not realize
at all how judgmental and paternalistic this
made them appear to outsiders. Yet they
were entirely sincere, dedicated, and sacri-
ficial people.
Perhaps it should be added that they were
unaware of this side effect of their work,
or unwittingly continued in a pattern long
after world events had changed and cul-
tural attitudes had developed an openness
that many of them did not have. I am
simply trying to make it clear that the
missionary enterprise did not deliberately
set out to be paternalistic or imperialistic;
but wound up there more than most of us
like to admit.
Wendell Flory
Waynesboro, Va.
STRIKING A CHORD
"The Laws of Men and the Law of God"
(Oct. 15) is truly the most beautiful article
I have ever read on father-son relationships.
... It struck a deep chord within me that
I have thought about during the past 22''2
years, but never so seriously as tonight.
As my eighteenth birthday approached in
1949. I was struggling for ninety days with
the question of registering for the draft. I
somehow felt that those very few at that
time who chose prison instead of alternative
service were right.
A day or two before my birthday I read
an article on how much more could be con-
tributed to my fellowmen if one chose to
work in an area of need instead of spending
those years in prison. It made some sense
to me. and it seemed the easy way out. so I
registered and four years later volunteered
for I-W work in La Plata, P.R., where my
wife and I served for two years. Yes, we
had opportunities for service in those two
years; yes, we did occasionally make some
worthwhile contributions; yes, it was worth-
while; yes, it did make us e.\tremely aware
of human needs.
But ... I wonder . . . even tonight, just
22>/2 years after I made the decision to
register. . . . What IF I had chosen the
route Ted [Click] has chosen; what if my
contemporaries had chosen not to be part
of the draft. . . . Would there have been
a Vietnam as we know the tragedy today?
You see, I finally recognize tonight that
I took the easy road and have passed on to
Ted, and maybe to my own sons, a task I
failed to do. It is tnily an example of
forcing our children to deal with the prob-
lems which we avoided by running, by run-
ning backward, and in the years that have
followed we have seen thousands suffer and
die in Korea and Vietnam ....
0 God, what have I done? Has my omis-
sion caused death?
Ted, we love you, we know you are right
and truly a messenger of God. Christ will
grant you the reckless courage needed in
the days ahead.
Ralph W. Lugbill
Fairfax, Va.
ON A HIGH LEVEL
1 am always interested in what readers
write regarding their approval or disap-
proval of Messenger. I decided that I
should say my piece.
I read regularly quite a number of reli-
gious, educational, business, and news peri-
odicals. In my judgment. Messenger stacks
up very high among them all, in terms of
its journalistic quality, its format, and the
content of the material.
I am particularly impressed with three
qualities which Messenger exhibits: (1)
the broad coverage — from personal news
to religious news to exegesis — which you
are able to include; (2) the artistic and es-
thetic quality of the magazine makeup; and
(3) the objective and incisive forward-look-
ing nature of the editorial content.
Certainly, among the great varieties of
articles, there will be those which appeal
more to me, or which parallel my thinking,
more than others. There will be those with
which I disagree; but that is unimportant.
The Gospel needs broad interpretation, ex-
tensive "airing," and the kind of readership
which elicits challenging discussion. I com-
pliment you.
Harold Fasnacht
La Verne, Calif.
HE MEANT WHAT HE WROTE
When Murray Wagner says (Nov. 1 ) that
I did not mean what I wrote (about the
influence of communism in the denomina-
tion), he is one hundred percent wrong. . . .
I do not belong to that synthetic profession-
al group which says one thing and means
another, or which says something is a fact,
well knowing it to be false. I meant literally
and actually what I said, not only as to that
portion of my letter you published, but also
as to the portion not published. . . . My con-
demnations are blunt . . . hoping to get our
. . . leadership back on the Christian
line. . . .
Ernest A. See
Keyser, W. Va.
■ In this issue you have a special op-
portunity to make your voice heard as
a Messenger reader. A lift-out report
deals with one of the more crucial ques-
tions Brethren face: arriving at a policy
on abortion that is enlightened by the
highest values of the Christian faith.
After reflecting upon the statement in
process, you are invited to respond to
the brief checklist on page 17 and to
forward your reply with or without
comments to the Study Committee on
Abortion.
The publishing of this advance draft,
followed by a bibliography and a ques-
tionnaire, represents a desire to apprise
as wide a segment of the church as pos-
sible of the issues at stake. The hope is
that before some 1 ,000 delegates come
to grips with the completed report at
r
^ecorc
Oisci
■ PefSona/
'"Ponse
'='-^:„'^
Z^""^
, -"""'UW,, '"'""no,.,,
I '*.■■■„ "'"'"■•Mo, °""»m<-,
; .«.'..'""•■"• ,■„ " ' "' "'.■ ,„," " -<
Annual Conference in June, individuals
and groups throughout the Brotherhood
will have searched openly and thor-
oughly for insight and direction.
The approach points, too, to the in-
terest of Messenger editors in estab-
lishing a wider dialogue with readers.
Toward this end, we invite the sharing
of your responses not only with the
Study Committee but with the Messen-
ger as well. On this and other key
topics the magazine earnestly seeks to
enlarge its fonmT role.
Writers of other articles in this issue
include William H. Kuenning of Lom-
bard, 111., whose view of Moderator
Dale W. Brown comes as a neighbor
and Quaker peace activist; Gregg W.
Downey, whose article on Bethany
Brethren and Garfield Park Community
hospitals appeared originally in Modern
Hospital magazine; Paul E. Alwine,
pastor. First Church, Roanoke, Va.;
James hi. Wall, editor. Christian Ad-
vocate, a United Methodist publica-
tion; and Edith Mae Afcrkey. on the
staff of the Lybrook Navajo Mission,
Cuba, New Mexico.
The Editors
1-1-72 messenger 1
,\
Billy Lewis: Navajo pastor
The new pastor of the Lybrook Chris-
tian Fellowship in New Mexico is Billy
Lewis. One of his goals is to help his
Navajo people overcome the hesitation
and fear of involvement they ha\e had
both in the church and in the wider
community.
Reared in a family of thirteen in the
Cuba, N.M.. area. Billy had his child-
hood training in the Christian Re-
formed Church. He became a member
toward the close of his high school
days.
In 1964 he graduated from Inter-
mountain Trade School in Utah as a
draft engineer. He soon discovered,
however, that this was not his top in-
terest. He pursued other work, includ-
ing a stint in the Air Force. From
1967 until this past spring he attended
various colleges, among them Arizona
State University and Cook Christian
Training School.
While in college Billy participated in
camp meetings, campus crusades, and
gospel teams promoted by Cook
School and missions. Three years ago
he committed himself to Christian
service in behalf of his people. Last
spring he accepted the position of lay
pastor at Lybrook for he saw in it an
opportunity to render such service.
"Lybrook is a great place to work."
he commented after he, his wife
Wanda, and son Shawn were several
months on the scene. "It has fine goals
if only the Navajo can see them and
get his feet off the ground. It takes
much explaining. But not until people
understand can they move forward."
He is pressing for the Indian com-
munity to strive for self-determination,
beginning within the church fellowship.
"The potential is here," Billy de-
clares, "but we have to get over wait-
ing for someone else to tell us what to
do or to be the first to try. Our people
must realize the mission can't do
everything — it needs to be fifty-fifty
missionaries and natives."
As he aspires for greater coopera-
tion, Billy Lewis also advocates can-
dor; that is. bringing out into the open
old problems that too long have been
camouflaged.
On the empowerment of Indians in
■American society in general, he is sup-
portive if "self glory" does not get in
the way. "The movement is great."
the young pastor responded, "as long
as it is for all the people and not for
just one segment." — Edith Mae
Merkey
infeftfe
1 i ,
Nathan Miller: Legislate
Among delegates to be seated in the
General Assembly of \'irginia in Jan-
uary is a 28-year-old layman of the
Church of the Brethren. Nathan H.
Miller.
A lawyer. Nathan became a candi-
date for the office only five weeks
before the November general elec-
tion. He was invited to enter the race
after another Republican party
candidate withdrew.
In the legislature he will be one of
two representatives of the Sixteenth
District, comprised of three counties,
Rockingham. Shenandoah, and Page,
including the city of Harrisonburg.
The term is two years, invoking a
60-day session this January and a
30-day session a year later.
Unmarried. Nathan is a member of
the Bridgewater Church of the Breth-
ren. He is vice-chairman of the
church board and has taught post
high youth. He also is president-
elect of the Alumni Association of
Bridgewater College, where he grad-
uated w ith a degree in economics in
\965.
Beyond church and college,
Nathan has sung with the Rocking-
ham Male Chorus, worked with
Jaycees of Harrisonburg and the
Rotary Club of Bridgewater, and par-
ticipated in the local Project Concern,
which is organized to extend oppor-
tunities to underprivileged children
2 MESSENGER 1-1-72
through such programs as day camp,
recreation, and a Saturday Adoption
project.
For the past two years, since at-
taining a law degree from the Univer-
sity of Richmond, he has been an as-
sociate in a Harrisonburg law firm.
An appointive position which he is
terminating with the new responsibil-
ity is the judgeship of the municipal
court in Timberville.
The election campaign itself was
virtually nonissue-oriented, Nathan
explained, largely because none of the
four candidates had records to
defend.
When confronted by voters with
questions about his youthfulness,
Nathan was quick to admit to inex-
perience. But while making no prom-
ises, he expressed his eagerness to
serve the community and state by
working hard and striving to assert a
positive influence in the legislature.
The Harry Brandts: Lifelong communicators
When Harry A. Brandt "gets tickled"
about something, his tanned face
creases and his eyes snap mischie-
vously underneath their generous lids.
Mr. Brandt got tickled when, on
his first visit to the denominational
headquarters since 1947. someone
inquired if he could "take stairs" one
flight down to the historical library.
A slow smile and those twinkling
eyes accompanied a nudge of my arm.
He whispered conspiratorially: "My
problem is, Tm eighty-six!"
And with that, the onetime man-
aging editor of Gospel Messenger
stepped quickly down the stairs to the
library where he might inspect the
copies of his books stored there, and
books written by his wife of two
years. Lucile Long Strayer Brandt.
The Brandts had been longtime
friends, from the summers twenty-five
years ago when Lucile read manu-
scripts in the Gospel Messenger of-
fice. Their careers diverged, hers to
a lifetime of teaching — "my first
love" — at Mount Morris. Bridge-
water, and La Verne colleges and at
Hillcrest School in Nigeria; his to a
lively retirement in which he has
pursued interests in writing poetry
and essays. A student of haiku, the
seventeen-syllablc Japanese form,
Mr. Brandt devised an entire book,
parts in the traditional western mode,
parts in haiku, to illustrate some dif-
ferences between two ways of com-
municating.
The Brandts have strong feelings
about communication. The former
editor comments. "The dearth of
knowledge about the Bible creates a
communication gap between writers
today and older persons. Modern
writers' allusions are different." More
adamantly than her husband, Mrs.
Brandt expresses dismay at what she
feels is a disregard for the classical
writings and languages that were her
staples in school and later in teaching.
When the Brandts had left the
Elgin headquarters for their home at
La Verne. Calif.. I borrowed from
the library Mrs. Brandt's Anna Eliza-
heih. 17 and Mr. Brandt's The
Japanese-American Haiku Tourna-
ments. The language of each volume
contains a vitality and a craftsman-
ship, reflecting well the lively intel-
lects of two whose art has long been
communication.
M-72 MESSENGER 3
From the General Board
VOTING TO JOIN PROJECT
1 EQUALITY, the Church of the
Brethren General Board in
I November reversed the posi-
tion it had taken in June. Board members
asked a review in two years of participa-
tion in the national organization.
Possible denominational membership
in Project Equality has occupied the
board for two years and last summer
came before the Annual Conference as a
congregational query. At that time the
delegate body sustained the board's rec-
ommendation that the Brethren refrain
from full membership but confront its
suppliers with Project Equality guidelines
for fair opportunity employment and
buying practices.
The matter came under a second re-
view when the church's professional staff
strongly voted its disappointment at the
Conference action and asked the board's
executive committee to reconsider the
issue. In taking the action, the Brethren
join some 400 area and national religious
bodies in 23 states in Project Equality.
The staff, in bringing its rational for
reconsideration, stated: "The board's rec-
ommendation was illogical. It is mathe-
matically impossible to add all the posi-
tive factors of the board's expressed feel-
ing about Project Equality and arrive at
the negative conclusion which it did" —
the recommendation that was acted upon
at the St. Petersburg Conference. The
new action comes in light of the Annual
Conference directive last year for contin-
uing consideration of Project Equality by
the board and by congregations, and will
appear as part of the board's report to the
1972 Conference.
In stating some reasons for member-
ship, the staff called it '"the strongest and
most effective program of its type to ap-
pear on the horizon." They noted too
that "membership commits us to do in
deed what we have said in words. It pro-
vides a systematic way of making con-
crete our good intentions."
.Some concern was raised for belonging
to Project Equality and paying the fees
when the denominational offices are al-
ready striving to meet the guidelines in
its purchasing and employment practices.
Brethren have always maintained that
their word is as good as their bond, said
one staff executive, but now they want to
substitute their bond for their word.
There was an uncertainty whether in
joining Project Equality the denomina-
tion was required, or merely encour-
aged, to hire persons of minority races at
all levels of its structure. The prevailing
"white character" of the denomination
might prevent this. The Illinois-Wiscon-
sin executive, whose district is allied with
Project Equality, assured the board its
autonomy is not at stake. One board
member. Dr. Jesse Ziegler of Dayton,
Ohio, said he was prepared to vote for
the employment of non-Brethren profes-
sional staff when the need and opportu-
nity arises.
Dr. Dale W. Brown, the current church
moderator, said that on this issue the
church appears more anti-ecumenical
than on many other issues in recent years.
The World Ministries Commission ex-
ecutive, Joel K. Thompson, saw Project
Equality in the role of a consultant and
said "we as Brethren need help in this
area and Project Equality is one source of
help."
At least four of the 22 districts of the
church are known to be participating in
Project Equality.
EQUALITY FOR WOMEN,
2 under study for nearly two
years, will be looked at by
I General Board program units
for recommendations on implementation
of the ten requests and thrusts brought
forth. Still, the board did affirm that the
paper was a "basis of getting ahead with
the correction of acknowledged discrimi-
nation of women" and asked the commit-
tee to refine sections — especially on
biblical foundations — in light of the
board's discussion.
Aside from the ten implementing rec-
ommendations, the paper held numerous
suggestions for developing awareness of
the issue and the leadership potential of
women, for changing the portrayal of
women in media, and for changing dis-
criminatory practices under law. Of the
recommendations referred by the board
for examination, those not under its pur-
Noncy Peters: Correcting discrimination
David Rittcnhoiise: Concept of wholeness
Rosa Page Welch: Sorry for white women
4 MESSENGER 1-1-72
view were sent to appropriate church
agencies.
The main focus of the recommenda-
tions dealt with the creation of a full-
time staff post, filled by a woman, for
self-realization of women in the church;
balanced representation by sex in com-
mittees, delegations, and nomination
processes; women awareness trainers;
women's studies at church-related col-
leges and the seminary; additions regard-
ing women to the Keysort Card File; and
church support of the Equal Rights
Amendment bill.
To have accepted the report's recom-
mendations outright, some persons felt,
would have bypassed consideration of
feasibility of implementation within the
church's budgeted resources. Some of
the recommendations are already being
implemented, noted General Secretary
S. Loren Bowman, and others will now
require recommendations for action from
program units.
A few of the board members spoke to
the document from their own profession-
al disciplines: Dale W. Brown, Lombard,
lU., seminary professor, on the weakness
of the section on women and the Bible;
Wayne B. Zook, Wenatchee, Wash.,
physician, on the lack of biological and
emotional considerations between the
sexes; sociologist Leon C. Neher, Quinter,
Kan., on what he saw as confusion of
dignity of human worth with social roles;
and attorney Robert M. Keim, Somerset,
Pa., on questions concerning a portion
critical of the protection of women under
the law.
One perspective came from the only
black person and non-Brethren on the
board, Mrs. Rosa Page Welch of Chi-
cago. "For the first time I feel myself
feeling sorry for white women," she said,
noting the "extreme protection" given
white women by men. Black families
have been matriarchal, she said, because
the manhood of the black man has been
put down and the black woman has had
to take the lead in work and family.
Highpointing the different perspec-
tives among the board, David B. Ritten-
house, pastor of five rural churches in
Appalachia, observed that "your prob-
lems are really not problems of women
Lve known the best."
"I feel sad that there are people who
have never captured the concept of
wholeness in their life," he said, noting
that he has not found the humanness
among liberated women as he has found
among the women in West Virginia.
"Let's acknowledge that there are some
very wholesome and healthy people in
the traditional family," he urged.
But Dr. Jesse H. Ziegler, Dayton, Ohio,
called the report "winsome, brilliant, in-
sistent, nonthreatening, but calling for
change." Calling himself to penitence,
he said, "I have consistently been a part
of what the committee calls attention to."
GOVERNMENT BOND owner-
3 ship by the church, like the war
that bonds are said to support,
I may be winding down, but not
wmdmg up — as some persons are urg-
ing. Replying to the 1971 National
Youth Conference resolution calling on
the church to dispose of all government
bonds, the General Board rejected a pro-
posed reply from its investment commit-
tee and asked the Administrative Council
to bring further options in March for
handling fiscal operations without the use
of bonds. Board members also called for
the investment committee to consider
selling any stocks held with the dozen top
corporations supplying war materials.
The rejected proposal would have put
the board on record as reconfirming its
opposition to war, not purchasing addi-
tional bonds as long as the national bud-
get is so heavily military oriented, per-
mitting the sale of bonds held as cash
needs arise, and opposing immediate liq-
uidation of the remaining bonds held.
Board views ranged from those who
sought to dispose of the $617,933 in
bonds held by the church "as a witness to
the nation" for peace, to those who saw
the bonds supporting many good things
of government. Other arguments against
disposal included the cash liquidity on
short notice of the bonds, the loss that
would be suffered in the sale of the bonds,
and the fact that $259,880 of the total is
pledged for a Bethany Seminary loan.
One staff member challenged the as-
sumption that the bonds are a means of
financing the war, but rather lend sta-
bility to the government. Another indi-
cated that the cash put into a savings ac-
count could be invested by the bank in
bonds anyway, and that the church owed
a fiscal responsibility to donors of the
money in not risking a financial loss in
any premature sale of the bonds.
"The government bonds in the invest-
ment portfolio are not considered war
bonds," noted the board's investment
committee, "but are issues which were
put out from time to time for general
government operations, including pro-
grams that we enthusiastically support."
Many of the bonds held by the Breth-
ren were purchased in the 1950s, and no
further purchases have been made since
1965. During the past fiscal year the
church sold half a million dollars in gov-
ernment bonds.
Likely to come before the Cincinnati
Conference next year is a query from
Southern Ohio that the church investi-
gate payment of the telephone tax and
the holding of U.S. government securities
which are believed to support war.
'i^uilM'x
Nigeria Committee. 1 to r: C. Bieber. D.
Stent. M. Croiise. H. Rover. J. Grimlev
FIFTY YEARS IN NIGERIA
4 will be observed in 1973 by the
Church of the Brethren, a cele-
I bration which may take various
torms. Suggestions placed with General
Board program units for possible imple-
mentation include special highlights in
Messenger and Agenda, special Sunday
bulletins during the year, a commemora-
tive pictorial book on the culture and
traditions of the peoples of the North-
Eastern State, a tour of Nigeria, a film-
strip, and receiving Nigerians in the U.S.
for deputation. Annual Conference lead-
ership, and fellowship.
The primary' focus of the celebration
should be on the development of the Ni-
gerian church, decided a committee of
Charles M. Bieber, Merle Crouse, John
1-1-72 MESSENGER 5
B. Grimley, Howard E. Royer, and
Donald L. Stern.
"This is an opportunity to become bet-
ter acquainted with the Nigerian people
and nation of today and to see the Church
of Christ in the Sudan, Lardin Gabas, as
a responsible church living and witnessing
in that context."
The committee saw the anniversary as
an occasion for "expressing our joy for
these relationships and for what God has
wrought during 50 years of working
together."
THE NEED FOR NEW RELA-
TIONSHIPS between the
A ■ Church of the Brethren and
the Lardin Gabas (Eastern
District ) of the Church of Christ in the
Sudan was illustrated in discussion by the
General Board's World Ministries Com-
mission in light of a constitution adopted
in 1970 by the Lardin Gabas Church giv-
ing it an independent, indigenous status.
While the change in status little affects
the work of the Brethren with Lardin
Gabas, it is now clear that the latter's
organizational relationship with the de-
nomination is no longer that of a district.
The stance of continuing relationships
between the Brethren and the Nigerians
are being worked out by field staff.
"I do not sense any desire to break
bonds of fellowship," said Joel K.
Thompson, World Ministries executive.
"I experienced only the joy and enthusi-
asm of persons who felt that they have
now come of age and who wish to work
and serve the church in ministrv' togeth-
er." Mr. Thompson recently made an
administrative visit to Nigeria.
He stressed the continuing goals and
involvements which the U.S. church will
have in Nigeria, the current new medical
program — Lafiya — being one ex-
ample. The Lardin Gabas action follows
the 1955 Annual Conference action that
Brethren missions become independent,
national, and indigenous churches.
"The challenge for us in the years
ahead is to now accept the fulfillment of
the mandate of Conference 1 6 years ago
and to rejoice with our brethren around
the world as we accept their desire for
and realization of belonging to their own
church which is a part of the total body
of Christ," Mr. TTiompson said.
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
6 will engage the General Board
at its March meeting, when the
I Brotherhood and Bethany The-
ological Seminary staffs will bring recom-
mendations for interim and long-range
financing of theological education in the
denomination. The suggestions will aim
at dealing concretely with the financial
responsibility assigned the board by the
1971 Annual Conference for the semi-
nary's fiscal solvency for the 1971-72 and
1972-73 budget years. An interchange of
discussion and models for financing the-
ological education in the church has been
occurring between the Bethany and Elgin
staffs.
The study committee appointed by An-
nual Conference plans to make its pro-
posals in February to the seminary board
of directors to be recommended to the
1972 Annual Conference. In March the
General Board and the Study Committee
will evaluate the proposals.
SEVEN NEW PERSONS sat on
7 General Board for the first time
since their election in June at
I the St. Petersburg conference:
Ilia Ridlt Addiniitou ■ 58, manager for
22 years and, since August, director of
member relations of Mason-Dixon Em-
ployees Credit Union operating at 49 lo-
cations in 15 states, Kingsport, Tenn.
Kingsport congregation. General Serv-
ices Commission.
Robert A. Bycrly ■ 56, executive direc-
tor. University Center at Harrisburg, Pa.
Former pastor at Big Creek, Okla., and
Kokomo, Ind., and Bible professor at
Elizabethtown College. Resident of
Camp Hill, Pa.; member, Harrisburg
First church. Trustee, Elizabethtown
College and Camp Swatara. Parish Min-
istries Commission.
Samuel H. Flora, Jr. ■ 48, pastor,
Waynesboro, Pa.; formerly at North Bal-
timore, Md., Morgantown, W. Va.,
Pleasant Valley, Va.; was Second Vir-
ginia district executive from 1958-63.
1971 chairman of Waynesboro Ministe-
rium. General Services Commission.
Dean L. Frantz ■ 52, church relations
director, Manchester College, North
Manchester, Ind, since 1964. Former
pastor at Pleasant Hill, Ohio, and Mount
Morris, III. On Bethany Seminary faculty
for seven years. North Manchester con-
gregation. World Ministries Commission.
David B. Ritteuhoiise ■ 40, pastor.
Five Houses of Pocahontas congregation.
Resides in Dunmore, W. Va. Served
three years in Ecuador, and in Germany
and Turkey with Brethren Volunteer
Service. Shenandoah District board
member. World Ministries Commission.
Robert L. Strickler ■ 56, pastor, West-
ernport, Md. Former pastorate at Gaith-
ersburg, Md., 1959-68. Current West
Marva district moderator. Parish Min-
istries Commision.
Wayne B. Zook ■ 44, general practice
physician, Wenatchec, Wash. Former
flight surgeon, U.S. Air Force. We-
natchee Valley congregation. Former
General Board member, 1963-68; district
moderator, 1968-69. On United Min-
istries district study committee. General
Services Commission.
New board members
scanning; at^enda jor
November gathering:
back row, I to r,
Robert Byerly. Dean
Frantz, David Ritten-
house, Robert Strickler.
Front, I to r, Wayne
Zook, Ina Ruth
Addington, Samuel
Flora
6 MESSENGER 1-1-72
IN A RESOLUTION ON PAK-
ISTAN, the General Board ex-
pressed "its deep conipassioQ
and sympathy for those mil-
lions ot Its fellow human beings who are
the victims of this massive human
tragedy."
The resolution, affirming one earlier
adopted by the General Board of the Na-
tional Council of Churches, urged the
"U.S. government to increase substantial-
ly its support for the work of the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees in East
Pakistan, its contribution to relief etiorts
among the growing millions of refugees
in India, and its effort through diplomatic
channels to end the conflict and achieve a
peaceful and equitable political settle-
ment." Suspension of economic and mil-
itary aid to Pakistan was also asked.
Emergency disaster funds of $39,500
were voted for use in Pakistan Refugee
Relief, of which $5,000 may be used
domestically for diplomatic steps aimed
at carrying out the intent of the resolu-
tion. With previous disaster funds given
for the East Pakistan cyclone disaster and
for the Pakistan Refugee Relief in India,
the Brotherhood's total commitment to
date comes to $50,000.
An additional $5,000 in disaster funds
was voted for aiding through Church
World Service India's Orissa State struck
on Oct. 29-30 by a cyclone and tidal
wave.
I REJECTION OF THE FOREIGN
mM AID authorization bill by the
^^ U.S. Senate on Oct. 29 directly
I affected agencies with which
the Church of the Brethren works in ma-
terial aid efforts, specifically Church
World Service, Heifer Project, Inc., and
International Voluntary Services, Inc.
Kenneth I. McDowell told the World
Ministries Commission that the four
Brethren material aid centers are almost
completely dependent on continuing
ocean freight reimbursement to ship relief
materials since the other agencies would
not have budgeted funds. "Likewise, we
would not have funds to ship the quan-
tities of medical supplies which we re-
ceive from Intcrchurch Medical As-
sistance for medical program in India
and Nigeria," said the community devel-
opment consultant.
[LQDIldlSD^DDDl]^
PEOPLE you KNOW
Continuing education and business
achievements were criteria for the naming of Louise Woods
of Ankeny, Iowa, as American Businesswoman of the Year.
Mrs. Woods is a member of the Ankeny congregation.
F. Willard Powers, Mount Morris, 111., has been ap-
pointed to the new U.S. Postal Service Advisory Council,
generally regarded as among the most important appointive
positions in government.
Becky Swick Day at Pleasant Hill, Pa., honored adult
volunteer Rebecca Swi ck , reported to be "riding on a cloud"
after tJie presentation to her of a Jeep and other gifts by
her home congregation. She has served five years in parish
work at Midway, Tenn.
Placed in Kentucky by the Mennonite Central Committee
for a two-year assignment are Paul and Mary Esh, members
of Trinity Church of lihe Brethren, Detroit, Mich.
Cited by World Ministries Commission for fourteen years'
service in Nigeria were Dr_. and Mrs . Beryl McCann , whose new
address is 816 N. Ninth St., Durant, Okla. 74701.
Former BVSer John Jehnsen, the son of Nappanee, Ind. ,
Service Center director Ernest Jehnsen, was killed in an
automobile accident in mid-November.
AFTER FIFTY YEARS
anniversaries :
Mr.
. Celebrants of fiftieth wedding
and Mrs. John Metz, Ambler, Pa.; the
George W_. Geibs , Manheim, Pa. ; the Robert L_. Byrds ,
Bridgewater, Va.; and Mr_. and Mrs . Vernon Brubaker, Adel,
Iowa.
We salute other couples who are observing anniver-
saries: the Ralph G. Ra ricks , Elkhart, Ind., fifty-four;
the Ervin Weavers , North Manchester, Ind., sixty; Mr_. and
Mrs . Edward Schwass , Ambler, Pa., sixty; the Clarence
Weber s , Dallas Center, Iowa, sixty-two; and Mr_. and Mrs .
Clarence B. Rhodes , Martinsburg , Pa., sixty-six.
WE GOOFED'. And our faces are red. Apologies are
due Maynard Shelly , whose article "The Superstar Who Was
Jesus Christ" (Oct. 15) was incorrectly attributed to
another author. Maynard, former editor of The Mennonite,
is with the Mennonite Central Committee in Pakistan.
And while we're at it, we discovered that the address
of Barbara Bechtel , listed in the same October issue as
one Manchester College student attending Brethren Colleges
Abroad, is not Boise, Idaho, but is Linthicum Heights, Md.
CONGREGATIONAL COLLAGE . . . Two congregations of Breth-
ren recently celebrated anniversaries of founding: North-
view church at Indianapolis, Ind., marked a seventieth
year Nov. 21, and First Central church in Kansas City,
Kans., inaugurated a year-long observance of its seventy-
fifth birthday with a Thanksgiving celebration.
Twelve persons at Trinity Church of the Brethren , De-
troit, Mich., have made a commitment to fast as a religious
discipline, challenged by young people who attended Nation-
al Youth Conference. Funds from the fasting will be
divided between community needs and national or interna-
tional needs as determined by the youth.
1-1-72 MESSENGER 7
psoDaD [rsp(Q)[rt^
In South Asia—
'A world that wants to help'
bv RONALD E. KEENER
Ihe horror that has swept East Pakistan
and the human burden placed upon
northern India can be communicated by
imagining the total evacuation of New
York City.
Since last March, when a dispute en-
sued beween East Pakistani leaders, the
newly elected majority party Awami
League, and the Pakistani government.
10 million East Pakistanis have crossed
the border to India in the wake of army
policies that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
and others have called genocide. More
than 200.000 social, civil, and political
leaders of East Pakistan have been killed
since March.
American journalist Leon Howell has
observed in East Pakistan that with the
immense proportions of the conflict, "a
world that wants to help does not really
know how."
His eyewitness report caused him to
reflect too that "even humanitarian relief
has political content. Concerned individ-
uals and groups have been confronted
once again with the futility of bringing
sustenance to people in need when the
political ramifications destroy the human
charity."
Not that past natural and man-made
disasters haven't had their political impli-
cations. The Nigerian civil conflict is a
classic and most recent example.
One supporter of the East Pakistan lib-
eration forces observed: "There is no way
foreign agencies can bring in food here
that will not give the martial law author-
ity greater control. By feeding us you
undercut the revolution that is the only
solution here."
Revolution. Not a comfortable word
or concept for many Brethren and other
churchmen. But for the more perceptive
readers of what is occurring in that part
of the world, revolution in the form of an
independent Bangladesh ("the country of
Bengal") is becoming the goal of freedom
fighters in East Pakistan.
Had West Pakistan, having 40 percent
of the population of the geographically
split country but dominating the political
and economic life of the nation since it
was formed in 1947, allowed the Awami
League to govern the country, something
short of independence might have
occurred.
Church of the Brethren refugee relief
efforts have been channeled largely
through India, where the politics of the
situation are less intense but nonethe-
less present as India finds her economy
pushed to its limit by the spiraling costs
of aiding the refugees. Per capita each
refugee in India is receiving in food,
clothing, and medicines more than the
"average" Indian citizen's daily income.
On top of this lies the fact that the ref-
ugees are concentrated in one of the most
volatile areas of India with high unem-
ployment and a low political flashpoint.
Yet while the primary thrust of the
Brethren is in direct relief — totaling
$39,500 thus far in disaster funds — the
diplomatic and political aspects of the
situation are being approached, too, with
the appropriation of $5,000 to be used
in connection with efforts to end the
conflict and achieve a peaceful and
equitable settlement.
The needs are apparent on both sides
of the India-East Pakistan border, but
more difficult when Pakistan won't
officially recognize its own internal strife.
As one person has observed, the gov-
ernment of Pakistan has warned that any
international organization that attempts
to intervene in East Pakistan under the
guise of humanitarian assistance will be
in effect supporting "Indian aggressive
designs and interference in Pakistan's
internal affairs." The conclusion: Plainly,
no agency will, or at least should, be
willing to get into the position where
their action can be used as an excuse for
a worsening of relations between India
and Pakistan.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of the Sen-
ate Subcommittee on Refugees and Es-
capees in early November told a group of
officials from church, relief, and politi-
cally concerned agencies that by the close
of the year 200,000 children below
eight years will have died.
The gathering was an informal con-
sultation on the American response to
East Pakistani events, attended for the
Church of the Brethren by H. Lamar
Gibble, peace and international affairs
consultant, and Ronald E. Keener,
Messenger associate editor. Among the
reports they heard:
Dr. •Lincoln Chen, famine and nutri-
tion specialist: Famine in East Pakistan
has not developed, but pockets of starva-
tion do exist now.
Bruce Laingen, Department of State
country director for Pakistan and
Afghanistan: TTie U.S. has not been the
major supplier in arms to Pakistan since
1965 and since then has contributed only
a small part to equipping Pakistan mili-
tarily.
Edward C. Dimock Jr.. University of
Chicago: The Pakistan we've known since
1947 is in fact dead. There is no way in
which Bengal can return to the state of
edgy coexistence with West Pakistan.
Maharajakrislma Rasgotra, Indian Em-
bassy political affairs minister: It is di-
versionary to transform the situation into
an Indian-Pakistan question and ask
United Nations intervention. The prob-
lem has arisen from the suppression by
the military government of the expression
of open elections.
S.A.M.S. Kihria, Bangladesh Mission
chief political officer: In eight months, a
point of no return has been reached in
now seeking anything short of inde-
pendence.
Peter Frelinghiiysen. New Jersey Con-
gressman: The East Pakistan crisis is "the
sleeper crisis of the 70s," drifting deeper
into chaos.
(A Pakistani Embassy representative
refused to appear at the consultation on
the same program as the Bangladesh
Mission "conspirators.")
From the consultation will come a con-
tinuing group working at providing in-
formation regarding the humanitarian
needs of the crisis, promoting a debate
concerning possible political solutions to
the problems, and encouraging coopera-
tion and information exchanges between
those in humanitarian and political work.
Despite the declaration of the Indian
Embassy official that all of the refugees
must one day return to East Pakistan, the
facts of the situation make that develop-
ment improbable.
Many might return to an independent
Bangladesh, but many more will never
return — especially the 75 percent of
them who as Hindus fear extermination
by the Muslim troops of the Punjab.
"As I hid in the paddy," one man is
said to have observed, "they came to my
village and tore off the loungis (sarongs)
from the men. If they were uncircum-
cized (meaning they were not Muslim or
perhaps Christian, but Hindu) they were
shot on the spot."
Dr. J. Harry Haines of New York,
executive secretary of the United Meth-
odist Committee for Overseas Relief,
likens the conflict to a civil war and
discounts any interpretation of it as a
religious war. Still, one speaker at the
consultation finds it more akin to the
American revolution than to War
Between the Slates.
Christians form a relatively small
minority of the Pakistani population, and
fully one third of them are now in Indian
refugee camps.
Dr. Haines believes that if the refugees
keep coming into India, and if there is no
way for them to return to Pakistan, war
with Pakistan may become India's only
way to solve its dilemma. This is indeed
the ever growing concern.
The refugees are not India's responsi-
bility, but there is no escape. The vic-
tims of West Pakistan's repression of the
eastern wing of the country are now
India's burden — perhaps for years.
Life in the refugee camps remains in-
tolerable. One report puts it graphically:
"People sit like automatons. The chil-
dren, even the youngest, are deprived of
childishness, infants are skull faces on
skeleton bodies, the adults paralyzed in
resignation, bodies defeated by the physi-
cal ordeal, minds and hearts by terror."
And in the more settled, healthful camps,
where the death rate is less of a worry,
the concern grows for the birth rate.
Should international relief agencies
make the effort in East Pakistan as they
have in India with the refugees?
"Probably so," concludes journalist
Leon Howell, "but only if this does not
lull the world into thinking that the real
solution is not political.
"An experienced Catholic priest work-
ing in the Khulna area most destroyed by
the military barked in an emotion-filled
voice:
" "The ones who are clearly starving to
death, the ones who will continue to
starve, are those who are being hunted,
who can not come out to claim their
morsel even from the relief agencies.
And the only way to save them is to stop
the himting.' "
One World Council of Churches writer
reflected that "the situation in Pakistan
raises many of the tensions between
justice and service in a very dramatic
way but perhaps most of all it points to a
very humbling insight. Could it be that
sometimes Christian obedience must in-
volve suffering in not being able to do
very much?" n
1-1-72 MESSENGER 9
M\(n)d(B\rm^(Q)\r
A profile of Dale Brown
^^alc BrowTi's jutting jaw. which he
thrusts almost in your face, is aggres-
sively friendly. He approaches you to
let you in on the story of his latest en-
counter: On a recent trip he had a
chance to become acquainted with a
young Brethren.
"And then I discovered." Dale says,
'"that his two heroes are .-^rt Gish and
Ronald Reagan!"
Dale chuckles as you exclaim over
the obvious contradiction of a young
nonconformist Brethren itinerant
preacher and the highly conservative
governor of California. Then he inter-
rupts.
"But when you listen to the man's
philosophy, it makes perfect sense!"
Dale is obviously delighted at discov-
ering someone who'd put things to-
gether in such an unexpected way, not
a way that Dale would choose, but one
that he could savor.
"You see, he's a conservative Breth-
ren," Dale says, "and he identifies con-
servatism with practices like the anoint-
ing service, the plain costume, and the
love feast. He's also a political con-
servative — I think he's in Young
Americans for Freedom — so he likes
Ronald Reagan. He likes Art Gish" —
Dale's deep laughter interrupts him
here — "because of his hat and beard."
Dale W. Brown, 1971-72 moderator
of the Church of the Brethren, is him-
self a person who has things put to-
gether in an unexpected way — a blend
of the old and the new, the radical and
the conservative. His strong concern
for the personal, for the here and now,
draw old, young, radicals, and con-
10 MESSENGER 1-1-72
servatives into easy identification with
him. And when you get to know him,
the way he puts things together makes
perfect sense.
Dale Brown's parents provided him
with the kind of Christian home that
made him feel secure in their love, and
later in the love of God. The church
community in Kansas where he grew
up provided him with the strong sense
of support that is needed by a sepa-
rated and peculiar people maintaining
their witness in wartime. A freewill
Brethren preacher with whom he
worked in Nebraska gave him a feeling
for anti-institutionalism in the church.
The church itself provided him the op-
portunity to study theology and to
preach; he still can't quite believe that
he gets paid for doing what he likes to
do best.
finally, the whole Christian experi-
ence raised in him the concern for the
suffering people of the world that
leads to what he calls his paradox:
"Liking my job and extremely happy
with my family, yet passionately un-
happy with the militarism and in-
justices of our world — meantime in
both my happiness and unhappiness
experiencing a strong identification
with that company of people who
through the centuries have been called
Christians, especially the sectarians,
and their chief Leader."
When Dale found that he had been
elected moderator, the highest non-
staff position in the denomination,
his first thought was, "The world has
come into the church." I asked him
what he meant.
"Recognition in the church has be-
come much like recognition in the
world." he said. "Circumstances get
people recognized. . . . But someone
who's very faithful — like some of the
real saints of the church whom I see in
my travels — never has a chance to be
elected to any office. Because it's just
like the Bible says, 'The greatest shall
be the servants," and the servants are
not necessarily those who become
recognized by the church bodies. If I
had a list of saints — 1 don't — they
would not be people the church would
be seeking to ser\'e as moderator."
He mentioned to me two or three of
his classmates who have purposely
stayed in churches of only fifty or
sixty people, and a farmer-preacher
who serves five or six congregations,
living on an income below the taxable
level.
"In church life, and the Church of
the Brethren is no exception to that,
the scale of values and the ways that we
evaluate each other are not identical to
the kingdom and the way God evalu-
ates people. That's just very obvious
to me."
"My slow realization of the basic
sicknesses of A merican society has
brought me to a mood of noncon-
formity, and drawn me into radical
protest. This has not come easily.
Consequently, I have recently found
myself in more basic conflict with more
of my daily associates than in all my
previous life."
As a student and as a pastor he had
I
by William H. Kuenning
Grandson of two free Brethren ministers. Dale W.
Brown was the fourth child in a family of five boys. He
was brought up in a lower middle-class neighborhood,
in a family then considered wealthy by neighborhood
standards, though this would not be true today. His
father was a grocer and small businessman in Wichita,
Kansas, whose principles prevented him from renting
out some store property for two years lest it be used
by a restaurant that would sell beer. His mother was
tenderhearted , and she readily identified with all her
neighbors. Dale thinks he has been fortunate to "gef
these qualities from his parents.
He attended a Brethren congregation across town,
where sixty to eighty percent of the young men were
conscientious objectors. On his side of town there were
no Brethren in the high school which he attended dur-
ing World War //, and he made common cause with
three young Quakers and got to know their families.
Church camps and the local pastor became unexpect-
edly strong influences in his life. He decided to forego
his strong interests and aptitudes in mathematics and
chemistry because he "felt there might be many people
pursuing these, but few to serve mankind," and he
chose McPherson College instead of the University of
Wichita.
A summer pastorate in western Nebraska brought
him into association with Elder D. G. Wine, an eighty-
year-old free minister, physically and spiritually a giant
of a man who had brought Brethren witness to a
"pagan" west 45 years before, and who had a tremen-
dous influence on Dale's life.
He studied three years at Bethany Seminary. Dur-
ing this time he was married to Lois Kauffman, whom
he had known at McPherson, and he and Lois subse-
quently served seven years in a relatively new pastorate
in Des Moines, Iowa, which they found hard to leave
when Dale was called to Bethany to teach while pur-
suing a doctoral program at Northwestern University.
He then returned to McPherson to serve as chaplain
and professor. He has been a professor at Bethany
Seminary since J 962.
The Browns have three children, high school age
Deanna and Dennis, and fifth-grader Kevin.
1-1-72 MESSENGER 11
'I was tired of always having to go outside the church to make my Christian witness'
been easygoing, had usually kept his
cool, and was known in college as a
guy who just didn't have a temper. As
a professor, his pacifism had led him
to support students from McPherson
College who had demonstrated against
the Omaha missile base. This had led
to some conflict, but it was the kind of
conflict he expected.
The war in Vietnam has emphasized
to him even more his differences with
America's penchant for war-making
and his differences with those who are
not alienated by this war-making. And
those in the church who are trying to
implement their concern for racial
justice, an end to poverty, and aid to
the oppressed and imprisoned, have
made a deep impression on him.
Several years ago one young man
came to him for advice about resisting
the draft. Dale tried to persuade him
to accept alternative service, as Dale
had done with dozens of others con-
sidering whether to choose alternative
service or the army. But this young
man kept raising questions that led
Dale to think through some of the limi-
tations with which alternative service
burdens their Christian witness. He be-
gan to understand the real frustrations
that young men were feeling about ac-
cepting it. Before long he had become
a conscientious supporter of con-
scientious draft resisters.
This new orientation leads to the
sadness he often feels nowadays in
finding himself "in more basic con-
flict with more of my daily associates
than in all my previous life," but a
sadness he cannot avoid.
This mood of sadness, of compas-
sion for those people throughout the
world whom we are preparing to in-
jure, and of anger at our complacency,
has led him to a number of actions
that many might consider radical. He
has, for example, participated in the
1966 open housing marches in Oak
Park, Illinois, been an observer for the
American Friends Service Committee
of the demonstrations at the 1968
Democratic National Convention in
Chicago, and participated in the march
on the Pentagon in 1967.
He refuses to pay his telephone tax
because it was levied specifically for
war. He participates in the Brethren
Action Movement (BAM), which has
sent aid to both North and South Viet-
nam, and which has been of help to
Brethren draft resisters. He became a
founder of BAM because, he said, "I
was tired of always having to go oiil-
side the church to make my Christian
witness."
"/ had this experience with this
eighty-year-old man, and I can't shake
him off."
Two moderators in conference: Dale W. Brown, left, and Harold Z. Bombcrger
12 MESSENGER \-\-12
His early encounter with Elder D. G.
Wine firmed up something in his trust
in the biblical teachings and his un-
easiness with calling an authoritative
institution the church. This elderly
farmer-preacher-scholar, father of
thirteen and foster parent to others,
who had never finished the eighth
grade, sat up nights one summer talk-
ing with Dale as long as Dale could
keep his eyes open. The free ministry
came to have great meaning for Dale,
and he began to question hierarchical
authority.
"I have always felt uncomfortable
with professional fund-raising cam-
paigns," Dale told me. His first sermon
was against being called "Reverend,"
and he's always "had this thing against
professionalism, especially where it
connotes a priestly caste."
"/ have been nncomjortahle at times
that I have been accepted so well."
At the St. Petersburg conference
last summer he found himself in a vig-
orous, emotional debate with some
conservatives following a committee
meeting they had attended together.
The argument, on resistance, continued
an hour and a half. At the end Dale
told them, "You know I wouldn't be
spending this long if I didn't like you
and take you seriously — I wouldn't
be caring this much."
His adversaries answered, "We like
you, because you don't just treat us
nice. You take us seriously enough to
argue with us."
In relating the story Dale com-
mented, "Now the t3rpe of treatment
they've often received has been, 'We'll
meet with you, and we'll listen to you.
. . . Now we've heard you; you should
be happy.' It is not enough to treat
people as though all they need is ca-
tharsis, fearing that if one argues with
them it will turn them off. People
don't only want to get things out of
their system. They want you to ac-
cept their proposals and act, or else
More on 26
AN ANNUAL CONFERENCE
WORKING PAPER
AStatement
Regarding
Abortion
The following statement is presented to
■ readers of Messenger by the Annual
Conference committee appointed to an-
swer two separate queries calling for
"guidance on the question of abortion."
This statement has been revised since
■ its referral back to the committee by
the 1971 Annual Confereitce. The Con-
ference further suggested that materials
on the question be made available for
the church to study and discuss.
What follows is a working document.
Since it may be revised further prior to
the 1972 Annual Conference, responses
from individuals and groups are sought
by the committee. Concerns may be
conveyed by letter, or noted on the dis-
cussion survey checklist on page 17.
BiblicalTeaehing
A Christian ethic regarding abortion
begins with the biblical teaching about
hfe and about love, two of the central
themes of scripture. It is well to re-
member that there are not many scrip-
tural passages directly related to the
question of abortion and that the direc-
tion of scripture is not so clear that
anyone can be dogmatic in his inter-
pretation. No biblical passage con-
demns or approves abortion as such.
Nevertheless the Bible shows God to
be very much concerned about both the
presence and quality of human life.
Therefore, we turn to passages about
life and about love. ...
The Bible teaches us that human life
is a sacred gift of God. This does not
mean that human beings have no part
in the creation of new life, for God
has clearly entrusted the cultivation and
propogation of human life into the
hands of persons (Genesis 1- — 2).
Nevertheless, it remains a sacred gift
of God and is at center a mystery be-
yond definition. Science can describe
the development of' the fetus, but it
cannot penetrate the mystery and
uniqueness of the person who is
brought into being by the hand of God.
It goes beyond scripture to insist that
conception is clearly the beginning of
personal human life. The birth an-
nouncements of scripture suggest that
a person may be chosen by God before
conception (Isaac) or during fetal de-
velopment (Jeremiah). God's promise
and blessing is critical in the creation
of persons, and that does not seem to
be identical with conception. Reference
to "conception" in scripture is nearly
always accompanied by reference to
"bringing forth," as in the phrase "con-
ceive and bear." Conception in itself
.is not indicative of personal life, since
only as that life is "brought forth" does
it become fully personal.
On the other hand many scriptural
passages seem to suggest that personal
life is deeper than viability, the time
at which a fetus may be born and live.
Heart, blood, mind, and breath are
signs of personal life. Biblically the
"heart" refers to the center of personal
being. "You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your might" (Deut.
6:5). Blood is the presence of life and
the sign of the covenant between God
and man (Deut. 12:23). The mind and
the strength, thinking and moving are
evidence of life. Soul and breathing are
closely associated, suggesting that full
personhood comes with breath. Thus
1-1-72 MESSENGER 13
ANNUAL CONFERENCE WORKING PAPER
the Bible seems to suggest multiple
signs of personal human life, not just
one. The body and the person are in-
separably joined in biblical teaching so
that the latter does not exist without
• the former. ■ - • ■ • ., ■
The Bible also places, much emphasis
upon the promise of a loving God and
the response of a caring community as
decisive in calling forth personal hu-
man life. The announcement of a child
to be bom is normally a time of joy
and thankfulness. Signs of quickening
. and movement within the womb height-
en expectancy for the coming child.
Sensitive persons are moved with rever-
ence in the' presence of a growing fetus
(Psalm 139). The Bible teaches us that
the earliest fetal life is precious, but
that its value increases as it takes on
more of the qualities of personal life
■ that are present at birth.
The Bible seems, then, to suggest
that the termination of fetal life is seri-
ously wrong, but not as wrong as the
taking of fully personal life. Such a
view- is implicit in E.xodus 21:22-25,
w^Jere the causing of a miscarriage may
be rectified by a payment to the injured
party. Should the expectant mother
■die, the guilty party may be required
to make compensation by giving his
own life'. It is therefore ordinarily
wrong to terminate the life of a human
fetus because the fetus is potentially a
. person, and because personal human
life is sacred. On the other hand, it is
not murder or manslaughter because
the fetus is not yet a person. Nothing
we find in the New Testament would
seem to alter this view. ■ >
The compassion we learn from Jesus
Christ leads us to give of ourselves for
the well-being of others. This means
that an expectant mother will consider
the well-being of the potential life she
carries as well as the well-being of oth-
er children she may have to be more
importiant than her own convenience.
At the same time it means that every
Christian is moved with compassion for
those who undergo an unwanted preg-
nancy. We are brought to confess those
attitudes that condemn and control oth-
er persons. We are motivated to work
for those institutions arid services that
fulfill life and that contribute to a com-
munitv wherein all children are wanted.
Social Considerations
We began with the biblical affirmation
that human life is sacred. This affirma-
tion does not, however, resolve the eth-
ical dilemma concerning the quality as
well as the fact of human life. Such
a dilemma is obvious when the life of
a mother is threatened by a pregnancy.
Most Brethren have been willing to al-
low that a fetus may be aborted to save
the life of the pregnant woman. This
seems well within the direction of bibli-
cal teaching, although we should mar-
vel at the love of a mother who would
voluntarily lay down her life in order
that her child might be born. Surely
no one should be required to do so. . ■ ■■
The dilemma is much more difficult
when the threat of world overpopula-
tion is considered.' Various population
estimates indicate that the world will
be intolerably overpopulated within two
or three generations if present popula-
tion trends continue. Is the threat of
overpopulation with attendant starva-
tion and death sufficient reason to re-
sort to abortion? Reverence for human
life should lead Christians to use con-
traceptive methods that are effective
prior to or during the earliest days of
pregnancy. The church should encour-
age everyone to become well ac-
quainted with the safe medical use of
such methods. Only with the failure
of such contraceptive methods might
one consider abortion, which in itself
is never desirable, and only then when
overpopulation poses a serious danger
and personal threat to those already
born as well as those about to be born.
Surely such may be the case in many
places in the world today.
The moral- dilemma of abortion is
complicated by the fact that abortion
is not nearly so available to the poor
as it is to those who are not poor. It
is hardly just or compassionate to en-
force strict abortion laws against those
who cannot afford to do anything but
comply. The dilemma is also compli-
cated by the fact that many hundreds
of women have lost their lives in recent
years ■ because of attempts at self-in-
duced abortion, or because of illegally
obtained abortions. An indirect impli-
cation of Exodus 21:22-25 is that legal
and hygienic facilities ought to be avail-
able so that such women do not lose
their lives.
There are many instances in which
a woman may find the birth of a child
wholly unbearable. The family may al-
ready be so poor that they are starving
or otherwise deprived. The child may
be defective and require care and ex-
pense that the pregnant woman with
her husband is wholly unable to give.
One cannot move from the sacredness
of human life to the principle that a
woman and her husband must undergo
the extreme sacrifices required by an-
other birth. On the other hand when
fetal life is so reverenced and potential
human life is so loved that a woman
and her husband do voluntarily and
wholeheartedly make such sacrifices,
then the church can give thanks and
celebrate God's compassionate Spirit
among us. Fetal life may never lightly
be sacrificed to our own convenience
or whim.
If young women and men are to
have a real choice regarding pregnancy,
then they must have instruction about
the sacredness of human sexuality, ac-
curate information about methods of
contraception, and persons to whom
they can turn for counsel. Further-
more, a woman who carries an un-
wanted pregnancy will have a real
choice only if counsel about adoption
and other options is available. If the
church is really concerned about hu-
man life, it must provide facilities for
the care of such women and their chil-
dren, counseling services, as well as
a climate of support within the con-
gregation.
14 MESSENGER 1-1-72
Medical and Counseling Considerations
Medical science views human life in
. various ways. Human life has been
seen by some simply in the potential
of ovum or sperm, by others as begin-
ning with fertilization (conception),
..; and by yet others as the capacity for
' ,;• personal interaction. Prior to interac-
tive functioning, human life is not eas-
ily distinguished from animal life ^-
yet, when can we say interaction be-
gins? The distinction between mere ex-
istence and a distinctly personal quality
in life is universal. Neither in terms
- of any one point in time of develop-
ment nor in any other measurable qual-
•, ity can science provide the definition
of this discrimination. Scientifically as
well as biblically, it seems most mean-
ingful to view human life as a sacred
gift that appears within a continuum
or developmental process.
Modern contraception has made
pregnancy a relatively deliberate and
free option for many persons in our
society. The risk to life and physical
■ health of the mother as a consequence •
■v.- of pregnancy and delivery is now small;
the physical risk accompanying medi-
cally ethical abortion procedures in the
first trimester of pregnancy is much
smaller. This risk increases, however,
as pregnancy progresses. In contrast,
the risk to health and life due to clah-
'■ destine, unhygienic, often desperate
„:' abortion procedures at the present time
;;.. is exceedingly high, and there are many
:'■' hundreds of needless deaths yearly.
Further technological advances in the
■ utilization of intrauterin devices
'.'" '(lUDs), the "morning-after" pill, and
. : the seemingly imminent appearance of
_. effective oral medication that will abort
. . by chemical means in the earliest stages
■ ■; of pregnancy, promise to make it in-
• creasingly difficult to delineate contra-
i.. ception from abortion. Existing public
laws with respect to abortion, therefore,
■• may well become increasingly irrelevant
• and unenforceable.
Technical discoveries about the ge-
,,~. netic and congenital abnormalities of
human development have increased the
■ ^' possibility of detecting carrier states of
• defective genes and chromosomal de-
..; fects and of predicting such disease in
/ potential offspring. Such conditions
may sometimes be diagnosed in mid-
pregnancy, but not before. Genetic
counseling considers the degree of risk
involved, the seriousness of the possible
defect, the parents' willingness to risk
having a defective child in the hope of
having a healthy one, the possibility that
a defective child might be helped by
medical or surgical procedures to
achieve a more nearly normal life, the
possible result of the defect on the life
of the child, on other members of
the family, and on society.
Recent psychological studies of
women who undergo therapeutic (med-
ically ethical) abortion have not sup-
ported generally held beliefs regarding
the emotional stress of such an experi-
ence. In the majority of cases, general
relief or a brief and mild guilt reaction
is reported. More severe disturbances
appear rarely. The psychiatrically dis-
turbed woman who undergoes abortion
seems to experience no loss of stability
and, sometimes, even improves. Fre-
quently expressed beliefs regarding the
occurrence of - involuntary infertility,
difficulty in sexual functioning, as well
as depression, are not substantiated by
the presently available evidence. There
is, however, continued expression of
concern by psychiatrists and psycholo-
gists about adverse effects, short-term
or long-term, individually or collective-
ly, of repeated resort to abortion.
Effective research has yet to be done
to clarify the real psychological and
social effects of changing social codes
regarding abortion and the response
that large numbers of persons are mak-
ing to these changes. Clinical experi-
ence with persons who have sought il-
legal abortion, usually in a context
fraught with tension, secrecy, fear, and
real risk to life and health, reveals fre-
quent important emotional trauma and
suffering about the experience. It ap-
pears that the condemnatory attitudes,
compassionlessness, and profound in-
sensitivity and lack of understanding
in ourselves and those around us lie
at the heart of this distress. Many of
the existing criminal' codes give sanc-
tion to these same attitudes and thereby
contribute to the tragic human suffer-
ing that often accompanies abortion.
Psychological studies of children and
of family life have brought a new and
increasing concern by behavioral scien-
tists about the problems of the "un-
wanted child.'-' Nearly everyone agrees
that being unwanted in early childhood
is devastating to the development of
personality and is the cause of many
behavioral and emotional problems.
Regarding these paradoxical, com-
plex, and sometimes conflicting values,
physicians and counselors are called
upon to relate to the person first of all.
They are asked to care, and to care
enough that they "would not want to
control, dominate, or manipulate per-
sons, but rather to set them free to
grow and to seek out their own highest
purposes. This requires a highly per-
sonalized view of every issue and every
moral choice. It also requires that
counselors and physicians must be able
to function in a setting that can reflect
and preserve their freedom of moral
choice and that is consonant with their
values and highest purposes.
Many people, including those in the
church, have tended to respond distant-
ly, impersonally, and judgmentally to
those who struggle personally with
these issues. Even when no longer ex-
pressed in legal prohibitions, these at-
titudes tend to be preserved by requir-
ing them of the medical profession.
l-i-72 MESSENGER 15
ANNUAL CONFERENCE WORKING PAPER
Professional people, as well as their
patients, have need for persons of great
compassion and insight who will under-
take to share the burden of moral de-
cision and thereby bring a fuller hu-
manity into the lives of all.
A Position Statement
Brethren strongly believe that all hu-
man life is sacred and that personal
life is the fullest expression of human
life. The question of abortion should
therefore be discussed within the con-
text of renewed sensitivity to the won-
der of personal human life and of hu-
man sexuality. We believe that abor-
tion should be considered an option
only when all other possible alterna-
tives lead to greater destruction of per-
sonal human life and spirit. We rejoice
with those who voluntarily give birth
at great personal sacrifice. Yet we also
support those who after prayer and
consultation find abortion to be the
least undesirable alternative available to
them and those they love. We believe
that such persons should be able to
make their decisions openly, honestly,
and without the burden and suffering
imposed by an uncompromising com-
munity. Furthermore we advocate that
all who seek abortions should be
granted sympathetic counsel about var-
ious alternatives as well as the health
and safety of publically available physi-
cians and hospital care.
Some Implications .
It is vital to the church that it educate
its members about the sacred spiritual
quality of human life and human sexu-
ality, so that the question of abortion
may be considered in proper context.
The church should provide study pack-
ets, current reading, study groups,
church school classes, workshops, and
personal acquaintance with the experi-
ence of those involved in abortion de-
cisions. Much further education re-
garding sexual relations, family plan-
ning, the meaning and practice of re-
sponsible parenthood, and the value of
persons is crucial to' the spiritual and
social well being of the Brotherhood.
This effort should be both an individual
and collective responsibility. The
Brotherhood should support other or-
ganizations such as Planned Parenthood
and Clergy Consultation Service in
their educational efforts. . . ..
Responsible parents should seriously
consider limiting family size, since over-
population poses a very real threat to
the whole of human life. However,
contraception and voluntary preventa-
tive measures such as vasectomy are
always preferable to abortion as a form
of birth control. , .\ ;._■ -, .:.
The Brotherhood should do every-
thing it can to make it possible for a
mother to want and care for all her
children. We can best show our con-
cern and compassion by providing
homes for women who do not want
their unborn child and for children who
are unwanted. We need to. foster a fel-
lowship of families and counselors who
would welcome and care for such wom-
en and their children.
In some situations abortion is per-
haps the least undesirable alternative
available. Decisions in such situations
are most nearly genuine when made
with consideration for all persons in-.
volved. Such situations include serious
threat to the lives and emotional well-
being of the mother and her family.
The precise definition of circumstances
must be left to the mother, the father,
the physician, the pastor, and other sig-
nificant persons in whom the mother
has confidence. (Situations such as
rape, incest, and malformation of the
fetus need not necessarily lead to abor-
tion if they do not seriously threaten
the emotional well-being of the mother
and the family.)
Any person who considers an abor-
tion should receive the best counsel
about options available, including adop-
tion and foster care. Such counsel
should encourage her and those close
to her to work through the decision
in view of the value of human life, the
consequences of the various options
available, and the well-being of those
most directly affected. We strongly op-
pose any action, direct or indirect, by
parents, physicians, the state, or anyone
else that would compel a woman to
seek an abortion against her will.
When abortion is performed, it should
always be done under acceptable medi-
cal care, and as early in the pregnancy
as possible.
Physicians are urged not only to con-
sult with their medical colleagues, but
also to seek other ways to share the
burden of moral responsibility so fre-
quently thrust upon them. They are
encouraged to resist the inclination to
shoulder the weight of decision in isola-
tion from others who are involved and
concerned. The meeting of minds,
whenever possible, of caring persons
most involved and most to be affected
by decisions that are made, gives dig-
nity, moral sensitivity, emotional sup-
port, and personal security to all con-
cerned. Any physician or attendant
who, because of personal moral con-
viction, chooses not to perform or par-
ticipate in an abortion, however legal,
should be free to do so jn good con-
science, and should receive the full sup-
port of the church. We urge a physi-
cian with such convictions to refer pa-
tients who may desire an abortion to
another competent certified doctor.
Brethren may in good faith work for
changes in laws regulating abortion
practice. Many existing laws add to
the guilt and degradation of life. We
support those who conscientiously act
for the repeal or alteration of such laws.
(Members o-f the Study Committee
on Abortion are Laurcc Hersch Meyer,
Taipei, Taiwan; Nancy Rosenberger
Faus, Wichita, Kansas; Sonja Griffith,
Clearwater. Fla.: Donald E. Miller, Oak
Brook, III.; Terry Murray, Huntingdon,
P<i.; Marianne Pittman, Champaign,
III.; and Dr. Dennis F. Rupel, River-
side, Calif.)
16 MESSENGER 1-1-72
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Pamphlets
Eternity. Evangelical Foundation, Inc.,
1716 Spruce St., Philadelphia, Pa.
19103. Feb. 1971. SOt"' per copy.
Abortion: A Human Choice. Board of
Christian Social Concerns, The United
Methodist Church, 100 Maryland
Ave. NE, Washington, D.C. 20002.
Order ;P 11 50. May 1971. 1-9 copies
5Q(- each. 10-24 copies AZi each. 25
or more copies AOi each.
Let's Look at Abortion. Council for
Christian Social Action, 289 Park Ave.
South, New York, N.Y. 10010. March
1971. 50(;' single copy. 10-99 copies
40c. 100 or more copies ?!5<^ each.
The Right to Abortion: A Psychiatric
View. Group for the Advancement of
Psychiatry, 419 Park Ave. South, New
York, N.Y. 10016. Vol. VII, No. 75,
Oct. 1969.
Books
Who Shall Live? Man's Control Over
Birth and Death. Prepared for the
American Friends Service Committee.
Hill and Wang, New York. 1970.
$1.75 paper.
Birth Control and the Christian. A Prot-
estant Symposium on the Control of
Human Reproduction. Edited by
Walter O. Spitzer and Carlyle L.
Saylor. Tyndale House Publishers,
Wheaton, 111. 60187. 1969.
The Terrible Choice: The Abortion
Dilemma. Bantam Books, 1968. Pa-
per.
Articles
Clare Boothe Luce, Two Books on Abor-
tion and the Questions They Raise.
National Review, Jan. 12, 1971, pp.
27-33.
E. Spencer Parsons, Abortion: A Private
and Public Concern. "Criterion," a
publication of the Divinity School of
the University of Chicago, Winter
1971, pp. 13-16.
Paul Ramsey, Feticide/ Infanticide Upon
Request. "Religion In Life," Summer
1970, pp. 170-186.
Study Packet
A packet of study resources, including
selected items from above, is available
at moderate cost and in quantities from
the Annual Conference Offlce, Church
of the Brethren General Board, 1451
Dundee Avenue, Elgin, Illinois 60120.
Several of the individual items above
also may be obtained from the Annual
Conference office at the prices indicated.
Record your personal response
Discussion/Survey
Checklist on Abortion
The following checklist may serve either as a guide for
personal study, a starter for group discussion, or a form for
responding to the Study Committee on Abortion. In looking
ahead to final revisions of the report appearing on pages 13-16,
the committee earnestly welcomes the reactions and com-
ments of Messenger readers.
1 Abortion is a question appropriate for the church to
consider:
n Yes D No
2 Human life should be considered fully personal at
the time of (Check one):
D conception n quickening' n viability'
D birth n some other time
3 The following is sufficient reason for abortion
(Check any number):
D threat to the mother's life
□ threat to the physical health of the mother
D rape
D incest
n fetal deformity
□ possibility of fetal deformity, e.g. rubella
D threat to the well-being of the family
n threat to the mother's emotional health
D threat of over-population
n the desire not to have a child
D other:
4 Civil law should continue heavily to restrict the
practice of abortion, as it now does in most states:
D Yes D No
5 A woman has the sole right to decide what happens
to a growing fetus within her body: n Yes 'Z No
6 Every woman who seeks an abortion has the right
to full medical care: nYes n No
7 The church should provide more teaching, counsel-
ing, and other services regarding attitudes toward
sex, family planning, and abortion than it now does:
D Yes n No
(Place in envelope and return to the Study Committee on
Abortion, Annual Conference Office, 1451 Dundee Avenue,
Elgin, Illinois 60120. Comments may be included on separate
sheets.)
1 W lien moiioii is first felt. -Capable of sin"vi\ing after birth.
1-1-72 MESSENGER 17
Going on Faith
in in© (jnSttO Looking at Bethany Brethren
and Garfield Park Connmunity
hospitals with Gregg W Downey
yi
X
-■-*si'
[-.dU.^
,^/
M
?ulrj:
f*^f-
^
^
"^^•■•'vf
K?E^;
i
n many respects Bethany Brethren
and Garfield Park Community hos-
pitals are models of what health care
providers in a ghetto should be.
There is a good rapport between hos-
pital management and the community;
care for the indigent, particularly out-
patient and emergency care, is provid-
ed before questions are asked about
money; the major administrators live
in the area and thus arc intimately
aware of their neighbors' problems.
Unfortunately, these two Chicago
institutions have one characteristic in
common with many other poverty-area
hospitals: a continuous state of near-
bankruptcy. "Unless present re-
imbursement methods are improved,"
said Vernon Showalter, executive di-
rector of the two institutions, "it's
possible that these hospitals won't be
here five years from now." Eighty
percent of their populations are pub-
licly supported, he explained.
In 1968, the two hospitals began to
unite under the control of partially
combined boards of directors. Mr.
Showalter recently acknowledged that
the move has not been financially ad-
vantageous. However, he said, finan-
cial health was not a primary reason
for the decision. When the members
of Bethany's board voted to take over
Garfield Park, he said, they had recon-
ciled themselves to taking over the
mortgage and troubles of an institution
that had failed in a long and debilitat-
ing struggle to serve white patients
with white doctors in an almost totally
black neighborhood.
The conditions which prevail there,
he continued, compelled the board to
flirt with ruin: "The board feels that
for as long as we're here, we'll do what
needs to be done."
Doing what needs to be done means
providing primary inpatient care,
methadone maintenance for heroin
addicts, jobs and training for unskilled
community residents, day care for
children of working mothers, and
housing. Because such a wide range of
services is necessary, and because
Bethany Brethren is an institution with
only 67 beds, it was obvious to the
board members that they could not
allow the 165 beds and the facilities of
Garfield Park Hospital to be lost to
the community. Thus when the possi-
bility of consolidation arose, they
agreed to do it.
Although it is frequently used,
merger is not precisely the word that
describes what happened between the
institutions. At a joint meeting, the
members of Garfield Park's board re-
signed one after another until a major-
ity of positions had been vacated.
Those slots were filled by the Bethany
board members. The turnover took
about ten minutes.
I
I he boards are now composed of
members from both affluent areas and
the immediate community. The white
members are primarily business execu-
tives, although some are professionals.
Most of the black members are clergy-
men and social activists, but some are
executives and one is a circuit court
judge. Among the total of thirty mem-
bers are eleven persons who serve on
both boards. Six of the eleven are
black. In addition, two special com-
mittees of the boards are made up al-
most entirely of community residents
from all walks of life. Although mem-
bers of these committees are not on the
boards, they have the power to set
policy.
Before the change. Garfield Park
had served ten percent black patients
and had accepted no public aid recip-
ients. Presently, almost all the patients
cared for at both hospitals are black.
Mr. Showalter explained that Gar-
field Park, prior to the turnover, had
been mortgaged to finance the con-
struction of new elevators and the re-
modeling of the building's facade.
These improvements, he said, were a
last desperate effort to hold its white
physicians and their patients. The ef-
fort failed. At the June board of direc-
tors meeting, there was still a $400,000
long-term liability, the result of out-
standing, first-mortgage serial bonds.
This was the heaviest and most lin-
gering burden that resulted from the
turnover, but there were also personnel
problems and grave breakdowns in
community relations that had to be
overcome after the new board assumed
control.
The medical staff, composed pri-
marily of aging white physicians, fer-
vently desired to transfer to other hos-
pitals, Mr. Showalter said. Many were
temporarily thwarted, however, be-
cause their ages impeded their migra-
tion to the staffs of suburban hospitals.
Eventually they did leave, but the in-
terim was long enough to allow Gar-
field Park to restaff with black physi-
cians and young white doctors.
Along with doctors of the old guard,
veteran paramedical and nonprofes-
sional employees began an exodus.
Their positions, too, had to be refilled.
Sometimes vacancies were filled by
able, energetic persons who lacked
nothing but the experience that Mr.
Showalter said is nonessential, but gen-
erally required.
Apart from the staff problems, black
militant groups within the community
1-1-72 MESSENGER 19
had grown increasingly resentful of
Garfield Park's patient policies. Nu-
merous confrontations occurred before
word spread through the neighbor-
hoods that the hospital had a new mis-
sion and was now directed by residents
of the community.
Not directly related to the joining of
the two hospitals, but a problem none-
theless, is the $1 16,000 net operating
loss for the first half of 1971. Outpa-
tient services accounted for much of
that deficit, though perhaps more wor-
risome than the loss itself is the alarm-
ing increase of bad debts.
"There are always opportunists,"
said Mr. Showalter. "The word got
around that we gave care first and
asked about money later. People were
giving fictitious addresses." The dam-
age being done by the nonpayment for
outpatient services was apparent to the
board members. Even though they
wanted no one turned away for lack of
funds, they were realistic enough to
see that their entire operation was be-
jeopardized by people who had the
means to pay but weren't payine;."
"Here's where the beauty of a com-
munity-controlled board becomes ob-
vious," Mr. Showalter went on. "If I
had decided on my own that our out-
patient policies needed revision, a
great hue and cry would have arisen in
the neighborhoods. As it is, the board
members who live in the community
can explain the reasons for the chang-
es. There will still be grumbling, but
the people will accept the necessity."
The 5,850 patients who are able to
pay would be required to do so, how-
ever. "A great majority of these
patients are not emergency cases," Mr.
Showalter explained. All patients
whose conditions do not involve
trauma, hemorrhage, or shock are now
referred to the credit and collection de-
partment before they receive medical
services: "A concerted effort is being
made to explain to these patients that
the hospital needs payment for its
services," said Mr. Showalter.
Another fiscal problem faced by the
ghetto hospitals is a chronic one —
slow reimbursement by government
agencies. This has plagued Bethany
Brethren since 1966 and now affects
Garfield Park as well. The Illinois De-
partment of Public Aid uses the same
reimbursement formula, based on cost,
that Medicare does. "You have to beg
your vendors to hold off for four
months until you can pay the bills,"
said Mr. Showalter. The penalties
awarded the two hospitals come in the
form of interest on unpaid balances
and the loss of early-payment dis-
counts.
Neither these difficulties nor the re-
lated problem of less than full pay-
ment for services rendered under
Medicare have dissuaded the board
from accepting government-supported
patients. "By the time the plaster has
fallen off the walls," reflected Mr.
Showalter, "somebody will come up
with a program to replace Medicare
and Medicaid. It's a question of
whether we're going to sit here half
full or whether we're going to do some-
thing. Right now, we're going on
faith."
I
his trust, universally exhibited at
both institutions, that God, the govern-
ment, or somebody eventually will
provide has enabled Bethany Brethren
and Garfield Park hospitals to render
exemplary service to their commu-
nities. One of the most notable of these
services is the Bethany Community
Health Center.
The neighborhood health center was
opened on a shoestring in December
1968. With a grant from the Sears
Roebuck Foundation and no govern-
ment money at all, the Bethany Com-
munity Health Council — a special
committee of the board of directors —
found and remodeled a grocery store
about half a block from the hospital.
Three primary physicians and a
dentist from Bethany's medical staff
see approximately 150 patients a day
at the health center. Other staff mem-
bers there include one registered nurse,
one visiting community health aide,
two nurses' aides, one dental assistant,
and one receptionist. All the medical,
paramedical, and nonprofessional per-
sonnel receive salaries.
Just as both hospitals benefit from
the existence of the health center, the
joining of the two hospitals has proved
economical in other ways. Most sig-
nificant are the savings realized by
higher-volume, consolidated purchas-
es. Although no precise figures are
available which compare previous sep-
arate costs with present joint costs, Mr.
Showalter said the savings have been
noticeable. One of the more obvious
economy measures is the practice of
using a single staff member to perform
departmental duties at both hospitals.
When a staff member who was in
charge of one department takes on ad-
ditional responsibilities at the other
hospital, his salary is not doubled. In-
stead of raising the salary of a $10,000
a year department head to $20,000,
the staff member's annual pay goes up
to, say, $15,000, Mr. Showalter ex-
plained.
The caliber of the individual em-
ployee has more to do with the suc-
cessful execution of dual assignments
than does the nature of the jobs, he
added. The nine positions filled by the
same persons at both hospitals are:
executive director, director of in-serv-
ice education, chief pharmacist, thera-
peutic dietition, laundry manager, se-
curity chief, public relations director,
volunteer services director, and pur-
chasing agent.
Holding one job but serving patients
from both hospitals and the commu-
nity at large is Thomas Eversley, direc-
tor of the Bethany Drug Awareness
Clinic. Methadone maintenance is the
central element of the program. "One
of the requirements for acceptance in
the program is that a person must have
used heroin for at least one year," he
said. This stipulation, it was ex-
plained, is meant to dispel the oc-
20 MESSENGER 1-1-72
V. Sliowalter: Coinmimily control works
casional criticism that people not tlior-
oughly addicted to heroin will develop
a methodone habit as a result of their
therapy. "We want to reach hard-core
addicts," said Mr. Eversley. "In the
treatment, we take urine tests three
times a week to see if they are adher-
ing to the program or reverting to
heroin." Decisions about what to do
with backsliders are made on an indi-
vidual basis. Sometimes they are
talked to and warned, and sometimes
they are expelled from the program.
The participants themselves have a lot
to say about which course of action is
taken.
Of all the services provided by the
hospitals, the drug awareness clinic has
garnered the most attention. Not long
ago. President Nixon sent a note to
"wholeheartedly commend the prompt
and positive effort" the hospitals "have
launched to turn the tide in an area
that poses an unparalleled threat to our
society." Secretary of Health, Educa-
tion, and Welfare Elliot Richardson
sent a letter in which he, too, saluted
the "community-based efforts in this
area." As of last month, those words
of encouragement were all the support
Bethany's drug program had received
from the federal government.
It costs approximately $50 per ad-
dict per week to operate the sixty-par-
ticipant drug program, according to
Clarence Turner, director of public re-
lations. So far, about $10,000 has
been obtained from the Church of the
Brethren, which nominally sponsors
the Bethany-Garfield hospitals; from
the Illinois Drug Abuse Program, and
from private enterprise. The IDAP
provides only $ 1 5 per addict per week,
but Mr. Showalter said that because
there are hundreds on the waiting list,
the hospitals plan to double the num-
ber of patients in the program. He
pointed out that heroin addiction is
one of his community's gravest con-
cerns, because it has a direct effect on
the area's crime rate. It was estimated
that there are 3.000 addicts in the two
square-mile area served by the hos-
pitals. The problem is not safely
tucked away in the ghetto, however,
said Mr. Turner: "White businessmen,
repairmen, and journalists have to
come into these neighborhoods, and
there's nothing to stop the addicts from
going into the white community to get
money for dope."
Mr. Eversley explained that along
with methodone treatment, addicts re-
ceive emotional counseling and train-
ing in marketable job skills. The job
training of these and other unskilled
patients is administered by Meteor, a
private firm with headquarters in
Washington, D.C. A grant from the
Department of Labor is used to finance
the Meteor office at Garfield Park
Hospital. The hospitals themselves
have been successful in providing jobs
for former addicts and other "unem-
ployable" patients.
Accepting responsibility for educat-
ing and employing patients is not a
common practice among hospitals to-
day, but George Bruno, Garfield
Park's administrator, said that such
functions increasingly must be as-
sumed: "All of us are becoming aware,
I think, that a patient's economic and
social conditions markedly affect his
health. It's not much different from
how we learned that his psychological,
not just his physical, condition is im-
portant."
The immediate future promises an
even tighter mesh between the two in-
stitutions. It is anticipated that by
drawing the operations of the hospitals
nearer and nearer, additional econ-
omies will be accomplished, said Mr.
Bruno. Eventually, the institutions wiU
have a single board of directors and
one medical staff. Today, there is a
staff for each hospital with a combined
membership of fifty physicians.
Twenty of those doctors, however,
serve on both staffs. Another impor-
tant factor, for which details have yet
to be resolved, is the affiliation with
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's. It is
hoped that this larger medical complex
can provide higher-echelon medical
care and education to the smaller hos-
pitals, said Mr. Showalter.
I
Ihere is also a plan to construct a
3()0-bed community hospital. Federal
officials have indicated that Hill-
Burton funds could be made available,
but definite plans depend on whether
the hospitals can raise the percentage
of the building cost that is required
under the federal program.
Although the hospital project prob-
ably won't come to fruition for several
years, said Mr. Showalter, the board is
already at work on a long-range blue-
print for a comprehensive health care
delivery system for the community. A
second neighborhood health center, to
be located at the Garfield Park Hos-
pital, is in the planning stage. The
third and fourth floors of Bethany
Brethren are to become a fifty-bed ex-
tended care facility, and a sLxty-bed
skilled nursing home unit is to be built
on the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors of
Garfield Park. A ten-bed detoxifica-
tion unit for alcoholics and drug ad-
dicts as well as a twenty-five-bed inpa-
tient mental health unit, which will en-
large and alter the unit now leased by
the Illinois Department of Mental
Health, are also being planned for
Garfield Park.
Mr. Showalter said that state and
federal officials have acknowledged
1-1-72 MESSENGER 21
^
Seek and you will find the fifth gospel by Jesus:
word pictures from his toiling years. His seminary
was the carpenter shop, which gave him illustra-
tions for teaching.
See him split logs into beams for compassion-
ately fitted yokes. In ox cart days carpenters often
lived with farmers for whom they built. Follow
Him, sometimes sloshing over hills in storm
drenched darkness, as he helps seek stray sheep.
Will you find illustrations from making spear
shafts or parts for war chariots or catapults? He
built for, not death, but life, munitions of peace.
The book's introduction was written by the late
Bethanv \'ice-president Warren W. Slabaugh, au-
thor of THE ROLE OF THE SERVANT. " 750
the urgent need for more diversified
and better care facilities in Chicago's
west side ghetto. Despite the hospitals'
current bleak circumstances, there are
indications that funds may be forth-
coming for all or several of these proj-
ects, he said. The unofficial attitude
among the executives is: "Demon-
strate that it can be done, and the mon-
ey to pay for it will turn up."
Officials at both hospitals agree that
the single factor most responsible for
the continuing survival of their institu-
tions has been total community control
and avid community support. Unlike
many hospitals, Bethany Brethren and
Garfield Park experience little em-
ployee dissatisfaction, and there is no
union. The picture is so much in con-
trast to the rule, in fact, that recently
an employee group collected $500
among themselves and donated it to
the hospitals. Neither are these institu-
tions surrounded by a hostile, destruc-
tive population. There is a working
rapport with the same militant black
groups that have put other health
facilities, such as Chicago's Jewish
Home for .Aged, out of business.
Mr. Showalter revealed his secret
for reaching accord during confronta-
tions: "Get the most foul-mouthed one
with the headband and the zip gun,
and invite him to join the board of
trustees. He won't come on, of course.
He's too smart for that, because once
he's on, you've got him. You'd start
showing him budgets. He'd have to
shut up and help, and he won't do
that."
The hospital executive said the day
is gone when health experts could
make all the decisions, establish all the
programs, and confer them on the peo-
ple: "No suburban community would
put up with that kind of missionary
activity, and 30U can be sure that the
new awareness in the inner city ghettos
is going to bring it to a screeching halt
there, too." D
rop\TiRht 1971 In' McOriiw-Hill. Inc. Rcpriulcfl
bv pcrnii*;sinn from Mniirrn Hnsfntal. .^^gnst
1971. All rights rcscl\C(I.
Ib)©©k [fO'^DS^^g
CREATE AND CELEBRATE, by Jay C. Rochelle.
Fortress Press, 1971. 124 pages, $2.95 paper
CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP SERVICES: A
SOURCEBOOK, by James L. Christensen.
Revell, 1971. 256 pages, $5.95
VENTURES IN WORSHIP and VENTURES IN
WORSHIP 2, edited by David James Randolph.
Abingdon, 1969, 1970. $1.50 paper
One of the new centers of attention
and experimentation in the church is in
the area of worship. Booi^s on the mean-
ing and mode of worship, books on sug-
gested patterns for worship, books of
worship resources are springing up hke
lovely crocuses through the brown earth
of a long and barren winter. Life is
beginning to enter a most unlikely arena,
the sanctuary. Celebration is its name
and joy is its motivation.
Jay C. Rochelle's book. Create and
Celebrate, states clearly some reasons for
the needed change in worship patterns.
He then presents some guidelines for
making changes and offers some helpful
resources.
Chapter headings include "Why Both-
er?", "Kicking and Screaming Our Way
Into Now," and "Putting Your Thing
Together." These three chapters deal
with the need for change, the struggle
with change, the way to change worship
patterns. He does so with sensitivity to
the need of some persons for the familiar
as well as the need of others for creative
celebration. He offers specific sugges-
tions for the implementation of new wor-
ship formats.
Celebration is t/ie name,
joy thie motivation
Reading this book written by a Luther-
an and remembering my wife's reaction
to a course in "Worship and Liturgy"
taught by a Lutheran makes me want to
caution the Brethren that this book is
written from a Lutheran worship tradi-
tion. This does not necessarily limit its
value to us. It might actually enhance
its worth.
Create and Celebrate is a useful book
for those who ha\e the courage to chal-
lenge familiar patterns of worship and
put in their place more creative ways
of celebrating our li''e in Christ. The
author comes down hard on the need
to understand what worship is before
any change is made. He outlines and
evaluates the five essentials of worship:
awareness, confrontation, commitment,
celebration, new awareness.
"Worship," he says, "continually frees
us from the past to live in the present
in expectant hope for the future."
I like that and am encouraged by this,
"Probably the most we can expect from
our worship life is that we will hit 'highs'
sometimes."
This book would be particularly help-
ful to persons with worship responsi-
bilities who are trying to understand how
this new surge to celebrate fits into where
they are or ought to be.
Christensen's Contemporary Worship
Services and Ventures in Worship and
Ventures in Worsliip 2 both edited by
Da\id James Randolph for the Commis-
sion on Worship of the United Method-
ist Church are excellent resources for
worship leaders who want to experiment
but are at a loss for "handles." All three
of these compilations have suggestions
for every segment of worship from the
"Call to Worship" to the "Benediction."
They also include worship services for
all kinds of special occasions, such as
communions, weddings, funerals, and
numerous special days and emphases.
And the beauty of it is that all these
resources are so adaptable and yet fresh.
They become the spark which ignites
the fire of one's own creativity.
While Contemporary Worsliip Services
is in book form, the Ventures in Worship
series are loose leaf on standard 8'/2 x
1 1 paper to fit a three-ringed notebook.
Pastors receiving "Agenda" material can
put worship material found there under
the proper headings in the Ventures
series.
All of these books and compilations
of resource materials would be a valuable
addition to any pastor's library as well
as to the church library where other
persons responsible for worship experi-
ences could find ready assistance. —
P.^UL E. Alwine
We're Going Computer . . .
Messenger is in process of shifting to
the computer method of printing sub-
scription labels. Over the coming weeks
it would be helpful if you would check
to see if the label on your issues is ad-
dressed correctly. If it is not, we would
appreciate your advising us by clipping
the label and returning it with correc-
tions noted.
If you do not receive your copy of
Messenger, please send the label from
a recent issue. If multiple copies arrive,
please clip and return the label from
each copy.
The staff appreciates your assistance
and your patience as the new system
goes into operation.
HIS FINEST WEEK
By James Roy Smith
Revealing the abiding lessons of Holy
Week, this new book projects a day-by-
day look at Jesus' last week on earth,
and shows by His life and death and
resurrection that nothing — neither life
nor death — can separate us from God.
$1.25 each; 10 or more, $1.00 each.
Order NOW for Pre-Easter reading.
The Upper Room
1908 Grand Ave. Nashville, Tenn. 37203 ,
1-1-72 MrSSENGER 23
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN
Week of
Prayer for
Christian
Unity
Utl
Fund
for the
Americas
Offering
m
Ash
Wednesday
First
Sunday
of Lent
Brotherhood
Week
World Day
of Prayer
One Great
Hour of
Sharing
Easter
Palm
Sunday
3©
Maundy
Thursday
National
Christian
College
Day
May Fel-
Children's
lowship Day
Day
7
m
Rural Life
Father's
Sunday
Day
7°M
27
National
Annual
Family
Conference
Week
begins
M
Mother's
Day
Good Friday
Pentecost
Annual Con-
ference
Offering
Emphasis 1
Memorial
Day
24 MESSENGER 1-1-72
JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Annual
Conference
ends
Christian
Citizenship
Sunday
Pastoral
Year begins
Labor
Sunday
Worldwide
Communion
Worldwide
Mission
Offering
Emphasis
Church
Year
begins
Layman's
Sunday
Peace
Emphasis
Sunday
World
Community
Day
World
Temperance
Day
m
Universal
Bible
Sunday
iK
Thanks-
giving Day
First Sunday
in Advent
2^
Christmas/
Achievement
Offering
Emphasis
Christmas
Day
&i
Fiscal Year
ends
Reformation
Sunday
(Q)[b@®[rws][rii(g@@ 'S© ©©iniSDdloir
1-1-72 MESSENGER 25
'\ have a clannish feeling and real love for the Church of the Brethren'
DALE BROWN, MODERATOR
From 12
tell them why you don't agree.
"I think that part of my rapport with
conservatives has been that I'm willing
to take them seriously."
Part of it has been also that on some
church matters, such as his opposition
to connecting changes in baptism and
the love feast with home mission strat-
egy and his serious questioning of the
validity of union with other Prot-
estant denominations, he has found
himself in agreement with many con-
servatives on what should be done —
though perhaps his reasons have been
different from theirs. He opposed open-
ing up baptism and the love feast, not
because he considered every last ele-
ment of detail to be so sacred, but be-
cause he thought it a poor principle
to try to attract members simply by
trying to become like everyone else.
The result is that Dale thinks he has
some friends he may not deserve, and
deserves some other friends he doesn't
have. "Many people who liked mc be-
cause of the issue of church union
would not like me so well if they really
knew me," he said. "I feel that pretty
strongly. Other people — some lib-
erals — who really despise me. I think
would like me better if they really knew
me." he laughed. "So it works both
ways."
"One of the notes that needs to he
sounded is a revival of tlie liililical
command, 'Release the captives and
visit those who are in prison.' "
Dale told how he had tried to get
permission to visit young Brethren who
are in prison for opposing the war and
the draft. Permission has not been
easy to obtain, but he expects to get
in to visit both Brethren and non-
Brethren prisoners.
"It is really strange." Dale said,
"how even those who are fundamental-
ists overlook some of the commands —
and this is one that both the liberals
and the fundamentalists really have all
neglected.
"We all ha\e a tendency to take lit-
erally some things and not so literally
others. I feel personally hurt some-
times when Brethren fundamentalists
will reject some of us because of our
heresies in thought, but then turn
around and embrace someone who
doesn't believe in many of the things
the Brethren believe in — like the
anointing service and the love feast.
Carl VIcIntyre, and some people like
him, baptize infants. And though some
of the conservative Brethren wouldn't
think of doing that, they would still
take his word over the word of some
other Brethren."
Having grown up in a large city,
where his contacts as a boy were
largely outside the church. Dale did not
experience the narrow legalisms and
provincialisms that he thinks oppress
young people in some of the churches.
Such young people often find their lives
broadened as they begin to establish
broader contacts beyond the church.
The opposite was true for Dale; the
best thing that happened was to come
into the intimate life of "camps, insti-
tutes, and other Brethren gatherings."
"I've been at that long enough so
that I have tremendous clannish rela-
tionships. When I go to a place where
I've never been before. I think, 'Now
whom do I know here?' and I won't be
able to think of anybody. But after I
get there I will discover I know fifteen
or twenty people, from some church or
gathering where we've been together
before.
"I do have a real love for the Church
of the Brethren. This feeling has been
contagious. People have sensed this —
that I do love the church — because
when I get in a local gathering I really
do have a genuine appreciation for the
people. And I've had this from the
very beginning."
Among local groups Dale accepts
the hospitality offered, and can make
himself as comfortable in a bed on the
floor as anywhere. He credits his par-
ents for this; they could always go into
anybody's home to eat or sleep, no
matter what the conditions. As he
talks, his voice conveys the affection in
which he holds his many hosts.
On the other hand he often assails
the church, "not because I dislike it,
but because I like it so much I want it
to get back to its roots."
Dale said that recently a young man
had buttonholed him and said. "My
father, a conservative and member of
the Brethren Revival Fellowship,
comes home from Conference, and he
tells me how much he likes you — but
I know some Bethany Seminary stu-
dents, and they tell me how much they
like you. I can't put these things to-
gether."
"And then he said." Dale chuckled,
"then he said, 'Something's phoney!'
"Because, you see. he got the radical
side of me from the seminary stu-
dents." Dale explained, "but his fath-
er's enthusiasm seemed to him to be
recognizing just the opposite.
"I told him the only way you could
fit them together is that I talk about
the biblical faith, and his father likes
that, but the college students like the
implications of that faith."
Thus is the paradox of Dale Brown
as seen by others. The first paradox
was Dale as he sees himself — a man
blessed beyond his deserving, happy
with his lot. yet feeling in confiict over
world issues with many people whom
he basically likes. The second para-
dox, of Dale Brown as others see him.
is a man whose strict interpretation of
the Bible brings him into sympathy
with conservatives and into action with
radicals. Starting from a strict biblical
base, and trying to be true to it, he
often discovers both his support and
opposition in strange quarters.
If Dale savors the unexpected ways
that others have got things put to-
gether, I can admire the more unusual
way that he has put his thing together.
His warm-hearted allegiance to the old
teachings is an inspiration to me —
and others. D
J6 MESSENGER 11 -72
Deaths
Abey. Hermbcrt, Ambler. Pa., on July 26.
1971, aged 09
Argabright, Virginia R.. Lccton. Mo., on Julv
15. 1971. aged 90
Benton. Laura. Eden. N.C.. on Sept. 13. 1971.
aged 93
Brandt. Martha O.. Mc.Misler\ iUe. Pa., on
June 8. 1971, aged 71
Brindle, Kathr\n. Leinastcrs, Pa., on June 6,
1971. aged 87
Brown. Mrs. Charles. Eden. N.C.. on Sept. 5.
1971. aged 90
Brown. >rarv. Martinsburg. Pa., on Jinie 6.
1971. aged 82
Burns. Paul. Flora. Ind.. on -^ug. 4. 1971.
aged 72
Casslcr. Ida M.. Goshen. Ind.. on .^ug. 16.
1971. aged 104
Clapper. John F.. Hollidavsbiirg, Pa., on .Aug.
5. 1971. aged 87
Connaughty. Irene Lewis. Lewiston. Minn., on
July 12. 1971. aged 85
Conway. Cora. Mount Morris. 111., on June
30, 1971. aged 79
Cottle. Charles A.. E\eretl. Pa., on Jidy 22.
1971. aged 42
Cripps. Jacob A., Salem. III., on June 15. 1971.
aged 83
Crouse. Larrv L.. M\crstown. Pa., on .Aug. 16.
1971. aged 21
Crull. Sarah. Huntington. Ind.. on June 27,
1971, aged 75
Da\is. AUie. Bellefontaine. Ohio, on June 7,
1971, aged 82
Da\is. Mar\. Mount Mortis. 111., on Jiuie 14.
1971. aged 90
De\ier. Lelia Click. Bridgewatcr. \'a.. on Jtd\
22. 1971, aged 86
Diehl. Lillie. Penn Laird. \'a.. on ]uU 18.
1971.
Frev. Clarence C. York. Pa., on Jul\ 12. 1971.
aged 83
Garvick. Haltie. Spring (hoxc. Pa., on |une
21. 1971, aged 72
Gingrich. Lucy. Bethel. Pa., on Aug. 22. 1971.
aged 70
Gripe. Charles E.. Battle Creek. Mich., on
Sept. 27, 1971. aged 63
Hackbarth, Marzatta, Dixon, III., on Jidv Ifi.
1971. aged 47
Heaston. Mary. Dearborn, Mich., on June 5,
1971. aged 79
Henning. Ruth, .Anibler, Pa., on jiih 26. 1971.
aged 69
Idle. Clarence. Lafayette, Ind,. on Julv 22.
1971. aged 77
Jones. Robert E., Polo. 111., on Jidv 9, 1971.
aged 55
Kessler. Alfred C. Mount Morris. III., on Juh
9. 1971. aged 104
Lealhcrinan. Clarence \\'.. Gettvsburg. Pa., on
June 3. 1971. aged 73
Lintz. Earl. Reading. Pa., on June 18. 1971.
aged 68
Linsenmaier. Ernest. Roversford. Pa., on July
7. 1971. aged 80
Li\engood, Fannie. Goshen, Ind.. on June 18.
1971. aged 84
Miller. .Alice. Piciua. Ohio, on .Aug. 15. 1971.
aged 81
Miller. .Amos R.. Bridgewater. \'a., on June
10. 1971, aged 79
Mummert. Lewis. Hano\'er. Pa., on July 10.
1971. aged 81
Myers. Norma P.. Brooklyn. Iowa, on .Aug. 10.
1971. aged 65
Neighbors. .May. Cabool. Mo., on Jime 30.
1971. aged 83
Peters. Nellie, Rocky Mount. Va.. on Aug. 17.
1971. aged 77
Pctrc. Clara Horst. Hagcrstown. Md.. on |ul\
9. 1971. aged 90
Raincr. Leason. Shelocta. Pa., on Aug. 30,
1971
I nGV ShSr© ^® begin to complain if we have to wait an hour
. to see our well-trained doctor in his clean and
^lIQIf efficient office. In northern Nigeria a woman may carry a sick
, child for fifty miles and then wait in line outside the hos-
QOCXOr pital a full day. As little children we learn about
. , germs and sanitation. But in Nigerian villages some still
WITM blame disease on evil spirits. Not that they want to be
^r\f\ r\r\Q superstitious or ignorant. Far from it. But how can
l«7«7,^^0 they learn about bacteria if they have no teacher?
_^i Through Lafiya — a new medical program to train
0X1161 S> medical personnel — the Church of the Brethren can
assist in bringing education and health to millions of people in the
North-Eastern State of Nigeria where we have had mission work for
nearly fifty years. We need your response, your help, your caring.
There is a deep need for this new medical program and it can be done
only with your help. Consider what you can do and fill in the coupon
below. Your check may be made payable to: Lafiya, Church of the
Brethren General Board.
1
j 1 am interested in
LAFIYA!
1 U Here is my special gift to be applied toward the $300,000 needed beyond
1 Fund budget for Lafiya/Nigeria Medical Program.
the
Brotherhood 1
1 . ' I'm interested in the med
cal program but
desire further information.
1 Name 1
1 1
1 Street/RFD |
1 City
State, Zip Code
1 Congregation
District
1 Please clip and mail to: Lafiyc
1 1451 Dundee Avenue, Elgin,
/Nigeria Medicc
Illinois 60120
1 Program, Church
of the Brethren Ge
neral Board, i
9:1-72
Brethren and the burgeoning arts
With the proliferation of special causes in the
Church of the Brethren, as in most religious
bodies today, the last thing some observers may
feel is needed is another interest group. I demur.
For in my estimation one special cause now
aborning is long overdue: a fellowship centered
on the arts.
Over the past decade there have been evi-
dences that art is budding and maybe even blos-
soming among the Brethren. Such evidence is
noted in myriad ways: a communion chalice by
Rufus Jacoby on the .-Xnnual Conference altar . . .
woodcuts by I. J. Sanger . . . one-artist shows by
Joyce Miller, Jon Strom, Gini Hoover ... an art
school and art festivals conducted by Mar}' Ann
Hylton . . . sculpture, banners, oratorios at Breth-
ren gatherings . . . the architectural statements
of a few church structures . . . the graphics of
Wilbur Brumbaugh and Linda Beher . . . the vol-
ume Watermarks by five young poets . . . the
classroom and church school instruction of Iowa
Kuehl and others. The list is only begun.
The point of such activity is not that Brethren
are becoming sophisticated or cultured. It is that
instead they are becoming alive and articulate to
that which is within them and which surrounds
them. "The good life," social critic Marya
Mannes has stated, "exists only when you stop
wanting a better one. It is the condition of savor-
ing what is, rather than longing for what might
be."
From that perspective, I do not view the
creative spurt of Brethren as something altogether
new or different. Consider the impressive detail
in an authentic Dunker meetinghouse, or the
craftmanship and maybe even deft touch of
whimsey in a patchwork quilt, or the profound
partnership with nature demonstrated in a family
farmstead: Were these not ways of savoring what
was, of orchestrating life, of wedding the utilitar-
ian and the esthetic, of being sensitive to scale,
timing, proportion, tone — some of the ingredi-
ents of art?
"God is in the details" was an admonition the
late master architect Mies van der Rohe passed
on to clients, students, and colleagues. It was his
reminder of the moral obligation to shun medioc-
rity, to pursue excellence, to enhance meaning.
It is a dictum that applies far beyond the prov-
inces of architecture; we in the church would do
well not to forget it.
A turn to art forms old and new, on a wide
participatory basis and not merely for a talented
elite, could release vital and explosive energies
into the lifestream of the church. I have seen it
happen with grown-ups who. through the use of
varied forms of creative expression, came to
supplant a restrictive, stifling notion about church
school with a freeing, enabling view. I have seen
it happen with children who, invited to share
intimate feelings about life and growth and
dreams, revealed some candid and profound in-
sights into faith. I have seen it happen among
worshipers who, engaging not only sight and
sound but all their senses, their whole being in
simple but tactile ways, glimpsed afresh the mean-
ing of unity, joy, transcendence.
Ihe crux is, the church — local, denomi-
national, ecumenical, assembled, dispersed — is
where creativity should come alive. It is where
the Creator and the created, who are also partners
in creation, should meet. For where, more than
in the context of the community of faith, can
those forms appropriately be used which convey
feeling, foster imagination, connote style, renew
kindship, and celebrate the life of the Spirit?
To the burgeoning Association for the Arts
in the Church of the Brethren, Messenger bids
a hearty welcome. Whatever the movement or
its individual members can do to make us all
more sentitive, more sensible, more proportion-
ate, more alive, more aware of beauty, more re-
sponsive to life, and more open to truth — this
will be contribution indeed. — h,e.r.
28 MESSEKOER 1-1-72
by Ervin Seale
Thousands of New Yorkers converge on Philharmonic
Hall each Sunday to listen to Dr. Ervin Seale. He is a
specialist in wisdom, and his ministry is centered in teach-
ing the religious insight which will strengthen one for
the rigors of city life. In the stories and suggestions of
these chapters the reader will find an unshakable con-
viction that we can determine our lives by shaping our
minds. We can be new masters of ourselves, mentally
tougher, morally stronger. $3.95
by H. Richard Neff
Deals in a sane and constructive way with a number of
subjects (survival after death, prayer, and healing) and
with psychic phenomena (ESP, faith healing, prayer,
clairvoyance, and the like) that are attracting the curiosity
and interest of church people and the general public. Dr.
Neff's insights — gained from careful experimentation,
contacts with other authorities, much reading, and person-
al psychic experiences — are doubly interesting because
he is an ordained minister. $2.95 paper
I'm OK -You're OK
by Thomas A. Harris, M.D.
Here is a fresh, sensible, increasingly fXJpular approach
to the problems that every human being, including the
person in need of psychiatric help, faces every day in his
relations with himself and others. Transactional analysis
is a new breakthrough, one that confronts the individual
with the fact that he is responsible for what happens in
the future, no matter what has happened in the past.
It is both a teaching and a learning device. It distinguish-
es three active elements in each person's make-up: the
Parent, the Adult, and the Child. $5.95
Postage: 20< first dollar; 5< per dollar thereafter
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
Meetingplace.
In a seemingly simpler era, the high point of the week for many B
was to come to the house of worship, to pray and to praise, to ren
of kinship, and to discern what faithfulness to the gospel meant ■
workaday lives.
For many the congregation still is the locus of the community <
And for the few thousand who attend Annual Conference, the par
comes Brotherhood-wide.
There is, however, another place of meeting for Brethren, o
spans even a wider circle. It is found in the pages of Messeng
magazine devoted to lively interchange within and beyond the fa
Brethren.
Early in 1972, for example, you will meet Dennis Metzger,
Johansen, Robert McFadden, Inez Long, Alan Jennings, Rosalita Li
M. R. Zigler, Robert McAfee Brown, Shantilal Bhagat, Edgar Slater,
F. Menninger, and Glenn R. Bucher, to list but a few.
You will learn to know friends old and new and the ideas and
that concern them. You will be invited to respond with your own qu
and comments.
Messenger is the meetingplace that brings you, your family ar
congregation in touch with individuals, families and congregations W
out the Church of the Brethren.
It's your window, and your forum, on faith and the world.
messenger/
where
and mi
II
w
U
I
fs :^^vi«'
1^1
'?KF|i
i
1
i* ^B
1^
;;^
f
t f •. 3
, 1
©©[ml
Dsl^ltSD^^
^^ Churches on Stage. The Vernard Eller family, travelers during the
summer months, discovered that churches across the country are
using drama to convey messages of heritage and theology, by Vernard
Eller
Love ... As I Have Loved You. The Week of Prayer for Chris-
tian Unity, celebrated this year Jan. 18-25, picks up on Jesus' "new
commandment." Bible readings and a meditation treat the theme.
1^ "Why I've Been Putting on the Brakes." A teacher and church-
woman who sees the Church of the Brethren pursuing a dizzying, un-
balanced course proposes some different directions, by Inez Long
f Q A Coed Answers: Involvement? Yes! Linda Keim, McPherson
College senior, works for changes and improvements within the sys-
tem — by her involvement in politics, world travel, and college
studies, bv Susan Krehbiel Taylor
Reviews. .-X current film, Billy Jack, comes under scrutiny of James
M. Wall. On another theme, William Kidwell reviews a new book on
"Those Whose Sexual Orientation Differs."
Outlook focuses on the newly formed Association for the Arts in the
Church of the Brethren: on a recently appointed staff member; on a peace
witness in Washington, D.C.: on an unexpected court ruling in the case
of conscientious objector .^lan Jennings; and on An Ecumenical Witness
(beginning on 2); an editorial outlines what it means for Christians "To
Take Jesus as the Challenge."
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
PHOTO r.RF.niTS: Co^cr World Council of
Churches; 2. 4 Don Honick; .1 liob Biicher:
6 (clockwhc from rop) I si. Jrtl. Hih (iood
Enterprises, Ltd.: 2nd Del Cook: 4ih, 5ih
Mojiesto. Calif.. Church of the Brethren: 6th,
7th Ephratn Cloister ,Associ.Ttcs: 8 (center,
right) Del Cook; 9 Ephrata Cloister .Associates:
12 "Christ Washing the Feet of (he Disciples."
oil from the school of Rettibranrll. courtesy of
The .Art Institute of C;hicagri, Robert \
Waller Fund; 13 woodcut by Rol)crt F, Mc-
Gosem: 19 U.S. Senate Republican Policv
Commiitee
VOL. 121, NO. 2
JANUARY 15, 1972
Mfssencer is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter .Aug. 20. 1918. under .Act of
Congress of Oct, 17. 1917, Filing date. Oct. 1,
1971, Messenger is a member of the Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Service and Ecumenical Press
.Service, Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Revised Standard
\'crsinn.
Subscription rates: S4,20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions: S3, 60 per year for church
grfnip plan: .S3. 00 per year for c\ery home
plan; life subscription. SfiO: husband and wife,
sT'*. If \ou move clip old address from Mes
SENCER antl send with new address.
Allow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
;tnd published twice monthly bv the
f;hiirch of the Brethren Cicneral
Board, 1451 Dundee Ave.. Elgin, 111.
')0I20. Second-class postage paid a(
Elgin, 111.. Jan. 15, 1972. Copyright
1972. Church of the Brethren General Board.
i
LESSON HELPS
I wish to express my gratitude to Craig
Bailey and Sara Weaver for their wonderful
lesson helps in the Guide for Biblical Studies
on the doctrine of God. I've found each
lesson a source of spiritual understanding
and joy.
However (and this is not a criticism of
Sara Weaver), the lesson on the atonement
left me unsatisfied. It seems to me that each
of the three theories of the atonement given
on page 55 contain elements of truth, but
are too dogmatic in trying to express in
human language that which is too transcen-
dent to be thus fully expressed.
I have looked ahead into the introduction
and the lessons for Dec. 5 and Ian. 16 of
our new guide, and I believe Larry Four-
man, Craig Bailey, and Daniel Wade have
done just as well in this book.
I do not know any of these writers per-
sonally, but to each one I say a heartfelt
"Thank you."
I have been associated with healing
groups and am eager to see new groups
started as suggested on page 49.
Bertha Hedrick
Heyuorth, 111.
A WORTHY TRIBUTE
The article by Anne Albright regarding
Dr. John Young (Oct. 1 ) was most re-
freshing and a very worthy tribute to a tre-
mendous person.
It has been my very good fortune to
work as a subordinate to Dr. Young and
have found him a real inspiration to all
those that have had this privilege of know-
ing him.
Dr. Young's contributions to his profes-
sion are unparalleled. He has always served
it with great enthusiasm and vitality. If all
educators were as outstanding as this one,
we wouldn't find ourselves in the complex
situation of the present day.
Thanks for giving the many readers of
Messenger the opportunity to learn to
know such a great man of God.
Darvl R. Yost
New Haven. Ind.
CONFRONTING THE CHURCH
Linda Beher's good reporting of National
■V'outh Conference (Oct. 1) has elicited sev-
eral letters from those who were concerned
or "appalled" as was Brother Ralph H.
Landcs (Nov. 15) in reference to my advice
to youth "to live in such a way that you
might get kicked out of the church" and "to
turn the church upside down."
Without retracting what I said to the
youth, I nevertheless would like to clarify
what I meant.
pt
(Binid
My advice in its larger context was as
follows: "Do not go home and tell your
parents that Dale Brown told you to leave
the church. Rather, go home and tell your
parents that you are going to live in such a
way that you might get kicked out of the
church."
Many youth are disillusioned with the
church today and are seriously attempting
to deal with their relationship to it. Rather
than leaving or getting out of the church, I
wanted to strongly urge that youth stay in
the church and confront it to make it
better. . . .
Though I love the Church of the Breth-
ren and the Brethren very much, I do not
apologize for calling for radical reformation
and renewal in the church. In many ways
in our congregations we have not been
faithful to the style of discipleship we have
espoused. The majority of our young men
go off to train to kill. Many of our mem-
bers are caught in the trap of earning their
livings from the things which make for war.
We have forgotten the doctrine of the sim-
ple life, and the ideal of temperance is not
with us in many of our habits. We vote
with the rich, and our sympathies are often
not on the side of the poor and the dis-
possessed. In this we no longer can claim
to be a New Testament people. We have
striven for respectability and have forgotten
our calling to be a "pilgrim people" for
God.
One could name much that has been right
about our congregations and our brother-
hood, but there are times when it is very
much in place to name what is wrong and
to call for repentance as John did in some
of his strong utterances to the seven church-
es of Asia (Rev. 2:4, 5, 14, 20, and 3:2.
15). As we read that the early Christians
turned that world upside down. I do hope
that in many ways our own youth can turn
our churches upside down — or right side
up.
Dale W. Brown
Lombard, III.
NOT WITHOUT FAULT
Ralph Landes (Nov. 15) said he was
"simply appalled" at Dale Brown's advice
to the youth at National Youth Conference
to "tell your parents that you are going to
live in such a way that you might get kicked
out of the church" and to "turn the church
upside down."
As a youth in attendance at the meeting
in which this advice was given, I would like
to explain what, in my opinion and inter-
pretation, he meant by this.
Certainly the church, founded on the
gospels and Jesus Christ, is an effective and
worthwhile organization — and much more.
But surely none of us can say it is entirely
without fault. And those seeking to make
changes to correct these faults often find
themselves up against a brick wall — no
longer accepted by their own church.
In many churches people who really fol-
low the gospel of Christ are not accepted.
By "really following the gospel," I mean
living it every day of your life, even if it
means loving your brother whether he is
black, white, yellow, Democrat, Republican,
Mexican or Communist; even if it means
not conforming to society when you feel it
conflicts with the teachings of Christ.
I feel that what Dale Brown meant
was that we could be "Christian radicals"
— attempting to change what needs to be
changed even if it might mean losing our
church's acceptance of us, being "kicked
out."
If your church is perfect and does not
need new ideas to change and improve it.
then perhaps Mr. Brown's advice would
seem appalling.
But how many of our churches are like
that?
Marlene Wine
Enders, Neb.
MAGNIFICENT INTERPRETATION
Occasionally, through the medium of
Messenger, we members of the Church of
the Brethren enjoy the rare privilege of
being able to read something truly outstand-
ing.
Such was the case with those who availed
themselves of the opportunity to read Dr.
G. Wayne Click's magnificent interpretation
of his son's actions regarding his stand on
the war in Southeast Asia (Oct. 15).
Many people who, through the news
media, have followed Ted's witness of peace
in recent years must certainly have misun-
derstood his motives as well as his means,
and Dr. Glick in his article has gone far in
helping to clarify Ted's stand.
I have known Dr. Glick and Ted for many
years and am thoroughly convinced they are
among the most sincere and dedicated
Christians I have ever met.
Dr. Glick writes out of a sense of urgency
and his observations regarding the condi-
tions in our prisons, at all levels, should
cause each of us to do some serious think-
ing.
I pray, as I hope all Christians will, for
a speedy end to the Vietnam conflict and
for a definite reform in our American prison
system.
Edward H. Stauffer
Landesville, Pa.
■ A lot is said today about the signs
of love, much less about the signs of
unity. With the Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity fast approaching, Jan-
uary 18-25, now is an appropriate time
to reflect on the evidences of Christian
unity among the churches and individ-
ual members in our own communities.
Only a few short years ago many
Church of the Brethren congregations
were experiencing various ecumenical
breakthroughs — in worship, fellowship,
and action. During this observance and
throughout the year, Messenger is much
interested in knowing what the current
climate is, what new and creative signs
of unity are being discerned across the
Brotherhood.
In commemoration of the Annual
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,
Messenger shares a
poster cover origi-
nated by the Cana-
dian Council of
Churches and Bi-
ble readings (page
12) issued by the
Faith and Order
Commission of the
World Council of
Churches.
Within the congregation, the Faith
and Order Commission suggests the ob-
servance might include renewal of bap-
tismal vows, thanksgiving for ongoing
expressions of unity, and commitment
to one another in Christ.
Authors of articles in this issue are:
Vernard Eller, author and professor
of philosophy and religion. La Verne
College, La Verne, Calif.
Inez Long, public school teacher and
church worker, Lancaster, Pa.
Susan Krehbiel Taylor, McPherson
College graduate teaching at Canton,
Kansas.
James M. Wall, editor of Christian
Advocate, a United Methodist maga-
zine published at Park Ridge, III.
William Kidwell, doing field work in
hospital chaplaincy, Charlottesville, Va.
In an entire issue, the February 1
Messenger will treat the theme of non-
violence in a violent world, offering as-
sessments from differing standpoints
including biblical and theological
grounds.
115-72 MESSENGER 1
Arts association, new outlets
express Brethren creativity
The church is where creativity should
come alive, the last issue of Messenger
editorialized, and in se\eral ways recently
the arts have indeed found new expres-
sion in the Church of the Brethren.
Forty charter members have organized
the Association for the Arts in the Church
of the Brethren, an outgrowth of informal
interest of several persons at last year's
St. Petersburg Annual Conference.
Initial activities have been the first
issue of a quarterh newsletter to members
and all pastors and plans for an art ex-
hibit at the Cincinnati .Annual Confer-
ence.
The association is attempting to bring
together and give identitv' to the individu-
als in the Brotherhood interested in the
creative art forms that are not only ex-
pressed in space, as painting, sculpture,
banners, and graphics, but in time, as
with music, film, dance, and drama.
The first .\.\CB newsletter had articles
by Messenger editor Howard E. Rover,
welcoming the A.ACB (see Jan. 1,
Messenger editorial) ; by Caroline
Hufford, .'Mexandria, Va., describing her
experience with sculpturing a cross in
steel; by Sue Russell, music therapist in
Grand Rapids. Mich., describing her work
with mentall)' retarded children; by Joyce
Miller, Franklin Grove, III., on what the
association means to her as an artist
struggling to find other artists in the
church: and by LeRoy Kennel, Lombard,
III., on art as a bridge in communication.
Newsletters this year will deal with
"The Arts for Lent and Easter" in Febru-
ary. "The .\rts for Witness" in May, "The
.Arts for the Brotherhood" in August, and
"The Arts for Worship" in November.
The Annual Conference exhibit will
attempt to have many art media repre-
sented, with special recognition given in
several categories.
Membership fees of $5 a year go
toward the newsletter, exhibiting, and
prizes. Contributors to the conference
exhibit and persons interested in joining
the association may contact AACB co-
ordinator, Mary Ann Hylton, 201 Fair-
view Ave.. Frederick, Md. 21701.
1^ Grants of SSOO have been given to
the districts of Atlantic Northeast, Shen-
andoah. Illinois-Wisconsin, Southern
Ohio, Western Plains, and Pacific South-
west by the celebration team of Parish
Ministries Commission for leadership
training in the arts.
Logo for Association of the Arts in tlic
Church of the Brethren: Circle palette,
signifying continuing creation, contains
two overlapping As with a common cen-
ter and the formation of the cross design
Team member Wilfred E. Nolen noted
that only a few districts in the Brother-
hood are known to include budget money
for worship or the arts in their concerns
for nurture. The grants are intended to
assist pastors and lay leaders in develop-
Ralph G. McFadden
Ralph G. McFadden accepts
youth consultant post
Ralph G. McFadden is consultant for
youth ministries and coordinator of the
Library of Resources for the Church of
the Brethren, having assumed his new
position in November.
Former Lafayette, Ind., pastor, Con-
gressional candidate, and Mid-Atlantic
District executive secretary, Mr. Mc-
Fadden, 38, during the past year was a
corporate vice-president with Meteor,
Inc., a Washington, D.C., consulting firm
helping agencies secure federal grants in
health, education, and welfare programs.
As youth ministries consultant, Mr.
McFadden will not serve in the past capa-
city known as national youth director.
Working at the enabling process, rather
than in a program, he will deal with dis-
trict and congregational youth cabinets
at their invitation in assisting them in the
organizational development of youth
ministries.
"Such assistance may take the form of
experimental models within the context
of the congregational structure or simply
revitalization of the current youth min-
istry programs," he says.
Thus, the position as seen by Mr. Mc-
Fadden and the Parish Ministries Com-
mission is to assist youth groups in "pro-
cedural handles" that will enable them to
accomplish their own goals. Mr. Mc-
Fadden will not be seeking speaking en-
gagements nor organizing a centralized
national youth program.
He will, however, be developing
youth ministries resources from sources
both inside and outside the church to
assist youth groups in programming.
Beyond this, he will relate to campus
ministries through United Ministries in
Higher Education and campus ministers
2 MESSENGER l-lj-72
ing and becoming more sensitive to skills
in the use of arts in corporate church
worship, as well as education and fellow-
ship.
Planning for the specific event is the
responsibility of the district, with cele-
bration team members in consultative
roles. One of the first events using the
grants will be in the Western Plains Dis-
trict next October at McPherson College.
Sponsoring districts are encouraged to
invite persons from neighboring districts
to participate in the events.
l^ Last September the Atlantic North-
east District held a Creative Arts Festi-
val at Elizabethtown College, attended
by 1,000 persons, despite rainy weather.
On the theme '"Celebrate," about 90
exhibitions and a number of demonstra-
tions in crafts were shown as examples of
the more creative outreach of the church
and its individual members.
The day-long event also had sessions
on filmmaking, musical presentations,
drama, a puppet show, a banner contest,
and an expressor center, where individuals
could create something through the use
of various media.
In these and other ways, being used by
individual congregations. Brethren are
discovering ways of reaching out to others
with their heritage and Christ's message.
at Brethren colleges.
As Library of Resources coordinator
he will oversee the selection and place-
ment of resources in the Keysort Card
File.
An Elgin resident during his teen-age
years when his late father, W. Glenn
McFadden, was pastor of the Highland
Avenue church from 1950-1961, Mr.
McFadden is a graduate of Manchester
College and Bethany Seminary.
During his Lafayette pastorate, he ran
unsuccessfully for Congress in 1965
against the late Charles A. Halleck of
Indiana. For four years he was part-
time campus minister at Purdue Uni-
versity and has been active in scouting
and camping in youth work. He also has
been pastor at Akron, Ind.
Formerly residing in Ellicott City,
Md., Mr. McFadden is married to the
former Barbara Peters. They have two
children.
Brethren witness to peace in
White House feetwashing
While 700 persons gathered in Washing-
ton, D.C., for four days in October to
"evict Nixon" and use nonviolent civil
disobedience in an anti-war stance, 25
Church of the Brethren members acted
out their witness in front of the White
House in a public service of feetwashing.
The Brethren came from Indiana,
Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
One of them, Ed Poling of Baltimore,
said that as they washed each other's feet,
a passage from John 13 was read, leaflets
were passed out, and a banner declared
"Church of the Brethren for Peace and
Justice." Their photo appeared the next
day in the W ashington Post.
The service continued for 45 minutes,
until police forced it to stop. The group
had agreed, in a meeting the previous
night at the Arlington Church of the
Brethren, to comply rather than risk
arrest. Water for the service came from a
fountain in Lafayette Park across the
street.
The leaflet distributed noted that "in
Jesus' washing of his disciples' feet, he
challenges each of us and the corporate
state to cleanse ourselves of our imperial-
ism, murder, and oppression, to seek hu-
mility, recognizing our racist, sexist, and
manipulative actions, and to serve people
rather than master them."
The Brethren action was intended to
make clear as well their protest to the
Indochina war and to "all barriers that
separate us from each other."
Among five participants from Man-
chester College were Lois Gish and Tim
Kraus. Reflected Lois on the experience:
"The footwashing service has always held
a special meaning for me. Yet never be-
fore did I feel such a sense of community.
Never before did I feel I was truly saying
that I wanted to serve instead of master."
Tim later noted that "the public wash-
ing of another's feet could be viewed as
an action of either a lunatic or a publicity
hound. I must admit that beforehand,
regardless of my initial motivation to go
to Washington, I did feel that way, but in
the middle of my participation I began to
realize again the meaning of the humility
and the brotherhood in our action."
^*
Top: Brethren in position near the White
HoKsc: below, Charlotte Kuenning. Lom-
bard, III., watches toweling of her feet
Philadelphian Art Gish reflected:
"Some may question whether a public
setting is a proper place for feetwashing
and feel that this should be done privately
among Christians. But historically for
the Brethren, feetwashing has been a
public service.
"Baptism is a public demonstration of
our commitment to Jesus Christ. Feet-
washing may become a means of publicly
witnessing to the new life in Jesus Christ.
The Brethren may have found a new way
to publicly witness to their faith."
I-I5-72 MESSENGER 3
Alan Jennings acquitted
In trial on conscription stance
It was "a decision that transcended all
of our expectations" said Alan G.
Jennings, acquitted Oct. 27 of a charge
of willfully and knowingly violating the
Selective Service law in leaving his al-
ternative service project before comple-
tion of his term.
Mr. Jennings, 25, the son of ordained
minister Dr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Jennings
of Long Beach, Calif., served 17 months
of a 24-month commitment at the
Douglas Park Church of the Brethren in
Chicago as a community worker in
Brethren Volunteer Service.
During this time, he told the court, "I
eventually came to the conclusion that
my cooperation with the Selective Service
System was placing me in violation of a
higher law to which I felt obligated. The
law to which 1 am ultimately responsible
is the gospel of Jesus Christ. . . ."
Mr. Jennings believes that his case was
the first time in Selective Service history
that a principled noncoopcrator has been
acquitted.
After leaving his project and informing
the Illinois Selective Service Board us to
his reasons, Mr. Jennings spent a year at
Bethany Theological Seminary, and since
then has been working with emotionally
disturbed boys at the Jewish Children's
Bureau in Chicago.
The not guilty verdict may have had
as much to do with the presiding judge's
concern for religious liberty as with Mr.
Jennings' position. Later Mr. Jennings
reflected on this:
"It was truly the working of the Holy
Spirit that enabled us to reach [Judge
Lynch] on such a human and personal
level. Granted, the mood of the country
is different from even a year ago and by
signing the stipulation and waiving the
right to a jury it was easier for the judge
to let me testify to the whole truth. And
yet without his human understanding of
my position, he would have ruled differ-
ently."
Another factor in the surprising ver-
dict, he felt, was that the judge "per-
ceived rather correctly that I took this
action not so much to subvert the govern-
ment as to witness to my faith. In obedi-
ence to the higher law of Jesus Christ that
A I Jennings at Douglas Park
stands in judgment of all human laws I
had to disobey the unjust and immoral
conscription law." He believed that the
strong religious nature of his defense
influenced the judge's verdict.
"We can only hope that in time we will
be able to view his decision not so much
as a privileged exception but as the
spawning of a movement more favorable
to 'crimes' of conscience," Mr. Jennings
said. Although not legally binding on
other courts, the decision is seen by him
as "an important moral precedent."
He finds his joy tempered in realizing
that any one of several other judges in the
district almost certainly would have ruled
for some incarceration, and that future
defendants may not be as fortunate as he.
"This is not an occasion for renewed
faith in the entire judicial system so much
as revived hope in the potential for always
reaching a person on a human level which
transcends his stereotyped role," he said.
Several statements of the Church of the
Brethren on war, conscription, and civil
disobedience were entered as evidence for
Mr. Jennings and Dr. Dale W. Brown of
Bethany Seminary and Douglas Park
pastor Fabricio P. Guzman gave testi-
mony as character witnesses.
When the court adjourned, some 50 of
Al Jennings' friends in the courtroom,
many from the seminary, stood and sang
the Doxology in their own joy.
An Ecumenical Witness calls
for look at Indochina War
A nationwide interreligious movement,
called "An Ecumenical Witness," con-
vened a national conference Jan. 13-16 in
Kansas City, Mo., to "stimulate thought
and action in America's religious com-
munities with regard to the moral issues
of the Indochina conflict."
Some 700 Protestant, Orthodox, and
Roman Catholic church people and rep-
resentatives of the Jewish community are
exploring "the resources of our faith and
how they may best be applied to the
spiritual malaise that currently under-
mines the condition of our people and
our nation," the planners say. Leaders
from the church outside the U.S. were
asked to attend as well.
Coordinator of the campaign, which
began in November and will continue
after the conference, is Dr. Robert S.
Bilheimer, executive director of the Na-
tional Council of Churches' department
of international affairs.
Among the 125 interfaith sponsors are
Dale W. Brown, Bethany Seminary pro-
fessor and 1972 moderator, and, from the
Brotherhood staff, H. Lamar Gibble,
peace and international affairs consultant.
General Secretary S. Loren Bowman, and
Joel K. Thompson, World Ministries
executive.
The movement was initiated on Nov.
28 with prayers for peace and justice in
front of the White House and in churches
across the country. Among several reli-
gious leaders officiating at the prayer
service was Washington City pastor
DLiane H. Ramsey, representing the
denomination.
Brethren delegates to the Kansas City
convocation include Mrs. Joy Dull,
Brookville, Ohio, W. Robert McFadden,
Bridgcwater, Va., Thomas Wilson, con-
gregational community involvement con-
sultant, Elgin, III., Dr. Brown, and Mr.
Gibble.
The planners note that the "conference
is meeting in a time when fewer and fewer
favor continuing the war. The feeling is
widespread that there is less and less that
anyone can do about it. Our own condi-
tion in church and synagogue mirrors
that of the larger community."
Much work of the conference focuses
4 MESSENGER 1-15-72
on such small-group discussions as "What
obedience, witness, common strategy,
community, life-style, network should we
envisage? What can be done to create a
new, constructive political mood, climate,
and will? and how to maintain this and
make it effective? What has prevented
the communities of church and syna-
gogue, in spite of prophetic voices, from
rising to the moral and spiritual chal-
lenge presented by the Vietnam War?"
An Ecumenical Witness will be con-
tinued with visits by overseas participants
to various population centers. Specially
organized national inquiry groups on
major topics will continue work begun by
the conference.
Brethren, Mennonites confer
on social and action programs
Peace churches today have greater politi-
cal and social responsibilities than our
forefathers could have foreseen. Such
was one consensus of the staffs of the
Church of the Brethren World Ministries
Commission and the Mennonite Central
Committee.
Administrators for both groups met
last fall at the MCC headquarters in
Akron, Pa., to continue discussions be-
tween the two peace churches for fellow-
ship and mutual sharing of experiences
and concerns begun in 1970 at Elgin, 111.
The staffs observed the need to properly
balance three basic missions: ( 1 ) the
prophetic stance in which the church
identifies itself with a clearly known
"right side" of a situation; (2) the posi-
tion of mediator and reconciler, finding
valid concerns on both sides of a conflict;
and (3) their mission to feed the
hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the
sick and imprisoned.
Both staffs saw that the third mission
may have been overemphasized at the ex-
pense of the first two. Looking ahead, the
participants listed concerns deserving high
priority in the 70s: penal reform, zoning
which excludes the poor and minorities,
peace education, welfare reform, and the
effects of strip mining on the quality of
life in Appalachia.
The voluntary service programs of both
churches were considered invaluable
sources of experience from which to draw
when addressing these problems.
[La[n](dls[rDDDi](
THE PASTORAL SCENE . . . Five pastors were cited recently
for t:heir years of service in the pastoral ministry: Vir-
gil Weimer, Lena, 111. , forty; Edward K_. Ziegler, Bakers-
field, Calif., fifty; I. L. Bennett, Ruckersville , Va. ,
fifty-four; George L. Detweiler , Greencastle, Pa., forty-
four; and Kenneth Hollinger , Lanark, 111., forty.
Beginning a teniire in September at the Greencastle,
Pa. , Church of the Brethren was J. Richard Gottshall , for-
merly pastor at the Peters Creek church, Roanoke, Va.
Four Northern Ohio men were licensed to the ministry
recently: Arlen Longenecker , Zion Hill; John Hand ley , Zion
Hill; Robert Kurtz, Kent; and Brent Driver , Pleasant View.
. . . Lock Haven College student David Stauffer, Elizabeth-
town, Pa., was licensed to the ministry by the Atlantic-
Northeast District.
At Detroit, Mich., First Church of the Brethren the
F. Robert Rutys participated in ordination services. He
has been serving as student pastor there while completing
college work at the University of Detroit.
Anticipating retirement in Waterloo, Iowa, are Pastor
and Mrs . Paul E_. Winger d, whose pastorate at the Cedar
church, Clarence, Iowa, ended a twenty-nine year career.
Entering private employment in the Los Angeles area
is Leland Nelson , who resigned his pastorate of eleven
years at the Ladera church.
CONGREGATIONAL COLLAGE
Nort±iern Coloradans are
gathering at Windsor for worship and fellowship. The group
of twenty invites others , and information may be obtained
from Pastor Herbert D. Zeiler, 1901 Diana Dr., Loveland,
Colo. 80537.
At Dallas Center, Iowa , Brethren celebrated a har-
vest homecoming in November. ... And in Seymour, Ind.,
the New Hope congregation combined homecoming festivities
with rededication of their church building.
Although the Pueblo, Colo. , congregation has voted to
sell its property, a fellowship of Brethren will be main-
tained in that city.
Reporting on activities for Worldwide Communion Sunday
are the Covington , Ohio , church whose members joined the
United Church of Christ and the United Presbyterian con-
gregations there for an agape meal. ... On the same Sunday,
the Waka, Texas, congregation donated camp fees for Navajo
children attending the district camp the past summer, not-
ing that the offering fulfilled the idea of the Fund for
the Americas in tihe United States.
PEOPLE YOU KNOW
One of twelve merabers of Indiana's
new pesticide review board is William R_. Eberly , professor
of biology at Manchester College.
Inadvertently omitted from MESSENGER was mention of
the dealih last May 3 of Walter E_. Peckover , who in a pas-
toral career of fifty years served congregations from
Florida to Washington. Included in his ministry were the
starting of the church at Portland, Ore., and construction
of the church at Salkum, Wash. , where death occurred.
M5-72 MESSENGER S
[Ul
by Vernard Eller
The Ellers were tourists last summer,
driving from California to National
Youth Conference at Valparaiso,
Indiana, and then beyond to Pennsyl-
vania. Partly by selection but largely
by accident we repeatedly came across
churches using the stage — drama,
music, pageantry, special effects — as
an attractive and effective way of mak-
ing a witness and informing the public
about themselves. Travel with us.
^Jne of our early stops was Salt Lake
City, Utah. Its main tourist attraction,
of course, is Temple Square, the Zion
of the Church of Jesus Christ of the
Latter Day Saints, commonly known
as the Mormons. While doing the
regular tour of the beautiful buildings
and grounds, we learned that in the
evening would be presented a musical,
Promised Valley. We decided to stay
over.
The brochure claimed that the pro-
duction would be of Broadway caliber,
and it was. Presumably most, if not
all, the talent represented volunteer
labor (five or six nights a week all
summer), but it was plain that the
church has access to top professional
talent and has poured considerable
money into the theater, staging, equip-
ment, costumes, and sets.
Promised Valley differs from a
Broadway musical only in its shorter
running time, approximately one hour
without intermission. It uses a story
line, songs, choreography, stage effects,
comedy routines much as Oklahoma
would. It had a full-sized orchestra,
four or five soloists, and a chorus of
fifty or more voices.
The story recounts the trials, tribula-
6 MESSENGER I 15-72
tions, and victories of the heroic Mor-
mon trek to Salt Lake in the 1 860s
and the miracle of the sea gulls that
saved a critically needed grain crop
from the invading horde of crickets.
The show does not go into the niceties
of Mormon doctrine (ably communi-
cated during the tour of the grounds)
but it is distinctly religious in its por-
trayal of the faith that motivated these
pioneers and in ascribing their accom-
plishments explicitly to God in Jesus
Christ. The music includes traditional
Mormon hymnody as well as Broad-
way-type tunes. Promised Valley
clearly is Mormon, but the enjoyment
and inspiration it transmits is ecu-
menical.
The show is housed in an open-air
amphitheater constructed expressly for
the purpose. Located directly across
the street from the architectural won-
der of the Mormon Temple, the stage
is buUt open at the back, so that the
temple itself forms the backdrop. As
the audience assembles, just before
dark, the temple stands there in the
light. By the time the program begins,
the temple is a silhouette against a
sunset sky. Before the show is over,
the background is entirely dark, the
temple obliterated. (In Salt Lake, the
Mormons have enough clout that even
the street lights are not lit on that
block. ) Then, at the very end of the
play, as the orchestra and chorus reach
their final crescendo, all the incan-
descence of its entire battery of night-
time floodlights is suddenly thrown
against the face of that towering, gold-
topped temple. At that point, the
Mormons not only meet but beat all
hollow the best effect that Broadway
ever has mustered.
Ihe Tuesday evening program at
the Valparaiso conference was Chris-
tians Right On!, a two-hour worship
service spectacular presented by the
youth group of the Modesto, Cali-
fornia, Church of the Brethren.
If the strength of the Mormon show
was its "professionalism," the strength
of this Brethren show was its "ama-
teurism" — using both of these terms
in the best possible sense of each.
From start to finish, the Modesto pro-
duction represented the labor, the love,
the creativity, the expression of faith
of the young pieople who were doing it
— and, by extension, that of the con-
ferees as weU. The mark of Christians
Right On! is "involvement." A col-
lege girl was the major writer of the
show, but the total effort was more a
case of high school kids doing their
thing — or, as the case proved, their
things.
The evening's experience was what
might be called multimedia potpourri.
The story-line continuity was so slim
as to be virtually nonexistent. What
we got, rather, was a variety including
slide shows, both photos and cartoons
(Schulz's Peanuts); lights; music col-
lected from all over and with some ori-
ginal lyrics (instrumental, vocal, and
recorded); vaudeville skits and guerril-
la theater; readings scriptural, bor-
Proiniscd Valley cast performs against the background of the Salt Lake Temple
1-15-72 MESSENGER 7
rowed, and original; litanies; dance,
an\nhing and ever>'thing. One element,
strong here, that was entirely absent at
Salt Lake, was audience participation.
In Christians Right On! the attenders
ver>' much get into the act by doing a
great deal of singing, reading re-
sponses, praying, and whooping it up
along with the cast.
The show also involves a potpourri
of emotional moods (which today's
youth are expert at handling and ex-
pressing, with instantaneous transitions
from one to another — while older
folks are fighting to keep the pace and
figure out what under the sun is going
on). It must be said too that the show
represents a theological potpourri. It
included, for instance, a segment built
around the many titles ascribed to
Jesus in the New Testament and an-
other segment which was a humanistic
paean of praise for the nobility of man
and the goodness of his natural life.
No attention was given to the fact that
if this second segment represents the
truth about the nature of man and his
life in this world, it makes the Jesus of
the New Testament titles largely super-
fluous.
But perhaps this undigested mixture
was precisely what the program should
have been — a live and vibrant por-
trayal of modem youth's struggle for
faith, struggle with the faith, struggle
to get a faith of their own rather than
simply to receive an inheritance. In
this regard, although some mention
was made of being Brethren and al-
though some Brethren ideals were
lifted up, the Modesto show does not
constitute as explicit a portrayal of a
particular tradition and faith as do the
other shows we are considering. In
large part the difference is a matter of
audience: The other shows are de-
signed to present the faith to outsiders;
the Modesto show is for internal
consumption, an exercise in faith
rather than a description of faith ac-
complished. Thus, although Chris-
tians Right On! is a beautiful thing of
its own kind, it is not quite comparable
to our other examples.
wwe went to Ephrata, Pennsylvania
deliberately to see Vorspiel, the musi-
cal drama of the Ephrata Cloister. We
had seen it a few summers earlier and
were eager for a repeat.
The Ephrata Cloister represents the
material remains of the religious com-
munity founded by Conrad Beissel.
The community itself was alive and
dynamic from the 1740s until well up
into the nineteenth century. Because
Beissel and a large percentage of his
followers were converts out of Breth-
renism and carried over many of their
earlier beliefs and practices, an Eph-
rata visit is particularly meaningful for
members of the Church of the Breth-
ren.
The buildings and grounds are
maintained by the State of Pennsyl-
vania as an historical monument, pri-
marily as an outstanding example of
medieval German architecture and a
colonial American way of life. How-
ever, what really brings the monument
to life is the effort of the Ephrata
Cloister Associates. This is a non-
profit community organization dedi-
cated to the interests of the Cloister.
The Beissel church is defunct, so the
Associates include people of any and
every faith except the Cloister's own.
Their interest is primarily in preserving
and sharing the culture of the original
community; but because that culture
was so entirely a religious one, there
is no alternative but to witness to the
faith of community in the process. The
Associates are not shy or apologetic
about the religious aspects of their
work.
On the Cloister grounds, they oper-
ate a gift shop that sells not only the
customary line of "Dutch" trinkets but
also materials that celebrate and in-
form about the faith community. The
Vorspiel pageant is presented on week-
I
From left: A highlight of Promised Valley, from Christians Right On! — Abraham asking what love means; the vanquished lion
end evenings during the summer. It is
preceded by special tours, during whiich
the buildings are occupied by people
(mostly high school and college stu-
dents) dressed in the authentic habits
of the brothers and sisters, busy at the
arts, crafts, and activities that were
practiced there more than 200 years
ago, and prepared to talk knowledge-
ably about life in the cloisters.
When it is dark, the crowd assem-
bles in a meadow amphitheater on an-
other part of the grounds. The back-
drop in this case is a flat, painted
mockup of the actual cloister build-
ings. This may be the best that can be
done, but it looks particularly fake
when the real thing stands a scant 100
yards away. It would add a great deal
if the Associates could take a cue from
the Mormons and incorporate the thing
itself into their play.
By necessity rather than choice,
that did happen the night we saw
Vorspiel. Gathered in the amphi-
theater, the program opened with the
announcer telling us what we would do
in case of rain. This was asking for it,
and we got it. Before he was done
speaking, a brisk downpour headed
the assembled company indoors in a
state of rout.
"Indoors" turned out to be the great
meeting room located in the Saal, the
oldest building of the group (con-
structed 1741 ). This year that room
was quite different from what we had
seen on earlier visits. Then it had been
simply a large, low-ceilinged room.
But there existed accounts by eigh-
teenth-century visitors to Ephrata de-
scribing choirs in the hall singing from
balconies. Recently a venturesome
state architect who decided to solve
the mystery of the missing balconies
discovered that the ceiling above the
center of the room definitely was of
different construction than that along
the two sides. Ripping out the center
ceiling and opening the room a second
story, clear to the roof, he found a
beautiful, high room with galleries run-
ning the length of either side — un-
questionably the way the room stood in
Beissel's day.
Now that room — a great room in
its time — is still large enough today
for either the Vorspiel cast or the
Vorspiel audience, but hardly both at
once. What we got, then, was "inti-
mate theater" in which the intimacy
went so far that theatricals were simply
crowded out. The pageant had to be
so pruned and squeezed that it lost
much of its effect. But, the story is
just an excuse upon which to hang a
portrayal of cloister life — worship,
beliefs, discipline, love feasts, and
above all, the a capella singing. And
the consequence of the move into the
Saal was that the pageant's loss became
the music's gain.
The music is one of the things that
Ephrata is all about. Beissel was a
self-taught musician who invented his
own strange modes and his own
strange notations for transcribing
them. Early accounts are unanimous
in praise of the unearthly (that is,
heavenly) harmonics produced by
Beissel's choirs. But although the writ-
ten music was preserved, it was not
until a few years ago that Dr. RusseU
Getz, director of the Associates Chor-
us, broke Beissel's code and opened
the way for the music to be heard
once more. (This music, by the way,
shortly will be available to choirs from
the G. Schirmer Company.)
In the Saal, the men's chorus (seven
or eight men) sang from one gallery
and a like number of women sang
from the other. For one number, a
third chorus was stationed on the main
floor. Without doubt, Beissel wrote
the music for just such antiphonal ar-
rangement and used it that way. And
it has now been proved that the eigh-
teenth-century visitors were right on
the mark in their accolades of Ephrata
singing. Everyone ought to make a
point of attending Vorspiel at least
At Ephrata: "We shall sing to prove that the angels themselves, when they sang at the birth of Christ, had to use our rules''
If, /
twice — once in clear weather to see
the pageant and once in the rain to
hear the music.
Even at its best, Vorspiel cannot
touch the sHck professionalism and
entertainment value of the Mormon
Promised Valley. It does, however,
have a hymnody and a sanctuary that
antedates the Mormon counterparts by
considerably more than a century. And
to listen to that long lost music sung in
a long lost meeting room creates an
effect that lifts one beyond even flood-
lit temples. Both are authentic pointers
to the glory of God.
^Jur final adventure started at
Ephrata and in ways proved the most
e.xciting and significant of the four.
.At the Cloister gift shop I picked
up an attractive, slick, professional-
looking brochure (no, we're not going
back to Salt Lake) advertising a Dutch
Family Festival located near Lancaster.
Normally, slick brochures tooting
"Dutch stuff" around Lancaster are to
be regarded with suspicion; that area
is full of outfits that have commercial-
ized and prostituted the Permsylvania
Dutch culture beyond all recognition.
(One of their big items is a postcard
that gets a hee-haw from the fact that
Dutch country includes the town of
Intercourse, Pa.)
That our brochure mentioned "a
pageant of the Amish and Mennonite
way of life" didn't necessarily prove
anything. That area boasts scads of
"learn about the Amish" places that
no God-fearing Amishman would be
caught dead in; the proprietors are
interested solely in Amish "quaintness"
and couldn't care less about the Amish
faith.
But our brochure did include some
hints that intrigued me. A family
festival it was called, and jamily was
played up in the text — that's some-
thing different. "A festival is people
.... People learning from other peo-
ple's way of living and giving. . . .
It's our story to you with love. ..."
There is something quite uncommercial
(or else newly super-ingenious com-
mercial ) about that pitch. We de-
cided to investigate even though it
meant upsetting our travel schedule
and driving some distance out of our
way. We are very glad we did, for
we discovered that the Dutch Family
Festival is a gang of young Mermonites
who are out to beat the commercial-
izers at their own game and, in the pro-
cess, defend and share the faith instead
of corrupting it.
The brochure told us that the festi-
val is produced by Good Enterprises,
Ltd. That turns out to be Merle Good,
a Mennonite seminarian who must still
be well within his twenties, his wife
Phyllis, and some better-fixed Men-
nonite elders who are his angels (back-
ers). As Merle told me. his company
marks an effort to operate on three
fronts simultaneously: ( 1 ) commer-
cial, to provide a means by which some
Mennonite artists and craftsmen can
support themselves and thus — (2)
artistic, to pursue their creative en-
deavors to the end of — (3) the faith,
making a public witness to Mennonite
ways and values.
The festival, which has evolved out
of the four seasons of activity, operates
during the summer months. During
the school year. Merle is a student
(communication and the arts) at
Union Theological Seminary and
Phyllis at New York University. The
cast-staff (same people in dual, triple,
and quadruple roles) are largely Men-
nonite college students, many of them
from Eastern Mennonite in Harrison-
burg, Virginia, Merle's own alma
mater.
The festival proper operates on a
continuous cycle during the day, six
days a week. It is housed in a large,
open, commercial-type building which,
I believe, is an auction center during
the off (on) season.
The greater part of the front half
At left, Christians Right On! cast members introducing a new song. Right, at Dutch Family Festival, exhibits feature Mennonite life
/
i
^\,
/
^^,-
of the building is tiie gift shop, at-
tempting to specialize in original and
authentic Mennonite artworks. Fea-
tured are the three-dimensional carved
paintings of Mennonite farm life done
by Albert Zook, a truly unique and im-
pressive art form. Featured even big-
ger is a new novel by a first-time novel-
ist. Merle Good (Mr. Entrepreneur
himself) . Happy as the Crass Was
Green is his story of contemporary
Mennonite youth, published by Herald
Press, the Mennonite press at Scott-
dale, Pennsylvania. The shop also has
a table of other works by Mennonite
writers, most of them from Herald
Press. And early in the season, the fes-
tival sponsored an autographing party
at which quite a number of Mennonite
authors were present.
From the gift shop, we walked
through a series of exhibits: a mock-up
kitchen where is explained the making
of sauerkraut, apple butter, soap, and
such like; a farm exhibit with a few
live animals; a smokehouse. The
guides and exhibitors turn out to be
the actors and singers at the audi-
torium, the back half of the building.
One end of the room is devoted to an
open, wrap-around stage decorated in
a Mennonite farm motif. The other
end is semicircled with seven projec-
tion screens and a number of low
platforms. The center of the room is
filled with ingenious, bidirectional
seats, namely, bales of hay. (During
empty intervals, the children are en-
couraged to play tag, jumping from
bale to bale. )
First, at the screen end, comes "This
Is Lancaster." a brief multimedia pre-
sentation written by Merle Good, mu-
sic by David Seitz, recordings of some
of the music on sale in the gift shop.
Its thrust is toward the family and the
beauties of life in the country, com-
municated through simultaneous
slides, music — live and recorded,
skits, jokes by a cast of four.
During the intermission, while the
cast is regrouping at the other end of
the room, the audience enjoys a brief,
informal lecture and question period
regarding Mennonite-Amish history
and beliefs. In our case the lecturer
was a young man who joined the so-
ciology faculty at Elizabethtown Col-
lege this fall.
Turning on our bales, from the stage
came a very brief musical celebrating
the Amish-Mennonite faith and Ufe.
Book and music by you know who.
Cast of four, same as before. All done
with impressive verve, sincerity, and
dedication by very open, friendly, hos-
pitable young people.
Come evening, the festival proper
Gift shop at family festival specializes in Mennonite artwork
closes shop in order to reopen as the
company of a full-scale, two-hour
musical. The hay has been stacked to
one side to form a gallery for children,
and folding chairs have been arranged
facing the stage. The audience has
jumped from twenty or thirty to ten
times that; and the number of prayer
coverings in evidence (beards don't
tell you anything any more) indicate
that the Mennonites do a good job of
supporting their own. The cast has
swelled from four to fourteen, pre-
sumably as ten more Mennonite young
people got off their workaday jobs.
Merle has written, directed, and
produced four of these full-length,
what he calls "native" musicals. Two
are presented each summer. David
Seitz. a former music teacher from
Eastern Mennonite who sang in the
cast, has done the music for a couple
of them. This night the play was Yes-
terday, Today, and Forever, the story
of a touring group of young Mennonite
singers who are struggling to be true
to their heritage and yet be open to the
modern world. Costumes included a
comfortable mix of prayer and mini-
skirts. Not all of the long hair was on
girls. Drums and an electric guitar
made their contribution. As the bro-
chure said. "It's ALIVE!"
The music touched all bases: an
ancient Mennonite hymn sung in Ger-
man; "I Need Thee Every Hour"
(which I never would have guessed
could make it as a show tune) ; the
Lord's Prayer very effectively sung to
music reminiscent of the Beatles.
Without apology, the show as a
whole was religious. Christian, and
Mennonite. Not every viewer would
be converted, of course, but no one
could come away without feeling good
about the experience and having
gained in knowledge and respect.
In sum, many churches are effective-
ly using the stage to help get their mes-
sage to the public "out there." The
Church of the Brethren may not have
the resources to compete with the Mor-
mons. But Brethren do have the per-
sons and the creativity to become in-
volved in this kind of ministry on a
greater scale than has so far been tried.
Ought we investigate the myriad pos-
sibilities? D
1-15-72 MESSENGER 11
Love^
^ asl
have
loved
you.
Jesus requires a new style of life of
his disciples. They are to love one
another as he himself has loved
them (John 13:34). This is to be
their distinctive feature, making
them recognizable as his disciples
(John 13:35).
What love is.
In one form or another, the call to
love is found in most religious tra-
ditions. Yet it is universal human
experience that love cannot arise
by command.
But the words of Jesus about love
are a new commandment which he
alone could issue since it is direct-
ly bound up with his person and
mission: The new commandment is
Jesus' invitation to live as he him-
self lived (1 John 2:6), to live in the
light of his truth (2 John 4). Jesus
requires us to love one another as
he himself has loved us (John
13:34).
What was this love of Jesus him-
self? The washing of the dis-
ciples' feet indicates the answer:
"Jesus had always loved his own,
who were in the world and now he
was to show the full extent of his
love" (John 13:1). This symbolic act
at the beginning of the last Supper
points to two features of the love
of Jesus:
1. The washing of the feet an-
nounces and prefigures the
sacrifice of the cross. Before
he died, Jesus could say: "It
is accomplished" (John 19:30).
He had given the supreme
token of love, for there is no
greater love than that a man
should lay down his life for
his friends (cf. John 15:12-15;
1 John 5:16). Lifted up from
the earth, Jesus will draw all
men to himself (John 12:32),
gathering together into unity
the scattered children of God
(John 11:52);
2. The washing of the feet is also
the pattern of brotherly serv-
ice for each Christian. The
servant is to follow the ex- VJ
ample of his master (John
13:15 H.).
Christ's love for men demon-
strates the love of the Father who
gave his only son for the salvation
of the world (John 3:16). God is
love (1 John 4:8-16). To discover
God, to know who he is, we must
love (1 John 4-7 f.).
What love
demands.
The servant truly follows his mas-
ter only if he is ready to lay down
his life for his brothers (1 John
3:16).
His daily life is to be a life of
service. He must always be ready
to come to the help of his brothers,
especially of those who suffer (1
John 3:17). Only then will the love
of the Christian be "genuine and
show itself in action" (I John 3:18).
The true Christian loves his ene-
mies (Matthew 5:44). Like God and
like Christ who have loved all men
(John 3:16), he tries to make his
love universal in its range.
The Christian who seeks to obey
the new commandment (John 15:12-
17) will not be surprised to meet
with misunderstanding and hatred
(John 15:18-25). His assurance of
Christ's victory will enable him to
conquer fear and cowardice (John
13:38; 16:33).
The fruits of love.
Love makes the believer a true
disciple of Jesus (John 13:35), one
who has really assimilated his
master's message and who knows
the truth (8:31 f.); one who, like the
beloved disciple, stands at the foot
of the cross (19:15-26) and who
looks up in faith to the crucified
Christ (19:37).
Love creates fellowship among
men (1 John 1:7), strengthens and
extends the Christian community,
which is a truly fraternal commu-
nity; love is the family likeness of
the children of God (1 John 3:10), it
demonstrates to the world the life
of Christians as God's children and
their fellowship with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Life in truth and love (Ephesians
4:15) is the most effective way of
achieving unity in the faith
(Ephesians 4:13) and building the
kingdom of God. Love builds the
church, which grows and increases
through the mutual love of its
members (Ephesians 6:16).
Sent by Christ into the world
(John 17:18), the children of God
bear witness to the world as they
achieve their unity. In this way
men will be led to faith and will
realize that the Father has loved
them as he loved his son (John
17:21 ff.). Is this love the family
likeness which the world sees in
Christians? Is this love character-
istic of relations between churches?
Is this sign of love to be found
within each Christian congregation
and community?
Suggested Readings
John 13:1-17 and 33-35; 1 Corinthi-
ans 13
"I show you the best way of all"
Deuteronomy 6:4-15; Luke 10:25-37
The commandment of love is the
sum of the law
1 John 4:7-11; Hosea 11:1-9
Only love makes God truly
known
Luke 6:27-35; Leviticus 19:17 f. and
33 L
Love of the neighbor cannot dis-
criminate between friend and
enemy
John 15:12-17; Isaiah 58:6-12
There is no service of the Lord
without service of those in need
Matthew 18:21-35; 1 John 2:3-11
In the light of the commandment
of love the truth about the inten-
tions of our heart is revealed
Matthew 10:34-42; 1 John 3:13-18
Following Christ in the way of
love does not lead out of the
world of hatred, but leads to
ultimate division, exemplified in
his cross
Jeremiah 31:1-6; Romans 8:31-39
God's unceasing love for men
does not rest until he has drown
them all to himself
Helpus tolove.
Jesus says "Love one another"
Think of those we love
Think of those we ought to love
Think of situations of hatred in the
world.
Lord, as you have loved us, help
us to love.
'^^^^.
Jesus says "Love one another"
Pray to God for our family and
friends
Pray to God for our enemies
Pray to God for peace.
Lord, as you have loved us, help
us to love.
Jesus says "Love one another"
Commit ourselves to God
Commit ourselves to work for peace
and reconciliation
Commit ourselves to each other.
Lord, as you have loved us, help
us to love.
ible readings
fora
Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity:
Inez Long tells why
UT5.
IVe Been Putting on the
Inez Long
To be born
on the prairie,
riding in a
car on capricious topography up and
down, right and left, is a dizzy
un-merry-go-round, so that I find
myself dragging my feet and braking a
hole in the floorboard. For the past
five years I've been doing the same in
the Church of the Brethren on our
dizzy ride of tripping off, spiraling
twist after turn, zooming us high and
heading us low.
How did we get on this ride? Well,
from World War II to the mid-sixties,
Brethren laid a speedway that caught
the spirit of the times and the tempo of
our people and we didn't need zigzag
risks to provoke thrills. We were going
fast toward goals and we didn't jerk
into sudden kinks. We had our thrills
from winning conscientious objector
status in national law, a victory which
will stand as an historic landmark in
the rise of the inviolate conscience as
supreme over national policy. We
thrilled as millions of dollars went into
alternative service which, however
infirm in World War II. made a
miraculous witness in crisis, a witness
yet to be recorded in all its drama. We
were recognized as leaders in relief,
rehabilitation, work camps, volunteer
service, and mobile emergency
programs.
During our excursions into a widen-
ing world, we woke up to the fact that
we. ourselves, had changed. We had
transplanted ourselves from the coun-
try to the city so that our locations
were exactly reversed : we were now
eighty-five percent urban and fifteen
percent rural. Our new church build-
ings, no longer meetinghouses, showed
our confidence that, because of our
record in the forties, we could win our
way in the postwar secular world and
gather a strong base in urban, main-
stream Protestantism. Today our local
churches — their conclusions after
long discussions in the fifties openly
evident in hardwood and concrete —
dot the nation with divided chancels,
steeples, parking lots and educational
complexes that boast nurseries, multi-
media installations, kitchens, and
recreational facilities. And, as a
parsonage woman. I give a loud cheer
for efficient new parsonages.
During this time, our witness to the
wider church, as in the National Coun-
cil of Churches and World Council of
Churches mounted under the leader-
ship of our best denominational states-
men. Our fellowship with global
Christians, as in the Russian exchange,
was unique. Our church-related col-
leges expanded in phenomenal propor-
tions. Our involvement in Mission
One and Mission Twelve pushed us
into a new sense of relationships, in
both church and world.
Despite the grumblings of the youth
14 MESSENGER 1-15-72
Brakes"
cult and the rumblings of the anti-
church underground in the late 1960s,
both of whom had brilliant reasons for
exposing all these achievements as
folly, the record of self-sacrifice, of
hardheaded planning, and of actual
good done for humanity shows a dedi-
cation with which we need not be
ashamed even when standing alongside
our venerable forebears. However, the
hardest work of my forty years in an
uninterrupted career in church work
has been dragging my feet in the past
five years, in putting on the brakes.
What caused
the imbalance which
gives us a dizzy ride in the late 1960s?
It was riding in a passenger section
ripped in two because the design of the
craft catered to the youth cult, so that
the generation gap, breaking the
church apart, became an ironic joke to
the young, a traumatic tragedy to the
old, and a formidable task to the
middle-aged who were nearly torn in
pieces as they held the rip together by
their own two bare hands. It was the
falsity of pilots who, while looking
straight ahead as if listening with both
ears, heard only with the left ear tuned
to raucous extremists who grabbed the
microphone and announced to the
passengers alternate demands for
"Power," "Confrontation," and "Con-
troversy" between sweet mimics for
"Acceptance" "Love," and "Support."
It was the presumption of professional,
salaried churchmen who fueled the
local church with sophisticated materi-
als and methods while faithful volun-
teer workers tried feverishly to get the
local church aloft as it sputtered and
choked on input too rich or ill-matched
for its purposes. It was the false prom-
ise of an Aimual Conference report of
1 966 to merge "with groups more like
our own" which, in the ensuing years,
consumed millions of flight hours and
confused local flight patterns so that
we landed in Baptist, Church of God,
and other terminals, only to find that
we have been grounded with no "Go"
from other ports.
The flights have been more than
many of my co-workers have been able
to sustain. Many have become sick-
ened; some have disembarked; all but
a few have shut their eyes so as not to
see from the window the dizzy flights
we have taken. Of the few who
looked, even fewer knew where we
were "at" at any given time. I didn't
get sick; I didn't shut my eyes; I've
known where we were most of the
time. I dragged my feet simply be-
cause I thought the ride was imbal-
anced; it was a waste of fuel; it was an
unfair expenditure from conscientious
tithers; its false exhilaration was illu-
sionary. I disembarked this past year
with both feet on the ground to dis-
cover, along with many others, that we
had, indeed, struck amazing low
altitude.
Someone has said that such a posi-
tion — both feet on the ground — gets
us nowhere. One has to have at least
one foot off the ground to walk. But I
propose for the Church of the Brethren
a period of time in which to keep both
feet on the ground and go nowhere:
just stop, look and listen. Then, per-
haps, we might be able to make a jump
forward together, with both feet, right
and left, in one strong forward action
to one purposeful goal.
Where are we now? I think we are
not so much lost as we are in the posi-
tion of having "lost out." In very self-
less moves, on the assurance that "he
who loses his life shall find it" —
though in our generosity we seldom
had the same recipient in mind as did
the Teacher of this paradox — our
programs became mobile. We moved
our service projects into the wider
church. Church World Service, Heifer
Project, CROP, International Youth
Exchange, and many others. We based
alternative service and BVS in secular
agencies. Hospitals went under com-
munity control. Our best talent went
into secular revolutions. Our peace
testimony touched global proportions.
Our church colleges moved toward
self-perpetuating boards of trustees.
Our seminary may soon be teaming in
a cluster.
How did we "lose out"?
As we became
prophets to the ecumenical world
in matters of peace, other groups de-
veloped prophets more quickly than
we and rose with more sophistication.
As we shared our relief programs with
others, they promptly bolstered them
with more money, more personnel, and
won the balance of power. We scat-
tered our best leaders in ministries to
the world which invited them, often as
naive and willing worldlings, into an
even more inviting worldliness. I
could name all these in specific pro-
grams, policies and persons, by title,
official action and name, but this reve-
lation would be self-castigating. You
see, I voted in official action for many
1-15-72 MESSENGER IS
of these shifts with the wild hope that
some of our well-proven projects and
ideals would get wider use. This has
happened. Yet this selflessness has left
us with little left of the self we have
always known ourselves to be as
Brethren.
The Church of the Brethren now has
an identity which it feels to be a non-
identity because we are unfamiliar with
it. Coming from our pietist tradition,
as reformers of all reforms, we have
little feel for the identity which remains
as the revolutions and countermove-
ments cool. What, then, is our iden-
tity? We are just another neighborhood
church on just another busy street
corner. Our slogans as a denomination
— unique, separatist, peculiar — are
gone.
Now this is a challenge in itself.
Our local congregations, open toward
Protestantism, even Catholicism, will
be steadied if we incorporate the
weight of these newcomers who will
scrutinize the quick turnabouts which
our small denomination has maneu-
vered in the past. Yet Brethren don't
see any thrill in being "just another
church," especially at a time when the
church is shown as tawdry; when it is
ill-used and much abused, even by
leaders in the church. We don't think
of ourselves as "a traditional, institu-
tional church." We have been taught
that we were not created "just for
that"; our origins were not sprung "just
from that."
Furthermore, we don't know how to
be a church in a secular city, a secular
village or a secular countryside, be-
cause we aren't ready to confess that
the omnipresent adjective secular de-
scribes us all after two decades in front
of the television screen. Yet here, too,
is challenge, as the veneer of secular
hardware and the disposable nature of
plastic junk deepens the contrast be-
tween the eternal set in the midst of the
transitory. And we can be glad that,
disencumbered of parochial programs,
we can get on with our central task :
the tendering and extending of the
sacred in a profane world. This has
always been the task of the church,
though it is a difficult task for a people
recently exposed to the secular world.
Once we recognize a shift in our his-
toric position, and once we accept our
place in the secular world, we must
first define ourselves as a church.
When we moved into a hard-core,
prophetic stance in the late 1960s, we
became more individualistic, like the
Quakers. This moved us from an
evangelical base and from the kind of
corporate unity we had shared with the
Mennonites. Yet now we find our-
selves neither like the Quakers nor the
Mennonites: We are not Quaker, be-
cause we have not relinquished a
concept of the church; we are not
Mennonite because we are no longer
internally strong and separatist.
Are we really a church? If so, are
we "just another church"? Are we
special? I suggest that we assume we
are not special in the sense that God
plays favorites by speaking through
our own kind because of who we are.
I suggest that in spite of the mass-
media performances and headline per-
sonalties we have been able to pro-
mote, we confess that sustained per-
sonality adulation or denominational
prestige in the public eye are hard to
sustain by people with little expertise
in the camera's lens. Furthermore, I
suggest that experiments in one-year
ministries in hard-core social causes be
exchanged for long-term professional
career-personnel rather than hit-and-
run, guilt-compensating orators and
lamppost ministries. In councils of
churches, I suggest that Brethren con-
fess openly that is was easier to get our
interdenominational friends on the
peace bandwagon, when it became
popular in both press and youth pro-
tests, than to get them off the mari-
juana trip, off the consumerism ride
with in-group projects, off the political
games of one-upmanship, and off ex-
cursions to worldwide conferences for
whoever has the tough elbows and
verbiage to win a first-class ticket.
Finally, we do not need more hard-
bitten words in which self-appointed
crusaders have halted all opposition
with gutter language, frisked their
opponents, and stripped them down.
tearing out their hearts in cold blood.
Certainly we do not need more dia-
logue which is banal communication.
Such communication is only a pooling
of ignorances, or a marathon in which
only volubility and accusations are the
survivors.
If we can rid ourselves of past use-
less cargo, where do we start? We
start where Christians have always
started: Right where they are, right
on, along the Christian pilgrimage, like
Christian himself in Pilgrim's Progress.
We are a people on pilgrimage. We
are not on an ecstatic trip, not on an
adventurous odyssey, not in a political
race, not on a lost-lover's detour, not
on a suicidal dead end. Like Christians
before us, we are on a Way. That Way
rises from disgrace to glory, from
slavery to the self to freedom of the
redeemed. The road rises with mir-
acles and devils meeting us at every
turn as we pursue the Way to a sacred
destiny.
What might be that Way for Breth-
ren now?
First,we can review
the knowledge
which the church
has produced and preserved, knowing
that it is an exclusive body of knowl-
edge in the sense that in our secular
age, only the devout in home and
church can be trusted to teach it
authentically and purposefully. As
Christians we have learned that there
is Good News which others do not
know. That Good News carries values
which we do not want lost because
they are redemptive values for the hu-
man race, which we love and which
we hope will prevail. As religious peo-
ple, we are consciously alive, because
we are conscious every moment that
16 MESSENGER 1- 15-72
God is alive and, in our day. we keep
this consciousness brilliantly alive in
ourselves because the forthright recog-
nition of God is rare, except in pro-
fanity. As members of the living Body
of Christ, we will gather to sing praise
on Sunday morning, as our custom is.
We will bring the fruits of our labors
in a world that seldom knows or con-
fesses Christ, and we will be confident
before the throne of grace that God
will take the paltriness of our labor and
enlarge it from the disregard of the
world to the measure of his children's
need. As we seek atonement for our
own disobedience, we will be bold to
believe that life everlasting is a sure
gift of God's grace.
Second, we will pray for and be open
to the Holy Spirit. We will infuse our
experiences of the Spirit into the insti-
tutional church. If the church is only a
"corpus" — a body — it will be a
corpse. If it is body and spirit —
corpus and animus, the breath of God
— it will have a soul. We will live
with the Spirit that cannot be pro-
grammed, computerized or mimeo-
graphed but whose ways, often stub-
born against administrative paper
people and our own picayunish
connivings. are endless joy within the
household of faith. We will extend our
church to people nearby who have
fallen victim to mass media consumer-
ism and secular cults. Pumped into
bloated bodies, full of liquor, drugs,
speed, skin, thrills, and risks, they have
bartered life with a capital L for the
touch-and-feel senses minus soul,
which is infused only by the breath of
God.
Third, we will be perceptive to the
ecumenicity that is growing at the
grass roots. Many of us, saddened by
the lack of evangelism among Breth-
ren, and disheartened by the trend of
Anabaptism that propagandizes sep-
aratism to keep us outside ecumenical
mergers, see a ray of hope in our local
churches. For here, in our own con-
gregations, people regardless of labels,
dress, experiences, or language, come
to pray, study, and worship because
they know they must "lean on the
Everlasting Arms" if they are to be
enabled for the hard work of Chris-
tians in the world. Here is the close
communion — not closed communion,
but quite the contrary — of believers
in a neighborhood church. We need to
keep aware of the differences in these
two words because, as Brethren, as we
move toward intensive fellowship, we
will be tempted to turn inward to
closed sectarianism which, however
spectacular in broadbrimmed hats,
high collars, and prayer veils when we
are together at Annual Conference, is
a dead end to youth and adults alike
who, living with their peers in the secu-
lar city, refuse to be encumbered by
the flimflams of special gear which
carry artificial barriers and are impedi-
ments to the sharing of the Good News.
Fourth, we will welcome many lan-
guages in the church to infuse it with
diversity and harmony, characteristics
of God's whole human family. In
time, we will feel out the full meanings
of others' languages. Paul wrote,
"There are doubtless many different
languages in the world, and none is
without meaning, but if I do not know
the meaning of the language. I shall be
a foreigner to the speaker and the
speaker a foreigner to me." The new
ecumenicity is bringing together words
and meanings from Consciousness III,
Communes. Jesus People, the Straights,
the Intellectual Elite, the Hard Hats,
the Eternal Family, the Violent-
Nonviolents, the Glossolalia Cults,
the Social Action Rabble, the Long
Hairs, the Evangelicals. As each in-
terprets the meaning of his language,
each local church will be forced to
raise up balanced, disciplined, com-
passionate spokesmen who, able to
speak the "language within all lan-
guages" because of personal dedication
and long years of study, will gather us
all into one Body and one Spirit. In
this new harmony of the family of
God, Brethren will need pastors who
know how to realize Christ's hope.
"Other sheep I have which are not of
this fold ..." and "That they all might
be one."
Any person with a sense of steward-
ship, of which Jesus spoke in terms of
profit and loss, work and reward, waste
and penalty, disobedience and death,
would put on the brakes if he knew we
were moving to a dead end in our
church. The dead end had been fore-
shadowed if we had had ears to hear:
voices from the pulpit no longer speak-
ing as ambassadors for Christ; voices
predicting a church school that will
grow limp, then fade away; leaders not
held accountable for lessening church
influence but. instead, contributing to
it; professional church leaders promot-
ed when they have failed because of
threat that they will leave the church;
laymen creating designs for church
programs that ignore a time for the
altar of the spirit in the week's sched-
ule; teachers in the church school
without training or experience in a
learned body of knowledge; productive
volunteer workers in the church viewed
with less merit than salaried, slipshod
personnel.
I Ve dragged my feet
as we headed
for this dead end. I pray God that we
will arrest ourselves before going
farther into this "no exit." Otherwise,
we will have to shift into reverse later
on. Such a reverse shift is a drastic
counter action which often produces
an overreaction which, in our history,
has been fierce, self-deprecating, and
split with personal politicizing and
mass accusations and polarizations.
The point of view of this article comes
perilously close to a call for counter-
action but, if viewed as an evaluation
of my own mistakes and my awareness
of God's judgment, perhaps it will
bring a reconsideration of where we
have been and where we are, helping
to reedeem us before we are forced to
see that "whatsoever we have sown,
that, indeed, we have reaped." D
1-15-72 MESSENGER 17
A coed answers...
Involvement? Yes!
by SUSAN KREHBIEL
TAYLOR
w
hat does a down-to-earth coed who's
been around the world think about
improving it?
McPherson College student Linda
Keim, who's no stranger to senate
offices and many world ports, believes
changes can occur through involve-
ment within the existing structures.
"I'm labeled a conservative by some
because I believe in the system," she
laughs.
Posters in her dorm room reflect
shared aspirations to today's college
generation — love, peace, and freedom
— yet Linda has chosen an avenue
many young people are now rejecting:
participation in the political system.
"No system of government is in-
fallible or without need for improve-
ments, but especially in ours can
changes occur, particularly if enough
of the people want it. Basically I think
the people receive what they merit
from their involvement or lack of
interest in government."
Involvement for Linda during the
college's January interterm, a short
period allowing concentrated study in
one course, meant working in Wash-
ington as a legislative aid for the Re-
publican National Party Chairman,
Kansas Senator Bob Dole. And during
the fall semester of 1969, it meant
study and travel in thirty-six countries
with World Campus Afloat.
Linda, who's aiming for a career in
diplomatic service, got an inside look
at Capitol Hill while in Washington.
Her work involved researching and
writing a paper on the congressional
senority system for Senator Dole's files.
Allowed all the privileges of a regular
staffer, Linda used the Congressional
Legislative Research Service and inter-
viewed legislative experts to gather
information.
Dole's staff was particularly busy
since the junior senator from Kansas
had just been named GOP chairman,
but for Linda "being there anytime
would be exciting."
How Linda got to Washington is
indicative of her philosophy, "Make
your own opportunities." Linda pro-
posed the project to both the senator
and her college professor, and received
credit for her work as independent
study in American politics.
Linda's own political views don't
exactly coincide with Dole's although
she has deep respect for him. "He is
extremely conscientious, a rare indi-
vidual as far as politics go," she notes,
"but it's hard to find a young person
today who completely agrees with his
political stance."
Linda's own political involvement
presently includes serving as women's
chairman of the Kansas College Young
Republicans, a position, she's quick to
point out, that distinguishes between
the sexes. Licking envelopes and ad-
dressing letters didn't discourage
Linda's feelings on women's liberation
— "I'm certainly not against it," she
admits. "Women's interests naturally
overlap men's."
"Discrimination against women is
especially true in politics — just look
at the number in Congress. Women
are the backbone of most political or-
ganizations, yet a 'woman's job' is
secretary or treasurer. While 'the
weaker sex' does the legwork and
hackwork, men serve as figureheads. If
there's a place at the bottom, there
should be a place at the top."
Linda's CYR activities often include
working with the press and attending
and planning conventions where she
comes into contact with Republicans
of all ages.
"It's so much easier to work with
the Young Republican group, whose
ages range from twenty-two to approx-
imately thirty-five, than with the col-
lege age group. There is just a
minority of college Republicans who
are really interested."
"Although the older group is some-
times biased," Linda says, "they are
reachable. I've found that they'll
listen to the college student's view-
point."
Youth's future in politics, Linda
feels, depends upon how much they
want to get involved. "Young people
as a whole don't show much interest in
politics, but opportunities are open to
them."
Linda recently served as treasurer
("Notice which job I got") of a
committee to promote the vote for
eighteen-year-olds in Kansas, a
measure which passed overwhelmingly
in an April election.
Although politics take up much of
her time, Linda diligently pursues her
bachelor's degree in history from
McPherson College, the alma mater of
her parents, Robert and Sybil Miller
Keim.
As a "PK" (preacher's kid) Linda
lived in several states before her father
became a professor of sociology at
McPherson College seven years ago.
Residing in different places appealed
to Linda, for travel, like politics, has
been another arena for Linda to make
and take opportunities.
After high school graduation in
1968, she studied one summer at the
University of Guadalajara, Mexico, a
small taste of what was to come. The
18 MESSENGER M5-72
Linda Keim. Sen. Robert Dole: A deep respect, but politically not in agreement
fall of 1969 saw her leaving the brick
structures of the grassy plains' campus
for a classroom at sea. World Campus
Afloat opened the doors to thirty-six
countries which became not just places
but cultures and people.
"My exposure and experiences
tended to help me identify with the
other man and his problems."
Snapshots and souvenirs simply
could not begin to relate the signifi-
cance of the trip for Linda and her
ship-classmates. "We saw thought
stimulated to a more international
level, and suddenly we found ourselves
thinking less of the 'trivia' of life
which had plagued us before."
The experience was not just the
study of others, for "we were also
forced to examine our own beliefs as
they came into contrast with others."
Although it's hard to find words to
sum up four fabulous months, Linda
aptly puts it, "One can read and study,
but if he hasn't experienced, he cannot
hope to fully understand mankind. I
left World Campus Afloat with deep
appreciation and respect for other cul-
tures, along with a new appreciation
of my own."
Returning to inland college, Linda
was honored by fellow students who
selected her 1970 Homecoming Queen.
Linda's reaction was typical of many
queens — "I was surprised" — yet
those who see the pretty blonde express
no disbelief, and those who know her
admit that queens can be sincere and
intelligent, too.
Talking with Linda somehow makes
a person believe the world has a
chance after all, and it's up to him.
Peace is not impossible, Linda says.
"There can and will be a peaceful
world when that is what man truly
wants." Nor is pacifism unrealistic to
her. "There is a definite need for the
pacifist; there wUl always be a need for
change and for someone to promote it,
especially through peaceful means."
For the chiu"ch, Linda feels there
will always be a place if it can truly
serve mankind and work for better
understanding. It, too, must voice its
concerns about the world. "The
church, as individuals," Linda be-
lieves, "should definitely be involved
in all aspects of life, including social
and political issues. How can we hope
to survive if we limit our sphere of
concern?"
Linda's future plans are to study in-
ternational relations and foreign lan-
guages at a graduate school near
Washington, D.C. She hopes to enter
diplomatic service and would like to
work in Latin America.
But now on the McPherson campus,
each day is its own challenge to her.
Despite some out-of-the-ordinary ex-
periences and plans, fellow students
find Linda "one of us. the kind of
person we enjoy being around."
Over a cup of coffee in the dorm,
Linda looked back, trying to answer
the question, "How do all these things
happen to you?"
Modestly she replied, "I don't know;
it's all pretty amazing to me," but to
others it's not so obscure.
"Don't you really make your own
opportunities?" brought sparkles to
her eyes.
"Exactly," Linda replied. "It's not
because I have any amazing abilities,
just an awareness to opportunities and
a belief in the old adage, 'Where
there's a will, there's a way.' "
"I've been accused of being an
eternal optimist," she confesses. Not
at all a bad quality for a Christian in
today's world. D
1-15-72 MESSENGER 19
The
Fund
for the
Americas
in the
United
States
IS...
FILM REVIEWS
Education. In a series of race sensi-
tivity workshops, FAUS assists
churches and districts to come to
grips with institutional and individual
racism — to help Brethren understand
how we too are "an America" in
need of reconciliation.
Action. In its first two years FAUS
has helped to fund 38 projects directed
toward community organization and
economic development for the benefit
of disadvantaged minorities. Grants
ranging between S200 and $7,500
have provided services in housing,
voter registration, medical aid, credit
union, child care, job training, public
safety, and others.
Urgent. Many Brethren see FAUS
as an extension of Brethren Service,
bridging the gaps that separate our
society. It is a way to respond to the
Lord's observation that "Anything
you did for one of my brothers here,
however humble, you did for me."
FAUS is not funded by the Brother-
hood Fund. Tlierefore your gift
designated for the Fund for the
Americas is urgently needed. Please
send your check today while there is
yet a chance to pull together our
fractured society. Mail it to: Fund for
the Americas in the United States,
Church of the Brethren General
Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
Illinois 60120.
...a chance
to change
Billy Jack: Good to See a Hero Again
20 MESSENGER 1-15-72
THE EMOTION arises somewhere out
of childhood — that feeling of enormous
relief when in a moment of deep fear a
hero arrives on the scene and by his very
presence guarantees rescue. Swift action
is taken and life's balance is restored.
In the dim mist of childhood, the
original hero might have been a parent
arriving to stop a fight, or an older broth-
er finding us in the vastness of a strange
city. Whatever the origin, the feeling
was born that it is possible to be rescued
when the world closes in.
With maturity, belief in heroes sub-
sides. Reality is cruel, removing the sim-
plistic conviction that relief is but a hero
away. But in the deep recesses of our
imagination, there is always the faint
hope that just maybe things can be set
straight — if only, if only.
Movies once provided surrogate he-
roes, gallant men who appeared on the
scene, dispatched the villains, and then
rode away. But in an era of cynicism,
movie heroes disappeared, replaced by
antiheroes, men who won victories by
cheating or by manipulating technologi-
cal devices. Rarely in a contemporary
film does there appear a hero as of old,
the pure figure — without ambiguity —
whose presence on the scene reassures.
Such figures are rare in our time because
a belief in heroes requires a conviction
that people can act with pure motives
and that, by so acting, they can put
things in proper order again.
To posit a heroic figure, a film maker
must proceed with a simple point of view,
assuring his audience that a single man
can make a difference. The older film
makers, who once gave us heroic figures
like John Wayne and Tyrone Power,
have grown pessimistic, and they now
make films that make light of the hero-
ism they once celebrated. Wayne, for
example, continues to make films, but
he makes fun of himself, keeping his
problems so trivial that when he docs
succeed in solving them, the feeling is
left that it is no big deal.
Into this antiheroic era of film making,
a young company calling itself the Na-
tional Student Film Corporation has
brought a picture called Billy Jack, por-
traying one of the first authentic heroes
of this post-Pentagon Papers era. There
is so much in Billy Jack that I found
inadequate that I had trouble understand-
ing why it captivated me so, until it
dawned on me that here was a film that
believes in itself even while lacking the
ability to successfully make its point.
The primitive charm of Billy Jack
stems from the lack of sophistication of
its makers. They want to make some
points — Indians are mistreated, adults
are bigoted, and kids are good, if given
a chance. Unlike the big studio produc-
tions which want to make these same
points, the makers of Billy Jack are not
troubled by sophistication. They are not
interested in satisfying several facets of
society: they only want to tell the younger
generation that decency and peace are
superior to hate and lust.
They do this with a remarkable group
of performers, most of whom are ama-
teurs and show it. The female lead, for
example, is an art student named Delores
Taylor. She begins the film with the
woodenness usually found in an ama-
teur asked to say a few words before
a television camera. But as the film
progresses, this woodenness gives way —
not to acting but to a certain presence ■ —
so that when she weeps over the degrad-
ing experience of having been raped,
there is that chilling feeling that maybe
this has really happened to her.
This primitive charm in Billy Jack
permits the appearance of a genuine hero
on the screen. Tom Laughlin is in the
title role, portraying an Indian who pro-
tects wild horses, Indians, and kids who
attend a school on the reservation. His
first appearance on the screen told me
that this was a hero. The bad guys are
about to shoot some wild horses. Sud-
denly they stop. Out of the woods a
lone figure appears. The bad guys put
down their rifles. One of them mutters:
"I knew he'd find us." With barely con-
trolled fury, Billy Jack dispatches the
villains. A few scenes later he does the
same thing to some town bullies roughing
up kids.
All this is done with such unsophisti-
cated directness that when the bad guys
go down, the teen-agers in the theater
when I saw the picture actually cheered
a hero. Billy Jack is a message film,
pounding home its points that American
Indians have been robbed and that the
thing wrong with wayward kids is selfish
parents. There is so much truth in both
convictions that the film's cliches take
on a distinct charm in their presentation.
Billy Jack has just the right ingredi-
ents to be the proper hero — he is mys-
terious, emerges out of nowhere to do
what must be done, and then slips back
into^ the wings of life. He is gentle but
strong, loving but firm. Arthur Penn, in
describing how he came to make such
films as Alice's Restaurant, Bonnie and
Clyde, and Little Big Man, confessed
that he might have been in a constant
quest for a father figure, presenting char-
acters struggling to find something they
had lost.
As a film, Billy Jack is not in the class
of any of Penn's films, but it is a film
that has found its father figure. It's good
to see a hero again. — James M. Wall
Reprinted Irtiiii Tns^fllier magazine. October 1971.
Copyriglit @ 19;! The Methodist Publishing.
House.
BOOK REVIEWS
Those Whose Sexual Orientation Differs
IS GAY GOOD? ETHICS, THEOLOGY, AND
HOMOSEXUALITY, edited by W. Dwight
Oberholtzer. Westminster, 1971. 287 pages,
$3.50 paper
Is Gay Good? In response to this intrigu-
ing question fifteen writers present a
crossfire of varied views. To say the
anthology of opinions presents a bal-
anced debate would be incorrect. Only
two of the contributors affirm that homo-
sexual acts are always wrong. The other
thirteen expound their acceptance with
varying shades of enthusiasm.
The traditional Christian position is
represented by Baptist Carl F. H. Henry
when he declares, "What the gay world
needs is redemption, not reinforcement."
Surprisingly, Moody Bible Institute grad-
uate Troy Perry balances the scales with
a caustic paraphrase: "Not once do I
read Jesus saying, 'Come unto me, all
you heterosexuals who, if you have sex
. . . must have it in the missionary posi-
tion, and I will accept you as the only
true believers.' "
The graphic, nontechnical language of
the contributors makes Is Gay Good? a
highly readable book. With the excep-
tion of a brief endeavor by the editor to
write obscurely in the introduction and
an adventure into the murky waters of
theology by a couple of seminary profes-
sors, the writers use language that is un-
derstandable.
The contributors, mostly teachers and
clergy, do not represent a good cross-
section of public opinion on this sensi-
tive issue. To the editor's credit, he does
provide a healthy balance between
heterosexual and homosexual writers.
Chapter titles by leaders of the homo-
phile community include "God Loves
Me, Too" and "A Lesbian Approach to
Theology."
In prefacing the volume Joseph
Fletcher of Situation Ethics offers the un-
easy proposal that the causes of sexual
orientations may be somagenic — formed
bodily — rather than psychogenic — ac-
quired mentally. Editor Oberholtzer fol-
lows in the introduction with a plea for
more careful research before ethical pro-
nouncements are made. Professor John
von Rohr then writes the first provocative
chapter which provides fodder for "talk-
back" by the other contributors. Von
Rohr stimulates a healthy response on a
variety of issues.
What about the church's relationship
to the homosexual? The responses come
quickly and intensely.
"The church has all but closed its
doors to millions of people in America
whose only dilTerence from the majority
is their sexual orientation." "Many
Take advantage of this
Jke Li+i-le Man
Regular
Price
Sale
Price
The Brethren Hymnal,
black leather edition $7.50 $4.00
(or 3 for $10.00)
The Tall Man 1.25 .75
The Middle Man 1.50 .75
The Little Man 2.50 1.50
Children's books by 5-year-olds,
Sara and Carl, and their mother,
Dorothy Davis. The Tall Man is an
account of Elder John Naas' refusal
to serve in the personal bodyguard
of the king of Prussia. The Middle
Man tells some of the important
facts about Elder John Kline, Breth-
ren martyr. The Little Man gives
the adventures of I. N. H. Beahm as
he traveled about the country on
preaching missions.
Please
send the follow
The Brethren Hymna
The Tall Man
The Middle Man
The little Man
ing:
1
Name
Address
City
State
7in
Postage: 20c first dollar;
5c each additional dollar
The Brethren Press
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, III. 60120
i-ij
MrSSENCTiR 21
homosexuals in our society are unhappy
— seeking help from various types of
agencies. The church is certainly one
place where the troubled homosexual
ought to feel that he can receive help.
Unfortunately in the past the church
has, by and large, been more detrimental
than helpful to him." "The homosexual
is granted a place in the church if he will
sit in the back pew and acknowledge the
superiority of his heterosexual betters,
much like the Negro in a Mormon con-
gregation." "Other minorities have
asked the churches for billions in rep-
arations. America's homophile com-
munity is more modest. It asks for
words and the courage to speak them."
"Educating the public about homo-
sexuals and creating a greater atmos-
phere of acceptance and understanding
of the homosexual is where the thrust
of the church should be in dealing with
the homosexual."
The heterosexual reader, tutored in
the Judeo-Christian ethic, may have dif-
ficultv accepting the majority opinion in
this anthology that homosexuality has
something to do with love. The plea is
not for the homosexual to change his
sexual orientation, but to live responsibly
in his unique life-style. Living respon-
sibly, according to this school of thought,
involves fidelity, love, perhaps even mar-
riage. Professor Norman Pittenger sup-
ports the concept that a homosexual re-
lationship can be characterized by ten-
Deaths
.Mbright. Fr.inccs. Roaring .Spring. P.i.,
i>n April 22. 1971. .ngcd 82
.Mbrighl. HarAC\. Duncans\ illc. Pa,, on
.■\pril 8. 1971. aged 79
Alspaugli. SlcUa. Cirecn\ille. Ohio, on Ma\
7. 1971. .aged 80
.■\\rcs. C;lara F.. Flora. Ind.. on June 30.
1971. aged 72
Ba-shore. Emma. Bethel, Pa,, on Ma\ 19.
1971. aged 87
Batmigarlncr. \'iola. Monroe. Ind,, on
June 20. 1971
Beach. Edna Hinish, Martin^blirg, Pa,, on
June 30, 1971, aged (14
Boop. Mabel A.. HoUidavsburg, Pa., on
May 7. 1971. aged 67
C'arlcr, \\'illiam R.. Coulson cluir<li.
Southern \'irginia, on .\lav .3(1, 1971,
.aged 81
Davwalt. Park. Mexico, Ind., on Mav 19.
1971, aged 72
Dichl. I.etla. Lanark, 111., on Ma\ 28,
1971. aged 93
F.,';hclman. .Abram N.. Elizabcthtown, I'a,,
on Mav 15. 1971, aged 62
F-shelinan, Walter \\'.. .Ambler. Pa., on
May 13. 1971. aged 62
C.ate^. Elmer H.. Mildcn. Sask., on .April
■I. 1971. aged 88
Ceorgc, .Alfred S,. Center \'al!ev. Pa., on
May II. 1971. aged 71
Cinag\, Rav. Hutchinson. Kans., on Ma\
21, 1971. aged 60
Hale. Cjus<;ie. Mountain C-ro\e, Mo., on
June 26. 1971. aged 76
Haught. Lawrence. Lanark. Ill,, on Mav
4. 1971
Heiscw ,Anna Ci,, \effs\illc. Pa,, fm [une
29. 1971. aged 79
Hclmick. Worlev B.. Cumberland, Md., on
April 21. 19<1
Hess. .Anna Mac Wenger. Limerick. Pa,.
on Mav 30. 1971. aged 69
Himcs. Lcftnard. Wingatc. Ind.. in .April
1971. aged (7
Holsinger. Lester H.. Martinsburg. Pa..
on Mav 6. 1971. .aged 83
Jami-son. Cephas B.. Modesto. Calif., on
Mav 31. 1971. aged 80
Kagcv. Winnie. Elliton. V'a,, on June 7,
1971
Keenev. Florence. York. Pa., on May 7.
1971. aged 75
Kerr. Shirlev. Dc Graff. Ohio, on Mav 2.
1971. aged 40
Kcves. Thclma. Mexico. Ind., on June II,
1971, aged 67
kime, Harrv R.. Hampton. Pa., on Mav
21, 1971, aged 81
kimmel. F.mma, Shelocta, Pa., on .April
12, 1971
Kline. Mattie, Neffsville, Pa., on Mav 28,
1971, aged 80
Knodlc. Mamie. Moimt Monis, 111., on
Jime 21. 1971. aged 67
I.ackev. L\dia, Hutchinson, kans., on
April 4. 1971. aged 78
l.apiad. |. 'Ibomas. Pvrmont. Ind , on
May 17. 1971. aged 85
l.cathcrman, Jesse M., Gettvsburg, Pa., on
Mav 12, 1971, aged 78
Lot/. Leo, Lanark, III., on April 3, 1971.
aged 71
McClain, I.illic, Dixon. Ill,, on Mav 10,
1971. aged 91
MacEwan, Elsa M., .Ambler, Pa., on May
13, 1971, aged 67
McLeod, Ella, Kansas Citv. Mo., on .\|'iil
28, 1971, aged 93
Martin, .Ainiic. Mcrccrsburg. Pa., ou M.i\
29, 1971, aged 92
Miller, [ohn. .Mc.Alistcrv illc. Pa., on -April
24, 1971, aged Ii2
Miller, Joseph C, Manassas. Va.. on May
23, 1971. aged 70
Miller. Rav. Wellman. Iowa, on Mav 23,
1971. aged 75
Nicholas. SvKia .A.. Lampeter, Pa,, on
Mav 5. 1971, aged 44
Nve, Rov H,, Maidieiin. Pa., on .April II.
1971. aged 67
I'armlev. Charles. Hutchinson, Kans., on
June 1. 1971. aged 83
I'cpple. Daniel. Martinsburg. Pa,, on
Apiil 22, 1971. aged 72
Reid. John, Polo, III., on Aug. 22. 1971.
aged' lil
Replogle, CaUin -A.. Martinsburg, Pa., ou
Mav 27. 1971, aged 60
Rf)scnberger. Carrie. .Ambler, Pa., tin .Aug.
20, 1971, aged 82
Satisman. Mabel. Thompsontovvn. P.i.. on
April 24. 1971. aged 81
Scott. Jarrett F.. Raisin Citv. Calif., in
July 1971. aged 67
Shank. Chc-ster C. Winona. Milui.. on
June 23. 1971. aged 87
Shcnk, Fannie, Schuvler. Neb,, on May
25. 1971, aged 78
Smith. F.ldie L,, Martinsburg. Pa,, on June
,30, 1971, aged 88
Sirohm, John .A.. Port .Angeles, Wash., on
Jidy 3. 1971. aged 81
derncss, self-giving, and fidelity by relat-
ing what may seem to some a shocking
story: "I know two youngish men who
have lived together, completely and de-
votedly, for ten years and who have be-
come so much one that it seems
impossible, now, that they can ever sep-
arate. Quite literally, they have every-
thing in common. They are both devout
Christians. And they told me that their
greatest happiness was to make love pas-
sionately on Saturday night, and then go
together the next morning to receive
Holy Communion kneeling side by side
in the church not far from their home.
What did I think of this bringing together
of physical sexual communion and com-
munion in the risen life of Jesus Christ
in the sacraments? My answer was that
to my mind it was both beautiful and
right."
For Catholic John F. Harvey, the con-
clusions of Pittenger are the antithesis
of Christian morality: "What the homo-
sexual needs more than the achievement
of satisfactory sexual relationships is an
inner sense of personal dignity and worth
and the feeling of fulfilling a purpose in
life." Harvey challenges the homosexual
to embrace a life of celibacy, to subli-
mate, to consider the merits of organiz-
ing chapters of Homosexuals Anony-
mous.
Is Gay Good? For the reader who is
seeking a final, definitive answer the
book will be a frustration. For the read-
er seeking to understand a sexual orien-
tation touching the lives of at least fifteen
million Americans, this volume is a good
introductory course. — William Kid-
well
We're Going Computer . . .
Messenger is in process of shifting to
the computer method of printing sub-
scription labels. Over the coming weeks
it would be helpful if you would check
to see if the label on your issues is ad-
dressed correctly. If it is not, we would
appreciate your advising us by clipping
the label and returning it with correc-
tions noted.
If you do not receive your copy of
Messenger, please send the label from
a recent issue. If multiple copies arrive,
please clip and return the label from
each copy.
The staff appreciates your assistance
and your patience as the new system
goes into operation.
22 MESSENGER 115-72
pure ciAcP
unmorlQQQed
How to Sell the Body for the
Daily Bread, While Keeping the
Soul Pure and Unmortgaged,
or UP THE ESTABLISHMENT-
RAP #5 — another exciting action-
packed release in one of the
two popular cassette "enabling"
series created by Dennis Benson.
This particular six-session course
challenges youth to keep their
idealism while working within the
system. Other lively new re-
leases are:
RAP #5 with the pro-
vocative title RAW LOVE or
The Hard, Cold Truth About a
Little Understood Fact of Life
deals with the art and science of
Christian love and ail that it
implies.
SOS (Switched-on Scripture)
#5— JAMES or Faith That Works
questions the validity of faith
without works.
SOS #6— PSALM TWENTY-
THREE or The Valley of the
Shadow Trip untangles some basic
questions about life, death,
Cod, faith, and hope.
All cassettes $7.95, each
Previously released:
RAP #1— HANG TIGHT or Ten-
s/on
RAP #2— FLIP-FLOP or Change
RAP #3— POPULLUTION or The
Environmental Chal-
lenge
RAP #4— LIVING HIGH or The
Drug Problem
SOS #1— DDT
(Daring — Delightful
— Threatening)
or Acts: Part 7
SOS #2— COD (Christians On
Demand) or Acts: Part II
SOS #3— WHALE TALE or Jonah
SOS #4— YIN YANG or Ist John
DISCO-TEACH
The Mission Singers con-
tinue to make available current hit
songs to encourage young
people and adults to find the
moral and ethical truths in today's
music. This is their fifth album
in this popular series. The four
previous albums are also available.
$6.95, each
Included in Album #5:
1. Chicago
2. You've Got a Friend
3. That's the Way I've Always
Heard It Should Be
4. Too Many People
5. Come Back Home
I'LL TELL THE WORLD
The eleven songs by Cliff
McRae, a new gospel artist,
combine the best of the old and
new favorites on one 3V/i LP
album, including Fill My Cup, Lord;
Balm in Cilead; Amazing Grace;
I'll Tell the World; and They'll
Know We Are Christians by Our
Love. Stereo. $4.98
FILMSTRIPS
Ten imaginative full-color
filmstrips to make teaching easier
and learning more enjoyable for
children and adults. Each is
available in three forms; with
reading script and cassette. $12.50,
each; with script and flex-record,
$10, each; and with reading
script only, $7, each.
WHAT IS COD LIKE? Pari I
56 Frames, Ages 8-T2
WHAT IS COD LIKE? Part II
56 Frames Ages 6 -12
RANDY
67 Frames Ages 8-12
DOWN THE STREET PAST
THE TELEPHONE POLE
6-t Frames Ages 6-9
JESUS OF NAZARETH
63 Frames. Ages 8-12
A GIFT FOR SAINT MICHAELS
66 Frames. Ages 6-9
WRITE IT IN A BOOK
63 Frames, Ages 10-12
COD IS NEAR TO HELP
50 Frames. Ages 6-9
DEALING WITH CONFLICT
61 Frames. Ages 10-12
FIRST THINGS FIRST
80 Frames. Junior Fligh,
Senior High, Adults
GAMING
The Fine Art of Creating
Simulation/Learning Games
for Religious Education.
Dennis Benson, creator of the
cassette tape series, has designed a
new medium — an "album" which
includes two 33'/3 LPs as an
integral part of the text — shows
how anyone can create his own
simulation/learning games.
Eleven games are included. $5.95
Qt qour locol book or iupplij Aae
SQbingdon
Qudiogrophia
M5-72 MESSENGER 23
To Take Jesus as the Challenge
The idea that you can't sene both God and
mammon, observes a Chicago drama critic, is
undergoing a certain rebuttal. Particularly, she
notes, when Jesus Christ Superstar may gross
$20 million in its first year on stage. Add to this
the \olley of recordings and books and such pop-
shop specialties as "Smile, God Loves You" but-
tons, "J.C. and Me" T-shirts, Jesus jockey shorts,
and ""Superstar: Let them hate me hit me hurt
me nail me to their tree" posters in Day-Glo
colors . . . add this and you have at hand a
virtual coming of Christ commercially.
As to the impact of such enterprise, one can
cynicalh' predict that both religion and atheism
will survive. Still, one does not knowingly want
to berate serious and authentic efforts to make
this the Jesus Generation. But the hope persists
that out of the clamor, the multimedia, and the
commercialization will come examined lives and
responses of joy. reverence, comitment. and risk.
Whether viewed from the counterculture or
from mainline institutions, one point is clear,
and that is the urgency of coming to terms with
Jesus Christ. One can sense at every turn the
need to recognize a source of transcendence over
and above the desires of self, family, tribe, class,
and nation. As Hans KUng, the Dutch Catholic
theologian, declared in a lecture recently at a
Midwest college, "We need to concentrate on
Jesus again, whom we have forgotten so long. He
is not so ordinary and honorable a member of
the church as a lot of bishops and clergy have
thought."
To concentrate on Jesus, to open our lives
to his challenge is an intensely personal act, but
it is not only that. It is to seek to understand the
Jesus of history and to bring the spirit of Chris-
tian realism to bear upon the crises of the times.
What this call means is a matter each would
do well to ponder. As a point of reference, it
may be helpful to note some of Hans Kiing's own
specifics summed up in the list which follows.
To take Jesus as the challenge is . . .
• To deny the absolute claims of sanctified
traditions and institutions, remembering that
Jesus said the law is for the sake of man, not
man for the law,
• For the older generation to understand
that the church must change in order to remain
faithful to Jesus himself, and for the young gen-
eration to understand that we cannot sell out the
substance.
• To commit the church neither to the left
wing, the right wing or the middle, but only to
the gospel itself.
• To acknowledge that progress, evolution,
development can enslave man; that progress as
such is ambivalent and must be for man, not man
for progress.
• To exercise the freedom to use power,
but also the freedom not to use it, as in the case
of the U.S. Congress saying it is not always
progress to build more big planes.
• To overcome polarizations in society, old
and young, black and white, north and south,
management and labor, so that groups work not
only for themselves but for one another.
• To know that self-righteousness of a na-
tion or a class or a race or a religion is, accord-
ing to Jesus, nothing; that there is no country
without guilt; that every people needs forgiveness
from other people and from God.
• To discern that the main sin is human self-
ishness, living only for oneself and not for others,
and that there is only one sin which cannot be
forgiven, and that is the sin against the Holy
Spirit, which means not wanting forgiveness.
To each person, whether a newfound fan or
a lifelong follower of Jesus, the question ever
stands, for action as well as reflection:
What does it mean to take Christ as the chal-
lenge? H.E.R.
24 MESSENGER 1-1372
Commitment. lo new ex-
periences. To self-evaluation. To the
welfare of others. To an ideal. That's
what Brethren Volunteer Service train-
ing demands. It means sharing your
feelings and beliefs in face-to-face en-
counters with others. It asks you to be
"in there" as a vital part of what's going
on. To get ready to go on project alone.
It means the commitment of yourself in
service to others. Do you want to learn more
about BVS? Or to support it with a financial
gift? Write: Church of the Brethren General
Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, Illinois 60120.
Brethren Volunteer
Service / YSdhq ceainQ Ddcb jprpcDundl dDf! niio
«f
[lydfi Bern
^lempon"^
THE
heal'ty
TRJ^'II
James Dillef Freeman
Here is a book to accentuate the affirmative in a time when
the doom prophets seem to have a monopoly on the market-
place of free speech. The author says there is much in
American life today that is in need of repair and responsible
action, but there is even more which gives cause for opti-
mism, especially when today's life-styles are compared with
those of our parents and grandparents. AAr. Freeman has
compiled an impressive array of statistics, information, and
history which lead us to appreciate the state we are in and
to further improve our society and environment. $4.95
Clyde Reid
Mr. Reid invites us to "come to our senses." Modern intel-
lectualized man has lost touch with his feelings and the mes-
sages of his body. Sharing his own experience with sensory
awareness training, yoga, and encounter, the author sug-
gests concrete, nonthreatening ways in which we can live
more fully and joyously in the now. He shows how w« can
come responsively alive to our environment by really tasting
our food, by really allowing ourselves to feel our pain, by
really seeing a single flower in depth. To be published in
February. $3.95
Peter S. Ford, M.D.
For the individual, the psychologist, and the clergy, here is
a balanced approach to the healing dynamics. Through his
medical practice the author has come to realize that illnesses
are often not just physical and psychological; they are also
spiritual. Healing the whole person is vital to individual
well-being. If the alienation of self from God can be closed,
then we lessen the chance that organic and emotional illness
will occur. Dr. Ford is a physician and surgeon on the med-
ical staff of two Portland, Oregon, hospitals and has been a
fellow in psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic. $5.95
Arthur J. Landwehr II
In this book Mr. Landwehr seeks to end the polarization be-
tween the two predominating views held by churchmen to-
day — embracing the status quo in the church and society or
falling for a politically revolutionary Utopia. He encourages
the adoption of a third position which does not rest upon
neutrality or compromise, but takes seriously the under-
standing of Christ's living presence. The third place pro-
vides live options and new points of contact for the contem-
porary Christian without being absorbed by the culture in
which he must live. $1.95 paper
Postage; 20c Trsf dollar; 5c per dollar thereafter
Order from:
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
messenger
OlURCH OF THE BRETHREN FEBRUARY >, 1972
9 ^ ^
/^ -*^ \
f»
^:^
\'^'
M'
;■<"-
\^^
SPECIAL ISSUE / NONVIOLENCE IN A VIOLENT V\/ORLD
^ Thereisavisiom
Non
i very beautiftil vision , of a world at peace ; ;
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and. they
shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation
► ' shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Is. 2:4).
You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy." But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:43-45).
And here is also a vision, a very disturbing vision, of a world of injustice, of a
world in which force often seems necessary to right wrongs:
Because you trample upon the poor and take from him exactions of wheat,
you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have
planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how
many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins — you who afflict the
righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate (Amos 5:11, 12).
And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all who sold and bought
in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats
of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be
called a house of prayer'; but you make it a den of robbers" (Matt. 21:12, 13).
Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come
liolenee in a
-1-72 MESSENGER 3
^J Nonviolence in a Violent World. In a society of change, where
violence seethes hidden and openly. Christians may have been given
a special role in the seventies — seeking to bring about change by
nonviolent means, by Robert McAfee Brown ■
Know Your Enemy: Violence. "Violence as an expression of the
fears of the child in us may be the clue to harmful destructiveness in
our society." A conversation with Walter Menninger, M.D. by Richard
A. Bollinger
<^S No Time for Gradualism. The gap between the world's privileged
minority and the underprivileged majority widens. Christians must
sensitize themselves to suffering and injustice, by H. Lamar Gibble
The Christian Revolutionary. Excerpts from the first two chapters
of a new book affirm that "though there can be no 'Christian
revolution," a Christian can become a revolutionary." by Dale W.
Brown .-
Consciousness III revisited. Without Marx or Jesus asks some
long overdue questions for those who stand by the tradition of the
Church of the Brethren, by Glenn R. Bucher
Liberation: The Council, the Digest, and the Brethren. World
Council of Churches grants to African groups fighting racism come
under "scrutiny, by Ronald E. Keener
Human Violence Can Be Abolished. "Man has survived not
because he inherited violence but because he practiced cooperation."
by Frederic Wertham .' ^ -': ' .;■' . • ;v '; ..-^ ■ ^ •■ ■
Look also for replies to Robert McAfee Brown from Robert McFadden,
Shantilal Bhagat, Marty Zinn, and Robert C. Johansen (beginning on
8); "When Peace Comes," children's drawings depicting war and peace
(10): "Biblical Basis for a Peace Witness" (18); "Reflections on the
Death of a Friend," by Estella Horning (23); Letters (28); and an
editorial, "Who Will Help Turn Us Around?" (34) .; v :•" \'
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer .'.''' ■
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 3
FEBRUARY 1, 1972
CREDITS: Cover. 2 'War No Nfore," art-
work bv Wilbur E. Brumbaugh: 6 Edwarrl
E. Wallowiich: 1011 World Council of
Churches: 12 Gary- Baese: 14 Religious
News Service: 16 Howard E. Royer; 18. 25
Robert F. M<<iovem; 20 "Sojourners on
Earth." woodcut bv Ma.sao Takenaka; 3ti
"Fabric of Human Involvement." by Clark
B. Fit/-gerald, reproduced courtesy of the
sculptor
Messenger is the ofificial publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter .^ug. 20. 1918. under .Act of
Congress of Oct. 17. 1917. Filing date. Oct. 1.
1971. Messenger is a member of the .Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Service and Ecumenical Press
.Servire. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, arc from the Revised Standard
\'ersion.
Subscription rates: S4.20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions: S3. 60 per year for church
group plan: $3.00 per ve.Tr for every home
plan; life subscription. S60: husband and wife.
S7'>. If you move clip old address from Mes-
senger and send with new address.
Allow at least fifteen days for ad-
drc« change. Messenger is owned
:md published twice monthly by the
Church of the Brethren General
Hoard. 1451 Dundee .Ave., Elgin, 111.
60120. Second-class postage paid at
Elgin. III.. Feb. 1. 1972. Copyright
1972. Church of the Brethren General Board.
e
4 MESSENGER 2-1-72
to bring peace, but a sword. . . . He
who does not take his cross and follow
me is not worthy of me. He who finds
his life will lose it, and he who loses
his life for my sake will find it (Matt.
10:34,38-39).
Three assumptions
about our world
With those warnings in mind, let me
first suggest three assumptions that
seem to me beyond question about the
world in which we make our decisions
regarding the use of violence.
The first of these assumptions is that
the problem of violence or nonviolence
is subordinate to the problem of power,
and deals with whether we will use
power responsibly or irresponsibly,
creatively or destructively. Violence
has been linked to the problem of pow-
er from the earliest times. It is partic-
ularly important for Americans to re-
member how central the issue of power
really is, since we have the most pow-
er and since we have proven to be
particularly adept at abusing it —
witness our increasing use of destruc-
tive power in Indochina. That power
can be exercised by the use of violence
is, I believe, self-evident. That power
might also be exercised by the use of
nonviolence may deserve a new kind
of attention.
A second assumption is the recog-
nition that we live in a revolutionary
era, in a time of radical change, mean-
ing, by radical, changes that go to the
very radix, or root, of things. The
most fundamental structures of our
society and our world are being called
into question in the name of justice and
in the name of love, and increasing
numbers of the peoples of the world,
particularly from Asia, Africa, and
Latin America, are insisting that those
structures must be changed — not just
tinkered with around the edges, but
radically altered. And in this situation,
the question we face is no longer, "Will
fundamental change come or not?"
But — more starkly — "Will the
change come violently or nonviolent-
ly?" John F. Kennedy's epigram ge^s
truer each day: "Those who make
peaceful revolution impossible will
.make violent revolution inevitable."
• ■ The third assumption is that we have
heretofore defined violence in far too
harrow terms. We have confined the
term violence to overt physical destruc-
tion against persons or institutions.
What we have failed to realize is that
there is also what recent World Coun-
cil of Churches documents have called
covert, or hidden, violence built into
the very structure of our society. It
can be described as the violence of the
.status quo depicting a society whose
structures are so rigged in favor of the
middle class that minority groups don't
really have a chance to make it; or it
can be described as institutional vio-
lence, represented by zoning laws that
condemn certain groups to inferior
housing or bad education. I think it is
not an irresponsible but a responsible
use of language to refer to the violence
of the slum, or the violence of trade
agreements so designed that they help
the rich nations get richer while the
poor nations get poorer — • systemati-
cally, year after year.
One of the most astute theologians
of the Third World. Professor Jose
Miguez-Bonino of Brazil, sums up
these assumptions;
An ethic of revolution cannot avoid
discussing the question of the use and
justification of violence. This question,
nevertheless, needs to be placed in its
proper perspective as a subordinate and
relative question. It is subordinate
because it has to do with the "cost" of
the desired change — the question of
the legitimacy of violence and vice
versa. "Violence" is a cost that must
. be estimated and pondered in relation
to a particular revolutionary situation.
It is relative because in most revolu-
tionary situations — at least in those
with which we are concerned [in South
America] — violence is already a fact
constitutive of the situation — injus-
tice, slave labor, hunger, and exploita-
tion are forms of violence that must be
weighed against the cost of revolu-,
tionary violence (Development
Apocalypse).
We live in a world where covert
violence is rampant, so that funda-
mental change is mandatory and
change comes through the creative (or
destructive) use of power. These
realities force us to pose our own ques-
tion in some such terms as these; In
rooting out the structures of covert
violence in the world today, are we
justified in using over? violence? I v
think the Christian must accept that
the direction and nature of society
needs changing. The question then
becomes one of means or tactics: Is the
change to come violently or nonvio-
lently?
In frustratingly brief fashion, let us
look at the case for each answer.
It is a curious fact that the case for
the Christian use of violence today
tends to be made by those who call
themselves revolutionaries, whereas
actually violence has been the most
traditional and conservative answer of
all. Most of Christian history is a sorry
history of justifying the Christian use
of all kinds of overt physical violence
in the name of whatever the justifier
was trying to defend at the moment. .
However, I do believe that there is this
difference in the current discussion;
that whereas historically Christians
have often tended to justify violence as
an instrument of the oppressor, many
of those who advocate its use today in-
sist that it may be used only on behalf
of the oppressed. Now that kind of dis-
tinction can be overly simplistic, and
it. lends itself very easily to bullhorn
rhetoric, but I do not think it can be
simply dismissed. As the German the-
ologian Jiirgen Moltmann has percep-
tively pointed out, "Those who advo-
cate nonviolence today are usually
those who control police power. Those
who embrace violence are usually
those who have no means of power"
(Religion, Revolution and the Future).
So the case today for the Christian
approval of overt violence grows out of
a recognition that the covert violence
of our society is so deep-seated, and so
powerfully entrenched, that there is no
way short of overt violence to remove
from power those who exercise their
power so despotically. It is indeed in-
tolerable that twenty percent of the
world's people should have control of
eighty percent of the world's wealth, or
that in a given country a military dic-
tatorship representing five percent of .. ,
the people should totally control the
destinies of the other ninety-five per- '.
cent. This covert violence is so bad
that overt violence is not only per-
missible to overthrow it, the argument
runs, but is demanded in the name of
social justice, equality, and love. To
shrink from overt violence on a rela-
tively small scale means supporting or
at least condoning covert violence on a
massive scale. As a Brazilian sociolo-
gist put it: "I do not hope for violence.
It is forced upon me. I have no other
choice. If I opt for nonviolence I am
the accomplice of oppression."
Our failure to take this position seri-
ously would betray that our mentality
is closed to the contemporary world —
indeed to the contemporary Christian
world — as it really is. Helmut Goll-
witzer, a German theologian, recently
commented on this perplexing fact ;
Owing to the nihilistic consequences
of the brutal use of violence during the
last world wars, in the theological wOrk
of the great European churches the
traditional sanctioning of the use of
force has been replaced by an appeal to
Christian pacifism and "nonviolence"
as the most appropriate form of Chris-
tian witness. And now, just at this
moment when we . . . are inclined to
regard as mistaken the traditional ap-
proval of Christian participation in the
use of military force and to hoist the
flag of pacifism, ... we hear from our
brethren in the underdeveloped coun-
tries (where the situation is a revolu-
tionary one) that they consider it
incumbent upon them to participate in
the national and social revolutionary
struggles that involve the use of force
(New Theology).
What are the kinds of questions to ■
be raised about our own adoption of ••
the latter position?
One danger is in extrap)olating too
quickly from a Third World situation
of military or economic dictatorship to
our own situation, and insisting that
the two cases are parallel and that what
is appropriate in one case is appropri-
ate in the other. The degree of serious-
ness with which one argues for violent
revolution here will depend upon the ; :
degree to which one does or does not '. ■
2.1.
MESSENGER 5
believe there are other options for
change still available in the United
States. And let us be sensitive at this
point: If I say I believe there are other
options short of violence, I have to be
very careful that I am not merely be-
traying a comfortable, white, middle-
class set of reflexes. Blacks and mem-
bers of other minority groups may long
since have come to feel that the string
of alternatives has indeed been ex-
hausted.
Another question to be raised about
the Christian espousal of violence is
that any attempt to achieve social
change must count very carefully the
cost of the particular methods its advo-
cates employ. I can believe that in
some parts of the world a violent coup
might really strike a blow for justice,
but I am staggered by what seems to
me the romantic unrealism of those
who feel that a similar movement in
the United States could now succeed. I
am very fearful of repression from the
right. I am not happy living in a coun-
try where a high political official can
say of the students, "If they want a
bloodbath, let's give them one right
now." And I am impressed by the fact
that at the famous New Haven week-
end in May of 1970, it was the Black
Panthers who kept things from getting
violent. They knew who would pay if
there were bloodshed; it would not be
the idealistic college revolutionaries
who would go back home on Sunday
afternoon, but the blacks who would
still be in New Haven on Monday
morning.
Another question to be pondered is
what the use of violence does, not only
to those who are its victims, but also to
those who employ it. There is an ex-
traordinary slippery slope from the
violence-against-property-but-not-
against-people theme to the violence-
against-people-here-is-okay-because-
there-is-more-violence-against-people-
somewhere-else point of view. There
is always greater violence somewhere
else, and the ugly grip violence gets on
people can increasingly undermine the
most idealistic ends to which it is being
dedicated. Before long, all restraints
are gone. The theme of so many of
Ignazio Silone's novels — that when
the persecuted seize power they always
become persecutors — is a theme we
must never underplay.
Two types
of nonviolence
Such considerations as these are al-
ready part of the case that is made by
those who opt for nonviolence as the
proper Christian stance.
There is first the position of absolute
pacifism, which insists that there are no
circumstances under which the use of
overt violence is justified. This position
has the advantage of being very clearly
rooted in the New Testament and the
early church — so that the initial bur-
den of proof is always on the Christian
who rejects it rather than on the one
who affirms it — even though it very
soon began to be diluted and compro-
mised. As the vocational witness of a
minority, it has exerted a creative re-
straint on other, less single-minded in-
dividuals and institutions far out of
proportion to the nurnbers of its ad-
herents. I have found myself increas-
ingly attracted to it as an overwhelm-
ingly necessary position for some to
adopt in a world that increasingly and
more and more unthinkingly opts for
overt violence. My own inability to
take the full step it represents is my
fear that occasionally the pacifist
stance may enhance the short-run tri-
umph of injustice, however effective it
may be in the long run. I feel that
Christians must be concerned about
the short-run consequences of their ac-
tions, particularly when those actions
determine the degree of justice or in-
justice that may be possible for others
than themselves.
The other position on nonviolence
argues that violence can never be more
than the last resort, to be used only if
it is crystal clear that all other options
are absolutely futile, and that one must
develop criteria that will help him de-
termine when it might or might not be
appropriate to resort to violence. This
process resembles the approach of the
traditional and, until recently, dis-
credited Roman Catholic criteria for
determining a "just war." These cri-
teria have been discredited because
they have historically been used to de-
clare "just" all wars that theologians
wanted to support. But employment
of such criteria today makes clear
that hardly any modern war could be
declared "just."
I find it useful to take those criteria
and apply them not just to internation-
al war but to the entire matter of vio-
lence, and I find myself coming out a
"selective conscientious objector" to
most uses of violence. Let me give just
two examples. The employment of
violence must have a good chance of
success, that is, that it will clearly lead
to greater social justice and that it will
not lead to indiscriminate slaughter
(particularly of innocent bystanders)
or to greater injustice and repression
than we now have. I simply am not
persuaded that domestic violence can
be justified on such grounds. Another
principle I come to is the apparently
abstract notion of the "principle of
proportionality," — the means used
must be in harmony with the ends
sought, and the good end hoped for
must be assured of producing greater
benefits than the evils that will be en-
tailed along the way toward that good
end by the use of violence. This prin-
ciple is no longer abstract when I view
it in relation to human lives and recog-
nize that on the American scene a
resort to widespread violence is likely
to be grossly counterproductive, par-
.ticularly against those who are the
present victims of injustice.
I do not believe that I am entitled to
tell a minority American or an op-
pressed Brazilian what his stance on
violence must be — though I am great-
ly impressed that Cesar Chavez has
made nonviolence the key to the whole
struggle of Mexican Americans for
social justice; and that Archbishop
Helder Camara, a revolutionary if
there ever was one, has insisted that a
new order in Brazil can come only by
nonviolent means. They make clear
that nonviolence need not be the moral
cop-out of the middle class. I think
we must respond to the pleas of Helder
Camara, who calls for "fit instruments
to perform the miracle of combining
the violence of the prophets, the truth
of Christ, the revolutionary spirit of the
gospel — but without destroying love."
But I do think I am entitled to try to
push the vocation of nonviolent mili;
tancy on white, middle-class, comfort-
able Americans of which (God help
me) I am certainly qne. In a world and
in a nation getting more and more ac-
customed to violence as the easy answer
to all problems, it may be our special
vocation to try to take on the role of
nonviolent advocates of social change.
I cannot yet pretend to spell out all
that this might mean. I do not think
it simply means imitating Gandhi or
Martin Luther King, but it will mean
looking for new ways and means to
incarnate a love that is not devoid of
the most passionate concern for justice.
It will mean attacking all the structures
of injustice and covert violence in our
social system, but not in ways that
transform us into precisely the kind of
people and structures we are trying to
replace. It will not mean an attempt to
escape tension, but an attempt to deal
with it creatively in new ways. And it
will further mean certain risks. Martin
Luther King told blacks in the sixties
to be nonviolent against angry white
mobs. We loved that. If he were alive
in the seventies, I have, a feeling he
might be telling whites to be nonviolent
toward angry black mobs. We don't
relish that quite so much. But, quite
apart from going out to seek suffering
(which, as Alan Paton has said about
the Christian posture in South Africa,
would simply be sick), we must em-
brace a role that might entail suffering.
Violence ^^^^^^ V
and the churches
. What might all this mean for the
churches? It does not mean that all
churchmen everywhere in the world
will come to the same conclusion, but
it does mean that American churchmen
might decide that we have a special vo-
cation in the years ahead. I suggest
that vocation involves the risk of trying
to bring about the necessary revolution,
but doing so by nonviolent means.
This IS a radical kind of risk, but one
that I am increasingly persuaded the
churches of Jesus Christ must now, .'
2,0(X) years late, begin to take. We
must avoid the trap of letting non-
violence become simply a vehicle for
avoiding the task of social change, and
must embrace it as an instrument of
social change. We are called upon, at
this point, to be a little more heedless
than we have previously been, a little
more willing to put something on the
line, a little more willing to say, "Here
we stand, we can do no other," a little
more willing to let our structures be
challenged by the demands of the gos-
pel in a new era.
There is no reason to believe that
such a vocation will necessarily "suc-
ceed," but the time may have come
when, for a while at least, we must re-
move the notion of success from our
ecclesiastical lexicons. James Cone, a
black theologian, has rightly said that
in this day and age blacks are not
called upon to suflier but to be free, .
and it may be that in this day andage
whites are not called upon to talk so
much about their own freedom, but to
be willing to suffer — and perhaps
thereby help to achieve a new libera-
tion both for blacks and for them-
selves.
So along with all our politicking, all
our pressure groups, all our attempts to
deal with injustice (which we share
with other like-minded citizens whether
Christian or not), we Christians may
have been given a special role in the
1 970s, the role of seeking to bring
abo.ut change by nonviolent means, by
revolutionary love, ready if need be to
absorb the suffering this might involve,
empowered to do so because we know
that there is One who is already stand-
ing alongside us, who has always
shared in our suffering, and who can
help by his all-sufficient redeeming love
to redeem the feeble and insuflicient
efforts of those of us who so often lis-
ten to what He says, but so often fail
to practice what He does. D
Robert McAfee Brown, who is a professor at
Stanford University in California and a
former Navv chaplain, has cniiaged in selec-
tive, nonviolent civil disobedience. His
article, copyrighted by Presbyterian Life, is
reprinted by permission.
■1-72 MESSENGER 7
In Reply
From the campus, from the Third World and Europe comes
Power, in varying de-
grees, is possessed by
all groups and all na-
tions. Power must be
used responsibly,
whether that power is
expressed and exer-
cised violently or non-
violently. The same criteria are used
to evaluate both means of social
change.
In man's history, revolution has
come about both with and without the
use of violence. It must be asked of
iany revolution, whether by violent or
nonviolent means, "Has a greater jus-
tice been achieved?" and "Have the
values of the old as well as the values
of the new been recognized?" Social
reform ought to bring about a greater
realization of valiies, and not only an
exchange of some values for others.
In setting goals to reform society,
neither Utopian schemes nor defense
of the status quo is acceptable to those
who accept the vision of the kingdom
of God and yet acknowledge that its
final consummation is beyond history.
We need to recognize that covert vio-
lence varies from structure to structure;
within our institutions, there are some
changes more urgent than others. Dif-
ferent situations may call for different
formulas.
The use of nonviolence in the
American civil rights revolution was
brilliant and effective. How to ac-
complish justice for ten million refu-
gees from East Pakistan remains a
question with no easy answers. The
use of violence in Indochina has re-
sulted in a dismal stalemate for both
sides.
Robert McAfee Brown in his stimu-
lating arguments rightly insists that
more attention be given to nonviolence
as "an instrument of social change."
At the same time, his article is im-
portant in emphasizing that injustice
exists in both overt and covert forms,
and that it must be challenged by the
gospel of love and justice. — Robert
McFadden
Perhaps the basically
conservative stance
advocated by Robert
McAfee Brown for
Christians in the
United States — "to
take on the role of
nonviolent advocates
of social change" — may bring about
the desired results in the redress of in-
justice and violence prevalent in this
country. However, when I hear the cry
of desperation from Attica Prison —
"If we cannot live as people, we will at
least try to die like men" — I wonder
how much lead time can a Christian
conscientiously allow himself to devel-
op criteria which would help him to
evaluate his basic stance of nonviolent
actions and consider options which
could conceivably involve some degree
of physical force?
I maintain that there is no such thing
as nonviolence, pure and simple. In a
seemingly nonviolent activity like a sit-
in, or a "satyagraha," a boycott, or a
march, a point is reached where the
potential for a provocation is so inher-
ent that it is questionable if it can truly
be called nonviolent. Colin Morris has
observed that Gandhi's "nonviolent re-
sistance, far from being an alternative
to the use of force, only becomes politi-
cally significant against a background
of widespread violence." While
Gandhi adhered to passive resistance,
the Indian National Congress aban-
dond the policy in 1935 resorting to di-
rect action and by 1942 civil war raged
throughout India.
Having spent a major part of my life
in a society with social stratification
based upon an outdated caste system
which sanctifies human inequality and
violates human dignity; having experi-
enced the humiliation suffered by one
of the world's proud and ancient civili-
zations under British colonialsm; and ,
having witnessed the economic exploi-
tation of the Third World under neo-
colonialism of the affluent nations, it is
not difficult for me to identify with the
powerful urge of the subjugated, the
oppressed, and the desperate to opt for
violence to achieve power which could
seemingly enable them to determine
their own future.
The scars of humiliation, exploita-
tion, and treatment as second-rate hu-
man beings do not heal easily, even
with the scattered shots of antibiotics
in the form of "foreign aid." The
manipulation of the destinies of the
powerless two thirds of the world
through military pacts, economic aid,
and political pressures testifies to vio-
lence not easily recognized by well-
meaning Christians who feel most com-
fortable with offering cold cups of wa-
ter to the needy. It is one thing to be a
detached observer or one without a
stake in such an experience and to
philosophize on a nonviolent approach
to solve problems. It is entirely anoth-
er to be right in the middle of it all liv-
ing at a subhuman level. It is easy for
me to understand why a person might
feel that nothing can make his situation
worse than what it actually is. It is
easy for me to understand why a per-
son is willing to choose death rather
than to continue the miserable exis-
tence of living in bondage.
Paul Tillich reminded us, "There are
situations in which resistance without
armed violence is possible; but even
then, destructive consequences are
hardly avoidable, be it through psycho-
logical, through economic or through
sociological forms of compulsion. And
there are situations in which nothing
short of war can defend or establish
the dignity of the person. Nothing is
more indicative of the tragic aspect of
life than the unavoidable injustice in
the struggle for justice."
While Mr. Brown recognizes the
ri<Tht of the minority Americans and
Third World people to make their own
choices with respect to the issue of vio-
lence, I wonder what advice he would
offer to an American mission board
with respect to supportive relationships .
with overseas churches which may opt
for a violent revolution in their struggle
for humanization. — Shantilal Bhagat
8 MESSENGER 2- 1 -72
esponses to Robert McAfee Brown
I Brown's premises are
basically sound. In
particular, he is right
not to dismiss the dis-
tinction between vio-
Jlence as an instrument
of the oppressor and
violence used on be-
.' half of the oppressed. A Dutch ethics
. professor has said that pacifists have
traditionally deplored violence "on
both sides" without taking into account
that equality of sin in using violence
does not entail equality of guilt for the
violent situation. But he warns that to
us such distinctions as the kind, de-
gree, and situational circumstances of
violence in order to justify its use
greatly limits the possibilities of finding
alternatives to violence. It also reflects
the desire for a clear conscience, while
in fact it is the first step toward dehu-
-manizing the "enemy" in order that
: violence may be committed against
him.
In his calling the churches of Amer-
ica to a vocation of seeking to bring
., about radical change of our institutions
by nonviolent means. Brown unfortu-
nately does not elaborate on the impli-
. cations of this beyond warning that it
could entail suffering. The pocketbook
and status image are perhaps the first
"victims." (Is this why Brethren find
it so hard to be authentic? Policy
seems to be made according to what
■ will appeal to the Brotherhood or what
. they can be sold on, rather than what
expresses true solidarity with the op-
pressed.) Nonviolent revolutionary
activity not only could but surely will
entail suffering if it is authentic.
There are many well intentioned and
deeply committed Christians who are
prepared for the vocation Brown sug-.:.
gests. Good intentions and commit-
ment are not enough. In order to avoid
piecemeal and bandage activity there
must be thorough analysis leading to
deep understanding of the true situa-
tion of violence in our world. Most of
V us do not know exactly how we uphold
.' and participate in violence. This we
must learn before we can engage cre-
atively and usefully in activity for ; .,
change. Then we must call on our
deep commitment to sustain us through
voluntary limiting of our wealth and re-
channeling the surplus we have no right
to claim for ourselves; or as we say
No! and withdraw from participating
in institutions, customs, and practices
which are based on the exploitation of
others.
But first must come the study and
analysis that can open our eyes to the
reality of the status quo which exploits
and kills, then comes the time for re-
flecting upon the new truths so that al-
ternatives can be found, and finally we
must act upon the new understandings
and in effect create a new reality. This
process, which is being widely used in
Latin America to prepare cadres of
nonviolent workers for justice and lib-
eration, is called "conscientization."
We must become conscienticized also
in America and Europe.
I do not agree with Brown's rather
paternalistic approach that by becom-
ing willing sufferers we can achieve lib-
eration for the oppressed. Rather we
are imprisoned in our role as op-
pressors as long as the oppressed con-
tinue to accept their role. It is only
as the oppressed can declare and live
out their own liberation that we as op-
pressors can also become liberated.
However, we can find ways to express
solidarity with the oppressed in their
struggle, joining them in suffering vol-
untarily and seeking to transform our-
selves and our institutions. — Marty
Zinn
4
Robert McFaddcn is head of the philosophy
and religion department of Bridi^ewater
College in Virginia. Shantilal P. Bhagat is
consultant in community development for
the Church of the Brethren General Board.
Robert C. Johansen teaches political science
at Manchester College in Indiana. Marty
Zinn. a former BVSer. is working with the
International Fellowship of Reconciliation in
Dreibergcn, Netherlands.
Brown performs a
useful service in alert-
ing us middle-class
Americans to the ' -
crimes of respectable
people who defend
unjust social struc- ' ...■
tures, which are man-
ifestations of covert or structural vio-
lence. But Brown is wrong if he means
to suggest that a new awareness of the
problem of covert violence adds a new
dimension to the old problem of justi-
fying overt violence. That is not true,
because covert violence is simply an-
other form of injustice and all injustice,
whether overt or covert, violent or non-
violent, should be militantly opposed
by the Christian, but opposed by loving
the "enemy" and overcoming evil with
good. In short, the Christian formula
for dealing with the newfound per-
petrators of covert violence, whether
unfair landlords or school boards, is
the same as for dealing with the old ex-
ponents of violence, whether foreign
dictators or American militarists.
Jesus doubtlessly struggled with the
question of violence, but his final posi-
tion seems clear: He rejected it. The
scriptural texts which Brown offers as
coming closest to endorsing violence
are unconvincing in that respect, and
there are several other unequivocal bib-
lical injunctions to reject violence and
to express love universally, even for
enemies. Regardless of the vigor of
Jesus' action in cleansing the temple,
for example, there was no taking of
any person's life, nor was there even a
threat of taking life.
The statement that Jesus came not
to bring peace but a sword is inter-
preted by most Bible scholars as a met-
aphorical statement in which Jesus pro-
claimed that truth is more important
than temporary harmony in the family
or community. He was saying that
maintaining a social order without con-
flict is not an end in itself. Likewise,
we might add, a new social order, one
sought by social reformers, can hardly
be an end in itself; therefore, seeking
2- 1 -72 MESSENGER 9
it cannot justify treating persons as
means to be manipulated or destroyed.
This scripture is not justification for the
method of war, but recognition of a
conflict of worldviews (division instead
of sword is the word used in Luke) .
By confessing Christ, one may bring
the sword of persecution on himself.
In the context of Brown's analysis,
the Christian will find himself being
opposed by defenders of the status quo
because he acts boldly in favor of the
dispossessed who are victims of unjust
social structures. As Matthew elab-
orates, blood may be shed because of
the strife resulting from the drive for
justice, but it will be the blood of those
who have taken up Jesus' cross; they,
like Jesus, will give their lives, but they
will not take the lives of others. In
short, a difficult issue in today's world
may be whether one can or should be
Christian; it is not whether the Chris-
tian can be violent.
Perhaps the question of whether to
use overt violence to remove covert .
violence is further clarified if we view
justice less as a static, eventual state to
be attained and more as a continuous
process in which claims and counter-
claims for rights will forever be made
by competing groups in conflict. If
justice is viewed as a process instead
of a state of being, then evil means,
such as war, cannot be morally justified
because of the uncertainty of achieving
the desired end. At the same time, one
should be less willing to sit and simply
wait for racial and economic justice
eventually to come to his community.
Justice can be pursued only by making
bold, persistent, and unending claims
by and on behalf of the oppressed.
The inert quality of Brown's notion
of justice is revealed in his initial ques-
tion: "In rooting out the structures of
covert violence in the world today, are
we justified in using overt violence?"
It is inappropriate to think of covert
violence or injustice as a bad weed
with but one life that can be "rooted
out," viewed as a task completed, and
once accomplished, the violence used
in the uprooting seems justified. Co-
vert violence will probably never be
eliminated. But more important, a
revolutionary leader who possesses
sufficient violent power to "root out"
covert violence, has become powerful
enough that he is doubtless already a
practitioner of covert violence, ines-
capably manipulatory within his own
movement and in the use of overt vio-
lence as a strategy for revolution. Al-
though the Christian may prefer the
imperfections of a revolution to those
of the status quo, the Christian should
never forget that even before the revo- •
lutionary comes to power — especially
if he is a violent revolutionary — he is
probably a carrier of covert violence
which will continue after overt violence
may end.
Brown also urges us to consider the
statement of a "Brazilian sociologist":
"If I opt for nonviolence I am the ac-
complice of oppression." I find this
statement unpersuasive because it be-
trays the sociologist's confusion be-
tween the oppressor and the latter's op-
pressive policies. The Christian be-
lieves that evil (oppression) is the en-
emy, not the evildoer (oppressor). In
fact, the situation is precisely the op-
posite of what the sociologist asserts.
Thus if one opts for violence, he is
himself committing evil (overt vio-
lence), and thereby is an accomplice
with oppression (covert violence),
even if he fights the oppressor. The
only way one can avoid being an ac-
complice of oppression (covert vio-
lence) is to reject overt violence and be
loving toward the oppressor, at the
same time vigorously opposing op-
pression. — Robert C. Johansen
XWDncem
.PcBaiCBCBc
A sampling of 20,00<
children's drawings de-
picting war, peace, and)
the new world, solicited by)
the Dutch Christian radio/
television commission,|
IKOR. Artists' comment
accompany their worl
"You won't have to put on a cl.
10 MESSENGER 2-1-72
"When it's peace everyone ". happy and tanks become things tp enjoy"
jpl because you won't get dirty'
"In the new world I'd like every day to be my birthday"
'We have to face the fact, whatever our religious belief
■ :> \:V -•■?;. \- When you are full of rage
■ ■ ■ ■ -•■■': - ■■ ■ ■'■"' ■ I\ (EdDnnwcBiPsaittncDm
DBncEDnairpd] AXoEBaDnnfimpgcErp
Know Your
r commitments, that violence can be exhilarating.
) be able to let it out feels tremendous."
Dr. Walter Menninger made this
comment in his office at Topeka State
Hospital as we talked informally about
violence in human personality and
social relationships. As a practicing
psychiatrist who works not only with
patients but also with the police de-
partment in this middle-sized midwest-
em city, he has direct experience with
people whose inner rages and hatreds
sometimes destroy themselves and oth-
ers. In addition, he was appointed by
President Johnson to the thirteen-
member National Commission on the
Causes and Prevention of Violence
which for eighteen months delved .
deeply into this complex subject fol-
lowing the assassination of Senator
Robert F. Kennedy. He is that new
breed of psychiatrist who sees just as
much significance in community appli-
cations of psychiatry as he does in the
thoroughgoing individual psychoana-
lytic treatment^
The work of the violence commis-
sion is something Dr. Menninger talks
about enthusiastically. I had wondered
if he could be enthusiastic for yet an-
other discussion of the subject, since he
has found himself in great demand all
over the country as a lecturer on col-
lege campuses, before bar associations,
and in local and regional club meetings.
I need not have worried. For an hour.
he candidly expressed himself about
the work of the violence commission,
his own attitudes and feelings about vi-
olence in individuals and society, and
the work of others in this field. What
follows is a free sampling of his re-
marks, using journalistic license to
make connections and give continuity.
Occasionally I have borrowed from
texts of speeches he has made.
I wanted to know at the outset how
the violence commission defined vio-
lence. In the text of the commission
report, the key statement reads: "...
the threat or use of force that results,
or is intended to result, in the injury or
forcible restraint or intimidation of
persons, or the destruction or forcible
seizure of property" (To Establish Jus-
tice, To Insure Domestic Tranquillity
p. 286) . "I can live with that defini-
tion," Dr. Menninger said. "Of course,
what interests me as a psychiatrist is
the role of violent words and violent
thoughts. Psychotherapy aims at trans-
lating action into the arena of words
and thoughts, so that a person doesn't
have to hurt people or destroy property."
Vividly, he described a confronta-
tion with a black militant which took
place in an informal information-
gathering session. The black man told
the doctor, "If I didn't like you, or like
what you're doing, I would just have to
hit you." It was very evident to the ■
people in the room that this powerful
black man was really capable of hit-
ting. "But I wouldn't have to hit you
again, and again, and again, and again
— which is the way the police do it to
my people in the ghetto."
"His being able to stop just short of
really socking it to me," explained Dr.
Menninger, "demonstrates a useful
sublimation." There is the problem in
a nutshell: to be able to control and
use the energies of aggression in the
service of an appropriate management
of conflict.
In an address at Baldwin Wallace
College in 1970 Dr. Menninger spoke
directly about the inner situation which
gives rise to violent behavior:
You don't have to observe children
very long to discover that they have
within them a destructive power. Give
a toy to a two-year-old and see how
long it survives his pushing, pulling,
smashing, and throwing. Notice the
interplay between children — grasping,
hitting, shrieking — which we may
lightly call rough housing, but which so
often ends with someone being hurt
.... The child is self-centered, seek-
ing imnicdiate and direct satisfaction of
whatever impulse strikes him with no
real conception or concern for what
may result from his action .... Pain is
not readily tolerated. When he suffers
: Violence
2-1-72 MESSENGER 13
pain he wants to let others know about
it: indeed he wants others to know ex-
actly how he hurts. This is the basic
source of the lex talionis — an eye for
an eye. When I am hurt by you, I want
you to hurt like 1 hurt, therefore if you
hit me, I will hit back. .'\nd it makes
no difference that the hitting back
doesn't really resolve the conflict ....
This is a significant root of violence
: and of crime: the infant in all of us
who is a creature of emotion, not
reason.
Violence as an expression of the
insecurities and fears of the child in us
". — that may be the clue not only to
. hannful destructiveness in our society
•,• but to the relatively harmless, socially
useful, and necessary violence con-
; tained in many familiar activities. Stu-
dent yells at athletic events, pro foot-
ball on television, a surgeon cutting
with his scalpel, tearing down buildings
■ in a slum area, law enforcement —
. these disparate actions all contain some
measure of violence. I asked Dr.
Menninger how much of this he
: thought was legitimate violence.
"Well, that's hard to answer but we
" should ask ourselves, what would you
. put in place of these activities? It is a
fallacy to think man can manipulate
', the outside world to wipe out all need
. for the expression of violence. As a
psychiatrist I am aware how easy it is
•for an individual to project his personal
frustrations and fears on the environ-
ment and to think that if he changes
the environment, things will be all
right." The potentiality for violence
exists in everyone. Dr. Karl Mennin-
ger, Dr. Walter Menninger's uncle,
made this point forcefully in his book,
Man A gainst Himself:
One would expect that in the face of
the overwhelming blows at the hands of
fate or nature, man would oppose him-
self steadfastly to death and destruction
in a universal brotherhood of be-
leaguered humanity. But this is not the
case. Whoever studies the behavior of
human beings cannot escape the con-
clusion that we must reckon with an
enemy within the lines. It becomes in-
creasingly evident that some of the
destruction which curses the earth is
self-destruction; the extraordinary
propensity of the human being to join
hands with external forces in an attack
upon his own existence (p. 4) .
These psychological realities are not
to be seen apart from social forces.
The violence commission report words
it very carefully: "... most persons
who commit violence — criminal or
noncriminal — are basically no differ-
ent from others, and their behavior is
the result of the complex interaction of
their biology and life experience.
Scholars observe that man has no in-
stinct or trait born within that directs
aggression in a specific way. He does
have, from birth, the potential for
violence. He also has the capacity for
creative, constructive activity and for
the rejection of violence. Insofar as
life experience teaches individuals
violence, the incidence of violence is
subject to modification, control, and
prevention through conscious changes
in man's environment" (To Establish
Justice, to Insure Domestic Tran-
quillity, p. 290).
Since our conversation had sounded
the positive note of men's creative abil-
ities to overcome the violence that is
within and without. I wanted to know
how the violence commission's work
had been received both by government
officials and by the citizenry. I did not
expect as optimistic a view from Dr.
Menninger as I got. He acknowledged
his initial misgivings, a sort of "so
what?" reaction to yet another national
commission following hard on the heels
of the crime commission and the
Kerner Commission reports. "But
you've got to realize a commission of
this kind has no power base. Its func-
tion is educational and its impact de-
pends upon the way this education is
carried out. Perhaps more important-
ly, commission reports are 'bench-
marks' which have a long-term im-
pact."
Immediate impacts of the work of
the violence commission have not been
absent by any means. Dr. Menninger's
anecdotal account proved informative
and fascinating. In the first place, he
said, the commission worked for high
visibility, undoubtedly influenced by its
chairman. Dr. Milton Eisenhower, a
former public relations man. Tele-
vision was welcomed in the hearings.
The report was released chapter by .
chapter with a weather eye cocked for
direct relevancy to current happenings.
Even news releases were purposely
condensed to the typical length of a
page- in The New York Times or the
Washington Post as an aid to the
media. Only one report was never
published by the government printing
office, namely an account of the Chi-
cago demonstrations in 1968 which the
commissioners believed would have
special credibility precisely because
four-letter words and twelve-letter
words appeared in the text. Apparent-
ly the President thought otherwise.
A second direct impact of the com-
mission was that it prompted a collec-
tion of data on violence that is without
parallel. Through extensive hearings,
task force reports, and the gathering
together of expert opinion from all
quarters, a library of findings on vio-
lence now exists which is a gold mine
for study and further research. College
and university courses now are based
on the commission's sixteen-volume
output and supporting evidence. The
generally excellent editing increases
the value of the documents by making
them readable.
•A third impact had to do with spe-
cific events and reactions. Television,
for example; came under the appropri-
ately critical eye of the commission. It
was found, that the Saturday morning
14 MESSENGER 2-1-72
cartoons for the kiddies contained
more violence than any comparable
time period on television, up to twenty
violent incidents per hour. At first the
industry did not want to acknowledge
its responsibility, denying the motivat-
ing power of violence in the form of
entertainment while selling commer-
cials to its customers on the grounds
that people can be motivated to buy
products. It made no sense to say one
minute of advertising could move
people to action, while fifty-nine min-
utes of other programming would in-
cite no action whatever. The industry
did in fact start to pay attention to this
discrepancy. Interestingly, CBS . : >
dropped its opening shoot-out se-
quence on Gtinsmoke following these
hearings. Dr. Menninger ruefully ad-
mits that after two years, more violence
than ever has come to the screen this
fall.
Student unrest on the campuses in
1969 was another specific situation to
' which the violence commission rever-
berated by putting guidelines for cop-
ing with disruption into the hands of
college administrators. Several fac-
' ulties followed these guidelines with
some success. The November 1969
Moratorium with its march on Wash-
ington was yet another example of the
. probable influence of the commission.
■ The White House staff were given
copies of the chapter called, "A Tale
of Two Cities," contrasting the violent
way Chicago handled the demonstra-
tions at the Democratic National Con-
vention with the comparatively effec-
tive way the Washington police han-
dled an equal number of counter dem-
onstrators at the time of President
Nixon's' inauguration. This may have
'. been one of the forces prompting the
Justice Department to take a less rigid
line in handling the Washington dem-
, onstrations in the days that followed.
"There are other benchmarks too.
Gun control is coming, influenced im-
portantly by the commission's clear
recommendations. The eighteen-year-
old vote, which I had the privilege of
testifying for before a Senate commit-
tee, is a step in the direction of the
Comrnission's strong position support-
ing.youth's involvement in our society.
Of course, all eighty of the commis-
.sion's recommendations have not as
yet been acted on."
I had been waiting to put one last
question to Dr. Menninger. What role
did he see for groups like the Brethren
who officially rule out violent means of
social expression and problem solving?
He said he wasn't sure but did have
several ideas about it.
One was that the individual or the
small group can make a difference.
Although the work of the violence
commission was largely directed
toward big groups and America's cor-
porate problems, the principles under-
lying the establishment of better means
of achieving social change are equally
applicable to other groups. "What can
I as an individual do? We all struggle
with that. We tend to think there is not
much we can do. But the individual
who is dedicated and educates himself
to the facts can make a difference."
"We must educate ourselves fuUy
about violence in order to combat it,"
he said. "You've got to know what the
enemy is before you can effectively act
for constructive changes." It is im-
portant to study the situation to de-
termine where efforts can be most
effective.
Then, we need to look at our own
communities and take a bite-sized
chew. "We sometimes are so busy sav-
ing the world and our own lives, that
our communities go to hell." What we
need to find out about our communities
are the factors that predispose to vio-
lence. The individual and the small
group are perhaps best equiped to
work on the problem of communica-
tion at the grass roots level. The vio-
lence commission didn't deal adequate-
ly with these issues, but the right ques-
tions were raised for local communities
to face.
You and me, our knowledge of our-
selves and of our communities, our
willingness to take bite-size chews, our
courage to confront the violence in
ourselves and others — that's where a
large measure of the action is. D
Richard A . BolUnfier is director of counsel-
ing services. Division of Religion and Psy-
chiatry, the Menninger Foundation. Topeka,
Kans. W. Walter Menninger is a section
director of the Topeka State Hospital and a
staff psychiatrist with the Menninger
Foundation.
FACTS
ABOUT THE
VIOLENCE COMMISSION
The assassination of Senator Robert F.
Kennedy in June 1968 prompted Pres-
ident Johnson to establish the National
Commission on the Causes and Pre-
vention of Violence. Chaired by Dr.
Milton Eisenhower, this thirteen-mem-
ber commission was charged with the
task of investigating and making rec-
ommendations with respect to "( 1 ) the
causes and prevention of lawless acts
of violence in our society, including
assassination, murder, and assault; and
(2 ) the causes and prevention of dis-
respect for law and order, of disrespect
for public officials, and of violent dis-
ruptions of public order by individuals . .
and groups."
The investigations and deliberations
of the commission were carried out
over a jjeriod of eighteen months, and
culminated in the publication of a final
report. To Establish Justice, To Insure
Domestic Tranquillity, along with six-
teen volumes of reports of task forces,
investigations, and hearings.
The membership of the commission
was predominantly from the legal pro-
fession. There were nine lawyers: four
legislators — Senators Philip Hart and
Roman Hruska, Congressmen Hale
Boggs and William McCulloch; two
judges — U. S. District Judge Leon
Higginbotham and Arizona Supreme
Court Justice Ernest McFarland; a law
professor — former Ambassador
Patricia Harris; and two attorneys in
private practice — Albert Jenner of
Chicago and Leon Jaworski, currently
the president of the American Bar
Association. Dr. Eisenhower, Terrence
Cardinal Cooke of New York, Eric
Hoffer and Dr. Walter Menninger were
the other members.
As with all commissions a vital role
was played by the staff and the con-
sultants. The expertise and major
work commitment was from the staff
— largely lawyers, but with social sci-
entists as task force co-directors and
consultants. At its peak, central staff
totaled 70, with more than 140 re-
search projects and special analyses,
and further involvement through hear-
ing and special meetings of more than
1 70 public officials, scholars, college
presidents, experts, religious leaders,
private citizens.
2I-72 MESSENGER 15
No Time
for Gradualism
Dd^ OHo EdaumffliD? GnfilbMcB
"Our world today is dominated by
complex and tragic division . . . [and]
the gap between the rich and the poor
has become inevitably the most tragic
and urgent problem of our day" (Bar-
bara Ward, The Rich Nations and the
Poor Nations). Not only our national
community but also our international
community is tragically divided into
"two societies, separate and unequal,"
to borrow words from the Kerner
Commission's report. One society is
largely industrial, rich, powerful, ur-
ban, white, and North; and the other is
largely agricultural, poor, powerless,
-rural, colored, and South. Common
to one society are adequate food, medi-
cal care, educational opportunities, add
affluence, and to the other malnutri-
tion, disease, illiteracy, and dehuman-
izing poverty.
In microcosm a representative world
community of 1,000 persons would
look like this. One third (330) would
be developed and affluent, holding over
two thirds of the community's wealth.
, Two thirds (670) would be develop-
ing and poor, holding less than one
third of the community's wealth. Six-
ty-three would earn over $2,000 per
year and 670 would earn less than
$300 per year. TTie sixty-three who
are the most affluent would have more
than a 3,000 calorie intake per day
with high protein content, while 300
to 400 would have less than the recorii-
mended 2,200 calories per day and
with a small fraction of the recom-
mended protein content. The affluent
group would also command ten to
fifteen times more of the health services
than would be available to the larger
but poorer group.
A growing awareness of the gaps
between these societies has brought the
people of the developing nations or
Third World to rebellion. This aware-
ness and the revolution of rising expec-
tations, spawned very often by Chris-
tian missions and accelerated by our
shrinking world, has resulted in the
shock of underdevelopment. Ever in-
creasing numbers of the "Two Thirds
World" are demanding some improve-
ment in their dehumanizing existence,
often without understanding the at-
tendant complexities. Development is
seen as the panacea. There is a grow-
ing awareness too that the plight of the
poor is related to the voracious appe-
tite of the developed and wealthy na-
tions, specifically, as Dennis Goulet in
i
The Cruel Choice suggests, through
their "privileged access to raw materi-
als, freedom ... to impose their prod-
ucts on fragile Third World markets,
the power ... to control world market
mechanisms to their advantage, their
ability to disrupt internal efforts at in-
dustrialization by poor countries
through dumping and other means, and
their capacity to attract trained person-
nel away from the underdeveloped
world."
While violent civil and international
conflict is a complex phenomenon that
stems from many causes, the correla-
tion of violence with underdevelop-
ment and poverty cannot be over-
looked. The Paddock study (William
and Paul Paddock, Famine, 1975) re-
veals that "since 1958, 87% of the
very poor nations have suffered serious
violence; 69% of the poor nations and
48% of the middle income. However,
only one of the twenty-seven rich na-
tions has suffered a major internal
upheaval."
Such facts carry startling implica-
tions. The impression sometimes is
that two thirds of the world's people
are content with their deprivation.
This is not accurate. Like it or not, the
powerful and affluent and largely
Christian "One Third World" is faced
with the critical question of how to re-
spond to and deal with the plight of the
"Two Thirds World" and the poten-
tially explosive inequities.
Ostensibly, the message of Christ
and the Christian's responsibility are
clear, especially when confronted with
such biblical questions as, "For what
will it profit a man, if he gains the
whole world and forfeits his life?" or,
"If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in
lack of daily food, and one of you says
to them, 'Go in peace, be wanned and
filled,' without giving them the things
needed for the body, what does it
profit?"
Further, God created man and na-
ture and continues to work in history to
bring his creation to fulfillment. Man
was created to inhabit and subdue the
earth and its riches were given to all
men, irrespective of the barriers that
men may construct. In the world
which was and is the locus of God's
redeeming, loving, and purposive ac-
tion, we would be insensitive and un-
responsive to God's love if we were to
remain insensitive and unresponsive to
the human and spiritual needs of our
brothers in the world around us.
Seemingly then Christians would be
on the side of development and willing
to sacrifice for the "Two Thirds
World" caught in the cycle of poverty.
This position, however, is not without
its detractors and problems. There are
y- those who believe that one's lot in life
^ is providential and should be accepted.
There are others who hold that time is
moving rapidly toward the conclusion
■ of history and that the foremost con-
cern is man's salvation (salvation un-
related to his physical well-being). Still
others label the church's concern for
development as unrealistic and Utopian
in the light of man's nature and
;. possibilities.
■ Even if most Christians see a place
for positive response to the physical
needs of mankind, traditionally the
church has given priority to charitable
■ programs via ministries to the poor,
' weak, maimed, and outcast of society.
• Development efforts, when launched,
have been focused upon the potentially
strong and productive segments of a
;. needy community. Each, however
valid, has its pitfalls. Relief work is
■ expensive and never ending. It often
cultivates dependency and does not ad-
'. equately ferret out causative factors
■ or focus on preventive measures. De-
■ velopment programs may succeed only
marginally or fail outright. Complex
social, economic, and political factors
doom many efforts to marginal success
or failure no matter how extensive the
investments and planning have been.
Whatever the problems and ambi-
guities in ministries of compassion, the
church should not turn from embark-
ing on such programs. Sometimes un-
suspected strengths and allies have
emerged when commitments have been
made and creative involvements have
begun. The magnitude of the task to-
day, however, requires not only tech-
nicians but men of faith and compas-
sion who will be challenged by ob-
stacles and will be flexible in utilizing
and developing the resources of the
given situation.
While the task is monumental, the
church has significant and unique as-
sets to contribute to development work.
Granted, the institution carries some
liabilities — ideological hangups, a .
good measure of conservative status
quoism, a Western orientation and
bias, and fragmented and sometimes
competitive rather than cooperative
programs. But on the plus side, the
churches have been pioneers in chari-
table and social justice ministries.
Christian concern for the value and
dignity of the person must continue lo
determine the goals and operational
style of the relief and developmental
programs of the church. The primary
question must be what kind of develop-
ment is human rather than what kind
of development will be successful.
Caloric consumption, gross national
product, industrial growth, per capita
income, and the like are not the most
important criteria for evaluation. The
important question is, in the light of
Christian values, how are persons be-
ing enhanced or diminished.
The church can also play a significant
role in influencing the centers of power
that hold the key to development in the
Third World. In addition to acting as
a prophetic voice, calling attention to
the plight of the poor and the need for
justice and massive response to human
needs, the church must learn how to
influence the centers of power in order
to move the affluent governments
toward major participation in multi-
lateral developmental assistance
programs.
But in the final analysis, one of the
most crucial steps that the church can
take is to help sensitize its own con-
stituency to suffering and injustice.
Faced with the social problem of un-
employment in an industrialized soci-
ety, G. K. Chesterton said that the
church in his day "sang a lot of hymns
to help the unemployed." Are Chris-
tians doing anything more today for the
plight of the "Two Thirds Worid"?
Affluence and wastefulness character-
ize the affluent one third.
The gap between the world's privil-
eged minority and the underprivileged
majority widens. In such a world there
is no time for gradualism. Theories of
gradualism have been blitzed by the-
ories of revolution. Words ("Go in
peace, be warmed and filled") and rit-
uals are not enough. What is required
in our day is the zeal of the eighth-
century prophets and the spirit exem-
plified by the faithful in Jesus parable
of the last judgment. Dag Ham-
marskjold rightly discerned that "in
our era, the road to holiness necessarily
passes through the world of action." D
H. Lamar Gihbic is consultant on peace and
international affairs for the Church of the
Brethren General Board.
How concerned are we for our responsibility to our less privileged brother
and to the violence of the system thathas broughtus this privilege?
2- 1 -72 MESSENGER 17
^ffllbnncEaifl n3aisns
mi SI IP(BSl(B(B
nitmcESS
The search for a biblical basis of a
peace witness leads directly into an
examination of the meanings and con-
notations of the Hebrew word shalom
and the Greek word eirene. which are
the words in the Bible usually trans-
lated peace in the English versions. .
•■ Both shalom and eirene connote a
■ range of meanings much wider than
^at usually found in the English word
peace, which often conveys simply the
■ absence of armed conflict or of condi-
.. tions that disturb national or personal
Hfe.
Shalom
Shalom is primarily a state of whole-
ness and well-being which may be en-
tered into and experienced by persons
in their inner lives and interpersonal
relationships, and also by groups, such
as the family, the clan, or national and
political entities.
An examination of representative
scripture passages (noted below) in
which the word shalom or its variations
occur reveals that the concept of
shalom held by those who used the
word included the idea of prosperity
enjoyed either by the individual or by
the group.
' '. Exodus 4:18 = " .'■■.: ,;
:.: -2 Chronicles 34:28 '■ ''■ ' • ■'
; ■ Psalms 37:1 1: 72:1-7; 128:5-6
, - Isaiah 38:17; 54:13; 66:12
Haggai 2:9
Zechariah 8:12 ,• ' ; ;.
Shalom was often practically
equated with physical security and
freedom from anxiety. '■.;'■■
Judges 6:23; 18:6; 19:20
1 Samuel 1:17
2 Chronicles 19:1
Psalms 4:8; 37:37; 55:18
Isaiah 32:18
Peace was associated with righteous-
ness.
Psalm 85:10 (compare with Psalm
120:6; Isaiah 48:22; 59:8)
Peace, with its wide connotations,
was regarded as a goal to be sought.
Psalm 34:14
Zechariah 8:16, 19 . : .... ■..
In the thinking of religious leaders in
Israel, a state of shalom for the nation
involved faithfulness in a covenant re-
lationship with God.
Isaiah 54:10 ' '■■':'';
Ezekiel 34:25; 37:26 , : -.: . ■;:":;
Malachi 2:5-6 :-'■'■ ,,.■.,•/•.',
This is in harmony with the belief ' ■ ;■
that the Lord was the source of peace.
Numbers 6:26
1 Kings 2:3 3 ■..■..•■
Psalms 29:11:122:6-9; 147:14 ""
Isaiah 9:6-7; 45:7; 48:18; 57:19
Jeremiah 33:6
The concept of shalom, as applied
to the nation, did, of course, imply a
state of national security and the ab-
sence or cessation of warfare. Peace
between nations was a goal to be
achieved. - . ■. ^ , • ■ • . ;;
Leviticus 26:6 ' ■''■■'■.','"■'■; '";
Deuteronomy 2:26; 20:10-12 : .' :■■
Joshua 9:15; 11:19 ;.',<-'
Judges 21 :1 3 '■ . '■ \'. '...■':[..'■'■
1 Samuel 7:14 ,•■'•::; -''''■■'■• ■ ? >,
2 Samuel 10:19 ■ ^'V';''' '■''''^'.:^::-A\
1 Kings 4:24 ■'':•.;'"% ^:';\ v ;: '■■ ' '"'
2 Kings20:19 '■ ■.;;->■ ■:■■■■■,:'.:'■
^ 1 Chronicles 22:9 ■■■.■'■. L;^ I." ••'•v.:'
Psalm 120:7 '■' . ' -i^-'-'/O ' 'v
Jeremiah 6:14; 14:13, 19 // ■.;'.■;
Ezekiel 7:24-25; 13:10,16 ■: ■ ''': V.-v
Eirene
Eirene in the New Testament is the
counterpart of the Old Testament word
shalom. In classical Greek, e/rene
meant the cessation or absence of hos-
tilities between rival groups, much as
we use the word peace today. But be-
cause in the Greek version of the Old
Testament the word eirene was used to
translate the word shalom, the Greek
word — while retaining its classical
meaning — came to have a breadth of
content comparable to that of the He-
brew word. Accordingly, in the New
Testament we find that eirene means
something much deeper and more posi-
tive than simply the absence of armed
conflict.
The concept of peace which is il-
luminated by the New Testament us-
age of the word eirene emphasizes the
personal aspects of peace. Three main
elements of peace are stressed.
1 . Reconciliation of persons with
•j V God, the restoration of right re-
'■■■. lations with God.
Romans 5:1, 10
2 Corinthians 5:19
Colossians 1:20-23
2. Harmonious relationships estab-
lished between persons and be-
tween groups of persons. This
includes the idea of international
peace.
Luke 14:32
Acts 12:20
Romans 12:18; 14:19
2 Corinthians 13:1 1
18 MESSENGER 2- 1-72
Ephesians 2:14-1 7; 4:1-3 '■ ',
Hebrews 12:14 ■'■_''.
1 Peter 3:8-11 .■';:':■..■ -
3. Peace of mind, dispelling worry
and fear.
John 14:27 '-' -• ■ '■■'■ ■ ' '':" -■:■
Romans 8:6: 14:17; 15:13 -V '.■' .
Galatians 5:22 ■ •" 'I'.'
Philippians 4:7 ' ' .'
Colossians 3:15 ■ _ '..
God's intention
for persons
The whole tenor of the biblical message
is that God desires all persons to enter
into the enjoyment of peace, in the
fullest sense of this term. The very
purpose of the Bible may be described
by saying that it is to make clear what
God's intentions are for all human be-
ings and what he has done to make
possible their attainment of that state of
wholeness and felicity implied in the
word shalom. What God purposes is
implicit, for example, in all the scrip-
tural declarations of the goodness of
God, in Abraham's intercession for
Sodom (Genesis 18:22-32), in the
commandments (including "Thou shalt
not kill"), in the messages of the
prophets, who called for righteous liv-
ing as a prerequisite of shalom, in
Jesus' healing of the sick, in many of
the parables (for instance, the three
parables of Luke 15), in the New
Testament teaching on the kingdom of
God, in the preaching of the apostles
concerning salvation through faith in
Christ, in the prayers for peace found
at the beginning of many of the New
Testament epistles.
The purpose of God in respect to
peace becomes explicit in such state-
ments as God's promise to Abraham
(Genesis 12:3, "... in you all the .
families of the earth shall be blessed),
in the emotionally charged exclamation
in Deuteronomy 5:29, in the assertion
in 1 Timothy 2:3-4 and in John 3: 16.
A valid peace witness must take due
account of this purpose of God.
Peace witness
and peacemaking
A Christian's peace witness will be
most effective if made not only by the
spoken or written word but also
through action for peace. The peace-
makers whom Jesus commended
(Matt. 5:9) were not merely those who
. spoke for peace but who exemplified,
peace in their manner of life. The two
components of a peace witness, words
and action, are complementary and in-
separable. Our time calls for new and
bold action in the effort to put an end
to war, certainly, but also in working to
bring about a condition of shalom for
all people.
The Christian's peace witness in
both word and action must harmonize
with the basic concepts of peace found
in the Bible and with the revealed will
of God for humanity.' The goal for
such a witness must be much more pos-
itive and far-reaching than simply the
avoidance of participation in military
action. If one's efforts to counteract an
overt war situation are to be measur-
ably effective in the long run, one must
deal with the basic causes of conflict.
Ultimately, these are to be found withr
in persons themselves (James 4:1-2).
Action for peace will focus on what-
ever is opposed to humanity's experi-
encing the personal and corporate
wholeness which God intends. This
means involvement with current so-
cial, economic, political, racial, reli-
gious, and international problems, with
the awareness that such problems of
mankind are symptomatic of broken
relationships between the person and
God. The problems have arisen in con-
sequence of unjust acts and long stand-
ing conditions of inequity, both in in-
dividual and in group relationships.
Because God is also a God of justice,
without which there cannot be shalom
in the fullest sense, it is clear that the
restoration of right relationships with
God involves also the establishment of
justice. Much of the peace effort will
therefore be directed toward bringing
about reconciliation with God, the
restoration of a relationship with God
which is prerequisite to enduring right
relationships among persons. The .
Christian as peacemaker is under ob-
ligation to set forth the conditions on
which such relationships are possible.
The Church of the Brethren has op-
posed war — all war — since its be-
ginnings in 1708. But the church dare
not merely rest its stance on an historic
position. It must ever examine afresh
the concepts of peace rooted in the
Bible and from this standpoint live out
its witness.
As the New Testament makes clear,
the peace witness includes the giving of
a message of reconciliation based on
what God has done through Christ.
Furthermore, the peacemaker will ex-
amine participation in the life of soci-
ety to discover whether his or her own
relationships with others favor the
cause of peace or add to social dishar-
mony and perpetuate injustice. The
peacemaker will then search for and
engage in forms of action for peace in
harmony with the biblical base of a
peace witness.
Other resources
"Annual Conference Statement of the
Church of the Brethren on War." The
Brethren Press, Elgin, Illinois
Brethren and Pacifism', by Da\e'W.
Brown, The Brethren Press
Christian Attitudes Toward War and
Peace, by Roland H. Bainton, Abing-
don Press, Nashville, Tennessee
The Christian and War. published by the
Historic Peace Churches and the Inter-
national Fellowship of Reconciliation,
available from The Brethren Press
The New Testament Basis of Pacifism, by
G. H. C. MacGregor, Fellowship Pub-
lications, Nyack. New York
Reprints of ■'Biblical Basis oT a Peace \Vitncss"
can be obtained .fitmi the Brethren Press, 1451
Dundee Ave.. Elgin. HI. U0120. Up to 50 copies
are a\ailablc at no cost: above that the cost will
be two cents apiece. ...
2-1-72 MESSENGER 19
Though there can be no 'Christian
Secular theologians afRrm the world as
the object of God's love and the locus
of God's activity. But because of the
obvious fallenness of the world, they
are becoming increasingly aware that
the world cannot be accepted as it is.
One can celebrate certain aspects of
the shape and style of the modem sec-
ular city, but at the same time, he must
acknowledge its blight and alienation.
One can celebrate the possibilities of
cybernetics, but he must also deplore
the fact that automation is currently
more the handmaiden of exploitation,
totalitarianism, and death than a tool
for man's liberation. Idealists sallied
forth from suburban churches to par-
ticipate in God's activity in the world
only to discover that responsible dis-
cipleship may mean opposing as well
as working through the power struc-
tures of our society.
This great discrepancy between what
might be and what is could have led to
complete existential despair. Instead,
we are experiencing a great revival of
hope. Moving beyond the death of
God theology and its rejection of the
"God up there." the theologians of
hope maintain a behef in the tran-
scendent but point to a God who meets
us in the historical possibilities we face.
Far from soothing us with a futuristic
eschatology of what will be in a
Utopian by-and-by, they preach a mes-
sianism that has the kingdom breaking
into history now, in our own time, as
an explosive force. It is this radical
biblical expectation of the death of the
old and the birth of the new which is
speaking afresh in a revolutionary con-
text. The context of a Christian
The Christian
Revolutionaryi
20 MESSENGER 2-1-72
evolution' a Christian can become a revolutionary.
■ thought and life may be described as a
Vworld coming of age, rather than the
.*■ world coAne of age. The world coming
of age implies adolescent characteris-
tics — - awkward changes, an identity
crisis challenging the old and appropri-
ating the new, and stormy upheavals in
the struggle of rival allegiances. The
slogan of the secular theologians to let
• the world write the agenda has been
heeded, and increasingly this agenda is
being written by the revolutionary
struggles of people to be free from ex-
ploitation, militarism, and elemental
human wants. , ,
* * * . .' -. *
We as true believers will love the
world so much that we want it to be-
:'. come what God intends it to be, the
- new kingdom and new humanity prom-
ised in Jesus Christ. This is the the-
. ology of hope. Living out this hopeful
- love means beginning now to partici-
pate in the kingdom God wills for all
mankind — and here we arrive at the
\, radical and revolutionary position.
..*■ * * *
By "radical" I mean on the one hand
that which is related to the root, that
i which is original, fundamental, and in-
herent. In this sense, instead of negat-
ing his faith, the Christian radical
wants to get at the heart of it. . . .
. (But) the word not only relates to roots
but can also mean a departure from the
• usual, a considerable deviation from
■ the traditional. Radical actions are
thoroughgoing, extreme, drastic. Radi-
calism implies a fundamental departure
from or challenge to the status quo. It
is revolutionary. These two definitions
. may seem contradictory. How can a
return to the roots of a tradition be
consistent with a fundamental de-
parture from that tradition? The an-
swer, of course, is that a tradition can
deviate from its roots. Thus returning
to the source of the faith may entail
challenging the church and society of
the present. A recovery of revelation
may be revolutionary.
* * * -' . ■
A great many biblical and theologi-
cal themes are revolutionary. The
prophetic motif of promise and fulfill-
ment has affinities with the original
meaning of revolution in that what is
often anticipated is a return to the
promised land. Their motif of death
and resurrection, however, connotes
the coming of something completely
new. Revolutionary change is implied
in the doctrines of the new birth, the
new creation, and a new heaven and
earth. . . . When the biblical promises
come alive for us to the extent that we
really believe and act as if they will be
fulfilled, then there will be a revolution.
. .' * * *
At its best the church through his-
tory has fulfilled (two) roles. It has
preserved basic values from the past,
and at the same time its message and
life have served as a catalyst to spawn
revolutionary challenges to the status
quo. When anarchy has threatened,
there have been movements in the
church to provide meaning and order
to men's lives. On the other hand,
when society has been set in its ways.
Christian voices have arisen to chal-
lenge the accepted presuppositions of
the culture. . . . The church must fight
rearguard action against the. destruc-
tion of its roots .at the same time it con-
tinues to send forth avant-garde troops
engaged in innovative and revolution-
ary enterprises.
Because of this revelational-revolu-
tionary dialectic, radical theology is not
satisfied with either a conservative or a
liberal tag. . . . The radical can identify
with the conservative's desire to pre-
serve the faith. But he cannot agree to
some who so emphasize the personal
Savior as to mitigate his being Lord
over all of life. Neither can the radical
agree with those who equate Chris-
tianity with American foreign policy or
the American way of life.
:{: ^ :J;
Vietnam and the urban ghettos have
demonstrated that the fundamental ills
of our society are not minor maladjust-
ments to be remedied through a mild
and quiet tinkering with the system. ■
Rather, the controlling institutional
structures of society themselves repre-
sent a threat to the well-being of all
mankind, . . . The revolutionary con-
sciousness which has emerged is a radi-
cal apprehension of how minimally
Christian the present social order is
and how desperately it needs to be
changed.
For the Christian, human revolu- .' .
tionary schemes and ideologies will not
be absolutized but will always be sub-
ject to the judgment of the coming of
the kingdom. The Christian should
not put on every faddish revolutionary
style that comes along. At the same
time he should not be merely a spec-
tator watching from the street. Be- ',
cause he believes in the reality of the
comins kinedom of God, he is free to
b^ DDaillcB \Wo EBrpciDwm
2- 1-72 MESSENGER 21
participate in, indeed abandon himself
to, the signs of its arrival. And because
he refuses to absolutize any human
ideologies, he is ready to appropriate
the judgment of God on himself as well
as on the oppressors. . ; . ,■
* * * ... ■• : , '■ • '■ , -.
There is growing consensus that
Christendom today may be facing a
crisis in some ways similar to the situa-
tion at the time of the Reformation.
The institutional crisis of Christendom
in the sixteenth century is seen most
vividly in the phenomenon known as
the Left-Wing or Radical Reformation.
Including such diverse groups as the
Anabaptists, the Spiritualists, the Anti-
Trinitarians, and the militant Revolu-
tionaries, the Radical Reformers all re-
.pudiated the millennium of cultural
synthesis known as Corpus Chris-
tianum, in which the church and hii-
man society coincided numerically.
The empire was regarded as holy; the
church was the empire at prayer. . . .
(The ) Establishment of the sixteenth
centur\', including the main-line Re-
formers, their princes, and the Roman
Catholics, could not conceive of soci-
ety's holding together apart from the
cement of a unifying faith. The possi-
bility of religious pluralism posed the
threat of anarchy. The Anabaptists
were regarded in the same light as
many Americans view radicals today.
. . . Believers' baptism in the sixteenth
centur\', then, represented more than a
difference in biblical interpretation; it
indicated a radical rejection of the
Corpus Christianum and an entirely
new view of the church. Being bap-
tized into one of the new brotherhoods
was in reality more dangerous, sub-
versive, and revolutionar}' than burning
a draft card in the twentieth-century
America.
* * * ■■.■', . ■ . .':. ■
If one no longer accepts the equa-
tion of Christianity with society, then
one begins to think in terms of two
entities, church and world, the pilgrim
people and Babel. If the church is to
be separate from the state, then the
magistrate can no longer dictate what
the conscience must accept. If one
does not automatically become a mem-
ber of the community of faith at birth,
a missionary psychology is inevitable.
In fact, one's own children must be
wooed through persuasion and preach-
ing. This repudiation of the Corpus
Christianum and the corresponding
affirmation of the Corpus Christi chan-
neled into the stream of Christian his-
tory disciplined new brotherhoods
formed by the gathering of confessing
believers.
* * *
Today, with the great interest in
community life-styles, corporate cele-
bration, group dynamics, and under-
ground churches, there may emerge
a growing interest in the New Testa-
ment church. And as we find apos-
tolicity in the faith and style of the
early community, so we will sense that
our historical continuity with the early
church is through those known and un-
known, visible, prophetic, sectarian,
allegedly heretical, underground, and
gathered communities of the faithful
through the centuries.
Today there is a new hunger for the
style of discipline that accompanies
genuine commitment or discipleship.
Heeding the wave of criticisms of ac-
culturated Christianity, many congre-
gations are struggling with ways to
make church membership more mean-
ingful. . . . Honest confrontation, talk-
ing through to a consensus, voluntary
acceptance of such consensus, and an
opportunity to participate in the con-
tinuing consensus-making process may.
increasingly become the style of witness
and life together.
Contrary to the frequent assumption
that discipline and mission are anti-
thetical, they belong together. Dis-
cipline implies learning; it is training
that corrects, molds, strengthens, or
perfects. Mission points to a purpose
and a goal. As discipline becomes
legalistic when separated from its
vision, so mission lacks dynamic when
it lacks any concretion or shape in the
life and witness of the community.
Historically, from the Irish monks to
Dale W. Brown i.': professor of Chrisiian -
theology al Bethany Theological Seminary.
Oak Brook. III., and current inodcralor of
the Church of the Brethren. His article is a
compilation of excerpts from "The Christian
Revolutionary." published hy William B.
Eerdmans and used by permission.
the class meetings of Wesley, it has
been the disciplined cadres that have
had a powerful impact on culture. . . .
The .first Anabaptists and Quakers, for
example, were vigorous in their con-
frontation of society.
Because of the built-in tension in an
eschatological view between the "now"
and the "not yet," the Anabaptists
identified with a particular cluster of
New Testament terms used to describe
the people of :God — namely, "pil-
grims," "sojourners," "strangers," and
"aliens." Since society is fallen or sick,
the Christian cannot feel at home.
Therefore he espouses a citizenship in
the kingdom which is not yet of this
world but which should begin to break
into the world. The posture of the pil-
grim is not so much of one who is run-
ning away from the world as of one
who has a transcendent vision of what
the world might become. The meta-
phprs of strangers and aliens point to
the inevitable suffering of the pilgrim
people.
Another important image appropri-
ated from the Bible to describe the
eschatalogical community has been
that of firstfruits or earnest. The mem-
bers of the community are the first-
fruits pointing to the coming harvest.
The comitiunity is the down payment
guaranteeing that the rest of creation
will be purchased. The sharp church-
world dualism objectionable in some
Anabaptist forms becomes more pal-
atable in an eschatological perspective
viewing the church as part of the world
where small beginnings are made to
make visible what God intends for all
humanity. '
All the biblical metaphors imply a
gathered community in the world but
not of it. Today, as then, there can be
no genuine revolutionary consciousness
or activity apart from a base in a
prophetic community of hope. The
biblical images also point to the non-
conformist, unpopular, minority nature
of radical Christian communities. Be-
cause of the necessity of suffering, of
nonconformity, of a lovine life-style, it
may be that only a few will find their
wav to revolutionary Christian
communities. D .
22 MESSENGER 2 1-72
Reflections on the Death of a Friend
Raul Taslguano was killed in Llano
Grande, Ecuador, and I helped kill
him. No. the law won't prosecute me.
1 didn't hold the club that felled him,
nor steer the bus that deliberately
crushed him. Yet my convictions, the
causes in which I have invested the last
fifteen years of my life, my total being,
killed him as surely as if I had wielded
the club or driven the bus.
Our anthropologist friends warned
John and me years ago: "You mission-
aries initiate cultural changes in abso-
lute ignorance. Because of your lack
of knowledge, you cannot anticipate '
the destructive consequences of what
you do." We took note of their warn-
. ing about confusing the gospel with
distinctive ways of living. We were
careful to respect courtship and family
patterns. We encouraged the Quechua
people of Llano Grande to maintain
their language, to appreciate their own
colorful native dress, and to preserve
their reverent attachment to the soul.
Still we did initiate changes. We
• provided medical care and health edu-
cation. An agricultural extension pro-
gram evolved to improve the produc-
tivity of the soil. We started a primary
school and provided scholarships for
primary school graduates. There are
now local industries that the mission
helped to develop. And we shared our
faith: the faith that God creates and
loves all men, that all persons have
rights and dignity and worth, that God
intends for his creatures to invest their
lives in justice, in self-giving, and in
service to one another.
Raul was an outstanding example of
all those residents of Llano Grande
whom we loved. He was the living
fruit of all that we lived and worked for
and hoped to accomplish. And he was
more, for he was young and attractive
and joyous and strong of spirit. He
was a member of the first Christian
family in Llano Grande. I use the
word Christian advisedly, for although
the Roman Catholic church baptized
every Ecuadorian and claimed him as a
member, before the coming of Protes-
tant missionaries, the community of
Llano Grande was alternately ignored
or exploited by the church. Much has
changed since that time.
Raul attended and graduated from
the mission primary school. He re-
ceived a scholarship for secondary
studies and worked during his vaca-
tions to help pay his own expenses. He
graduated as an agronomist and sought
out the opportunity to serve his people
as an agricultural extension agent.
After attending a seminar on non-
violence in 1 969. he and his brother,
along with other Christian young peo-
ple of the Indian community became
convinced that nonviolent protest was
the means of effecting the changes nec-
essary to unburden their community of
oppression and exploitation. Their
first project was to obtain adequate bus
service for the community.
In 1970, they undertook and effec-
tively carried out a nonviolent revolu-
tion to achieve this goal. They did it
by struggling for legal permission, and
by providing community resources to
estab'ish and operate their own bus
service. Raul was only one of a group
of leaders who moved this project. But
it was he who infused them with cour-
age and optimism during two long
months of discouragement and despair.
He became the symbol of their hope
and faith in a better future. He was
only twenty-four years old. Now he is
dead.
Last March 28. as he was walking
home at night from a community work
project of repairing the roads, several
men clubbed him unconscious, then
deliberately drove a waiting bus twice
over his body. He was killed because
his vitality and spiritual strength were
a threat to the power, the purse, and
the self-image of persons who couldn't
• bear the thought that an "Indio" con-
sidered himself as good as they. Those
who killed him are confident that they
can intimidate the witnesses and pay
off the judge to call his death a "traffic
accident." It is a strong possibility
that they will succeed in doing so. • .
I am involved in his death in more
ways than one. I share with Raul
TasiguaiKJ the faith which led him to
his death. I believe with him that jus-
tice and opportunity should exist for all
men, that life means self-giving service
to others, that to be an Indian in Ecua-
dor should be a source of pride and
strength rather than shame and suffer-
ing.
On the other hand, I enjoy the priv-
ileges that are mine by birth, by cultur-
al accident and economic circum-
stance. The fact that I have accepted
these privileges suggests that I pursue
the same values and privileges as
Raul's killers. -
So I am torn. I live with pain and
sorrow, anger and guilt. I live comfort-
ably and securely while others die be-
cause they share my faith in justice and
equality. Still I believe in all in which
Raul invested his life hoping to create.
I would again risk initiating cultural
change that gives birth to hope in the
heart of a people. For I believe that
God did not intend the kind of a world
in which peoples oppress one another.
I accept the pain and anger, yes, even
the guilt, until there is formed a better
. world.
Yet the hard question remains:
What am I personally willing to risk for
what I believe. D
Eslella Horniiif; has worked with the Church
of the Brethren mission in Ecuador since
1956. She and her family, currently on
furlough, reside in Lombard, 111. .,".,■
• . ■. . 2-1 72 MESSENGER 23
Consciousness 111
Revisited %(En(BmnanBoIBtD®I]n®D?
WITHOUT MARX OR JESUS: THE NEW
AMERICAN REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN, by
Jean-Francois Revel, with afterword by Mary
McCarthy. Doubleday, 1971. 269 pages, $6.95
Revel begins Without Marx or Jesus
with the bold assertion that "the revo-
lution of the twentieth century will take
place in the United States. It is only
there that it can happen. And it has
already begun. Whether or not that
revolution spreads to the rest of the
world depends on whether or not it
succeeds first in America." His theses
about American society — the plat-
form from which is launched a zeal-
ous denunciation of the author's native
France — are at least as risky as this
introduction, and equally blunt. The
book is only for those willing to expose
to the heat of external criticism their
mythologies about the American ex-
perience, for in the act of demolishing
European stereotypes of American
society, he also undermines many
American self-perceptions.
The author speaks to many different
persons. If you are assured in your
notion that America's social realities
are already consistent with its ideals,
then Revel is speaking to you. His con-
tention is that though you are sadly
mistaken about those realities. Amer-
ica's ideals are not only alive and well,
but they are also apparent in present,
dramatic social changes, thanks to stu-
dents, blacks, women. Indians, and
alienated middle Americans. One
could say that with regard to his views
of minority consciousness. Revel has
"out-Reiched" Charles Reich's dis-
cussion of Consciousness III in The
Greening of A merica.
If, on the other hand, you have al-
ready given up on America's possibil-
ities for social justice, then Revel ad-
dresses you, too. While explaining in
terse and often amusing fashion why
the "revolution" hasn't happened (and
won't) in the communist nations.
Western Europe, the Third World, and
certainly not in sterile France ("with or
without DeGaulle ) , he also reveals his
dogmatically held conviction that
America holds the key to the future of
the world. (Actually, one wonders
how he can bear to remain a French
citizen! ) Perhaps a bit exaggerated,
yes, but true it is that Revel is em-
barrassingly optimistic about what
America is becoming. In fact, he ob-
serves events like public exposure of
the My Lai massacre, concludes that
"all of America's problems are on pub-
lic view on the television screen," and
finds revealed therein the potential for
a just society, the criteria of which for
Revel are economic democracy and
socialism. Even American moderates,
it seems, would find this logic some-
what farfetched!
Finally, if you find yourself the
grand recipient of middle-class status
(and love it), then don't read Revel
unless you are prepared to face the un-
settling and "radical" redirections
through which the author sees America
properly and legitimately moving. For
he is delivering the death knell for that
American process which has given
birth to and mothered the class identi-
ty, and its material symbols, which you
hold so dear.
Revel contends, in his major argu-
ment, that critiques of social injustices,
management, political power, culture,
and civil ization-as-sanction are neces-
sary preconditions for the revolution.
(Actually, what he speaks of is nothing
more than social evolution via the lib-
eral democratic channels.) And by
revolution he means a "total social
fact," in other words, a situation in
which in "every cultural area of a soci-
ety, old values are in the process of
being rejected, and new values have
been prepared, or are being prepared,
to replace them." Because all these
factors are present in the American
situation, and nowhere else, we there-
fore are the harbingers of the "second
world revolution." Since revolution is
both total and permanent, that is, a
process whereby concerted and perma-
nent transformations which mark the
passage from one civilization to anoth-
er are established. Revel can assert
that the first and only other "world
revolution in modern history" (a pre-
condition for the second) occiured in
the political transformations that arose
between 1750 and 1800 in England,
France, and America. In essence, the
prelude to Revel's second revolution
was made visible in the .wrestUng of
culture from the grip of ecclesiastical
and political control.
His views on violence, though inter-
esting, are not particularly helpful.
American society is, in fact, for him in
an evolutionary, not revolutionary, sit-
uation. According to the author, power
is changing hands. But not to the cred-
it of urban guerillas, moral and politi-
cal purists who refuse to engage in
compromise with the "system," or oth-
ers whose use of violence is an end,
in and of itself. Rather, Revel's posi-
tion is that violence, in essence, is mor-
ally neutral. Its validity can be judged
only via effects. All this is at least in
need of challenge. But then the
Frenchman, whose views are clearly
limited by his foreign perspective, ar-
gues that only when violence is married
to the legal resources offered by the
American political system — only
when violence is practiced via consti-
tutional rights — does it produce legit-
imate results. That is what the counter
culturists — the Consciousness Ills —
are about, according to him. It would
seem that such a marriage is destined
for the divorce courts of the estab-
lished society!
Without Marx or Jesus is a book
that demands an attentive audience. It
should be read by all. Despite his op-
timism about what is taking place with
us in America. Revel is a clear correc-
tive for those down-in-the-mouth cyn-
ics whose views of utter depravity,
about the American and his society,
have become the "gospel." Much
24 MESSENGER 21
If you are either assured that America's social
realities are consistent with its ideals
or have given up on America's possibilities
for social justice, then Revel is speaking to you
about our society is not revealed to him
in France, and we ought to be cautious
about instant interpretations of the
present. But on the other hand, he
captures well the potential inherent in
American ideals as articulated in the
historic liberal tradition. And he sets
forth the process, from potentiality to
actuality, which he sees occurring.
That explication is exciting and worthy
of consideration.
That the "revolution" in this country
is indebted to neither Marx nor Jesus
is highly dubious. Revel discredits
these prophets by exposing the errors
of unthinking leftists and Jesus freaks.
But that simple identification is not
legitimate, obviously. Rather, it seems
that impulses arising from the "ide-
ologies" which both men represent are
in many respects the reasons for the
"revolution." For many who gain
meaning from their identification with
the counterculture, both the Marxian
analysis of society and the Christian
vision of the "new humanity" have
come together and produced a total
life-style and worldview which require
participation in the social changes
which Revel identifies as marks of the
revolution. Indeed, the New American
Revolution may well arise from the .
ideas of both Marx and Jesus.
For those who stand, by decision or
default, within the tradition of the
Church of the Brethren, this book is
important. This book may help us
raise some long-overdue questions. To
what extent have we not yet earned the
right to the tradition in which we claim
we stand? And what does that Ana-
baptist tradition mean for an American
Christian today? Revel may, in fact, .
give us some indication as to the
agenda for present-day Anabaptists
whose struggle is with taking seriously
the impossibilities as well as the possi-
bilities of American society. D
Glenn R. Bucher is assistant professor in the
department of religion at the College of
Woosler in Ohio.
2-1-72 MESSENGER 25
J [ sat with Dr. Albert van den Heuvel
on the terrace of a St. Petersburg, Fla.,
hotel during a break in a conference of
broadcast communicators, which he
had addressed. A clergyman of the
Netherlands Reformed Church and a
former youth director of the World
Council of Churches, he was then and
is now the director of communication
■ of the World Council.
Only four months earlier, in Sep-
tember 1970, the WCC had announced
grants of $200,000 to 19 organizations
fighting racism, including some organi-
zations that have used violence. The
grants came from the special fund of
the new Program to Combat Racism
that the councU had inaugurated in re-
sponse to sentiment at the 1968 WCC
world assembly at Uppsala, Sweden.
Despite affirmations that the grants
were made to the organizations only
for educational, medical, and relief
work — not to buy guns — the grants
promptly were the subject of much
controversy.
I asked my own questions of Dr.
van den Heuvel over our refreshments
and one of his remarks has lingered
since. He expressed some amazement
. over the attention the grants had re-
ceived, and then noted, in this context,
if not words: The grants and racism
program are a logical outgrowth of the
historical mission and concern of the
World Council of Churches. Why the
surprise over their thrust?
It is. perhaps like saying to the Breth-
ren: The Church of the Brethern has
from its beginning ministered to all
men. regardless of skin color, as part
of its historical beliefs. The Fund for
' the Americas in the U.S. is only a logi-
cal instrument for extending and ex-
pressing that historic position.
Dr. M. M. Thomas, WCC Central
Committee chairman, said it well:
"The WCC policy on racism has been
clarified from Evanston '54 to Canter-
bury '69, and there is explicit in it the
council's unanimous theological com-
mitment to support a politics of trans-
formation of existing power-structure
and ideologies in situations of racial
domination."
In essence, the grants indicated that
the WCC was moving beyond its tradi-
tional support of white liberal groups
in southern Africa and elsewhere,
which had not been successful in bring-
ing change, and had identified with the
black victims of racism. A second
series of grants were given last Septem-
ber, including U.S. recipients.
Yet despite some initial reactions,
the world's conclusion was one of af-
firmation and applause for the grants.
The most controversy was raised in
South Africa, where its own kind of
racism, called apartheid, is practiced
by the white minority government.
. The issue of the grants was reopened
last fall in The Reader's Digest in two
articles by Clarence Hall on the racism
program and the World Council itself.
Both did severe violence to the craft of
journalism, while the first inferred the
churches were financing revolution.
"What is regrettable is not the Di-
gest's disagreement with the action,"
said Dr. Eugene L. Smith at the WCC
New York office, "but that its disagree-
ment is expressed with unsubstantiated
charges, misstatements of fact, dis-
torted reporting, quotation of state-
ments out of context, and the degree of
dependence for opinion upon unnamed
persons, identified only as tourists, disr
senters, insiders, spokesmen, observers.
The total effect of these articles is to
present a false picture of the World
Council of Churches." .
The articles have served to enlighten
concerned . persons not about the
plight of peoples in southern Africa,
nor of the real work of the World
Council, nor of the true nature of white
racism, but rather to cloud these issues
behind incomplete writing.
Answering the initial story's head-
line, "Must Our Churches Finance
Revolution?," Dr. Smith pointed out:
"No funding has ever been given to
finance revolution."
Instead, the funds have gone either
for refugees or for people living in ter-
ritory under control of liberationist
groups, says Dr. Smith. One of them is
the Institute of Frelimo, the education-
al and social welfare arm of the
Mozambique liberationist group, which
used a $35,000 grant to develop agri-
cultural cooperatives and cottage in-
dustries, improve teaching and school
facilities, establish medical centers, and
give food, clothing, and housing to
refugees, widows, and orphans.
The same amount, for example, has
gone to four groups in Rhodesia for
family assistance where the breadwin-
ner is imprisoned or dead, and for sup-
port of information services and re-
search on apartheid subsidized stu-
dents, and legal aid for prisoners.
Much of the special fund has come
from outside the United States. The
major American contribution was from
the United Methodist Church. The
Church of the Brethren General Board
has not contributed to the special fund.
General Secretary S. Loren Bowman
said. But he asked too whether the
racially proscribed, even those forced
into violence through oppression, are
not our concern. Indeed, he gave
the historical precedent for Brethren to
van den Heuvel's quandary:
"The Brethren have understood the
Ib^nRciMifflindl lEo DScBomcErp
Liberation
The World Council,
the Reader's Digest,
and the Brethren
26 MESSENGER 2 1-72
Gospel to require genuine concern for
tiie oppressed, the disenfranchised, and
the victims of injustice. They have
shared without regard to race, creed, or
politics. They have given out of love
for Christ and others, rather than out
of a desire to control the lives of the
recipients."
Damage, jjerhaps irreparable, has
been done to the World Council and
its programs by The Reader's Digest
articles, which demonstrably are lack-
ing in balance, perspective, and ac-
curacy. Brethren wishing to analyze
the stories, with paragraph by para-
graph response by the World Council,
can obtain the comparisons by writing
Dr. S. Loren Bowman, Church of the
Brethren General Board, Elgin, 111.
60120.
One ecumenist, L. Maynard Catch-
ings of the National Council of Church-
es, some months later saw the World
Council grants as finally following
words with actions, and as a result, he
observed that black African churchmen
have moved from a relationship of ten-
sion and doubt about WCC intentions
to one of trust.
The anti-racist statements of the
World Council for the past 15 years
were a cause of black African appre-
hension as long as they were unsup-
ported by any action, he said. Black
Africans see the grant action as con-
firming the moral and legitimate cause
of black people in the world who are
discriminated against on race. More-
over, said the associate general secre-
tary for communications, a black man
himself, the black anti-apartheid
groups feel that the WCC action has
raised their struggle to a dignity it was
not given before.
Most African observers do not think
that the WCC has any direct ability to
influence immediate policies in south-
ern Africa by its racism grants, but its
action declares that the "authority of
morality" finds racism immoral, Mr.
Catchings believes. Consequently,
they feel that men who still have re-
spect for the working of God in the
affairs of men will be forced to think
twice about supporting racism.
"Most Africans I talked to believe
that ultimately, the desired change in
apartheid policies will be influenced
both by the action of liberating forces
and by the crystallizmg of world opin-
ion against racism regimes," Mr.
Catchings said.
The initial public outcry came over
what some feared was the financing of
terrorists and guerrillas, despite assur-
ances — from recipients as well —
that the council's grants went only for
the nonviolent parts of the organiza-
tion's work, and only to those groups
whose goals were consonant with the
objectives of the World Council.
Though grants went to organizations
in Japan, Australia, and Colombia, dis-
cussion has centered on the funds given
to such groups as the Mozambique
Liberation Front and the African Na-
tional Congress that are working to
overthrow the white minority govern-
ments in Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique,
Angola, Rhodesia, Southwest Africa,
and South Africa.
Still, the matter of the grants aside,
the matter of racism aside, the debate
sparked a dialogue on the issues of vio-
lence and liberation. And it is a con-
cern, a definition, to which Brethren are
finding a need to address themselves.
In setting up its Program to Combat
Racism, the WCC's Central Commit-
tee, meeting at Canterbury, England,
in August 1969, refused to endorse a
recommendation of the Consultation
on Racism held the previous spring —
"that all else failing, the church and
churches support resistance move-
ments, including revolutions, which
are aimed at the elimination of political
or economic tyranny which makes rac-
ism possible." (Emphasis supplied.)
Indeed the consultation was speak-
ing to the World Council, not for it,
an error of interpretation not avoided
by Mr. Hall in other quotations in his
article. The council has not been able
to develop a common mind on "wheth-
er war or violence can be justified as a
last resort to resist oppressive tyranny
and violence in evil situations where all
nonviolent methods of change are
illegal, unconstitutional or otherwise
suppressed," Dr. M. M. Thomas has
observed.
The Central Committee declined to
support either reparations or revolution
endorsed by the consultation. So while
the grants for legal, social, educational,
and medical work may not go as far as
the consultation recommended, neither
do they go as far as some people think
the churches should go.
In the far-ranging debates over the
need for social change, particularly in
the Third World, a significant number
of Christian leaders, many from the
Third World, have advocated support
of violent revolution as a means to
"liberation." Such ideas are, of course, "
rejected by many other Christians and
are totally anathema to conservative
forces, particularly in the white domi-
nated countries of southern Africa. . "
V/hile The Reader's Digest title im-
plied a negative answer. Dr. van den
Heuvel believes that the real question
is, "When the poor and the powerless
ask for revolutionary changes in soci-
ety, what should churches do?"
Attempting to work at this question,
and to examine the different ways of
working for social change and the
transfer of power, the World Council
has asked its department on church
and society to study the ethical dilem-
mas posed by violence and nonviolence
in the struggles for justice and peace,
and strategies of action which will min-
imize the sum total of violence in con-
flict situations.
It is fair to say that Brethren are also
feeling the need to examine the nature
and meaning of violence and nonvio-
lence in the denomination's historic ..■
stands and are asking how they relate
to this day's needs. Consideration of
joining Project Equality, Inc., raised
the question of economic violence in
boycotts — a more recent example.
Some professional staff are suggesting
a denominational consultation to ex-
amine the church's posture on the issue
of violence. .'
In Elgin, III., in November, the
World Ministries Commission spent a
number of hours exploring the issue of
liberation movements and the church,
attempting to work through their own
understandings. Commission executive
Joel K. Thompson shared these obser-
vations afterwards:
i^ It was feh that WMC program '
should continue to identify with those
persons who are a part of oppressed
communities and who are seeking
justice.
1/^ WMC staff should develop a strat-
egy of helping American churchmen ;.:
understand the extent to which the
2-1-
MESSENGER 27
The
Fund
for the
Americas
in the
United
States
^ttm\r'.
Education. In a series of race sensi-
tivity workshops, FAUS assists
churches and districts to come to
grips with institutional and individual
racism — ■ to help Brethren understand
how we too are "an America" in
need of reconciliation.
Action. In its first two years FAUS
has helped to fund 38 projects directed
toward community organization and
economic development for the benefit
of disadvantaged minorities. Grants
ranging between $200 and $7,500
have provided services in housing,
voter registration, medical aid, credit
union, child care, job training, public
safety, and others.
Urgent. Many Brethren see FAUS
as an extension of Brethren Service,
bridging the gaps that separate our
society. It is a way to respond to the
Lord's observation that "Anything
you did for one of my brothers here,
however humble, you did for me."
FAUS is not funded by the Brother-
hood Fund. Therefore your gift
designated for the Fund for the
Americas is urgently needed. Please
send your check today while there is
yet a chance to pull together our
fractured society. Mail it to: Fund for
the Americas in the United States,
Church of the Brethren General
Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
Illinois 60120.
...a chance
to change.
American community is involved in al-
lowing continued oppression of many
persons in our world.
t^ WMC staflE should continue to
promote, via seminars and institutes, a
nonviolent strategy for change.
t^ Continued high priority be given
to the goal of a multiracial, worldwide
ecumenical church fellowship and pro-
gram of partnership among those who
make up that fellowship. Inde-
pendence and freedom need not sever
the bonds that bind the worldwide
church of Christ together.
i^ Staff should evaluate cuirent style
of mission operation and look for pos-
sible new models for sharing commis-
sion resources in significant ministries
that will bring more freedom and jus-
tice to all persons.
Mr. Thompson observed that the
term liberator, sometimes written as re-
deemer, is one of the most frequent
names used in the Bible to describe
God or his activity.
"The prophets are not reluctant to
announce divine judgment on those
who oppress the unprotected. The
Psalms express confidence in the fact
there is no other liberator but the
Lord." Mr. Thompson said.
Liberation. How does such a tenet
fit into the mold of a pacifist church —
even if an option of the last resort?
How does it fit into a world that, if not
pacifist, is not revolutionary? Churches
study the issue while the disinherited
wait. Only they know for how long.
CLASSIFIED ADS
OUTSTANDING CHRISTIAN BOOKS - Send for
free catalog. The Thomas Company, Dept. M.S.,
803 Race St., Cambridge, Md. 21613,
BRETHREN TRAVEL — Reservations are still avail-
able for vacation holiday in the South Pacific.
Thirty-five day tour leaves July 19, 1972, visit-
ing Tahiti, Fiji, Bora Bora, Samoa, New Guinea,
New Zealand, and Australia. Write J. Kenneth
Kreider, Route 3, Elizabethtown, Pa. 17022.
WHAT'S YOUR CHOICE?
SPECIAL OFFER TO BRETHREN — Be one
of the first -to get the new, unusual book
about Florida. Fifty cents of each order
will be donated to a church fund. Send
name, address, and $2 to Al Homey,
2892 Carew Ave., Winter Park, Fla. 32789.
"PROVE AU THINGS"
D. L. Blickenstaff asked some questions
in his letter to Messenger (Nov. 15) which
should be answered. And his deacon should
be given some facts which the October
Reader's Digest article did not give, and
some facts contradictory to what it did give.
I have suggested to Digesr editors that in
fairness to their readers and to the World
Council of Churches they should publish a
reply by a representative of the WCC. They
replied to me personally that they had had
serious protests from the WCC to the ar-
ticle. But they did not promise to print a
reply. . . .
Bro. Blickenstaff may be assured that the
WCC is not giving money to assist anyone
to kill "the underprivileged" or the "under-
dog." It is rather the opposite. They give
money to help educate and assist the un-
derprivileged, and help the "underdog"
get justice.
I have learned long ago that it is danger-
ous to believe everything one reads in print.
St. Paul gives us good advice in 1 Thess. 5;
21 when he writes. "Prove all things. ..."
This we need to do. And this we need to
teach our congregations — even our dea-
cons. . . .
Floyd M. Irvin
Eustice, Fla.
READER'S DIGEST, ROUND 2
I have read with deep sorrow the articles
in The Readers Digest in regard to the
World Council of Churches, with reference
also to the National Council of Churches.
During the last twenty-two years my work
in rural development both in the USA and
abroad required me to travel widely. In Af-
rica T observed closely some of the situa-
tions named in the article. I have often
been invited to evaluate WCC projects
which I did gladly and reported to them.
Even though I was never a staff mem-
ber of either council. I have tried to be a
friendly and constructive critic.
I find in the articles so much that is un-
true and inaccurate that I feel compelled to
speak on the matter.
Reference is made to the grant of
S200,0Q0 to certain minority groups striv-
ing against oppression. It would have been
helpful if the true purpose of the grant
had been stated and how well nearly all is
being used.
It is regrettable that any good movement
may have some extremists. Our Lord him-
self had this trouble. But we err if we judge
a movement by the extremists. It would .
appear that those who researched the article ,
did so not much for the true evaluation as
for making a case against the councils.
One regrets deeply that this blow comes
at a time when both of the councils are
straining every resource and effort to al-
leviate suffering in Bengal, the Middle East
and among the Vietnamese refugees and
the American-Vietnamese children as we
have seen them roving the streets of Saigon
and trying to survive from the scraps of
garbage heaps.
The Reader's Digest has great power.
One only hopes that it will be used con-
structively and accurately at this time when
all agencies of compassion and faith need
others' help so profoundly.
I. W. MOOMAW ■
Sebring, Fla. ■'■.;.;.<■; ■ , • ' ■
NOT WE OURSELVES
I am somewhat out of touch with Breth-
ren Revival Fellowship (Nov. 15) but am in
complete sympathy with anyone who de-
sires a deep and meaningful "revival of the
Spirit" within our church or any other.
My biggest concern was not with their desire
for a revival within our church, but rather
on whom the emphasis was placed con-
cerning where the change would come from.
The article quoted Mr. Luke Bucher as
stating, "We think of the missionary as the
responsible soul winner in the church." I
certainly hope that this so-called "revival
movement" within our church does not for-
get "Who" it is that brings about the "re-
vival" or "reconciliation" between God and
man. This is not man himself but rather
the power of the Holy Spirit working
through man. We are most definitely on the
verge of an "awakening" in this world of
ours, but it is not of man but of the Spirit.
H we rely upon man to bring about this
change, then we will continue to be lost.
Let's admit for once that the Holy Spirit
is at work in the world today and that "so-
cial gospel" will become effective only after
Than is willing to quit trying to take the
world on singlehandedly and let the Spirit
work miracles through him. It is God, not
we ourselves, who works the miracles.
Richard L. Deemy .
BrooHyn, Iowa
BOUNDLESS APPRECIATION
These ancient words have come down to
us through the ages: "Then I saw another
angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal
gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on
' earth ..." (Rev. 14:6).
May I say I think they describe a mod-
ern man with unusually beautiful sensitivity
— Kenneth I. Morse. I sincerely hope many
readers will express the boundless apprecia-
.tion all must feel for an editor who has
brought to his work so many glowing dimen-
sionis.
Marie Brunton
Portland, Ore.
WHAT CAN YOU DO
WITH 5 MINUTES A DAY?
You can sleep. '' ■ ' ' ;, ^ : '• ■'
You can listen to radio or TV.
You can gossip with a neighbor.
Or you can use 5 minutes a day to develop your spiritual
life. You can lead your family in the understanding of God's
purpose for life. You can set the tone for the whole day by
pausing long enough to establish your spiritual bearings.
In the privacy of your home" — early in the morning, late at
night, or at meal time with your family — you can use just
five minutes to make sure that your spiritual being is
nourished.
For more than 35 years a simple plan has been helping
people to establish their relationship with God. You can do
it too.
The Upper Room daily devotional guide suggests a helpful
Bible reading and presents a short meditation both in-
teresting and inspirational to all ages. This is followed by a
prayer which you read and which may be the basis for the
expression of the prayers of your own mind and heart.
There is also a thought for the day and another suggested
Bible reading. ■. .■.''■-:.;■ .[ ■ '■'- '
The evidence is unmistakable. Thousands of people find
their lives strengthened by this practice. You can, too. The
plan is simple. Get The Upper Room at your church — or,
as a service to its readers, The Upper f^oom offers an in-
dividual subscription . . . three years for $3.00. Order from
THE UPPER ROOM
1908 Grand Avenue Nashville, Tenn. 37203
2-1-72 MESSENGER 29
Human Violence Can
Be Abolished
Dd^ EFiPcEdlcBiPncE WferpttDnaiiim
"Violence is nature's plan."
"The human being is essentially an
animal and needs an outlet for vio-
lence. '
How often have we heard — - and do
we hear — such assertions? And how
often can we read, in academically re-
spectable books and journals, endless
references to a "primordial instinct for
violence," to man's "murderous tribal
instincts," and to an "irreducible fund
of aggressive impulse?"
All of these statements and refer-
ences reflect what has come to be the
prevailing idea that human violence is
fixed and indelible and ineradicable
from human nature and society; that it
can be partially and temporarily con-
trolled but never eliminated. In a re-
cent opinion survey, fifty-eight percent
of those questioned agreed that "hu-
man nature being what it is, there must
always be war." The preponderance
and absoluteness of these statements
and this notion are in contrast to the
absence of concrete evidence for them.
The dogma of the inevitability of the
impulse to violence has been repeated
so constantly, often under the guise of
scientific objectivity, that it is regarded
as an established fact.
After many years as a student of hu-
man behavior, I am convinced that
such a notion is unsound. I have ex-
amined and sometimes testified for a
number of murderers, and have fol-
lowed them through jails, mental insti-
tutions, and sometimes on to freedom.
More and more I became impressed
with the interweaving of psychological
and social factors underlying violent
actions, and with the critical role of vi-
olence in human affairs. Human vio-
lence is not an absolute necessity but a
historically transient, surmountable
phenomenon. Human violence is a
matter of history, not of natural his-
tory. If we can walk peacefully on the
moon, we ought to be able to arrange
that our great-great-grandchildren can
walk peacefully on the earth.
Violence is a perversion of human
relations. Its conquest is a precondi-
tion for the building of a fully devel-
oped, humane, and truly civilized so-
ciety. The idea that in the long-range
view violence could be relinquished
Man has survived
not because he
inherited violence
but because
he practiced
cooperation.
30 MESSENGER 2- 1-72
does not mean visualizing Utopias and
imagining ideal worlds, but means
prognosticating an attainable condition
of normal human relations. True, in the
present state of the world the odds are
heavily against that. But since when
should mankind take up a struggle only
when ultimate victory is guaranteed
beforehand?
The human-instinct-of-aggression
theories give us not an explanation of
violence but a rationalization for it.
Such theories are part of a larger
trend, a kind of biologism which helps
to avoid social responsibility. War is
explained in biological terms as merely
the emergence of a fundamental in-
stinct of destructive aggression, which
neatly evades historical, social, and ec-
onomic causes. Race prejudice is bi-
ologically justified on the grounds that
some groups, like blacks, are instinc-
tively more violent: a kind of biologi-
cal bigotry.
The idea of violence as man's nat-
ural inheritance has been greatly bol- .
stered by zoologist and psychologist
Konrad Lorenz and his followers
who have studied the instinctive behav-
ior of wild geese and other animals
(ethology). Lorenz and his followers
have gone farthest in claiming that
there is scientific proof of man having
a basic inherited, biological, animal,
killer instinct. " They use introspective
terms of human psychology and apply
them to animals; then they reverse the
process and explain human aggression
(violence) as "an animal aggression."
For any activity, including violence,
the capacity and the physiological ap-
paratus must be present. But that is
different from a biologically fixed in-
stinctive drive.
Compassion and cooperation are re-
garded by Lorenz et al. as being mere-
ly secondary compensatory phenom-
ena. One of Lorenz's chief popularizers
writes: "Civilization is a compensatory
consequence of our killing imperative;
the one could not exist without the oth-
er." And further: "The rate of civiliza-
tion's rise has corresponded closely
with man's ascendant capacity to kill."
Man has survived not because he in-
herited violence but because he prac-
ticed cooperation. Among the most
primitive men, in whom an innate in-
stinct of belligerency as part of their
"true" biological nature, if it existed,
should be most dominant and close to
the surface, warfare is virtually absent.
Paul Schilder, a pioneer in the com-
bination of psychiatry, neurology, and
psychoanalysis, showed in painstaking
psychological analyses that there exists
in the personality a primitive non-
violence. This is a primary natural
tendency to care for the existence and
well-being of the other person, a wish
that the integrity of the body of others
be respected and preserved, a primitive
kindness and readiness to help. Ac-
cording to Schilder. these cannot be re-
garded as secondary reactions, as
Lorenz and his followers maintain. '
Have we really tried to eliminate
violence? Have we tried with any con-
sistency and fervor to stamp out some
of the potent and concrete conditions
behind it, such as race prejudice, na-
tional rivalries (really obsolete and
provincial after the breakthrough in
space), hunger, hate, clinging to power
and privilege, cold war vilification of
people, needlessly frustrated lives, jus-
tified remonstrance of the oppressed,
brutalizing prison conditions, and
teaching of sadistic thrills in the mass
media? Taking up any of these factors
fully, we meet specious disquisitions to
show that any specific factor is not a
real, primary, honest-to-goodness
cause. The answer to that is not dif-
ficult. In human behavior, everything
that makes a difference is a cause. It
depends on the whole context what the
effects will be.
The combination of half-hearted
measures taken, of false ideas about
violence, of failure to learn from the
best endeavors of the past, of organ-
ized crime, of disorganized law en-
forcement — all contribute to the ris- .
ing curve of violence. The permeation
of our culture with violence manifests
itself on different, seemingly uncon-
nected levels. Examples are plentiful.
The threat and fear of violence in the
streets- is so widespread that the whole
life of many people gives the impres-
sion that they live under war condi-
tions, waiting for signals that the dan-
ger is over.
. In 1693 William Penn, to promote
"the tranquility of the world" (by
which he meant the absence of vio-
lence), proposed a United Nations of
Europe. The main point was that there
should be no picking and choosing of
members, but that every nation should
be represented. Our United Nations
has not caught up with that idea yet.
We seem almost to have forgotten the
science of peacemaking, regard post-
war as synonymous with peace, and
operate with fancy terms like deescala-
tion, pacification, and Vietnamization.
For years the traffic in arms has
been criticized. At present it flourishes
and nations are being swamped with
weapons they neither want nor need.
The idea that there will never be an
atomic war because the nations are so
afraid of it is a false hope. Fear is not
a preventative of war but often its
cause. War is the teacher of violence.
That is true certainly of Vietnam. The
spirit of My Lai, for which only the ;
lowest echelons are being held re-
sponsible, will manifest itself later in
the streets of Yonkers and Kalamazoo.
As for domestic violence, it is taken
far too lightly on almost every level,
despite editorials about priorities and
programs. That holds even for the
handling of detection. According to the
chief medical examiner of New York
City, violence is often ignored and the
authorities "have to see a knife sticking
out of the ribs to label a death sus-
picious." One of the most cruel mani-
festations, the battered child syndrome.
2-1-72 MESSENGER 31
"WAR NO MORE" POSTER
A 22 X 34-inch two-color en-
largement of this Messenger
cover for your room, office,
classroom, or family room.
Order several. $1 each plus
25c for handling and postage.
Send to; Church of the Breth-
ren General Board, 1451 Dun-
dee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
CHOICEm
CHOICE III is a weekday radio pro-
gram designed to help husbands and
wives create fulfilling relationships
with each other. The 65 programs,
sponsored jointly by the Mennonites,
the Mennonite Brethren, and the
Church of the Brethren, come in five
3-minute spots per week for 13 weeks
and are free for public service use.
You can make them available to your
community. Send for promotional
packet and audition tape to: CHOICE
III. Church of the Brethren General
Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III.
60120.
Name
Congregation
Street
City State
32 MESSENGER 2- 1-72
Zip
j which often leads to permanent injuries
and death, is most unsuccessfully han-
dled. In the face of glaring facts, news-
papers have called it "relatively rare."
Violent crimes, even magnicides
(the killing of someone prominent),
are not adequately investigated and
therefore not resolved. A veritable
credibility gap has developed between
the authorities and the public. Espe-
cially the young people have difficulty
swallowing the official snake oil. For
many the very word investigation has
become synonymous with hitshing up.
That can only add to social violence-
proneness.
Not only are younger and younger
people committing violent acts, but vio-
lent crimes are becoming more and
more brutal and cntel. Witnesses to a
crime are perfunctorily and summarily
disposed of. A bar is held up and the
owner, bartender, and two patrons are
shot. Purse-snatching, which used to
be nonviolent, is now combined with
mugging, stomping, and armbreaking.
All this represents an insufficiently rec-
ognized new pattern of disregard for
: human life and suflfering. But it is not
explainable biologically, It is part of
I our environmental mental pollution.
f To realize that we live in conditions
that favor violence makes us recognize
more our own responsibility. It sharp-
ens our perception of what the fact and
prospect of violence do to people.
Most important, such recognition helps
us not to overlook the positive factors
that can help us to combat it. When
oppressed people resort to violence, it
is not because that is part of their hu-
man nature, but because they are
placed in a situation where they have
no other choice except to use violence
or give in to the oppressor.
It is ironic that on the one hand we
say that the impulse to violence will be
eternally in us and with us while on the
' other hand we continue to create a so-
I cial climate which tends to make vio-
■ lence permanent.
' Not only have we not tried suf-
Fredeiic Wcrlhain, a New York psychiatrist,
is author of many hooks, the most recent
heint; "A Sign for Coin: An Exploration of
Human Violence." He has long been a
critic of television and comic hook violence.
His article is reprinted by permission of
Johns Hopkins Maf;azine.
ficiently to stem violence and eliminate
violence-breeding factors, we often
provoke violence. In this regard the
claim of some young people has to be
taken seriously. They say that the es-
tablishment wants violence to be used.
They want it used because that is
something they understand and feel
they can deal with on its own level.
What they can't understand is serious
dissent which expresses itself in deter-
mined but peaceful activity.
The idea that violence
is our natural
inheritance implies an
ultimately destructive
image of man. a whole gen-
eration has gone through a school of
violence. The American child is given
a plastic pistol when he is hardly able
to walk, and learns how men are killed
long before he learns to read. We
teach children the grammar of violence
and are astonished when they discover
its lure. We fill people's minds with
violent images. The high violence con-
tent of the mass media not only reflects
our life but also influences it. Our
complacency is so great that it amounts
to instilling a violence readiness. In
both life and literature a lessened re-
gard for the value of human life is
gaining influence.
In recent years pornography has be-
come more and more cruel and sadis-
tic. The producers of some sado-por-
nographic publications present the
public with illustrated primers telling
how to commit thrilling, violent sex
crimes. In the name of freedom, the
Commission on Obscenity and Por-
nography has proposed giving these
violence pushers legal free reign (ex-
cept with regard to distribution to chil-
dren). For this commission the silent
majority spent two million dollars. Ex-
perts continue to tell us that violence
content of mass media does not go
beyond "acceptable levels" — but of
course they have been telling us that
about other pollutants too.
[U][n]dls[rDD[n}^
The idea that the propensity for vio-
lence is inborn for all time is lieavily
entrenched, widely taught, and ve-
hemently defended. In the last analy-
sis, this whole attitude is essentially the
expression of a feeling of helplessness
in the face of the pressures and uncer-
tainties of our complex society. In the
last few decades millions of people
have died in foreign wars, massacres,
and domestic murders. Shall all of
these victims have died in vain, while
we hold to the belief that the drive to
destruction will be with us for all time?
•, : The question is often raised: But
what can we do? Usually those who
ask it don't really mean that. What
they do mean is what can the other
people do, or what can we do without
any sacrifice while we continue to live
in exactly the way we live now.
For years there has been practically
no progress in violence prevention. A
lot of what has been called progress is
what the conservatives don't want to do
and what the liberals have not done.
There is no blueprint. Obviously more
research is needed — but that is true of
everything. It should not be used as an
alibi, as it so often is at the end of re-
ports by committees and commissions.
At the same time we cannot ride to
nonviolence astride a winged horse. It
will be a long and arduous road. It is a
struggle not against our inner instincts
but against all the circumstances that
lead to violence and against the false
generalizations and ideas that misrep-
, resent and sustain it. We shall find a
solution only if we believe that solution
exists. Indifference is perhaps that
greatest obstacle. The majority /j ■;,
silent. That is their guilt.
To expect that in a short time hu-
man violence will be greatly reduced is
. an idle hope. To deny that in the dis-
tant future it can be abolished is at
present the greatest prop that violence
can have. The atom bomb in the hands
of those who believe that human vio-
lence is inborn and preordained is like
a knife in the hands of a child. We
need the larger view of a future when
violence is no longer tolerated, no
longer necessary and no longer wanted.
The flight of Picasso's dove is a safer
guide than the cackle of Konrad Lor-
enz's wild geese. D
ABOUT PEOPLE
Three members of the Church of the Breth-
ren have been named to posts in the United Ministries in
Higher Education: Donald Lcwdermilk, formerly of the de-
nominational staff, to the chairmanship of the National
Commission; A. G. Breidenstine , retired Pennsylvania ed-
ucator, to the presidency of his state's UMHE; and Walter
D_. Bowman , to the presidency of the Ohio state UMHE.
A business venture in Lakeland, Fla. , occupies John ■
T_. Fike, who resigned as vice-president and treasurer of
Juniata College last month. He had been treasurer since
1952.
Placed by the Mennonite Central Committee in Appa-
lachia as a mechanic for unit vehicles is Noah Lucabaugh , .
Hanover, Pa. , a member of the Pleasant Hill church.
New associate director of broadcasting for the Broad-
casting and Film Commission of the National Council of
Churches is David W_. Pome ray , whose film reviews have ap- ■,
peared in Messenger .
Pinecrest Manor chaplain Foster B_. Statler died at
Rockford, 111., Nov. 8, after a stroke. He was 86. He
held pastorates in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Indiana,
and in his ten years at Pinecrest coordinated activities
and special programs. .■■■..-..;■ ...,..•;.■ ; .- ...
YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW THIS
Dedication festivities
engaged the Baugo Church of the Brethren near Wakarusa,
Ind., last month, during the celebration of a- new addition
and remodeling of facilities.
In the Shenandoah District, the Cedar Grove congre-
gation of Brethren are joining the Valley Central United . ..• .
Church of Christ at New Market, Va. , in a yoked parish. ■ ■■_
Two Bible land tours depart next month. Hosting one '
tour which includes a stop in Athens are the J. Perry
Prathers. Persons wishing more information may write
them at 513 Sandusky St., Ashland, Ohio 44805; but hurryl • :'
Departure date is March 13. ... Leaving even earlier in
the montJi—March 2 — is a group hosted by Wendell Bohrer, .. '
with an itinerary including Rome. More information may
be had from Mr. Bohrer at 96 Penrod St., Johnstown, Pa.
15902. Both tours are ten days.
Church Women United are meeting in Washington, D.C., •
currently, participating in workshops aimed at understand-
ing interaction between government and citizen at local,
state, and national levels. •.^'' ..■■■ -.: ■■"■'.'' •■
AFTER FIFTY YEARS ... Wedding anniversary celebrants
include six marking fifty years: Mr. and Mrs . Noah Stalder,
Cerro Gordo, 111.; the Robert Byrds , Bridgewater, Va. ; the
£. J. Clovers, Nampa, Idaho; the Lester Steeles and the
Herbert Bridenbaughs , Martinsburg, Pa.; and the D^. J_.
Floras , Boones Mill, Va.
Other couples observing anniversaries include the ,;, '
Edward Zumbrums , Hanover, Pa., fifty-two; the Albert C.
Schues , Washington, Ind., and the T_. M_. Settles , Martins-- ■•
burg. Pa., fifty-four; the Guy Keltners , Pearl City, 111.,
fifty-five; the J. S_. Ay res , Empire, Calif., and the Galen
Walkers , La Verne, Calif., sixty.
21-72 MESSENGER 33
XWDqcd xwnDIl DqcbIIip itunrpm nns anpaDunrndl'?
When tame animals were tortured to death by
youngsters last fall in an eastern city, the public
was horrified. Editorialized the Sun-Times of
Chicago: "Perhaps the reason we have to pay so
much attention to grown-ups killing each other is
that we haven't taught children how they should
feel about killing a rabbit."
Probing as that sentiment was, a counterview
was offered by one Sun-Times reader. "Perhaps
the reason we have to pay so much attention to
children killing rabbits," the respondent noted,
"is that we haven't taught grown-ups how they
should feel about killing grown-ups."
Whether one dwells in the world of the young
or in the world of the adult, the climate is satu-
rated with violence. Its appearance sometimes is
subtle, sometimes pronounced, but its frequency
and magnitude are more and more alarming.
,• Consider one facet, the snap-together torture
cages and kits manufactured as toys by Aurora
Plastics. A doll in hotpants is strapped to a
table, her face stricken with terror, while a flash-
ing blade cuts a swath closer and closer until. . . .
Consider the gougings, whippings, shootings,
and other mayhem that streak endlessly across
the tv screen, leaving the viewer drained, deplet-
ed, virtually immune to the shock of human
suffering.
Witness the everyday world where brutality
goes beyond make-believe. More Americans were
gunned down in New York City in a week not
long ago than in Vietnam, columnist Flora Lewis
reported, prompting her to call for nothing short
of the disarmament of American citizens.
What does it mean to be part of a society so
violence-oriented that, at the extreme, we set out
to quell youthful protestors by maiming them, to
free hostages by killing them, so save villages by
destroying them?
It is not enough to point to the toy counter,
the tv screen, the nearest big city nor even to
Vietnam as the place where violence wreaks
havoc on human sensibilities. The roots of vio-
lence touch much closer home than that.
We are beginning to understand that in each
of us there is a capacity to induce violence or to
control it, in at least limited circumstances. We
are coming to discern that on a social scale, keep-
ing things just as they are iii our institutions and
corporate structures may perpetuate oppression
for the powerless no less stifling and ruthless than
outright conflict. We are beginning to sense that
how we deal with aggression, how we use power
and position are concerns not only of government
but of individuals as well.
lif as Christians we have one loyalty that rises
above all other loyalties, and that supreme loyalty
is not to a class or a race or a government or a
system but to God through Jesus Christ, then we
have distinctive responsibilities. We will support
the status quo wherein justice and liberty are
pursued; we will dissent when laws or systems
deny human rights. We will affirm the solidarity
of mankind implied in the gospel by working for
reconciliation not only with the oppressed but
with the oppressor, not only with the ally but with
the enemy. We will encounter other Christians,
across national and confessional lines, to examine
our respective positions in light of the gospel. In
casting our lot markedly on the side of social
justice, we will, in the words of David Gill of the
World Council of Churches, be "as wary of those
who seek social change as we are critical of those
who oppose it," remembering that sin knows no
barriers of class, race, or ideology. The bold ones
among us may demonstrate that there is an al-
ternative to violence: active, nonretaliatory, suf-
fering love.
To choose life, in the words of Deuteronomy,
to choose life instead of death, to seek self-eleva-
tion instead of self-destruction, is an inversion
our society desperately needs. Who will help turn
us around? — h.e.r.
34 MESSENGER 2- 1-72
THE
DRAMATIC SILENCES
OF HIS
LAST WEEK
From the silence of the city
after the triumphal entry to the
silence of the Street of Splen-
did Strangers, these seven
Lenten meditations portray the
depth of feeling that must
have captured the hearts and
minds of those who were .
there during Jesus' last week.
Seven special moments filled
with intense meaning for
those who knew him then and
those who know him now.
Wheaton Phillips Webb. $2.50
I
AND IN
CONFIDENCI
SHALL EE >-^^-
^
TRENGTH
THE SEVEN WORDS
Through timely illustrations,
these seven messages draw out
the deep spiritual meaning
of the last words from the
cross to reach the hearts of
hearers and transform their
lives, revealing God and his
love to men. Clovis G.
Choppell. $2
THEY MET
AT CALVARY
Dealing with the people who
were actually involved in
Christ's crucifixion, W. E.
Songster draws memorable and
provocative insights for the
Lenten season. A timely spirit-
ual experience for all
Christians. $2
THE CRUCIBLE
OF REDEMPTION
These eight stringent and
sometimes shocking Easter mes-
sages take Easter out of
its traditional garb and help
restore its vitality as the
essential affirmation of a valid
Christian faith. Corlyle
Marney. $2.25
WORLDLY HOLINESS
Based on the famous prayer
of St. Francis of Assisi:
"LORD, make us instruments of
thy peace," these brief
meditations will enable today's
Christian to understand those
virtues and graces presented so
movingly in this beautiful
prayer. R. Benjamin Garrison.
$1.95, paper
THE SANCTUARY,
1972
This popular Lenten devotional
booklet by Wallace Fridy
contains daily meditations,
Scripture readings, and brief
prayers. The theme for 1972 is
the life and teachings of
Jesus. Begins with Ash
Wednesday. 15< each; $7.95
per 1 00
THE EASTER STORY
FOR CHILDREN
In his first book for children,
Ralph W. Sockmari explains
the life of Jesus, beginning with
his birth and concluding
with the Crucifixion and Resur-
rection. Ages 7-10. Illustrated
by Gordon Laite. $2.25
EASTER: A PICTORIAL PILGRIAAAGE
Pierre Benoit, Elhonon Hagoloni, and Konrod Leube. The
fascinating commentary and photographs — 1 7 full-color pages and
over 60 black-and-white illustrations — take the reader on a
personal tour of the Holy Laiid to relive the last week in the life
of Christ. Truly a book for the family and the church library, $7.95
Q|- your local bookytoe
Qbingdon
ISAIAH 30:5
reace • rerspeciives on reace • r^rspeciives on rease • rerapecnvcs on red«,t: • rcia|jcfciivc» wn rcawe, w rcis;!
'es on Peace • Perspectives on Peace • Perspectives on Peace * Perspectives on Peace • Perspectives, on Peace
rspectives on Peace • Perspectives on Peace • Perspectives o.n^ia|i|* Perspectives on Peace • Perspectives on
'es on
Peace
► Persp
ectivt
► Pe ,
Peace
'es on
rspectivj
res on Peace •
Peace • Perspi
► Perspectives
ectives on Peac
» Perspectives
peace • Perspe'
nes on Peace •
'ers
Is on^
Peacg ♦ Perspectives
ice • Perspectives on
• Perspectives on
Peace
• Pers
active
on P
ective
• Pers
c««*«s^i«i|» Peace
rspectives on Peace • Perspectives onj
'es oii Peace • Perspectives on Peace
Peace • Perspectives on Peace • Persi
► Perspectives pn Peace • Perspective
ectives on Peace • Perspectives oriP
» Perspectives on. Peaci
Peace- -*- Po>Br>(i><'.ti»ir>
res. CI
rspec
res 01
Peace
» Per
ectivt
► Pe
Peac
res o
Ice
*9*
Brethren
and f
Pacfflsm
rspectives on Peace
5 on Peace • Persi
eace • Perspective
Perspectives oh Pi
ieace. • Perspective
S"on Pe^ce ♦ Pel!
'iipectives on Peac
a<;e.« Perspectives
on Reace • Perspectives on Pea«
• Perspectives on Peace • Pel
spectives on Peace •. Perspecti\
es on Peace •Peispectives on Pt
rspectives on Peace • Perspective^
e • Perspectives on P.eace •Persi
on Peace •Perspectives on Peace
ce • Perspectives on Peace • Perspectives on Peace • Perspectives 01
erspectives on Peaces* .Perspectives on Peace • Perspectives on Peacfe
ives on Peace • Perspective? on Peace • Perspectives on Peace • Per
Perspectives on Peace • Pe^f
Actives on Peace • I*
Peace • Perspec^i^
• perspectives oi I f T'Q '~
Peace • Pers; ^^
^[ ©FRIENDS
pec-
pecti'
ecfives oa reace -• .P<
> Perspectives on P
— . J»eaee • Perspective:
SO «
WHAT IS
PEACE?
AagtoaBMry
•Spectives apt reace
Brethren and Pacifism
Dale W. Brown
Brings a new persfjective to the issues of war and peace
for the Church of the Brethren at a time when many are
reexamining what it means to be faithful to Christ in a time
of revolution and rapid change. $2.00 paper
Six Papers on Peace
A symposium dealing with six issues on peace: the Chris-
tian, the church and war, international relations, violence
and nonviolence, the Christian's relationship to the state,
the Selective Service law, and payment of taxes for war
purposes. Seven Brethren writers. $1.45 paper
The Christian Revolutionary
Dale W. Brown
Dale Brown offers a theology with profound roots in the
Gospel, and at the same time he is sensitive to the current
movements of the Spirit in radical social movements. This
book should be read by anyone who continues to hope that
the Christian faith today can respond to revolutionary needs,
because the author provides a firm basis for that hope. $2.45
Peace Books, a series of Brethren-authored teacher's
guides for groups of children and youth.
Lefs Be Friends by Gwendolyn Miller
For use with grades one and two. $1.35-
So What Is Peace? by Angilee Beery
For use with grades three and four. $1.35
Now, About Peace by James McKinnell
For use with grades five and six. $1.35 .
The Cruel Choice
Denis Gouiet
The subordinati'on of goods to the good is one of the themes
running through this rich and suggestive discussion of the
ethics of development. Others concern power, participation,'
the exposure of societies to forces they cannot control, and
the inherent tendency of the rich to "domesticate" the devel-
opment of the poor. Readers may disagree with much that
Mr. Gouiet says but they will have to think about it. $12.50
The Quiet BatHe
Mulford Q. Sibley
An anthology of essays discussing instances when non-
violent means have been used to achieve desired ends. $2.95
Postage: 20c first dollar; 5c per dollar thereafter
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
0 r -G.Curt
—G. Curtis Jones
©©[ml
Dsl^l^sir^
2000: As Seen Through a Glass Darkly. Contributions to the
winter issue of Brethren Life and Thought reveal how some "seers" in
the Church of the Brethren are envisioning the church in the year
2000. Ronald E. Keener reports
JQ A Caring Place With a Common Cup. The Community of Christ
tiie Servant began when families banded together in a new con-
gregational model. Their experiment includes being open to fresh
kinds of ministry — notably Bethany Seminary graduate Gary Rowe's
ministry in the arts and media, by Linda Beher
1^ Finding the Lost We Have Lost. "As human beings we not only
lose the vital balance in our relationships, we frequently lose ourselves
or become lost in the avalanche of responsibilities." by G. Curtis Jones
^^y Homecoming. Vietnam returnees face staggering problems. Their
ctTorts to become human again are portrayed by Chaim Shatan.
"Can We Share the Vietnam Veteran's Burden?" is a question asked
by Wilbur E. Mullen in response
Objectors Conquered by Aliens. "William Stafford's Down in
My Heart is one of those rare books where the story the author is
telling is more important than the way he told it." Terry Pettit
reviews the recent Brethren Press reprint
hi Touch profiles Mary Ann Saylor. Rosalita Leonard, and Edgar
Slater (beginning on 2 ) . . . . Oiiiloolc focuses on a Brethren evangelism
congress, the resignation of a college president, and congregational
news (beginning on 4). . . . Take It From Here, by Glee Yoder, has a
new format (20). . . . An editorial opens with "If You Think You
Can Help Our World a Little" (24)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 4
FEBRUARY 15, 1972
CRF.ril IS: Ciovcr. 15 artwork by Wilbur P.
Bnimb.iii^h: 2 (right) Don Honick: 4. 21
artwork b\ Ken Stanley; 5 rourtesv of Mc
Phcrson Clolicge; 11. 12 ficf I) Rolx-rt Srhill/;
12 fright) C.arv Rowe; 13 "1 rnman Wiles;
17. 19 Edwarti Wallowilch; 18 Religious
News Service; 21 phf>to by Irene Stack for
Tom Stack and A.s.sociates: "E\en the Trees
.Are Glad to Be Alive." banner by Linda
Beher
MES.SENGFR is the ofTici.nl public.Ttion of the
Church of ihc Ilrcthrcn, F.ntercd as sccojui-
class matter ,\ug. 20. 1918, under .Act of
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date. Oct. I.
1971. Messenger is a member of the Associ-
ated Church Prefw and a subscriber to Rcli-
gioiis News Service .Tnd Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, arc from the Revised St.nndard
Version.
Subscription rates: S'1.20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions: ,S3.fiO per year for church
group plan; S.3.00 per year for every home
plan: life subscription. SfiO: husband and wife,
S75. If you move clip old address from Mes-
senger and send with new address.
.\Ilow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
.ind published twice monthly by the
Church of Ihc ilrethren (.cneral
I'.oiird, 1451 Dundee .Ave., Elgin. 111.
''0120. Second-class postage paid at
Elgin. 111.. Feb. I. 1972. Copyright
1972, Church of the Brethren General Board.
i
NOT THE SAME LANGUAGE
Referring to Ralph Landes" letter (Nov.
15) regarding our moderator's language at
the National Youth Conference: Let us not
make a snap judgment. We of the "estab-
lishment" do not always speak the same
language as the "now" generation. Some-
times I myself think that the church should
he "turned upside down." And some con-
gregations will try to shut up the youth
who protest. The church, including the
Brethren, seems to care little for the peo-
ple in Squattertown — they are not our
kind. And we have taught the young peo-
ple to "Love thy (white) neighbor as thy-
■self." We have quoted, "Love your ene-
mies," and then we are happy that Chris-
tians kill Christians or, worse yet, kill
pagans, depriving them of the opportunity
to know Christ. I am sure our moderator is
truly Brethren; and if we misunderstand, it
may be he will explain this.
Alfred Alling
Cahool, Mo.
A SIGN OF HOPE
Thank you for printing the "Statement
Regarding Abortion" (Jan. 1), a sign of
hope that the servants of God are finaJly
willing to face up to a very fundamental,
basic issue in human life.
Could it be the situation has been brought
about by the unloving attitude of the Chris-
tian community? Some Christians have
been heard to rejoice that cigarette smokers
were to be punished by lung cancer. Some
have rejoiced that "immoral" people "got
caught" with no compassion for the innocent
baby that was supposed to be the means of
punishinent.
Has research been done on the possible
permanent damage to the unborn child by
the tnother's mental and emotional attitude
during pregnancy? Could this account for
many who are unable to feel accepted by
their fellowman and God?
What have we done to make abortions
unnecessary?
I pray that all will be willing to push
human desires aside and allow God to lead
us in our decisions.
Dorothy Naracon
North Liberty, Ind.
FOR FURTHER READING
In "More Than Just a Man" (December)
Evelyn Frantz writes, "[Jc.sii.s- Christ Siipcr-
sltir] ends with the burial in the garden;
there's no hint of the resurrection, the
atonement, or Jesu.s' foreknowledge of com-
ing events." In answering Simon Zealotes,
Jesus says: "While you live your troubles
are inany, poor Jerusalem / To conquer
death you only have to die / you only have
I
Pc
(Q)[n](
to die." This statement tells what his death
was all about.
As far as Mrs. Frantz' claim that Webber
and Rice are trying to show that Jesus was
just a man, Tim Rice says, "We just tried to
tell a story. It's a fantastic story."
One part of her article asks, "Why do
Herod . . . and Pilate . . . become hyster-
ical when confronted with Jesus' more-than-
human dignity, with that terrible silence that
forces them to face the truth they cannot
stand?" Herod was convinced that Jesus
was not the lord, and Pilate gave in to the
crowd's demand that he crucify Jesus.
I suggest that Evelyn Frantz read the
article by Maynard Shelly, "The Superstar
Who Was Jesus Christ" (Oct. 15).
Thomas A. Daugherty
Fostoria, Ohio
ON VIETNAM
To Brother Robert S. Zigler ("In Touch,"
December) I would like to put one ques-
tion: What evidence has he that the Viet-
namese people wish the U.S. government to
have a hand, strong or weak, in their coun-
try? I would disallow all invitations ex-
tended by the government in Saigon, for
that government does not represent the peo-
ple (the recent elections notwithstanding).
I would also disregard personal assurances
offered in English, because English-speak-
ing Vietnamese have become "decultured."
From almost three years' experience in
Vietnam I can say that most of the Viet-
namese are quite cynical about the U.S.
government presence, military and civilian,
in their country. They understand its task
to be the nurture of its own child, the gov-
ernment in Saigon, They see the resources
of the U.S. government as a major boon
to those who are in a position to gain per-
sonally through graft and corruption.
This situation is not to be remedied by
placing more qualified persons in AID. since
it derives directly from the U.S. policy of
supporting an opportunist government in
Saigon. Therefore, witnessing, expression
of views, and affecting decisions must be
done in Washington to the point of securing
a U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, thus en-
abling the Vietnamese to establish their
own government.
I heartily agree with Brother Zigler that
there continues to be a place for able, com-
mitted foreigners throughout Vietnam. But
until such time as the Vietnamese are able
to determine their own destiny, these people
dare not be associated with the U.S. govern-
ment if they hope to participate in the mas-
sive attack over the long haul.
Dennis E. Metzger
Tarn Ky, Vietnam
COVERED EVERY PAGE
The Christmas issue of Messenger is
terrific. I could not lay it down until I had
covered every page. ... It is a pleasure to
thank people for a work such as you have
done.
R. E. Mohler
McPherson, Kans.
AN INVITATION
Going to Annual Conference at Cincin-
nati? You are invited to worship at Strait
Creek church, one mile north of Camp
Woodland Altars on Ohio 41, one and a
half hours east of Cincinnati. The church
is about twenty miles west of US23, or six-
teen miles south of US50. It is thirty miles
north of US52. This is a small rural church
at the foot of the Appalachian Highlands.
If people of Strait Creek may be of serv-
ice to you, please contact Mrs. Kenneth
Blackburn, Route 4, Box 112, Peebles, Ohio
45660.
Glenna Blackburn
Peebles, Ohio
"WHY IM RETURNING MY DRAFT CARDS"
My main objection to the conscientious
objector status is that it is a part of con-
scription . . . for war and all about war.
Civilian and nonwar-related work it may
well mean for the CO himself, but some-
one else is channeled to go to war in
his place. The quota is still filled. All the
I-O classification does is to allow the ob-
jector himself to stay out of military ex-
cursions he doesn't care to involve himself
in; it still allows military campaigns to con-
tinue unchallenged, campaigns which cost
countless lives, campaigns which I in good
conscience cannot assist ... by remaining a
registered member of any such war machine.
I must make a commitment aiiciinst war, not
just against my own involvement in it. . . .
I have no objection to civilian CO work
in and of itself. Friends of mine are doing
some very worthy things for humanity while
fulfilling their alternative service. But that
word alternative — in lieu of military serv-
ice — is the clincher. Any service that I
do during my life should not be service
done as an "alternative" to "service" done
by others which I wholeheartedly see as un-
just and immoral. I would hope that my
whole life might be lived in servitude of
sorts. . . .
I admit without question that Christ
taught nonresistance to evil, but, in the
words of the late A. J. Muste, "Nonresist-
ance to an evil should not mean cooperation
with it." . . .
Daniel K. Stern
Tonasket, Wash.
An important service is provided by a
sister periodical. Brethren Life and
Thought, in focusing its Winter issue on
the Church of the Brethren in A.D.
2000. That is only one generation
away, as M. R. Zigler notes in an up-
coming Messenger interview.
I A partial look at what the BLT
writers see ahead for the church ap-
pears on page 8. Readers may want to
obtain the entire special issue to view
the prognosis as others see it.
The business of future-casting is he-
coming increasingly significant, espe-
cially as new approaches are utilized in
drawing input from many sources to-
gether. The awesome fact is that hu-
man intervention in such areas as mo-
lecular biology and genetics engineering
is raising unprecedented moral ques-
tions. What is at stake ultimately for
the church, for the family, for work,
for the nation-state, for all social insti-
tutions is a matter that earnestly needs
study.
Several weeks ago two Messenger
staffers heard futurist Warren L. Ziegler
appeal to the church "to invent its own
future," as opposed to following a pre-
ventive or adaptive stance, beginning by
formulating goals on what is intended
to happen. "Intentionality has some-
thing to do with religion," Dr. Ziegler
said; "it is very different from mere
expectation."
To the extent that the church can
shape that which it is to become, and
be shaped by the living spirit and the
tradition which guide it. Messenger
seeks to be a part of. Against such a
background it is appropriate that we
begin now to assess what we ought to
be 30 years hence.
Nonstaff writers in this issue are;
— G. Curtis Jones, author of several
books and minister of the Woodland
Christian Church, Macon. Georgia.
— Chaim Shatan, M.D., director of
the post-doctoral psychoanalytic clinic
of New 'York University. |
— Glee Yoder, curriculum writer,
McPherson, Kansas.
— Terry Pettit, Brethren N'olunteer
Service worker, Elgin, III.
The Editors
215-72 messenger 1
Mary Ann Saylor: Nursing in India
Mary Ann Saylor, a registered nurse
in India's Dahanu Road Hospital,
found one of her biggest adjustments
to be the nonexistence of disposable
items in health care.
"Even in Kentucky [where she had
midwifery training] everything from
enema cans to syringes and delivery
sheets were disposable, but here there
is nothing disposable, not even a
paper towel to wipe off a messy table.
Not only that, but the hospital per-
sonnel even make the cotton balls
and bandages."
Despite such adjustments to her
work and to rural Indian life, IVIiss
Saylor, 24, has been experiencing
her assignment with sharp enthusiasm
and interest. The daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Eli W. Saylor of Elizabeth-
town. Pa., she is a member of the
Chiques Church of the Brethren.
She worked at the Rural Service
Center at Anklesvar as well and dis-
covered that persuading people to
change eating habits, sanitary con-
ditions, and crops which will improve
the diet, is not a very easy job.
In her village work she found that
cow dung is scattered by hand for
field fertilizer, mixed with mud to
coat the walls and floors of the
houses, used for cooking fuel, applied
on the head for certain illnesses, on
wounds, and on the cord of newborn
babies.
"Since the causative organism of
tetanus is found in horse and cow
dung, there is a constant exposure to
it, and this increases the necessity for
the immunization against tetanus,"
she relates.
Work among the villages has been
especially meaningful to her and has
helped her in learning the Gujarati
language. "It must be absolutely
terrible to become ill in some of
these villages. If money is available
to go to the doctor, it means a long
walk or a bumpy ride in the ox cart
and then riding on the overcrowded
bus. This is not very much fun when
one is healthy; what must it be like
when one is ill?" With language pro-
ficiency, she will soon begin the
training of Indian nurses at the hos-
pital.
Still, despite having to sleep under
a net to ward off mosquitos, rats, and
snakes, the shock of seeing small
children die of malnutrition for lack
of education about proper diets, and
observing Bombay's beggars and
disfigured on the streets, cultural
readjustment has been minimal
for Miss Saylor. It seems obvious
in her remark that she feels she is
"where God wants me to be."
IIT«
Rosalita Leonard: Anev,
i
"People have a stereotype of work-
ers in the Woman's Christian Tem-
perance Union: the 'little-old-ladies-
with-hatchets' stereotype. But we
weren't the ones with the hatchets!"
Rosalita Leonard is determined
to combat stereotypes in her job
with the WCTU as national general
secretary of the Youth Temperance
Council. The twenty-seven-year-old
Juniata College graduate and former
missionary points to the negative
image of the WCTU as another kind
of stereotype. "We do have a positive
program — as shown by our materi-
als." She recounts as an example the
organization's historic concern for
drug abuse, and its emphasis on
"living without crutches."
"We work for the prevention of
the use of alcohol — admittedly that
sounds negative. But we believe that
nothing ought to hinder the natural
abilities we are given."
Rosalita resists, too, the image of
humorlessness sometimes associated
with groups with a cause. "You have
to have a sense of humor to live in a
museum," she laughs. And she
means, literally, a museum — Willard
House, home of the world WCTU's
founder. "My room was opened for
tours during the world convention.
About 900 people inspected it!"
Rosalita's responsibilities in her
post at the Evanston. 111., headquar-
ters of the WCTU include designing
youth program, preparing a bi-
monthly bulletin for youth, and par-
ticipating in camp-style leadership
training for young persons. She acts
also as superintendent of the youth
2 MESSENGER 2 15-72
I
nage maker
Edgar Slater: From wigwams to high rise
branch of the world WCTU. Each
facet of the work focuses on a three-
fold task — education, legislation
and public service, and public rela-
tions.
She came to Evanston in 1969
! after a three-year math teaching
I adventure with the British branch of
the Sudan United Mission. "As a
1 short-term worker I was loaned by
'the Church of the Brethren mission,"
she explains, her eyes beginning to
I sparkle mischievously. "I spoke
'American English with a Pennsyl-
vania Dutch accent, and my students
I spoke British English with a Nigerian
accent!"
Since beginning her assignment
I with the WCTU, Rosalita has been
named an Outstanding Young Wom-
an in America ( 1971 ) — one of five
in the Chicago area — and pursues
'a master of divinity degree at Beth-
jany Theological Seminary. A mem-
I ber of the Douglas Park Church of
the Brethren, she is president of the
; local WCTU and treasurer of the
I county chapter.
' Misinformation, she believes, con-
; tributes to some persons' image of the
Woman's Christian Temperance
'Union. But its roots in basic Chris-
tian living and its emphasis on the
need for an "unhooked generation"
keep Rosalita Leonard challenging
the stereotypes.
Remember Edgar Slater, who in 1967
was the nation's oldest VISTA vol-
unteer? And one of the most vigor-
ous? In 1971 he was at it again,
racking up another year with VISTA,
this time with a senior citizens action
center in St. Louis.
Now 91, the former college teacher
and part-time minister in his first
VISTA assignment taught blue-
print reading and home construction
techniques to the Crow Indians in
Montana. In short, as he put it, he
helped tribal members "to make bet-
ter wigwams." His work in St. Louis
was to supervise the remodeling of
ten floors of an old hotel into rooms
and apartments for the elderly. Utiliz-
ing his engineering knowledge, he
drew new blueprints for the floors,
studied the electrical, air condition-
ing, plumbing and water systems for
future renovation, and served as ad-
viser to the Small Business Adminis-
tration and as inspector for the Fed-
eral Housing Administration.
The Kansas native first studied
mechanical engineering by mail or-
der. Years later he submitted a
master's thesis on a shortcut method
of shaping steel, but it was rejected
by a professor who thought his meth-
od too simple. The method is now
standard practice for some difficult
parts. In a varied career he was the
supervisor of industrial education for
the public school system in Spring-
field, Mo., instructor in aircraft en-
gine maintenance in World War II,
assistant designer of the first fully
electrically equipped tractor ever put
into regular production, a construc-
tion worker in Puerto Rico, president
of the Missouri Industrial Education
Association, engineering teacher in
colleges for ten years, father of three
sons, and part-time pastor of Church
of the Brethren congregations in Mis-
souri, Illinois, and Montana.
E.xcept for his hearing, which be-
gan to fail him while working on
large bomber engines in World War
II, Edgar Slater still is in good physi-
cal condition. "I've never known
sickness, except for my stomach." he
said. "It bothers me three times a
day and the only cure is beef and
potatoes."
From St. Louis, where he cur-
rently resides at a YMCA, Edgar
Slater offered this reflection: "Time is
life, and I do not believe in wasting it
as long as I am in good health and
have experiences to share with others.
I hope there will be another move
soon. While I am not rich, I am not
so much interested in salary as in
service."
Resourceful and indefatigable as
he is, Edgar Slater seems certain to
have service still in his future.
2-13
MESSENGER 3
Brethren evangelism congress
is projected for April 1974
Embracing the e\ angelism thrust being
made by a number of denominations in
the next few years, the Church of the
Brethren will hold a Congress on Evan-
gelism April 18-21, 1974.
Locating and planning the gathering
will be the tasks of a steering committee
holding its first meeting this April.
Planners are Albert L. Sauls. Wenat-
chee. Wash., pastor, and Jay S. Filer,
Frederick, Md., insurance executive, for
the E\angelism Counselors Team; Nelda
Rhoades, a preministerial junior at Man-
chester College and a licensed minister in
the Eel River Church of the Brethren,
North Manchester, Ind.: and for the
Brotherhood evangelism team, Matthew
•I*
M. Meyer, Thomas Wilson, and Clyde E.
Weaver.
"Such a congress could do a great deal
in sharing the present enthusiasm which
is growing throughout the churches and
across denominational lines," Mr. Meyer
said of the plans being shaped.
"In such a setting, we would celebrate
the faith together, share the latest materi-
al, literature, methods, and concepts of
evangelism, and help local churches de-
velop an evangelistic style and spirit."
The steering committee will attend the
Mennonite Church evangelistic thrust.
Probe '72, in Minneapolis April 13-16.
Not only is the committee responsible for
the Brethren congress, but also for in-
volving the Church of the Brethren in the
interdenominational, North American
effort called Key '73, a yearlong effort in
evangelism training and awareness on the
theme, "Calling Our Continent to Christ."
The Brethren have budgeted S2,500 this
year for Key '73 support and will prob-
ably participate to the same degree next
year.
A symbol adopted by the Evangelism
Counselors Team and Brotherhood con-
sultants suggests the Great Command-
ment and the fact that God's love cradles
the whole world. In its design, a blue
world is enveloped by four red direction-
al arrows coming from behind and
merging in front.
Replacing Kent E. Naylor, now on the
national staff, as an Evangelism Counselor
is Mrs. Marilyn J. Koehler of Udel, Iowa,
a laywoman and student and member of
the Fairview Church of the Brethren.
Thomas Wilson replaces Stanley Keller,
who took the Portland, Ore., pastorate,
on the staff-level evangelism team.
The 15 evangelism counselors, repre-
senting all parts of the Brotherhood, are
giving leadership to evangelism training,
witnessing, and re'jources for congrega-
tions and district.
Ecumenically, the National Council of
Churches is developing a new unit called
Evangelism/Celebration as part of its re-
sponse to growing interest in evangelism.
"There is a growing consensus that the
absence of celebration or worship as the
heart of the evangelical experience has
perhaps been its greatest weakness," said
Dr. Jon Regier, NCC associate general
secretary for Christian Life and Mission.
The new unit, emphasizing communi-
cation, will conduct study projects, train-
ing and demonstration programs, and
provide resources for worship and evan-
gelism.
Mid-Atlantic district opposes
junior ROTC in high schools
Churches in the Mid-Atlantic District
went on record as opposing junior Re-
serve Officers Training Corps programs
for high schools.
The district conference said that "since
we are stewards of God's gifts of money
and human resources, we cannot support
junior ROTC which is financed by local
school money and is controlled by the
military service.
"We cannot participate in a program
which encourages a young man to learn
the art of war, support war, or participate
in war."
Precipitating the resolution was the
proposal last spring at Smithsburg, Md.,
for a junior ROTC program in the high
school. Opposing the program and instru-
mental in its defeat were a number of
area Brethren, particularly members of
the Welty Church of the Brethren and its
pastor Norman R. Cain (Messenger,
July 1, 1971).
Heifers used as a 'sermon'
for Thanksgiving service
The Sunday after Thanksgiving, H. Fred
Bernhard brought his "sermon" to
church at the end of a rope — 1 1 sweet-
faced Holstein heifers.
Surprising his parishioners at the Oak-
land Church of the Brethren, Gettysburg,
Ohio, the pastor had three heifers brought
into the sanctuary. Eight more remained
outside.
In the weeks prior, the church's witness
commission had been searching for posi-
tive ways to show the congregation's wit-
ness.
With only the faith and belief that the
church would come through with a spirit
of thanks-sharing at the Thanksgiving
service, Mr. Bernhard had bought the
1 1 heifers, aged 2 to 6 months, in the
name of the Oakland church.
Donors and feeders were asked for.
Slowly at first and then with growing
enthusiasm, voices spoke out: "This
family will donate one." "I'll donate one
and buy the feed if someone will raise
it." "I'll go in with another family (or
two or three) and raise one." Soon a line
formed at the front of the church as the
church clerk attempted to record all of
the offers.
When they were done more than 50
families in the congregation had com-
mitted themselves to raising 33 heifers
and two nanny goats. After 18 months to
feed-out the registered Holsteins, they
will be given to Heifer Project, Inc., for
distribution abroad. The church will be
able to send three or four "cowboys" with
the load when they'll be delivered.
The family receiving a heifer must do-
nate the first female offspring to another
family, thus insuring the continuance of
the original project.
As one parishioner said, it may have
been the best "sermon" Mr. Bernhard
had ever preached.
4 MESSENGER 2- 1 5-72
what is political activity
by churches? IRS drops hints
Last spring moderator Dale W. Brown
testified on behalf of the Church of the
Brethren before the U.S. Senate Armed
Services Committee in opposition to ex-
tension of the draft.
In November the General Board ap-
proved the expenditure of $5,000 from
the Emergency Disaster Fund to work
toward ending the Pakistani-Indian con-
flict and achieving a peaceful and
equitable political settlement.
Do these two illustrations of political
activity by the denomination place its
federal tax exemption in jeopardy? By
some examples in recent years, it might.
Most recently, the Guild of St. Ives, a
group of Episcopal lawyers, has high-
lighted the issue in a study, coming to the
conclusion that current tax laws give most
churches sufficient latitude for activities
considered necessary to "social and
prophetic witness."
But the St. Ives Guild feels that the
Internal Revenue Service has over the
past two years narrowly interpreted regu-
lations and gone to excesses in "threaten-
ing" religious organizations with loss of
exemption.
The exemption involved is from the
paying of income tax on contributions
and other revenue used for basic religious
functions. The taxation of property or
income not related to religion is accepted
by most U.S. churches. [Still, what con-
stitutes "relatedness" is becoming an issue
in many places. The United Methodist
Church is now in litigation over taxation
of its Nashville, Tenn., publishing house
by local authorities.]
The Episcopal Church in 1970 re-
ceived an IRS advisement that an ofi^ering
to benefit student political education
would jeopardize exemption. The offer-
ing was part of a 12-point statement on a
U.S. crisis in which "public confidence in
our foreign policy is faltering." The
collection was canceled.
In 1969 the National Council of
Churches and the United Church of
Christ were warned that testimony before
a congressional committee on broadcast
license renewals might lead to revocation
of tax exempt status.
A bill now up for Senate consideration
— sponsored by Senator Edwin Muskie of
Maine — would assure nontaxed organi-
zations, including churches, the right to
present congressional testimony without
the danger of forfeiting exemption.
On one side, some feel that the IRS in-
volvement represents legitimate efforts to
police nonprofit, nontaxable groups under
Congressional mandate. In 1969, at
Congress' prodding, the IRS issued new
administrative procedures to check on
the validity of tax exemption claims.
Religion writer Edward B. Fiske in The
New York Times notes, for the other
side, "a simmering feeling in liberal
church circles that the Nixon Administra-
tion has adopted a policy of 'intimidation'
of groups, including churches, that dis-
agree with its policies on such issues as
the Vietnam war and civil rights."
A key paragraph in the St. Ives Guild
document helps explain the dim view
taken by Congress toward political activ-
ity by any exempt group.
"Since contributions to a church are
deductible by the donor, the expenditure
of such contributions by the church for
political purposes effectively sidesteps the
denial of tax benefit to political activities
and would give the church an unfair ad-
vantage over other nonexempt groups
whose views may differ from the
churches' and who must fund their
activities with after-tax dollars."
Under present provisions, exempt or-
ganizations are barred from engaging in
"substantial" attempts to influence legis-
lation or from supporting political
candidates.
Yet, as the St. Ives Guild said, "in-
creased awareness of social responsibility
had led churches to public positions on
issues of considerable political signifi-
cance."
Dr. J. Jack Melhorn resigns from McPherson presidency
Noting the changing priorities of Mc-
Pherson College and the need for new
leadership that reflects them, J. Jack
Melhorn resigned from the college presi-
dency Dec. 4. He has held the post since
August 1965.
The college trustees have appointed a
search committee for Dr. Melhorn's suc-
cessor, asking him to assist in the search.
The resignation takes effect Aug. 31.
Falling enrollments and increasingly
tight financial resources over the past few
years have made fund raising an ever im-
portant consideration for the Kansas
college. Dr. Melhorn has indicated pub-
licly that his first concerns and interests
are with administration and education.
"In addition to being an able adminis-
trator and an innovative educator, a pres-
ident with exceptional fund-raising abili-
ties is needed at this time to obtain addi-
tional gift support," he said in resigning.
A number of steps had been taken by
Dr. Melhorn to improve the college's
financial standing, including holding
faculty and staff salaries and tuition at
the same level as last year, increased re-
cruiting efforts, and institution of a mas-
ter educational plan.
Before arriving at McPherson, Dr. Mel-
horn served as chairman of the sociology
department and action chairman of the
division of social sciences at La Verne
College in California. He also served
three terms as La Verne city's mayor. His
future plans are as yet undetermined.
MESSENGER 5
Who then determines whether a church
statement, a program or fund drive repre-
sents "substantiar' political activity?
Then, too, is the church lobbying when
it makes statements on Vietnam, civil
rights, or China? Though the Church of
the Brethren maintains a Washington rep-
resentative, it is not registered as a lobby-
ist. Or do such concerns fall within the
guarantee of freedom of religion?
St. Ives Guild views the established
principle of limiting the political activities
of exempt groups as sound. The problem,
it claims, is in the manner of administra-
tion by the IRS of the statute and regu-
lations.
Churches that wish to e.xpand present
legislative activities are best advised to
establish separate organizations, the re-
port says. One plea being made is that tax
exemption not be predicated on the ab-
sence or presence of political activity.
Korean government expresses
appreciation to Brethren man
Darvin E. Boyd, 4-H program director
and agricultural consultant for the Ameri-
can-Korean Foundation in the Republic
of Korea, received the National Medal —
Order of Civil Merit. Moknyon Jang, one
of the highest honors awarded by the
Korean government. Mr. Boyd and his
wife, the former Linda Stehman, are
members of the Lititz, Pa., Church of
the Brethren and associated members of
the Seoul Union Church in Korea. He is
serving his second year as chairman of
the congregation.
At 30, Mr. Boyd is the youngest person
to receive the honor. As director of the
foundation's agricultural program, he
has. since 1966, trained Korean youth in
leadership, citizenship, service, earth-
block housing, bench terracing, and the
care and management of fruit trees,
field crops, and livestock.
An eleven-year 4-H"er in the U.S., he
received the Pennsylvania 4-H Achieve-
ment Award in 1961. While attending
Delaware Valley College of Science and
■Agriculture, where he obtained his degree
in animal husbandry, he supported his
college career with profits from 4-H
projects.
He obtained his master's degree in pub-
lic administration from Pennsylvania
State University. Mrs. Boyd is a
graduate of Elizabethtown College. She
teaches fourth grade in the Seoul-.'\meri-
can Elementary School for the Depart-
ment of Defense Dependents Schools.
It was his experience in Korea as a
grass-roots ambassador of friendship
and goodwill in the International Farm
Youth Exchange Program in 1964 that
took him back to that country to live and
work. Today, with a strong interest in
youth, he sees the 4-H program fulfilling
a "key role in the development of the
rural areas in Korea." The Boyds" own
commitment to their work is illustrated
in their personal contributions of $ 1 ,600
for se\en projects related to Mr. Boyd's
activities.
Darvin E. Boyd, right, and agriculturc-jorestry minister Kim in Korean ceremonies
6 MESSENGER 2I3-72
Cooperative 'Christ's Parish'
begun in Middle Pennsylvania
A new cooperative parish has been estab-
lished in Southern Huntingdon County,
Middle Pennsylvania, involving the Rock-
hill and Blacklog Church of the Brethren
congregations and two .American Bap-
tist congregations.
The four-church unit is known as
Christ's Parish. Pastoral services are be-
ing given by Ronald A. Beverlin, formerly
Rockhill church pastor, and Jonathan
Hunter, a Juniata College senior, serving
as pastor and associate pastor, respec-
tively.
The plan for ministry includes Sunday
morning worship at each of the churches,
Mr. Hunter in preaching ministries at two
of the churches each Sunday, Mr. Bever-
lin in administration and pastoral rela-
tions. A part-time secretary completes
the staff.
Elsewhere in congregational organiza-
tion. Northern Indiana district conference
received into the denomination the South-
side Fellowship, Elkhart, in a three-way
relationship with two Mcnnonite bodies
and the Church of the Brethren.
The group meets in the chapel of the
Associated Mcnnonite Biblical Semin-
aries.
In California, the Raisin City Church
of the Brethren has joined the Mcnnonite
Brethren, an option given to them in an
agreement after five years of pastoral
care by Mennonite Brethren Seminary
students.
Few reasons for optimism
seen for Northern Ireland
"There are no illusions that the churches
will have a great effect on the situation,"
reported Dale W. Ott, reflecting on his
visit in early December to Northern Ire-
land. "A political settlement is impera-
tive. But the churches can help provide
a ministry and service of reconciliation."
Mr. Ott, Brethren Service representa-
tive in Europe and North Africa, was the
only American among 42 leaders of vari-
ous communions in Britain and the con-
tinent at an information seminar on the
violence occurring in Northern Ireland.
I
I
(LO[nidl®[r[]Dra
Bringing the group together were the
Conference of European Churches and
the Irish Council of Churches.
The representatives heard speakers
from all major viewpoints on the conflict,
both ecclesiastical and political, leaving
Mr. Ott with the view: "None who ad-
dressed us saw reasons for optimism. . . ."
One Methodist minister, R. D. E. Gal-
lagher, saw some hope in the hopelessness
of the situation, believing that both sides
are beginning to realize that if things go
on as before, both sides will lose.
And although the conflict continues to
polarize the Catholic and Protestant
communities, some clergy feel it is forc-
ing cooperation within the churches
which were not thought possible before.
On the subject of the churches" recon-
ciling power, one speaker said, "We
Irish are basically a churchgoing people.
Therefore, clergy and lay leaders alike
still have considerable opportunity to
touch the lives of people at the grass
roots."
"It is most unfortunate that the strug-
gle is still so couched in the terminology
of the old historical religious divisions.
The decisive factors of today are far
more sociopolitical and economic than
religious," Mr. Ott recounts.
"The underdeveloped and poor of both
communities — Protestant and Catholic
— are the main victims of economic and
social injustice. Nevertheless, sharp re-
ligious prejudices persist and cannot be
dismissed nor isolated from the other
causes in the struggle.
"Clearly, the churches of both confes-
sions have failed in the past to proclaim
and exemplify fully enough the message
of justice and reconciliation," he said.
Mr. Ott visited churches and talked to
pastors whose parishes are in the heart
of the worst areas of violence. He was
impressed by the relief and friendship
ministries he saw operated by churches.
How can churches outside Ireland
help? Mr. Ott is investigating the place-
ment of Brethren Service volunteers in
Belfast as youth and social workers. But
in more general terms, when that ques-
tion was asked in Ireland, the response
was, "Pray for our churches, our people,
and our country that we may find the
strength and the faith to endure these
troubled times and that we might find
reconciliation one with another."
THE PASTORAL SCENE
Schoolteacher William Rodeffer be-
gan part-time pastoral work with the Grottoes church in
the Shenandoah District recently. His acceptance of the
call is one of several in that district: R_. Thomas Fralin
Jr. goes to the Middle River church in New Hope this
mon1:h . . . and Robert Rowe became associate pastor at Waynes-
boro while continuing studies at Eastern Mennonite Seminary.
In South/Central District of Indiana William Ri tchey
is resigning his pastorate at Sweetser.
The Mountain Grove congregation at Cabool, Mo., wel-
comed new pastor Ken Bumgarner in January. . . . James Sim-
mons has resigned as executive director of the Elkhart,
Ind., County Council of Churches to become volunteer serv-
ices coordinator for the Elkhart county and city courts.
Newly named associate director for CROP in Iowa is
Max Gumm, who will continue in his pastorate at Prairie
City on a temporary, weekend basis.
Middle Pennsylvania's Cherry Lane church has secured
the services of a part-time pastor, Galen Hoover , a licensed
minister from the Carson Valley church.
Five persons were licensed recently to the ministry:
Thurman Andrews , New Hope, Ark. ; James Beard and Ron
Arnett , Eel River, South/Central Indiana; Charles Wilson ,
Pleasant Valley, Shenandoah; and Ron Nolley , Staunton,
Shenandoah.
Installed as pastor at the Lewiston Church of the
Brethren in the Iowa-Minnesota District was Herbert Root ,
formerly of Waca, Texas.
A RESOURCE AVAILABLE FOR YOU
Messenger staff
offers the Feb. 1 special issue on nonviolence for pur-
chase in quantity. With articles by Robert McAfee Brown,
Richard Bollinger, H. Lamar Gibble , Dale W. Brown, and
Glenn R. Bucher, leaders and teachers may imagine a number
of settings for its use as a resource — for example,
church school study, discussion groups, and draft counsel-
ing. The cost, 50<? per magazine, will offset postage and
handling. Order from Messenger , 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
111. 60120.
AFTER FIFTY YEARS . . . Our congratulations go to
couples marking wedding anniversaries: Mr_. and Mrs. Med-
ford Neher , Pompano, Fla. , fifty- two; Mr. and Mrs . Clarence
Dambman , Lanark, 111., fifty-five; the David Wilsons, Mo-
desto, Calif. , fifty-eight; the Jessie S_. Wines , Bridge-
water, Va., fifty-eight; the Galen Clairs , Pearl City, 111.,
fifty-eight; the Peter Heiseys , Neffsville, Pa., sixty-five;
and the Harry D. Millers , East Freedom, Pa., sixty-seven.
ON CAMPUS . . . La_ Verne College joins other institu-
tions in the World Campus Afloat program as the second
California college to participate. The first La Verne
students will join the moving campus this year.
At Manchester College William R. Eberly will be
director of a new program and major in environmental
studies , an integration of the natural sciences approach
to problems like pollution and use of resources.
2-15-71.' MESSEKGER 7
p®(Boail [r^poFt
2000: As seen through a glass darkly
by RONALD E. KEENER
With competent sociologists, historians,
scholars, and others in the Church of the
Brethren with a worldview, the denomina-
tion appears to have scarce few "futur-
ists" among its number.
At least judging from the contributions
to the winter issue of Brethren Life and
Thought, save two or three more notable
selections, the church has few persons
daring and prophetic enough to hazard
what the church will look like in the year
2000, the assignment undertaken by
eleven writers in the BLT.
Perhaps the problem is not all theirs.
Indeed, who can predict accurately the
complexion of anything in this world
given the rapidity of change. A difficult
job. Nay, impossible.
If any single Brethren grasped the fu-
ture firmly in his vision, it was Dan West.
His life, exemplified in part by Heifer
Project, Inc., is one example. Yet in
1938, as Brotherhood youth director, he
published a small book. The Coming
Brotherhood, in which he suggests that
825 youth, more or less, with the help of
selected leaders could provide the dy-
namic for building a true social, ec-
onomic, and spiritual brotherhood. Still
his vision of far-reaching mutual aid,
brotherhood life insurance and credit
unions, one third of our youth in volun-
teer service (ten years before Brethren
Volunteer Service) have not come to
pass. One writer suggests that we are
today even more fragmented and polar-
ized than we were in 1938.
Yet the future is worth pondering,
much in the fashion of an Alvin Toffler in
Future Shock. A couple writers in BLT
are helpful in projecting our thinking 20
and 30 years ahead. Others are more
myopic beyond a few years and prefer to
relate what the church must do to enter
the 21st century or how they would like
8 MESSENGER 2! 3-72
to see the church in 2000, rather than
what it will be like — however difficult
that chore may be.
For Pittsburgh, Pa., pastor R. Russell
Bixler, church life in the year 2000 is a
moot question. "The year 2000? I hon-
estly believe that my Lord Jesus Christ
will have returned before that date," he
says.
"Thus I have a tingling expectancy
about the year 2000. Jesus refused to
provide dates but he did picture ample
signs of his imminent return. And the
imminence of those signs can be easily
discerned by any honest inquirer."
The task for Brethren in the remaining
years, as Mr. Bixler sees it, is to remain
obedient to the New Testament scrip-
tures. He suggests that Brethren are not
always making Jesus "excitingly central"
in their lives. "We must discover him
soon, or the Church of the Brethren will
literally disintegrate," he says.
Indeed, the very existence of the
Church of the Brethren in the year 2000
was seldom questioned by the contribu-
tors. The possibility of a more narrowed
geographic concentration and fewer num-
bers in the church was suggested, though,
by one writer.
But assuming a continuation of the
church in some form, what shall be its
focus and mission in 30 years? Annual
Conference moderator-elect Dean M.
Miller suggests some interesting
prospects:
U^ Congregational experiences in New
Testament "gifts of the Spirit," with
anointing services becoming frequent.
"In some areas surgery is performed by
Spirit-filled healers, using only their hands
as instruments."
I/' Messenger as an audio-visual kit
that monthly brings cassettes, films, and
the printed word.
ly* Half of Brethren congregations in
dual alliances with other denominations,
caused by dwindling finances, pastoral
supply, and rural population.
!>* An increased freedom in form of
congregational organization, with more
house churches or task groups.
i/^ Some congregations almost e itirely
made up of youth and young adults.
l^ A denomination of 300,000, g-owth
engendered by a new felt identity and the
dual thrusts for spiritual power and
human power.
V* Mortgaging of church buildings and
land in order to begin new service projects
and mass media evangelism.
i^ Emphasis on prophetic and servant
ministries in the community.
Mr. Miller also sees tightening govern-
mental restrictions on the church, as it
attempts to counter the church's prophetic
stance. He sees government requiring
quarterly reports on congregational activ-
ities, scrutinizing national staff itineraries,
infiltration of Annual Conference by
informers.
Annual Conference has been moved to
Cincinnati, Ohio, in the year 2000 from
Atlantic City, N.J., with a government
prohibition on conventions on the eastern
seaboard. Population growth has over-
taxed air and water purifiers and further
migrations to the east are being
discouraged.
Mr. Miller sees the 1971 National
Youth Conference as setting the tone and
articulately addressing the denomination
that was to lead to a deepened unity in the
church 30 years hence.
He sees the Holy Spirit more clearly
involved in "a new freedom to have and
to express deep emotional experiences in
the gatherings of Brethren. There is a
new sense of joy and hope among these
Christians who seem to be convinced that
God's kingdom will be more visible in this
new millennium, and that with new recep-
tivity to spiritual phenomena, the world
may yet experience the peace that was so
elusive in the twentieth century." Gifts
of tongues and of healing are no longer
ridiculed and a new interest is found in
"psychic phenomenon and the reality of
I
communication not restricted to the five
senses."
In the 21st century, forecasts Mr.
Miller, "the role of biblical interpretation
shifted from trying to demythologize the
miracle stories to the endeavor to see the
biblical records as evidence of God's pow-
er at work in ways that we are only be-
ginning to understand."
With a new openness within the church,
a revitalized theology of the Holy Spirit,
a radical Christian discipleship, and "the
exploration of inner space with the same
curiosity and commitment that led to
ventures beyond planet earth," the
Church of the Brethren prospered.
Still Mr. Miller sees 30 years making
little difference in some issues as the
church continues to consider the future of
Bethany Seminary, the involvement of
Christians in genetics and abortion, the
role of youth in the church, and relations
of overseas churches to U.S.
congregations.
Less gentle and optimistic about the
future of the Church of the Brethren is
William G. Willoughby, philosophy and
religion department chairman at La Verne
College in California.
He believes for example that "except
for scattered churches with great tenacity
or with unusual pastoral or lay leadership,
there will not be much membership of the
church west of the Mississippi and south
of the Ohio. . . . Barring defections,
mergers, or reversal of trends, the church
will drop in membership by the year 2000
to approximately 150,000."
Citing six demographic and other fac-
tors in his presentation, which reflect
careful reflection and research, he notes
too that "the future of the church is
bound to the reproduction rate, which will
drop rather than rise." He opines that the
trends will continue and perhaps
accelerate.
Dr. Willoughby ties the future of the
church to the social and political condi-
tions within the nation and believes that
an era of comparative peace is required
for Brethren survival.
In such a setting, "the government will
strongly encourage a culture church and
will use strong pressures against prophetic
denominations .... Church membership,
except in the culture church, is likely to
decline as it already has in Europe."
Church membership may drop from a
high of 63 percent of the population, re-
corded in 1968, to 15 or 20 percent in
2000, he says.
Of six options open to the Brethren,
from retreating into the past (character-
ized, he feels, by the Brethren Revival
Fellowship), to merger (which to him is
not a live option in this century), to
fragmentation, he chooses "a kind of
adaptation to change."
Decisions will be made in the years
prior to entering the third millennium
that will cause a much smaller denomina-
tion to "seek to conserve her heritage at
the same time she is attempting to fulfill
her mission in a technetronic world."
In this church of the future, he sees:
\^ A smaller national headquarters
i^ A more regional church, with few
churches in the west and south
v^ Increased giving per congregation
and an increased percentage to outreach,
with emphasis on community and area
needs, less to national and international
programs
\^ Use of mass media technology in
worship and church administration
I/"* Use of lay persons in worship and
preaching and pastoral duties
\^ Taxation of church property, en-
couraging more yoked churches
\^ A fuzzying of denominational lines
as ecumenism at the grass roots takes
hold.
"The 'main-line' denominations will be
'one in the spirit,' at least so far as
refractory human nature will permit, and
will be functionally unified in operations.
Baptism or confirmation will be a rite of
entrance into 'universal membership"
recorded in a central computer. The
Church of the Brethren will maintain a
superficial identity, but for no imperative
reason," Dr. Willoughby surmises.
He sees Bethany Seminary as becoming
"even more indispensable to the life of the
church as it devotes much of its resources
to training lay people in specialized voca-
tions. . . . Whatever its future shape, the
seminary will provide a dynamic leader-
ship to the church for the next thirty
years — at least."
With greater educational effectiveness
in the year 2000, he sees children and
adults better educated in their Christian
faith than in previous generations.
And in the area of personal faith. Dr.
Willoughby forecasts that "'there will be
much more intensity in worship experi-
ences, and considerable exploration of
mystic possibilities. A new confidence
and self-esteem will be the mark of the
Christian, for all around him the frantic,
technological society will bear the scars
of alienation and secular despair. There
will be a shift in theology from Barthian
transcendence to Process immanence, and
harmony with rather than dominion over
nature will be the emphasis."
But beyond what may be — an adap-
tation to change by the church — Bill
Willoughby would choose another option,
that the church with God's help create
its own future.
"This she could do by constructing
vehicles for carrying her heritage, ve-
hicles that would be self-renewing, truly
anabaptist, truly New Testament, and
truly open to the vision of the Kingdom,
but not sectarian, not creedal, and not
authoritarian. Called to 'wash the feet'
of the world, the new church would foster
fellowship cells or teams committed to
faithful witness, service, or to other kinds
of ministry," he says.
In such a new church he sees greater
personal commitment and an annual re-
newal of membership, new fellowship
groups along the model of the house
church and in other forms.
Bill Willoughby 's dream of true broth-
erhood, as with Dan West's, may not
come about. "But I dream, nevertheless,
of a self-disciplined order within Christen-
dom, one that is not withdrawn in sec-
tarian, self-righteous aloofness, but one
that in love and freedom will carry the
gift that God has given the Brethren into
the heart of Christendom and out into the
world."
Other contributors to the BLT issue are
Doris C. Egge, Roanoke, Va., Ida Stude-
baker Howell, Pomona, Calif., Anna B.
Mow, Roanoke, Va., Raymond R. Peters,
Sebring, Fla.. Graydon F. Snyder, Lom-
bard, III., Larry K. Ulrich, Gaithersburg,
Md., M. R. Zigler, Sebring, Fla., and
C. Wayne Zunkel, Eiizabethtown, Pa.
In a rationale for extrapolating the
future. Bill Willoughby suggests that one's
attempt to deal with the future is better
than to ignore it, for those who do not
look into the future may lose a portion of
their humanity. So it is with the Brethren
if they are to find direction by the year
2000. D
2-I5-'
MESSENGER
The Community of Christ the Servant:
A Caring Place
With a Cominonl
by Linda Beher
Mt's an unimposing building. St. Luke's
Lutheran Church, its buff brick and case-
ment-window architecture the marks of
dozens of suburban churches near
Chicago. It's the other sign on the winter-
ragged lawn that arrests, boldly lettered
in blue on white: Tempor.\ry Qu.^rters,
The Community of Christ the Serv-
ant, LcTHER.\N Church in America,
Experi.ment.\l Education Center,
J.\CK VV. Lundin, Pastor.
You do not need to know much about
the Community to sense right away its
vitality and warmth. In space owned by
and shared temporarily with St. Luke's,
office and activity center spill delightedly
into each other. Telephones ring. Desks,
acquired used from a Chicago office
building, groan with the weight of corre-
spondence and thick copies of The
Villaife Voice. Free-standing closets
bulge with liturgical robes, reels of film, a
coffeemaker, cardboard boxes with sink-
ing tops, and several large red and blue
"gutbuckets": a ladder leans against the
wall. People drinking coffee shout greet-
ings and conversation to each other over
the rhythmic clack/ thud/clack of the
Multilith ■ — nicknamed The Monster by
the woman running it — spewing en-
velopes imprinted with the Community's
address. Posters — "Jesus taught adults
and played with children" — signs, and
photographs of a Sunday morning gather-
ing paper the cement block walls.
On a workday the larger space glows in
soft colors and shadows. Used variously
for the gathering of the Community at the
Eucharist, film and theatre workshops
and performances, children's activities,
group meetings, even at rest it suggests an
absence of pretense, of piety about
"sacred spaces"; reminds the visitor that
"this room is for people purposes." Light
from pushout windows breaks through
colored glass to diffuse to purples and
reds, greens and oranges, on the metal
chairs that form a rough horseshoe
around the platform on which the altar
stands. Balloons hang in clusters from the
altar, the music stand, the piano and
drums lurking in the colored shadows.
Banners affirm that the family is good,
that hope is part of the Community, that
God and love and people are alive here.
You do not need to be long in the
company of the Community's staff to
sense their intense e,\citement about what
they are doing. There are warm, easy
relationships between pastor Jack Lundin
and Gary Rowe, minister of arts and
media whose work is partially funded as a
special ministry by the District of Illinois
and Wisconsin and the Parish Ministries
Commission.
At twenty-six Gary comes well
equipped for such a ministry. Writer of
plays and poetry, maker of films, he was
graduated from Bethany Theological
Seminary in 1970 after several years' con-
centrated study in media. "If there wasn't
a class for something I wanted to learn, I
devised an independent study," he
laughed. "I knew I wanted to work with
people. And I knew I wanted to do some-
thing in communications media and the-
atre. The two began coming together and
I began realizing that maybe I could
accomplish both in a ministry."
Gary can talk excitedly about the use
of media like film and video tapes to
transform persons. "Persons can better
understand the effects of media if they
are involved in it themselves. And so
efforts like film making can be an educa-
tional experience." His involvement in
early stages of the video tape project
prompted a discussion of the kinds of
technology already available for the
church to use — "if it will just use them!"
He sketched a church school setting in
which children could watch a program
created specifically for them and recorded
on video tape. Cassettes and equipment to
play them are already on the market.
"Imagine the uses for video tape; an en-
tire congregation could see the highlights
of Annual Conference without ever hav-
ing to leave home," Gary said. "Or an
10 MESSENGER 213-72
Cnp
adult church school class could be in-
volved in problems of biblical interpreta-
tion with professors at Bethany like
Graydon Snyder or Robert NefT."
He can talk persuasively, too, about the
expanding use of the arts in local parish
setting. "Theatre and film making are
ways of breaking down barriers to com-
munication and of overcoming the aliena-
tion persons feel from one another." And
so, in addition to standard pastoral func-
tions like counseling and assisting in the
liturgy, he acts as a resource person for
film making workshops; as artistic direc-
tor of the CCS Repertory Theatre Com-
pany; as enabler for film seminars.
The Community began in 1968, when
the Lutheran Church in America allowed
for a new experiment to take place. Sev-
eral families banded together that year,
with Jack Lundin as pastor, tired of
tyrannical structures that divided the
family, shunting the children off to junior
church or a competitive, rigid Sunday
school; boxing the adults into pews that
prevent face-to-face contact, and joyless
repetition of meaningless liturgy.
In their covenant the families resolved
to celebrate the Eucharist each week as
their central act of faith, with the chil-
dren joining the family circle as recipi-
ents of a baptismal blessing.
They determined to experiment with
. an
udi uongregation
215-72 MESSENGER 11
new liturgies and songs that would help
them make a festive, contemporary state-
ment about themselves as persons in
community.
They vowed to reenfranchise persons
who have generally found no place in the
church: the artists and musicians whose
talents with modern graphics or whose
expertise at sweet hot jazz never seemed
quite as acceptable as the fourteenth-
century fresco or the music of organists
(with an occasional flautist or violinist
thrown in, and possibly a guitarist for
Youth Sunday).
They eschewed traditional membership
rolls, designing a short-term, year-at-a-
time covenant on the part of all who care
to partake. "In the corporate sense, is it
not healthy to allow the congregation to
die even symbolically, if not in actual
fact?" wrote Jack Lundin in a paper
describing the one-year covenant. "Do
we not hold tenaciously to a number of
practices which tend as often as not to
separate us from others rather than bind
us together?"
"We really do go out of business, liter-
ally, once a year," Gary said. "If no one
showed up the next Sunday to make a
new covenant, we'd be out of work." And
when one thinks of Jesus" reference to
new wine in old wineskins, it all comes
together in a sensible pattern.
The families proposed that the group
be characterized by little formal structure,
permitting the covenantal membership to
confirm all the business of the Commu-
nity — from purchasing a typewriter to
hiring a new staff person.
They decided against getting into debt
for a building which might not meet their
requirements for flexibility. And so in the
beginning they met in a barn, converted
into usable space by the Board of Ameri-
can Missions of the LCA, owner of the
land. In a short time they will be moving
to an office/ hotel complex now being
built on the barn site.
They agreed that the kind of witness
that could come from members of the
Community might best be expressed in
"secular" groups. And so CCS has no
social action commission, no nurture
board. Members display their concerns
in those areas by joining suburban groups.
Gary: "This idea gets members to witness
beyond the Community to the commu-
nity-at-large in a way that makes worship
not a hollow experience but a real expres-
sion of hopes and fears."
They aimed to open whatever space
they could to groups in need of a meeting
place or a telephone number and mailing
address, believing that what a congrega-
tion does with its space ought to be com-
mensuate with its tasks as a community.
Disparate groups like the American Civil
Liberties Union, a local chapter of
Homes of Private Enterprise, and the
Du Page Ballet — altogether about twen-
ty organizations — find a friendly home
at CCS.
Mroviding a place for such organiza-
tions sparked the birth of Suburban
Training Center, housed at the Commu-
nity but sponsored by Evangelical, Beth-
any and Northern Baptist theological
seminaries. Students at the Center —
recruited from sponsoring seminaries —
participate in field work in such nonparish
ministries as legal programs and civil
liberties efforts, fair housing groups,
youth culture agencies, mass media proj-
ects, street ministries for youth, and
political action groups. They engage in
study of topic areas like Definitions of the
Suburban Matrix, The Dynamics of
Social Change, and The Suburban Mys-
tique. They process new concepts in
conversations with community leaders
and seminary faculty members.
Gary's investment in the Suburban
Training Center is heavy. As coordinator
he develops curriculum. Secures leader-
Pasinr Jack Lundin in moments on Sunday mornin/; when Community eni^ages in decision making: Wednesday Program, singing with pastor
ship. Writes promotional brochures. It's
the only program of its kind in the Chi-
cago area — astonishing when Gary tells
you that the suburbs where the Center
and its sponsors are located will he the
geographical center of Chicago in not too
many years distant.
The Center provides a learning adven-
ture for seminary students not unlike that
in which the Community itself partici-
pates. With faith that "learning is sheer
delight," members of the Community
resolved to turn the rigidity of the tradi-
tional Sunday school into a time for
children to explore and to celebrate their
own gifts. Christian education at the
Community of Christ the Servant, Gary
explained, is experiential and noncom-
f)etitive, with the leader a resource per-
son, not a curriculum. "Wednesday Pro-
gram for children (preschool to fifth
grade) is not just Sunday school on a
different day," he was quick to point out.
And I was quick to concur; who expects
theatre games, creating buttons, and
planting indoor gardens at Sunday school
— even if it is on a diflferent day?
Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders with
their pastor plunge into all sorts of ex-
periences "as a church." They are ex-
periences I would enjoy: visiting a
synagogue and a Bar-Mitzva; attending a
pop concert by the Chicago Symphony;
flying over Chicago to sense how the city
lives and organizes; eating their way
through five or six ethnic neighborhoods
in the city; meeting and talking with
ex-drug addicts at Grace Lutheran
Church in Chicago — visceral experi-
ences that enable youngsters to respond
to their world as Christians.
The Plunge Program acts as a prelude
to the more academic years of confirma-
tion, for ninth and tenth graders. "It's
like a book-of-the-month club; the kids
read everything from Salinger to Luther,"
Gary said.
And of a Sunday evening adults can
tune into biblical study as it relates to the
family; films as they relate to Christian
ethics; literature as it has meaning theo-
logically; freewheeling discussions of
family life. Gary organizes the film and
literature discussions, with books like The
Great Gatsby and films like Nobody
Waved Goodbye to enrich the dialogue.
o
'utside the buff brick building which
temporarily houses the Community, you
can watch the city press its way west. The
Illinois landscape out there, gentle hills
and tree-filled low places, is all but lost
under the gnashings, scrapings, and
fillings of bulldozers clearing the land for
industrial parks, high rises, and more
houses, wider roads to hang out like
latchstrings from Chicago. Friends of
mine who know the callous ways of the
suburbs, the prisons that can trap you
there, find it hard to believe that a caring
place like the Community of Christ the
Servant might be able to exist where
people regard other people with detach-
ment, and a friendly glance is not easily
come by.
"It's great that you can be yourself
there, and feel accepted and acceptable,"
one told me. "But I don't see what that
has to do with a relationship between you
and your God. How does going there
make you a better person?"
I remembered the warm "Peace of
Christ be with you" a woman named
Nancy had spoken as she hugged me; the
way Gary and Jack had looked at the
children they blessed during the Eucha-
rist; how the sweet bread had felt on my
tongue, and the hard chill of the common
cup; the concern we had shared for a
member whose mother was ill and dying.
And I remembered what Jack had said
during the act of absolution: "You are
free in Christ; live without excuses!"
No other explanations seemed
necessary. □
Gary: Helping district dream of media uses
^
"It is not unusual for the Parish Min-
istries Commission to enter into con-
tract with districts in the Brotherhood
to support a specialized ministry" like
the one which Gary Rowe is develop-
ing, according to PMC executive Earle
W. Fike Jr. Specifically, he said,
"We're there because the Community
of Christ the Servant is a creative form
of congregational life, a new model
which no one has tried before."
Illinois-Wisconsin District executive
secretary Carl E. Myers is glad to talk
about Gary's tie-in with the Church of
the Brethren. "Gary's experiments with
community outreach and new educa-
tional ministries interested the district.
We felt that here was a creative guy
needing to experiment further with his
ideas. And we were willing to say we'd
stand with him."
In his work with the district Gary has
developed an Experimental Program in
Arts and Media, an umbrella designa-
tion which covers such eflforts as design-
ing a May 1972 workshop on the
church and the arts and proposing uses
for video cassettes — in sum helping
district personnel dream of ways in
which the church can use media in its
witness to the community-at-large.
Carl: "Maybe the old patterns and
techniques are not doing the job. Even
so, when the district involved itself with
Gary it was not with the proviso that we
wanted a specific product to show for
our investment."
But there is a product — a person's
creativity. And if it is possible to
purchase that for the purpose of devel-
oping a significant ministry, both Carl
Myers and Earle Fike would affirm that
is what the district and Parish Min-
istries Commission have done.
2-15-'
MESSENGER 13
Finding the Lost
We Have Lost
by G. Curtis Jones
\V
hilc on an east coast trip I lost my
plane ticket. I am not an inexperienced
traveler, having circumnavigated the
globe twice without losing anything ex-
cept weight, time, and sleep. But when I
prepared to leave New York for home,
I could not find my ticket. I returned to
the motel; searched every inch of the
room; went through luggage and clothes
... no ticket. I felt stupid.
To this day I have no idea what hap-
pened; whether it was dropped, or left on
someone's desk following a conference, or
taken by a pickpocket. ,^11 I know is
that it disappeared.
Sooner or later we all lose something of
value: a key, wedding ring, money, prop-
erty, friends. It is a tantalizing and
enervating experience. It spoils our day.
It disturbs our chemistry. It colors our
responses. We return to the scene, at-
tempt to recapitulate the event, rehearse
our movements, and follow every glim-
mer of hope that might shed light on the
mystery . . . often spending more time in
the search than the value of that which is
lost warrants.
>^ot only do we lose objects and things;
we lose our tempers.
There are two kinds of anger: that
which blazes, and that which broods.
Some people have short fuses and, like
gunpowder, go off quickly. The least
irregularity or irritation, from breaking a
shoelace to missing a traffic light, ignites
them. Then there are those who remain
silent through conflict, imaginary and
real. They do not blaze — they smolder,
sulk, and frequently isolate themselves.
They are most difficult to reason with be-
cause there is little communication.
That which causes one to explode in
anger may be physical, psychological, in-
ternal, or external. It may emanate from
a bad tooth, a fitful night's rest, a poor
liver, a misunderstanding, a miscarriage
of justice, or insensitivity to need. What-
ever triggers the reaction, one usually fires
back, seeking to destroy the source in
some type of combat, or to escape to
some convenient emotional hideout.
Individuals, especially professing
Christians, are challenged to discover and
maintain equilibrium. Dr. Karl Mennin-
ger calls it "'the vital balance." What does
this delicate term "equilibrium" mean?
It is the concept of entropy. Related to
human behavior, when energy exchanges
between two systems at different tempera-
tures, according to this law of balance it
always flows from the hotter to the colder
body. A measure of this law is entropy.
As entropy increases, chaotic conditions
increase. There are points at which the
exchange becomes irreversible.
The secret of human behavior, more
often than not, is determined by this vital
balance. The Christian is not expected to
be foam rubber, but to possess, like steel,
that quality of temper that makes him
strong, useful, and dependable.
The size of a man can be measured by
the size of that which makes him mad.
Our Lord was not a placid personality.
He earned the title of "meek and mild"
— yet as we know, when such people do
explode, they are most difficult to handle.
When Jesus saw the money game going
on in the temple he blazed with indigna-
tion and literally drove the racketeers out.
Observing the hypocrisy of the Phari-
sees, Jesus referred to them as "white-
washed sepulchers," "brood of vipers" —
hissing snakes! Seeing Herod's cunning-
ness, he told companions, "Go and say to
that fox . . . ."
Our Lord's anger was aroused not be-
cause of wrongs done to him but always
because of wrongs done to God.
However we try to control ourselves,
now and again we explode. We overreact,
we make statements for which we are
sorry, we behave unbecomingly. When
we lose the delicate, vital balance in ex-
changes with others, we lose effectiveness
and contagion.
There is an ancient proverb which says:
"He whom the gods would destroy, they
first make mad."
The late and beloved Harry Emerson
Fosdick was proud of his heritage and
parents. He once spoke of a technique
employed by his mother when, as a lad,
he would lose his temper. Looking at him
she would say: "Where is Harry? Has
anyone seen Harry? Go find Harry."
Not only children but aspiring adults
must daily seek to find that which they
have lost in their personalities.
^s human beings we not only lose things
of value, we not only lose the vital bal-
ance in our relationships, we frequently
lose ourselves or become lost in the
avalanche of alternatives and responsibil-
ities.
We move from irritation to indiffer-
ence, to uncertainty, to isolation. Prob-
lems emanating from economics, politics,
ecology, together with personal choices,
are so overwhelming that we lose our
sense of direction and dedication.
When is a man lost? The eminent
William Ernest Hocking described a lost
soul as one who had lost confidence in
himself, the power of belief in his fellows
and in the universe. Professor Arthur
Holt expressed it this way: "A man is lost
14 MESSENGER 2 lj-72
(/ f -G Cur
3 Curts Jones
when he cannot define his present or plan
his future."
This is a day of lostness. General con-
ditions seem to deplete us of spark, pur-
pose, and power. The average person is a
profile of dejection and fear. American
youth refer to themselves as "the lost gen-
eration" — meaning they have inherited
ambiguity, confusion, inconsistency, and
are denied the opportunity to determine
their destiny.
We become lost in the fogs of fear,
anxiety, worry.
We become lost in the jungles of pas-
sion, hatred, addiction.
We become lost in the arena of polit-
ical affairs.
Because we lose confidence in ourselves
and others, because courage and integrity
are so easily misplaced, we frequently be-
come lost in human relationships . . .
and such institutions as marriage, business
partnerships, church connections deteri-
orate and disintegrate.
Often in our search for independence,
prominence, success, we lose ourselves in
schedule, the organization, and daily
commitments.
Parents are always in danger of losing
their children, not only babies, but teen-
agers. Communications break down,
barriers emerge. On a college campus not
long ago I asked a young man of my ac-
quaintance how his people were. He re-
plied: "I don't know. They never write."
On another campus a girl declared she
could not talk with her parents. Referring
to them as "plastic people" she said:
"They never have time to listen."
.Awareness of lostness has accompanied
the human race. Man, at best, has been
sensitive to his lostness and that around
him. Realizing this frustrating reality
2-15-72 MESSENGER 15
Jesus spoke to it in the parable of The
Lost Sheep. The stop,- appears in both
Luke and Matthew.
Luke's rendering of the account was
occasioned by the Pharisees who persisted
in asking "why" he fraternized with the
wrong people: "why" he received sinners.
The story of The Lost Sheep in Luke's
gospel appears along with stories of The
Lost Boy. It is an attempt to justify the
gospel against critics.
Matthew's single account of prevailing
lostness is addressed not to Jesus' oppo-
nents but to his disciples, challenging, in-
spiring them to go after the missing
brother with a persistence and dedication
comparable to that of a shepherd who
goes in search of a stray sheep.
Nowhere in the world are shepherds so
obvious and unique as in the Judean hills.
These picturesque, weather-beaten,
courageous, faithful men moved Jesus to
associate their familiar role with that of
God. Jesus considered himself a shep-
herd. "For the Son of man came to seek
and to save the lost" ( Luke 19:10).
Clearly the shepherd in the parable did
not consider prudence a primary virtue.
Ninety-nine percent is well nigh perfect
but he did not play percentages! Impru-
dent or not, the shepherd was impelled by
an unshakable duty to take care of all
his flock. So having accounted for all ex-
cept one, he went and searched for the
lost until it was found. And what happi-
ness was his. . . !
This parable, you see, is actually ad-
dressed to the church. The Christian com-
munity not only has enormous responsi-
bility for unreached, uncorralled sheep —
peoplel — but also for the tedious task
of keeping an eye on the entire flock,
making certain that all members of the
church are in the presence and spirit of
the Master. By and large, no institution
has a worse record of looking after its
own than the average church. No won-
der there are dropouts. We do not con-
sider very seriously one another's needs.
We are challenged, not to look after our-
selves for the sake of looking after our-
selves, but to build oneness, fellowship,
and love that in turn will inspire us to
bring others into communion with God.
When the church loses its heart, it loses
its way!
Church members are involved in a vari-
ety of marvelous undertakings in the com-
munity. These are worthy. They are a
part of our task, but they are not the
whole task. We give money, time, talent
to the church, but we are reluctant to
engage in the hard day-by-day task of
keeping in touch with all the flock. To
do so is difficult, enervating and dis-
couraging . . . yet the parable challenges
the Christian to become undershepherd
to the Good Shepherd, seeking the strayed
and the lost.
Jesus seldom used the word "sinner."
He preferred the word "lost."
im few months ago I met an interesting
man who is active in one of the Metho-
dist churches of Washington, D.C. It
developed that his particular responsi-
bility, as a member of the congregation,
was to coordinate the calling eff^orts of
officers of the church on inactive and
homebound members. Each officer of this
strong metropolitan church is expected
to make three such calls a week, or twelve
a month. What a specific implementation
of the parable!
Like sheep, people become lost not
by design, not because they are bad, but
because they become involved in their
own patch of grass and nibble themselves
out of sight. The lost sheep was not bad.
He was simply lost.
The prevailing point of the ancient
parable of The Lost Sheep is that God is
Lord of the Lost! It speaks of a God
who will not give up on a single soul. It
reveals the truth that man is of absolute
worth to God and He continues to seek
him in redeeming love.
The uncomfortable teaching, therefore,
for the church to which the parable was
originally directed, is that the Christian
community is expected to assume the
role of good shepherd in a sophisticated
society. It is just that incongruous and
that imperative.
Back in 1961 an unforgetable experi-
ence was that of being guest for a week in
the home of the former Prime Minister
of Rhodesia, Garfield Todd. This man of
marvelous bearing, mental superiority,
and spiritual sensitivity, served as a
Christian missionary for more than twen-
ty years before entering politics in the
belief he could do more for the black
man in this role. He was so successful
that his fellow whites did not send him
back to office. When I was there, Gar-
field and Grace Todd operated a huge
ranch.
Among the episodes he shared was his
account of the most frightening experi-
ence of his life — that of being lost all
night in the jungle. It happened just after
World War II. Fencing wire was scarce,
and he had heard of used wire for sale at
a distant ranch and had gone to examine
it. Arriving late in the afternoon he
found the fence and started to follow it,
examining its condition, and estimating
the cost of removing it, prior to preparing
his bid.
Time was later than he realized and
suddenly he was enveloped in darkness.
In following the circuitous path of the
fence he had lost his sense of direction.
Now he was alone in the jungle in the
night. To survive he realized he must
follow the fence and keep walking, for he
could hear animals pursuing him. He
reasoned that at some point the fence
might reach a clearing where perhaps he
could gain his bearings . . . better yet, it
might reach the road and he could be
rescued by his wife, whom he knew would
be circling the jungle in the car.
After a most horrendous night he
stumbled into a clearing and the road near
dawn. Shortly thereafter came the lights
of a car. It was Grace. Exhausted,
clothes in tatters, body bleeding, Garfield
Todd dropped at her feet, rejoicing. Love
had persisted.
As love sought to find its way out of
darkness, love searched diligently for the
one in the darkness. The lost had
been found.
This is the spirit of the Good Shep-
herd. This is the way of God. n
16 MESSENGER 2\il2
The efforts of Vietnam veterans
to beconne hunnan again
Hmneeoiiung
by Chainn Shatan
w^teve stiffened, looked around fearfully,
and thought, "These people all look alike.
How do I know who's friend and who's
enemy?" Then he shook himself, remem-
bering: "They are all your friends. This
is Times Square, USA." Eighteen months
after a nonpsychiatric discharge, follow-
ing four-year Marine combat duty in "the
Nam," Steve still suffers unpredictable
episodes of terror and disorientation.
Coming around a bend in a Washington
park path, Mike kept to the inside of the
curve so that "hostiles" would not see
him. He has observed this precaution
automatically for five years since his
service as a medic in Vietnam.
Vietnam veterans have recounted these
and other sobering experiences to me and
my colleagues in "group rap" sessions.
These meetings were initiated in 1970 by
veterans themselves, either because of
their distrust of "establishment" psychi-
atric services, or because their dis-
turbances manifested themselves too late
to prove the "service connection" re-
quired for VA treatment.
Delay in the appearance of symptoms
has enabled the administration to claim
that the Vietnam war has produced fewer
psychiatric casualties than any other U.S.
war. Yet, in Congressional testimony.
Army consultant Professor Gerald Caplan
has corroborated our impressions that sig-
nificant numbers of Vietnam veterans,
especially those with extensive combat
experience, are deeply troubled emo-
tionally.
In the "group raps," certain commonly
shared concerns have emerged. Since
2-15
MESSENGER 17
Many vets feel deceived, used, and betrayed.
They carry the burden of the war's unpopularity
they do not fit any standard diagnostic
label, we refer to them loosely as the
'■post-Vietnam syndrome."
What are its basic themes?
Easiest to talk about are guili feelings
for those killed and maimed on both
sides, and preoccupation with the fate of
friends still overseas. Often veterans ask,
"How do we turn off the guilt? Can we
atone?" And they provide their own an-
swer: they speak of "paying their dues"
for surviving intact when others did not.
TTiey invite self-punishment through pick-
ing self-defeating fights, through provok-
ing near ones to reject them, even through
a high proportion of one-car accidents.
Another common complaint is that
they have been scapegoats. Many vets
feel victimized, initially by inadequate
VA treatment and paltr>' GI benefits.
But soon their gripes encompass society
at large: they feel deceived, used, and be-
trayed. When they see senior officers
exonerated for war atrocities without
trial, they speak bitterly about the High
Command's impunity. Meanwhile, the
GIs — like the bearers of bad news since
history began — carry the burden of the
war's unpopularity.
Rage, the third widely shared feeling,
follows naturally from the awareness of
being duped and manipulated. In addi-
tion, counter-insurgency training un-
leashes violent impulses against indis-
criminate targets. Once home, veterans
have great difficulty mastering these im-
pulses in the face of the ambivalent
civilian reception.
\^omhal hrutalization. "You get
chewed up in the Vietnam war machine,
and get spit out unfeeling. Then you are
just the finger that pulls the trigger."
Basic combat training — "harassing the
troops" in Marine jargon — promotes
obedience through humiliation and mal-
treatment. Only one permissible outlet is
presented for the soldier's impotent fury:
the dehumanized image of the "enemy."
Under guerrilla conditions of universal
terror, this dehumanization has no clear-
cut boundaries. Hatred is then general-
ized to any Oriental, and eventually to
any civilian, the more so when the GIs
learn how expendable they are them-
selves. Only after discharge do many
veterans begin to doubt the validity of
their hate.
Alienaiion from their feelings and from
other human beings: after systematically
numbing their human responses, veterans
find it ditficult and painful to experience
compassion for others. Painful because
they must first thaw out their numbed
reactions to the death and evil which sur-
rounded them in combat. Unable to for-
get, they live through some things "for-
ever," and often find inner peace through
18 MESSENGER 2-15 72
CanlJIfe Share
the Vietnam VBteran^s
Burden?
creating a "dead place" in their souls — a
file where memories live on divorced from
their unending emotional impact. The
price of this peace is alienation from
feelings in general, and relative inability
to form close relationships.
The most poignant feature is an ago-
nizing doubt about their continued ability
to love others, and to accept affection.
One veteran said: "You paid a high price
for trusting other people in the Nam.
Every time you acted human, you got
screwed." And another: "I hope I can
learn to love as much as I learned to hate
— and I sure hated, man. But love's a
pretty heavy word."
Are the self-castigation, torment, and
rage which I have described an accidental
grab bag of symptoms? Emphatically not.
Clinicians will recognize them as the
hallmarks of frustrated mourning, of
submerged grief.
In extreme situations — death camps,
active warfare — grief threatens the
morale necessary for survival and combat
effectiveness. Both intimacy and grief are
actively discouraged in the modern mili-
tary. Trainees are cautioned against
close friendships lest a buddy should die.
However, since combatants are human,
too, brutalization can only suppress, but
not eradicate, the normal mammalian
response to bereavement.
During World War I, Freud elucidated
the role grief plays in helping the mourn-
er let go of a missing part of life, and
acknowledging that it exists only in the
memory. The so-called "post-Vietnam
syndrome" confronts us with the uncon-
summated grief of soldiers — "impacted
grief" in which an encapsulated, never-
ending past deprives the present of mean-
ing.
Unlike the World War II veteran, the
Vietnam returnee is unheralded, unwant-
ed, and all but unemployable. Lack of
moral acceptance and defensive denial of
his needs exacerbate the consequences of
his failure to mourn. Must he be shunted
into an emotional dead end of frustration,
alienation, and solitude? Or can we share
in his effort to become human once again,
to reintegrate a new identity? Q
Mhe grief of soldiers returned from
Vietnam is not theirs alone to bear; we
are involved in it. We share in the re-
sponsibility for creating those agonizing
circumstances which have led, in the
terms of psychiatrist Chaim Shatan, to
impacted grief. And once again we see
that the toll of warfare reaches far
beyond the theater in which it was
conducted.
Consider what it means for veterans
to return "unheralded, unwanted, and
all but unemployable." Is this the
situation of young men in your congre-
gation and your community?
Within the Church of the Brethren
seventy-three percent of the men facing
the draft during the Vietnam era have
entered the armed services, according to
a recent survey. As these men and
others like them in our respective com-
munities return, are we aware of their
plight, their anxieties, their struggles "to
become human once again"?
Numerous groups, some adequate,
others inadequate, are being established
to help veterans surmount the problems.
Responses at the local level are strategic
in fostering the renewal of trust, in
developing understanding, in providing
employment, in expressing love and
acceptance.
There are other tasks, however, to be
pursued at a national and international
level as well. One such group to which
the Church of the Brethren and nine
other denominations are represented is
Emergency Ministries Concerning the
War. Involved in a series of pilot pro-
grams, the Emergency Ministry sees as
a beginning step the need to rap with
veterans and respond at the points they
regard as central.
High on the list of concerns in many
communities is widespread unemploy-
ment. The rate of unemployment
among veterans age 20-29 is 33 percent
higher than for nonveterans of the same
ages, The New York Times reported
last June. For veterans under 24, the
rate of unemployment is forty percent
greater than for nonveterans of the
same ages. Among blacks, unemploy-
ment of veterans age 20-29 is 100 per-
cent higher than for nonveterans of the
same ages.
Of the nearly five million veterans
since August 1964, one out of five has
less than a high school education. They
are competing for jobs in a nation where
the formal education picture has
changed drastically. From 1940 to
1970, the percentage of high school
graduates rose from 38 to 75 percent
of the population, college graduates
from 6 to 16 percent.
What can we do? Beyond learning to
know the men personally and engaging
in local efforts, we can find out what is
being done in other communities and
nationally. We can act upon the condi-
tions of the forgotten wounded, Viet-
nam and other war veterans, in VA
hospitals (see Life magazine. May
1970). We can work with veterans
to experiment with new forms of prob-
lem solving. And. most basically, we
can participate in efforts aimed at elimi-
nating the root causes of war. —
Wilbur E. Mullen. Church of the Breth-
ren Ministry to Men Facing the Draft
2-15-
MESSENGER 19
ttaiDacB ntt ffrpaDnm Dqceifcb?
"Future shock," explains Alvin
Toffler in iiis book by that title, "is the
shattering stress and disorientation
that we induce in individuals by sub-
jecting them to too much change in
too short a time."
"Take It From Here" does not in-
tend to jolt its readers into shock, but
changed it isl In format, in design, in
content, in reader "beam." It may
appear in two successive issues, then
get lost for four. You may have to
search it out on one page or be flab-
bergasted at a striking, bold, two-page
spread which you couldn't miss.
It may be directed specifically to
you — a pastor, a child, a church
treasurer, a custodian, or a senior citi-
zen. It may be something to do. Or,
something to think about. You see —
the new plan opens up a whole jack-
in-the-box of surprises. So look for
them!
byfjileeYoder
On the tv program Directions, a
teen-ager struggled to express her idea
of the Jesus way of life. "It's . . . it's
. . . it's loving someone you'd just
love to hate." A ripple of laughter,
then a hush fell over the group. The
silence was broken by an explosive
"Wow! Loving someone you would
just love to hate? But . . . that's it.
Yes sir, that's it!"
I was reminded of Clarence Jor-
dan's remarks in Sermon on the
Mount: "Jesus didn't tell his followers
to love their enemies because love
would or would not work. The idea
probably never occurred to him to
raise the question of whether or not it
was practical. . . . Being what he is,
God can't help loving all men, regard-
less of what they are. Even so with
God's sons. Their nature is not de-
termined by the reaction of their
enemies, since by virtue of their com-
plete surrender to the divine will they
no longer have the freedom to cease
being what they are. Bound by this
higher loyalty, the argument of prac-
ticality is irrelevant to them. They do
not for the sake of convenience set
aside their nature, any more than a
minnow transforms into a bird when
in danger of being swallowed by a
bass."
letyonr
imagination fly!
Clarence Jordan used his imagination.
Why don't you? Away you go! Free
and on your own! How about a ban-
ner or poster to brighten up some
room on a dreary, wintry day? Once
you decide on such a project, idea
after idea will begin to pop into your
mind. Some slogans? Look all
around you. Listen carefully. In
Sound of Music I heard, "Love is not
love 'til you give it away." On a
church bulletin board I saw, "All my
20 MESSENGER 2-15-72
tomorrows depend on your love." In
the Bible I read, "Make love your
aim" and "Love never ends" and
"Love one another" and "God is
love."
If making letters is not your cup of
tea, unique color combinations, un-
usual letter shapes, and an unconven-
tional arrangement of just the simple
word — love, peace, hope, pax, or
shalom — make eye-catching banners
or posters. Or, use symbols, such as
the dove, which suggest words or
meanings.
Kids, surprise your family; make
and share with them your very own
creation. Mom. perk up a "blah" wall
with a brightly colored burlap banner
— fringe and all. Or, wouldn't it
make an exciting family project, ac-
companied by bowls of crunchy pop-
corn and some sweet, juicy apples?
Burlap or felt provide the best
background for banners. Designs or
letters made from yarn, bits of felt,
rick-rack, or buttons may be pasted or
sewed on the material. A dowel pin
across the top makes for an easy and
attractive hanging. Fringe, tassels,
braids, yarns, or various other trim-
mings added to the bottom make a
festive banner.
Construction paper, using crayons,
poster paint, chalk, or pastels, yarn,
string, and bright odds and ends of
paper may be used for a poster.
Keep the design simple but full of
action and color. Letters need not all
be the same size or shapie, you know.
Maybe a good photograph has caught
your eye or a picture of your family
is something special to center the
poster around.
Do your thing! It's the thing! Ban-
ners and posters are the in thing!
%
■^LJ' W-^ ^ -<^
or, c^'
brig!
«:uiored elc
.for a lest
banner
2-I5-72 MESSENGER 21
WHAT
DOES
, IT ALL
MEAN?
The Interpreter's Bible and The Inter-
preter's Dictionary of the Bible have
all the answers.
The Interpreter's Bible is the most
valuable key to the Scriptures ever
published — a complete clarification of
the Bible in clear and easy-to-under-
stand form. Called Christendom's most
comprehensive commentary, it includes
text in King James and Revised
Standard Versions, General Articles,
142 pages of indexes, outline and full-
color maps. Each volume, $8.75;
Complete set, $89.50
The Interpreter's Dictionary of the
Bible Is a convenient, practical, and
authoritative reference for the teacher,
student, and minister. The four-volume
set is profusely illustrated with photos,
drawings and maps. Set, $45.00
of upu bed boct/tae
Qbingdon
22 MESSENGER 2- 1 5-72
BOOK REVIEWS
'I
Objectors conquered by aliens
DOWN IN MY HEART, by William E. Stafford.
Brethren Press, 1947. Reprinted, 1971. 94
pages, $2.50 paper
WiLLi.\M St.afford's Down In My Heart
is one of those rare books where the
story the author is telling is more im-
portant than the way he told it, or whether
or not he could have told it better. A col-
lection of short stories based on Stafford's
experiences in Civilian Public Service
( CPS) during World War II, the title
springs from a song the conscientious ob-
jectors sang, "I got that opposition to
conscription down in my heart."
12,000 men were conscripted into CPS
and sent to one of 150 "camps," where
they worked under the joint care of a
church agency (Brethren, Mennonite, or
Friends), and a government service, like
the Forest Service or the Soil Conserva-
tion Service. To the "campers," their
new communities were as removed from
the America they had once known as were
Guadalcanal, New Caledonia, and all
the places "where the war was being
won."
It was not unusual for a camper to be
transferred four or five times during the
war, and unlike the present "two years of
alternative service in lieu of military
service," they were in for the duration
of the war, and many of them even
longer.
Perhaps the most predominant theme
in Down In My Heart is the alienation
the CPSers felt, an alienation that in some
cases grew even stronger when the war
was over. In the introduction Stafford
writes: "Those of us who objected open-
ly found our country conquered over-
night — conquered by aliens who could
shout on any corner or in any building
and bring down on us wrath and hate
more intense than on any foreigner."
In the first story, appropriately called
"The Mob Scene at McNeill," Stafford
brings the alienation into focus. It's about
three CPSers sitting near the depot in a
small Arkansas town on Sunday after-
noon. One of them is painting a picture,
another writing a poem, and Stafford is
reading off and on in Walt Whitman's
Leaves of Grass. Before the afternoon is
over they are surrounded by sixty towns-
men, accused of gathering information
for a foreign power, and eventually res-
cued from violence by a local policeman
and a passage from Leaves of Grass.
{ There had been accusations that the
poem couldn't be a poem because it didn't
rhyme and, therefore, was subversive in-
formation. Stafford had one of the towns-
men read a passage from Leaves of Grass
aloud to prove that poetry didn't have to
rhyme.)
The story ends back at camp with the
camp director, "a slow talking preacher
of the way of life taught by Jesus Christ,"
giving the final word: "I know you men
think the scene was funny, in spite of its
danger; and I suppose there's no harm in
having fun out of it; but don't think our
neighbors here in Arkansas are hicks just
because they see you as spies and danger-
ous men. Just remember that our govern-
ment is sfjending millions of dollars and
hiring the smartest men in the country to
devote themselves full time just to make
everyone act that way."
Mo most of us who have 0[>enly ob-
jected to the present war in Southeast
Asia, such a confrontation as the "Mob
Scene at McNeil" seems almost impos-
sible. And yet all of us are capable of
understanding the hate that Stafford is
talking about. In a recent surprise visit
to the National League of Families of
American Prisoners and Missing in
Southeast Asia, President Nixon said,
"We are dealing with a savage enemy,
one with no concern for humanitarian
ideals." The implications in the Presi-
dent's remarks are as obvious as the
irony. Anyone who would criticize "our
dealings" with the "savage enemy" (ani-
mals less than humans) must not only be
unpatriotic but immoral.
The wives of American prisoners were
not listening to "hicks from Arkansas"
but the political and "moral" leader of
our country.
There are no heroes or villains in Staf-
ford's stories. Most of the characters
are like many of us in BVS who are con-
fused by the effectiveness of our actions
if not by our philosophy. As the war
continued they began to question whether
planting trees or fasting for a government
health study was a constructive peace
witness. An editorial in the November
1942 Compass, a publication written by
and for CPSers, states, "It does not neces-
sarily follow that, since these conscien-
tious objectors have refused to bear arms
against their fellowmen and have instead
undertaken government assignment to do
'work of national importance," they have
found, and are finding, the ways of
peace."
One of the most memorable characters
in Down In My Heart, a man named
George, struggles to find the ways of
peace until it finally leads him to a prison
and eventually fasting for prison reform.
"A little man, about five and a half feet
tall, with dark eyes and a dark wing of
hair that liked to hang over one eye,"
George was "a searcher sometimes whim-
sical but with a streak of serious dedica-
tion to finding something . . . something."
On the day the war ended George, Staf-
ford, and another CPSer are walking
down the street of a small city when the
news came and the wastepaper began
drifting down from every building and
people were embracing in the street. It is
while all this celebrating is going on that
George asks the hard question: "How
long will it be before all the soldiers
still alive can come back. . . . Before
there is no more fighting anywhere, no
more intimidation of people in their own
homes by strange uncomprehending men
in foreign uniforms with foreign speech
and foreign money. . . . No more forcing
of unwilling boys far from home to re-
main in their barracks among the glares
of the citizens, to defend institutions they
hate against people they love, to stand
guard over men who are where they be-
long, doing the jobs they need to do, try-
ing to build a way of life for themselves?
. . . How can we join in the celebration of
the atom bomb?"
Perhaps the lines were sharper in 1944
■ — the men who disagreed with war were
either in prison or prisonlike work-
camps, and as Stafford noted, "They
could be shouted down on any comer."
But as the war in Southeast Asia is draw-
ing to a close (for American personnel)
it becomes increasingly clear that we
have not answered George's question nor
the concern raised by Stafford in the
epilogue;
"I hope that some day everyone — the
soldiers and the enemy and the displaced
persons, and all people, everywhere —
can have that peace. The real war doesn't
end for us till they do." — Terry Pettit
Deaths
Beach. William O.. Leonard, Mo., on Oct.
19, 1971, aged 73
Bohn. Mrs. David. Linwood, Md., on Sept.
22. 1971
Boone, Sadie Price, Empire, Calif., on
Jnnc 30, 1971
Bouch, Frederick, Shclocia. Pa., on .^ug.
19, 1971, aged 53
Brougher, Marv K. \\'olford. Hano\er, Pa..
on' Oct. 2, 1971. aged 82
Bmgcr, Laura, Nortli Manchester, Ind.,
oil Sept. 23. 1971. aged S9
Cripe. Frank. La Place. 111., on Sept. 27,
1971, aged 80
Dalbv, .\lma Frederick, Glasgo\\ . Mont..
on .\pril 2. 1971, aged 58
Ebersole, Elmer E., \\oodstock, \'a.. on
aged ti7
\iodesto, Calif., on }iil\
91
^Vorthington, Minn., on
1 , aged 59
Oct. 10, 1971,
Fonts, Elmer S.,
14, 1971. aged
Strom, Helen L,
March 29. 19
Teeter, Calvin .\.. Hollidaysbing. Pa., on
Juh 7, 1971, aged 65
Thomas, Ralph E. , .\shland, Ohio, on
.\pril 8, 1971, aged 78
Throne. Sarah D.. La \'erne, Calif., on
March 3. 1971. aged 85
Tressler, Mvrtle, HoUidavsburg, Pa., on
.April 27, 1971. aged 54
Trimmer. Chaimcev F., York, Pa., on .Aug.
3, 1971. aged 86
\an Pelt, Jacob L., Richmond. Mo., on
.\ug. 13, 1971, aged 73
Wall, Carl F., Indianapolis, Ind.. on Ma\
22, 1971, aged 69
Wambold, C;ro\er C. Ambler, Pa., on
March 28. 1971. aged 78
Wickcrt, Samncl M., Dixon, III, on .Ang
8, 1971, aged 77
W'idegren, .\nton W'.. Grand Junction,
Colo., on Sept. 5, 1971, aged 87
Windmill. Mabel L., Lamed, Kans., aged
87
Wingert, Emma, Co\ington. X.O., on June
4. 1971. aged 91
Wisler, Minnie Zicgler. Roversford. Pa.,
on July 1, 1971. aged 81
Yates. .\nna Belle. Kinross. Iowa, on \pvi\
19, 1971, aged 89
^'oder, \\'ilbnr L,, Sidney, Ohio, on June
15, 1971, aged 56
Zartman, Sallie, NefTs\iUc, Pa., in March
1971, aged 73
SUBSCRIBER
SERVICE
Please include a Mes-
senger address label
to insure prompt
service whenever you
v/rite us about your
subscription.
For change of ad-
dress: If you're mov-
ing, please let us
knov^ four weeks be-
fore changing your
address. Place mag-
azine address label
here, print your new
address below. If
you have a question
about your subscrip-
tion, place your mag-
azine address label
here and clip this
form to your letter.
Mail to: Messenger, Church of the Brethren,
General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
ML 60120
'\^I"1
ATTACH
LABEL
HERE
.— /-•x 5
(please print)
address
city
state zip code ■
CLASSIFIED ADS
OUTSTANDING CHRISTIAN BOOKS - Send for
free catalog. The Thomas Company, Dept. M.S.,
803 Race St., Cambridge, Md. 21613.
BRETHREN TRAVEL — Reservations are still avail-
able for vacation holiday in the South Pacific.
Thirty -five day tour leaves July 19, 1972, visit-
ing Tahiti, Fiji, Bora Bora, Samoa, New Guinea,
New Zealand, and Australia. Write J. Kenneth
Kreider, Route 3, Elizabethtown, Pa. 17022.
' Choir
f^y Pulpit
Kobes
IN KEEPING WITH EASTER
A complete selection of styles and
modern fabrics. Write today for
FREE catalog C-18 (Choir Robes);
J-18 (Children's Robes); P-18 (Pul-
pit Robes).
COLLEGIATE CAP & GOWN CO.
CHMPMGN, III. OKUHOM* CITY, OKI*. CHICtGO. III.
1000 N.MARKET ST. B01 N. Wistltn An. IBS W. Wickll Dl.
lONGBUNOCIT*. N.r. .«AN NUVS. ML.
41.25 3(111 St. 15S2S Clbrita M.
15-72 MESSENGER 23
*^If you think you ean help our ivorld a liltle...^^
With the above opener, a prominent corporation
has announced a program that strikes us as bold
and imaginative. So much so, in fact, that we
encourage the church and its institutions, and
churchmen in business and industry, to take a
studied look.
The plan is to grant leave up to a year at
full pay to employees who engage in social serv-
ice. Such service, according to Xerox, the spon-
sor, may be a program to help drug addicts, a
government school project to improve mine safe-
ty, a school for retarded children, a co-op to
market mountain handicrafts, a civil rights cause,
a parole program, a literacy project in India or
Ecuador or New Mexico, landmark preservation,
electoral reform, housing. "Call your shot, here
or anwhere in the world," the corporation sug-
gests. "There is almost no limit to the kind of
social service you can propose."
In weighing the applications of employees,
Xerox seeks to assess the social worth of the
proposed project, its relevance to "the dominant
problems of this decade." What is it you as an
individual want to do and why? the evaluation
committee asks. How realistic are your objectives
and expectations? Will the work you do make
some difference in the situation you take on?
Will you set a pattern others can follow? Will
it encourage or affect participation by others?
Once on a social service leave the employee
is not expected to submit periodic reports. Neither
will the worker be formally monitored or meas-
ured. In the course of the year, however, the
individual will be visited by at least one member
of the evaluation committee.
What the social service leave does, in effect,
is to take volunteerism as a personal commitment
and extend it into the domain of business. The
program speaks, to a degree at least, to young
people who see today's corporations interested
only in profits and devoid of a social conscience.
It opens the door for teammanship between es-
tablishment and reform groups, releasing to often
fledgling causes the resource needed most: people
of talent, dedication, imagination, determination,
and competence.
What is the corporation's stake in such a
venture? Xerox admits to self-interest. "The
man or woman who goes on social service leave
is still delivering something of value to Xerox.
To all of us. Whatever he does in the world
to make it better does Xerox good."
Each of us, like Xerox, has a stake in the
development of people, in efforts dealing with
hunger, discrimination, drugs, education, health,
poverty, ecology, the preservation of heritage.
Certainly now for some decades the church has
demonstrated its concern at many of these points.
But the fact remains that all too long we have
looked upon involvement with the needy as the
role of young or retired volunteers, of short-
term workers, of career missionaries. The pro-
gram inaugurated by Xerox says a year of full-
time service is something a person can give in the
prime of life.
M^ocal pastoral boards, the General Board,
educational institutions, and business managed by
churchmen: Each and all will do well to examine
policies regarding professional growth and to ex-
plore social service leaves as a viable option.
Especially in the Church of the Brethren, where
volunteerism on a personal basis has come to
mean so much, does a concerted response at a
corporate level seem appropriate.
Admittedly, such a program may be a for-
midable undertaking for nonprofit agencies to
launch. On the other hand, social service leaves
may offer one of the most promising thrusts in
continuing education. It indeed appears within
the charter of the church to reach out to and
interact with "the least of these" in new and
significant ways.
If professional leaves are valid, necessary, sal-
utary, the church would do well to take this
further stride toward creative service. — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGER 215-72
Brethren
Cookbooks
Inglenook Cook Book
191 1 edition
This reprint edition of the 191 1 edition
has over 1400 cherished recipes of
Dunker sisters whose Pennsylvania
Dutch tradition placed high value on
culinary excellence. Also included are
menus for Sunday and v\/eekdays,
Thanksgiving, and Christmas; sug-
gested food for the sick; home rem-
edies; and an interesting table of
measures.
$3.95
Granddaughter's Inglenook
Cookbook
First published in 1941 this book con-
tains over 1 500 favorite recipes con-
tributed by Church of the Brethren
cooks. Includes sections on invalid
cookery, outdoor meals, school lunch-
es, group cookery, international cook-
ery, as well as food charts and useful
household information.
$3.50
i/imddauqhtm
IHGLEMOOK
Please send:
_ copies of the 1911 INGLENOOK COOKBOOK at $3.95
each
copies of the GRANDDAUGHTER'S INGLENOOK COOK-
BOOK at $3.50 each
Postage: 20C first dollar; 5c per dollar thereafter
Name
Address
City
State
Zip
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
60120
Concern. For the child who shouldn't be left
alone all day. Or for the helpless and lonely in
a geriatrics ward. Caring for victinns of disaster
and disease, injustice and war. In short, concern for
people in many places and situations.
Plus dedication of your time and skills. That's
what it takes to be a Brethren Service
volunteer on project. Interested? For more informa-
tion or to send financial support, write to:
Brethren Volunteer Service, Church of the Brethren
General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120.
Brethren Volunteer
Service / YSdoq csaim lb® [prPODandl odI! nitc
YfoDUQ (Eaim Ddcb ipanptt ODfl ntt<
messenger
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
MARCH 1, 1972
^^t(B\r^.
Q Project Equality: "Not a Closed Issue." Sentiment at the St.
Petersburg Annual Conference appeared to reject denominational
membership in Project Equality. But the final action did not
preclude the General Board's reopening of the question, by Ronald
E. Keener
"IQ The Sometimes Praying Hands of Aibrecht Durer. During
the past year art galleries around the world have held a series of special
exhibitions to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Diirer's birth.
Messenger offers a selection of his prints, with comment by
Kenneth I. Morse
^^L M. R. Zigler at Eighty. One whose devotion is to the church as
it ought to be reflects on years of churchmanship that began in the
family home in \irginia and spread to Europe and the far reaches of
the United States. Hazel Peters is the interviewer
^C^ Reconciliation. .A recreation camp in a Palestinian village and a
volunteer's work in a Marburg, Germany, ghetto characterize the
diverse nature of reconciliation. Ronald E. Keener and Kenneth I.
Morse report
Sharing the Sights and Sounds of Love. Films from TcIcketics,
produced by the Franciscan Communication Center, communicate
forcefully and creatively, according to reviewer John G. Fike
In Touch introduces Syed Ally, Gana Dibal, and Mary Meyer (beginning
on 2). . . . Outlook previews Cincinnati, Conference city, cites queries
that will spark Conference discussion, features a Virginia group
helping to meet low-income housing needs, and reviews actions at a White
House Conference on the Aging (beginning on 4). . . . Letters and an
editorial comment on "The Church and Investment Ethics."
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald B. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 5
MARCH 1, 1972
CREDITS: Co\er. 15. 16 artwork by Mike
Nonnan; 2 Heft) Howard E. Ro\cr;
^rifjhl) conrtcsv of Bridgcw-aicr College:
3 Ronald E. Keener; 4 Mayhcw Photog-
raphers: 5 Lawrence Burslcv: 6 Edward
Wallowitch: 11 (top. right). 12. I.l (left)
courtcsv of The .Art Institute of Chicago:
11 Heft) courtesv of 7he Smithsonian In-
stitution: 13 fright) Religious News Serv-
ice: 20 Kenneth I. Morse; 21 TeleKETics
Resource Guide
Mf_ssencer is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered a.s second-
class matter Aug. 20, 1918. under .■\ct of
Congress of Oct. 17. 1917. Filing date, Oct. 1.
1971. Messenger is a member of the .Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Service and Ecumenical Press
Senice. Biblical cjuotations. unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Rc\iscd Standard
Version.
Subscription rates: S4.20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions; S3. 60 per year for church
group plan: S3. 00 per year for every h<»mc
plan; life subscription. S60; husband and wife.
S7'>. If \oii mo\c clip r>ld address from Mes-
SFNCER and seiul with new address.
Allow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. MF-Ssenger is owned
and published twice monlhlv bv the
Church of the Brethren C.ener;il
Board. M51 Dtmdee \\c.. Elgin. III.
60120. Second-class postage paid at
Elgin. III.. Mar. 1, 1972. Ciopvright
Church of the Brethren General Board.
i
SHARING CONCERN
I lio not want to stir up controversy
among the Brethren, but I have a definite
concern to share, one that stems from the
decision of the General Board to reverse its
position on joining Project Equality. My
views are not racist, as all those who know
me might verify. In fact, I have the deepest
respect for my black brothers and am espe-
cially appreciative of Brother Tom Wilson,
who has abilities that far supersede my own.
But this action by the board disregards
the sentiment the delegate body expressed
rather clearly in the vote on the matter at
the St. Petersburg Conference. In my years
of experience with Annual Conference the
\oice of the delegate body has always been
the final authority in making decisions af-
fecting our denomination. What I consider
to be a possible instrument of pressure in
this matter is the strong expression of a
vocal minority (some of whom are likely
involved on the board and the Elgin staff)
against the larger "silent majority" who feel
(as I do) that we do not need to spend sev-
eral thousand dollars to have someone tell
us how to be brothers to our brethren. I
feel that we can and will do this without
such pressure.
As long as the delegate body, meeting in
Cincinnati, has the opportunity to accept or
reject this decision, we will be operating ac-
cording to democratic procedures, as we
have done in the past. I am also aware of
the possibility that manipulation of issues
and bureaucratic tactics in the handling of
our common affairs can result in far deeper
trouble than we want to encounter. I hope
that we can avoid it!
In expressing my concern at this point, I
would express also my appreciation to the
board, the staff, our general secretary, and
all others who labor so faithfully to conduct
the business of the church,
N. W. Crumpacker
Roanoke, Va,
A POSITION OF COMPLICITY?
In the Jan, 6 Des Moines Rei-isler ap-
peared a news item of almost one full col-
umn entitled "Big Church Profits From War-
Related Investments," This article revealed
information from a study made by the "Cor-
porate Information Center, a newly set up
research agency of the National Council of
Churches, to gather data to help churches
in their growing effort to apply moral cri-
teria in choosing investments, , , ,
"The study found the biggest of the
ten denominations, the United Methodist
Church, has nearly S600 million invested
in . . . military contractive firms. . . . Other
churches and their investments in companies
m
(n)\n\(:
producing military hardware" were listed,
including the Church of the Brethren.
This article gave rise to some discussion
at our adult Sunday school class. Can you
explain . . . how churches put themselves
in "the position of complicity"?
Ada Ruth Cox
Ashton, Iowa
A BELrEF IN PACIFISM?
The Des Moines Register's article con-
cerning profits made hy churches from the
Vietnam war interested me immensely. I
read it thinking that the Church of the
Brethren was not involved. Little did I
know. . . .
I have a very definite pride in belonging
to the Church of the Brethren. In fact,
when I explain a little of what "my" church
is about, I mention that we believe in pac-
ifism. That is what I thought, anyway. Now
what do I tell my friends?
I feel that I need an explanation as well
as deserve it. . . .
Ann M. Evans
Cedar Falls, Iowa
C«»PORATE
IS»>ONSIBUJTY
ANDRELKSOUS
WSTITUTIONS
o
CHURCH
INVESTMENTS
TECHNOLOGICAL
WARFARE
and the
M1L1TAR\--
INDUSTRIAL
COMPLEX
REGARDING 'BRETHREN BOMBS'
Time magazine's top billing in its Ian.
17 religion section has given a good expose
of the Brethren as bomb-builders, and the
sad picture of our church leaders wringing
their hands after being caught holding major
investments in the nation's military com-
plex, as well as sizable government bond
holdings (see Jan. 1 Messenger. From the
General Board"). As I reflect on history, I
feel kin to my German brothers in World
War II when they realized how they got
suckered into building the Nazi murder
machine. From the Pentagon I, too, expect
to be made a sucker; but from the invest-
ments of my tithe, no way!
Crimes of nations are really just ac-
cumulations of many little crimes of its
people, including its "good church people."
The insensitivity to the gut issues given by
Treasurer Robert Greiner (who. Time re-
ports, passed off the Brethren's bomb-and-
missile-profit-taking with a pale "You can't
get out of everything. ... To be a purist,
you could hardly stay in the U.S.") is
strikingly contrasted by the Time writer's
prophetic suggestion on how such purism
could be accomplished. Quoting "that
radical young Jewish rabbi in first-century
Judea," the nation's leading news magazine
reminds the Brethren — and other Protes-
tant war-investors — of Jesus' suggestions:
"Go, sell everything you have, give to the
poor and come, follow me." . . .
True, we all live in this world, but our
Lord challenged us not to use and be used
by this world's easy cop-outs — like "mak-
ing the most money possible, regardless of
how you do it." We are free to make
choices. If we choose to take the easy way,
instead of the Way. then our organization's
witness has damned itself. For what does
it profit a church if it gains the whole blue-
chip portfolio, but fails to witness to life,
liberty, and love?
Come on. General Board members, help
us get off our fat portfolios and follow Him.
not the investment consultant. Don't you
know we can't serve two masters?
Marvin Sherman
Fort Wayne, Ind.
IMPROVE WHAT WE HAVE
As an adult participant of National Youth
Conference '71,1 was glad for the wide rep-
resentation of our denomination, from the
conservative to the liberal, even when some
encounters were uncomfortable or even
painful.
I think most of the conference partici-
pants "heard" the advice Dale Brown gave
to us. . . . His words were a challenge to
improve what we have. Unfortunately many
of our churches have taken on a religious
nature. We religiously attend services and
business meetings and religiously carry out
the duties; and we forget about the Christian
part. We are too busy being religious to act
like Christians.
I believe that Dr. Brown was challenging
us "to live in such a Christian way that we
might get kicked out of the church." If
this is what must be done to wake up our
members and get Christianity back into
the church, then I. too, say, "Go . . . and
live. . . ."
Lois A. Draper
Des Moines, Iowa
PEACE IN THE MEDIA
My husband and I were very pleased to
see a telecast recently about peace, spon-
sored by the Mennonite Church, the Church
of the Brethren, and the United Methodist
Church. This to us was a high way of pub-
licizing our stand. We wish to praise those
who were responsible.
Mr. and Mrs. Dawson Black
Dallas Center, Iowa
A high resolve of the Messenger team
is to move out from the central offices
into relationship with churches and
churchmen across the Brotherhood.
The desire is to lose some of our cor-
porate anonymity, and for you as read-
ers to lose some of yours, that together
we may communicate more openly.
Hence in a recent fortnight one
Messenger staffer covered the Ecu-
menical Witness of several hundred
Christians and Jews in Kansas City,
then shifted a week later to Miami for
a Consultation on Hispanic-American
Ministries and its Brethren caucus.
A second stafT person was covering
the nation's creative ministries in non-
metropolis, in Virginia's Shenandoah
Valley, and prospecting in Kentucky
for material for an upcoming Messen-
ger special on Appalachia.
A third team member was presiding
at a meeting of religious communica-
tors in Fort Worth, and a fourth was
scouting through art museums in Wash-
ington, D.C., and Chicago.
Another was working with a commit-
tee of the General Board on drafting
a new statement on evangelism, and
clearing schedules in order that he and
his wife could join in a month-long
caravan to smaller churches in July.
The upshot of such mobility, en-
counter, mutuality will contribute, we
trust, to a magazine that is sensitive to
the needs and concerns of readers, a
magazine aware of the diversity and the
unity within the church, a magazine
uncloistered in its view of the world and
of the faith.
That's the Messenger the staff is
reaching out to produce.
And in the production of this partic-
ular issue, contributors include one staff
colleague from outside the communica-
tions/editorial cluster. She is Hazel
Peters, now coordinator of personnel
at the General Offices. A veteran of
Brethren Service both in the United
States and Europe, Hazel knows the
program and workers of the past twenty
years as few others do. Building on
this but looking ahead, she probed the
mind of one of the Brethren Service
stalwarts, M. R. Zigler. We are glad
to present the resulting interview as the
cover story. — The Editors
3-1-72 MESSENGER I
Syed Ally: Bangladesh advocate
An ardent spokesman for Bangladesh,
the new nation of BengaHs being born
in East Pakistan, is a member of the
Church of the Brethren. He is Syed
Ally, a state highway engineer re-
siding in Elgin, 111., and one of 150
Bengalis settled in the United States.
Since last March 25 when the as-
sault of the Pakistan military govern-
ment against East Pakistan began.
Syed has invested virtually all his
nonoffice hours in studying and in-
terpreting the conflict. He has met
with public school classes and church
and civic groups, appeared on radio
talk shows, and visited legislators in
Washington. DC.
Syed looks upon the U.S. adminis-
tration's favoring of West Pakistan in
the civil conflict as a gross error, an
error he hopes will be rectified by the
recognition of a separate and
sovereign Bangladesh. In the context
of democracy and human rights, he
feels American support can go no
other way.
When a churchgoer said to Syed,
"What about this matter of secession
— would we allow a handful of
Texans to secede?" Syed responded:
"Seventy-five million Bengalis is no
handful. If 24 years of colonialism
had preceded the secession, as
happened with my people, 24 years
of exploitation and oppression, you
would say yes — very strongly yes."
He is convinced that 25 years ago
at the time of the partitioning of
British India, when he was a college
student in what was then East Bengal,
the Bengalis were supportive of a
united Pakistan and contributed
much to it. But support was reversed
when the central government in 1971
withdrew its promise of granting East
Pakistan a measure of autonomy,
when it imprisoned the Bengalis'
elected leader. Sheikh Mujibar
Rahman of the Awami League, and
when it launched a massacre last
March 25 of intellectuals and top
government officials.
Syed, his wife, the former Bettie
Craddock of Bassett, Va., and their
children Ronald and Phyllis made
their first family visit to East Pakistan
in 1969, eighteen years after Syed's
coming to the U.S.A. for a master's
study.
One of Syed's desires is to visit
Bangladesh this spring again, perhaps
for two months, to check out relatives
and to contribute what he can to
the development of a new nation.
In the meantime, he seeks earnestly
to help fellow Americans understand
both the stance and the hope of his
homeland people.
n\m
GanaDibal: Determined
The educational odyssey of Gana B.
Dibal began at age seven when two
missionaries visited his Nigerian vil-
lage and asked his father to allow him
to attend a new school nearby.
He graduated at the top of his
class and, teaching as a probationary
teacher, he went on to Waka Teach-
ers College, doing well scholastically
and participating in athletics. Today,
with the help of several friends in
Nigeria and the U.S., he is a fresh-
man at Bridgewater College in
Virginia.
His father was reluctant to send
him to school. "In those days anyone
in our community who would send
any of his sons to school was con-
sidered to be the most foolish man in
the society," he recalls. "Also, a
child who was sent to school was
considered as an outcast of the fam-
ily. He had no more value to the
community again. He would not help
farm or look after the animals."
Indeed, as Gana became more in-
terested in school he had less time to
help herd sheep and accompany his
father on hunting trips. His father
forbade him any more food until he
stopped going to school, but his
mother secretly fed him. His father
refused to pay his school fees, but
Gana raised chickens and paid his
own fees.
Twenty-eight year-old Gana — - he
was bom about 1942, but no accurate
records were kept — was headmaster
at a primary school for six months.
I
2 MESSENGER J-1-72
I
learn
He then attended an advanced teach-
ers college in Kano, Nigeria. In June
1970 he graduated and returned to
Waka as "housemaster" in a dormi-
tory and "sportsmaster," head of the
I physical education department.
1 At Bridgewater College, he plays
intramural soccer on his dormitory
team and may compete in track this
I spring. He ran the 220 and 440 com-
petitively in Nigeria.
In order to come to Bridgewater,
where he is studying business admin-
istration, he turned down an appoint-
ment by Nigeria's North-Eastern
State as state athletic coach.
Gana is at Bridgewater on one of
five foreign student scholarships and
is holding down a work-study job.
The Bridgewater congregation's com-
mission on mission and service spon-
sored his transportation to the U.S.
and arranges for dinners and weekend
contacts with church families.
But most responsible for Gana's
presence in the U.S. is Bridgewater
graduate Kermon Thomason, who
has been teaching in the Waka
Schools since 1960.
Kermon has helped Gana and his
wife in many ways, and in apprecia-
tion, the couple named their first
child, now six, after Kermon. The
Dibals have also a four-year-old son.
Gana's family remained in Nigeria
when he came to the U.S.
However difficult were his soci-
ology, psychology, and western
civilization courses in the winter
term, Gana found Virginia's cold
winter weather even more formidable.
1 .. pr»
i
Mary Meyer: Art as therapy
Even before Mary Meyer contracted
multiple sclerosis, her creative side
was quite evident. But since the
disabling illness confined her to a
wheelchair 16 years ago, she observes
that her painting and handicap are
more a therapy than a hobby.
The Palmyra, Pa., woman not only
pursues her painting at home — in
her favorite medium of watercolor —
but conducts a class in painting at the
Palmyra Church of the Brethren.
"I don't know if I'm an artist,"
Mrs. Meyer says. "I just enjoy ex-
pressing myself." And she continues
to do so for her friends and family,
for the congregation, and through
such public events as the arts festival
of the Atlantic Northeast District.
She served on the planning com-
mittee for that event and was
responsible for at least a number of
entries by others that might not have
been made without her appeal.
Enthusiasm, cheerfulness, and
optimism have been Mary Meyer's
marks on any situation in which she
finds herself. Despite much in her life
that would contribute to a less happy
outlook, she neither magnifies nor
dwells on her illness. Her pastor,
Donald W. Rummel, observes that
she works at being cheerful, and
"because she works at it, it comes out
very genuine."
Her art class at the church has
more nonchurch members in it than
members: "We invite everybody to
come in. I think religion is open to
everybody and we inject religion into
our class — through opening
devotions and discussions about
nature and God through nature."
Much of her own work relates to
landscapes and nature scenes and her
next project will be a painting of
Camp Pine Woods, the cabin and
grounds of the church outside town
that forms the backdrop to the
Meyers' own home.
Mrs. Meyer, 56, has for many
years been the crafts director at
church day camps, especially among
junior highs. She helped organize a
community playground, where she
has taught crafts.
For some 23 years she has attended
an evening art class at Hershey, but
has not had artistic training beyond
that. She is an active member in the
town's Women's Club and
participates in an MS (multiple
sclerosis) group in the Harrisburg
area. She and her husband Ed
toured Alaska last summer, making
North Dakota the only state she has
not seen. They have two married
children.
Mary has given more of her paint-
ings away than she can remember.
And she won't sell them. "That
bothers me." she says, concerned for
the relational aspect with a recipient.
"If I don't know the people, I'd
sooner give them to friends."
Genuinely cheerful, genuinely in-
terested in persons, Mary Meyer
remains the kind of person more
mindful of others than herself.
S-l-72 MESSENGER 3
Brethren gather by the Ohio
for 1972 Annual Conference
For u people professing to being "in the
world" but not "of the world," Cincin-
nati, Ohio, may be an appropriate place
for this year's Annual Conference. One
Conference planner said she received the
feeling of being "in the city" but not "of
the city," so well had the city planners
provided an openness in design.
Central Committee members, who met
in Cincinnati in December, are genuinely
excited about the Conference city and its
facilities.
The Cincinnati Convention-Exposition
Center, a $10-million complex built in
1967, has a spacious setting in the down-
town area and expansive lobbies and hall-
ways where fellowship can occur. Mod-
erator Dale W. Brown noted that "for
the first time all insight sessions, offices,
exhibits, banquets, youth meetings can
be held under the same roof as the gen-
eral sessions." Such functions will occur
in the 27 meeting rooms on the second
floor.
Second level walkways allow one to go
from the convention center to several
major hotels and department stores with-
out battling city traffic. Fountains and
open spaces envelop the center.
Two huge walled areas above the ex-
hibit hall entrances display the ceramic
work, entitled "Space Walk," of local
artist Charles Harper, highlighting a dra-
matic foyer of terrazzo tile flooring from
Mexico and Italian marble walls.
Downtown Cincinnati is engaged in an
inner city renewal program that has
blended the old and new architecture,
retaining the historic past but pointing
to the future.
While there is no Church of the Breth-
ren in Cincinnati, Southern Ohio is a
stronghold of the faith. The Stonclick
church, some 25 miles distant, is the clos-
est Ohio church to Cincinnati. It is also
the oldest Brethren church in Southern
Ohio. Nearby on the Kentucky side of
the river is the Constance congregation.
Brethren last conferred in Southern
Ohio in 1886, in a clover field on the
farm of Elder Jesse Stutsman in Darke
County, east of the then new and thriving
village of Pitsburg.
District executive Chester I. Harley
The Cincinnati. Ohio, skyline, dominated in this photo by the new riverfront stadium
notes: "Eighty-six years is a long time to
go without a conference in Southern
Ohio. The 1972 version will not be in a
clover field, but the freeway cloverleaf
will be used to get to the convention cen-
ter on downtown Fifth Street." The
Southern Ohio district has 12,000 mem-
bers and 59 congregations.
Past conferences in Southern Ohio
have been in 1834 in Darke County, 1850
at Bear Creek, 1862 near Brookville,
1875 at Covington, 1874 at DeGraflf,
1884 near Dayton, and 1886. The 1862
conference was attended by a phenom-
enal 30,000 persons and was moderated
by Elder John Kline of Virginia.
"The Queen City of the West," Cincin-
nati was founded in 1788 and today has
1.4 million metropolitan area population.
Even Winston Churchill called Cincin-
nati "the most beautiful of the inland
cities of the Union." It is Ohio's second
largest city.
For the Conferencegoer weary of a
day's events or with a free afternoon, the
city will offer such attractions as the art
museum and free admission to galleries
of world famous paintings, sculptures,
textiles, glass, china, silver and pottery
. . . the historical society, adjacent to the
art museum . . . zoological gardens, with
a collection of animals and birds living
in their natural surroundings . . . river-
boat tours on the Ohio . . . natural history
museum and planetarium . . . the birth-
place of President William Howard Taft,
now a museum.
Then there is Mt. Adams, a restored
section of town with its offbeat establish-
ments . . . the University of Cincinnati,
and other higher education facilities . . .
the university's Showboat Majestic, where
the summer season of hit musical pro-
ductions will be in progress . . . the Carew
Tower, where visitors may view the city
from 48 stories high.
For the campers among the Brethren,
facilities will be available in an easy drive
from convention center. Within a block
of the center are 5,000 off-street parking
spaces.
Greater Cincinnati Airport, on the
Kentucky side of the Ohio River, serves
the city. Six major hotels and motels are
within five blocks of convention center.
Conference headquarters will be the
Sheraton-Gibson Hotel, with Conference
offices in the convention center. And
restaurants abound in the downtown
area.
With the charm of the old and the
challenge of the new. Brethren will
gather for their 186th recorded confer-
ence in the shadow of Fountain Square.
If a Conference can be shaped by its host
city, it is most likely to happen in
Cincinnati.
Board's investment policies
among Conference business
Even as a concern over the denomina-
tion's investment policies grows as a po-
tential issue at Annual Conference, the
General Board this month will take up
its own consideration of the matter, with
a probable recommendation to the
delegates.
Southern Ohio district is bringing a
query to the Conference asking for a
study of the payment of the telephone
tax and the holding of U.S. government
securities by the church's national offices.
4 MESSENGER 3-1-72
Likewise, the Pacific Southwest Con-
ference, at the initiation of some youth
and the Lynnhaven, Phoenix, and Glen-
dale, Ariz., congregations, has requested
Annual Conference to "consider the
moral question of holding United States
Savings Bonds when we as a church
are trying to divorce ourselves as far as
possible from the military-industrial
complex."
In another related item, the Manches-
ter church and Middle Indiana district
are asking that the Conference be pro-
vided an annual itemized report of Gen-
eral Board and Pension Board invest-
ments.
Another query e.xpresses concern for
the selling of beer, wine, and liquor in the
public media and asks for leadership in
giving suggestions to local congregations
on working to end the advertising. Initi-
ating the query are the Bassett congrega-
tion and Southern Virginia district.
Though there are few new items of
business, last year's Conference left
enough unfinished ones to keep the Cin-
cinnati delegates busy ... on an abortion
stance, theological education, lower in-
come housing, a social-economic basis
for Fund for the Americas, among them.
Brethren helping to fill
lower income housing needs
In its first two years the Christian Hous-
ing Assistance Corporation in Waynes-
boro, Va., has aided seven lower income
families in finding and purchasing homes.
Originally begun in 1969 by the
Waynesboro Church of the Brethren and
now involving 14 congregations and five
denominations, the corporation makes
loans to families for down payments on
terms by which they can handle the re-
payments.
Waynesboro pastor Wendell Flory is
chairman of the corporation, and a num-
ber of directors, including the officers,
are Brethren. Four realtors also serve on
the board.
Three black and four white families
have been assisted thus far. One family
of eight moved from a chicken shed to a
four-room house when the corporation
endorsed the father's $1,500 note and
lent him the required $1,000 balance.
Another loan was made to a family of
six for $2,000 to enable them to take over
a mortgage on a home worth $14,000.
In each of the seven loans made, Mr.
Flory says, "the family needed assistance
in legal advice and procedures in ob-
taining homes. Some did not have
the credit necessary for them to have
secured loans in their own names."
Follow-up contacts are made with the
families. Mr. Flory points out that the
program is not a giveaway, but that re-
payment is made.
The corporation has operated on
$18,000 in assets. While five congrega-
tions have budgeted the corporation in
their planning, most support comes from
direct gifts, memorials, and mortgage
payment income.
Relief aid to Nigeria closed
after $20 million in assistance
A little more than two years after the end
of the bitter Nigerian civil war, the larg-
est relief and rehabilitation program ever
supported through the World Council of
Churches is drawing to a close. In the
two-year period, churches and their
agencies around the world have chan-
neled more than $20 million in cash and
material aid as well as personnel to the
program of the Christian Council of Ni-
geria (CCN) Rehabilitation Commis-
sion.
(The Church of the Brethren contrib-
uted $20,483 in Emergency Disaster
Funds toward relief elTorts in Nigeria,
In Nigeria: Two years of medical aid
and Brethren field secretary in Nigeria,
Roger L. Ingold, was seconded as as-
sistant to Emmanuel Urhobo, the Ni-
gerian director.)
A staff' team of 573 Nigerians and 22
expatriates — including Japanese. In-
dian, Jamaican, European, and North
American personnel — have carried out
extensive relief work and 41 field rehabil-
itation projects and programs. The aim,
said a CCN report, was "to give a shot-
in-the-arm to the medical, agricultural,
industrial, and social sectors, enabling
them to progress by themselves."
Rural health centers have been recon-
structed in five divisions in the East Cen-
tral State and five hospitals enabled to
function again. Medical teams have sup-
plemented governmental health care.
One of the CCN medical personnel from
Japan h^s been carrying out visits to no
less than 44 health centers, dispensaries,
and maternities each month.
In the agricultural field, three rural
training centers have been reopened after
the devastation of the war. A rural re-
construction plan is also in operation
which aims at the creation of ten or
eleven cooperative farms in the East
Central State, encouraging 150 young
farmers.
Home industries have been another
part of CCN's work. Seven weaving cen-
ters have been established and a regular
and increasing demand is reported. Pot-
tery is being produced at Isheagu under
the direction of a Nigerian potter, and
children separated from their parents by
the war have been reunited after much
patient tracing work.
At 100, International Lessons
still leading study materials
One hundred years ago next month in
Indianapolis the International Sunday
School Lessons were launched.
In April the present Committee on the
Uniform Series, related to the Division of
Christian Education of the National
Council of Churches, will observe the an-
niversary in the same Second Presby-
terian Church ( but not the same build-
ing) where the lessons began.
Hazel M. Kennedy, Brethren con-
sultant for curriculum materials, has
worked with the uniform lessons since
3-1-72 MESSENGER S
last November. Thirty U.S. and
Canadian denominations cooperate in the
preparation of the Bible lesson outlines
for Sunday use.
Church of the Brethren utilization of
the uniform lessons began 87 years ago
and presentl\ appear in A Guide for
Biblical Sludies.
The committee plans several years in
advance in order that within any six-year
period, for example, they can provide for
"study of all portions of the Bible deemed
most fruitful for group learning in the
Sunday church school."
Brethren use of the uniform lessons
started with materials intended for chil-
dren with quarterly publication for adults
beginning in 1885. Today up to 25,000
Brethren adults follow the interpretation
in A Guide for Biblical Studies.
Miss Kennedy and other Brethren edi-
tors have helped plan lesson cycles, select
scripture texts, phrase topics, and offer
suggestions for writers. Freedom to in-
terpret the texts is given to the denomina-
tional and independent publishers.
The series was conceived by a Meth-
Agenda for the aging: Have churches 'sinned by omission'?
The White House Conference on Aging
left an agenda of promises to older Amer-
icans. The ability of the Administration
and the Congress to redeem them will de-
termine the success of the gathering in
Washington, D.C., in November.
Churches were vigorously involved in
the planning of the 3,500-member con-
ference, as well they should be. For even
before the conference opened, its chair-
man. Dr. .Arthur S. Flemming, observed
that churches are a part of the problem.
"We have many older persons in our
nation today who are isolated and ostra-
cized from life and there isn't any doubt
in my mind that wherever you find an
older person in his own home, in a home
for the aged, or in a nursing home who is
isolated from life, there is within a block
or two a local congregation, parish, or
synagogue, " he observed.
He called this lack of contact by the
church with the older person a "very
serious sin of omission." Where church-
es find isolated or ostracized older per-
sons, he said, "I would hope they would
establish contact, begin to determine what
their needs are, and then be as helpful as
possible in meeting those needs."
"But the most important thing for them
to do," he emphasized, "is to demonstrate
to that older person that someone is
concerned for his or her interests."
One Lutheran participant, following
the conference, observed that "in the pri-
orities of the church the older person
does not rise very high," still being too
concerned with the "youth mystique."
The church has shown little leadership
in developing roles for the retired indi-
vidual as a person who can contribute to
a society.
Attending the conference for the
Church of the Brethren were Olin J.
Mason, administrator of Brethren Homes
in Sebring, Fla., and Gaithcrsburg, Md.,
pastor Larry K. Ulrich.
The work of the conference centered
around 14 sections representing the full
range of needs and problems of the elder-
ly. Each section broke into subsections;
Mr. Mason was recorder of his subsection
on housing.
Mr. Mason's involvement, if not typi-
cal, was indicative of the prcconference
planning that occurred. Over the past
two years he was chairman of the High-
lands County Forum on the Aging, on the
advisory panel as a resource person at the
regional level of the White House Con-
ference, on the state and national Task
Forces on Housing, and a delegate to the
.State White House Conference.
One of the sections Mr. Ulrich attended
concerned the "Religious Community and
the Aged." It brought six recommenda-
tions to the President and Congress:
u^ a national conference on spiritual
well-being within two to five years to re-
view the 1971 achievements,
U^ a broad-based community approach
to the aged through multipurpose com-
munity centers,
I/* denial of tax exemption to those
private institutions for the aged which
abrogate civil rights laws,
]/^ church-related retirement facilities
adding to their staffs a retiree in the role
of ombudsman-advocate working with
older adults within the institution and the
larger community,
jX tax deductions for money given for
the care of the aging, and education for
couples in their middle years for bridging
to later problems, including accepting
death and preparation for widowhood,
1^ religiously-related educational insti-
tutions and laymen in teaching roles pro-
'Sr
6 MESSENGER 3-1-72
odist preacher, J. H. Vincent, and a Bap-
tist layman, B. F. Jacobs, brought about
its adoption. The first committee was
created by the National Sunday School
Convention.
Today the lessons are the foremost
plan used by Protestant denominations
for the development of Bible study ma-
terials in the church school.
viding understandings of the processes of
aging and the needs of older persons.
The section affirmed "the principle that
responsibility for the care and affectional
support of persons of all ages rest with
one's immediate family and kinsmen."
Working during the week "Toward a
National Policy on Aging," the confer-
ence sought a policy of financial support
by the government that would enable
stronger involvement of the nation's vol-
untary sector in programming for serv-
ices to the elderly, Olin Mason said.
As one participant remarked: "The
problem of the aging is still poverty" and
many of the problems related to aging
would be solved with an adequate guar-
anteed minimum income. Conference
delegates adopted a resolution recom-
mending that the elderly be guaranteed
at least the minimum income cited by
the Labor Department as adequate.
Curiously however, while churches
tend to concentrate on institutional serv-
ices to the aging — financial support of a
retirement home and ministries to nursing
home patients — the majority of the
elderly reside outside such institutions.
Indeed, the study being made for the
1972 Annual Conference of the Brethren
homes for the aging appears to focus on
the institutional rather than individual
role.
A conference study book suggested that
churches may overlook spiritual needs as
they become aware of other problems of
the aging, and may even accentuate prob-
lems among those they help.
The church by its own heavy institu-
tional involvement, if not its spiritual as-
signment, has an agenda for the aging.
The seriousness with which it takes its
mandate may help determine national
goals for the elderly.
[LapdsirDDDi]^
PEOPLE YOU KNOW
Alvin P_. Klotz has accepted the exec-
utive directorship of Hoosiers for Peace, an arm of Clergy
and Laymen Concerned, with offices in Indianapolis, Ind.
His contributions to Messenger include guest editorials.
District executive Joseph Mason of Middle Pennsylvania
is serving the Centre Association American Baptists while
continuing his present responsibilities. The joint pro-
gram with the Centre Association will continue for a two-
year trial period.
S. C. Miller , 92, veteran school administrator who
two years ago was proclaimed "Man of the Half Century" by
fellow Kiwanians , died Jan. 2 in Evanston, 111. An active
church leader, he first came to Elgin in 1911 to edit the
Inglenook magazine.
Another longtime churchman, E_. M_. Hersch , died at La
Verne, Calif., Jan. 16. He was 77. He was a former mana-
ger-treasurer of the Brethren Publishing House.
Hillcrest Homes administrator M. R. Smelt zer has be-
come president of the California Association of Homes for
the Aging.
Pastor of Akron, Ohio's, First church, Raymon Eller ,
is on the Akron Ministerial Association's campus ministry
at Akron University, representing the Northern Ohio Dis-
trict. He served similarly at Wichita State University in
his former pastorate.
At Springfield, Mo., Donna Carson , member of the Good
Shepherd church, received the city's Outstanding Layman
Award . . . and in Bakersfield, Calif. , Layman of the Year
is Church of the Brethren member Tom Dunham.
A POTPOURRI
In the Southeastern District of the
Church of the Brethren, Camp Carmel becomes the first Amer-
ican Youth Hostel in the state of North Carolina. The
hostel program, overseen by American Youth Hostels, Inc.,
aims to provide young persons with opportunities for simple
modes of travel and recreation, along with experiences in
developing self-reliance and goodwill among persons of
different backgrounds.
Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind., observed their 75th
anniversary Feb. 13. Separate and combined services were
held by the Lincolnshire congregation , organized in 1897,
the Beacon Heights congregation , organized in 1952, and the
Kairos House fellowship , begun in 1970.
You'll want to watch Some Kind of Presence March 12,
one program in a series of specials offered on Sunday after-
noons by NBC television. Allen Sloan' s dociMientary details
the changing concept of the ministry today.
Best Sunday School Lessons is the tentative title of
a book being edited by Claude A. Frazier, M.D. , whose ap-
peal for materials goes to Messenger readers. Persons who
have prepared and presented unique, original, or outstand-
ing church school lessons for children, youth, or" adults
may submit them to Dr. Frazier at 4-C Doctors' Park, Ashe-
ville, N.C. 28801.
The La_ Verne, Calif. , church board voted to support
the Southern California Telephone War Tax Suit, involving
the withholding of the ten-percent federal excise tax.
3-1-72 MESSENGER 7
P®(BDSD CSpKOrft
Project Equality: 'Not a Closed Issue'
bv RONALD E. KEENER
Nc
led Crumpacker's letter, printed in the
front part of this magazine, is an example
of several concerns expressed about the
General Board's decision last November
that the denominational offices affiliate
with Project Equality.
The issue that has evolved from that
action since then also indicates how con-
fusing and confounding can be the parlia-
mentar>' processes of Annual Conference.
It seems clear that what delegates
thought they voted on last June regarding
Project Equality, and what they did vote
on were two different matters.
Project Equality, Inc., is an interreli-
gious agency, begun in 1965, that seeks
equal opportunity in employment by reli-
gious bodies and avoidance of purchasing
practices that subsidize discrimination.
It is active in about 23 states.
-At the St. Petersburg Annual Confer-
ence last year, the General Board re-
sponded to a query assigiied to it the
previous year. The reply, which was
adopted by the delegates in a 560-295
vote, proposed study and witness to the
evils of discrimination and the need for
jobs for minority persons. The reply sug-
gested membership for "congregations
and agencies of the Brotherhood" in
Project Equality "when volume of busi-
ness and number of jobs would justify
participation."
Thus the final delegate action skirted
the question of immediate membership
in Project Equality in favor of a "wait-
and-see" policy. In November, however,
at the urging of the church's professional
staff, the newly constituted General
Board reconsidered Project Equality and
voted to join.
The questions that arose from this
series of events came in the mail of Gen-
eral Secretary S. Loren Bowman. One
wanted to know whether "the Board's
decision was an override of the Confer-
ence action." Another questioned wheth-
er "the Board appears to be going in an
opposite direction from the decision of
Conference," a concern echoed many
times, including Mr. Crumpacker's letter,
since Annual Conference is the final au-
thority in matters of policy for the
denomination.
"The precedent of the Board changing
something Conference acted upon so soon
will certainly create many problems for
us pastors," another wrote.
A careful relistening of the debate on
the issue from the official tapings of the
delegate body, and an examination of the
motions before the delegates, indicate
that one's interpretation of the sentiment
of the delegate body was different from
the action which they finally took.
Sentiment appeared to reject denomi-
national membership in Project Equality.
'Vet the final action left that door open to
the General Board on its "serious con-
sideration of the possibilities/ values of
membership in Project Equality," the
wording of the implementing part of the
query's reply.
Indeed the original query received at
the 1970 Conference was not put in the
terminology of membership in the group.
Rather, it spoke to the study of endors-
ing and cooperating witli Project Equality
by Brotherhood organizations and
church-related institutions in the areas of
investing and expending funds and in fair
employment practices.
Of the General Board's study of Proj-
ect Equality and its report to the dele-
gates, the minutes simply say "The report
was adopted."
Did the action prohibit the General
Board and other Brotherhood agencies
from joining Project Equality?
As impartial a view as possible must
observe that the action itself did not.
Nor did it deal decisively with the matter
of membership at all.
Concluded S. Loren Bowman: "Mem-
bership in Project Equality was left open
and the General Board — along with oth-
er agencies of the church — was com-
mended to continue its study of the pos-
sibilities/values of becoming a participat-
ing member. This was viewed as an op-
tion for the reorganized board as it met
in November."
It can be asked whether the General
Board should have dealt with an issue so
recently before Annual Conference.
Furthermore, and even more to the
point, it is hazardous to suggest that the
Conference did not speak at all on the
"'f/c.
"Po,, „
■■■■--.. "^"oni
^£"-0
C "'..."""'"......"""""Ic
City
^" No
'" Ui
'" o,,.
"">r<
8 MESSENGER J- 1-72
matter of membership in Project Equal-
ity. In essence, one could say that the
sentiment of the Conference was well
known to the November Board meeting.
During the debate on the Board's posi-
tion, a substitute motion was offered that
the church, through its General Board,
become a full participant in Project
Equality. By a division vote of 506 nays
and 295 yeas, the delegates defeated the
call for full membership.
Moderator Harold Z. Bomberger, in
announcing the vote, said "that means
you [the delegates] have decided not to
authorize the Board to become part of
Project Equality."
Yet subsequent action on the query did
not make this vote an official part of the
response to the query. Indeed, General
Secretary Bowman assured the delegates
that the "issue is not a closed issue," but
remained open to reexamination and
participation.
Then too, while the Conference de-
feated a proposal to instruct the Board to
join Project Equality, it can also be ar-
gued that it did not tell the Board not to
join if new evidence or argument caused
it to reconsider membership.
Obviously the Board could feel that it
was under the mandate of continued
study being commended to the entire
church through Annual Conference.
From last June's delegate action it ap-
parently felt that it was free to act as it
did last November.
"If you were at St. Petersburg," Mr.
Bowman said recently, "you may feel
with considerable justification that mem-
bership in Project Equality was the item
being decided. Most of the speeches on
the floor were by persons pressing for the
church to become active in Project Equal-
ity at every level of its life.
"Little attention was given to the con-
tent of the Board's report and almost no
discussion was given to the specific rec-
ommendations. Even though a careful
analysis of these recommendations would
seem to indicate quite clearly that Con-
ference did not act decisively on Project
Equality membership, it is likely that
many delegates felt it had done so."
Somewhat incongruous, the content of
the Board's report was very supportive of
Project Equality, while at the same time
the Board declined membership in the
organization, preferring to work toward
the same goals within its own structure.
It was this contradiction that led the
Board's General Staff, following Confer-
ence, to ask for a reconsideration of
membership, operating under the guide-
lines set forth by Annual Conference in
its adoption of the Board report.
In a critique of the report, a staff paper
noted:
" I . In the face of the great and urgent
need outlined in the query, the Board's
recommendation to the Annual Confer-
ence was anemic considering the problem
with which it purported to deal.
"2. The Board's recommendation was
illogical. It is mathematically impossible
to add all the positive factors of the
Board's expressed feelings about Project
Equality and arrive at the negative con-
clusion which it did. The sum total of a
number of positive factors can never re-
sult in a negative.
"3. The Board has not stated explicit-
ly (even in its recommendation to Annual
Conference) a list of reasons for not
joining Project Equality."
Among arguments expounded by the
staff paper for joining Project Equality
were feelings that "it is the strongest and
most effective program of its type to ap-
pear on the horizon." Furthermore,
"membership commits us to do in deed
what we have said in words. It provides a
systematic way of making concrete our
good intentions."
Out of these concerns the General
Board turned again to consideration of
membership and voted decisively to join.
It is pertinent too, though somewhat a
moot question now, to ask who should
have decided on membership. In a nor-
mal course of events, such a matter would
likely not have come before Annual Con-
ference. It came before the 1971 Con-
ference only because of a query. If there
had been no query, the route of decision-
making quite normally would have gone
to the General Board. Seldom are mat-
ters of such limited concern dealt with by
the Conference.
Districts already members of Project
Equality are Illinois- Wisconsin, Northern
Indiana and South/Central Indiana,
through the Indiana Cooperative Board,
and Western Plains, from where the origi-
nal Annual Conference query came.
Membership of the General Board in
Project Equality began in January and
will be held in both the state and national
organizations, but without additional ex-
pense for the dual alignment.
"The costs will not be a fixed member-
ship appropriation but a service fee based
upon the time which will be required to
assist the Board in developing detailed
plans for working with our suppliers and
for planning to achieve our employment
goals," Loren Bowman said.
The cost of participation in the first
year will approximate $2,000, somewhat
lower than originally projected, and pos-
sibly higher than succeeding years. The
first year's costs will come from Part II
of Fund for the Americas in the U.S.
After the first two years, the board will
evaluate its participation in the program.
Even before the Board's action, the
General Secretary and the General Serv-
ices Commission executive were de-
termining compliance with Project Equal-
ity guidelines of major suppliers and firms
with which the Board deals.
The General Secretary provided to staff
a list of airlines which comply with Proj-
ect Equality guidelines for hiring of mi-
nority persons. And Galen B. Ogden has
received positive statements of compli-
ance with suppliers' guidelines from five
of the six major suppliers to the General
Board. They are book publishers Abing-
don and Harper and Row. R. A. New-
house Co., a church supplies firm, and
two paper products companies, Whitaker
Paper Co., and Image Supply Co.
It is believed that the Brethren in-
quiries to the paper companies were the
first acquaintance they have had with
Project Equality. They expressed im-
mediate willingness to comply, inasmuch
as they were already equal opportunity
employers.
Negotiations are still in process with a
sixth major supplier.
So where to from here?
Delegates to this year's Cincinnati
Conference will have the opportunity to
review the decision of the Board when
the delegates take up the report of the
Board, wherein membership in Project
Equality will be contained. If the dele-
gates are so inclined, contrary instruc-
tions on Project Equality membership
could be given.
Whatever the outcome, it will have
been more than a lesson in deliberative
law. n
3-1-72 MESSENGER 9
The Sometimes Praying Hands
°^Albrecht Diirer
by Kenneth 1. Morse
JVlention the name Albrecht Diirer,
and most persons will think at once of
a drawing of two hands, pointed and
arched in an attitude of prayer. These
"praying hands" originated as one of
the preliminary sketches the German
artist had developed for an altarpiece
he had been asked to provide for a
Frankfort merchant. What he drew in
his study of The Hands of an Apostle
may have represented only a minor
element in the execution of a master-
work. But apparently Diirer deemed
his drawing worthy of saving, and
therefore he dated it f 1508) and
marked it with his monogram.
Around his Praying Hands, a legend
has developed which finds little support
in Durer's biographies but which is
appealing just the same. It suggests
that Durer's early success was facili-
tated by an agreement he made with an
older artist. The friend's menial labor
would support Diirer until such time
as the young man could work and in
turn enable his friend to develop his
talent. According to the legend, Diirer
suddenly came to the realization that
his friend's hands, having toiled on his
10 MESSENGER 3- 1 -72
behalf, would likely never acquire such
skill as he had attained. Observing his
friend praying, Albrecht Diirer felt
impelled to show his gratitude and also
to honor the sacrifice of his friend by
drawing these toil-worn but devoted
hands in a gesture associated with
prayer.
During the past year art galleries
around the world have held a series of
special exhibitions to honor the 500th
anniversary of Durer's birth. It is an
appropriate time to take a closer look
at the artist and the scope of his work.
This may cause us to discard some
legends, but at the same time it will
surely confirm our feeling that Albrecht
Diirer was a profoundly religious per-
son, acquainted with prayer. And
merely to glance at a sampling of his
woodcuts, paintings, and engravings is
to discover his fascination with hands
— his own, the hands of other artists,
the hands of those he pictured as
apostles, and also the hands of Christ.
The son of a goldsmith, Albrecht
apparently decided quite early in life
that instead of following his father's
craft, he wanted to be an artist. At the
age of thirteen he drew his own por-
trait, exhibiting even then a lively
curiosity about himself. As an ap-
prentice to a local painter he remained
in Nuremberg for several years before
deciding, at the age of nineteen, to
travel elsewhere in Germany and to
work with other artists.
Five hundred years ago the Middle
Ages were ending. A Renaissance was
beginning. Diirer's paintings and
drawings often reflect the landscape
and the architecture of the Middle
Ages, and some of his preoccupation
with death and damnation, with super-
stition and fear, with the realities of
war and pestilence, may be due to the
times in which he lived. But he was
also a Renaissance man. He traveled
in Italy and learned from artists who
were celebrating a new kind of
humanism. In Central Europe he be-
came acquainted with the new means
of communication that accompanied
the development of printing and pub-
lishing.
If it is correct to see both medieval
and Renaissance values in Diirer, it is
equally appropriate to view him as a
M
Angel Playing a Lute
The Lamentation
11, i^ ,
detail from Virgin Seated on a Grassy Bank
Virgin Seated on a Grassy Bank
3-1-72 MESSENGER 11
detail from Christ on the Cross
Christ on the Cross
Christ on the Mount of Olives
The Prodigal So7i
12 MESSENGER 31 -72
m
devout Roman Catholic who was open
to the new spirit and the new dynamics
of the Protestant Reformation. The
subject matter of many of his paintings,
commissioned for churches, reflected
the faith of the Middle Ages. Early in
his career he created a series of wood-
cuts illustrating the apocalypse. He
published also engravings and drawings
depicting the life of the Virgin Mary
and two series devoted to Christ's
passion.
But Nuremberg, where Durer was
the leading artist and where he re-
mained for most of his life, was soon
touched by the Reformation. At one
time he wanted to paint Luther's
portrait because the reformer "has
helped me out of great anxiety." A
few years before his death Diirer
painted "The Four Apostles" in two
panels (John and Peter on one, Paul
and Mark on the other), and he gave
the work, which many critics regard
as his best, to the town of Nuremberg
after it officially became Protestant.
Ihe hands of Albrecht Diirer main-
tained mastery over many techniques
and were equally skilled with brush or
pen. chalk or charcoal. That same
mastery he applied to the remarkably
sensitive ways in which he could
portray the hands he wanted to picture.
You can observe many different hands
in his painting of Christ Among the
Doctors. Here several of the doctors
with whom Jesus argued in the temple
use their hands to grasp or utilize the
books of the law they are quoting. At
the very center of the picture are the
slightly chubby pink hands of the
young boy Jesus. His fingers are con-
trasted with the sallow aging hands of
the oldest of the doctors. The hands
here do far more than express symbolic
gestures. They reflect age and
experience coming together with
youthful vitality.
Some of Diirer's pen and ink draw-
ings portray hands that are fleshy and
stubby, but far more frequently he
elongates the fingers so that they seem
flexible and free, as one would expect
an artist's hands to be. But these are
the same fingers that, when tipped
together in a gesture that Diirer
associated with prayer and discipleship,
form a kind of Gothic arch. Yes, as a
master draftsman. Diirer could
fashion muscular arms and aggressive
fists, but most of his hands, whether
those of laborers or angels, of sinners
or apostles, were capable of turning
to prayer. Which is only to be ex-
pected of a man who wrote. "An artist
is but the mouthpiece of God." D
The Arm of Eve
■~ The Schoolmaster
3-1-72 MESSENGER 13
M.R.ZIGLER
AT
EIGHTY
by Hazel Peters
Reflections by one whose devotion is to the church not as it is, but as it ought to be
On Nov. 9, 1891, there came into the
world a premature baby so small the odds
were against life. But life remained, and
M. R. Zigler grew up in the John Kline
country around the Linville Creek
Church of the Brethren in Broadway,
Virginia. The house in which he was
born was recently established as a state
and national landmark. The man con-
tinues to leave his mark wherever he
goes — at home or abroad.
M. R. Zigler went to Elgin in 1919 as
the first Home Mission secretary; later he
became also the secretary of the General
Ministerial Board and of the Board of
Christian Education. In 1941, with the
beginning of the Brethren Service Com-
mission, he was appointed its first execu-
tive. In 1948 he was named the church's
representative in Europe and to the
World Council of Churches, with offices
in Geneva, Switzerland. Though he has
been heavily involved with and supportive
of cooperation in the ecumenical move-
ment, these relationships have increased
his desire that the Church of the Brethren
remain a strong, independent denomina-
tion with a witness of peace and brother-
hood in the world.
Following some years of physical de-
cline, M. R. gained in strength and vital-
ity after surgery in 1970. It was on the
occasion of his eightieth birthday celebra-
tion in Virginia that we talked together.
IVhat priority do you feel the Church of
the Brethren and the church generally
might he giving to peace, reconciliation,
nonviolence?
The church is on trial because of the
two world wars, fought among Christian
people primarily. War has been con-
ducted largely in those areas where the
churches exist. Therefore, if the church-
es will declare peace and ask each indi-
vidual to participate in peacemaking in
the world and work toward reconcilia-
tion, I'm convinced certain things can be
done without violence. There are very
few people on this earth who really want
a war. There is enough strength in the
Christian world to bring peace. Nonvio-
lence is essential to Christian living. My
hope is that we may now unite for peace
by reconciliation between churches and
the churches with governments.
For you, are evangelism and reconcilia-
tion distinct tasks or aspects of essential-
ly one task?
The supreme task of the Christian
church is to build a community of Chris-
tians that expresses brotherhood at the
deepest levels. Therefore, the main ob-
jective of the church, independent of all
other things, is evangelism. By that I
mean the direct act of going out and se-
curing an increased number of members
of the church to build a brotherhood that
will not break. This brotherhood must
have the characteristics of a society that
you would like to build. The church then
becomes a kind of a pilot project in
brotherhood and declares this message to
the community. If the community ac-
cepts, there will be peace in that commu-
nity and it will be awake to the needs of
the world and will serve.
Service is not evangelism. This comes
after people have accepted Christ; it
comes after a church has dedicated itself
to evangelism, to a proper evangelism.
At the beginning of World War I you
were of draft age, but as a theological
student, you had military exemption. If
you were now 18 would you go in the
military?
If I were 1 8, I would not go into the
military. My experience of the two
world wars reveals that there is hardly a
position I could take in the military in
terms of my Christian attitude toward
war.
As you indicated, at the time of World
War I, I was a theological student at
Vanderbilt University. An invitation
came for volunteers to go into YMCA
work. The YMCA had responsibility for
the recreational and religious activities
for military men both in America and
abroad. I volunteered for this and went
to Parris Island, South Carolina, to work
with the men in the U.S. Marines. The
YMCA program was civilian but was
tied in with the military.
I don't know what I would say about
following the same pattern again. At the
time I thought I was doing right. After I
got out of the YMCA work, I wondered
whether I could say I did not participate
in war. I doubt if I would again go in the
YMCA program.
Do you feel the church is giving sufficient
support to men regarding the draft —
whether they choose the military, 1-W
service, or the resistance movement?
Because the church believes in reli-
gious liberty and the right of conscience,
it carries a responsibility to all. I think
it has heavy obligation to those who go
into the military. We have never taken
the position that those who enter the
14 MESSENGER 3-1-72
service cannot be members of the church.
But some who did felt they had left the
church. At the congregational level has
there been encouragement to keep close
contact with members regardless of the
position they take in wartime.
The General Brotherhood Board and
Annual Conference took an active part in
relating to men in the military, though
this program was not as strong as the one
involving alternative service workers.
The support given conscientious objectors
was wonderful. There was of course the
position of some that churchmen should
go to jail rather than participate in either
military or alternative service.
Administratively the church was faced
with all these points of view. Its response
was a type of conservation and a hope for
reconciliation that someday we would
understand each other in the body of
it ought to be, not as it is. And that will
give a clue to my feeling about a commu-
nity also. I must live in a community
and I must live in my church, but 1 doubt
if I will ever find the place where every-
one will agree with my point of view. It's
along this line that I think that both
adults and youth must work together in
creating the common objective.
I would like to see a goal set for the
\ear 2000. which is only one generation
from now. Many of us are too old to get
anything done in the next 25 years, but
we must support the youth. Youth some-
how should get hold of objectives at this
moment that they would put into opera-
tion in their lifetime and be willing to die
for. Any other objective will not match
the war cry of giving a life, and I feel
that our youth are ready to do this.
I would like to see adults give their
ver\' important year for the Church of
the Brethren to set goals. If the young
people will set their goals and dedicate
their lives and say, "Here am I; send me,"
we should be ready to send them. And I
would like to see at least 1.000 young
people go out every year during the next
25 years. There ought to be ten people
out over the world finding spots where
they can work.
This is so important that I would put
as my first objective for the Christian
church, beyond evangelism, setting aside
the church program to inspire youth to
create objectives with the adults promis-
ing support. I feel personally that the
greatest job is the prevention of war or,
to put it positively, creating brotherhood,
creating peace for the world in the name
of Christ. This is our job. The youth are
ready. I think the world will listen.
Christ and in brotherhood build the king-
dom of God on earth when the war was
over.
Do you favor youth having a more influ-
ential voice in shaping the direcion of
the church? How would you answer the
cries of those wlio might object?
The U.S. government says youth can
vote at 18. If you can vote, you should
be able to speak for yourself and to set
objectives for community living. The
church needs to set the objectives that
ought to be rather than just condone what
is going on at the present time. I have
often said that I belong to the church as
'The greatest job
is creating peace
for our world
in the name
of Christ*
entire attention to developing with the
youth a program for the Church of the
Brethren that will take this generation the
next 25 years to accomplish. To do this,
let's invite the youth in our local churches
who have been in the army, in alternative
service, in prison, and adults who have
directed youth ministries to consider what
they would give their lives for on this
earth. The day is ripe for that to be done,
to give youth an opportunity to speak
under guidance.
The Valparaiso youth conference used
the term "Courage to Be Brethren." This
should be followed up quickly before the
spirit of that occasion dies out. This is a
What do you mean when you say the
young people should meet with adults and
should speak under guidance? What is
your definition of guidance? And could
you be more specific about how young
people should set objectives and the kind
of service they tnight render?
I would like to see youth and adults
together use the New Testament as the
guideline as the Brethren did in 1708 at
Schwarzenau. Together we would com-
mit ourselves to support a program for
the creation of brotherhood. Brother-
hood: this is the word I would use more
than peace in future planning. This
brotherhood must begin in the local
church and in the local community.
Then can we point to the kind of broth-
erhood in which a world can exist without
war. Our literature should be filled with
this idea of loving one another and prac-
ticing and learning how to do this love
thing that we're talking about these days.
Adults should participate in the devel-
opment of the goals so we will not be
in disagreement at any point. Yet we
need recognize that we will be taking
chances, but even so, we will say to
youth, "We are willing to pay the price:
we'll finance you; we're too old to go,
but we'd like to help you."
Christian people are still looking for
pilot projects in brotherhood.
You implied that, when adults and young
people meet together and study the New
3-1-72 MESSENGER IS
Testament and plan objectives, there
should be no disagreement. How would
you handle the situation if there were
disagreement?
That is like a war that you can't stop.
We must have faith that by due process
we will come to an agreement on both
parts — adults and youth. Now if there
isn't an agreement, the only thing I know
to do is wait.
The National Service Board for Reli-
gious Objectors was about as delicate a
thing as you could ever put together in
this world, but we agreed when we first
started that we would not do anything
that we didn't concur on. In my lifetime
I have discovered that the best way to test
every proposal is to try it. We generally
have enough time to see whether it works.
Also there's a possibility of having two
types of programs going at the same time,
going different ways, under one adminis-
tration. Paul and Barnabas had their
problems. They had to separate to do
their work. But they didn't quit. Good
leadership can almost guarantee the win-
ning of the game.
Do you feel the leadership being given
presently by the Church of the Brethren
General Board to peace concerns is ade-
quate? And what of the local churches?
How much can be done? I know that
we're not doing enough. Primarily, we
must find our objective and define what
our schedule will be. The General Board
should set great goals for the future, and
it should draw on the unity that exists
already among youth groups in local
churches. The church papers, the church
school literature, youth discussions should
become aflame with the vision and goals.
I do not feel the leadership has come
from anywhere in the Church of the
Brethren to inspire youth or adults to do
what I have been advocating in this con-
versation.
What will the local churches do about
it? They can do only what the General
Board plans unless somebody disagrees
and goes independent. I would like to
see the Brotherhood take the leadership
that would demand all the energy any
group or any person has, so that we'll not
be divided in our strength. So often the
best leaders are off on a binge by them-
selves instead of representing the church.
The board must send out ambassadors to
every local church so that each one will
participate in this effort of creating a
brotherhood around the world.
When we talk about local churches in
the Brotherhood, after all, there isn't any-
thing but the local churches. The over-
head is only something that works for the
local churches. Anything that is done
that isn't for the local churches is prob-
ably irrelevant. Unless you maintain the
strength of the local congregation you do
not have strength in the overhead.
Dialogue must go on. Following up the
Annual Conference with the Valparaiso
youth conference is perhaps a way to
describe what I'm trying to say. How
can these two lines of thinking be knit
together in something that is better than
'Anything that
isn't done for
the local church
is probably irrelevant*
either one of them? Here's where the
General Board must see beyond the de-
bates at either one of these types of con-
ferences.
What degree of ecumenical activity or
level of relationships do you see as ap-
propriate for the Church of the Brethren
today?
That's a question that should be im-
plemented just as vigorously as our de-
nominational program. The historic
peace churches have a great opportunity
to represent the peace movement, or the
brotherhood movement, to our fellow
Christians, denominationally speaking.
Now is the time to act.
The World Council of Churches and
the National Council have been weak-
ened and local councils are practically
nonexistent. To me it's a pathetic scene,
and I regret it very much. One of our
urgent objectives is to mobilize the re-
sources within Christianity, among de-
nominations, as quickly as we can so that
we will feel strength and not weakness.
The time has come for the Brethren to
say we're going to pull ourselves together
now because we have been broken also.
We can come back again to take our
place. Adults and youth need to think
through this problem very seriously and
quickly.
If I had a personal say on what to do,
I would keep a strong man at Geneva
and put a youth there with him to work
with the World Council of Churches and
with the United Nations auxiliaries in
Rome and Paris as well. I would put
another strong person and a youth in
New York to work with the United Na-
tions and the National Council of
Churches. I would continue a strong
personality in Washington and a young
person working with him. These jobs
would center on both Christian organiza-
tions and governments. There these three
groups could join together in a creative
research study of how to meet the world
and to find the places of service for those
we'll send out and support.
I would revive the movement to go to
the general conferences of other denomi-
nations. We have invited many to our
conferences, but we should seek invita-
tions to go to other conferences to give
our message of peace.
Wherever we can work with other
16 MESSENGER 3-1-72
bodies, we should work with them — but
not lose our own identity.
Of the ministries performed by the Breth-
ren Service Commission, what do you
regard as the most significant break-
throughs?
However much we would want to
change our relationship to the U.S. gov-
ernment during wartime, I would say our
biggest breakthrough came when the
government forced the historic peace
churches to work together. We didn't do
it because we loved one another so well,
or because we wanted to get together; but
we had to, and that was good.
The National Service Board for Reli-
gious Objectors has been a tremendous
and valuable institution. But I hav; a
hunch that we're letting down on that.
We ought to double our efforts in NSBRO
[now the National Interreligious Service
Board for Conscientious Objectors] to
work with the government and develop a
program so that if another war occurs,
we'd be ready. And don't let anybody
think we're not heading toward another
war.
Of course, we've made many mistakes.
Let's list them; then let's throw our lives
into creating what ought to be. We ought
to keep a program going, doing some-
thing better everyday, trying to find new
light, and daily getting something done
for conscientious objectors during peace-
time. Then if war comes, we can say to
the government, this is what we want to
do and if you don't let us do it, put us in
jail, I would not mind going to jail if we
were doing a really heroic job. I believe
the government would let us go on work-
ing during wartime doing what we ought
to do if we have a good program. That
would be a part of my ongoing objectives
immediately.
You commented that the government had
forced the Friends, Brethren, and Men-
nonites to work together in relation to
conscientious objection. Dr. Visser 't
Hooft of the World Council of Churches
did a similar thing when we were trying
to get the World Council to give attention
to peace. Is that not true?
It is true. He suggested that we ought
to do something for the conscientious
objectors of Europe, and cooperatively
we set up EIRENE in Germany, Moroc-
co, and other countries. He said we were
the only ones to do it, because we were
the only ones that had the charter for it.
We've got the charter for peace now.
What vision of the church do you feel
would be most challenging to the Breth-
ren today?
My vision would be that by the year
2000 we double our membership. We
must lift our message up and let what we
believe be known. Of course we've got a
lot of homework to do before this can be
done. I'd like to see the seminary and the
headquarters at Elgin unite in one staff
and face, as a research group would, a
problem like ours and find out how it is
possible to get people to create a brother-
hood that won't break and be so good
people will want to join it, want to be in
it, and wouldn't be satisfied to be out of
it.
What do you regard as the most gratify-
ing experiences in your own career of
churchmanship?
This sudden answer today might be
different from what I would reply ne.\t
week, but I will say this. I've had such a
good experience with the Church of the
Brethren ever since my childhood, even
though the members then were very con-
servative, that I can't help but feel that
belonging to the Church of the Brethren
has been a Godsend to me. But I don't
think that's what the question implies.
In terms of my own work for the
Church of the Brethren, in every job I
had it took me ten years to be trusted by
the constituency. That's a hard statement
to say, but I think it's true even of pas-
tors. To be trusted, you have to be with
a group at least ten years. To be strong
you must have your constituency with
you. To fail to do this means disaster.
The biggest thrill of my lifetime with
the Brethren is that I was in a job where
I was given a lot of liberty. I accepted
the liberty and moved out on it and was
more or less supported. I don't know how
I could express my appreciation for the
constant support of the Church of the
Brethren from December 1919, when I
went to Elgin, to 1958, when I retired in
Geneva, Switzerland. And since then I
have never felt any break in my relation-
ship with the church.
Going back to the question of break-
throughs, a major breakthrough came
when wc began to work in the council of
churches and other agencies to get certain
things done in the world. My lifetime
covers the period of the Brethren rela-
tionship to other religious bodies. There
was some before 1919 but not much. I
have found that we were welcomed all
the way as long as we took our position,
knowing full well that we could not ex-
pect everything we would like to have
done. The councils of churches were
more patient with us than many groups
would have been and we ought to appre-
ciate it.
Also, our relations with the govern-
ment have been tremendous. There are
some of our people who think we ought
not to have anything to do with govern-
ment, but personally I want to be a citi-
zen, a good citizen, and I would like for
my citizen brothers to allow me to have
freedom of conscience. In some respects
it is easier to get respect for freedom of
conscience from government than from
some Christian bodies.
Among the churches and among gov-
ernments, the thing that put us through
was our program. We had a program to
offer, we had something in our hands to
give, and we had youth to back us up.
The program that is developing in the
world for conscientious objectors was
started primarily in Europe by represen-
tation of our youth being in Europe as
conscientious objectors. Now when we
have COs from Germany in our program
here, the circle has been made.
What we need now is a breakthrough
in local congregations to the communities
in which we live.
What suggestions do you have for a local
breakthrough?
I would reiterate that we must let the
people of the community know our pro-
gram, our objectives. We should ask the
community to join with us in many of our
objectives in ways that would not require
them to join our church to be with us.
We don't have to have people join our
church to follow our message. We need
to work with government at all levels, to
hear its counsel, and to offer our counsel.
Government is very good to us in my
judgment. We ought to express apprecia-
tion for the good things that have been
done and then ask for better things! Q
3-1-72 MESSENGER 17
in a Palestinian village . . .
T
he village of Deir Ammar five years
ago was an area of tension and conflict in
the Arab-Israeli war. Last summer
Christian and Moslem children came to
the small village, 35 miles northwest of
Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West
Bank of Jordan, to participate in a
recreation camp and, to some extent, to
work at reconciliation. Many of the
children had lived their entire lives in
refugee camps.
Brethren Service in Europe, cooperat-
ing with the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
and the Quaker Service Middle East
Youth Program, for the past two years
has sent Brethren volunteers as counsel-
ors to this summer camp.
Last summer Quaker volunteers and
Brethren Service workers Kenneth
Smeltzer and Frederick A. Schmidt Jr.
worked with the co-directors of the
Deir Ammar summer camp, Robert and
Eva Minnich.
Mr. Minnich has been employed part
time since last October as Brethren Serv-
ice Representative for the Middle East.
Working from Ljubljana, Yugoslavia,
Mr. Minnich is investigating opportu-
nities for Brethren program through
the World Ministries Commission.
Seeking to make their visit to the West
Bank and Israel the medium for a
balanced firsthand impression of the
Middle East conflict, the foreign volun-
teers from Deir Ammar participated in a
weeklong seminar in Jerusalem sponsored
by Quaker Service.
J
18 MESSENGER 3-1-72
During the seminar they talked with
IsraeH spokesmen and students, visited
their homes, and journeyed to a kibbutz.
Through these discussions they were able
to analyze their West Bank experiences
and learn about Israeli attitudes, es-
pecially regarding the Palestinians and
the refugee issue, Mr. Minnich said.
Through voluntary contributions, la-
bor, and cash donations, including one
by the World Ministries Commission, the
UN agency has been able to provide 200
boys aged 11 to 14 and 65 girls aged 10
to 12 with an opportunity to leave their
refugee camps for two or three weeks.
Jammed into the limited time are in-
I struction in personal hygiene, training in
I athletic and scientific skills, folk art,
'leadership training, wholesome meals,
and hiking and excursions to historical
and religious sights.
Each day is closed with the children,
who about evenly represent both faiths,
reciting readings from the Bible ;;nd
Koran in Arabic.
Four Palestinians, never before outside
the Middle East, were also sent by
Brethren Service to international work
camps. Two of the counselors who went
to England, where they worked with
mentally retarded children, had been on
the Deir Ammar staff for three years.
The other two, going to Denmark and
Northern Ireland, were building a youth
center north of Jerusalem.
One of them, a tax collector by pro-
fession, observed on his return that for
the first time he believed that men of
difTerent nations can work together con-
structively, beginning as volunteers.
Another, a medical student, discovered
how a small volunteer group can awaken
the beneficence of a community and
provide services that cannot be bought
with salaries.
Of the Brethren involvement in the
Middle East in the last two years. Bob
Minnich said: "It has shown that out-
siders are welcomed by both parties to
the conflict when they come seeking
reconciliation through open-minded
study of the isssues.
"Should not Brethren seek in that part
of the world, which is the home of their
faith, to pursue the spirit of Jesus who
once walked some of the same roads that
BVSers tread the past two summers?" □
in a Marburg ghetto . . .
T
he best view of Marburg, a university
town in West Germany, is from the
grounds of an ancient castle crowning a
hill over the city. From this vantage
point you can locate university buildings
(among the 10,000 students last year at
least twenty came from Brethren and
Mennonite colleges through the Brethren
Colleges Abroad program) and you can
look down on the twin towers of St.
Elizabeth's church, an imposing example
of early Gothic architecture, dating back
to the 13th century. Best of all, you can
see in the castle itself the setting of a
famous conference, important in the his-
tory of the Protestant Reformation. For
here Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon,
and Ulrich Zwingli came to agreement on
most matters of doctrine, but failed to
harmonize their views on the Lord's
Supper.
These are the features a guide will
point out in one picturesque German city
of 50,000 population. What he probably
won't show the tourist, however, is a
small ghetto area (yes, European cities
have their slums too) close to the town
but cut otT from it on different sides by
the Lahn river, by railroad tracks and a
junk yard, and by an expressway under
construction.
My guide to the Marburg ghetto, one
sunny day last April, was Fred Schroeder,
a graduate of Yale University, then in his
second year in alternative service as a
BVSer. Listen to his description of the
area where he had chosen to work as a
volunteer. Here is no picture of "ro-
mantic Germany" but rather "five brick
barrack buildings one story in height, two
wooden barracks, one small building used
as a kindergarten, and two primitive
3-1-
MESSENGER 19
German children, like their American
counterpart.';, can make a playground out of
a jungle gym and a sliding board, especially
with the help of a friendly BVSer. Right,
preschoolers, whose drawings decorate the
walls, make new discoveries with a scale
toilet buildings (unhealed, no plumbing).
For the 1 77 people, about 1 00 rooms are
available — rooms that are wet, causing
rugs and furniture to rot, and with walls
so thin that neighbors are easily disturbed
by one another. TTie rooms have no run-
ning water and no drainage system. Wa-
ter is fetched from three pumps in the
courtyard."
At that time Fred was working with a
community group including some of the
residents of "Am Krekel," as the slum
area is known. A few years ago, as an
American student living in Berlin, Fred
had some questions about military serv-
ice, and he turned to a BVSer he met in
that city for draft counseling. When the
draft caught up with Fred, he asked for
alternative service and was permitted to
stay on in Germany, beginning what was
then a new BVS project under the spon-
sorship of the World Ministries Com-
mission.
The day of my visit was a typical work-
ing day for Fred, his time mostly taken
with guiding the activities of slum chil-
dren. Many of his young friends were
20 MESSENGER 3-1-72
playing hopscotch and marbles in the
open spaces near one pump where some
of their mothers and sisters were doing
the family washing. Nearby was their
kindergarten room (not in use that day
because of the Easter holidays), perhaps
the most pleasant room in the whole area.
The room doubles as a meetingplace
available for social activities of the
residents.
At that time a kindergarten teacher
came each day to give instruction to chil-
dren between four and seven. But for a
time after his arrival on the scene Fred
shared that responsibility with other
untrained persons. On that April morn-
ing several preschool children gathered
in a room that could have been quite
dismal but which was made colorful by
their creative finger painting, by the grass
gardens they had planted, and by the
flowers they had grown. Fred explained
that he and a local social worker, who
I was available part time, tried hard to put
these children in touch with growing
things.
Dt
'uring the afternoon Fred worked
mostly with children who were in the
early school grades, helping them with
their homework and directing periods of
play. Field trips under his direction fre-
quently provided a way for them to ex-
perience a different environment as well
as to learn new skills. He was eager also
to spend more time with the twenty teen-
agers in the community who have few
social activities and for whom no recrea-
tional activity is provided. At least once
a week in the evening he met with a small
group of residents, including the parents
of some of the children he saw every day.
In many respects Am Krekel is no dif-
ferent from the ghetto areas you find in
the United States. The problems are al-
most identical. Many families are on
welfare, but the checks come only every
two months, and the adults do not always
spend them wisely. There is a housing
shortage in most German cities, and
young persons seeking to escape from a
slum area find it difficult to locate else-
where. There is little money available to
provide the materials and equipment that
Fred and other volunteers could have
used to advantage. Children coming
from the ghetto encounter difficulty in
school, not through lack of native intelli-
gence, but because they need more verbal
skills.
As Fred looked back over the months
he had spent in Marburg, he could see
some positive results from his efl:orts. The
preschoolers with whom he worked all
passed the maturity test required for ad-
mittance to school. And he added, "The
children showed marked progress in ver-
bal and motor skills."
On the occasion of my visit I shared a
midmorning snack with two young girls,
Uta and Barbara, and with two active
boys, Bernd and Thomas, whose last
name is Sauer. As I examined Thomas'
freely executed painting on a portion of
one wall, I wondered if he might even
remotely claim any relationship to Chris-
topher Sauer, the talented printer who
once lived near Marburg but who came to
America to become a colonial publisher
and to participate in the early history of
the Church of the Brethren.
One of the current ministries of the
Church of the Brethren is to sponsor the
volunteer activities of conscientious ob-
jectors like Fred, both as a testimony to
the alternative ways of peace and as a
means of helping persons in need wherev-
er they live. In recent years the exchange
of volunteers between countries has been
extended so that young volunteers from
Germany, for example, have made a sig-
nificant contribution to programs de-
signed to assist Americans living in their
own urban ghettos. Most of these young
volunteers, like Fred Schroeder, are keen-
ly aware of their limitations as profes-
sional social workers or educators. But
amateurs though they may be, they offer
something vitally needed, a personal
identification and a presence that can
extend meaning and hope where living
situations appear to be hopeless.
Just before Fred completed his service
in Marburg a few months ago he re-
ported that "a German conscientious ob-
jector is beginning in the kindergarten.
... He has brought a fresh outlook . . .
and this is healthy for the project pro-
gram." Having spent part of a busy day
with Fred, I know that what he and other
volunteers, German or American, bring
to many of our tired old communities
with their seemingly insoluble problems,
is indeed a "fresh outlook" and a reason
to thank God for persons who choose
peaceful ways of change. □
INTRODUCING
THE FIRST IN A MONOGRAPH SERIES
OF SEMINARY-RELATED
ADDRESSES, LECTURES, STUDENT
WRITING AND FACULTY RESEARCH.
IN PAPER $1,95, PLUS 25c FOR
POSTAGE AND HANDLING
COLLOQUIUM
NO, 1
RADICAL SOCIAL
MO\'EMENT and the
RADICAL CHURCH
TRADITION
Roscinani B. Riictlicr
POWER AND VIOLENCE:
A BIBLICAL STUDY
Ciuijdon F. Snijdcr
SEND CHECK WITH ORDER TO;
BETHANY SEMINARY BOOK STORE
BOX 408, OAK BROOK
ILLINOIS 60521
CHOICEm
CHOICE III is a weekday radio pro-
gram designed to help husbands and
wives create fulfilling relationships
with each other. The 65 programs,
sponsored jointly by the Mennonites,
the Mennonite Brethren, and the
Church of the Brethren, come in five
3-minute spots per week for 13 weeks
and are free for public service use.
You can make them available to your
community. Send for promotional
packet and audition tape to; CHOICE
111, Church of the Brethren General
Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III.
60120.
Name
Congregation
Street
City
State Zip
3-1-72 MESSENGER 21
FILM REVIEWS
Sharing the Sights
and Sounds of Love
Iinding just the right film for the class-
room, worship, or discussion can be a
frustrating piece of guessworlc. Many re-
ligious films are wordy, dogmatic, or sim-
plistic, and it is often hard to tell from a
brief description whether a film will
meet our needs. The number of film pro-
ducers and rental outlets has expanded so
that lists of audio-visuals have become
longer and more numerous, making the
task of accurate selection increasingly
complex.
One source of imaginative, open-ended
films for use in the church is the Fran-
ciscan Communication Center, the pro-
ducer of TeleKETics films. The pastor,
teacher, or program planner can depend
on TeleKETics to communicate forcefully
and creatively, stimulating persons to
search, encounter, celebrate, witness. In
the words of the TeleKETics Resource
Guide: "Because the Good News cries
out to be communicated . . . TeleKETics
in film and song and loud bright colors,
crying out the news . . . that Christ is
here amidst morning coffee and bleak
headlines — that life holds hope — that
we can reach out to each other, our
world, our God . . . Here! Today! Cry-
ing out the Good News — to make a joy-
ful noise against the sounds of silence, to
speak the Word to the world, to share the
sights and sounds of love."
TeleKETics' "Modern Prophets'" series
traces the simplicity of lives lived in
22 MESSENGER 31-72
Christ, in the belief that all persons are
prophets who share the Word in every
action. For example, the "Dancing
Prophet" Doug Crutchfield, dancer and
teacher of dance, shares his vision with
the crippled and the elderly. His faith
and love are translated into his encour-
agements, his support, his commands to
these unlikely students.
Christ taught his message through
drachmas and sheep and wedding ban-
quets and mustard seeds. The "Parables"
series uses the scenes and objects around
us to make Christ's message come alive
for our own time. In The Stray, twelve
first-graders spend a day at the zoo,
where one boy strays and becomes lost.
His terror in being lost is balanced by the
gruff concern of the bus driver who
searches for the boy and brings him back
to the group. This modern parallel to the
parable of the lost sheep brings new
insight and meaning to the truth that
God cares for us. "Once upon today. . . ."
Sacraments are found everywhere.
They are more than ritual, and can be
seen in every human action, made holy
by an awareness of the Spirit. In Bap-
lism. Alfredo, a Mexican orphan trag-
ically scarred by fire, is drawn by the
warmth and love he sees among the chil-
dren of a home. He pleads to be ac-
cepted into this family and the children
themselves answer with the simple dec-
laration, "You are my brother." In Holy
Comniiinioii the free-flowing images in-
vite the viewer to recreate the meaning of
the Eucharistic mystery. It explores
everyday human encounters as the cele-
bration of Christ's death and resur-
rection.
Revelation is continuous action, the
constant rediscovery of the face of Christ
on the face of the earth. In Let the Rain
Settle It. two young boys, one black, the
other white, arc thrown together by cir-
cumstances. The cautious beginnings of
their friendship celebrate Christ revealed
to us as we reveal ourselves to each other.
In Turned Round to See an adolescent
boy finds himself in a discotheque, torn
between the demands of the music and
the images of a slide show which epi-
tomize his memories and his fears.
Stilled by his agonizing loneliness in the
midst of a dancing crowd, and the ter-
rible burden of his perceptions, his con-
fusion becomes his revelation, and his
gesture of hope for the world.
Christian encounter is, by its very
nature, a human encounter. Time after
time we see Christ looking back at us in
the faces of our friends, our families, the
man on the street, the hungry migrant
worker, the children of the world. To be
a Christian is to encounter Christ in the
fullest sense, to take him into our homes
and our lives. As in Workout, where the
physical competition in a workout ses-
sion between father and son becomes a
symbol of the emotional and ideological
contest between them. As in Encounter,
a scries of one-minute TelespoTS that
deal with family communication and in-
terpersonal relationships. Infusing com-
munication with understanding concern,
finding the search for God in the ave-
nues of human experience, transforming
irritating situations into moments of
witness: these are the concerns of the
"Christian Encounter Series."
This style of lifting up life's moments
of concern, searching, and witness is
what gives TeleKETics its special useful-
ness in a wide variety of situations. It is
a style typified by the many TelespoTS,
in which the Franciscan Communication
Center had its beginnings, and which still
make up the core of their offerings. Telc-
SPOTS are thirty- and sixty-second mes-
sages of faith, hope, love, but never
preaching. They were originally created
as public service spots for television and
range in subject from psalms to safe
I
I
I
driving, from family relationships to the
horrors of war.
The genius of the TelespoTS is the
ease with which they can be inserted
into worship, a learning experience, a
group discussion, or a presentation. They
are concise, keenly sensitive vignettes
that lift up a slice of real life and chal-
lenge the viewer to explore the meaning
of faith in that moment. The husband
sharing good news from the office, finds
his wife has fallen asleep in the middle of
his story, as his letdown at her disinterest
is reflected in the dismayed "Darling,
are you listening?" A montage of space
photos and stills of people of all nations
takes on broader meaning in the context
of Frank Borman's words upon landing
on the moon: "We saw the earth the size
of a quarter, and we realized then that
there really is one world." A small boy's
attempt to awaken his parents with a kiss
is rebuffed, but he persists, bewildered:
"I didn't come to bother — I only came
to give you a kiss."
In these and other spots, we find our-
selves quickly, sometimes poignantly,
reflected, magnified, refracted. Our en-
counters, our searching, our witnessing
are opened up for examination, and we
are challenged to measure them by faith,
love, and hope.
Frequently the task of choosing film
resources is confusing and frustrating.
But with a resource like the Franciscan
Communications Center, that job is trans-
formed into an experience of excitement
and discovery. Even the catalog is a
surprise! It speaks to our needs and
tastes in many more ways than simply
listing products, numbers, and prices.
The TeleKETics Resource Guide is in fact
a program planning guide with celebra-
tion and education ideas backed by a full
offering of films, spots, records, and
banners.
The multimedia library of The Breth-
ren Press now carries a stock of Tele-
KETics films for rental, as well as copies
of the Resource Guide (price: 50c). In
addition, a consultation service in pro-
gram planning and workshops in commu-
nications education is also available to
districts, local churches, and small groups.
For more information write to Media-
scope, The Brethren Press, 1451 Dun-
dee Ave., Elgin, 111. 60120. — John G.
FiKE
CLASSIFIED ADS
BRETHREN TRAVEL - Reservations are still avail-
able for vacation holiday in the South Pacific.
Thirty-five day tour leaves July 19, 1972, visit-
ing Tahiti, Fiji, Bora Bora, Samoa, New Guinea,
New Zealand, and Australia. Write J. Kenneth
Kreider, Route 3, Elizabethtown, Pa. 17022.
GIVING HUNGRY PEOPLE OVERSEAS
A CHANCE FOR A CHANGE!
Here's what -; iinUr has been doing since 1947;
shipping 195 million pounds of food (much of it high protein, none of it
government-donated), seeds, and tools to tens of thousands of hungry
people in fifty countries . . .
distributing an additional 817 million pounds of government-donated com-
modi ti es . . .
helping to dig wells, build roads, and construct schools through CROP
food-for-work projects . . .
supporting cooperatives, family planning clinics, and agricultural scholar-
ship students.
-: JCnUP is the Community Hunger Appeal of Church World Service. Your primary
way of supporting Church World Service in the Church of the Brethren is through
your ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING offering.
Another important way you help Church World Service is by serving as a CROP
volunteer leader, helping your county or city to organize a CROP Community Can-
vass, a CROP Community Walk, or a CROP Hunger Club.
DliOP
is the way to say "Church World Service" in and to your community.
Please write for information on how you can help. National CROP Office - Box 968, Dept. C - Elkhart, Indiana 46514
The church and investment ethics
What is a peace-loving body like the Church
of the Brethren General Board doing with stock-
holdings in corporations having military contracts?
The question is a crucial one, and one that
quite properly should evoke soul-searching, as
letters in this Messenger suggest.
But the question is also a tricky one, maybe
even a little devious. For it readily can prompt
more rhetoric than reason. It can spawn not only
indignation but arrogance. It can sweepingly indict
the corporate church but ignore altogether the
responsibility of the individual churchman.
For the record, a few facts and observations
are in order. First, to imply that ten denomina-
tions were exposed and chastised by the report of
the National Council of Churches Corporate In-
formation Center is to miscomprehend what has
taken place. The study of the churches' stock-
holdings in companies manufacturing war hard-
ware was in effect instigated by the denominations
through a division of the National Council, by staff
spokesmen who believed the study would spark a
timely review of the use of investment resources
and possibly open ways of witnessing to industry.
The element of surprise came when the findings
were released to public media before reaching de-
nominational officials.
Second, to suggest that ten churches are
guilty of thoughtless complicity with the war ma-
chine is to overlook the fact that a number of
agencies like the Church of the Brethren General
Board have been examining the problem of in-
vestments for some time, attempting to reduce if
not eliminate their ties to the military-industrial
complex.
Third, to assume that the question is summar-
ily resolved by withdrawing all investments in
companies engaged in defense production is a
simplistic response. In this era of diversified
conglomerates, ascertaining which companies are
involved in defense and to what extent is a com-
plex undertaking. Disentanglement comes hard.
The task will be aided now by the Corporate In-
formation Center listing of the top sixty firms in
military sales.
But were the Center to pursue the study in
greater detail, and were the regard for complicity
taken seriously at the personal level, it could well
suggest the individual's foregoing of a vast array
of everyday products. Moreover, the individual
would inquire of his bank, his savings association,
his insurance company where their investment
funds are placed. He eventually may question
citizenship under a government which is the big-
gest party of all in the defense business.
Still, whatever attention has been given to
the examination of investment holdings by the
churches in years past, the time is ripe for a more
intense look. After all, war profiteering is an un-
comfortable charge, especially among those who
have denounced so vehemently United States' ac-
tion in Vietnam, and even if, as in the case of
the General Board, it represents only ten percent
or less of total investments.
In reporting on investments, General Secre-
tary Loren Bowman confirmed the data from the
CIC report and added that for the year follow-
ing. 1971, the General Board had common stock
of $957,199 in ten companies listed as having
defense contracts. In addition, in the Pension
Fund $761,883 of common stocks were with thir-
teen corporations having defense ties. The level of
military sales to total sales for these companies
ranged from 1.3 to 11.5 percent.
Whether to divest of all such holdings, or to
move as Clergy and Laymen Concerned is doing
and deliberately select stocks in companies ma-
jorily involved in the aerial war in Southeast Asia
and as stockholders challenge the social responsi-
bility of the corporations, are alternatives the
churches need weigh. The matter is to be before
the General Board at its March meeting.
Whatever course is taken by other churches,
it seems highly desirable that in the Church of
the Brethren the General Board either drop its
military-related portfolios altogether or move
openly but decisively into an advocacy role on
corporate social responsibility.
With the facts at hand, policies must be re-
viewed and perhaps revised, practices watch-
dogged if necessary, and above all, principle and
performance kept in tow. — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGER 3- 1 -72
by Brethren author — Patricia Kennedy Helman
Free to Be a Woman
If the roles of home and/or career have failed to integrate a woman's
life into a satisfying whole, it is because, though the letter of the law
may have been satisfied, the spirit has not. It is this spirit, that as-yet-
unfound "self," that this book seeks to discover. With realism and can-
dor, tempered by Christian insights, Mrs. Helman explores a woman's
aspirations, duties, and rewards in a book that thoughtful women every-
where will find inspiring and challenging. Marjorie Holmes says, "This
gentle and perceptive book will make you proud to be a woman." Mrs.
Helman is a graduate of McPherson College and the mother of two
daughters as well as a provocative public speaker. Her husband is
president of Manchester College.
$4.95
Love Is More Than a Ring on My Finger
Jeanette Struchen
The very private quality of love, its hidden meanings, its creative warmth, its joy
and humor, its wistful eiusiyeness and sometimes terrifying solitude — all are told
here with great clarity in contemporary phrasing, very much today in word and
attitude. And yet, the universal quality behind each poem reveals a timeless
message readers will recognize and relate to. The crisp illustrations are by the
author herself, mirroring her own clarity of thought, and her paj-ticular ability to
express a big feeling in just a few short strokes — exactly as she does with the
written word.
$2.95
To a Sister on Laurel Drive
John Pairman Brown
To his countless sisters on all the Laurel Drives across America — dissatisfied and
bored in their meaningless, disintegrating suburban world — the author's eight
sensitive letters bring sympathetic understanding, encouragement, and hope. This
book identifies the causes of women's despair today, and touches on real con-
cerns — family unity, individual peace, and peace among nations, the oreservation
of human and physical resources, racial justice, a workable faith — and gives
women helpful guidance toward bringing these ideals closer to reality, and toward
recovering the lost center of their lives.
$3.95
\ fhanamg
\ onmy finger
\
: Sistcroji
: .,.,|,„l«.,lr '""•"
Postage: 20^ first dollar; 5< each additional dollar
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, Illinois 60120
PQ
Our church through the One Great Hour of Sharing
has helped to support projects all over the world with
personnel and funds: child care, maternal care, edu-
cational assistance, response to disasters, fannily
planning clinics, well digging, refugee resettlement,
healing ministries, and assistance to farmers. Your
gifts today can build hope for others tomorrow!
MY GIFT FOR ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING
Church of the firelhreii General liuarri. /■/5/ Diiniiee Ave.. Elgin. III. 60120
Name _
St. RFD
City
State
Zip
Congregation
^<ii^
'^
■>^^■v
L*
^^-^.^
OF THE BREpiREN .^VARCH 15, 1972
. --jmr-
' '•' <
C'V* .
'^-': fJ
r>?
'*-^l
7 >'^'
■ J^^r
^ -S^ .
•■•^\.
■:3St:*'-
3«i
^1
1 7» -^v
'"'M
' 3^^
'^
p*
r— iS-'^lP
^ ^
Sli
H
When
Chutchi
Discover .
One Another^
• »
©©Dll
^it't(B\r^.
17
18
A National Turnabout on War? An Ecumenical Witness called
600 Christians and Jews to Kansas City to question the morality of
the Indochina War. Ronald E. Keener details events
When Churches Discover One Another. In the Shenandoah
\alley of \'irginia 1 15 churches are finding out that they have gifts
and resources to share with each other and with their neighborhoods.
Norman L. Harsh is coordinating the outreach that is unfolding
there. Linda Beher reports
A Messenger Guide to Parish Ministries. Encounter Series.
Lab training experiences. Fund for the Americas. Mission and peace
education. Congregations all over the Brotherhood can feel "cared
about" by the General Board and its Parish Ministries Commission,
whose staff work on multiple concerns. You'll find details and persons
to contact in this special section assembled by Kenneth L Morse
But Why Did You Do It? The Christian faith means we are all
related, and that we need each other. Doris E. Caldwell narrates
a personal experience that answered the question "why?" for her
From the Ashes: Petals Again. To dream the impossible dream
is not naive but realistic, if one accepts the Christian view of our
creation and redemption, by Glenn R. Bucher
Outlook features the Church of the Brethren Capitol Hill offices, cites
Heifer Project work in India and the Dominican Republic, focuses on
Metro-Parish, a shared ministry for Plains Brethren, notes the death
of churchman E. M. Hersch, brings up to date LAFIYA's reach
toward a $300,000 goal, and introduces a BVS exchangee in Poland
(beginning on 2). . . . David S. Strickler, Lena Willoughby, and
Michael Hemmis offer poetry (21). . . . Reporting that a Study of
Giving Reveals Gratitude and Goodwill is Donald L. Stern (22). . . .
"Film-.Art: How Responsive, How Responsible?" asks LeRoy E.
Kennel in a review article (25). . . . Ronald E. Keener editorializes
on Governtnent vs. a Denomination (24)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E, Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
hnda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 6
MARCH 15, 1972
CREDITS: Cover. 8. 9. 10. 11 Frank .•\.
Kostvii for United Church Herald; 2 Roy
Hnrlman: 7 Ron.Tltl E. Keener; 14 Don
Honick: 15 Houarrl Rover; Ifi C^brk and
Clark; 19 "The Hand of (iod." marble
-Statuctle bv Aiigustc Ro<lin. courtesv of
The Metropoliian Museum of .^rt. gift of
Edward D. .\dams, 1908
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as seconil
class matter .\ug. 20, 1918, under Act o;
Congress of Oct. 17. 1917. Filing date. Oct. 1
1971. Messenger is a member of the Associ
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Rcli
gious News Service and Ecinnenical Press
Ser\*ice. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Rc\iscd Standard
Version.
Subscription rates: $4.20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions; S3. GO per year for church
group plan: S3. 00 per \ear for e\ery home
plan; life subscription. 560; husband and wife.
$75. If vou mo\e clip old address from Mes-
senger and send with new address.
.-\llow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice rnonthlv by the
f^hurch of the Brethren General
Hoard. 1451 Dundee .Ave., Elgin, 111.
60120. Second-class postage paid at
Elgin, 111., Mar. 15. 1972. Copvrighl
1972. Church of the Brethren General Board.
WHITE HOUSE FEET WASHING
The White House feet washing (Jan. 15)
strikes me as quite out of place. When Jesus
sent several disciples to prepare for the
Passover, he did not say, "Pick out a nice
place where two roads meet so we can make
a suitable display of our Passover." Instead
it was an intimate family sort of occasion
where Jesus wanted to teach humility and
service.
To me the love feast and communion is
perhaps the most sacred of all the ordi-
nances we observe. Its place is in the Lord's
house, not out in the street. And observing
it out in public does not add to the reverence
and sanctity that should characterize it, no
inatlcr wlial was the aim that prompted
it. . . .
Charles L. Rowland
New Oxford, Pa.
SWALLOWED UP
After reading the Jan. 15 issue of Mes-
SENGLR we offer this short statement:
Help! We are being swallowed up by
Baptists, Mennonites, Church of God,
Unitarians, Auslanders . . .
Our leaders have died or left us . . .
We are being jazzed up for the burial . . .
Are there any Brethren left, anywhere?
Help!
L. Clark
Modesto, Calif.
LET'S NOT DRAG FEET
Forty years of uninlerrupted church work
is taking its toll on Inez Long (Jan. 15).
. . . She is not singing. "Stop the church, I
want to get off." She's going to stay on
with one foot on the brake and the other
dragging.
She is in motley company. First of all
there is our paradoxical moderator who, if
memory serves me right, discarded his
necktie, grew a beard, and goes hatless or
wears a hat with a broad brim.
Then there are those who really want to
go back to the Brethren rather than forward
to where the Brethren can go. They not
only put on the brake and drag feet but
slam the motor in reverse.
She also joins those who, in season and
out, try to outdo themselves criticizing "that
Elgin bunch." In her case, however, she
heroically confesses her past in being one of
the "bunch." It might be well for those
who were "partners in crime" to come for-
ward in similar confession.
But only those who have never carried
responsibility for policy and decision mak-
ing would contend that "the Elgin bunch"
should have been able to have had the wis-
dom to guide the church in all the ways we
m
©DDC
should have gone. Let him who never made
a wrong decision cast the first stone.
If Mrs. Long will look far enough, she
will see herself in company with those who
believe in the religious commune. They
really have what it takes to slow things
down.
We don"t need more brakes and dragging
feet. We need better steering. We need to
go forward under power. We are strangers
in a new world. We must have a part in it.
We are farmers gone to the city. We are
awkward and make wrong decisions. But
don't underrate the influence of the farmer
on our American life. We need to better
analyze our strengths and capacities and go
forward with courage rather than with
dragging feet.
Chauncey Shamberger
Weiser. Idaho
REPEATED READINGS
I have given criticisms to Messenger in
the past. Now I want to express apprecia-
tion — for Vernard Eller's and Inez Long"s
articles (Jan. 15) and for the articles in the
Feb. 1 issue.
Of course, I do not agree with all that is
written in these issues. But they are articles
which have drawn me back for repeated
readings. I am thankful for these two issues.
They alone are worth the subscription rate.
D. Luke Bowser Jr.
Distant, Pa.
1
BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF WRITING
I am writing to congratulate Messenger
for the excellent article on W. Harold Row
(December). I liked it for several reasons.
It was a beautiful piece of writing, from
every standpoint.
Many people knew something about Har-
old. Many hundreds more will now under-
stand and know him much better.
It showed the breadth, and scope of his
interests, and his influence beyond his own
church.
There seemed to be a time when more of
this type of work was done for church lead-
ers. Most Brethren will remember Harold
because of your article.
I served under Harold on the Brethren
Service Commission and was also chairman
of the Foreign Missions Commission when
he was with Brethren Service.
The first three articles of that issue alone
are worth a year's subscription to the
Messenger.
■v. F. SCHWALM
North Manchester, Ind.
NOT ANOTHER CATALOG
I'm sorry some Messenger readers didn't
realize that the gift brochure (Oct. 15) was
no! just another Christmas catalog.
I'd like to quote from a new SERRV
brochure, "Toward a Flowering of Human
Dignity," In spite of many efforts by gov-
ernment and private agencies to solve the
poverty problem, hunger and disease caused
by poverty still plague most of the world's
people.
"Today's way of helping a person in pov-
erty is to help him discover how to solve
his own problem, if possible: to draw out
from within him the will and the resources
with which to break the degrading cycle.
"Handicrafts are one way for disadvan-
taged persons to improve their own welfare.
Over the years a unique self-help marketing
program called SERRV (Sales Exchange
for Refugee Rehabilitation Vocations) has
been developed for such craftsmen, in co-
operation with overseas denominational and
ecumenical personnel in more than forty
countries. Most of these craftsmen would
otherwise not have an adequate market for
(he work they produce."
Did not Christ say, "As you did it to one
of the least of these my brethren, you did
it to me"?
Delma Witkovsky
Westminster, Md.
BRETHREN BUY BULLETS?
I have just read the article published by
the Times of the Hammond, East Chicago,
and Calumet City area near Chicago, head-
lined "Protestants Buy Bullets," reporting
on the findings of the research agency of the
National Council of Churches. . . . Our son
who resides in Hammond, Ind., punctuated
his revolt by calling our attention to the
article involving the Church of the Brethren.
We don't blame him! And that he has
turned sour on the church is understandable.
More people ought to know what is going
on within our Brotherhood that for years
has been double talk. . . .
Robert Winkler
Astoria, 111.
A WORTHY CAUSE
Is there any new interest or concern of
church people about the mentally retarded
people of our country and within our own
church fellowship?
It seems the church should take an active
and helpful place in caring for those who
deeply need aid. The state does a very poor
job in caring for these people. Adults and
children both need better homes. The
church budget goes for many causes. Surely
this is a cause worthy of some real concern
and help. . . .
Esther G. Royer
Westminster, Md.
[nnflnfetoas®
t:=.T£=r=n.- Who
Srcpn^egation?
High on the list of priorities for Mes-
senger is informing you readers of
issues and developments in the life and
program of the denomination. Hence
in recent months there have appeared
the Lafiya treatment of the Nigeria
medical program (November 1), a
draft of the statement being processed
by the Annual Conference Study Com-
mittee on Abortion (January 1), peri-
odic ads on Brethren Volunteer Service,
and, in this issue, a four-page guide to
the program of the Parish Ministries
staff.
Credit for the new interpretive sup-
plements goes especially to associates
Morse, Keener, and Brumbaugh, work-
ing in concern with related staff at the
General Offices and
in the field. Behind
the approach is a
desire to enable
you better to know
and assess the work
of Annual Confer-
ence and the Gen-
eral Board. Your =^^^1^1^^
direct participation
is being sought
through various re-
sponses: study, opinion, offerings, joint
planning.
And while organically Messenger
is close to Annual Conference and the
General Board, in no way does the
magazine choose to report or represent
only those interests. Messenger is a
servant of the church that is local and
district as well as of that which is cen-
tralized. Thus even while zeroing in on
specific thrusts of the Brotherhood,
Messenger aspires to champion the
whole church and to interact in terms
meaningful to readers.
In this issue, guest contributors in-
clude Glenn R. Bitcher of the religion
department of the College of Wooster
in Ohio, Donald L. Stern of the stew-
ardship enlistment team of the General
Board, LeRoy E. Kennel of the Bethany
Seminary faculty, poets David Strickler
of Manchester, N.H., Michael Hemmis
of Frostburg, Md., and Lena Willough-
by of La Verne, Calif., and Doris E.
Caldwell, a worker at the Christian
Family Service Centre in Hong Kong.
— The Editors
3-15-72 MESSENGER 1
Heifer Project work in India,
Dominican Republic is cited
Heifer Project, Inc., earlier this year re-
ceived two accolades for work in India
and in the Dominican Republic.
The United Nations cited Heifer
Project for its major contribution to the
sheep and wool industry' in India. It was
among the ten major achievements of the
UN Development Program report of its
first decade.
Heifer Project's contribution of more
than 400 Rambouillet rams and ewes to a
project in Rajasthan, India, helped de-
velop new and upgraded bloodlines in the
sheep. Rajasthan produces more than 42
percent of the country's wool. The pro-
gram also provided training for local
shepherds in modern fodder and pastur-
ing techniques.
The improvements have sharply raised
wool e.xports, doubled income for shep-
herds, and added new jobs for wool
shearers and graders.
The Dominican Republic government
awarded Heifer Project a first place in
milk production on the island-nation.
The award went to the Dominican De-
velopment Foundation which runs the
dairy center established more than nine
years ago by Heifer Project. The award
mentions the Holstein breed which has
produced the highest milk yields of any
dairy breed in the country.
HPI began its program in the Domin-
ican Republic in 1963, at a time when
there was no Grade A milk production on
the island, and the ne.xt year established
a model dairy center. In 1969 HPI
handed the management of the center to
the foundation and in 1970 was named
the country's number one dairy farm.
HPI, founded 28 years ago by the late
Dan West of the Church of the Brethren,
today is an ecumenical self-help program
in some 90 countries and 17 US states.
Metro-Parish provides unity,
fellowship for Plains Brethren
Brethren in the Kansas City-St. Joseph
area are working together as a Metropol-
itan Parish Council to provide a unified
witness and draw the scattered Brethren
closer together in fellowship and unity.
The "Metro-Parish" was begun in late
1968 originally to provide a shared min-
istrv' for the Messiah church in Kansas
City, Mo., First Central church in Kansas
City, Kan., and the Missouri churches at
St. Joseph and Plattsburg.
But when each of the churches found
its own pastor, two of them part time.
I
Washington Office: Making
an IMPACT on government
Churches are becoming increasingly
sophisticated on national issues — in in-
terpreting them and in influencing legis-
lation and administrative decisions
involving them.
The Washington Office of the Church
of the Brethren has become a participant
in one such approach called IMPACT.
The interfaith legislative information and
action network is designed for the de-
nominational and ecumenical groups to
speak quickly to selected issues raised in
the U.S. Congress and Administration.
The Brethren helped create IMPACT
three years ago but had not participated
in it. The network consists of selected
committed persons in Congressional
districts. Given action materials on spe-
cific issues, they are asked to contact key
legislators or administrators by letter,
telephone, telegraph, or p>ersonal visits
on critical public policy issues.
Ralph E. Smeltzer, Washington repre-
sentative since last October, and district
executives are nominating for the nation-
al IMPACT network pastors and key
laymen from those Brethren congrega-
tions most sensitive and active to the
ministry of social witness.
In the Washington Office,
Nancy Long, staff assist-
ant, and Ralph Smeltzer,
Church of the Brethren
representative; right, Mr.
Smeltzer at office entrance
WASHINGTON OFFICE
CHOBOIOflllEMnilW
2 MESSENGER S-I5-72
the Metro-Parish turned its attention to
developing lay leadership, coordinated
youth programming, and increased fel-
lowship among the widely separated
churches.
Last November Bob and Nancy Faus
of Wichita led a worship leadership ex-
perience for the Metro's Lay Academy
program, that brought together some 25
laymen for training and growth sessions.
The academy was planned by both lay-
men and clergy and participants were
recruited by personal invitation.
The four congregations have also had
joint programs for youth and young
adults. And a year ago the congregations
shared in a love feast and communion
service at the Messiah church. Their wit-
ness was extended on that occasion by a
lengthy story in the Kansas City Star.
The Metro-Parish is still in its initial
phase and the council, chaired by Wilbur
Bastin of the Messiah Church, a salesman
with an envelope company, is now look-
ing at future directions. Among them
may be another six weeks' evening course
on various topics of basic understandings
of the church, of witness, of leadership.
An initial course in the Lay Academy
centered on "openness."
E. M. Hersch, formerly on
national staff, dies at 77
"Crisp, with a swift pace, impatient,
impetuous, E. M. was forever charging
ahead, confronting the world. And in
death, also, he did not dally."
So was E. M. Hersch spoken of by
his pastor and fellow Rotarian, Leland
Wilson, on Mr. Hersch's death Jan. 16
at age 77.
A charter member of the La Verne,
Calif., Rotary Club, he had been a
Rotarian for more than 30 years.
Elmer Hersch was in the insurance
business in Elgin, 111., when, at a per-
sonal financial sacrifice, he became
manager of the Brethren Publishing
House, guiding the business successfully
from 1940-49. When he returned to his
business a Brotherhood citation called
him "a living example of a devoted
Christian layman, loving and serving
his church."
A leader in the group insurance con-
cept, he organized the insurance plan
that today covers Church of the Breth-
ren pastors and employees of the Gen-
eral Board and its agencies, as well as
others at the colleges, homes for the
aging, and seminary. Mainly through
his early efforts many in church life now
have adequate insurance protection.
Mr. Wilson recalls the visit of Con-
Similar Brethren networks are being
organized on church district and Congres-
sional district bases as well. A standard
of participation for Congressional dis-
tricts is where there are at least 300
Brethren members or three congregations.
The persons in the Brethren Congres-
sional network will relate to the Congres-
sional district contacts of national
IMPACT. Together they will plan the
most effective ecumenical information/
action strategy for their district.
The national IMPACT board will in-
form and act only on those domestic and
foreign pohcy issues where there is a
large measure of ecumenical consensus.
On other issues where the Church of the
Brethren has a special concern and wants
to act quickly, the IMPACT network will
be used alone or in collaboration with
those religious groups who agree with the
Church of the Brethren position.
Working with Mr. Smeltzer in the
Washington Office is staff assistant Nancy
Long. She is the daughter of the J. Henry
Longs of Elizabethtown, Pa., and a po-
litical science graduate of Knox College
in Illinois. A second assistant, Jerry
Shenk, served in the office until late Jan-
uary when he became director of the Na-
tional Council to Repeal the Draft. The
second staff assistant slot will be filled
soon.
Mr. Smeltzer gives one third of his
time to Washington representation and
the remainder to his second portfolio for
social justice.
Each of the three has taken responsi-
bility for different concerns based on
their priority as issues in the government/
public decision-making process, as being
under consideration by Annual Confer-
ence or the General Board, and as pro-
gram priorities by the General Staff.
Most of the concerns fall within three
task forces of the 50-member Washington
Interreligious Staff Council (WISC). It
is WISC which operates the IMPACT
program.
WISC includes the National Council of
Churches staff in Washington and the
Washington-based staff members of NCC
member denominations, plus Friends
Committee on National Legislation,
Unitarian-Universalists, Roman Cath-
olics, and Jewish religious groups.
Most of their offices are in the United
Methodist Building on Capitol Hill at 100
Maryland Ave., N.E., where the Brethren
office is located.
Of the groups only the Friends Com-
mittee is required to be a registered
lobbyist. Mr. Smeltzer believes that in
most cases three quarters of the effort of
the church office in Washington goes
toward the constituencies — in educa-
tion and interpretation to help members
understand the issues. The remainder
goes toward lobbying actions on the Hill.
Mr. Smeltzer doesn't mind the use of
the term lobbying applied to his work,
but asks that it be understood. "We're
not lobbying for our own special interests
— for money, contracts, special priv-
ileges — but on behalf of concerns which
are for the good of the country or our
whole population or for those groups
who can't represent themselves — such
as the poor.
"Also, we work mainly on those con-
cerns on which the Church of the Breth-
ren, through Annual Conference or the
General Board, has spoken and wants us
to represent them," he explains.
The church's Washington Office was
established in 1961 at the request of
Annual Conference.
In the months ahead Mr. Smeltzer will
be establishing meaningful relationships
with Brethren persons in significant or
policy-making government and private
agency posts in the capital.
He will work at involving Brethren
delegates at White House and other gov-
ernment or private agency conferences as
they relate to the church's priorities. He
will also work at engaging Brethren in
strategic consultations, conferences,
seminars, and Congressional hearings.
3-15-72 MESSENGER 3
gressman John Rousselot to the La
Verne Rotan' Club:
"Mr. Rousselot had made some com-
ments about welfare mothers and
'illegitimate children.' When he finished,
E. M. with a blistering anger said, "I want
you to know there are no illegitimate
children. There may be illegitimate par-
ents, but the children have no say in
what happens." Mr. Rousselot stood
silent a moment, and then quietly
replied, "rU never use that term again."
■'Despite his blunt directness, E. M.
was never one to walk away in a huff.
Nor did he permit differences to grow
into grudges or bitterness so far as he
was concerned.""
Bom on a farm near Waterloo, Iowa,
he was one of 13 children and was edu-
cated at Mt. Morris and McPherson
colleges. Since 1967 he had been resid-
ing at Hillcrest Homes in La Verne,
moving from Elgin.
He is survived by his widow, Sudie
Swartz Hersch, two children, seven
grandchildren, and three great grand-
children. Memorial gifts will benefit
the Woods Memorial Convalescent
Hospital in La Verne, an institution he
helped to establish.
LAFIYA program begins
reach toward $300,000 goal
"The medical work carried on by the
Church of the Brethren through the years
has been an extraordinary demonstration
of compassion and love to the people of
our mission area in Nigeria — many of
whom have become our brethren in
Christ.""
Dr. Homer L. Burke was endorsing the
LAFIYA/ Nigeria Medical Program that
has been undertaken by the General
Board"s World Ministries Commission.
Dr. Burke and his wife, now living in
Milford, Ind., were the first Brethren
medical team to Nigeria when they ar-
rived at Garkida on May 1 1, 1924.
"In cooperation with the Nigerian gov-
ernment and other organizations we need
to continue both curative and preventa-
tive medical services" he said.
Dr. Burke was host to the first area
gathering last September in a long-term
schedule of meetings being held by the
Stewardship Enlistment Team.
Special gifts are being sought to obtain
the $300,000 needed by December 1973,
beyond Brotherhood Fund budgeting, for
the medical program.
A quarterly newsletter being sent to
contributors and other interested persons
reported si.x weeks ago that more than
$44,000 in cash has been contributed,
with $14,000 in pledges, and nearly
$ 1 8,000 in additional intentions to give.
Beyond this, one couple placed $10,000
with the General Board in a gift annuity
agreement with the residue designated
for the medical program.
In developments for the medical pro-
gram in Nigeria, business manager Roger
Schrock has been named medical co-
ordinator in that country. Mr. Schrock
and his wife Carolyn taught for three
years at Waka Teacher Training College.
Dr. Daryl Parker of New Madison,
Ohio, left in late January for Nigeria to
serve three months at Lassa Hospital.
He and his wife previously served short
terms there, and formerly were mis-
sionaries to China and workers at
Castaner, P.R.
Also taking a short-term assignment in
Nigeria were Dr. and Mrs. David S.
Stayer, Irving, Texas, whose departure
was postponed while he had heart
surgery. Dr. Raymond Strayer, a dentist
from Denver, Pa., is also on a short-term
visit to Nigeria, one of several he has
made since 1964. Each of these doctors
has gone to Nigeria at personal expense.
One important aspect of the LAFIYA
program is the training of Nigerian per-
sonnel for medical work. This month
M. Mbursa Mshelbwala, a nurse at
Garkida, will attend the Institute of
Child Health at the University of Lagos
on a scholarship from the Church of the
Brethren.
Nigeria field administrator Roger
Ingold said that the three-and-a-half-
month course will qualify Mbursa for
new responsibilities in child health work,
a part of the thrust of the medical pro-
gram. Mbursa is an ordained minister
and a longtime member of the Garkida
nursing staff.
Funds needed beyond regular budget-
ing for the medical program, explained in
a Nov. 1, 1971, Messenger insert, are
being sought from individuals, rather
than congregations. Stewart B. Kauffman
and Donald Stern of the Stewardship En-
listment Team will respond to persons
interested in how they can participate.
Exchangee in Poland finds
Catholic youth inquisitive
Thomas R. Bross has learned in his near-
ly two years in Poland that exchange
programs can indeed have an impact for
world peace and understanding.
A BVSer in the agricultural exchange
program of the Church of the Brethren,
the 24-year-old Lebanon, Pa., man says
that his "everyday actions, reactions,
habits, and discussion serve to represent
his American background in the eyes of
the Poles. This is the most direct function
of an exchange program.'"
Tom has been working as a lab assis-
tant at the Institute of Plant Breeding in
Krakow. Poland. His work includes
English language editing on reports at
the institute and letter writing in his na-
tive language. He holds a physics degree
from Lebanon Valley College in Ann-
ville. Pa.
Recently Tom stepped from the world
of laboratory work into the church in
Poland when he accepted an invitation
from a country priest friend to speak with
a group of youth of the Catholic parish.
He expected only a few youth, but 50
about his own age came with the church
organist, crowding into a small room for
the two-hour exchange, some standing
the whole time.
The opjjortunity to speak freely with
Thomas R. Bross, center, exchangee at Krakoy
4 MESSENGER 315-72
[yimdlsirDDDDc
an American Protestant interested the
Catholic youth. Tom found their ques-
tions exacting and sophisticated, and
often difficult to answer. "What are your
church's sacraments, its view on abortion,
celibacy, baptism, birth control, and
original sin," they asked.
Said Tom: "I think my opinion on any-
thing theological was asked, from perga-
tory to predestination." Then too there
were questions on America's race prob-
lems, narcotics and youth, and crime. As
well as how the unmarried Bross liked
Poland and also Polish girls.
Tom found it an invaluable experience
and his audience enthusiastic. '"Who
would have ever expected that I would
talk two hours on religion, but then who-
ever expected that I would be in Poland?"
He is in Poland as an American ex-
changee in the Brethren Service-Polish
Agricultural Exchange Program. It pro-
vides a year of study for Polish agricul-
turalists in US universities and oppor-
tunities for Brethren Volunteer Service
workers to fulfill the exchange.
With Tom in Poland are five American
exchangees and three more are being
placed this spring and summer.
Tom Bross comes on strong for the
opportunity Brethren Service has in
Eastern Europe for mutual understanding
through the exchange program. It can
mean a broader understanding not only
between countries but between churches.
)land, conversing with Catholic students
ALL ABOUT PEOPLE . . . Named director of development for
Florida Brethren Homes is Galen B. Sargent , Sebring. . . .
Retiring at year's end as administrator of The Cedars
home in McPherson, Kan. , is Orval Wagoner.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Gibbel , Lititz, Pa., last fall
were elected to offices of the National Association of
Mutual Insurance Companies, he to the board of directors
and she as president-elect of the ladies' auxiliary.
Brethren worker in Nigeria Roger Ingold is the hero
of the cover story in the January issue of Outdoor Life.
He saved the life of the story's author, a Christian Re-
formed missionary, attacked by a wild buffalo in the
Cameroon.
In Southern Pennsylvania Elmer Gleim was approved as
writer for the district history, being produced by a five-
member publication committee.
THE PASTORAL SCENE
This must set a record: Levi
A^. Bowman , Martinsville, Va. , preached his 3,336th sermon
on his 97th birthday Feb. 13. Ordained in 1905, he has
served in the pastoral ministry since 1903. He "retired"
in 1956.
One Californian and three Southern Pennsylvanians were
licensed recently to the ministry: David W. Hunter , La
Verne, Calif., by Modesto congregation; Marl in Bricker and
Duane Hawbaker , Back Creek, Mercersburg, Pa.; and Timothy
Mann , Waynesboro, Pa.
Four pastors and spouses participated in a seminar,
"Pastor and Wife in the Context of the Congregation," hosted
by Bethany Seminary in January: The Paul Alwines , Roanoke,
Va. ; the James C. Boitnotts , Middlebury, Ind. ; the Carl B_.
Cawoods , Ashland, Ohio; and the Jra W_. Gibbels , New Enter-
prise, Pa.
An opportunity for you: The Bible and Ministry will
keynote a two-week summer institute at Bethany Seminary
Aug. 21 — Sept. 1. Pastors and persons who have not had
seminary training are invited to the intensive prosessional
growth experience. More details may be had from the
seminary, P.O. Box 408, Oak Brook, 111. 60521.
FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS . . . Five hundred youth will gather
on the campus of Bridgewater College April 22-23 for the
eighty-first southeastern regional Youth Roundtable. Regis-
tration deadline is April 10 for the event, featuring
small-group discussions on such topics as pollution and
dating practices.
CONGREGATIONAL COLLAGE
The Bella Vista Church of
the Brethren in East Los Angeles, Calif., will celebrate its
fiftieth anniversary of founding May 6-7.
At La Verne, Calif., Brethren voted to support the
Southern California telephone war tax suit, which involves
the withholding of the ten-percent federal excise tax.
Brethren congregations in the Roanoke, Va. , area are
among six denominations and the Roman Catholic Diocese to
develop and coordinate an ecumenical ministry in the valley.
One project has been the distribution of food to the elderly.
3-15-72 MESSENGER 5
ps©Dg)D \r(Bp(n)\rt
!
AN ECUMENICAL WITNESS
A National Turnabout on War?
bv RONALD E. KEENER
Six hundred Christians and Jews had
come to Kansas City, Mo., to question
the morality of the Indochina War and to
look beyond to new national policy.
Their "Message" declared: "Seeking to
be faithful to God and his self-revelation
in histor>', inspired by the values and
authority of the biblical revelation and
united in our belief in the sacredness of
all human life, we insist that United
States involvement in the war in South-
east Asia is unjust and immoral."
The present hostilities had brought An
Ecumenical Witness together in mid-
Januar>'. Dr. Robert Bilheimer, coordi-
nator of the interfaith conference, sug-
gested that it was time to get beyond a
pro- or anti-war argument to the deeper
level of basic moral assumptions of
foreign policy.
"On the basis of the announced inten-
tions of the United States the war has
been lost." said the 2000-word "Mes-
sage," adopted with another lengthy
"Action Strategies" paper.
"We have not defeated communism in
Indochina nor have we defended free-
dom. Imposing our will on distant lands
and poor and nonwhite peoples, we have
participated in their destruction while
thwarting their self-determination.
"The guilt is not ours alone, but guilt
is ours."
The concerns for guilt, contrition,
penitence, repentance weighed heavily on
the conference with the conviction that
the war is unjust and immoral.
The "Message" witnessed to that im-
morality, spurred during the four days by
a presentation on the stepped-up air war
in Vietnam, that had replaced a
dwindling ground war.
"Chemical herbicides have been ap-
plied to nearly one seventh of South
Vietnam, destroying essential crops and
mangrove forests. One out of three per-
sons in Vietnam is a refugee," the paper
said, also acknowledging that North
Vietnam and the National Liberation
Front have terrorized villages and com-
mitted atrocities.
But, the paper continued, "the massive
terror and atrocities of the B-52s and
fleets of helicopters are ours. The napalm
and CS gas are ours. . . . Our anti-person-
nel weaponr>', refusing to distinguish be-
tween military and civilian targets, has
inflicted hundreds of thousands of
casualities on Asian people. All of this is
immoral."
The conference resolved that the "only
morally acceptable course" is military
withdrawal and refusal to supply further
aid. "which has simply postponed the po-
litical solution the Vietnamese people
must ultimately, in any event, find for
themselves."
Was the conference, in taking on the
mantle of guilt for the war, reflecting a
feeling of many Americans? One par-
ticipant, Thomas Wilson of the Church of
the Brethren staff', thinks not: "I don't
sense that there is any real guilt feelings
on the part of American society about
what we are doing in Vietnam." Indeed,
Robert Pickus of the World Without War
Committee declared during debate that
"I don't feel guilty. I came here to see
why we failed." For some Americans,
the guilt lies in our not having won the
war.
Guilt in the context of the war is more
than an emotion, a feeling of self-rejec-
tion, said W. Robert McFadden, chair-
man of the philosophy and religion de-
partment at Bridgewater College, after
the conference. Guilt implies some call
to action, a responsibility.
A German, one of 40 foreign nationals
participating, agrees, in discussing an
earlier statement to the conference. For
him the recognition of guilt implies a
motivation for action, for analysis of the
war's origin — "otherwise it doesn't
make sense to talk about guilt."
"Can you call this war an episode, a
lapse, and can you pick up the ends of
normality, a normal American way of
life where they have been left in the 60s
before the war started? I don't think
that's possible," he responded.
The war for him is a "reflection on
what kind of society you want and not
just an issue by and of itself. I'm hearing
here that if you get a sufficient number of
[jeople voting the right way, then ever>'-
thing will be okay."
Rejecting this, he feels that the "system
of coordinates" in the political and do-
mestic life of the country* which jjermit-
ted the war must be examined. Other-
wise, a new war is all too possible.
Embracing the war as both a moral and
political happening, he predicted a moral
vacuum — "a disorientation as to where
the society is moving" — at its conclu-
sion.
Fearful that the war will be considered
just another episode, "as a mistake that
can be corrected," he urged Americans to
make a "kind of analysis of the society
which encourages and maybe provides a
new vision of what the society can be all
about — what values you want, how
More on 23
6 MESSENGER 3-15-72
|f^^.^^.r^_^-^|^
V
All Ecuinemcal Witness participants, clockwise from top:
Andrew Young: Dom H elder Camara; protesting the thrust
of the conference, a lone dissenter confronting Vietnamese
woman: Al Hubbard. Vietnam Veterans Against the War, left,
and Thomas Wilson, Brotherhood staff
yJcTORy
fN \jj£TN/\^
^O if
3-15-72 MESSENGER 7
Ne^f\f opportunities for outreacti unfold
When Churches
Discover One Another
From the lookout tower above Wood-
stock. Virginia, the seven bends of the
Shenandoah's North Fork curve in and
out of farmland, rich with fence rows
and ordered fields. To the west neat rows
of apple trees, winesap, golden delicious,
Jonathan, fill the low hills.
Brethren and other German folk
trekking down from the north during
Revolutionar\' War years stopped near
the river and stayed. They built their
homes and churches on or near the lime-
stone outcroppings that fertilize the red
soil.
The little towns of Shenandoah Coun-
ty cluster in the bends of the river that,
long before the Indians named the land
"beautiful daughter of the stars," drained
the wide valley between the Blue Ridge
Mountains and the Alleghenies. From the
lookout point it is easy to spot their water
towers and the steeples of their churches.
In fact, the countryside of Shenandoah
County is filled with churches — 1 14
Protestant ones and a lone Roman Cath-
olic parish. The people who attend them
are like the quiet land that surrounds
them, has shaped them for generations:
yielding only a little to the pressures for
change that an urban society is bringing
to bear on a long-rural culture. Con-
glomerates, councils (notably councils of
churches), mergers — all are regarded
with suspicion where fierce individualism
and the comforts of tradition are highly
valued.
But the churches in the county strug-
gle to stay vital. Many of their pastors
experience a sense of isolation from one
another, in spite of a fairly active minis-
terial association. And denominational
executives wonder what to do with the
by LINDA BEHER
churches that cannot afford full-time
pastors.
Closing is not the answer. So rich are
they in family lore that some stand empty
far out in the country until Sunday morn-
ings when families drive twenty-five or
fifty miles to get to the meetinghouses of
their childhood. Grandfathers and sec-
ond cousins are buried in the crowded lit-
tle cemeteries. Those churches mean
home.
The story of Shenandoah County Inter-
church Planning Service — SCIPS to
most countians — is the story of one way
in which those churches have begun to
fulfill their ministries more effectively,
both individually and together. With
task groups working at a resort ministry,
overseeing a project with prisoners at the
Norman Harsh interpreting SCIPS symbol
county jail, establishing neighborhood
church clusters, and extending a fellow-
ship to migrants, lay persons and pastors
from a dozen denominations participate
in new ways in the ongoing life of the
county.
Shenandoah District Executive Stanley
R. Wampler had a hand in SCIPS' begin-
nings in 1967. "Bernie Zerkel (executive
for the Shenandoah Association of the
United Church of Christ) and I kept
bumping into each other as we worked
with our churches in the county. It
began to seem to us that we could do
some of our ministry together. We
suggested to the Virginia Council of
Churches that it call a consultation of
the county's denominational executives
to study our situation."
Local pastors and laymen became in-
volved. And together they worked
intensively to produce "A Study of the
Churches of Shenandoah County." Its
profile of church membership, size, loca-
tion, and pastoral supply confirmed
what Stanley and Bernie had guessed in
the beginning: an overlapping of energies
and efforts by nearly everyone.
"We visited various neighborhoods in
the county to get clusters of churches to-
gether," Stanley recalled. "In almost
every meeting people would say, 'We
know we have too many church build-
ings. But we don't know what to do
about it.' "
The study period continued for about
three years, while pastors, laymen, and
executives pondered "what to do about
it." They dreamed of an agency which
would have funding from each judicatory
at $ 1 00 a church, and from individual
churches, as each could, according to
8 MESSENGER 3-15-72
1^'
«,*
I
N
^1
J*'' ^r.
.» . •sr
^*^«3s;d
size. For its twelve churches, the Shenan-
doah District of the Church of the Breth-
ren contributes SI, 200 a year.
And finally, in July 1970, SCIPS offi-
cially debuted as a two-year experimental
program, with Norman L. Harsh as co-
ordinator.
People in Shenandoah County quickly
labeled him "Mr. Church Closer."
"The idea was never to close
churches," Stanley emphasized. "The
idea was to look at a mutual ministry:
what we could do together rather than
separately."
And closing churches would simply not
fit the nature of Norman Harsh. A soft-
spoken West Virginia native, Norman
pastored the Barren Ridge Church of the
Brethren for ten years before moving
down the valley to Woodstock.
He came to his new post well prepared
to take on administrative tasks, having
served as district executive secretary for
churches in West Virginia and western
Maryland. He participated in an experi-
mental program in church renewal spon-
sored by the General Board among con-
gregations in Virginia and California. He
served as a member of the board for five
years. A sense of modesty, typical of the
people in the valley, characterizes Nor-
Kathy Coffman: "A tradition of helping"
10 MESSENGER 3-15-72
man. He worries about communicating
creatively and eft'ectively. But he doesn't
have to fake a love and respect for the
rural valley and for the people and their
fears and hopes for their churches.
He knew, though, that his task would
not be an easy one. Roger Combs, pastor
of Valley Pike Church of the Brethren,
describes the situation Norman faced:
"There is a fear of being tied into some-
thing larger; there is a fear of the size of
things."
Lutheran pastor Leonard J. Larsen's
reaction typifies early response to SCIPS.
"When SCIPS first came here I had some
reservations about it. I asked, just what
was it going to do? I later realized that
the same question being asked about
SCIPS could be asked about the churches
in this county: 'What are they doing?'
The only reason that the question isn't
asked about the churches is that the
churches have been here for as long as
people can remember. And so they sim-
ply accept them and don't question the
reason for their existence."
"Combining capabilities rather than or-
ganizations" is how Norman would ex-
plain the function of SCIPS to skeptics
who feared it had come to their valley to
create superchurches. "People's fear that
their small church is not all it should be,
struggling as it does, grows out of their
devotion to the church. One of the possi-
bilities of SCIPS is to help smaller
churches examine new ideas and co-
operative approaches toward faithful
witness and service."
An early SCIPS effort at new ap-
proaches focused on the seven tiny
churches in Powell's Fort Valley. About
1,000 persons live in the spoon-shaped
depression in the north end of Massanut-
ten Mountain. Roads to the other side of
the mountain, and the towns, are few.
But the Fort Valley Interchurch Council
is working to combat the sense of separa-
tion that people there could feel. Two
laymen from each congregation comprise
the council; there is no resident pastor
there.
Hilda Tamkin runs the Seven Foun-
tains post office from an alcove in her
home in the Fort Valley. She is a strong
woman with a shy but ready smile. On
the council she represented her United
Methodist congregation last year. "The
Interchurch Council began doing some
things that we had already done," she re-
flected, "like the sunrise service every
Easter. But vacation Bible school —
without the council, Bible school could
not have happened, at least for our
church. There weren't enough kids, and
no one to teach.
"When the council began, some people
didn't accept it; but we couldn't have had
the Bible school without it."
Lawrence Helsley was elected to the
ministry in 1919 at the Columbia Furnace
Church of the Brethren. He still drives
over the Massanutten to the Fort Valley
once a month to preach a service at the
Church of the Brethren there, and sup-
plies other pulpits on the other Sundays.
During the week he operates Wayside
Grocery, where you can buy anything
from rubbing alcohol to homemade coco-
nut candy. He doesn't mind reminiscing
about the valley where he has lived all his
life and where he reared his twelve chil-
dren. "At my age I'm content to let the
young folks take over," he declared,
though he counts himself among staunch
supporters of SCIPS. "People need to
work together."
"SCIPS attempts to provide ways to
bring people together across all kinds of
'barriers,' like denominational lines, in
order to foster communication and con-
tact," Norman pointed out. "It's develop-
ing a sense of responsibility for caring
about what goes on in our neighbor-
hoods. The Fort Valley Interchurch
Council is an example of these ideas being
put into practice."
Bringing people together works in an-
other way when Shenandoah County resi-
dents attempt a ministry at Bryce Moun-
tain Resort.
Skiing and summer recreation at Bryce
draw a monied crowd from Washington,
D.C., and Richmond, persons wealthy
enough to build handsome second homes
on the steep and wooded mountainsides,
or to buy one of the condominium apart-
ments the Bryce Corporation is putting
up.
The gaps between longtime residents of
the area and the newcomers are painful.
SCIPS' ministry to county jail has support of law cnforcciucnt officials: reactions to ministry at Bryce Resort have been mixed
Local people who missed out on the profit
that resulted from buying the land cheap
and selling it high in small lots tend to
regard their new neighbors as intruders,
different and alien.
When some SCIPS advocates saw a
place for a ministry at the resort, a task
group went to work. Roman Catholic
mass celebrated at a Lutheran church, a
coffeehouse setting at the ski lodge with
folk singing and conversation, and, this
year, Saturday evening Protestant services
at nearby Trinity United Church of
Christ are ongoing wintertime activities.
Trinity pastor John Ware, co-chairman
of the resort ministries task group, com-
mented, "People in the county are begin-
ning to realize that the affluent skiers are
really just people, with the same very hu-
man kinds of problems and frustrations."
Until the resort ministry, Roman Catholic
participation in efforts at cooperation had
been nonexistent. It is significant now
that Father Salvator Ciullo is a full-
fledged member of the SCIPS team.
More than the other ministries SCIPS
is enabling, though, the Bryce Resort
ministry has its detractors. One is David
C. Derby, pastor of the Strasburg Chris-
tian (Disciples of Christ) Church. "Let's
face it; The people who go to Bryce for
weekends are trying to escape the
church." Pastor Derby, who last fall
was named a pastoral delegate for his de-
nomination to SCIPS' administrative
council, sees more value in such efforts as
the Interchurch Council in the Fort
Valley. But he pushes for a new focus on
activities like family counseling. His
frustration runs deep at not being able to
pique similar excitement in other Stras-
burg pastors in such a venture for their
own community. But he is not sure that
SCIPS is the agency to work at it.
Grade school teacher Harold Ebersole,
church board chairman of Valley Pike
church, admits that SCIPS has risked
general approval by engaging in a minis-
try like the one at Bryce. "People don't
identify with the skiers. The ministry is
not one from which they feel a direct re-
turn. You know, people ask, "What do
we get out of it?' And maybe there's not
much that an individual person or an in-
dividual church does get out of it. This is
a wrong attitude that we have about much
of our giving. But this is the attitude we
have, and we have to accept it, and work
with it, even if we think it's wrong."
Twenty-five churches and 120 of their
Sunday school teachers and superinten-
dents did "get something out of it" last
fall in a leadership training workshop.
Harold chaired the task group doing the
planning, and a new group is being
formed now to undertake similar efforts.
Another kind of willingness to reach
out developed when a SCIPS task group
found direction in the biblical injunction,
"When I was in prison, you visited me."
Its members began planning ways to
minister to prisoners at the county jail.
3-15-72 MESSENGER 11
Placing copies of Today's English Version
of the Psalms and the New Testament in
the jail and chaplaincy counseling were
early efforts. And at Christmastime gifts
like after-shave lotion and toothbrushes
went to prisoners from drugstores in
the county. Task group attempts to tie
into Offender Aid and Rehabilitation of
Virginia (OAR) were successful, and
SCIPS volunteers trained with OAR per-
sonnel experienced in counseling prison-
ers in supervised settings. So far Norman
has received no negative feedback from
persons who might feel the SCIPS minis-
try' is "making it too easy" for the
prisoners. Jimmy R. Robinson, pastor of
the Pleasant View and Wakeman's Grove
congregations of Brethren, noted that
"SCIPS enables churches to have a part
in ministPi to the county — like the jail
ministry- — which, individually, they
would not have begun."
Jimmy has participated in SCIPS
since its beginning in Shenandoah
County. He can communicate enthusi-
asm for its "missionary" quality to neigh-
bors of the county like the prisoners and
the skiers at Br>'C€. But he is enthusiastic,
too, about his current involvement with
other Edinburg-area churches in an ex-
perimental cluster, initiated by a task
group on strengthening town and country
churches. When Edinburg pastors met
last fall to discuss the possibilities of a
cluster experiment and the hope it might
hold for church renewal, it was their first
meeting in two years.
■'The SCIPS task group prepared ma-
terials on clustering only as an excuse for
these pastors to get together and begin
their own process," Norman indicated.
The pastors have met again to define their
common problems and to determine how
to proceed. Lay involvement is occurring
in three Thursday night meetings during
Lent. Denominational executives are
eager for more interchurch clusters to
happen, particularly because of the sig-
nificant relationships they encourage.
Even talking about cluster experiences
seems to enhance relationships: "This
task group has made no headlines," Nor-
man laughed. "But its members have
related well."
Maxine Rosen, whose family-owned
tire sales company has been near Mount
Jackson for years, is one of the eight lay
persons on the town and country churches
task group. But her involvement with
SCIPS extends beyond that. Her congre-
gation, the Cedar Grove Church of the
Brethren, collaborated with the Valley
Central United Church of Christ a hun-
dred yards away in a self-study period.
The results are joint Bible school classes,
supper meetings, and Easter services. A
summer weekend camp experience with
the young people of both congregations
proved so successful that entire families
plan a similar outing next summer. The
two churches have agreed to support a
joint pastoral program. While they seek a
minister. Dr. Warren Bowman, president
emeritus of Bridgewater College, is serv-
ing as pastor on an interim basis.
Both congregations participated, too,
in the fellowship extended to the migrant
workers in the New Market and Wood-
stock areas who harvest the rich crops of
apples in the county. "Through SCIPS
we invited the migrant workers to three
evening picnics. Our people have been
very appreciative of the work with the
migrants," Maxine affirmed.
Response from some of the ninety
workers who attended the picnics point to
their delight at being accepted for a
change in one of the communities where
they work. One woman paying her tire
bill at Rosen's said that the picnics were
the first community events anywhere to
which the workers had been invited.
ne member of the migrant ministry
task group — now disbanded until next
harvesttime — was Kathy Coffman, a
young city-dweller-turned-rural when she
came with her husband to the valley
where he was born. "Here you can't
escape your neighbors who are in need.
They are too visible. Every morning that
I come to work during the harvest season,
I pass the migrants in the orchards.
"There's a tradition about helping here.
Migrants contribute a lot to the economy
of this county. Part of the year they are
our neighbors, and we have a lot to do to
make them feel at home."
What of the future? Begun as a two-
year pilot program, SCIPS has received
the go-ahead from its administrative
council to continue a third year. Jimmy
Robinson reflected, "Even though SCIPS
is going into its second year, it's still a
'babe.' Each time we meet we try to see
what direction we're going."
New directions are not difficult to see.
Cletus Lindamood owns and operates a
mill in Edinburg. He has been a member
of the Pleasant View Church of the
Brethren since 1916, and as chairman of
Shenandoah County's board of super-
visors has watched the county's deepen-
ing recognition that persons must work
together for the good life. "This is
healthy for the county," he maintains.
Miller Lindamood sees SCIPS finding
ways to enrich home and family life —
"the one institution that needs the most
consideration in any community." He
hopes that SCIPS can become an agent
for good at the county farm, where some
residents have lived since they were
children.
Youth ministries, a day care center,
and work with retarded youngsters are
among other tasks that SCIPS may be
able to undertake in the next fifteen
months.
"When you start something new, peo-
ple are slow to get the vision, not because
they are against it, but because they resist
change," Stanley Wampler said. "But
where there is an opportunity for ministry
that people can see, they are glad to share
in it."
Getting the vision may mean coming
to a new understanding of what the
church is in Shenandoah County. Listen-
ing to Norman Harsh comparing the
church to a tree — "The roots and
branches spread out from the trunk,
where they have unity. They go in all
directions, but the fruit is the same" —
recalls Jesus' words, "I am the vine,"
and Paul's description of the church as
the body of Christ.
Harold Ebersole noted, "At the first
SCIPS meeting I attended I realized that
the fourteen or eighteen persons there
were from at least ten denominations.
The fellowship before the meeting — the
chairman usually had to call for order
more than once; as we worked through a
series of problems; and later, after we
had come up with answers — this fellow-
ship was amazing.
"It seems as if we can cooperate in
work, in play, in education. But we can't
in church!"
In Shenandoah County cooperation
has become a sign of life for 1 1 5
churches whose members are working
and dreaming — "not in lockstep," ac-
cording to Norman Harsh, but "respon-
sibly, whether separately or together." □
12 MESSENGER 315-72
parish
A MESSENGER GUIDE TO THE
OF THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN GENERAL BOARD
|ou do. Your district office cares. And so does the
General Board. Its Parish Ministries Commission
believes that your congregation is a
community of faith with unique re-
sources and its own style of living and
witnessing. The Parish Ministries staff believes
the help it can offer should begin where your
congregation is and use resources already
within each group. This means following procedures that
allow congregations to struggle with who they are and
what they really want to do. The staff itself is a signifi
cant part of
the commis-
Who
about
the
„.. ^ congregation?
gram, operating with congre-
gations in a consultation style. To see the Parish Ministries Commission at work,
take a look at the vignettes which follow. They are a sampling of programs, serv-
ices, and ministries all related in some way to the local congregation. Obviously,
PMC staff members carry multiple responsibilities. Please note that your district ex-
ecutive has firsthand information about these services and how you can utilize them.
Keep in contact with him. But note also that staff members will welcome direct in-
quiries at any time. The box on page 16 is keyed to the programs described and will
tell you whom to contact.
3-15-72 MESSENGER 13
ENCOUNTER SERIES. "We like the En-
counter Series." It was a matter-of-
fact statement offered to the visiting
speaker by the pastor's wife in a small
church in Kansas. Later in the day
he sat down to a basket dinner in a
basement room that doubled for a
classroom. Over his head waved a
mobile created from the Teaching Kit that provided
resources for fifth and sixth graders. In other class-
rooms he noted that curriculum materials were help-
ing elementary school children discover how God
is at work in the church and in the world.
The Encounter Series, offering graded church
school materials for all ages from nursery to adult,
has been developed by several cooperating denomi-
nations, including the Church of the Brethren. It as-
sumes that teaching and learning are a shared ad-
venture, that "the teacher serves the learner by un-
covering the crossing points, the places where con-
cerns of the gospel and the concerns of the learner
intersect."
FAMILY LIFE. Too many happy wed-
dings wind up in sorry marriages —
mostly because the couples fail to de-
velop the basic skills for getting along
together. That is one reason why
Mennonites and Brethren have co-
operated to produce a radio series
you can make available to your com-
munity. Choice III (five 3-minute spots per week for
13 weeks) provides the encouragement many mar-
riages need and breaks through with a Christian per-
spective but without a denominational slant.
Inquiries prompted by the broadcasts are fol-
lowed up with a free book {Cherishable Love and
Marriage, by David W. Augsburger), the offer of a
Bible study course, and counseling as requested.
Church school classes and fellowship groups inter-
ested in sponsoring these broadcasts should write
for a listing of themes and additional information.
TEACHER TRAINING EVENT. The three
district leaders were on hand when
the plane arrived. At the airport they
greeted the leaders from outside their
district: a seminary student, a semi-
nary teacher, and an Elgin staff per-
son. As they drove toward the camp
where the "teacher training event"
was scheduled for the weekend, they shared their
hopes and dreams for the time together.
Soon all the participants were involved in activ-
ities calling for positive interaction: listening and
paraphrasing, studying and discussing the Bible,
sharing creative ways of learning, teaching, and wor-
shiping. Not all questions were answered, but most
would agree with the one who said, "I came to the
realization the church should not die." Nor need it,
when church school teachers find what another
called "enthusiasm for a fuller life" and get real sat-
isfaction out of sharing that joy.
SPECIAL MINISTRIES. A two-hour meet-
ing every week to study the Bible and
discuss community concerns. A year-
round youth program, directed by a
youth staff, working with a teen
center, day camp, and after-school
enrichment programs. Direct involve-
ment in community and congregation-
al efforts to improve housing, control crime, upgrade
health services, and aid economic development.
These are just a few of the activities of the Cap-
itol Hill Group Ministry, involving the Washington City
Church of the Brethren and six other churches near
the US Capitol. Donald Leiter, a Brethren minister,
serves as coordinator and full-time staff member.
The Group Ministry depends on the financial sup-
port not only of participating congregations but also
of the Mid-Atlantic District and of the Parish Min-
istries Commission, which this year provides $4,000
as a special ministry support. The Commission is
committed to encouraging and undergirding several
such special ministries as well as helping to support
ongoing pastoral programs.
1
THE ART OF CELEBRATION. You can
see it in a tie-dyed worship center at
Annual Conference, in banners and
posters in many a church sanctuary,
in woodcuts and drawing in church
publications, in art festivals devoted
to religious painting and sculpture, in
the design of new church buildings.
You can hear it in choral concerts, in new ora-
torios, in verse-speaking choirs, in congregational
14 MESSENGER S-15-72
songfests, in contemporary folk services, and in the
use of old and new instruments dedicated to praising
the Lord.
What you see and hear gives evidence that the
creative arts can assist worshipers in expressing
freely and openly their joy and their faith. The cele-
bration team of the Parish Ministries Commission
stands ready to help in such ways as providing finan-
cial support for specialized art ministries, consulting
with district and local leaders, planning workshops
in the arts in the church, reviewing choral music,
making new songs available on worship bulletins,
and studying the church's needs in music.
1 LAB TRAINING EXPERIENCE. "What a
6 discovery! That other persons in a
group, even the most secure and self-
assured, have feelings just like mine.
And that with their confidence and
trust I can work through my fears and
anxieties to find a stronger faith."
' So writes a participant in a lab-
oratory training experience, where Christians, in the
words of the New Testament, discover what it means
"to be in training" in order to respond faithfully and
creatively to the demands of the gospel. In life labs,
groups of from 25 to 40 persons spend a short time
(a weekend to five days) learning, working, living
together. Programs are developed to focus on such
areas as marriage enrichment, constructive use of
conflict, personal growth, and in consciousness-
raising experiences for women and senior citizens.
1 EVANGELISM ENCOUNTERS. Choose
7 whatever term you want — call them
workshops, clinics, encounters, re-
treats, or consultations — in any case
what they have in common is a basic
concern about evangelism and an op-
portunity for training in evangelism.
' The calls come from districts all
across the Brotherhood. In response the members
of the Evangelism Team of the Parish Ministries staff
have logged thousands of miles in travel and spent
hundreds of hours in planning and assisting local
and district leaders. Local participants come for one
session, for several sessions, or a series of week-
ends. They worship together, celebrate their faith,
discover and share talents, study and discuss meth-
ods of evangelism, go home with enthusiasm and
commitment.
What does an evangelism encounter offer? For
some a broadening understanding of new and old
ways of sharing the good news. For others a deep-
ening experience of the work of the Holy Spirit. For
many a new anticipation and excitement regarding
possibilities for the church.
.11
/. i
\
FUND FOR THE AMERICAS. "In the last
few weeks we completed eight
homes." The director of the Chris-
tiansburg (Virginia) Housing Corpora-
tion, an all-black effort to aid minority
persons to build attractive low-cost
homes, went on to say that prelimi-
nary plans were ready for 56 more.
The Christiansburg project, which provides jobs
as well as homes for the black community, was the
first housing project funded by FADS (Fund for the
Americas in the United States). It receives support
also from the Virlina District. But it is only one of
38 projects that received financial aid in the two
years FAUS has been in operation.
In making funding decisions the FAUS staff team
strives to keep faith with the priorities of community
organization and economic development while at the
same time responding to the total needs of minor-
ities. To insure that spiritual needs are not neg-
lected, projects involving evangelism and religious
development of and by minorities are also consid-
ered.
PASTOR-CHURCH RELATIONS. You can
9 imagine what tensions can develop
when pastors spend their time in one
way, when they would like to use it
differently, and when their congrega-
tions think they should be doing still
something else.
' As a means of narrowing the "un-
derstanding gap" between pastors and congrega-
tions, the Southern Ohio district last November spon-
sored two districtwide workshops involving pastoral
couples, ministerial commissions, and church board
chairmen. Leadership came from Brotherhood of-
fices in the person of the Parish Ministries consultant
for the professional minister and congregational life.
At the same time pastors' spouses explored the role
which is unique to them.
Chester Harley, district executive, summarized
one conclusion of the workshop in these words,
"When pastor and congregation clearly negotiate
working responsibilities, not only will more be ac-
complished, but overall pastor-church relationships
will be strengthened."
Caring about the congregation means caring
about pastors, too.
3-l.'i-72 MESSENGER IS
1 LAY TRAINING. Think of several
.^^ ^-^ churches you know — ^ small, some-
H^ ^ times remote from other Brethren
Hfl ^A congregations, composed of loyal
HH ^B members but not served by a full-time
H^ W or a professionally trained minister.
■^^ ^^-^ Think also of committed laymen
' you know — interested and willing to
serve, but lacking in experiences and unfamiliar with
ways of caring for needed ministerial functions.
Can these dedicated laymen help In their own or
neighboring churches? Yes, if they receive specific
training for ministry. As a means of helping train
lay men and women for ministerial functions the
Parish Ministries Commission is working with three
districts currently (and with others as requested) to
set up workshops. The model proposed will empha-
size experiences in Liturgy (leading in worship). Edi-
fication (learning from and using the Scriptures),
/Administration (developing skill and sensitivity in
working with others), and Discipleship (gaining ma-
turity as a Christian). The capital letters underline
leadership — and that is what it's all about.
YOUTH MINISTRIES. Patterns of youth
are constantly changing. Once there
were highly programmed youth de-
partments (BYPD), action-oriented
youth fellowships (CBYF), a national
youth director and cabinet, with con-
ferences, conventions, rallies, and re-
treats at all levels, designed to involve
youth in all aspects of the work of the church. Now
many of the old patterns are obviously inadequate.
Yet the need for youth ministries continues.
Last November the General Board called Ralph
McFadden to the Parish Ministries staff to serve as a
consultant for youth ministries. Ralph has no ready-
made answers for youth problems, but he has some
goals — to work with district and congregational
youth cabinets to enable them to realize their ob-
jectives, to develop resources they can use, to work
with parents as well as youth in understanding the
generation gap, and, perhaps most importantly, to
enlist, encourage, and challenge leaders of youth.
Ralph says, "The leader-adviser must not only be an
understanding adult. He or she must genuinely de-
sire to work with and for youth. The key to youth
work is leadership."
MISSION AND PEACE EDUCATION.
"Where can I find out what's happen-
ing on the mission field? . . . Please
suggest resources for a series of Sun-
day evening meetings . . . How can
the young people in our church learn
more about the peace stand of our
church? . . . The older folks, too, want
to take a new look at what the Bible says about
peace. Any suggestions?"
The Parish Ministries Commission responds to
queries like these. Resources can be recommended
to local leaders. And many of the suggestions that
come give guidance to writers and educators in pre-
paring new materials.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Circle number and mail to person named. Address; 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
1. Encounter Series, Hazel AA. Kennedy 8. Fund for the Americas, Wilfred E. Nolen
2. Family life, Clyde E. Weaver 9. Pastor-Church Relations, J. Bentley Peters
3. Teacher Training Events, Shirley J. Heckman 10. lay Training, Kent E. Naylor
4. Special Ministries, Thomas Wilson 11. Youth Ministries, Ralph G. McFadden
5. Art of Celebration, Wilfred E. Nolen 12. Mission and Peace Education, Ruby H. Linkous
6. Lab Growth Experiences, Carl W. Zeigler Jr. 13. Programming, Goals, Budget, Interpretation, and Administration,
T. Evangelism Encounters, Matthew M. Meyer Earle W. Fike Jr.
Name
Address
Congregation
State
Zip
16 MESSENGEK 3-15-72
When I looked up
Ching Sz asked me
in a deternnined voice:
But Why Did You Do It?'
by Doris E.Caldwell
It was a simple kind of encounter, but it
set my mind to recalling an incident to
share with friends in America. At the
annual General Meeting of the Hong
Kong Council of the Church of Christ in
China, a tall man originally from North
China came over to where I was sitting
and asked if he could get me a cold drink.
My cold drink already was on the cement
floor beside my chair. But his asking was
as though he wanted me to know he was
there, wearing a name tag with a bright
red ribbon indicating that Mr. Ching Sz
was an official delegate. As he walked
away I began remembering many things.
But primarily, I was recalling Ching
Sz's story, which I want to relate to you.
And he has since granted me permission
to do this, to tell it like it is, even using
his real name, for both Ching Sz and I
are proud to tell it.
Before our Christian Family Service
Center moved to the Kwun Tong sector
of Hong Kong, we worked in small apart-
ments in the Mong Kok area. One day I
was asked to come quickly to visit an old
man who was ill and who lived in a bed
space. When I arrived I found a large
room where double-decker beds were
lined up, perhaps fifty bed spaces in one
room. Most of the occupants were out to
work, so I soon found the elderly man
who was ill. He needed to go to a doctor;
I would need to find a taxi.
As I was helping him get ready, I no-
ticed a young man in the upper bed across
the aisle. He appeared very uncomforta-
ble and a little frightened. When I asked
how he was he said he had been ill for
some days and his friends, who visited
him often when he was working and had
some money, did not come to see him
now. Also, he was sure he had lost his
job in the factory for he had been absent
for nearly a week. I asked if he would
like to go with the older man to the
doctor. "Oh, yes," he said, with no
hesitation.
When we got to the doctor's office we
had to walk up a long flight of stairs.
With every step the younger man moaned
softly. It was a busy day for me and I
wondered if he was being overly dra-
matic. After all, I had never seen the
man before and his story could be
phoney, but he did look ill, I told myself.
The doctor suggested I go back to work
and he would call me after he had ex-
amined both men. In two hours he called
with his report. The older man could be
treated but the younger man, registered
as Mr. Ching Sz, gave him some concern.
"Every breath he takes is agony," the
doctor said. "Could I hospitalize him at
your expense?"
"Yes," I replied, knowing that our cen-
ter had One Great Hour of Sharing funds
available for just such emergencies.
After a week in a general hospital
Ching Sz was transferred to a tuberculo-
sis sanatorium, operated by a group of
Protestant churches. The Christian Fam-
ily Service Center was asked to pay the
medical fees for Ching Sz who was alone
in Hong Kong and who had no resources
to help himself.
One busy morning, four months later,
a very different looking man came into
my office and sat across the desk from
me. When I looked up Ching Sz asked
in a clear, determined voice: "Why did
you do it? You are not even related
to me."
I remember tr>'ing to explain how all
of you, the supporters of One Great Hour
in America, care for people in need. But
Ching Sz looked blank. Continuing, I
said it was part of our Christian faith.
Christians believe we are related, that we
are one family and that Christ meant us
to help each other in whatever way we
need help. He wanted to know more
about this faith, so we arranged for him
to join a class at the Mandarin Church
where he could study with the minister
and discuss his questions with others who
also wanted to understand why.
We also discussed part-time work. The
doctors had said he could not go back to
the factory but he could do some light
work. When I asked what he would real-
ly like to do, he replied, "I would like to
find a job singing Chinese opera, as I
used to do in China." I am sure neither
of us was surprised that no such opening
could be found.
As a start, however, we applied some of
the One Great Hour of Sharing funds to
paying Ching Sz a small wage to do
clerical work for the Hong Kong Chris-
tian Welfare and Relief Council. After
some months we invited him to take
charge of the Council's filing department,
where he has been ever since.
There have been ups and downs, of
course. He suffered a relapse and had to
be hospitalized a second time; also he had
a number of personal problems to work
out. Through it all he was faithful in his
study of Christianity. He became an ac-
tive member of the Mandarin speaking
congregation of the Church of Christ in
China. Soon he became our choir direc-
tor and, more recently, a member of our
church session.
Just over a year ago Ching Sz invited
me to his wedding. He described the
bride-to-be as "quiet, reliable, and a
strong Christian woman who teaches in a
Christian school."
His love of music continues. At the
mid-autumn festival for 120 elderly per-
sons who met in our courtyard, Ching Sz
sang some of the familiar tunes from
Chinese opera. At Christmas he led a
group of young boys in rehearsing carols.
Ching Sz now understands that among
other things, the Christian faith means
we are all related, and that we need each
other. And this is the story I have to
share with you who are part of this
faith, n
3-15-72 MESSENGER 17
To dream the impossible dream
is not naive but realistic
if one accepts the Christian view
of man's creation and redemption
From the Ashes: Petals Again
by Glenn R.Bucher
What can we say about man from the
perspective of the Christian faith?
Who is essential man? The idealist
who tries to live peace and goodness
and thereby to look for such qualities
and elicit them from others? Or the
realist who is convinced that practical
men get things done, that the lesser
evil is usually the only choice?
And what shall we say about man's
condition? Is he saint, sinner, or a
complicated mixture of both? In a
way. the answer is obvious — saint
and sinner. But there remains with us
in this society a pervasive hangup on
the normativeness of man's fallen na-
ture, and we come to expect morality
consistent with it. What needs to be
said is that, in light of the Christian
message, the burden of proof still rests
with the moral realists, who in the final
analysis, may be neither moral — in
terms of the biblical emphasis on good-
ness — nor realistic.
To be sure, the moral realists have
on their side one thrust in the Judeo-
Christian tradition. Man is corrupted
by pride and self-centeredness. His
efforts at doing good are often distort-
ed by self-interest, by will to power, by
desire to be God. But this view of man
does not constitute the first or last
word, not the most important, not the
Christian word about man, and that it
is not the "good news" for this time.
Why should we reject the view that
man's fallen nature depicts his true
condition? In setting forth responses
to the moral realists, I hope to provide
an answer — one, incidentally, that is
more "realistic."
Consider the generation to whom
this so-called realistic note is sent forth.
Born at the beginning of the fifties,
those who are being cautioned about
optimism — • students, basically —
have already lived through the Mc-
Carthy era, Korea, Vietnam, the
Middle East, the assassinations of three
American symbols of hope, race riots
and burning cities, the snuffing out of
peoples' rebellions in Poland, Hungary,
and Czechoslovakia, to mention only
a few events. Couple with this their
twelve years of public school experi-
ence in an institution whose very
structures are based upon, anticipate,
and reinforce man's inhuman possibil-
ities. And then we, those who are
allegedly realistic, have the unmiti-
gated gall to inform students — as
though they didn't know it — that man
has capacity for evil. As a matter of
fact, this is all they know. And I think
it explains their optimism and hope.
Students are refreshing because
many of them still believe that what
they have lived through must not be.
To believe in man. to aspire to new
moral heights, to build a Utopia make
an affirmation of faith — faith in the
goodness of creation — and strike out
in search of a new childlike innocence.
Such affirmations refuse to believe that
the realists have the first or last word
about man.
If one accepts the Christian view of
creation and redemption, then "to
dream the impossible dream, to see
shaving basins as golden helmets," via
The Man of LaMancha, is not naive
but realistic.
To argue that life is that "can of
worms" wherein man is already a mix-
ture of the moral and the immoral, that
in life associations immorality is com-
pounded, and that therefore the good
life consists of making the best of a
bad scene, fails, I think, to take ac-
count of the implications of what
Reinhold Niebuhr referred to as "im-
moral society." He warned us that
institutions and structures often bring
18 MESSENGER 3-15-72
out the worst in us. But what he didn't
say is that these very structures often
presuppose a negative view of man,
that man acts in accord with the as-
sumed expectations of his behavior;
therefore, he becomes a certain type
of man.
Look at your own role fulfillment.
When one becomes a "student," a
"professor," an "administrator," a
"businessman," a "missionary," he
soon begins to act in accord with the
implied expectations of such roles.
One discovers himself doing and, more
importantly, saying things that he
might otherwise never have considered,
things that seem somehow not to be
authentic. For all practical purposes,
we take upon ourselves assumed
natures.
I am suggesting two ideas. First,
structures do alter conditions of human
nature. They often anticipate man's
capacity to do only morally ambiguous
acts. Hence, one cannot base a doc-
trine of man only upon empirical
evidence, for that evidence may not
truly reflect essential man. Secondly,
before we transform structures so that
they facilitate man's desire and ability
to live in accord with his essence, we
3-15-72 MESSENGER 19
first need to determine who man really
is.
The central thrust of the biblical
ston,' is that man participates in the
goodness of God's creation, that true
personhood has to do with realizable
love, that though love is crucified, it is
also raised from death, and that struc-
tures — a city, believe it or not. by the
name of the New Jerusalem — are not
absent from God's new earth.
As an ethical model, moral realism
assumed shape via the political realists
of the 1930s who rightly saw a need to
purge social gospel Christianity of the
worldview which so much determined
its theolog}'. Secular liberalism had its
theological counterpart in a super-
idealistic doctrine of man, which
World War I obviously undermined.
For theologians like Niebuhr, ethics
had to do with determining how best to
make "Christian" decisions when all
the choices were thought to be bad: for
example, the choice between World
War II, national socialism, and paci-
fism. Because options were limited to
the givens, the "Christian" choice be-
came the one of lesser evil. Ethics
tended to be a justification of whatever
seemed most practical.
If ethics is brought back under
Christian guidance, what will it look
like? Let me offer only some reflec-
tions. Perhaps ethics, in the Christian
sense, is best thought of as a critique
of the present from the perspective of
the future, as Ruben Alves says. The
present must be seen from outside
itself, for if ethics is not transcendent,
it becomes only a function of the status
quo. Ethics takes shape not from ac-
tion dominated by the present but from
love toward the future. It must be
creative. Its purpose must be to
historicize hope. And the reason ethics
can be spoken about as "Christian" is
because it is that tradition which points
to hope already historicized — in crea-
tion, in deliverance from slavery, in
promises to God's community, in
Jesus of Nazareth, in the resurrection,
and in the New Jerusalem. And these
are all contemporary realities, too.
This brings us, then, to a final re-
sponse. It is a theological one. On a
Christmas card last year appeared the
following statement: "God became
man. not so that man could become
God. but so that man could become
man." I think that says it. It affirms
the fact that in Jesus of history we
have already encountered what it
means to be fully a person. His hu-
manity is normative for at least two
reasons. First, I have not yet seen a
more profound expression of what it
means to be human. And secondly, at
moments in my own life when I think I
may have approached humanness,
I see the complete expression of that
in the Jesus of Nazareth.
The consistent theme
of the biblical story is the
triumph of good, creation
begins that way. God delivers a com-
munity out of slavery and into prom-
ise. In bad times, Isaiah proclaims that
the historicization of hope is still a
coming reality. God's son is that
historicization. In him the human gets
full expression in his blessing of the
meek, the praying for enemies, the
loving of those who hate, and so on.
Because the world cannot stand ex-
posure to such humanness, it disposes
of the man. But it has not rid itself of
embarrassing goodness, for that lives
on. "He has been raised from death,
and now he is going to Galilee ahead
of you; there you will see him." What
this means is that the goodness of
creation, of true humanity, of man, is
not finished, but is always with us,
ahead of us, and visible to us. Our
model for humanness, against which a
life-style can be created, is ever
present.
What we can say about man, from
the perspective of Christian faith, is
that his humanity participates in the
full humanity expressed in God's son.
Goodness is crucified, time and again,
but it is also raised from death. In
terms of man's possibilities, every day
is Easter morning.
In a recent interview. Father Dan
Berrigan said: "I search out in any
given situation whatever elements of
hope I can find there .... We have to
keep looking for signs of a future:
those signs that we try to discern and
even to follow, perhaps to enlarge, to
give breathing space to. One must
keep those signs at the eye's center,
because I think they are the object of
one's true search. What is best in
man? What is most hopeful in man?
What can be built upon any particular
situation? The other side of the picture
is obviously there, but it belongs in the
eye's peripheral vision. I just don't
think that the truth of things is re-
vealed to us by our cynical, hoarding,
businesslike, materialist political
philosophers who see evil ever>'where
— as a means of justifying their own
evil. Truth was revealed to us by
Jesus Christ and those who in lesser
ways follow his tradition.
That is what I have been trying to
convey. Berrigan says it well, and in-
cidentally, he doesn't do badly living it,
either. In the play /. B.. a. contempo-
rary on Job. the Old Testament char-
acter, Archibald MacLeish says it
poetically. If you recall, it is the end
of J. B.'s life. Meaninglessness
abounds, nuclear destruction has be-
come a reality, and little remains.
Walking through the rubble, J. B.'s
wife Sarah looks at a twig in her hand
and says:
Among the ashes!
I found it growing in the ashes.
Gold as though it did not know . . .
I broke the branch to strip the
leaves off —
Petals again! . . .
From the ashes, petals again, and
again, and again, and again, the sym-
bol of God's good creations being
ever-renewed. The petals are for real;
the ashes are not. That's the Easter
story. D
20 MESSENGER 3-15-72
Wings Above a Day
Dark wings that hover overhead
From unknown shores, at certain times,
Cast huge, racing shadows on the day,
Fanning cold fears in the heart.
To tighten flesh around the human bone.
Finally to chill the activating spirit.
Fear is the somber bird of prey.
Swift light enveloping
Some mortal hours meant for immortality
Reflects beneficence in every world,
Shining in the heart by invitation.
To beckon holy signals from afar.
To guide, to heighten consciousness.
Love is the winged peace within.
David S. Strickler
YouTookMyHand
You took my hand
With love — and on it
Placed a ring.
This was a covenant —
Not just a fleeting dream.
And though
You're now aware
Of all the many faults
Which fracture my best self
And make me less
Than what you'd hoped I'd be.
You love me still.
How can I let you know
The sane and safe retreat,
The healing radiant glow
Your love has been for me.
Surrounding me with strength?
I take my pen
With love — and with it
Write these words:
Love is a covenant;
More than a passing dream.
Lena Willoughby
Of Love
Love's pain is the unfilled hours,
The moments when time stands eternal.
And we stand alone, isolated,
By distances of land — unreached and unreachable.
Love's power is in people,
Angered as well as elated;
Disgusted or dissatisfied,
its strength is forever there.
Maybe our own agony is so great
That we are numb to the happiness
Of a love to which ours is but
The smallest part of: love of man.
Michael Hemmis
3-15-72 MESSENGER 21
Study of Giving Reveals
and Goodwill
3,470 church members tell \A/hy
they support the church
by DONALD L. STERN
Ihe 1 ' 2 -hour interview with a midwest
pastor was completed. He had responded
to 120 probing questions on matters of
faith, reasons for giving support to the
church, amounts given for church and
other causes, and a broad range of other
questions. .As I prepared to leave he
said, "I've told you things I've never told
anyone before. Now that I have laid
myself bare to you. would you mind tell-
ing me who you are? "
No doubt others of the 3,470 church
members and pastors who were inter-
viewed in connection with the North
American Interchurch Study had similar
feelings. They were approached by 150
inters'iewers, among them Stanley Davis
Sr.. Roger Schrock, Glennis Walker, and
I of the Church of the Brethren, each
volunteering two weeks for training and
the field contacts.
The data will be used by the Church of
the Brethren and 14 other denominations
in the planning of denominational and
local stewardship programs for the 70s.
Reasons for givint;. Both laymen and
pastors agree that '"gratitude to God" is
the most important reason for their giv-
ing to the church. Second in importance
is the practice of giving as a part of wor-
ship. Laymen rank the church's "need
for money," "'obligation to God," and
"the duty of membership" as being more
important reasons for giving than do the
pastors. Pastors, on the other hand, feel
more strongly that "giving money to the
church is an expression of a person's
faith."
Withholding support. Contrary to
what some church leaders have assumed,
most members disapprove of withholding
support simply because a person does not
agree with some programs. The 2 1 %
who approve of this tactic feel that the
church's "support of minority groups"
and "social involvement" justify with-
holding. The study reveals that persons
who tend to be most negative contribute
the least amount of money to the church.
Deciding how nntcli. The median
weekly gift of lay members to their
church is $5.52 while the pastor's is near-
ly three times greater. How do people
decide the amount they will give? The
study suggests that laymen respond
pragmatically; they put "income" and
"the needs of the church" as pivotal in
influencing the amount. "Biblical teach-
ings" also ranked as being important.
Pastors feel that "the needs of the
church" and "frequency of participation
in church activities" are the most impor-
tant influences on the amount. Correla-
tions tend to support the view that more
participation in church activities and in-
creased giving go together.
Annual visit. Half of the members in-
dicated they "strongly agree" with having
an annual every-member visit to collect
financial commitments for next year's
budget while only 40^!- reported that
their church has an annual every-member
visit. Of those whose churches organize
an every-member visit only 31 % of the
laymen were visited for commitments.
26% of those visited indicated that they
gave because of the visit while 70% said
they would have given anyway.
Ranked as the most important work of
the local church are, "win others to
Christ," "provide worship for members,"
and "provide religious instrLiction."
Services of denomination. About two
thirds of the respondents felt support of
denominational ministries is important
while 2.8% felt it is unimportant. The
most important service ofl'ered by the de-
nomination according to both laymen
and pastors is the providing and training
of ministers. Second in importance is to
provide mission support and outreach at
home and abroad. Laymen see the de-
nomination as important in providing
"counsel for local churches and pastors."
Pastors want the denomination to pro-
vide program resources for the local
church. They are more interested in de-
nominational support for social witness
than are laymen.
Designations. Fifty percent of the lay-
men and 38%' of the ministers feel their
local church should earmark for specific
expenditures the money it sends through
the denomination. At the same time
there was a strong feeling that people
would be more willing to give to their
local church if they had a voice in the
way the money is spent. The study re-
veals that only about I6%i of the mem-
bers participate in the decision-making
process.
Goodwill. These are only a few of the
findings of the North American Inter-
church Study. Another worth noting is
that there remains a very large amount of
goodwill among church members toward
the denomination. But it does not seem
to be a narrow kind of loyalty as a great
majority (88% ) favor or at least are not
opposed to their church's participation in
ecumenical programs. They feel the
church is where they want to put their
trust and contributions. □
22 MESSENGER 3I5-72
ECUMENICAL WITNESS
From 6
people live."
Episcopal Bishop Paul Moore Jr. of
New York is one American who would
agree on the concern for what conies
after the war.
To blame the war on Vietnam is to
blame it on the symptom, he argued, and
if it doesn't find expression in still another
war, the sickness will find expression in
other ways, "as it already has in our
internal life."
"When the war is over it will be a very
crucial moment in the life of this country,
whether we can convert the energies that
went into that war into rebuilding our so-
ciety." Bishop Moore told a press
meeting.
He believes that the American public
must repent of whatever part of the sick-
ness which underlies the sin, to use his
word, of American involvement in the
war.
Annual Conference moderator Dale W.
Brown saw Brethren Service following
World War II as partly an atonement by
Brethren for their complicity, and limited
protest, in that war. In the same way he
sees Brethren ready with relief and re-
habilitation efforts, in ministries to chil-
dren and orphans, at the end of the Indo-
china War as one response of atonement
and acceptance of responsibility.
Yet unlike Europe, Vietnam may be
less willing to accept American aid and
reconstruction — which could become
only another Vietnamese dependency on
the US. Sister To Thi Anh, a Roman
Catholic nun from Saigon, said Catholics
in Vietnam who once strongly supported
the presence of the US in Vietnam have
reversed their attitudes.
"What we ask of you is to leave us
alone. Let us live," she said. "Let us
know freedom you pretend you bring but
which we haven't had since you came 25
years ago," speaking of both French and
American involvements in her country.
For the conference the feeling was cer-
tain that the war was not winding down
— with the stepped-up air strikes, sup-
port of the Saigon regime, and some
35,000 troops that may be left in South
Vietnam.
Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, president of
the World Council of Churches, said that
one of America's problems is its feeling
that it has to be successful. "I think it's
much more important to be just and
right" he countered.
"The churches are going to be in a
worse situation, year by year, decade by
decade, if they don't stand for what they
say they stand for — and peace and jus-
tice in the world are the things we say
we are for."
The conference clearly sought to keep
the responsibility for the war on the
United States as it defeated motions that
would have more broadly shared the re-
sponsibility for the conflict. Still the con-
ference message recognized "the need for
the People's Republic of China, the Soviet
Union, and other nations to cease supply-
ing the Hanoi government and the
Provisional Revolutionary' Government
with the materiels of war."
Another attempt to insert a statement
that all wars are unjust and immoral was
defeated. Dale Brown, who also voted
against the motion, explained the motiva-
tion of many in the conference: "When
you're talking about Vietnam, I feel very
strongly that before you can try to wit-
ness against the splinter that is in your
brother's eyes that you have to remove
the beam in your own eye." Still Ray-
mond Wilson, a Quaker, slipped a section
by the conference that makes the state-
ment that Brethren have historically felt:
"We call upon our denominations,
churches, and synagogues to renounce all
war and make the total abolition of war
and peace with justice as their major
concern until achieved."
One Brethren delegate struggled with
applying the conference actions at home,
finding herself "pretty far removed here
from the kind of people that I live with
all the time."
Mrs. Joy Dull, Brookville, Ohio, home-
maker who visited the Paris peace talks
last year said "we've heard a lot of 'why'
and a lot of 'what,' but I'm still struggling
with the 'how.' "
For Tom Wilson, responsible for con-
gregational and community interpreta-
tion, the power of the assembly lay in
"the potential of raising the level of con-
sciousness of those involved here to a
point where some creative actions can be
initiated back at the local level."
Another Brethren, Alvin F. Klotz,
Kokomo, Ind., came to the conviction
that "the peace movement is coming back
to the churches, though admitting at the
same time that "the Church of the
Watermarks
A collection of contemporary poems
by four young poets — Terry Pettit,
Brooks Couser, Paul Hoover, Robert
Allen, w/ith drawings by Kevin Mill-
er. Edited by James Hollis. $2.95
Down in My Heart
William E. Stafford
What was it like — how did it feel
— to be a conscientious objector
during World War 11? This book,
long out of print, recounts that
story. $2.50
t\lflmp
Addre'^^
City .
State
Zip
Waterma
ks
Down
in
My
Heart
Postage: 20c first dollar;
5c per dollar thereafter
The Brethren Press
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, III. 60120
3-15-71; MESSENGER 23
Brethren may not be aware that it ever
left." Mr. Klotz is executive director of
Hoosiers for Peace, an arm of Clergy and
Laymen Concerned in Indiana. The
peace movement continues to look to the
church for moral leadership, he believes.
The element of racism in the Indochina
War was an evident concern for the
churchmen, with two major addresses
given by black speakers — Andrew
Young, formerly with the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference and
now chairman of Atlanta, Ga.'s, human
relations commission, and Marion W.
Edelman, a lawyer with the Center for
Law and Education at Harvard Univer-
sity.
Connecting racism and militarism, Mr.
Young told the assembly that the same
legislators which are kept in power
through the denial of voting black rights
in Southern states are those which control
Congressional committees that have sup-
ported the war.
The conference "Message" called the
Vietnamization a "racist jwlicy," forcing
Asians to serve as a proxy army for
Americans and to die in the place of
Americans for the supposed interest
of Americans.
It was to military chaplaincy that the
conference addressed itself rather boldly,
asking denominations to study civilian
ministries and replacements for military
chaplaincies, and to withdraw their pres-
ent chaplains from Indochina, and pro-
vide civilian ministries insofar as possible.
The "Action Strategies" paper spoke to
several areas: ending American participa-
tion in the war; combatting the tyranny
of racism; focusing the power of the reli-
gious community on the political process;
morally responsible use of economic
power; acts of repentance and reconcilia-
tion; enhancing religious and other
freedoms.
H. Lamar Gibble, peace and interna-
tional affairs consultant and coordinator
of the Brethren delegation, observed that
the conference was the first broad-based
interreligious gathering of its kind on the
peace issue. Strong Catholic and Jewish
support was significant, giving the final
statements more weight.
It brought together worldwide church
leaders, such as Rabbi Morris B.
Margolies of Kansas City; Archbishop
Hclder Camara of Recife, Brazil; Don
Luce, former World Council of Churches
representative in Vietnam; Bishop John
J. Dougherty, chairman of the Depart-
ment of International Affairs of the
United States Catholic Conference;
Andre Dumas of France, a visiting pro-
fessor at Union Theological Seminary in
New York; Krister Stendahl, formerly of
Sweden, dean of Harvard University di-
vinity school; Albert van den Heuvel,
World Council director of information,
as well as prominent peace movement
and denominational leaders not on the
platform.
What indeed will An Ecumenical Wit-
ness accomplish, if not more pious state-
ments on the war issue? The Brethren
delegates felt that the Conference did
serve to start a national turnabout on the
moral interpretation of the war. Local
follow-through will still be required.
The work of the Witness continues in
National Inquiry Groups, comprised of
recognized church leaders. The task
forces will study areas of concern, hold
hearings and take expert testimony. At-
tention is being given to ending the war
and the US response to a postwar Indo-
china, American racism exported abroad,
Deaths
Adams, William, Dixon, 111., on Dec. 1,
1971, aged 76
Ayres, Basil, Flora, Ind., on Oct. 11, 1971.
aged 76
Burritt, Orca Miller, Mechanicsburg, Pa.,
on Nov. 16, 1971. aged 87
Butson, Mrs. E. E., Roanoke, La., on Sept.
I. 1971
Coricofe, Anna, Bridgewater, Va., on Sept.
25. 1971
Corv'. Mrs. Lee, Milford, Ind.. on Dec. 15.
1971. aged 86
Cripe, Emma Wagoner, Lake City, 111., on
Oct. 28. 1971, aged 88
Dining, Florence Loose, Martinsbiirg, Pa.,
on Nov. 14. 1971, aged 55
Dilling. Rov N.. Martinsburg. Pa., on Nov.
18. 1971. aged 57
Early, John J.. Harrisonburg, Va., on Aug.
28, 1971, aged 51
Eisenbise, Enc, Lanark, 111., on Dec. 24.
1971. aged 28
Eisenbise. Flora Redwood, Hiawatha,
Kans.. on July 28. 1971, aged 67
Englar, S. Elizabeth. York, Pa., on Oct. 8,
1971. aged 68
Frost. Cora. Indianapolis, Ind., on Oct. 13,
1971. aged 89
Frv. .Albert J.. La Verne, Calif., on Sept.
8. 1971. aged 88
Geiman, Lottie Lee. Westminster, Md., on
Oct. 14. 1971. aged 73
George. Lizzie Martzall. Royersford, Pa.,
on Nov. 15. 1971. aged 86
Gilbert, Dorothv. Dixon, III., on Nov. 28,
1971. aged 45'
Gomel, John, Mound City, Mo., on Sept.
25, 1971, aged 62
Gorden, Laura, Bridgewater, Va., on Nov.
4, 1971, aged 86
Grapes. Ada, Chambersburg, Pa., on Oct.
9. 1971
Grove, Peter H., Dallas Center, Iowa, on
Nov. 10, 1971. aged 66
Gunder.son, Howard C, York, N.D., on
Oct. 31, 1971, aged 73
Harnly, Anna, Lititz, Pa., on April 30,
1971, aged 64
Harper, Byrl D., La Verne, Calif., on
Aug. 2. 1971. aged 69
Haworth. Betty Hutcheson, Union, Ohio,
on Sept. 17. 1971, aged 46
Hays, Ethel A., Lawrenceville, 111., on
Sept. 19, 1971, aged 90
Hodgden, Rav D., Kansas City, Mo., on
Nov. 5. 1971. aged 77
Holderread. Hallev E., Elkhart, Ind., on
Sept. 19. 1971. aged 73
Hollis, Vada. Modesto. Calif., on Nov. 13,
1971, aged 76
Hornish. Nellie, Defiance, Ohio, on April
16. 1971, aged 83
Hover. Mrs. Leslie, Mexico, Ind., on Oct,
3, 1971. aged 87
Irvin, Glade, Eustis, Fla., on Oct. 7, 1971,
aged 67
Kerr. Terry, DeGraff. Ohio, on Oct. 5,
1971, aged 17
Kiracofe. Anna, Bridgewater, Va., on Sept.
25. 1971. aged 86
KoUar, Frank, South Bend, Ind., on Dec.
24. 1971. aged 81
Krider, .Anna Mav, Boonsboro, Md.. on
Dec. 7. 1971. aged 88
Landis, Edgar, Lemasters, Pa., on Nov. 21,
1971, aged 81
Landis, Otis, Dayton, Ohio, on Oct. 12,
1971
Lcidv, Glenn S., Martinsburg, Pa., on Nov.
21,' 1971, aged 60
Lovekin. Mary, Altoona, Pa., on Nov. 26,
1971, aged 82
McDowell, Bert, Leonard, Mo., on Aug.
13, 1971, aged 61
McWhorter, Lloyd, Prairie Grove, Ark., on
Oct. 30, 1971, aged 72
Macy, Arnold, Union, Ohio, on March 7,
1971, aged 67
Masers, Cora B., Winter Park. Fla., on
Sept. 6, 1971, aged 87
Mason, Lena A., HoUidaysburg, Pa., on
Dec. 31, 1971, aged 70
Masters, George, Johnson City, Tenn., on
Aug. 21. 1971, aged 84
Meade, George, Wirtz, Va., on Nov. 16,
1971, aged 90
Mellard, David, La Verne, Calif., on Aug.
1, 1971, aged 27
Meyers, Arlene C, Greencastle, Pa., on
Nov. 23, 1971, aged 38
Miller, Hallie Wine, Bridgewater, Va., on
April 26, 1971, aged 73
Miller, Jacob L., York, Pa., on Nov. 31,
1971, aged 70
Miller, Martin L.. Bridgewater, Va., on
June 14, 1971. aged 85
Moore, Ernest, Mount Sidney, Va., on Sept.
2. 1971. aged 68
Mowery, Alice. Everett, Pa., on Aug. 14,
1971. aged 82
Myers, Roy G. Sr., York, Pa., on May 17,
1971
Neely, Reuben E., HoUidaysburg. Pa., on
Sept. 14. 1971, aged 78
Quarry, Vesta Wineland, Martinsburg, Pa,,
on Nov. 28, 1971, aged 69
nd the impact of national priorities and
lilitary force on war crimes.
Harvard's Dr. Stendahl, without direct
jference to the war, remarked that
lercy for some people is judgment on
thers, that God's mercy for the op-
ressed people of the world takes the
)rm of judgment on the rich and power-
il. Judgment and mercy cannot be
alanced "as though they were two hands
f God," he said.
"When judgment falls, it is mercy for
lose who have been wronged and doom
Dr those who have done the wrong. The
lercy of the gospel is that there is time
)r repentance," Dr. Stendahl said.
j He was, of course, speaking to the
[idgment befalling America and the
lercy deserved, as he saw it, by the
j'ietnamese. It is a concept that might
|e hard to swallow for many Americans,
ho like to be successful and right.
Perhaps it is not too early or hopeful
b believe that An Ecumenical Witness
'as influenced, if not set, the moral
genda of both the church and the nation.
is an agenda that the churches should
ave taken up long ago, and one even
lore overdue for the Republic. □
eighard, Roger L., Martinsburg, Pa., on
Sept. 25. 1971, aged 18
rpliigle. Walter, Fruitdale, Ala., on Oct.
Ill, 1971, aged 77
iduvine, George A., Froid. Mont., on
|ulv H, 1971, aged 86
:hrock. Homer, Elkhart, Ind., on Dec. 17,
1971, aged 76
hafFer. Marv. Hoo\ersviUc, Pa., on No\'.
3, I97I. aged 86
hafFer, Wilbert C. Hooversville, Pa., on
Oct. 20. 1971. aged 74
idesinger. Marv Brenner, Bellefontaine,
Ohio, on Sept.' 1, 1971. aged 63
jimnions. .\rlie, Bridgewater. \'a.. on No\'.
I 10, 1971, aged 83
tayer. C. Urbana, Martinsburg, Pa., on
Nov. 20, 1971, aged 76
tayrook, Mabel G.. DeGraft. Ohio, on
Oct. 14, 1971. aged 76
touse. Charles, Flora, Ind.. on Sept. 6,
1971, aged 77
tudabaker, Hattie, Bluffton, Ind., on Oct,
9. 1971, aged 82
tump, Merlin B., Indianapolis, Ind., on
Nov. 3, 1971, aged 82
ullivan. William G.. Virden, III, on Oct.
25, 1971, aged 81
.wihart. Grace .^nn, Goshen, Ind., on Dec.
I 12, 1971, aged 91
i'agoner. Man Hildebrand. Red Cloud.
Minn., on Sept. 14. 1971. aged 76
V'alton. Lewis A.. Mexico. Ind.. on Dec. 9,
1971. aged 23
^^eyant. Mabel. Claysburg, Pa., on Now
15. 1971, aged 50
i^hitson. Agnes Ross. Sevmour, Ind., on
Nov. 10, 1971. aged 59 '
iegler, Cora, Neffsville, Pa., on Nov. 4.
1971, aged 87
iFoDoTfi] [r©\v7D@m7g
Film-Art: How Responsive,
How Responsible?
The church college president gave a qual-
ified answer to our request to see the lilm
The Egyptian. We had good reasons for
asking: This particular pharaoh believed
in monotheism and the lady who played
the queen was a first cousin. That was
twenty years ago when the church was
against cinema. It is yet to the extent
that it has a laissez-faire tolerance of
films, regarding them largely as harmless
leisure or as commercial recreation about
which we are helpless.
There is an alternative: church and
cinema. James Wall's Church and Cine-
ma (Eerdmans, 1971, $2.45) is one new
resource providing the Christian and the
church with a way of viewing film.
Wall's approach takes seriously the pow-
er and influence of cinema. Serious film
education is confrontive and cooperative.
Film is seen as an important index of cul-
ture, as a reflector of society, as an af-
fector of society, and as an art form that
is contemporary though immature.
As a communicating medium film is a
modern-day parable (see Messenger,
Sept. 1, 1971). Parables challenge us to
come up with our own answers, to arrive
at our own conclusions, to see the truth
for ourselves, to make the insight our
own. Film invites the viewer to share in
interpreting the reality of human experi-
ence upon the screen. Feature films, as
representatives for our age, assist in mak-
ing better sense out of contemporary ex-
perience, providing opportunity to listen
to ourselves, to our society, and to those
with whom we wish to communicate.
Some films give helpful insight in coming
to decisive confrontation with our own
himian experience; all provide oppor-
tunity to listen to our ovm generation.
Discerning viewing of the secular film-
oracles adds to our knowledge of the
images fashioned of man, in man, and for
our time.
Will film-art become more responsive
and responsible? Much depends upon
what the average North American (who
spends more time seeing films in theaters
and on television than he does at any
other activity except for sleeping and
working) will demand. Better viewing
habits can develop, and better films that
lead to reflection and that strengthen good
judgments can be produced. Films and
film viewing do not need to dissipate
psychic health, seek fantasy, focus upon
false images of romantic love, give pri-
ority to beauty, youth, wealth, and vio-
lence. Responsive and responsible view-
ing are at stake: We are the valuers.
What parables are popular this season?
Those interested in big profits have in
part determined that answer by outdoing
all predecessors in graphic depiction of
property destruction and death. The
Local 44 Affiliated Property Craftsmen's
f^t^>^.
^wwioftii^iiiqnim
315-72 MESSENGER 25
r— %^/— ^
SUBSCRIBER
SERVICE
Please include a Mes-
senger address label
to insure prompt
service whenever you
write us about your
subscription.
For change of ad*
dress: If you're mov-
ing, please let us
know four weeks be-
fore changing your
address. Place mag-
azine address label
here, print your new
address below. If
you have a question
about your subscrip-
tion, place your mag-
azine address label
here and clip this
form to your letter.
ATTACH
LABEL
HERE
.— / \— .
Mail to: Messenger, Church of the Brethren,
General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
III. 60120
name
(please print)
address
city
state
zip code
brings new awareness and mean-
ing to the ancient yet contempo-
rary affirmation of faith in The
Apostles' Creed. In reading these
"conversations" dealing phrase
by phrase with the Creed, one
will find heightened joy in his
reliance on the goodness and
providence of God.
SI. 25 per copy: ten
SI 0.00. Order from
copies,
The Upper Room
1908 Grand Ave. Naihvllla, Tenn. 37203
26 MESSENGER 3-15-72
Union (the special effects men) is not
about to go out of business. "Squibs"
(battery-activated explosives in steel
cases taped to the actors) and "blood
bags" are imaging feet mangled by gun-
fire, blasted stomachs, and various beat-
ings. One contemporary director, Philip
DWntoni, says this screen violence is
more realistic (he did not say realism).
Thus he reasons: "People are used to
seeing the war on television. They know
what the real thing looks like. So how
can you fake it? Audiences won't buy
that anymore."
That violent victor rides the stage is
illustrated in D'Antoni's The French
Connection (as well as his earlier work
Bullitt), which some regard as "the most
e.xciting movie thriller for several years."
Gene Hackman, who plays Detective
Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, is out to get
French crooks who are unloading 120
pounds of heroin with the syndicate. In
the action he kills another cop; destroys a
citizen's car in a suicidal race involving a
beat-up sedan, an elevated train, and five
miles of Brooklyn traffic; causes an inno-
cent woman to be shot by a sniper; and
throws himself around with bigoted
words and gestures. Does Detective
Doyle provide the viewers with a hero
image? Yes, he is hero; we are thrilled
with his ability to drive a car, by his
desire to win, by his daring aims to im-
prove New York City. What a story:
drugs mixed with violence and suspense.
Guess what comes home to digest in
Sidney Portier's portrayal of the bold
policeman in The Organization? Drugs
mixed with violence and suspense: The
story line includes again a narcotics syn-
dicate, a bold policeman, and fast,
breathtaking car racing — but this time in
San Francisco. (Portier has now dis-
closed himself as a detective three times,
previously in Heat of the Night and They
Call Me Mr. Tibbs. ) The Organization
differs in its ending from The French
Connection which, like Z, ends with jus-
tice made a mockery in that Doyle and
his partner are transferred from the nar-
cotics squad and most of the hoods get off
with light or suspended sentences. How-
ever, in The Organization drugs are taken
seriously by an underground community
which includes some rehabilitated youth
and also a minister; together with some
cooperation with the bold policeman they
fight with daring commitment.
Sliaft also has the respective themes of
drugs, detectives, and syndicate all
served with violence and suspense. It
does have a tender moment when the
black drug traffic king goes to the black
private detective and says through his
tears, "Shaft, get back my baby, that's
all I want; I got the money, you spend it,
but find my baby (a teen-age daughter
held by the Mafia) ." Later, however,
when Shaft discovers he's been shafted,
the father admits that "we are all
hustlers, and money always matters!"
Can one still affirm the importance of
such cinema for churchgoers? Yes: The
director-producers' visions are to be dis-
covered and pondered. In these three
films we see visions like justice is in
jeopardy; drugs and violence are as
American as apple pie; youth are dedi-
cated and working with the sociological
time bombs; money doesn't always
matter.
Another importance in this season of
film violence is the awareness that vio-
lence is relevant to our society. We con-
sumers apparently are preconditioned to
consume a lot of killings. That squibs
and blood bags are used is not what is
important since "movie blood" is but an-
other Max Factor creation. But what is
pertinent is the mentality that asks for the
"blood" — and not just "motivated vio-
lence" in the film but violence for its own
sake, for pure shock value. We satisfy
our desire for action that is rougher and
more exciting. Prophetically a national
network reminds that in Ireland we are
raising a new generation of bigoted chil-
dren. A national magazine features
"fragging and other withdrawal symp-
toms" and concludes that the killing of
American oflicers by American soldiers
in Vietnam is a policy that has "come
home" and gone full circle.
A third affirmation in these three films
— and others like them this season and
probably also in the next — is to point to
an alternate way. An alternate found in
the Sermon on the Mount. And an alter-
nate in which the church can be in dia-
logue (through both confrontation and
cooperation) with cinema to produce
other and better parables. — LeRoy E.
Kennel
■\^\
Sl%^-:^H
'^^
-^1 .^r %»^Vl|.>^l^.i^
GETTING READY
YOU CAN'T FOR MARRIAGE
CON GOD
Contagious with enthusiasm. Tank
Harrison, a former Memphis, Tennes-
see, policeman, shares the jov of
what it means to be a Christian
today. After making a deeper com-
mitment of his life to Jesus, this
Spirit-filled Christian man has
discovered a new and exciting ap-
proach to living. Paper, $1 .25
HAIRCUTS AND HOLINESS
Why was I born? Must the innocent
suffer? Do life's basic questions
hove answers? Louis Cassels* ex-
tra-ordinary book will challenge the
reader to find them. Paper, $1.75
WOMEN IN CHURCH
AND SOCIETY
At last! A common-sense look at the
women's movement from a Chris-
tian standpoint. Georgia Harkness
examines the status of women today
and throughout history, particularly
her role in the church. $4.75
LIVING IN A ZIGZAG AGE
Disasters of life can actually be
transformed into opportunities, if
people will only leo'-n to center their
lives in Christ, Bryant M. Kirklond
teaches you how. $4.50
d" your local bodotoe
Qbingdon
The most practical gift any couple
could receive is this beautiful book
by David R. Mace, internationally
known marriage counselor. In it he
helps couples face possible problem
areas before the ceremony. MUST
reading. $3.75
RELIGION
AND THE SOLID SOUTH
Samuel S. Hill, Jr. and four co-
contributors probe the extent to which
religion has been a confirming
factor for the white southern way of
life. IIIus, Paper, $2.95
YEARBOOK OF AMERICAN
CHURCHES, 1972
Now m its 57th year of publication,
this popular reference book still
provides up-to-date information on
what the Church is doing. Ed,
Constant H. Jacguet, Jr. $8.95
POLITICS,
POKER, AND PIETY
Wallace E. Fisher helps churchmen
face and understand contemporary
political confusion and find ways to
put faith to work in modern po-
litical society. Paper, S2 95
TIME FOR ALL THINGS
"Too little time . . .' a common
complaint today. With humor ond in-
sight, Charlie Shedd explains that
we actually have an abundance of
time at our disposal! Paper, $1.25
SELECTIONS FROM
E. STANLEY JONES
Choosing over 500 passages, the
compilers, Eunice Jones Mathews and
James K. Mathews shore some of
the best from many of Dr. Jones s
most classic works. $4.95
THE CHRISTIAN AGNOSTIC
Could an agnostic actually be
closer to belief in the true God than
the conventional churchman? Leslie
Weatherhead s p-emise will shock
many and delight many more.
Paper, $2 25
PERSONALITY AND
CHRISTIAN FAITH
The answer to contemporary man's
basic problem is found in the Chris-
tian gospel. Lowell Colston and
Paul Johnson believe that alienation
can be healed through the gospel.
$5.95
IN THE THIRD PLACE
Political revolution or maintenance
of the status quo in the Church?
Arthur Landwehr II offers churchmen
a third alternative, seeking an end
to the present polarization.
Paper, SI .95
VENTURES IN SONG
From traditional spirituals to con-
temporary hymns, this exciting col-
lection marks a positive move
toward updating the music of the
Church. Ed, David Randolph. Paper,
$1.95
3-15-72 MESSENGER 27
Government vs. a denomination
Brethren have lone held government suspect. In
their nature or their mission, by the yardstick of
historical or current events. Brethren have found
government more often than not the adversary,
rather than the evangel, for good reasons or ill-
defined ones.
,A people born in the dissent of religious free-
dom of the eighteenth century are not unlike their
contemporaries who today dissent on political
grounds from government positions. From John
Naas to John (Ted) Glick, conscience-driven
dissent has caused Brethren to resist particular
government policy when belief is tested.
Unfortunately government has not always
earned its trust nor has it been sympathetic to the
person with conviction. Very often it has de-
ser\ed its detractors and dissenters.
.And it has not always dealt gently, nor wise-
ly, with them. A recent example that must con-
cern all churchmen and religious institutions is
the government's moves against the Unitarian
Universalist Association and its publishing arm,
Beacon Press.
Last October 22 Beacon Press brought out
"The Senator Gravel Edition of the Pentagon
Papers." A week later, and four months after
public disclosure of the papers elsewhere, the
FBI secretly subpoenaed the denomination's
financial records, including all checks written and
received in a four and a half month period. Fore-
stalled for the moment by injunction, the gov-
ernment has said it will seek criminal convictions
of Beacon Press officials for the papers' publica-
tion.
"This is the first time in the history of our
country that the federal government has ever
moved in on a national religious denomination
in this way," said Dr. Robert N. West, the Uni-
tarians' executive, "compelling the disclosure of
names of contributors and members."
In publishing material already in the public
domain. Dr. West denies any wrongdoing on the
part of his denomination. He contends that the
government's actions have been made "in order
to instill fear, not only in us but in other groups
and individuals, who would attempt to engage
in activity involving strong dissent from govern-
ment policies."
The government's motives may be suspect in
that it did not limit its investigation to only the
records of Beacon Press or to the files of the one
publication, but rather thrust itself into the total
records of the church.
"If the government can examine every check
a denomination writes over an extended period
of time, it can in effect (and does) evaluate the
program of that denomination," Dr. West said.
The government's action comes close to sug-
gesting that a person's joining a particular denom-
ination may in itself be cause for investigation.
Involved are the issues of press and religious
freedom, freedom of association, government
harrassment by prosecution, intimidation, and
repression of legitimate dissent.
What are the implications for the Church of
the Brethren in the Beacon Press matter? For a
denomination which asserts its support for the
young man who resists military service, which
places God before country, which selectively af-
firms civil disobedience, which offers a channel
for funds to aid one of its own in the Harrisburg
conspiracy trial?
For the Brethren and other religious groups
it can mean a chilling effect which, in the govern-
ment's interests, may deter churchmen from dis-
agreeing with the goverrmient and from speaking
truth to power.
The Unitarian denomination is similar in size
to the Church of the Brethren. It is an unhappy
circumstance that forces one to ask himself, as
did the Unitarian president, that if this kind of
harrassment can happen to one small denomina-
tion, then what denomination is next and for what
reason? For Brethren, and for others, govern-
ment again is suspect from the responsible exer-
cise of the voice of conscience. — r.e.k.
28 MESSENGER 3-15-72
INTRODUCING
A new service offering
• sales and rentals of current films, filmstrips, records, tapes, slides
• consultation on program planning using multimedia resources
• help in locating and booking films regardless of source
A new service for
• pastors
• teachers
• leaders
A new service with
• up-to-date resources
• the new line of TeleKETICS films
• open-ended, high quality materials
WRITE FOR FREE LISTING
OF CURRENT FILMS
Name
Address
State
Zip
Congregation
A DIVISION OF THE BRETHREN PRESS, 745^ Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
How to Talk to God
When You Aren't Feeling Religious
Charles Merrill Smith
Overflowing with probing wit and penetrating insight,
this book at the same time is a deadly serious revelation
that religion doesn't have to be sterilized to be genuine.
An ideal book for the reader who isn't feeling particularly
religious. Some of the chapters are: Do You Want Us
to Love the Communists? Should I Sell My Stock in First
National Bank? Would Jesus Drive a Cadillac? Are You
Bothered by Our Ways of Celebrating Christmas? The
author is famous for his satirical treatment of conventional
religion. He wrote the widely acclaimed How to Become
a Bishop Without Being Religious.
$4.95
Celebrations for Special Days and Occasions
Jack W. Lundin
This attractively illustrated handbook is designed to stim-
ulate a new religious dimension within the Christian
home. The book includes family-centered happenings
to celebrate special days of the year as well as more
everyday events — welcoming an overnight guest, recog-
nizing some achievement by a child. The format and
presentation encourage creative festive celebrations.
These little liturgies reveal the surprising richness which
can occur when God is invited into family occasions.
$3.95
Haircuts and Holiness
Louis Cassels
Louis Cassels, senior editor of United Press International
and author of the weekly column "Religion in America,"
offers this unusual book to anyone who is honestly wres-
tling with uncertainties about God, man, and their rela-
tionship. Struggling with such questions as — Why was I
born? If there really is a God, why is there so much
suffering in the world? Does prayer really work? Mr.
Cassels addresses these 34 chapters to anyone who is not
content fo be handed someone else's religious decisions.
The author encourages, challenges, stimulates, and may
even irritate the reader into thinking on his own about
some of the most basic issues of the Christian faith.
$1.75 paper
Eighth Day of Creation
Elizabeth O'Connor
The author of Call to Commitment, and other best-
selling books, points out the human spirit's infinite capac-
ity for creativity and how anyone can discover life's pur-
pose. This book is a testimony of hope and faith. Where
others see danger and failure, Elizabeth O'Connor sees
opportunity. While, prophets of doom concentrate on the
world's ills, she emphasizes the possibility of a renais-
sance of compassion, love, and spiritual fulfillment. Each
of us has the power to help remake the world, to be a
part of and contribute to God's continuing plan of crea-
tion.
$3.50
Postage: 20c first dollar; 5c each additional dollar
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, Illinois 60120
/^ messenger '
**^
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN APRIL 1, 1972
<
^1'
r"
112 ^ 1
Listen ..
Sunrise
I
vO
M
M -3
I liJ
0 a
5: ^
I ai o •-.
^ LU ~)
V ^ ^ '^ ^
I •-• o
■O X LH _J
-S ^J- LU
M
»Ah^
m
»/Ai
©©[n]lbs[n]l^^
Dat^te[r^
Q New Songs for New Times. Victorian piety, crinoline, and
sentiment are out. Realism, social purpose, and sound theology are
in. Ronald E. Keener reports on contemporary hymns
O Evangelism and Youth: The Gospel Blitz. Young people,
inside and outside the church, may have become the evangelists of
the early seventies, by Matthew M. Meyer
^^ Listen to the Sunrise. Kenneth Morse's text and the graphics of
Janie and Lindsay Russell combine in Messenger's Easter gift to
readers: a poetic statement that "God's moment has come"
^^^ Global Awareness: A Humbling Experience. "Killing is
madness." . . . "Stop arming every nation of the world!" . . .
"Modern weapons are blind weapons." Joy Dull reflects on a
women's workshop on peace building
Uniform Series: 100th Year. Oft criticized and much revamped,
the International Lessons have a unique staying power, especially
among adults, by Glen E. Norris
In Touch profiles Cindy Forbes, Olin J. Mason, and L. W. Shultz (2) ....
Outlook reports the formation of an Hispanic-American council among
Brethren, updates activities in the Harrisburg, Pa., trial of Ted Giick and
co-defendants, features the ongoing ministrv' of a youth center in North
Manchester, Ind., notes the intercession of Protestant and Catholic
churches in the Ireland conflict, and offers a report from Mary Ann Hylton
on a worship fair (beginning on 4) ... . National Council of Churches
president Cynthia C. Wedel extends an Easter message (22) .... Wilfred
E. Nolen reviews "'Godspell" (23); J. H. Mathis tallies successes of the
church (26) .... An editorial reflects "On Going Public With One's
Witness" (28)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth i. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 7
APRIL 1, 1972
11-18 Janie and Lindsay
coiirlcsv of Sf^'rnlrrn;
Keener; 3 Hoivard E.
Rover: 4 Drm Honirk; 5. f) Religious News
Service; 22 Robcri F. Mc(;ovem
CREDITS: Cover.
Rnssell: 2 Heft)
Mghl) Ronald T..
NfEssENcER is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. F",ntcrcd as second-
class matter Aug. 20, 1918, under .Act of
Congress of Oct. 17. 1917. Filing dale, Oct. 1.
1971. Messenger is a inenibcr of the Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Service and Eciunenical Press
Service. Biblic;il ([notations, unless otherwise
indicated, arc from the Revised Standard
Version.
Subscription rales: SI. 20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions: S3. 60 per year for church
group plan: S.I, 00 per year for every home
plan; life stibscription, S60; husband and
wife. S75. If you move clip old address
frotn MF.ssf:NC.ER and send with new address.
.Mlow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and pidjlishcd twice monthly by
the (.cncral Services Commission,
Church of the Brethren fieneral
Board, 14,M Dundee .\\c.. Elgin,
III. riOI20. .Second-class postage
paid at Elgin. III., Apr. I, 1972. Copyright
1972, Church of the Brethren General Board.
JOINING IN PEACEMAKING LIFE-STYLES
Thank you for a challenging special issue
on nonviolence in a violent world (Feb. 1).
My question is how many of us as Brethren
members of "a pacifist church" (the words
used in an article, found on the front pages
of many of our major newspapers, relating
how some of the major denominations, in-
cluding the Church of the Brethren, are
making profits on war) are really involved
in a nonviolent life?
Recently I watched a friend being sen-
tenced to three years in a federal prison for
refusing to be involved in the selective
service system which promotes violence. If
this special issue of Messenger is more
than just a jumble of words, can we as
Brethren see ourselves supporting Bob Gross
in his prison experience or, perhaps, even
joining him in similar peacemaking life-
styles?
Cliff Kindy
Goshen, Ind.
BOB GROSS: IMPRISONED FOR RESISTANCE
Two years ago, when my son Larry be-
came a resister to the draft, I approved and
supported him in his action, but at the same
time the thought that he might spend years
in prison caused me pain. If I began to ex-
press this pain, I often received a rather
flippant comment, such as, "Well, you raised
him that way," or, "He knew he was risk-
ing prison when he resisted — so what's
the problem?"
Another mother can approve and support
a son going into the army. Yet if that son
is wounded or killed or becomes a prisoner-
of-war, does he feel no pain of heart? Like-
wise, we who know Bob Gross and stand
with him in his resistance to the war ma-
chine also feel pain and weep when he is
physically taken from us.
As the poet says, "Never .send to know for
whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." And
do not send to learn on whom the cell door
clangs shut, but, rather, like the apostle,
"remember those in prison as though in
prison with them."
Then perhaps as we allow ourselves to
feel the pain of having our brother in pris-
on, we will begin to see more clearly the
vast pool of pain that exists within all the
prisons in our land. And we will be given
the courage to continue the struggle for
community where none of us is any longer
turned into a number.
Charlotte Kuhnning
Lombard, III.
A DIFFERENT VIEWPOINT
Your Feb. I Messenger (as have so
many others) speaks of violence. Our news-
papers are filled with this accelerating evil
m
©DT]0
— and the end is not in sight.
The roots for this in no small part have
been planted and nurtured by the church.
When you encouraged marches, sit downs,
protests, draft card burning, tax evasion,
comfort to the enemy, you provided the en-
couragement. Manl^ind cannot be selective
in its defiance of society and law and order.
I share with you the sorrow of the hour,
but from a different viewpoint.
WiLLI.'iM E. SWIGART JR.
Huntingdon, Pa.
SUPERB CONTENT
The twentieth century has often been
referred to as the age of violence. This char-
acterization is and should be of great con-
cern to the advocates of nonviolence as the
way to resolve human conflict.
I wish to congratulate the editorial staff
of Messenger for having prepared a spe-
cial issue (Feb. 1) dealing with the sub-
ject of nonviolence in a violent world. The
content is superb. I am also grateful to the
contributors who are willing to share their
thoughts on such a vital subject.
Wilbur J. Stump
Nappanee, Ind.
APPRECIATION
The nonviolence issue of Messenger
(Feb. 1 ) is one of the finest. Thanks so
much.
Herbert Thomas
Reading, Minn.
HELPFUL
Please let me congratulate you especially
for the Messenger (Feb. 1) concerning
nonviolence in a violent world. That was
an outstanding contribution, and I believe
will be helpful to many people. Keep up the
good work!
David L. Rogers
North Manchester, Ind.
BELIEVE IN THE DIRECTION
Although I appreciate Inez Long's insight
on where the Church of the Brethren has
traveled since the 40s (see Jan. 15), I do not
share her view that we may be headed for
a dead end. In every congregation there are
people who are trying to find the "mind of
Christ" for their lives and who never were
"on board" in the zigzag adventures which
cause Mrs. Long her concern, and who still
believe in the direction our church is head-
ing in a broad sense.
The fact that other groups now partici-
pate in actions begun by the Brethren ought
to be cause for rejoicing rather than pessi-
mism.
Our next "biggie" may be a rediscovery of
the simple life doctrine, what with rising
concern on waste of natural resources and
a casting off of material nonessentials by
many young people, and a yearning by many
middle-aged persons to slow the pace of
daily life.
Dean Kagarise
South Bend, Ind.
STRAYING FROM BASIC FUNCTION
I would like to add my "Amen" to Inez
Long's article (Jan. 15). She has put it
much better than I could hope to do. I am
concerned . . . about some of the trends,
attitudes, and actions or lack of them, in our
Brotherhood in recent years. We have or-
ganized and reorganized, modernized, re-
vamped staff, increased budget, and really,
what have we gotten in the way of deepen-
ing our spirituality, increasing our mem-
bership, as members and as churches?
I don't know the answer or how to im-
prove the situation. I do feel that some-
where along the line we have strayed from
our basic function and purpose as a church.
Maybe it would be well to learn from God,
Moses, and the children of Israel (Ex. 14:
13-15). Stand still and give God a chance,
and then go forward in the will of God.
A. Jay Replogle
Windber, Pa.
AN OPEN LETTER TO INEZ LONG
I read with much interest your article
(Jan. 15), "I've Been Putting on the
Brakes." It was an exciting letter and stim-
ulated a great deal of thought for me. You
have verbalized what many silent but frus-
trated people have wanted to say about the
church.
You rightly point out that "we are a
people on pilgrimage. We are not on an
ecstatic trip, not on an adventurous odyssey,
not in a political race, not on a lost-lover's
detour, not on a suicidal dead end. Like
Christians before us, we are on a Way." I
am also impressed by the frankness and
sincerity of your own confession of failure.
As a fellow member of the Church of the
Brethren, I can accept that and say I too
have failed many times to follow the way.
But I am puzzled by several of your
points. First, you seem to be about five
years behind when you refer to the "dizzy
ride in the late 1960s." My observation is
that it was the early '60s which saw the wide
swing toward the youth cult. It was the
Kennedy era when the young people had a
youthful idol in a President who was born in
this century. It was the Beatles and rapid
surge of popularity of many folk music
groups. The early 'eOs saw us still planning
new church buildings, and what is this but
Continued on 24
The Easter story retold is the central
feature of this Messenger. The ac-
count begins with the ominous ninth
hour of Jesus on the cross; it concludes
on resurrection morning, when "you
can hear the sunrise break into alle-
luias."
For the cover article, Kenneth I.
Morse, writer, and Janie and Lindsay
Russell, an artist-photographer team of
Rhinelander, Wisconsin, combined to
bring a treatment of the crucifixion in
contemporary language and contempo-
rary symbols in order to point to its
contemporary meaning: God's moment
has come.
In composing the statement Kenneth
Morse envisioned its use as a choral
reading, perhaps
even with the
scriptural passages
being read by voic-
es under the con-
temporary poems.
Or he encourages
congregations and
individuals to con-
sider other adapta-
tions, perhaps lift-
ing out lines or
sections around
. ^^^^ which to build
J I ^^^^1 their own expres-
V ^^^H sion in song or
^^^^ Even as Mes-
senger presses the
hard questions of
the day, and relates
to them biblical and theological insights,
the magazine attempts also to keep
foremost other accents of the gospel;
the glory, the joy, the unity given by
God in Jesus Christ. "Listen to the
Sunrise" is such an affirmation.
Elsewhere in this issue are articles
by J. H. Mathis. former regional execu-
tive on the staff of La Verne College in
California; Glen E. Norris, former pas-
tor and retired editor of adult publica-
tions, residing in Elgin, III.; Cynthia C.
Wedcl. Washington, D.C., president.
National Council of Churches; Joy
Dull. Brookville, Ohio, homemaker and
lay worker active in peace concerns;
and Matthew M. Meyer and Wilfred E.
Nolen. consultants of the Parish Min-
istries Commission. — The Editors
4-1-72 messenger 1
Cindy Forbes: Seventeen
Turn to page 56 in the January issue
of Seventeen magazine and you'll
come face to face with Cindy Forbes,
an engaging high school senior who
is a member of the Summerdean
Church of the Brethren in Roanoke,
\a.
The 17 (naturally') -year-old coed,
with a south of the Mason-Dixon
accent that does credit to her state,
was chosen by the magazine last
.August from 30 other girls, who in
turn were selected from 100 others at
Girls Nation in Washington. D.C.,
one of two chosen from 600 girls at
Girls State, in turn one of three
named from her high school.
"T never thought that much of it."
she confides when at Girls Nation she
was asked to pose for some photos
and fill in a questionnaire about her
interests and activities. Two weeks
later the New York-based magazine
editors phoned to tell her she had
been selected to model an outfit for
the Januarv' issue.
Five members of the magazine staff
spent a full day taking hundreds of
photos of her at Carvins Cove, a
recreation site and reservoir in
Roanoke. She models a pants outfit
and denim coat in the issue.
Cindy, whose bright personality
comes through even in a telephone
interview, is vice-president of her
church youth group and co-editor of
the district youth newsletter.
She comes from a musical family:
Her parents, the Roy L. Forbeses,
and two brothers are all involved
in vocal and instrumental music.
.At Summerdean. she directs the
children's chapel choir. In the sum-
mer she is a junior counselor with
the ten- and eleven-year-olds at Camp
Bethel. "I just love working with
children." she says, and understand-
ably she plans elementary education
as her major ne.xt fall at Bridge-
water College.
At Northside High. Cindy is a
member of the Keyettes, a commu-
nity service club, the National Honor
Society, secretary of the senior class,
homecoming maid of honor, and
drum major of the marching band.
Last November she was named Snow
Queen of Roanoke Valley.
Though she has done modeling as
a member of the teen board of a
Roanoke store, she found the model-
ing world new and the experience
with Seventeen fascinating.
Interesting experiences aside,
modeling isn't Cindy's objective.
But it likely won't be the last
opportunity for the attractive and
appealing Virginian.
iri^
Olin J. Mason: Clergy mi
The church is in the business of
working with the elderly because it
has the concepts from which spring
concern for people. Olin J. Mason
reflects. "To me it's that simple.
When the church does it. it does it
because we care. When govenmient
does it — nine times out of ten — it
does it because nobody cares."
The administrator of Florida
Brethren Homes at Sebring himself
conveys a feeling of caring about the
aged — a concern which carries
beyond his immediate job into institu-
tional issues for the entire state.
Last December Mr. Mason, 46,
became president of the Florida
Association of Homes for the Aging,
the nonproprietary group represent-
ing some 40 institutions and 5,000
residents. Furthermore he's on the
advisory council of the Protestant
Health Assembly and is director of a
membership unit of the national
American Protestant Hospital
Association.
As Florida association president he
is his group's chief representative at
state levels when legislation may
affect homes for the aging and nurs-
ing care facilities. As a visitor talked
with him one afternoon, he had three
calls in to state legislators and was
considering a trip to Tallahassee —
not his first — to confer with elected
and executive officials on new
legislation.
In his fifth )'ear as the Sebring
administrator, he was six and a half
years at the Windber, Pa., home and
has worked for Brethren Service at
2 MESSENGER 4-1-72
/ithout a collar
Fresno. Calif., and Falfurrias, Texas.
He spent two years at Bethany
Hospital in development related to
nursing education and scholarships.
While obtaining his background in
social welfare services, he graduated
from Manchester College.
In the future he sees the need for
additional emphases on serving
people over age 80 as a special needs
group — who can be expected to live
for 30 more years.
Today there are 15.000 persons in
the country over 100, he says, up one
third in the last ten years. He sees
a similar increase by 1980.
In a society that tends to glamor-
ize the productive era — ages 20
to 65 — Olin Mason affirmatively
finds himself a "clergyman without
collar" in the church's ministry to
the aging.
L.W. Shultz: One man's pursuits
Come late spring, a well-loaded
Dodge likely will have rounded out
another 1,400-mile trek from North
Manchester, Ind., to Lancaster, Pa.,
and back. The driver: eighty-one
year-old L. W. Shultz; the cargo:
books to be sold at the Mennonite
Archives Book Auction.
In a real sense, the Hoosier minis-
ter has been in the transport business
most of his life, in work he has loved
to pursue. He began moving
produce when he was fourteen,
driving a huckster wagon one summer
for a Lancaster, Ind., grocer. He
twice helped to deliver shipments of
heifers and relief goods to Poland.
He has picked up Bibles, genealogies,
rare books, and memorabilia on the
church and Indians wherever he has
traveled. But his chief delight has
been in the movement of people,
twenty-five tour parties from 1949 to
1970. involving 369 persons and
thirty-one countries.
Shultz Tours began when L. W.
and his bride, Cora Winger, whom
he describes as his first and only leap
year date, planned to attend the 1915
Hershey Annual Conference on their
honeymoon. They were joined by
fifteen other persons, among them
both sets of parents.
Vocationally L. W. was associated
with Manchester College for twenty-
five years, as teacher and librarian
and earlier as principal of the
academy. But he is known too for his
work in Christian education and for
his publishing activity.
In the mid-20s he and others pros-
pected for a camp site for the
Indiana districts, settling on what
was "two cornfields with a fence in
between" along Lake Wabee. There
he and Mrs. Shultz established Camp
Alexander Mack and directed it for
thirty-two years.
In publishing he regards "A Mural
History of the Church of the Breth-
ren," illustrated by the Medford
Neher paintings at Camp Mack, as
his best seller. He has authored six
other books, assisted with six more,
reprinted a dozen others, and un-
covered scores of rare volumes for
denominational and institutional
archives. Last year he issued the
autobiography, "People and Places
1890-1970."
Engaged as he has been in varied
tasks of the church, L. W. recalls
with particular joy the opportunity
he had in 1939 to draft the proposal
which led to the denomination's
Brethren Service Committee. He
later served as its first chairman.
In June L. W. will head for Cin-
cinnati, his car heaped with books for
display and sale. The occasion:
Annual Conference, his 58th since
1910.
4-1-72 MESSENGER 3
Brethren Hispanic-Americans
form council, seek members
In the week that the Council on Hispanic
American Ministries sought to maintain
the establishment posture it has held for
its 60 years, a small group of Spanish-
speaking members of the Church of the
Brethren formed an organization to
actively witness their concerns for the
Hispanos within their own fellowship.
Eleven Brethren from Puerto Rico,
Ecuador, California, and elsewhere —
some Anglos among them — formed the
Brethren Hispanic American Ministries
Council.
.A membership will be sought among
Brethren of Hispanic-American descent,
giving them voice and vote, and other
concerned Brethren, with voice in the
organization. Membership at $2 a year
may be sent to treasurer Pablo Cuevas,
Route 1, Broadway, Va. 22815.
For the Council on Hispanic American
Ministries — COHAM — the future
appears less dynamic, less sure. It has
identified its own objective as a "forum
for discussion of concerns of Hispanic
Americans" — an "agency of initiation,
encouragement, information, and as-
sistance" working through denomination-
al executives.
Action is left to the 70 participating
denominations and to individuals.
"After 60 years of existence, COHAM
has a chance to come of age," said
Fabricio P. Guzman, chairman of the
Brethren consultation that met after the
four-day COHAM meeting in Miami,
Fla., in January. He is also coordinator
of the new Brethren council.
He calls COHAM a "fellowship of
believers" with little accomplishment to
its credit. Mr. Guzman, pastor of the
Douglas Park congregation in Chicago
which has a number of Hispano mem-
bers, will give the organization two years
to show a change of heart. If it doesn't,
he says he'll leave it.
A group of militants, meeting separate-
ly in a Miami church, on the second
evening disrupted a dinner meeting and
.sought to read a statement of concern for
the council's direction.
COHAM president Alberto Filomeno
and the delegates turned them aside in
an emotional upheaval, asking that they
work through the channels of the busi-
I
i
Fabricio Guzman: Chance to come of age
ness sessions. Police finally escorted the
radicals from the hall. The scene evi-
denced the overwhelming conservative
Cuban majority in COHAM that shuns
any tactic that appears to them
revolutionary.
The council delegates, many of whom
Holy Week 'pilgrimage'
supports Harrisburg Eight
In local expressions culminating during
Holy Week "Pilgrimage for Freedom"
will demonstrate support for the eight
persons under federal indictment in
Harrisburg, Pa., for a kidnap-bomb
conspiracy.
The National Association of Laity, a
Roman Catholic organization with
chapters in 25 cities, and the Harrisburg
Defense Committee hope to localize the
issues of the trial through demonstra-
tions, rallies, and street theater that will
precede a pilgrimage to Harrisburg
during Holy Week.
National peace leaders will be among
upwards to 20,000 persons expected in
Harrisburg to demonstrate their solidar-
ity with the Eight. A "New Gettysburg
Address" may be issued from that city
where the pilgrimage will form before
entering Harrisburg.
Twcnty-two-year-old John Ted Glick
of the Church of the Brethren is one of
the defendants. At his request, however,
are Cuban refugees now living in Miami,
had the opportunity to identify with the
people they purport to serve when they
were asked to participate in a picket line
that Cuban workers had organized just
two weeks earlier against a sugar com-
pany near Miami. It is the first strike in
Florida by the United Farm Workers
Union of Cesar Chavez.
Instead, the council referred a resolu-
tion of support to a local committee.
Still, some 20 persons, Brethren delegates
among them, spent a couple hours on the
picket site one afternoon.
Some of the militants were the same
persons instrumental last September in
voting to dissolve SOHAM, the Hispanic
American section of the National Coun-
cil of Churches. While the same fate did
not await COHAM, an independent
organization, it became clear that what
many younger persons wanted is a grass
roots organization which sets its own
agenda, tells the church what is needed,
and invites the church to respond, if it
will.
!l
Ted will be tried separately, choosing
to present his own defense.
In the meantime, while the trial goes ,
on, Ted is accepting speaking engage-
ments on the trial's issues, nonviolent
revolution, and the pilgrimage. He can
be reached through the Harrisburg
Defense Committee, 240 N. Third St.,
Harrisburg, Pa. 17101.
Church of the Brethren moderator-
elect Dean M. Miller of Lombard, 111.,
participated in an ecumenical penitentiali
service in February in Harrisburg.
Reflecting later, he said: "More of us
need to stand with these persons in theii
struggles of conscience against the war
so that they will not lose heart."
He acknowledges that the eight resist-
ers have not, as others in history have,
faced a choice of denying their faith
or facing death.
"But these men and women convey the
impression that they know why they are
living," he said. "They are at ease witli
the decision they have made and they
are articulate and attractive persons.
After meeting them and hearing their
testimony it surely seems that once againi
4 MESSENGER 41-72
In a restructured COHAM Mr. Guz-
man serves on the executive board as a
member at large from the Midwest, one
of four regions.
But John Forbes, vice-president of the
Evangelical Council of Puerto Rico,
spoke for most of the other Brethren in
suggesting that the new Brethren His-
panic American Ministries Council "is
much more hopeful than COHAM."
In the two-day Brethren caucus were
Victor Benalcazar, an Ecuadorian in
BVS in McAllen, Texas: Stanley Bitting-
er, sociology professor at Texas A and I
University: Carmen Torrez Boaz, San
Diego, Calif., working with OEO and a
counselor with a crisis clinic: Jesse
Castellano, elementary teacher from
Pomona, Calif.: Donald L. Fike, pastor
and General Board member, and Jose J.
Francisco, moderator, from Castafier,
P.R.; Maria Garza Huber, Goshen, Ind.;
Ralph E. Smeltzer, Brotherhood social
justice consultant, and Messrs. Guzman,
Cuevas, and Forbes.
Also participating was Presbyterian
David Hernandez, working in the mi-
grant ministry in Ohio.
The group believes that there are more
Hispanic Americans in the Church of
the Brethren than is generally known.
The church has carried out a Latin
ministry, though small in total program,
at Castaner, P.R., and Falfurrias, Texas.
The church participates in related social
justice concerns in Ohio, south Texas,
and California, and supports program
through the Parish Ministries and World
Ministries commissions, and Fund for the
Americans in the US.
The new Hispanic American group in
the church's life will attempt to make
members aware of the culture and values
of the Spanish-speaking, to raise a
concientiacion within the denomination.
In so doing they hope to lessen the prej-
udice of some for the Hispanic Amer-
icans in the nation and help the church
advance Hispanic American self-
determination both within and outside
the church.
Some 25 Brethren workers are known
Third from left, Ted Click stands with co-defendants on trial in Harrisbiirg
the powers that be have chosen the
wrong enemy and the wrong battlefield."
1 More than 300 Brethren pastors, lay-
I men, and youth have signed a statement
I of concern for Ted Glick and the seven
other defendants.
"We commend Ted for his spirit of
j humility, goodwill, and loving concern
for the dignity of humanity in his
' struggle to remain obedient," the state-
j ment said.
The signers, mostly from Pennsylvania
churches, noted that they do not all agree
with all the methods the defendants
have chosen for their witness nor do
they pass judgment on the charges being
made.
Voicing their opposition to the con-
tinuing war, the signers said: "... we
express our concern for the efforts of the
government to quiet voices of dissent
through the invasion of privacy, use of
public charges by government officials,
and probing by grand juries.
"We are concerned when a goverrmient
which was fathered by voices and acts
of dissent and sustained by the Bill of
Rights begins to act as an absolute
power and attempts to silence similar
voices today."
to be involved in Hispanic American
ministries. About 545,000 in Brethren
funds through Brotherhood and district
programs go toward Hispanic American
ministries. A better understanding and
a closer partnership with the Hispanic
American is clearly an emerging thrust
for Brethren.
Manchester youth center
'mission to the community'
A community youth center operated by
the North Manchester, Ind., Church of
the Brethren, has succeeded so well in
the past year and a half that the youth
ignore the church nametag and embrace
the center as their own.
To James E. Talcott. minister of
education, this is great: "The center
should be a mission to the community
where Christian ideals can be displayed,
though not necessarily verbally expressed,
and where meaningful relationships can
be developed."
Since October 1970 the center has
aimed at providing a balanced ministry
that involves both church and nonchurch.
Brethren and non-Brethren, junior and
senior high school students.
Since last fall two Manchester College
students have helped enrich the program.
Sophomore Steve Reid of Dayton, Ohio,
was employed by the church board to
work with the junior highs.
Steve appears well accepted as a friend
who offers leadership, guidance, and
seemingly appreciated authority. Junior
highs are noisy and enthusiastic to the
point of rowdiness. Reid admits, but he
finds that the age group allows more
spontaneous activity than others.
Relating to the senior high youth is
David Miller, an Arlington, Va., senior,
who likes the coffeehouse concept. He
calls it "a vehicle through which young
people are able to express themselves in
various ways from arts and crafts to
formal programs to discussion. It is one
way we can emphasize self-expression
and the use of imagination."
Dave tries to listen and respond as
needed, as he raps with youth at the
swimming pool at noon hours, the bowl-
ing alley, and the school cafeteria.
The church has benefited too, enabling
it to broaden its outreach and social
perspective in the ecumenical endeavor.
4-1-72 MESSENGER S
Church agencies gear up
for reh'ef to Bangladesh
The World Council of Churches, in co-
operation with other interchurch
agencies, has outlined an extensive pro-
gram of relief and rehabilitation for
Bangladesh.
A first phase is expected to last a
year and cost S5 million. Priorities are
given to the supply of protein and other
foodstuffs, blankets, and clothing, as-
sistance with transportation, provision of
medical supplies, and aid in "elementary"
rebuilding of destroyed homes.
An agency called the Bangladesh Ecu-
menical Relief and Rehabilitation Service
(BERRS) was approved at a Geneva
meeting attended by representatives of
several European and North American
Protestant relief units, as well as the
WCC staff, the Lutheran World Feder-
ation, and the East Asia Christian
Conference.
Days earlier, the Lutheran World Fed-
eration said that plans were nearly com-
pleted for a "Bangladesh Rehabilitation
Service" which will stress work in
resettling refugees in the Rangpur and
Dinajpur areas. The initial goal is for $2
million from member churches.
Harris Amit, a 43-year-old Ceylonese
expert in rural development, was invited
to direct BERRS, which will employ staff
recruited in Bangladesh, explore long-
term rehabilitation needs, encourage
self-help, and propose plans for church
involvement in the development of the
newly independent nation.
The WCC-related program will work
closely with the Bangladesh government
and with Roman Catholic and other
voluntary' organizations in what was
formerly East Pakistan.
Resettling the millions of refugees who
fled to India during months of civil strife
is a major task in Bangladesh. In ad-
dition to refugee problems, thousands
inside the nation are, reportedly, home-
less as a result of the war between India
and Pakistan.
The German agency Das Diakonischc
Werk is coordinating the supply of
material aid for the ecumenical program.
Elsewhere involving the country, the
North American Council of the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches has
asked for US recognition of Bangladesh.
It is believed to be the first request
of its kind from an American church
organization. In the message to President
Nixon, the Council noted its displeasure
with the Administration's handling of
US policy on the Pakistan-India war.
Furthermore, two members of the
American Baptist Foreign Mission Soci-
ety and an independent American ob-
server protested from their posts in India
the policies of the US government on
India.
One of them observed that it may take
years for American missionaries to re-
store the goodwill that had been built up
over more than a century of service to
the people of India.
One Bangladesh official has said that
the new nation — the world's 139th
independent nation — intends to be a
secular country, though it has the second
largest Muslim population in the world.
He said the nation will pursue "democ-
racy, socialism, and equal opportunity for
all, irrespective of religion or caste."
Protestant, Catholic churches
intercede in Ireland conflict
Protestant and Roman Catholic churches
in Northern Ireland, and groups outside
the country as well, have played a greater
role than is generally conceded in
preventing total civil war.
Andrew Weir, general secretary of the
Presbyterian Church in Ireland, reported
that Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian
and Methodist leaders have maintained
regular contacts during the months of
turmoil and periodically issued joint
appeals for peace, including rejection of
violence and concern for justice.
At the official level the Irish Council
of Churches and the Irish Catholic
hierarchy have named a joint group on
reconciliation.
A joint organization composed of
top-ranking personnel from the World
Council of churches and the Vatican is
making a strong effort to bring Catholic
and Protestant leaders together in
Ireland for peace talks.
Informal, behind the scenes peace
negotiation promotion has been carried
out by the Committee on Society, Devel-
opment and Peace, a joint venture of the
WCC and the Pontifical Commission for
Justice and Peace in Geneva.
Interreligious committees in the US
have been proposed to develop greater
communication and correspondence with
clergy and laymen in Northern Ireland.
"Seminaries, congregations, and uni-
versity religious groups can and should
exert what influence they can for a
reconciliation among the stricken reli-
gious groups of the unhappy communities
of Northern Ireland," said Dr. Dennis
Clark, of Chestnut Hill College, a Roman
Catholic institution in Philadelphia.
In Ireland, Presbyterian Mr. Weir said,
"the main contribution of the church,
however, has been in the continuing
witness of so many clergy and laity in
their own parishes."
Leaders of youth ministries, he notes,
have been particularly active in building
respect between Protestant and Catholic
communities, a work also carried out
by university chaplains. Camping
programs have been set up for teen-agers
from troubled Protestant and Catholic
areas.
"It is not always easy seeing where
church action ends and joint community
action begins," Mr. Weir concludes.
While the war's origins are more than
religious, much of it begins there, and —
possibly and prayerfully — may be an
opening for concluding the conflict.
6 MESSENGER 4-1-72
Creative worship brings
religion to the marketplace
Mary Ann Hylton of Frederick, Md.,
filed this report of a recent experience:
I edged through the crowded mall of
afternoon shoppers to the sound of a
familiar gospel song, accompanied by
spirited singing and clapping. Ahead I
spotted a happy-faced clown with a sad-
faced friend, passing out buttons and
balloons to everyone around. I had
found the Worship Fair.
Bringing the message of the church to
the marketplace were 13 denominations
of the Columbia, Md., Cooperative
Ministry, among them the Church of the
Brethren-United Church of Christ
sponsored Oakland Mills Uniting
Church.
Displays and demonstrations empha-
sized what can be done to involve church
members in creative worship experiences.
Handcrafted crosses and communion
sets, handmade vestments and colorful
banners were displayed. One music-lov-
ing family demonstrated the making of
simple tonal instruments. Elsewhere were
banner-making and a potter working at
his wheel.
Members of one church group circu-
lated among the people, giving away
copies of the New Testament to those
who would take them.
The most grateful recipients of the
books seemed to be a group of inner-city
children, "adopted" for the weekend
from their school in downtown Baltimore
by the Oakland Mills Uniting Church.
Jean Rodes, the pastor's wife, is a music
teacher in the all-black school.
Instrumental and vocal groups offered
a variety of religious music from gospel
singing around the piano, to guitar-led
folk songs and anthem-singing, black-
robed choir members.
The Worship Fair brought home the
feeling that a religious gathering can be
a happy celebration, a creative, colorful
blending of natural talents and spon-
taneous feelings. It affirmed that religion
in the marketplace is acceptable and
enjoyable, as evidenced by the happy,
foot-tapping shoppers who jammed the
mall.
For one day, Christ was a clown, say-
ing "I Care" in a new way to a market-
place of shoppers and sales clerks.
[La[ri]d]a[rDDDi](i
BACK TO THE BIBLE
Church school students who lamented
the loss of the printed scripture in A Guide for Biblical
Studies can anticipate the return of print texts of Bible
passages for each lesson in the June — August 1972 issue.
The practice of including the Bible passages will continue
indefinitely. A slight increase in subscription rates
will become effective in September 1972. The return to a
former practice is in response to subscribers' requests.
In a related development, during preparation of the
article in this issue that marks the 100th anniversary of
the Uniform Series (page 20) workers in the historical
library of the denomination indicated the archives contain
no quarterlies older than 1890 . Persons willing to relin-
quich older copies may write to the historical library,
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, 111. 60120.
YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW THIS
The Association for the
Arts in the Church of the Brethren invites persons to sub-
mit entries for its art exhibit at Annual Conference. The
Conference keynote, "Flamed by the Spirit," provides the
theme for the exhibit as well. Entry blanks may be ob-
tained from MaryAnn Hylton, 201 Fairview Ave., Frederick,
Md. 21701. But hurry I Intention to enter must be filed
by April 15, 1972.
Southern Pennsylvania district executive J. Stanley
Earhart has issued a call for a couple to live and work
at a_ small church camp in the mountains of south central
Pennsylvania. In addition to salary, housing and utilities
will be provided. More details may be obtained from Mr.
Earhart, Church of the Brethren District Office, Box D,
New Oxford, Pa. 17350.
AFTER FIFTY YEARS
Our congratulations go to
couples who are celebrating fifty years of marriage: the
Kenneth Kroms , Cando, N.D. ; the Alvin Cartwrights , Cando ,
N.D.; the Joseph Kauffmans , Freeport, Mich.; and the
Ernest Rowes , North Lima, Ohio.
Other couples observing wedding anniversaries include
Mr. and Mrs. William Pilling, Everett, Pa., 51; Mr_. and Mrs.
Medford Neher , Pompano, Fla. , 52; the Galen Whi tmers , Mount
Sidney, Ohio, 53; the Loren Gages , Pomona, Calif., 54; the
Earl Jarboes , Norcatur, Kans., 54; the William Youngs, Po-
mona, Calif., 55; Mr. and Mrs . Don Davies , Panora , Iowa,
57; and the Jra Smi ths , Pomona, Calif., 58. One couple,
the Thomas I. Bowmans , Port Republic, Va. , marked their
67th anniversary recently.
CONGREGATIONAL COLLAGE
In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last
month, the First Baptist Church and 1:he Church of the Breth-
ren merged after three years of cooperative programs. The
terms of the affiliation include each congregation's keep-
ing its autonomy and its denominational identity.
The Oakland, Calif. , congregation of Brethren has
opened its facilities to a Spanish-speaking church. El
Calvaria Iglesia meets there Sunday evenings. ... Califor-
nia's Bella Vista church has opened a child care center in
its Spanish-speaking neighborhood in East Los Angeles.
4-1-72 MESSENGER 7
ps©Da]D \r(B\pm)\r'^
New songs for new times
by RONALD E. KEENER
larin> Crosby and William H. Doane
have had their day. At least one church
musician suggests this tongue-in-cheek in
his concern that as Crosby and Doane
wrote hymns for the moods of their day,
so we need new songs for new times by
contemporary composers.
Dr. Paul E. Elbin writes in The Hymn
of the Hymn Society of America; "I
propose that the raptured souls of Fanny
Crosby, William H. Doane, and their
nineteenth century associates be per-
mitted to 'find rest beyond the river" and
that we discover authentic music of
aspiration for our generation."
Drastic change has beset religious in-
stitutions, yet one would not know it
from our church music. While we sing
■■ Tis the Blessed Hour of Prayer" and
"Rescue the Perishing" of Crosby-Doane,
we face an age more representative in
"We Shall Overcome" and They Will
Know We Are Christians by Our Love."
Before his death last year, Paul
Halladay. a well-known church musician
and teacher at Manchester College, wrote
of the three Brethren hymnals of this
century, the 1901, 1925, 1951 editions,
"One is pleased to note a decrease in the
number of stanzas given to safe arrival
in heaven, desirable as that may be, and
an increase in hymns dealing with our
responsible living on earth."
Still today's hymnal offers little of the
contemporary feeling that is engendered
with "Go Tell It on the Mountain," "He's
Got the Whole World in His Hands,"
and "Lord of the Dance."
The study committee on music ap-
pointed by last year's Annual Confer-
ence, in its initial meeting, encouraged
the use of the present Brethren Hymnal
and the new, often untried hymns in it.
It is thinking of offering the hymnal in
the future in an expandable binding that
would permit the inclusion of yearly
supplements of more contemporary
songs.
That churchmen are taking a new look
at the songs they sing is apparent. Last
year the Anglican Church of Canada and
the United Church of Canada released a
new joint hymn book.
One commentary on the new book
noted that ""Victorian piety, crinoline,
sentiment, sweetness, the glories of war,
flying angels, death beds, vales of tears,
and leaning on the breast of Jesus are
out, out, out. Realism, social purpose,
community and sound theology are in."
So it is that many hymns conjure up
visions that arc clearly impossible,
destructive, and unreal in today's world.
Most of us were brought up on the
deceptively simple tune of "Jesus Loves
Me." without ever fully understanding
the morbid emphasis it places on death
and dying ("If I love him, when I die,
he will take me home on high") for a
small child.
Not only does it speak of a theology
and imagery that children don't under-
stand and suggest a sense of sin that is
unknown to a five-year-old, it is gram-
matically inadequate. A new version has
been written.
In his article Paul Elbin lists some of
the things wrong with too many of
today's hymns, and suggests how one can
evaluate the hymns we sing. Today's
hymns contain:
Avoidance of God's call to "dirty"
duty — in poverty areas, ghettos, slums,
nursing homes, faraway places.
Concentration on the "1" — not the
"We" or "Us." Salvation may begin with
"sinners such as I," but it quickly moves
into the arena of our common humanity.
Undue emphasis on the end of life.
Is this a subtle invitation to commit
suicide: "Soon the delightful day will
come, when my dear Lord will bring me
home"?
Royal terms for God more appropriate
for the age of kings than for this
democratic era. Jesus did not choose
"King" as his favorite term for God.
Misplaced emphasis on the trinity not
in keeping either with the New Testament
or with modern religious thought.
Acceptance of angel in a manner con-
fusing to modern people.
Offensive imagery. Is this gruesome
image necessary: "There is a fountain
filled with blood, drawn from Emanuel's
veins"?
Cheap musical idiom and doggerel
verse.
Everything that is old is not wrong,
of course, nor is everything that is new or
contemporary right. While one cannot —
or should not — deny the validity of
the folk idiom as one form of contempo-
rary religious expression, not everything
that is done with guitar and drums should
make the religious scene.
"Much that is today called folk music
is misnamed," Paul Halladay has said.
"There are those who, wishing to cash
in on the good name of the genuine
article contribute verses and tunes of an
earthy character, perform them in an
unskilled and everyday manner and then
call it folk music. This is inaccurate and
is unjustifiable for use in public worship.
I hold that folk music deserves to live
only when it retains its unstudied, artless
character and is performed with artful
skill."
Jazz, the dance, new instruments
require careful introduction to the
Brethren worshiper, Sylvia Weaver,
senior choir director of the York Center
Church of the Brethren, Lombard, 111.,
says.
"Perhaps the main challenge is tasteful
incorporation of the new forms so that
ihcy may be meaningful aids to the actual
worship," she concludes.
Today's fast moving world calls for
new forms of worship and celebration.
The church needs to keep pace, if only
to prevent the lament of such a church
member who wrote the following:
In unison we rise and stand and wish
that we were sitting;
And listen to the music start and wish
that it were quitting.
We pass our hymnal to a guest or fake
a smoker's cough;
We drop our pencils, lose our gloves,
take our gla.^ses off.
We move our lips to keep in style
emitting awkward bleats;
And when the last Amen is sung sink
gladly in our seats.
Oh, Lord who hearest every prayer
and savest us from foes,
Deliver now thy little flock from all
these hymns nobody knows. □
8 MESSENGER 4-1-72
Jesus Loves You."
"Jesus Is Coming Soon."
"Do You Know Jesus?"
Many church youth have become
weary with dull, boring worship services.
At the same time many youth outside
the church have given up on the false
Utopian promises of drugs and free love.
Young people were ready for the Jesus
Movement which has burgeoned in the
last two years.
Not long ago youth inside and outside
the church were caught in confusion and
turmoil, fear and guilt, anger and vio-
lence, hopelessness and despair. Today
the same youth have found something to
hang onto, something to stabilize their
lives and give them direction. Many of
them now have answers; some of them
have "the only answers," so certain are
they about their beliefs.
Young people, inside and outside the
church, may have become the evangelists
of the early 70s. Of course, they enjoyed
enormous influence in recent years upon
all of society. Their language, their
music, their clothing styles, and even
their psychedelic way of living have
created patterns for much of the adult
world. For television commercials to
pick up on the hard rock sounds of the
youth culture is understandable. But
for parents to follow their long-haired
sons and daughters to their Jesus festivals
and find themselves committing their
lives to Christ as Savior and Lord is
indeed startling.
Within the Church of the Brethren,
from Lititz, Pennsylvania, to Lindsay,
California, youth are singing their
praises to Jesus, and clapping their hands
in joyful religious ecstacy in a way that
hasn't been seen in our church before.
When the youth of Northern Indiana get
together to sing and witness, you get the
feeling that "the ole ark's a-movering."
The spirit is moving. There's life, vital-
ity, and excitement. Perhaps there's also
danger, something to be cautious about,
something to fear! Some people think so.
Returning from the Jesus rallies, and
inspired by their new religious experi-
ences, the youth seem to say, "We've
been to the mountain top. We have made
our commitment. We will follow our
spiritual quest, with or without the
church."
Ma
any parents and pastors are a little
bewildered by what is happening. The
impatient youth have diflRculty under-
standing or accepting the reluctant atti-
tudes of the adults. The young, happy,
expressive Christians at National Youth
Conference, for instance, were almost
afraid to return to their home churches.
"They won't understand. They'll turn us
off or put us down. How can we let the
adults know this is for real with us?"
Not all the youth within the Church of
the Brethren are caught up in the Jesus
movement. Many disagree with the the-
ology and with the movement's style of
worshiping and witnessing. But where
church youth groups are most alive and
exciting, usually there is strong evidence
of the Jesus movement's fundamentalism.
For many adults, parents and pastors
alike, the thought seems to be, "Oh,
no, not this again. Isn't this the same old
simplistic fundamentalism which we
struggled with across the last 30 years?
Must we go through all this again?"
Yes, for the most part, it is approxi-
mately the same brand of fundamental-
ism. The emphasis on the "fundamental
truths," the view of the Bible as "a di-
vinely inspired, inerrant, every-word-is-
God's-message-to-me guidebook for all
matters of faith and life" are familiar to
most Christian adults.
This kind of fundamentalism is very
attractive. It provides concise, in-focus
answers for their perplexing questions.
Its easy-to-grasp handles are appealing to
people who for a long time have been
groping and hoping for something secure
and solid. The four spiritual laws give
the step-by-step instructions that anyone
can follow.
Dealing with the theology of this new
brand of the old fundamentalism is a
task which the churches will have to face.
And it's a little difficult to criticize the
Jesus movement in light of its glaring
accomplishments.
" 'At least they're not on drugs' — so
says a nun in Milwaukee who criticizes
their simplistic theology but respects their
strict morality. 'At least they're not on
drugs,' echoes a Jewish psychiatrist in
Philadelphia who considers them an
infantile escape from the problems of the
real world but prefers them to the acid
heads he has committed to the state
hospital. 'At least they're not on drugs,'
repeats a suburban Chicago mother
Evangelism and Youth:
The Gospel BUtz'
by Matthew M. Meyer
4-1-72 MESSENGER 9
deeply disappointed by her eighteen-year-
old daughters fanatic devotion to soul-
winning activities but relieved that she is
no longer experimenting with drugs and
sex" {Jesus Trip, by Lowell D. Streiker,
Abingdon 1971).
Some of the crunch in the church
occurs when these effervescent Christians
bring "the gospel blitz" back to their
local sanctuaries and expect the pastor to
provide for the same kind of emotional
experiences they have had at the Jesus
rallies. When these youth encounter a
cool reception from the more sedate
contingents of their congregations, they
are likely to become impatient, discour-
aged, and, perhaps, tempted to leave the
church.
Outside the church it appears that the
Jesus movement has crested. Some say
it is on a rapid decline. Jon Buckle,
managing editor of the Hollywood Free
Paper, a Jesus-people paper claiming a
one-million circulation, recognizes a
healthy change. He says that the
Madison Avenue aspect of the movement
has faded — the glitter and gloss, the
buttons and stickers, the excessive media
coverage. He welcomes this because it
provides a better setting for working with
seriously committed followers of Christ.
And there are many disillusioned
youth who are Jesus-movement dropouts.
Ross Greek, a veteran minister of the
Sunset Strip who never was verv-
impressed with the Jesus movement in
the first place, says that many youth drop
out within six months, revert to their old
patterns and styles of living, and then
are in deeper depression, despair, and
guilt than before. The bright and shining
promises of the Jesus group fade when
individuals find themselves too human to
live up to the purist standards of
perfection.
The word overdose is often shortened
to OD. Someone, recalling his earlier
dietary and religious experiences, ex-
claimed, "I ODed on peanut butter at the
age of ten and fundamentalism at the
age of twelve and I haven't been able to
stand the taste of either one since."
Is it possible for people to overdose on
Jesus, to overdose on the gospel, to
overdose on the Bible? An overdose
usually means life has been endangered,
perhaps destroyed. Yes, an overdose is
possible, even on something as good and
right as the Bible and Jesus. If loyalty
becomes fanaticism to the point of
obscuring the vision, or distorting reason
and common sense, or causing wholesale
condemnation of all who differ from
us — then it becomes self-destructive.
These are the symptoms of a gospel
overdose.
When someone cannot speak one
sentence without swearing, it seems they
have OD'ed on profanity. When some-
one cannot speak one sentence without
bringing Jesus into it, it seems they have
OD'ed on Jesus.
The first time you hear the switch-
board operator at the Hollywood Free
Paper answer the phone with "Jesus
Loves You," instead of "Hello" or "Good
Morning," it's intriguing. The tenth time
is boring, and the twentieth time it
seems almost profane. Glibly tossing
around sacred words, either as a tool for
pressure or as a badge of righteous
achievement, seems improper, if not an
act of desecration.
It is possible to expound the gospel in
such a way that the whole thing becomes
nauseous to the listeners. Sometimes this
means the speaker has been too pushy
and insistent in his attempt to get his
hearers to do his bidding, like the person
who told the crowd at a Jesus People
rally, "Get saved or you're going to hell."
Sometimes being OD'ed means dismissing
all of the world's problems as being
beyond our concern ("Jesus is coming
soon — leave it to Jesus").
Ihc youth are a huge, available task
force eager and ready to serve the Chris-
tian cause. Most young people are
hungry for spiritual food. They are
longing for the Christian message. They
are open to Bible teaching and inter-
pretation. They are willing to make
heavy life commitments. And they are
especially capable in sharing their faith
with others, free from the faith-sharing
hangups of their ciders.
Can the church adequately respond to
this tremendous opportunity? Can the
church use this mighty army camping on
its doorstep? The answer can be "yes"!
The following suggestions are made with
that goal in mind.
1. Communicate with the "Jesus
People," both mside and outside the
church. The Jesus people need the
church, and the church needs the "Jesus
People." Include in the corporate wor-
ship experiences faith-sharing oppor-
tunities from the various elements within
the church. Publicly thank God for
the variety.
2. Teach, preach, and interpret.
Youth are eager for Bible study sessions.
Present the gospel boldly with a fervent
spirit and a mature interpretation.
3. Confront, challenge, and invite!
The youth are willing to respond to a
challenge for commitment, especially if
they sense the person presenting the
challenge really believes what he's saying.
Bland acceptance is not enough. Conver-
sion and commitment seldom occur with-
out a confrontation and challenge.
4. Adults: Make room for youth.
The youth have a lot to give and they are
eager to give it! Request their help on
worship planning groups and on church
program committees. Work with them,
developing mutual respect and growing
together in Christ.
5. Youth: Give adults a chance (again
and again}. Be patient, but keep the
pressure on. Don't let closed doors re-
main closed. Your gift is urgently
needed by the church, even if sometimes
the church doesn't seem to realize it. Try
to understand and respect the feelings
and viewpoints of adults. For them
change is often frightening. Quick
change can be unbearable. But change in
a setting of trust is acceptable and often
cherished. Many adults are bored too.
They usually want change almost as
much as you do.
Respect the power that you have. You
have enormous power. Use it but don't
abuse it. I don't know any pastor or
church moderator who wouldn't be
impressed and influenced by a delegation
of youth who come to set up an ap-
pointment to share concerns and make
suggestions regarding the program and
policies of the church.
The Church of the Brethren is richly
blessed with thousands of talented,
spirited youth. The awesome power need
not be feared or fought, but rather
affirmed, consecrated, and used to the
glory of God and the blessing of the
Church of the Brethren. The 70s are
bound to be exciting years for the church
— and that's putting it mildly. □
y
10 MESSENGER 4-1-72
The Ninth Hour J
Luke 23:44-49
It is a time to be afraid.
See how the sky drops its face,
how clouds knit their brows.
The hills hide any sign of kindness
and the clustering darkness frowns
even though it is only midafternoon.
A
\V
.\.
O black, silent sky,
what omens do you carry?
When will the thunder break
and release the tension
of apprehension and anxiety?
And where has the sun gone?
Is the hero of the sky hiding somewhere,
afraid to stride again boldly
across the burning heavens
from his rising to his setting? ^
It is a time to be afraid.
Heaven lowers its burden on the earth
while menacing shadows search out
all the city's streets
announcing the presence of fear.
Listen ,. ^
^ to.the
Sunrise
Earth Tremors
Matthew 27:51-53
It is a time to be anxious.
Even the earth trembles.
Its surface shivers and shakes.
The waters shimmer.
The forest slips,
rocks split apart,
streets divide,
crevices crack in a country road,
buildings totter,
curtains tear,
children whimper,
and mothers cry in terror.
Surely God himself is shaken.
Has he now forsaken us?
The world seems unbalanced.
There is a darkness at noon
and a strange brightness at midnight.
Someone nearby whispers,
"What if God is dying, or already dead?"
The thought unnerves me
even more than the fear of the dark
or the unsettling shaking of the earth.
I listen to a new lament
like the sighing and singing
of the daughters of Jerusalem
who even now, this dark day,
weep for themselves
and for their children:
1
Lament of a Contemporary
Luke 23:26-30
You know how it is now . . .
Tlie judge on tiie bencli lias been indicted.
The maimers of laws bend them to their own advantage.
The guardians of the peace collaborate
with those who threaten.
There is murder in broad daylight
and no witnesses will testify.
A woman is attacked but no one heeds her cry.
The innocent pay while the transgressor goes free.
The young are restless, impatient with a world
they did not choose.
Public words speak of peace,
but secret papers rattle with schemes of violence.
The casualties of warmaking are no longer only
on the field of battle.
The blood-letting has come home to us
and we are neighbors to our victims.
The enemy looks at us from a mirror,
but we continue to bomb the fields of our friends.
Nor has the earth escaped the pollution of our spirit.
We have alienated a generation of the living.
And we prescribe a barren world
for generations yet unborn.
You know how it is now . . .
Once we followed leaders
but now we must choose among images.
Once we could speak face to face
but now we respond to lines on a screen.
Once we gathered to hear the songs of our tradition,
but now we are lonely listeners
missing each other's voices in the dark.
Once we knew the warm ties of family,
but now we are bitter and hungry for love.
Once we marveled at the miracle of creation,
but now we have lost the picture of a God who lives
and moves in a world he made.
There were darknesses before,
but now the sun is so overcast
it is difficult any longer to see
the silhouette of three black crosses
on a hill — and the hill is so far away.
t ♦
,W'tift^4
There Is No Out ^^B,
Ecclesiastes 1:3-9 |H
So, 1 run here and away fl
among strangers and friends mm
hoping they will reassure me. 9
1 look for someone to say, "
"Do not fear, do not fly,
the sun also rises, darkness must go,
after one day, a second day, a third day
God will return, and love will reign ..."
But so many say, "No,
this midnight is forever.
The only light is at the end of the establishment.
The only order is anarchy.
The only meaning is the reality of misery." ^^^
They quench their fears with anger. ^^H
They answer anxiety with resentment. ^^^B
They have only a hell and no hope of heaven, ^H
and they wearily advocate T^t
ingenious ways ^H
of dropping out, ^^H
copping out, ^M
opting out. ^M
But there is no out. ^|
• •* * * • ^
^* * * * •
• • * • • ^
_^* * • * •
• • • * * ^
^* • • * •
• * • • • ^
* • • * •
• • • * • Ik
4^i^A
^■iipi
If God Is Dead
Luke 23:50-56
If God is dead,
overcome by the evil
he might have prevented but did not —
If God is dead,
rejected by the persons he loved,
tried and sentenced in the name of religion,
crucified because he is a threat to security,
tormented because the world refuses his kingdom ■
If God is dead —
then the deepening darkness is explainable
and the coldness of the silent earth
is appropriate.
If God is dead,
let us at least bury him in a lovely garden
and seal his tomb for the duration;
for it will be a long hard winter,
and the Sabbath will come and go without any sound
if God is dead.
If.
f/.f
N/
X0.^
■.':^<A
<*&j
■ <f*
V^A
Interruptions in the Silence
John 19:38-42
Listen to tlie Sunrise
Matthew 28:1-6
Listen to the sunrise.
Surely you must hear clouds moving
when canyons split and open to the sun.
Listen to the sunrise.
Be sensitive to stones
shaken by the daybreal<.
One rumble of the dawn
can root a rock and start it rolling,
picking up pieces of thunder on its way.
y^ .
I
/
f~ J
i
No night is ever total.
Somewhere a candle flames,
flickers, sputters, steadies,
beaming ever-widening waves of timid light
into surprising circumferences.
Or here and there
a restless sleeper pulls back
curtains draping blackness
and looks tentatively into the ebony
dome of night, inquiring about stars.
The distant suns, away by years, are there.
Like the pricking of pin points,
one by one they communicate light
while drawing blood.
So intimations of life break
into the most solemn wake
for the dead.
If you listen, you know.
Thin reedy sounds, like distant flutes,
interrupt the heaviest silence.
And who can number the seeds
that sleep beneath the snow?
■iiiliiJft_^!
Listen to the sunrise.
Listen to the sharp, bright morning.
Listen to the first and glorious day.
Listen to the sound of a heartbeat
announcing in the womb of winter
that out of darkness,
out of dying,
out of midnight,
out of sorrow and travail
God is bringing light to life,
God is bringing life to light
Listen to the sunrise.
Listen to the first and glorious day.
Flower in the Rock
Luke 24:1-5
From out that hostile stone
I least expected life to come.
But there, impossibly, blooms one fragile flower.
Against all arguments a flower flames
where reasonably it should not be,
barricading tombs with beauty.
Must God waste all his miracles
on pessimists and doubters just like me?
I could trample and crush that flower,
dismember it, chill it with unconcern,
yet there it is,
blooming as trustingly
as if all heaven sustained it
and verified its joy.
Yes, there one flower blooms,
earth-rooted, opening to the sky —
and where am I?
L
Bird Flight
Matthew 6:26-32
Watching birds in flight
is listening to a language
no one yet has learned to read.
They carve wild patterns from each sky
with every swerve, whip, glide, or dive.
Their winged ways curve gently
like the flow of poetry
and they speak of faith
such as an earth-bound creature
seldom knows.
They trust in currents felt
but never seen,
invisibly available to wings.
I tremble at small heights.
So heavy is my heart
that gravity inclines me toward the grave.
But birds are risen, free.
Released in space they track new orbits,
circumscribe expanding arcs,
and weave their wonder into skies.
Watching them in flight
even I can trace
the moving of God's grace.
Every Time a Child
Isaiah 9:2-7; Matthew 18:13-15
Every time a child is born,
death yields a fraction of its power.
Every time a baby cries,
despair has less to say to me.
Every time a mother speaks her lullaby,
faith looks up from faltering.
Every step a child takes for the first time
opens a highway through the heart's jungle.
Every word a child speaks for the first time
starts a shout to waken men from slumber.
Every hand a child waves in innocent delight
offers an invitation to tomorrow.
Every time a child smiles back at God.
I take courage.
Death may be responsible for endings.
It has no victory.
Walking in the Resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:57-58; Acts 3:1-8; Luke 24:28-35
His friends were reluctant conscripts for the
ministry of death, but instead he said Yes to life so
firmly he went to prison and so gently that
the judge was moved. He still endures mild
crucifixions, but he spreads eternity wherever
he walks . . ,
She never saw them — those impossible pupils — after
they matured enough to discover they loved her,
but the values she lived became a part of their
heritage. Unmarried, alone, in weakening health,
she is half-forgotten by the generations
she nursed into adulthood.
Shy, timid, sometimes fearful, a young mother is
the one who cared enough to write a public letter,
to speak at town meeting, to answer
threatening phone calls, to risk her leisure, to
disturb someone's evil peace. God helping her,
she can do no other.
The outcasts call him their friend, and he hardly
knows why he lets them find him, for they have
shaded his reputation. But he remembers the day
a Christ-figure touched him and turned him
around. There is a joy in his limp that comes from
walking in the resurrection.
Amazing is the word for sinners like you and
me who might still be hollow pillars uphold-
ing nothing much but who have been touched
by the grace of God and filled with a new wine
of the Spirit. Come, stumble with us into his kingdom.
^f///m\imM
God's Moment Has Come
2 Corinthians 5:14-19
It is time to awaken.
There is a fire in the sky.
High over eastern horizons
rises the amber flame
that will flood the world with light.
Awake and see the marvel of morning.
Reach up and touch the transformation.
There is a new radiance, an electrifying energy.
You can hear the sunrise break into alleluias.
God's moment has come.
This is the first day of the week,
the first day of a hundred new lives,
the first day of a new order and a new age.
The time of God's visitation
is the time of our liberation.
Listen to the sunrise.
Listen to the sharp, bright morning.
Listen to the first and glorious day.
God is bringing light to life.
God is bringing life to light.
Listen to the sunrise, and rejoice!
text by Kenneth I. Morse
graphics by Janie & Lindsay Russell
It is a most humbling experience to see
one's nation as it looks through the eyes
of women from around the world.
We sat together in a small room —
perhaps sixty of us representing seventeen
countries and several religious faiths • —
and introduced ourselves by stating some
of the reasons he had become a part
of a women's workshop on peace
building.
I can't remember names: I'll never
forget faces and feelings. A young
woman from Mexico told us, "I have
been a member of the Communist party
in Mexico but I don't agree with that.
I'm looking for another way."
A gray-haired Catholic sister re-
minded us, "As each of us takes thirty or
sixty seconds to introduce ourselves,
several more people have died in the
Indochina War. How much longer?"
A most intense Filipino nearly ex-
ploded to us, "Have you wondered what
happens to the extra weapons no longer
needed in Vietnam as you "wind down'
the war? Those guns are being sent to
the Philippines! Nobody asked us — but
we're getting them. And we don't want
them!"
A native Indian woman, now teaching
Gandhian methods in this country, re-
minded us, "Modern weapons are blind
weapons; there are no war heroes.
Humans are slaves to their weapons. We
must live together or perish. We are
coerced into that awareness rather than
entering it joyfully. Death, instead of
being a part of life, has become a prob-
lem of life. We are making death, instead
of letting it happen."
An Indian American, working with her
people in Oklahoma, observed, "I don't
see how we can tell everybody else how
they ought to act. We haven't learned
to behave ourselves very well right here
at home."
"Some Americans are almost overcome
by guilt because of this war," commented
a woman from Burma. "Christians must
never lose the realization that, with
Christ, where there is wrongdoing, there
is also forgiveness. Where inhumane acts
have been done, there is the possibility
of repentance. Always there is hope,
opportunity for change." In later dis-
cussion she observed, "Americans have
been no worse than other people in the
world. The mistakes you have made,
others have made. The frustrations
being felt by many around the world are
because they had such confidence in the
leadership of .America. Read your con-
stitution. What hope this held for
oppressed people! But now they have
had to realize that you are not better
than the rest of us have been. It is a
disappointment, a disillusionment. We
had expected so much more from your
nation!"
From Lebanon, a YWCA executive
made a very emotional plea. "America!
STOP arming every nation of the world,
because that forces other nations to get
help from Russia. If you feel you must
arm nations, then let us arm people
against hunger, poverty, ignorance. If
you have money and don't know how to
spend it, many people in the world can
help you know how to spend it."
A Japanese editor of a women's maga-
zine, who remembers Hiroshima, warned,
"Killing is madness. Men who kill in
Vietnam are still killers. It takes a long
while to get over this mentally — some-
times more than one generation."
A woman from South Africa com-
mented, "The United States is not fight-
ing in South Africa with guns, but the
economic policies that perpetuate an
impossible situation."
There was much discussion on "what
to do":
1. Study voting records of politicians
and candidates and let it be known that
we'll support only those who oppose the
war.
2. Learn more about industries in-
volved in war materials contracts and
avoid buying products from those
companies.
3. Basically change our life-style:
lower our standard of living as we realize
that the gap between "have" and "have
not" nations is increasingly intolerable.
After a period of such idea sharing,
a Vietnamese student slowly faced us and
asked questions we could not answer.
She began, "We have friends and fam-
ily in Vietnam. Some are in jail because
they have spoken out against the Thieu
government or have expressed a desire
for peace. They are very happy about
this meeting — are waiting for us to
write them about it. What am I to tell
them? That American women are
thinking of changing their life-style?
"What will you do about ending the
war? How long will it be? What can I
write to my friends who are in jail,
or will perhaps be arrested in a few days
if they talk about peace?"
Many of us looked at the floor. Some
of us cried. None of us could look at
her.
Then all of us stood, clasped each
others' hands tightly, and prayed. □
GLOBAL AWARENESS:
A HUMBLING
EXPERIENCE
by JOY DULL
4-1-72 MESSENGER 19
BRETHREN
INTERMEDIATE
Q^UARTERLT
UNIFORM
20 MESSENGER 4-1-72
Oft criticized and much revamped, the
International Lessons have a unique
stayini; power, especially among adults.
Current resource is shown at the left
byGLENE.NORRIS
SERIES: 100th YEAR
The International Sunday School Lessons
Committee, now called the Committee
on the Uniform Series, will celebrate its
hundredth anniversary in Indianapolis
this month. The Church of the Brethren
will be represented at the celebration.
The Brethren have cooperated in the
work of the committee by using the
International Lesson outlines as the basis
for the development of church school
curricular materials and also have helped
to produce the outlines through repre-
sentation on the committee itself.
The earliest Brethren lesson helps
based on the Uniform Series were written
and published in 1879 by S. Z. Sharp,
then president of Ashland College, in a
four-page weekly entitled Our Sunday
School. One page was given to the
explanation of the lesson and a second
page adapted the lesson to primary chil-
dren. This publication was not long
continued. Also in 1879 S. Z. Sharp
began the publication of the Brethren
Quarterly. This, too, was discontinued
after a few years.
Beginning with the Brethren's Quarter-
ly in 1886, a series of Brethren publica-
tions has offered lesson expositions
based on the International Lesson out-
lines, uninterrupted except for the
special 250th anniversary lessons during
the April-May-June quarter, 1958. For
adults, this lesson material has been
presented since 1897 in the Brethren's
Advanced Quarterly, the Brethren Adult
Quarterly, and currently in A Guide for
Biblical Studies. Some of the very early
lesson writers were S. Z. Sharp, Leonard
Huber, James M. Neff, and Lewis
Teeter. E. G. Hoff holds the record for
writing lesson materials for adults for
the longest period of time — twenty-five
years. The complete list of writers of
lessons for adults is too long to be
included here.
Beginning in 1918, International
Lessons for youth were provided suc-
cessively in the Brethren Intermediate
Quarterly, the Brethren Intermediate-
Senior Quarterly, and the Brethren Youth
Quarterly. In the April-May-June quar-
ter of 1958 the International Lessons
were replaced by the special anniversary
studies mentioned above, and after that
by the CBYF Bible Studies. Some of
those who wrote the youth lessons for
considerable periods of time were Mrs.
Rufus Bowman, Minna Heckman, Inez
Goughnour Long, Kenneth I. Morse,
Vernard Eller, and Chalmer Faw.
Adaptations of the International
Lessons for children were published in
the Brethren's Juvenile Quarterly from
1891 to 1915, then in the Brethren
Junior Quarterly and in the Brethren
Primary Quarterly from 1916 to 1948.
Some of the outstanding writers of
children's lessons have been Maud
Newcomer, Elizabeth Rosenberger
Blough, Edith Barnes, Genevieve Christ,
and Irene Bittinger.
Special helps for teachers were started
in 1889 in the Brethren's Tcaclier's
Quarterly. This was followed in suc-
cession by Brethren Teacher's Monthly;
Brethren Bible Study Monthly; and
Church of the Brethren Leader, publica-
tion of which ended with the July-
August issue, 1970. At present, teachers"
helps are to be found in A Guide for
Biblical Studies. There was a period
from 1901 to 1906 when an annual, the
Brethren Lesson Commentary, was
published.
Brethren have not always been satisfied
with the International Lessons. In 1898,
1907, 1908, and 1909 four queries
relating to the use of these lessons were
brought to Annual Conference. The
chief objection to the use of the Interna-
tional Lessons, as stated in the queries,
was that they were deficient in teaching
the doctrines of the scriptures as under-
stood by the Brethren. Some of the
queries requested the production of
alternate curricular materials for optional
use in Sunday school.
Besides using the International Lesson
outlines in the preparation of church
school curricular materials, the Brethren,
through their representatives, chietly
editors of church school literature, have
participated responsibly in the work of
producing the outlines. This participa-
tion appears to have been constant from
the time that the lesson committees were
first composed of members appointed by
the cooperating denominations. Thus
we find the name of H. K. Ober, rep-
resenting the Church of the Brethren,
included as a member of the committee
planning the outlines for 1918-1925.
From that time forward, the following
Brethren editors (and possibly others)
have represented the Church of the
Brethren as members of the International
Lesson committees: J. E. Miller, E. G.
Hoff, Kenneth I. Morse, A. Stauffer
Curry, Glen E. Norris, J. Roy Valen-
court, and Kenneth Shaffer. Of these,
E. G. Hoff served for the longest time. He
was editor of Brethren Sunday school
literature from 1928 to 1953. As a
member of the Uniform Lesson Com-
mittee, he was regarded as a specialist in
planning the quarterly temperance les-
sons. In 1933 the committee asked him
to make a survey of the temperance
lessons and present his findings to the
committee. At the February 1934 meet-
ing he presented a scripture analysis of
the temperance lessons for the 1932-1936
cycle, together with a suggested cycle of
topics on the problem of beverage al-
cohol. At the December 1938 meeting of
the committee, he presented a draft
outline of the temperance lessons for six
years, 1942-1947.
Brethren who served on the Committee
on the Uniform Series found opportuni-
ties to secure the committee's considera-
tion of certain lines of biblical teaching,
especially some with social implications,
which otherwise might have been
neglected. They have also found their
experience as committee members per-
sonally rewarding, as they formed friend-
ships across denominational lines and
learned to work side by side with equally
sincere persons from differing theological
perspectives. Without doubt the coopera-
tion required in the work of the
Uniform Lessons Committee has pro-
moted the spirit of Christian unity among
the participants. □
4-1-72 MESSENGER 21
OinilLQSD© FO'^DO'^i^i
GodspellH
-^^'Qf
Now every human being
is cousin to the King of Kings!
Easter — the celebration of the resurrection of Christ — marks the
greatest turning point in history. From the dawn of time we have
been aware of a power outside our human universe — God or the
gods. But for millennia this was felt to be a remote and sometimes
malevolent power to be appeased by sacrifice or moral heroism.
Jesus, in his earthly life, spoke of a God whom he called Father
— a God of mercy, love, and compassion. But the crucifixion
seemed to prove that here, again, was a good and helpful person
whose work came to a cruel and abrupt end.
Then came the crashing event of the resurrection from the dead!
The incognito of the gentle teacher from Nazareth was discarded.
Jesus was revealed as the Christ — as God in human form — ruler
over life and death. And the world has never been the same since
that day. His frightened, scattered disciples went out across the
world shouting the good news: "Jesus is Lord." And every human
being is cousin to the King of Kings!
The church, his body on earth, has often failed to live up to its
high calling. But every Easter reminds Christians once again of this
basic fact of our faith. May we all, on this Easter in the year of our
Lord 1972, in the midst of the strife and tension of our time, re-
member with joy that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor prin-
cipalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans
8:38, 39). — Cynthia C. Wedel
Blasphemy was enough to crucify one
man. Pretentious mockery doomed some
as heretics. Profaning the sacred has
been known to split contemporary
churches. All three labels and even
worse fates may fall on Godspell if the
listener rejects paraphrased scripture (in
fact, one gospel book demythed) and
musical settings which are a far sound
from hymns and plainsong chants. But
Godspell is confident of casting its spell
on the listener, successfully capturing
his acceptance of its now idiom.
The writer, Stephen Schwartz, ob-
viously saw a good thing in Superstar
(Webber and Rice) and set out to feed
the Bible-hungry, Jesus-worshiping cul-
ture with more bread from the scrolls, ■
specifically the Gospel According to St. I
Matthew. The Gospel content is clear i
though not clearly scriptural. Simple
lyrics occasionally rhyming and imageryi
that is plain and to the point focus j
primarily on life-style themes in Matthew
including personal devotional life and ]
ethical teachings. It is easy to get the
feeling after forty minutes of listening
once through that the essential content
of all twenty-eight chapters is adequately
recounted in this thirteen-song vignette. ;
Even the omission of familiar passages i
like the beatitudes and certain parables j
should cause no great disappointment
since parallel teachings ring clear in new,
words.
Although no particular effort is made
to follow the narrative thread running
throughout the book, the time line of
Jesus' coming, dying, and resurrecting is
bridged by two short passages which
enter at the beginning and reenter at the
end. First is the familiar Invocation from
John the Baptist, "Prepare Ye the Way
of the Lord," followed by a very simple
prayer:
Day by Day. day by day
O dear Lord three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by Day
22 MESSENGER 4-1-72
Khythm and imagery from Matthew's gospel
Working hard on ethical teachings and
repentence are "Learn Your Lessons
Well," a witty pan on legalism delivered
in mocking honky-tonk, and "Turn Back,
O Man" from the hymn text (see
Brethren Hymnal #578) sung in sug-
gestive female tones — a subtle satire
effect. "Bless the Lord" from Psalm 103
is also a hymn text (|29) and will pro-
vide the listener a ready-made point of
comparison with traditional hymnody.
Two of the more interesting songs are
"Light of the World" from the Sermon
ca the Mount, a wild exhortation to live
right and glow bright as lights and "Alas
f ir You" which soundly denounces
Scribes and Pharisees. The Finale
captures both the joy and pain of the
Passion and transmits the twain to the
listener and through him. Excepting the
Finale, lyrics to all the songs are printed
on the inner jacket. This will be par-
ticularly useful in reflection or discussion
on word sense.
Assuming that Superstar, Hair, and
Other recent hits have prepared listeners
(o accept rock music as a legitimate
medium for contemporary man, Godspell
fully flaunts this assumption and maybe
more than any of its predecessors suc-
ceeds. True, all of the music would not
be classified as rock and this may en-
hance its appeal. A bit of folk and even
some ragtime add a fuller dimension to
the work. Through it all there is plenty
of sound — harsh, painful, joyful, jubi-
lant with colorful highs and lows, far
ranging melodies, beautiful if sometimes
mysterious harmonies — all electrified
and amplified. But the score is only half
the scene for it dutifully gives way to
lyrics in almost unprecedented balance
and in so doing allays criticism so often
eveled at rock music — "The music is
so loud I can't understand the words."
Composer Schwartz, who also as-
sisted Leonard Bernstein on the score of
ass, has some interesting things to say
bout rock music in the church. He feels
|ts growing use is a natural development
hich does not, as some accuse, sell
out to commercialism. "Religion is a
popular force today and rock is the popu-
lar music of the day" so their wedding
is natural and predictable. He feels it is
unfortunate that music written in former
centuries is seen as "pure" while
modern idioms are labeled commercial
and profane. "Mozart was just as com-
mercial as any writer today. He wrote
the popular music of his time and took
the money of his patrons." Schwartz
advises those wondering how to bring
rock into the church "to just sit back
and not protest. If the church accepts
rock, it will come in."
Despite the writer's convincing argu-
ments about the legitimacy of rock it will
continue to bear labels of commericalism,
sacrilegious, and noise for laymen,
pastors, and church musicians until it
successfully sheds its primary associa-
tions with overnight dollar successes,
blaring electronic cacophony, and dron-
ing vocalists who find themselves com-
peting with instruments for higher and
louder vibrations far beyond the normal
hearing level of most ears.
But apparently it doesn't have to be
that way. Electric guitars can play a
variety of sounds plaintive and joyful,
pianissimo and forte. Selective use of
brass, reeds, and woodwinds can be a
source of color rather than noise, and
drums in the hands of discriminating
players add a range of sounds in addition
to rhythm. But above all, let these
sounds be joined with lyrics of substance
which capture the sacred as well as the
secular cravings of man.
Godspell takes a big step in this
direction. Let's hope the spell will be
infectious for other song writers and
performers and for Christian laymen in
and out of the pew. Purchase the record
through local record outlets. Price:
$3.99. —Wilfred E. Nolen
4-1-72 MESSENGER 23
compiled by
WILSON O. WELDON
Breckthru is an honest and frank
compilation that reveals the thoughts
and longings of young people, not
hiding behind old customs and pre-
tenses. Included are prayers, both
traditional and contemporary; scrip-
ture In several translations and ver-
sions; poetry, meditofions, pictures,
cartoons and sketches.
$1.50 per copy, 10 or more, $1.30
each.
4 OTHER NEW BOOKS
A Plain Man Faces Trouble
fay Wilson O. We/don
' From a faith strength-
A i ened by years as a
run 1 rather, pastor and coun-
T^"""^ selor comes help to meet
life's problems.
His Finest Week
fay Jomes Roy Smifh
Through this day-by-
l>v« day look at Jesus' last
week on earth, one re-
alizes that nothing can
separate us from God.
Quest for Meaning
by Thomas f . Chi/cote
Brings new awareness
and meaning to The
Apostles' Creed and
heightened joy in reli-
ance on the goodness of
God.
v« .Vf»-.»j
:^i
Soul among the Prophets
by fric Routley
The Old Testament
speaks to modern man
through the lives of
Abraham, Jacob, Joseph
and Saul.
Above four books $1.25 per copy,
ten or more, $1.00 each. Order from
The Upper Room
'908 Grond Avenue, Nashville, Tenn. 37203
24 MESSENGER 4- 1-72
LETTERS / from page 1
an attempt to put forth a youthful, modern
image?
The late 1960s saw the beginning of dis-
illusionment, a fracturing of the youth
cultus, a stubborn war that would not bow
to an easy six months' solution, a beginning
realization that history could be ignored
only at the price of assassination and riot.
On stage with our denomination, the late
1960s saw an organizational restructuring at
the Brotherhood level which was an attempt
to move from a more patriarchal, paternal-
istic hierarchy toward a flexible staff, re-
sponsive to the local congregation. These
\ears witnessed a theological conference of
the Brethren which included a wide diversity
of theological and ecclesiastical viewpoints;
the increased visibility and positive action
of the Brethren Revival Fellowship and the
Brethren Action Movement: a move away
from the spectacular relief programs toward
the more long-range service programs such
as Fund for the Americas. Flat Creek Mis-
sion, and Lafiya (Nigeria Medical Pro-
gram). All of these stress the need for
indigenous leadership.
Now in the '70s we are witnessing a re-
vival of concern for evangelism among the
Church of the Brethren, with much time
and effort being focused on this key issue.
This hardly seems to be the picture of a
church which has lost out. That's why I'm
confused about the conclusion of your
analysis.
Second, another source of confusion is
your reference to a dead end: "I've dragged
my feet as we headed toward this dead end.
I pray God that we will arrest ourselves be-
fore going further into this 'no exit:' " I
can accept that this may be where you see
yourself personally or perhaps your own
congregation, but I hardly think it is a pic-
ture of the total church. I am still among
the "younger pastors" of the Church of the
Brethren, and my commitment to the pas-
toral ministry has grown stronger during the
seven years that I have been a pastor. Dur-
ing that period of time some of my college
and seminary classmates have left the full-
time pastoral ministry to go into other areas
of work, many times social and political
arenas (and have continued a conscious
Christian ministry there).
But I and other pastors my age have con-
tinued with the local congregation because
we have a vision of a church gaining in-
creased clarity on the task of glorifying
God and humanizing persons. We are aware
of the weaknesses and failures of institu-
tions, the church included. But we have
also been closely enough related to other
institutions to see that the church generally
stands head and shoulders above those other
social and political institutions which have
the service of mankind as their stated goal.
So we are not disillusioned, nor are we
overly optimistic about the sudden rush of
many peoples toward the Way.
So. Inez, in contrast to your conclusion,
I do not see us traveling toward a dead end.
Rather. I se-e us traveling toward a living
end. the call of God in Jesus Christ. I want
to underline the excellent suggestions which
you made in answer to your own question,
"What might be that Way for Brethren
now?" I believe that the statements which
you made in answer to that question are
sound, possible, and e.xciting. I differ with
you because I see us moving on that Way
now and not, as you say, still headed toward
a dead end.
How.\RD A. Miller
Harrisonburg, Va.
RESERVOIR OF HESITANCY?
So much has been said in favor of many
of the innoN'ative ideas and programs that
have been featured in recent years that one
might scarcely suspect a vast reservoir of
hesitancy on a part of substantial parts of
the membership among the Brethren. Inez
Long (Jan. 15) has spoken appropriately
and well for a more cautious approach to
many of the troubling issues of our day,
whose solutions are really not very clearly
pierceived by any of us.
Congratulations to Mrs. Long for her pre-
sentation and thanks to Messenger for car-
rying the article.
Raymond L. Flory
McPherson, Kans.
TAKING EXCEPTION
In regard to the book review of Is Gay
Good? (Jan. 15), I take exception to the
majority of opinion concerning homosex-
uals. They are sick, and Christ alone holds
the cure. Let them first acknowledge their
sin and repent of it; then they can be recon-
ciled to God and have fellowship with
him. . . .
My Bible says the wages of sin is death.
It also says the sex deviate is out of har-
mony with God. These sins are all cataloged
in Deuteronomy and are condemned as an
abomination to God, in Psalms, and in the
book of Romans in the New Testament.
To say that anyone could indulge in
these base sins and come and take com-
munion with a clear conscience is an af-
front to God and it is only due to his mercy
and long suffering that they are not struck
down immediately. . . .
Instead of condoning such gross sin or
outright condemnation of such people, we
must help them to see their need of Christ
and his power to cleanse their lives. . . .
Christians must never compromise on
these moral issues. . . . That is why I can-
not accept any church taking in people such
as this without first confessing their sins to
God and with genuine sorrow and remorse
asking him to rebuild and enrich their
lives.
Julius Replogle
Martinsburg, Pa.
'SEWER FILTH'
The review by William Kidwell of the
book Is Gay Good? Ethics. Theology, and
Homosexualily contains the worst sewer
filth I have ever read in any religious mag-
azine.
The overwhelming inference of the report
was that homosexuality should be accepted.
The reviewer quotes Troy Perry (one of the
authors) : "Not once do I read Jesus saying,
'Come unto me. all you heterosexuals, who,
if you have sex . . . must have it in the
missionary position, and I will accept you as
the only true believers." " What verbiage to
try and prove Jesus accepted homosexuality.
Both Old and New Testaments condemn it.
To try to prove Jesus accepted it is in the
worst possible taste. The same type of de-
fective logic could be used by . . . anyone
trying to prove that his "thing" was also
the Lord's "thing."
The charge is made that the church has
rejected the homosexual and has been more
detrimental than helpful. There is no doubt
some truth here. If the church rejected the
liomosexual as a person, it erred. But the
church today that accepts the homosexual's
homosexuality errs also. Certainly Jesus ac-
cepted the liar, the prostitute, the murderer,
and the homosexual. But he did not accept
their sin.
Although not yet fifty, I have been an or-
dained minister in the Church of the Breth-
ren for over thirty years. Even though I
have predicted the church would approve
abortion and homosexuality, it is no com-
fort as I see those predictions being fulfilled.
I've had almost more than I can bear when
I see such garbage spread on Messenger
pages. And I want to say that those respon-
sible for such filth must give an account to
the Almighty God.
Ellis G. Guthrie
Eaton, Ohio
RATIONALIZATION NOT AN ANSWER
The single book review in the Jan. 15
Messenger, out of the hundreds you might
have considered, was on the "gay" people.
Rationalizations were quoted in a style
that would have been considered porno-
graphic and illegal about ten years ago.
Space was provided in our church magazine
in defense of pagan conduct as "beautiful
and right." We were told that the "thrust of
the church" should be in "educating the
public" for "acceptance and understanding
the homosexual."
Nowhere, however, was there . . . even
token support for normal Christian con-
duct. Biblical authority was not cited ... as
a guide for those who might be concerned.
Perversion was not even acknowledged as
a sin. . . .
. . . The church and its media have a re-
sponsibility to call sinners to repentance.
Others seem intent on defending the sin-
ners' conduct rather than help them mature
into more stable and responsible people.
Unfortunately, those who find it easy to
rationalize one form of evil . . . can gen-
erally rationalize the others with little
difficulty. Rationalizations are not the an-
swer.
If the church is to be a viable Christian
influence, it is imperative that at least its
leaders clear up their thinking on the ques-
tions of morality; otherwise they contribute
to the growing social problems rather than
help in solving them. . . .
Howard Bomberger
Canfield, Ohio
FROM THE EPHRATA CLOISTER
Thank you for the good account of
I 'orspici in "Churches on Stage." by Vernard
EUer (Jan. 15). All the good publicity af-
forded any of our activities is truly appre-
ciated. There is, however, one paragraph
on page 10 which could be incorrectly in-
terpreted and needs clarification.
"At the Cloister Gift Shop I picked up an
attractive, slick, professional-looking bro-
chure . . . advertising a Dutch Family Fes-
tival located near Lancaster. Normally, slick
brochures tooting 'Dutch stuff' around
Lancaster are to be regarded with suspicion;
that area is full of outfits that have com-
mercialized and prostituted the Pennsyl-
vania Dutch culture beyond all recognition.
(One of their big items is a postcard that
gets a hee-haw from the fact that Dutch
country includes the town of Intercourse,
Pa.)"
I'm the manager-buyer of the gift shop of
the Ephrata Cloister Associates, who started
the gift shop . . . and who has made a con-
stant, consistent. Christian policy of main-
taining it. Not only does it finance all the
activities of our organization but, more im-
portant, it endeavors to inspire those who
visit this religious shrine, through merchan-
dizing items which relate to our property
and area, on the highest level. . . .
We have never handled any merchandise of
a questionable nature. Specifically we were
not the vendor of the postcard, as described
in the article, and would not want your
readers to relate to us beyond the first sen-
tence of aforementioned paragraph.
Richard A. Fleckenstein
Ephrata, Pa.
NO PART IN THE KINGDOM
I completely disagree with homosexuality
(see "Those Whose Sexual Orientation Dif-
fers," Jan. 15), and I can't believe that true
Christians are subject to such evil.
And I would like to add that homosexuals
will have no part in the kingdom of God,
unless they have a born-again experience
with Jesus. To verify my conviction read
Romans 1:27-32. Paul said that such an act
was indecent and unnatural (v. 27). And
those who commit such things are worthy
of death (v. 32).
James Arford
Robinson, Pa.
NONRESISTANCE OR VIOLENCE
I was upset after reading another article
about Ted Glick in the December Messen-
ger. I feel our Brethren national headquar-
ters are overemphasizing Ted Glick's activ-
ities and the fund set up for the defense of
the "Harrisburg Eight."
I would rather see more articles on Chris-
tian nonresistance and nonviolence than ar-
ticles about people and groups that burn
federal draft records.
Harold Baughman
Lancaster, Pa.
READABILITY
Congratulations on the Feb. 15 issue of
Messenger. Although the cover leaves a
lot to be desired, the articles are readable
and understandable.
The issue on nonviolence (Feb. 1) cov-
ered a lot of big ideas (and ofttimes with
big words). Some of the articles were dif-
ficult to wade through.
I felt "homecoming," by Chaim Shatam
(Feb. 15) made the point of why we should
avoid war (be nonviolent) more clearly
and reasonably than much of the long, theo-
logical presentation in part of the Feb. 1
issue.
For people with the time and interest in
concentrated reading, the Feb. 1 issue is
great. But for getting something practical
and meaningful in the limited time most of
us have for magazine reading, let's have
more issues with the readability of the
Feb. 15 issue. . . .
Marie H. Willoughby
Rocky Mount, Va.
4-1-72 messenger 25
Scnie successful ventures to recount
As I go about among the churches, I
sense a feeling that the church has failed.
So one day I wrote to pastors here on
the West Coast about areas where the
church has moved forward. I have not
attempted to cover the total waterfront
but have listed a few of the successful
ventures of my generation.
The West Coast churches have con-
tributed only a "drop in the bucket." but
they have done and are continuing to do
some things which need to be lifted up.
In referring to the West Coast churches,
I do so only as I know them best and am
sure that other areas have done as much
and probably more.
Eighty-one years ago the good people
of the church on the Pacific Coast, with
only a very few members, with no help
NOW AVAILABLE
in pamphlet form
the well-known poem
THE TOUCH
>OF THE MASTER'S
HAND
by Myra Brooks Welch
Please send copies of THE'
I TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HANDi
I at 10c each or 85 c per dozen.
Name
I Address
City
State
Zip
The Brethren Press
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, III. 60120
Amount_
Postage _
Total
.20
from industry', no help from foundations,
no help at all outside the church, founded
a school which they called Lordsburg
College. Now as La Verne College it has
become an ecumenical institution with a
student body of 80% non-Brethren, but
with the same emphasis that all are God's
children and have the same potential for
service and loyalts' to him. In the strictest
sense, it is not a Brethren institution, but
a corporation controlled by a board of
trustees, not all Brethren. We believe this
is essential if we are to serve a student
body of 1,000 with 800 of other denom-
inations.
In the mid-40s, the Pacific Southwest
Conference became aware that a need
existed for homes for people over 65
years of age. The district sponsored the
movement which culminated in Hillcrest
Homes. It has grown to proportions not
dreamed of in the beginning with 1 32 in-
dependent units and an additional 14 near
completion, 159 congregate living units,
an up-to-date convalescent hospital with
49 beds and an infirmary with 30 beds.
In the late 60s a group of people in the
Long Beach church were concerned for
low income people who were retiring
without sufficient income to allow them
to live in dignity and security. The
United States government also was con-
cerned. It was not easy, but at long last,
these two got together and built a 300-
unit housing unit, sponsored at first by
the church. Now Long Beach Manor has
a board of directors that includes people
of other denominations but with a like
concern for aging people. There is al-
ways a waiting list and all units have been
filled from the beginning.
A few years ago, the Olympic View
congregation in Seattle, Washington, be-
gan working on a Long Beach type of
project. After many months of struggle
with city planners, disappointment in lo-
cations, and government red tape, this
project is soon to be completed. It will
contain 200 units and is located near a
shopping area which will make it doubly
attractive. Like Long Beach, it is a
rental proposition only and people of
low income can afford the fee.
The Wenatchee, Washington, people
were interested in the Long Beach-
Olympic View type of project. It was
begun by the Baptists and since the Bap-
tists and Brethren are working together
there is also sharing of responsibility for
the Manor. This is an 80-unit building,
well located, with all facilities of the
larger units. It is now complete and
people are moving in. It is a strictly
rental project.
I have listed several projects which to
me are outstanding in service to the
church and community. I could add
camps, physical plants, and projects
which have been born out of the sacri-
ficial giving of the membership.
The greatest achievement during my
lifetime, in my judgment, has been the
leadership we have taken in our willing-
ness to do alternative service rather than
take human life. I was not in on the
Great Mission Movement from the be-
ginning, but I was close to Dan West and
absorbed a bit of his philosophy. I was
also with M. R. Zigler when he, with
others, first challenged General Hershey
for the right to do alternative service. In
the 30 years since that day, this ideal has
become a movement which is almost un-
believeable. It certainly is out of the
bounds of the churches and is permeat-
ing every segment of society.
I could have added the successful ven-
tures in Home Missions, the great
achievements of Church World Service,
CROP, Heifer Project, the upgrading of
the seminary program, and the General
Board organization. The total account
could not be contained in a book.
In these days it seems that many mem-
bers of the Church of the Brethren are
beating themselves saying, "We are
doing nothing to increase the welfare,
happiness, and loving relationship in the
area in which we live and serve." But I
feel that to use the popular slogan, "The
church is doing nothing," is to hurt and
to belittle the sacrifices of the thousands
of good people who have gone to their
eternal reward.
So before I leave the struggle, and
there will always be struggle if we climb
upward, I wanted to go on record that,
in my judgment, the past has been good
and that my faith in the future, whatever
turn it may take, will be for the glory of
God and the good of man. — •
J. H. Mathis
26 MESSENGER 4-1-72
HEIFER PROJECT, INC.
LIVING GIFTS
HEIFER PROJECT, INC. is
A worldwide, self-help organiza-
tion,
nonsectarian,
nonprofit,
financed by voluntary contribu-
tions,
that provides livestock, poultry, and
related agricultural services
to people in developing areas.
For over 28 years, Heifer Project's "Living Gifts" have been helping hungry families around the world produce food
and income for themselves. Shipments of heifers, goats, chicks, etc., are a continuing source of milk, meat, and eggs.
Whole communities are helped as recipient families share the first offspring with needy neighbors.
For information and promotional materials (leaflets, posters, teacher's resource materials, etc.) on heifers, sheep, goats,
pigs, rabbits, chicks, and bees:
Write to: Heifer Project, Inc.
Marion A. Lehman, Midwest Director
1610 S. 12th Street
Goshen, Indiana 46526 (219) 533-6951
All gifts are tax deductible. Make all checks payable to Heifer Project, Inc.
HEIFER PROJECT HELPS PEOPLE HELP PEOPLE
Latest LP Stereo Record
Release From The FARR FAMILY
II
I'LL WALK WITH GOD"
IV/TH THE
SUNDAY
STRINGS
And Includes These Great Songs
"^"^^
• I'LL WALK WITH GOD
• I LOOKED FOR LOVE
• HAD IT NOT BEEN
• HE LOOKED BEYOND MY
FAULT
• TILL THE STORM PASSES BY
• DADDY SANG BASS
• HOW BEAUTIFUL UPON THE
MOUNTAIN z°;;: ,t-; 'y
• SONATA MODERNIQUE
• Hear Eric Farr's Original Piano Sonata Modernique
MORE THAN JUST A RECORD -BUT THE MUSICAL TESTIMONY OF ONE FAMILY WHO
THROUGH MUSIC HAVE FOUND THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRIST AND HIS LIFE AND HAVE
REDEDICATED THEIR LIVES TO SHARING HIS LOVE!
Especially meaningful is Joyce Farr's beautiful rendition of "How Beautiful Upon the Mountain" as she sings both the
soprano and mezzo-soprano parts accompanied by the Sunday String Ensemble.
$5.50
Includes
Tax and Postage
Money Back If Not Fully Satisfied
ORDER NOW FROM
The Farr Family, Box 16, Middletown, Pa. 17057
Available Also
in
8 Track Cartridge
or
Cassette Tapes
On going public with one's witness
As a practical joke, an Indian student living in
a big city placed an ad in a neighborhood news-
paper. It stated simply, "Guru recently arrived
from India now accepting students." In three
days thirty applicants came for sessions, during
which time only one expressed apparent suspicion
of being taken for a ride.
Putting aside questions of the propriety of the
student imposter, what, do we wonder, brought
the thirty inquirers to his door? What spurs the
turn to Zen, Krishna consciousness, Scientology,
transcendental meditation, Taoism, light radiation,
psycho-cybernetics, astral projection — to cite but
some of the movements in vogue?
The drive, as seen by some observers, is for
personal salvation, salvation now. Sparked by
youth but not confined there, the press for peace
and harmony, meaning and direction, God con-
sciousness and a sense of being whole extends far
beyond the reaches of established or mainstream
religion.
But concurrently, within the circles of Chris-
tendom, the theme of salvation also is being re-
opened, to discover what the Bible and tradition
and a living Spirit all have to say to this very
ancient and very contemporary concern. In par-
ticular, through the World Council of Churches
efforts in study and dialogue are under way on
the topic of "Salvation Today." Input from many
cultures and confessions will be shared at a major
assembly this December in Thailand.
Significant as the global interchange is, some-
thing else that needs to break loose is a deep
search by local groups and by individuals as to
the meaning of salvation in Jesus Christ. Why
are so many of us who strive to live out the faith
so reticent in attesting to that faith to others?
Why do many of us hang up with personal salva-
tion as a concept that is archaic, otherworldly,
selfish? What if we literally were to become the
first persons in the prologue to 1 John . . .
That which was from the beginning, which we
28 MESSENGER 41-72
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon and touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life — the life was made
manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and pro-
claim to you the eternal life which was with the
Father and was made manifest to us — that which
we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you,
so that you may have fellowship with us; and our
fellowship is with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are
writing that our joy may be complete.
Suppose like the followers described here, we
were to go public with our witness, to proclaim
what we have seen and heard, not just through
biblical restatement but in terms of events and
happenings in our own lives. What holds us back?
Perhaps, as some of the "Salvation Today"
resources suggest, we may be silent because we
feel our personal knowledge, our individual ex-
perience, our unique testimony is subjective. It
is. But is this not precisely the point of personal
witness: that admitting to subjectivity one points
to God's presence and action as one discerns it?
rerhaps we feel our insights are limited and
partial. And they are. But would not everyone
remain silent if one were to arrive at a fullness
of truth before speaking? Cannot partial insights
and limited testimonies point toward wholeness?
It is through the process of sharing, of crystalliz-
ing for others that which is central to oneself that
insights are sharpened and deepened.
Perhaps our silence may stem from our want-
ing not to inject ourselves into the picture, our
wanting not to be conspicuous or vain. But the
efl'ect of the witness described in 1 John is to
transcend individuality, to touch base with others,
to generate community . . . "so that you may have
fellowship with us."
In encountering the risen Lord the disciples
were reborn into witnesses. Were we as individ-
uals free to proclaim to others His presence and
activity in our lives, or even to utter the cry for
salvation, our joy too might be complete. — h.e.r.
This highly successful photo-text
series was created to help young
people understand who they are,
and where they're going.
All by Louis M. Savary
Getting High Naturally
Turning on to the world and
yourself — even more. $2.95
Touch With Love
New ways to reach out to
the universe. $2.95
Love and Hate
in America Today
Your way out of the mess
we're in — between races,
sexes, religions, classes,
generations. $2.95
Popular Song and
Youth Today
Detailed examination of the
words of 50 of today's most
popular songs. $2.95
Peace, War and Youth
Approaches to understanding
and ending war, and the hopes
of mankind for peace. $3.50
Contemporary Film and
the New Generation
The focus is where the films are
— personal values as they afPect
the culture and are formed by it
and against it. $2.95
20c postage for first dollar; 5c per dollar thereafter
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave.,
Elgin, III. 60120
•
■fct;
After the earthquake, wind, and fire...
. . . comes not a "still small voice" but cries of need from survivors, the homeless and helpless,
threatened by pestilence and poverty.
War in Nigeria. Human agony in Bangladesh.
Hurricanes Camille and Celia. Earthquakes in Peru and California. Inverness tornado.
Pakistan tidal wave. Fire in Southern California. Drought in Rhodesia.
"Acts of God"? That's what some call them.
But no question about what to call the responses they brought from the Church of the
Brethren.
Over $95,000 in personnel and materials — acts of God through his people for his people.
And after the earthquake, wind, or fire, the Church of the Brethren will be ready to serve
again. Because you care.
e
WORLD
MINISTRIES
COMMISSION
SI IB
In creative *
response.
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
APRIL 15, 1972
Toward an
Envir
Ethic
©©[nil
Dsl^l^SD-^
^^ Public Education: Socializer or Liberator? As a nation we put
a lot ot" faith in education. We've assumed that more people with
more schooling would produce a better world. Ivan Illich in
De-schooling Society declares this a false hope and offers counter-
proposals. S. Loren Bowman reviews Illich's book
JQ Toward an Environmental Ethic. How are the Christian faith
and an ecological awareness to be brought together? Messenger
opens a section on the environment with a montage of photographs
and brief statements that offer some beginning points
A Statement on Christian Life-Style. Study and research helped
con\ince one group o( Brethren tliat an environmental ethic depends
on the life-style individuals and famiHes choose. Responding to the
insights of some members of the La Verne. CaHfornia, church are
Floyd E. Bantz, WilHam R. Eberly, Wayne F. Geisert, Ruth Lyons,
and Andrew G. Mathis
To Construct New Attitudes. Ecological awareness can come
with study. Robert T. Neher reviews some resources
Man! You're in Charge! A confession and an alfirmation
together call for stewardship of the environment
Outlook features singers The Young Spirits, looks at developments in the
National Council of Churches, introduces the nominee for executive of
the American Baptist Convention, calls for hymns on environmental
stewardship, and notes a hosteUng tour of Germany being offered by
Camp Swatara {beginning on 2). . . . Dorris Blough and Mabel Bowman
recount two very different styles of life that Brethren will recognize ( 19
and 24 ) .... In Take It From Here Glee Yoder calls for a celebration of
the earth (20). . . . An editorial proposes "A Campaign on Rethinking
Mission" (28)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener ' News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL 121, NO. 8
APRIL 15, 1972
C.RF.DIIS: Co\er ^clr>ckvvise from inp.
fir^tl RclifTious News Scrx ice; I second,
fifth) I'nitcd N.-Jlions: (irani Ilcilman; I'S
Dcpnrlmcnl of the Interior; I. 10 (third
from Icf I ) . 17 U nl ted Nat ions; 2 Tom
Warner; I Howard E. Rover; fi "Fciffer."
roiirtes\ of the C.hiraj'o Siin-Thnrs and
Piihlishers-Hall S\nrlifatc; 8 "Slorv Hour."
hv Mabel \i. Farmer, reproduced from Che
col left if )ns of the I.ihrarv of Clons^rcss; 10
/first on left) (.rani Mellman; Mhinl, fifth)
Religions News .Scr\icc; 12 ^first. third
from left) Religious News Service; U altncr;
14 Tom Stack for Tom Stack and Associ-
ates; 15. 20 Edward ^Vall(^wiIcll: lf> Ed
Carlin; 21. 24 Don Honick; 22 from Kni-iroii-
wental Arliou: April 22
>rF.ssENCER is thc ofTicial publication of the
Church of tlie lircUircn. Entered as second-
class matter .A,ug. 20. 1918, under -A,ct of
Congress of Oct. 17. 1917. Filing date. Oct. I.
1971. Messenger is a member of Ihe Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Sen ice and Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, arc from tlie Re\iscd .Standard
Version.
Subscription rates: S4.20 per year for indi-
\idual subs( ripiions; S3.f)0 per vear for cliinch
group plan: S3. 00 per year for every home
life -subscription. .SGO; husband and
S75. IE you move clip old address
Melssencer and send with new address.
Allow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly by
thc f.eneral Ser\ ices C()nunission.
Church of the Brethren General
Hoard . 1451 I>iuidee Ave. . Elgin ,
III. r)0120. Second-class postage
at Elgin, 111.. Apr. 15, 1972. Copyriglit
Church of the Brethren General Board.
plan:
^\ ife.
from
i
III
107
SOURCE MATERIAL
I liked the review by Associate Editor
Keener of the monumental winter issue of
Brclhrcn Life and Thought (Feb. 15), but
for contrast he might have quoted the fol-
lowing three excerpts.
C. Wayne Zunkel concluded that "the
future of the Church of the Brethren is not
dark. The basic ideals hammered out by
Mack and that handful at Schwarzenau have
as much relevance for us as they had for
them. ..."
M. R. Zigler [names the relevance]: "no
force in religion to compel anyone to be in
the church or to leave it; opposition to take
the legal oath to tell the truth or to affirm
loyalty; no participation in war; separation
of church and state, freedom to follow con-
science."
Graydon Snyder judges that the church of
2000 will "stand in community with Jesus.
. . . The model is Jesus surrounded by his
disciples. . . . One model is clear: localism.
The local communities will work hard to
recapture and develop anew the kinds of
communal values which have disappeared in
the recent upheaval in American society.
. . . This local church will be ecumenical in
nature (that is, constituted by Christians of
many backgrounds) but not ecumenical in
the present sense of the word. . . .
"I think another characteristic of the
church will need to be radical openness. . . .
In short, the church will have less a Messi-
anic complex and more of a discipleship
stance. . . ."
This important issue of Brethren Life and
Thought could well serve congregational dis-
cussion groups as source material.
Harvfy L. Long
Elmhurst. III.
OVERSIMPLIFICATION
I roail Inez Long' article. "Why I've Been
Pulling on thc Brakes" (Jan. 15), with great
appreciation for what I consider a very pro-
found and accurate assessment of what has
happened in the Church of the Brethren.
In the utterly simple mentality which cur-
rently is in the driver's seat I question how
many will bother to read this article, or will
really understand ihc full import of what
she is saying.
By simple mentalily 1 mean the attitude
which would mainlain a church without
strong central leadership, which is tuned to
the diffused voices that are taking the church
where il is going today.
For example. "Elgin" says that the local
church knows best what it needs; so it waits
for the "grass roots" to speak. But the grass
roots church knows neither its identity nor
its needs.
m
©DllC
Youth says that in order to witness to
our modern subculture we must identify
with it. Many of our ministers say that in
order to witness to youth, they must identify
with them.
Our educators say that the essence of
Christian education is the communication of
feehng. Much of the church in general says
that the essence of the Christian faith is in
human relationship. "To worship rightly is
to love each other."
Annual Conference says that the primary
function of the church is to witness to the
world by providing right answers to its prob-
lems. To discover the will of God. form
great lines before a microphone and take a
vote.
I hear many people say as they read these
lines, "What's wrong with that?"
It is this kind of mentality which is a
gross oversimplification of the mission and
work of the church, but which is taking us
wherever it is that we are going.
Lyle M. Klotz
Olympia, Wash.
PLEASE CANCEL
I have followed up your issues concerning
the Kent State issue. Your writings make
me sick. How can you idolize such behav-
ior? If the National Guard would not have
stopped such behavior, there would have
been many more deaths.
You and the Brethren church preach not
to kill or go to war, but it is okay to
riot and beat National Guardsmen with
rocks and clubs. I watched all of this on
television news, and you are trying to make
heroes out of college scum and tramps. I
would have given anything to have been one
of the guardsmen at that riot.
Please cancel my and my father's sub-
scription to your magazine.
Allen Claar, Bruce Claar
New Enterprise. Pa.
ADULTS ARE GOD'S CHILDREN
As one who is 88, I find our church has
taken on a new and beautiful life.
One of the inspirational sights is to see
little children go forward for a sermon all
their own. Could a child who is trained up
in the way he should go ever forget this
experience?
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, loved
little children.
We adults are God's children. Perhaps
he looks at us as we assemble for worship
in the same manner as we observe little
children as they gather for their sermon.
Mrs. William Terford
Glendale, Calif.
What is termed as one of the boldest
ventures in international cooperation
ever attempted will occur in June in
Stockholm, Sweden. It is the United
Nations Conference on the Human En-
vironment, bringing together represent-
atives of at least 130 countries to focus
on the critical environmental problems
facing humankind.
Among items to be considered are a
Universal Declaration on the Human
Environment, international standards
and norms for environmental behavior,
steps to save the soil and the oceans,
a global system of monitoring, and a
World Heritage Foundation to protect
areas of natural or cultural significance.
"Only One Earth" is the conference
slogan, and the design noted here, de-
picting man as part master/part crea-
ture of his environment, is the official
emblem.
The question of managing the global
environment in the overall interest of
mankind "is the most intrinsically inter-
national of all the great issues which
have confronted, or are likely to con-
front, the human race," declares the
Secretar>'-General of the Conference,
Maurice F. Strong of Canada. The plea
of observers is that the conference result
not only in studies and resolutions but
in machinery with sufficient political
clout to regulate policies.
Mandator)' as governmental and in-
tergovernmental study and action are,
there is another institution which also
could mount an assertive stance on is-
sues affecting the global life system.
It is the Christian church — the world-
wide church but also the church in
denominational and congregational set-
tings.
As Frederick Elder, author of Crisis
in Eden, sees it, the impact of govern-
ment, particularly as we Americans
know it, may tend to be cautious, a
reflection of what the populace in gen-
eral thinks. On some issues government
often is morally neutral, leaving to other
institutions the establishment of moral
identities. Of the institutions equipped
to respond on ecology, Elder sees the
church as having high potential, taking
into account its understanding of crea-
tion, its concern for all life, its inclina-
tion to examine values. And while de-
cided shifts in attitudes may be re-
quired, the church has a concern and a
base from which to evolve an environ-
mental ethic.
At least one group of Brethren, mem-
bers of a California congregation, al-
ready has worked at the task (page 13).
Not that what they have to say about
faith and ecology is a final word, but
it is a word taken seriously enough to
begin to reshape the patterns and goals
of the persons involved. Comments
about their statement follow on page
16, presented with the view in mind
that readers elsewhere may choose to
engage in reflection and action on pat-
terns of life-stvle for themselves.
ONLY ONE EARTH
Also in this issue, readers will find
articles by guest contributors Dorris
Blough, writer and former missionary,
Nampa, Idaho: Floyd E. Bantz. pastor.
Roaring Spring, Pa.: William R. Eberly,
head of the new environmental studies
program at Manchester College in Indi-
ana: Wayne F. Geisert, president of
Bridgewater College in Virginia: Ruth
Lyons, Kent, Wash.; Andrew G. Math-
is, psychologist, Tampa, Fla.; Glee
Yoder, writer, McPherson, Kan.: Mabel
Bowman, Astoria, III.: and S. Loren
Bowman, general secretan,-. Church of
the Brethren General Board: and book
reviewer Robert T. Neher. professor
of life science at La Verne College in
California.
The statement, "Man! You're in
Charge!" appears with permission of
the Section on Stewardship and Benevo-
lence, National Council of Churches. —
The Editors
4-15-72 MESSENGER 1
The Young Spirits tell their
faith in folk musical idiom
One hundred three West Milton, Ohio,
young people have been sharing their
faith through the folk musical and at the
same lime have sparked a deepening re-
lationship among themselves.
The Young Spirits, as they call them-
selves, come from 13 denominations in
and near West Milton and had their
beginning a year ago with their director
Earlene Bradley, wife of the Church of
the Brethren pastor. Phil Bradley.
Mrs. Bradley had heard a group of
youth present the folk musical "Tell It
Like It Is" at a chorister's seminar in
Kansas and returned home inspired to
organize a similar group. Phil and Ear-
lene Bradley approached other com-
munity and area churches with the idea,
and The Young Spirits were on their way.
Last March the group performed "Tell
It Like It Is" to 1,600 persons in the high
school auditorium, at Christmas gave
the seasonal folk musical "It's the Lord's
Thing," and for Palm Sunday this year
performed "Natural High."
TTieir audiences have also included the
Greenville Brethren Home. Bradford.
Ohio. Council of Churches. Troy's com-
munity lenten service, Southern Ohio
Church of the Brethren conference,
Miami County Fair, Veterans Adminis-
tration Hospital, and many churches.
And in June at Cincinnati, the Young
Spirits will perform at the Church of
the Brethren Annual Conference as part
of the Insights 70s opportunities.
"We had been looking for a meaningful
youth ministry in our church and com-
munity and the medium of folk musicals
opened up for us," Phil Bradley said. "In
addition to giving young people an op-
portunity to express their talent, the
musicals about God have given them an
avenue by which they may share their
faith."
More than a musical group. The Young
Spirits hold a retreat in connection with
each production to polish off the perform-
ance and to provide for personal
growth in small groups. "Our being to-
gether gives us a chance to dig into the
meaning of each musical and to share
personal concerns and discuss group
problems," Mr. Bradley said. Sometimes
the dialogue is rewritten by the youth to
2 MESSENGER 4-15-72
The Young Spirits: A support that cuts across clique lines, enabling self-discovery
better express their own feelings.
The Bradleys feel the group has pro-
duced a feeling of unity among the adults
and youth of the small community. They
see a breakthrough in the high school
too; "The youth are proud to identify
with their faith and can now stand up to-
gether and make a witness. They have
found a support that cuts across clique
lines."
In his own church, where most of the
youth are in The Young Spirits, Pastor
Bradley finds them taking a keener inter-
est in the CBYF. The young singers re-
hearse at the Church of the Brethren and _
in many helpful ways the congregation I
has been very supportive.
The Young Spirits has enabled the West
Milton youth not only to express their
feelings "like it is," but have enabled
them to witness to their faith across re-
ligious lines, build individual leadership
and group community, and discover anew
themselves and others.
Catholics in NCC? Study
committee favors membership
That a committee including top officials
of the Roman Catholic Church would
issue a report favoring Catholic member-
ship in the National Council of Churches
indicates the ecumenical movement has
come a long way.
The document issued in early February
concluded that "nearly every argument in
favor of the continuance of the NCC (or
a comparable successor) is also an argu-
ment for Roman Catholic membership."
The joint NCC-RCC committee said
that Catholic membership in the council
would bring several advantages, and that
there are no obstacles that would prevent
the move.
Dr. Edwin Espy, general secretary of
the NCC, said it was a "foregone con-
clusion" that the Catholic Church would
be accepted if it applied for member-
ship.
The step if it comes — and it is up to
the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops to decide to apply for member-
ship — would profoundly affect the col-
lective life of American religious insti-
tutions for generations to come.
Indeed Catholic membership in na-
tional councils is already a reality in sev-
eral countries, and in the US several
Catholic dioceses and parishes have
joined regional and local councils.
Giving perspective to the National
Council-Catholic Church document for
Religious News Service was Dr. Tracy
Early. Excerpts from his observations
follow:
As recently as 194S, the Vatican re-
fused to allow Catholics to attend the
founding assembly of the World Council
of Churches, even as observers. From the
Protestant side, sharp condemnation of
Catholicism for its attitude on religious
liberty and other social issues, as well as
on questions of doctrine and church au-
thority, was common.
But a new mood was developing, and it
was accelerated by the work of Pope John
and, in the US, the presidency of John
Kennedy.
The NCC appointed staff members to
give Catholic relationships special atten-
1
American Baptists nominate
professor as new executive
Dr. Robert C. Campbell, dean and profes-
sor of New Testament at the American
Baptist Seminary of the West in Covina,
Calif., has been nominated for the post
of general secretary of the American Bap-
tist Convention. The nomination will be
presented to the annual meeting of the
denomination in Denver May 10-14.
The previous secretary. Dr. Edwin H.
Tuller, resigned Dec. 31, 1970, to become
pastor of the American Church in Paris.
Dr. Campbell joined the faculty of the
American Baptist Seminar}' of the West,
then called the California Baptist Theo-
logical Seminary, in 1953, and became
dean the following year. Ordained in
1947, he served as minister of churches
in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Cali-
fornia.
As general secretary, Dr. Campbell will
be the principal executive officer of the
ABC, a 1.5 million-member denomination
with headquarters at Valley Forge, Pa.
The Denver assembly will also con-
sider changing the denominational name
to American Baptist Churches, meeting
biennially, rather than annually, and
major changes in denominational polity
and structure. Mrs. Marcus Rohlfs of
Seattle, Wash., is president of the
American Baptist Convention.
Virginia church honors
men taking CO positions
"We have all kinds of honors for those
who participate in war, but what about
those who stand for peace? We have a
tendency sometimes to forget them."
That sentiment of Graham Sowers,
pastor of the First Church of the Breth-
ren at Pulaski, Va., formed the basis for
a peace banquet by the church's Youth
HI fellowship to honor those men of the
church who chose to witness through al-
ternative service.
During his pastorate at Pulaski Mr.
Sowers has helped seven young men ob-
tain conscientious objector status. Sev-
eral of the men spoke at the banquet.
Their comments:
University student Danny Simpkins.
on filing for CO status at his draft board:
"I am more sure now than ever that what
I did was right."
Jimmy Harrison, 1970 high school
graduate and recently baptized member:
"I am proud to be a member of the
Church of the Brethren and of the stand
we take for peace."
Hampton Buckner, who served with
the forestry service in Michigan and
Maryland during World War H: "It is
not enough to be against war, we must be
for something."
University student Larry Runions:
"The first time I attended the Church
of the Brethren I heard a sermon on
peace. I already had a conviction that
war was wrong and it was almost unbe-
lievable to find someone else who believed
the same way I did."
Cecil Buckner, seagoing cowboy dur-
ing World War H: "It means something to
give a part of your life to help other peo-
ple and e.xpect nothing in return."
tion, and in 1965 a joint NCC-RCC work-
ing group was established, paralleling one
formed the same year by the WCC and
the Vatican.
Catholic relationships with the NCC
developed rapidly, with the NCC appoint-
ing Catholic priests and nuns to its staff.
Catholic groups cooperating with various
program units of the NCC, and the Na-
tional Conference of Catholic Bishops
deciding in 1970 to appoint representa-
tives to the NCC Faith and Order Com-
mission.
As early as 1967, a study showed some
degree of Catholic participation in al-
most every aspect of the NCC's work.
And in 1968, the joint working group had
progressed so rapidly that it was dissolved
and replaced with the study committee,
which was instructed to examine the spe-
cific question of Catholic membership in
the NCC.
Though the National Council has been
the principal institutional expression of
ecumenism in this country, it could only
be of limited significance so long as its
membership did not include the Catholic
Church. This was true even apart from
the theological situation, since its 48
million members made it by far the
largest church in the nation.
Not only would Catholic membership
more than double the NCC constituency
and add financial strength in a period of
declining NCC income, it would likely
make the present member churches take
the council more seriously and might
lead other churches that have stayed out
thus far to reconsider.
A Catholic decision to join the NCC
would also be likely to advance the pros-
pects of Catholic membership in the
World Council of Churches, a topic of
discussion at the 1968 Uppsala Assembly
of the WCC, Pope Paul's 1969 visit to
the WCC headquarters in Geneva, and
sessions of a joint working group.
Though the Catholic Church will
doubtless be accepted into the NCC if it
applies, a few people on the NCC side
may be less than enthusiastic about it.
Those who view the council's role largely
as that of an advocate for liberal social
policies can foresee that Catholic mem-
bership will likely place some restraint on
such activity, at least in some areas.
However, on issues such as economic
justice Catholic membership may give the
NCC's work greater impact. Further-
more, Dr. Espy reports that even the
strongest advocates of social change are
becoming disenchanted with the effective-
ness of policy statements in bringing it
about, and says the NCC would probably
be changing its style in this regard any-
way.
In any event, top leaders of the NCC,
such as Dr. Espy and Dr. Cynthia Wedel,
NCC president, do not base ecumenism
on such pragmatic considerations, but on
theological grounds, an approach more
in accord with the historic Catholic be-
lief that unity is one of the intrinsic
marks of the church.
"Those who want to keep the ecumeni-
cal movement monolithic on social issues
must readjust their views of ecumenism,"
says Dr. Espy. "The basic principle of
ecumenism is inclusiveness."
Unity is not to be sought primarily so
that the churches can achieve certain
pragmatic goals more effectively, says
Dr. Wedel, but because "this is what God
wants."
4-15-72 MESSENGER 3
NCC meeting in December
could 'phase out' assembly
The December 1972 triennial General
Assembly of the National Council of
Churches could be the last such meeting
of the Protestant-Orthodox organization.
If the gathering in Dallas — and a ma-
jority in each denominational delegation
— concurs in adopting a new stmcture,
the General Assembly will be phased out.
(Church of the Brethren representa-
tives to the Dallas assembly will be chosen
in June during Annual Conference.)
Also replaced would be a policy-mak-
ing General Board which currently meets
three times annually. Taking its place
would be a Governing Board, larger than
the present committee.
The restructure plan, endorsed by the
General Board last September, has been
sent to the constituent churches, board
members, and 25 nonmember groups eli-
gible for NCC membership.
The restructure holds open the possi-
bility for Roman Catholic membership
and for participation by non-NCC Pro-
testant groups.
Under the plan, the Governing Board
would make legislative decisions and con-
trol budget and program. The triennial
General Assembly would be replaced by
an occasional Ecumenical Congress,
planned to assure broadest possible par-
ticipation by all US Christian groups.
The Governing Board is seen as more
inclusive than the present General Board.
It would include the chief executive of
each member church, heads of major
denominational boards and agencies,
and the chief policy-makers of denomina-
tions.
Delegations would represent actual
constituency in terms of racial and ethnic
breakdowns, would be made up equally of
lay men and women and whenever pos-
sible would include representatives of
regional ecumenical organizations.
Seats would be provided for at-large
members with special expertise and for
representatives for nonmember churches
which take part in NCC program units.
Tlie work of the council would be or-
ganized around sections and units of the
Governing Board. As currently envis-
ioned, the sections would be: Renewal of
the Church for Evangelism and Mission,
Human Need, Systematic Changes in
4 MESSENGER 4-15-72
New hymns are wanted on environmental stewardship
The Hymn Society of America is calling
upon hymnwriters, poets, and the poeti-
cally inclined to submit hymns and hymn-
prayers on "Man's stewardship of the
earth environment." It is seeking verses,
suitable to be sung in church services, on
"this fundamental religious problem —
hymns that speak to God and will also
move men to action."
This latest call for hymns is made in
the fiftieth year of the Society's existence
as a voluntary agency seeking and pub-
lishing for all churches hymns related to
social-religious and educational current
concerns and problems. The Society
points out that while ecology is "a rela-
tively new emphasis for the preacher and
the congregation, for the teacher and the
class, it is vital for the survival of
mankind."
Writers should send new hymn texts —
and suggestions of current hymn tunes to
which they can be sung — by May 31 to
the Committee on Environmental Stew-
ardship Hymns, Hymn Society of Amer-
ica, Room 242, 475 Riverside Drive,
New York, N.Y. 10027. The Society
hopes to copyright and publish a group
which will be judged the best and to ask
musicians to compose new tunes for them.
Society, Culture and Life Fulfillment,
and Christian Unity. Each Governing
Board member would be assigned to a
section.
Program responsibilities would be car-
ried out by units on Education and Min-
istry, Church and Society, and Ecumeni-
cal Ministries Overseas. Most members
would come from the Governing Board
but might also include persons from non-
member churches and other ecumenical
agencies.
In addition, commissions on theologi-
cal studies and dialogue, regional and
local ecumenism, media programming
and stewardship would operate.
An executive committee of the Govern-
ing Board is seen as overseeing research
and planning, interpretation and informa-
tion, administration and finance and per-
sonnel.
Funding for general management
would come from fair-share assessments
and donations. Services would be paid
by those units using them and by par-
ticipating churches. Under the new plan,
the general secretary is also the chairman
of the executive committee.
The plan was developed over a period
of several years. Dr. Thomas J. Liggett,
deputy general minister of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) was chair-
man of the Committee on Future Ecu-
menical Structure. — r.n.s.
.1
Camp Swatara offers German
tour, facilities to tourists
Pennsylvania's Camp Swatara is offering
20 persons a hosteling and bicycling tour
of Germany from Aug 12-31.
Camp director Gerald Greiner said the
participants will fly to Luxemborg, take
a steamer to Cologne, and rent bikes there
for an itinerary that will carry them
through Schwarzenau, medieval villages,
and the Black Forest.
Some major cities will be visited, but
most of the travel will be through rural
parts of Germany. Part of the trip will
be by rail.
Mr. Greiner also invites Brethren who
are visiting eastern Pennsylvania to ob-
tain lodging at Camp Swatara. The camp
grounds, in the Blue Mountain of Berks
County, has a Family Camping Center
and is near Hershey, the Ephrata Clois-
ter, and Roadside America. Vesper
ser\'ices, discussion groups, and camp-
fires are held on weekends, with special
services during the Memorial Day, Inde-
pendence Day, and Labor Day holi-
days.
Information on the camp facilities and
the bike tour of Germany may be had
from Mr. Greiner at 5710 Crickett Lane,
Harrisburg, Pa. 17112, before June 1,
and afterwards, at the camp, Route 1,
Bethel, Pa. 19507.
Moscow's English-speaking
have Episcopalian chaplain
The pastor to the English-speaking com-
munity in Moscow is 29-year-old
Raymond Oppenheim, who until Febru-
ary was an Episcopal Church missionary
in Alaska.
Actually considered the Protestant
chaplain, Mr. Oppenheim conducts Sun-
day services twice monthly at the Amer-
ican ambassador's home and twice
monthly at the British Embassy. Week-
day worship and activities are held in his
residence.
Five denominations — Episcopal,
United Methodist, United Presbyterian,
American Baptist, and Lutheran Church
in America — began the program in
1962 and alternate in supplying chaplains
who basically serve American and British
diplomats in the Soviet capital.
mmdBirWn
PEOPLE YOU KNOW
Atlantic Northeast Disturict executive
Harold Z_. Bamberger has been appointed by the Mennonite
Central Committee to a one-year term on the Mennonite Men-
tal Health Services Board which directs a program of mental
health studies and hospitals in the US and Canada.
Frances Clemens Nyce , Westminster, Md. , has been
named Maryland representative for the US committee for
UNICEF. She has been coordinator of 1±ie Carroll County
"Trick or Treat for UNICEF" campaign for Church Women
United since 1966.
Serving as Southern Pennsylvania District peace field-
worker this summer is Prudence Lenharr of the Waynesboro
congregation. Presently she is in the peace studies mas-
ter's program. Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Va.
United Melihodist clergyman Alan Geyer has resigned as
Christian Century editor to become 1ihe first Dag Hammer-
skjold professor of peace studies at Colgate University.
Representing the Church of the Brethren on the Jan. 31
inaugural of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches was Byron
E. Dell, Southern Plains District executive.
THE PASTORAL SCENE
Two Church of the Brethren mini-
sters celebrated their fiftieth year in the ministry: Joseph
M_. Baugher , York, Pa. , and Robert L_. Byrd , Bridgewater, Va.
Serving as interim pastor at the Central Church of the
Bret±iren, Roanoke, Va. , is Ralph E_. Shober .
Pastoral placements ... John Lit ten , from Tear Coat,
West Marva, to Walnut Grove in the same district. . .Ed
Poling to Myersville, Mid-Atlantic. . .Percy Kegarise to
Three Springs, Southern Pennsylvania. . .Charles Gibbs ,
United Methodist, to Zion in Michigan. . .and Phyllis Carter
from Bethel Center, Northern Indiana to Wabash, South/
Central Indiana.
Northern Ohio's Deshler congregation called Roger
Harding as part-time pastor ... In the Southern Plains
District Dan Blickenstaff has terminated pastoral services
to the Antelope Valley church because of ill health.
Dual fellowships in teaching and resident chaplaincy
in Chicago call Larry Ul ri ch to resign his pastorate at
Flower Hill in the Mid-Atlantic District.
Brookville , Ohio, pastor Carl Zigler has resigned to
become lihe first full-time chaplain at the Brethren Home,
Greenville, Ohio.
YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THESE
Two new resources
on the draft may be helpful to young men facing military
or alternative service. The New Draft Law contains a list
of draft classifications, pointers on how to register, and
other information. Order from the Church of the Brethren,
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, 111. 60120, for 15<: per copy or
$10 per hundred.
Conscientious Objectors and the Draft provides com-
prehensive information from the National Interreligious Serv-
ice Board for Conscientious Objectors. Order from NISBCO,
550 Washington Bldg. , 15th S New York Avenues, N.W., Washing-
ton, D.C. 20005, at $15 per hundred plus shipping to anyone
who orders it in quantity for free distribution.
4-15-72 MESSENGER 5
)PS©D®D \r(Bp(n)\rt
Amnesty... yes or no
by RONALD E. KEENER
The young man's response to the Senate
subcommittee examining the matter of
amnesty pointed up the intermix of poH-
tics and morality that any discussion on
amnesty raises: The men who were
forced to flee their country to avoid the
Vietnam war. he said, deserved not so
much a pardon as an apology from their
government.
And as Congressional — and public —
sentiment stands now. they may receive
neither. It is highly unlikely that any
Administration would admit to the Viet-
nam war's being a gigantic war crime, but
it is upon this moral peg that many pro-
amnesty speakers hang their arguments.
Few are ready to share the feelings
of columnist Garry Wills in declaring:
""The real question is not whether the
President should grant amnests. but if
he should receive it. I think he should.
I think all those responsible for this gris-
ly war should be pardoned — are we not
all. in some measure, responsible? — but
only if they repent of that responsibility,
no matter how partial.
"And, so far, the President hasn't,
which is the best argument advanced, to
this point, against general amnesty.'"
Estimates place some 70,000 young
American men in Canada and Sweden
who have refused the draft or quit the
military. .Another 500 are being held in
federal prisons for draft resistance, and
about ,'^.000 have already completed pris-
on terms, branded for life as felons.
Last October, 16 prominent citizens
issued a statement to Congress, the Presi-
dent, and Presidential aspirants that
pleaded: "... let there be no legal re-
crrminations among ourselves for the
fightmg or the refusing to fight this war.
The healing and reconciliation of the na-
tion, its redirection toward peace with
rtself. will be difiicult enough. It will be
folly to make it even harder by exacting
heavy legal penalties from these young
men. . . . The alternative would be a class
of political exiles, haunting us for decade
after decade."
But should some price be extracted
from those young men who avoided
military service while others stayed home
and faced the music? Among those with
this feeling are the editors of The Living
Church, an unofficial national Episcopal
magazine, who believe that some distinc-
tion between those who fled and those
who fought should be made.
A January editorial said there is a dif-
ference between one who leaves his coun-
try with the intention of renouncing
citizenship and one who intends to return
after the war is over. The latter is deser-
tion, it said, and a form and degree of
treason.
"Moreover, the nation must give heed
to precedent," the editors said. "If it
gives amnesty to those returnees it will
be saying to the young men of some pos-
sible future wartime: "If you don't ap-
prove of this war, find some safe neutral
spot where you can sit it out, and when
it's all over come home: all will be for-
given.' "
On the position that the expatriates
must earn the right to come back, to be
taken seriously, the amnesty bills now
in Congress are based.
Both bills, by Senator Taft of Ohio
and Representative Koch of New York,
offer amnesty to draft resisters (but not
to deserters) on the condition that they
undertake three years of alternate volun-
tary service, such as in VISTA or a vet-
eran's hospital.
In any respect draft resisters, whether
in exile or prison, are unlikely to accept
the conditions of the Taft-Koch bills.
The implication that American citizen-
ship is a higher value than the dictates of
conscience will not be attractive to re-
pentant resisters. Still, it is probably the
only legislation that stands a chance in
Congress. One national poll revealed
that while some 71 percent of the people
favored amnesty, most of them preferred
a conditional amnesty only.
Full amnesty is opposed particularly
when included are men who deserted the
military after induction. The Knights of
Columbus publication, Columbia, of)-
poscd amnesty for those "for whom the
alleged immorality of US involvement in
Indochina was an alibi rather than a con-
viction. . . . The assumption that all
draft dodgers and deserters were prodded
A F^W $f^DRT V^ARS I 60P-
WAR- WAR-
M05TCr
us cppoee
■me ^AR-
r
cfpcee
me
WAR.
10 -m P0U5,
THl^JfC IT'S
IMMORAL.
I THIfOK'
[TS
IMMORAL.
/rc^
6 MESSENGER 4-15-72
by conscience rather than opportunism
suggests considerable naiveness."
Arguments on amnesty, whether con-
ditional or unconditional, posit on one's
view of the rightness or wrongness of the
war itself, whether amnesty is regarded
as "forgiveness" or in its old Greek sense
of "to forget."
Many draft emigrants to Canada say
they do not intend to return to the US.
Many do not want amnesty.
There are some who want to return and
some persons in the US think amnesty
should be granted so the resisters could
make a free choice between alternatives.
President Ni.xon in early January said
he did not choose to decide on amnesty
for Vietnam resisters until all US per-
sonnel held prisoner in Vietnam are re-
leased.
Granting amnesty while the war goes
on seems undesirable and unlikely. But
public debate on the issue is in place.
Encouraging that debate, and seeking
full amnesty, is the National Committee
for Amnesty Now (200 Legal Center
Building, Eugene, Ore. 97401).
The organization, headed by former
Oregon Congressman Charles O. Porter,
is drafting its own bill that would offer
amnesty to both draft resisters and de-
serters. It seeks also to get amnesty planks
in both national party platforms this sum-
mer, to obtain such commitments from
Presidential and Congressional candi-
dates, and a petition campaign to support
the bill.
For Mr. Porter, "the amnesty issue
goes to the heart of the moral issue of
this war. No man should be punished for
refusal to participate in an immoral war."
The American Civil Liberties Union is
also involved with the amnesty issue, as
is a new group, the American Refugee
Project. It is trying to get the United Na-
tions to designate the resisters abroad as
official refugees. Several national and
international church organizations have
long spoken of the resisters as "refu-
gees."
The main focus on amnesty by the
churches is coming through the Amnesty
Center for Information and Action (P.O.
Box 179, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48107), in-
itially being funded by the United Metho-
dist Church.
Following the example after World
War II, The New York Times editorially
suggested an independent agency or
board be appointed to pass on each am-
nesty request.
"Congress could hardly frame a com-
prehensive law taking account of the le-
gal and human complexities of resistance
to service in Vietnam," it said.
"It would be more constructive ... to
establish an Anmesty Review Board
which . . . could cut across jurisdictional
lines between the military code and the
criminal law."
Yet if the last war's amnesty board is
any model, it won't serve today's draft
exiles very well. Walton Hackman of the
Mennonite Central Committee has noted:
"Of the 15,805 men who were prose-
cuted for their violations during and fol-
lowing World War II, only 1,523 pardons
were recommended by the amnesty
board."
Totally disregarded by the three-man
board, said Mr. Hackman, were the 4,300
Jehovah's Witnesses who refused both
military service and work in the Civilian
Public Service camps, those blacks who
opposed the military because of its seg-
regation, the Puerto Rican Nationalists
who did not pledge their allegiance to the
US, and the Hopi Indians whose tribal
beliefs prevented them from participating
in war.
Draft violations can have serious con-
sequences. Maximum punishment for
violators is five years in prison and a
$10,000 fine. Deserters face sentences of
up to ten years and less than honorable
discharge. This may make the man little
more than a second-class citizen, unable
to vote or hold public office in many
states, and having difficulty in obtaining
and holding a job.
"Is it necessary for the minority to
sacrifice their beliefs for the sake of the
majority, or is there enough latitude with-
in our society to respect and accept those
who hold dissident views?" Mr. Hack-
man asks.
When conscience counsels disobedience
of the law, especially those considered
unjust, should the persons expect to face
the consequences of their actions? Or
if the war is unjust and immoral in itself,
are they merely being punished for hav-
ing done the right thing?
It's a tough issue that finds many on
both sides, for and against amnesty. Mes-
senger welcomes the views of its readers
on the amnesty issue.
Even for those who concur that am-
nesty be given, there is disagreement.
Many are concerned about the implica-
tions of the precedent if amnesty without
penalty is given; others reiterate that rec-
onciliation is more important than laws.
^ m Qmva^ (^ what to po with
V5AR$ eefo^ uoe inooair m
W\R WAS (HH0RA6.,AWI? QeseRJBU
XO CAUA^A ,wA /
AMfOeSTV?'
WTi
I
Dist. Publishers-Hall Syndi
mn m^^
MORAUT^.
/
<S>firj 1^ %W'2~-
i-z-
4-15-72 MESSENGER 7
\r&^\imM
Public education: Socializer or liberator?
DE-SCHOOLING SOCIETY, by Ivan lllich. Edited
by Ruth N. Anshen. Harper and Row, 1971,
$5.95
As A NATION, we have put a lot of faith
in education. \\'e assumed that more
people with more and more schooling
would produce a better and better world.
So we developed a remarkable system of
universal, compulsory- schooling.
lllich, in De-scbooUng Society, declares
unequivocally that this is a false hope
and that our system of education will not
produce the society we want. In fact.
he maintains that our schools have be-
come instruments of social control
geared to fulfilling the demands of a
consumer society. This process of so-
cialization has replaced education's more
basic goal of liberation of persons.
The way to get the society we want —
one that puts persons, not things, first —
is to de-school society ... to disestablish
our present model of universal education
before it also ruins the non-Western
world.
If you can examine such a claim
with some degree of objectivity, you may
wish to spend some time with this pro-
vocative book. I suspect there is not
much point in doing so. unless you are
ready to have your educational assump-
tions challenged; to have your feelings
about the achievements of education
probed; to have your educational experi-
ences evaluated from new perspectives.
I shall not review the book idea by
idea, chapter by chapter, but touch
briefly on the author's description of
education's "bad days" and his concept
■^^^^-
■^:^
■
'■'"i
H
'^^tSs
^H
9
u^HH^r
m
^^^^1
Xkmk
RK
ft
of de-schooling. Then, I shall deal with
his "Learning Webs" which have as many
implications for church education as for
[ public education.
' Troubles/ illusions. Evidence abounds
that our schools are in trouble. Achieve-
ment levels are falling in many of the
better school districts; pupil dropout
rate is still climbing, now reaching aca-
demic achievers: costs are getting out of
hand; teacher disenchantment is growing.
Increasingly, persons in and out of the
school system are questioning the validity
of our commitment to the certified, stand-
' ardized, lockstep curricular process of
the school system.
Illich describes three types of responses
being made to education's "bad days";
efforts to reform present classroom
methods; proposals to disperse "free
schools" throughout the society; pro-
posals to turn society (the life about us)
into one huge classroom. He argues that
these proposals continue and extend the
pervasive social control of the present
schools.
Moreover, they do not come to grips
with the illusions which tend to make
education ineffective. These seem to be
crucial from Illich's perspective: schools
are the only way to education; most
learning is the result of teaching ( instruc-
tion) ; knowledge can be placed in neat,
sequential packages: all can profit from
universal compulsory education.
Disestablish. The society we need to
create requires the facing of these illu-
sions and the developing of more drastic
measures than the current reform ap-
proaches. The need is to disestablish our
universal education system ... to de-
school our society. Although one can
rightly question whether Illich provides
support for it, the thesis is that "the in-
stitutionalization of values leads inevit-
ably to physical pollution, social polari-
zation, and psychological impotence;
three dimensions in a process of global
degradation and modernized misery."
Or, you may find these statements
, more meaningful: "Schools are designed
I on the assumption that there is a secret to
' , everything in life: that the quality of life
depends on knowing that secret: that sec-
rets can be known only in orderly suc-
cessions; and that only teachers can
properly reveal these secrets. An indi-
vidual with a schooled mind conceives of
the world as a pyramid of classified pack-
ages accessible only to those who carry
the proper tags."
Actually de-schooling (how you invert
education) is inferred, rather than de-
fined. And much of the argument of the
chapter centers around poverty and the
inappropriateness of universal education
for the masses of the Third World. He
gives this positive definition — "school
as the age-specific, teacher-related pro-
cess requiring full-time attendance at an
obligatory curriculum" — from which
you can infer what he wishes to dises-
tablish. He insists specifically that
schools have robbed the poor of their
self-respect by declaring salvation comes
only through the educational system.
Learning Webs. The heart of Illich's
positive proposals from my perspective —
though I'm not convinced that they rep-
resent a complete alternative for the
schools — are found in his discussion of
"learning webs." The ideas are not novel
but the descriptions and the combinations
offer creative potentials that should be
explored. Implications of these proposals
seem as potentially fruitful for church
education as for public education. And
at a number of points they appear to be
congenial with some recent emphases in
our programs of Christian education.
Briefly, the claim is: learning should
grow out of life: it should be more cas-
ual: it should be more voluntary', not
based upon power of one to require an-
other to attend. EdLication, Illich says,
has been turned around: It has pulled
persons away from everyday reality to
consume a special commodity and to ac-
cumulate abstract knowledge about life
instead of learning from an environment
which is human, an environment in which
most have access most of the time to the
facts and tools needed to shape their
lives.
Basic resources for these learning webs
are available everywhere, to everyone:
things: models: peers; elders. You could
call them "opportunity webs." he says,
since they provide the foundation for a
network of relationships with the life
about us. He admits that there will be
need for educators/ facilitators in under-
standing and utilizing these resources but
he does not describe organizational mod-
els for such roles.
Avenues to these basic resources are
suggested.
1 . Establish a network of learning ob-
jects. The community could finance the
network and arrange for it to be open to
all at reasonable hours, or it could limit
opportunities on basis of age or need.
Illich claims that "public schools transfer
control over the educational uses of ob-
jects from private to professional hands.
The institutional inversion of schools
could empower the individual to reclaim
the right to use them for education."
2. Develop networks of skill ex-
changes. Here those who have skills
agree to share with those who wish to
learn the skills. Community inducements
may be necessary, and could be provided
by supporting "free skill centers" or by
giving credit (a monetary voucher) to
acquire fundamental skills.
3. Encourage a system of "peer-match-
ing." This requires no special incentives
— just a desire and a network of com-
munication. With today's computer, all
that is needed for peer-matching is name,
address, activity or interest you wish to
share. Persons using the system would
be known only to others with the same in-
terest.
4. Provide a network of professional
educators. The functions would be in
pedagogy and intellectual leadership in
knowledge fields. The skills required
would be more like those of the staff of
libraries or museums than those of the
present school system. And the number
required would be fewer.
You will find fuller descriptions of
these resources and avenues which Illich
proposes as the ingredients of the educa-
tion needed today. He is calling for radi-
cal measures — measures that will result
in a different kind of person and a differ-
ent kind of society.
Personally, I'd like to encourage the
discussion of his book — not because it
answers all the questions it raises, but
because it raises questions. Further, I
should like to commend the "learning
webs" to the careful study of Christian
education/ nurture commissions. The
skill-sharing and peer-matching hold
many possibilities for learning in the ex-
tended family of the church and in the
local community. — S. Loren Bowman
415-72 MESSENGER 9
Then God said, "Let
us make man in our image,
after our likeness; and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps
upon the earth." So God created man in his own im-
age, in the image of God he created him; male and fe-
male he created them. And God blessed them, and
God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and
fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion
over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the
air and over every living thing that moves up-
on the earth. . . . And God saw everything
that he had made, and behold, it was
very good. — Genesis 1:26-28, 31
You need only smell
the exhaust pipes of our
samlors and buses, or listen to the
soul-destroying sounds of our long tail boat
or slip on the distasteful oil sludges both on road
and water to realize that we are as much at fault in the
pollution war as more industrialized societies. — Edi-
torial, The Post, Bangkok, Thailand
The simple truth is that no place on our planet lives
alone — and no place can deal alone with the pol-
lution of the planet. We are far from one world
politically — but, by necessity if not by choice,
we are one world environmentally. And the
crisis of the environment has made us
common victims of a common adver-
sity. — Edmund S. Muskie
Toward an
Environmental Ethic
10 MESSENGER I 15 72
Suddenly it appears to
many people, with frighten-
ing intensity, that we are pushing
against the limits of a finite world, that in
all likelihood something vital will before long give
ay, and that the traumatic reassessments which will
i;hen be forced upon us will be full of possibilities for
tragedy. . . . The questions to be faced are novel,
their complexity is daunting and the time span
within which responsible action must be taken
seems alarmingly short. In the face of a numbing
temptation to do nothing. Christians are sum-
moned to reflection and action, with all people
of goodwill, to participate in the building
of God's earth. — World Council of
Churches
The first ethics dealt with the relation between individuals,
the Mosaic Decalogue is an example. Later accretions dealt with the
relation between the individual and society. The Golden Rule tries
to integrate the individual to society; democracy to integrate social
organization to the individual. There is yet no ethic dealing with
man's relation to land and to animals and plants which grow up-
on it. . . . The extension of ethics to this third element in hu-
man environment is, if I read the evidence correctly, an evo-
lutionary possibility and an ecological necessity. It is the
third step in a sequence. The first two have already been
taken. Individual thinkers since the days of Ezekiel
and Isaiah have asserted that the despoliation of land
is not only inexpedient but wrong. Society, how-
ever has not yet affirmed their belief. —
Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac
One practical decision after anoth-
er has led to the brink of cosmic dis-
aster. And there we sit, in pollution and
chaos, courting the end of the earth. Just
how practical can you get. — Ada Louise
Huxtable, The New York Times
uu\ ^
I find man utterly unaware of what his wealth is
' or his fundamental capacity is. He says time and
again, "We can't afford it." For instance, we are
jsaying now that we can't afford to do anything about
lollution but after the costs of not doing something
)out pollution have multiplied many fold beyond what
it would cost to correct it now, we will spend
many fold what it would cost us now to
correct it. — R. Buckminster Full-
er, The World Game
4-15-72 MESSENGER 11
. . . What is desperately needed now
in Western society is the emergence of a
modern asceticism. ... It would not involve a
withdrawal from the world in the way Medieval ascet-
icism was, but would simply be a new way of thinking
and acting toward and, we can say, with the world.
Elements of this new asceticism might eventu-
ally be several, but for now I can specify three
that are fundamental. These are: ( 1 ) restraint,
(2) an emphasis upon quality existence, and
(3)reverence for life. — Frederick Elder,
Crisis in Eden
I believe an ecological vision can help us
to perceive spiritual values now latent: a sense
of the interdependence of all life, a love of simplicity
the discipline of restraint, and sensitivity and even
reverence toward our nonhuman environment, God's
good creation. These are values that now find little
place in Christian experience and thinking.
— James C. Livington, Christian Century
12 MESSENGER 4-15-72
i
statement on
Ghristlan Life-Style
The need lor a change
As twentieth-century Christians, we
face the same basic dilemma which has
confronted every preceding generation
of Christians. We are caught between
the demands of the gospel and man's
self-centered desires. But given the
world situation as it is today, we must
ask how we are to be faithful followers
of Christ. We, as members of the La
Verne Church of the Brethren, have
been struggling with this question for
several months. We have studied the
Christian faith and the critical problems
which we now face. It is our conviction
that in view of our commitment to
Christ, and awareness of the tremen-
dous problems which must be solved, a
change in our own life-style is impera-
tive. Therefore, we have outlined some
basic elements of the style of life which
we believe to be demanded of us.
We realize that it is impossible to
touch every area of life. Nevertheless,
we believe that all of the issues involved
in living a faithful Christian life are
intertwined. The economic, aesthetic,
political, ecological, and spiritual di-
mensions of life cannot be divorced
from each other. Therefore, we at-
tempt a comprehensive statement — re-
How are the Christian faith and an ecological awareness to he brought
together? One crucial means is by the lifestyle individuals and families
choose to pursue.
This is the insigin drawn by a group in the La Verne, Calif., Church
of the Brethren from a study of environmental and theological concerns.
The brief but wide-ranging statement issuing out of the study was approved
and signed by about twenty members.
Its publication in Messenger is not so much to lift up a definitive
stance as it is to offer a suggestion and encouragement to groups or individ-
uals elsewhere in search of guidelines and directions. Comments on the
statement follow on page 16.
alizing its dangers and its advantages.
We have no naive expectations thai
our change in life-style will "bring in
the kingdom," but we believe that as
individuals and as families we must
take seriously the changes in style of
life which are demanded of us as
Christians.
In the process of working on the
elements of this statement, we have
come to realize how important it is to
support and encourage each other as
we try to live out the realities of this
commitment. We need each other for
support, for resolution, and. if need be.
for reprimand. Therefore, we enter in-
to this commitment as a group, re-
sponsible and dedicated to each other
and to the wider family of man and
the universe.
The crisis we lace
We are becoming increasingly aware of
the multifaceted crisis which faces us
in this generation. It is literally a mat-
ter of life and death for millions of
persons who are now living, and for
the many millions who will be born.
We are destroying each other and the
land upon which we are dependent for
life. We are living in a society which
has a perverted value system. We are
developing a quality of life that is in-
compatible with sustained life on earth.
One of the major aspects of the pres-
ent crisis is related to the areas of over-
population and the destruction of our
environment. Put simply, there are too
many people for the resources which
4-15-72 MESSENGER 13
we have. In addition, there is a tre-
mendous imbalance in the amount of
resources used by the world's popula-
tion. We of the United States comprise
only six percent of the world's popula-
tion, yet we consume over fifty percent
of the natural resources. \\'e pollute
our water, land, and air so that irre-
parable damage is done to these nat-
ural resources. We upset the ecological
balance of nature in the name of prog-
ress.
Part of the orthodoxy of the society
in which we live is that "more means
better." We are encouraged to buy and
use products which are unnecessary,
and the value of a person is too often
measured by the material affluence
which he manifests. We buy more and
more: therefore, we use up more of
the earth's limited raw materials, and
then we clutter up the water, land, and
air with our waste products. This style
of consumption becomes a demonic
circle; therefore, we feel that we must
make our break with its assumptions,
its practices, and its effects.
The theological base
We believe that our statement on life-
style should have its roots within the
Christian faith. Therefore, we look to
the resources of our faith for a per-
spective on how they can help us in
this effort. The Bible, church history
(including the heritage of our own de-
nomination), and the present commu-
nity of faith comprise these basic re-
sources.
It is clear that God is the source of
all creation, but, according to the Gene-
sis account, man has been given the
responsibility of shaping and using cre-
ation in a constructive manner. There-
fore, to damage or exploit God's crea-
tion in any way is a denial of our
God-given responsibility — be it in the
name of progress, rising Gross National
Product, or economic leadership of the
world. Man is a part of God's creation;
hence, when he destroys or misuses na-
ture, he is destroying a part of himself.
At the core of Jesus' message is the
commandment that we should love our
neighbor as ourselves. This means that
we have a responsibility to and for our
neighbor, whether near or far. There-
fore, when we as individuals or as a
nation make decisions about our needs
and wants, we must consider the conse-
quences of these decisions on our neigh-
bor. Realizing the low standard of liv-
ing common to the masses of humanity,
we must decide if the implications
of our actions will deprive our neigh-
bor of the basic necessities of life.
Closely related to this love com-
mandment of Jesus is the biblical un-
derstanding of the corporate view of
man. Especially in the Old Testament,
a person's identity is defined basically
by his association with other persons.
The responsibility, guilt, and accom-
plishment of one person was shared by
his defining group. With such a view
of man, one individual has to take into
account not only his own wishes and
desires, but also those of his neighbor.
We believe that the corporate view of
man is needed in our time.
An aspect of the Brethren heritage
that needs to be resurrected and rede-
fined is the concept of the "simple life."
In its better moments, this theme has
been a help in defining the kind of
uncluttered life which is demanded by
the Christian faith. In its more de-
monic moments, the "simple life" has
been the basis for self-righteousness
and exclusivity. It is our desire to in-
terpret the "simple life" with the for-
mer intention.
Some elements
of Christian lile-style
I . Population. We will do all that
we can to naturally reduce and stabilize
the national and world population
through education and responsible self-
control of birth. Specifically, we will
make certain that we will father or
mother no more than two children.
Those of us who already have more
than two children will make certain that
we have no more, and will support and
encourage the rest of our group to limit
their families as stated above. If we
desire more children, and believe that
we can responsibly raise more, we will
adopt. After fathering or mothering no
more than two children, we will strong-
ly encourage each other to seriously
consider sterilization as a positive birth
control measure which will prevent
worry, accidents, and lapses of will.
We all agree that the most desirable
form of population control is respon-
sible preventative birth control. We do
feel, however, that the possibility of
legal abortion should be made readily
available to all for cases in which there
is a possibility of physical or psycho-
logical damage to the child or mother
if the pregnancy would be carried to
term.
As Christians we feel that a stand
needs to be taken against abortion as
14 MESSENGER 4- 13-72
a birth control technique. Responsible
sexual practices, family planning, and
sterilization should prevent the need for
abortion. Affirming the value of all
human life, abortion is a serious mat-
ter, which should be used by the Chris-
tian only as a last resort.
2. Conservation and consumption.
Since overconsumption by each of us,
directly and indirectly, causes such
widespread damage to the air, water,
and land of the world, and since the
population of the world far exceeds
its carrying capacity, we will work to
develop a "land ethic" that will help to
bring about the saving and restoration
of the earth, of which we are a part.
We realize that we are not owners but
stewards of the sea and land, and that
we cannot destroy either without de-
stroying ourselves.
We will constantly reevaluate our
needs versus our wants, and our desires
versus what is necessary. In our fellow-
ship we will constantly review and ex-
amine these factors, and in light of our
own actual consumption, we will accept
corporate advice and criticism in the
making of our decisions. By so doing,
we hope that we will begin to develop
a value system which is not determined
merely by the basically materialistic
society in which we live, but by an
ongoing community of faith. We also
hope that we can begin to value rela-
tionship, trust, and faithfulness more
highly than possessions.
There are various specifics to which
we commit ourselves. Whenever pos-
sible, we will use only products which
can be recycled and avoid those prod-
ucts which are nonbiodegradable. For
example, we will recycle cans, glass,
and newspapers, and avoid plastics, sty-
rofoam, and detergents which are pol-
luting. We will attempt to buy con-
servative but lasting products, and
maintain them properly, rather than
buying items which need to be replaced
frequently, for example, autos, appli-
ances, furniture, and homes. Where it
is feasible, we will attempt to share
property; for example, lawn mowers
and garden tools.
Each of us as a family will join and
support a group which is working for
population control and/or conservation.
Some possibilities include ZPG (Zero
Population Growth), Friends of the
Earth, Sierra Club. People's Lobby, and
Common Cause. In addition, we will
actively support local and national legis-
lation which aims at improving the en-
vironment.
We do not want to support com-
panies which contribute to the war
effort or those which contribute to the
deterioration of the environment by
either buying their products or investing
in their companies. With regard to in-
vestments in general, we seriously ques-
tion the seemingly compulsive need to
be financially secure. High investments
tend to make us concerned to raise the
GNP, rather than the spiritual quality
of life.
Relation lo the church
As part of the style of life which we
are advocating, we commit ourselves to
be active members of the church. We
realize that we have much to give to
the church and that we have much to
receive from the church. Therefore,
we will support it with our energies and
with our money.
As part of our commitment to the
church, we recognize the priority of
God's authority over man's authority.
Therefore, the values which we believe
to be Christian may be different from
the values which our society or our
government affirms. This is especially
true in relation to national policies con-
cerning war and violence. We reject
violence as a means of solving problems
— either by the government or by anti-
governmental forces. We believe that
nonviolence must be our stand.
Another aspect of our relationship
to the church is the intention to deepen
our commitment to the Christian faith
through study, prayer, discussion, and
worship. We hope to do this as individ-
uals and as groups.
Some considerations. We enter into this
commitment as individuals and as fam-
ily units. We feel that it is important
to stress the familial aspect of this com-
mitment and to attempt to pass on to
our children the values which we con-
sider important.
We also enter into this commitment
voluntarily and joyfully. We have no
desire to be martyrs; we make no claims
that this is "The Way" for everyone,
and we know that this statement will
have to be reevaluated periodically.
Nevertheless, as Christians, we hereby
commit ourselves to the style of life
outlined above. □
4-15-72 MESSENGER IS
COMMENTARY / "CHRISTIAN LIFE-STYLE"
Floyd E.Bantz: stewardship,
not primitivism, is what
is required
Any group of people who has taken
seriously the threat of scientific, tech-
nocratic, industrial society to our ecol-
ogy must be commended. Certainly it is
time to cease the rape of nature and her
resources which is now in process. We
have justified this wantonness by quot-
ing Genesis 1:28, but not even the au-
thor of those words, let alone God,
intended that "dominion" implied the
right to destroy both resources and their
womb.
Yet our scientific, technocratic in-
dustrialism has enabled us to do just
that. The question that now faces us is
whether the planet, its atmosphere and
its inhabitants, can exist if the present
trends continue. Anyone who does not
take this threat seriously is not taking
modern life seriously. Nothing said
here is meant to denigrate this concern.
The theological base of the statement
roots the concern and proposals in two
major premises which I read to say that
the creation exists as a gift to us for our
good. We have been given stewardship
over the creation so that we may sur-
vive — but not just survive. We are to
survive so we can be mature and loving
servants of God. We do not have stew-
ardship over the creation for our own
survival at the expense of all other con-
siderations. We have this stewardship
so that our existence can be beneficial
to all of creation and to God.
I believe our capacity to industrialize
is one of the resources which we have
been given. It is a tool for us to use.
Its purpose is to help us make proper
use of all the other resources of the
creation. As we can with any other
tool we possess we may use it or misuse
it.
This means that industrial skill is not
to be dismissed as evil in and of itself.
It is evil or good, depending upon the
use of it. If it is properly used, this in-
dustrial skill does help us survive and
become the creatures that God intends.
This perspective is extremely im-
portant. Many who are genuinely
alarmed about our present situation are
tempted to condemn industrial ability
and the scientific technology such abili-
ty has prompted and produced. They
are also tempted to go "back to nature."
Although such a return to "mother
earth" is not suggested by this state-
ment, it is a temptation to be resisted.
I am convinced that if we take our mis-
sion seriously, as it has been stated in
"The Theological Basis," corrections to
the present situation cannot be accom-
plished by such a "return." It will not
help us be as beneficial to all peoples,
to our fellow creatures, and to our sur-
roundings, as it is possible for us to be.
If we are to correct the present sit-
uation and use our stewardship for its
original intention, we will need all the
scientific technology we can muster.
Without using the same skills that have
caused the crisis in the effort to resolve
the crisis, the crisis will not be resolved.
The burden of more equitable dis-
tribution of food, medical skills and
supplies, raw materials, machines, and
wealth is too great for primitivism to
carry. Primitivism may preserve the
creation, but it does not allow us to
make full use of creation's resources as
God intends. Rather, we are called to
see industrial ability as a resource so
that the creation can expand in its
capacity to be the place in which hu-
man kind can become the kind of be-
ings God intends.
This will be both an act of proper
respect for the creation and responsible
stewardship. Our survival demands
that we make full u.se of all the re-
sources we have been given. Survival,
however, also demands that we must
husband those resources and their habi-
tat. If we abuse our gifts, and hence
misuse the creation, our part of the
creation can easily be destroyed.
Therefore, it is a paradox that our
own survival demands that we make
our survival a secondary item. We
can survive only if we make the proper
stewardship of all our gifts our first
concern. This is the ecological dimen-
sion of Matthew 16:25: "For whoever
would save his life will lose it." □
WayneF.GelsertiAgrow.ng
GNP is a requisite
As a social scientist, I feel that the
Statement on a Christian Life-Style is
a commendable endeavor which stands
up well in terms of basic thrust and
general principle but which has some
flaws within its specific comments con-
cerning some aspects of our society and
economy.
Perhaps the best stated parts of the
document are those which relate to the
population problem. It is refreshing
for an economist, who endeavored to
acquaint students with the nature of the
world's population problem in his earli-
i est college teaching endeavors of over
I two decades ago, to realize that the
church is taking seriously the Malthu-
sian specter. The statement could have
I been improved by a more deliberate
II recognition of the fact that, compara-
|: lively speaking, our population prob-
il lem is a modest one when viewed
against the backdrop of a world in
which population has been pressing
against the means of subsistence for
generations. Perhaps the statement
should also take note of the fact that
some of the peoples of the world would
be adversely affected by a reduction of
the US birthrate since they have their
livelihood meshed into providing basic
products, particularly raw materials, for
an increasing number of Americans.
The preference for positive birth con-
trol measures as compared with abor-
tion is well stated and the stand taken
against abortion as a birth control
technique is, as I see it, a Christian
posture. Today's advocates of free and
easy abortion do not seem to see the
relationship of their posture to an ulti-
mate placing of a low price on human
life deemed to be nonproductive and
16 MESSENGER 4-15-72
burdensome because of physical or
mental incapacity.
As a person who has devoted his
adult life to serving relati\ely small
colleges, I appreciate the thrust of the
document which suggests that we
should not equate quality with statisti-
cal bigness. Yet, I am disappointed
that a rising gross national product
seems to be equated with the destruc-
tion and misuse of nature. .Actually, we
should strive for an increasing gross
national product based on a sound
stewardship making every endeavor to
avoid the "demonic circle." A growing
GNP must be a part of the American
picture if the unemployed are to be
employed and if the poverty-stricken
are to move to satisfactory levels of life.
This fact is even more conspicuous
when related to that major portion of
the world's population whose poverty
conditions make our conception of pov-
ert\' look like an acceptable level of
life. It should be emphasized that the
world's economic problem is still that of
a sheer lack of productivity rather than
a simple distribution problem, though
the latter is a part of the picture. Even
a hasty review of either national or
United Nations statistics will under-
score this fact.
At a few points the statement moves
into particular illustrations and makes
pronouncements which weaken rather
than strengthen the overall document.
It is inappropriate to make a commit-
ment to the concept of recycling as a
rather hard and fast principle. Re-
cycling is to be commended in some
instances but it is subject to limitations
imposed by costs, not so much in mone-
tary terms as in terms of expenditures
of scarce resources or creation of other
problems in accomplishing the recycling.
For example, noxious fumes from re-
cycling may in some instances create
more problems than the procedure
solves. Obviously, we should recycle
when to do so means the preservation
of the world's resources for future gen-
erations. Just as obviously, we ought
to place considerable focus upon im-
proved disposal procedures relative to
wastes whether or not recycling is in-
volved. Given certain improvements in
the technology of incineration, it could
well be that we should advocate rather
^^f*^"
,¥-
■»■ ,-'•**'
than discourage the use of plastics and
similar products over against glass or
scarce metals. It should be noted that
many of the earth's hideous scars can
be attributed more directly to metal
technology than to plastic productivity.
Likewise, the comments concerning
investments leave something to be de-
sired. The statement does not seem to
recognize that major investments m.ust
continue to be made both publicly and
privately if the level of life for any
large portion of the world's people is
to reach a reasonable level. I assume,
perhaps unfairly, that here too the in-
adequacy of the statement is based on
the fallacy of assuming that the level of
economic life is exclusively a distribu-
tion problem rather than primarily a
problem of inadequate productivity
relative to the number of God's chil-
dren.
Overall, the statement is a good be-
ainnina and is to be commended. ^
William R.Eberly: The wor/d 5
carrying capacity is
already overextended
I am very much mipressed by this state-
ment and the significance of its being
adopted by a group of individuals as a
personal commitment of each of them.
The ecological implications inherent in
the statement are very sound. The twin
enemies of our environment are over-
population and overconsumption (with
all of the implications of pollution and
resource depletion ) .
Technology may be able to develop
methods of producing goods without
pollution and may be able to recycle
materials to reduce the drain on new
raw materials, but if the population
continues to increase, demanding more
and more, the human race will certainly
face some disastrous consequences in
the future. There is strong agreement
among many scientists that the present
population "far exceeds (the) carrying
capacity" of the world. The carrying
capacity is the ability of the environ-
ment to support a particular number of
individuals of a given species (in this
case, man). It is related to the total
quality of life, not just one factor like
food. Under our present levels of tech-
nology and social conditions that exist
in the world, if the total world popula-
tion were between one and two billion,
the quality of life for each person would
have the potential for being much
greater than it is now with the nearly
four billion persons crowding the globe.
It is true that if it were possible to
applv worldwide our present agricultur-
al know-how, we could produce food
for many more persons than now ex-
ist. But life consists of more than just
keeping the body alive. We should re-
member, too. that we are not doing too
good a job feeding our present popula-
tion. Recent figures suggest that 15.000
persons starve to death each day!
Population limitation, through con-
ception prevention and birth prevention,
is a matter of top priority in the world.
The La Verne statement on individual
responsibility to control population
growth is very good. However. I see a
little inconsistency in the position that
a "stand needs to be taken against abor-
4-15-
MESSENGER 17
tion" and the conclusion that "abor-
tion should he used as a last resort."
1 quite agree that for many persons
there will he no need for abortion. But
for vast numbers of persons in the
world, abortion may be the only avail-
able option for controlling and limiting
births. If abortion is to be continually
opposed by those who personally have
no need or who have rejected it as a
method, it will not be available even as
a last resort for those who need it.
From a world perspective, the human
population must be controlled and lim-
ited by any and all ways. We have only
two alternatives: Prevent excess births
or find some way to remove persons
after they are born. I personally find
the first alternative much more accept-
able. I prefer not to have people
starve to death, be killed in war, or
suffer all kinds of mental and psycho-
logical torment because of overcrowd-
ing.
It is a fine goal to use only products
which can be recycled. It should be
pointed out that each individual should
work in his community to develop and
encourage agencies and industries to use
recycled materials. At present, this is
available in very few communities.
The group appears hesitant to recom-
mend this statement to others. It could
be said that until at least a majority of
the people of the world accept these
views, little will be done that will affect
the course of world history. This state-
ment ought to be accepted as "the way"
for everyone. Perhaps we ought to be-
come evangelistic on this issue! □
Rlltn Lyons! two inseparable
problems, qualify and
quantity
The statement of the California Breth-
ren says a change in their life-style is
imperative. It would more accurately
reflect the immensity and urgency of
the worldwide environmental situa-
tion if they declared that a change in
the life-syle of all persons is a necessity
for halting the rush toward environ-
mental disaster. It is far more popular
to talk about ecology and the popula-
tion explosion, to name two issues from
the proposal, than it is to do something
about them. This is no doubt true par-
tially because as individuals we are
overwhelmed by the enormity and com-
plexity of the environmental crisis. In
addition few of us can bring ourselves
to leave the comfort of our daily rou-
tine to make the necessary change of
life-style. .'Mso there are many persons
unconvinced that there is indeed such a
crisis although scientific evidence attest-
ing to such a crisis is abundant. The
La Verne proposal at least acknowl-
edges the crisis and provides a means
for some personal, positive action.
From the ecological point of view,
the two elements of the proposal which
could produce the most positive action
toward quality of life are the population
control commitment and the require-
ment for family membership in a popu-
lation control and/or conservation
group. It is essential to become a part
of such groups, both to keep informed
on vital ecological issues and to make
a witness to one's convictions where it
counts — at the government level. It
takes a well-organized, well-financed,
large group of persons, armed with
facts, to make the necessary impact on
our government at every level. A few
individuals, no matter how committed,
cannot hope to accomplish the task.
The proposal on limiting to two the
number of children fathered and moth-
ered by a couple is a socially responsible
position. Paul R. Ehrlich. department
of biological sciences, Stanford Uni-
versity, considers population control to
be the most important issue of our time.
He believes only a fantastic world ef-
fort over the next five years at changing
the attitude of people towards family
size, and the development, promotion,
and distribution of birth control tech-
nology can possibly arrest population
growth at two or three times its present
level. Hugh litis, department of botany.
University of Wisconsin, says environ-
mental problems are all the multiple ef-
fects of the same cause — too many
people. If we don't solve the quantity
problem, the quality of life problem
will no longer bother us!
This one group of persons says that
though the issues are immense and
grave, they must try to do something
about them. I admire and rejoice in
the spirit and intent of the proposal; I
am not optimistic about its workability
to any significant degree. Only a dedi-
cation and cooperation on the part of
peoples and nations on a scale beyond
anything the world has ever yet wit-
nessed can bring about the radically
changed life-style essential to averting
global ecological disaster. □
Andrew G.Malhis: A new
ethic comes with
struggle and pain
The merit of any group struggling with
the issues involved in formulating an
environmental ethic is most likely to be
for those who engage in the process of
working it out. This involves both
looking to the external world as openly
as we can to ascertain what is, and
looking within to determine what we
value (the good life) and therefore are
prepared to commit ourselves to pursue.
This is part of the ongoing process of
working out a rational ethic and being
alive in a changing world.
The alternative is to follow blindly
the statements of those who lived and
struggled long since and came up with
relevant oughts and shoulds for their
time such as "be ye fruitful and multi-
ply." Borrowed ethics, particularly if
they are not openly aired and re-
digested, do not always fit in the pres-
ent as "what is" often differs from
"what was " when the ethic was formu-
lated originally.
As for myself and those whom I at-
tempt to influence toward "the good
life" the most meaningful assumption
about ethics stems from the concept of
mutual respect. There is relevance in
this concept for the use of our land,
air, water, and reproductive organs. In
my experience any basic change in
ethical outlook that makes a difference
seldom transpires without individual
struggle and often emotional pain.
Thus, the individual's feelings which are
involved in this process of change are
most relevant data to focus upon the
process of working out an ethic. Often
we do not give up our early program-
ming without a fight or the experience
of grief. D
18 MESSENGER 4-15-72
All this and Heaven too
or
the fair-halred generation
by DORRIS BLOUGH
Uorn with a golden spoon in his mouth,
the fair-haired child. That described the
child born between 1920 and 1945 in the
United States of America. No person in
the history of the world has ever had it
so good, or ever will again.
Those born before 1920 were victims of
diseases without remedy, a hand-to-
mouth economy and long hours of labor
for their daily bread, which was a plain
diet, often deficient in essential nutrients.
Before those of that era start singing
the praises of the simple life and hard
work, let us look at their goals. The most
pressing desire of the parents raising
children in the after 1920 era was that
their offspring would not have to work
from sunup until sundown and could
enjoy good health and prosperity.
Those farmers, for most of them were
rural, sacrificed that their children could
attend college, enter the professions, or
become master farmers who could in-
crease productivity and become affluent
like their urban cousins.
And it happened! En masse, the chil-
dren of the Brethren entered college and
came out prepared to increase their in-
comes many fold over that of their par-
ents. The goal was reached!
And didn't they enjoy it! New houses,
cars, travel, the best cuts of meat, coun-
try clubs, beauty parlors, lush carpets on
once-linoleum floors, imported foods,
miracle drugs to conquer pain and dis-
ease, hi-fi sets.
But they did not neglect the "spiritual."
These children could afford to contribute
to build new church buildings, a semi-
nary, and even support foreign missions.
Theirs was untarnished joy. For they
had achieved all this themselves. Hadn't
they studied hard, worked hard, to
build up businesses and farms? They de-
served to enjoy the fruits of such prodi-
gious labor. They declared themselves
to be "self-made" and cried that anybody
could "make it" if he really tried. Were
they not the best examples of that? They
could see forever and the good life
stretched as far as they could see.
The only ugliness that marred their
world was the continuing wars, although
even that was acceptable since commu-
nism had to be controlled.
And there was that atomic bomb. The
children of the Fair-Haired Ones (born
ofter the birth of the Atomic Age in
194.^ ) were saying unsettling things about
the probability of world annihilation, the
real possibility that they would not live to
be grandparents. Strange words to their
ears, but they put it down to tv and
doomsayers. Anyway, no one would dare
use atomic weapons. The people in
charge were, after all, the peers of their
generation; they could be trusted.
Then suddenly in the latter 60s, the
myth exploded. The fantastically delight-
ful life this generation had been living
had actually caused such major pollution
of the environment that only drastic steps
could keep the earth from being de-
stroyed. The fair-haired generation
shouted in frustration that it wasn't their
fault, and how could it happen when they
wanted only to enjoy life and help others
enjoy it too.
Their parents had prepared the way
for the American dream to be fulfilled,
but had themselves known disease and
deprivation. Their children will continue
to participate in a culture more fabulous
than any ever known, but tainted with
the knowledge that self-destruction is a
distinct possibility.
Ond so, out of man's history, one gen-
eration will be known as the Fair-Haired
Generation, for we lived, loved, and
prospered mightily, blissfully unaware
that so soon we would turn to find angels
with (laming swords standing at the gate
of our Paradise. Ours was the only gen-
eration to partake of unbounded affluence
coupled with untrammeled belief that
such Paradise would go on forever. □
Church of the Brethren
^fearbook
1972 «^
edition n \ 1
1972
'fei-bodc I
NOW READY-
Please send me
at $2.25 each
Name
Yearbooks
Address
City.
State
Zip.
Add 20c postage for first dollar
5c each additional dollar
The Brethren Press
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, III. 60120
SUBSCRIBER
SERVICE
Please include a Mes-
senger address label
to insure prompt
service whenever you
write us about your
subscription.
For change of ad-
dress: If you're mov-
ing, please let us
knovy four weeks be-
fore changing your
address. Place mag-
azine address label
here, print your new
address below. If
you have a question
about your subscrip-
tion, place your mag-
azine address label
here and clip this
form to your letter.
■\^/— 1
ATTACH
LABEL
HERE
.— / \— .
Mail to: Messenger, Church of the Brethren
General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgm
III. 60120
name
(please print)
address
city
state
zip code
4-15-72 MESSENGER 19
D'S a^rmmi hmrm'i
Needed:
a new kind
of person...
who views all of life on earth as fundamentally good,
who condemns any effort to destroy life,
who senses the sacredness and holiness of the earth,
who realizes the dependence of all creatures on each other
for life itself,
who recognizes a relationship to the environment
not as
economic gain,
increased productivity,
greater consumption of goods, or
easier and more comfortable living,
but as
a precious gift of God to us,
entrusted to our care and keeping.
bycieevoder
Celebrate
the earth...
Rachel Carson in The Sense of Wonder
writes, "If a child is to keep alive his
inborn sense of wonder ... he needs the
companionship of at least one adult who
can share it, rediscover with him the joy,
excitement, and mystery of the world
we live in."
Walk into the out-of-doors on a warm
April day. Lift a stone and watch the
beetles, centipedes, millipedes, earwigs,
earthworms scurry from the light and
your intrusion. Make sure you replace
the rock for some of those tiny creatures
cannot live long exposed to light and heat.
Stop and watch the ants carrying loads
bigger than their bodies, a wasp building
its nest, a spider spinning a web, an
earthworm burrowing in the soil, a bee
gathering nectar from a flower blossom,
or a seed sprouting in the garden.
Go to a wooded area and listen to the
singing of birds and insects. Observe
their busy activities. How do you feci as
you stand quietly there? What colors do
you see? What do you think causes you
to feel as you do? Have you felt this way
before? What evidences have you seen
that man is destroying much of our natu-
ral beauty?
As you ride through the countryside,
what things do you see that detract from
beauty? How is much of the land being
used? In the city, are there ugly areas?
What do you see that obstructs the view
of the sky? How do you feel about it all?
Discuss with children the ways that
each individual can not only develop en-
vironmental awareness, but can do some-
thing about what he sees, hears, smells,
and tastes that he does not feel is con-
tributing to the benefit of the whole earth.
20 MESSENGER 4 15-72
use
nature's
gifts...
Paints. When you are walking along
the street or along a stream, look for soft,
colored stones which can be used to make
natural paint, just as the Indians once
did. You'll find these stones in parking
lots as well as in the bed of small streams.
Grind the soft stones into a fine powder,
using hard flat stones as grinding tools.
Grind with a circular motion and add
small amounts of water until a rather
thick paste is formed.
After several colors have been made,
you are ready for Indian painting. With
your fingers or a feather, paint your face
as the Indians do for their ceremonial
dances or celebrations. To get different
colors, try mixing two paints.
Dyes. The early pioneers didn't have
Rit or Tintex dyes which you can buy
in a store. They used herbs and berries
which grew nearby to make their own
dyes.
Did you know that marigold blossoms
make a lovely yellow dye? Onion skins
a bright orange? Get out your old white
T-shirts, blouses, and shirts. Experiment
by dyeing them with nature's own bril-
liant colors.
Boil the vegetable matter at least one
hour. Strain the liquid through a clean
cloth. Then dip the material you have
ready to dye in the liquid. Remember
that the different boiling times change
the intensity of the color so you may
get several shades of the same color.
For dyes:
Yellow: Marigold and golden Mar-
guerite blossoms, milkweed
Orange: The papery brown skin of
common cooking onions
Red: Dahlia and zinnia petals
Lilac blue: Fruit of the native elder-
berry
Brown: Black walnut hulls soaked
overnight, then boiled
For tie dyeing pull up a shape in the
cloth resembling a rabbit ear. Separate
the rabbit ear from the flat cloth by
tightly tying it with string at its base.
Wrap the string around it many times.
The wider the band of string, the wider
the circle will be.
Experiment with scrap material before
trying the pattern on your shirt. A tip:
Old cotton material dyes best. Man-
made synthetics are very diflficult to dye.
Beads
are In...
Nature's beads. Melon, pumpkin, and
squash seeds must be washed, then soaked
overnight. While wet they can be
pierced with a needle and strung on
nylon fishing line or heavy waxed thread.
Eucalyptus pods, cloves, and allspice
can be soaked overnight and pierced
with a needle, making a very fragrant
necklace. Pierce the cloves through the
stem.
Clay beads. Clay beads are simple to
make. Form clay into little balls and
make a hole in each one with a nail.
Smooth with water, dry, and then fire,
if a kiln is available. Instead of glazing
them, you can mosaic them with tiny,
smooth pebbles. Use epoxy glue to
secure them on the clay.
Flower leis. Our Hawaiian friends
greet us with flower leis and "Aloha."
Children make leis from clover blossoms
and dandelion stems. Why don't you
"celebrate" the good earth by making a
colorful lei from her treasures? n
[f®©©[LQir(i
TO construct new attitudes
A NEW ETHIC FOR A NEW EARTH, Glenn C.
Stone, Ed. Friendship Press, 1971. 176 pages,
SI. 95 paper
AND THOU SHALT DIE IN A POLLUTED LAND,
by Paul Folsom. Liguorian Pamphlets and
Books, 197). 99 pages, $1.50 paper
I SHUDDER IN DISBELIEF whcn I read
about, or talk to, persons still frantically
fighting to convince us (or themselves)
that we have no air, water, or land pollu-
tion problems, or that we are well on our
way to solving what little we do have.
This thinking is ten years behind the
times. Rachel Carson"s Silent Spring
{ 1 962 ) gave early warning of the dangers
already facing our earth. By 1969. such
scientists as Paul Ehrlich and Barry Com-
moner, and a hundred others like them,
had inspired the youth of America to
organize a national Earth Day, April 22,
1970. But that was only the beginning.
Since then a wealth of well-documented
information has been published, clearly
defining our problems and making it ob-
vious that our difficulties are all too real!
Unfortunately some of us became ""ex-
perts" too fast, without first being fully
schooled in the diversity and complexity
of our environment. Some information
led us to draw faulty, or at least hasty
conclusions (for example, phosphate,
NT.A. calcium carbonate detergents vs.
soap), but it made us sorely aware of the
huge gaps in our knowledge about the
earth and its intricate workings. These
shaky beginnings at attempting to repair
the damage that man had done to his en-
vironment alienated some people, wid-
ened the credibility gap, and led many to
believe that if ecologists were wrong
once, they must always be wrong.
But ecologists were right far more
often than they were wrong. We have
only to examine the plight of any major
city and we find that our worst fears arc
well-founded. Although tremendous re-
search and investigative efTorts have
brought about practical and usable solu-
tions to many problems, their incorpora-
tion and utilization has been met with
typical American apathy, because we in-
tuitively realize that the repair of the
damage that we have wrought to our en-
vironment will cost each of us a great
deal. The thought of having to give up
some of our "things" or stabilizing our
standard of living, produces such para-
noia and irrational fear in us, that ap-
parently we would rather die.
The books A New Ethic for a New
E'.irth. edited by Glenn Stone, and Paul
Folsom's And Thou Shall Die in a Pol-
luted Land are not from the same mold
as most of the early ecology literature.
These books begin at a point where most
other authors leave off, and take a long
look at the implications of faith and re-
ligion in our environmental crisis. Father
Folsom's book is a well-illustrated state-
ment, full of fascinating quotes. It deals
»«♦,<
with the consequences of the Christian's
failure to respect nature. Folsom points
out that:
1 . The man-centered nature of West-
ern Christianity has made it possible for
us to rationalize our actions by insisting
that it is God's will and desire that we
utilize and exploit all of the earth for our
good and for our maximum profit;
2. The traditional Christian stress on
othcrworldliness minimizes the need to
take care of what we have on this earth
since this life is far less significant than
the next;
.3. Our man-nature dualism tends to
prevent us from taking ecology seriously,
since we believe that we can isolate our-
selves from nature, and that we are above
nature. This allows us to easily forget
that we are totally dependent upon it.
Folsom stresses that a solution lies in the
developing of balance between the secular
and the sacred, and the subsequent de-
velopment of a moral approach to nature
and the awareness of man's oneness with
his surroundings. The need for responsi-
ble action to man, to the earth, to God,
and to the "unborn" is discussed in de-
tail, yet the book irresponsibly fails to
mention the very basic, direct relationship
between overpopulation and the ecologi-
cal crisis.
A New Ethic for a New Earth should
be read by every Christian. It is a series of
1 2 papers published by the Faith-Man-
Nature Group, a national interdisciplin-
ary and intcrfaith organization that is ex-
ploring our ecological crisis in its reli-
gious dimension. This book is far broader
in scope, and far more penetrating than
Folsom's book, making it impossible for
me to do more than touch a few high
spots. Its dozen different authors give
us a kaleidoscopic, realistic, and frighten-
ing view of the problems. In it, we see
ourselves as basically selfish and greedy,
unable to see far into the future or learn
from the mistakes of the past, and
tightly shackled by the values and drives
of Western man.
It is made vividly clear that the crisis is
not a problem that can be isolated from
religion, for it is at the very heart of it.
What we do about our environment de-
pends upon our basic beliefs about God,
ourselves, and the world, and until we
realize that all things on this earth — not
just man — have real, lasting value, a
reason for being here, and an equal right
to be here, continued human existence is
unlikely.
You will find the reading of this book
a real mind-expanding experience! As
the problems unfold one immediately be-
gins to search for new resources which
will enable us to construct new attitudes
toward the world in which we live. The
Christian has these resources available to
him. His faith, his discipline, and his
reverence for life demand that he serious-
ly confront this problem, doing whatever
is necessary, so that future generations
might have the opportunity to live.
— Robert T. Neher
MESSENGER ^ 15-72
Why the death of children?
Why the torture of the innocent?
Why suffering?
Why hunger?
Why war?
If there is a God- why?
Why?
FROM THE APPLE TO THE MOON
(Full-color filmstrip/93 frames)
Who among us has not said or thought
such things in a troubled moment?
Annie \'aIlotton popular author and il-
lustrator of Good Xeics for Modem
Man takes you on a simple walk
through the story of man — a few
brushstrokes, a few spots of color, a few
words. They may answer vour ques-
tions . . . they may lead to more ques-
tions. . . Vet our walk on the earth must
have meaning . . . and it can when
it is lixed in tune with the Spirit of
God. Based on the book From the Apple
to the Mooti, this is an unusual film-
strip . . . adaptable tor young people or
adults.
AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
AWARD WINNERS:
PAUL, PRISONER FOR CHRIST
56 frames/color. Ages 10-12
Paul is .seen as a very vital, living
personality. The filmstrip covers im-
portant periods in his life — from his early
training and background through his
conversion to Christianity, and a special
look at his letters.
GOD'S PLAN FOR HIS WORLD
.57 frames/color. Ages 6-9
Unusual in approach. God is found
in the daily lives of people in a city.
Makes the child aware of problems
people must face. Relates these problems
to God's ultimate hope for life, God's
natural laws. His plan for individuals, and
man's responsibility toward others.
OTHER POPULAR FILM STRIPS
BIBLE LANDS AND TIMES
66 frames/color. Ages 8-12
Based on the Old Testament. Views
some of the most important periods of
biblical history. Helps child understand
origin of Christian customs and beliefs.
A CHILD CAN SERVE
55 frames/color. Ages 6-9
Three characters are used to illustrate
concern for others. Helps children con-
sider the meaning of some of the most
basic concepts of Christian living.
A SIGN OF LOVE
66 frames/color. Ages 8-12
A beautifid combination of full-color art
and photography teaches children to
become more sensitixe to and care about
the needs of other people. .Allows the
viewer to make his own choices and
organize his own meanings for the frames.
Each of these six full-color filmstrips
comes in three forms;
Filmstrip with script and cassette.
Each. .S12.,50
Filmstrip with script and record. Each,
.•i>10
Filmstrip with reading script only.
Each, $7
Other fdmstrips are available.
d' Ljouf bed book oc /uppltj ytoce
obingckxi
Qucfio-gfophia
B]
4-15-72 MESSENGER 23
by Mabel Bowman
Recounting
good me
When the Inglenook Cook Book, 1911
edition, was reprinted by The Brethren
Press two years ago, only one of the or-
iginal contributors was at the Lincoln An-
nual Conference where the new printing
was released. She was Fannie Bucher
Stambaugh, who as a girl had submitted
a receipe for snitz and knep.
In October 1970 Mrs. Stambaugh died.
What follows are some reflections on her
life, revealed by a daughter. Revealed
too is "the simple life" that many Breth-
ren once knew well: the closeness to the
earth of orchards and a truck patch; the
cellar full of home-canned goods; the
welcome to strangers and friends alike by
a large family whose members clustered
in living groups of their own near the
family home.
For some it is a life-style far removed
from the 70s, yet certain of its values
may reemerge in new forms. The reader
may wish to note particularly the con-
trasts and the parallels between the ac-
count here and the proposal for a con-
temporary life-style told earlier. Each,
in its distinctive way, speaks of living
out the Christian faith. — Editor
Iflother!" I smiled. "How did you get
here?" "Here" was the church dining
room where cookies and Kool-aid had
just been served to daily vacation Bible
schoolers. At eighty-six. Mother still
loved to mingle with the children, call
them by name, and instruct them in
religious ways. She taught many little
ones the Bible truths, "God is love, love
one another, be kind to one another."
"Oh, I came in with the children this
morning," she answered. We were at
the last vacation Bible school Mother was
to attend, and she was fully enjoying her
part in it, in the same way that she has
savored each event in her long life.
Fannie Bucher Stambaugh was the first
child of Elder Cyrus Bucher and Leah
Gibble Bucher after their 1882 move
from Pennsylvania to Illinois. She and
ten others of the twelve Bucher children
24 MESSENGER 4-15-72
1% •!
project for
Vacation
Church Schools
remained in Fulton County to grow up,
marry, and establish homes near the
Woodland Church of the Brethren at
Astoria.
Fannie B., as mother signed her name,
went to Mulberry Country School, at-
tended Mount Morris College for several
months, and obtained a teacher's cer-
tificate. Her life had the characteristics
of her father's: the Elder Bucher, who
could preach in both German and
English, never allowed earthly possessions
to affect his sincerity and his belief in the
simple life. At twenty, she married
George Stambaugh, widowed when his
first wife — • Fannie's sister Leah — died,
leaving two daughters. As ten more
children were born. Mother prayed that
each might be healthy and God-fearing.
But she and Dad could help us accept
the death of our twelve-year-old brother
Jay when they gathered us together on
the day of his funeral for a prayer to "a
friend who is closer than a brother."
Our full lives went on. Mother learned
photography, developing and printing
film in the bathroom. She sewed a large
number of quilts and comforters. There
was always a cellar filled with canned
fruits and vegetables. Dad kept an
orchard and a truck patch, raising most
of the family food. We purchased flour,
sugar, and salt. A sewing woman came
to help Mother make our Easter dresses
and bonnets. Though we dressed simply,
the Brethren way, if lace was popular,
or ruffles, or pleats, our dresses had those
touches.
Our home exuded warmth and friend-
liness. Schoolteachers stayed overnight.
It was nothing for Mother to hitch her
driving horse to the buggy and take one
of us along to do a friendly deed for
a neighbor. She welcomed Fresh Air
children from Chicago during the sum-
mer. Many an agent or visitor knew there
would be an invitation to pull up a chair
if it was mealtime. Our dinner table
could seat twelve or sixteen persons and
a baby in the high chair. Regularly the
table was laden with homemade bread.
cured ham, ginger cake, fried chicken.
Before meals we always said grace,
and we used the morning worship period
to read a chapter from the Bible. We
knelt in prayer before breakfast, when
Mother and Dad would take turns pray-
ing, and we children, as we became mem-
bers of the church, were given the priv-
ilege of praying "our Lord's prayer."
Neighbors could set their clocks by the
Stambaughs' weekly trip to Sunday school
and church, by horse and carriage,
sleigh, and later, automobile. We always
went, snow, rain, or sleet, living out in
our own way the family creed, "I believe
in God, I love God, I serve God."
Dad died in 1954, just six months after
the celebration of his and Mother's
fiftieth wedding anniversary. He had left
enough provisions for Mother so that she
could continue living on in the Woodland
community, within walking distance of
the church where in 1896 she had been
baptized on a cold, blustery day.
From the family home she watched as
the Stambaugh children graduated from
Astoria High School, as two daughters
earned degrees from Manchester College,
as a nurse, teachers, workers, and home-
makers developed. By October 9, 1970,
the day of her death, Fannie Stambaugh's
family numbered 170.
We would remember her as a woman
who shared her worldly goods with Beth-
any Hospital and Seminary, the General
Board, and Manchester College; who
corresponded with the workers in the
India church up to the last and regularly
received correspondence from them; who
had begun attending Annual Conference
at age nineteen and missed few Annual
Meetings between 1903 and 1970; who,
at eighty-six, kept in touch with denomi-
national work and was enthusiastic in
ecumenical endeavors as well.
Her children, and all who knew her
best as Aunt Fannie or Grandma Stam-
baugh, will remember her as a woman
who knew what is meant by the verse,
"All things work together for good to
those who love the Lord." □
PUT LIFE IN
YOUR GIVING
Give a "living gift"!
$60.00 to $100.00 will buy a
goat that gives 8 cups of milk
a day for a needy family.
$25.00 to $50.00 will buy 100
chicks that will lay an end-
less supply of eggs and give
chicken dinners besides. A
$60.00 to $100.00 pig will pro-
duce a ton of meat annuallv,
and a $400.00 to $500.00 heifer
will give 20 quarts of milk
every day and a calf every
year!
"Living gifts" multiply and
go on giving year after year.
And recipients share in the
giving as they pass on their
gift's first offspring to a
needy neighbor.
Supported by churches and
individuals of all faiths, Heif-
er Project, Inc. has since
1944 sent more than a million
"living gifts to needy families
in 90 countries as well as 18
of our own states. Gifts are
tax deductible.
HEIFER
PROJECT, INC.
1610 S. 12th Street
Goshen, Ind. 46526
Please send your FREE litera-
ture packet and sample church
school materials.
Name
Address
Zip
Church
S571
415-72 MESSENGER 25
"Man!"
and the land and the water?
Some
God called out
and the land under the water
who've assumed dominion
to Adam,
and . . . "
have
"have dominion
held authority
over this world
"All of it!"
preciously, ,
1 created.
provided responsibility j
Be fruitful
"Wow! Lord!"
responsibly;
and multiply!
some
Explore it
have grabbed authority
Probe it
Down the ribbon of Time
but fumbled responsibility.
Dig in it
Adam
Some
Fly over it
and all
became
Enjoy it
his begotten kin
authority
and remember
have taken turns
and ignored responsibility.
1 give you
accepting
Some listened
authority over it
authority
to God
and
and responsibility;
while
responsibility for it.
some men
others turned deaf ears
In short, Man,
have
to Him.
you're in charge!"
harnessed fire
conceived the wheel
developed engines
Today
"All of it?"
designed wings
God ^
asked Adam
while
still calls out: ^^^^ ^M
incredulously.
others
^^■^ W
have drilled for oil
Have dominion ^^^i^^Wj
"All of it!"
dug for coal
over this world ^^^^^k.
replied God
refined for tools
created! ^^^H^^
firmly.
probed for light
searched for health.
Explore ^Kfr^g
"The fish in the sea?
the fowl in the air?
the beasts in the fields?
1
i*.
A •
A
1
Probe it
"The fish dying
Fly over it
in the sea?
Conquer it
birds fluttering
Subdue it
in the air?
.Enjoy it
beasts moaning
IJ
in the fields?
; 1 give you, Man,
and the raped land?
authority
the stagnant air?
and responsibility
the fouled water?
for it.
and . . . ?"
in short, IVIan,
"All of it!"
you're in charge!"
"Forgive us, Lord!"
'Over all of it?"
We ask incredulously.
: "All of it!" I
is the resounding
, answer.
Man! You're
In Charge!
4-15-72 MESSENGER 27
A campaign on rethinking mission
In an effort to break the apathy and silence that
so much surrounds the cause of Christian mis-
sion, a church agency in Hamburg. Germany,
last year took an innovative tack. It created for
public media an advertising campaign on chang-
ing concepts in mission, concepts which may have
been dealt with in articles and sermons but which
had failed to score in pubUc consciousness.
As a sample of the approach followed, one
ad on the Third World depicted a very bare in-
fant against a mother's bare but very full breast
and asserted that the critical lack in this chUd's
life was not milk but schools. Another message,
a bit more discreet in visualization, alluded to
situations in which missionaries had outgrown
their usefulness and had returned home — a mark
not of failure but of maturity on the current scale
of mission values.
If such ads by the Evangelical Committee
for World Mission in Germany were abrasive,
the thing they had going for them was high in-
tention. Any denomination or church agency
would subscribe to the motivation underlying
the campaign: to get people to talk mission, to
think critically about mission, to update their
images and expectations of mission, to invest
their resources and themselves in mission.
One of the realities of the missionary enter-
prise wherever it occurs, whomever it involves,
has been stated well by John V. Taylor of the
Church Missionary Society in London. He insists
"there has always been a subtle difference be-
tween the hopes of those who have initiated, sup-
ported, and prayed for a missionary society or
board and the expectation of the people overseas
who look to the society or board for help."
In this the Church of the Brethren is no ex-
ception. We have been long in mission work, but
we have been late in discerning how the national,
or the minority person, views the contribution we
bring. Years after service is completed former
workers on occasion have been heard to speak so
disparagingly of the culture or life of those they
encountered that one wonders if mutuality ever
took place. Mission enthusiasts sometime appear
so zealous to have our namesake, our tradition,
our investment made visible in churches abroad
that World Ministries executive Joel Thompson
was prompted to say to Annual Conference,
"Whose church is it that we build?"
In examining how we perceive mission we may
find help in the observations tendered by a com-
mittee studying mission from an international
view. Among "clues for rethinking mission" sug-
gested by the committee are these:
— Each church (local, denominational, na-
tional) is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ
in its own individual way. This individuality
stems from the church's interaction with its sur-
rounding culture.
— What makes a church authentically the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ are not external
criteria (the traditional signs of word, sacrament,
discipline) but the evidence of God's presence
in its midst (the work of grace, of love, of fel-
lowship).
— Even when errors or irregularities appear
as gauged by Western codes, an authentic church
may be present, in terms of a theology and an
ethic sensitive to the culture.
— The foreign missionary remains alien even
when the gospel has been assimilated.
— For most Christians the church is more
an immediate reality than a universal one; inter-
national and ecumenical links are secondary.
w.
rhether we accept these particular clues as
instructive, or set out to formulate our own, for
most of us there are aspects of our thinking that
need correction. To find ways of shedding paro-
chial views ... to interact with other cultures or
with minority groups and be enriched by them
... to expose ourselves and what we cherish to
risk and vulnerability ... to meet people at the
level of their deepest hurts and highest affirma-
tions — these are dimensions we would do ex-
ceedingly well to weigh.
A campaign on rethinking mission? It is a
prime need of us all. — h.e.r.
28 MESSENGER 4-15-72
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN ANNUAL CONFERENCE
JUNE 27 -JULY 2, 1972
FUmecI by tIie Sdirit
CINCINNATI, OHIO
ISSUE-ORIENTED BUSINESS
Abortion, Low-Income Housing, Investments, Bethany
Theological Seminary, Review and Evaluation of General
Board Program, Noncooperation With the Draft, The
Church's Needs in Music, Theological and Social-
Economic Dimensions of FAUS, Equality for Women,
and Health and Welfare Program.
O
<
6
VOLUNTEER HELPERS
NOTE: Each year Conference depends on many volunteers to help with
tasks vital to its effective operation. YOU CAN HELP US. The task needing
the largest number of persons is ushering. Please use this form to indi-
cate your availability.
I will be available to help with the tasks I have marked below (Mark them
in order of your preference). I plan to arrive at Conference on June ..
Tellers (Standing Committee
and Conference business
Name
Registration (Type badges,
collect fees, sort cards)
Ushers (Business and gen-
eral sessions)
Child Care Service
Count Offerings
Messengers (Standing Com-
mittee and Conference busi-
ness sessions)
sessions;
Information Desk
Ticket Sales
Mail Distribution
Please circle approximate age:
16-22 22-30 30-40
40-50 50-60 60-70
Address . .
Additional volunteers may indicate their interest in serving on another paper.
PROGRAM BOOKLET
Please send
Booklet (available May 1)
Name
. copies at $1.50 each of the 1972 Annual Conference
Address
(Zip)
Amount Remitted $_ .
(All delegates sending their delegate authorization form and registration fee
will automatically receive a program booklet, the cost of which is included
in the fee.)
CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES
For school age children, ages 6-11 years
Please enroll my child (children) for the following days at Annual Con-
ference:
- Wednesday
_ Thursday
. Friday
. Saturday
Name of Parent
THEME-RELATED PREACHING AND BIBLE STUDY
Brethren speakers include: Dean Miller, David Miller,
Graydon Snyder, Phyllis Carter, Dale Brown, Kenneth
Gibble, Anna B. Mow, and Robert O. Hess. Other featured
speakers are: Rosemary Reuther and Tom Skinner.
INSIGHTS '72
More than 40 late evening and Sunday morning sessions,
each an opportunity for growth and learning experiences.
Home address . ^
Names of Children
Grade Completed
FEE: $1.25 per session per child. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to approximately 10
minutes after the close of the forenoon Bible study session of the Confer-
ence. Total fee is to be paid when child attends first session. Only children
who have been preregistered will be accepted. Six-year-olds must have
completed first grade. Deadline for preregistration is June 1, 1972.
Robert A. Raines
Lord, Could You Make It a Little Better?
What is prayer? A conversation with God? A cry for help? An expression
of faith? Perhaps it is all of these things, but to Robert Raines a prayer
is the "outward yearning of my inner being." It is seeing, hearing,
touching, smelling, remembering, and hoping with intensity. This book of
prayer poems is tender, moving, poignant, reverent, and inspiring. $4.95
Ross Snyder
Contemporary Celebration
Dealing specifically with the rapidly developing field of celebration. Dr.
Snyder encourages contemporary man to fulfill his innate desire for the
celebrative life not only in his worship services but in his personal
philosophy as well. Through each chapter the author gives valuable
guidance in developing the art of constructing contemporary celebration.
He lucidly explores the elements involved, from an actual definition of
celebration to suggested celebrative designs. Each chapter is characterized
by his "explorations" or poetic bursts of celebration which illustrate some
facet with which that chapter has dealt. $4.75
Elizabeth O'Connor
Search for Silence
This book takes the reader on a journey to the quiet depth of one's inner
being. At this place of "central silence," one's own life and spirit are
united with the life and Spirit of God. The first half of the book deals with
confession because this is essential to the quieting of the individual's mind
and the silence of prayer. In the second portion, prayer and silence are
presented as a preliminary to creative action. Six exercises in confession,
prayer, silence, and contemplation help readers take the personal steps on
the journey of self-understanding. Miss O'Connor will be remembered
for her book. Call to Commitment. $4.95
William Barclay
Daily Celebration
Here are devotional selections — one for each day of the year — for personal
or family use. Free of meaningless platitudes and the sound of assembly
ine production, every reading is rich in biblical insights with practical
applications to life each day. Dr. Barclay talks about life and those
situations which confront people every day: intolerance, greed, war, loss of
faith, marital problems, financial difficulties, and many more. $4.95
Postage: 20c for first dollar; 5c each additional dollar
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
messenger
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
MAY 1, 1972
People look at me and then ask. if lam Korean or Spanish*
When I say I am an Indian they ask
me about conditions in India »
Then I explain that Vm an
American Indian "
aMavaJo" and
the expression
on their faces
is one of
utter
amazement* • .
Jessie Garcia
Dsl^lts^^
14
18
From the General Board. . . . Investments, ecumenical posture,
and reports from study committees engaged the General Board in
its March gathering. Ronald E. Keener reports
Wealth, Property, and Money in the New Testament. The
gospel makes it clear that wealth is not to be despised if it is used as
a means of generosity and compassion to persons, by Donald E.
Miller
Navajo Student Placement as Viewed From the Pennsylvania
Dutchland. "My friends back home ask me if I've met any nice
boys. I answer that I am not here to get a boy but to get an educa-
tion." The comments of one of sixteen Navajo youth placed in foster
homes far away from their parents and friends at Lybrook, N.M.,
introduce the story of Student Intercultural Program and the in-
volvement of Brethren families, by Vivian S. Ziegler
Navajo Student Placement as Viewed From Navajoland. "It
is not an easy thing to have our children leave us for nine months
without seeing them," says a Navajo parent. "But we have felt it
better to sacrifice in order that the child may have educational ad-
vantages." Edith Mae Merkey describes the placement program from
parents" point of view
American Indians in Mission to Humanity. Four books by and
about Indian Americans underscore values and point to our com-
mon humanity. Merle Crouse reviews
In Touch profiles Dean Young, Jeannine Petry, and Ernest M. Wampler
(2) .... Outlook previews Annual Conference queries, notes the offer by
a California congregation to give sanctuary to seven men in military serv-
ice, and describes the aftermath of a flood in West Virginia (beginning on
4) .... "New Features for Conference Business Sessions" will spark the
186th recorded Annual Meeting, according to Dean Miller (10) .... John
Drescher comments on the church that is too "at ease" (11) .... "The
Gunfight at the Corral Is Not Okay" is Ben Simmons' critique of Western
movie morality (23) .... An editorial turns "A Wary Eye on National
Service" (24)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 9
MAY 1, 1972
CREDITS: 3 Ronald E. Keener: 5 Gladden
Boa7: 8 H. McKinlev Coffman: 10 Don
Honick; 1517 W. Ste\cn Noh: 18 H. .\rm-
strong Roberts
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter .Xug. 20. 1918. under .\ct of
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date, Oct. 1.
1971. Messenger is a member of the .Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Service and Ecumenical Press
Ser\ice. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, arc from the Re\ised Standard
Version.
Subscription rates: S4.20 per year for indi-
vidual sitbscriptions; S3-60 per ^ear for church
group plan: 53.00 per \ear for c\cry home
plan; life subscription. S60: husband and
wife. S75. If you move clip old address
from Me-ssencer and send with new address.
Allow at least fifteen days for ad-
flress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly by
the (.eneral Ser\ices Conimission.
Church of the Brethren General
Board. 1 45 1 Duntlee -\\e.. Elgin,
111. 60120. .Second-class postage
paid at Elgin, 111., .Mav I, 1972. Copyright
1972, Church of the Brethren General Board.
■
TRIPLE AMEN
A triple amen to Marvin Sherman's let-
ter, "Regarding "Brethren Bombs'" (March
1). Looks like some folks are telling the
church. "Put your money where your mouth
is!" Not a bad idea, and the sooner the
better!
Virgil Rose
Brethren. Mich.
EMBARRASSING
How embarrassing to discover that the
Church of the Brethren, as a corporation,
holds investments in corporations which sup-
ply war materials to the government. Let us
forthwith sever our connections with sinners
so that we may denounce evildoers from a
position of pure holiness. (Lord. I thank
thee that I am not as other men are, espe-
cially that tax collector, Richard Nixon!)
It is not difficult to persuade ourselves
that we are righteous if we reserve the right
to decide whose sins are to be condemned.
Whether we can force God to approve that
arrangement is another matter.
Do the church members who chide the
General Board for "improper" investments
live above reproach in the eyes of God?
Christian Bashore
Gettysburg, Ohio
ONE VOICE
Charles A. Wells, a Quaker, contends
that instead of investing in businesses such
as low-cost housing, nursing homes, factories
employing the handicapped, and other in-
dustries bearing a moral dividend, churches
are investing in war industries which are
in business for the purpose of killing.
If all the churches through the power of
their pulpits would unite in one voice against
this war. they could end it in a week. The
pulpit has power to make or break empires,
but use it very carefully as most ministers
know that their influence is hampered by
the big boys in the front pews who raise the
budget and thus decide policy and in sub-
tle ways inform their pastors what they are
to preach about. As long as they stick to
the text and do not ramble off into the so-
cial gospel or tamper with big investments
is their tenure assured.
Of course it goes without saying that if
pastors wish to rise in their profession, they
should be good platform men." . . .
The Berrigan Brothers are in and out of
prison simply because they refuse to ride
the currents of the status quo and. like the
early apostles, oppose those in power. Near-
ly all of the early apostles died violent deaths
because they preached against Rome, the
Pharisees, and the ideas of the establishment,
V. P, Mock
Chippewa Falls, Wis,
[0)
(Q)D1](
PROTEST
I am protesting the review of the book
Is Gay Good? (Jan. 15). I never expected
to see such filth as this in any church paper,
especially by a Brethren pastor, except as he
might caution it to be unfit reading. . . .
The article spoke of no heterosexual scrip-
tures. Here are a few . . . : Rom. 1:25-27;
1 Cor. 6:9; Gen. 2:24, 1:27-28; Matt. 19:4-
6; Rev. 21:1-8; Rev. 22. Here we see mar-
riage ordained between man and woman,
God giving the blessing and joy in partner-
ship with him in creating a new life. Also
we see in these scriptures homosexuality
condemned. In Revelation, we see the value
of living the Christian way. . . .
As to how we should treat these in
church, same as any other sinner, with con-
cern, help, and prayer, introducing them to
the power of the Holy Spirit, that they and
we all together may be pure in God's sight,
found only in Christ's gift of righteousness
to those who will accept it.
Florence Oliver
Mondovi, Wis.
DON'T PLANT THE SEED
I am concerned about the abortion prob-
lem which will be before the delegate body
of Conference in June. . . .
In the beginning God said, "Let us make
man in our image." So he did and said,
"Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:26-28).
Later in Exodus 20 he said, "Thou shalt not
kill," and also, "Honor thy father and moth-
er."
Now parents want to get rid of children.
This is the first step if it's voted in. But
remember if you say yes, then you have
signed your own death warrant.
The next step is the children's choice.
Let's get rid of the parents; they are old
anyway. (See Matt. 10:21; Mark 13:12;
Luke 21:16.) For God's word says, "What-
ever you wish that men would do to you, do
so to them" (Matt. 7:12). If you don't
want children, don't plant the seed ( 1 Cor.
9:27; Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5); discipline
your bodies, says the scripture.
If you don't want children have yourself
sterilized — the husband or the wife. Don't
sacrifice the innocent,
Ruth Robbins
Sacramento, Calif.
1834: STARK, NOT DARKE, COUNTY
The story "Brethren Gather by the Ohio
for 1972 Annual Conference" (March I)
sent me spinning, I have read all the his-
tory that has been written in Southern
Ohio on Annual Conferences, and I never
knew that "past Conferences in Southern
Ohio [were] in 1834 in Darke County,"
We wonder if you have Stark County
mixed up with Darke for 1834? . . . The
first Conference west of the Alleghenies was
in Columbiana County in 1822. . . .
The article should have included the
Conference held at Bellefontaine in 1903,
Northwestern Ohio then but now with
Stony Creek, a part of Southern Ohio. It's
really sixty-nine years since Conference has
been held in Southern Ohio. I have spent
forty-five of my nearly seventy years of life
in Darke County and if the Conference was
ever held there in 1834 I would know where
it was. . . .
This is to remind the Messenger staff
that they should be on their toes when they
publish anything concerning the history of
the church.
John C. Puterbaugh
St. Pete Beach, Fla.
Mr. Puterbaugh is right! The 1834 Con-
ference was held in Stark County, which has
never been in Southern Ohio District. Al-
though special Annual Meetings occurred in
Southern Ohio as early as 1820, according
to the 1920 district history, the first regular
Annual Meeting in the district is considered
to have been in 1850 at Bear Creek, Mont-
gomery County, on the Brumbaugh-Bow-
man farm ten miles west of Dayton. Others
have been in 1862 at Erbaugh church,
Montgomery County: 1875 at Covington,
Ohio: 1876 at DeCraff, Logan County
(which corrects a typographical error in the
original story): 1884 at Dayton. Ohio, and
1886 at Pitsburg, Ohio. Until about
1964 when the districts merged, the Stony
Creek church near DeGraff (1876) and the
Bellefontaine church were in Northwestern
Ohio District, but today are in Southern
Ohio. — Editors
NOT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
In answer to the letter on White House
feet-washing published in the March 15
Messenger:
To me Jesus taught we should be humble
enough to wash one another's feet, regard-
less where we meet them, be it in Washing-
ton, Europe, Asia, or Africa.
How can we be Brethren and pick whose
feet we will wash? When Jesus said we
ought to wash one another's feet, this
means peasant or king, black or red. And
why should it be behind closed doors?
Jesus said, "I have given you an example
that you should do as I have done to you."
And that means to be a servant to ail man-
kind.
Elmer Waggy
East Berlin, Pa.
In an editorial on rethinking mission,
the April 15 Messenger urged readers
to try to perceive how our outreach
looks not only to ourselves but to the
people we serve.
A beginning toward such understand-
ing comes in this issue in articles on the
Student Intercultural Program of the
Lybrook Navajo Mission. In the one
article Vivian Ziegler, a homemaker
and teacher at Quarryville, Pa., speaks
from firsthand experience as a host par-
ent. As a follow-up, in what is likely
a first in Messenger coverage, Edith
Mae Merkey of the Lybrook Mission
staff records how the placement pro-
gram looks and feels to Navajo parents.
To gather reactions from Navajo
families, Miss Merkey for nearly a week
visited in homes widely scattered in the
mission area in north central New Mex-
ico. She was surprised how open and
earnest many parents were in convers-
ing. She was even more elated when
on the following Sunday evening every
parent responded to the invitation to
come to the mission to discuss the
article she had drafted. Moreover, at
the groups's initiative, it was decided
to meet the first Monday of each month
on an ongoing basis, to share feelings
and concerns about the students away
from home.
Beyond furthering communication
within the Navajo community, it is our
hope that the dual Messenger treat-
ment will help sensitize readers to is-
sues before the American Indian and
the Anglos as well. For those who
want to study the concerns further,
some helpful resources are included
in the books reviewed by Merle Grouse,
whose portfolio in World Ministries in-
cludes administrative responsibility for
the Lybrook Mission and other Ameri-
can Indian ministries.
Other guest contributors are Dean
M. Miller, moderator-elect of Annual
Conference and pastor of the York Cen-
ter church in Illinois; Donald E. Miller,
Bethany Seminary professor who has
researched matters related to church in-
vestments; John M. Drescher, editor of
The Gospel Herald, a Mennonite week-
ly published at Scottdale, Pa.; and Ben
Simmons, pastor of the White Branch
congregation, Hagerstown, Ind. — The
Editors
5-1-
MESSENGER 1
Dean\bung: School board member
At nineteen Dean \'oung looks like
the college student he is: longish
hair, thoughtful, bright eyes, earnest.
But the Malone College sopho-
more is atypical in at least one way:
Last November Dean became the
youngest school board member in
Summit County. Ohio, when he out-
distanced his nearest opponent by
1.045 votes.
A member of the Springfield
Church of the Brethren at Akron,
Dean declared throughout his cam-
paign, "I'm not running as a teen-
ager." but as a citizen intently
interested in his township's educa-
tional system.
That interest began during high
school days when Dean co-edited The
Free Press, Springfield High's under-
ground newspaper. Even then he
was encountering and dealing with
school officials in attempts to en-
hance student interest in school
board and administration policies.
As a senior Dean extended his
long membership on student council
by winning his bid for president. A
week's study in New York and Wash-
ington, D.C., with the Christian
Citizenship Seminar sponsored by the
Church of the Brethren convinced
him that "churches need to reaffirm
some type of faith in the process of
government. And churches need to
exert some type of influence on the
decisions of government."
"Aside from the educational and
personal experiences I had there, it
was during that week that my re-
ligious and political opinions were
most strongly shaped." Dean re-
flected.
New experiences as one of Ohio's
six under-twenty-one school board
members continue. In April Dean
represented the state of Ohio at the
National School Board Association
convention in San Francisco.
He commands the admiration of
his associates, among them his pastor,
Paul L. Groff. "Dean has a quality
in that he can raise excellent ques-
tions and follow through for the
answers. This applies to his Christian
faith."
Now anticipating a career in law.
Dean affirms that faith this way:
"Christians have an obligation to be-
come involved in the processes of our
society, because our love or the con-
cept of love has to take active form."
infers
JeanninePetry: An axiom
What the late A. J. Muste exempli-
fied in his life Jeannine Retry has set
for her own: "There is no way to
peace; peace is the way."
Acting upon this conviction at the
time of graduation from Belmont
High School in Dayton, Ohio, last
year, Jeannine tried out for the role
of student speaker at commence-
ment. She was selected out of a class
of 426, but then drafted four com-
plete speeches before having the
presentation okayed by a school ad-
ministrator.
While fully aware that Belmont
school is situated in a district with an
air force base and a military supply
corporation, Jeannine in her com-
mencement address felt impelled to
center on nonviolence as a life-style.
Paraphrasing John Kennedy's state-
ment. "We must accept the fact
that there is not an American solu-
tion to every problem." Jeannine de-
clared. "There is not a military solu-
tion to every problem." Nonviolence,
she continued, is "the method of
change which affords the fullest pro-
tection to one's self-respect and
honor. . . . (It) must be a consistent
and inseparable part of our very
being."
The speech, which touched on spe-
cific courses of action, precipitated
at least a few boos and the consterna-
tion of school officials. It also
brought enriching encounters with a
wounded Vietnam veteran and a
school board member. When the
speech later was presented at a youth
service in Jeannine's church. Mack
2 MESSENGER 5-1-72
o live
Ernest M.Wampler : 'Wang Mushih'
Memorial, one worshiper was moved
to write a folk hymn: "You can't
shoot an idea with a gun." Jeannine
gave the speech a third time at Na-
tional Youth Conference.
But more than talking about non-
violence, the Manchester College
premed major is concerned with liv-
ing nonviolence. Failing to get alter-
natives to military service included
in presentations at the Military
Career Day in high school, she and
others presented the subject to sever-
al classes. She has accented the
peace motif further through involve-
ment in Southern Ohio youth activi-
ties, Dayton's Metropolitan Churches
United, Another Mother for Peace,
the People's Peace Treaty, and col-
lege deputations. At National Youth
Conference she accepted the chal-
lenge to fast a meal a week, contrib-
uting the money saved to church
causes. In a special term at Gustavus
Adolphus College in Minnesota this
winter, she shared freely on the
Church of the Brethren and its teach-
ings on peace.
Daughter of Lowell and Loisanne
Petry, Jeannine is looking forward to
being one of Mack Memorial's voting
delegates to Annual Conference in
June. There on the Conference floor
and in informal groups she is certain
to be heard and seen passing the
word: "Peace is the way."
To the Chinese with whom he spent
27 years in village evangelistic work,
Ernest M. Wampler was Wang
Mushih, or Pastor (Shepherd)
Wampler. His full name to the
Chinese was Wang Pu Lin.
Today, from his Bridgewater, Va.,
home, he recalls fondly his years
among the Chinese. At the same
time, realism enters his assessment of
the future of the church in China,
even with President Ni.xon's visit.
"The old typical mission work, like
I did there, is completely out," he
says. If Westerners ever again have
an opportunity for church work in
China, he says, it must come at the
invitation of the Chinese Christians,
and for work done preferably by
Chinese expatriates, not occidentals.
Now 86, Mr. Wampler served in
China from 1918-22 and 1928-50,
mainly in Shansi province in north
China. He and his wife Elizabeth
(his first wife Vida died in 1926)
worked in seed improvement and the
Chinese use of wool for knitted and
woven articles. Elizabeth, a nurse,
did public health work as well as
mission work.
He firmly believes that the Chris-
tian message must go hand in hand
with filling stomachs and clothing
backs. "You can't do much preach-
ing when people are hungry. They
don't pay much attention." The
Wamplers served in China during
three famines.
His one regret is that no more than
three ordained Chinese ministers
were produced during his work there.
He remains firmly committed to the
indigenous and independent church.
Since leaving China Mr. Wampler
served two years in deputation work
for the Brotherhood board, was ex-
ecutive for seven years of the former
Second Virginia district, and is now
chairman of the chaplains committee
of the Bridgewater Home.
His China experiences are told in
two books, China Suffers ( 1945), an
account of China under the Japanese,
and Seeking God's Will for Me
( 1969), his autobiography.
Ernest Wampler was called to the
ministry ("I wasn't a volunteer") by
the Timberville congregation near
Harrisonburg. Va.. when he was 31.
At the time he was a store clerk and
a huckster wagon driver.
Always an advocate of closer ties
between countries, he applauds new
US initiatives being made with China,
but has no illusions that all problems
will be resolved. But as one of the
last Brethren out of China in 1950,
Wang Mushih remains one of the
church's most concerned — and per-
sonally involved — China-watchers.
5-I-72 MESSENGER 3
Cincinnati delegates will deal
with four queries of last year
The lS6th recorded Annual Conference
will receive four committee reports on
queries that originated last year. They
are:
[/* Fund for the Americas in the
US. Assigned to examine how evangelism
can be related to F.AUS, the committCL-
acknowledged the differing interpreta-
tions given within the church to evange-
lism as '"witness" and "service."
The report calls attention to a num-
ber of present F.\US programs closely
related to minority churches, and to pro-
cedures already in existence to provide
funding of groups whose main concern
is evangelism.
Two minority programs funded for the
development of black clergymen are the
Black Churchmen's Ecumenical Training
Facility and the Black Study Urban Min-
istries Project.
The committee considers evangelism
and religious development within the
scope of community organization, one
of the thrusts of FAUS under Part I
grants, and recommends that Brethren
avoid the image of a white evangelizer
among minorities. The committee fur-
ther recommends that local congrega-
tions seek to become more personally
involved in FAUS projects in their areas,
where helpful, for the sharing of techni-
cal, financial, and personal resources,
cultural perspectives, and the Christian
faith.
Committee members are Warren E.
Miller, chairman, George M. Kreps, Fay-
tonia Fair, Arthur Gish, and Harold S.
Martin.
i^ Church Music. A study of the
needs of the church in music, hymns,
and other songs, prior to the considera-
tion of the publication of new resources,
recommends that the present Brethren
Hymnal be continued in use with empha-
sis placed on its newer, often unused
hymns, and to offer yearly supplements
in an expandable binding for future
printings.
The initial work of the committee was
confined to music, lyrics, and format.
Working at the assignment were Phyllis
Carter, Doris Coppock, Patricia Sherfy,
Melanie May, Wil Nolen, Steve Engle,
and David Albright.
w* Dr.\ft Noncooperation. Focus-
ing on the ramifications and implications
of the 1970 amendment to the Statement
on War regarding noncooperation with
the draft and reactions to it within the
Brotherhood, the committee concluded its
study by commending the total peace
position of the church expressed in the
Statement on War.
"Young men who have chosen the posi-
tion of alternative service or noncoopera-
tion are on the cutting edge of the peace
witness today," they concluded. The
committee of Raymond R. Peters, chair-
man, John H. Eberly, Joseph Kennedy,
W. Hartman Rice, and Guy Wampler Jr.
found that the 1970 Conference action
requires further interpretation and must
be read in light of other position papers
as "The Church, the State, and Christian
Citizenship" ( 1967), "Obedience to God
and Civil Disobedience" ( 1969), and the
entire "Statement of the Church of the
Brethren on War" as amended in 1970.
In light of the other papers, said the
committee, "it is readily apparent that
the church does not endorse or support
anarchy" in commending open, nonvio-
lent noncooperation with the draft sys-
tem.
The church, reiterated the committee,
"does recognize the obligation of Chris-
tians to obey civil government except
when obedience to God demands dis-
obedience to the state, and even then to
accept the consequences of such dis-
obedience."
The committee is helpful in defining
"sanctuary," a term used in the paper, as
extending cordial Christian fellowship
and not as hiding a person from officers
of the law. The paper rejects anew the
destruction of people or property in their
understanding of nonviolence.
(X Housing. "Brethren were once a
homeless people who came to this coun-
try seeking a place to build a new
life. . . . We have always been aware
that our judgment will some day be based
on whether we have offered shelter to
the stranger as well as other forms of
service (Matthew 25)."
Thus begins the response to the query
about the church's responsibility for work
with the housing problems of people of
moderate and low income.
A committee survey revealed consider-
able Brotherhood interest in the issue of
housing. They propose: information
sharing by national staff; expanding the
church's relationship with the American
Baptist's department of architectural
services to include low- and moderate-
income housing counsel; using denomina-
tional investment funds, including FAUS
monies, for housing mortgages; and ask-
ing the Washington Representative to
make housing one of his priorities in
working with government.
The committee — Roy Johnson, chair-
man, Gordon Bucy (of the American
Baptists), Clifford Huffman, F. Willard
Powers, and Jean Wehrheim — also com-
mends Brethren to study the development
of community and the politics of housing.
Other Conference business initiated or
authorized in previous years will deal
with a stance on abortion, theological
education and Bethany Seminary, health
and welfare coordination, and a review
and evaluation of the General Board
operations.
Seven men given 'sanctuary'
by San Diego congregation
The youth in alternative service has made
his decision about the draft before in-
duction. But what of the late bloomer,
the young man whose beliefs on con-
scientious objection develop only after
he has entered military service? His bur-
den is perhaps more difficult.
The First Church of the Brethren at
San Diego, Calif., in recent weeks has
helped bear that burden for seven men
serving on the aircraft carrier Kitty
Hawk by granting them "sanctuary."
In early January the 154-member con-
gregation in this major navy town voted
to offer sanctuary to men who for reason
of conscience could not cooperate with
the military. Three weeks later their ac-
tions became deed when two marines
asked for and received sanctuary in the
church building.
They stayed two days and nights and
returned voluntarily after the necessary
papers had been secured and presented
to authorities.
Two weeks later two sailors arrived
4 MESSENGER 5- 1-72
at the church, followed in a few days by
three others. Four more in this time ob-
tained sanctuary at a Presbyterian
church.
"The full impact of the methods and
purposes of the military comes to a man
after he has been drafted or enlisted,"
said Kenneth Acschbacher, San Diego's
witness commission chairman. "It is at
this time that he especially needs the
support of the church.
"By offering sanctuary to these men
we offer them moral support, time to
seek legal, medical, and spiritual coun-
sel, and the opportunity to openly state
their belief about the military and war
and their relation to it."
In the experience, which brought
singer Joan Baez to the church, the con-
gregation maintained an open, public
stance, not harboring the men from law
officers, but rather giving them a chance
to gather their thoughts, examine their
positions, and chart a direction.
When the first two men took sanctu-
ary in the church Feb. 14, Ken Acsch-
bacher stayed with them the first 24
hours. He arranged for meals to be
brought in by families of the congrega-
tion during their four-day stay. He ar-
ranged for different church members to
be with the men at all times, including
Pastor M. Guy West's wife, Naomi.
She recalls the morning the men left
voluntarily with naval authorities.
Gathered in a circle on the sanctuary
floor the group sang "I Ain't Goin" Study
War No More." She remarked: "Never
had the words of that song held as much
meaning for me as they did at that
moment."
When the first two men came to the
church, the congregation affirmed that
the Church of the Brethren "believes that
no government has the authority to abro-
gate the right of individual conscience.
. . . What we seek for ourselves we seek
for all — the right of individual con-
science.
"In order to demonstrate a sense of
community and fellowship with one who
conscientiously chooses noncooperation
with the military, the church offers sanc-
tuary and spiritual support."
One of the five who found sanctuary at
the First church was 22-year-old Ernest
C. Ryder of Hurst, Tex. His decision
against the Vietnam war — and all war,
he said — evolved from his personal ex-
amination of the issues.
The airman stated: "I am an aviation
ordinance man. That means that I load
bombs on airplanes so that they can be
dropped on Vietnam. I did not choose
this rate, I was assigned it upon com-
pletion of boot camp. Since then I have
been otT the coast of Vietnam helping to
kill.
"It was in the last month that I have
had really deep thoughts about the part
I had played. I have seen pictures and
read books and articles about what Amer-
ican bombing has done to the peoples of
Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. I can
no longer be a part of this kind of or-
ganization. Even though it means break-
ing the laws. That's the way I feel."
Returned to their ship, then at sea,
the men had desertion charges reduced to
lesser offenses because they had surren-
dered voluntarily. A few of the men are
awaiting responses to their requests for
conscientious objector status.
The role of First church in offering
sanctuary didn't come without some
adjustments on both sides, said Gladden
Boaz, San Diego member and Southwest
Pacific Conference missions and service
chairman — to differing life-styles.
"For years the question has plagued
our church: How do we become known?
How can our witness be made manifest?"
he said.
"The answer seems clear. Start being
the church in the fullest measure and the
world will notice it."
San Diego witness commission chainmin Ken Aeschbacher (r) interviews Roy Hawkins; newsmen gallier at arrival of naval authorities
51-72 MESSENGER 5
From the General Board...
General Board investments , . .
The Church of the Brethren General
Board will sell its stock holdings in
corporations directly producing defense
or weapons-related products and its gov-
ernmental securities that are believed to
channel funds into military appropria-
tions.
Meeting at Elgin, III., in March, the
board also tightened its investment guide-
lines, declaring that words and acts
should be brought together "so that the
clearest possible witness can be given to
the inclusive reconciling love of Christ."
The statement recognized, however, that
"at any given moment the commitment
can be one of direction only — it cannot
be one of absolute achievement."
The implication is that mergers and
company reorganizations sometimes
bring into the firm products or ideals in-
consistent with the Brethren stance.
Based on market prices the divestment
of stocks represents four percent of the
general investment portfolio and 6.5 per-
cent of the pension fund portfolio. US
Treasury bonds being sold amount to
5248,813. The board declined, however,
to sell the 5274,894 in bonds pledged for
a loan to Bethany Theological Seminary.
They will be sold only as they are re-
leased from escrow.
Board treasurer Robert Greiner esti-
mated a loss of 518,300 instead of an
518.000 gain that would have been rea-
lized if the bonds had been held until
maturity. Any possible loss on the stock
investments being sold and reinvested
was not known.
Last year's National Youth Conference
in a resolution urged the board to sell
its US Treasury bonds. And in January
the National Council of Churches' Cor-
porate Information Center, in which the
Brethren participate, divulged the stock-
holdings of ten denominations in the top
60 firms in military sales. The Church
of the Brethren had investments in nine
such companies, totaling 5329,258 in
1971 cost value prices. The church's
pension fund also held 5613,303 of com-
mon stocks in 13 corporations appearing
in the list.
The revised guidelines now declare
that the board will not knowingly invest
in corporations producing defense or
weapons-related products; in companies
which fail to practice fair and equal em-
ployment opportunities; nor in banks or
firms which transact business with gov-
ernments having apartheid policies.
Similarly prohibited are investments in
the tobacco and alcoholic beverage in-
dustries and companies making excessive
profit.
More positively, the guidelines stipu-
late the board will invest in companies
working to improve the environment, in
government agencies that are clearly non-
military, and in such industries as food,
housing, clothing, utilities, education,
and medical supplies.
When the board discovers that it has
holdings in a company that does not
meet the religious, racial, or social ideals
of the church's oflficial statements, the
investment committee may approach the
company or speak at stockholders' meet-
ings. Failing to effect a change in com-
pany policy, the stocks are to be sold.
Producing the sharpest disagreement
was the question as to whether govern-
ment bonds contribute to the Vietnam
war effort or simply toward regular gov-
ernment operations. Still, a strong ma-
jority of the board believed that the
bonds directly supported the war effort
and should be divested.
Such action, some contended, bespeaks
a "disengagement from the US govern-
ment" and fails to recognize that a large
part of the federal budget goes toward
programs of which Brethren could heart-
ily approve.
On the other hand, a couple speakers
noted that even in such nonmilitary pro-
grams as agriculture and economic devel-
opment, government policy can be re-
pressive and manipulative and divergent
from Brethren ideals.
Moderator Dale W. Brown of Lom-
bard. III., said that the church needs to
confess its credibility gap. "I'm calling
for an acknowledgment that we haven't
done our best."
Among a few board members disasso-
ciating themselves from the majority ac-
tion was Jesse H. Ziegler of Dayton,
Ohio. He described the sale of the gov-
ernment bonds as a "divisive act that
finally will drive the Church of the
Brethren to the point of increasingly
making people ask what we're about."
He pleaded for the board to take healing
and compromising action that would
leave room for various views among the
membership.
The board's officers were instructed
to estimate any loss of principal or in-
come that may accrue from the divest-
ment of Treasury obligations and issue
an appeal for interested members to make
special contributions so that the ongoing
ministry of the church or the equity of
the pension funds will not be curtailed.
The guidelines are also commended to
other church agencies and to individuals.
Despite the eight hours over two days
of sometimes intense debate, David B.
Rittcnhouse of Dunmore, W. Va., ex-
pressed the feeling of most board mem-
bers in saying that he voted for divest-
ment of the stocks and bonds not with
enthusiasm, but out of genuine humility,
struggle, and soul-searching.
An affirmation of mission . . .
Convinced of the need today for the mes-
sage and mission of the Church of the
Brethren, the General Board called for
"the continuation and strengthening of
our denomination at all levels of its
life."
In adopting "An Affirmation of Mis-
sion" the board revealed something of
its current ecumenical stance. On the
one hand, the statement looks with dis-
favor upon actions at this time which
"would limit or bias cooperation by se-
lecting certain denominations as prefer-
able to others for ecumenical relations."
On the other hand, where congrega-
tions or other units determine they can
better fulfill their mission through coop-
eration, the statement encourages such
responses as yoking, federation, or aflfllia-
tion.
"If, in the providence of God, the mer-
ger of the Brethren with some denomina-
6 \fESSENGER 5- 1 -72
tion(s) is to occur in the future, the
church must prepare itself to bring its
best strengths to such a merger, not
weakness and brokenness," the statement
concluded.
The denomination has not consciously
reviewed its basic ecumenical posture
since 1966 in the debate on Consultation
on Church Union and 1968 in a review
of the National Council of Churches
membership and the creation of the Com-
mittee on Interchurch Relations.
The Affirmation alerts the church to
the dangers of deciding its ecumenical
direction by default. It will be part of
the board's report to Annual Conference.
Since 1966 have come new dimen-
sions to an ecumenical posture; More
congregational dual alignments, shifting
conciliar structures, new cluster/con-
sortia groups, and the seminary's future
which poses ecumenical questions.
Another is the "Associated Relation-
ship" that is proposed with the Ameri-
can Baptists and which will come before
the conference this year. It proposes co-
operation and joint projects short of ac-
tual merger. The board's acceptance of
"An Affirmation of Mission" is essential-
ly advisory to the CIR and the Annual
Conference which have the final authori-
ty to determine the church's ecumenical
stance. The Affirmation expresses the
board's judgment that it is unwise at this
time to ahgn the Brethren with any one
denomination at a national level.
If the conference rejects the Associ-
ated Relationship, the Affirmation still
encourages local churches to pursue
cooperative arrangements where they can
best serve the congregation's mission.
Bethany Seminary study . . .
Two concerns are central in the 1972 re-
port of the Bethany Seminary Study
Committee of Annual Conference. One
is a conclusion by the committee "that
some form of affiliation with one or more
other seminaries is necessary in order that
Bethany may be viable, fiscally and edu-
cationally."
A second thrust insists that "the his-
tory, heritage, teachings, identity, and
practices of the Brethren must not be
lost in any affiliation with schools of dif-
ferent traditions."
In considering affiliation, the com-
mittee urges the Bethany Seminary direc-
tors to seriously explore the development
of a center for theological studies, either
at its present Oak Brook, 111., campus
or at another location.
"It is clear to the committee that such
direction will mean the reduction of
Bethany faculty and staff and investment
in physical plant," the report states. "This
is the painful part of what is necessary
to bring Brethren investment in theologi-
cal education to a level more commen-
surate with denominational size and re-
sources."
Elsewhere in the report the committee
commends Bethany's current educational
program as being outstanding, places the
task of recruitment for the ministry
largely upon the home and the congrega-
tion, and suggests closer affiliation with
Bethany's neighboring Northern Baptist
Seminary as a step but not a long-range
answer for Brethren in shaping theologi-
cal education for the future.
Statement on evangelism . . .
A statement on evangelism, urging the
Church of the Brethren to be "more
positive in affirming our loyalty to Jesus
Christ and more aggressive in seeking
commitments," was adopted and passed
to the Cincinnati Annual Conference.
The paper begins with a theological
affirmation centering on the idea that
"the best news comes to us in Jesus
Christ and makes things happen," which
is primarily descriptive of the Christian
gospel and the differences it should make
in persons and in congregations.
Things happen, the statement says, in
every person "because the Holy Spirit
provides the impetus for power and ac-
tion . . . when persons acknowledge and
accept their calling to be an evangelist
. . . when people choose a life-style of
personal and social holiness. . . in homes
developed as center for love and sup-
port. . . when persons realize their true
vocation is being Christian. . . when peo-
ple discover they must be stewards of
their personal resources. ..."
It further affirms: "The Holy Spirit
makes things happen as hearts are open
to God's movement in and beyond the in-
stitutional walls of the church. As peo-
ple discern the need and the power, they
support the Spirit's encounters every-
where."
A second section deals with character-
istics and qualities of the kind of evan-
gelism that should develop within the de-
nomination.
The paper is the work of Alan L. Whit-
acre, Kettering, Ohio, Phyllis Carter,
Bryant, Ind., Olen S. Landes, Harrison-
burg, Va., Robert W. Knechel Jr., North
Manchester, Ind., and Kenneth I. Morse,
Elgin, III.
National youth conferences . . .
Feeling that national experiences give
youth an awareness of the dimensions of
the church beyond the congregation and
district, the Parish Ministries Commis-
sion approved the scheduling of another
National Youth Conference in 1974 and
succeeding conferences each four years,
for youth ages 16 to 19.
In addition, in 1976 and each four
years following, a mini-NYC will be ap-
pended to the Annual Conference.
The intrastaff Youth Culture Task
Force is also looking at a proposal that
would provide a triennial conference for
the 20- to 25-year-old young adult.
In other actions during the week, the
General Board and/or its three commis-
sions:
u^ Adopted the historical perspectives
and concerns of the Equality for Women
paper, first presented last November,
while rejecting the employment of a staff
woman in a full-time assignment in
women's awareness, believing that cur-
rent staff assignments are enough to allow
increased program activities, many al-
ready under way. A training event in
discriminatory practices towards persons
will be held for the board and stalT with-
in a year.
\/^ Cited Glen and Betty Campbell
for their 18 years of service in India.
Now serving the Liberty Mills, Ind.,
church while on furlough, they will not
be returning to India. Born in India,
Betty was a third generation missionary
there.
1/^ Learned that the Selective Service
System has authorized the World Minis-
tries Commission to place conscientious
objectors in projects without prior project
5-1-72 MESSENGER 7
approval from either national or state
SSS offices. The blanket authorization
allows for greater freedom for placement
in social justice projects, within national
interest limitations.
\^ Approved a plan to keep the
board's undesignated reserves between
three-quarters to one million dollars. Re-
serves now stand at $644,000.
i^ Noted that Dr. and Mrs. John
Horning. formcrU' Brethren workers in
Ecuador for 15 years, will go to the Ni-
gerian field this summer to work in pub-
lic health. This past year they have been
on furlough in suburban Chicago.
^^ Passed to -Annual Conference and
urged that it affirm and rejoice in the
new stance of the sister church in Ni-
geria, the Eastern District (Lardin
Gabas) of the Church of Christ in the
Sudan, as "now a church in its own right,
walking its own road, ordering its own
life, and e.xercising autonomy in matters
of its own polity and program." The Ni-
gerian church last year adopted its own
constitution. The paper affirms the role
of the Nigerians in working "out their
own vision of what it means to be Chris-
tian in an African world."
\^ Extended invitations to the sister
churches in Nigeria, Ecuador (United
Evangelical Church), and India (Church
of North India) to send fraternal dele-
gates to the Cincinnati Conference.
\^ Learned of a three- to four-week
study tour of Nigeria in October/Novem-
ber 1973 during the fiftieth anniversary
year of Lardin Gabas.
i^ Judged the eight years of contacts
with the Russian Orthodox Church as a
successful program on both sides and as
providing "opportunities at a very criti-
cal period in history for the 'outside' in-
volvement of the Russian Orthodox
Church at a time when it desired to move
from relative isolation into the world
ecumenical fellowship." While both
churches are open to exploring new
points of discussion and action, less
Brethren involvement is foreseen.
^^ Greeted Dr. Ernst Winter, director
of the Transnational Research Center in
Austria, who briefed the World Ministries
Commission and staff on his visit, prior
to President Nixon's, to the People's Re-
public of China. He discussed with
WMC possible program relationships
with China.
Mammon gives God an assist
in West Virginia flooding
The coal compan>' was calling it "an act
of God." But the survivors of the flood-
ing that burst down West Virginia's Buf-
falo Valley hollow in late February were
seemg it as another example of the grip
that the state's major industry has on its
people.
The Pittston Corporation, which owned
the 18-acre dammed-up basin, explained
in a New York Times article that "God
made the pond incapable of holding all
that rain water." One West Virginia edi-
tor replied that God couldn't be reached
for comment.
Upwards to 150 persons were killed
and some 4,500 made homeless when the
50-foot wall of coal-gray water poured
down the 17-mile valley, destroying some
ten coal camps in its path.
On the evening of the disaster Glen
Sage, pastor of the Crab Orchard, W. Va.,
Church of the Brethren, two counties
distant, was in the Buffalo Creek area
to help as he could.
Mr. Sage takes clinical pastoral edu-
cation at Beckley Appalachia Regional
Hospital, one of nine associated com-
munity hospitals. His supervisor at the
hospital asked him to drive to the area
near Man, W. Va., an hour's drive which
that evening took two and a half hours.
Mr. Sage also has a citizen's band radio
in his car that proved useful.
Arriving in Man at midnight, the su-
pervisor took the responsibility of minis-
tering to hospital patients in the absence
of the staff chaplain, whose house was de-
stroyed in the flood. Another companion
went to the morgue and Mr. Sage worked
for 20 hours with displaced and home-
less persons being brought to the high
school. He recounted two days later:
"I called and arranged for someone to
supply my pulpit and we continued to
work around the clock trying to help the
people deal with their grief.
"From time to time the impact of the
whole thing almost overwhelmed those of
us who were trying to minister. There
were only about half a dozen ministers
working with people at the scene.
"Some families had lost several mem-
bers of the primary family unit and the
whole situation was a state of shock.
Very few people were able to deal with
feelings by crying.
"From time to time I went to my car
to help with radio communication in the
local area and direct other mobile units
to the area with supplies."
In the meantime the Crab Orchard con-
gregation was serving as a collection
point for needed relief materials.
Surveying the destruction two days
after the flooding, H. McKinley Coffman
from New Wmdsor. Md., called it "the
West Virginia fioodwaters devastated a 17-mile valley; scenes like this were common
8 MESSENGER 5- 1-72
most complete devastation I've ever
seen." The Church of the Brethren dis-
aster services director flew into the area
by helicopter and met with John Price, ex-
ecutive for the West Virginia Council of
Churches. They visited the point where
the dam broke, near the now nonexistent
town of Lorado.
With his firsthand report and an ap-
peal by the Council of Churches, ap-
proval was given for an initial appropria-
tion of $10,000 from the Emergency
Disaster Fund of the Church of the
Brethren. The funds may be used to
field a team of volunteers and a coordi-
nator when specific needs are identified.
Further monies may be needed and an
appeal to congregations for contributions
has been made.
Still, on a second visit to the area with
D. Miller Davis, New Windsor's general
services director, Mac Cofl^man reported
that the need then was mainly for a few
ministers and social workers to help peo-
ple work through their feelings of an-
guish and helplessness.
Mr. Coffman has been designated the
representative of Church World Service
in the area and he will coordinate both
CWS and Brethren responses. Initial
government discussion was rumored to
center on making a model valley of the
area, involving as much as S15 million
for a new road and possibly a new sewage
system to offset individual needs at start-
ing over again.
"Starting over again" is not an unfa-
miliar experience for West Virginia's
mountain people. It has become an in-
evitable part of life. Wrote the New York
Times reporter: "There is an enduring
kind of strength in the fatalism of the
Appalachian hill people. Endless vicis-
situdes — coal mine disasters, unemploy-
ment, poverty, disease, hunger, poli-
ticians' neglect — have conditioned them
to expect the worst and, in expecting it,
to struggle on."
As the emergency passes, the rebuild-
ing begins and continues. The kind of
concern that Glen Sage shared will be
needed in the weeks ahead. "I didn't
preach in the classical sense," he re-
flected, "but the fact that ministers from
this area were concerned enough to come
in and share their pain and suffering I
felt spoke a real message of love and
grace to the people of Man."
[LODTidlsirDDinic
WHAT'S COMING IN MESSENGER?
Two special emphases shape
the next issues of Messenger. On May 15 look for feature
articles and resources on the Appalachian region , a 13-
state area where one fifth of the Brethren are located.
More than a geographical designation, though, Appalachia
has a rich culture and heritage in which we can share. ...
Then, on June 1, Messenger takes a look at theological ed-
ucation and Bethany Theological Seminary, an Annual Con-
ference topic you'll want to be informed about. The report
of the General Board's study committee on Bethany Seminary,
an interview with Warren Groff , and a discussion of new
models of theological education are in store.
DISASTER MONIES GIVEN
One thousand dollars from the
Emergency Disaster Fund has been sent to Java in Indonesia
in response to flooding that left 83,000 persons homeless.
Summing up, $55,000 has gone toward typhoon and refugees
relief in East Bengal/India/Bangladesh via Church World Serv-
ice since last fall. The $5,000 for use in achieving a
political resolution of the Pakistani conflict was instead
shifted to Bangladesh relief as the war broke out.
NEAR AND FARR ... The musically talented Farr Family,
which performed at last year's Annual Conference, is accept-
ing invitations from churches for its 1972 summer tour.
Taking a northern route via Cincinnati, they will be in Cal-
ifornia in July, returning through the central states. They
will be temporarily residing in Nashville, Tenn. , after Sept.
10. Write Nick Farr, P.O. Box 16, Middletown, Pa. 17057.
ON THE PASTORAL SCENE
In t±ie Pacific Southwest Con-
ference, Harold I. Bowman has resigned his pastorate at the
South Bay church in Redondo Beach, Calif., due to the ill-
ness of his wife. . . . R_. Dale Ferris, pastor at Paradise,
resigned in February and returned to his home at Modesto.
... Steven B. Gregory , formerly at Outlook, Wash., has be-
gun his work at the Ladera church in Los Angeles.
In other pastoral changes, Clarence R. Bowman leaves a
six-year pastorate at Unity, Shenandoah, for assignments at
Tampa, Fla. ... Robert Figgers is retiring from his post at
Concord, Shenandoah. ... Galen E. Hoover to Cherry Lane,
Middle Pennsylvania. . . . Edgar L. Manges , to retirement in
Bridgewater, Va. , from Elk Run, Shenandoah. . . . S. Wayne
Crist, from Pomona, Calif., to McPherson, Kans. ... and
Mark W. Emswiler, from Prairie View, Western Plains, to
retirement.
AFTER FIFTY YEARS
Our best wishes to couples mark-
ing golden wedding anniversaries : the John F_. Wol fs , Avon
Park, Fla.; the Sherman Kauffmans, Belief ontaine , Ohio; and
the Joseph Phlegars , Roanoke, Va.
Other couples celebrating wedding anniversaries include
the H_. G. Wertenbergers , Norcatur, Kans., 55; the Ray
Smi ths , Panora, Iowa, 55; the Earl Deardorfs , Panora, Iowa,
57; the George McCoys , Empire, Calif., 59; the Joel Bow-
sers , Pomona, Calif., 61; the Forest Longneckers , Pomona,
Calif. , 64; and the Mason Helds , Cando, N.D. , 66.
5-1-72 MESStNGER 9
New features for Conference business sessions
by Dean Miller
In an effort to provide more time for the
handling of major position statements
and matters affecting the future of the
church and its related institutions, the
Annual Conference Central Committee
announces some new features for the June
business sessions of the Brethren gathered
in Cincinnati.
On Tuesday evening. June 27, Moder-
ator Dale Brown will lead the call to wor-
ship, opening the 186th recorded Annual
Conference of the Church of the Breth-
ren. This beginning celebration will in-
clude a dedication of delegates and a con-
secration of the entire assembly for the
tasks of the week.
Immediately following the forty-five-
the spacing of standing reports from var-
ious institutions and agencies of the
church. Previously, these had been
handled as a unit, postponing until later
in the week the debate and discussion on
items of business related to church polity
and position statements. The Central
Committee through the Conference of-
ficers will be establishing specific times or
"orders of the day" for these standing re-
ports and they will be presented at an-
nounced times throughout the week. For
example, the report of the General Board
will be presented on Saturday morning as
the first item of business following the
major program interpretation input from
the General Board in the Friday evening
session.
The Conference officers arc meeting
this month to work on the business
minute service, a series of hearings will
take place on major business items com-
ing before the Conference. The delegates
may select the issue around which they
have the most concern; persons respon-
sible for official reports and proposed re-
sponses to queries will be present to
answer questions and share interpreta-
tions of their work.
Such activities on Tuesday evening will
enable the delegates to begin considera-
tion of major business items on Wednes-
day. Previously, this day had been given
over to the dedication of delegates, the
usual introduction to the business, and the
official hearings on agenda items, with
little time left for the actual handling of
study committee reports.
Another change in the agenda will be
agenda and plan for other ways to maxi-
mize the time the delegates will have to
discuss the issues which are more con-
troversial because of differing perspec-
tives held by the Brethren. It is expected
that efforts will be made to permit debate
on the main motions before amendments
are entertained. In previous years the en-
tire discussion of some important issues
centered almost entirely on amendments,
with little substantive debate being given
by delegates to the main body of a posi-
tion statement. The officers plan also to
designate one person to keep track of the
speakers in the order that they appear be-
fore the microphones.
The docket for the Cincinnati Confer-
ence will be much heavier than in recent
years. Three issues carry over from the
St. Petersburg Conference:
1 . The Bfcthren position on abortion.
The study committee has endeavored to
state a position which places a high value
on fetal life, while recognizing that some
women may decide for abortion in the
name of reverence for human life.
2. The future of Bethany Theological
ScDiinary. The Conference study com-
mittee's report will include recom-
mendations concerning the involvement
of Brethren in theological education as it
affects our own constituency and relation-
ships we have with other ecimienical
groups. A decision on future directions
for the seminary will have implications
for the ecumenical stance of Brethren.
3. Tlie relationship of the Church of
the Brethren to health and welfare insti-
tutions operating under the Brethren
name. The issue involves the extent to
which the general program of the church
will include a portfolio related to hos-
pitals and homes.
There will be five reports to be heard
for the first time from Conference-
authorized study committees:
1 . The Review and Evaluation Com-
mittee. This study was authorized by the
adoption of the new structure for the
General Board some three years ago and
is part of an ongoing process which will
be repeated every third year. This com-
mittee will have a brief report in the
printed Conference booklet, supplement-
ing this with a written statement when
the booklets are mailed to delegates.
2. Study Committee on Housing. This
committee will share the results of its
tabulations of Brethren awareness of
housing shortages and the degree of
Brethren involvement and participation
in efforts to alleviate the housing prob-
lems in this country.
3. A Study of the Church's Needs in
Music. Hymns, and Other Songs. The
issue is whether we shall print another
hymnal or offer supplementary music to
our congregations.
4. A report from a committee that was
charged to interpret the ramifications and
implications of our expressed commit-
ment to the support of noncooperation
10 MESSENGER 5- 1-72
through our amendments to the State-
ment of the Church of the Brethren on
War, adopted in 1970.
5. A report from a committee that had
the assignment of exploring the theologi-
cal and social-economic dimensions of
FAUS.
The General Board will be reporting
on some items that may generate consid-
erable discussion in the business sessions:
current efforts being made by Brethren in
the field of ecology; and a position state-
ment on equality for women and the
progress of specific referrals for action
being undertaken at the Brotherhood,
district, and local church levels.
Ecumenical concerns will focus on an-
other look at a proposal of an associated
relationship between the Church of the
Brethren and the American Baptist Con-
vention. The Committee on Interchurch
Relations will be seeking Conference
guidance on just how the Brethren want
to make ecumenical decisions: Shall they
happen by choice in local areas or do we
want to make ecumenical decisions by ac-
tion of Annual Conference?
Several new items are coming to the
Cincinnati Conference this year:
1. A quer>' from the Pacific Southwest
Conference raising questions about
church holdings in US Savings Bonds and
companies with defense contracts.
2. A quer>' from the Middle Indiana
District requesting an itemized listing of
investments in the Pension Fund and
securities held by the General Board.
3. A request from the Southern Ohio
District that a study be made on church
payment for the telephone tax and the
holding of securities with defense in-
dustries.
4. A query from the Southern District
of Virginia requesting leadership on how
best to bring an end to commericals de-
signed to sell beer, wine, and liquor.
In order that the delegates will have
more time to study the issues involved in
the various reports and recommendations,
plans call for the Conference booklets to
be mailed out the first week in May,
about two weeks earlier than in previous
years. With regard to the abortion issue
special packets have been prepared for
use in local congregations and these may
be ordered from the Church of the Breth-
ren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave.,
Elgin, 111.60120. Q
W.
, T. Purkhiser, editor of Herald of
Holiness, quotes a pastor who points out
that "'from Old Testament times till now
a secure, stable, undisturbed, and un-
ruffled church has meant spiritual death.
That's why the prophet Amos came thun-
dering to the sleek establishment of his
day: 'Woe to them that are at ease in
Zion!' That's why Jesus stung the con-
sciences of the comfortable with his de-
mand that eyes be opened to the misery
of a neighbor, and ears sensitive to the
call for compassion."
Being "at ease" in this sense refers to
a lack of concern about that which really
matters. It does not mean we should not
receive strength and solace when we wor-
ship. We should be restored spiritually.
Yet one of the greatest sins is the trading
of real spiritual life and vitality for an
established form of security which de-
mands no commitment. It is the ex-
changing of compassion for the safety of
unconcern and uninvolvement. It is con-
suming on ourselves that which should
care for others.
Wh
r hen is a church at ease? A church is
at ease . . .
— When it sees spiritual, physical, and
social needs, and even discusses such in
depth, yet does little or nothing specifical-
ly or sacrificially to relieve them.
— When it is annoyed by those who
stir its conscience.
— When it feels hurt or threatened if
its program or patterns of operation are
questioned.
— When there are those in its com-
munity who have soul or body needs and
yet are left unnoticed or uncontacted.
— When it becomes more concerned
about being served than with serving.
— When it is more interested in its
committees or organization than its
people.
— When giving this year is approxi-
mately the same as last year.
— When worship becomes so regular-
ized, times of testimony seem out of place.
— When prayers are said without a
feeling of fervency and love.
— When tears are absent in service
after service.
— When Bible study involves only a
small few.
— When the community outside the
church does not know what is said or
done inside the church.
— When members think of the pastor
as the one who is supposed to do the
praying, preaching, and Bible study.
— When working for the church re-
places working as the church.
— When the differences between
church members and non-Christians are
difficult to discern.
— When there is resistance to those
who speak against the sins in the church
or in the community.
— When it is content to deal with
social needs without dealing with
spiritual needs.
— When it likes everything settled
and predetermined in its services and
is disturbed if things are not as usual.
— When it has an inner fear of a
new work of God through the Spirit.
— When it can look at the wealthy
or the poor in its midst and feel
comfortable.
— When it respects the word of the
questionably rich above the word of
the godly poor.
— When it can allow any sin
among its members without fasting
and prayer.
— When it cannot point specifically
to a miracle of God among its mem-
bers in the last year. — John
Drescher
51-72 MESSENGER 11
The tendency of the early church was to praise the poor and castigate the rich .
Wealth, property, and money
in the New Testament
w
V- may summarize the teaching of the
New Testament about wealth, money,
and property by saying that they are
highly suspect because of their power to
divert the commitments of people from
the kingdom of God. Nevertheless prop-
erty as such is not forbidden so long as it
may become a means of generosity and
compassion to others. Let us spell this
view out in more detail. We may put it in
a series of propositions which can be
illustrated by particular texts.
I. All wealth is precarious. Those who
put their trust in wealth will be like the
rich man who tore down his barns to
build bigger barns, only to find that his
life was required of him (Luke 12:16-
by Donald E.Miller
21). Similarly in the account of the rich
man and Lazarus the tables are turned in
the afterlife, Lazarus in Abraham's
bosom and the rich man separated from
paradise by a wide gulf ( Luke 16:19-
3 1 j . The sermon on the mount describes
property as subject to the corruption of
moths and rust and thievery (Matt. 6:
19). "The rich will disappear like a wild
flower" (James 1:10). Wealth is far too
precarious to be trustworthy.
2. Wealth can become an unnecessary
encumbrance. When Jesus sent out the
twelve, he told them to take no staff, nor
bag, nor bread, nor an e.xtra shirt, nor
money along on the journey (Matt. 10:
9ff.; Mark 6:8fT.). He wanted them to
travel without a scries of extraneous con-
cerns. In the same spirit Paul wished
that all persons were as free to proclaim
the gospel as he was. The sending of the
twelve seems also to suggest that being
unencumbered by property will assist the
twelve to put their trust in God alone and
will give them greater power to cast out
demons and to heal the sick.
,3. Wealth has the power to divert the
commitments of persons from the king-
dom of God. More profound than the
precariousness and encumbrance of
wealth is its power to draw to itself the
ultimate commitments of persons. This
truth is most vividly put in Jesus' state-
ment that you cannot serve God and
2 MESSENGER 51 72
mammon ( Matt. 6:24). Concern about
money tends to draw the final commit-
ments of people into itself, so that devo-
tion to the kingdom is replaced by faith
in the false security of property. Thus
property can become an expression of the
evil powers (e.xoiisia) that dominate hu-
man life. It it against these evil powers
that the crucifixion is directed ( 1 Cor.
2:6ff. ). Therefore it is not accidental
that the betrayal of Jesus is sealed with
"blood money."
The power of money to divert the com-
mitments of people is lifted up in the
teaching that it is easier for a camel to
go through the eye of a needle than for a
rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven
(Matt. 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25).
If the "eye of a needle" refers to a narrow
wall entry into Jerusalem, as it may. then
the rich man is not completely excluded.
He is however subject to extreme tempta-
tion.
Consider the rich young ruler who
came to Jesus to ask what more he might
do to keep the law (Matt. 19:16-22;
Mark 10: 17-22; Luke 18:18-23). When
told to sell all that he had and give to the
poor, he went away sorrowful. The point
is not that poverty is the only way into
the kingdom, it is rather that wealth is a
great source of temptation. The early
church frequently included persons of
considerable means, for example, Lydia
the seller of purple (Acts 16:14) and
Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:57;
Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50; John 19:38).
4. Wealth easily leads to selfishness,
arrogance, and heartlessness toward the
needy. With this statement we see that
the seductive power of wealth affects
more than isolated individuals, the love
of money destroys the very fabric of
community. Jesus warns that his follow-
ers should beware of the scribes, "who
eat up widows' houses and cover it up
with long prayers" (Luke 20:47). The
rich young ruler was admonished to
give his wealth to the poor. The after-
life, in the account of the rich man and
Lazarus, is a time when the poor man
shall receive his proper inheritance.
James condemns the early church for
showing partiality to the rich (James
2:1-13). Upon meeting Jesus Zacchae-
us agreed to give half his property to
' the poor and to repay any fraud four-
fold (Luke 19:8). Simon the magician
is condemned for trying to buy the gift
of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:9-24).
5. Personal property is to be respected.
From the passages we have already cited
one should not draw the conclusion that
the basis for personal property is totally
set aside by the New Testament. The
point is rather that property has an in-
credible power to divert the commitments
of persons from the kingdom. However,
property itself is always to be respected.
Not only are thievery and fraud con-
demned, but the desire for the property of
another (covetousness) is thoroughly de-
nounced (Luke 12:15).
The plucking of grain by Jesus and the
disciples was entirely in keeping with the
obligation of the landowner to help care
for those who travel (Mark 2:23; Deut.
23:25). The communal living of the
early Jerusalem church did not rule out
private property. Ananias and Sapphira
were condemned by Peter not for keeping
private property, but for deceitfully doing
so. "As long as it was unsold was it not
yours, and after it was sold was not the
money under your control?" ( Acts 5:4).
It would seem that various economic ar-
rangements are consistent with the teach-
ings of the New Testament, so long as
they embody a just distribution of prop-
erty, and so long as the>' do not stand in
the way of devotion to the kingdom of
God.
6. Usury is suspect, but not forbidden.
Jewish opinions of the first century dif-
fered about the lending of money for
usury. Some commentators believed that
if someone borrowed money and in-
creased its value, he should pay back the
original amount plus the increase. Other
commentators taught that he should pay
back only the original amount. The only
New Testament reference to the lending
of money for interest occurs in the par-
able of the talents. The unfortunate
servant who buried his master's money
in the ground was told, "You ought to
have put my money in the bank, and
then when I came back I would have
gotten my property with interest" (Matt.
25:27: Luke 19:23).
Jesus' point in the parable of the talents
is not to approve or disapprove of money
lending; it is rather to show that our
lives are given as a loan and that we are
responsible for what we do with them. It
does show however that the banking of
money for interest was a commonly un-
derstood occurrence. It also suggests that
when one is investing someone else's
money, he has a responsibility for how
that is done. The money changers in
the temple were not hankers (Matt. 21:
12; Mark 11:15). Their business was
like a currency exchange by which they
made a profit in the exchange. Jesus
was angered that they profaned the
temple by making a profit from people's
religious devotion.
7. Poverty was increasingly considered
to be a virtue, probably due to gnostic
influence. One of the tendencies of the
early church is to make a set of prescrip-
tions out of the relational basis of the
kingdom. The teaching about the danger
of wealth became programmatic in the
early church, so that poverty became a
virtue. There was a tendency to praise
the poor and castigate the rich (cf. James
2:1-14). In the New Testament disciple-
ship often required the giving up of prop-
erty, but discipleship could also mean
working to care for oneself. Paul had to
correct the Thessalonians when they took
his teaching about the second coming to
mean that they ceased all work (2 Thess.
3:6-12). It was gnosticism in the early
church that led many to consider poverty
to be a virtue in itself.
8. Discipleship often had clear institu-
tional implications. One example is the
riot caused in Ephesus by Paul's preach-
ing (Acts 19:23-41 ). Demetrius, a silver-
smith who was making large profits from
the manufacture of silver shrines of the
goddess Artemis, called together the
workers in silver and warned them what
would happen to their business as a result
of Paul's preaching. The gospel had a
clear and dramatic effect upon the silver
industry in Ephesus.
The church of the second and third
century had a marked effect upon various
occupations by either questioning or
forbidding them. These included sorcer-
ers, astrologers, gladiators, charioteers,
and of course soldiers. Historians often
credit the Christians with closing down
the gladiatorial fights. Usurv was also
questioned in this period.
In summary the gospel often had clear
and dramatic effects upon the economic
institutions of the time, even when there
were various ways of interpreting how to
respond to the gospel. D
51 -72 MESSENGER 13
l
ast year was a total waste. It really
was. So I tried to get into the Inter-
Mountain Indian School in Utah but was
told I was too young. Then I tried the
boarding school in Albuquerque and the
Fort Wingate Boarding School and was
again refused because of my age. Finally,
I went to Edith Merkey at the Lybrook
Mission, and she told me about the Stu-
dent Intercultural Program (SIP). My
mother didn't want me to go at first, but
when I told her how little I learned last
year and that I really wanted an educa-
tion, she agreed to let me go." Favie
Martinez, a 14-year-old Navajo Indian
girl, living this year with the .Amos Cun-
ningham family near Quarryville, Penn-
sylvania, was telling me how she came
here, 2000 miles from her home.
Jessie Garcia added: "My parents are
completely in favor of my coming here.
My mother wants me to have the best in
life, to have a better life than she has had.
My friends back home write and ask me
if I've met any nice boys yet. I answer
them that I am not here to get a boy but
to get an education. "
A third Navajo girl, Annie Chavez, age
15, explains, "At home I live too far to
walk to the bus stop, so 1 just don't go
to school at all. This way I can get an
education."
These three girls are among sixteen
Navajo youth placed in homes across the
nation through the Church of the Breth-
ren-sponsored mission in Lybrook, New
Mexico. To expose them to another way
of life, giving them new educational and
social opportunities, to have them feel
the love and acceptance of a Christian
family, and to share with others some
of their Indian heritage and culture are
a few of the aims of the program.
Most of the students are the sole repre-
sentatives of their race in their assigned
communities. Jessie, Favie, and Annie
are unique in that they have been spon-
sored by the Mechanic Grove Church of
the Brethren and are all in the same
Quarryville, Pennsylvania, church and
community. Jessie, age 17, is a sopho-
more at the Solanco High School while
Favie and Annie are in eighth grade in
the Swift Middle School.
Mrs. Esther Kreider, a widowed school-
teacher, is the host parent for Jessie.
For many reasons, among them being
the living situation with just the two of
them, Jessie's being older, more mature,
and a daughter of the Medicine Man, and
also Esther's own friendly, outgoing per-
sonality, she has had the most success in
communication. Jessie freely shares in-
teresting aspects of Navajo folklore, cus-
toms, and culture, calls Esther "Mom,"
takes the commercial course, and openly
expresses her wish to stay here until after
graduation (June 1974).
Annie's relationship with us (the Earl
Zieglers, pastor of Mechanic Grove
church ) had a slow start. It was three
weeks before she smiled, but once she
did, her personality gradually and slowly
began revealing itself, much as a rosebud
opening into full bloom. Glasses, dental
and medical care helped. In the early
weeks we soon discovered she was an
expert (undefeated!) tether-ball player,
a fearless horseback rider, and she loved
corn on the cob! Later, when she gave an
illustrated report on the Navajos in her
Navajo student
pidCfinifini ^^w^few^d/
ifir(n)[rm thm
14 MESSENGER 5- 1 -72
1^.,
English class at school with drawings she
had made of hogans. rug looms, and a
closcLip view of a typical native hairdo,
we discovered she has tremendous ability
in the arts and crafts. Recently a class-
mate fondly remarked, "That Annie has a
terrific sense of humor; she"s a nut!"
After every meal, without being told,
she begins washing the dishes — a shock-
ing example to our own children: Mike,
age 12, Doreen, age 15, and Randy, age
17. Our oldest daughter, Karen, 19, is
a junior in college and at home only for
vacations.
Favie is the oldest daughter in the rural
home of Ruth and Amos Cunningham,
head of the guidance department in the
Solanco School District and parents of
three: David, age 12, Joan, age 10, and
Mark, age 8. Although she enjoys her
home here, Favie hopes that if she is a
.SIP student again next year that she will
be in a family with a teen-age girl. The
only one of the three girls to belong to the
Church of the Brethren, Favie also
really enjoys singing, puzzles, and all
sports.
All three girls have noticeably gained
weight since they arrived here last Au-
gust. Between bites of fry bread (a favor-
ite Navajo staple food made of flour, bak-
ing powder, salt, and water, fried in short-
ening, and when eaten warm tastes
much like a Pennsylvania Dutch soft
pretzel ) , the girls explained why. Back
home, if they want to make fry bread,
they must first hunt "woods" and carry
them home to make a fire. For water
they must walk a great distance and carry
it. All this exercise works off the fry
bread, but here "we just press a button
and turn a knob."
Since Annie and Favie are in the same
grade in the same school, we requested
that they be placed in separate sections,
thus exposing them to more children
and encouraging them to make other
friends. The girls of course welcome the
opportunity of speaking Navajo to-
gether. We are glad when they teach us
Navajo words and songs.
Church and community youth have
been cordial but not overly friendly. The
girls have not had many mvitations to
other homes for meals or an overnight
visit, and in this sense, it has been good
that occasionally they can visit each
other. Having three Navajos in the
same commimity is good because of this
mutual moral support, their satisfaction
in hearing their native tongue now and
then and sharing news from home, and
they have a triple uiflLience in the church
and community. We Anglos can see that
not every Navajo fits the stereotyped
image (whatever that is) but that these
are unique personalities with different
abilities and interests.
In sponsoring them, the Mechanic
Grove church wanted to not only help
these girls but to expose ourselves to a
better understanding of their culture. An
appalling ignorance exists about Ameri-
can Indians (and about our mission in
Lybrook!). Jessie laughs: "People look
at me and then ask if I am Korean or
Spanish. When I say "No, I'm an Indian,"
they ask me about conditions in India.
Then I explain, 'I'm an American Indian,
a Navajo,' and the expression on their
faces is one of utter amazement. Many
From left, Jessie participates in a home economics
class (It school: Faric at home with the
Cunninghams; at dinner, Annie with the Zieglers
5-1-72 MESSENGER 15
people have never seen an Indian before,
and I'm sure some of my classmates still
can't quite believe I'm for real."
When asked if their parents aren't
afraid the Anglos will influence them
and make them turn from their Indian
heritage, the girls say emphatically that
this is not a major concern. Jessie said
she has a cousin who has lived away
from the tribe for five >ears or so. When
she visits, her parents remark, "You're
getting so much like the white man that
the next time you come, we'll expect to
see that you have blue eyes!" — but Jessie
quickly adds, "They arc only kidding
her."
In fact. Ii\ ing in a new community
seems to be strengthening the girls' self-
esteem as Indians. After finding some
questions about their customs difficult to
answer, the girls ha\e become frequent
patrons of their school libraries and are
constanth' reading and learning about
their own histon.-, native dances, philoso-
phy, and arts. Other churches, women's
groups, and school classes ha\e in\ited
them to be resource persons to tell about
their customs and to sing songs in
Navajo.
Adjusting to our way of living was not
difficult, the girls claim. The hardest part
was having to speak English all the time
and getting used to people looking at
them. All help with the household chores
and responsibilities just as their white
brothers and sisters do, with no more or
less expected of them. Annie especially
enjoys the convenience and abundance of
running water, while Favie notes the
contrasts between the lush green mea-
dows and woodlands here and the barren,
sheep-grazing country back home.
The Student Intercultural Program
begun by the Lybrook Navajo Mission
as a pilot project for the school term of
1969-70 (with 19 students placed in
homes) is not without problems. Being
bilingual, some students have difficulties
in school because of the necessity of us-
ing English there exclusively. The poor
educational background of the students,
frequently a result of absenteeism and
"automatic passing" in the lower grades,
also presents social adjustment problems
as the students are placed in low sections
in their new schools or actually fail
courses. With time, and sometimes tutor-
ing, the students soon catch up and some
have attained academic honor rolls.
Although each host family has its own
unique problems with its student, most
agree that the most vexing concern is
the quietness of the student. Many Nava-
jos are shy, reticent, and silent. This may
be interpreted (wrongly) as sullenness
or rudeness, but it is really a native trait.
Why use a sentence when two words will
say it all? "They are learning about us,
but we are not learning enough about
Navajos," complained one host mother
wistfully. Time and patience, love and
acceptance seem to be eflfective antidotes.
However, the joys are priceless. The
first time Annie and I went shopping for
a dress she chose a bright red one from
the rack and went into the dressing room
to try it on. In a few minutes she called
me and I pushed aside the curtain. The
dress fit her beautifully and when our
eyes met in the mirror, her face broke
into a wide smile. That smile, represent-
Below. Favie and her host family, the Cunninghams:
top right, Jessie creates intricate bead designs in a
headband as Mrs. Kreider watches: lower right.
dinner hour at the Ziegler home now includes
Earl. Annie. Doreen. and Mike
16 MESSENGER 5-1-72
ing a combination of emotions, more than
paid for any minor hardships we had ex-
jxjrienced with her. Esther Kreider con-
curs claiming, "I have gained much more
by having Jessie in my home than I have
given. Jessie has opened many doors to
me. We've gone to football games, wres-
tling matches, and local tourist attrac-
tions. If she weren't here, I'd probably
be sitting at home on weekends pitying
myself."
"To help a person from a different
background to participate in our lives
has meant much to our whole family,"
says Amos Cunningham. When asked if
he could have had this same joy from
having a Fresh Air child or a ghetto
youth in his home, he conceded it wasn't
Favie's race that gave the thrill but the
giving of oneself.
People ask about next year. How will
the students feel about going home?
Wouldn't it be better to let them alone,
rather than exposing them to a different
way of life and sending them back? At
the end of one year some students have
won a place in the hearts of the host
family and are invited to stay on
living there. When the two are compat-
ible, this seems like a far better arrange-
ment than forcing the student to learn to
know a new family, school, and commu-
nity each year.
Most host families hope that when the
students go back home, at least in some
small way they will have been influenced
for the good. Inevitably, some new skills,
habits of personal hygiene, and ideas
about nutrition will have unconsciously
become a part of their lives. No direct at-
tempt is made to win them for Christ, but
it is hoped that some of the family's be-
liefs and values will be sown as seed that
will spring forth in later years.
Ht the same time, the students' pres-
ence will have made an impact here.
Questions to the girls indicate a keen in-
terest m the bead work, rug weaving, and
silver artistry of the Navajos as well as
their customs and folklore. In our ecol-
ogy-minded society, we are beginning to
realize we have much to learn from the
Inlian about loving the earth, enjoying
its beauty, and conserving its gifts. Items
in the news about American Indians
which were formerly noted with apathy
are now read with interest and com-
mented upon. The longer the girls are
here, the more we can see the prejudices
in the school, church, and community
wearing down.
In projecting toward the future, Annie
hopes to become an art teacher, while
Favie and Jessie are preparing for sec-
retarial careers. Since the Navajo com-
munity, including those who live outside
the reservations, totals close to 200,000
persons and is increasing, trained person-
nel of all professions are needed. If this
Student Intercultural Program can help
some Indian youth to be educated and
motivated to return and serve among their
own people and can increase our appre-
ciation of the contributions, abilities,
needs, and problems of the Indians of
America, it will be of utmost value.
Jessie puts it this way: "When I go
back, I can tell my people that I know
now that the white man really cares." D
Jessie, in the picture at right, sings in the youth
choir at church: above, she and Iter close friend
Debbie Kreider outside with an early-vintage buggy
5-1-72 MESSENGER 17
It is not an easy thing to have our
children leave us for nine whole
months or in some cases two years
without seeing them. We miss the
pleasure of our children being at
home. We miss the help which they
give in carrying water and chopping
wood. If we were to keep the child
home ue would receive government
grants of money with which to buy
clothes just before school begins. But
we have felt it better to sacrifice
these and other things in order that
the child ma\ have educational ad-
vantages."
So spoke a Navajo parent who par-
ticipates in the Student Intercultural Pro-
gram (SIP) of the Lybrook Mission. The
parent was one of many I recently visited
and revisited to learn how the program
looks and feels to them. I found them
giving a great deal more thought to the
pros and cons than before.
In fact, attitudes toward the placement
of students in Church of the Brethren
homes throughout the Brotherhood have
changed from the fall of 1966, when the
first Navajo student went to Indiana, and
even since the spring of 1970. when fol-
lowing an evaluation of the program
Navajo parents urged its continuation.
It was at the time the SIP label was at-
tached.
A number of factors has brought on
the assessment. One has only to read and
digest chapter five of Custer Died jor
Your Sins by Vine Deloria Jr., to gain
some understanding of Indian people's
thinking today, both toward .'\mcrican
society and toward Christianity.
But before we detail the concerns, we
first shall point up how the program
works at this end and what it is the
Navajo parents hope their children gain
from it.
Upon having applied for the program,
the Navajo parents and student are inter-
viewed as to the type of situations or
homes they would prefer. These are
matched against the possibilities avail-
able. The discussion goes on to orient the
family and student to travel arrange-
ments, anticipated problems, and expec-
tations.
For the host families, we feel it almost
imperative that they come here for a few
days of orientation prior to taking a stu-
dent in their home for the year. During
Navajo student
placement
by Edith Mae Merkey
this time we seek to bring about as much
understanding as possible for both the
whites and Navajos. The Indian families
feel good about meeting their children's
hosts. In most instances the visiting fami-
ilies find the experience more helpful than
they anticipated.
Our work here seeks to assist in
strengthening tics both while the student
is away and upon his return for the sum-
mer. During the school term monthly
newsletters are sent to students, their
families, and their hosts. The mission
corresponds with the host families. We
seek to relate in other helpful ways.
When a student returned last summer,
he filled out a questionnaire on reactions
to the year away, interests for the sum-
mer, and desires for the following school
term. Each student was given a handbook
prepared to assist in adjusting to life
here again. As a result of the question-
naire weekly discussion meetings with
students and parents were implemented,
on such themes as war and peace, par-
ents vs. youth, drugs, and various phases
of SIP. In these discussions one quickly
sensed the interest and concerns of
Navajo parents for their children, and
'■m
18 MESSENGER 5-1 -72
their openness to learn and share.
Both joys and frustrations are experi-
enced not only while students are away
but as they depart and return. To get
them off on schedule we sometimes find
ourselves digging through washes or find-
ing them impassable due to rains, and
having to walk up to a mile and carry
luggage back to the waiting vehicle. The
students' return too can be eventful.
When a group arrived at noon by bus
we gave them lunch of mutton stew and
fried bread (a typical, good Navajo meal)
before taking them home. As the food
rapidly disappeared one student re-
marked, "I forgot how good this tastes
— haven't had any for such a long time!"
Once a student was to be met in Farm-
ington but wasn't on the bus. Two days
went by. Police were contacted and began
looking for her in four different states.
Three days later she appeared, weary but
safe. At her first bus change a driver, not
noticing her ticket, let her on an express
bus headed for Los Angeles. When she
finally arived in Farmington moneyless
and hungry, she was puzzled why police-
men picked her up at the bus station and
held her until we arrived.
High on the list of reasons why Nava-
jo families engage in the SIP program is
a desire for their children to have educa-
tional advantages. "Our children can
better themselves in ways they have no
opportunity to here," commented one par-
ent. "Here there is no opportunity to take
part in school activities, especially
sports." Explained another; "Many of
us wish we would have had opportuni-
ties like this when we were school age.
Perhaps we would have gone further in
our schooling than we did, maybe finished
high school. We want our children to
have a good education and to have op-
portunities to make a good life. Some
of us would have to send our children to
Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding
school. We do not want to. It is good
when the students can learn things
around the home, especially the girls
about housekeeping and cooking." Re-
marked another parent: "I want my son
to learn all he can about farming along
with his education. Here there is no op-
portunity to learn."
Other Navajo parents were eager to
explain, "It is not because we do not
want our children in our own homes
with us or that we do not care about
them. Nor is it because we think your
ways of doing and living are so much
better for them to learn and follow. We
think it should be a two-way process.
Our children need to learn some of your
ways of living and working and need to
speak good English because we live in a
predominantly white English-speaking
society. We want our children to have a
better life than ours. But we want our
children to remember their own language
and culture. Sometimes our children
keep 'bugging' us that they want to go
until we decide perhaps it might be good
to let them go. Another reason is because
we feel living in a Christian home while
attending school gives them the opportu-
nity to learn about Christian life."
On this latter point, Christianity as it
relates to SIP has been discussed with
both host and Navajo families. One Nav-
ajo parent said, "We are glad our children
can be in Christian homes while away
attending school. We would not be a part
of SIP if you put our children in non-
Christian homes." The consensus indi-
cates that if the parents chose to put their
children in homes rather than in a BIA
school or other placement programs, or
keep them here for long rides on buses,
the> want them to be m Christian homes
and desire a Christian atmosphere both
in word and deed.
Still there are ver>' strong feelings
among the Navajo parents that the ehild
not be urged to accept Chnsiianit> for
his or her own life. This should be en-
tirely each child's decision withinit any
kind of .Anglo pressure.
The Navajo feeling toward the Chris-
tian faith was explained recently b> Kent
Fitzgerald, an Indian and retired BI.\
worker who now is the executive secre-
tary of the Episcopal Church's National
Committee on Indian Work. "The gospel
of Christ is the greatest gift the white
man has given the Indian." he stated at
the consecration service of the first In-
dian as a bishop of the Episcopal Church.
But Mr Fitzgerald added. "Unfortunate-
ly, along with this gospel, the white man
has urged on the Indian his culture. .And
with the culture came a go\ernment
structure which was to dominate and con-
trol the life of the Indian for the next 7.";
years." Many Navajos \ook at Christian-
ity as "The White Man's Religion" which
has been forced onto them along with
many other "White Ways."
As I noted at the outset, there are
things in -SIP about which Navajo par-
ents wonder and ask questions. "What
are the real reasons why while families
take Navajo students into their homes?"
a number asked in my visits. "Is it pos-
sible that some white families might take
a student, especially a boy student, for
free labor? Is there any danger that some-
lime, perhaps years later, you arc going
to turn around and demand that we pay
you back for the time you kept our child
in your home, just the same as the US
Government has done?" If these seem
illegitimate questions then study He Talk
You Listen by Vine Dcloria Jr., and Our
Brother's Keeper.
Another mother said, ".Sometimes I just
wonder what the host family thinks of
me. Maybe they think I am real, real
poor or that I do not care for my chil-
dren, or that I do not want my children
and that that is why I put them in homes
for school. But it is really not true. I
only let them go because the school they
have to attend here is too far away and it
is too far to go to catch the bus."
In one c ise a junior hiyh stuJcnt w ill
ha\e been gone two years this summer
without returning lo \ isil her p.irents.
These parents are asking. "Does it e\er
bother you that our children are in >our
home for such a long period of time ' Ho
\ou e\er wonder how ue feci ahoiil it'.'
How do you feci about ha\ ing them for
such long periods? Do \ou urge ihciii lo
st.iN longer or {.\o \ou encour.igc them to
return home to us'.'" P.irents question
why in some cases there is no corres-
pondence from host families on progress,
grades, .icli\ ities, and problems.
Inevitahly. there are anxieties about
how much the experience awa\' from
home, m .1 dillcrcnl culture, will change
the \oulh. Some parents express confi-
dence their children will not forget nor
Icive the Na\ajo wa\ because they are
Navajo and ha\'e learned while very
young. lUit other p.irents arc sa\ing.
"One of Ihc dangers is that a child may
stay away too long. We do not want them
to forget their own language and the
Navajo wa\' of living. What will their
attitude be toward us. their rclati\'es. and
the communltN' when lhc\ return'.'"
Une famil) explained it this way. "We
ha\e feelings about letting them go for
we love them and care about Ihcm.
Everybod\ gets to the point the\ must
swallow their pride once in awhile in
order to help somebody out in certain
ways. Sometimes we must think twice
before we do something and then de-
cide what is best. We Navajos must swal-
low our pride when sending our children
lo your home, for the sake of the children
thai ihey gain something belter. We also
do when we hear untrue things about our
children from white parents — we do this
for the sake of our children's betterment."
Looking at the gap between the Navajo
and the Anglo cultures, some of the In-
dian parents would ask of host families,
"Why do you question the background of
the students who are going lo live with
you in your home? 'You ask so many
questions about their backgrounds and
everything. We just wonder. For years
you have been sending white workers
out here lo live and work among us. We
never question any of their backgrounds.
We just accept them in our community in
good faith."
To me it is clear that the Navajos do
not care to embr.ice and accept the
"White M;in's Culture" as a whole. They
see in it a phoniness of basic values; their
own sometimes are better and more dur-
able. They see whites unable to teach
them much on how to live happily; the
whites need lo learn from them. And
thc\ know firsthand how the white man
ire.its other races.
Perhaps nowhere in the L'S have there
been such great opposing principles be-
tween the old and the new as there is
among the Navajo tribe. And perhaps
no place else have these so closely ap-
proached a fusion. At that fusion, if and
when it comes, there may well arise a new
faith, a faith big enough to embrace all
of mankind's experiences of the past, all
our religious creeds, and all our scien-
tific concepts. It would not be too great
a coincidence if the new symbols of that
faith rose out of those of the past, just
as mankind itself has risen to successive
stages of evolution through the supreme
symbol of the sipapu epitomized as the
Grand Canyon.'
.An old Hopi man told in spacious
words, with slow and precise concentric
gestures, how the Hopis had always lived
in preparation and expectation for the
coming of the White Brother. "When
that White Briilher Iriih' should come
(he had not truly or fully come as yet),
then all that was great and old in the
Hopi life would unite with all that was
great and old in the White Brother's life;
and the two lives would move into a fu-
ture more bright, and also everlasting,
neither life engulfing the other, but 'like
the two distinct strands woven into a sin-
gle lariat.' "■
If that day should ever come perhaps
we all could feel in our lives what is ex-
pressed in a Navajo Prayer, from the
myth of Beauty Way:
I will be happy forever, nothing will
hinder me;
I walk with beauty before me. I walk
with beauty behind me,
I walk with beauty below me, I walk
with beauty above me,
I walk with beauty around me, my
words will be beautiful. D
' Krfim Ma^kfd Gntit, bv Frank \\'nltcrs.
Sw.'illow PrCT-s. Inc.. pp. 12.'»-42fi.
- t r(»in On thr Gtratiiirif^ It'flv. by Jrttin
C>>llicr. Swallow PrcM, Inc.. pp. 70 ft.
MESSENGER i-
[b@©k [r©wD®\^§
American Indians in mission to humanity
BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE, by Dee
Brown. Holf, Rinehart & Winston, 1970. 487
pages, $10.95. Bantam, $1.95 paper
OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER: THE INDIAN IN
WHITE AMERICA, edited by Edgar 5. Cahn.
New Community Press, 1969. 206 pages, $2.95
CUSTER DIED FOR YOUR SINS, by Vine Deloria
Jr. Avon, 1969. 272 pages, $1.25
WE TALK, YOU LISTEN, by Vine Deloria Jr.
Macmillan, 1970. 227 pages, $5.95
American Indians across the land are
beginning to articulate their perspectives
on life in America, past and present, with
clarity and forthrightness. These four
books are some of the growing number of
publications, by both Indians and Indian-
ists, that seek to sensitize all Americans
on what really happened as the European
conquered and colonized the New World
and how life looks to the American
Indian today.
American literature, folk music, films,
and classroom histories have generally
portrayed the first American as an un-
civilized savage, a heartless heathen who
lives in the wilderness, raids the home-
steads of well-meaning, innocent white
homesteaders, and whose burial grounds
and culture have provided immeasurable
data for anthropologists to dig into, carry
ofT to museums and private collections,
and chronicle in reams of papers and
shelves of books. Sports teams, the
Scouts, 4-H. campers, service clubs, and a
variety of social groups use Indian names,
symbols, and rituals to give color and ex-
citement to their activities. From
Columbus to the present, churches have
directed missions to the Indian target,
very seldom with the intention of encour-
aging him to find himself, more in an at-
tempt to rework him into a white man's
mold with a Christian label. The results
of all these relationships between white
and red are basically tragic. The modem
Indian spokesman is talking about that
tragedy and wanting to change the rela-
tionships to something more humanizing
for everybody.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is a
good place to start the change. The sub-
title identifies the book as "An Indian
History of the American West." It is de-
scribed as "a documented account of the
systematic plunder of the American In-
dians during the second half of the nine-
teenth century, battle by battle, massacre
by massacre, broken treaty by broken
treaty." Dee Brown has painstakingly
brought together scattered records of
Indian voices that spoke during the dec-
ades when the white man was dismantling
the red man's world: his land, his buffalo
and forests, his social organization, and
his identity.
The effect on the reader is shock, anger,
guilt, a deep sadness, a temptation to
despair for what greed and racism did to
a proud and noble people. This legacy of
violence and dehumanization has left
both e.xploiter and exploited sick and
estranged. Any American, of whatever
origin, needs to read this book and let its
message filter down and influence the
shape of his self-understanding. For
Christians, it has something to say about
what the Christian mission is.
Brown's book adds some new names to
American history for most readers: Red
Cloud, Black Kettle, Sitting Bull, and
Crazy Horse come through as worthy
candidates for space beside names like
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Patrick
Henry, and Paul Revere. They were
statesmen of stature and insight, heroes
who loved freedom and sought it for their
people. Sand Creek, Pine Ridge, the
Little Bighorn, the Ghost Dance Camps,
and Wounded Knee Creek are signposts
of rich American history as much as
Valley Forge, Gettysburg, and the
Ephrata Cloister. The problem is, the
winner pays little attention to the loser's
reading of their common history.
Our Brother's Keeper: The Indian in
IV hite America (see Messenger,
5/7/70, pages 2-7) reports on the status
of the Indian in America today. "It is a
look at a world which exists today within
our midst — a world hidden from public
view and thus from public conscience —
a world controlled by white men, a world
which grinds out new injustices, new
indignities, and new wrongs, day by day."
This book focuses on the Bureau of In-
dian Aff^airs, the federal agency that has
much to do with maintaining the shape
of reservation Indian life today, since it
administers health, education, welfare,
and other services for many Indians.
The BIA is the controversial long arm of
the great white father that protects,
threatens, and meddles in everyday af-
fairs of the Indian. What to do with the
BIA is a contemporary Indian issue, but
also an issue of long standing.
This book is a collection of document-
ing statements, with commentary sympa-
thetic to Indian freedom from white con-
trol, which demonstrates the Indian's
feelings about the white man's domina-
tion. It helps to update from where Dee
Brown leaves off, a hundred years ago.
Our Brother's Keeper tells it like it is for
the Indian, pointing out some current
wrongs and making it quite clear that
their major righting is needed. The book
prepares the ground for change but does
not concentrate on specific proposals for
making needed change. It points in a di-
rection and expresses Indian readiness to
move. Several helpful pages under the
title "Civilizing the White Man — A
Tribute to Indian Culture" contain an
expression of brotherhood directed to the
white world, a modern-day message from
the red brother offering to help the white
brother find some new light for his prob-
lems of personal isolation, international
relations, crime, and community. There
are some stimulating challenges that he-
gin to stir when the Indian with his
strong sense of community says to the
white man in his isolation: "You are each
a one-man tribe." On the issue of ecology
and care of the gifts of nature, the Indian
brings with his understanding of creation
a profound theology of ecology which
some persons, both red and white, feel
may provide the key to survival for all
humanity.
Vine Deloria Jr., author of Custer Died
for Your Sins and iVe Talk. You Listen.
is a young lawyer of the Standing Rock
Sioux tribe, a divinity school graduate,
and a capable interpreter of red America
to white America. He comes down hard
on the cultural genocide, cheap evange-
5-1-72 MESSENGER 21
DEATHS
Ba*<-i \\clion. C'ancfo, \.l>,. on Jan. 2.
1971, JK"! "2
Buchrr. Mabel. Quarrwillc. Pa., on Viec 14
1971. agnl 78
Dilltng. (•co[}*c M., HrUtnaur. N.J.. on
June 24. 1971, agnl 47
Ebbert. Ella. La Vrrnc. Calif, on Krb 21.
1972. agcti 87
Frrrman. .Mice. Bea^cnon. Mich . on Aiiij
i. 1972. aged 86
Fric*. J. H-. .McPhcTMin. kan*.. on l-cb. 7,
1972
Fuhrman. C-lail\^. Hanoicr. Pa . on Oec. 2'».
1971, aseil 66
(iarber. Mella E , BroaiUai. \a.. on Ocl 22.
1971. asetl 76
(.lick. Ina Marie. Empire. C'alif-. on Ocl.
26. 1971. asol 59
Ha»t. Hcber. Chicago. Ill . on Ocl. 12. 1971.
agcil 93
Honaker. Carl S . Ml. Siilnc%. \'a.. on Jan.
ID. 1972
Htiher. (-larlan E.. Qiiinlcr. kanv.. on .Sept.
12. 1971. ageil 40
Kenneth. Tucker I.. Mc Mli-iierxillc. Pa., on
Sepi 22. 1971. aged 66
I ingle, .\lina R.. McPhcr«>n. Kan*., on Jan.
IJ. 1972. ageil 75
McConkc*. Eilith l... McPherNon. Kans.. on
Sept 2:1. 1971. jgol 97
MaAlcn. Cora B . Winter Park. Fla.. on
Sepl. |h. |;>7I. ageif S7
Mjthia*. flaicl. Lanark. III., on Jan. 8.
1972. agol 81
Maii/>, F-I\a \\ , Bmadua*. \'a.. on Oct. 13,
1971. agol 78
^lohcrlv. Harold. Springfield. Ore., on Feb.
22. 1972. aged 52
M<">«>re. Emc»i F.. Ml. Sidnc\. \'a.. on .Sept.
2. 1971
N.i.<h. William J.. Bca%erton. Mich., on
r>ec. 19. 1971. agcl 84
\eUon. Mar> E. (.lick. \okt>\iIIc. \'a.. on
Feb. 17. 1972. aged 82
Peel. Ruth. Mcpherson. Kans.. on No\. 10.
1971. aged 73
Price. .Angle T.. Wiru. Va.. on Feb. 5, 1972.
aged 79
Rirrhie. Ccorge W.. Broadwav, \'a.. on Nov.
I. 1971. aged 6:!
RowIan<l. Mn. Charles L.. Nc^' Oxford. Pa..
on Dec. 13. 1971. aged SO
RoTcr. Ada. Lanark. III. on Jan. 4. 1972.
aged 83
Sthock. Lawrence E.. Cando. N.D., on Oct.,
28, 1971, aged 77
SchreibcT, .Anna. Quarrv\illc, Pa., on Nov,
19. 1971. aged 75
Schwartz. Frank. Cleveland. Ohio, on Jan.
7. 1972. aged 69
Sheen. J. Odic. Ml. Sidncv. Va.. on Nov.
9. 1971
Shoirman. Zelda R.. Liberty. III. on Feb.
13. 1972. aged 74
Sn%der. B>ard F.. Enid. Okla.. on Feb. 14.
1972. aged 61
Stmhm. Fred E . Mo<lc»io. Calif., on Dec.
19. 1971. age.1 83
Sirowbridge. Ida. Davion. Ohio, on Dec. 20.
1971. aged 93
Voran. .Anna K.. McPhervm. Kaas.. on .Aug.
12. 1971. aged 90
Walton. Otis. LibcrtT. III., on Jan. 17. 1972.
aged 87
Wampler. Jmcph G.. Harrisonburg. Va.. on
Jan 31. 1972. aged 64
Webb. Darl. Mcpherson. Kans , on Sept. 4.
1971. aged 79
M MESSENGEK 3 1 72
lisni. and racist half-lruths that white
.■Vmericans. both Christians and non-
C'hrisii.ins. have hialanlly pracliccd on
iho Indian since ihe\ have lived on the
same continent. His Custer Died for
)'(>iir Sins dem\ thologizes some of the
stereotypes about Indians and introduces
the real Indian of today, his feelings and
perspectives on government policies, an-
thropologists, church work, civil rights,
and the struggle to find .i meaningful
adapt.ition to life in modern society, lie
I iilk. You Listen looks at options for re-
working the worn fabric of modern soci-
ety to make for more freedom, selfhood,
and communitv among the several .Xmer-
ican communities or tribes. "The nation
that colonized, brutali/ed. ,ind patronized
its minorities, the nation that built an
artitici.il universe on land it neither un-
derstood nor respected — that nation has
been defeated, by its dissident minorities
and bv the land itself that is ultimately
rejecting those who abused it." Deloria's
thought has a theological ring of death
and resurrection, of call lo confession
and rededication, of real hope for human-
ity.
These books are not just for those in-
terested in Indian studies or missions, or
anthropology. Their message is for those
interested in the human race and its
future. — Merle Crouse
CLASSIFIED ADS
CAMP RENTAL AVAILABLE - Camp AAardela,
Eastern Shore Maryland at Denton, has camping
weeks open during June, July, and August. 60-
80 campers. A winterized cottage for winter re-
treats is now available. 25-30 campers. Family
camping pad available also. For information
write Byron Berkey, Box 460, Denton, Md, 21629,
or call 301-479-0505,
WORK AT HOME — If you can address and stuff
envelopes, rush stamped, addressed envelope
and 25c (for handling) to Mrs. E. L. McGaugh Jr.,
Route I, Box 58B, Abcrnathy, Tex. 79311.
MESSENGER
Hand-screened and signed original prints
Ml ■ f". •'- i\' 1 rmf H^y^
II af no tnore.
Posters SI. 00 each plus 25c handling.
Prnfilr hriotnr lost, not //y design,
not because they are had, but be-
cause lhe\ breotnr involved iti their
oun patch nf j^rau and nibble
themselves out oj '•ight.
The Brethren Press, U51 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
Name
Address
[r®wo@m7
The gunf ight at the corral is not OK
by Ben Simmons
Ihe plot of a typical western movie in-
volves a simple struggle between good
and evil. The Valley is in the control of
an evil range boss and as the credits
(producer, director, wardrobe consultant)
flash by, we see the "savior" riding
through a magnificent western landscape
(the theme music builds to a crescendo)
— the "savior" who will eventually de-
liver the people of the Valley from the
evil power of the range boss. Soon, we
learn that the evil range boss has been
harrassmg the good, clean, thrifty, indus-
trious, hardworking, peace lovin' settlers.
They are determined, upright, forthright,
and honest men, willing to fight against
the evil one for their homes, lands, and
families but they are no match for the
hired gims of the range boss.
The origins of the "savior" of the Val-
ley are shrouded in mystery. He seems to
be forgetting a past which is painful. He
is pensive, gentle, and kind and carries
himself with quiet strength. The settlers
wonder why he never wears a gun — of
course, he's peace lovin' too.
After insult and injury is heaped on
insult and injury, the more timid are ready
to move out and let the range boss have
his way, but the simple, brave, honest,
and true — the peace lovin' among them
— will take up their squirrel guns and go
forth reluctantly to fight for hearth and
home. ".Some of you who are afraid to
fight stay here and see that Joe gets a
Christian burial," that is, "Leave the dead
to bury the dead." But wait, where is the
mysterious stranger? He has dropped the
mantle of helplessness, donned his faded
buckskins, and now wears his gun as only
a professional can.
Any kid who has ever munched pop-
corn through the Saturday matinee (while
Mom went shopping) knows that it's all
over for the bad guys now. The hand-
some, quiet, self-assured "savior," with
his gun worn casually at his side, races
ahead of the confused, ftimbling, btim-
bling settlers before they can collect their
dim wits. The peace lovin' stranger has
gone ahead of them into the little town
on the sage covered prairie to meet the
evil range boss and his hired gtin in the
saloon (where else would e\il reside but
in the saloon?).
After the smoke clears, the "savior" is
wounded but he does not grimace; and
the settlers, rushing into town with fake
bravado, wouldn't have noticed except
that they see the blood dripping from the
sleeve of his well-worn buckskins. They
beg and plead with him to stay on in the
Valley and become, with them, the foun-
dation of a great nation of farms, towns,
churches, and schools. Maybe he could
be the sheriff? He shakes his head sadly
and, with the weariness of a man who has
just conquered Evil, tells them that they
don't need him anymore: "There are no
more guns left in the Valley." With that
parting benediction, he rides off, forlorn-
ly though majestically, as the sun sets
over the Grand Tetons. The theme music
comes back in with renewed enthusiasm
and we are profoundly moved. We are
glad that the bad men are dead and that
the good men will now live in peace and
happiness ever after.
Ihis typical plot contains two basic lies
about men and evil: (1) Any situation
where evil is present is made up of good
guys (victims) and bad guys (oppres-
sors); and ( 2 ) to have peace, all we need
to do is kill the bad guys. After the bad
guys are dead, peace, tranqtiillity, justice,
and mercy will return to the Valley.
1. To believe that evil in the world
comes from bad men and good in the
world comes from good men not only
denies the biblical doctrine of man but is
also naive and unrealistic. It is SLiid that
a Nazi extermination camp commander
was the model husband and father. He
worked all day at the camn handling the
necessary administrative procedures need-
ed for disposing of people quickly and
efficiently and then he went home in the
evening. He was faithful to his wife,
loved to do garden work, played with his
children. All of us who are willins to
examine ourselves honestly know that we
could not be called good or evil. Dividing
men into the good guys with the white
hats and the bad guys with the black hats
can only be done in fiction or fantasy.
Jesus did not even claim goodness for
himself; "There is none good but one,
that is, God ..." (Matt. 19:17 KJV).
2. Men have been killing one another
for centuries, millennia actually, and still
evil persists. How did we ever develop
the monumental fiction that if we kill bad
men evil will go away and there will be
peace in the Valley? After the "savior"
has killed the evil men, he has become
merely a killer (but actually that is what
he was all along) and has forfeited any
possibility of saving anybody.
The history of America is replete with
the fiction that if we .send good men in
white hats (or in green berets) to kill the
evil men in the black hats (or in black
pajamas), then we will have peace. Our
Secretaries of Defense and State tell us
that additional expenditures and men are
needed to insure the triumph of good
over evil. We have sent good men (many
of them committed to Jesus Christ as
their personal savior, men who wotild not
drink, or smoke, or swear, or "shack up
with the local broads") to save the world
by killing bad men. They have become
merely killers. We were dismayed about
My Lai. Why did we ever tell ourselves
that killing "bad men" would end the
reign of evil in the world?
The typical western movie and the
world's military forces operate out of
the same set of false assumptions about
Ihe nature of man and the nature of
evil. We cannot divide men into groups
of "good men" and "bad men." It is not
possible to wipe out evil by killing "bad
men." When we kill men, for whatever
reason, we simph increase the grip of
evil on our world.
The Man from Nazareth said that the
only way to meet evil was with good.
"Do not resist one who is evil." He lived
his life that way, and that was the way
he died. Any other method of meeting
evil is not only doomed to failure, it is
naive and foolish and unrealistic. 1J
MESSENGER 23
A wary eye on national service
Ought every youth give his country or community
a year or two of useful service — civilian or mili-
tary, voluntary or compulsory, whatever the t\pe?
From studies now being Jrawn together by
the World Ministries Commission of the Church
of the Brethren there are strong indications that
at high governmenlal le\els the i.hrcction for a
program of national service is cast, even though
the details are lacking.
The signals for the coming of national service
seem particularly clear as compiled in a report
earlier this year by Ste\en Esbensen for the World
Ministries Commission and the National Inter-
religious Service Board for Conscientious Objec-
tors.
In fact, as early as 1967, one research group
had definitive plans for instituting national service.
Pilot projects of many types arc proposed. Ac-
cording to Joseph Blatchford. director of Action,
the agency which supervises the administration's
volunteer service groups, the limitation at the
moment is lack of money.
Some observers discern that if the concept of
a voluntary army now being tested fails, national
service then will be given major impetus.
Prototypes of national service are found in
the armed forces, the Peace Corps, the Job Corps,
\ ISTA, and other federal and voluntary agency
programs. Initiative currently is being given to
the design by Action, by the National Service
Secretarial, and by research foundations.
.Advocates see a comprehensive program of
national service promising numerous benefits. It
could provide jobs for one or perhaps two mil-
lion youth a year, reaching especially what one
spokesman described as "an ominously increasing
number who are adrift and unassimilated." It
could provide human resources for attacking an
array of social needs, from ecology to education.
It might prove something of a leveler between the
classes of American society. Early in the lives
of youth it could broaden participation, foster
altruism, build ii;ilional spirit. It could become
a moral cqinNalenl to war.
Such potentialities as these, however, do not
tell the whole slory. It is because there are other
raniilicaiions that a committee of the Church of
the Brethren Cieneral Board, coordinated by Wil-
bur H. Mullen, is striving to ferret out the facts
and air them widely.
A dominant concern is whether the program
will enable — or compel — every young person,
male and female, to engage in a period of service.
Ongoing universal conscription, for whatever rea-
son, is a departure for our nation, even on the
heels of a thirty-year draft. The concern is
heightened by the proposal of Donald J. Eberly
of the National Service Secretariat that the first
priority of national service be national defense.
To define the program in quasi-military terms is
to perpetuate what is already a fundamental di-
lemma for many Americans — the reversal of our
nation's priorities.
National Service could bring with it the por-
tent of thought control, of social engineering, and
repression. It could strengthen the power of gov-
ernment to act in ways sometimes removed from
the national interest. It could detract from work-
ing at the really basic ills. Its impact upon under-
lying social problems could be so innocuous as to
alienate youth rather than turn them on.
Ihc
[he ethic of service, rooted in biblical heri-
tage, has a special place particularly within the
Brethren fellowship. But the efTect of a govern-
ment controlled, universal system of service may
stand in jeopardy of other values which are also
very precious.
The study which the General Board com-
mittee now is making is timely. But the concern
urgently needs to be pursued also by the citizenry
at large. Not merely the future of youth, but the
character of society is at stake. — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGEK 5 1/2
We believe that you know what is best for your church school
SO
IT'S UP T0 YOU
Beginning in September, 1972, the Church of the Brethren offers the
possibility of choice among three distinct series of curriculum ma-
terials for your church school:
The Uniform Bible Series — a series which starts from the vantage point
of Scripture and seeks to find application to life situations.
The Encounter Series — a series which begins with life issues and sub-
sequently seeks to find the relationship of the biblical revelation to
the issues.
The Ventures in Christian Living Series — a series which uses both ap-
proaches, sometimes beginning with biblical content and sometimes
with life issues.
church school teachers and
planners:
Send for the "It's Up to
You" forms to assist your
church school in selecting
those resources best suited
to the unique needs of your
classes and departments.
c-^
sf-"
IT'S UP TG YOU I
To: The Brethren Press
1451 Dundee Avenue
Elgin, Illinois 60120
Please send me further information about making
curriculum choices.
Name
Address
City
State
Zip
Church
l_.
Let's hike for the Fund for the Americas in the United States
Church of the Brethren youth can earn money for FAUS this summer by walking or bicyling to
Annual Conference. After soliciting support for FAUS from your congregation and
community on a mileage basis, you may walk either a symbolic hike within
your community or all the way to Cincinnati. Details regarding the pro-
cedure for the hike may be obtained from your youth
counselors or by writing to the Parish Ministries
Commission, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
Illinois 60120.
* - "^^ti. Oh
ce
mi
i
messenger
MiUuy
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
MAY 15, 1972
#>■«:.- - '*-
•,'.C:
t
Dave Rittenhouse: More than
" pastor-neighbor
Dsl^ltsir^
19
^> In Touch. Introducing a special issue on the Appaiacliian region
and culture are profiles of four Brethren workers in Southeastern
Kentucky: Mark and Naomi Wanipier. pastors; Ernest Walker,
teacher; and St;inley Bucher. \olunteer
lO ^o'^^ Than Pastor: Neighbor, dencral Hoai\\ nieniliLr Dave
Kitlenhouse serves sescii congreg:ilions in l\ic;ihontas C'ouiUy. West
Virginia, where he is regartlcd as a friend ;uul neighbor ;is well ;is a
p;istor. by Terry Pettit
Oral Tradition: The Literature of the Mind. The passing on
ol' knowledge, tales, riddles, songs, and heliels by word of mouth has
happened for generations in Appalachia, creating ;i literature which
people carry around in their heads, by l.inal Jones
Faces From the Mountains, [n the late twenties and early
thirties Doris Llnuinn p;icked her \iew cameras all mer the Southern
.Appalachians, persuading hundreds of remarkable persons to sit for
portraits. Eight prints form a gallery of mountain folk
Coal the Killer. Coal mining in Appalachia ra\ages not only the
l.inJ but also the lives of the men who mine it. by Paul Nyden
Outlook describes the celebration and consecration foci ;il the 1972
.-\nnual Conference, announces a youth hike for the Fund for the
Americas, spotlights a volunteer to Northern Ireland, tells resources
available from MrnusropE, and notes two conferences on the environ-
mental crisis (beginning on 4). . . . "Housing: A Growing Religious
Concern" reports on this .Annual Conference concern as it relates to the
nation as a whole, with a look at Brethren activities (S). . . . Readers
wishing more information on .Appalachia will tind a list of resources and
places to visit (14). . . . Gar\ Slaats comments on "The Culture That
-Seems Out of Place" (15). . . . "The Reunion." by John Fetterman,
evokes a Kentucky-style family gathering (25). . . . The collegiate staff of
the Commission on Religion in Appalachia makes a statement of
concern (28)
RENEWED CONFIDENCE
In Juno 1'I70. I icliirned mv draft cards,
ending my parlicipalion in that pari of the
war machine. In July 1970, Annual Con-
ference in Lincoln, Neb., revised our Statc-
nicnl on War to recommend noncoopcration
ci|uall\ willi allcrnalisc service. Though the
ilocisiiiii was ill itself only words. I felt re-
newed coiilidence in m\ cluirch's commil-
nienl lo Ihe beliefs il taught me.
In January 1972. I began a (hiec-year
prison senlenee because of my noncoopcra-
tion with conscription. In March 1972, the
Cieneral Board acted lo minimize our cor-
porate investments in war-related industries
and government. Though I sec this as a be-
ginning step rather than a final solution, my
eonlidenee is again renewed.
Boil CiRO.SS
Ashland, Ky.
CONTINUE BOARDS EXAMPLE
Sensing llie pressures of more Ihan eight
hours of debale. and knowing the reasons
given for keeping our investments intact, I
applaud the Cieneral Board's action to divest
our military-related slocks and bonds. I feel
it is a courageous step in following the Lord-
ship of Jesus t hrisl. and narrows the ercdi-
hilit) gap in our peace witness eoncerning
words and deeds, .statements, and actions.
As the members of the board have wrestled
and prophetically decided, so may each of
lis as members of the Brotherhood tlo like-
wise — in our lives, with our means — hum-
bly seek to follow and continue the example
set by the board, in living out our own con-
sislenl peaee wilness as our response to
Chrisl.
K\i I'll /.. M(ni R
York, Pa.
EDITOR
Hov/ard 6. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ro^s'd E. <ccn?r Nev/s
Wtlbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
ICennefh I. Mors<> ' Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. BeHer
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 10
MAY 15, 1972
r.RF.nns r.r.%cr. ini.l Kcd Stanlcv: 2
iriehtl ncTcA CnWcvc: ^ |ohn Fikc: 1
I center Icfti Don fionick: li Ronald E.
Keener: 9 rnuric^\ of the Chiirrh of the
Brethren. Wc<tmin<ler. M(l ; li. 22. 24
the (Inunril n< the Southern Mountain*: 17.
19. 2r>. 21 ronrt(r«v r»f the Xppalarhian
Mtcteiim an<l the Dori* L'linann Founda-
tion. Berea Oilkjje: 2:( Bob Cooper; Zi.27
Bernie Met/roth for the Lotiin'tllr Courier-
journal Sunday .Magazine
MF«FNr.rR \% the ofTirial pnbliration of ilic
C:liurr1i of the Brethren. Filtered as scrnnd-
d.T^i ni.ntter -Aug. 20. I9I8. under .Act of
Congress of On. 17. 1917. Filing dale. Oct. I.
1971. MF.ssFNr.ER is a nictnber of the .Associ-
ated Churd) Pres.s antl a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Service and F.cutuenical Press
Sersice. I^iblical fpiotations. unless otlienvisc
indicated, are from the Rcsiscd Stanilard
\'ersjon.
.Subscription rates: 51.20 per year lot iiidi-
%idiial subscriptions; .53,00 per year for church
grruip plan; 5!^. 00 per sear for every home-
plan; life subscription. 500; hiisbanfl and
575. If sou move clip r>ld athlros
Mf.ssfnc.fr and send witli new address.
.Mloiv at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Mf-ssfnc.er is owned
.iti<1 published twice monthly by
ilic (ieneral Scrs ices Commission.
( hurch of the Brethren Cieneral
Hoard. 1131 Dundee .\\c., F.lgin.
111. f)0120. Second-class postage
paid at F.lgin. III.. Mav 13. 1972. {>)pyright
1972. Church of the Brethren Cieneral Board.
svife
from
P
STANCE OF OPENNESS
I h;i\e jiisl iecei\ed ii mailing on 1972
Annual Conference plans. The theme,
"Flamed by the Spirit," is an interesting one.
There are several things this theme could
imply: a consciousness of God"s leading
Spirit, a realization of Ihe necessity for the
Holy Spirit to be active in our lives, or a
willingness on our part to receive the bless-
ings of a "spirit-directed life."
But r am afraid I sec more (or less?) than
Ihal implied and involved in the llienic. I
sense a trend among some toward a sim-
plistic faith stance which is being thrust
upon us out of fear. Wc see declining mem-
bership, interest, and enthusiasm, and wc are
developing a sense of guilt over these trends.
So we hope to gain vicariously Ihe experi-
ence of growth others are experiencing. This
is as shallow as assuming that the Jesus
movement among youth is ushering in the
kingdom. Neither of them deals with the
m
(Bm
total dynamics of man living in community.
Secondly, we need to be careful that we
do not allow ourselves to be lulled into an
easy discipleship. Our discipleship is based
upon a response to the Good News of Jesus
Christ's saving power and grace for the
whole person and not to a divided guilt-
ridden soul. My hope is that we develop a
striking positive note about our faith and
not allow ourselves to develop a fear-ridden
theology of hopelessness.
Our Church of the Brethren genius has
been and is our ability to allow for and en-
courage a faith experience built upon the
concept of wholeness (our world mission/
Brethren Service combination of going into
the world that God loves). Let us not allow
ourselves to be swept with the easy popular
answer of the times (dealing with guilty
souls) but to continue to maintain a stance
of openness and love toward our brother, in
the midst of a troublesome time for both
the church and the world.
James E. Tomlonson
McPherson. Kans.
BETTER NOT WRITTEN
It seems to me that the explanation of
the action of the General Board regarding
Project Equality (March 1 ) would have
been better not written. It would have been
better if the board had apologized for not
being able to bring something before the
Conference that could have been under-
stood. How could they then later under-
stand what action could be taken, especially,
reversing the delegates' vote?
I would think that a vote of 506 to 296
should say something on any subject. Final-
ly the report says the delegates to the Cin-
cinnati Conference will have an opportunity
to review the decision of the board. It
seems as though someone feels guilty or the
Conference could get on with business that
could be understood.
Charley B. Miller
Friendsville, Md.
CONTINUE CONFRONTATION
Thank you. Ronald Keener, for the article
"National Turnabout on War" and the edi-
torial "Government vs. a Denomination"
(March 15).
As I approach my first opportunity as a
delegate to Annual Conference. I look for-
ward to continued confrontation of these
moral issues (US government-sponsored
killing in Southeast Asia, government
harassment and surveillance of the peace
movement, and others) by Messenger and
our leadership in Elgin.
While standing in line at 6 a.m. for one
of the eighteen spectator seats for the Har-
risburg 7 trial, I had fellowship in conversa-
tion with others waiting. When I identified
myself as Brethren, a college student from
Southern Illinois good-naturedly comment-
ed, "those troublesome Brethren."
The Brethren clergy and laity who do not
become "troublesome" by silence on these
issues may relinquish their peace witness to
Brethren who do speak out, the Brethren
Peace Fellowship. Catholic Left, and sup-
porters of the Harrisburg 7 and the peace
movement.
My church board (Harrisburg First con-
gregation) has narrowly defeated (with one
exception) many opportunities to open our
church door for peace activists and discus-
sion of issues relative to Harrisburg 7. How-
ever, anyone who wishes to come to Harris-
burg to see "Harrisburg 7" trial or activities
related to it is welcome to stay in my home.
The court trial and fellowship related with
it is a never-to-be-forgotten experience.
Peace history is being made in Harrisburg.
May our peace witness grow.
Robert B. Erode
Mechanicsburg. Pa.
THANKS FROM VIRGINIA
Thanks for Ronald Keener's fine editorial.
Government vs. a Denomination" (March
15). After World War II some of us won-
dered (suspected) that fascism could come
to the US also.
Thanks, also, to Linda Beher for the good
story on SCIPS. Norman Harsh is a won-
derful leader.
An lowan, I came to Virginia in 1960,
and am now pastor of the United Methodist
congregations at Woodstock and Mount
Zion. Please enter my subscription to
Messenger.
Ernest Dorr
Woodstock, Va.
CHRISTIANS UNITED
I recently heard in a Sunday school class
a deeply committed, rather well-informed
individual refer to the Church of North
India and say: "Since I've heard of that,
my giving to missions there has lessened."
In the light of the above statement, I ask:
Has enough on this subject been written in
Messenger?
In the December 1971 Messenger, G. K.
Satvedi wrote from India that he received a
letter from a friend saying: "Though you
now belong to the Church of North India,
we still call you brother." Among other
things the writer said. "It is true that we are
enrolled in the Church of North India but
that we keep our practices and beliefs." And
he added that though the general manage-
ment is by the new church there, we are
Brethren indeed.
More on page 30
"Appalachia has had an effect on me,"
declares one writer in this special issue
on the thirteen-state region where one
fifth of the Brethren live and work.
And he is right. To the outlander,
Appalachia reveals a motif of contrasts:
the intricate hollows and steep ridges
against the bruised, torn paths of the
augur and strip mines. Such mountain
values as solitude and self-reliance
against the invidious government sta-
tistics on poverty pockets. The deep
love of the mountaineer for the land
and the home place against places in
that land where there may be no hope
of creating decent lives.
But the parts of New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland,
West Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennes-
see, Virginia. Georgia, Alabama, and
Mississippi that comprise Appalachia
are rich in more than contrasts. They
contain a culture, with its own litera-
ture, lore, music, crafts, values and
traditions, that resists stereotyping or
mere casual acquaintance: Appalachia
is a place to get involved in.
Our sharing with readers this small
taste of the heritage of Appalachia
comes at a time when some who will
be on the road to Annual Conference
in Cincinnati can look at the mountain
country with new respect. For others
this magazine may induce more study
of the area which entered the nation's
consciousness in the sixties as a "pov-
erty pocket." For travelers and read-
ers, a list of resources may enlighten.
For the rest, feature stories introduce
us to people worth knowing and some
ideas worth thinking about. Contribu-
tors include Terry Pettit, I-W volunteer
who has spent his two-year assignment
in communications at denominational
headquarters, Elgin, III.; Kentucky writ-
er John Fetterman. whose evocation of
a mountain family reunion appears by
permission of the Louisville Courier-
Journal Sunday Magazine: Gary Slaats,
free-lance writer and communicator
from Knoxville, Tenn.. who spent al-
ternative service with the Commission
on Religion in Appalachia: Loyal Jones.
Berea, Ky., director of the Appalachian
Center at Berea College; and journalist
Paul Nyden. whose article appears cour-
tesy of The Nation. Assistant editor
Linda Beher had major editorial re-
sponsibility. — Editors
5-15-72 messenger 1
Mark and Naomi Wampler: Pastors
In Southeastern Kentucky Flat Creek
Mission nestles in Clay County's Red
Bird River area, eighteen miles
southeast of Manchester, one of the
larger towns. Nearby communities
bear similarly flamboyant and de-
scriptive place names: Kettle Island.
Gooserock. Wolf Coal, Brightshade,
Mud Lick.
Mark and Naomi Wampler have
pastored the Mud Lick church ever
since coming down from Pennsyl-
vania in 1967. They had a farm
there, near .Annville. Naomi worked
in the chocolate factory in Hershey.
and Mark, elected to the free minis-
try by the Fredericksburg congrega-
tion in 1940. preached there until the
move to Kentucky.
.As pastor. Mark feels a responsi-
bility not only to his congregation but
to Mud Lick as a community. "It
seems that the whole community
looks to me as their pastor in time of
need, and they call on me any time."
He docs about one third of the
preaching for the mission.
Weekly prayer meetings. Bible
school teaching, home visitation, hos-
pital calls, community meetings, and
sharing in radio devotions fill his
weeks, along with woodworking in-
struction and maintenance at the
mission. Last fall Mark was building
kitchen cabinets for families who
could pay for the cost of materials.
While Mark cares for the preach-
ing at Mud Lick. Naomi's pastoral
role takes a different direction, co-
ordinating the Sunday school and
working with tccn-agc girls who come
to the parsonage every Friday to do
crafts, sewing, or baking. The
Brethren Mountaineer, mission news-
letter, comes under her editorship.
Beyond the work at Mud Lick and
Flat Creek, Mark and Naomi, along
with others at the mission, anticipate
a berth in the larger work of the
church: housing projects. Head Start
programs, health care, and extension
services are dreams of the mission
staff. For Mark and Naomi
Wampler. they will mean other ways
in which each can be pastor to "the
whole community."
irpQ
Ernest Walker : Teacher
At the edge of the Bluegrass. where
the hills begin their thrust into ridges
and hollows. Interstate 75 pushes
through man-made gaps, scars in the
coppery shale and earth that sur-
round Berea, Kentucky.
Away from the interstate, the roads
become less engineered in straight
lines and precise curves, winding
haphazardly around the edges of the
mountains and shrinking to a car's
width when you get to a place like
Pea Ridge.
The nine of us in the Bcrea College
station wagon watched the road nar-
row as we approached Pea Ridge.
Ernie Walker and seven Berea stu-
dents talked about the kind of recep-
tion we could expect. Maybe no one
would show up for the reading class.
The class was being held at a
building on loan from a Pea Ridge
resident, and it was one of the several
classes meeting under the college's
ST.ABLE program, of which Ernie is
director.
STABLE — Student Taught Adult
Basic Literacy Efforts — though
funded by the federal government de-
pends on persons' offering their
homes as classrooms. According to
Ernie. STABLE is reaching some of
the twenty-eight percent of Appala-
chian families which have at least one
adult who is functionally illiterate.
We sat on the child's size chairs in
the "classroom" fused also for a
Head Start program), waiting for Pea
Ridge students to arrive. Ernie and
his crew of young people had set this
1 MESSENCE* 513
Stanley Bucher : Volunteer
meeting up a week earlier, on home
visitations. Three or four women
came in. Some of them inquired
about taking college-level English
courses for credit. Ernie promised to
find out if they could. A half dozen
young men came in as a group, and
the meeting began. Ernie's quiet
voice carried over the hissing of the
gas stove : Students would be able to
read whatever they wanted; they
might study a little math if anyone
were interested; if persons became
bored with one textbook, the class
could move on to something else.
Most importantly, did everyone agree
that Tuesday and Thursday evenings
were the best meeting times?
Through it all, the respect and love
Ernie has for the folk at Pea Ridge
shape his approach. He has been in
Kentucky ten years, three as pastor at
the Flat Creek Mission, five with the
Council of the Southern Mountains,
and two with Berea College. His ex-
perience in other pastorates in North
Dakota and Pennsylvania; ranching
in Montana; and working with Heifer
Project in China serve him well in his
present tasks — "finding better ways
to help people through education."
Stanley Paul Bucher knows the earth.
His acquaintance began with Leb-
anon, Pennsylvania, farm days,
repairing farm machinery, doing
summer chores at Mark Copenhaver's
dairy farm near Lebanon. Later, at
McPherson College Stan majored in
agriculture and elementary education.
Now a 1-W volunteer at Jackson,
Kentucky, Stan is translating the
qualities to the folks he has learned
to know there, the same quietness
and sincerity that caused one of his
college buddies to affirm that "Stan
is probably one of the best young
men around."
The project with which Stan has
been working for a year and a half
can be described with several admin-
istrative titles: Human and Economic
Appalachian Development, the Grass
Roots Economic Co-op, the umbrella
organizations of the Commission on
Religion in Appalachia and the
Council of Southern Co-ops. The
investment: feeder pigs.
"A feeder pig is a forty- to fifty-
pound pig that's sold to the north,
Ohio or Indiana, or to a feeder who
has com to feed this pig from forty
pounds to market," Stan explained.
"You have a breeding herd, then take
the offspring, the young stock, and
sell them at forty pounds."
Farmers around Jackson who have
joined the co-op get technical as-
sistance, farm management tips, and
feeding and breeding advice from
Stan. And he works hard at estab-
lishing trust relationships with people
in the community — "a few visits, a
few working relationships with them,
actually grabbing a hammer, maybe,
or helping them load some pigs."
"The feeder pig co-op has a good
future here," Stan figures. Mountains
and ridges break up the land into
five- and ten-acre plots, too small to
grow enough feed for large hogs. The
breeding herd for feeder pigs doesn't
take that much feed.
Stan Bucher's work on project has
been recorded by a Church of the
Brethren film crew as part of a fea-
ture film on Brethren Volunteer
Service. During the three-day filming
schedule, Stan reflected: "By this
time I've come to realize that the
co-op's success is going to take five
or ten years. But I get a little bit of
encouragement even so, if I see a
litde mortar laid and maybe a few
stones: that might be just seeing a
member decide to use the proper
feeding method, or some good man-
agement. And I think those are the
kinds of stones that we're laying
now."
5- 15-72 MESSENGER 3
Cincinnati Conference to open in celebration, consecration
A feeling of '"We've arrived! Let's cele-
brate" will pemicaie the opening convo-
cation of the Church of the Brethren
Annual Conference next month in
Cincinnati. Ohio.
Departing from the past familiar for-
mat of a keynote speaker for the Tuesday
evening session, moderator-elect Dean M.
Miller of Lombard. 111., will lead a cele-
bralive senice that will rejoice in the
presence of the Brethren in Cincinnati
and consecrate the delegates, observers,
and witnesses to the Conference.
The 1 86th session of the church's gen-
eral conference. June 27-July 2. will
have the theme "Flamed by the Spirit. "
With the press of business, receiving
eight committee reports from last year,
hearings on Conference business will be
held after the Tuesday evening service,
a day earlier than in previous years.
4i«
SN>T)ER RF I rr R
Major speakers addressing ihc Confer-
ence from beyond the denomination will
be Roman Catholic theologian Rosemary
R. Ruether of Howard University, Wash-
ington. D.C. Dr. Ruether has been a
contributor to religious thought in many
settings, including the Believers' Church
conference two years ago. .She is the
author of four books and many other
publications.
Dr. Ruether and Dr. Graydon Snyder
of Bethany Theological Seminary will
engage in a dialogical presentation on
the theme "Freedom in the Spirit" for the
Thursday general session. Dr. Ruether
will also give one of the morning Bible
study lessons.
Speaking Saturday evening will be
black evangelist Tom Skinner, who was
born and raised in Harlem, N.Y., and
later converted to Jesus Christ while a
gang leader. He subsequently founded
Tom Skinner .Associates. Inc.. his evange-
listic organization. He has written three
books, the first, Bluck and Free, the story
of his conversion. He resides in
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Other worship and celcbrative plans
for the Cincinnati conference:
Wednesday n Moderator Dale W.
Brown, associate professor of Christian
theology at Bethany Theological Sem-
inary, will .iddress the conference on
"The Spirit and the 'Spirits' of the
Brethren."
Friday Q A special program com-
bining media, drama, and music will seek
to interpret, inspire, and invite persons
into their work through the General
Board. The theme. "Pass the Fire," is
taken from a statement of Raymond
Peters of Sebring, Fla. : "We honor the
past, and take from it its fire, but not its
ashes." TTie service will include slides
and narration, the previewing of a new
film interpreting Brethren Volunteer
Service, and brief drama skits.
Sunday D Phyllis J. Carter. Bryant.
Ind.. pastor of the Bethel Center Church
of the Brethren and South/Central Dis-
trict moderator, will speak in the morn-
ing on "Dot Your i's and Cross Your t's."
Closing the Conference in an afternoon
convocation and celebration will be
Robert O. Hess, pastor of the Chiqucs
Church of the Brethren, Manheim, Pa.
Hell speak on "The Harvest of the
Spirit."
Worship leaders, other than Dean
Miller, this year are Stanley Noffsinger,
I.cola, Pa., a high school senior bound
for Manchester College in the fall: J.
Calvin Keeling, pastor of the Bakcrsfield,
Calif., Church of the Brethren, a former
carpenter who entered the ministry in
l')6(i after graduation from McPherson
College and Bethany Seminary; W. Hart-
BROWN
CARTER
SKINNER HESS
man Rice. Columbia City, Ind.. pastor of
Blue River Church of the Brethren since
1 966 and a member of the Brethren Re-
vival Fellowship; Guy R. Buch, Orrville,
Ohio, pastor of the East Chippewa
Church of the Brethren and moderator of
the Northern Ohio District; and Doris
Cline Egge. high school guidance co-
ordinator for Roanoke, Va., schools and
past moderator of the First Virginia
District.
Learning opportunities
The special interest groups called In-
sights 70s will be held Wednesday,
Thursday, and Friday evenings and .Sun-
day morning. This year no groups will
meet Saturday evening so that the Breth-
ren might use one evening to visit with
friends and organize their own gatherings.
A number of f)ersons from outside the
denomination arc participating in the
conference, many in the Insights 70s
series. They include:
Harry Eckhtnd D Coordinator of
Safety of the Elderly for the National
Safety Council, Chicago. Max E. Glenn
n E.xcculive director of the Commission
on Religion in Appalachia, Knoxville,
Tenn. K. Edwin Graham D Program
director for the Commission on Church
Family Financial Planning, Washington,
DC.
Ted Raedeke D Executive director of
Key 'ly, cooperative evangelism program,
St. Louis, Mo. Lowell Wagner n Social
* MESSENGER 5 15 72
worker with Home Health Service,
Appalachian Regional Hospital, Harlan,
Ky. Gloria Weyman D Choreographer
and coauthor of Dancing for God, Cin-
cinnati. Kent Fitzgerald D Executive
for American Indian Ministries, Protes-
tant Episcopal Church, New York.
Insights sessions, all being held in the
convention center, will deal on Wednes-
day with such subjects as the Hispanic
American, evangelism, simulation learn-
ing, youth ministries, stewardship, church
investments, arts in the church.
On Thursday evening: General session
talk on, strategies for teaching values,
nonviolence, wills and family estate plan-
ning, Appalachia, pacifism, religious
dance. Encounter Series, world hunger.
On Friday evening: BVS film talk on,
family financial planning, drama, small
group processes, legislative relations,
nonviolent change, male and female
images.
On Sunday morning: Being black,
senior citizens, the Indian American,
evangelism experiences, missions and
interchurch relationships, challenges to
the family, films for celebration.
There are several noteworthy events
among the Insights olferings. Kenneth I.
Morse, Elgin, 111., will introduce Breth-
ren author Patricia K. Helman, North
Manchster, Ind.. who will discuss her
recent book on Wednesday evening.
Brethren concerned about how the
church invests its funds may examine
this issue with General Board treasurer
Robert Greiner, attorney Robert M.
Keim, Somerset, Pa., and board chair-
man Ira B. Peters, Roanoke, Va., on
Wednesday evening.
J. Bentley Peters, of the Parish Minis-
tries Commission will conduct a profes-
sional growth for pastors seminar, Wed-
nesday through Friday evenings, requir-
ing preregistration.
Glenn Eshelman of Manheim, Pa.,
will present his slide and sound program,
"Almost Paradise," under the sponsor-
ship of the Brethren Revival Fellowship,
Thursday evening.
The Fellowship of Brethren Historians
and the Fellowship of Brethren Genealo-
gists will meet Thursday and Friday eve-
nings, respectively.
A new Brethren-produced color film
on Brethren Volunteer Service will be
premiered during the Conference. A
talk on about BVS will be held Friday
evening with Charles Boyer, Volunteer
Services director, and Ronald Hanft,
BVS training director.
"The Young Spirits," an interdenom-
inational group of some 1 00 youth, di-
rected by Philip and Earlene Bradley, the
West Milton, Ohio, pastor and his wife,
will give a program Friday evening.
Pittsburgh, Pa., pastor R. Russell
Bixler will lead a service in charismatic
prayer and praise Friday evening.
Sunday morning church school using
the Uniform Lesson will be led by Anna
M. Warstler, Goshen, Ind. J. Benton
Rhoades, Emerson, N.J., will lead the
Encounter Series lesson.
In Bible study
The biblical perspective on the Con-
ference theme will be given in the morn-
ing Bible study hours, Wednesday
through Saturday.
"Wakan-Tanka Is a Butterfly" is the
topic of David L. Miller's presentation
Wednesday morning, using Job 4:12-14
as his text. Dr. Miller is associate pro-
fessor of religion at Syracuse University.
He was graduated from Bridgewater
College and Bethany Seminary.
"Iconoclasm and Rebirth: The Power
of the Spirit" is the theme to be devel-
oped Thursday morning by Rosemary R.
Ruether of Howard University, a speak-
er also at the evening general session.
Her text will be from Mark 5:1-17 and
Romans 8.
"The Leading of the Spirit" will be de-
veloped on Friday by Anna B. Mow,
using the text John 16: 1-15. Now a
lecturer and author, Mrs. Mow was a
missionary to India for 17 years. She is
a graduate of Manchester College and
Bethany Seminary, where she has taught.
"The Community of the Spirit," based
on Acts 2:1-21, 42-47. will be the think-
ing on Saturday of Kenneth L. Gibble,
pastor of the Ridgeway Church of the
Brethren, Harrisburg, Pa. Mr. Gibble is
a graduate of Millersville State College
and Bethany Seminary.
Youth hike to Conference aids Fund for the Americas
A youth hike to Annual Conference is in
the making on behalf of the Fund for
the Americas in the US.
Southern Ohio District youth are co-
ordinating a massive foot and bike hike
for all youth who want to travel the 55
miles from Dayton, where it wUl origi-
nate, to Cincinnati.
The youth will solicit financial support
from their congregations and communi-
ties on a mileage basis and turn over the
proceeds to Fund for the Americas, the
national economic development and race
education program of the Church of the
Brethren.
Other youth groups, including those
in Southern Pennsylvania and Florida,
will symbolically hike to Conference by
covering a portion of the same mileage
in their own locality. West Marva youth
are planning work days and other fund-
raising projects.
Occasions to celebrate the youth hike
will be included in the Conference youth
activities and in the worship experience
of the total conference, said Ruby H.
Linkous, "Hike for FAUS" coordinator
and Parish Ministries administrative
secretary.
Youth groups who wish to participate
in the actual hike from Dayton to Cin-
cinnati may contact Paul Helstem, 7984
West Garland-Frederick Road, Union,
Ohio 45322. Mr. Helstem is making
clearances for overnight lodging and rest
stops, and with the highway patrol.
Youth from across the Brotherhood are
invited to join the Ohio young people in
their hike.
In another sacrificial response to need,
the district youth of Illinois-Wisconsin
have organized a fast, giving one meal a
week for a year and contributing the
monies to Fund for the Americas and to
Heifer Project, Inc. "Fasting is not the
whole issue or a way of solving the situa-
tion," the youth declared, "but it does
say something of our commitment."
5-15-72 MESSENGER 5
Volunteer in Northern Ireland
to work with teen-age groups
Brethren Service volunteer Kenneth L.
Smith has been assigned to a project in
Belfast, Nonhern Ireland, the first in-
volvement of N'olunteer Services of the
Church of the Brethren in that strife-torn
countrv'.
Ken. who arrived in Belfast in mid-
April, is working with teen-age groups
under the auspices of the Agnes Street
Methodist Church in Belfast.
Pastor G. Harold Good, project direc-
tor, said that the church is caring for
ministries to the elderly and to children,
but that persons were needed in working
with the "much more aggressive and
rebellious youth of the area.
"Those of us who have come to know
these youngsters do not find them any-
thing like as frightening as they would
appear, but it does take time to build up
the level of mutual trust which makes
meaningful relationships possible."
Ken. of New Castle. Del., and a mem-
ber of the Wilmington Church of the
Brethren, will be working at the possibil-
ities for contributing to bridge-building
in the community. "His main assignment
will be that of any youth leader and not
■peacemaker,' though we do hope that his
presence will contribute in some way to
the latter as well." said Dale Ott, Breth-
ren Service representative in Europe. Mr.
Ott visited Northern Ireland in December
and noted that the Methodist church is
"not in one of the hardest hit areas," but
is not far away.
Twenty-three years old. Ken has a
philosophy degree from Juniata College
with additional work at the State Univer-
sity of New York at Buffalo. He has
studied in both Paris and Quebec.
On media front: Film and
cable television services
.A newly organized multimedia service to
congregations, known as mediascope. has
been formed as the multimedia library di-
vision of The Brethren Press.
The purpose of the service, says its
director. John G. Fike. is to assist
churches and small groups in finding and
using multimedia resources for a diverse
Fikc: Filniini; for Mediascope library
range of programs.
"The philosophical basis for media-
scope is the belief that the thoughtful use
of multimedia resources will substantially
enrich the learning, ceiebrativc. witness,
and evangelistic tasks of the church,"
Mr. Fike says.
Services that Mr. Fikc is ready to pro-
vide include the sale and rental of current
films, filmstrips, records, tapes, and
slides; consultation on program planning
using multimedia resources; and assist-
ance in locating and booking resources
regardless of their origin.
A loose-leaf catalog of present film
resources has been shared with pastors.
Others may write in care of The Brethren
Press. 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III.
60120, for a copy. The catalog will be
periodically updated and expanded.
MEDIASCOPE will be coasonant with
the denomination's Educational Plan. Mr.
Fike says, and will "seek to provide con-
temporary, op)en-ended materials for use
in a variety of circumstances where stim-
ulation of thought and challenge to com-
mitment are promoted."
Mr. Fikc, a member of the General
Board's communications team, works
with film and other-than-print media re-
sources for the denomination.
Two films produced last year by the
Brethren have been constantly in use by
churches and groups. "If Any Man
Thirst," the story of Brethren work in
Ecuador over 25 years, through January
had 72 bookings in the Brotherhood. The
film on the work and life of Ted Stude-
baker in Vietnam Christian Service, "Man
of Peace," has had 94 bookings in seven
months.
ELsewhere in the church's use of film,
two television peace spots which Breth-
ren last year produced cooperatively with
Mennonites and Methodists gained wide
acceptance and use on some 450 tele-
vision stations across the country. One of
the spots, "Another Way," won a first
place in its category at the International
Film and Television Festival.
Beyond broadcast use, the spots have
been u.sed by Brethren at community fairs
and in small groups. And 2,000 Southern
Baptist teen-agers; in conference were
shown the spots twice by popular demand.
Said one of the leaders, Floyd Craig:
"The kids didn't miss the point and in
many ways affirmed the message of the
commercials by their commitments to live
the life of our Lord in this world."
The Church of the Brethren partici-
pated with Mennonites in the radio spot
messages on family life, now being heard
as Choice III. Cooperative efforts on a
new Choice IV, with subject yet to be
determined, are being considered. Pres-
ently, Mennonite-produced television
spots on affluence are being aired, under-
lining the temptations of letting posses-
sions come between persons.
For persons interested in electronic
media come two services for cable tele-
vision. Cable Information Service will in-
form church and community leaders on
the development and use of CATV with
emphasis uptin public interest issues.
The service has been launched by the
Broadcasting and Film Commission of
the National Council of Churches, along
with a monthly newsletter, "Cable In-
formation." Subscriptions are $10 a year,
from CIS, Room 852, 475 Riverside Dr.,
New York. N.Y. 10027.
CIS is also providing a consulting
service to church and community groups
concerned about effective participation in
the utilization and installation of cable
tv in their communities.
A second new service is the Cable Tele-
vision Information Center, a service of
Washington, D.C.'s, nonprofit Urban In-
stitute. Funded by the Ford and Markle
foundations, it offers to local and state
4 MESSENGER 5 15-72
I
(uinid]®[rDD[ra;
I
governments information and analytical
tools required to make franchising de-
cisions for CATV.
Environmental talks place
crisis in two perspectives
If current political and economic ideolo-
gies stand in the way of environmental
survival, nations may need to alter their
orientations if they are to meet the
"ecological imperative."
Such is part of the concern that under-
lies the Independent Conference on the
Environment convening June 1 in
Sweden. And to be certain that delegates
do not come bearing existing government
and corporate interests, bent on preserv-
ing rather than boldly challenging eixst-
ing structures, environmental scientists,
not diplomats, will be the majority of
participants.
The small, but highly selective confer-
ence has been organized by Dai Dong, a
transnational peacemaking organization
founded by the International Fellowship
of Reconciliation.
The gathering will be a friendly, but
counter challenge to the diplomatic
United Nations Conference on the Hu-
man Environment that will open later in
the month. It is this group, says Dai
Dong, which in an initial statement fails
to question present political and econom-
ic systems which contribute to the eco-
logical crisis, and encourages the perpet-
uation of many practices that have led to
the present ecological scene.
The Independent Conference is organ-
ized on the assumption that "there is an
ecological imperative which demands
that present political and economic struc-
tures be changed to conform to environ-
mental realities and to the real needs of
the world's people." Identifying those
changes will be the work of the
conference.
The name Dai Dong comes from an
ancient Chinese concept of a world in
which "not only a man's family is his
family, not only his children are his
children, but all the world is his family
and all children are his." A theological
conference is being projected by Dai
Dong on the interdependent nature of
social, political, environmental, and
ethical systems.
PEOPLE YOU KNOW . . . Elma, Wash. , minister Ralph E. Turnidge
has been named administrator of the new Northaven residence
in Seattle for low- income elderly persons. The 198-unit
home was the project of the Olympia Community church.
At Erie, Pa. , Community United church pastor Levi J.
Ziegler was reelected president of the Erie County Council
of Churches.
Attending an April consultation on nonviolent methods
of social change were Estella Horning, Lombard, 111. , Philip
Kulp , Waynesboro, Pa., Eugene Roop , Richmond, Ind., Al Dee-
ter , North Manchester, Ind., Ralph E. Smeltzer , Washington,
D.C. , and Lamar Gibble, Elgin, 111. The Richmond, Ind.,
gathering included Brethren, Quakers, and Mennonites.
Mary Bowman, Rocky Ford, Colo., was licensed recently
to the ministry.
Samuel A. Harley , executive secretary of the Church
of the Brethren's Florida and Puerto Rico District, died
April 17 at Sebring, Fla. He was 65. Death occurred after
his pulse weakened following a mild automobile accident.
A memorial service was held April 21 at Sebring.
Returning for a second term as chairman of the Augusta
County, Va. , bqard of supervisors is Lyle Kindig , member
of the Mount Vernon congregation near Stuarts Draft. . . .
Also in Augusta County , Mount Vernon church pastor Grant
Simmons is serving a three-year term on the Valley Mental
Health and Mental Retardation Services Board.
Lay moderator at Mack Memorial Church of the Brethren,
Dayton, Ohio, John J. Kreitzer was one of six laymen in the
Miami Valley to receive outstanding laymen awards in February.
ON THE ROAD?
Finding lodging on the way to Annual
Conference should be no problem for persons traveling near
these places: Northwest of Dayton, Ohio, Salem Church of
the Brethren is opening its shelter house to campers. Write
Alvin C. Cook, Pastor, Route 1, Englewood, Ohio 45322, for
information. . . . Stop at Mexico, Ind. , Church of the Brethren
for four acres of camping space: five miles north of Peru,
about 180 miles northwest of Cincinnati. ... In Southern
Ohio, Camp Woodland Altars extends invitations to trailer
campers. For nominal rates, complete facilities for twenty
trailers and tents, and a swimming pool are available, 75
miles east of Cincinnati just off state route 32; six miles
north of Peebles on state route 41. ... Or stay at Man-
chester College, North Manchester, Ind. Camping facilities
and dormitory rooms, vith food service at modest cost, are
provided. All linens except blankets are available in
dorm rooms. Guests may check in East Hall, where room and
camping assignments will be made. ... The Constance , Ky. ,
congregation is extending to Conferencegoers an invitation
to Sunday worship, viith church school at 10 a.m., and
morning services at 11. Constance is on Kentucky highway
8, seven miles from Cincinnati.
FOR YOU ... A summary of the ninety grants issued by
the Fund for the Americas in its first lihirty months is
available free from the Office of Stewardship Enlistment,
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, 111. 60120.
5-15-72 MESSENGER 7
)[p<s©oa]D \r(B\p)(mr'^
Housing: A growing religious concern
Housing, especially for the poor and dis-
possessed, h.is always been the concern
of major religious bodies in iheir mission-
ary territories. But of late, and increas-
ingly so, urban and rural housing in the
US has become a crucial element of
religious planning.
Throughout the country, groups as
diverse as major Roman Catholic arch-
dioceses and small rural Baptist congrega-
tions are looking to housing as a religious
response to social justice.
St. John's Towers in Stanford, Conn.,
brand-new housing project sponsored by
the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport for
350 low-income families, is typical of
what is taking place across the nation.
Not only construction, but renovation
and rehabilitation of buildings and homes
are receiving church attention.
Ecumenism enters the picture also. In
Halifax, N.S., for example, the Catholic
archdiocese — the first in Canada to join
a local council of churches — and .Angli-
can, United, and Lutheran churches are
sponsoring a 400-unit housing project.
The project will be administered by an
intcrreligious agency.
In Portland, Mc, local churches
formed a private corporation, named for
the Old Testament prophet Micah, to
provide '"decent housing at reasonable
costs" to low and moderate income fam-
ilies. Sponsored by the Portland West
Church Alliance, it involves Episcopal.
Catholic, Congregational, and Baptist
churches.
Fifteen churches and two Catholic
seminaries joined forces in Cincinnati to
form a project aimed at helping needy
families relocate from flood-prone areas
to decent homes. Headed by a United
Methodist minister, the project also spon-
sored an apartment complex for the
elderly.
Catholic Franciscan nuns in Wheaton,
III., who arc already sponsoring housing
projects for low-income families and the
elderly, have continually advocated the
use of church-owned lands for such
housing endeavors.
At a conference fhey sponsored in
March, representatives of 46 orders of
Catholic nuns and delegates from the
American Lutheran Church, the United
Nkihodist Church, the Church of the
Brethren, the .American Baptist Conven-
tion, and the Chicago Episcopal Diocese,
were told to investigate assistance pro-
grams set up by the federal government
for such projects.
Sister Virginia Mary Barta, provincial
of the Wheaton Franciscans, urged a
"soft managenienl" role for churches and
religious groups which want to do more
than simply provide the land on which
housing is built. She said this would
mean aiding residents to control their
own lives, and helping to provide forms
of assistance like social .services, adult
education, and day care.
In the past two years, hundreds of
church groups and ecumenical agencies
have adopted housing, especially in urban
ghettos, as an integral part of their social
apostolatcs.
"Seed money" for projects and the es-
tablishment of nonprofit housing corpor-
ations have been voted by such organiza-
tions as the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan
Synod of the Lutheran Church in Amer-
ica, the United Presbyterian Church's
Economic Development corporation
(PEDCO), the Hawaii Baptist Conven-
tion, and. through a joint cfTort. the
Christian Church ( Disciples of Christ)
and the African Methodist Episcopal
Church.
TTie A. M.E. -Disciples project, called
Christian Brotherhood Homes, involves a
S2.6 million low-income housing complex
in Jackson, Mi.ss., to provide apartments
for 200 families. .Similar projects arc
planned for New Orleans and Baton
Rouge, La., and Atlanta. In what may
be the nation's largest religiously spon-
sored project, the Catholic archdiocese
of New York is coordinating a 52f)-un\\
housing development in the Bronx at a
cost of $14.6 million.
Other projects underwritten, cospon-
sorcd, or coordinated by church agencies
include:
1^ Seed money from Fresno, Calif.,
Catholic Charities for a $1.5 million low-
income housing project which came in
direct response to a call from US Cath-
olic bishops on the national racial crisis.
j<^ A S2.4 million high-rise apartment
constructed by two United Church of
Christ congregations — one black and the
other white — in Washington. D.C., on
the site of the devastating 1968 riots.
1^ The construction and rehabilitation
of 6.000 homes in San Antonio, Tex., by
the Mexican American Unity Council,
financed partially by the United Presby-
terian agency, PEDCO.
I/* A $2.8 million housing project of
200 low-rent apartments for elderly single
persons, subsidized by the San Francisco
Catholic archdiocese to aid senior citizens
and handicapped [lersons displaced by
urban renewal.
1/^ A 10-year, $250 million effort to
rebuild four square miles of .St. Louis
with homes for low- and middle-income
residents, sponsored by the Catholic
Seminary Foundation in Indianapolis,
Ind.
While church groups are already work-
ing with government in the financing and
planning of housing projects under urban
renewal and model cities program, or-
ganized religion is also becoming more
active on the scene in Congress and in
state legislatures promoting more and bet-
ter housing for the nation.
Time and again spokesmen for individ-
ual denominations or intcrreligious ap-
peals have called for stepped-up appro-
priations by Congress in bills that would
aid low-income families.
Yet many churchmen and ollicials of
agencies working for housing and urban
development also believe that decent and
adequate housing for all Americans will
not become reality until governmental,
economic, and .social priorities of the na-
tion are changed and until many "nega-
tive" attitudes about the poor and minor-
ity groups are corrected.
Many agree with a position taken re-
cently by Msgr. Francis J. Lally, editor
of the Pilot. Boston's archdioccsan news-
paper, who told a housing seminar at the
University of Illinois that Americans
must renounce their intention to "keep
the poor in their place — any place
8 MESSENGER 3- 15-72
where we are not."
Msgr. Lally has served 13 years with
the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the
local urban renewal effort, nine years as
chairman.
"The heart of the matter is not ec-
onomic, not political, not ideological —
but simply moral," he stated.
"We are perfectly willing to accept
the poor as citizens, willing to pay some
welfare costs to keep them quiet, eager
to pay police costs to keep them orderly,
but totally unwilling to accept them as
neighbors," Msgr. Lally added.
He declared that low-income housing
outside the inner city "begins a liberation
that is long overdue. To stand in the
way of such programs cannot be excused."
Another Catholic prelate, Archbishop
James P. Davis of Santa Fe, N.M., re-
cently entered the housing milieu by de-
fending a Mexican-American citizens'
protest against arbitrary removal from
their homes to make way for urban re-
newal. His words, perhaps, were more
significant than the case at hand.
He said "this is one of those occasions
when the social teachings of the church
are involved. I can't be absent from a
thing like this. It is a matter of justice."
While many religious leaders have
cited the need for growing church in-
volvement in the nation's housing crisis
and top-level churchmen have brought
pressures for increased action by govern-
ment and business, some critics have ac-
cused churches of lacking "real concern"
and failing to provide resources for hous-
ing development.
In retrospect, the last few years have
witnessed a deep immersion by many
church groups and individuals in the
"housing bag," but to many, in and out of
the churches, the need for housing is a
moral imperative and must demand as
much or more of the church's time, en-
ergy, and resources as any other moral
issue it faces. The 1970s undoubtedly
will "write the book" on church involve-
ment in housing for this nation in this
century, and the next year or so should
be crucial pages in that book. —
Religious News Service
A new mission
for Brethren?
Some use acronyms like THOU (for
Troy Housing Opportunity Unlimited,
in Ohio) and HOPE (for Home Owner-
ship Purchase Effort, at Westminster,
Md.). Another in Indianapolis is
called Amos, for one who sought to
remind the wealthy of the needs of the
poor.
In Rockingham County, Va., Mid-
dletown, Ohio, Battle Creek, Mich.,
Lombard, 111., Elkhart, Ind., Waynes-
boro, Va., and Des Moines, Iowa, are
housing projects and programs — the
vast amount of them community en-
deavors — where members of the
Church of the Brethren are involved.
Housing is a grass roots concern for
the Brethren, says Roy A. Johnson,
Westminster, Md., pastor. And far
more Brethren are involved than he ex-
pected. More would like to become
involved.
Mr. Johnson chaired an Annual Con-
ference committee which in the past
year has been examining the church's
involvement in housing issues and
needs. Its recommendations are sum-
marized on page 8.
Based on a survey of 230 respon-
dents, the committee reached these
conclusions:
l^ A substantial number (40 percent)
believe that there is a very serious
housing shortage in their area.
U* The shortage is particularly acute
for senior citizens and blacks but it
affects other racial and economic
groups.
]/^ Nearly a third of those respond-
ing were involved or knew of Brethren
involved directly in housing programs.
]^ Most Brethren involvement in
housing is through community and reli-
gious nonprofit corporations.
]^ Many already involved have felt
it a frustrating experience. Very few
have reported highly successful projects.
The committee's conclusions and rec-
ommendations point toward the need
for more expert housing counseling
within the denomination.
Responses indicated that some felt
meeting housing needs is not in the
place of the church. Then, too, the
issue of housing has overtones for such
sensitive areas as race relations, busing,
and de facto segregation.
Still, Mr. Johnson and his committee
colleagues found an untapped readiness
to help meet housing needs in Brethren
areas — some already in the thick of it,
asking for experienced counsel, others
seeking a handle on how to get started.
Housing appears to be an area of mis-
sion of considerable interest to the
Brethren. — r.e.k.
Through HOPE a renovated house is ready for use in Westminster. Maryland
5-15-72 MESSENGER 9
More than , ^ . , ,
pastor: Neighbor
Ihcre is nothing quite as comforting as
coming over a hill on a brisk March
morning and discovering a home, whether
it be a farmhouse, a hogan, a ranch, any
home, and seeing that brown-white smoke
hover above the chimney. Somebody is
home. Somebody went outside with a
stocking cap pulled down over his ears
and chopped the wood. Somebody car-
ried it to the woodbox. Somebody got up
before everyone else and built a fire.
Twin Hill Farm is painted in black
letters across the side of a large, white
bam six miles south of Dunmore, West
Virginia, on state highway 92. one of two
by Terry Pettit
main roads that wind through Pocahontas
County. On a hill behind the barn ten
Herefords and a Guernsey graze quietly
until one of the mothers forgets where
she has placed her calf, and if it is dark
and the calf has been fed recently, she
may cry for several minutes. like a ship
lost in the fog until the calf decides to
answer. On the opposite hill twenty-five
sheep graze nervously, all of them ready
to lamb. A pony named Ginger stands
like all horses do at a favorite spot in a
corral near the barn. Twelve acres of
bottomland next to the road are planted
in corn and hav. Farther back across a
pasture, acres of recently planted white
pine and poplar grow with older scrub
pine and hickory. Under the trees a
myriad of lichens and mosses, teaberry
and mountain laurel, which if eaten by
the sheep will cause death, and hundreds
of other plant life thrive in a cool mixture
of clay and shale. For most of the year,
smoke hovers above a two-story, white
farmhouse.
Twin Hill Farm is home for David and
Laura Jean Rittenhouse and their four
children: Melissa, 1 .'>: Phillip, 13; Julian,
1 1 ; and Samuel, 6. The Rillenhouses are
famous among Brethren, if such were
possible. It is hard to meet anyone,
whether they be conservative or liberal,
active in BAM or BRF, voices calling for
evangelism or a return to the simple life,
who does not know something about the
Rittenhouses and their ministry. Each
year from five to seven hundred Brethren,
neighbors, pastors, seminary students, and
strangers visit the Rittenhouse home,
stay for at least one night and sign Laura
Jean's guest book.
Why do they come? Neighbors come
to talk with Dave about buying livestock;
pastors come to get away from it all;
young "long hairs" come for help in
locating land, others inquire about teach-
ing positions in local schools; newlyweds
come for conversations with Dave and
Laura Jean. Some people even come to
be married in the Rittenhouse living
room. People come from all kinds of
places for all kinds of reasons. Only two
things are certain. Before they leave
they will have thought again about their
basic Christian commitments, and they
will have been treated to some of Laura
Jean's homemade wheat bread.
Da
/ave Rittenhouse is forty years old, a
native of the eastern shore of Maryland,
former BVSer in Turkey and Germany,
missionary in Ecuador, and the son of
a Brethren preacher. Besides being pas-
tor of the Pocahontas congregation,
which is composed of five separate
churches, he is a farmer, substitute teach-
er, attendance counselor, member of the
General Board of the Church of the
Brethren, and active in several commu-
nity and conservation organizations.
The thing that leaves the greatest im-
pression, however, is not the number of
involvements Dave Rittenhouse has, but
the way that each of them is interrelated
with his ministry. In six years of attend-
ance work for the county schools, Dave
has been forced to take someone to court
only twice. A good example of how he
sees his role as both attendance counselor
and friend happened this spring when I
went with Dave to visit a family where
there had been attendance problems.
Earlier that morning Dave received a
call from the principal saying that a
young boy had been consistently absent
from school this year and that a conver-
sation with the boy's sister revealed that
his absence on that day was caused by
missing the bus. Dave visited the family
and asked the boy how he was doing in
school. The boy grinned and said,
"Pretty good," but his mother informed
Dave that he had had several colds
throughout the winter, and would have
gone to school on that morning if he
hadn't complained of a stiff neck.
Dave then shared a story about his
own reluctance to attend school when he
was a boy, recognizing that "it's awful
hard to go to school sometimes when
there are more exciting things to do." He
also suggested that "sometimes when one
isn't feeling well the best thing to do is
get up and go to work or school and just
forget about your aches." The mother
agreed, and the next day the boy was
back in school.
Dave never mentioned the principal,
what West Virginia law requires, or that
he knew the boy had missed the bus. The
family he visited was probably only
vaguely aware that he has any responsi-
bility for their son's attendance. They
only know, or feel, that a concerned
neighbor dropped by, someone who had
shared in other problems and joys, some-
one who encouraged a mother to en-
courage her son.
Last year that same family asked Dave
to write a letter to their oldest son's
commanding officer in Vietnam when the
mother became severely sick and the
father was disabled. The son was dis-
charged and is now helping to support
the family; a family that has never at-
tended a Brethren church service, and
yet one that has no doubt that Dave is
their friend and minister.
Church of the Brethren moderator
Dale Brown, who visited the Ritten-
houses earlier this year, says that Dave
reminds him of some of the old-time
Brethren preachers out west. "Denomina-
tions would come and go," Brown said.
Rittenhouse: a pastor, a neighbor
"but some of these preachers would re-
main for their entire lives in one place, so
that they became greatly respected by
everyone in the county." Brown also sees
other similarities. "Dave is a sectarian
when it comes to baptism, communion,
and other church sacraments. For ex-
ample, he doesn't believe in serving a
Brethren communion without the foot-
washing, and yet he would never keep
anyone from the church fellowship be-
cause they believed differently." "Many
of the old western preachers were narrow
in the sense that they were very sectarian
in their own personal beliefs," Brown
continued, "and yet they would perform
many pastoral functions for people who
did not practice the faith in the same
way. The irony of the situation was, and
I think this is true with Dave also, is that
the people respected them more for
standing for what they believed in even
if they didn't agree."
James Carpenter, a cabinetmaker and
active layman in the New Hope church,
suggested that much of the respect that
people have for Dave is because he be-
lieves what he says. "I don't know of
5-15-72 MESSENGER 11
^r^
anyone who could say the things about
pacifism that Dave says and be accepted
the way he is," Carpenter said. "West
Virginians have a fierce pride not only for
their mountains but for the country as a
whole. Pacifism and conscientious objec-
tion aren't very popular around here, and
yet people not only accept Dave, they
listen to what he has to say. Dave wins
people's trust because he tells everybody
the same story. You know that just be-
cause you disagree with him it won't
lessen the friendship."
Carpenter also believes that the Ritlen-
house family is as much a part of the
ministry as Dave. "There's no doubt in
my mind that Laura Jean's work with the
children's choir was one of the most sig-
nificant things in revitalizing the New
Hope church." he said. "People look at
the Rittenhouses and the people that the
Lord has touched through the Ritten-
houses and they see happiness and inner
peace. People around here are tired of a
negative attitude, of being told that if
they don't shape up, they're going to hell,
partly because they've been hearing bad
for so long, they want to hear good. The
Rrttenhouse family and ministry are
based on the sharing of the good news.
God loves you no matter what sins you
may have committed in the past. There
is hope for everyone to be reborn."
• • *
The five churches that make up the
Pocahontas congregation are combined
for administrative purposes, but each of
the churches has its own identity. In
some ways these mountain churches are
years ahead of city congregations when
ii comes to ecumenical adventures, partly
because they are forced to be if they want
to e.xist. Only the Durbin church, the
largest of the five with an average atten-
dance of seventy-five, meets in a building
owned by the Church of the Brethren.
The other four churches meet in buildings
that are loaned by other denominations or
by the local community. The Boyer
church is entirely a community church,
with most of the worshipers being non-
Brethren, and members of the local com-
munity electing board members. At the
Pine Grove church Dave shares the pas-
torate with a retired American Baptist
minister, and the New Hope church
meets in a Methodist building. When the
New Hope church felt it needed more
rooms for Sunday school, they added
them on to the rear of the building, even
though they wouldn't own what they
built.
/\ visitor to Pocahontas County might
wonder why some of these churches
aren't consolidated. For example, the
Kerr Chapel church usually has fewer
than twenty people at worship and it
would seem that a merger with one of
the other churches might be wise. But
the Kerr Chapel church is almost entirely
older people who would be unable to
travel elsewhere for worship. As one
layman put it, "If you shut down some
of these churches, you would be shutting
worship out of many people's lives. Lo-
cation and buildings are important to
mountain people. Some of them have
been going to the same church for fifty
years."
In 1967 the future of the Pocahontas
churches was uncertain. For years the
churches had been supported by district
and Brotherhood funds. In 1964 the
ministry commission of the district board
decided it would support the churches for
two more years on a limited basis, but
from then on, they were on their own.
Some members of the district board also
didn't think there was much of a future
for Dave Rittenhouse as a pastor in
Pocahontas County and offered to help
him locale another pastorate.
"Things had really reached a low
point," Laura Jean recalled. "Attendance
was low, we were losing our financial sup-
port, and what was even more depressing,
there were very few families with chil-
dren in the church fellowship." "What
really frustrated me," Dave said, "was
that we felt that we had done all that we
could do. We didn't know where to turn.
From a human standpoint we thought
we had done all we could ilo to make the
churches grow again."
Dave and Laura Jean now believe that
in some ways they were begging the ques-
tion. "The churches began to grow
when we realized that their success didn't
depend primarily on us. The more we
became open to the grace of God, and
not so dependent upon our own abilities,
the more that began to happen. These
churches just decided that they weren't
going to die. People began giving more.
Others assumed positions of responsibil-
IJ MESSENGER 515-72
ity and leadership. In some ways with-
drawal of district and Brotherhood funds
may have been the best thing that ever
happened to us."
Today the Pocahontas churches are
growing again. They have an annual
budget of over $7,000, a gain in member-
ship of thirty-three last year, children's
and community choirs, laymen who have
taken over Sunday school and church
leadership responsibilities, and most of
all a hope for the future. Things are hap-
pening so fast that the White Oak congre-
gation in Pennsylvania is sending and
supporting a deacon to help Dave with
visitation and pastoral respKjnsibilities.
In many ways the move to Twin Hill
Farm may have been the catalyst in the
Rittenhouses' ministry. Up to that time
they were living in a house in Durbin, but
with the purchase of the farm they be-
came committed to West Virginia and the
Pocahontas churches. To fellow West
Virginians the fact that Dave is their
neighbor is probably more important than
that he is their minister. They can see
that the Rittenhouses have chosen to live
in West Virginia at a time when it is one
of the few states where there has been a
decrease in population in recent years.
Pocahontas County with 8,000 people has
the lowest population it has had since
1900. It is estimated that eight out of
every ten high school graduates leave the
county, not because they want to but be-
cause there aren't enough jobs. There
are no major industries in Pocahontas
County with the e.xception of one tannery.
and in the past few years the saw mill in •■
Cass and another tannery in Marlinton,
the county seat, were closed. Most of the
people who remain are small farmers or
independent loggers, who have contracts
with the government for hauling logs out
of the forest.
The irony is that the very thing that
forces most young people to leave the
county is the result of one of the things
that makes Pocahontas County such an
appealing place to live. The rivers are
clear of industrial waste, the roads aren't
congested, the air is clean, and it must be
hundreds of miles to the nearest fran-
chised hamburger stand. But perhaps the
most appealing aspect to mountain life is,
as Dave Rittenhouse put it, "our neigh-
bors are friends and not someone to fear."
Through their own life-style the Ritten-
houses are witnessing that a good life is
possible in the mountains even on a min-
imal income. In the past ten years they
have had to pay income tax only twice.
They grow most of their own food, and
friends provide many of their clothes and
other necessities. Dave realizes that in
many ways his family now has more
wealth than if he had set out to make a
lot of money. Owning a 1 28-acre farm is
a tremendous amount of security. And
yet because the Rittenhouses freely share
whatever they have they feel they can
avoid the pitfalls that sometimes come
from financial or material security.
Wh
rhat is the future of the Pocahontas
County churches? Someday Dave hopes
that he will be receiving no income from
the churches and that each of the
churches will have its own lay leadership
that will assume almost all of the pastoral
responsibilities. James Carpenter believes
that the Pocahontas churches are strong
enough now that if the Rittenhouses
would be called to some other ministry,
they would survive and continue to grow.
"We would surely miss them, and I hope
they continue to stay, but I don't think
our congregation is dependent upon them
for its existence. We've learned that we
are dependent upon the Lord working
through ourselves."
Some of the leadership in the Poca-
hontas congregation may come from
people like Julie and Jason Bauserman,
two young Brethren who recently pur-
chased land with the help of Dave. They
plan to build a small cabin this summer
and then make a living by growing and
selling blueberries. The Bausermans hope
that some day an intentional Christian
community may develop in Pocahontas
County, perhaps on their land. But until
that day, they plan to take active roles in
the already existing churches.
The future of the rural church in
Pocahontas County looks good. It may
develop in new forms like the Bauser-
mans envision, or continue in the already
experimental churches that are there
now, churches that are both Brethren and
community, churches where the minister
is not only the pastor but a neighbor and
a farmer, churches where laymen are tak-
ing active roles in the ministry that have
been traditionally reserved for the
pastor. The Rittenhouses see real hope
for the rural church. Dave said, "If I
could say something to other rural con-
gregations, I would like to tell them that
their churches can exist as meaningful
fellowships, especially if they don't try to
copy the large, urban churches, but
search for new rural patterns." Q
[f®g®(L!F(S®@
The Appalachian region is rich with lore
and intriguing places to visit, all as
di%ersc as the character of the thirteen
states which describe the area's geo-
graphical boundaries. Here is a traveler's
sample, not exhaustive, but suggestive
of the diversity.
Places to visit
Berea Collcve. Berea. Ky. Founded in
1855. Berea College admits only a small
percentage of non-Appalachian students.
Its Appalachian Museum. Appalachian
studies department, and the student work
program emphasizing such .Appalachian
crafts as basket making, furniture build-
ing, broom craft, and weaving all recall
the rich heritage of the region. Campus
and industry tours leave twice a day
from Boone Tavern. Write Berea Col-
lege. Berea. Ky. 4040.^. for more in-
formation.
In Berea, also, visit the Council of the
Southern Mountains bookstore, where
records, books, magazines (many of
those listed here), and handmade quilts
may be purcha.sed.
Mountain Toy Makers. McKce. Ky.
Nora Van Winkle has details on hand-
crafted children's toys. Write to her at
McKee. Ky. 40447.
Sulphur Cap Chair and H'oott H'orks
Co.. Jackson. Ky. Made in the mountain
tradition from local hardwoods, rocking
chairs, footstixtls, and ladderback chairs
from this factory are finished to a
perfection not seen in mass-produced
furniture. For more information, write
.Sulphur Gap Chair and Wood Works
Co.. Box 6.^. Jackson, Ky. 41339.
Things to read: surveys and studies
.■ippaliicliian /'to/i/i'.v History Book,
published by Mountain Education As-
sociates and the Southern Conference
Educational Fund (SCEF). History as
she was writ not by mine owners and
operators but by the exploited. Order
(with a contribution of at least S5 per
copy) from SCEF, 3210 W. Broadway,
Louisville, Ky. 40211.
".Appalachia — Like the Flayed Back
of a Man." by James Branscomc. An
evocation of the ravages of strip mining,
typically thorough in .Wew York Times
.\fagazinc style, from the Dec. 12. 1971.
issue.
NIGHT COMES TO THE ^"^m^
CUMBERLANDS
A BIOGRAPHY OF A DEPRESSED AREA
HARRY M.CAUDILL
With a foreword by Stewart L. IMall
The first frontier in the war on poverty.
Things to read: lore
The Grandfather Tales and The Jack
Tales, collected by Richard Chase. Amer-
ican-English folk talcs handed down in
the oral tradition.
Nii;hi Conies to the Cuniberlands and
A/v Land Is Dyini;. by Harry Caudill.
The former a regional classic from the
energetic Kentucky lawyer, writer, and
activist, and the latter, a newer state-
ment focusing on the strip mining boom,
together speak eloquently for an end to
the destruction of a pan of the nation.
Children of Crisis, by Robert Coles.
In three volumes Coles listens to and
records the spirited voices of mountain
folk, blacks, and children, in cities and
in rural areas.
Slinkini; Creek. b\' John Fetterman.
Look for a chapter on the work of
Brethren Irma Gall and Peggy Kcmncr
at the l.end-a-Hand Center.
Yesterday's People, by Jack Wellcr.
Another "classic." examining the mind of
Appalachia.
Magazines
Appalachia. published monthly by the
Appalachian Regional Commission,
1666 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washing-
ton, DC. 20235.
Kaiallagete — Be Reconciled, the
journal of the Committee of Southern
Churchmen.
Mountain Life and Work, magazine of
the Council of the Southern Mountains.
CPO Box 2307, Berea, Ky. 40403.
Music
Hard Hitlinf; Sonf;s for Hard Hit
People, compiled by Alan l.omax. Notes
by Woody Guthrie. Music edited by
Pete Sceger. Socially significant songs
that together read like an historical
document.
Poetry
Blues and Roots/ Rue and Bluets. A
Garland for the Appalachians, by
Jonathan Williams, with photographs by
Nicholas Dean. Poems found and
created, along with photographs, make
an art book worth having, even at
.$17.50. Grossman Publishers.
14 MESSENGER 515-72
The culture that seems out of place
byGarySlaats
Appalachia has had an effect on me. I
have seen a different culture existing in
the midst of the "American Dream." I
have seen our nation's industries rape a
region of her wealth and crush the free-
dom of her people. I have seen a people
who have weathered more difficulties
than many Americans have or ever will.
And I have seen a determined people
stand close to their heritage in a diverse
region with a cultural, political, and
physical environment that seems out of
place in the United States.
Perhaps the most startling things to
encounter in Appalachia is its notorious
poverty and unemployment. It has been
said that in some rural counties welfare is
the biggest industry. A county in eastern
Kentucky increased its employment
recently by thirty percent with the hiring
of only five workers. Before the building
of the locally owned Sulphur Gap Chair
Factory, the county had only thirty-nine
people employed in other than govern-
mental positions.
If jobs are that scarce why don't
Appalachians move to sites where work is
more plentiful? In Appalachian heritage
and culture, love of homeland is part of
the answer. If a man who is on welfare
wants to leave the "holler" where his
father and father's father have lived, he
must first break that deep tie with his
past.
Even if he is successful there are other
hard questions. Where does he get the
money to move to Michigan, Ohio,
Illinois? If he does get the money, is he
prepared for non-Appalachian society?
Can he adapt to the time clock, the
regimentation of contemporary society as
we know it? Is his lack of education
acceptable to the companies that offer
the possibility of employment? Usually,
if the East Kentuckian, for example,
makes it to those northern centers of
manufacturing he soon finds that he will
be the first to be fired and living in a
strange urban environment with different
life values. His one hope is to get
enough money to return to his "holler."
The Appalachian ghettos of Chicago,
Akron, and Cincinnati stand as mute
testimony to the cultural shock each
Appalachian must experience when he
leaves home.
There isn't too much for the Appa-
lachian to come home to. If the beauty
of the mountains and the yearn for a
familiar life-style call to him to return
home, he must again accept the resultant
economic hardships which caused him to
flee in the first place. In the Appa-
lachian's mind, the mountain greenery
and allegiance to heritage are worth
suft'ering most economic deprivations.
But the lush landscapes are suffering
devastation under the disfiguring effects
of strip mining. Parts of Appalachia
were described by one writer as re-
sembling "the flayed back of a man."
Erosion, acid pollution of streams, and
the creeping "over-burdens" — soil,
rocks, and trees scraped by the strip
miners away from the seams of coal and
pushed over the side of the mountain to
slide slowly into homes and fields below
— scar ridge after ridge in Kentucky,
West Virginia, Tennessee, wherever strip
miners are at work. Deep miners face
other problems: the agony of black lung,
the threat of burial in a collapsing mine.
Federal and state governments have
poured millions of dollars into Appa-
lachia. But a problem arises as the
money that arrives at the local scene
must be channeled through local govern-
ment structures. One can be sure that
these are not operated by local citizens
who need assistance. Community Action
Programs and other anti-poverty groups
are usually managed by those who are
interested in retaining the status quo in
the area. The few staff people who have
a deep empathy for the poor find them-
selves buried in red tape, channeled into
ineffective programs, or asked to resign
because of their creating of new power
structures that are relevant to the needs
of the people.
A path around this dilemma has been
the development of co-ops and small
independent businesses that receive their
starting capital from churches, govern-
ment loan agencies, or private grants.
Such endeavors offer members a chance
to make a lixing without having to go to
the mines for employment or relying on
welfare. It also teaches skills in group
action, economics, and marketing.
Craft co-ops in Appalachia produce
quilts, toys, and furniture. Tlie cultiu'e of
generations past can be seen in the sewing
and carving of mountain residents. The
art and lore of Appalachia are appearing
in stores across the nation because of
local residents banding together in an
effort to make a living as well as keeping
their history alive.
In fact, art and culture are uniting
the people around a common heritage.
Festivals have been held, allowing the
mandolin, banjo, and dulcimer players to
sing ballads their great-grandmothers
knew.
Modern technology has assisted latent
talents to surface. For example, the
Appalachian Film Workshop of Whites-
burg, Kentucky, has produced over ten
films depicting life in Appalachia as the
Appalachian sees it. Young men and
women were given film, cameras, and
technical advice. They captured, for the
first time, \iews of mountain life that
non-Appalachians had never seen or
could never experience.
If anything can enhance Appalachia's
development it is the rise of an awareness
of common problems, hopes, and feelings
among her people.
Things are happening in Appalachia.
Change will not be dramatic in the sense
of overnight accomplishments. But a
quiet revolution is taking place in little
towns and "hollers" throughout
Appalachia. □
5- 1 5-72 MESSENGER IS
Oral tradition:
The literature of the mind
Appalachian people have a great capacity for remembering tales, riddles, songs, and
beliefs and for passing them on by word of mouth from one generation to the next
by Loyal Jones
Many persons who have written and spo-
ken about Appalachian people in recent
times have characterized us as deficient
in education. They have assumed that we
are ignorant of important ideas and of
literature. Even the standard dictionaries
view those with a limited reading and
writing ability as lacking important
knowledge. The median educational
level in Appalachia is lower than in the
nation as a whole, and some Appalachian
persons do not read and write. But this
does not mean that Appalachian people
do not know important things and do not
have a literature. The oral tradition has
met, to a great extent, the artistic and
spiritual and even the practical needs of
the people.
The oral tradition is the passing on of
knowledge, tales, riddles, songs, and be-
liefs by word of mouth, from one genera-
tion to the next. The content of this tra-
dition might be thought of as the literature
of the mind, or the literature that people
carry around in their heads. Appalachian
people, like other rural, person-oriented
people have a great capacity for remem-
bering things that others have told them.
Let me try to make a case for the im-
portance of this "literature" from the oral
tradition. I'll limit my discussion to six
categories: hymns, ballads, folk songs,
tales, riddles, and beliefs and supersti-
tions.
Hymns
The hymns have played a great role in
interpreting the Bible and passing on re-
ligious ideas from one generation to
another. Perhaps the English hymn
"Amazing Grace," known to practically
all mountain people sums up mountain
religious beliefs best of all:
Amazing grace! how sweet the
sound.
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
Was blind, but now I see.
Another hymn, sung in the Old Reg-
ular Baptist churches to an ancient tune
tells a great deal about Calvinist religion
but also a great deal about the people,
their experience, and their view of
themselves:
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty,
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Both of these hymns are beautiful and
are part of a great reservoir of hymns
and other religious songs. There are also
carols, spirituals, and folk songs that
carry religious messages. Hymns were
written down earlier than the other folk
material. Singing Billy Walker published
his shaped-note hymnal, the Southern
Harmony in 1835 and E. W. Billups
published his Sweet Songster with words
to hymns but without tunes in 1 854.
These books and others were used widely
in the Appalachians. A tradition in some
churches is for the song leader to use a
book and "line out" the tune for the
others.
One cannot imagine how bleak Appala-
chian life and religion might have been
without the great old hymns and the
ability of the people to remember the
words and the tunes.
Ballads
Ballads tell stories, and many of the
stories are ancient, from England and
Scotland and other lands. Hundreds of
these song-stories have been collected in
the mountains. Cecil Sharp, the English
musicologist who toured Appalachia first
in 1916, collected sixty-four songs from
Mrs. Jane Gentry of Hot Springs, North
Carolina. Mr. Sharp and a collaborator,
Olive Dame Campbell, were the first to
copy down the tunes as well as the texts.
Earlier ballad collectors such as Francis
James Child had been interested only in
the words to ballads and viewed them as
folk poetry.
The ballads tell stories of lords and
ladies, of good and bad deeds, of true
lovers and of unrequited love. Practically
all end tragically. "The Wife of Usher's
Well" tells of witchcraft and its results.
"The Four Marys" dates back to an in-
cident in the court of Mary, Queen of
Scots, in 1563, when one of the ladies in
waiting to the Queen murdered her
illegitimate child and was later hanged.
"Pearl Bryan" tells of two students se-
ducing and murdering Pearl Bryan at
Fort Thomas, Kentucky, in 1896. These
ballads and hundreds more were sung
and are still being sung, though not so
much now, in Appalachia. Many came
over with the immigrants: others, like
"Pearl Bryan," were created here. All
told stories that were of interest to the
people. Many of the tunes are beautiful
to hear.
16 MESSENGER 5- 15-72
Folk songs
The folk songs, that is the lyric and
love songs, carry sentiment and imagery.
There are literally hundreds of these
songs sung in the Southern mountains,
many with very poetic lyrics and ex-
quisite tunes. Many are known around
the world. They, like the ballads, often
speak of things of long ago, often in an-
other country. "The Nightingale" or
"One Morning in May," for example, a
song about a soldier and a maid, men-
tions the nightingale, a European bird not
native to this country. Other aspects of
"The Nightingale" hint that its original
setting was England, and yet it was col-
lected in different parts of Kentucky,
Tennessee, and North Carolina. "The
True Lover's Farewell" is interesting in
that it has borrowed verses from other
songs and has lent verses to others also.
One verse is obviously from Robert
Burns' "A Red, Red Rose," or could it be
that Burns borrowed from a folk song?
The following lines are common to other
songs:
If I go I will come again
Though it be ten thousand miles.
And who will shoe your pretty little
feet.
Or who will glove your hand,
Or who will kiss your red rosy cheek
When I'm in a foreign land?
My father will shoe my pretty little
feet, . . . etc.
Three verses that these lines are from
appear as similar verses in "He's Gone
Away," as well as in other songs.
O, don't you see that lonesome dove
A-flitting from pine to pine?
She's mourning for her own true
love
Just as I mourn for mine.
This verse appears in a song that is known
throughout the Appalachians, "In the
Pines."
Did you see green grass trampled
under foot
Arise and grown again?
The English folk song, "The Seeds of
Love," has similar lines.
These examples of "verse borrowing"
show the creativity of people in improv-
ing verses when some are forgotten or
when there is a wish for additional
verses.
Several songs, like "Pretty Saro," found
in many parts of the Southern mountains,
tell with haunting tune and delicate
phrase of unrequited love and the inade-
quacy of the disappointed lover:
Down in some lone valley in a lone-
some place,
Where the wild birds do whistle and
their notes do increase.
Farewell, Pretty Saro, I bid you
adieu,
But I'll dream of pretty Saro wher-
ever I go.
My love she won't have me, so I
understand.
She wants a freeholder who owns
house and land.
I cannot maintain her with silver
and gold,
5-I5-72 MESSENGER 17
Nor buy all the fine things that a
big house can hold.
If I were a merchant and could
write a fine hand,
I'd write my love a letter that she'd
understand.
I'd write it by the river where the
waters overflow,
And I'd dream of Pretty Saro
wherever I go.
This is good poetry, but only when the
words are wedded to the tune by a singer
who cherishes the song can one really
appreciate its beauty and understand how
it has lived for centuries in the memories
of the people.
Tales
The folktales are vehicles for bold ex-
ploits, wild and scary deeds, and pre-
posterous situations. Everyone has heard
about Jack and the beanstalk. What
many don't know is that there are dozens
of tales about Jack told in the Appala-
chians. Richard Chase collected them
from families like the Harmons of Beech
Creek, North Carolina, and published
them in a book called The Jack Tales.
Mr. Chase published additional collec-
tions and was followed by other collectors
such as Leonard Roberts and Marie
Campbell, so that now there are several
volumes of tales from Appalachian peo-
ple. These tales are similar in type and
motif to Old World tales. For example,
Richard Chase collected two Cinderella
stories. Leonard Roberts collected a
story in Eastern Kentucky that has refer-
ences to the Bible, to the magic horse,
Pegasus, and to Hercules' task of cleaning
the Agean stables. Kings, queens, princes
and princesses, as well as giants, fairies,
witches and ghosts, appear in these folk-
tales. And usually there is a character
like Jack who can deal with all people
and situations. Perhaps a people who
do not always have control over life situ-
ations need a hero like Jack, who by
cunning and luck, always comes out
just fine.
Riddles and singing games
Riddles and singing games are part of
a bag of tricks that people, who do not
have much in the material sense, have to
entertain themselves. Many enjoyable
hours can be passed with this bag of
tricks. Some of these also had an Old
World flavor, like this riddle from my
childhood:
As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives.
Each wife had seven cats
And each cat had seven kittens.
How many were going to St. Ives?
The answer, in case you are slow, is
"one." / was going to St. Ives, not the
man with seven wives. Note the magic
number "seven." The numbers three and
seven appear often in songs, tales, and
riddles.
Then, there were the singing games
that were good for both singing and
dancing. Young people, as well as old,
could "play" these "games" where the
churches frowned on dancing. Here is
one known almost everywhere, even
though the paw paw, a papaya-like fruit,
is native mostly to Kentucky:
Where O where is sweet little Willie
Where O where is sweet little Willie
Where O where is sweet little Willie?
Way down yonder in the paw paw
patch.
Come on girls and let's go find him
(repeat)
Way down yonder in the paw paw
patch.
Picking up paw paws, puttin' 'em in
your pocket
(repeat)
Way down yonder in the paw paw
patch.
Beliefs and superstitions
There are also the beliefs and supersti-
tions that are passed down by word of
mouth or by deeds. These are important
in ordering one's life in a philosophical
sense. For example, the following
proverbs express attitudes toward life:
Honesty is the best policy.
Birds of a feather flock together.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Where there is a will there is a way.
Faith can move mountains.
Beliefs and superstitions are important
in the practical sense, like in knowing
when and how to plant crops, cook food,
and take care of health problems. Here
are some examples:
Underground vegetables such as po-
tatoes, turnips, and beets should be plant-
ed in the dark of the moon.
Vegetables that grow above ground,
like beans, should be planted in the light
of the moon.
Carrying a buckeye prevents rheuma-
tism.
Poke "sallet" must be cooked when it
is tender and with a piece of fat meat, or
else it is poison.
These beliefs or assumptions are part
of the culture and are handed down
orally and through demonstration. Be-
liefs and superstitions relate to all aspects
of living and do influence the attitudes
and behavior of people. All groups of
people have their superstitions; perhaps
Appalachian people have more than most
other groups.
It is true that we Appalachians have
not been noted for our book learning.
But our oral literature is a considerable
legacy, much admired by folklorists, mu-
sicians, and others who have learned to
appreciate it. Cecil Sharp commented
that in the Appalachians he found a peo-
ple who sang as easily as they talked, and
he collected 1,612 different tunes, repre-
senting around 500 different songs from
a total of 281 persons. The Ritchie fam-
ily of Viper, Kentucky, is now known
around the world for its rich heritage of
music and other folk material. Bascom
Lamar Lunsford, a North Carolina folk
singer, now 89 years old, recorded around
300 songs for the Library of Congress
from what he called his "memory collec-
tion." There are several volumes of folk-
tales collected from persons with remark-
able memories in the Appalachians.
Those persons who contributed this great
quantity of folk material were exception-
al persons, but most Appalachian people
have at least some of this material in
their memories.
Unquestionably the opportunities for a
formal education are greater for Appala-
chian young people now than they were
fifty years ago, and without doubt more
young people want more education than
their parents did. But as the young peo-
ple learn more from books, they appear
to become less interested in that which
comes to them orally from the past, in
song and tale. That is a great pity. My
hope is that all of us can learn to appre-
ciate both sources and the literature that
they bring to us. Q
18 MESSENGER 515-72
%:
Faces from
the mountains
"A face that has the marks of having lived intensely"
was a face Doris Ulmanh could love. And forty years
ago, in the late twenties and early thirties, the frail
New Yorker packed around the Southern Appala-
chians six to eight months a year, searching out that
kind of face to photograph.
With her traveling companion, the mountain
balladeer John Jacob Niles, Doris Ulmann discovered
hundreds of remarkable people and persuaded them
to sit for her view cameras. Neither camera had a
shutter; the photographer made each exposure by re-
moving and replacing the lens cap. Each used glass
plates. The people whose images appeared, after
their moments of exposure to the plates, wistful and
misty, Doris Ulmann feared were disappearing.
She complained that they always wanted to dress
up. "It is not an easy thing to induce a farmer's wife
to have her picture taken in her kitchen gown peeling
potatoes." But her inducements worked, and such
folk as Cheaver Meaders, Bird Patten, Wilma Creech,
and Aunt Cord Ritchie agreed to sit for portraits.
Doris Ulmann's career was to be short-lived: she died
in 1934, fifty years old. But her legacy to us — -of
mountain folk whose faces reflect intense living — re-
mains.
All prints in this section are provided courtesy of
the Doris Ulmann Foundation and the Appalachian
Museum, Berea College.
• »*
Oiy ^
■ vl
-V"
N
•-^Ki-
'/^^
L^i ^.
%
.>S>
'^.isS
X
Jfe'*ir%:
T
-- '♦:i.
IfcJk.
V.W
Coal the killer
byPaulNyden
Coal is a thing that costs life to get. You
may be holding a piece of coal in your
hand and turn around and say: I wonder
how that coal was got? Was there any
blood shed in getting that coal? Was
there any man's life lost in it? And
there's many a one in this country has put
coal on the fire, there's been a man's life
lost in it. You're not burning coal, you're
burning blood. — A British collier; re-
corded BY EwAN MacColl on The Big
Hewer
22 MESSENGER 5-15-72
"I resigned from the presidency of our
local in June," Ray Hutchinson ex-
plained, "because I feel a working coal
miner should be president. I had to re-
tire from the mines a few months ago
because I couldn't breathe anymore. I'm
all out of breath if I climb two flights of
stairs or walk around my yard a couple
of times. I always sleep with my head on
three pillows and have to take three or
four different medicines.
■"Six doctors have told me I'm totally
disabled. My lungs have lost seventy-five
percent of their breathing capacity, so I'm
able to do sedentary work only. But I
don't have enough education to do any
kind of office work. Got some veterans'
disability benefits, but they turned me
down for black lung and Social Security
payments. Right now I'm not doing noth-
ing but working full time for the reform
of our union."
Ray Hutchinson, just 41 last July, has
a son and a daughter still in school. Since
retiring from Island Creek's Beatrice
Mine in Grundy, Virginia — North
America's gassiest mine and one of its
dustiest — he has been very active in
union affairs.
Jesse Green, a 53-year-old retired
miner, lives in a small frame house down
the street from an iron and pipe foundry
in Bessemer, Alabama. "My dad worked
in the mines for over fifty years: he
started when he was only 10. Two years
ago he died from lung disease. Most of
the old miners is gone now. They had to
be tough. Back when they were first
organizing, the operators would treat a
miner like a mule. In fact, they treated
their mules better. If a miner died, it was
easy for the operator to hire another man;
but if a mule was killed, the operator
had to buy another one.
"I began in the mines issuing lamps at
the portal — when I was still going to
high school. I put in twenty years, but
quit in 1959 after I had an accident in
the mine. I worked in a filling station up
until last April, when I had a heart at-
tack. The doctor told me I can never
work again. You can't get any Social
Security or disability benefits for at least
six months after you are disabled. I also
applied for black lung, but that's hard to
get here in Alabama."
Jesse, his wife, and their young chil-
dren have just moved out of a house that
cost them too much rent, now that they
have no source of income. He sits in his
living room or on his porch most of the
day, wearing the blue shirt he's kept from
the filling station job. When Jesse talks,
he has to stop and gasp for breath. His
hands and legs are swollen, and he looks
like a man in his 70s. Jesse gave twenty
years of his life to the coal companies.
Today, when he can't work anymore, he
lives in a sparsely furnished house and
can barely afford to feed his family.
five years in the mines. "My left leg was
crippled in a roof fall in 1947 — not
enough timbering. In 1956, my right leg
was crippled by a mining machine. Now
I have to hobble around on this stick."
At 75, Vranic and his wife scrape by on
his miner's pension of $150 a month and
a little Social Security. If Mike should
die before his wife, she will get only
$2,000 more from the fund. She's not
entitled to keep his pension or his
hospital card for more than one year.
Modern continuous mining machines
generate so much dust at the coal face
that any man who works in the mines for
ten years is almost sure to develop black
lung. Men who are injured in mine
accidents often go untreated for hours.
"There should be a doctor or registered
nurse at every portal at all times," reads
one resolution to the Scale Committee.
"This has long been the practice at the
steel mills." An eastern Kentucky miner
said, "I've seen miners die because of no
medical care. You have roof falls that
pin a man underground and he needs
immediate help. In remote areas it takes
medical help so long to reach the mine
that the man could die of shock."
Miners want authority restored to their
three-man safety committees. Today,
part of the problem is that the UMW's
district offices never back up local Safety
committeemen, and even allow the
companies to dismiss men who complain
of dangerous working conditions.
Mike Vranic lives in Clarksville, Penn-
sylvania, in a four-room \\ooden row
house that the coal company built back in
the 1920s. His front porch sags and his
living room is furnished with two old
chairs and one sofa. Mike worked thirty-
Once a man becomes disabled in a
mine accident — no matter how old he
is — the coal companies have no further
use for him or his family. Jack Smith,
his wife Delia Mae. and their four young
children live in Rhodell, West Virginia.
Two months after they were married.
Jack Smith lost both legs in a slate fall.
He can't find employment anywhere
today. "I lost both my legs mining coal."
he comments. "Yet the company takes
no responsibility to help me at all. I get
$130 a month disability from the state
and food stamps. That's it." Jack was
among the leaders of the Disabled Miners
and Widows strike in southern West
Virginia in June 1970. "While I was on
the picket line — in my wheel chair —
one company official pushed me over
backwards into a river"
Today, almost seventy-five percent of
all underground bituminous miners work
in three states — West Virginia, Ken-
tucky, and Pennsylvania. Another
twenty percent — ninety-five percent in
all — work in Virginia, Illinois, Ohio,
and Alabama. Many of these men live in
the small coal towns tucked in the
Appalachian hills. Other miners live in
towns a few miles outside Pittsburgh,
5-15-72 MESSENGER 23
Coal mining ravages the hills and the lives of the men who mine them
Birmingham, and Charleston, West
Virginia.
The nationalities of coal miners vary
somewhat from region to region. Near
Pittsburgh four out of every five miners
have parents or grandparents who were
born in the countries of Eastern or
Southern Europe — Poland, the Slovak
countries, Hungary, Lithuania, Italy, the
Soviet Union. Black miners make up
seven to eight percent of the district's
work force.
As you travel south, the Eastern
European population decreases, but it by
no means disappears. Throughout
southern West Virginia and eastern
Kentucky, Italian, Polish, and Slovak
names are painted on mailboxes along the
mountain roads. Boomer — a small
town in the Kanawha Valley — remains
today more than eighty percent Italian.
"Back during the 1921 strike and armed
marches," Black Lung Association
President Arnold Miller recounts, "the
operators recruited strikebreakers from
Sicily. But the operators' plans didn't
work out. As soon as the Sicilians arrived
and began mining, they figured out what
was going on. They organized them-
selves, and later kept their local long after
many others in the area had been broken.
The Sicilians created a special problem
for the operators' gun thugs. Being good
union men, they always defended their
fellow miners. Wherever there was labor
trouble, they arrived in groups — 2,000
strong. Miners living up Cabin and Paint
Creeks took to frightening the thugs by
merely hinting, 'The Italians are coming!'
Then the thugs would board themselves
up in houses with their machine guns.
Many times nobody was coming at all."
More then 1,500 Mexican-American
miners with their families lived in the
Logan County region of West Virginia in
the thirties. Today, however, only fifty
are working in the mines.
The percentage of black miners in-
creases the farther south you go.
Bill Worthington, who was disabled
two years ago when a roof fall broke his
ankle in thirteen places, explains the
special problems he faced as a black
miner. "There were lots of black men in
the Chevrolet mine when I began working
with the Blue Diamond Coal Company.
They were all coal loaders. I was the first
black man to do anything else. I became
a brakeman; later I became their first
black motorman. I told them what job I
wanted — and that I wouldn't continue
working if I didn't get it.
"While I was a brakeman, the company
had me train about a hundred white men
to be motormen. Finally, when I insisted
on being promoted to that job myself,
they fired me, saying I was strong-headed.
But they rehired me two days later as a
motorman. because they needed me. At
the time, I felt they wanted to keep me on
as brakeman because I was such a good
teacher for the new men. But later I got
to thinking that they probably felt it
didn't matter much if I got myself killed
braking for these greenhorns."
When a man works in the coal mines
of our country, he puts his life on the line
every time the cage goes down. With
every year he puts in underground, more
and more of his lung tissue becomes black
and hard. The miners insist that steps be
taken to keep dust le\els down and to
prevent future Farmingtons and Hydens
from taking place. But the contract does
not resolve around money and safety
issues alone. Miners want a better way of
life for themselves and their families.
Almost every coal town consists of
monotonous rows of company homes
built around the towering and smoldering
slate dumps. The main street is lined
with a few stores and churches, a fire-
house, a school, a post office, several beer
gardens, maybe a Slovak or Hungarian
club, and the union hall. A good book-
store or a movie theater is almost un-
known. There are few or no good radio
and television stations.
Back in 1922 coal miners issued an
appeal to the public during a long and
bitter strike. Their appeal could be
reissued by today's miners who are
concerned about a better life for all:
"You people out there who burn the coal,
it's you we're working for, not the
operators. Our real partner is the
public." D
24 MESSENGER 515-72
The reunion
From other counties and other states the distant Feltner kin gather
at the head of the hollow where Clear Fork begins, to remember and
pray, weep and laugh, to embrace and renew ties, to feast and to gossip
byJohnFetterman
On late summer mornings there is fog at
the head of the hollow in Knott County
where the creek called Clear Fork begins.
The fog obscures the distant slopes and
drapes itself across the little cemetery
that sits upon a green knoll. The fog was
still low and wet when seventy-two-year-
old Mrs. Evelyn Haddix came to the
cemetery.
She was the first to arrive. She walked
among the headstones, rereading inscrip-
tions she had long ago memorized.
"I was a Feltner. Wayne Feltner's
daughter," she said.
She would soon be joined by others,
until perhaps si.\ty people would be on
the knoll. It was time for the annual
reunion of the Feltner family.
The Feltners are one of many moun-
tain families that defy the trend of the
times and stubbornly refuse to disinte-
grate. The symbols of this unity are the
countless tiny family cemeteries perched
on the hillsides of Appalachia. The fam-
ily closeness is reflected in the careful
tending of the cemetery and is part of the
legacy of the people whose pioneer
background made the family the heart of
a way of life.
Many families in the hills hold similar
reunions — many are on Memorial Day,
or "Decoration Day," as it is sometimes
called. The distant kin come from other
counties and other states. It is a time to
On Sunday morning the service begins in the shelter on the knoll at ten and continues with fervent preaching until one
remember and pray, to weep and laugh,
to embrace and renew ties, to feast and
gossip. For the Feltners, this time comes
in late summer.
It began on Saturday with a service in
the little church near the place Clear Fork
empties into Lotts Creek. The name of
the church is Clear Fork Regular Baptist
Church of Jesus Christ. The minister is
seventy-nine-year-old Frank Fugate. He
was away from the area for a short time
to serve in the Army in World War I and
he has spent thirty-seven years in the coal
mines. He walks slowly now, but his
Saturday morning sermon was long and
fervent.
There in the little church, with its
white walls and hard brown pews, he
preached of humility and of the impor-
tance of religious faith in the deliberate
rhythm of life in the hills.
"Let us be willing to be just one little
human being among all other human be-
ings," he said.
There was little air stirring in the hol-
low and a few of the women began to use
the well-worn cardboard fans.
"People forget God and seek their own
glory," the minister said, using the semi-
shout of the mountain preacher. "We
glory in ourselves."
There was singing and handshaking
and embracing, and then a huge feast at
the home of one of the Feltners. That
afternoon, the people went to the ceme-
tery to decorate the graves and reminisce.
The cemetery was first used when a rela-
tive, Alex Smith, died in 1937, leaving a
request to be buried on the knoll. The
land belonged to Martin Feltner and the
wish was granted. Now, Martin and his
wife, Rhoda, lie there, as do some two
dozen other Feltners. The eight children
of Martin and Rhoda Feltner make up
"Might near all these people buried up here are my people." There was singing and handshaking and then a huge feast
CLEAR FORK
REGULAR ,
BAPTIST CHURCH
the nucleus of the huge clan, most of
whom* plan to be buried there.
One of the daughters, Mrs. Ruphenia
Combs, lives in Dayton, Ohio, and, she
said, "They tried to sell me a cemetery
lot in Dayton and I said, 'No, I got my
lot already in Kentucky." "'
By twilight on Saturday, the cemetery
was spotless and the graves were decorat-
ed with bright plastic flowers. On Sunday
morning, while the fog was still clinging
to the slopes, the Feltners began to come
back up the hill to the cemetery. Just
outside the white fence that encircles the
burial place there is a sturdy shelter.
roofed against any possible rain. The
service began there in the shelter at
10 a.m. and lasted until 1 p.m. Those
who could not fit into the shelter sat
along the hill outside. A series of preach-
ers earnestly extolled salvation on earth
to assure the final reunion of all the
Feltners upon the Resurrection which
few of them doubt is coming.
The prayers also were long and earnest,
delivered in the almost hypnotic cadence
of mountain preachers. The Feltner men
knelt to pray, as their fathers and grand-
fathers had before them. And after the
service, there seemed to be an air of con-
By Saturday the graves were spotless and decorated with bright flowers
tentment, even of strength, among the
family on that green hillside. By then,
the fog had gone away and through the
canopy of the woods there were glimpses
of hillsides partially swept away by strip
mining.
For a long time, in the early afternoon,
the people wandered among the head-
stones and talked of those who lay there.
They read the inscriptions cut into the
stones:
Martin Feltner
Mar. 5, 1878
Sept. 28, 1948
May he find joy in the life
everlasting.
Alex Smith
Mar. 14, 1871
Apr. 3, 1937
Death is eternal life,
why should we weep?
They had known them all, and each
grave was full of memories.
"This boy would have graduated from
college in a few days. Killed in a car
wreck."
"Poor little girl. Had the TB."
An elderly lady rested her hand on a
tombstone, looked around slowly, and
said, "Might near all these people buried
up here are my people."
People of all ages were there, from
those who tottered with the tentative
steps of infancy, to those who tottered
with the faltering steps of age. The
meeting and the talking, the tending of
the graves and the praying — all were a
part of the determination to maintain
the family ties. The generations were knit
and they were among those rare Ameri-
cans who are sure of their identity.
They knew they were Feltners and they
knew they were of that place. They
knew who they were.
The ties to each other, and to the land,
were reaffirmed with that reunion, as they
will be again across the coming years.
They went down the hill again at mid-
afternoon to another feast, spread
country-style on crowded tables.
Then they went to their homes and
would not gather again until the next
reunion — or until a Feltner dies and is
carried up to the little cemetery to await
the final reunion which any Feltner will
tell you is sure to come. D
515-72 MESSENGER 27
A statement of concern
from the collegiate staff of Commission on
Religion in Appalachia
Amid the many voices — strident and
pleading, persuasive and demanding —
which have been raised in recent years
by various minority groups protesting
against poverty and powerlessness, dis-
crimination and exploitation, one
minority has been strangely silent. We
refer to the voice of the Appalachian.
Appalachia is a region of haunting
natural beauty. It is also a region of
haunting poverty and misery. With
some justification it has been called
"America's longest slum" and "the last
bastion of American colonialism."
There are many reasons why the
poor of Appalachia have not organized
caucuses, disrupted church services,
occupied denominational offices and
confronted national religious assem-
blies. Among these reasons are scat-
tered rural residence, geographical iso-
lation and a certain pride and dignity.
Their silence by no means signifies
contentment with their lot. It is rather
a measure of their hopelessness with
regard to the willingness of the affluent
and powerful to share in any meaning-
ful degree. That hopelessness is bom
of long and bitter experience.
We can no longer remain silent.
Because we know the rich qualities in-
herent in Appalachian people and in
their culture, and because we daily
witness their enormous patience and
ingenuity in dealing with their misery,
we raise our voices in this statement of
concern.
We testify to poverty. This is not
the place to recite statistics, but every
index of property ownership, income,
and employment reveal the concentra-
tion of poverty in this region.
We testify to deprivation. By na-
tional standards, Appalachia falls be-
low average in respect to quality of
schools and educational attainment,
medical facilities and services and
health standards, housing, transporta-
tion and communication facilities. Be-
yound these, sociological measures of
deprivation. Appalachia has been
robbed of much of its rich cultural
heritage by the arrogance and exploita-
tion of a modern materialistic civiliza-
tion.
We testify to powerlessness. The
poor in Appalachian communities are
victimized by their own neighbors who
are the manipulators of local and
county power structures. These same
communities and the whole region are
in turn victimized by absentee owners
and political manipulators who to this
day maintain a subtle but powerful
regime of colonialism in the region.
We call upon the Commission on
Religion in Appalachia, Inc. (CORA)
and upon the communions which com-
pose it to respond far more massively
to the needs, the problems, and the op-
portunities of this great region.
We call for dollars. Government
funds are becoming increasingly hard
to secure for Appalachian develop-
ment. Foundation money is no easier.
The churches have invested heavily in
mission enterprises in the region but
much of the church's investment has
been paternalistic in style and poorly
deployed in terms of the real needs of
the people. We ask for both a rethink-
ing of current mission strategies and an
increase in dollar support for the kinds
of creative and developmental projects
which CORA has been pioneering.
We call for a strategy of develop-
ment. All mission projects should be
designed to contribute to the fulfill-
ment of whole persons in community.
Man does not live by bread alone.
Neither does he live without bread.
Bread with dignity is the aspiration and
the right of every man. The churches
in Appalachia must give massive sup-
port to programs of development
which combine economic, community,
and human development in a ministry
to whole persons.
We call for self-help. An emerging
force in Appalachia is the community-
based, self-help approach to human
and economic development. The
Human/ Economic Appalachian Devel-
opment Project (HEAD) sponsored
by CORA is but one of many such
grass roots efforts to undergird self-
determination with a solid economic
and cultural base. This style of devel-
opment merits the solid support of the
churches and the mission boards.
We call for political action. The
emancipation of Appalachia from
colonial domination is a political issue
and will require political solutions.
The churches can and must stand to-
gether with the powerless working for
the redemption of the political process
in Appalachia so that it ceases to be a
device for the enslavement of the peo-
ple and becomes rather the means of
their self-determination and empower-
ment.
We call for ecumenicity. We recog-
nize the enormous commitment of the
local churches and denominations and
their great contribution to the spiritual
and cultural life of Appalachia.
Nevertheless, we are convinced that for
our day the effectiveness of mission
effort in the region is being seriously
undermined by the independent de-
nominational approach. CORA pro-
vides a solid vehicle for a new ecu-
menical approach. The denominations
have created CORA. Now let them
take it seriously and use it.
We who compose the collegiate staff
of CORA represent many denomina-
tional backgrounds. With the consent
of our employing agencies we are glad-
ly contributing time and effort to
CORA. Our eagerness to continue in
this relationship will be conditioned
upon tangible evidence that the com-
munions composing CORA are serious
in their support of its efforts and above
all are willing to pool increasing re-
sources in the service of economic,
political and cultural self-determina-
tion for the people of Appalachia. D
28 MESSENGER 515-72
4-
II.
^"^^^^^S^LAND TEST..
an » *3'eguard I .^ - r =„ • °"*nu-ds (Zi.) ° '^' of my
*" ««oun(,ng of h„ "*""■« that she r '^'"*"" my wife I
^. -^ ^^<^Z S:^,:/---- «-/: vr- ----. i .. . ^^^
ir- -" -t rcatir-'e. at:^;' -4::r.. .,,, ™^^^ '•"^--
''« "gh( as soon "S'"* fo M/fhrf "''^n mv rf, ?• ' "'^'^ financial
'"^ ^We, even ,„ ,,, ^ , The second hu . '"* "' ''' ^''-e
'"^ exclusion of ""*t>and shall I.
"' "^y children
/ "»• children
"-ference, x ,, " "" "^"""^ ^^ "-^'rr:;::^ "^ °^ -^-^ -'"■
r- --r - --es and f..„ ,«- han „o„,,„„^ "^'^'^ ^ -di
'"'""' a Strang" f/ ^^^ate C„^ , ^n ,he evenf . ' '""'""' ''^
^^"^ "cceptabl^ ,„ .^ *° make ,..„ ?"' "laf ,h.„ , ..
S"ardian | j-
Strang"' "'^ ^^f-^'e Cou« ^" ""e ev '""' ' ®"""*'"
v^
"- '""-er ,a«s. '"^ benefit of ;^:'".;<' have „,, "
-« ^l f '-' -^atS':^-. --S, 4S?iSrna.e .he „
- -' H.I : r°" -- ^^ ^^ -- ^^^i^j'Ss;?-^ a
j«s^^5r — ^-__ ^-— ^ da'; :';■'■
(SEAL)
Please send me, without cost:
ZJ "Making Your Will"
G "37 Things People Know About Wills That Aren't Really So.'
This is not a real will. But it accurately Will" and "37 Things People Know About
tells what can happen when you do not have Wills That Aren't Really So."
a correct legal Last Will and Testament
drawn up for you by an attorney.
In advance of your appointment with the
attorney there are important things you will
want to know. These are to be found in two
brief and authoritative booklets you may
have without cost. Send for "Making Your
address
city
zip .
THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN GENERAL BOARD
OfTice of Stewardship Enlistment
1451 Dundee Avenue, Elgin, Illinois 60120
Adapted with consent of American National &ank and Trust Co., Chicago, III. 60690
LETTERS / from page 1
The majority of national Christian lead-
ers in that field as in other similar places
have long felt that denominations are con-
fusing to their people (who generally have
only known other religions). Understand-
ing that the Bible teaches unity, they feel
that the Church of North India is the best
name for their church there, as are united
churches in South India, the Sudan, Japan,
and Ecuador. Had not missions been forced
to close in China, in all probabihty we
would now have a Church of Christ in
China.
The Church of North India is young in a
nation in which many people are and have
been underprivileged financially and also in
other ways. They need financial help from
their more privileged Brethren and others in
America. They also need some trained
workers to help with their own.
Some of us feel that it would be too bad
if the Church of North India could not keep
going until it can be self-supporting. It is a
privilege to help in this united way along
with five other denominations.
We also feel that what is being done
through the National Council of Churches
and its branches and other church councils
is a cause for gratitude. Increasingly de-
nominations are uniting for programs for
spiritual renewal and service.
However, there are many unmet needs yet
in our communities. Can't more be done
together? A certain section in Shenandoah
District, Va., is saying yes to this question
in action. See "When Churches Discover
One Another" (Messenger, March 15).
Valley D. Myers
Bridgewater, Va.
Previous Messenger coverage of the
church in India includes: "India's Goal: A
United Church and a Church Uniting,"
March 1, 197 1; "India Forms a New
Church; Brethren Is Named Bishop." Oct.
22, 1970: "Brethren Look at Church Union
for India," July 31, 1970: a special issue on
seventy-five years of Brethren work in In-
dia, including an article by I. L. Christachari
on church union. Nov. 20, 1969: and "In-
dia's Bid for Unity," Dec. 19, 1968.
Reader Myers is on target, however; Mes-
senger desires to give frequent and extend-
ed coverage to the significant strides of
Christians in India, and to breakthroughs in
cooperation elsewhere. — Editors
INCONSISTENT
Coming as it did. late in the Lenten sea-
son, this Messenger's cover (April 1) and
color struck me a very low blow, now
bruised blue. I just want you to know that
I consider the color malappropriate for this
season, inconsistent with the message on the
cover, and inconsistent with the witness of
both spring and Easter.
That you are striving for an outstanding
magazine in journalistic circles, and there-
for you feel the need of wide varieties and
designs, I recognize. However, as far as I
am concerned, this is in bad taste. ITiere
are thousands of worthy pictures and end-
less color variations that would enhance the
Easter theme.
Are you blue?
Andrew Holderread
Tacoma, Wash.
IMPRESSIVE POETRY
Thank you so much for the centerfold
section of poetr>' "Listen to the Sunrise" by
Kenneth Morse (April 1). I found it so im-
pressive that a layman and I read the scrip-
ture references and the poems for our Palm
Sunday service.
Leonard B. Carlisle
South Bend, Ind,
MINISTER, YES; LOBBYIST, NO
Your story on the Impact office in Wash-
ington (March 15) was most disgusting, be-
cause the people elect their representatives
and senators by popular vote.
A lobbyist for any cause is limited in
scope and a church denomination lobbyist
is really limited in activities because I be-
lieve that a church-related lobbyist is in vio-
lation to the first amendment to the Consti-
tution of the United States in regard to
separation of church and state.
I would recommend that Mr. Ralph
Smeltzer and the Church of the Brethren
cease all activities as lobbyists and return
their talents to the work of the Lord and
leave legislative activities to the elected
members of the House and Senate.
John R. W.\llace
Fort Defiance, Va.
LOOK UP
In response to the letter, "Swallowed Up"
(March 15), I would suggest a title, "Look
Up." We know that Christian denomina-
tions are changing. We do not know what
form the future church will be, but we do
believe that God's will shall be accomplished
in the world.
Jesus said, "Many shall come from the
east and west, and shall sit down with Abra-
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of
heaven" (Matt. 8:11, KJV).
When we think of men such as Peter
Marshall, Martin Luther King, and Harold
Row, it brings to mind the scripture where
the writer says, "Wherefore seeing we are
compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which doth so easily beset us, and
. , . run with patience the race that is set
before us, looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:1-2, KJV).
Ben F. Buckingham
Prairie City, Iowa
ON BEING "SWALLOWED UP"
1. too. was a "dyed in the wool " Brethren
from birth who was swallowed up by the
Baptists — and praise the Lord for iti!
Many Brethren have been on the peace
binge for so long now that they seem to
have lost sight of the missing ingredient to
real peace of self and the world: becoming
a born again Christian — as Jesus so plain-
ly told the great intellectual, Nicodemus
(John 3:3). True, my Brethren friends tell
me they are "turned off" by such questions
as, "Are you a born again Christian?" or
".'\re you saved?" or "Do you know Jesus
Christ in a personal way?"
Our prayerful family decision to be "swal-
lowed up" by someone concerned mainly the
future spiritual life of our children. We
wanted them in a Christ-centered, Spirit-
filled church where Jesus Christ is the focal
point of discussion and instruction and
where the whole Bible is accepted as a gift,
through the inspiration of God (2 Tim.
3:16). My Brethren friends again say, "Oh,
why you know we believe all that, but we
don't have to go around talking about Christ
all the time, "^'ou're too narrow and funda-
mental."
Yes, Satan is at work in the church, as
well as without and as Jesus sajs, "You're
either for me or against me."
Can the Brethren and their institutions ex-
pect to survive if they don't use Jesus Christ
for their direction and the Holy Spirit for
the power?
John L. Colytj
McPherson, Kans,
REEXAMINATION
First, I would like to commend William
E. Swigart Jr. and Harold Baughman on
their letters (April 1). I am in full agree-
ment with these gentlemen although I do
not know them.
With reference to your article on a Holy
Week "pilgrimage" (April 1 ). the writer of
this article speaks with a forked tongue.
With the one tongue he says in effect that
we are against violence; with the other
tongue he says we support violence as long
as it is our members that are being violent.
Such as the alleged attempt of kidnapping
our government officials and bombing our
government buildings. How does our Breth-
ren hierarchy mean this?
They cannot mean it both ways for that
would be impossible. Surely they cannot
mean that they wish to destroy the govem-
30 messenger 5-15-72
ment which has afforded them the freedom
of speech and press that they are permitted
to pubhcly advocate this type of violence to
change our government. I wonder how long
this type of anti-government activities would
be tolerated in any of the communist na-
tions. More food for thought.
It is my understanding that Brotherhood
giving was down considerably last year.
Perhaps a little reexamination of this type
leadership will provide some of the answers.
I would also like to have someone show
me in good Christian conscience where
Jesus advocated the change of any govern-
ment by kidnapping and bombing. When
they can show me this in scriptural back-
ground, I will be willing to reshape my
thinking and possibly support them.
Until then, may the Lord have mercy on
their souls.
Golan J. Winkler
Tulsa. Okla.
WONDERFUL
All of your editorials have been brilliant.
However, there was one to which I take ex-
ception. It was the one in which you de-
fended the General Board in its investment
in war securities. Understand, I think the
General Board is doing excellent work and I
pray it will invest in some other kind of
securities.
The editorial on "Government vs. a De-
nomination" (March 15) was particularly
good! In fact, the entire issue was won-
derful.
Genevieve R. Robertson
Staunton, Va.
BRIGHTER MONDAY
The quotation on the Feb. 15 cover as
well as inside by G. Curtis Jones just
"made" this uninspiring Monday for me.
Please keep up the good work.
The artistry of the Christmas issue was a
treasure — such a change from drab black
and white.
Ida Eller
Princeton, W. Va.
SPECIAL MEANING
The cover of the Feb. 15 issue of Mes-
senger really appealed to the younger read-
er.
Our one daughter had the cover on her
bulletin board in her room at college and
the other daughter had it taped on the wall
in the hallway of her apartment. When I
mentioned something to them about the fact
that they gave this recognition to the cover,
they said, "Yes, it is really cool."
I might add this particular quotation
("People become lost not by design . . .")
had special meaning to me and I also have
it on the wall above my desk at work.
A Reader
SAD COMMENTARY
When the Church of the Brethren was or-
ganized in 1708 the original decision was to
take the New Testament as its creed. . . .
For many years the New Testament guided
the church in basic decisions of church con-
duct. The Bible was revered as the final
authority.
In recent years church actions seem to
follow the thesis that church position
should be based not on what the New Testa-
ment says but on what modern thought
thinks it should say. An example is the
decision that the church should sanction
divorce and remarriage (legalized adultery).
In Luke 16:18 Jesus says, "Everyone who
divorces his wife and marries another com-
mits adultery, and he who marries a wom-
an divorced from her husband commits
adultery." Could the words of Jesus, the
Son of God, be any more plain? However,
the church ruled that Jesus did not mean
what he said.
The Chiu-ch of the Brethren has for
many years prided itself on being an his-
toric peace church — strictly opposed to
war. In recent wars a great percentage of
Brethren men of draft age joined some
branch of miUtary service. Recently the
church has attempted to reemphasize its
peace stand by peace rallies, marches, and
sit-ins. Now comes the crushing, humiUat-
ing blow: Shall the Church of the Brethren
sanction abortion (legalized murder)?
Most thinking people would agree that
there is a degree of fairness to some types
of war at least. Soldiers on both sides are
armed and have a measure of opportunity
for self-preservation. But abortion, the kill-
ing of helpless, unborn babies, is more than
barbaric.
For this subject to be seriously considered
by Brethren is a sad commentary on how
far our thinking has strayed from the
Word of God. The fact that the Bible
states that no adulterers or murderers will
inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-22;
Matt. 15:18-20; Jer. 7:8-28; Rev. 9:20-21,
21:8) is of little note to those who are law
unto themselves.
The pagan practice of "every man did
what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17
— 21) and the more modern Playboy theo-
ry of "what seems good is good" seem to
be accepted by the church rather than the
Word of God. In Mark 7:7 Jesus says, "In
vain do they worship me, teaching as doc-
trines the precepts of men."
Dan Deal
Onekama, Mich.
"lidU/i Ujfe
. . . . ^ can ij^uc!
DON'T PARK HERE
Fast-moving and forceful —
this is a dynamic message of hope
for those facing adversity — and
that's all of us at one time or an-
other. In revealing how others
have surmounted tragedy, facts
about little-known and famed per-
sonalities are exposed. Caruso, Dis-
raeli, Louis Braille, et al. C.
William Fisher. Paper, $1.50
VICTORIOUS LIVING
The inimitable E. Staiilev Jones
shares his thoughts in a book of daily
devotions for family, group, or personal
meditation. Material can be used as a
weekly study book by classes or read as
a continuous whole. As interesting and
relevant as when first released. Paper.
S2.25
THE MENTAL HEALTH MINISTRY
OF THE LOCAL CHURCH
The church — how to make it more
eff^ective in the field of mental health
by applying insights from pastoral psy-
chology to the major dimensions of
church programs. Dr. Howard f. Cline-
bell, Jr. stresses the need to meet the
heart-hungers of each congregation.
Paper. S2.95
THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON
ANNUAL, 1972-73
Now in its eighteenth year, The
ILA stands for the best in scholarship
and interpretation. For each Sunday
from September, 1972. through August.
1973. it includes introduction, explana-
tions, text, application, teacliing sugges-
tions, and supplementary special fea-
tures. Ed. Horace R. 'Weaver. Illus.
Paper. S2.95
ol" Ljour local book/fore
Qbingdon
5-15-72 MESSENGER 31
Aunt Arie Carpenter takes on Lf 1 Abner
We don't have to think very hard to recall the
images; they dilate at the back of our minds like
an offhanded sneer, coming as they do from all
sides. Li'l Abner and Snuffy Smith with their
strange clothes and taciturn speech. "Petticoat
Junction" and "Beverly Hillbillies" reruns. The
stories from triumphant vacationers who somehow
take pleasure in conning a family loom or ladder-
back chair for a few dollars. The laugh is always
on the mountain family.
Similarly condescending was my question
about the Interstate highway that rends Ken-
tucky's mountain country: "Do the people notice
many changes in their lives now that the Inter-
state passes so close?"
Equally humiliating were the gifts of candy
bars and shoes to mountain teen-agers by well-
meaning volunteers, who may have thought that
the twentieth century had not quite reached the
hills because it seems so far away from Dogpatch.
Mountain folk themselves admit that the mod-
esty they value highly has sometimes permitted
them to sell themselves short.
A very different look at Appalachla comes
from groups like the Georgia teen-agers who pub-
lish Foxfire magazine. If they have their way,
Appalachia will emerge in national consciousness
with a perspective more affirming than "poverty
pocket" or roost for such figments as Li'l Abner.
Five years ago students at the Rabun Gap-
Nacoochee School in the Georgia Appalachians
began collecting folk wisdom and lore and re-
cording such pioneer skills as how to plant by
the moon, all for a class project. Now Foxfire
has 4,000 subscribers in fifty states, and Double-
day Publishers have gathered some of the ma-
terial into the hardcover Foxfire Book.
In both, sharing their skills, recipes, and reme-
dies are persons like Aunt Arie Carpenter, whose
oak-split baskets resemble the lovely woven (and
priceless, some of them) creations of her an-
cestors; Lon Reid demonstrating the weaving of
a chair seat; wood-carver Kenny Runion making
a belt from mountain laurel.
Life magazine's coverage of Foxfire may tempt
us to murmur, "How quaint," and move on. But
the kinds of skills there remind us that Appala-
chians as well as outlanders have gifts to share.
It is a reminder that we Brethren can heed
as we develop further strategies for ministries in
Appalachia; whenever we consider placing vol-
unteers in an area suffering from high unem-
ployment; if we look for health workers among
Brethren who may not be Appalachians.
It is a reminder similar to the one Brethren
listened to in Ecuador and Nigeria. As there, de-
cision making in Appalachia must rest with per-
sons who best know what needs to be done: na-
tives themselves.
It is a reminder of the losses we would ex-
perience if ever we were tempted to want to mesh
all Appalachia into mainstream American life —
the heritage, the lore, the value system whose
source is deeply-felt religious belief.
Saddest of all, we would be the poorer for
having lost to amalgamation persons like Aunt
Arie Carp)enter, whose presence affirms the
strengths of Appalachia and puts the lie to Li'l
Abner. — l.k.b.
32 MESSENGER 5-15-72
PHOTO BY E. J. BUZINSKI
Study materials on
Brethren history and life
HEIRS OF A PROMISE, by Allen C. Deeter, is a study guide
for an elective unit for adults who want to study the history
and present life of the Church of the Brethren. The purpose
of the study is to consider the issues involved in deciding
what the future of the church will be. The study is based on
two books.
HERITAGE AND PROMISE, by Emmert F. Bittinger, ofFers a
contemporary look at the Church of the Brethren in the light
of its history. The origins and growth of the denomination
are clearly outlined in the context of church history and in
the setting of a changing society. Basic beliefs and styles of
life among Brethren receive equal prominence with institu-
tional developments.
THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN PAST AND PRESENT, edited
by Donald F. Durnbaugh, tells the story of the Church of the
Brethren through articles by eight writers who speak com-
petently from within the fields they describe. Their treatment
gives perspective to the Brethren's quest for identity to the
roles which the Bible and nonconformity play in the life of
its people, and to the tendency of the Brethren to be sectar-
ian in theology and ecumenical in action. Writers: Donald F.
Durnbaugh, Vernard Eller, Dale W. Brown, Warren F. GrofF,
Desmond W. Bittinger, Merle Crouse, Edward K. Ziegler, and
Roger Sappington.
.„w^rf!i_
Please send
copies of Heirs of a Promise at $1 .95
each
copies of Heritage and Promise at
$1.95 each
copies of Church of the Brethren Past
and Present at $3.95 each
Add 20c postage for first dollar; 5c each additional dollar
Name
Address
City
. State
Zip
The Brethren Press
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
f • V-
\, -
They have a lot to give.
Yes, they've got a lot to give. And
they're doing it. Mark and Naomi
Wampler, retired from farming and
candy factory, are giving themselves to
the people of the Flat Creek. Ken-
tucky, area. Mark serves as pastor of
the Mud Lick Church and surrounding
community, as well as being a cabinet-
maker and handyman. Naomi co-
ordinates the Mud Lick Sunday school,
edits the Mission newsletter, and han-
dles secretarial tasks. They are mis-
sionaries — bearers of the Good News.
But so are you! In your own place.
With your own skills. Through your
MY GIFT FOR ANNUAL CONFERENCE OFFERING
Church of the Brethren General Board, 14.51 Dundee Avenue, Elgin, Illinois 60120
Amount $
Name
St./RFD
Citv
State
Zip
Congregation
congregation you give yourself as
teacher, hospital visitor, organist, youth
leader, board member. Through the
denomination your gi\ ing goes far be-
yond home. Into the wider ministries
of the church — at Flat Creek. Ly-
brook. Castafier. Garkida. Anklesvar.
Quito. Djakarta. Through persons like
the Wamplers.
You've got a lot to give. And as a
Christian you have the reason. The
world has the needs. The Annual Con-
ference Offering is an opportunity for
us to put our faith to work by support-
ing ministries of love and compassion.
We do that with money through the
Brotherhood Fund. As congregations.
And as individuals.
You've got a lot to give! Your contri-
bution will help, whatever its size.
Please send it today.
District
C«tiRCH\OF THE BRETHREN
JUNE!,
mi
1
1
W
^
ra
'J'
im
I r
-, =^;=^
a
^^
= ^ ^"=L
tt^
■K j^
T-z^M^^
^m^m^m
^^kTIL^
i^^' -=^^=
la
©©[nilbSDT]!^^
Dsl^l^s^^
11
18
Report and Recommendations on Bethany Theological
Seminary. Findings of the Annual Conference study committee
on the Church of the Brethren's only graduate school of theology
appear here in their entirety, introducing a section of features on the
seminary and theological education
Place of Learning, Center for Mission. "At its best the theologi-
cal school is an extension of faith and commitment, drawing vitality
from believers wherever they gather for worship and work, study
and action, celebration and witness." Dean Warren F. GrofT talks
about Bethany
The Bethany That Eludes the Catalog. Some students are
downright evangelistic about Bethany. Others are thoughtful critics.
Whatever their stance, seminarians reveal a picture of their school
that the catalog does not. Linda Beher reports
Pastoral Ministry and Bethany Theological Seminary — An
Initial Assessment. "There is no question concerning Bethany's
impact on today's Church of the Brethren." writes this General Board
staff member, once a pastor and a district executive. "It is only the
degree of influence that may be surprising." by Richard N. Miller
Findings of a Survey on Abortion. Respondents to Messenger's
questionnaire concurred that abortion is wrong but that there may
be some circumstances in which it must be considered as an alternative
Abortion and War. Dale Aukerman maintains that the arguments
advanced to justify abortion may be versions of the arguments used
to justify war
Outlook notes a Reader's Digest rebuttal, reviews Annual Conference study
committee efforts, previews a Stay Young Club musical, cites a call for
total amnesty for resisters, and reports on awards won by Messenger
staff members (beginning on 2). . . . Two fathers reflect on the death of
their children: "Living It Out." by David Bagwell (6) and "The Birds Still
Sing," by Leonard Carlisle (7). . . . An editorial points to "The Signs
of a Christian People" (24)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener , News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 11
JUNE 1, 1972
CREDITS: Cover. 8. 11. 12 coiirtesv
Bethany Theological Seminarv: 2 Religious
News Service; 3. 6-7 Edward Wallowitch:
15 Ervin Huston
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter .'\ug. 20. 1918, under .\ct of
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date, Oct. 1.
1971. Messenger is a member of the .Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Scr\ice and Ecxnuenical Press
Senice. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Re\iscd Standard
\'ersion.
Subscription rates: S4.20 per year for indi-
\idual subscriptions; S3. 60 per vear for chtnxli
group plan: S3. 00 per vear for e\erv home
plan: life subscription. S60: husband and
wife. S75. If \ou move clip old address
from Mr.ssENCER and send with new address.
.Mlow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly bv
the General Sen ices Commission.
Church of the Brethren General
Board, 14.t1 Dundee .\\e., Elgin.
111. G0120. Second-class postage
paid at Elgin. 111.. June 1, 1972. Copxriglu
1972, Church of the Brethren General Board.
i
TWO-SIDED COMMENT
I would like to make a two-sided com-
ment on your April 1 issue.
First of all. I would like to disagree a bit
with some of the "far out" statements Ron-
ald Keener made in his article on "New
Songs for New Times." I sincerely believe
we must be relevant to today's youth to be
effective, but to go so far as to say that
songs like "Jesus Loves Me" will harm the
children of today is going somewhat over-
board. I believe. There are certain funda-
mentals in the Bible that never change. Even
the youth of today all over the country are
saying. "Jesus Loves You."
On the positive side. I would like to con-
gratulate Matthew Meyer for his very timely
comments on "The Gospel Blitz." I think
he has summed up quite well the cause, re-
sults, and remedies for the "Jesus Move-
ment" and the wonderful surge of youth
toward true Christianity in our present day.
We adults should assist the youth in finding
stability in the faith as the apostle Paul
suggests.
Harry E. Wenger
McConnellsburg. Pa.
AN OPEN LETTER TO MATT MEYER
Hallelujah: Praise the Lordl An OD of
Jesus? Come on now. Matt! Re: your
"Gospel Blitz" (April 1), the doctors tell
us that when the body is suffering from a
gross deficiency, any normal dose of the in-
gredient that is deficient may, they stress —
may — result in a reaction similar to an OD.
Could this possibly be the case here. Matt?
.As you know. I am not in the "youth"
bracket. I wish I were. The youth today
have exciting days with their Christian e.\-
periences. The fact that fathers and mothers
are following them to committing their lives
to Christ (you say "startling"; I say praise
the Lord!) is a sign that people of all ages
and all denominations are hungering for
something more real in their spiritual lives.
I learned about this "realness." this missing
ingredient from Jesus people and I thank
God for their witness.
You say that where church youth groups
are most alive and exciting that there is a
strong evidence of the Jesus fundamentalism
there. Can this possibly be bad? An in-
gredient that makes church youth groups
alive and exciting?
I believe that the Holy Spirit is moving
among his people today in a very real way.
Moving through the various groups, the
Jesus movements (and there are many varie-
ties), through the charismatic movements,
and in some instances a marriage of these
two different movements.
One of the things that makes these groups
so easy to follow is their joy. They show us
m
<B\m
that we can have joy in knowing Christ, joy
in praising him and in our worship experi-
ences, other than the "normal, formal wor-
ship services." Thank God for people today
that are not afraid to let the world know,
that knowing Jesus is alive, is a happy ex-
perience.
An OD of Jesus? I hope so, Matt! It
sounds like a lovely disease. Maybe even,
just what the doctor ordered. My prayer is
that all of our churches throughout the
Brotherhood get an epidemic of it. As I
read the Psalms, I think that the Psalmists
of old surely had this terrible disease.
Remember, Matt — Jesus loves you (and
so do we!). Hallelujah, praise the Lord!
Ralph Baker
Mechanicsburg, Pa.
A FINE INTERPRETATION
I read with interest Matt Meyer's timely
article in the April I Messenger on the
youth manifestation in and out of the
church. The e.xplanation of the "Jesus Peo-
ple" and the analysis of the stance repre-
sented in the generations was most helpful.
Ralph D. Bowman
Rocky Ford, Colo.
LOST TOUCH WITH REALITY
The December article on Ted Click was
mostly an appeal for funds to support the
defense of the "Harrisburg Eight." and it
was lacking facts. Are the charges he now
faces in any way connected with the Roches-
ter case? Can I assume that he was not rep-
resenting our church in Rochester? If so,
why was our official publication used as a
means of soliciting funds for his defense?
The article notes, "He denies that burning
draft records in Rochester was a violent
act." It is a shame that some of our church
leaders have influenced his thinking to the
point he believes he did nothing wrong. He
is probably sincere in his beliefs, but I
strongly disagree with his methods of ex-
pression — burning his draft card at Annual
Conference and destruction of federal draft
records. . . .
It seems to me that some have lost all
touch with reality and are pretending to live
in a Utopian world. It would be great if our
nation were filled with law-abiding citizens.
We wouldn't need the state pohce, city po-
lice, FBI, or sheriff departments. We could
save great sums of money to use for more
worthwhile causes. Such a dream world
would have no laws because there would be
no means of enforcement. Can we begin to
imagine the chaos in such living?
I hate war as I believe anyone in his right
mind does. It is unfortunate that so many
take delight in saying Richard Nixon is a
"lover of war." It is amazing that so many
religious writers are also experts on the
Vietnam War, welfare programs, race rela-
tions, and pollution. Sometimes one feels
that our Encounter Series is really a study
of anti-American philosophy. I feel there
are many weaknesses in our country. We
cannot continue such enormous deficit
spending, and we spend too much for na-
tional defense. Yet I realize that during the
past ten years, we have increased domestic
spending by 300% while holding the in-
crease in defense spending to 70%. We can-
not continue our role as "policeman for the
world," yet we have some obligation to help
preserve freedom.
America is not perfect and never will be.
But democracy is worth keeping, and I am
not gullible enough to believe we can sur-
vive without a military system. We can
make changes through the democratic
process, and we must maintain law and or-
der and support our law-enforcement agen-
cies. How can Brethren really believe that
Ted Click did nothing wrong in Rochester?
DWIGHT HOUFF
Mt. Sidney, Va.
In response to Reader Houff, on the first
point Mr. Gtick already has served sentence
for the destruction of draft records in
Rochester. He acted there in his own be-
half. Afterwards, when the General Board
was approached to use Brotherhood assets
to secure bond for Mr. Click, the Board re-
jected the request on the basis that the ac-
tion was not in harmony with the stated po-
sition of the denomination.
On the handling of funds which was men-
tioned in the Messenger news article, the
decision that the Church of the Brethren
would receive and transmit funds to the
Harrisburg Defense Committee was a re-
sponse to individuals inquiring how they
could express concern and support. As out-
lined by Wilbur E. Mullen, draft counselor,
the decision was seen as consistent with the
church's desire to speak on the issue of
peace and war, to discern whether the indi-
vidual involved acted in harmony with the
stance of the church, and to minister to a
member in a situation of need.
Beyond what Mr. Houff relates, some 300
Brethren, clergy and laity including youth,
in January signed a statement indicating
their stand with Mr. Glick and other Harris-
burg defendants "in their struggles of con-
science against war." The signers went on
to add that not all of them agreed with all
the methods the eight had chosen for their
witness, but they did reveal their support
and prayers to those being tried "as they
continue to give their highest obedience to
God." — Editors
What direction theological education in
the Church of the Brethren is to take is
a key denominational concern. In re-
sponse to the recommendations of the
Bethany Seminary Study Committee,
Annual Conference delegates in Cin-
cinnati June 27 — July 2 will have op-
portunity to examine options and to es-
tablish a framework around which crea-
tive and responsible decisions can be
shaped in future.
To brief readers on the committee's
work. Messenger on page 8 publishes
the 1972 Conference report in full.
Further, to offer a fresh look at the
Bethany program in
light of trends among
the Brethren and
elsewhere on matters
of theological train-
ing, the editors in-
terviewed Warren F.
Groff, dean (page
11), and a cross
segment of seminary
students (page 15).
In a related article
(page 18), Richard
N. Miller out of a
background as pas-
tor, district execu-
tive secretary, and
Brotherhood staff
member assesses the
larger picture of
pastoral needs and
trends.
On other Conference-related items
Outlook sums up the final report of the
Abortion Study Committee and of the
Committee on Health and Welfare.
Also included are a summation of read-
ers' response to the survey on abortion
published in Messenger Jan. 1, and
commentary by Dale Aukerman, a
Vermontville, Mich., pastor, lifting up
a consideration which he sees as central
to Brethren discussion of abortion.
In other articles two fathers share in
this time of Memorial Day reflection
the meaning of life and death within
their own family experiences. David B.
Bagwell, Catonsville, Md., is a member
of the First church in Baltimore:
Leonard B. Carlisle is pastor of the
Crest Manor church. South Bend,
Ind.
— The Editors
6-1-72 MESSENGER 1
Digest article says churches
cannot be both safe and true
Last fall the Reader's Digest printed a
two-part series critical of the World
Council of Churches for its program to
combat racism and for its admission of
the Russian Orthodox Church to mem-
bership.
Specifically, the stories by Clarence
Hall contended that the World Council
was financing arms to "liberation"
groups in southern Africa and that the
WCC is unduely influenced by the
Russian Orthodox.
Amid the controversy that the articles
provoked. Dr. Eugene L. Smith of the
WCC New York office deplored the fact
that the Digest's disagreement was
expressed with "unsubstantiated charges,
misstatements of fact, distorted reporting,
quotation of statements out of context,
and the degree of dependence for opinion
upon unnamed persons. . . . The total
effect of these articles is to present a
false picture of the World Council of
Churches," he said then.
Dr. Smith upheld the right to disagree
with the WCC actions and noted that de-
bate is "perhaps inevitable in a time
when the church seeks to break new
ground in response to injustice."
Unfortunately, the Digest does not
print letters to the editor, but the critical
articles in turn received so much intense
controvery that the Digest agreed to
publish an article authored by a WCC
representative.
That article appeared in the April
issue, written by J. Irwin Miller, an
Indiana industrialist and a prominent
Disciples of Christ layman. He has been
president of the National Council of
Churches and a central committeeman
of the World Council.
Rather than attempt to respond point
by point to Mr. Hall's allegations, Mr.
Miller deals with the theological and
social reasons why he feels the churches
and the World Council must be involved
in social action and in other activities
which may well provoke controversy.
He contends that the churches must
take "controversial social action" and
perhaps become "disruptive" in their
preaching. "There is no way the World
Council, or even local congregations,
can play it safe and be true to the
Gospel," he says.
He makes no direct mention to the
$400,000 in small grants by the WCC to
organizations opposing racism as part of
its program. Nor does he defend the
"There is no way
to play it safe
and be true
to the Gosper'
J. Irwin Miller
SSUiD/
presence in the WCC of the Russian
Orthodox or other churches from Iron
Curtain countries which must get along
with Communist governments.
He mentions the Russian church in
quite another context. According to Mr.
Miller, support is lent to church social
proclamations in America by the obser-
vation that had the 19th-century church
in Russia spoken out against the Czar,
the landowners, and the nobility, revolu-
tion and communism might have been
avoided.
During the 19th century, he said,
Orthodoxy in Russia "conducted its rich
and ineffably beautiful services with
almost unbroken silence regarding the
corruption and cruelty of the nobility
and government."
Mr. Miller points out that the anger
of Jesus, the Old Testament prophets,
and Paul was greater toward those rulers
and "churchgoers" who were "guilty of
confusing the appearance of religion
with its substance" than against the more
"obvious sinners."
In the modern world, institutions as
well as individuals must be reminded that
the Christian Gospel is opposed to
corruption. Mr. Miller wrote:
"In times past this has meant leading
the fight against child labor, slavery,
and any abuse of private or public
power — and for prison reform, for the
rights of the workingman to form unions.
"Today it clearly involves support for
complete racial equality, for the elimina-
tion of poverty and hunger in a potential-
ly affluent world, and for the extension
of full democracy powers to the deprived
and powerless."
In Mr. Miller's view, the World Coun-
cil is seeking to carry out its prophetic
role in many areas, including the social
and political.
If the WCC stuck to ecumenical
dialogue, aid for refugees and education-
al tasks, he added, it might be criticized
less and "possess a fatter budget." But to
set out to escape criticism and get more
money at the expense of faith would be
a worse fate, Mr. Miller wrote.
The layman concluded that if the
WCC or the churches "should decide to
play it safe, to remain silent in times
when a prophet's voice is needed, then I
fear for the church — and for all of us."
2 MESSENGER 6-1-72
Health and welfare, abortion
issues to confront delegates
Under study for the past two years, the
issues of a coordinated health and wel-
fare program and a denominational
stance on abortion will confront the
delegates to the Cincinnati Annual
Conference in June.
J^ There are growing numbers of
older persons in the Church of the
Brethren, says a study committee on the
health and welfare institutions of the
church, and by 1975 there will be about
20,000 persons over age 65 within the
Brotherhood.
Aging and poverty are two of the
issues in health and welfare ministries at
which the committee looked. Also con-
fronting churchmen are concerns for cost
and specialization of care, child care,
institutionalization, mental health, and
preventative care.
In order to bring some coordination to
the 21 homes for the aging and two
hospitals related to the Brethren, the
committee is proposing the creation of a
permanent Annual Conference Commit-
tee on Health and Welfare of seven
p>ersons appointed by Standing Commit-
tee, the General Board, and the Brethren
Homes and Hospitals Association.
The committee on health and welfare,
having its own administrator, would
present health and welfare concerns to
the Annual Conference, propose national
policy, coordinate common concerns
and research, work with other denomi-
nations and government in health needs,
and review socio-medical ethical
concerns.
Annual Conference would establish a
minimum criteria of standards for insti-
tutions wishing to use the name "Breth-
ren" and be related to a church judica-
tory. Care centers would be asked to join
the Brethren Homes and Hospitals
Association. Most institutions are al-
ready meeting or nearly meeting such
standards now.
If adopted by the delegates, the report
would significantly strengthen the ties
between the church and districts and the
institutions in terms of relationships,
governance, financing, program, and
services.
Considerable stress is placed upon
congregations to find opportunities to be
of assistance to persons in need. "It is in
the local congregation where it is af-
firmed that all of life is sacred, and that
therefore social service is at the same
time spiritual service, when it is derived
from the desire to act out the love of
God," the report says.
Suggestions for ministries to the aged
in which congregations can and should
participate are made by the committee,
which is composed of Robert B. Blair,
Larry K. Ulrich, John C. EUer, and
Daryl M. Parker.
\^ Prefaced by the affirmation that
"Brethren oppose abortion because it
destroys fetal life" and that the "Brethren
ideal upholds the sacredness of human
life," the study committee on abortion
suggests for a denominational stance the
view that "abortion should be accepted
as an option only where all other possible
alternatives will lead to greater destruc-
tion of human life and spirit."
Confessing that "we are part of a
society that contributes to abortion by
denying parents the support and assist-
ance they need," the paper suggests that
persons not merely condemn or condone
abortion but rather attempt to under-
stand the life-destroying situations that
drive the mother to abort an unwanted
child.
The committee further states:
"Thus, our position is not a condemna-
tion of those persons who reject this
position or of women who seek and un-
dergo abortions. Rather, it is a call for
Christlike compassion in seeking creative
alternatives to abortion.
"We support persons who, after
prayer and counseling, believe abortion is
the least destructive alternative available
to them, that they may make their de-
cision openly, honestly, without the
suff'ering imposed by an uncompromising
community.
"We oppose any action, direct or
indirect, by parents, physicians, the state,
or anyone that would compel a woman
to undergo an abortion against her will.
"All who seek abortions should be
granted sympathetic counsel about
alternatives available as well as the health
and safety of publicly available physi-
cians and hospital care."
For the aging: Minimal liome standards?
Further recommendations include the
availability to Brethren of a course of
study on human sexuality and responsible
parenthood, a network of families willing
to help other families who need support
and assistance in wanting and caring for
their children, consideration by physi-
cians, pastors, and laymen of ways to
share with the physician the burden of
responsibility for moral choice in the
continuation of life.
Existing public laws on abortion be-
come increasingly irrelevant and unen-
forceable as medical advances cloud the
line between contraception and abortion.
Nevertheless, says the report, "laws
regarding abortion should embody pro-
tection of human life, protection of free-
dom of moral choice, and availability of
good medical care. Brethren should
work for laws that uphold these prin-
ciples, even though there is differing
opinion as to how such principles may be
achieved. Brethren are asked not to try
to enforce their highest ideal of morality
by strict civil law."
A background of biblical teachings
and social, medical, and counseling con-
siderations precede the position state-
ment and recommendations made by the
committee. On the committee have been
Lauree H. Meyer^ Nancy R. Faus, Sonja
Griffith, Donald E. Miller, Terry
Murray, Marianne Pittman, and Dennis
F. Rupel.
6-1-72 MESSENGER 3
It's good-bye to 'George M/
and a hello to 'Dolly' Levi
The Stay Young Club, on the road with
a new musical, is playing to standing
room only crowds.
The club — where the average age is
83 — is an organization of the Fahrney-
Keedy Memorial Home for the Aged at
Boonsboro, Md. Last Dscember the club
closed out two years and 51 perform-
ances of "A Musical Tribute to George
M. Cohan."
That long run brought them a mention
in the US Congressional Record, an
appearance on Roanoke, Va., television,
and an estimated audience of some 9,000
persons. They traveled 3,700 miles in
putting on the show for churches, civic
clubs, and professional groups.
Last Dec. 5 the club gave its debut
performance of "Hello, Dolly!" twice
filling the auditorium and turning several
hundred persons away. They are booked
for performances through October.
Messenger readers first learned of the
oldsters' youthful activities in the April
23, 1970, issue. Playing the role of
George M. Cohan in the first show was
John Nicodemus, who also has a leading
role in the current show. Dora Negus
plays Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi.
US Senator Charles Mathias of Mary-
land told his colleagues that the activities
of the Stay Young members "have
proved beyond dispute that age does not
necessarily go hand in hand with inactiv-
John Nicodemus. r, C. O. Meitzler. stars
in "Cohan," await last performance cues
ity or unproductiveness." The Cohan
show, he said, "is a tribute to not only
one man, but to all of this nation's active
and involved senior citizens."
Georgiana Randall, one of the 16 cast
members in "Dolly" and the Faye
Templeton in "Cohan," is one to agree:
"I'm living longer and enjoying it more."
Others echo her sentiment in their atti-
tude on traveling, meeting people, and
sharing with others. Contributions at
performances has enabled the club to
give some $1,000 toward the home's
chapel fund, and to aid other projects.
One "Dolly" cast member is 85-year-
old Viola Ritchey. A woman from one
of the audiences told her, "Oh, I
wouldn't do anything like that. I just sit
and praise my God all day long."
Mrs. Ritchey replied that through
their shows the cast expresses its joy in
life and appreciation for God's blessings.
And the show goes on.
Total amnesty for resisters
sought by religious leaders
An interreligious conference has called
for total amnesty for resisters to the
Vietnam war.
Amnesty is "not a matter of forgive-
ness but (is) a blessed act of oblivion,
the law's way of undoing what the law
itself has done," the group said.
A four-page statement on the contro-
versial issue was adopted by 150 persons
from Protestant, Jewish, and Roman
Catholic groups. It was addressed to the
nation's religious communities.
The March meeting was called by the
National Council of Churches, in cooper-
ation with the US Catholic Conference
and Jewish organizations in light of
growing public debate on amnesty for
young men who fled the nation to escape
service in Vietnam or who are in jail
because of resistance.
"Amnesty would demonstrate that
America is still capable of a communal
moral act," the statement said. "It would
be bitterly ironic if we were to make
peace with the peoples of China and
Southeast Asia but persisted to vindic-
tiveness toward those of the young
generation who refused to share in the
brutalities and destruction of the war."
The conference envisioned total am-
nesty for those who have fled, those
jailed or held in stockades, men who
have served sentences for resisting, those
charged but not yet tried, and Vietnam
veterans receiving less than honorable
discharges.
"The only exemption we countenance
is for those who have been convicted of
violence against persons, and even these
should have their cases reviewed indi-
vidually," the statement said.
In varying degrees, a number of reli-
gious groups have supported some type
of amnesty. Among these are the
National Conference of Catholic Bish-
ops, the United Church of Christ, and
the American Baptist Convention.
(The Church of the Brethren last
spoke on amnesty on Nov. 13, 1946,
when the former Council of Boards
called for a general amnesty for men
who resisted World War II.)
The interreligious conference held that
amnesty would not "dishonor the con-
sciences or acts of those who fought or
died. Our hope is that by abstaining
from all punitive acts, against both those
who prosecuted this war and those who
refused to participate in it, we shall
affirm a spirit of humanity that will stand
the nation in good stead as it makes
peace with itself and with the world."
In discussion before the vote on the
statement, Dr. Charles West of the
Princeton Theological Seminan,' said he
would abstain because he felt the docu-
ment was "self-righteous" and because it
lacked the judgment of God on evervone.
More debate resulted in the adding of
this sentence: "God alone determines
the purity of any man's motives."
Brethren in the deliberations were
pastors Ed Poling, Myersville, Md., and
Norman R. Cain, Smithsburg. Md., War-
ren W. Hoover, Washington, D.C.. exec-
utive director of the National Interreli-
gious Service Board for Conscientious
Objectors, and Brotherhood draft coun-
selor Wilbur E. Mullen, Elgin. 111.
Ed Poling later reflected that the con-
ference definition of amnesty — "the
law's way of undoing what the law itself
has done — has the ring of the Jubilee
Year (Leviticus 25). "In the year of
Jubilee, all debts are cancelled and
everything goes back as it originally was.
That's what amnesty is," he said.
While he concurred with a dominant
4 MESSENGER 5-1-72
mood that it is too early to consider
amnesty — that it may lull people to
believe the country is in a post-war era —
he does see it as a natural topic of discus-
sion and one through which persons can
enter a discussion about the war itself.
Dr. John C. Bennett, president emeri-
tus of Union Theological Seminary, said
amnesty for resistance to the Vietnam
war is "not more than a belated accom-
modation of the law to a moral situation
that is seen by us in a religious context.
Polls show that only seven percent of
the American people currently favor
total amnesty without provision for
alternate service for those who declined
or escaped from action in Vietnam.
Messenger wins two awards
in publications competition
A first place in the magazine category
and best in the print class were awards
received by Messenger from the Reh-
gious Public Relations Council, Inc.,
meeting in Fort Worth, Tex., in April.
The issue in competition with other
religious publications for the Paul M.
Hinkhouse awards was the Messenger
of Feb. 1 on "Nonviolence in a Violent
World."
Messenger editor Howard E. Royer
also led the individual awards with seven
honors, including first places in news-
letter, magazine, and news story cate-
gories, and second place finishes in
feature writing, photography, and tapes.
Two awards resulted from his cover-
age of the inaugural of the Church of
North India; two others related to
interviews with Dean Kahler and Ted
Studebaker.
A best in the broadcast class was
given to Ronald E. Keener, associate
editor of Messenger, for the television
peace spot, "Another Way." The spot
was entered on behalf of the three
sponsoring denominations, the United
Methodist Church, the Mennonite
Churches, and the Church of the Breth-
ren. The spot also won a first prize in
the broadcast category.
Mr. Keener also received a first prize
for his photography taken in Ecuador in
January of last year.
Mr. Royer, president of RPRC during
the past year, will serve a second term.
[y[n]dls[rDD[n](
FOR CONFERENCECOERS
Annual Conference music director
Wilfred E. Nolen announces that a period of singing will
precede general worship services each evening during the
weeklong gathering at Cincinnati. The hymnsing will start
at 7 p.m. in the main hall of the convention center, with
prelude music for the worship service beginning promptly
at 7:30.
"The Burning Bush," otherwise known as Room 209 at
Cincinnati's convention center, will be 1±ie center of
youth activities during Conference week. Youth empower-
ment, equality for women, life-styles, and t±ie simple life
are on the docket for discussion, and encounters with
Conference speakers, banner making, and singing will round
out activities. Junior highs will participate in programs
planned by the Fred Weavers and the Harold Wingers of
Southern Ohio.
PEOPLE YOU KNOW ... In McPherson , Kans . , Judi; Tom-
lonson won two elections this spring: she will chair Church
Women United and participate as a county Democratic dele-
gate to botJi the district and lihe state conventions.
Wiley, Colo. , Church of the Brethren member Mildred
Reyher was crowned Mother of the Year for her state.
Paul Reynold, York, Pa. , has joined the architectural
staff of i^rthur L. Dean in St. Petersburg, Fla. The two
men formerly worked toge1±ier for ten years when Mr. Dean
was church building counselor for the General Board.
A member of the Haxtun, Colo. , Church of tlie Brethren
died March 31 of leiikemia. Doreen Kipp, 18, ill for two
years, was well loved by high school classmates and church
friends. A memorial fund for Doreen has been established
at Penrose Cancer Research Hospital, Colorado Springs.
HAPPENINGS . . . BVSers will gather June 11 at North
for a reunion pot luck dinner beginning
All past and current volunteers
R.S.V.P. Mrs.
. 46550.
Manchester, Ind
at 3 p.m. in Warvel Park
and their families may come to the event.
Don Dohner, Route 1, Box 76, Nappanee, Ind
Three congregations are celebrating anniversaries t±iis
summer. At Morrill , Kans. , Brethren will mark their cen-
tennial with a special observance June 25. ... A 75th
anniversary celebration is in the plans of the Worthington,
Minn. , congregation Aug. 19-20. ... In SoulJn/Central Indi-
ana the Hickory Grove church will observe its centennial
Oct. 1.
Other congregations had celebrations in May: the Mount
Pleasant , Pa. , church , a 50th anniversary; the Stover Memo-
rial church, Des Moines, Iowa, liquidation of indebtedness;
and the Somerset , Pa. , church , a 50th anniversary.
Observing a fiftieth anniversary in April was the
State College church in Middle Pennsylvania. Originally
affiliated with the American Baptist Convention, the church
is now dually aligned with the Church of the Bretiiren and
the Baptists.
Middletown, Ohio, Brethren have a new building , p\ir-
chased from a Presbyterian congregation. Dedication of the
five-year-old church building is set for June 25.
6-1-72 MESSENGER 5
Living it out
by David Bagwell
It was a dark evening and the rain dripped down the window pane and
trickled over our canopied porch. The rain seemed to be God's tears falling
upon me. I had just returned from the hospital, having followed our
two-ond-a-half-year-old Gregory into the emergency ward. There in a
private room a doctor entered and responded to my anxious question, "Is
he dead?" I slowly walked out the door of the hospital knowing all the
medical and technical know-how was not enough to save my Gregory struck
by a car in the street.
As I walked with my friend, my arms wrapped around his supportive
shoulders, I said, "Well, John, I'm going to try to live this thing out."
That night the world seemed to stop. The protective shell of numbness
surrounded my being. The steps toward "living it out" had begun and still
continue.
In the following days, surrounded by worm and sympathetic friends,
neighbors, pastor and family, I sometimes retired alone to my bedroom.
There my first thoughts were to turn to the Bible. I read the creation story
and then turned to Job. Gazing out the window, I could think of nothing.
My empty stare focused on the branches of a large oak tree in the backyard
and then up to that blue sky containing a few puffy white clouds. For
strength I turned on the record player to listen to selections by Beethoven.
In a few weeks my numbness began to wear off. A host of confusing
emotions began to emerge. One of these intensified. As I looked out the
bedroom window I felt a hostile, destructive feeling moving within me. I
walked to the basement where Gregory's toys were kept in store. I felt the
temptation to smash his favorite scooter against the wall. I blew up at a
friend who wished to comfort me. I even cried out against God for the
suffering inflicted upon me.
Not until I realized God accepted my anger was I able to begin to feel
this great loss. I now walked past Gregory's scooter. This time I turned,
picked it up, and held it close to my breast. I recalled his spirited play, the
way he drove down the sidewalk, turning sharply at the bottom of the hill.
It always had uprooted a fear within me that he might sometime fall and
hurt himself. Then I cried.
That Sunday I found myself free enough to share my concerns during
the time of preparation for prayer, as it is a custom to do in my local
congregation. My thoughts were that I wished to thank God for accepting
all my thoughts and feelings, even my anger against him. I felt I was now
on a new road toward my goal . . . "living it out."
I can identify closely with Job and his hostile emotions. I feel deeply
the pain of David's loss, "O Absalom, my son, my son." But my faith, in the
process of living it out, can testify more than ever that "God is able to do
all things . . . above all that we ask or think." D
6 MESSENGER 6-1-72
I
The birds still sing
by Leonard Carlisle
It was so unreal ... to have a healthy happy carefree daughter, busily
engaged in preparing to teach . . . and then. . . .
Mary Beth was our third child, conceived in love and dedicated to God;
born at Bethany Seminary and named for it.
She loved and admired her two older brothers, Brian and Wayne, and
thought only of going to Manchester College, "because my brothers did."
She loved her mother and me too. It showed in her shy smile and in
her endless little acts of kindness and of love.
How could God take her out of the land of the living? He surely didn't
need her like we did. But God didn't take her ... he only let her die,
suddenly and unexpectedly of a cerebral hemorrhage, last fall at the begin-
ning of her senior year at Manchester College. "God, where were you?"
"What happened to all those beautiful promises? . . . 'Where two or
three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them'; 'Whatever you
ask in my name I will give unto you.' We prayed, oh, how we prayed . . .
and she died. You let her die, God!"
We cried, yes, we did . . . still do, though not as often nor as long.
Family and friends helped, coming in endless stream, messengers of God's
love and comfort . . . and hope.
The funeral at the church, the memorial service at the college, the cards,
the letters, the visits, the prayers — all showed how much friends care,
how much God cares.
We leaned a lot on each other, her mother and I. What else could we
do? We learned to lean on God; thank God for God.
Thanksgiving came. We weren't all that thankful, but we made it.
Christmas came. It was lonely, even though we were with her two
brothers and their families. We grieved together, sometimes openly.
Easter came with its reminder of the cross — as if we needed that — but
through the cross and beyond it Easter did come, and the resurrection!
At the Easter sunrise service, in the middle of the cantata, I said almost
aloud, "She's here!"
She was.
I can hear her saying it now, "It's all right Dad." And it is . . .
sometimes.
Life goes on. The birds still sing.
We laugh. We cry. We love. We die. We hope.
God is good, though life is tough.
We hope to see Mary Beth again someday, in that new life with God.
"And he will wipe away every tear." . . . "No more sorrow or sadness."
For we're going ... to be with God! D
1
6-1-72 MESSENGER 7
Report and recommendations on
THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY
Among focal concerns to come before the June 27 — July
2 Annual Conference is the future of Bethany Theological
Seminary, the Church of the Brethren's single graduate
school of theology located at Oak Brook, Illinois.
Because of widespread interest in and timeliness of the
report issued by the Conference-appointed study committee,
Messenger here publishes the findings in their entirety. In
essence the 1972 report offers an overview and guidelines
out of which new developments and relationsfiips for Beth-
any Seminary may be evolved.
Other articles on needs and patterns in theological ed-
ucation follow on pages 11, 15, 17, and 20.
In making this report the committee appointed in 1970 to
study the future of Bethany Theological Seminary brings its
task to completion. The report made to the 1971 Annual
Conference was an interim report, and the committee expresses
appreciation for the grant of an additional year of study. The
year has not only given the committee further time for reflec-
tion on its assignment, but it has also enabled the committee
to observe certain dynamics at work in theological education
which helped {xjint the way to the proposals which it is now
ready to make.
The committee met twice during the year, once on October
27-28 on the Bethany campus, part of the time jointly with
the board of directors, and again on February 21-22 at Dayton,
Ohio. In all of its deliberation the committee has enjoyed the
assistance and guidance of many people, especially that given
by President Robinson.
Reaffirmation of the 1971 Report
The committee reaffirms the positions it took in the 1971 re-
port:
( 1 ) The church needs faithful and creative leadership
trained at the graduate theological level;
(2) Economic pressure on seminaries still exists, and there-
fore mergers, affiliations, and other forms of coopieration will
continue to be imperative;
( 3 ) Premature decisions and inadequate long-range strat-
egy should not be precipitated by the financial crisis;
(4) The pressure of fiscal problems has had the value of
encouraging extensive evaluation, an establishment of priorities,
a search for more adequate models, and an identification of a
direction for the future.
(5) Although innovation and experimentation in theologi-
cal education continue, the responsibility to clarify the gospel
through renewed ministry and a renewed church remains.
The Church of the Brethren, though small, must have a
well-trained ministry. The contribution and influence of Beth-
any Theological Seminary to the denomination in education,
research, and insight in helping the church to understand itself
have been invaluable. The curriculum is innovative and cre-
ative; the faculty are held in high regard in theological educa-
tional circles.
Although Bethany Theological Seminary still has a financial
problem (see 1971 [report], Article I, A and B for more de-
tailed information), the debt retirement is progressing on
schedule, and operating expenses for 1971-1972 are estimated
to be less than budgeted. The projected budgeted income for
1972-1973 of $391,625 is only shghtly more than the adopted
budget for 1971-1972 of $372,650. The spending budget for
1972-1973 of $444,075 is less than that for 1971-1972. Con-
tinued income from the general church of $165,000 and a
General Board grant of $55,000 to help cover the indebtedness
have been received.
The Challenge Offering, in response to an amendment to
the 1971 report, has been heartening. As of January 20, 342
congregations, nearly one out of three, had contributed a total
of $51,229. The churches should be commended for this
gratifying evidence of support of an interest in Bethany The-
ological Seminary. However, the strategy of special offerings
does not assure the ongoing program or the long-range future
of the seminary.
The trends in theological education identified in Article
II of the 1971 report remain much the same.
For these reasons — the fiscal situation and the growing
trends in theological education — and the added fact that the
supply of trained ministers in the Brotherhood has caught up
with the demand, the committee has concluded that some form
of affiliation with one or more other seminaries is necessary
in order that Bethany may be viable, fiscally and educationally.
It has been informed that appropriate explorations in line with
this conviction have already been pursued.
Criteria for Future Developments
In any decision-making about the future of Bethany Theologi-
cal Seminary, certain kinds of criteria should guide the process:
1. As to function. The seminary must be functional in
meeting the future needs of the Church of the Brethren for
a trained leadership and a broader theological understanding
among its members. However, the committee is of the opinion
that responsibility for career recruitment, that is, for the var-
ious forms of ministry, lies largely with the home and the con-
gregation. Possibilities for additional students seem to lie in
continuing education and lay education.
2. As to educational quality. Bethany's educational pro-
gram is outstanding in quality, not only by the judgment of
this committee, but also by the evaluations of accrediting
agencies and neighboring theological schools. For example,
eighty-six students were attracted from other schools for at least
one course on Bethany's campus in the winter quarter this year.
This high quality of theological education must be main-
tained. This means that strong faculty, adequate instructional
and library budget, and a continuing innovative and creative
program should be guaranteed in future directions.
3. As to financial viability. While financial considerations
should not be the sole or major concern in deciding the future
of Bethany, whatever decision is made must point to financial
viability. The already above average costs of operating Beth-
any compared with other seminaries, the future projections of
rising costs in theological education, inflation, and the limited
resources available to Bethany indicate that it would not be
good stewardship for the Brethren to maintain a seminary
wholly independent of affiliation with others. It is estimated
that in the future it will be very difficult to operate a school
on an institutional basis with a student body of less than three
hundred. The Seminary cannot rely on special offerings in-
definitely to make up operating deficits.
4. As to institutional identity in an ecumenical context. In
the future of Bethany the tradition of the Church of the Breth-
ren must continue to be strongly maintained. The history,
heritage, teachings, identity and practices of the Brethren must
not be lost in any affiliation with schools of different traditions,
as they would not be expected to sacrifice theirs. Models of
how best to maintain denominational uniqueness in any future
affiliation should be carefully developed to insure that differing
traditions meet from positions of distinctness for the purpose
of understanding rather than maintaining parochialism. Not
only should identity be maintained, but the future of Bethany
should guarantee even more exposure to other traditions. This
is important not only for the enrichment of the Brethren tra-
dition by constant comparison and self-examination, but also
as a means of witness to other traditions. Theological education
in the Church of the Brethren should have as easy access to
traditions different from our own as to those like our own.
In any developing affiliations or centers for theological edu-
cation a degree of separateness will need to be maintained.
Bethany will need to determine what faculty positions would
be essential in order to accomplish this, what courses need to
be offered, and what corporate experiences should be provided.
In addition to these criteria, two others commend them-
selves as important, though perhaps not as essential. One is
access to both a metropolitan and a rural setting, since theo-
logical education is moving to more concurrent supervised
field education. The Brethren will need to train leaders for
urban, suburban, and rural ministries. The other is access to
a university and other professional schools. In such proximity
the educational process could be enriched by interdisciplinary
studies between theology, medicine, law, social work, political
science, psychology, education, ecology, etc. Such a setting
would also make studies in theology available to students whose
primary interest may be in another field, but who may want
to receive some training for part-time or lay ministry.
Institutional Development
Changing patterns of institutional support, a maturing ecumen-
ism, an increasing emphasis on educational mix, along with
changing understandings of training for the ministries of the
church, make it imperative that Brethren not only be aware of
new models in theological education but be instrumental in
6-1-72 MESSENGER 9
defining and shaping those models. Bethany is to be com-
mended for the leadership it has taken in bringing about co-
operation among Chicagoland theological schools. This co-
operation, most notably in the form of Chicago Cluster of
Theological Schools (CCTS), has mutually enriched the educa-
tional offerings of those participating.
The cluster concept and Bethany's shared life with North-
ern Baptist Theological Seminary in the last few years suggest
models that should be developed. There are many other mod-
els. It appears that the most viable one and the one that pro-
ceeds naturally from a developmental style already begun is
a center for theological education. This model sees several
schools, each maintaining its own institutional identity and
denominational affiliation, operating with a common adminis-
tration and on a common campus. This model does most
to answer pressing financial concerns while at the same time
offering genuine excitement for educational enrichment. Re-
liable studies indicate that these centers are financially and
educationally viable.
It is important that the Brethren realize that they are in a
position to move toward such a model from a standpoint of
strength rather than from simply economic expediency. Sever-
al things make this possible. The response of the Brotherhood
through individual giving and support of the General Board
have done much to relieve immediate financial pressures. Fur-
thermore, Bethany has developed a faculty and an educational
stance that make it very attractive to other institutions who
are anxious to work toward a "center" concept. Bethany stands
in the unique position of being able to relate to a group of
seminaries that represent a broad range of theological and
educational perspectives. Not to exercise its uniqueness in
selecting partners for long-range cooperation would be a loss.
The committee therefore recommends that Bethany con-
tinue to explore and develop areas of close cooperation with
other institutions looking toward increased use of shared fac-
ulty, staff and physical facilities in a theological center on the
Oak Brook campus or at another location. It is clear to the
committee that such direction will mean the reduction of
Bethany faculty and staff and investment in physical plant.
This is the painful part of what is necessary to bring Brethren
investment in theological education to a level more commen-
surate with denominational size and resources. The committee
is aware that closer affiliation with Northern Baptist only is
not a long range answer to the problems and possibilities of
theological education in the future, but it is a logical step
toward the development of a viable center.
Relationship to General Board
Bethany is one of the two agencies of the church which are
creatures of and directly responsible to the Annual Confer-
ence, the other being the General Board. Each is formally in-
dependent of the other, although a strong mutuality of concern
between them is a practical necessity. The history of both is
a record of balanced responsibilities and common dedication.
One of the remarkable chapters of this relationship covers the
financial encouragement which the board has given the Semi-
nary in the relocation of the campus and in the course of the
present financial crisis.
The committee recommends, therefore, that the accord
between the seminary and the General Board be permanently
formalized in several ways, strengthening existing arrange-
ments in one way and breaking new ground in others.
First of all, the committee recommends the continued sup-
port of the current operations of the seminary through the
budget of the General Board. Although the limit of this sup-
port from time to time has been subject to practical restraints,
the committee nevertheless conceives of support by this means
as the most feasible measure of keeping the Seminary viable.
To have the two major agencies of the general church compet-
ing for the contributed dollar would lead to serious friction
and misunderstanding, perhaps even jeopardy to the existence
of the Seminary.
However, the committee believes the seminary should join
more forthrightly in the total fund-raising effort for support
of Brotherhood ministries, particularly as such a program
would help liquidate the capital indebtedness of the seminary
and help finance any major adaptation of the seminary to a
new institutional situation. A joint effort of this sort would
imply complementary programming and use of personnel.
At an even deeper level the committee sees the need for
coordinating the educational programs of the seminary and
the General Board. Within the momentum of theological edu-
cation at the present time, carrying the church into promising
areas of lay and continuing education, more informal and less
structured patterns of education, less confinement to the cam-
pus and the classroom, the seminary and the General Board
should share in a common program of education. Members
of the seminary faculty could be redeployed partially or wholly
into General Board staff appointments, with the educational
budget of the General Board assuming the appropriate share
of financial responsibility. Such a joint venture should be un-
dertaken with a view to strengthening and disseminating the
educational effectiveness of the church as a whole. It would
require negotiating between the seminary and the General
Board to determine the contractual terms in each instance of
redeployment.
Recommendations of the sort just described will require
close personal liaison between the seminary administration and
the General Board staff. The committee therefore recommends
further that there be limited reciprocal membership between
these bodies. The general secretary and the executive of the
Parish Ministries Commission might well be ex officio mem-
bers without vote of the Bethany board of directors. Equally
the president of the Seminary and the dean might be members
ex officio without vote of the General Board. In order to pre-
serve the integrity of each, the delegates from one body would
join the deliberations of the other from the perspective of the
body he represents, but would always respect the peculiar
mission and the special interests of the body which he joins.
The Committee: Edward K. Ziegler, Chairman; Morley J.
Mays; Ronald K. Morgan; M. Andrew Murray; and Glee Yoder
10 MESSENGER 6-1-72
BETHANY: PLACE OF LEARNING,
CENTER OF MISSION
What do you regard to be Bethany
Seminary's sense of purpose, the
fundamental objectives it seeks to
achieve?
Bethany is to be a place of learning
and a center for mission, according to
the Articles of Association of 1920, since
reaffirmed with only slight editorial
changes. Bethany is to equip pastors
and other leaders for set-apart ministries
in the church. It is to educate persons
for services in such institutions as "are
established for the promotion of the
social welfare of mankind in the name
and spirit of the Christian faith." It is
to pursue scholarly research.
Further, Bethany is to proceed in
"harmony with the principles and prac-
tices of the Church of the Brethren,"
and "to affiliate with other schools,
colleges, universities, organizations, in-
stitutions, and movements in the fulfill-
ment of these educational aims and
purposes."
In sum, the Bethany of today lives out
of the same breadth of purpose which
was featured by the founding fathers.
Are there tasks or expectations im-
posed by the church upon the sem-
inary which stand in the way of
creative theological education?
The church has tended to single out
the training of pastors as Bethany's most
essential purpose. This expectation is
understandable. And this concern does
not necessarily stand in the way of
creative theological education. At times,
though, it may come through as a more
narrow expectation than the inclusive
vision of the founding fathers.
We hear the question, "How many
graduates went into the pastorate?" far
more than others, such as, "How many
persons found their faith strengthened at
Bethany for an enlightened ministry they
share with all laity?" or "How many
participated in significant research as
part of a stewardship of dedicated
minds?"
Bethany's strong commitment to the
preparation of pastors is clearly reflected
in the curriculum, and in the extensive
involvement of faculty in the life of
congregations throughout the Brother-
hood. But if the decisions of persons to
serve as pastors were ever to be forced
rather than encouraged, this would vio-
late Brethren convictions about volun-
tarism in matters of faith and calling,
and would exclude from our community
many promising candidates for the
ministry.
What changes in teaching and learn-
ing, what shift in dynamics have
marked Bethany over the last decade?
The curriculum style at Bethany is
shaped by convictions which have clear
points of continuity with the school's
earliest beginning: the centrality and
authority of the scriptures; an educational
61-72 MESSENGER IT
program which aspires to a life of
obedient discipleship engaging the whole
person — mind, heart, and will; practical
down-to-earth provisions for learning in
actual field situations; a community of
learning that is at the same time a
community of faith, a community called
into being and renewed in relation to the
"living Word"; prayer and worship which
signal an awareness that while we may
sow the seed, cultivate, and water the
ground, it is God alone who gives the
increase.
These overarching convictions allow
for varied curriculum structures and
patterns of teaching. For example, when
I was a student at Bethany (1949-50),
all the classes met from 7 a.m. to noon
on Tuesday through Friday. This no
longer is the case. The contexts of
learning are increasingly varied, less
formalized, and far less rigidly scheduled.
Classes, coUoquia, and special tutorials
— some of short and others of longer
by modeling and facilitating the teaching
function in the group. The teacher
teaches through expertise and knowledge,
but also through sharing as a person with
strengths and weaknesses, with hurts and
hopes, with confidences and fears. The
teacher teaches by voluntarily investing
his vulnerabilities as well as his victories
in the whole collegial process of learning,
with stress upon the development of the
total person.
Do you see any direct payofF of these
adaptations in the hfe of the church
at large: Has innovation in theologi-
cal education at Bethany contributed
to a wider renewal of the
denomination?
Adaptation and innovations in the
seminary community surely have had a
wider impact upon the church, just as
movement within the church at large has
duration — gather around particular
concerns and objectives. They meet for
one hour, one and a half hours, three or
more hours at a time, during the day or
at night on any day of the week — with
even a few weekend intensives.
As part of a much more fluid pattern
of scheduling and grouping, there is
developing at Bethany a collegial style of
education. Teaching and learning roles
are dynamic and interchangeable. While
certain responsibilities and initiatives
clearly remain with the faculty, students
more readily become teachers to one
another in ways that often instruct the
instructor as well. The teacher teaches
had uf)on the seminary.
Specifically, there are evidences that
the larger church has been experiencing
renewal around such life-shaping under-
standings as these:
1. The community as a whole is a
teacher — teaching through its entire life
of prayer and worship, of study and
fellowship, of witness and celebration, of
care for persons and commitment to the
formation of community patterns that
are health giving rather than destructive
of life.
2. Personal and social transformation
belong together, where conversion to
Christ means regard for the neighbor and
his total well-being in the everyday
context of life.
3. Set-apart ministries are expressions
of, and are called to nurture, the shared
ministry of all believers, the whole body
drawing strength from its diverse gifts. ,
4. Joyous celebration, gratitude for
Christ's love on our behalf, a zest for
life — signals of God's good creation —
are not exclusive of identification with
those who have little to celebrate or be
grateful for, who know bone-grinding
despair, who need a "gospel" that wit-
nesses to their bodies as well as to their
souls.
5. The spiritual growth of individuals
and small groups not only presupposes a
sensitive openness to present-day experi-
ences, but also requires the open doors
and windows of the scriptures through
which the fresh air of the Spirit of Christ
in every age invigorates and turns per-
sons outward in a life of witness and
service.
These evidences are discernible at the
seminary, but are surely equally present
in the life of the church at large. They
are vital signs of the wider renewal of
the denomination.
On the national scene it sometimes is
charged that a high percentage of
young men in seminaries the last few
vears have been there because of the
\'ietnam war. From Bethany's experi-
ence, is there any way of evaluating
that contention?
It is difficult. Likely, some young men
have enrolled in Bethany with avoidance
of the draft as a motivation. I doubt
that the number has been large, judging
from the still fairly high percentage of
those entering who go on to graduation.
And the many curricular expectations —
academic, p)ersonal/ spiritual, and voca-
tional — soon serve to precipitate a
decision about continuing at Bethany.
Only a broader set of motivations than
simply avoiding the draft will long
sustain a student in the rigors and invest-
ments required by the program.
How do vou characterize recent stu-
dent bodies in contrast to earlier
groups, in terms of seriousness, co-
12 MESSENGER 61-72
operativeness, social concern, and
commitment to the church?
Generalizations about changing stu-
dent bodies are always simply that —
generalizations! At best, they approxi-
mate prevailing moods and disposition at
given times. I would say that today's
students are academically and profession-
ally quite serious. There is more cen-
teredness with enthusiastic investment of
time, energy, and study. There is less
proliferation through the variety of off-
campus causes that marked earlier years.
It would be too extreme to say that
students are no longer socially con-
cerned. They are! But that concern
seems somewhat more focused, and is
channeled more comfortably through es-
tablished agencies and structures includ-
ing the church. There also seems to be
an even clearer disposition to approach
the social dimensions of the gospel from
their roots in the depth of a vital,
evangelical faith.
Students today are neither more nor
less dedicated than those of earlier
times. However, forms of dedication
vary somewhat as student generations
change. Currently there seems to be less
questioning of church structures, al-
though the passion to see the church
embody its own ideals remains high.
We still admit a larger percentage of
students who have not yet decided to be
pastors, but one detects a growing co-
operativeness with the institution and
willingness to entertain the prospect of
some form of church vocation, including
the pastorate.
Where does the basic responsiveness
and responsibility of theological ed-
ucation rest: with academia or with
the believing community which
sponsors it?
Theological education quite clearly
roots in the believing community. Other-
wise, one has form without content,
structure without life. At its best, the
theological school is itself an extension
of faith and commitment, drawing vital-
ity from believers wherever they gather
for worship and work, for study and
action, for celebration and witness.
Every denomination has multiple areas
of need for theological education: the
ordained ministry, teachers, deacons,
visitors, evangelists, laity, and clergy in
pursuit of advanced studies in theology,
continuing education of those in set-
apart ministries, and research and writ-
ing on every facet of the life and mission
of the church.
Thus as a community of learning,
Bethany is closely related to other insti-
tutions of higher education for mutual
challenge and enrichment. Important
levels of responsiveness and responsibility
of theological education are from the
side of academia as well as the believing
community which sponsors it. But how
can a community of belief at the same
time be committed to open inquiry.
Admittedly, this at times sets up a
tension and theological education has not
always faced this very creatively. But
by and large, theological schools and the
supporting denominations are stronger
when they maintain a close working
relationship between vital belief and
disciplined, nondefensive study.
If open inquiry and disciplined study
are so important, would there not be
strong merit in tying into a university
program in rebgion and letting the
denominational seminary be a fellow-
ship group or residential community
located in proximity to the university?
There is no simple answer to this
question. One can imagine a creative
tension being maintained in a variety of
settings between open inquiry and
definite, firmly held beliefs. But uni-
versities have their own struggles to be
communities of free, disciplined study.
A residential fellowship group to pre-
serve denominational concerns and be-
liefs in such a setting could easily find
itself on the periphery, without a strong
foothold within the educational system
itself from which to work at the dynamic
interplay between faith and study. On
the other hand, such a university context
would likely keep in check any tendency
toward repressive denominational
dogma.
What response do you offer those
who feel the seminary should forego
many of its present offerings and
center in on a specific task — say, the
training of pastors and evangebsts, a
trade school approach? Might we get
on with the job more directly?
Those who argue this way are wrong!
At least they are if they mean that basic
study of Bible, church history, and the-
ology are unimportant in the whole
educational program. A narrow trade
school approach is not faithful to the
full orbed vision of Bethany's purpose.
Nor will it actually produce the desired
results — men and women who not only
had certain functional skills, but are
deeply informed by the scriptures, and
by the witness to the faith throughout the
centuries.
This is not to defend all present cur-
riculum procedures. Improvements can
be made. There may be ways to get on
with the job more directly, especially to
relate theological students much more
vitally to the very worshiping, witnessing
congregations they are preparing to
serve. And curriculum planning can
proceed with far greater care from the
side of actual functional skills, personal/
spiritual qualities, as well as understand-
ings needed for effective ministry.
The desire to restructure the theologi-
cal curriculum along these lines — from
the side of the actual practice of min-
istry — is what lies behind current ex-
ploration about advanced Doctor of Min-
istry (D.Min.) degree programs, cur-
rently being projected by a growing num-
ber of schools. Such programs are not
meant to rival Doctor of Philosophy
(Ph.D.), curricula, and rightly
so since there seems already to be quite
oversupply of doctoral candidates in
religion preparing for college and uni-
versity teaching. Doctor of Ministry pro-
grams will normally be at least four
years in length, and will feature many
off-campus learning contexts, where the
student is already engaging in ministry
in developing knowledge and skills along
the way.
Of what value is clustering, that is
merging elements of program with
related educational institutions? Are
the advantages largely administra-
tive? Academic? Economic?
6-1-72 MESSENGER 13
Clustering has whatever values the
participating institutions intend that it
shall have. It largely depends upon how
much separate autonomy is maintained,
both legally and functionally. Some
cluster arrangements aim at little more
than curriculuar enrichment through
reciprocal cross registration, thus opening
many more courses to students. They
also may do such things as coordinate
calendars, consolidate library holdings,
offer some joint seminars, confer on new
faculty appointments to secure wider
range of expertise. Where these are the
things done cooperatively, experience has
shown there is very little economic ad-
vantage. It may even cost the schools
more! And the gains are mainly from
the side of enlarged curricular resources.
Sometimes the administrative overload to
bring about these things is also high.
It is becoming clear that more radical
restructuring usually will be required,
at least if economic advantages are
sought through cooperative plans. Even
certain levels of shared curricular in-
novation will not usually come about as
long as participating schools continue to
proceed autonomously, cooperating only
in fringe areas.
A\Tiat unique responsibilities has a
denominational seminary over inter-
denominational schools, or secularly
sponsored schools of religion?
A denominational seminary is required
to be especially responsive to the needs
and expectations of the believing com-
munity sponsoring it. For the sake of
that same supporting constituency, it is
essential that the theological school be
given freedom to fulfill its institutional
mandate without undue restrictions.
There should be adequate constituent
representation on the governing board, to
establish basic policy and review program
in light of school purposes rather than
dictate specific objectives or procedures.
The supporting denomination has
every right to expect its theological
school to exert responsible leadership in
shaping theological trends, life-styles
tested by scripture, and patterns of min-
istry. But this freedom is bounded by
accountability to the larger church for
the adequacy of the program to meet
changing needs with a wise stewardship
of resources.
Does a seminary tend to disdain
religious life? If so, how can it suc-
cessfully recruit or train workers to
enter into the stream of the estab-
lished church?
If the seminary were to disdain reli-
gious life, it obviously would be neglect-
ing an area of essential growth of all
church workers. But an institution's
unwillingness to impwse patterns of belief
or worship on its students is not the same
as disdain or unconcern. Bethany
reflects the Brethren tradition of vol-
untarism in this area. For this reason,
attendance at chapel is not required,
even though it is encouraged by carefully
planned services and regular faculty/
administrative commitments to the
centrality of prayer and worship. At
times, actual classes in spiritual develop-
ment are offered. Spontaneous groupings
for mutual edification, study, and reflec-
tion are encouraged. Of course, styles of
public prayer and worship change with
the student generations. At the moment,
there is clear preference for more in-
formal patterns, often with personal
testimonies as a dominant feature. If
anything, concern for the development
of a vital spiritual life is on the upswing
among present students, and this trend
is heartily encouraged by the faculty and
administration.
To what extent does the seminary
consciously style itself in a dogmatic/
prophetic role? How objective or
open are its teachings if it becomes
highly partisan in its outlook?
One needs to remember that the sem-
inary community is made up of persons
with many different points of view.
Changing student generations reflect all
the varieties of beliefs and practices that
mark our local congregations. Nor are
faculty strictly of one mind, even though
there is clear corporate commitment to
institutional purposes, to education for a
vital ministry, and to Brethren principles
and values.
Often current causes — such as op-
position to the Vietnamese war — are
supported with "prophetic" zeal. So
zealous have been campus advocates in
the past several years that persons hold-
ing different views on participation in
war could have questioned whether the
community is really objective or open in
its stance. But in relation to such an
issue — which catches up strong faculty/
administration convictions because of
long-standing Brethren teachings on
peace — dialogue between different
partisan jwsitions is encouraged in every
way pwssible.
So too in regard to other issues: styles
of ministry, ecumenical posture of the
denomination, basic Christian beliefs,
personal ethics. The seminary community
includes persons with firm convictions
on all these issues. Partisans of particu-
lar causes may not feel that each is al-
ways given equal time. But convictions
are shared forcefully, in total curriculum
content and style as well as by individ-
uals and interest groupings. And the
ethos supports confrontiveness, chal-
lenge, and free debate as persons meet
persons in openness to the scriptures and
the "mind of Christ."
\Miat do vou regard to be two or
three major challenges confronting
Bethany Seminar^^ in the years
immediately ahead?
Bethany faces these challenges along
with the denomination as a whole:
1. To maintain institutional unity and
momentum, while encouraging and draw-
ing strength from the spontaneous and
even disruptive vitalities, which express
the faithfulness of the whole Brother-
hood. This includes looking at new ways
of organizing for mission with other
Christian bodies.
2. To meet the full range of theologi-
cal education needs. This requires
growth opportunity at all levels — lay
and professional, first degree and contin-
uing education programs, those dispersed
and those more institutionally based.
3. To enlist persons for a life of dis-
cipleship and shared ministry. This calls
for ways of discerning gifts in persons
for the edification of all the believers,
and ways of supporting those persons as
they receive leadership training and serve
the whole church and its ministry, n
14 MESSENGER 6-1-72
Conversations with students
THE BETHANY THAT ELUDES
THE CATALOG
by Linda Beher
College catalogs almost never "tell the
whole story" about an institution. Beth-
any Theological Seminary's catalog is no
exception. Photographs of men and
women playing ping-pong, studying in
library carrels, or concentrating on a
tough question in the classroom portray
student life. Sincere-sounding descrip-
tions of registration procedures, course
requirements, and academic expectations
characterize the text. President Robin-
son's introductory message contains
references to such concepts as community
and faith and personal growth.
Helpful, even encouraging, informa-
tion, to be sure. But in conversations
with twenty-five of Bethany's sixty-some
students — bright, vocal, genuine • —
some deeper significance of The Bethany
Experience began to emerge, the one risk
that it might be mistaken for develop-
ment office P.R. releases mitigated some-
what by the voices belonging to the Real
Thing — the students themselves.
What, then, eludes the language of the
catalog?
From top. John Risden, "A lot to wrestle
with"; Ron Cassidente (left), "testing new per-
spectives," and Marlin Hoover, "hounded";
Ervin Huston. "What does it mean to have a
theological education?"
Directions
Some students are downright evange-
listic about Bethany. Their vocabularies,
like the president's statement in the
catalog, include the words "personal
growth" and "community," and these
students do not hesitate to use those
words to describe Bethany. Talk to Larry
Graybill, and you'll sense some of the
excitement that most — not all — stu-
dents share about their school. "I wanted
direction for my life; Bethany sets a style
for relating to people which hopefully
could continue. I've had my ideas of life-
style challenged — by faculty and other
students. This will affect me for the rest
of my life." Right now Larry, a senior
from Manheim, Pennsylvania, is headed
for the pastoral ministry. At Bethany he
has come to believe that "it is important
for a pastor to be able to share his own
6-1-72 MESSENGER 15
doubts — not be a strong man. That's
part of the power of the incarnation —
God becoming weak like us. I want to
remember that."
"My three quarters at Bethany have
been rich in many ways." Mike Wayne
was graduated from MiUikin University
in Decatur, lihnois, his hometown. "In
fact, my experience here has been the
most revolutionary and profound one
ever. I'm not well traveled — I've never
been beyond St. Louis — and I lived at
home while I was at Millikin. I would
come home with my assignments, go to
my room, shut my door, and study all
night. Here, there is no shutting the
door." Learning to know people well,
Mike said, is where Bethany reaches him.
Like a number of students, Linda
Johnson came to Bethany from a sister
institution, in her case, Manchester
College. A Presbyterian, she "got turned
on to a different life-style at Manchester.
I figured Bethany would be a continua-
tion of that." While in some ways it has
not been — "I'm just now getting into
classes that excite me as much as the ones
I took at Manchester" — Linda affirmed
that she has discovered a true interest in
people at Bethany.
Middler Kevin Keller would use the
jargon of the young to describe the kinds
of directions people like Linda and him-
self are discovering. "The reason I came
here was to get myself together. The
genius of the place is that you can hardly
stay without undergoing some changes."
Ron Cassidente can tell you about
changes. A year at the seminar\', then
two years in alternative service in
Chicago, then back to Oak Brook
stretched Ron's stay at Bethany to five
years. During that time "I've seen my
perspective change about three times.
The best thing about Bethany is that it
allows for growth without demanding
that I become something other than who
I am at the time. Yet it has been a place
to support me through some difficult
personal struggles. And more recently,
Bethany has been a place which supports
me as I test out more mature concepts."
Nearly all these "evangelists" cite the
ongoing colloquium as a major impetus
for their excitement. A student in a
three-year program at Bethany would
participate in the small-group experience
of colloquium each quarter, the first year
talking about individual faith stance, the
second doing field ministry and evalua-
tion, and the third determining life
directions. Participants receive academic
credit. Ron Wyrick's entering class broke
into three small groups for colloquium; a
faculty member sits with each group, as a
participant, not a setter of directions.
Middler Wyrick defines colloquium as
"an effort to feel what group process
means. And it's painful. I wasn't group-
process oriented at first, and it's painful
for me not to have an agenda. You feel
pain when the group doesn't go in the di-
rection you want, or when you feel your
comments aren't relevant to the group."
"Colloquium is pretty wild in one
way," reflected Larry Graybill. "Here
are ten persons and most are "Indian
chiefs': it can get to be a power struggle
at times. Part of colloquium is perceiv-
ing your own role in a group, especially
in a group whose members have similar
interests and concerns. The candidness is
really helpful in terms of seeing how you
come off in the group — whether you're
an initiator or an opinion giver, or a
sum-upper." Larry can be candid even
with a stranger, characterizing himself as
an opinion giver. Another senior, Marlin
Hoover, considers that kind of trust to
be central to colloquium.
For some students colloquium is an
overt indication of the closeness of re-
lationships, the community, they feel
exists at Bethany. After graduation from
Juniata College, Don Hoover spent two
years teaching mathematics at Waka
School in Nigeria. Now he's a middler at
Bethany. "Community is hard to articu-
late: you expjerience it," is Don's way of
describing Bethany. Other students cite
the rallying of persons in crisis experi-
ences to bear out the kind of caring that
community implies: a spouse's sister be-
ing killed in an automobile accident; a
couple without finances needing to make
a trip to Europe; a professor's chucking
his lesson plan when he sensed his class
needed to talk about their feelings follow-
ing a memorial service for a former
student. "No one shoves it down your
throat," Don aflSrmed, "but it is there."
At Bethany, community in a nearly
all-male enclave seems genuinely to
extend to the few women students on
campus. Linda Gibson, who serves a
La Grange, Illinois, Presbyterian con-
gregation as director of Christian educa-
tion while attending Bethany classes,
declared, "In classes I don't find it un-
comfortable. Once in a while, you have
to say "wait a minute' — but I don't feel
threatened at all. The men seem to be
open to listening to what I have to say if
I feel stepped on." And, despite the
ubiquitous assumption by male students
that pastors are always men, first-year
seminarian Shirley Petracek concurs:
"Everyone takes you in as a sister here."
Diversities
"I'm grateful that the school is open
and that I can come." Shirley Petracek
came to Bethany last fall to prepare for
the ministry'. The McPherson College
graduate takes her course work quite
seriously. "Some may feel that I study
too much." But for years she dreamed of
ministerial training at her denomination's
only graduate school of theology, even
though she enjoyed her seven years'
teaching health and physical education in
Chicago schools. For Shirley Bethany is
a place to come when you're serious
about studying.
With degrees from William and Mary
and Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and a
year's experience in governmental plan-
ning, Cordell Bowman might be thought
to "have it made." But he's at Bethany
studying Church of the Brethren history
and concentrating on group life. "My
wife and I are interested in establishing a
community based on sharing possessions
and income. We don't know what kind
of ministry^ that will lead to." For
Cordell Bethany is a place where he can
prepare for the unknown and firm his
convictions about cooperative living.
John Risden likes to "talk to the near-
est ear" when he reads or hears of an
intriguing new idea. "I want to be able to
bounce it off somebody to hear how it
sounds when I say it." He chose Beth-
any because he wants more grounding in
theolog)' beyond where his philosophy
and religion degree took him at Man-
chester College. For John, Bethany is a
place to grapple with such concepts as
rationalism, free will vs. determinism,
Kierkegaard's theory of paradox.
"I have found nothing here that has
shaken my faith." Shirley can say calmly.
"I was converted when I was eighteen,
and my whole life was changed drastical-
ly for the better. I take the Bible literally;
I believe it has application for my life."
"I can't accept the amount of affluence
16 MESSENGER 6-1-72
in this area." Cordell reflects the
concern of a number of students who
view with dismay the sleek and moneyed
suburban location of the seminary. "The
surrounding community is so affluent
that the Brethren would be peculiar and
threatening if they lived an organic,
simple life. As it is, the campus is not
threatening. But I feel that the simple
life is the Brethren life-style, and the
seminary is not witnessing to that."
John doesn't want to be classified the-
ologically just yet: "T have a lot of things
to wrestle with." But he acknowledges
the "mi.xture of life-styles" at Bethany —
"most people accept that."
Disappointments
"There are positive things here," Al
Oethinger reflected. "But there are also
things which I criticize not for the sake
of criticism but because Bethany could be
a stronger school." Al came to the States
from his native Germany to join Brethren
Volunteer Service. Afterward, looking
for admission to a f>eace studies program,
he chose Bethany. Like a minority of
students, Al reflects a somewhat less-
than-evangelistic stance about the sem-
inary. "Finding who you are, your own
identity are the concerns of students now.
There is a floating to find your identity —
but no strong commitment. Searching is
easier than committing."
To Al's point of view, even colloquium
has not demanded enough: "Colloquium
is too much connected with theory. But
you can't separate life experiences from
a hard search" that may have nothing
to do with theory. "Theories are pro-
tective." TTiere should be a link, ac-
cording to Al, which would bring prac-
tical dialogue into the open. "I've had
some experiences where that has hap-
pened; but if it would happen much
more, maybe I could be as joyful about
Bethany as some other people are."
That link could mean the intensity of
commitments that students are willing to
make to chosen life-styles.
Ervin Huston takes a slightly different
tack. "There has been value in being
here," he said of his four years at Beth-
any. "I've experienced a deepening of
my own strength; my alternative service
in Vietnam destroyed pretty completely
who I had been, and I'm not sure I'd be
in the church if I had not come here. At
the same time, I think a lot of students
are unaware what it means to have a
theological education.
"In four years there has been a change
in the type of students enrolling here.
Generally they tend to be a little less
aware, less concerned about the world;
a little less willing to discuss the social
implications of their faith with others;
a little less open. They tend to 'do their
own thing' and not be very supportive of
persons with whom they disagree."
Erv expresses concern also for what he
sees as a limited number of options for
Brethren who want to enter the ministry
and "want more than just a college
education to enter that ministry with."
Along with the present option of a very
academic program, Erv would institute
alternatives that could be incorporated
into Bethany's present structure: such
programs as lay education, a life-style
study center, or classes in cooperative
living. "Basically here there is a lot of
freedom for the student who needs an
intellectual search," Erv affirmed. "But
this may not be possible if, for example,
you're poor. We're isolated here if we
don't have money. At least in the city
you can take public transportation."
Challenges
"Bethany has challenged me complete-
ly where I am at, to the depths of who I
am; and I have participated in challeng-
ing others to the depths of who they are.
I have felt hounded." Marlin Hoover
emphasized each word carefully. But his
eyes twinkled as he admitted that, howev-
er "hounded," his three years at Bethany
have seemed "a pleasant pursuit."
Scholarly challenges are no little part
of Bethany. Without exception students
expressed respect for faculty members,
who are regarded as friends and co-
learners rather than as infallible sources
of information. Ron Wyrick asserted,
"Bible study is the root of Bethany, and a
great part of the outlook is due to the
biblical men here. It's an overwhelming
part of the life here."
Students like Marlin point out, though,
that personal fulfillment accompanies
academic endeavor at all levels. "If all I
had wanted was a graduate degree, I
would have gone to some grad school.
If I had wanted only experience, I would
have gotten a job. Here, we have ex-
perience with formal reflection. Bethany
is not a 'head trip.' " Kevin Keller
agrees: "We have experiential learning
here. We don't just learn about the
church, we experience it here."
Culver, Indiana, middler Larry Banks
affirms Kevin's and Marlin's viewpoint.
"I wasn't satisfied just to go out and
get a job. The words 'really caring' are
much more meaningful. I've become
much more conscious of people, and
people are more conscious of me. That's
the spirit here."
Ron Cassidente observed: "Learning to
reveal myself and to accept others have
been my two greatest challenges here: To
be responsible for who I am — to witness
to that — and then to gain the tools to
help others do the same thing."
On everyone's mind is the proposed
closer association with Northern Baptist
Seminary a block or so away. Discussion
centers on what Bethany students regard
as the very different educational styles
of the two seminaries. "Closer ties with
Northern can be good if the decision
makers ponder how it will affect theologi-
cal education as a whole and think of
new ways to work and witness together,"
Ron Cassidente noted. He would ques-
tion further integration if based solely on
economic considerations. "As Christians,
closer ties would be an expression of our
Christian unity," said Shirley Petracek.
Some see further co-mingling as one way
to complement Bethany's differing
evangelical stance.
Rich Ukena came to Bethany Semi-
nary from the army, after requesting
discharge on the basis of conscientious
objection. He was reared in the Meth-
odist Church in Ames, Iowa, but now he
occasionally attends the York Center
Church of the Brethren in nearby
Lombard. He was one of seven students
exchanging feelings about Bethany on the
last day of my stay on campus. As we
sat together in the large student lounge,
Rich shared comments which seem to
sum up what students were feeling in the
spring of '72: "My grandfather was a
free minister in the church for forty
years, so I have some feeling for the
church. 1 came from an alien environ-
ment — the army. That's pretty different
from here. You have to try hard to
avoid the community here. The kind of
joy and celebration of life becomes a part
of you — something you'll be able to
share when you leave, no matter what
you do." n
6-1-72 MESSENGER 17
Pastoral ministry and
Bethany Theological Seminary -
an initial assessment
by Richard N. Miller
That "the church needs faithful and
creative leadership trained at the grad-
uate level" is reaffirmed by the Bethany
Study Committee in its report to Annual
Conference 1972.
There is a part of me that wants to
believe that statement. Tm a Bethany
graduate with twenty years invested in
education and another seventeen years
invested in service to the church.
There is another part of me that ques-
tions. I served seven years as a pastor,
seven years as a district executive sec-
retary, and three years on the national
staff. Fve seen the pastoral ministry as a
pastor, as a placement officer at both the
district and national levels, and now as
a practicing layman, and what I've seen
raises questions about the ability of the
denomination to use effectively the per-
sons it trains for pastoral leadership.
I sincerely trust that in this article I
can speak for myself and be heard as an
individual rather than an exponent of an
official position for the denomination.
I am certain that the General Board's
Personnel Office, the Parish Ministries
Commission, and the Communications
Unit wish that as well. I speak not for
them in this article.
Bethany's impact
There is no question concerning Beth-
any's impact on today's Church of the
Brethren. It is only the degree of influ-
ence that may be surprising.
For instance, a check made by the
Personnel Office indicates that 326, or
nearly half, of the 728 persons now
serving congregations of the Church of
the Brethren as either full- or part-time
pastors are graduates of Bethany The-
ological Seminary. An additional 67
pastors have received at least part of
their training from that seminary.
Moreover, the district and national
staffs which form a support system for
the pastorate have a high percentage of
Bethany graduates. Nineteen of 27 dis-
trict executive secretaries and 21 of 40
General Board staff members are BTS
alumni.
On the other hand, many of the
denomination's leaders, including some
of the BTS faculty, are not graduates of
Bethany but rather alumni of other
seminaries. Among them are Dr. Paul M.
Robinson, president, Warren F. Groff,
dean, and faculty members Donald F.
Durnbaugh, Robert W. Neff. and LeRoy
E. Kennel.
Leaders such as M. R. Zigler, Andrew
Cordier, Dan West, Harold Row, and
Rufus D. Bowman are not graduates of
BTS. One district executive secretary,
four General Board staff members, and
some 20 pastors have graduated from
other seminaries and not BTS.
Nonetheless, the 67-year investment of
this denomination in its own seminary
has made a significant impact. Seminary
training is now the rule rather than the
exception, in at least the majority of
congregations with full time pastors.
And that training for the most part
comes from Bethany!
What of tomorrow?
But what of tomorrow? There's talk
of the need to increase enrollment.
There's an assumption abroad in the
Brotherhood that past trends will
continue. Are they right? Hardly!
It is obvious that the trend toward
more and more pastors trained at the
seminary cannot continue. There will
never be a time when every congregation
in the Church of the Brethren has a
seminary-trained pastor. In fact, fewer
congregations may have a pastor at all,
much less a seminary-trained person.
In the last eleven years, the number of
congregations with a nonsalaried or no
pastor has more than doubled from 103
in 1960 to 257 in 1971. And the trend is
steady. And it is not the result of a
limited supply of trained personnel.
It is largely a matter of economics.
The key factors are church size and an
adequate financial base, and there is a
definite relationship between the two.
In 1964, in conjunction with a study of
the problems confronting small con-
gregations, denominational leadership
observed that the salary scale for pas-
tors presumed a congregation of 150
members and an annual budget of at
least 510,000.
Wrote Galen B. Ogden, then executive
secretary of the Ministry and Home Mis-
sions Commission, "I seriously question
whether any amount of encouragement
or 'stewardship education' will enable
congregations of fewer than 150 mem-
bers to pay $7,500 salaries within the
foreseeable future." That was in the
mid-1960s. The salary scale has gone up
since then and the number of congrega-
tions with fewer than 150 members has
increased.
According to that guideline of 1964,
the number of congregations that the-
oretically can support a full-time pastor
is no longer 483. Today it is 421 con-
gregations with more than 150 members.
Even the Bethany Study Committee
agrees, reporting that "the supply of
trained ministers in the Brotherhood has
caught up with the demand."
18 MESSENGER 6-1-72
More or fewer?
Based on the data at hand, one must
go one step further and suggest that to
supply the pastoral ministry we know
today we will need fewer seminary grad-
uates rather than more in the next ten
years.
We've looked at church size. Let's look
directly at salary.
Pastoral salaries are related to the
seminary in that the church needs to pay
those laborers they train for the Lord's
vineyards and the salary schedule says
the church needs to pay them up to
$2,000 more per year for their training
than is paid to a person without a
seminary degree.
Some district executive secretaries
believe that the salary scale adopted in
1960 and revised jjeriodically has helped
tremendously in raising the salaries of
pastors. However, it appears that few
district executives were able to move
very far on the Ministry and Home Mis-
sions Commission recommendation of
the mid-1960s that congregations indi-
cate an "ability and willingness to pay
at least the minimum salary schedule as
defined by Annual Conference" before
calling a minister to full-time service.
Eleven years after the initial push,
fewer than one out of three full-time
pastors are on the minimum salary
schedule. That was the report to the
Parish Ministries Commission in March
of this year.
Based on responses from twenty of
twenty-four districts, 99 of their 333
pastors serving full time are on scale.
In five districts, no pastor is on scale.
Only in one district, Illinois and Wis-
consin, are more pastors on scale than
off.
I tend to believe that most congrega-
tions would pay scale if they could.
Apparently two out of three cannot pay
for the pastoral service with the training
they desire.
The opportunities for pastoral service
at scale, however, may be even fewer
than these statistics suggest.
It may be that those 99 pastors on
scale are those with less than 10 years of
experience.
It is much easier, for example, for a
congregation to pay $8,928 (including
$2,000 for parsonage) for a person just
out of seminary than to pay $13,581 to
someone with sixteen years of experi-
ence.
Playing the odds
How does one begin to assess the
service prospects for a 1972 graduate
from Bethany Theological Seminary
intent on pastoral ministry?
A potential pastor in the Church of the
Brethren todays has no more than 1,036
placement opportunities if willing to
serve in any congregation without regard
to salary. That's the number of con-
gregations we have.
The candidate has approximately 728
opportunities if willing to serve as a pas-
tor of up to two congregations, a yoked
or single charge offering full- or part-
time service.
The person has no more than 412
opportunities if willing to serve only a
congregation with 151 members or more.
The candidate has fewer than 125
opportunities if willing to serve only at
the recommended salary scale and that
number diminishes as years of experience
accumulate.
Opportunities for service at or near
scale may look different two years from
now if the Parish Ministries Commission
is able to fulfill its objective and move
out of the field of long-term ministry
support grants. Currently, grants averag-
ing over $1,200 go to supplement the
salaries of forty pastors.
The theory behind the grants original-
ly was that they would permit congre-
gations with "potential" to grow by
providing seminary-trained, exf)erienced
pastors. As the church grew, they were
exjjected to reduce their request for
grants by ten percent each year.
The plan projected ten years to estab-
lish a congregation in a community.
However, twenty-four of the current
grants, well over half, have been in
process of reduction for more than ten
years, some as long as twenty-three and
twenty-four years.
This policy has been changed from ten
years to three with greater determination
to match resources to leadership within
the three years.
A basic assumption two decades ago
was that every congregation needed a
full-time, seminary-trained pastor. That's
no longer the assumption of PMC. Cur-
rently, the commission affirms that many
will need seminary-trained persons, but
other congregations must find new op-
tions. This policy change needs to be fed
into the discussion of the future of the
seminary.
Meanwhile, back to the 1972 BTS
graduate. Since many congregations have
pastors, let's look at the actual opportu-
nities. The average number of openings
in a given pastoral placement year is 170.
To the seminary graduate, that appears
to be an ample number of opportunities.
And it is, for a youthful candidate.
The seminary graduate with no experi-
ence is in demand. He has the training
and comes at $5,000 less on the pastoral
scale than the pastor with sixteen years
of experience.
So, however one looks at it, the im-
mediate odds are good for the candidate
just out of seminary. But what happens
down the road?
After experience
The pastor with experience has a
tougher time. He knows his needs for
additional income as his family increases
and grows toward college. He knows,
also, something about the denomination
and the ability of congregations to pay
scale.
When a pastor with experience decides
it is time for a move, he is reluctant to
resign without a call to another church,
an assurance that there is a congregation
out there that will be as challenging as
the current charge and an assurance that
the salary will be no lower than the
present remuneration.
That reluctance is not an imagined
one. According to the General Board's
Personnel Office, candidates available
for placement in pastorates on April 4 of
this year include 38 pastors, only seven
of whom had resigned.
What happens to persons with experi-
ence, then? Many must adjust their
expectations, reassess their commitments,
and decide to stay in or move out.
The BTS graduating classes of 1954
and 1955 may be cases in point. The
Alumni of those years now have the
possibility of 15 or more years of
pastoral experience.
Of the 68 Brethren ministers graduat-
ing in those two classes, 60 experienced
some post seminary pastoral service.
Today, 28 serve in pastorates and 32
6-1-72 MESSENGER 19
Th©V ShSr© ^^ begin to complain if we have to wait an hour
, to see our well-trained doctor in his clean and
^lIQII' efficient office. In northern Nigeria a woman may carry a sick
. child for fifty miles and then wait in line outside the hos-
QOCTOr pital a full day. As little children we learn about
. , germs and sanitation. But in Nigerian villages some still
WlTri blame disease on evil spirits. Not that they want to be
^f^f^ f\f\Q superstitious or ignorant. Far from it. But how can
l^«7,«7^0 they learn about bacteria if they have no teacher?
_j_i Through Lafiya — a new medical program to train
OXri6rS> medical personnel — the Church of the Brethren can
assist in bringing education and health to millions of people in the
North-Eastern State of Nigeria where we have had mission work for
nearly fifty years. We need your response, your help, your caring.
There is a deep need for this new medical program and it can be done
only with your help. Consider what you can do and fill in the coupon
below. Your check may be made payable to: Lafiya, Church of the
Brethren General Board.
i
j 1 am interested in LAFiYA!
1 LJ Here is my special gift to be applied towa
rd the $300,000 needed be
yond the
Brotherhood
1 Fund budget for Lafiya/Nigeria Medical
Program.
1 ED I'm Interested in the medical program but
desire further information.
1 Amniint pnrln<;pd- .$
1 Name 1
1 1
1 Street/RFD |
1 City
State, Zip Code
1 Congregation
District
1 Please clip and mail to: Lafiya/Nigeria Medica
Program, Church
of the B
ethren Ge
neral Board, i
1 1451 Dundee Avenue, Elgin, Illinois 60120
■
12:6-1-72
have moved to other work.
And what happens to a denomination
that consistently loses its experienced
pastoral leadership? It appears that the
Brethren are in the process of learning.
This article is not intended to be an
expose. In fact, I have the feeling that
most pastors and church leaders know
what's happening. Even if we don't talk
about it, the data that feed back to us
affect our recruitment and placement
activities. They affect how we look to
future service in the church.
Take recruitment. It's down because
we know it has to be. Look again at the
1954 and 1955 graduating classes at
BTS. They averaged 30 going into the
pastoral ministry'. In the last four years,
an average of 15 have gone into pas-
torates from seminary and graduate
schools, including BTS, each year.
Frankly, we haven't had room for any
more than the 15 or so graduates each
year without forcing out more experi-
enced pastors.
Assessing the need
One might assume from all this that
the need, because of church size, will be
for part-time service. Statistically, the
number of part-time pastors has dropped
in the last eleven years from 410 to 216.
One might point to yokings as the
wave of the future and so prepare pas-
tors for serving two churches. But yok-
ing is about where it was five years ago:
166 yoked congregations then compared
with 151 today.
One answer may be to instill in pas-
toral candidates the need for two voca-
tions, providing assistance in making the
transition.
Are there other answers? There must
be and we must find them and soon!
Meanwhile, my questions continue.
Ver\' likely, as the study committee sug-
gests, the Church of the Brethren needs
leadership trained at the graduate level,
and perhaps even its own seminary.
But conceivably, what the denomina-
tion needs even more, and right now, is
a clearer assessment of the kind of
"church" we Brethren want to be, the
kind of congregational life we can afford,
and the leadership our congregations can
supply and support. The question of the
seminary would then be much easier to
answer. And that's what I believe. □
Findings of a survey on abortion
In quick summary, the 1972 report of the
Annual Conference Study Committee on
Abortion makes three major emphases:
first, that abortion is wrong; second, that,
nevertheless, there are instances when
abortion must be allowed; and third, that
Brethren should not impose their morality
upon others and need to express com-
passion in situations where decisions may
be difficult for all involved.
This is the essence of a working paper
shared in the Jan. 1, 1972, Messenger
and of a Conference report summarized
more fully on page ... of this issue. It is
also a matter to which 290 responses
came from readers of Messenger, via a
checklist published in the Jan. 1 issue and
later circulated to ministers through
Agenda.
From the 290 responses, the following
sentiments prevailed:
1^ Abortion is a proper subject for
consideration by the church and the
church should provide more teaching and
counsel on such matters.
1^ There is division as to when life may
be regarded as fully personal.
1^ Brethren accept the standard legal
grounds for abortion, and a significant
number would allow emotional reasons as
well. They will not leave decisions on
abortion to the mother alone nor look up-
on abortion as an acceptable means of
birth control.
To recount the survey and the re-
sponses:
Abortion is a question appropriate for
the church to consider.
The overwhelming majority indicated
yes; about one out of seven replied no.
Human life should be considered fully
personal at the time of conception?
quickening? viability? birth? some other
time?
While 37 percent checked conception,
47 percent indicated a later time: either
quickening, viability, or birth.
Sufficient reason for abortion is threat
to mother's life? threat to the physical
health of mother? rape? incest? fetal
deformity? possibility of fetal deformity?
threat to the well-being of the family?
threat to the mother's emotional health?
threat of overpopulation? the desire not
to have a child?
The respondents revealed a willingness
to accept differing reasons as sufficient
grounds for abortion. Seven out of eight
would permit abortion when the mother's
life is threatened by pregnancy. About 70
percent accept threat to the physical
health of the mother, rape, and fetal de-
formity as sufficient reasons. Sixty f)er-
cent view the possibility of fetal deformity
and incest as valid reasons.
Slightly more than half, 55 percent,
noted a threat to the mother's emotional
health as sufficient reason for her seeking
an abortion. The term "emotional health"
was not defined.
A threat to the well-being of the family
is regarded as an acceptable reason by 40
percent of those replying. Those willing
to allow the choice to be made by the
mother alone totaled 33 percent. Twenty-
five percent accepted the threat of over-
population as a legitimate reason.
In sum, the respondents tended to ac-
cept the traditional legal exceptions —
threat to the mother's life or health, in-
cest, rape, and fetal deformity; they were
divided on such factors as the emotional
well-being of the mother and family; they
were largely unwilling to let the matter
rest with the mother alone or to make
abortion an acceptable means of birth
control.
Civil law should continue heavily to
restrict the practice of abortion, as it now
does in most states.
About 40 percent concurred, but the
majority — 60 percent — favored that
more latitude be enacted in civil law.
A woman has the sole right to decide
what happens to a growing fetus within
her body.
Fifty-five percent said no; 40 percent
yes. Many comments indicated that the
husband by all means, and also the doc-
tor, should share in the decision.
Every woman who seeks an abortion
has the right to full medical care.
Five out of six respondents agreed.
Moreover, the number of comments ap-
pended indicated a wide compassionate
concern.
The question, however, conveyed a lack
of clarity as to whether "full medical
care" entailed abortion or was simply
medical counsel and care exclusive of
abortion.
The church should provide more teach-
ing, counseling, and other services regard-
ing attitudes toward sex, family planning,
and abortion than it now does.
Nine out of ten agree, indicating over-
whelming support for such teaching. One
out of 12 answered that the church ought
not provide such teaching; some wanted
the terms "sex" and "abortion" stricken
from the question.
In terms of use of the information from
the respondents, Donald E. Miller, a
spokesman for the study committee, in-
dicated that the survey was very helpful
to the committee's deliberations. Of
great value, too, he added, were the notes
and letters which many persons took time
to write:
In assessing the responses Dr. Miller
indicated:
1. While individual letters conveyed a
stronger stance than did the responses
to the checklist, the bulk of the replies
tended to support directions the commit-
tee had presented in the working docu-
ment.
2. The input from the Brotherhood
led the committee to insert a statement
as to when abortion would be acceptable.
The insertion reads: "For many Breth-
ren, situations such as the threat of the
life and health of the mother, rape, incest,
or possible fetal deformity are considered
sufficient to warrant abortion."
3. The theme of compassion, revealed
often in the responses to the survey, in-
fluenced similar references in the state-
ment to be presented to Annual Confer-
ence in Cincinnati.
The responses came both from indi-
viduals and groups, the groups comprised
notably of women and youth. Enthusiasm
for the work of the study committee was
frequently expressed by persons related to
the medical arts, particularly younger
doctors and nurses. However, a number
of older persons revealed how they
personally were confronted with similar
issues as much as thirty or forty years
ago. n
6- 1-72 MESSENGER 21
Abortion and War
byDaleAukerman
In its January 1 issue Messenger carried
a draft statement by the Study Comtnittee
on Abortion. A response to tliat state-
ment follows, presented here for the
counterpoint which it offers and for the
contribution it brings to wider delibera-
tions.
It is to be noted, however, that in pre-
paring this response the author lacked
access to the now revised report which
the committee will be bringing to Annual
Conference in Cincinnati. — Editor
Br
► rethren historically have held that de-
struction of human life in war goes
against God's way as shown in Jesus
Christ. Many of us Brethren have strug-
gled with the power of arguments to the
contrary by those who believe that mili-
tary defense and war can be justified.
The question of abortion, like that of
war, is difflcult and puzzling, with no easy
answers. I have come personally to a defi-
nite position on abortion mainly through
recognizing that the standard arguments
for taking life in war turn out at bottom
to be precisely those that are brought for-
ward in support of abortion. This agile
about-face permeates A Statement Re-
garding Abortion, a working paper by the
Annual Conference Study Committee on
Abortion (Jan. 1 Messenger). Brethren
are now being asked officially to adopt,
for abortion, the very perspective and
arguments we have rejected with regard to
military defense and war.
Here are some of the main parallels:
"The lesser evil": Killing in war is
recognized as regrettable — bad; but in
certain circumstances any alternative
would be so much worse that war be-
comes necessary. When the working
paper submitted by the study committee
says, "Abortion ... in itself is never de-
sirable," and then later, "In some situa-
tions abortion is perhaps the least un-
desirable alternative available," we are
given a subtle euphemism for abortion as
"the lesser evil."
In response to "the lesser evil" argu-
ment for war a Brethren reply would be:
Our human existence does abound in
traps where any line of action seems to
involve doing evil and we can only try to
figure out which line involves doing the
least evil. The traps are real and terrible:
but God, for those who count on him,
springs the trap, provides "the way of
escape" ( 1 Cor. 10:13), gives exit not
through abandoning Jesus" way but
through living it.
Listen carefully to an apologist for the
military and you discover that for him
this God does not exist. But if this God
can be counted on by children of his,
struggling with the issues of threat,
vulnerability, and defense, then he can be
counted on equally and comparably by
any of his children who feel trapped by a
pregnancy.
"The last resort" (really the "lesser
evil" argument in a slightly different
'The standard arguments
for taking life in war turn
out to be precisely those
that are brought forward
in support of abortion'
form) : A key element in the classical
"just war" doctrine has been the principle
that any war should be fought only as a
last resort when other possibilities have
been exhausted and when any alternative
to fighting would clearly result in greater
suffering and injustice.
Take the key sentence in the working
paper, replace the word abortion by war.
and you are left with a cogent expression
of this element of the "just war" position:
"We believe that abortion [war] should
be considered an option only when all
other possible alternatives lead to greater
destruction of personal human life and
spirit." The writers of the working paper
are saying for abortion precisely what our
church has refused to say for war.
In war and abortion life is snuffed out.
For either "just war" or "just abortion" a
crucial question is: How can anyone, be-
fore or after, be at all sure that there is no
other way, that "all other possible alterna-
tives [would] lead to greater destruction
of personal human life and spirit"? Be-
fore completing the awesome decision to
snuff out life, a person should be reason-
ably sure. But how could a Christian
mother, reckoning with God, be sure?
The welfare of some: Because the lives
and welfare of these are threatened by
those, appropriate measures must be
taken to preserve these from what would
be brought upon them by those, and. if
need be, those must be killed, eliminated.
The most familiar version of this argu-
ment points to the colossal threat (to us)
posed by communists and communism
(destruction of personal human life and
spirit!) and assumes the need for military
and lethal countering of that threat.
In such a view there is a fateful favori-
tism: The lives and welfare of some loom
large for us because they (we) are threat-
ened. But somehow the lives and welfare
of those seen as the threat hardly count.
In the working paper there is a parallel
favoritism: "Such situations [warranting
abortion] include serious threat to the
lives and emotional well-being of the
mother and her family." Fetuses, it
seems, fare no better than communists
when the lives and welfare of some are
stacked against the dimly viewed lives and
welfare of others.
For either war or abortion a simple
response would be: When we do that sort
of stacking, we begin to play God. But
the God of Jesus Christ who "died for all"
is "not willing that any should perish"
(2 Cor. 5:14: 1 Tim. 2:6).
No distinction between church and
world: It is a decisive characteristic of
Christian apologists for the military that
they do not in this connection recognize
any distinction between those who have
22 MESSENGER 6-1-72
become disciples of Jesus and those who
have not. They look at the total society,
people generally, and deduce what is
feasible and necessary. The working pa-
per on abortion has the same decisive
characteristic. It is not attempting to dis-
cern God's will for his people but rather
to show what is feasible and necessary for
people generally.
The anabaptist reply to this with re-
gard to war has been: Going the way of
the cross, meeting enemies with Christ's
love, being ready to take suffering rather
than inflict it may not seem practical or
possible to people generally. But for
those who have heard Christ's call there
comes the enabling presence of the Spirit,
making possible what humanly is not pos-
sible. Faithfulness may involve sacrifice
and suffering; it may look like nonsense to
nondisciples. But disciples are to live by
the call and the Spirit — not by pruden-
tial weighing of what seems necessary for
themselves and society. This call to the
way of suflering love is not just to some
disciples but to all — and ultimately to all
people, even those who do not yet heed it.
Brethren who say all this on war can
hardly say the opposite on abortion. Even
when nascent life comes as threat — as
enemy — disciples through Christ's call
and Spirit are enabled to love, accept, be
reconciled with the enemy. This call and
power are there not just for some disciples
but for all — and ultimately for those too
who do not yet hear.
Nondisciples may turn inevitably to
war. Nondisciples may turn inevitably to
abortion. But any position statement by
the church should focus toward Christ's
call and enabling power for this disciples.
Jthe working paper makes much of "the
condemnatory attitudes, compassionless-
ness, and profound insensitivity and lack
of understanding" prevalent in the usual
opposition to abortion. But similar charg-
es have been standard against those who
have opposed war; callousness to the fate
of those threatened by the enemy, self-
righteousness, condemnatory attitudes
toward those who are shouldering the
burden of military defense.
Such charges, either in the context of
war or abortion, may be accurate; but for
disciples they need not be. There is a
more excellent way ; the striving, not for
moral superiority, but for faithfulness to
the Master personally and in the fellow-
ship; empathy for any who feel them-
selves under the shadow of an enemy;
readiness to stand with them in their
danger, suffering, resistance (but not
readiness to stand with them in any de-
cision to do away with the enemy) ; com-
mending them, pointing them, to One who
can far more fully stand with them than
we can; compassion for those who are
driven toward any form of killing, com-
passion that knows the biblical sequence
of transgression, repentance (before or
after the outward act), forgiveness.
Our hearts can go out to a local boy
departing for or returning from the air
war in Indochina; our hearts can go out
even though we recognize the fighting of
that war as something hideously wrong.
Compassion can go hand in hand with a
definite position as to what can be within
Christ's way and what cannot, whether
war is the issue or abortion.
There is no denying that all these stan-
dard arguments have much persuasive-
ness and power, whether used for war or
for abortion. Those who employ them to
justify both are at least consistent. There
comes, though, a grotesque contradiction
when those who are appalled by abortion
use these arguments to justify war. And
the grotesqueness is hardly less when
those who reject all war and the argu-
ments for it employ the same arguments
to justify abortion.
In the section on "Biblical Teaching,"
the working paper states: "The Bible
teaches us that human life is a sacred gift
of God. . . . Science can describe the de-
velopment of the fetus, but it caimot
penetrate the mystery and uniqueness of
the person who is brought into being by
the hand of God."
For Brethren disciples these sentences
should have been the decisive ones for the
whole paper. Taken in their full weight,
they lead not to the conclusion brought in
by the committee but to one set down by
Dietrich Bonhoffer in prison: "To raise
the question whether we are here con-
cerned already with a human being or not
is merely to confuse the issue. The simple
fact is that God certainly intended to cre-
ate a human being and that this nascent
human being has been deliberately de-
prived of his life. And that is nothing but
murder." D
BOORS fOR^
TODAy'5.
LIVING-,
The hfealing
T^elationship
V -v-*
The Healing Relationship
by Rudolph E. Grantham
Med i ta tions to
bring the gospel to
shine into the dark
experiences of
sickness and hos-
pitalization — fear-
faith, love-hostil-
ity, hope-despair.
$1.00 per copy; 10
or more, 85? each.
Faith and a Lump of Clay
by J, David Barkley
In today's hard
world, man profits
from the hope
Christ offers when
man accepts the
challenge and uses
his faith and will.
$1.00 per copy; 10
or more, 85(Z each.
Whom God Hath Joined
Together
fay Wesley H. Hager
A book of devo-
tions for the first
forty days of mar-
riage, with special
prayers and table
graces. An ideal
bride's gift. Hard-
back, white. $1.25
per copy; 1 0 or
more, $1.00 each.
Order direct from
The Upper Room
1908 Grand Ave., Nashville, Tenn. 37203
WHOM
COD
HATH
JOINED
TOGETHER
CLASSIFIED ADS
WANTED — To buy or borrow, a copy of the
Hoover family history. Am interested in the
branch which lived in Iowa and Kansas in the
1850s. Write Charlotte E. Reinke, 1755 Ivy Hill
Loop, S., Columbus, Ohio 43229.
"MUD PIES," by Ellen Vore, covers many hu-
morous and tragic events in the author's world
up to twelve years of age. As the eldest of ten
children, she encountered many ups and downs,
learning to share as with each new arrival. This
lighthearted book spans the generation gap.
Priced at $3. Ellen Vore, 2632 N. Eastern Road,
Lima, Ohio 45807.
6-1-72 MESSENGER 23
The signs of a Christian people
One of Russia's outstanding writers, Alexander
Solzhenitsyn, in recent weeks addressed a sur-
prise letter to Patriarch Pimen of the Russian
Orthodox Church stating deep concern over the
subservience of the church to the Soviet state.
The letter pleaded for the patriarch to defend
more outspokenly the cause of faith in Russia,
even at the sacrifice of material well-being and
possible martyrdom.
"We are losing and have lost that bright,
ethical Christian atmosphere in which our values,
way of life, world outlook, folklore, and even the
word peasant have been founded for thousands of
years," Mr. Solzhenitsyn asserted. "We are los-
ing the last traces and signs of a Christian people."
More specifically, the Nobel prize-winning
novelist decried that Soviet parents upon the
baptism of their babies may face job and public
persecution; that children are barred from par-
ticipating in church services and taking com-
munion; that priests are powerless within their
own parishes, having only the conduct of church
services entrusted to them; that protests of out-
spoken priests and believers have been unan-
swered; that "for every functioning church there
are twenty that have been razed or irretrievably
ruined and another twenty are in a state of neglect
or profanation"; even that Russia is "deprived of
her ancient adornment, her most beautiful voice"
— the pealing of church bells.
Tragically, the writer continued, the Russian
Church has "its indignant opinion on every evil
in distant Asia or Africa, yet on internal ills — -
it has none — ever. Why are the messages we
receive from the church hierarchy traditionally
tranquil?"
This is one man's assessment of religious
liberty, and the challenge before church leaders,
in the USSR. Taking a leaf from the same letter,
the integrity of looking close in, let us ask: How
goes it in the USA?
Few Americans likely are aware that religious
independence is under attack at home as well as
abroad. But concern is mounting whether in
matters of church and state the present adminis-
tration, or adjuncts of it, hold due regard for the
Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.
For example, the tax exempt status of numer-
ous religious institutions involved in social min-
istries is being challenged by the government. In
a March 15 Messenger editorial Ronald E.
Keener recounted how the Unitarian Universalist
Association was investigated because its publish-
ing arm. Beacon Press, issued "The Senator
Gravel Edition of the Pentagon Papers," materi-
als already in the public domain. There are in-
stances elsewhere — the Episcopal Church, the
National Council of Churches, the Migrant Min-
istries of Florida and California, councils of
churches in Indiana. South Carolina, and Seatde,
and a mission board sponsored settlement house
in San Francisco — where US Internal Revenue
Service agents are running audits presumably be-
cause each of the groups sees faith expressing
itself in efforts for social change and justice and
liberation.
A=
Lgainst the chilling eye of government scru-
tiny, these questions become increasingly press-
ing: Does tax exemption require that a church
do nothing but preach within its own walls, that
it be politically and culturally silent?
Should it be necessary for the church to
abandon the exercise of rights guaranteed by the
Constitution in order to qualify for tax exemp-
tion?
Is it for civil government to tell religious
leaders which of their institution's practices are
legitimately religious and which are not?
As one news daily recently noted, that US
government officials should use as a standard of
religion a model so close to the "neutered"
church of the Soviet Union, is irony indeed.
So too is the thought that Alexander
Solzhenitsyn's lament over public and prophetic
witness someday could be our own. — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGER 6-1-72
*V -^J
i>
f
V
I
THE CHURCH
.reborn
.in our political society
•ivliicli embraces all mankind
.and a neiiv style of Christian life
The Greening of the Church
by Findley B. Edge
Not a hollow call for renewal and change, but an imagination-jolting blueprint
that tells how any church can be reborn! This book makes practical suggestions
your church can put to use. Beginning with personal spiritual renewal, Mr. Edge
branches out to include every aspect of church life. New, stimulating techniques
for dialogue preaching, book reading, small groups, and Bible study are discussed
in detail. $4.95
Mankind My Church
by Colin Morris
When Colin Morris first broke into print, churchmen everywhere were startled by
the pronouncements of this fiery English missionary to Africa. His books and his
appearances in Europe and America have since established him as one of the
most stimulating and provocative leaders in the church today. These chapters
demonstrate not only his skill in communicating but his understanding and orig-
inality. The topics range from the devil in the church, the hiddenness of God, and
contemporary false prophets, to the rule of God over the nations and a concept of
church which embraces all mankind — a strong underlying theme in all Colin
Morris' writings. $2.45 paper.
The Yogi, The Commissar, and the Third-World Church
by Paul D. Clasper
Today the meditative spirit of the East and the social reforms of the West are
rapidly crossing world boundaries. The two philosophies are found everywhere.
How they give a fresh understanding to Christian life is the subject of this book!
The author uses the images of the Yogi and the Commissar to compare and con-
trast the personalistic and collectivistic response to the modern world. Then, he
discusses the exciting potential of a third way or way-in-between the Christian
church. The full scope of this third-world church, the continuous reformation
needed for it, and the place of the individual Christian in it are all described.
$1.95 paper.
Politics, Poker, and Piety
by Wallace E. Fisher
According to Dr. Fisher, wherever politics is in America, piety is not far behind,
and politics and poker have a lot in commbn because both games depend on a
desire for power and a strategy for achieving it. Unless the churches begin to
realistically examine their role in the life of the state, the author sees a definite
head-on clash between church and state. No escapist, he proceeds to spell out the
valid foundation upon which the churchman stands as he confronts the hypocrisy
involved in much of our traditional jargon about separation of church and state.
Since he is concerned chiefly with the problem of the American development of
democracy, he examines closely how far we have come from the early medifeval
theological climate and helps us examine how we can restore Christian integrity
in both ecclesiastical and political circles. $2.95 paper.
Postage: 20c first dollar; 5c each additional dollar
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
INTRODUCING
mecffasci
§ §
A new service offering
• sales and rentals of current films, filmstrips, records, tapes, slides
• consultation on program planning using multimedia resources
• help in locating and booking films regardless of source
A new service for
• pastors
• teachers
• leaders
A new service with
• up-to-date resources
• the new line of TeleKETICS films
• open-ended, high quality materials
.r^rf^"
'^'r-
WRITE FOR FREE LISTING
OF CURRENT FIIMS
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■I
1
1
■
1 Name |
1 Address |
1 ■
1 State
Zip 1
1
1 Congregation ■
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■I
A DIVISION OF THE BRETHREN PRESS, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
messenger
,.^
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
JUNE 15, 1972
Darke {^nty: // .
^:- Power ^, *%^ f
for the
popferless
©©DTllbSDIllt^
Dslttoir^
Q Baptists and Brethren: Are We Ready for Anything More?
Members of the American Baptist Convention and the Church of the
Brethren are finding ways to affiliate, federate, and cooperate on
local and national levels. Howard E. Royer analyzes developments
lO Prayers to Pray in Person. "In our world all things are always
praying. No act employs so many hearts and voices." The words of
Robert H. Miller introduce a selection of five prayers from his new-
book, The Hunger of the Heart, published by The Brethren Press
In Service for Justice. In Ohio's Darke County Brethren and
others join forces in a unique ministry to migrants, by John G. Fike
\^^ People & Parish. Home Bible study aids. A continuing com-
munion. A portrayal of joy. A devotional booklet. Symbolic nail
crosses. Messenger introduces a new feature that spotlights congre-
gational life
The Games Global Leaders Play. For twenty years we vowed
that the Chinese were our enemies. The Chinese swore the same
about us. Now, suddenly, we are friends — a game of turning
emotions off and on that makes this columnist indignant,
by Arthur Hoppe
In Touch profiles Kari Yount, William L. Widdowson. and Joyce Conner
(2). . . . Outlook reports on Elizahcthtown College's expanded health
care program, names delegates from sister churches to Annual Conference,
notes the planned Cincinnati celebration of the autonomy of Lardin Gabas,
features the use of symbols in worship, and questions the future of
COCU (beginning on 4). . . . Some Brethren are asking "Whence the
Church and Pastoral Years?" (17). . . . Leiand Wilson reviews a book
on "Shaping the Forces of Peace" (21 ). . . . Shirley Heckman describes
"New Curriculum Offerings for Church School" (22)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
tinda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 12
JUNE 15, 1972
CREDITS: Co\er anuoik b\ Ken Stanle\:
2 (rights coiirtes\ of the Wavnesboio. Pa.,
Record-Herald: 4 (from left) Howaixi E.
Royer. Ronald E. Keener. Leiand Wilson:
8 Robert Kintner: 13. 15 (left) .Man
Petersiine: 14. 15 (right) John G. Fike:
20 Religions Xews Service
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter .\ug. 20. 1918. under .\ct of
Congress of Oct. 17. 1917. Filing date. Oct. 1.
1971. Messenger is a member of the .Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious Nevvs Service and Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Revised Standard
Version.
Subscription rates: S4.20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions: S3. 60 per year for church
group plan: S3. 00 per vear for everv home
plan: life subscription, $60: husband and
wife, $75. If you move clip old address
from Messenger and send ivith new address.
.\llovv at least fifteen davs for ad-
dress change. Messenger is o\\-ned
and published twice monthlv by
the General Senices Commission.
Church of the Brethren General
Board. 1451 Dundee -\\e.. Elgin.
111. 60120. Second-class postage
paid at Elgin. 111.. June 15. 1972. Copyright
1972. Church of the Bretliren General Board.
i
OPPOSE ABORTION
The subject of abortion is on the agenda
of the coming Annual Conference. In our
opinion this is appropriate for the Church
of the Brethren only if it is to formulate a
strong statement against abortion.
All Christians should unite to condemn
abortion. This is particularly necessary since
President Ni.xon's special population commis-
sion has recommended that abortion be
made available everywhere "on demand."
Anyone who has studied biology knows
that a life begins when the sperm unites
with the ovum. Within a very short time a
fetus displavs human features. Abortion is
the termination of such a life. Can it be
said that it is not human life because the
fetus is not breathing air and taking its own
food? No man can answer this question. It
is not given to us to know. It is morally and
spiritually dangerous to assume that a fetus
does not possess human life until it is de-
livered at the end of the gestation period.
Whether conception is the consequence of
passion or love, a life has been started. It is
sinful to terminate it for selfish personal rea-
sons. Many couples are waiting to adopt a
bab\. Rather than condone killing, society
should provide care for prospective mothers
until the baby is delivered and for it until it
is adopted.
\ stand against abortion is not a stand
against contraception. Opposition to abor-
tion should be accompanied by support of
se.x education, including the use of contra-
ceptives.
The Church of the Brethren cannot, dare
not. be so inconsistent that it opposes wars
and violence and then does not oppose kill-
ing by abortion. If we are not consistent in
our witness it loses all of its acceptability.
I. W.\-i-NE Keller
Lancaster, Pa.
WORTH READING
I thought the May 1 issue of Messenger
was worth reading, especially the two In-
dian articles and the book reviews. I espe-
cially liked the review. "The Gunfight at
the Corral Is Not Okay." I didn't agree with
the two letters concerning the review of the
book Is Gay Good? and the one on abortion.
B.\RB.\R.\ MUNCY
Bremen, Ind.
CARING CAPACITY
I was very much impressed with the issue
on the environment (April 15). However,
unlike William Eberly. I feel a more hope-
ful, all-encompassing phrase would be: The
world's caring capacity cannot be overex-
tended.
Otherwise we would not have the Messen-
ger doine this issue on the environment.
Pc
©[Jl](
Otherwise we would not have the La Verne
church's "Statement on Christian Life-Style."
Otherwise we would not have the concerned
commentaries on the "Christian Life-Style."
Otherwise we would not have the Heifer
Project and other missions. Otherwise we
could not be called Brethren in Christ. I
would urge all churches to either support
the La Verne church's statement or study
and write their own statement.
Richard M. Judy Jr.
Canfield, Ohio
OVERSHADOWS EVERYTHING
I've been boiling over with sorrow and
indignation ever since Ted Glick burned his
draft card at Conference and had subse-
quent involvement in the draft records in-
cident. In spite of his father's masterly
rationalization, it still seems to be a deed of
theft.
But overpowering this reaction is my deep
gratitude for Kenneth Morse's poetry (April
I ). This overshadows anything I've ever
read in Messenger. And I've been reading
it for sixty years.
ESTELLE B. RiTTENHOUSE
Queen Anne, Md.
DISSENT LEVIES ITS OVI/N PENALTY
Just about everything was included by
Ronald Keener that needs to be said about
amnesty (special report. April 15). I would
ask the editors of The Living Church whom
he quoted how much of a picnic they think
it is to avoid military service. My tiny
knowledge of the voluntary services that
sprang up in neighboring Canada to help
young exiles adjust to their new life only
gets me started thinking about what it must
mean to give up family and friends in the
move to a strange and insecure future. A
friend who still relives the hellish fox holes
of World War II questions whether he would
have the courage to resist military service.
By the time the war is over, nearly everyone
will have paid the price for any choice he
made.
As for those who deserted after induction,
isn't it to their credit that they could resist
the indoctrination to kill, and made an active
decision to change when they moved from
innocence to awareness of what war is really
all about?
What do they mean, the precedent of
amnesty without penalty? Dissent of what-
ever nature levies its own penalty.
George Heitsman
Tucson, Ariz.
SIGNIFICANT CORPORATE ACTION
For the first time in my life I am proud
to say I am associated with the Church of
the Brethren.
The source of my "institutional esteem"
... is the General Board's decision "to divest
itself of holdings in corporations directly
producing defense or weapons-related prod-
ucts" and to sell our US treasury bonds.
Anyone and everyone who is born into
the Church of the Brethren as I was must
come to grips with that Brethren heritage.
Over the years I have examined this heritage,
struggled with it, taken it apart, and put it
back together again before accepting it. But
never before have I had such a sense of
significant corporate action.
Despite the pitfalls and roadblocks inher-
ent in any institution, the General Board has
acted decisively to implement our professed
stand in a way that speaks loudly to other
churches, other social institutions, to our
entire nation.
My thanks, and my support for that deci-
sion.
Lin Butler
North Manchester, Ind.
REEVALUATE USE OF MUSIC
I have learned to appreciate and use some
of the contemporary setting of church music,
but only because of the solid foundation
upon which the great hymns of the church
have been established. (See April 1 Messen-
ger. ) I believe that each individual must
constantly be on guard lest his music become
a matter of outward form, without personal
integrity.
New songs for new times are meaningless
if the attitude of the individual has not
changed. Let us not exploit our religious
emotions. I do believe much of the music
written today is produced for the moment
and for the pleasure of men. It is a reflec-
tion of ourselves and not of God. However,
God seeks to reach us through many ave-
nues and the person who listens, seeks, and
is sensitive to creative moments, truly wor-
ships.
I believe the music we use should praise
God. and the God we worship is the same
yesterday, today, and always. I do believe
we need carefully to examine the words we
use in singing praise to God whether we
use contemporary or "moods of their day
hymns." Our diet of church music must
always be the best we can give to God.
A new now in music cannot exist without
a new now in the hearts of men. Unthinking
singing is a form of dishonesty, for the sing-
er just mouths the words and his feeling
level does not exist. It appears to me that
there is a desperate need for a searching
reevaluation of the use of music on the part
of every person who in anyway is responsible
for the music leadership in worship.
Bonnie K. Hinkle
Middletown, Md.
R. H. Miller
Several weeks ago one of our editors
visited Dr. Robert H. Miller and his
wife at their home near the campus of
Manchester College. He found the for-
mer college professor checking the
proofs of his new book of prayers- —
his first since 1934 — that The Brethren
Press will publish June 15.
But Dr. Miller indicated then that he
would like to find a publisher for a col-
lection of his stories for children — and
he showed the visitor the neatly hand-
written manuscript of three chapters he
has already com-
pleted of a commen-
tary on the Gospel
of John. All of
this literary activity
has developed since
1969, when Dr. Mil-
ler retired from the
Manchester College
faculty, where he
was professor of re-
ligion and philosophy. Rounding off a
successful career as a teacher that sum-
mer, he and Mrs. Miller took up a
succession of interim pastorates — in
eight churches in nine years — stretch-
ing from Baltimore to Wenatchee.
Readers may recall a feature story Mes-
senger carried about this second career
of the Millers in our May 7, 1970,
issue.
But a third career was beginning
even then. For Dr. Miller developed
the practice of writing pastoral prayers
for use in the churches he served. He
has now prepared 98 of these prayers —
as meaningful for personal and family
use as they are in a public service —
for inclusion in a new book called The
Hunger of the Heart. Look for a few
samples of the prayers in this issue.
And pause a moment to marvel at the
writing career that now engages some of
R. H. Miller's leftover energy at the
exhilarating age of 83.
Other contributors to this issue in-
clude Mary Ann M. Kill p. Waynesboro,
Pa.; John G. Fike. communications unit
member: Shirley Heckman. educational
development consultant for Parish Min-
istries Commission; Leiand Wilson, La
Verne, Calif., pastor; and Arthur
Hoppe. syndicated columnist whose ar-
ticle appears courtesy of the San Fran-
cisco Clironicle.
The Editors
6-13-72 MESSENGER 1
Karl Yount: "Heart" education
Once a week, sometimes more often,
some twenty "Big Brothers" of Balti-
more Polytechnic Institute work for
45 minutes before the opening of
school on a one-to-one basis with
neighborhood youths, many from
broken homes, others who find their
world broadened by an older friend
who cares.
The tutoring program of the "Big
Brothers" is but one of many projects
undertaken by a group of students at
Poly, a science-engineering college
prep high school in the Maryland
city. Behind such projects is a service
committee at the school, and behind
the committee is Karl E. Yount Jr., a
member of the Westminster, Md.,
Church of the Brethren.
Mr. Yount, 42. believes that as
necessary as "head" education is
"heart" education. "I have always
believed that if just given the oppor-
tunity and inspiration, young people
will gladly donate their time and skill
to the elevation of others' happiness."
And Karl Yount has been that
inspiration.
Since 1956, when a few of his
classes helped in a Red Cross drive
and others assisted four needy city
families, Mr. Yount and his boys
have been at the heart of an expand-
ing service program.
Helping poor families move, tutor-
ing elementary children, working and
playing with day care center children,
and hospital, orphanage, and homes
of the aged visitations are but ex-
amples of the service programs which
Mr. Yount, as adviser, has helped his
boys see through. Last fall he was
commended for his community serv-
ice by the Baltimore City Fair for
"accomplishment, innovation, and
enterprise."
One of the largest events is an
annual Christmas party for under-
privileged children. Last winter's
party aided more than 1,500 children,
that twelve years ago began with 150
youth.
Mr. Yount joined the English fac-
ulty at Poly in 1956 after two and a
half years in alternative service and
BVS, assigned to the National Service
Board for Religious Objectors in
Washington, D.C.
And what does Mr. Yount receive
from it all? "Sincere service to others
can open the inner values of love,
possibly allowed to lie dormant for
years," he says, "and permit God to
begin his mysterious transformation."
For Karl Yount, loving service is
contagious.
in^
William L .Widdowson:
"In touch" with life aptly describes
86-year-young William L. Widdow-
son of Waynesboro, Pa. An opti-
mistic outlook, regular physical ex-
ercise, countless interests and hob-
bies, and a deep conviction that his
purpose is to live according to God's
will combine to keep this great-
grandfather a youthful, active, dedi-
cated adult.
Symbolic of his still active life and
concern for others, the former postal
employee last May joined in a ten-
mile CROP Hunger Hike.
Since 1960 Mr. Widdowson has
participated in the camping program
of the church, partly because it brings
him into contact with youth and part-
ly because it affords him continual
new experiences in nature, where he
feels most at home. Popular with the
youngsters of the Waynesboro con-
gregation, who call him "Uncle Bill,"
he works at Camp Eder in the sum-
mer teaching wildlife to the children.
Gardening provides further touch
with the natural world.
His intellectual life, too, simmers
on a level of continuous activity. A
graduate of Juniata College, he has
retained an interest in all types of lit-
erature, keeping abreast of local, na-
tional, and world affairs. He shares
his thoughts in a wide correspondence
and faithfully records daily events in
a diary. He has memorized scores of
poems and verses of scripture — a
reservoir of ideas from which he
frequently draws when teaching or in
conversation.
But the essence of his life is the
2 MESSENGER 613-72
Reflecting optimism
church. A Bible student. Brother
Widdowson has for years taught a
church school class, currently the
adult class, and an afternoon study
group. "I desire to do all I can," he
says, and his share in furnishing the
Widdowson Chapel for the Waynes-
boro church, combined with his faith-
ful support of all church programs,
attests to this statement.
He's attended Annual Conference
regularly and generally agrees with
Conference decisions, which, he feels,
"tend to be open-minded." Today's
church, he thinks, is going through a
period of readjustment.
"Some things don't appear as spir-
itual, sacred, and representative of
our Brethren heritage as they should,
but I think we're coming into a period
in which that will change," he adds,
reflecting characteristic optimism.
His involvement in the church and
daily personal devotion and study are
major sources of strength to this
brother whose life is a continuous
growing process. For young-in-heart
W. L. Widdowson is in touch with all
o'f life. — Mary Ann M. Kulp
Joyce Conner: Helping unsell the war
Inter\'iewers who ask Joyce Conner
what a "typical suburban housewife"
is doing in the peace movement likely
will not hear direct answers. Instead,
Joyce will turn the conversation away
from herself to the activities of the
Dayton. Ohio. Help Unsell the War
advertising campaign.
Her enthusiasm is infectious,
though she seems somewhat surprised
to find herself chairing the coalition
that began last Christmas when nine
groups in the Dayton area joined to
promote Help Unsell the War ads.
Joyce works with BVSers, the Met-
ropolitan Churches United, and mem-
bers of Clergy and Laymen Con-
cerned to induce radio and television
stations and newspapers (and even
Messenger — see inside back cover)
to use "Unsell" ads as a public
service.
The ads, developed last year on a
nationwide basis at the urging of a
group of Yale University students,
carry a punch. In one tv spot, the
camera pans down the gravestone of
a Marine killed in the war, then pans
over the endless rows of white mark-
ers in Arlington Cemetery. An an-
nouncer asks: "Is it worth it?"
Since December Joyce and her
colleagues have persuaded all Day-
ton-area tv and radio stations, as well
as two newspapers, to use the ads in
some way. Happily, Joyce cites the
successes: a radio station that agreed
to run spot commercials for thirty
days signing up for another thirty
days when letters of appreciation
poured in; a newspaper carrying an
Unsell ad — only the second public
service ad in its history; two other
newspapers running feature articles,
illustrated with photographs of the
ads; radio interviews which "present-
ed the Help Unsell the War Cam-
paign in a very challenging way."
Joyce describes herself as a new-
comer to the kind of involvement she
now experiences. Mission 12 with a
group from her congregation, the
Prince of Peace Church of the Breth-
ren; classes at the peace studies insti-
tute at the University of Dayton.
where she holds a part-time job; and
participation on a social action task
force for Prince of Peace church led
her to Clergy and Laymen Concerned
and finally to Help Unsell the War.
"I get 'high' from the excitement of
our successes," she reflected. "We're
anticipating a new series of ads on
the air war. and Help Unsell the War
has opened a West Coast office.
Next, here in Dayton, we're tentative-
ly planning an Unsell the War Sunday
to get materials to all the churches
in the area.
"But you feel like such a pebble,
and it's easy to get depressed: The
war is still going on.
"When I first began attending
classes at the peace studies institute,
students couldn't figure out why I was
there — 'straight', average, over
thirty. But those are the people
we hope Help Unsell the War
is reaching — average people who
may be turned off by demonstrations,
but who react positively to adver-
tising."
615-72 MESSENGER 3
Expanded health care program set by Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College will offer an
expanded degree and course program in
the health care field.
Recognizing the shortage of trained
personnel in health care occupations —
one recent state study calls the shortage
"critical" — the Pennsylvania college is
projecting a step-by-step, 1 0-year plan to
help meet the need.
Initially approved are plans for a pro-
gram in occupational therapy to begin in
September 1973. The college will em-
ploy an occupational therapist to develop
a curriculum.
Before a baccalaureate program is put
into effect, however, it must go back for
final approval to the college's community
government, which represents faculty,
students, and the administration.
In applying for federal aid for plan-
ing purposes, college officials have met
with representatives of hospitals and
other health care agencies in the five-
county area surrounding the college to
survey their needs and to seek their
cooperation in implementing health care
curricula.
An integral part of all programs will
be clinical experience under the super-
vision of trained personnel at these insti-
tutions, and the use of their specialists
in the college classroom.
According to C. Dean Mitchell, dean
of the faculty, the survey confirmed the
view that there are virtually no institu-
tions in central Pennsylvania offering
such programs. Of the conversations
with area health care people. Dr.
Mitchell said:
"The federal government has recog-
nized the need to the point of communi-
cating with these institutions and charg-
ing them to go out into the community
to try to find educational institutions
and facilities which will offer the training
they need.
"We have gone in and suggested that
we would like to be a part of this and
that we would assist in establishing a
consortium-type of situation, and their
response has been exciting. They want
to participate.
"Essentially, our proposal is not that
we be centered with all the facilities but
that we provide the impetus to bring
together all kinds of facilities and that a
hospital or a health care agency might
free one of its people to teach in our
program.
"It will produce a kind of cooperation
that doesn't often exist right now. We're
talking about a complete interrelation-
ship between these institutions and our
program."
The college's initial decision to plan
for Allied Health programming was
based on some startling statistics
reported recently.
According to the US Department of
Health, Education and Welfare, there
presently is a 29 percent deficit of trained
Delegates from three overseas
churches to greet Brethren
The Church of the Brethren will host
during its Annual Conference this month
three fraternal delegates from sister
churches in India, Ecuador, and Nigeria,
where Brethren have had long-term mis-
sion involvements.
For the first time the United Evangel-
ical Church of Ecuador, the Church of
North India, and the Eastern District
Delegates: Nasir, Miizo, Mai Side Bin
( Lardin Gabas) of the Church of Christ
in the Sudan will be represented at Con-
ference as autonomous denominations
rather than as Brethren districts.
With action taken last year by the
Nigerian church (see related story else-
where in these pages), each of the over-
seas churches now maintains a national,
autonomous status while in full fellow-
ship with the Church of the Brethren in
the United States.
The fraternal delegates coming to the
US arc:
From India, Rt. Rev. Eric S. Nasir,
moderator of the Church of North India
and Bishop of Delhi. Before the forma-
tion of the new church. Bishop Nasir was
a clergyman of the Anglican Church in
India.
From Ecuador, Sr. Segundo Muzo, a
member of the central board and
treasurer of the United Evangelical
Church of Ecuador. Of Llano Grande
background, he is a lay member of the
Emmanuel Church in Quito and was one
of the first five students to attend the
Brethren school.
From Nigeria, Pastor A. P. Mai Sule
Biu, former chairman of the executive
committee of the Eastern District (Lardin
Gabas) of the Church of Christ in the
Sudan. Pastor Mai Sule has been a key
leader in the Nigerian church for many
years.
Each of the men will spend time in
various churches, homes, and church
gatherings in the United States before and
following Annual Conference. They are
expected to participate widely in the
Conference, during General Board meet-
ings prior to the Conference, and in
general sessions and Insights '70s events.
Conference to celebrate
Lardin Gabas autonomy
Delegates to the Cincinnati Annual Con-
ference will have an opportunity to cele-
brate the autonomy of the Eastern Dis-
trict of the Church of Christ in the
Sudan, known to most Brethren as Lardin
Gabas.
In April of last year the Nigerian
church began functioning under its own
constitution, bringing it fully into part-
nership with the Church of the Brethren
as a vibrant new denomination of its
own. No longer a Brethren district, the
new church could seek to become a mem-
ber in the World Council of Churches.
The General Board in March passed
on to Annual Conference an affirmation
recognizing Lardin Gabas as "a church in
its own right."
4 MESSENGER 0-15-72
Allied Health personnel and this is
expected to continue to 1980.
The same report indicates that, by
1975, there will be a need for 56 percent
more occupational therapists, 34 percent
more physical therapists, and 42 percent
more recreational therapists. These three
are among the fields in which Elizabeth-
town-area hospitals and health care
agencies expressed a need.
Although planning next year will be
centered on occupational therapy, the
coordinator will investigate the possibil-
ity of beginning such other programs as
physical therapy, recreational therapy,
music therapy, health care management,
and medical records libraries, Dr.
Mitchell said.
The school will continue the 20-year-
old medical technology program, ex-
panding it as the number of students
warrants. The college's continuing edu-
cation program also may provide, by as
early as next fall, short-term seminars
in health care management.
At Elizabethtown College: Allied with health care agencies, a med-tech program
"We rejoice for the faithfulness of
church leaders, both Nigerian and non-
Nigerian, who have labored side by side
for these many years to make Christ
known and to discover together in a more
perfect way, God's will for his people in
a complex and rapidly changing world,"
the affirmation says.
"We rejoice for the vision of early
leaders who worked toward the goals of
lives turned around for new life. Chris-
tians drawn together by common calling
into the community of local congrega-
tions and congregations committed to one
another in a national church for mutual
encouragement and a common witness in
their world.
"They sought and trained leaders, en-
couraging them to take responsibility and
authority, and to work out their own
vision of what it means to be Christian in
an African world.
"We rejoice that the dreams of the past
have become the realities of the present.
The church in Nigeria is a vital and able
community of God's people. It brings
together the gifts and perspectives of
many tribal traditions into the common
cause of Christ for the health and new
life of their Nigerian world. The Lardin
Gabas Church has great potential for
numerical growth, for a broad and
capable base of leadership, and for
unique interpretation of the Christian
faith.
"We celebrate the fact that Lardin
Gabas is now a church in its own right,
walking its own road, ordering its own
life, and exercising autonomy in matters
of its own polity and program."
While increasing responsibilities for
the church in Nigeria are being taken
over by Nigerian churchmen, the Church
of the Brethren continues with a task in
the country and in close fellowship with
the church there.
World Ministries executive Joel K.
Thompson, following a visit to Nigeria
last November, said: "I do not sense any
desire to break bonds of fellowship. I
experienced only the joy and enthusiasm
of persons who felt that they have now
come of age and who wish to work
and serve the church in ministry
together."
He said that the Nigerian church ac-
tion fulfills the mandate of Annual Con-
ference made in 1955 that Brethren mis-
sions become independent, national, and
indigenous churches.
Recently, a Nigerian was employed by
the Church of the Brethren Mission as
Jos business representative, a post
formerly held by Marion Bricker. It is
contemplated also that this summer a
Nigerian will replace LeRoy Griffin as
assistant in the business manager-
treasurer's office, when Mr. Griffin re-
turns to the US.
Nigerians have been employed as driv-
ers, and the nursing superintendents at
the two hospitals are all Nigerian. The
supervision of the dispensaries in the
Garkida and western area is now in the
hands of a trained Nigerian. Except one,
each of the Waka Schools principals and
vice-principals are Nigerian.
John Waba, the present assistant in the
community development program, is ex-
pected to attend the University of Mis-
souri in 1973-74 in order to obtain train-
ing to head up the program in Uba
District.
Pastor Mai Sule Biu will be the frater-
nal delegate of the Lardin Gabas Church
at the Cincinnati Conference. Next year
the Nigerian church will observe the
fiftieth year of Church of the Brethren
work begun in 1922 by missionary
Stover Kulp.
6-15-72 MESSENGER 5
Symbols aid congregations
in worship experiences
The traditional worship center of cross,
candles, flowers, and Bible are giving
way — or being supplemented — in some
congregations with banners, mobiles, and
some ordinary household items that help
interpret a service's theme and message.
Thus a visitor to the Elizabethtown,
Pa., Church of the Brethren might have
been surprised more than the members
one Sunday morning to find huge photo-
graphic mobiles of the old, the young,
and the poor. Their message — and that
of the morning sermon — was that every-
body is beautiful regardless of his or her
state or position.
Pastor C. Wayne Zunkcl's coordination
of the elements of the service led beyond
the sermon and the chancel to include the
song of the younger children's choir and
the illustration on the chiirch bulletin.
He and the worship committee meet
two months in advance with the choir
director and organist to develop the
themes and centers.
The worship table one week held a
rake and basket of grass when the ser-
mon compared the rules for lawn care to
the basics which the Bible shares for the
nurture and growth of people.
On a race relations theme the sixth
graders used an opaque projector to en-
large that Sunday's bulletin cover and
constrLict the same design in construction
paper that was hung on the dossal cloth.
When the children's day sermon was
on "The Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog
Tails of Which the Kingdom Is Made,"
the first graders prepared the worship
center by creating life-sized paper dolls
of themselves and writing a litany used in
the service.
Still other worship centers have used
"stained-glass" windows of colored tis-
sue paper, a spinning wheel, hands made
of styrofoam, a clock and plumb line,
musical instruments, and tree branches to
help convey the thought of the morning.
Mr. Zunkel's objective is to convey his
message in more than words alone. Ad-
mittedly, some worship centers were con-
troversial to a few. Banners made by
women displayed at the front on what
"woman is" drew criticism on Mother's
Day Sunday.
Syiuhols in worship: More than words
Other centers simply don't work. He
tells of one woman who, on seeing the
Omega symbol in the front one week,
said: "I sat all through church and
couldn't figure out what that horse shoe
was doing up there."
He finds some of the older persons en-
thusiastic about the different centers,
while some younger people are turned off
at times. Still others of the congregation
have come early to get a good look at the
center before the service time.
In other congregations too — at York
Center in Lombard, III., Elgin. 111., De-
troit's Trinity, for three — the theme of
the morning is being translated into
visual worship symbols.
"Creative worship centers are impor-
tant because they provide visual state-
ments of the worship/sermon theme to
a visually oriented audience," said Wil-
fred E. Nolen. the General Board's con-
sultant for the celebration process.
"The traditional worship center com-
ponents — cross, Bible, candles — will
continue to be important visual symbols
in the sanctuary, but these need to he
supplemented regularly with new symbols
from man's faith life experience.
"As the components of the worship
center vary so will its location. The en-
tire chancel backdrop, as well as side
walls and ceiling, can be focal points for
worship center symbols," he said.
The use of such visual symbols also
gives a congregation's creative members
an opportunity to express themselves in
the worship services. Youth, adults, chil-
dren, and senior citizens can participate
in the service in this way, using and
developing creative skills.
The Celebration Team has compiled a
set of 40 color photos of worship centers
from the Elizabethtown and York Center
congregations for loan to local churches.
Pastors and arts or worship committees
will find them helpful in motivating new
interest and ideas about worship centers,
Mr. Nolen said. Each photo is mounted,
described, and plastic laminated. They
may be secured from Mr. Nolen. 1451
Dundee .Ave.. Elgin, III. 60120.
Has COCU a future? For
some, the urgency falters
.At this juncture in ecumenical history',
where stands COCU? Where stands the
10-year-old effort to unite nine denomi-
nations into a 25-million-member
"'Church of Christ Uniting"?
The member churches are now study-
ing the Plan of Union in advance of the
Oct. 22-27 plenarv meeting in St. Paul,
Minn. And apparently they haven't
liked what they've written.
Dr. George C. Beazley Jr. of Indian-
apolis, chairman of the Consultation on
Church Union, the parent body, told the
United Methodist general conference in
April that the road to union will be long-
er than first imagined. Dr. Beazley is
head of the ecumenical office of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
The traditional coolness of the Meth-
odist bishops hadn't warmed any. They
welcomed the "continued movement
toward involvement in the universal
church." but suggested that '"at the mo-
ment the form that the Great Church
shall take has not been revealed. There
appears to be less enthusiasm for one
giant administrative unit."
Serious doubts about the new church
were raised too by the executive council
of the United Church of Christ in March.
And Church of the Brethren observers to
the sessions last fall voiced other con-
cerns and cautions.
6 MESSENGER 6-15.72
[La[n)dlsirDD[n](
Harold Z. Bomberger of Harrisburg,
Pa., was one Brethren attending last Sep-
tember's tenth plenary. He admits to
coming away with the feeling that hardly
anyone is "on fire for COCU." Enthusi-
asm varies from almost nil to moderate,
he said, and lethargy is one of the most
serious problems facing the consulta-
tion.
Other observers for the Church of the
Brethren were John D. Metzler Sr.,
Fruitland, Idaho. S. Loren Bowman,
Elgin, 111., and C. Albert Guyer, Denver,
Colo.
Issues that should have been settled
long ago are still being fought, said
John Metzler. "The proposed Plan
of Union has not settled the conserva-
tive, traditional vs. the liberal, inno-
vative differences." And on specific
issues debated. Mr. Metzler is particularly
vivid; "To some of us it seemed that
countless gnats were strained out of the
soup and scrunched on the floor while
fairly large herds of camels went undis-
turbed on their way."
Loren Bowman may have put his
finger upon an important point in noting
that "barriers to unity today are as much
within denominations as between denom-
inations. There is not much confidence
that a bigger organization will bring new
vitality to the churches unless there are
major revisions in the ecclesiastical
structures."
Dr. Bowman believes that local devel-
opments, including clustering for nur-
ture and mission, are running ahead of
COCU progress. The Church of the
Brethren general secretary does not see
the Brethren ready to be a part of the
union if the timetable of 1975 holds; if
delayed until 1980, he doubts that the
present plan of union will be valid.
"If cooperative efforts continue to
increase rapidly at local and agency lev-
els, a style of ecumenical activity may
develop that will bypass the uniting pro-
posals of COCU," the executive said.
The Brethren observers agreed that the
church should continue to send observers
to the plenary sessions, but at a reduced
number, bringing them more in line with
other observer groups, and on a more
continuing basis.
A favorable vote on the Plan of Union
by the nine member churches seems
unlikely if taken today.
HAPPENINGS ... In a late development three Darke County,
Ohio , congregations , among them Oakland Church of the
Brethren, announce a summer work camp for young persons
who will live and work alongside migrant families. The
plans relate to the page 12 story in this issue.
"The Things That Belong to Peace" created the substance
of G. Wayne Click's lecture at Bethany Theological Seminary
last month. Dr. Click, president of Keuka College, ad-
dressed an audience for the Huston Memorial Peace Lecture.
PEOPLE YOU KNOW
President emeritus of Manchester
College, Vernon F. Schwa Im, died May 10 at Timbercrest Home.
He was 85. A college administrator for 40 years. Dr.
Schwalm was an active churchman as well, serving on the Gen-
eral Board and in the moderatorship of the denomination. . . .
Byron M. Flory , 83, whose father founded Bridgewater College,
died May 3 , four months after the death of his wife , Nora
Phillips Flory. The two served in China from 1917-32. Be-
fore retirement in 1957 he was a school principal and pastor.
FOR CONFERENCEGOERS . . . Following the 186th recorded
Annual Meeting, MEDIASCOPE will offer a choice of seven, 30-
minute taped programs : a composite of business and worship
sounds similar to coverage in Messenger' s 1971 Conference
issue; the speeches of Tom Skinner, Dale W. Brown, Rose-
mary Ruether and Graydon Snyder, Phyllis Carter, and Robert
0. Hess; and a composite of Bible Hour messages. MEDIA-
SCOPE will accept orders until July 15, and order blanks
are available from district executives, from Agenda, at
the Annual Conference registration desk, and at the General
Board/Communications exhibit. Price on all tapes is $3.50
plus postage. Customers may indicate either first-class
or fourth-class rates. Any combination of five tapes may
be ordered for $15 plus postage.
Conferencegoers will share the good news of God's love
in song within the Cincinnati community in a second cele-
bra ti on outside the walls . As last year, musical individ-
uals and groups may report to coordinator of the celebra-
tion, Clyde Weaver, at the Conference.
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance will be
provided for persons attending the Cincinnati Annual Con-
ference. Coverage will be effective from 12:01 a.m. (EDT)
June 20, until 12:01 a.m. (EDT) July 9. Any personal in-
jury sustained during this period causing death or dismem-
berment is covered, provided the person was attending Annual
Conference or was on the way to or from Cincinnati.
Members of the Church of the Brethren and IJieir small
children are covered. Nonmembers are covered within the
same period, but only after they complete their official
registration. Benefits payable are: $1,000 for accidental
loss of life, or loss of any two — hands, feet, or eyes; $500
for loss of one arm, leg, or eye. Coverage does not in-
clude death or dismemberment due to sickness. All types of
travel are covered, except nonscheduled air flights. Claims
may be reported to Robert Greiner, Treasurer, during the
Conference or at 1451 Dundee Ave. , Elgin, 111. 60120.
6-15-72 MESSENGER 7
PS©DS]U D^SP©
Baptists and Brethren: Are we
ready for anything more?
A proposal for an "associated relation-
ship" between the American Baptist
Convention and the Church of the Breth-
ren was unveiled to Annual Conference
in jLine 1971. Upon hearing the presen-
tation from the late W. Harold Row on
behalf of the Committee on Interchurch
Relations, the delegates accepted a
Standing Committee recommendation
that the paper be studied and brought
back a year hence.
An associated relationship, as ex-
plained in the Interchurch Relations re-
port, is "an intermediary step which
could affirm our desire for a closer fel-
lowship and cooperation." It also is
viewed as signifying ways for furthering
mutuality "at all levels of our church
life."
Clearly the paper specified that the
step is not intended as a merger. The
action for both parties is voluntary, with
each remaining autonomous and main-
taining its own identity, even while striv-
ing to relate more closely together in
fellowship, witness, and mission. Where
individual units — institutions or con-
gregations, for example — choose to
unite, the merged unit remains aligned
with both denominational bodies.
Further, according to the 1971 report,
the associated relationship is to undergo
periodic review, one point being "to
determine whether there may be a readi-
ness to enter negotiations for merger."
In proposing such a course, a Brethren
Committee on Interchurch Relations and
the American Baptists' subcommittee of
the Commission on Christian Unity
delineated several factors underlying the
move toward heightened cooperation. In
twelve years of conversations, the com-
mittees have found a great deal of com-
monality in the free church tradition, in
the concept of the believers' church, and
in goals for mission. In 1968 the two
committees jointly released "Principles
for a Plan of Union." In several areas
where Baptists and Brethren reside in
proximity, evidences of cooperative
programming are increasing.
On the latter point, at the local level
Baptist and Brethren ties can be cited
• in Sacramento, Calif., with the mer-
ger of the 74-year-old Judson Baptist
parish and the 57-year-old Meadowview
Brethren parish into the Prince of Peace
church. Affiliation is held with both
denominations.
• in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with the
federation of the First Baptist and the
Brethren congregations. The Baptist
facilities are utilized; joint programs and
separate identities are maintained.
• near Froid, Mont., where the Grand-
view Brethren and the McCabe Baptist
congregations are moving toward feder-
ation after two years of yoked rela-
tionship.
• at Fredericksburg, Iowa, where after
five years of shared pastoral leadership
under Brethren minister Gerald R.
Mease, the Brethren and the Baptists are
considering selling the two buildings and
erecting a new edifice as a federated
congregation.
• in Middle Pennsylvania, where
Brethren pastor Ronald A. Beverlin in a
yoked parish serves the Rockhill and
Blacklog "Valley Brethren churches and
At Wcnatchee, Wash., Baptists and Brethren participate jointhj in {I) a well-baby clinic; (r) communion in the united congregation
8 MESSENGER 6-15-72
the Three Springs and Saltille Baptist
churches.
• in State College, Pa., through the
affiliation of the 25-member Brethren
fellowship with the 300-member Uni-
versity Baptist congregation three years
ago. The parish now with 404 members
is aligned with both denominations.
• at Wenatchee, Wash., where follow-
ing joint programming in the summer of
1970, the Immanuel Baptist church and
the Wenatchee Church of the Brethren
have united in worship services. Chris-
tian education, and youth and women's
groups, and in sponsorship of an 80-unit,
six-story retirement home. Garden Ter-
race. The federated congregations use
the Brethren facilities.
NATIONAL COOPERATION
On the national scene joint Baptist-
Brethren enterprises include
• curriculum planning, writing, and
publishing, for 25 years in the production
of graded materials, most recently in a
project resulting in the Encounter Series
( also involving the Christian Church,
Disciples of Christ) .
a cooperation between two adjacent
seminaries, Bethany Theological and
Northern Baptist, at Oak Brook, 111.
Presently the two institutions have a
combined library staflf and curricula open
to students from both campuses. Ex-
ploration is under way for combining
strengths in other ways.
• church building counsel, with the
Comprehensive Building Services staff of
the American Baptist Convention avail-
able to and now servicing Brethren con-
gregations across the country.
• a combined executive secretaryship
for the 52 Brethren congregations of
Middle Pennsylvania and the 20 Baptist
congregations of the Center Association
in the same area. Brethren minister
Joseph M. Mason staffs the office.
• other limited program involvements:
draft counseling, personnel placement
procedures, personnel for the study of
housing by an Annual Conference
committee.
A unique facet entailed in closer re-
lations with American Baptists is the
potential of wider minority ties for the
Brethren. As pointed up by Richard N.
Miller in the pastor's resource mailing,
Agenda, "Not only do minority groups
represent ten percent of the ABC mem-
bership, but the ABC now has an asso-
ciated relationship with the Progressive
Baptist Convention, a denomination with
approximately 900 congregations and a
membership of 600,000 blacks."
A FORERUNNER
As to the current status of the asso-
ciated relationship proposal, the recom-
mendation of the Interchurch Relations
Committee from 1971 stands, awaiting
Annual Conference action. In its up-
coming report to delegates in Cincinnati
the committee indicates no essential
changes ha\e taken place in conversations
with the Baptists in the past year, but it
goes on to add a significant note. The
committee expresses hope that if the as-
sociated relationship with the American
Baptists is approved, it may be "a fore-
runner for similar relationships with
other denominations, with multiple
affiliation and relationships in service
becommg a means used for advancement
of the Christian cause."
Currently on the Interchurch Relations
Committee are John D. Metzler Sr. of
Fruitland. Idaho, chairman, A. Stauffer
Curry of Mamaroneck, N.Y., and Paul
W. Kinsel of New Carrollton, Md.,
elected by Annual Conference, and
Harold Z. Bomberger of Harrisburg, Pa.,
Floyd H. Mitchell of Chambersburg, Pa.,
and J. Benton Rhoades of Emerson, N.J.,
appointed by the General Board.
S. Loren Bowman, general secretary of
the General Board, is an ex officio
member.
While the General Board itself has not
dealt with the matter of Baptist rela-
tions, just as it had not spoken head-on to
the matter of joining the Consultation on
Church Union some years ago, a state-
ment adopted in March gives some indi-
cation of the board's stance on ecumenic-
ity. In "An Affirmation of Mission" the
General Board called for "the continua-
tion and strengthening of our denomina-
tion at all levels of life." More particu-
larly, the statement declared that it
looked with disfavor upon actions at this
time which "would limit or bias coopera-
tion by selecting certain denominations
as preferable to others for ecumenical
relations." On the other hand, the state-
ment asserted that where congregations
or other units determine they can better
fulfill their mission through cooperation,
such steps as yoking, federation, or
affirmation are encouraged. "If, in the
providence of God, the merger of the
Brethren with some denomination{s) is
to occur in the future, the church must
prepare itself to bring its best strengths
to such a merger, not weakness and
brokenness," the affirmation statement
concluded.
What impact, if any, the General
Board statement will have on the im-
minent deliberations of Annual Confer-
ence is unknown. Taken at face value, it
may appear the board's stance runs
counter to the directions endorsed by the
Interchurch Relations Committee. What-
ever the implication for Brethren-Baptist
ties, the statement accents the desire to
strengthen Brethren denominational life.
Reportedly, however, there was a lack of
enthusiasm in the Goals and Budget
Committee, which originated the affirma-
tion statement, for the associated rela-
tionship with the Baptists. The Goals
and Budget Committee is comprised of
the elected officials and the executive
staff of the denomination's General
Board.
ENCOURAGE CLOSER TIES
Should the associated relationship be
entered into by both the Brethren and
the Baptists, its import may carry quite
diflfering assessments, as Richard Miller
commented in Agenda. "Although what
is proposed may seem to some like a giant
step forward, others are pointing to the
fact that it is simply a formal approval
of a significant relationship that now
exists," Mr. Miller noted.
Conceivably, with or without the bless-
ing of denominational assemblies, local
and area relationships between Baptists
and Brethren may continue to flourish at
the modest pace now under way. The
one added measure which adoption by
official bodies might bring is to encourage
closer ties particularly in national and
international thrusts, where interaction
for the two bodies thus far has come
slowly.
Whatever response Baptist and Breth-
ren delegates give to the proposal, after
twelve years of friendly encounters, the
fraternal representatives are right in
putting the question: Are we ready for
anything more? — h.e.r.
6-15-72 MESSENGER 9
PRAt^RS
People Who Love
We thank thee, O God, for the revelation of thy-
self in people \\ho love, and for thy call to us to
become part of that revelation.
We have seen one poised, wise, lo\ing person
still a tempest in a family, church, or community.
Lord, fit us for that role.
We have seen fear vanish when it could no
longer spread its wild contagion, ^^'e pray for love
that casts out fear.
We have seen hatred dissolve in the presence of
a will that could not be made to hate. God grant
to us that will.
We have seen selfishness give way before self-
sacrificing devotion. Arm us for such aggressive
action against evil.
We have seen self-pitv shamed bv uncomplain-
ing endurance and courage. Make us so spend-
thrift of pity for others that we have none for our-
selves.
We ha^e seen weariness vanished by zeal "to do
God's will and to finish his work."
We see all this and more in Jesus, suffering for
us, leaving us an example that we should follow in
his steps. He committed no sin. No guile was
found in his lips. When he was reviled he did not
revile in return; when he suffered he did not threat-
en. He himself bore our sins in his body on a tree,
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
Blessing and glory and honor and power be
unto him. Amen.
Holy Living
Eternal SpmiT, infinite love, maker and sustainer
of all, our heavenly Father, we would
reverence thee by sensing thv presence in every-
thing,
praise thee by living with gladness from day to
day,
love thee bv loving thv children near and far,
serve thee by doing as unto thee what lies close-
est to us,
trust thee by living without fear and worn.-, and
make thee knovvTi by lives in which Christ
dwells.
We pray that each time of worship may help
us so to live. Amen.
10 MESSENGER 6-15-72
Choices
O God, give us the fortitude and honesty- to hve
with our choices:
Choices solemnized in marital vows and regis-
tered in heaven:
Choices of work, doing it so wholeheartedly that
we find ourselves co-workers with thee;
Choices of friends, learning that "to be social i.s
to be forgiving";
Choices of residence, ourselves transients, leav-
ing our shelters clean and orderly for those who
follow us;
Choices of lovaltv, finding in dedication not the
loss but the essence of freedom;
Choices which we shall never drain of romance
and glory by weakly wishing we had made some
other;
Choices which, because life is short and we are
small, must e.vclude so much and include so little;
Choices which shall keep us from poaching upon
a garden entrusted to another;
Choices so cherished as to increase the world's
wealth of fortitude and honesty.
For the glory of God and in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amex.
rO PRAy^ IN PERSON
Together
We thaxk thee, our Father, for those who are
\oung, for their fresh awareness of the \\'orld, for
their plav and laughter, their hunger for all that
life holds in store.
We thank thee for those who are old, for those
qualities that befit their years: poise, forgiveness,
\\'isdom, aloofness from strife, the peace that Jesus
gives.
We thank thee for those in the middle years,
whose heavily burdened lives continually verifN-
thy promise: "Sufficient unto thy days shall thv
strength be."
How important we are to each other!
We are involved in a fellowship of all thy chil-
dren: on earth, in heaven, on other worlds which
may be their homes, even the unborn, who are not
less in thy care, though to us they seem not yet
to be.
We thank thee for the \\'av in which we are all
bound up together, so that human ills cannot be
isolated nor good fortune monopolized for long.
This mystery of common life was illuminated,
filled with meaning, brightened with hope and
anointed with power by the life, ministry, suffering,
death, and resurrection of our Lord.
In whose name we worship thee. Amen.
Turned Into Joy
Our lives are written sometimes in prose and some-
times in poetr)'. V\'e have walked in the dark valley
and stood upon mountaintops. We know the differ-
ence between joyless labor and labors of love. We
know the bitter fruits of getting by and the joy of
laying at the Master's feet our best. We know ho\\'
dull is the doing of what we have to do and how
bright the doing of what we love to do.
And we know — praise God, we know because
thou hast shown it to us — how the dark valley, joy-
less labor, getting by, the dull doing of what we
have to do can be transfonned into poetry, light,
and jov, in fulfillment of thv promise in the Scrip-
tures, verified countless times by those who accept
it in faith: "Your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
Though you sorrow now, I will see you again, and
your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your
joy from you."
In Christ. Amen.
From "The Hunger of the Heart," a new hook of prayers
bv Robert H. Miller from The Brethren Press
"In oup world all things are always praying. No act
employs so many hearts and voices.'
— Robert H. Miller
6-15-72 MESSENGER 11
In Ohio's Darke County, Brethren and
others join forces in a unique ministry
to migrants
IN SERVICE
FOR
JUSTICE
byJohnG.Fike
wust about now the Darke County tomato
plants are firmly rooted and urgently
thrusting upward. The warmth these
plants take from the sun symbolizes the
comfort farmers of this west central Ohio
county take from their hopes for a good
growing season and a bountiful harvest.
Those hopes, however, are mingled with
the anxieties of unpredictable weather
and prices and of increasing demands of
both laborers and the bank. Living on
the land means not only being in touch
with nature, but also being at the mercy
of the climate and the market. It is not
easy being a tomato grower.
In a rural Texas town, a migrant
family begins the journey northward,
following the crops of asparagus, straw-
berries, cherries, beets, tomatoes, cu-
cumbers, apples. Planting, pruning, and
picking fruit and vegetables tie the field
worker, as they do the farmer, to the soil.
Perhaps the cherry blossoms will freeze,
maybe the farmers will use more me-
chanical pickers instead of human work-
ers. It is discouraging just to think of
moving the family from town to town,
living in shacks and huts, being rejected
by a more stable population, stooping,
MESSENGER 6.15-72
picking, and lugging in the hot sun for
twelve hours a day, all for 45c per hun-
dred pounds of tomatoes. Having little
education and limited skills, the migrant
worker takes his children out of school
and moves his family northward, hoping,
as do the farmers, that this year will be a
little better.
In the early 60s a group of Christian
women in west central Ohio began a min-
istry of day care for migrant children,
planning under the direction of Meth-
odist pastor Frank Robmson of the Ohio
Migrant Ministry. This first effort at
ecumenical ministry grew to become the
Darke County Migrant Ministry, which
today offers a unique spread of day care.
Head Start, legal and medical aid, and
educational programs and a year-round
effort to help field workers settle out of
the migrant stream.
Ihe Church of the Brethren, local,
district, and national, is much involved in
the Darke County Migrant Ministry.
Individual pastors and laymen from
eleven Brethren congregations, along with
funds from the Southern Ohio District
church extension budget and support for
Left, three of 816 children whose activ-
ities in Head Start, elementary school,
and day care centers are part of the
Migrant Ministry; below, workers har-
vesting Darke County's rich tomato crop
helping to reach out beyond the walls of isolation and prejudice \
a cooperating agency from the Fund for
the Americas in the United States,
combine with members and resources of
other faiths and other races and with
secular and governmental agencies to sus-
tain the program. For Brethren there are
chances for new areas of service and for
new learning about racism and its
destructiveness. For migrants, there is
alleviation of some of the stresses that
mark their lives.
Included in the Darke County Migrant
Ministry are two day care centers, two
Head Start programs, and two accredited
elementary school programs for children
in grades kindergarten through six. The
larger center of activity is at Union City,
along the Indiana border: the other, a
satellite center housed at the Oakland
Church of the Brethren, serves the
eastern side around Bradford. Reaching
816 youngsters last year, the centers were
open from midsummer to mid-October.
Funds for the school programs came
from the Ohio Department of Education
— Migrant Division, granted by the
federal Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare, and administered by the
local school district.
The migrant medical clinic is operated
by the Darke County Health Department
through a special grant from the US
Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare. Area physicians cooperated to
provide medical care last year for more
than five hundred persons from July to
October. One Brethren physician. Dr.
Delbert Blickenstaff, points out that
cooperative staffing of the clinic not only
provides medical care for migrant fam-
ilies but also benefits the resident popula-
tion through public health and other
services.
Ihe Migrant Ministry legal aid pro-
gram combines the resources of the
Community Action Council and the local
bar association to help migrant persons
know and realize their civil rights. In
instances where the grower has retained
part of a worker's wage until the end of
the harvest, to insure that the worker will
stay until the crop is picked, legal as-
sistance has helped the worker obtain his
full wage according to law.
In its settling out program, in which
migrants are helped to locate in the
community on a permanent basis, the
Migrant Ministry has worked the past
year with fifteen families. A school to
teach adults basic reading and math skills
is supported by the US Department of
Labor. Twenty-five adults enrolled in the
school soon will be looking for perma-
nent jobs within Darke County
communities.
Through S7,100 in grants made avail-
able by the Fund for the Americas pro-
gram and the Southern Ohio District of
the Church of the Brethren to the Union
City chapter of La Raza Unida, an in-
digenous organization of Hispanic
Americans, the Darke County Migrant
Ministry has been able to hire a commu-
nity social worker who relates to families
settling out as a teacher, social worker,
source of encouragement, and liaison
between migrants and governmental
agencies.
Through the services of the Migrant
Ministry. Brethren and others help power
structures and persons reach out to
migrants beyond the walls of isolation and
prejudice in a declaration of interde-
pendence. Social services having begun,
the goal then becomes social justice.
The struggle is to plow the hardened
ground of independence and isolation,
exposing it to the warmth of cooperation
and enfranchisement; to plant the seeds
of true power and adequate education,
anticipating the harvest of justice and
participation; to prune the distrust and
contempt between farmer and migrant
worker so the fruit of understanding may
be nourished.
B
.■yond the services of direct aid.
Brethren and others aligned with the
Migrant Ministry help the resident com-
munity and migrants overturn the crusty
isolation and prejudice that have long
endured. The plowing is hard, but inter-
dependence is breaking through.
"Brethren in Darke County ha\e all
kinds of power," said Fred Bernhard of
the Oakland Church of the Brethren.
"We have educational power, brain
power, monev power, political power.
We have Brethren persons on the school
board, in businesses, in banks, real estate,
and milk cooperatives: we have Brethren
who are doctors, lawyers, teachers; we
have Brethren who are in the political
Adult education classes: A way to einpowennetu for migrant workers in Darke County
14 MESSENGER 6-15-72
"Unless we share our power with migrant people, we are keeping them in a situation in which they are less than full participants"
structure of the county."
As a pastor Fred Bernhard seeks to
assist members of his congregation to
find ways of transferring their power to
the powerless. "We've been working
hard just to see that we are a privileged
people and a people with power," he
remarked. "But unless we begin to share
our power with the migrant people, we
are helping to keep them in a kind of
enslaved situation, a situation in which
they are less than full participants of the
community which their labors benefit.
"For a long time the rural church has
been confronted with the challenge to
minister in an urban or inner-city com-
munity," Mr. Bernhard continued.
"When I first came to Oakland, many
persons were talking about how we could
become involved in inner-city Dayton.
But now we are coming to see that we've
got to learn to use the power we have
here in the rural areas. One of the great-
est strengths of the Brethren is still the
rural parish."
To give form to Mr. Bernhard's vision.
It is helpful to look at the involvements
of the Oakland church. Some individual
members work directly with the Migrant
Ministry; others are relating to settled out
families; still others have joined with
Brethren elsewhere in a race training
event sponsored by the Fund for the
Americas in the United States. One
corporate action the church has taken in
performing its mission is by deciding not
to build a new church building, but
instead finding new uses for the building
which now stands and for the funds
which a new building would have used.
A group within the Oakland parish has
explored ways to purchase land and
develop low income housing in which
settled out families can invest with low
interest mortgages.
Marj Petersime from the Oakland
church teaches in the Migrant Ministry
school. Her involvement began by trans-
porting children from camps to the
school. Now in charge of the nursery
school, she declares, "It's a joy to work
with these children. They are so loving
that you can't begin to give them what
they give you in return. And the grown-
ups are terrific, too."
Through her work with the children,
Mrs. Petersime has earned the trust of
many migrant families by her readiness
to relate. While she feels that one of the
barriers for migrant children is language.
she also believes that simply teaching
them English is not enough. She is eager
that as a teacher she help the children
think for themselves and ask questions,
help them be aware of the beauty of their
own culture and language and character-
istics, and help them grow in self-respect
as the persons God created them to be.
What place does Marj Petersime see
the Anglo church member having in the
Chicano movement? One suggestion she
advanced readily is to buy union picked
produce: "Then you would know at least
the people are being paid a union wage."
Another point, she observed, is to give
"people who are settling in the moral
support they need to go through relocat-
ing and breaking family ties." She urges
more churches to do as members at
Oakland have done, assisting at least one
family in settling out of the migrant
stream.
For the Ohio Brethren, trying to find
housing for a family proved to be a
workshop in economic discrimination, for
one landlord after another either refused
to rent or radically increased the amount
of rent when he learned Mexican-
Americans were applying. But the ex-
perience of helping this family was also a
6-15-72 MESSENGER IS
joy, as parishioners rallied to donate
items from furniture to blantcets, from
clothes to bicycles. In the coming
months, this venture in mission will also
be a testing to see if members of the
church can sustain their support, en-
couragement, and friendship through the
times of struggle and on into the life of a
new member family in a community.
Elsewhere in Darke County, Robert
Mikeseli, a member of the Migrant Min-
istry board and layman in the Beech
Grove Church of the Brethren, also has
had a unique involvement in helping
settle a migrant family. When the
Rodolfo Garzas decided to give up the
transient life, the first things needed were
a job, a home, and credit. Bob, a chicken
farmer in New Madison, had an opening
at his Versailles farm and was challenged
by members and friends of the DCMM
to try actually sharing some of his power
with a migrant. As a result. Bob hired
Mr. Garza to manage his second farm.
Bob also helped to negotiate a loan for
Mr. Garza's mortgage for a home near
Union City.
"I like Ohio!" exclaims Mr. Garza.
"It is a good place to live, and it is good
for me and my family to stop always
moving around from place to place. My
children are in school, too, and perhaps
it will be possible for them to get good
jobs when they grow up."
Bob Mikeseli said, "Rodolfo Garza
deserves a chance to make it on his own,
just as I or anyone else deserves the
chance. Someone had to take the first
step with him. It's not a matter of char-
ity; I only did what was right and had
to be done."
But what was done was essential: it
comprised the basic steps in empower-
ment in this society. A home, a job, and
a credit rating: None of these was given
to Rodolfo Garza, but the doors were
opened and the first steps were taken
with him by a permanent resident who
had already established his power.
Rodolfo Garza receives more than
economic support from Bob Mikeseli.
Bob's family, his fellow church members,
persons in the Migrant Ministry, and oth-
er settling out families all lend their mor-
al support and encouragement to the
struggle. Mr. Garza will remain em-
ployed by continuing to do a job well; he
must work at managing his personal
16 MESSENGER 6-15-72
finances so that his mortgage is paid
and his credit retained. In the long run,
perhaps the factor that will make the
difference is this: that persons stand with
the Garzas coming into the community
as new members, help them have access
to the necessities of living in that com-
munity, and bring them the warmth of
friendship and trust. Perhaps it is
through these gifts to one another that
we are really the church in mission.
This summer as migrant workers come
again to rural communities of the Church
of the Brethren, there is in many places
a long-practiced social code that stands
to be challenged. It says keep these
families off the main streets, out of the
motels, out of decent housing, out of the
schools, out of the hospitals. Keep the
migrant moving. Don't let him move
into our vacant apartment; don't offer
him child care or health services or social
opportunities; let the growers take the
responsibility. But discriminatorv' views
such as these are the privilege only of
those who are not of the Body of
Christ.
^r those who would follow Christ's
teachings, the only road open is the more
difficult way of compassion and self-
sacrifice. It strives to understand the
complexity of migrant-grower issues. It
identifies with migrant workers in their
struggle for justice and enfranchisement,
but it relates to the grower too in that
he is caught in an ever-tightening vise
between costs and prices. In "mixing in"
amidst these issues, ministry will not be
easy.
Yet we are called, as Christians and as
Brethren, to be in service and to seek
justice. We are called to be in service to
growers and workers so that reconcilia-
tion can be brought about by example
and the free gift of God's spirit. We are
called to seek justice from the structures
of communities and states, from banks
and landlords, from businessmen and
officials, so that reconciliation may be
based solidly on the reality of God's new
community.
In Darke County, Ohio, Brethren and
others are working to serve needs and to
seek justice. May the summer of 1972
see similar, new Brethren thrusts in other
communities. IH
Whence
the church
The local church, however little or much
it is organized, likely has three or four
kinds of years; the church school year,
when educational activities are com-
menced: the fiscal year, when a new
budget period is entered: the church year,
when new program plans are started and
electees and appointees take office; and
the pastoral year, when contractual terms
with paid staff are dated.
In recent Church of the Brethren de-
velopments shifts have been made in two
of the years, church school and fiscal,
the former now commencing September
1 and the latter, effective in 1973, Jan-
uary I .
A new item of business to come before
Annual Conference delegates in Cincin-
nati later this month centers on the two
remaining years, the pastoral and the
church years. The recommendation of
the General Board is twofold:
— that "we no longer designate a 'pas-
toral year' as such, but allow pastors to
move at any time, recognizing that March
to September will likely continue as a
peak period."
— that "beginning Jan. 1, 1973, the
church year be the same as the fiscal
year."
^^n the pastoral year, the proposal in-
dictates "there has been a growing feeling
among pastors, congregations, and dis-
trict executives that pastoral placement
not be restricted to the time between
March and September 1. but that free-
dom be given to make a change at any
time that it is mutually agreeable between
the pastor and the employing congre-
gation." Once initial employment occurs,
the paper recommends that the extension
of contracts be negotiated at the regular
budget building time for the upcoming
fiscal year.
On shifting the church year from Oc-
tober 1 to January 1, the paper notes
that among factors supporting the change
are (1) the opportunity the fall months
offer for planning program and building
budgets, (2) the ease of coordinating
^nd pastoral years?
program planning and budget planning,
and (3) the number of ditTerent years
is reduced.
Because the General Board recommen-
dation was voted only in March, there
have been few pre-Conference reactions
to the proposed changes. One district
board. Southern Pennsylvania, has gone
on record as wholly in favor of the move,
with its e.\ecutive secretary J. Stanley
Earhart noting, "We have requests from
congregations and individuals urging that
this step be taken."
Taking a countering stance is former
district and regional executive Galen T.
Lehman of North Manchester, Ind. He
offers his views in the following statement
submitted to Messenger:
"Our 1971 Annual Conference ap-
proved a recommendation from the Gen-
eral Board that changed the time for
beginning the fiscal year from October
1 to January 1. In the recommendation
it was specifically stated 'No change is
proposed in the pastoral or other church
years." In approving the report the dele-
gates had every reason to conclude that
they would not be asked to make any
further changes in the church year or
pastoral year for several years to come.
"Much to our surprise and chagrin,
there is coming to the 1972 Annual Con-
ference a recommendation that the
church program year be changed from
October 1 to January 1, and that the
pastoral year be dropped entirely. My
misgivings regarding the wisdom of these
recommendations are as follows.
"Currently the experience of most local
churches shows that during September
and with the beginning of school, most
families are back home, and the month
can be used to advantage in building up
attendance and getting organized for the
new year on October 1 on a sound
basis. . . .
"Now we are being asked to approve
a change that would break the active
church and program year right in the
middle. What incentive would there be
for long range planning, if the people
involved knew that at that point the fruit
basket is to be upset? Who wants to
change horses in midstream? The church
program would be disrupted at a very
critical time.
"Abolition of the pastoral year could
easily prove to be a very doubtful pro-
cedure. While in regional and district
work for nineteen years, I was deeply in-
volved in hundreds of pastoral place-
ments. It became quite apparent that the
more actual and prospective pastoral
vacancies there were at one time, and
the larger the reservoir of prospective
pastors that were available, the more
effective and satisfactory pastoral place-
ments could be made in the difficult job
of trying to match pastors and churches
for maximum use of talent and abilities.
The pastoral year made it possible for
this to happen. It is difficult to see why
something as helpful should now be
abandoned.
"A questionnaire submitted to the pas-
tors in 1966 revealed that the September
1 date for the pastoral year was largely
followed and appreciated. It has been
advantageous for both pastors and con-
gregations. The present practice lends
itself well in placing seminary seniors.
"There are always justifiable changes
made at other times during the year, and
this practice should be considered advis-
able and permissible. It should not re-
quire dropping the pastoral year to make
this possible. My fear is that even if
Annual Conference would approve these
recommendations, that there would likely
be a general reluctance at the local
church level to abandon the pattern of
beginning the church year on October 1.
... If so where would that leave us?
Talk about confusion; that surely would
be the situation.
"In recent years we have had a major
overhaul of our organizational pattern
at the national level, and made recom-
mendations for the same at the district
and local levels. Isn't it about time
that we settle down to catch our breath,
so that we can adjust to the changes al-
ready made, and give these changes a
chance to work, before we continue mak-
ing further administrative changes?
"Delegates to Annual Conference this
year would be well advised to discover
whether their local congregations would
be willing to put into practice the pro-
posed changes, before voting favorably
to change our present patterns and prac-
tices."
In a response to a letter Mr. Lehman
had directed to him, Earle W. Fike Jr.,
executive of the Parish Ministries Com-
mission, explained that last year's Con-
ference action centered only on the fiscal
year. But since then, considerable in-
put from districts and congregations
prompted the new proposal, he said.
Much of that input centered on the con-
cern that the new program year and fiscal
year be unified, to avert program and
budget planning on a split basis, Mr.
Fike asserted.
#n regard to the pastoral year, the
Parish Ministries executive expressed the
view that an increasing number of min-
isters prefer that the way be opened of-
ficially for pastoral changes to occur
throughout the year. He anticipates the
predominant period of change will re-
main May to September.
The recurring queries from congrega-
tions and districts on the various years
and the multiplicity of dates are prime
factors behind the new General Board
recommendation, Mr. Fike summed up.
Acknowledging that any change requires
some years to become routine, he stressed
that the proposed coordination is aimed
at reducing confusion rather than perpet-
uating it.
In light of a heavy agenda with many
substantive issues, no one can predict
how much time will be given on the Con-
ference floor to airing the pros and cons
of changing the church year and the pas-
toral year. In voting the matter either
up or down, though, likely a number
of delegates will do so hoping that after
a history of on-again, oflf-again appear-
ances for more than a decade, calendar
issues may for awhile be laid to rest. D
615-72 MESSENGER 17
PS(Q)[PD(
Home Bible study for families
urged by Indiana parish
Responsibility for Christian nurture rests
with the home each day of the week, not
just with church school teachers one hour
on Sunday.
Convinced of this, the Manchester
Church of the Brethren turned to the
church school curriculum, grades one
through six, and picked up the biblical
sources listed for study. The lists for
March through August were duplicated
and sent to parents with a letter com-
mending their use weekly as a guideline
for family study and discussion.
The goal, according to James E. Tal-
cott, minister of education for the North
Manchester, Ind.. parish, is to help par-
ents and children to grow closer together
through significant sharing. A side bene-
fit, he added, is informing members that
the church school curriculum is biblically
oriented.
"Tf a child had perfect attendance at
church school all year, the combined time
amounts to less than two weeks of public
school. What can happen in just two
weeks of school'?'" Mr. Talcott asked.
"What will happen if families are en-
couraged and enabled to read and discuss
scriptures related to the basic themes of
the unified curriculum?"
In introducing the home Bible study
proposal, the church offered copies of
"Good News for Modern Man," the New
Testament in Today's English Version,
for sale through church school classes.
Breaking bread together:
the continuing communion
The love feast at First Church of the
Brethren, York, Pa., on Palm Sunday
might be described as conventional in
that it included a common meal in the
fellowship hall, the feetwashing ceremony
in adjacent rooms, and the bread and cup
communion in the sanctuary. But the
service was unconventional in that before
Holy Week had passed, many communi-
cants were involved in similar experi-
ences far removed from the church walls.
After participating in the eucharist at
the Sunday evening service, the worship-
ers were invited by Pastor Curtis W.
Dubble to receive a second piece of bread
to share with another person in the course
of the week. Earlier Ralph Z. Moyer,
director of special ministries, had offered
a meditation on brokenness in life and
how, through the broken body of Christ,
God's wholeness is shared.
In taking the bread wrapped in plastic,
the communicants were invited to seek
out and to share particularly with persons
who in some way may be experiencing
brokenness. During the distribution a
soloist sang from The Brethren Hymnal
No. 373:
When thy heart, with joy o'crflou-ing.
Sin!,'S a thankful prayer.
In thy joy. O let thy brother
With ihce share.
On Easter Sunday morning, worship-
ers were invited to recount from the pews
experiences of sharing. Among the re-
sponses then and subsequently:
• A husband, upon returning home
where his wife had remained during the
love feast to care for children who were
ill, in the quiet of the evening shared the
bread with her.
• A couple took their bread to a doc-
tor and his wife, the doctor having been
on call and unable to attend the service.
• A woman took the bread to work to
share with a couple of secretaries at cof-
fee break. They discussed the meaning
of the bread and as it was passed the
woman declared: "I share this with you
because I love you."
• Another couple mailed their package
to a son in graduate school at the Uni-
versity of Miami.
• A husband and wife who had per-
sonal and marital difficulties invited their
counselors of the past eighteen months,
the pastor and the psychiatrist and their
wives, to dine out with them. Following
dessert the young mother said, "I have
something to share with all of you." She
held the communion bread before her,
and with joy and thanksgiving offered it
at the table.
• A doctor took the bread into the
intensive care unit to a 20-year-old moth-
er whose illness is critical. Sharing the
bread with the woman the doctor said,
"As you eat this bread, think of God's
love for you."
• A woman who had broken her foot
two weeks after the service was visited
by neighbors who came to help care for
her child and to assist with house work.
During the coffee period the hostess went
to the refrigerator, removed the bread,
and explained she had been saving it for
an appropriate moment. Now at a time
of physical brokenness, she remarked, it
was a glorious experience to share with
those who in turn had shared their lives
with her.
The day after the \o\e feast one par-
ishioner wrote: "I had not been to a love
feast in three years: until last night I
didn't realize how much I have missed.
It was really a terrific experience sharing
with one another. It gave me a whole
new outlook on life and I hope to be a
better person."
Inside the church and out, amidst joy
and sorrow, one to one and in small clus-
ters, the bread of blessing was passed.
18 MESSENGER 0-15-72
Sunrise and resurrection:
the portrayal of joy
Easter morning in Youngstown, Ohio,
was a snowy, gusty, dark morning, and
quite a surprise after a few days of balmy,
springlike weather. I spent my first few
minutes outside scraping snow off the
car windows for safe driving purposes.
Despite the weather a sizeable group
of people arrived at the Woodworth
Church of the Brethren to take part in
the joyous celebration of Christ's resur-
rection. The program this morning was
planned and presented to us by the young
people of the church.
The congregation enjoyed listening to
the songs, poetry, and prayers that guided
us to a feeling of great joy and a desire
to share this joy with others. At the close
of the inspirational service every person
was given a helium-filled balloon. We
walked together out into the cold singing
"T Have a Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in
My Heart." As we gathered on the lawn
and looked heavenward we released the
balloons and these symbols of our joy
floated upward.
Just then the sun broke through the
clouds and completed a beautiful, heart-
warming picture lighting up the many
colors of the balloons. Every worshiper
was deeply moved by such a glorious
sight. — Ruth Evans
Troy members issue own guide
for devotional use in Lent
Circulated to the membership of the
Troy, Ohio, Church of the Brethren was
a Lenten Devotional Booklet prepared by
the members themselves. The themes
were one page in length centering on sug-
gested scriptural passages.
The value of the project was twofold,
according to J. D. Glick, pastor. The first
came to those who studied a scriptural
passage and wrote about it in terms of
personal meaning. The second came to
users, nearly half of whom indicated they
regularly used no devotional material.
Nonresident members were especially
pleased for the additional way of being
in touch.
In noting that the general response was
"overwhelmingly positive," Pastor Glick
observed that "perhaps the church does
not give its members enough opportu-
nities to share their faith."
Copies of the booklet may be obtained
by writing to the church at 1431 West
Main Street, Troy, Ohio 45373.
'Nail service' inaugurates theme
of renewal for Ohio worshipers
A "nail service," a poignant reminder of
the crucifixion, inaugurated the Lenten
season for the Prince of Peace Church of
the Brethren, Kettering, Ohio.
In the midst of reading John 19, the
congregation was asked to visualize the
crucifixion scene by forming a hammer
with a fist and thrice striking the other
hand, then reversing the process. At an-
other point in the reading the congrega-
tion knelt to sing "The Old Rugged
Cross."
At the conclusion of the sermon Pastor
Alan L. Whitacre invited worshipers to
come to the altar to receive a personal
memento, a cross made by a parishioner
from two nails. Each recipient was en-
couraged to wear or display the item
throughout Lent as a symbol of commit-
ment or recommitment to Jesus Christ.
In the weeks that followed, one mem-
ber carried the cross with him in travels
throughout Japan. A doctor mounted his
on a wooden block to display at the of-
fice. The youth talked of adopting the
symbol as their group emblem.
In reflecting on the use of nail motif
for the service and the symbol. Pastor
Whitacre commented:
"With each cross goes the prayer that
the living Christ who died for you may
lead and lift you always."
6-15-72 MESSENGER 19
The games
global leaders play
by Arthur Hoppe
3i\ months ago I had 800 million en-
emies where now I have 800 million
friends. And I am angry.
The anger grew some weeks ago as
picture followed picture from faraway
China: a beaming Nixon shaking hands
with a beaming Mao Tse-tung; a smiling
Nixon toasting a graciously bowing
Chou En-lai — the papers, the news
magazines, and my television set seemed
crowded with laughing Nixons. chuckling
Maos, and wryly grinning Chou En-lais.
How warm and witty they all were.
And the Chinese people! How friendly
and kind and thoughtful and dedicated
and happy with their lot.
That's fine. I am glad to have 800
million new friends. I am grateful to Mr.
Nixon for having the courage to give
them to me — and me to them. And I
am delighted that Mao and Chou went
along with the deal.
How easy it all was.
Yet for twenty years I have been taught
to hate and fear the Chinese people and
their leaders. The people were auto-
matons drudging away in a backward
ant-like society led by power-mad
dictators who dreamed of sweeping
across Asia with their hordes and bring-
ing America to her knees.
For twenty years my leaders have
been teaching me that. They have led me
Hoppe: "Containment, encirclement, blocs, splits — fascinating games of geopolitics"
into wars in Korea and Vietnam to
preserve democracy and contain these
bloody-handed Red tyrants.
For the same twent)' years, Mao and
Chou were teaching their 800 million
people to hate and fear me. I was a
running dog of imperialism, bent on
destroying their revolution and ruling
them again through corrupt capitalist
warlords like Chiang Kai-shek. So they
marched off into battle to kill me and
mine.
And how easy all that was, too.
But now, overnight, our leaders have
decided that I and a quarter of the
human race will be friends again —
primarily because it suits their purposes.
I'm not positive what their purposes
are. I would guess that Mao and Chou
want my friendship to worr\' Taiwan and
Japan and to make the Russians think
twice before attacking China from the
west.
I would guess that Mr. Nixon is gi\ing
them my friendship in hopes of playing
off Peking against Moscow, thus main-
taining the split in the Communist bloc.
For these are the games leaders play.
Containment, encirclement, blocs, splits
— the fascinating game of geopolitics.
And, being leaders, they play to win. I
believe they play for themselves to win —
not for me.
For if I die on some unpronounceable
battlefield, I have lost forever. But they
have only lost another of their millions
of pawns. For them, the game goes
on. Yet this is not so much what angers
me. I understand the fascination of the
game. If I were a leader. I w-ould prob-
ably play it, too.
WTiat angers me is how easy it was.
How easily they manipulated me into
hating and fearing when that served their
purpose. How easily they now maneuver
me into liking and admiring when that
serves their purpose. How easily —
almost contemptuously — they turn my
emotions on and off like hot and cold
w^ater faucets.
So I am angry with myself. Okay, this
time I'll play. This time I'll give and
accept goodwill and friendship. But
when they again ask for my hatred and
fear, God give me the spirit to reject
their games.
How very hard that will be. D
(ci Chronical Publishing Co., 1972
20 MESSENGER 6-15-72
[fO^Dom^g
FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE: Pacifism In America,
1914.1941, by Charles Chaffield. University of
Tennessee Press, 1971. 400 pages, $11.95
We should be acutely aware of the
danger of historical analogy. The poverty
of our foreign policy has been written
with declarations echoing: Each attempt
to negotiate a peace settlement is another
Munich; each ruler unsympathetic to the
West is another Hitler: each war, like
World Wars I and II, can be settled
decisively in favor of the United States if
we but unleash our technology and
military will.
Despite the foolishness of overlaying
our present world with a 1940 mindset,
a volume like For Peace and Justice does
make us hauntingly aware of historical
parallels to our own time. Giving focus
to the peace movement from World War
I to the outbreak of the second great
world conflagration. Charles Chatfield
records the kinds of struggles and con-
flicts in philosophies and programs that
sound quite contemporary. There was
Roger Baldwin, director of the National
Civil Liberties Bureau, on trial at the end
of World War I for refusing to take the
physical examination required, and say-
ing, "The compelling motive for refusing
to comply with the Draft Act is my un-
compromising opposition to the principle
of conscription of life by the state for
any purpose whatever, in time of war or
peace." There was the debate over the
relationship between capitalism and war.
There was the discussion on whether
the cause of peace would be served by the
establishment of a Department of Peace
in the federal government. There was
an earlier President (Roosevelt) giving a
speech whose aim was unclear: while the
words talked of peaceful aims, they also
seemed to be preparation for war.
There was the distrust of the executive
initiative in being able to draw the nation
into war and the desire to strengthen
Congressional curbs. There were the
huge demonstrations, the students, the
organizers. There was a continuing
question of the role of religious motiva-
tion in the general peace movement and,
particularly, in an organization like the
Fellowship of Reconciliation. And there
was the lamenting of the fragmentation
of the peace movement, but with a
perceptive Rufus Jones saying that the
very corollary of conscience is "a final
farewell to uniformity."
Again, these matters are not from 1970
or 19721 They are part of the record
that lies between 1914 and 1941.
Chatfield makes the overall judgment
that the peace movement of this period
became for the first time something more
than the tenet of nonresistance practiced
by the historic peace churches. It
became a strong political force influenc-
ing national policies. For the nation as a
whole, it added weight against isolation-
ism. For Christians, it helped to make
pacifism a recognized, even if a minute,
minority within Christian ethics. It also
helped the churches to avoid the whole-
sale endorsement of war and crusading in
God's name that happened in World War
I. Despite broad opposition to war in
the 20s and 30s from many standpoints,
the period illustrates that when a popular
war comes (Vietnam does not qualify
here), as one leader said, "The only
opposition to war which is likely to
continue after the war actually begins is
the pacifist opposition." The author also
credits the movement with providing a
structure and an ideology for the civil
rights struggle after World War II.
It was in becoming politically relevant
and exercising power that pacifists began
to experience tension. When those who
had simply been nonresistant pacifists
began to be nonviolent resisters, there
arose questions of the kind of coercion
that can be used. Does the pacifist use
every means short of shooting and bomb-
ing itself to afl'ect international policies?
What about economic sanctions, travel
barriers, diplomatic relations? If these
are used to be relevant politically, where
does nonviolent resistance end and actual
war begin? The period covered in this
history does not resolve this question,
but their experience may offer some light
for us.
For Peace and Justice puts into per-
spective the elements of the peace move-
ment. There were the actions of the
political parties, including the Socialist
and Communist. We see the prominent
role of voluntary organizations, partic-
ularly the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
If Chatfield is correct, the FOR was
really a primary force in the movement of
that time — in some ways the book might
even be said to be a history of the FOR.
Some clue is given to the literature of
Shaping
the forces
of peace
the time, particularly the importance of
Richard Greggs"s The Power of Non-
violence. We see the activity of the
pacifist sects, the Friends, Mennonites,
and Brethren, and with enough feel for
them to recognize the complexity and
diversity of their views and actions. And
then we see the people who were visible
in the movement: Kirby Page, A. J.
Muste, Norman Thomas, John Nevin
Sayre, Devere Allen, Ray Newton,
Frederick Libby, Harry Emerson
Fosdick, Dorothy Detzer. Even the part
that Reinhold Niebuhr played in giving a
religious justification to the nation for
World War 11 is treated. Occasionally,
the author permits us to see and feel
these persons in their humanity, with
their personalities. For example, this is
the glimpse offered of Kirby Page: "He
was a tall man. whose penetrating blue
eyes, kindly manner, and gentle speech
disposed several of his acquaintances to
speak of him as 'saintly.' He held firm
opinions of men and issues, though, and
was most comfortable in free-lance work.
He traveled widely (although he never
learned to drive a car. relying instead
upon public transportation or the help of
his wife, Mary Alma) and was adept at
running public meetings."
If we have any illusions about prom-
inence of the Brethren in the peace
movement of the period, this volume
offers little confirmation. While our
church is mentioned several times, it is
almost solely in describing the position of
the peace churches and in securing
provision for conscientious objectors un-
der the draft law. Of all the people
mentioned in this history. I found only
one Brethren named — Rufus Bowman
— and that in a footnote (p. 267) as
one along with several others who at-
tended a certain meeting. Modesty for
e- 1 5-72 MESSENGER 21
Brethren, at this point, is not only-
becoming, it is the only honest way.
Some comments about the book. The
research is impressive, more so than
with any other book I have read dealing
with peace. The bibliographic and other
notes cover nearly 100 pages, or almost
one fourth of the book. The author has
drawn material from private collections.
such specialized sources as the F. D.
Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park and the
.State Department, as well as an extensive
list of published works. Even with all the
documentation, Chatfield acknowledges
the difficulty of identifying with certainty
the influence of pacifism upon official
policy. The book is readable, although
one can sometimes feel lost in the maze
of organizations and statements and can
lose the sense of chronology and
movement.
If it is true that our vision of the future
is radically affected by our understanding
of the past, those who would see peace
as that which is coming will find For
Peace and Justice a basic resource. —
Lel.\nd Wilson
New
curriculum
offerings for
church school
bv SHIRLEY H EC KM AN
Smce 1969 Church of the Brethren con-
gregations have struggled with their un-
derstanding of the church's mission in
determining their own educational pro-
grams. Through the Educational Plan,
two options were available: the En-
counter Series, and a system for creating
elective courses from the Keysort Li-
brary of Resources.
But there have been problems. The
process of creating a comprehensive cur-
riculum for an entire church school
proves time-consuming and complex.
Few congregations have persons either
willing to expend that kind of effort or
equipped to do that task.
Now, though, the Church of the
Brethren offers congregations three com-
prehensive curriculum series for children
and youth rather than just the one we
help produce. The two offerings for
adults — the Encounter Series and A
Guide for Biblical Studies — will be con-
tinued as they have for some time. Each
of these series is expressive of the Chris-
tian faith as Brethren understand and
practice it. All are part of the Education-
al Plan of the Church of the Brethren,
and all demonstrate its basic principle of
freedom of choice by individual congre-
gations. All of the materials utilize the
"crossing-point" principle in which the
learning of the Christian faith happens at
that point when the biblical insight makes
a connection with a life experience of
the participant. The three series for
children and youth and the two offerings
for adults will be listed on the next
church school order blanks and can be
ordered through The Brethren Press.
Three series for children and youth
1 . The Encounter Series, produced by
Brethren in cooperation with the Ameri-
can Baptists, the Disciples of Christ, and
the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.),
is a graded series with undated repeated
courses for nursery through senior high.
Materials for kindergarten through youth
are on a three-year cycle. For the 1972-
73 year, beginning in September, Per-
spective I, Knowing the Living God,
will be repeated.
Two new items. Update and Booster,
have been created. Update brings the
teacher's manual up to date, including
emphasis on biblical material and addi-
tional resources that have been suggested
by teachers and editors after the materi-
al's first use in 1969-70. Booster replaces
items probably used the first time around
and adds some new materials. The En-
counter Series begins with life issues and
experiences and brings the understandings
of the Christian faith rooted in biblical
revelation to those experiences and issues.
2. Uniform Bible Series is produced by
the American Baptists. Each quarter,
new materials are available for grades 1
through 12 — primary through senior
high. Using the themes of the Interna-
tional Lessons, this series begins with
a passage of scripture and thoroughly ex-
plores its meanings. From this study,
application to life emerges. There are no
nursery or kindergarten materials in this
series.
3. Ventures in Christian Living series
is produced by the Church of God
(Anderson, Ind.) and is new each quar-
ter. The three-year cycle of dated, quar-
terly courses is based on the same out-
lines as the Encounter Series and offers
materials for kindergarten through senior
high, but not for nursery. This series
combines the approaches of biblical study
and experiential bases, sometimes begin-
ning with a text from the Bible and some-
times beginning with one of the deep
concerns of the person.
Two offerings for adults
1 . Tlw Encounter Series. The Semes-
ter I course is God in Human Experi-
ences, which explores how people can
know God in the midst of life. Finding
Our Place in God's Order, the Semester
II course, focuses on our identity as
creatures of God.
2. A Guide for Biblical Studies is based
on the International Lessons outlines.
Themes for 1972-73 are The Bible
Speaks to Issues of Our Time. Prophets
of Judgment and Hope, Affirmations of
Our Faith, and God's Law for Man.
To assist each congregation choosing
curriculum series to fit its particular situ-
ation, an "It's Up to You" check-sheet
can be used by church school teachers.
Enough copies of the form should be
ordered so each teacher has one to check.
Instructions on use of the form will be
sent with each request for copies for
teachers. The persons and groups
responsible for making educational de-
cisions may then use data from their own
church school teachers as guidelines
for curriculum choice. D
22 MESSENGER li-15
& RUMORS
OFM^RS
Echoing thunder and red-
stained earth and jubilation —
it is all part of war. In an
attempt to understand the
enigma, theologian Roger L.
Shinn won the 1971 Abingdon
Award for a Religious Book.
He includes his personal
combat diary of WW II and
then cooly analyzes the
ethics of war. This skillful
blending of the near and the
removed is only one of many
merits. $5.95
ol" your local boolotwe
Qbingdon
meditations for
bird lovers
"His eye is on the sparrow" and the thrush and
the roadrunner and the wren and the human being.
Life lessons garnered by Ruth C. Ikerman from the
antics of birds. She includes prayers, appropriate
Scripture, and tips on bird-watching. $3
A TIME TO SEEK
Christ-centered discussions of identity, friendship,
love, right and wrong, honesty, involvement, sin, suf-
fering, etc. Lee Fisher, for many years involved in
the Billy Graham organization, seeks to help young
people confront life. Paper, $1.95
SEARCH EVERY CORNER
A minister's wife looks back. "1hese are some of
the more important things 1 wish 1 had included in
the letters to my children, if there had been time
for letters like that." June Parker Goldman. $2.95
AN EVANGELICAL FAITH FOR TODAY
Dealing briefly with leading controversial issues
in the modern church, John Lawson states for laymen
timely distinguishing marks of an evangelical faith.
He potently challenges Christians to come to
terms with the basics of the faith. Paper, $1.75
AWAKENED WORSHIP
Involving Laymen in Creative Worship. Is public
worship consistent with Christian faith and does it
actually communicate that faith? Wilfred M.
Bailey encourages active lay involvement. Paper, $2.95
of your IocqI bocJotae
Qbingdon
the squirrel's
bank account
and other
children's
sermons
A cool-ection of forty-eight sermons for children.
Different, funny, sad, thought-provoking, and true-to-
life. S. Lawrence Johnson respects his audience's
intelligence and thus gains respect. $3
MANKIND MY CHURCH
Colin Morris, outspoken minister of Wesley's
Chapel, London, England, embraces the whole of man-
kind in understanding and originality. Topics range
from "Cosmic Man" to a universal church. Paper,
$2.45
HALF-TRUTHS OR WHOLE GOSPEL?
Chester A. Pennington probes for answers to the
modern tendency to grasp a partial truth and defend
it as a whole truth. He explores this rocky founda-
tion for faith. Paper, $2.25
PRAYERS FOR THE LATER YEARS
Special expressions of joy, gratitude, and desire
for insight are exuded in fifty-two prayers for the
"Indian Summer" years of life. Large, easy-to-read
type. Josephine Robertson. $2.95
ON NURTURING CHRISTIANS
Wayne R. Rood explains change in education for
today and projects for tomorrow. He recommends
that Christian educators return to the unique
"nurturing" process. Biblio. Paper, $2.75
BITE A BLUE APPLE
Would you risk biting a big, beautiful, shiny blue
apple? Whatever the reply, dare to risk an imaginative
faith asserts Bruce Neal as he reveals the living
Christian experience. Paper, $2.45
ot yea bed bocJotae
Qbingdon
li-i:i-72 MESSENGER 23
On becoming a spirited people
One night in the life of a piano player is the
setting of the novel Giii. At the close author
James Houston has the star performer turn to
his roadhouse clientele and say:
"By the time 1 stop playing tonight, all who
remain will be begging for more. And they will
be insulted when I finally get up from my chair
for the last time. One or two may snarl a little
and accuse me of ugly things.
"Because the filling is only temporary. They
want something permanent. Don't we all. And
I will have to announce, as I often do, through
my imaginary microphone, 'Let's face it, ladies
and gentlemen, I am not a dentist of the soul. I
am only a piano player.' "
The longing for something lasting grips us
all. In the church even more than in the road-
house, in understanding who we are and what we
are about, we want the moments of aha-ness, the
glimpses of purposefulness, the signals of tran-
scendence to live on and on.
But where do we turn for an ultimate word
when earnest and strident voices pull us apart?
When do we challenge the distortion and erosion
of truth and affirm, "This is how it is"? What
place shall we give to certitudes in a society
where virtually all value systems are under attack?
These are dilemmas people face far and wide,
inside the church and out. In coming together a
fortnight hence for Annual Conference, Brethren
indeed will bring with them at least some of the
crosscurrents of religion and society at large.
For example, there may be those eager to
speak of the ecstasy they have uncovered in the
charismatic movement. There likely will be ap-
peals for a peace church to move more assertedly
against an interminable war. There will be pleas
for a resurgence of evangelism — in terms old
and new, personal and social, sectarian and ecu-
menical. There will be those who see our identity
and mission shaped heavily by the past; there will
be others who define our reason for being as ori-
ented toward the future. There will be bids for
greater partnership with minority groups, the
third world, the struggles for liberation. And
there will be interpretations that the body of
Christ is bruised and battered and its urgent need
is tenderness and care; there will be counterclaims
that for too long we have been lethargic and in-
sensitive and that faithfulness requires taking
greater risk.
In such a milieu, hopefully there will be be-
yond the oratory, beyond the piano playing, a
deeper discernment, that familiarly known as the
"leading of the Spirit." Where the assembled
open themselves to the grace and the graces of
God. Where in matters of the day or hour one's
sense of reality is altered. Where the human
spirit is engulfed, empowered and. as the Confer-
ence theme implores, flamed by the Holy Spirit.
The Wisdom of Solomon in the Apocrypha
records these lines:
All things were lying in peace and silence, and
night in her swift course was half spent when
thy almighty Word leapt from thy royal throne
in heaven into the midst of that doomed land
like a relentless warrior (18:14-15. NEB).
For the almighty Word to descend upon the
Brethren in Cincinnati, to infuse not just our
spiritual life but our entire being, our senses, our
imagination, our intellect, our physical and ma-
terial gifts, individually and corporately . . .
This is what the Incarnation is about. In the
events of today, to be the body of Christ, an
offering of love for the sake of others. To fill the
emptiness of soul. To give direction and mean-
ing. To be a spirited Conference, a spirited
church, a spirited people.
Pray that through this 186th annual meeting,
this is what Brethren become. — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGER 6-15-72
mmjjyiAirviihyv-
^'ff?,-^mm,,
:f ^1^;.
One more death is one too many.
Write your Congressman.
Help Unsell The War, Box 903, F.D.R. Station, New York, N. Y. 10022
Guilt, Anger, and God
C. - Fitzsimons Allison |
All persons caught in and troubled by the discontents of contemporary life will
find here a perspective analysis of their plight and a compelling statement on the
healing power which the Gospel can oflFer today. Says Bishop Gerald Kennedy,
"For the man who has taken the contemporary secular spirit too seriously and
has wondered if the Christian faith has anything to say to him, this is his book.
Written for people who want to be modern and at the same time Christian, it will
be as a cool spring in the desert." $4.50
Probing the New Testament
Archibald M. Hunter
Dr. Hunter has produced a word book with a difference. He wanders through
the New Testament from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew to the Seer's
vision of the Holy City in Revelation, picking out 64 ideas that strike his fancy.
Sometimes he treats a single word like "mansion" or "charisma," sometimes a
phrase like "a ransom for many" or "a thorn in the flesh," and occasionally a
chapter (like Acts 27) or even a whole book (like Jude). Modern translations
such as the New English Bible, Revised Standard Version, and The Jerusalem
Bible are used liberally. $1.95 paper
Old Testament Covenant
Dennis J. McCarthy
The author summarizes recent work on one of the most widely debated concerns
in Old Testament studies, the covenant. This book makes available in English the
material published in the 1967 German edition plus an extensive postscript on
significant developments since then. The bibliography has also been expanded.
The result is the most up-to-date introduction available on the subject of cove-
nant in the Old Testament. Dennis J. McCarthy is professor of Old Testament lit-
erature at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome. $3.95 paper
The Parables Then and Now
Archibald M. Hunter
Dr. Hunter offers an interpretation of more than thirty of the parables of Jesus
which not only takes into account their origin but also relates them to our world.
This, and an introductory section on the history of interpreting the parables, makes
the book a valuable guide to those studying, teaching, and preaching in schools
and parishes. $2.25 paper
Postage: 20c first dollar; 5c each additional dollar
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, Illinois 60120
messenger
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
JULY 1972
Some dAy^ aFter we Iiave iviasterecI tIie wIncIs^
tIie waves^
tIie TidEs^
ANd qRAviry^
WE will hARNESS FoR Cod tIiE ENERqiES oF Lo^
ANd ThEN
For tNe sECONd tIivie
In ThE hisTORyoFThE woRld
WE will Nave discovEREd...
Fire!
TEilhARd dE ChARdiN
The Best News
comes to us
in Jesus Christ
and makes things happen!
In every person. Things happen because the
Holy Spirit provides the impetus for power and ac-
tion. As a person is filled continually with God's
Spirit he is motivated to use all his gifts to channel
the best news.
Things happen when persons acknowledge and ac-
cept their calling to be an evangelist, when they
make articulate their beliefs and share with others
what it means to follow Christ.
Things happen when people choose a life-style of
personal and social holiness. They "count the cost"
of discipleship and strive for personal integrity.
Purity of thought and a quickening of conscience is
their constant goal.
Things happen in homes developed as centers for
love and support. They bring light and truth, tran-
quility, peace and beauty to their own and other families.
Things happen when persons realize their true voca-
tion is being Christian. Every aspect of their lives —
economic, political, cultural, and domestic — comes
under the scrutiny of responsible Christlike living.
Things happen when people discover they must be
stewards of their personal resources. Everything —
finances, books, tables, cars, recreational equipment,
travel opportunities — is regarded prayerfully so
that its use may be for God's glory and a neighbor's good.
The Holy Spirit makes things happen as hearts are
open to God's movement in and beyond the institu-
tional walls of the church. As people discern the
need and the power, they support the Spirit's en-
counters everywhere.
Things happen when each person is encouraged to
respond as he is led. There is need for a variety of
witness and for many different expressions of evangelism.
In pastors. Things happen when the pastor is the
key to action as he inspires, challenges, sets goals,
plans for action, and invites the congregation to join him.
Things happen when pastors take a stance of vul-
nerable love and have a solid life-style to support the
risks. Taking risks for the sake of love gives integ-
rity to their leadership and encouragement to their
friends.
In congregations. Things happen when local
churches develop their own evangelism papers, giv-
ing specific consideration to implementation and
resources.
Things happen when congregations make member-
ship more meaningful, asking not merely for a
once-in-a-lifetime decision but also providing
frequent opportunities for persons to declare their
intentions to follow Christ.
Things happen when worship becomes the work of
people expressing their mutual joy and commitment
to Jesus Christ. Celebrating the common life in
faith may take a variety of forms such as situation
dramas, plays for involvement, gospel sings, and the
creation of paintings, sculpture, and banners. Con-
gregations may invite open expression of "this is the
way I thank God for what he means to me."
Things happen when congregations allow a variety of
forms and styles in the way members affirm their
faith in Christ. They may choose mass evangelism,
pulpit evangelism, church school evangelism,
person-to-person evangelism, and unconventional
evangelism, so long as they meet persons with the
love and reconcihation that is implied by the
message.
Things happen when support groups emerge within
local congregations wherein people may share their
daily aches and joys of living, and feel the close
acceptance of their friends and so live the best news.
Equally significant are groups committed to special
ministries — such as prison visitation, housing,
peace, creative worship and drama.
Things happen when congregations commission indi-
vidual members, sending them out to share their gifts
and spirit in witness and service within the commu-
nity. Or when congregations provide lay schools to
undergird personal gifts, to teach pastoral skills, and
to explore the depth of faith and the art of ex-
pressing it.
Things happen when congregations make provision
for financial and personal assistance to individuals
so that some may participate in lay retreats and con-
ferences. And new vitality comes when lay witness
teams from various congregations share their per-
sonal faith and pilgrimage with other congregations.
6-15-72 MESSENGER 1
The Best News...
The Best News
comes to us...
The Best News
comes to us
in Jesus Christ...
Rccoinincnded lor discussion and adoption by Annual
Conference delegates in Cincinnati June 27 — July 2 is the
following Statement on Evangelism, designed as a position
paper. Working under assignment of the General Board,
the members of the drafting committee were Alan L.
Whitacre, chairman, Kettering, Ohio; Phyllis Carter,
Bryant, Ind.; Olcn S. Landes. Harrisonburg, Va.; Robert
W . Knechel Jr., North Manchester, Ind.: and Kenneth I.
Morse, Elgin, III. Endorsement of the paper was given
by the General Board in March.
God loves. God's first and last words are: "I
love you." In the Bible, the love story between per-
sons and God is told. His love is revealed from
beginning to end.
In the beginning God creates, saying, 'it is all very
good" (Genesis 1 ). In the end God holds out a vi-
sion of a new heaven and new earth ( Revelation 21).
Nature itself discloses the Creator's sustaining power
in the midst of creation. The renewing of existing
things witnesses to a life process greater than any
force that would alter its flow.
In our humanity. We are finite. The limita-
tion on our perception and years leaves us with only
partial answers.
We are susceptible to death. We strive by our will
to be larger than the death that consumes us.
Yet it is in the nature of things that we die in old age,
and from broken spirits, and even from frozen
hearts.
To accept the limitations and the potential in our
humanity is a very diflicult thing. Despair often
comes . . .
To give hope. To a struggling humanity, Jesus
Christ brings home the truth: We are delivered!
Turn toward the light! Let us grow!
In shadows of despair the Word comes clear: "Rise,
pick up your life and run. I am running with you.''
With the Spirit we come clean. Confessing our
hypocrisy, we breathe the newness of being found
out and learning we are still lovable.
And with this new found assurance we hopefully
participate in the salvation which has been created
for all people through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God loves me. The universal God of creation
is also the personal God. the God who cares for and
loves me. The universal love of God is understand-
able only through God's particular love for me.
If God could not love a particular part of creation,
God would not be large enough to love it all.
But God is large enough to love each part of
creation (consider the lilies of the fields, the birds of
the air). And I know I am important and loved, too.
God's sustaining love comes to me in fresh new
ways. It is new every morning. In spite of what I
am, or do, God continues to support me. God's
sunshine and rain fall on my just and unjust ways.
God is gracious to me . . . and to you.
God loves you. God's personal interest in me is
the same personal interest God has in you.
God wants a relationship of trust and integrity with
every person ( 1 Tim. 2:4). So when I say God
enters into a personal relationship with me, I must
also go on to say that God and you have a deep and
lasting relationship.
God extends himself to you directly. And he gives
himself to you indirectly, even through me.
God's love is persistent. In whatever way we can
best receive God's love, directly or indirectly, God
wants to be with you and me.
In our despair. The years of our lives are
three score and ten. Sometimes more, sometimes
less. We wither and vanish. All seems futile.
Everything we touch turns to ashes. We are given
power only to discover we cannot control it. Much
life is destroyed by our clumsy, self-seeking ways.
We live in sin. Alienated from the rest of creation
and from our creator by attempting to be that which
we are not, we practice self-redemption in vain.
Loneliness sets in. Isolated as individuals, we lean
on each other only to discover in others our weak-
ness. Frustrated at seeing ourselves in others we
commit the final act of treason . . . hypocrisy.
In our hypocrisy. We pretend we are some-
thing that deep down we know we are not. Judgment
of others comes easily as we cover our sin by point-
ing at others.
Repeating sacred precepts with our lips, we are
unable to live them.
Thinking "we" are better than "they," we lose sight
of our true condition.
Never able to completely forget what we are apart
from Christ, we must always remember what we can
be . . . with Jesus Christ.
To reconcile differences. There is available
help to move me from where I am to where I need to
be. Christ has given life (Eph. 2:1-5) to those
of us who are spiritually dead, who drift along on
the stream of this world's ideas of living, who obey
the rulers of this world.
Jesus is a meeting point between sinful man and
righteous God. Through Jesus Christ difl^erences
are resolved (John 14:6).
We come as we are. We have nothing to put on.
Nothing can make us more worthy of God's gra-
cious acceptance. We are just accepted.
To bring peace. "For in him all the fullness of
God was pleased to dwell, and through him to
reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or
in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross"
(Col. 1:19,20).
Peace that is eternal comes to touch our fevered.
frantic lives. Twisted, tormented behavior that tries
to hide from its owner is untied and released.
To you who are released, peace is given so that by
your joy others may be set free.
Peace that the world can neither give or take away
is offered to all. Live in that peace and may your
joy pass it on.
The Best News
comes to us
in Jesus Christ
and makes things happen!
In every person. Things happen because the
Holy Spirit provides the impetus for power and ac-
tion. As a person is filled continually with God's
Spirit he is motivated to use all his gifts to channel
the best news.
Things happen when persons acknowledge and ac-
cept their calling to be an evangelist, when they
make articulate their beliefs and share with others
what it means to follow Christ.
Things happen when people choose a life -style of
personal and social holiness. They "count the cost"
of discipleship and strive for personal integrity.
Purity of thought and a quickening of conscience is
their constant goal.
Things happen in homes developed as centers for
love and support. They brmg light and truth, tran-
quility, peace and beauty to their own and other families.
Things happen when persons realize their true voca-
tion is being Christian. Every aspect of their lives —
economic, political, cultural, and domestic — comes
under the scrutiny of responsible Christlike living.
Things happen when people discover they must be
stewards of their personal resources. Everything —
finances, books, tables, cars, recreational equipment,
travel opportunities — is regarded prayerfully so
that its use may be for God's glory and a neighbor's good.
The Holy Spirit makes things happen as hearts are
open to God's movement in and beyond the institu-
tional walls of the church. As people discern the
need and the power, they support the Spirit's en-
counters everywhere.
Things happen when each person is encouraged to
respond as he is led. There is need for a variety of
witness and for many different expressions of evangelism.
In pastors. Things happen when the pastor is the
key to action as he inspires, challenges, sets goals,
plans for action, and invites the congregation to join him.
Things happen when pastors take a stance of vul-
nerable love and have a solid life-style to support the
risks. Taking risks for the sake of love gives integ-
rity to their leadership and encouragement to their
friends.
In congregations. Things happen when local
churches develop their own evangelism papers, giv-
ing specific consideration to implementation and
resources.
Things happen when congregations make member-
ship more meaningful, asking not merely for a
once-in-a-lifetime decision but also providing
frequent opportunities for persons to declare their
intentions to follow Christ.
Things happen when worship becomes the work of
people expressing their mutual joy and commitment
to Jesus Christ. Celebrating the common life in
faith may take a variety of forms such as situation
dramas, plays for involvement, gospel sings, and the
creation of paintings, sculpture, and banners. Con-
gregations may invite open expression of "this is the
way I thank God for what he means to me."
Things happen when congregations allow a variety of
forms and styles in the way members affirm their
faith in Christ. They may choose mass evangelism,
pulpit evangelism, church school evangelism,
person-to-person evangelism, and unconventional
evangelism, so long as they meet persons with the
love and reconciliation that is impUed by the
message.
Things happen when support groups emerge wdthin
local congregations wherein people may share their
daily aches and joys of living, and feel the close
acceptance of their friends and so live the best news.
Equally significant are groups committed to special
ministries — such as prison visitation, housing,
peace, creative worship and drama.
Things happen when congregations commission indi-
vidual members, sending them out to share their gifts
and spirit in witness and service within the commu-
nity. Or when congregations provide lay schools to
undergird personal gifts, to teach pastoral skills, and
to explore the depth of faith and the art of ex-
pressing it.
Things happen when congregations make provision
for financial and personal assistance to individuals
so that some may participate in lay retreats and con-
ferences. And new vitality comes when lay witness
teams from various congregations share their per-
sonal faith and pilgrimage with other congregations.
6-15-72 MESSENGER 1
The Best News
challenges the church
to be evangelistic ...
We are challenged as well as comforted by "the best
news" m the world. Up to this point we have
affirmed the gospel and attempted to describe some
of the happenings it prompts and promises. But we
need also to observe its implications in developing
evangelistic concern and in guiding evangelistic
activity in the Church of the Brethren.
1 . Let our evangelism be activated by God's love.
From first to last it is the work of God to reconcile
all men to himself through Christ. He has enlisted
us in this service of reconciliation ( 2 Cor. 5:18).
His gospel is one gospel and it is intended for the
whole person. Sharing in his love for all human
beings, we must be careful not to isolate what we
regard as "spiritual" needs to the neglect of the total
person for whom the gospel promises a new birth, a
richer life, a fulfillment of human potential as well as
new relationships. God calls and commissions us to
go into all the world and make disciples in his name.
2. Let our evangelism be affirmative in spirit. The
news of God's mercy and grace is essentially posi-
tive, emphasizing life rather than death, deliverance
from bondage, freedom in place of slavery, accep-
tance instead of alienation. That news can best be
shared affirmatively by bearing witness to the saving
action of God in Christ and by recognizing that it is
the presence of Christ and not the pointing finger of
accusation that brings people to an awareness of
what they lack and what guilt they carry. The
Christian message is communicated by persons who
refrain from judging others (they are themselves
sinners saved by grace), but who also bear witness to
the joy they find in Christ. Let our methods as well
as our message be life-affirming and constructive.
3. Let our evangelism be open and inclusive. All
persons, however unpromising they may seem as
candidates for conversion, are equally eligible for
God's mercy and forgiveness. There are no initia-
tion requirements, no special preparation before one
can come into his presence. We dare not be more
selective in deciding to whom we communicate the
good news of Jesus than was Jesus himself. Let the
church, let each congregation become a many-
faceted mosaic of many colors, ages, cultural heri-
tages, abilities, and needs, making a joyful scene of
worship and witness in the larger community. We
must take care lest we project our own cultural
standards, require certain behavior patterns, or
insist on conformity to our own prejudices as condi-
tions for accepting another person in the name of
our Lord. His arms still reach out to embrace the
least attractive as well as the most promising
prospect for his kingdom. Evangelism that is selec-
tive or discriminatory, that is restricted by prejudice
or pride, contradicts the purpose and denies the
power of the gospel.
4. Let our evangelism be varied in its expression.
Today, as when Paul wrote to the Corinthians,
"There are varieties of gifts but the same spirit . . .
varieties of service, but the same Lord . . . many
forms of work, but all of them, in all men, are the
work of the same God." We must be open to a
diversity of ways the Holy Spirit may be working
among us. God can use the efforts of fellowships
promoting revival and movements calling for com-
mitment to radical discipleship. His Spirit can be felt
in conventional services and in experimental modes
of celebrating the gospel. Along with conferences
and public meetings designed to reach audiences that
gather in one place, along with local and district
workshops providing training in evangelism, the
church must be ready to offer attractively printed
literature and to use various other media — films,
recordings, dramas, posters, buttons, banners, for
example — which convey the meaning of the gospel
in contemporary terms.
5. Let our evangelism respect the Integrity of indi-
viduals. No matter how reasonable the claims of the
gospel may seem, many persons will exercise their
God-given right to say No. There is no place in the
gospel for manipulating the responses of people, for
forcing a decision or for requiring a commitment
that does not honestly represent a free response to
God's invitation to life. God does not twist our arm.
He respects our need to be ourselves even as he offers
to help us become more than we are. But if God
does not twist our arm, neither does he let us go, but
his love hounds us through all oiu' days. Let our
evangelism also respect the individual's freedom, yet
never cease to pray for and seek his response to
God's love.
6. Let our evangelism be forthright in its proclama-
tion. Christians have too often been tongue-tied,
hesitant or apologetic when they have had natural
2 MESSENGER 7-1-72
opportunities to tell the good news of God. Or be-
cause they regard themselves as unworthy, their
witness has been weakened by the sound of an
uncertain trumpet. But our confidence is not in our-
selves; it is in Christ whose example and teachings,
whose life and death still speak with authority to the
hearts of men, even those who seem least likely to
make a profession of faith. If we experience the love
of Christ, like Peter and John, "we cannot but
speak of what we have seen and heard."
7. Let our evangelism be incarnated in persons.
The good news must be communicated by individu-
als who are themselves the good news. One stranger
can say to another, "God loves you," but the full
meaning of that affirmation will be felt only when
the speaker cares enough to say "I love you." The
love and concern that God feels for human beings
must become incarnate in persons who will risk
danger, endure suffering, and give generously of
themselves on behalf of others. Without this dimen-
sion the full impact of Jesus' sacrificial death on the
cross will not be understood. The best evangelists
are those who today, for the sake of persons, bear in
their own bodies "the marks of Jesus."
8. Let our evangelism be incorporated in actions.
Through deeds of service, through evidences of per-
sonal concern, and through programs and policies
that enable persons to become whole and fully
human, the gospel is communicated and authenti-
cated. The good Samaritan and the evangelist are
not different persons. Individuals and congregations
cannot divorce what they do from what they say. By
taking a stand when basic issues are at stake; by
rendering service when it may be unpopular to ex-
press concern for the oppressed; by challenging evil
systems that demean and destroy human personality;
by creating a caring community — in ways such as
these the good news is translated into a language of
deeds that everyone can understand.
9. Let our evangelism be extended through the
home. The home, like the church, is of divine origin
and undergirds our civilization. The church is no
stronger nor more effective than the homes which
compose its fellowship. At a time when the future
of the family is being questioned and the stability of
many homes has been threatened, for the sake of the
gospel we urge parents to be more loving and under-
standing and to communicate through their natural
affection for their children the eternal truths of the
scriptures, constantly emphasizing the securities of
the Christian faith. Let our homes uphold the
sanctity of the marriage relationship, and let them
also demonstrate by means of the covenants that
create a family what is the nature of reconciling love
that unites Christ and the church.
10. Let our evangelism be facilitated through the
church. Important as personal evangelism may be,
it needs the support of a warm and trusting fellow-
ship in which acceptance can be experienced. Many
may find this support in a small group only inci-
dentally associated with an institution, but even such
groups derive help and strength from the congrega-
tion to which they are related. As a denomination
the Church of the Brethren can provide an abun-
dance of resources and programs, as well as trained
leadership, needed to facilitate evangelism in all of
its aspects. But it does not work alone in any com-
munity. It is everywhere a part of a larger fellow-
ship of believers who share the same "best news"
and who together must be responsible for living up
to the demands of discipleship. There are many
creative and effective ways in which ecumenical
efforts will help Brethren to join with God in the
ministry of reconciliation in which he has already
enlisted us.
In Conclusion. As a part of the total Christian fel-
lowship the Church of the Brethren has been en-
trusted with a message — the best news of God's
love for all persons. We have also been enlisted in
his ministry of reconciliation. But for far too long
we have allowed our uncertainties to inhibit our
evangelism and we have been hesitant to share en-
thusiastically our convictions about God's love and
grace.
Surely we are called to be more positive in
affirming our loyalty to Jesus Christ and more ag-
gressive in seeking commitments to him, to his
church, and to his kingdom. As persons, as congre-
gations, as a Brotherhood, we prayerfully anticipate
the renewal of faith that will be reflected in a desire
to grow, to be fruitful and multiply — both for the
glory of God and for our neighbor's good. Q
7-1-72 MESSENGER 3
©©DIll^SDT]!^^
Dsltl^S[f^
18
Statement on Evangelism. Recommended for discussion and
adoption by Annual Conference, this position paper affirms that
"the best news comes to us in Jesus Christ and makes things hap-
pen!" Turn to the foldout section that opens this issue's special
emphasis on evangelism
Where the Spirit of the Lord Is. The executive secretary for
South/ Central Indiana reflects on times when he has experienced the
Holy Spirit, by Carroll M. Petry
Thrusts in Evangelism. Caravans to smaller churches. Key 73,
a nationwide call to Christ. Three other models in use in the Brother-
hood. All point to the centrality of the Good News
Evangelism Comes Alive! Pius Gibble, Kokomo, Indiana, pastor,
recalls a day of miracles at his church; James S. Flora, pastor at
Long Beach, California, calls us to renew the Great Commission;
Dale Aukerman, Vermontville, Michigan, pastor, describes a sidewalk
encoimter; and Mrs. Jack Frederick, Martinsburg, Pennsylvania,
shares a parable of two churches
Experiencing New Light in Unbroken Blackness. A longtime
churchman, curriculum writer, and educator, Ira Frantz, North
Manchester, Indiana, longs to see again. His story recounts a struggle
for acceptance and a test of faith
In Touch profiles musician Steve Engle, author Pat Helman, and pastor
Jimmy Robinson (6). . . . Outlook notes a tenth year for Brethren in
Washington, reports on the 30th anniversary convention of the National
Association of Evangelicals, and outlines 13 new FAUS projects (begin-
ning on 8). . . . The ministry- of Jesus comes into sharp focus in 30-
second tv spots released by the United Presbyterian Church in the
USA (15). ... A resource listing cites "Designs for Evangelism" (2\).
... In "Take It From Here" Glee Yoder, McPherson, Kansas, writer,
suggests activities using weaving (26). . . . Bethany Theological Seminar)'
professor LeRoy Kennel reviews three award-winning films (28). . . .
An editorial affirms, "The God of Glory Thunders" (32)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
tinda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL 121, NO. 13
JULY 1, 1972
CREDITS: Cover artwork bv ^\•ilbur E
Brumbaugh: 6 (right) copv bv Stedman
Studio, Ft. Wavne. Ind.; 8 llonald E
Keener; 13 Ken Stanlev; 15 Mass Media.
UPCUS.\; 18. 26 photos bv E. J. Buzinski;
27 courtesy The Bettman .\rchive; 28-29
Religious News Ser\ice
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter Aug. 20, 1918. under .\ct of
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date. Oct. !.
1971. Messenxer is a member of the .Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Service and Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, unless othenvise
indicated, are from the Revised Standard
\'ersion.
Subscription rates: S^-20 per year for indi-
\idual subscriptions; $3.60 per year for church
group plan: 53.00 per vear for every home
plan; life subscription. $60; husband and
wife, $75. If vou move clip old address
from Messenger and send with new- address.
.\llow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly by
the General Services Commission,
Church of the Brethren General
Board, 1451 Dundee .\\e.. Elgin.
111. 60120. Second-class postage
paid at Elgin. 111.. July 1, 1972. Copyright
1972, Church of the Brethren General Board.
i
SUPPORT
For three and a half years I have engaged
in an ongoing struggle with the Selective
Service System, sometimes private, some-
times public, in an effort to challenge the
legitimacy of that segment of the military-
apparatus. Involved in that struggle were
the return of numerous draft cards, refusal
to supply requested information, two re-
fusals to report for induction, and a refusal
to report for alternative service as a "con-
scientious objector."
June 30, at 9:30 A.M. at Lafayette, Ind.,
I will be allowed to present my case to a
judge and jurj' in an attempt to demonstrate
to them that I am not guilty of a federal
crime. Friends and supporters are welcome
to attend the trial and/or a pretrial gather-
ing the night before.
1 would greatly appreciate the effort of
supporters in wTiting to the federal judge
who will preside over the case and the
prosecuting attorney. Letters should be sent
approximately June 30 to Judge Jesse Esch-
bach and to William C. Lee, US Attorney,
both at the Federal Building, Lafayette, Ind.
47902.
The intent is not to influence the trial or
even the sentence, but to show^ the US
attorney and the judge that I am not an
isolated individual standing without support
before the mercy of the American system
of justice.
John Flory
Kansas City, Mo.
BOOSTER STATION
Has any Sunday school adult class ever
tried to use the Sunday school hour as a
"booster station" for correspondence Bible
students earning credit?
Suppose a Sunday school class in a
church was formed of correspondence Bible
students wishing to earn credit. A teacher is
selected, the course chosen, matriculation
and course materials secured.
E.xaminations and grading would be done
b>' the seminary- extending the correspon-
dence course.
These courses could be so timed as to
use the marvelous resource materials in A
Guide for Biblical Studies written by Chal-
mer Faw and Glen Norris.
Elmer Leckrone
Fort Wayne. Ind.
THE TRUE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
1 was especially pleased to see that a
"Statement on Evangelism" is going to be
presented during Annual Conference in Cin-
cinnati. I have always believed and always
will believe that evangelism is the true
mission of the church. . . .
During one of our revival meetings several
4 MESSENGER 7-1-72
•^
years ago a very dear minister friend of
mine recited a small verse nightly. I believe
it would be very good if all of us Christians
knew it and thought about it.
Set us afire. Lord,
Stir us we pray.
While the world tarries
We go our way.
Purposeless, passionless, day after day.
Set us afire, Lord,
Stir us we pray.
Since last November I've participated in
a number of different activities with people
from different churches and backgrounds.
All of these people are interested in being
filled with the Holy Spirit and in studying
God's word.
I've always returned from these meetings
proud that I belong and always will belong
to the Church of the Brethren. We have a
wonderful heritage. I pray we will not shy
away from talking about our history and
beliefs to others.
Patricu Brate
Naperville, HI.
RICH IN MATERIAL
I relished reading the May 15 Messenger.
For the past several years I have been tak-
ing groups to southeastern Kentucky for an
experience in Appalachian living. This issue
is rich with material that would be of value
to the students who enroll in our summer
school course.
Dana D. Snider
Middlebury, Ind.
TO SPEAK OUT BOLDLY
The letter from John R. Wallace (May
15) with reference to our Washington Office
strikes deep concern. There are more than
1,200 professional lobbyists in Washington,
each working for some economic or political
advantage. The churches have a mere hand-
ful of persons, not to lobby but to speak up
for the Christian conscience on issues such
as peace, racism, world hunger, and the
oppression of the weak by the strong. The
Brethren have Ralph Smeltzer, who is free
to give only a part of his time.
Early in World War II a few Brethren,
Quakers, and Mennonites went before Con-
gressmen and the war department to plead
for nonviolence as a solution to world prob-
lems. As a result we now have alternative
service.
Some years ago great shiploads of surplus
wheat lay at anchor along the Hudson
River. The wheat was being stored at great
expense. Some was spoiling. Out in the
world millions of people were starving.
Several church representatives went before
the House Agricultural Committee and pled
for compassion and common sense in the
use of our abundant food.
At the close of the interview there were
expressions of gratitude from committee
members who said they were glad for the
backing of the churches. Weeks later some
of the wheat began to move to where it was
needed. We do not know how much our
pleas may have helped, but at least our
efforts as "lobbyists" seem to have done
no harm.
Let the churches speak out boldly for
justice, mercy, and peace, upholding the
hands of those who appreciate support in
making right decisions.
The Quakers have eight or ten highly
qualified persons as welcome consultants on
Capitol Hill in an effort toward turning
some of our bloated industrial-military com-
plex toward housing, education, and the
alleviation of human suffering. I am trou-
bled by our feeble and diminishing effort as
a church toward the shaping of policies
which could influence life for so many
people.
As a church we have some 1,000 persons
devoted to the important ministries of the
parish, education, health, and welfare. We
should probably have fewer engaged in
central offices and five or six persons of
highest competence out in direct confron-
tation on causal issues such as those to
which Christ summons us in Luke 4:18.
When we consider the Alexander Macks,
the John Klines, or the noble men who
choose prison bars rather than evils like
Vietnam on the one hand, and the tendency
of the church for silence and "respectabihty"
on the other, we might well ask ourselves,
"Where have all the martyrs gone?"
I. W. MOOMAW
Sebring, Fla.
FEED THE SPIRIT
Why not make the Messenger much
more what its lovely name implies? Chris-
tians trying to walk with Jesus in this world
but not of this world need that same resur-
rection power that filled the tomb and raised
Jesus up to new life to be breathed into us.
More detailed Bible study aids and anointed
teachings on the "Word which shall never
pass away" are so desperately needed to sat-
isfy hunger and quench thirst. The intellect
can be fed by the daily newspaper. But let
the Messenger feed the spirit. Really feed
it.
We need not go to the ghetto or overseas
to find the bereaved, the one in constant
pain, the one with the empty wallet but
the accumulated bills, the rejected mate, the
one burdened with guilt or frozen with fear,
the lost mixed-up children, the parent of the
lost mixed-up children, the elderly in grow-
ing disability and loneliness, the parents who
sincerely try to help their children know
Jesus in a real and personal way against
many odds. Are not all of these right among
us, the church members, as well as our near-
est neighbors? Consider Job and the limited
value of his friends' words and opinions.
Only God's words could fill the need.
I believe that as we faithfully keep first
things first, the love and unity of the Brethren
will flourish miraculously as a byproduct,
along with many others for which we think
we must plan and strive so hard.
Lois Teeter
Gaithersburg, Md.
HOW MANY TO ST. IVES?
I believe Loyal Jones ("The Literature of
the Mind," May 15) has left out a line in
the poem about all those people not going
to St. Ives. The line omitted not only con-
fuses one more, but also balances the rhythm
better.
The way I learned the poem was:
As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives.
Each wife had seven cats.
Each cat had seven kittens.
Kittens, cats, man, and wives —
How many were going to St. Ives?
I enjoy Messenger and always read it
from front to back.
ESTELLA FaSNACHT
La Verne, Calif.
MESSENGER'S SUMMER SCHEDULE
During July and again in August, the
two regular issues of Messenger each
month are being combined into enlarged
single issues. Factors of production
costs, summer schedules, and church
calendar have prompted the change of
frequency.
In this combined July issue, the dom-
inant note is evangelism in the Church
of the Brethren. The combined August
issue will highlight coverage of the Cin-
cinnati Annual Conference. Extra copies
of the July and August issues may be
obtained for 25 cents each, plus postage.
Write Messenger, 1451 Dundee Ave.,
Elgin, III. 60120.
Beginning in September, Messenger
will resume production on a twice-a-
month basis. — The Editors
7-1-72 messenger 5
Steve Engle: Reinterpreting Judas
Members of the La Verne Church of
the Brethren are singing a new tune
— in fact several new tunes — ■ all
written by youth director Steve Engle
for his contemporary opera Saint
Judas Passion.
Under Steve's direction, excerpts
from the opera were presented at the
California church in March. It was
received with acclaim by critics and
the congregation.
The work has been favorably com-
pared with the production Jesus
Christ Superstar as having "more
singable" music.
A native of Waynesboro, Pa.,
Steve was entertaining at banquets
with his guitar and ventriloquist act
when he was 12.
He received early training and en-
couragement from Francis A. Nogle,
choir director at the high school and
Brethren church in Waynesboro. He
wrote his first song when he was 14
and it was recorded at the radio
station in his hometown.
He formed the New Century Sing-
ers while attending Juniata College
in 1966. The group cut an album
and two singles. One of the songs,
"Sing Ye All Hosarma," appeared in
a 1965 edition of Messenger.
Steve started working with young
people while attending Bethany
Theological Seminary, where he
worked with street gangs under the
Stan Davis program and managed a
coffeehouse for youth.
After college, he completed a year
as a Brethren Volunteer Service
worker at the Bella Vista Church of
the Brethren in East Los Angeles.
He served in BVS at La Verne and
was named youth director in 1970.
"I See a New World Coming" is
his most successful song thus far
within the denomination. "New
World" was introduced at Annual
Conference in 1970.
Steve wrote all of the music for
the album "Look to the Light," re-
corded in 1971.
He said he researched the charac-
ter of Judas and has a thesis that
gives a kinder view of Judas Iscariot.
The youth director said he is not
trying to whitewash the action of
Judas. But on the other side he feels
the Bible does give Judas a "bad
deal."
"Judas saw himself as the enabler,
not the betrayer. His intent was not
to betray Jesus but to try to use
Joseph Caiaphas [high priest of the
Jews] to show Jesus' hand."
The full production will take two
hours to perform. — Lenore
Wallace
irf^
Pat Helman: Defining a(
Soon after Patricia Kennedy Helman
moved from Kansas to Indiana,
where her husband Blair had been
called to be president of Manchester
College, she was invited often to
speak before women's groups in clubs
and churches. An entertaining fea-
ture of many of these talks was the
way Pat would don a series of hats to
illustrate the points she wanted to
make about a woman's various roles
and her identity.
The last hat was always an old
Brethren bonnet, which the college
president's wife regarded as a symbol
of her own heritage and which gave
her an opportunity to talk about her
own faith in God.
During the past year Pat has found
a new and expanded audience for
her views on what it means to be a
woman. Her recent book. Free to Be
a Woman, published by Doubleday,
takes a critical look at the ways in
which society defines woman, and she
counters these stereotypes with her
understanding of "how we define
ourselves." But the thrust of her
book is directed toward what she
describes as woman's "spiritual
identity."
Messenger asked Mrs. Helman
how she came to write Free to Be a
Woman. She replied, "The book was
prompted by the hue and cry that
has been renewed by the feminists in
the various organizations that support
women's liberation. There is much
about the feminist I find admirable
and am willing to support. But I feel
rather strongly that women still want
their roles defined in ways that sup-
6 MESSENGER 7-1-72
'spiritual identity'
port their natural inclinations, which
include a meaningful and committed
relationship with a man and the
bearing of children. In this con-
clusion I am at odds with some of the
radical liberationists."
This may explain why women have
reacted in quite different ways to her
book. Most of them, including the
liberationists, agree with the way
she disposes of the stereotypes they
are eager to discard. Yet, as Pat
says, "Many feel that I have not gone
far enough with the ideas of changing
styles of marriage and of the meshing
of male and female roles." But
many others, of course, appreciate
the importance the author gives to
woman's role as wife and mother.
Mrs. Helman notes that "the most
positive feedback concerns the chap-
ter entitled 'The Placemaker' which
does support the notion that a
woman has a unique responsibility to
establish a sense of place in the lives
of people around her."
Pat's audience may grow even
larger when her book comes out later
this year in a paperback edition. But
meanwhile the prospect of developing
professionally as a writer is not
likely to deflect this McPherson Col-
lege graduate from what, true to her
own understanding of many a wom-
an's role, she regards as a full-time
job, and that is to carry the varied
responsibilities that fall to the wife of
a college president.
Jimmy Robinson: Working it out in love
When you talk with a person like
Jimmy Robinson, you learn that there
is no such thing as being "just a
pastor" to "just" a rural church.
. The routine of the pastor of two
? Shenandoah County, Virginia,
churches, Wakeman's Grove and
Pleasant View, sounds simple: the
I funerals, the weddings, the county
ministerium meetings, the hours of
. counseling in which Pastor Robinson
I has some training.
But the excitement starts when per-
sons in the congregations begin to
grow. "I told the people at the two
churches that I didn't want to be a
slave to administrative tasks. They
weren't sure how to take that. Now,
\ they are showing more self-reliance;
they understand what it means to do
things for themselves."
Jimmy is an old hand at self-
reliance. Born and raised in Indian-
apolis, he joined the navy at seven-
teen. There wasn't much time for
(church in those days. But after his
marriage to Savilla Hockman, a West
Virginia girl he met on a 72-hour
pass, Jimmy began to become in-
volved intimately in congregational
life at the White Pine church. In
1954 he joined the Church of the
Brethren because in the lives of
families in the church "there was a
I joy prevailing that I thought a family
ought to have."
He worked with young people. He
went up to New York for a year's
work in a mental hospital. Finally,
feeling called to the ministry, Jimmy
was graduated from the training
school at Bethany Biblical Seminary
and took his first pastorate at Crum-
met Run in West Virginia; there were
eight churches in that first parish, its
territory covered 600 square miles.
He still returns every year to lead a
revival.
Called to Sangerville next, in Shen-
andoah District, Jimmy participated
in the first stages of a building pro-
gram. He went to Shenandoah
County in 1967.
"The people at both Pleasant View
and Wakeman's Grove have ex-
pressed appreciation for things I've
done — things I thought were simply
a part of my ministry," Jimmy re-
flected with typical modesty. "Some-
times you wonder, 'Am I doing
anything?' Part of the answer comes
when you hear the thanks — when
you discover the importance of the
little things."
In the wider community Jimmy
will chair a counseling program being
set up through the County Ministerial
Association, and he has participated
in ecumenical ventures suggested by
the Shenandoah County Interchuch
Planning Service (See Messenger,
March Ts).
For Jimmy Robinson, twelve years
in the pastorate of a church he didn't
come by through birth or heritage,
but through choice, have meant learn-
ing to communicate with diverse
kinds of people. And he brings to
that learning a "work it out in love"
approach that makes being "just" a
pastor a loving and lively task.
7-1-72 MESSENGER 7
Notes on a tenth year:
Brethren in Washington
In the same week that Christians were de-
fending their right to comment on public
policy, Brethren in the national capital
area were marking the tenth anniversary
of a Church of the Brethren witness to
government.
Some 100 Brethren from the greater
Washington metropolitan and suburban
areas on May 7 noted the ten years that
the Washington Office of the Church of
the Brethren has been functioning.
Joel K. Thompson, executive for the
World Ministries Commission, said that
the anniversary reaffirms the request of
the Annual Conference that the denomi-
nation work in an ecumenical ministry
in the nation's capital, even at a time
when "many people within the life of the
church would opt for a sectarian ap-
proach."
Three days earlier the National Coun-
cil of Churches testified before the House
Ways and Means Committee on a
measure affecting the right of churches
and other tax exempt groups to influence
legislation.
William P. Thompson for the NCC
said, "We believe that it is not the prov-
ince of government to define or evaluate
the purposes of churches, nor how they
shall serve those purposes, nor how much
of that service may be devoted to legis-
lative issues, nor to what public the
churches' efl'orts on these subjects must
be directed."
The testimony lifted up on the obliga-
tion of Christians as organized bodies to
speak on public policy, as part of the "free
exercise of religion" protection of the
First Amendment.
It was with such a concern that the
Annual Conference in 1961 mandated
that "the Brethren should be part of a
responsible Christian presence and wit-
ness in Washington." The purpose of the
office since then has been to encourage
the government to express genuine con-
cern, love, and justice for all people.
In a reception and program at the
United Methodist Building, the location
of most denominational Washington
offices, Ralph E. Smeltzer and former
directors of the office recalled the past
and focused on the future.
D.C. directors: R. Early, J. Eberly, L. Row for the late W . Harold Row, R. Smellier
Present representation: Assistant A. Warner, secretary L. Bowman, director R. Smeltzer
Ruth Early, now with American Uni-
versity, opened the office in January 1962,
serving on a half-time basis with the Na-
tional Service Board for Religious
Objectors.
In her first four months, she noted,
more than 500 Brethren came through the
city in youth and adult seminars, a Mc-
Pherson College political science class, a
group of Indiana pastors, and a BVS unit.
She listed the concerns in national life
ten years ago, observing that many of
them still remain at issue today. "A
church's witness to government is effec-
tive only as its members witness in com-
munities where they live," she said.
Two years later John H. Eberly, now
retired from the ministry, replaced Miss
Early as director, also giving half-time
with NSBRO and two area churches.
Miriam Bowers was employed as secre-
tary. Some years earlier, Mr. Eberly
8 MESSENGER 7-1-72
noted, he had been part of a meeting of
Washington churchmen who were project-
ing a greater denominational ministry in
Washington.
In August 1969 W. Harold Row as-
sumed the office in addition to duties as
executive of the Inierchurch Relations
Committee. Brethren Service volunteer
Gary Flory was office assistant. But with-
in a month of assuming his new work,
Dr. Row discovered that he had cancer.
He continued to carry out his assignment
until his death in July 1971. Mrs. Row,
still a Washington resident, was present
at the observance.
Ralph Smeltzer, the current director,
took the post in September 1971 with his
previous assignment as social justice con-
sultant. Initially he was assisted by Nancy
Long and Jerry Shenk, now codirectors
of the National Council to Repeal the
Draft. In March Ann M. Warner was
employed as staff assistant and Louise D.
Bowman as administrative secretary.
Miss Warner, formerly of West Milton,
Ohio, and the Salem Church of the Breth-
ren, has taught German in public school.
She served in BVS in Europe and prior to
her current assignment worked in Volun-
teer Services and BVS programs.
Mrs. Bowman, a member of the Oak-
ton, Va., Church of the Brethren, was
formerly secretary in the Fairfax County
school system and for the Oakton
congregation.
In looking to the future, Mr. Smeltzer
said he wants to "see government human-
ize itself so it can really provide a
measure of love and justice to the black
family on Chicago's south side, to the
Chicano farm worker in the Rio Grande
Valley of Texas, to the Navajo sheepherd-
er in Lybrook, N.M., to the woodcutter
in southern Mississippi, to the unem-
ployed miner in southeastern Kentucky,"
as well as to the dispossessed, disen-
franchised, and neglected peoples of Asia,
Africa, and Latin America.
He urged that churches and church-
men become "even more concerned than
government about these values." The
Washington lobby is no stronger than the
local lobbies at home, he said.
Mr. Smeltzer seeks to develop a more
responsible Christian presence and wit-
ness in Washington and a more effective
ecumenical involvement.
The ability to do so, he said, depends
on the church's willingness to underwrite
the ministry, on program priorities, on
a theological climate that emphasizes the
whole person, on how the Brethren see
their message for the future, and on the
total religious climate in the US.
Bringing greetings on behalf of other
representatives of churches in Washington
was James A. Hamilton, the National
Council's Washington Office director. In
his remarks he shared some of the testi-
mony before the House Ways and Means
Committee.
In Washington for the observance were
seven members of the World Ministries
staff, who remained for two days for a
staff meeting and exploratory and get-
acquainted sessions with the American
Friends Service Committee and the
Friends Committee on National Legisla-
tion. Each of the World Ministries staff
members spoke in congregations through-
out the area during the weekend.
Meeting with the NAE:
'Burned and blessed'
For the two Brethren who attended, the
30th anniversary convention of the Na-
tional Association of Evangelicals con-
tained lessons in being "burned a bit and
blessed a lot."
The April gathering at St. Louis of 800
delegates from 34 NAE member denom-
inations and fraternal delegates from such
bodies as the Mennonite General Confer-
ence and the Church of the Brethren
heard from evangelicals David Wilkerson,
Teen Challenge founder; Hudson T.
Amerding, outgoing NAE president; and
George Sweeting, president of Moody
Bible Institute; and Canadian Parliament
member Robert N. Thompson.
Business sessions resulted in the adopt-
ing of resolutions approving capital
punishment and calling for release of
US prisoners of war in North Vietnam.
"But the major business was worshiping
together," said Phyllis Carter, Wabash,
Ind., pastor who, along with Pastor Larry
Fourman, New Windsor, Md., repre-
sented the Brethren at the convention.
"Business seemed to be merely an in-
terruption to worship and workshops."
"My uneasiness came out of the
business sessions," she reflected — the
"burned a bit" side. Attempts to estab-
lish consensus seemed to foil open dis-
cussion and prevent confrontation of
issues, she noted.
For example the motion to adopt the
resolution backing the death penalty in
premeditated murders passed with no
floor debate, though "I could have spent
hours discussing this issue," Pastor
Carter said.
In their resolution, delegates declared
unanimously that "even God does not
forgive without appropriate penalty for
our redemption."
The statement asserted further that "if
no crime is considered serious enough to
warrant capital punishment, then the
gravity of the most atrocious crime is
diminished accordingly. It follows then
that the attitude of criminals will be
affected. From the biblical perspective
if capital punishment is eliminated, the
value of human life is reduced and the
respect for life is correspondingly
eroded."
Larry Fourman, commenting on one of
two hearings on the prisoner of war
resolution, noted: "Two Mennonite
brothers and I were successful in getting
one paragraph changed so that US
officials as well as North Vietnamese
officials were called to negotiate for re-
lease of prisoners."
The only resolution to draw floor dis-
cussion was one calling for endorsement
for the national evangelistic thrust. Key
73. Larry Fourman commented;
"The resolution did nothing more than
affirm the NAE's 'historic commitment
to New Testament evangelism,' and
urged its members to participate in Key
73. . . . Sounds tame, but not to everyone.
After three votes on the resolution, the
final vote approved its tabling."
Said Phyllis Carter, "The two or three
speeches made were so sectarian that my
ability to stay open and listening was
shook more than a little."
Assessing the impact of the NAE's
thirtieth year convention. Phyllis Carter
reflected: "The denominations involved
as members are small. They probably
would not have the strength alone to
affect government policy and social
change. But together they are setting
the norm in radio ministry. They are
making strong impact on chaplaincy pro-
grams and worldwide relief.
"Members — in spite of diversity and
7-1-72 MESSENGER 9
variation — are beginning to trast each
other more; there is a feeling of accept-
ability."
At the same time Pastor Carter would
cite as disturbing such phenomena as "no
women in major positions of leadership
and none on the main conference pro-
gram" and a scarcity of youth.
Larry Fourman's evaluation took a
different tack, as he pointed to the em-
phasis on biblical, evangelical Christianity
that colored the entire texture of the con-
vention. "I feel evangelicals can con-
tribute a lot in helping Brethren rethink
and reaffirm in a new way the authority
of the scriptures."
"We need to remain in contact with a
growing and important group of Chris-
tians, keeping communication open,
growing in understanding each other, and
allowing the Holy Spirit to instruct us all
in finding opportunities for spreading the
gospel," Phyllis Carter declared.
FAUS: Since October
13 projects accept funds
Thirteen new grants from the Fund for
the Americas in the US are providing re-
sources for community organization and
economic development among blacks and
Spanish-speaking groups.
The funds, going to projects named
since October 1971, match purposes and
criteria for Part I of FAUS, and total
$28,650. A summary follows.
Black Central Coordinating Committee^
Decatur, 111. $2,000. Formed as a coa-
lition of local black organizations, BCCC
seeks to coordinate many-faceted commu-
nity organization efforts. A primary
thrust is the deployment of two com-
munity organizers to work primarily with
youth in cultural workshops, drug abuse
services, job training and placement,
tutoring, and education/vocation
counseling.
Brethren Council for Hispanic-Ameri-
can Ministries. Chicago, 111. $750. Origi-
nating in January 1972 this is an organ-
ization of Hispanic-Americans who are
members of the Church of the Brethren.
Their purpose is to promote and increase
Hispanic-American ministries and to sen-
sitize Brethren to the problems and needs
of the Hispanic-American population in
the United States. This grant is seen as
FAUS funds provide ministry to migrants
seed-money to cover travel and office ex-
pense necessary in the establishment of a
network of supporters and maintaining
a basic communication link.
Chicago Center for Black Religious
Studies. Chicago, 111. $1,900. This is the
second FAUS grant to this program,
originally called Black Studies Urban
Ministries Project. The purpose of the
center is to provide a mix of cultural,
sociological, and theological training at
the graduate level for black students —
to equip black students training for Chris-
tian ministry with skills and insights
pertinent to the needs of the black com-
munity. The grant is made in cooperation
with Bethany Theological Seminary, who
with the Association of Chicago Theo-
logical Schools (ACTS) serves in an ad-
visory capacity. The seminaries also offer
additional course work as well as
accreditation to qualifying students.
El Exito. Beeville, Texas. $2,000. This
is the only bilingual newspaper for
Mexican Americans in Beeville and San
Patricio counties of southern Texas. Cur-
rently the paper is published twice month-
ly in eight-page editions and distributed
to approximately 2500 families. FAUS
monies are designated for used equip-
ment, specifically a Headliner and Vari-
typer.
Clendale Child Development Center,
Glendale, Ariz. $1,500. This is the
second FAUS grant in as many years.
The purpose of this center, like other
childcare programs, is to provide day care
for preschool children while parents
work. These children are primarily
Spanish and their parents are farmers —
migrant and settled-out. Funding covers
the cost of play/ education equipment.
La Raza Unida, Union City, Ohio.
$2,500. In two previous years FAUS has
funded the statewide La Raza Unida
organization. This grant to a local chap-
ter supports one of the main setfled-out
centers of migrants in Ohio. The money
which was matched by the district of
Southern Ohio goes toward the hiring of
a community organizer, whose job is to
assist persons in securing housing and
jobs and other vital services integral to
becoming permanently settled.
Northwest Tenants Organization, Ger-
mantown, Pa. $2,000. This program re-
ceived the first grant made from FAUS in
October of 1969. That grant covered
state incorporation fees. This second
grant joins with support from the Atlantic
Northeast District to underwrite the 1972
operational budget. Primary purposes of
NTO are to provide organizational as-
sistance and legal counsel to tenants and
a structure sanctioned by the state for
escrow holdings of rent-strikers who have
legitimate needs and complaints against
slum landlords.
People's Health Center, Freeport, 111.
$3,000. Serving primarily black citizenry,
this program provides regular free health
care to whole families. Selected local
physicians donate blocks of time during
evening hours several days each month.
Primary areas of care include prenatal,
lab tests, psychological and diagnostic
services, and more recently sickle cell
anemia. F.^US support was designated
for drugs and supplies, equipment, and
stipends for volunteer aids.
Stephen's Upholstery. Huntingdon, Pa.
$3,000. For this shop, owned and
operated by a black citizen, a grant covers
operating capital and establishes a train-
ing program for area teen-agers who are
school dropouts or parolees from the state
correctional institution. Training in-
cludes the essential aspects of repairing,
refinishing, and reupholstering furniture.
Youth Silk Screen Factory, Dayton,
Ohio. $2,500. This is a novel program
for black youth which has both a com-
munity organization and an economic de-
velopment function. Youth learn a job
skill while they are earning money after
school and during summers. In addition,
they receive business training and par-
ticipate as members of the board of
directors. The product is screen printing
10 MESSENGER 7-1-72
on such items as clothes, cards, and
posters. FAUS funding joins a match-
ing amount from the district of Southern
Ohio to help offset operational overhead.
Colonias Unidas, Sinton, Texas.
$2,500. This program provides leader-
ship training for indigenous volunteer
leaders (organizers) in local Spanish
American communities of San Patricio
County. FAUS monies will be used for
expenses related to the training seminars
and to cover service stipends for volun-
teers. The FAUS grant was made in con-
junction with Southern Plains district.
Four Seasons Sports Club, Project
MAD (Men Against Drugs), Harrison-
burg, Va. $2,000. The grant covers lead-
ership and program expenses and field
trip experiences for black youth. The
purpose of the program is to provide
creative alternatives for present and
potential drug users. The FAUS action
is made on the recommendation of the
Shenandoah District.
Voice of Calvary Leadership Develop-
ment Institute, Mendenhall, Miss. $3,000.
The specific stated purpose is "to assist
young blacks in Simpson County to lead
their people out of bondage to poverty,
ignorance, and spiritual darkness." This
project seeks to respond to religious as
well as social needs and focuses on re-
medial education, nutritional training,
safety and first aid, vocational skills, and
spiritual values through Bible study and
chapel. This is understood to be an
initial grant, leaving the way open for ad-
ditional responses.
Part II fundings, for race relations
education, have totaled $6,364, plus
$2,968 for interpretation and promotion.
Since October 1971 11 districts, one
college, and the General Board have par-
ticipated in training under auspices of
Part II funding.
Additional Part II program develop-
ments include
• preparation of race curriculum for
children and family units
• negotiation with black resource per-
son to tour districts and local churches
• promotion of "A Dialogue on Race,"
a two-cassette tape resource featuring
Tom Skinner and Keith Miller. FAUS
will underwrite each set purchased in the
amount of $4.00.
Fiscal year contributions to FAUS at
the end of May amounted to $28,700.
[LQinidlSD^DDDDC
GIVING A TENTH . . . Northern Ohio estimates that ten percent
of its district membership are tithers. An early Survey
noted that 570 members in 315 families give tihe tithe.
BRETHREN COLLEGE COMMENCEMENTS
At Elizabethtown,
250 graduates, James D. Glasse , Lancaster Seminary presi-
dent, speaker ... At Juniata, 231 graduates, Andrew W.
Cordier , Columbia University dean, speaker ... At Bridge-
water, 172 graduates, Earle W. Fike , Jr. , General Board
associate general secretary, speaker ... At Manchester, 293
graduates, James Farmer , civil rights leader, speaker ...
At McPherson, 151 graduates, J. Jack Melhorn, McPherson pres-
ident, speaker ... At La Verne, 399 graduates, three student
speakers , Rick Bumpus, Barbara Jefferson , Robert Nagy .
Graduates include 12 law degrees and 32 master's degrees.
Honorary degrees were given to Glasse, Cordier, Fike,
and Farmer, among others, by the institutions.
THE PRESIDENTS
Dr. Galen R. Snell this fall will
become the tenth president of McPherson College, succeeding
J. Jack Melhorn, who earlier announced his resignation.
Dr. Snell is now at Scottsdale, Ariz., Community College
and had been a dean of students at McPherson. He has been
a pastor at the Glendale, Ariz., congregation and Lybrook
Navajo Mission director. A later Messenger will carry a
more detailed introduction of the new college president.
... Juniata's president Dr_. John N_. Stauffer was elected
secretary- tireasurer of 1ihe Coramission for Independent Col-
leges and Universities of Pennsylvania.
ECUMENICITY . . . Two more Brethren pastors head their
community ecumenical organizations: Levi J . Ziegler serves
a second year as president of 1±ie Erie County, Pa. , Coun-
cil of Churches, and Harold S. Moyer of the Williamson Road
Church of the Brethren in Virginia heads the Roanoke Valley
Ministers Conference, coming from posts as vice president
and program chairman. Mr. Ziegler, pastor of the Community
United Church, a congregation affiliated with the Brethren
and the United Church of Christ, is also serving as presi-
dent of the United Campus Ministry Board of Directors at
Edinboro State College on behalf of the Perm West Confer-
ence, United Church of Christ.
WITHIN THE FELLOWSHIP
Isaac L. Bennett, 79, of
Ruckersville, Va. , died earlier t±iis year. From 1950 until
his retirement last year (marking 54 years in the minis-
try) , he was pastor of the East Mt. Carmel Church of the
Brethren. He was a Bridgewater College graduate.
James G_. Tice has resigned as religious activities
director at Elizabethtown College, contemplating work in
a hospital chaplaincy.
Parish Ministries Commission administrative secretary
Ruby H. Linkous serves as the denomination's representative,
to the board of Church Women United. In May she partici-
pated with American Baptist Women in their sessions in Den-
ver, Colo.
7-1-72 MESSENGER II
Where the Spirit
byCarrollM.Petry
We
hear much talk these days about the
Holy Spirit and the fact that churches
are now possessed by the Holy Spirit.
Some people claim they have the Holy
Spirit, proved by the way they talk, wor-
ship, or perform miracles. And I begin
to wonder now just where is the Holy
Spirit? Is all of this something new?
Have we never heard or experienced the
Holy Spirit before? Is an ecstatic emo-
tional happening the only valid experi-
ence of the Holy Spirit? There came to
my attention recently a book on "Holy
Spirit Baptism," giving the impression
that this baptism always leads to speaking
in tongues. I know this isn't true. I be-
gan to think back across my own life as
to where I have experienced the Holy
Spirit, where I have seen the evidence of
the work of the Holy Spirit, and it goes
back a long way.
The first place I remember the experi-
ence of the Holy Spirit was in kneeling
at our own family altar in my own home
when I was a small boy. Not a night
passed but what we knelt together at least
in prayer and usually also paused for
some Bible reading before bedtime.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when as a
young person in camp I felt tuggings at
my heart that I could not explain during
the vesper and camp fire sen'ices. There
was something touching me, pulling at
me, and I wasn't even able to describe
it. It was calling something better out of
me: chiding me for those things which I
should have been ashamed of; challenging
me to go further in this mysterious quest.
I experienced the Holy Spirit in the
of the Lord Is
eyes of the one I love, who, when I asked
her to share my Ufe in ministry, responded
with a tearful "yes" because she was so
happy.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when the
two of us together in the deepest form of
physical love are able to know more the
love of our heavenly Father.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when I
looked into the eyes of our children as
they were bom, and saw in them a gift
of God to be molded and directed to do
his will.
I saw the Holy Spirit at work in our
children as they grew, as they learned to
walk, to eat by themselves, and to return
expressions of love and hugs and kisses
and deep interests. And as they learned
to pray: "Dear God. thank you for the
good time we had today."
I experienced the Holy Spirit when our
oldest child, who was very young at that
time, responded to an invitation in the
worship service by standing up in her
place, coming forward, and saying, "I
want to be a Christian and be baptized."
I experienced the Holy Spirit when on
one Sunday morning I gave the invitation
for recommitment, and nineteen people
in the congregation came and rededicated
themselves to the work of Christ in his
kingdom.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when the
call came from the Wabash church for us
to be their pastors and help them in build-
ing a new parsonage and a new house of
worship. All throughout those seven
years I experienced the Holy Spirit, and
saw lives change, beginning with my own.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when my
wife urged that we serve in Nigeria with
our black brothers and find the will of
God together with them there.
And when we got there, I experienced
the Holy Spirit in many wonderful and
different ways. When I learned to preach
in two different languages besides English,
I felt that I knew what speaking in
tongues was all about. When I was able
to baptize and give communion in other
languages, I felt the Holy Spirit working
in my life among the people where we
were.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when
without fear of contamination I was able
to grasp the hands of lepers and wish
them God's blessing.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when at
Kulp Bible School in Africa I was able
to help people who hadn't been able to go
to school see the bright light of a new
idea and resptond with glowing eyes.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when I
saw my wife go into any village where
we might be in Nigeria and pick up a
baby and love that child and make it
smile even though it had screamed when
it first saw her white skin.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when
kneeling in the feet washing sen'ice, I
saw the dirt run off the feet of my
brother whose feet I was washing, and
when he said to me as he washed my feet
"Your feet are so soft."
I experienced the Holy Spirit when I
went to a compound in Nigeria where
there had been a death and we read from
the New Testament and sang Christian
songs of faith and hope.
I exf>erienced the Holy Spirit during the
civil war in Nigeria. We were sepa-
rated from our children and were forced
to place them, for safe keeping, in the
hands of the Lord and continue with our
work, and were able to do so in con-
fidence.
12 MESSENGER 7-1-72
I exjjerienced the Holy Spirit when I
had to stand up to several armed drunken
Nigerian soldiers who were trying to kid-
nap one of the young women of our
Bible school, a mother of four. I told
them that they absolutely could not do
this and I would not permit them. I did
it knowing that I could be killed, but con-
fident that what I was doing was Spirit
led.
I experienced the Holy Spirit in a
Christmas play in Nigeria where the shep-
herds were really shepherds, and they had
had real sheep and goats.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when I
heard the call from a congregation in
America to return and serve them as pas-
tor. And I experienced the Holy Spirit
as I watched that congregation grow in
depth and spirituality, until a warmth
and joy and love pervaded every service
which was held there.
I experienced the Holy Spirit as I saw
a large number of college students get
involved in the local church and become
a true part of it.
I experienced the Holy Spirit as I saw
a number of those young people licensed
to the ministry to serve their generation
and their age.
I experience the Holy Spirit today
every time I look at my three children
and think how much I love them, how
7-1-72 MESSENGER 13
proud I am of them, and how much they
can contribute to the world in which we
live.
I exi>erienced the Holy Spirit just the
other day when I heard a relative ask
my son, "Are you planning to be a
preacher?" And, he answered, "I'm
thinking about it."
I experienced the Holy Spirit when my
wife was ill and Brother Arden Ball and
Pastor David Rogers came and anointed
her, and we shared there in thrilling mo-
ments of inspiration and encouragement.
I experience the Holy Spirit every
night when I come home late and my wife
is there with an embrace and a kiss to
ask how things went during the day. And
when she goes to sleep with her head on
my shoulder, I experience the Holy
Spirit.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when I
we planned the service which united them
in Christian marriage, and as we em-
braced our many friends who came to
share our joy.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when my
youngest daughter told a young man, the
pick of the crop, that she will not go
steady with him because she doesn't be-
lieve in that, she is too young, and she
feels youngsters her age should get to
know many different members of the op-
posite sex.
I've experienced the Holy Spirit when
in moments of deep bitterness my soul has
shrieked with heartrending cries, and I
challenged God to talk back.
I've experienced the Holy Spirit when
in an overwhelming feeling of gratitude
the tears have brimmed in my eyes and
there were no words to express the praise
and thanksgiving and joy I felt.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom... It's the Christian Hfe-style
was at a pastors' retreat not long ago and
the men were sharing recent great mo-
ments of their pastoral experience.
I've experienced the Holy Spirit sitting
in the theater at Operation Bread Basket
in Chicago.
I experienced the Holy Spirit watching
Martin Luther King giving his famous
and inspired sermon, "I Have a Dream."
I experienced the Holy Spirit in the
district board retreat where twenty-five
people gave a day and a half of their
busy lives to do the business of the dis-
trict and to share and worship and fel-
lowship in the name of the Lord Jesus.
I've experienced the Holy Spirit as I
have stood before audiences of senior
citizens and led them in thinking of things
spiritual and of time which is not
measured by the clock.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when
my oldest daughter came to me and said,
"Daddy, I'm in love with a wonderful
guy."
And I experienced the Holy Spirit as
I've experienced the Holy Spirit when
troubles were too deep and things were
so dark that tears brimmed in my eyes
and there was no way to express the
lostness and despair that I knew.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when I
took my wife, who had been in the hos-
pital for a week, out into the crisp fall
air to view the beautiful leaves across the
countryside and to see her enthusiasm for
the beauty which was all around her.
I experienced the Holy Spirit when I
was watching by the bedside of a vio-
lently ill boy, seven years old. At 4:30 in
the morning the crisis passed and he
opened his eyes and looked clearly into
the faces of his parents.
I've experienced the Holy Spirit when
I have sat with my lips against the ear
of a great saint and conversed with him
who could hardly hear and could not see
at all.
I experienced the Holy Spirit as I stood
in some of the great museums of the
world viewing the magnificent religious
art which the ages have produced.
I experienced the Holy Spirit as I stood
on top of Pike's Peak and looked out
across the valleys and plains.
I've experienced the Holy Spirit in
campgrounds across America, singing to-
gether as a family around the campfire, or
at Camp Mack with a gang of youngsters.
I've experienced the Holy Spirit in the
kindly faces of those who greet me on
Sunday morning or any other day of the
week.
I've experienced the Holy Spirit as I
clasp the hands of my brother pastors, or
as I preach and my words are given wings
of understanding that I could not bring.
I experience the Holy Spirit when I
sing the great hymns of the church and
hear the scriptures read.
I experience the Holy Spirit whenever
I am together with God's people, no mat-
ter what color or religious persuasion
they are.
The experience of the Holy Spirit is
not a seizure, it is a way of life. It is not
an attainment, it is an attitude. It is not
a fad, it is a faith. It is not a high which
wears off, it is a hope that carries on. It
is not an isolation, it is an integration.
The question is "does the Holy Spirit
have us?" And all of life for the Chris-
tian — the emotional, the spiritual, the
physical, the social, the political, the eco-
logical, the intellectual, the sexual, the
racial — is an expression of whether or
not the Holy Spirit has us.
Yes, where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom. As I see it, for some-
one to tell me, "You must do this or you
must do that before you can affirm the
baptism of the Holy Spirit." immediately
negates the biblical understanding of the
Holy Spirit. All persons should be free
to experience it as it is meaningful to
them. And no one is wise enough or spi-
ritual enough to impose demands, restric-
tions, or judgment on the inner experience
of another. Condescension from either
the one who is proud he speaks in
tongues, or the one who is proud that he
does not, is sinful to me.
The experience of the Holy Spirit is
really the only Christian life-style, and
permeates every facet of Christian daily
living. It's a way of life.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is freedom.
Feel free, Brethren. Q
14 MESSENGER 7-1-72
miiii^ —
"It's all right," Jesus responds to his tormentor. "Don't be afraid."
Jesus'
Ministry
...in
Minispots
The trial before Pontius Pilate is over. Jesus, stripped and bound, awaits the
crucifixion. The soldier in charge of the detail lays him a blow and asks,
"Still believe in turning the other cheek?" He strikes again and says, "Still
love your enemies?" As Jesus staggers and tries to say yes, the tormentor
spits in his face.
"It's all right," Jesus responds; "don't be afraid." The soldier
averts his eyes from the strange and captivating man.
This vignette from the life of Christ is among the "Jesus II spots"
accepted for showing in recent weeks by stations in nearly 200 television
markets. Producers of the three 30-second spots are the United Presbyterian
and the Southern Presbyterian churches and three Mennonite church bodies.
The series, like a simOar set issued a year earlier, was filmed in Israel.
Of the six spots now released, only "Jesus Mocked," described above,
has prompted concern by some station directors over showing such violence
to children. But as Charles BrackbiU, mass media programmer for the
United Presbyterian Church, sees it, young people seem to understand the
thrust of the message.
7-1-72 MESSENGER 15
"You've planned well for the future.
except for one thing." Jesus said to his
host. "You've left God out!"
^
-"Nk-A
WL^
^^•38fV
* *JLv «s.
'^%
/*^»»«fc.
'You want me to be your disciple. Jesus" asks
Peter. "Why, I'm just a fisherman."
Also offered in the Jesus II series are spots on "The
Rich Fool" and "The Fisherman." From a setting on a
terrace by the Sea of Galilee, "The Rich Fool" visual-
izes the successful and satisfied man who planned to
tear down his bams and build bigger ones. Filmed in a
small cove near Capernaum, "The Fisherman" recounts
Jesus' invitation to Peter to become a disciple.
In both "The Rich Fool" and "The Fisherman," the
treatment affirms that Jesus unashamedly invited
people to believe in him as Lord.
Poignant as the biblical minispots are in their own
right, they stand to take on even greater impact when
presented back to back with programs and commercials
whose message to viewers is a counter appeal.
In this tension, one of contrast and challenge, the
claims of Christ break through into everyday lives. D
7-1-72 MESSENGER 17
THRUSTS IN EVANGELISM
Caravans to smaller churches
This summer four members of the
church's national staff, with their fam-
ilies, will relate to a number of smaller
churches in a new manner.
On the heels of Annual Conference, a
team of two families will travel west
some 6,000 miles and another team will
go east about 4,000 miles, each during a
four-week period and each in contact
with some thirteen congregations or
clusters of local members.
The routes and activities are being de-
veloped with the districts involved. En-
counters with church boards, youth meet-
ings, carry-in dinners, and general church
services are in the plans.
'"The intent is to affirm the validity of
small congregations and to discover to-
gether the advantages and available gifts
inherent in their parish life," explained
Clyde E. Weaver, caravan coordinator
and a participant. Mr. Weaver and his
family will team up with the Kenneth I.
Morses on the eastern tour. The Tom
Wilsons and Matthew Meyers comprise
the western tour team.
"Through the use of films, informal
fellowship, sermons, and discussions the
visits will strive toward one central goal:
to proclaim the good news of God's
love," Mr. Weaver said.
"Our families will participate as indi-
viduals and as a unit to assist in the mu-
tual enrichment of faith in these troubled
times." One staff member has coined the
term caravangelisin for the encounters
and renewal.
"While size does not determine a
church's vitality, it does have something
to do with availability of leadership," Mr.
Weaver said. In the Church of the Breth-
ren, and other communions as well,
more than one third of the congregations
have fewer than 100 members.
The caravans will have benefits on a
two-way scale: for the local church, in
learning to know national staff and to
gain answers on denominational program
and policy, and for the national staff, in
opening communication channels for
identification with and creative use of
national staff and program, to dialogue
on faith and policy issues, and to receive
concerns for denominational programs.
Among stops on the eastern tour are
Charleston, Ohio; Rocky House, Ky.;
Shiloh, Valley River, Camp Hope, Oak
Grove, Smith Creek, Pocahontas, Durbin,
Chimney Run, Warm Springs, and Capon
Chapel, W. Va.: Green Hill, Md.; Mt.
Carmel, Selma, Stonewall, and Ewing,
Va.: Beaver Creek, Tenn.; Birmingham,
Ala.; New Hope, Ark.; and Essex,
Cabool, Greenwood, and Dunn, Mo.
Among stops for the western caravan
are churches at Rice Lake, Wise; Minne-
ap>olis, Minn.; Cando and Minot, N.D.;
Froid, Mont.; Tonasket and Sunnyside,
Wash.; Portland. Springfield, Grants
Pass, and Klamath Falls, Ore.; Boise
Valley, Idaho; and Haxtun, Colo.
While travel expyenses for the caravan
will come from the budgeted program of
the Brotherhood Fund, special support
has come in for the program. Among
gifts have been the donation of trailers by
Elmer Weaver of the Fleetwing Trailer
Company, Wakarusa, Ind.. and a con-
tribution of S525 from men attending
the interdistrict retreat at Winona Lake,
Ind., last November. □
Evangelism caravaners,
from the left: Kenneth
and Marjorie Morse,
Matthew and Barbara
Meyer, Ethel and Tom
Wilson, and Katherine
and Clyde Weaver. The
Morses arid Weavers
will visit eastern and
southern churches: the
Wilsons and Meyers,
congregations in the
west and northwest.
18 MESSENGER 7-1-72
THRUSTS IN EVANGELISM
A nationwide call to Christ
Put a circle around 1973 the next time
you see a calendar — and mark the
year well. For plans are under way now
that will offer next year what some Chris-
tians are calling "the greatest opportunity
for united evangelism on this continent."
The movement to watch is a cooperative
effort involving already more than 130
denominational and independent Chris-
tian groups. It is called "Key 73."
You become aware of the divergent
traditions that are joining together when
you look at the list of participants. Here
are many of the old-line denominations:
Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Re-
formed, Anglican, Methodist, Disciples
of Christ. Here is a variety of smaller
groups too numerous to mention. Here
are agencies like the American Bible
Society and organizations like Campus
Crusade — and groups with attractive
names you never heard before, like the
"Church of What's Happening Now."
And the Church of the Brethren is there
also, alphabetically flanked by Chris-
tianity Today, an independent journal, on
one side, and by the Church of God
(Anderson, Ind.) on the other.
Matthew Meyer, consultant for
evangelism on the Elgin staff, who has
represented the Church of the Brethren
in many of the planning sessions for the
movement, observes that "Key 73 is
about the business of making every per-
son in North America aware of God's
love." The overall theme, "Calling Our
Continent to Christ" will be developed
and highlighted in six major phases to
be spread over the entire calendar year.
For example, the movement will be
launched with a call to repentance and
prayer during the advent season in
December 1972. A strong emphasis on
Bible study will carry through Lent.
Around Easter there is to be a "period of
intensive Christian witness." The summer
months will see an appeal to youth by
seeking "vital faith through the popular
arts." Late summer and fall provide the
occasion for efforts at proclamation
through preaching and use of the mass
media. And the final phase, pointing to
a climax at Christmas, will relate the
Christian witness to the needs of the
world.
One of the announced objectives of
Key 73 is "to employ every means and
method of communicating the gospel in
order to create the conditions in which
men may more readily respond to the
leading of the Holy Spirit." It is already
obvious that a variety of means — rang-
ing from traditional practices to experi-
mental approaches — will be employed
by congregations and agencies as they
try to reach their communities for Christ
next year.
Some of the methods are familiar:
Bible study classes, cottage prayer meet-
ings, literature distribution, house-to-
house visitation, preaching missions,
crusades and campaigns. Add to these
the intriguing possibilities of using "high
visibility events" such as tv specials,
radio and tv spot announcements, ex-
hibitions, a "religious rock festival," the
creation of banners, buttons, and posters,
not only to reach people where they live,
but also to confront them in their leisure
at state fairs, in national parks, and on
the beach.
Symptomatic of the new trend in
evangelistic appeal are the guidelines
offered for contributors to a Key 73 hymn
contest. There are four categories for
"hymns." They may be contemporary,
conventional, folk or rock-jazz. Lan-
guage must be conversational; imagery
must be understandable; stanzas should
be few; the tune should be melodic and
memorable. Yet each song must "convey
a telling witness of God's love in Christ."
The evangelism office of the Parish
Ministries Commission will keep pastors
and church leaders informed of develop-
ments in Key 73 and provide ways for
churches to obtain resources now being
developed. Each congregation is en-
couraged to implement Key 73 in its own
way, cooperating wherever it is feasible
with neighboring churches or through
councils of churches. D
7-1-72 MESSENGER 19
THRUSTS IN EVANGELISM
Three models for the Brotherhood
In addition to the upcoming events of
Caravan 72 and Key 73, there are at
least three major models for evangelism
current on the Brotherhood scene. These
include Evangelism Encounters, Evangel-
ism Clinics, and Lay Witness Missions.
Taking a workshop approach, Evangel-
ism Encounters are planned jointly by a
team of Brotherhood staff persons and
representatives of a congregation, a
cluster of churches, or a district. The ap-
proach may entail a single session or a
series of sessions aimed at bringing new
life, contagion, joy, creativity, and
vision to local churches.
Over the past 18 months some 30
Evangelism Encounters have been held,
directed largely by Matthew M. Meyer
and Clyde E. Weaver of Parish Ministries
staff. Other participants in leadership
have been Thomas Wilson and Merle
Crouse. The four men comprise the
General Board's Evangelism Team.
The advance planning occurs in the
local setting and involves representatives
of the participating groups. Specific needs
are outlined, goals are set, and local
talent is recruited, all focused on helping
individuals find freedom to express the
meaning which faith brings to them.
The encounter itself may extend up to
six or eight sessions, given to such par-
ticularities as making a faith "ad," train-
ing for visitation evangelism, charting an
overall evangelism program, convening
as youth, family groups, couples, or as
others with special interests, enriching
the church program, sharing talents, wor-
shiping, and engaging in acts of commit-
ment. Specific follow-up steps are noted.
Quite typical of the responses to the
Evangelism Encounters across the country
are those of J. H. Mathis, veteran church
leader who attended a meeting in Glen-
dale, Ariz., and Bob Earhart, young in-
tern pastor at Ladera, Calif., who partici-
pated in a workshop in Los Angeles.
Wrote Dr. Mathis to the Evangelism
Team: "You have not thrown out the
old, but you have brought in a new fresh-
ness to the evangelistic appeal. Somehow,
you used an approach that seemed to be
unstructured and unplanned; yet, it was
planned to the very last detail and struc-
tured the same, but you kept the structure
hidden throughout the whole meeting."
Bob Earhart and his wife Cathy, writ-
ing to Matt Meyer and Clyde Weaver
following the workshop in Los Angeles,
stated, "There were some things we did
not particularly find meaning in during
the weekend, but some other reactions
were quite positive.
"Your straightforwardness was most re-
freshing. Your enthusiasm was invigorat-
ing. Your communication with the people
was warm and friendly and made all
those attending feel comfortable and re-
la.xed.
"Your message was simple and direct,
yet profound. Cathy and I gained from
our exposure to your ideas and person-
alities a new sense of joy in our lives,
and an increased desire to share that with
others. We have struggled in a new way
with what it means to be a Christian; we
have made a recommitment to work
harder at living a more loving life. And
the beauty of it is, we are finding it easier
than ever to be more loving. We have
found that being a Christian in actions is
not so much a result of discipline, but a
result of letting out all the good we feel
inside ourselves. We are grateful to you
for helping us gain this insight for our
lives."
Responses such as these have led to
Evangelism Encounters being scheduled
for the Evangelism Team several years
down the road.
A second current thrust is the Evan-
gelism Clinic, which involves considerable
numbers of people both in mass meeting
and small group approaches. Two such
events have been completed and two more
are on the drawing board.
The first, held over four weekends last
year for the Shenandoah and the then
First and Southern Virginia districts,
brought an overwhelming response. In
addition to the 240 registrants accepted,
the names of 50 other applicants were
placed on a waiting list for a second clinic
to be held eighteen months later.
Another clinic, also comprised of four
weekend retreats, was held this year in
the Mid-Atlantic District. According to
Jay Fifer, layman from Frederick, Md.,
it afforded "the greatest experience in
our district for many years."
The Mid-Atlantic program was pre-
ceded by six months of planning. Among
specific purposes of the clinic were the
following:
— to examine "what Christ means to
me" and learn ways of sharing with
others.
— to reexamine biblical and theologi-
cal teachings related to evangelism.
— to prepare commited persons from
local congregations to plan programs of
Christian witness for their own church
and community.
— to enlarge the concept of evange-
lism.
Evangelism Clinics will take place this
fall for the Virlina District and for the
Shanandoah-West Marva districts
jointly.
A third model for church renewal re-
cently inaugurated is the Lay Witness
Mission, which brings groups of Christian
visitors into a congregation for a week-
end. Involving both small groups meet-
ings and mass meetings, the mission calls
for the sharing of faith in quite personal
terms.
Giving impetus to the Lay Witness Mis-
sion is the Institute of Church Renewal
in Atlanta, directed by Ben Johnson.
However, a number of denominational
offices and local churches also have pro-
moted the approach. Among Brethren
congregations involved have been the
Black Run church in Southern Pennsyl-
vania, of which Charles M. Bieber is
pastor, and the Kokomo church in South/
Central Indiana, of which Pius R. Gibble
is pastor.
An experience of the Lay Witness Mis-
sion at Kokomo is recounted by Pastor
20 MESSENGER 7-1-72
Gibble on page 22. The pastor, on behalf
of the Greater Kokomo Association of
Churches, had attempted to enlist 50
Howard County congregations in a simul-
taneous Lay Witness Mission. Six
churches responded initially; ten others
were expected to follow.
"One of the first protests may be 'emo-
tionalism," " Mr. Gibble said. "Our peo-
ple here were surely afraid of that. But
some who looked upon it most negatively
have gotten wonderfully caught up in the
love of God and one another. It is emo-
tional, but it is not emotionalism. It is
warm and winsome and genuine, nothing
artificial or manipulated. Emotion is then
a natural expression when you know God
loves you and I love you and we re-
member how to say it!"
Among the specific activities was a 24-
hour prayer vigil followed by a second
meeting that turned into a celebration.
Following the weekend there was a high
day of sharing with Congregationalists,
Friends, and Disciples who had engaged
in their own Lay Witness Mission simul-
taneously.
According to the Evangelism Team of
the General Board, there are in formation
other approaches for training and moti-
vating persons in evangelism, but the
three models described here represent
those most common at the moment. To
individuals and groups interested in ex-
ploring these or other models, the team's
services and resources are available. □
irosotLQirooa
Designs for evangelism
Starred items are available from the Church
of the Brethren General Board. 1451 Dundee
Ave.. Elgin, III. 60120.
Key 73 Congregational Resource Book,
250 pages of suggestion, models for mission,
evangelism training aids, and committee
guides produced by the eight national com-
mittees. S3.00*
Key 73 Packet. Background on the phases,
calendar for the cooperative continent-wide
program. Free*
Design for Evangelism, Joe Hale (Tidings
Press, 1969). An examination of ways in
which the work of evangelism may be
done in our day. $1.25; 10 or more, $1.00
each*
Faith Statements, Evangelism Experiences.
Writings on evangelism by eight Brethren:
Art Gish, William Longenecker, Phyllis
Carter, James T. Myer, C. Wayne Zunkel,
Merlin E. Garber, E. Russell Bixler, and
Alvin F. Brightbill. Free*
Issue One: Evangelism, Reuben P. Job and
Harold K. Bales, ed. (Tidings Press, 1970).
Essays and articles on evangelism as the
primary concern in the 70s. $ 1 .75*
One Way to Change the World, Leighton
Ford (Harper and Row, 1970). The evan-
gelistic message related not only to the in-
dividual but to the needs of society today.
$3.95*
Who in the World? Clifford Christians,
Earl J. Schipper, and Wesley Smedes, ed.
(Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1972). A look
at the evangelistic message and mission of
the church. $1.95*
Evangelism Explosion, James Kennedy
(Tyndale House, 1970). Described is the
evangelism program of a Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., Presbyterian Church, including methods
of training the laity and systematic visitation.
$4.95*
Models for Ministry, a handbook growing
cut of the Celebration of Evangelism in
Cincinnati listing 57 evangelism models for
congregations. $1.50. Order from Celebra-
tion of Evangelism, Box 244, Cincinnati,
Ohio 45201
Design for Witness, United Methodist
Church Board of Evangelism (Tidings Press,
1971). A comprehensive program for com-
mitment, membership recruitment, support,
and witness of the laity, with guides and
cassette tapes. $14.95 for introductory
packet. Order from Tidings, 1908 Grand
Ave., Nashville, Tenn. 37205
The Pilgrim Church, Models for Evange-
lism in the Local Church, Chester Cluster, ed.
(Tidings Press, 1971). 100 examples of
how a local church can get "with it" in
evangelism. $2.95. Order from Tidings (ad-
dress above)
"The Oak Lane Story." available in an 1 1-
minute film or booklet form. Recounts the
story of a Philadelphia United Presbyterian
Church that developed a visitation evange-
lism program in the context of a changing
neighborhood. Film rental, $8.00 from
TRAV, 341 Ponce de Leon Avenue, NE,
Atlanta, Ga. 30308. Booklet, 25c- from Board
cf National Ministries, same address
Jesus Style (film), 27m., color. The story
of the Hollywood Presbyterian Church's
ministry to youth culture in California.
Rental, $25 from TRAV (address above).
There's a New Wind Blowing (film),
50m., color. Churches of four denominations
describe varied approaches to evangelism.
Rental, $35 from Gospel Films, Box 455,
Muskegon, Mich. 49443 '
A New Thing (film), 24m., color. Bruce
Larson, Keith Miller, others speak on reach-
ing out to the world with a message of hope
and freedom. Rental, S22.50 from Burt
Marvin Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 6337,
Burbank, Calif. 91505.
The Jesus Spots (television ) . Exceptional
60 and 30 sec. spots filmed in the Holy Land
of excerpts from the life of Jesus. For help
in placement in your area, contact Charles
Brackbill, United Presbyterian Church in the
USA. 475 Riverside Dr., New York,
N.Y. 10027.
7-1-72 MESSENGER 21
EVANGELISM COMES ALIVE!
Day of miracles at Kokomo
On the cover of our Sunday service bulle-
tin, the photographer had stopped the
"Wings of the Spirit" in action. No
shutter speed could stop the action of the
"Wings of the Spirit" at the Kokomo
Church of the Brethren on Lay Witness
Weekend. It was a day of joy that ex-
ceeded all our expectations.
A miracle: Nineteen strangers came
out of the snowstorm on Friday evening,
praising God and hugging each other. We
welcomed them suspiciously, as though
wondering what strange creatures these
may be. We slowly learned that they
thought they were mostly Methodists;
finally we knew that they were God's be-
loved children, our own Brethren.
A miracle: Flu and snow and miles and
reservations could not prevent a gratifying
attendance at every session. You
wouldn't believe it, unless you saw it,
or unless you trust us to tell you the
truth.
A miracle: Brethren who ordinarily
can't pronounce a little "amen" at the
end of a unison prayer were set free to
declare "Praise the Lord" — even in the
Church of the Brethren!
A miracle: Time after time people
could not hear the "dinner bell" for they
were so wrapped up in love of God and
each other. At other times food has some-
times been a most important terminal
point.
A miracle: Sometimes Sunday morn-
ing, 1 1 :30 A.M., has been a most urgent
deadline: "Stop the trolley; I want off."
Sunday morning the clock kept running,
and at 12:15 p.m., people still could not
separate from the Christians they had
learned to love.
A miracle: A pastor who has kept his
love at arm's length learned to hug those
whom he loves — if you don't appear
frightened!!
A miracle: An almost unbelievable
Sunday evening crowd came together to
praise God and love each other for the re-
newed joy that has flooded our souls.
Miracles: many people enjoyed a miracle
of their own, some of which we hope to
quote from time to time.
A miracle: Sometimes the "altar call"
has been unheard. Sometimes it has not
even been offered for months on end. The
invitation hymn has not been a habit here!
Sunday morning ( noon! ! ) , the pastor did
not even finish his explanation of what
the invitation was all about. People were
already moving toward the aisles. There
was no waiting for any "revivalist" to beg
or threaten. People hurried forward to
join the circle of prayer and praise, in
confession of sin and faith, in commit-
ment and recommitment, in rebirth and
growth, in celebration of the Holy Spirit.
When the music stopped ("Just as 1
Am"), more than 110 worshipers were
crowding around our communion
table in great joy. The chancel was full,
and the pastor was so full he couldn't even
pray as he thought appropriate. He could
only ask for the spiritual, "'I Know the
Lord Has Laid His Hand on Me." The
meeting was a twenty-minute "love-in"
such as you will never believe unless you
have been caught up in it.
Try it; you'll like it!
God loves you; I love you, and the
church can never be the same again.
Praise the Lord! Amen! — Pius
GiBBLE. in Kokomo, Ind., church news-
letter, "The Weekly Visitor"
Renewing the Great Commission
I am convinced that the church of Jesus
Christ is on the brink of a great new era
of expansion and renewal. This likely
will take place in numerous areas of
church life: better Christian education,
stronger preaching, more inspiring music,
catchier youth programs, more meaning-
ful service projects, and greater emphasis
upon winning new people for Christ. In
almost every survey conducted recently,
it is indicated that the number one pur-
pose of the church is to win the lost.
I am keenly aware that there is much
evidence that seems to oppose the renewal
and expansion of the church. For exam-
pie, the Gallop Poll recently indicated
that church attendance declined again last
year. We feel the pressure of our secular
society turning against us. Our children
spend eighteen times as many hours
watching television as they do in attend-
ing religious services. More stores and
businesses are open on Sundays than ever
before. The government has shifted sev-
eral holidays to Mondays to create the
"long weekend." But our mission still
sounds forth loud and clear: "Go, make
disciples of all nations . . . baptize . . .
teach ... I am with you always."
How are we, as twentieth-century dis-
ciples, going to bring the influence of
Christ back into our society? How are
we going to lead more people to a sincere
Christian commitment? What cin a local
church do to avoid becoming weaker and
smaller? As I see it, there is only one an-
swer: Evangelism. We must confront
human beings with the "claims of Christ."
How can a congregation create a
"mood for evangelism"? Preach evange-
listic sermons. Perform "evangelistic
visitation." Set goals for winning new
people to Christ. Conduct membership
classes. Give the "altar call" in worship
services.
On his latter point, I feel that in the
Church of the Brethren we have lost a
major tool of evangelism by not giving
the "invitation" at the close of our wor-
ship services. This doesn't need to take
place every Sunday, but it should happen
often. In my experience as a pastor, noth-
ing gives the congregation a greater thrill
than having people walk forward during
22 MESSENGER 7-1-72
the closing hymn to give their lives to
Christ.
The local church, as it pursues new
methods of evangelism, will have to
search for every possible channel for con-
fronting people with Christ. Here in Long
Beach, we are experimenting with such
things as the bus ministry to bring chil-
dren to Sunday school, the Community
News Letter that reaches surrounding
homes, an evangelistic-type radio broad-
cast, and weekly community visitation.
We record the presence of every wor-
shiper each Sunday and follow up
with visitors. An occasional attendance
or membership drive always brings
results.
The pastor is the key to the life and
growth of the congregation. It is essen-
tially impossible for a body of church
members to move above the inspiration
of their leader. Now I know as a pastor
that in every congregation I have served
there have been lay people who possessed
forms of dedication beyond my own. But,
basically, a pastor is the congregational
leader and must keep the challenges be-
fore the people. Moreover, we pastors
must never ask our laymen to do things
that we are not willing to do ourselves,
including evangelistic calling.
One thing that troubles me is that the
Church of the Brethren seems to have
adopted a "theology of smallness." Many
church spokesmen are implying that God
has predestined our denomination to re-
main small. And the way we justify our
smallness is to emphasize our "peculiar"
qualities. But just look at the early New
Testament church. They had those same
unpopular doctrines of pacifism, non-
violence, the simple life, and strict
morality; and yet they went out and
began to expand the faith and "turn the
world upside down."
What is the difference between the New
Testament Church and the Church of the
Brethren? We both claim the same
principles and convictions, but the early
church possessed one basic element that
we do not have — an intense passion for
winning new people for Christ.
The New Testament challenge to the
church is the same today as in the first
century. "Ye shall be my witnesses in
Judea . . . Samaria . . . and all the earth."
Obviously, we can no longer be satisfied
to keep our faith isolated. Now is the
time for a renewal of The Great Com-
mission within our church. — James S.
Flora
'Check it out with the gospel'
"I've got four guys inside who'll come
out and throw you into the river. Now
leave or we'll take care of you."
I felt as if I had ventured onto gang-
land turf in a New York slum. Instead
I was standing on the sidewalk outside
the east entrance to the Grand Rapids,
Mich., Civic Auditorium on concrete
where Brethren have clustered between
Annual Conference sessions. The threat-
ener acted as an associate of the featured
speaker, a tv evangelist. It was Monday
evening, April 24, and I had come on
the basis of Matthew 18 to pass out
a mimeographed statement on You,
the Gospel, and Indochina, as a way
of appealing to fellow Christians to
stand against (not for!) that abominable
war.
The rally representative had begun by
telling me to leave. I said I would if he
could show me anything in the statement
contrary to the teaching of Jesus. He said
he didn't want to talk about what was in
the statement but I had to leave. I
pointed out that I had every legal right to
be there leafletting on a public sidewalk
(First Amendment to the Constitution
as interpreted by numerous Supreme
Court decisions).
The stocky young man didn't care
about the law either. The escalation of
threats came quickly and over and over
again: "You're not going to leaflet here.
We'll take you and put you out of com-
mission till the end of this service. . . .
You'll get a busted lip out of this."
People were streaming by to get good
seats for the rally as my opponent kept
grabbing at the leaflets and pushing and
strong-arming me. I was trying to re-
spond in love and I asked him where the
love of Christ was in him.
One of his companions came out. He
furiously repeated the river threat. He
talked and looked every inch like one of
the four who were supposedly ready to
throw me into the nearby river.
"Hi, Dale." I looked around and was
overjoyed to see Judy and Mary of the
Grand Rapids Peace Council. They and
other Christians were to have been there
eariiar to help leaflet; but God, I felt,
brought these two in now at the most criti-
cal moment.
I was rather sure and still am that the
two men were indeed just ready to put
me out of circulation one way or another.
But with Judy and Mary there their situa-
tion became more complicated. The
threats and strong-arming continued.
Mary suggested calling the police, which
we very well could have done: but on
principle I didn't want to do that. We
continued talking with the first man and
at length started passing out the leaflets
again.
He said that he would stand inside
the door and take all the leaflets away
as the people came in. This he proceeded
to do. We countered by saying to the
people something like this: "The guy in-
side may try to take these away from you.
But don't let him. Keep it, read it, read
it, check it out with the gospel of Jesus."
The atmosphere was electric. Little
7-1-72 MESSENGER 23
Deaths
Beach, ^Villiam, Leonard, Mo., on Oct. 19,
1971. aged 73
Berry. J. Edmund, Eden, N.C., on April
23, 1972, aged 71
Besecker, Nina. Arcanum, Ohio, on March
12, 1972, aged 69
Blosser, Lawrence, Nappanee. Ind., on
Nov. 19, 1971, aged 84
Bush, Rosann R., Curr)ville, Pa., on Nov.
13. 1971, aged 88
Carlwright, Nellie. Cando. N.D., on .^pril
3. 1972. aged 86
Chappell. Owen. Fortville. Ind., on Nov.
11, 1971. aged 86
Cline. Fleta. Timbenille. Va., on Jan. 30,
1972. aged 74
Collins, C. Britten. Flora, Ind., on Dec. 27,
1971, aged 4
Coy, Janney, Eden, N.C., on March 29.
1972, aged 57
Dredge. Florence Mae, New Carlisle. Ohio,
on Dec. 7. 1971. aged 81
Driver. Harr)-. Timberville, \'a.. on Jan.
27. 1972. aged 65
Drudge. Roy, New Paris, Ind., on Dec. 23,
1971, aged 65
Eshelman. Walter M., Manheim. Pa., on
Feb. 9. 1972. aged 75
Fahnestock, Levi M., Manheim, Pa., on
Feb. 26. 1972. aged 90
Fisher. Lynn. Flora. Ind., on Jan. 1. 1972,
aged 76
Flanigan. Echo. Woodland. Mich., on .April
21, 1972. aged 76
Foust. Myrta. Fort\'ille. Ind.. on Feb. 1.
1972. aged 91
Freed. Dale, Eldora. Iowa, on Dec. 2, 1971.
aged 47
Fulk. John A.. Bluffton. Ind., on March
I, 1972, aged 80
Green, Rhoda Pfoutz Schildt, Boonsboro,
Md., on Sept. 5, 1971. aged 87
Halsey. William G., Modesto. Calif., on
Jan. 14. 1972. aged 85
Hess. Cora M.. Elizabethtown, Pa., on
April 11. 1972
Hoover. Letta. Plattsburg. Mo., in De.
cember 1971. aged 85
Hosier. Fannie E.. Manheim, Pa., on Feb.
20, 1972, aged 88
Hurley, Vestal. Eden. N.C.. on Dec. 6.
1971. aged 78
KirkdoriTer. Thcron. New Paris, Ind., on
Dec. 27, 1971. aged 64
Kreider, Obed. Sebring, Fla.. on Nov. 18,
1971
Landis, Mary. Co\ington. Ohio, on Feb.
5. 1972
Lego. Hazel, Lanark. 111., on April 9, 1972.
aged 81
Lutz, Jesse, Green\ille, Ohio, on Dec. 25,
1971, aged 84
Mankey. J. Wesley. Decatur, Ind., on Feb.
7. 1972. aged 87
Mickle, Russell. New Paris. Pa., on June
10. 1971. aged 70
KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST DISCOV-
ERIES FROM ARCHAEOLOGY. SUBSCRIBE
TO:
BiWe attcS ^)ak<^
old ladies said, "Oh, I'll fold it up
and put it in my pocket." When more
people began keeping theirs, the collectors
inside became less zealous in their efforts.
We continued our leafletting till the rally
began.
Every day persons committed to
Christ's way of love experience more
perilous and agonizing collisions with
violence than I did. But what gives this
incident significance, as I see it, is to note
who the men threatening violence
claimed to represent.
When it comes to assessing evangelists
and persons who claim to be their as-
sociates, I am inclined to hold back from
deprecating those who, even with a lim-
ited message, might be an instrument
of the Lord. But the Master, who in
Matthew 7 speaks so strongly against
judging others, goes on to give the warn-
ing: "Beware of false prophets, who
come to you in sheep's clothing but in-
wardly are ravenous wolves. You will
know them by their fruits."
I can only say that to my own amaze-
ment on April 24, 1972, outside the Civic
Auditorium in Grand Rapids I saw some
sheepskins come apart and shde off. —
Dale Aukerman
The tale of two churches
A quarterl). digest on Biblicol archovology.
S3.00 per reor ($3.50 outside the U.S.). Write
to; WORD OF TRUTH, Deponnwnt M
Bo> 2, Burnt Hills. New York 12027. A
free sample copy will be sent on request.
This morning I went to a country, rural,
suburban (call it what you will) Brethren
church, to seek and know God, Jesus,
and the Holy Spirit.
I saw a church nearly full of people.
I saw very few smiles. Practically the
only greeting was by the "appointed"
greeters. I saw candles lit. I saw children
drawing pictures, making paper airplanes,
and wondering how soon they could
leave. After the hymns, offering, and
special music, I saw people trying to get
comfortable. Many succeeded, for they
slept the remainder of the service.
I heard hymns sung half-heartedly.
The song leader did her part. She would
sp)eed us up, slow us down, increase vol-
ume, decrease volume, but still I heard
no joy in the voices around me. I heard
people complaining because the wooden
candlesticks were in use instead of the
candelabra. Someone wondered if they
shouldn't be placed a little further out
under the arch, and oh yes, who moved
the palms? I heard people telling how
bad their nerves were. I heard a really
great sermon. I heard a multitude of
people give excuses why they couldn't do
anything for the Lord, other than come
to church Sunday morning.
I was ready to go home. I felt almost
empty and very frustrated. I knew I
needed more than this.
Tonight I went to a large city (Breth-
ren ) church far from home, to seek and
know God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
I saw a church packed full of people
( in fact, overflowing) , some of whom had
received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
I saw big smiles on almost everyone's
face. I saw anticipation. People were
greeting one another all over the church.
Not just smiles, but some were waving,
clasping hands, or even kissing! I saw
children happy they were there. I saw
the Bible being used, not just a verse here
and there, but whole chapters, and it
came alive.
I heard music that was so full of joy
you could feel it. I heard clapping hands
and laughter. I heard people telling
their experiences with God. I heard no
sermon, just Spirit-filled people praising
God. I heard Brethren, Lutherans,
Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Jews, and
even "hippies" (if that's what you call
them) all worshiping the same God, to-
gether.' It was great. It was not loud,
boisterous, or all emotion. It was truth.
I was ready to go home. It was late. I
had a three-hour ride ahead of me, but
I felt so good. I felt full and overflowing.
I felt God's presence. God will fill our
lives. If we allow this, then the music,
candles, teaching positions, and even the
financial problems will be solved without
much effort on our part. Praise the Lord!
— Mrs. Jack Frederick
24 MESSENGER 7-1-72
Experiencing
new light in unbroken
blackness
bylraFrantz
few short years ago I walked in con-
fidence. I greeted friends by name. I
mowed my lawn. I planted roses and en-
joyed their beauty. In leisure hours I
roamed the village streets and country
lanes. I needed only to upturn my gaze
to bring into view the nearby landscape
or the distant scene, the lazy-floating
white-fleeced cloud or bird on wing.
With her whose life and mine are one
I journeyed weekly to the marketplace.
We also traveled some together to visit
friends or see the sights in forty-six of the
fifty states. How many times, from east
to west, we crossed our native state of
Kansas! We saw the waving fields of
wheat and native prairie grass. The
Colorado deserts and the Rockies' rugged
walls we viewed with wonder that did not
grow old.
We traveled, too, by train and plane
and chartered bus, the orange groves of
Florida and California, New Hampshire's
lovely hills. We saw two oceans; the
restless waves on Jersey's beaches and
the bathing beaches of the west; the
breakers on the rockbound coast of Maine
and San Francisco's Golden Gate.
In 1955 we boarded ship in New York
harbor, out past the famous statue, down
the coast, past Cuba, through the Carib-
bean, the canal, and on the broad Pacific
where we saw the flying fishes and the
spouting of the whales. In the port of
Guayaquil, we took an ancient train and
climbed the steep slopes of the Andes to
the city of the Incas.
We drove down to the coastal plain
and saw the great banana groves and pine-
apple fields. Again we drove down the
other slope and penetrated deep into the
dense equatorial rain forests of the west-
ern tributaries of the Amazon, where
the Quechuas, the Ashwaras, the Jivaros,
and the once-fierce Aucas live and carry
on their petty wars.
A few short years ago? It seems an
age. For once I saw and now I am blind.
For two years, I have neither seen a
human face nor read a printed word. I
write but cannot see what I have written.
How I do long to see! I rouse from day-
time reverie or from my sleep at night,
and when I open my eyes upon a darkness
that is blacker far than any night I ever
knew, a blackness unbroken by a single
gleam of light, the knowledge that I'll
never see again quite breaks me down. I
run my hands along the shelves of books
that I still keep; and the knowledge that
I shall never read again brings hot tears.
To see to read! But this is not for me.
And yet it may be that I see what most
do not. Cut off from things mundane,
I contemplate the spheres in space, their
number and uncalculated mass. I won-
der if there may be other worlds in our
unbounded universe; if creatures in those
worlds live peaceably or in hate and
strife. I wonder, as I ponder, how large
Earth looms in its significance, so long in
its mass, among the heavenly bodies.
And I wonder about this marvel we call
light. What is it? How does it come to be?
Its source we know to be the sun. How
is it put together there? How is it sent
upon its way? Each ray, or beam, or pen-
cil is made of waves of different length;
each wavelength bringing to our eyes,
when separated by a prism or by rain-
drops in the sky, one of the primary col-
ors of the bow.
You say, "I see." How do you see?
What passes between each object in a
landscape and each eye — not only yours
— that carries information so cdmplete
and instantaneous?
No careful exploration of small objects
by the sense of touch can yield the knowl-
edge of that object that comes by a single
glimpse of light and sight. And so much
of our environment is far too vast to ex-
plore by touch. A city street. A building. '
A field or woodland. At sports events
ten thousand spectators fill the bleachers.
That many pairs of eyes rove here and
yon. Their lines of vision cross and criss-
cross many times? Yet they do not bump
into or obstruct each other! How do
they do it?
Opaque substances are impervious to
light. The retina, the nerve material,
and the gray folds of the brain, taken by
themselves, are such materials. Yet these
conduct, and put on record more or less
permanently the things we see; so that
we remember dear familiar scenes and
faces. Marvelous, incredible light!
At four score years I still could see.
Now at four score years and four I am
blind as the proverbial stone. With an
intensity that hurts I long to see. I long
to read.
It was said to Paul of old, "My grace
for thee sufficient is." I've often felt that
this for me has not been true. But the
devotion of the one who shares my life
grows deeper with, our waning years, as
does the love of those who call me
father. And friends with kindness over-
whelm me. I know the light is all about
me. I feel its warmth upon my face. I
know that there will be a dawn.
Then I will not complain. I think that
I can even find it in my heart to pity some
who see and do indeed have admiration
for the beauty of the earth, but are obliv-
ious to the miracle that enables them to
say, "I see." D
I know light is all about me . . . I feel its warmth on my face
7-1-72 MESSENGER 25
ke Dl^ f G^(Q)[TTn] [hSD^SS
clll my life I have been intrigued by the
process of weaving, from admiring
Carmen's artistry on the loom in her
home to marveling at the vast amount of
material turned out on the commercial
looms at Front Royal, Va.
Everywhere I go I am fascinated by
the variety of patterns, designs, textures,
and products of the weaving art — the
delicate silk of Italy, the lovely, woolen
sweaters of Norway, the tiny, lacey bas-
kets of Madeira, the intricate Khus grass
coasters of Curacao, the sturdy, open
baskets of Gran Canaria, the colorful
table mats of Hawaii, the huge floor mats
of Nigeria and the heavy, coarse rugs of
Navajoland. Each has a distinctive
charm of its own. Each reflects the native
material of its area. Each shows the
creativity and the ingenuity of its people.
Nosing around in a library, I found
some unique but simple weaving ideas. I
have had fun experimenting with them.
I hope you will too.
soda straws?
The everyday drinking straw ofl:'ers an
opportunity to become acquainted with
the weaving process with a diflierent kind
of "loom." Straws can be the framework
to hold the warp — the series of threads
that lie in a vertical position. Narrow or
wide forms, made by using varied num-
bers of straws as the framework to hold
the warp, may be woven into colorful
belts, interesting ties, and striking wall
hangings.
You will need: straws (drinking or
soda) , scissors, string, yarn
More fancy materials: ribbon, cords,
tinsel, fabric cut in strips, thick and thin
yarns, multicolored yarns
Directions for straw weaving: Cut
drinking straws in half and cut one warp
string for each straw. Strings should be
equal in length and as long as you wish
the finished product to be. Tie all the
warp strings together in a knot. Place the
knotted end of the warp at the top of the
straws. (Suck on the straw to get the
string through easily.) Push the straws
up to the knotted ends. Weave over and
under the straws, beginning a pattern.
26 MESSENGER 7-1-72
Glee
Yoder
Add new color by tying a knot to the
previous color and continue weaving. As
the weaving process progresses, push the
woven section up and off the warp when
the weaving is finished. Weave the end
strings into one another so they will not
ravel.
For variety, use several strands of
warp through each straw. Since this pro-
vides for additional warp threads, more
intricate weaving is possible. Vary the
materials used for weft — the horizontal
threads used for weaving over and under
the warp — using some of the optional
materials suggested. Use pieces of the
straw as part of the finished design. Sew
completed pieces into new forms, or
superimpose them on a burlap back-
ground.
wire? chicken wire?
You will need: wire screen, such as
window screen, chicken wire, hardware
cloth (hail screen) ; yarn; string; wire
cutters; scissors; needles; masking tape
Other materials: burlap, straw, beads,
ribbon, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, weeds
felt, raffia
Weaving in wire mesh, using a variety
of types and strips of fabrics, opens some
fresh avenues for creative expression.
Since wire comes in a variety of meshes,
you can choose the size of mesh that you
wish to try your hand at. You can
manipulate the wire into three-dimen-
sional shapes, cut out parts, or (to create
a multidimensional effect) superimpose
cut-out areas over a screen of a different
mesh.
Each kind of wire mesh has its own
possibilities and limitations as a back-
ground for weaving. In addition, you
will want to be sensitive to color, texture,
and pattern. The simple over-under
process of weaving into mesh can resuh
in very unusual and effective designs.
You experiment and explore with your
own artistic ideas in mind.
Directions: Cut the wire and bind it
with masking tape to prevent scratches.
Begin to weave materials into the mesh
background. As the weaving progresses,
analyze the weaving for design qualities.
View it from a distance, or if a sculptural
form, at different angles.
You may want to use a pre-planned
design by placing the wire shape on paper
and drawing around it. With a crayon
draw a design on the paper. Place the
wire mesh over the design and with a felt
marker, trace the design onto the wire.
Of the three most common wire
meshes, chicken wire is probably the
easiest to work with. You can span and
connect areas of yarn by tying or weav-
ing fibers in and around the wire. Win-
dow screen, a finer mesh, suggests the
use of threads and finely textured yam
for designing. Hardware cloth seems to
call for thick yarns and bulky fabrics.
Each wire mesh can be accented by
using paint sprays of gold or bronze.
a cardboard loom?
You will need: heavy cardboard, string,
yarn, scissors, ruler
More fancy materials: ribbon, crepe
paper; can you think of others?
Method I: Draw a line along the top
and bottom of the cardboard, which has
been cut to the size of the finished
product, about one half inch from the
edge. Cut slits from edge to this line,
about a half inch apart. Anchor the warp
(yam) in the top slits and stretch to the
bottom of the cardboard. Pull through
the notch, around to the next notch on
the bottom, up to the top, until it is
strung in all the notches. With this
method, you will weave on only one side
of the cardboard.
Method II: Attach the warp to a card- .
board frame. This permits working from
both front and back of the weaving. Cut
four strips of cardboard. Make slits in
the two pieces used for top and bottom
of the frame. Be careful that there are
an equal number of slits on each. Staple
the four pieces of cardboard together to
form a frame, pointing slits outward so
they serve as notches through which the
warp can be looped. Pull the warp just
tight enough so that it will lie flat on the
frame. Proceed to weave the design
within the frame.
Method III. Cut a circle of cardboard,
slit around the edges and around a hole
which has been cut in the center. The
warp is anchored in the slits and
wrapped around both sides of the circle.
Each side is woven independently and
the cardboard stays in the middle. This
is especially good for weaving mats for
hot dishes.
Note: The device for holding the warp
may be slits, notches or pins stuck in the
end of the cardboard.
Kinds of weaves:
Tabby weave: over one and under one
Twill weave: over one and under two
Basket weave: over two and under two
Children of yesterday, heirs of tomorrow,
What are you weaving? Labor and sorrow?
Look to your looms again; faster and faster
Fly the great shuttles prepared by the Master.
Life's in the loom! Room for it, room!
Mary Artemisia Lathbury
7-1-72 MESSENGER 27
REVIEWS
A religious first in honoring
outstanding cinema
It is good news when a film of value is
discovered that raises our sights and per-
mits us to see more clearly into human
consciousness. It is exciting news when
for the first time three faith groups jointly
honor outstanding cinema. This was the
development this spring when the Inter-
religious Film Awards of the National
Council of Churches, the US Catholic
Conference, and the Synagogue Council
of America were presented in a network
telecast. It was only five years earlier that
the NCC and the Catholics began making
joint awards. In this year's awards no
separate honors were given by any one of
the sponsoring groups.
All three chosen films. Fiddler on the
Roof. One Day in the Life of Ivan
Denisovich. and The Garden of the
Finzi-Continis, have a similar dramatized
version of life. It is the struggle for
human and/ or religious freedom.
Fiddler on the Roof was the first to be
honored. It is also the most popular,
having been adapted from the stage play
based on the stories of Sholom Aleichem
and having been seen in thirty-two coun-
tries by over 35 million people since its
premiere in New York in 1964. Basically
the stor>' depicts the trials and tribula-
tions of the family of a Jewish milkman
named Tevye in Anatevka, Russia, about
1 905. Now millions more will have a
"seeing" experience in this nine million
dollar Panavision color film made near
Zagreb, Yugoslavia — thanks to pro-
ducer-director Norman Jewison (a
Methodist) and United Artists.
Although the three groups praised the
film adaptation because "Tevye's abiding
faith in God's ultimate goodness is made
accessible to the world," this does not
seem to be where the film's strength and
vision are. Jewison, who also directed
In the Heat of the Night and The
Russians Are Coming, succeeds in giving
a vision of life that affirms unquenchable
human dignity as Tevye in his agony and
joy copes both with anti-Semitism and
the changes within his traditional life
28 MESSENGER 7-1-72
understandings. This film is a celebra-
tion of living in the midst of changing
times and traditions.
Fiddler is a musical — and some
would say that it is a folk opera. Al-
though it has operatic power it is neither
opera nor folk opera. It does have
original songs and outstanding violin
playing by Isaac Stern. It does have folk
dimensions, Jewish custom and ritual,
and music that sounds Jewish. We see a
small Jewish village community in
Czarist Russia. We experience Jewish
ritual in marriage, work, play, worship,
and clothes. But the appeal of
Aleichem's story is a specific human
story about minorities everywhere. It
concerns the right to wear what one
wants and to worship as one believes.
The story has ethnic foundation, begin-
ning and end; nevertheless, it is the story
of (Adam) everyman.
Its universality of values f>ermits peo-
ple of widely different cultures, back-
grounds, religions, and age groups to find
humor and drama that transcend barriers.
Since everyone is concerned about love
and hate, pride and dignity, freedom and
oppression, Fiddler really takes place
everywhere and not just in Anatevka.
Jewison gives us not a celebration of
Jewishness as much as a celebration of
the sensual pleasures of staying alive.
There are subordinate themes in
Fiddler. Tradition is the most obvious:
There are traditions for ever}'thing —
eating, praying, dressing, marrying, and
even choring. Without these, Tevye
claims, life would be "as shaky as a
fiddler on the roof." Group discussion
or individual reflection can work on this
theme with the Fiddler story as case ma-
terial. Questions that emerge are: When
is tradition a frame of reference and a
foundation of security? What are the
conditions and situations that teach new
4 ^ .
i
Scenes from three films receiving the first
Interreligious Film Awards: (clockwise
from top): Tevye, played by Israeli actor
Topol, in "Fiddler on the Roof"; Musso-
lini's Brown shirts in "The Garden of the
Finzi-Continis"; actor Tom Courtenay,
in title role, bringing morning meal to
fellow prisoners in "One Day in the Life
of Ivan Denisovich"
7- 1-72 MESSENGER 29
h
BIBLE... '^-
~r^M>--^ from(ia\csi.stoRevclatior\ f|t:ik
fe.>,
God's promises to Adam and Eve are as relevant today as
ever! The words of Jesus mean life, hope and freedom
from the bonds of sin!
Read The Upper Room. The entire July-August issue is
filled with devotions based on scripture passages from
every book in the Bible.
SPECIAL OFFER:
A large 14 by 17 inch full color print of the painting shown,
which was commissioned for this occasion will be sent
Free with each new bulk order (or increase in your present
standing order) or subscription. Bulk orders only 15C per
copy in lots of 10 or more to one address. Individual sub-
scriptions, 3 years for $3.00; one year, $1.50.
Use handy order form below:
Order Tod^fl
THE UPPER ROOM
1908 GRAND AVENUE
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37203
D Please send.
.copies of The Upper Room, 15(J per copy
in lots of 10 or more to one address.
n Please increase my order by copies.
n Please enter my subscription for 3 years, $3.00
1 year, $1.50.
(Payment must accompany all individual subscriptions)
NAME.
ADDRESS-
CITY
. STATE-
.2IP-
duties and values?
Marriage according to customs is
prominent. The matchmaker's luck with
Tevye's family is weakened after the
father begins to see that he loves his
daughters more than money and tradi-
tion. His blessing is hesitatingly given to
both older daughters who have chosen
marriage by love. The third daughter
who chooses a Gentile is not given recog-
nition until the very end at final parting
and deportation from Anatevka; the
daughter has returned to say that they too
are leaving, and we hear Tevye mumbling
a hasty "God be with you." Here too is
case material for reflection: When do
marriage customs help and when do they
hinder meaningful fulfillment? How best
can the parental and extended community
assist in marriage and family? In what
ways are love and covenant interrelated?
Are there new forms of covenant and
family that are as legitimate and proper
as those currently assumed?
Another theme is the work and wealth
motif. "If I Were a Rich Man" is a song
sung by Tevye to God regarding the
burden of five unmarried daughters, a
lame horse, a nagging wife, and unending
menial chores. He would stop working if
he had enough money. And he would
have time then to discuss and study holy
things. The irony of this song is that
right now in his work Tevye is enjoying
life and exercising holiness. For further
reflection: what is the mix of work with
play, of concern and agony with celebra-
tion and joy?
Reconciliation is still another theme in
Fiddler. To what degree will this man,
family, and community become im-
mersed and involved with society? When
the oldest daughter's engagement to the
town's richest man occurs, we see the
suspicions and hostilities between Rus-
sians and Jews put aside temporarily in
celebration. Why did it occur then, and
could it occur elsewhere? Moreover,
what does the awareness of being God's
special people mean for involvement in a
society not yet under God's rule?
The film Fiddler on the Roof is a
powerful movie despite its lighthearted-
ness and its show-biz expressions. Chaim
Topol, the Israeli actor in the lead as
30 MESSENGER 7-1-72
Tevye the milkman, has robust, mascu-
line low comedy and big bold strokes
and spirit that result in a square but
beautiful film. The visual narrative has
an accumulated strength with the villag-
ers leaving their home and taking pos-
sessions with them on the rafts. The
close-ups of people who are being sung
about and the comic dream sequence in
which Tevye convinces his wife that a
ghost dictated the marriage of their
daughter to Motel the tailor are enjoy-
ably melodramatic. Although Fiddler is
not especially sensitive or imaginative, it
is powerful. Tears and hard thought will
be experienced in its viewing. It is not a
soft experience; one leaves it shaken.
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis also
explores anti-Semitism. Directed by
Italian Vittorio De Sica and released by
Cinema 5, this film depicts the drama of
two Jewish families in fascist Ferrara,
Italy. Unlike Fiddler, this film is not
philosophically humorous about suffer-
ings. We see instead a Jewish community
helplessly separated by a hostile. Gentile
world and families who are grabbing for
identity uprooted and alienated.
Much of the film occurs in the wealthy
garden, home, and grounds of the
Finzi-Continis family which were opened
in 1938 to middle-class Jewish youth who
have been barred from public places.
Micol, the young lady of this family, dis-
plays moodiness that gives premonitions
of the degradation to come.
Although the film's tragedy is seen
against the backdrop of the Nazis' expect-
ing their Fascist allies to do something
about "the racial question," the thrust of
the film is also that of a love story of
Micol and Georgio, a childhood sweet-
heart. This is romance wrapped in an
elegy inside a tragedy.
TTiis is not just a nostalgic film of a
private world brought from the past in
excellent scale. What is depicted is a love
of the people rather than just of their
history. We see multiple tender mo-
ments: Albert dying of a terminal illness,
an aged mother weeping when evicted,
college degrees ungranted, denial of
Dachau, families processed for deporta-
tion — even Micol Finzi-Continis in the
schoolhouse she once attended. There
are perceptive moments: An arm reaches
across a table for salt and we see the tatoo
of a concentration camp; a paperboy's
bicycle appears with a swastika toy flag;
a youth inquires as to what he will be
when he grows up and he is told, "If we
live, you'll learn."
What appears most pathetic and patho-
logical is seeing religious families just
drifting along, self-condemned by their
naive desire to save everything and risk
nothing. The Interreligious Award Com-
mittee cited this film as "a mature, sensi-
tive treatment of a complex historical
moment ... a tragic metaphor for the
fate of people who attempt to seal them-
selves off from the sufferings of their
fellowmen." The film director is an ex-
ception to this — both in his producing
the film as well as in his secret refuge to
Jews during the time-period of the film.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,
released by Cinerama, concerns the lone-
liness and struggle in a Siberian prison
camp. The citation reads: "Man's infinite
capacity to survive, to sustain life and
hope under the most debasing conditions,
is eloquently dramatized in this film's
uncompromising portrayal of man's in-
humanity to man." A clip from this film
demonstrates the strength of conscience,
the question if prayers come back some-
times rejected, and the illustration of
how faith transcends the present predica-
ment and yet enables one to be present
to the present.
In addition to the three films, a cer-
tificate of merit was given by the Jewish,
Catholic, and Protestant film groups to
the Public Broadcasting Service for film
excellent in education. All awards were
announced during an NBC-TV special
called "Cinema 71 : Films That Matter."
Charles Champlin, film reviewer and host
for PBS' "Film Odyssey" series was
moderator.
The Interreligious Film Award selec-
tions provide powerful opportunity for
family and small group discussion and
reflection. TTiis is an exciting "first"; as a
result we should see more clearly. Hope-
fully, directors, producers, and religious
film groups will see their way clear to
give us repeated encores. — LeRoy E.
Kennel
5^ 5 s .»
h c^ ' -
3 R X J O 3 ^
H
sr
;■= 3 c/-,^
- X
y c C-^ -^ — ;
B < » 5^
en --re
■«-is
■005
c 0 •
S = o
?■ o
s
^ •-. J' ^
S n 5 35
■ S o .» 2.
'o S - 3
n
ft
ci" your bed boolotoe
Qbingdon
7-1-72 MESSENGER 31
I
The God of glory thunders
The God of glory thunders. . . . The voice of
the Lord breaks the cedars. . . . The voice
of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
— From Psalm 29
Suppose for a vesper, in lieu of observing the dawn-
ing or setting sun or a starlit night, we move into
a clearing to watch a gathering storm. The lightning
flashes and the thunder claps, not upon the cedars
of Lebanon nor the wilderness of Kadesh, as in the
Psalm, but upon us. In the midst of the trembling
hills and the splintering trees, can we too point to
the Lord's majesty and might as assurances of
strength and peace?
For many of us the tempest is not where God is.
Rather, in our thought patterns we have tamed and
domesticated God so much that we see his glory
only in that which is tranquil and stable. We have
oriented our lives and our worship not around the
turning points of life, not around adventure and dis-
covery, but around that which seems firm and fixed.
Our spiritual outlook makes no sense of radical and
transforming change.
Hence when John S. Dunne writes that "God is
a wild God, he cannot be tamed," we find these to
be strange and puzzling terms. Little do we under-
stand how Zorba the Greek can declare, "God is
like me . . . only bigger and crazier." Rarely do we
sense the voice of the Lord jolting us by flashing
"forth flames of fire" in the world of the 70s.
That Scripture has such an impact, however, is
made provocatively clear in a recent publication
called The Radical Bible (Orbis Books, Maryknoll,
New York, 1972). Revised from a German source
and issued as a pocketsize book with a denimlike
cover. The Radical Bible puts in juxtaposition some
of the poignant texts from the Old and New Testa-
ments with comments by and about persons of the
Third World. The Third World is comprised of
the poor and the powerless who inhabit most of the
earth.
Consider the creation story in which God says
to man, "You shall have . . . food" (Genesis 1:29),
alongside the observation that of every 1 ,000 persons
in the world today, 836 exist under varying degrees
of desperation and degradation.
Ponder the Lord's question to Cain, "Where is
your brother?" (Genesis 4:9) in light of how our
nation treats the people of the ghettos and of Ap-
palachia, and even its elderly.
i'robe such themes as "ears that don't hear"
(Proverbs 21:13); "you have devoured the vine-
yard" (Isaiah 3:14); "your rich men are full of
violence" (Micah 6:12); "you have plundered many
nations" (Habakkuk 2:8); "you tear the skin from
my people" (Micah 3:2); "Jesus sides with the
poor" (Luke 6:20-21, 24-25); "crumbs from the
table" (Luke 16:19-31); "the poor rich man" (Luke
12:16-20); "I was hungry and ..." (Matthew 25:
31-45); "he emptied himself" (Philippians 2:3-11);
"is waiting enough?" (2 Peter 3:13); and "how
does God's love abide in him?" (1 John 3:14-18).
Put beside Jesus' utterances from Luke 6,
"Blessed are you poor," "blessed are you that hun-
ger," "woe to you the rich, for you have received
your consolation," with the comment of a Brazilian
slum child, "Mama, sell me to Dona Julita. because
she has delicious food."
In such parallelisms God's Word and the needs
and aspirations of people today come into stark
relief. And in our yearning to keep things as they
are, we stand indicted.
The Radical Bible acknowledges that justice is
not all the Bible speaks of, and that the Scriptures
do not provide easy formulas for resolving human
crises. Nor does the little volume set out to prove
the relevance of the Bible. Rather, it serves to re-
mind us as Christians of what we have consented to.
And the point is, that consent is to a God whose
voice sometimes speaks in turbulence though we
would not have it so. It is to a God who would
have us reorient our lives toward movement and
away from rest. It is to a God who calls and em-
powers his people, now as through history, not for
their own sake but for the salvation of the world.
For this the God of glory thunders. — h.e.r.
32 MESSENGER 7-1-72
Managing a World Ministries budget
is more than add, subtract and divide.
We multiply.
By attracting funds from other sources,
every dollar we receive through the Brother-
hood Fund becomes $4.50 in program.
Seem impossible?
Send for World Ministries Fact Sheet Si to
see firsthand how we actually give you more
than your money's worth.
Send to: Church of the Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
I I Yes! Please send me World Ministries Fact Sheet J1.
Name
Street
State Zip
In creative ■
response.
study materials on
Brethren history and life
HEIRS OF A PROMISE, by Allen C. Deeter, is a study guide
for an elective unit for adults who want to study the history
and present life of the Church of the Brethren. The purpose
of the study is to consider the issues involved in deciding
what the future of the church will be. The study is based on
two books.
HERITAGE AND PROMISE, by Emmert F. Bittinger, ofFers a
contemporary look at the Church of the Brethren in the light
of its history. The origins and growth of the denomination
are clearly outlined in the context of church history and in
the setting of a changing society. Basic beliefs and styles of
life among Brethren receive equal prominence with institu-
tional developments.
THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN PAST AND PRESENT, edited
by Donald F. Durnbaugh, tells the story of the Church of the
Brethren through articles by eight writers who speak com-
petently from within the fields they describe. Their treatment
gives perspective to the Brethren's quest for identity to the
roles which the Bible and nonconformity play in the life of
its people, and to the tendency of the Brethren to be sectar-
ian in theology and ecumenical in action. Writers: Donald F.
Durnbaugh, Vernard Eller, Dale W. Brown, Warren F. Groff,
Desmond W. Bittinger, Merle Crouse, Edward K. Ziegler, and
Roger Sappington.
..„J^rt!.
■ Please send
copies of Heirs of a Promise at $1 .95
each
copies of Heritage and Promise at
$1.95 each
copies of Church of the Brethren Past
and Present at $3.95 each
j Add 20c postage for first dollar; 5c each additional dollar
I
I Name
! Address
J City
I
I
I
. State
Zip
The Brethren Press
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
.J
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
AUGUST 1972
©©[HlteDT]!^^
Dsl^l^sir^
4 The Timeless Book of Intimate Negotiations. The Bible con-
tains and projects a life-style as unrivaled, fresh, and up-to-date
as the latest issue of Time or Newsweek, according to Macon, Georgia,
pastor and lecturer Curtis G. Jones
Q A Modern Ministry in a "Ghost Town." Church of the Breth-
ren minister Robert Williams pastors an unusual congregation at
Knott's Berry Farm in California. Reporting is Marilyn Norquist,
founder and co-director of the European Seamen's Center, Long Beach
^^ Cincinnati Report: The 186th Big Meeting. Annual Confer-
ence in the Queen City was a week "laden with happiness and
tears." Twenty pages of reporting that uniquely Brethren mix include
stories on major business items, several pages of photographs,
and a delegate's overview from Elaine Sollenberger, Everett,
Pennsylvania
Gamble? You Bet Your Life! How can Christians deal with the
rapid legitimizing of what has been called the largest illegitimate
business in the US? asks L. John Weaver, pastor of the Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, church
Awkward, Maybe — but Alive! Women discovering themselves
as persons can be an empowering experience. Linda Beher reports
on two woman awareness seminars held early in the summer
In Touch profiles Anna Southard, Larry Minnick, and LeRoy Kennel
(2) . . . . Hazel Rothrock, Omak, Washington, recounts the life of Grace
Clapper, a missionary to China with "Grit in Extraordinary Measure"
(31) .... An editorial comments on "The Illusion of Somethmg for
Nothing" (36)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO.
AUGUST 1972
Cover, 9-28 Edward J. Buzinski: 2 (righO
Ronald E. Keener: 3 Truman Wiles; '>
Luoma: fi (inset) Marilvn Norquist: Knott's
Berry' Farm and Ghost Town; 29 Religious
News Service; 32 Beha Ebersole
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter ,\ug. 20, 1918. under .\ct of
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date, Oct. 1.
1971. Messenger is a member of the .Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Ser\ice and Ecimienical Press
Senicc. Biblical quotations, unless other^vise
indicated, are from the Re^'ised Standard
\'ersion.
Subscription rates: S4.20 per \ear for indi-
\idual subscriptions: S3. 60 per vear for church
group plan: S3. 00 per \ear for e\ery home
plan: life subscription. S60: husband and
^vite, $75. If vou move clip old address
from Messenger and send ^^■ith new address.
.Allow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is o^vned
and published twice monthly bv
the General Services Commission,
Church of the Brethren General
Board, 1451 Dundee -Ave.. Elgin.
111. 60120. Second-class postage
at Elgin. III.. -August 1972. Copvright
Church of the Brethren General Board.
■
paid
1972,
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATOR
Following the April 15 Messenger, I
meant to write at once about what I thought
to be the most effective piece I've seen lately,
"Man, You're in Charge!" I was sorry that
there was no by-line because I would hke
to have thanked the author and photographer
for such excellent work. Will you pass my
thanks along to them? It is well worth
framing.
Then the May 1 issue came, with the
excellent article on the placement of the
Navajo students, and then I felt I could
no longer put off WTiting you. We visited
the Lybrook Mission briefly a year or so
ago, and were so well impressed by the
dedication' of Miss Merkey and her staff, as
well as by the magnitude of the work to
be done in the area. We thank you for
the excellent articles and photos.
Messenger continues to be an increasingly
effective instrument of communication, both
in its articles and in its photographs. We
ihank you for what must be a tremendous
number of hours of work on the part of
your staff.
Marianne Micrael
Iowa City, Iowa
STAND IN FOR GOD?
Between the Messengers of Nov. 15 and
Jan. 1. we Brethren boxed ourselves into a
real paradox! Perhaps the dating has more
significance than was intended! January is
the month named for that old two-face
Roman God, Janus. In these two Messen-
gers our official position seems to take on
the double features of that pagan.
Regarding capital punishment, in the Nov.
15 issue, Howard Royer can unexceptionally
speak for the position of the church by quot-
ing a Chicago editorial — "the arrogance and
folly . . . the absurdity of human beings
claiming the wisdom to decide whose life
is worth sparing and whose shall be taken
away," to which supposedly all Christians
would have but one face — a solid "Amen."
Surely we can't stand in for God.
Regarding abortion, come Jan. 1, page
17, and old Janus himself would recognize
us as his. We deny everything we said with
one face. Now with the other, suddenly
every lettered, unlettered, married, single,
teen-age. or middle-age woman is endowed
the ordained privilege of the franchise to
vote on "the wisdom to decide whose life
is to be spared and which shall be taken
away."
Fie on us! Why settle for a two-faced
God? We could go Asian and have Vishnu,
Ihe pagan god with four hands and arms,
so that he can be both the creator and de-
stroyer. Having opted for one, we can now
go for four: euthanasia, abortion, capital
punishment, and the elimination of the hope-
i
Pc
(n)m
lessly retarded and/or crippled!
No wonder the label of hypocrite has been
flung at the church so often. We go far
out of our way to prove that it is a valid
criticism when we align our position with
the culture's modes and mores, instead of
being consistent with the principles of Christ,
whom we advertise to be a better pattern
than any pagan god.
Geraldine Crill Eller
East Wenatchee, Wash.
FRESH MESSAGES
"New Songs for New Times" (April 1).
by Ronald Keener, began by saying, "Fanny
Crosby and William Doane have had their
day." Because a hymn is old does not mean
it can no longer speak to contemporary
needs or times. The author must remember
that in a given church, there are different
levels of emotional responses in people. To
some people, the older hymns have a partic-
ular appeal. These are the hymns they've
been singing all their lives — at baptism,
during revival meetings, worship e.xperiences,
during the crisis time of death. Shall we
drop all these? Why can't they still speak
to the young? They spoke to the young at
one time, for they have spoken to me,
I am not adverse to learning and using
what the author calls more "contemporary
songs," for we must always be seeking fresh
messages in poetry and music, but let's have
a balance in our churches of both old and
new, so that all, young and old. may profit.
I cannot agree that our present hymnal
offers little of contemporary feeling. What
about Fosdick's great hymn, "O God, in
Restless Living," John Naas's hymn, "Savior
of My Soul," Clark's hymn, "Who Will
Build the World Anew?," Lowell's words,
"Once to Every Man and Nation," Tiplady's
hymn, "Awake, O Church of God," Chis-
Conlinued on 34
MESSENGER'S SUMMER SCHEDULE
The Messenger for August consists
of this single combined issue. It has
been enlarged to include comprehen-
sive coverage of Annual Conference
proceedings in Cincinnati.
Extra copies may be obtained for
25 cents each, plus postage. Write
Messenger, 1451 Dundee Ave., El-
gin, 111. 60120. Also available are a
limited number of copies of the July
issue on evangelism in the Church of
the Brethren.
Beginning in September, Messen-
ger will resume production on a twice-
a-month basis. — The Editors
Prior to Cincinnati this summer, almost
seven decades had elapsed since Annual
Conference last convened in Ohio. In
the nineteenth century it was a different
story — the Brethren of the Buckeye
State hosted Conference 13 times, be-
ginning in 1822 at Canton, the first
Annual Meeting west of the AUeghenies.
Convening on farms generally some
distance from major cities, most of the
Ohio Conferences drew immense crowds
of Brethren and non-Brethren alike.
"The concourse on Pentecost numbered
30,000 or over, in the week of the finest
weather," according to reports from the
1862 Annual Meeting near Dayton,
moderated by the itinerant preacher
from Virginia, John Kline.
But there was frequent discussion
that the throngs at Annual Meeting de-
tracted from the task at hand — of en-
acting business in a quiet, deliberative
council. In advance of the 1876 Con-
ference at the Stony Creek church, one
Ohioan concerned about the bigness of
Annual Meeting pledged to leave his
children at home in hopes his neighbors
would do likewise.
The initial Ohio conclave in 1822,
chronicled by one observer as "an ear-
nest contending for a faithful and pure
church, and a freedom from the follies
of the world," set well the tone for
the Annual Meetings in the state which
followed. Some delegate sessions were
confronted by as many as 72 "papers"
— more appropriately inquiries or state-
ments seeking the counsel of the fellow-
ship on what is proper and right.
Some of the earnest questions before
the nineteenth century Annual Meetings
in Ohio were these: "Whether a brother
might be set forward to baptize and
break bread who does not wear his
beard" (no brother should be so far
advanced who does not wear his beard
at least in part, the 1822 minute re-
corded). "Whether to go on the muster
ground or take part in Independence
Day festivities" (the answer was no,
1822). "Whether a brother can serve
on a jury where a man is being tried
for his life" (no, 1834). "Can it be
considered prudent, or profitable, for
members to frequent camp meetings
from time to time?" ("Unanimously
considered, not to be profitable for
members to do so," 1848). WTiether
GO.SPEL- VISITER,
all delegates would be better selected
from the lay membership (referred to
the elders, 1848). Whether it would be
more in accordance with the gospel to
hold love feasts on Thursday, before
Easter ("The gospel does not bind us
to any particular day," 1854).
Can a holder of slaves become a
member of the church? (In all cases he
is required, before baptism, to free his
slaves and to reimburse them in money
or goods as may be judged right by
the church, 1854). Will the church en-
able active cooperation with the peace
association of America? ("Our church
itself being a peace association, we need
not, as a body cooperate with others,
but we may, as individuals, give our
influence in favor of peace," 1875).
Recurring con-
cerns had to
do with the
simple life and
fashion. When
in 1903 a
matter regard-
ing the sisters'
wearing of hats
was before the
Conference at
Bellefontaine,
the Gospel
Messenger re-
port stated
tersely: "Most
of our people
seem to think that we have enough de-
cisions on the dress question. All we
need to do is to carry them out in the
sense originally intended."
From reports of the 1850 Conference
held near Dayton, one of the important
issues was the proposed publishing of
The Gospel-Visiter, a matter which was
"laid over" until the next year when
the request was granted. In the charter
issue of April 1851, "Vol. 1, Nro. 1"
Henry Kurtz, printer and publisher at
Poland, Ohio, greeted readers with the
salutation:
"Peace be unto you! Not the peace
which the world may give, but that
peace which cometh from on high."
Which is the greeting which this Mes-
senger, successor to The Gospel-Vis-
iter and 120 volumes later, brings to
you in covering the latest of Annual
Meetings in Ohio. — The Editors
VOL I.
1S.51.2,
August 1972 MESSENGER 1
Mother Southard: '!$imple. full of love^
Born in 1872 near Berlin, Germany,
Anna Maria was but an infant when
her parents, the Otto J. L. Leutners,
resettled in America, on the outskirts
of Baltimore, Md. At age 13 Anna
was confirmed in the Lutheran faith.
At 17 Anna became the bride of
Joseph Smires Southard. The build-
ing of a large and close-knit family
began, a family of 13 children. In
this enterprise the mother rendered a
primary influence upon her clan.
When the Southards moved to
Long Green Valley in Baltimore
County in 1904, the Brethren there
were in the process of forming a con-
gregation. Through the influence of
J. M. Prigel, a lay leader and free
minister of the group, Anna and
Joseph and two of their older chil-
dren joined, to be followed in time
by the other children except for a
son who died in infancy.
Located next door to the church,
the Southard family participated not
only as members attending worship
and church school; they were also the
sextons who swept, dusted, cleaned
the furnace, started the fire on Sat-
urdays, and by hand mowed the acre
or so of lawn. Reflected one of the
offspring: "It's too bad more families
could not have these experiences."
Upon the death of the father in
1921, Anna became the head of the
family, managing ably on very
meager means. Her religious influ-
ence was strong; she taught the chil-
dren especially to appreciate the
hymns of the church and to return
home whenever they could for the
love feast and communion.
Begiiming in 1922 the Southard
family reunion became a yearly event,
an event crucial to keeping a growing
and spreading family together. This
past January, on the occasion of the
100th birthday celebration of Mother
Southard, as Anna is affectionately
known, the family tally was 1 1 living
children, 21 living grandchildren, 26
great-grandchildren, and 15 great-
great-grandchildren. She has seen
five of her children observe golden
wedding anniversaries.
Twice Anna Southard has been
honored as Mother of the Year by
Baltimore radio stations. Her 100th
birthday in January was marked with
special recognition at the Long Green
Valley church.
Her advice for living: "Keep it
simple and full of love, for that seems
to be God's plan. Life for me has
been a mixture of pleasure and pain,
but I try to begin each day with joy
and courage."
inm
if]}
Larry Minniek: Skippei
A familiar sight most any weekend
on the Susquehanna River is an at-
tractive Palmyra, Pa., family of six,
settled in an 18-foot canoe, fishing
poles in hand, waiting for the bass to
bite.
The skipper of the fishing expedi-
tion believes in togetherness and his
wife, three sons, and small daughter
enjoy every minute of being in the
out-of-doors with Dad.
While it is a little unusual for a
family of this size to all be sports-
minded, what is more out of the
ordinary is that Larry Minniek. 32.
husband, father, and man at the helm,
is blind. The Minnicks are members
of the Palmyra Church of the Breth-
ren, and both are in the church scout-
ing program.
"We just pick up and go,'" is the
way Nancy Minniek, a vibrant out-
going woman, explains the family's
camping and fishing trips. In addition
to packing up her brood and getting
everybody where they want to go,
Nancy is behind the scenes helping in
her husband's business, a cafeteria
leased from the state government
under the vending stand operator
program. They took over the stand
four years ago.
The Minnicks are busy each day
planning menus and Larry and a
sighted helper serve lunches ranging
from hot and cold sandwiches to
chili and spaghetti. Most customers
are employees of the W. L. Kreider
Shoe Factory where the cafeteria is
located.
Larry, who has total responsibility
2 MtSSENGER August 1972
bt the helm
for the business, attributes some of
his ease in handling the job to the
training he received at the Greater
Pittsburgh Guild for the Blind in
Bridgeville, Pa.
During a 15-week "Personal Ad-
justment to Blindness Program," one
of the many skills he mastered was
traveling with the long cane so that
now he is completely independent in
getting from place to place. Other
courses included braille, typing, and
abacus, all of which relate handily to
his work.
Because of his accomplishments,
the GPGB honored Larry recently
with a 1971 Graduate Achievement
Award. The award, initiated two
years ago, has been received by nine
outstanding graduates, out of a total
of 608 blind persons who have
trained at the Guild in its 13-year
history.
A juvenile diabetic, Larry's condi-
tion finally resulted in blindness eight
years ago when he was 24. But it
certainly has not been a deterrent to
a happy marriage and a close-knit
exemplary family life. — Patricia
L. RODGERS
LeRoy Rennel: Bridging faith and art
"Faith and Art magazine views the
arts as providing new ways of seeing
relationships and therefore serving
as a bridge for faith and under-
standing."
That is how LeRoy Kennel
describes the new bimonthly maga-
zine which he and partner David
Albright. Lake Oswego, Ore., minis-
ter of the arts, began publishing and
editing last January.
Soaring printing costs and postal
rates ought to be enough to frighten
anyone away from the business of
magazine founding. "It certainly is
the wrong time in history to be start-
ing a magazine," LeRoy admitted.
"But we have a missionary conviction
that we need this kind of way to look
at the relationship between faith
and the creative arts."
The associate professor of com-
munication at Bethany Theological
Seminary and Pastor Albright, along
with assistant and contributing ed-
itors, work on the magazine in off
hours. The Albright/Kennel associa-
tion extends to the years when they
worked together on a Chicago mag-
azine. Christian Arts Associates.
Its demise led the two to the con-
sideration, and finally the reality, of
a magazine of their own. The phrase
"creative morality" was the touch-
stone: "All dimensions of a person's
life should be interrelated," explains
LeRoy.
"Artists engage us with a vision
of reality: who we are and who we
are becoming," LeRoy notes. "They
cause us to dialogue with our inner
consciousness. Our goal is to feature
all the arts in our five issues a year,
both in articles and in illustrations."
A sampling from the May/ June
issue confirms that the goal is being
met: essays on the artist as catalyst,
on film, and on music; poetry; water-
colors; a centerfold poster; photo-
graphs; and a blueprint for an artful
celebration — all point to LeRoy's
conviction that "art ministers to our
needs, offers new ways to praise God,
and leads to deeper insights into
faith, hope, and love."
Faith and A rt may be regarded as
a servant, too. according to LeRoy.
"We invite artistic expressions to be
sent to us." Artistic expressions —
and subscriptions, at $5 a year — •
may be sent to Faith and Art, at
P. O. Box 408, Oak Brook, 111.
60521, or at 1855 South Shore Blvd.,
Lake Oswego, Ore. 97034.
LeRoy and his co-editors welcome
either response, because each "invites
participation and completion of the
circuit of thought and experience" —
the buildins of bridges.
August 1972 MESSENGER 3
The Timeless Book
of Intimate
Negotiations
by lji. Curtis Jones
f^fter Dag Hammarskjold's death, a man-
uscript was found in his home in New
Yorii City together with an undated
letter to a friend. In this brief letter
Hammarskjold asked his friend, Swedish
Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs Leif
Belfrage, to take charge of the diary that
he had always kept. Though explaining
that the notes were written for himself,
not the public, the Secretary-General also
stated that "if you find them worth pub-
lishing, you have my permission to do
so — as a sort of white book concerning
my negotiations with myself — and
with God."
Besides Markings, which is the title
given Hammarskjold's diary published in
1964, there is another compendium of
persons" negotiations with themselves and
with God. It is the Bible. This is a book
Christians should know and use regular-
ly, and particularly before decision
making. Too few of us do.
The Bible is not a charm; it is a chart.
The Bible is not a book of science, though
it is prophetic. The Bible is not an
almanac nor encyclopedia, though it is
rich in information. The Bible is not a
text on jurisprudence, though it discusses
justice. The Bible is not a glossary on
intercontinental missiles, but it does
define dimensions by which men may
emulate Christ. The Bible off'ers no
counsel concerning moon walks but it
does describe men fit to live on Earth!
The Bible is the Christian's book about
God; the meeting place of man and God.
However mysterious, apocalyptic,
eschatological it may appear, the Bible,
on the whole, as Professor Philip Hyatt of
Vanderbilt says, was "written out of
faith by men of faith for the purpose of
arousing faith." The Christian realizes
that the Bible was not packaged and
dropped from heaven, but that it evolved
over a period of some 1 ,200 years and
was put into words and edited by a great
number of people in ancient Israel.
I
This timeless book of intimate negotia-
tions is the source of the living Word for
a dying world. "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God" ( John 1:1).
In a sense the Bible is a strange and
archaic collection of words arranged into
stories, poems, letters, images, and
visions. It is the home of the silent Word,
the divine, penetrating power of God.
As the writer of Hebrews phrases it: "For
the word of God is alive and active. It
cuts more keenly than any two-edged
sword ..." (4:12, NEB).
This silent, irresistible Word changes
and redirects life, for it is always con-
nected with a deed. You will remember
that according to Luke's account of the
Emmaus revelation, Cleopas referred to
Jesus as "a prophet mighty in deed and
word" (Luke 24:19). Biblical words are
beautiful and alive because they are
fleshed. The Bible does not deal with
statistics, but with people; people who
experienced the Word of God.
Each generation must discover, pre-
serve, and proclaim the living Word.
In 1947 a shepherd, pursuing a stray
goat seven and a half miles south of
Jericho near the Dead Sea, noticed a hole
in the hillside. Curiosity aroused, he
threw a stone into the opening and heard
something break. It sounded like a jar.
He and a friend then entered the cave to
discover the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of
which date back to the Second Century.
The living Word preserved for man!
On June 25, 1951, the clock atop the
steeple on Marquand Chapel, Yale Di-
vinity School, struck noon. A group of
Bible scholars, weary from twelve days
of intensive work, had just brought their
formal discussions to a conclusion con-
cerning the final portions of the Revised
Standard Version of Scripture. They had
been meeting intermittently for fourteen
years. Surrounded by tables piled high
with manuscripts, books and notes, the
translators paused for prayer. These men
had reproduced in modern English the
living Word.
This living Word lives in and through
people.
II
This indestructible book of man's ne-
gotiations with self and God is also the
book of the church! It is highly significant
that Jesus launched his ministry with the
Scrolls in the synagogue of Nazareth.
"He opened the book and found the place
where it was written, 'The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he has anointed
me to preach good news to the poor
. . . '" (Luke 4:17b-19). Afterwards he
closed the book and gave it back to the
attendant. Worshipers were both im-
pressed and irritated.
There is a relevant story in 2 Kings.
It concerns Josiah, who came to the
throne about seven centuries before
Christ. Conditions in Jerusalem were not
altogether different from our own. Moses
had been entrusted with the Word which
he delivered to his people. Religion was
popular but the Book, the Word of God,
was obscured and neglected. During
periods of war and invasion, the law had
become hopelessly mixed with common
opinions and false religions. Men wor-
shiped idols of their own choosing.
There was general unrest and impatience;
little or no resistance to moral erosion.
Josiah was worried. Determined to be a
good king and desiring to lead his people
out of darkness, he turned to the temple
for help but was discouraged. The temple
was being renovated, and the Word of the
Lord could not be found! At last the
4 MESSENGER -■Vugust 1972
chief priest, Hilkiah, announced: "I have
found the book of the law in the house
of the Lord" (2 Kings 22:8).
Why was the Word of God lost in the
ancient temple? Had it literally been
buried beneath the clutter of debris or
simply neglected? Whatever the reason,
the significant point is that a search was
made for the Word of God!
It is easy for the Bible to become lost
in today's pyramid of periodicals and
papers. It is not uncommon for the Bible
to be a dust catcher in the home and
office. It even is easy for the Bible to
become lost in the curriculum and activ-
ity of the church. What a pity, for it is
the book of spiritual strength; a guide for
Christian community.
Ill
This demonstrative book of man's in-
timate and hopeful negotiations contains
and projects a life-style as unrivaled,
fresh, and up-to-date as the latest issue of
Time or Newsweek. In it we glimpse
souls struggling to find the meaning of
life and death.
Job, bereaved, desolate, diseased, cries
out: "Oh, that I knew where I might find
him . . . " (23:3).
Jeremiah, steeped in thought, exclaims:
"The Lord made it known to me and I
knew" (11:18).
A man of reputation asked Jesus,
"Teacher, what good deed must I do, to
have eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16flf).
Questioned about his reading, the Lord
was pleased with the aspirant's knowl-
edge. But the concerned man persists:
"What do I still lack?" "If you would be
perfect, go, sell what you possess and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven; and come, follow me." We
read that the young man went away sor-
rowful; "for he had great possessions."
Life, as etched throughout the Bible, is
one of searching for truth and faith.
Pilate glimpsed truth! He also experi-
enced the look of love. The prodigal
encountered it. The biblical style is one
of forgiveness: "Neither do I condemn
you; go, and do not sin again" (John
8:11b). It is the stance of courage: "He
set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke
9:51). Life as portrayed by Jesus is one
of compassion. Looking over Jerusalem
he wept, saying: "Would that even today
you knew the things that make for
peace!" (Luke 19:42).
A certain flair or style is imperative in
everything we do. The Christian ought to
have a style, a spirit motivated by love,
regulated by mercy, sustained by faith.
The culminating revelation in the New
Testament is that of Jesus: calm before
his accusers, courageous before his en-
emies, and confident before death. To the
dying thief he said: "Today you will be
with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).
Faith and love combined to produce in
him a style and strength that engendered
trust.
Canada's Leonard Griffith shares a
Dutch fable which communicates the
truth of our salvation. There were three
tulip bulbs named "No," "Maybe," and
"Yes," that lived at the bottom of the bin.
With the return of autumn they specu-
lated concerning their destiny. "No"
said: "I shall stay in my snug corner of
the bin. I don't believe there is any other
life for tulip bulbs. Besides, I am satisfied
with things as they are." And he rolled
over and went to sleep.
"Maybe" said: "I am not satisfied with
things as they are. I feel there is a better
life than the life I now have. I feel
something inside me which I must
achieve and I believe that I can achieve
it." So he squeezed and pressed himself
until he ended up in frustration.
Then "Yes" said: "I have been told
that we can do nothing of ourselves but
that God will fulfill our destiny if we put
ourselves in his power." A hand reached
down into the tulip box feeling for bulbs.
"Yes" yielded to the hand and was buried
in the ground. "No" and "Maybe"
shriveled away untouched in their corners
of contentment and frustration. And
with the coming of spring, "Yes" burst
forth into all the richness and loveliness
of new life.
Long before this fable, the Psalmist
declared: "How sweet are thy words to
my taste, sweeter than honey to my
mouth!" (119:103). Later Jesus said,
"I am the resurrection and the life; he
who believes in me, though he die, yet
shall he live, and whoever lives and
believes in me shall never die" (John
11:25).
Is not this proclamation the heart and
hope of all our negotiations with self and
God? n
August 1972 MESSENGER 5
A Modern Ministrv
m&.
^-"*=«^< ,";
^iMi^i^^MM i..
1% f
.ift.A
< _?5t*Bt.;
M *y^
i-:
I
CHAPLAIN
II
RoiMit wnii.
♦••• R*fl*ctions h*
in a ^Ghost Toi^n
-.:•/
*'« < •".,-«!
by Marilyn IVorquisI
■Knott's Berry Farm! The very name
entices thousands of visitors annually to
reminisce of our pioneering past. The
covered wagon, the Chinese laundry, the
general store, the gold mine — all are
here. The visitor can drink berry juice
in the Calico saloon or worship in the
Church of the Reflections. Of them all,
only the church building is used for a
modern purpose: the proclamation of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, with an emphasis
aimed at the heart of American life.
At 11 : 15 on Sunday, the doors of the
hundred-year-old church shut out the
sounds of Ghost Town and Robert F.
Williams enters the chancel. He is the
minister at the Church of the Reflections
and a member of the Church of the
Brethren. The congregation to which he
speaks averages about 150 on a Sunday
morning. Of these, sixty percent are
regular attendants and the remainder are
visitors to Ghost Town. The members
are middle-aged and older, coming from
a radius of twenty-five miles. The church
has no youth program, no Sunday school,
no regular services besides Sunday morn-
ing. Since the building is furnished and
the minister's salary paid by Knott's
Berry Farm, the congregation has little
direct responsibility.
A minister in such an unusual spot
could hardly have arrived there by or-
dinary paths. "I turned my life over to
the Lord when I was seventeen," Williams
says, "and now I can see that he has led
me ever since."
As a teen-ager. Bob dreamed of being
a minister. But the Depression forced
him out of college and he worked from
one job to another until the Second
World War. Then he became a Boy
Scout executive. After fifteen years in
Scouting, he went into personnel work
with Wilshire Oil Company. His life
through, Williams has been a perpetual
volunteer: membership in Kiwanis and
Rotary; public speaking in pulpit, audi-
torium, radio and tv; fund raising; in
local church work as moderator and
board chairman. Williams continually
organized his ideas into writing as well,
but most of his publications have been
put to practical use without a by-line.
As often happens to people who dare
to let God guide them. Bob came into the
fulfillment of his dream through a sud-
denly closed door. In 1964, company
policies changed and Bob felt that his
Christianity necessitated moving. He
resigned. He had no idea where he
would go. After three days, he volun-
teered his help at Goldwater campaign
headquarters, where he "accidentally"
heard that Walter Knott needed an as-
sistant. Knott hired Bob. Less than a
month later, the then minister of the
Church of the Reflections died. Williams
volunteered to be acting chaplain at
Knotts Berry Farm until an ordained
man could be found.
One year later an ordained minister
was found — Robert Williams himself.
Bob had been very active in the Valley
View Church of the Brethren. In 1964
John Blough was pastor there. He be-
came Bob's teacher for the study course
outlined by Bethany Seminary for men
who desire ordination. Blough says Bob
had "a good mind and a very deep dedi-
cation to religion." After a year's hard
study, Robert Williams was ordained in
the Valley View church in November
1965. The dream implanted in his teen-
aged heart was realized.
ioday. Bob divides his time between
his ministry and his family. His two
children are married and he revels in the
joys of grandchildren. His wife, Anabel,
assists him with weddings held in the
Church of the Reflections. Bob speaks a
little more softly when he mentions
Anabel. "Without her, my ministry
would be very limited. She fills in the
chinks of my time, and adjusts her
activities to complement my work. I
think — well, she must be about the ideal
minister's wife."
Grounded in a close family circle, Bob
is totally absorbed in his work. In his
much-used office, his most frequent visi-
tors are couples wanting to be married in
the church. Bob spends about twelve
August 1972 MESSENGER 7
hours weekly in weddings and wedding
rehearsals. He has developed four dif-
ferent ceremonies since many couples are
of mixed religion or nationality. But Bob
Williams is not one to thoughtlessly
marry anyone who wishes it. One couple
requested a wedding, for each of whom it
was to be the third marriage. Before he
agreed, he insisted that they work out
together in counseling the problems
which had caused their divorces.
All ministers have dramatic challenges
in counseling, but the chaplain of a pub-
lic place seems to draw more than his
share. One man called to say he had
arrived home to find his wife hanging
from the rafters and what should he do?
Then there was the family of the young
man killed by a policeman. Marriage
and family difficulties are legion. Visitors
to the Ghost Town come in for help.
But as important as counseling is. Bob
feels that Sunday morning services are
central, because there the gospel of Jesus
Christ is proclaimed and explained. Ac-
cordingly, he spends ten hours a week in
sermon preparation. His sermons are
Bible-based, for he believes that the pulpit
has only one legitimate function: the
proclamation of the gospel of Christ, and
not of psychology or politics.
■ct Bob admits that his own reputation
is as a proponent of Americanism. He
is in demand as a public speaker. Bob is
quick to say that he does not speak for
Americanism as a minister, but only as
a private citizen. For him, the distinction
is vital. He believes the church as an or-
ganization and the minister as such have
no right to take political or economic
stands. He feels that the Church of the
Brethren should not cooperate with the
National Council of Churches because it
has become political. But he is equally
sure that every Christian is obliged to
have political opinions and represent
them in a Christian manner.
Bob is president of the American Re-
vival Committee, which takes little of his
time, but much of his heart. This com-
mittee purposes to revive the faith of
America's founders and to promote
patriotism through the recovery of
the "proven moral values which made
America the greatest nation in history."
For activity in this field. Bob has received
six awards from the Freedoms Founda-
tion.
Bob points out that in no other nation
has the Christian church been allowed to
live so freely. Therefore, if the church
with its all-important message of salva-
tion is to continue, the original tenets of
America's basic documents must be re-
vived, revered, and re-applied. A turn
toward the inward heart of America, its
constitutional principles, is one thrust of
the revival Bob feels the USA desperately
needs.
The revival must go deeper, however.
Bob speaks intensely of the church's
neglect of the Holy Spirit. The church,
he says, must turn toward the Holy
Spirit, for only the Spirit brings power.
Bob's devotion to the Holy Spirit is not
only theory. To the Spirit Bob gives the
credit for his capacity to carr>' a seventy-
hour workweek. One would expect such
"giving God the glory" from any sincere
minister, perhaps, but from Bob the
words are particularly concrete. Bob has
a serious heart insufficiency and in fact
needs open heart surgery. Since surger\'
carries the risk of a curtailed ministry.
Bob has relinquished his health entirely
to the Spirit, sure that he himself is, after
all, only his instrument.
Robert Williams' ministry combines
proclamation of the 2000-year-old gospel
with a patriotism only conceivable in
20th-century United States. And the
ministry of the Church of the Reflections
is the message of its minister. Robert
Williams.
This ministry is not uncontroversial.
It raises questions: Can a minister func-
tion freely as an employee of one family?
Can a minister ever speak out, politically
or otherwise, only as a private individual?
Does the military history of our nation
support the judgment that America was
founded on Christian principles? Is the
church's responsibility only to inspire and
teach its members, or has it also institu-
tional resfwnsibility through politics?
The ministry at the Church of the
Reflections takes firm stands. It articulates
its message clearly. However one may
evaluate a church in a ghost town, one
must acknowledge that Robert Williams
— by the fullness of his conviction, the
strength of his mind, and the heartiness of
his own dedication — demands a re-
sponse to the gospel he preaches. Q
8 MESSENGER August 1972
©[[TDooDTiirDa'SD [r@p®[fS°
It was the best of times, it was the worst
of times, it was a week of wisdom, it
was a week of foolishness, it was a period
of behef, it was a period of increduHty,
we had everything before us, we had
nothing before us. . . .
Like the Paris of the 1780s — the set-
ting for Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two
Cities — Cincinnati in 1972 abounded in
paradoxes and ironies.
And if the 4,575 registered attenders
of the 186th Recorded Annual Confer-
ence did not sense at the beginning of
the week the spirits of diversity and one-
mindedness, of celebration and wake, of
the simple Brethren and plush Cincinnati,
by Saturday their consciousness had been
raised.
"Here we are. Lord," we said, "waiting
for something to happen that will be
exciting and new. . . . Dare us to make
something happen."
That first night we prayed for miracles.
And began.
Text by Messenger staff
Photography by Edward J. Buzinski
August 1972 MESSENGER 9
©DiTDcsDirDinia'feD \r®pa)\rt
Images of '72: A glance
at the week that was
Cincinnati will be remembered in myriad
ways in the annals of the Brethren.
It will be recalled as a setting where
delegates and worshipers found the free-
dom to applaud spontaneously, to clasp
hands joyously, to seek the prompting of
the Spirit unreservedly.
It will be recalled as a gathering where
youth after youth centered in on issues,
not always on the same side, but with
a conviction others found inspiring.
It will be recalled for its deliberative
debate on a wide docket of issues — mat-
ters touching life and death, war and
peace, church and state, the material and
the spiritual.
And if anyone came concerned that
the moderator, himself a distinct blend
of liberal and conservative and no less
a radical when it comes to biblical peace
witness ... if anyone thought he might
tip the scales in terms of his own causes,
their fears were allayed. The moderator
openly and even temperedly guided the
lengthy proceedings. It was only in his
closing remarks fifteen hours after the
business was concluded that he said had
he been debating and voting, he would
have stood opposite the majority on most
of the major issues.
And there were contradictions. At the
time the Review and Evaluation Com-
mittee brought the Conference its first
assessment of the General Board pro-
gram, declaring one area needing quan-
titative attention was that of communica-
tions and interpretation, the General
Board was announcing staff reductions
removing two members from the com-
munications team. The program cur-
tailments went further, resulting, among
other things, in the ironic situation of
a peace church firing its draft counsel-
or. The explanation, as one executive
put it to delegates, is that the ministry
to draftees has been so effective in the
training of local and district counselors
that, given the financial pinch, the service
nationally was expendable.
Cincinnati will be remembered also:
. . . For an art exhibit that would be
a credit to any denomination.
. . . For a fledgling woman awareness
movement, gaining in strength.
. . . For interest in the charismatic
movement as a means of seeking and
affirming the gifts of the Spirit.
. . . For maturing churches overseas.
. . . For freshness and verve in the ex-
periences of worship.
. . . For a church striving to grapple
with what a single, small denomination
can do, yet pursuing a vision of what it
is God wills for its people and time.
Voting a paper on evangelism:
"You've got to be kidding"
Tom Skinner, who insists that a church
which is not evangelizing is not function-
ing, at one point chided a denomination
which felt it needed to pass a resolution
urging the church to become involved in
evangelism. Catching the grins and
chuckles of his Conference hsteners, he
retorted, "You didn't do that; no, you're
kidding. Honestly, I didn't know." Be-
fore moving along he injected; "If there
was ever a word from God that was it!"
The Church of the Brethren Statement
on Evangelism (published verbatim in
the July Messenger) was adopted by
the delegates unanimously, without de-
bate. Three spokesmen gave it endorse-
ment — Hiram J. Frysinger for Standing
Committee, C. Wayne Zunkel for the
Parish Ministries Commission, and Alan
F. Whitacre, chairman of the General
Board appointed study committee which
drew up the statement.
Pastor Whitacre described the paper
as inclusive rather than exclusive, repre-
sentative of varying viewpoints and styles,
and celebrative in the hope that it will
find aliveness in congregational and in-
dividual experience.
The paper may also serve to lead Breth-
ren into a thrust known as Key 73, a
massive evangelistic program which one
of its officers, Paul Benjamin, told the
Conference is "rapidly becoming a new
Pentecost." The planners regard three out
of four homes in North America as mis-
sion fields today.
"Evangelism is not going to happen
in boards of evangelism," Dr. Benjamin
made clear. "It is not going to happen
in executive committees. It is not going
to happen in some kind of bureaucratic
office. It is going to happen in your com-
munity through you, your prayers and
your concern."
Conferring on agenda items are
Dean M. Miller, moderator-elect.
Dale W. Brown, moderator
Abortion: Opposition
with a Dickensian 'but'
The beginnings of life are shrouded in
mystery, human life begins at conception.
Abortion is never acceptable, abortion is
acceptable only when life and well-being
are endangered. Whatever word of guid-
ance we have must be tempered by com-
passion, we must not confuse compassion
with condoning abortion.
A Dickensian mix of either/or charac-
terized Annual Conference reception of
a study committee's report on abortion, in
the writing for two years. And neither
time lapse nor the two-day dialogue on
the topic in Cincinnati diffused its com-
plicated, dilemmatic nature.
In the end, though. Conference de-
clared that "Brethren oppose abortion
because it destroys fetal life," but main-
tained that "abortion should be accepted
as an option only where all other possible
alternatives will lead to greater destruc-
tion of human life and spirit." Clearly
the Conference understood the report's
insistence that "the biblical affirmation
that human life is sacred does not easily
resolve the ethical dilemmas concerning
the quality as well as the fact of human
life."
All attempts to amend the report were
defeated, including a substitute paper
from C. Wayne Zunkel, Elizabethtown,
Pa. Though the proposed revisions
"aimed at retaining as much of the pres-
ent paper as possible," they represented
very different perspectives in comparing
abortion with war, strengthening the po-
sition statement that abortion is wrong,
and removing intimations that persons
unsupportive of women who abort are
"dogmatic" or "compassionless."
But Conference delegates appealed the
decision of officers to allow the paper to
be considered, refocusing discussion on
the original paper. One speaker, uphold-
ing that appeal, noted the substitute mere-
ly supplied different language for certain
sections of the Study Committee report.
In support of the paper delegates heard
from both women and men, who called
for Christlike compassion in dealing with
women who must undergo abortions.
Standing Committeewoman Wanda But-
ton, Conrad, Iowa, noted, "If we lived
in a perfect society, nothing would need
to be said but that we oppose abortion.
But the church must minister to jjeople
where they are."
Ankeny, Iowa, pastor David K. Hykes
cited the concern of Jesus for life and
relationships. Pastor Hykes is chairman
of the Iowa Clergy Consultation Service
for Problem Pregnancies.
One speaker who declared that "Jesus
preached a gospel of mercy, not a gospel
of judgment" drew applause.
The report itself indicates, "Even
though abortion is not an acceptable
means of solving problems, there are
many situations in which a woman finds
no alternative that she feels she can bear.
In such cases condemnation is destructive
and does nothing to relieve misery; it
only makes a woman less capable of
coming to a rational decision."
On the other side, Wayne Zunkel noted
that "as Christians we must never confuse
compassion with condoning choices which
are less than God's will and purposes
for us." And Ruth Aukerman, Vermont-
ville, Mich., argued that "Jesus loves even
the fetus, which cannot stand up for
itself."
Dr. Donald E. Miller, a professor at
Bethany Theological Seminary and acting
chairman of the Abortion Study Commit-
tee, said the heart of the paper delegates
accepted has two emphases: upholding
the sacredness of human life, along with
remembering the call of Christ — com-
passion — which must "temper whatever
word of guidance we have."
"Merely condemning abortion is self-
defeating. . . . Merely condoning abor-
tion is equally self-defeating. . . . We
must not allow ourselves simply to voice
a position and then be satisfied that we
have met our responsibility. Rather, as
Christians we must actively and com-
passionately share in the burdens that
lead women to seek abortions."
In this light one delegate called the
Annual Conference to take seriously the
recommendations which appear at the
end of the study. Summarized, they ask
that "the Brotherhood make available a
course of study on human sexuality and
responsible parenthood" to all congrega-
tions; that a "fellowship of families" be
organized within the church to support
families who need help "in wanting and
caring for children"; and that a group of
physicians, informed pastors, and knowl-
edgeable lay persons consider ways to
promote "sharing the burden of responsi-
bility for moral choice, so often left to
the physician alone."
August 1972 MESSENGER 11
©DOTlCSDDTKrDa'&D [r@p)©D==t
Theological education: Identity,
affiliation are dual thrusts
Affiliation in some form with one or more
other seminaries is necessary if theologi-
cal education in the Church of the Breth-
ren is to be viable fiscally and education-
ally.
This is one of two key thrusts of a
report voted overwhelmingly by dele-
gates, a report centering on Bethany The-
ological Seminary, the church's graduate
theological school.
Even while recommending closer co-
operation with other institutions, the re-
port also stressed that in any such move
"the history, heritage, teachings, identity,
and practices of the Brethren must not
be lost."
Morley J. Mays, Elizabethtown, Pa.,
speaking for the study committee, indi-
cated the denomination's financial re-
sponse the past year in behalf of Bethany
Seminary has been very favorable. He
said the committee, however, was intent
on establishing funding not by special
appeal but by a firm and workable finan-
cial basis.
Among considerations urged in the
study is for the directors of Bethany The-
ological Seminary to explore development
of a center for theological studies, either
at the present Bethany campus or at an-
other location. The present campus at
Oak Brook, 111., is a 54-acre, $3-million
complex in the center of Chicago's west
suburban expansion.
In Bethany's exploration and develop-
ment of close cooperation, the report in-
dicated it is clear to the committee "that
such direction will mean the reduction of
Bethany faculty and staff and investment
in physical plant. This is the painful part
of what is necessary to bring Brethren
investment in theological education to a
level more commensurate with denomina-
tional size and resources."
The delegates by a close vote turned
down an amendment introduced by C.
Wayne Zunkel, Elizabethtown, Pa. The
amendment would have asked the Beth-
any Board "to remain open to various
possibilities for theological education in
the Church of the Brethren" and would
have required the seminary board to
bring any proposal for "basic change in
the nature of Bethany to Annual Con-
ference for full discussion and approval."
The chairman of the Bethany Seminary
board. Dr. A. G. Breidenstine, Lancaster,
Pa., said that such a direction would un-
dermine the responsibility placed by the
Annual Conference upon the separate
board and handicap its work. Seminary
spokesmen later acknowledged clearance
with Conference would occur as a matter
of course, even without such a directive.
Two or three young pastors, however,
contended a written agreement is prefer-
able to a verbal one.
The committee report did not specify
with whom, when, or where the coopera-
tive relationship is to be developed. Ac-
cording to Dr. Mays, a range of options
exists.
Bethany Theological Seminary was es-
tablished in Chicago in 1905, relocating
to its suburban campus in 1963 — "when
the church was in an expansive mood,"
Jesse K. Ziegler, Dayton, Ohio, said in
comments to delegates. In the past year
Bethany enrolled 85 full-time students
and 30 part-time students.
Baptists and Brethren: A bid
for closer relationships
The Church of the Brethren in Cincinnati
voted to invite the American Baptist
Convention to enter into an "associated
relationship" aimed at deepening fellow-
ship and cooperation.
Mutuality, not merger, is the target of
the move, delegates were informed on
the proposal, issued jointly by the Com-
mittee on Interchurch Relations of the
Church of the Brethren and the subcom-
mittee of the Commission on Christian
Unity of the American Baptist Conven-
tion.
The principles for an associated rela-
tionship, as outlined in the report, stress
the voluntary nature of the action and
the desire to foster cooperation "at all
levels of church life without losing iden-
tity as autonomous denominational
bodies."
The action, an outgrowth of 12 years
of conversations, also sanctions local par-
ishes entering into cooperation while re-
taining ties with their parent body, or
uniting with both bodies.
John D. Metzler Sr. of Fruitland, Ida-
ho, and Robert G. Torbet, Valley Forge,
Pa., respectively represented the Breth-
ren and the Baptists in interpreting the
proposal.
In the floor debate frequent reference
was made to enterprises in which Bap-
tist-Brethren cooperation already is in
effect. Involved are curriculum planning,
seminary libraries, architectural and draft
counseling services, district associations,
and congregational ventures in California,
Iowa, Montana, Washington, and Penn-
sylvania.
A number of spokesmen from the floor
underscored the hope expressed by the
Brethren Committee on Interchurch Rela-
tions that if the new relationship with
the American Baptist Convention ma-
terializes, it may become a "forerunner
of similar relationships with other de-
nominations."
Such a stance was in line with a state-
ment issued by the Church of the Breth-
ren General Board in March, suggesting
that actions not be taken by the denomi-
nation which "would limit or bias co-
operation by selecting certain denomina-
12 MESSENGER August 1972
tions as preferable to others for ecumeni-
cal relations."
"I urge approval of affiliation not only
with the American Baptists but with any-
one else intent upon serving Jesus Christ
as Lord," said Ronald A. Beverlin, pastor
of two Brethren and two Baptist yoked
parishes in Middle Pennsylvania.
Among other spokesmen supporting
the measure was Caliph Wyatt, a black
delegate from First Church of the Breth-
ren, Chicago, who commented, "We want
Christian love but we want to be stand-
offish. In this action we are trying to
meet each other on common ground."
On the negative side, concern was
voiced that the move was "old-style ecu-
menicity from the top down," a "closing
of the door for cooperation with other
bodies," and "a possible threat to the
peace stance of the Brethren."
A change made by the committee in
presenting the report dealt with the peri-
odic review of the relationship. Such
review is intended to determine not
whether there be a readiness to enter
negotiations for "merger," but rather for
"further cooperation," the committee
said.
Dr. Torbet indicated the American
Baptist Convention already has an asso-
ciated relationship with the Progressive
National Baptist Convention, a commu-
nion whose membership is comprised of
blacks. He anticipates a Baptist response
to the Brethren action by May 1973.
The proposal was introduced a year
ago by the late W. Harold Row, his last
official act shortly before his death two
weeks later. It was referred to congre-
gations for a year's study.
Among fraternal visi-
tors was Father Mat-
thew Stadniouk, rep-
resentative of the Rus-
sian Orthodox Church,
talking here with Rob-
ert Knechel of North
Manchester, Ind.
Interchurch relations: A call
for cooperation in mission
"Let's quit worrying about survival. Let's
quit worrying about merger. Let's quit
worrying about reduced finances. Let's
go on with the job of being the church
and the Lord will strengthen us as we
do it."
With this summary and supplemental
remarks John D. Metzler Sr., retiring
chairman, presented the 1972 report of
the Committee on Interchurch Relations.
He appealed further: "Let's do it where
we live and don't wait for Elgin."
Specifically, the committee recom-
mended and delegates voted "to call for
cooperation in working at the mission
of the church" at all levels, congrega-
tions, districts, institutions, and Brother-
hood. Where cooperation or affiliation
within or across denominational lines
seems to be more effective than present
patterns, the report urges such steps be
taken.
A second recommendation requests
agencies of the Brotherhood staff — El-
gin, that is — to assist and to encourage
congregations in appraising their strengths
in mission and to openly pursue co-
operative opportunities.
The committee's report alluded to the
work of Warren F. Groff with the Faith
and Order Commission of the World
Council of Churches, to contacts with the
Ashland Brethren, the American Baptists,
the National Association of Evangelicals,
and the Consultation on Church Union,
and to relationships with overseas church-
es and the Russian Orthodox Church.
The committee further called on the
Church of the Brethren to assume "re-
newed and vigorous leadership" among
churches in peace action and deplored
the duplication and competition in the
use of resources including, in the verbal
interpretation, that which occurs between
nearby congregations of the Church of
the Brethren.
©ddt]©doi]ot]S'£d ^®p(n)\rt
Investments: What is Caesar's,
what is due to God?
Ever since Jesus so aptly distinguished
between "what is due to Caesar" and
"what is due to God," his followers have
found it difficult to agree on what should
be rendered only to God. At the Cin-
cinnati conference the question arose sev-
eral times, most often when delegates con-
sidered where the church should invest
its money, whether members should pay
a telephone tax used for war, or how
the church should support its members
who refuse to cooperate with the draft.
Take the matter of investments. Last
March the General Board voted (not
unanimously) to divest itself of govern-
ment bonds and stocks in corporations
involved in defense-related contracts.
The action resulted in some loss of in-
come and brought severe criticism from
many individuals and from some con-
gregations.
Conference delegates, however, voted
to approve the Board's investment guide-
lines which state that the Board will not
knowingly purchase securities in corpor-
ations or industries that are "direct pro-
ducers of defense or weapons-related
products; involved in tobacco and alco-
holic beverage produce: involved in un-
fair employment practices; or involved
in excessive profits."
In reporting to the Conference the
Board indicated that it had decided to
sell all US Treasury bonds or notes ex-
cept for those pledged to secure a loan
for Bethany Theological Seminary. Dis-
posing of these prior to their maturity
resulted in a loss of more than $20,000.
The church's holding of US Government
bonds was questioned at its last Annual
Conference and forcefully opposed by the
1971 national conference of Brethren
youth. In commending the Cincinnati
conference for its support of the Board's
action, the Rev. Wendell Flory, a dele-
gate from Staunton, Virginia, noted the
persistence of youth in their opposition
to war and urged them to help make up
the financial loss resulting from following
the new investment policies.
Telephone tax: Delegates decline
to counsel tax refusal
Conference action on a related issue was
less decisive. At least delegates in 1972
are not quite ready yet to counsel tax
refusal for their Board and its offices.
They were made aware that a growing
number of individual Brethren as well
as some Brethren institutions have been
refusing to pay the telephone excise tax,
which they say is specifically designated
as a "war tax" helping support the Viet-
nam war.
The Conference agreed to appoint a
committee of five to study "the problem
of the Christian's response to taxation for
war." But they voted down a proposal
directing the General Board to withhold
payment of the tax on the telephone serv-
ice to its Elgin, 111., headquarters. Board
officers said that the tax, which amounts
to about $130 a month, currently is paid
under protest.
Earlier conference statements on the
payment of war taxes, while deploring
the use of tax monies for war purposes
and recognizing the right of tax refusal,
noted several optional choices and left
the decision up to individuals.
General Board member Leon Neher,
Quinter, Kan., said in the floor debate
that he regarded refusal to pay war taxes
as being compatible with a positive atti-
tude toward government. He said "re-
sistance comes because of our love for
our nation."
Other delegates noted that a study was
needed so that members could be aware
of the legal implications as well as the
moral implications of tax refusal.
N oncooperation: Extending
and expanding the review
The 1970 Annual Conference by a de-
cisive vote went on record as supporting
the position of nonviolent noncooperation
with the draft system when this was the
choice of individual members. The action
was criticized by many members and by
some congregations that took official ac-
tion in opposition to it. As a result the
1971 conference asked a committee of
five to listen to objections and to offer
such clarification as might be needed to
interpret the earlier action.
In reporting to the Cincinnati con-
ference the committee first held hearings
on its report at an open session on Tues-
day evening. Reactions varied from that
of some older member, who warned that
the church must be careful and should
be grateful for the provisions already giv-
en in the draft for alternative service,
to the firmly stated views of many youth,
some of them noncooperators, who felt
that the committee in seeking to clarify
the original statement had weakened it.
The same divergence was evident when
the matter came before the delegate body
on Saturday. Here, however, attention
was focused on what many delegates,
including several articulate young people,
felt to be inadequacies of the report.
John Eberly, a member of the committee,
explained that their report was intended
to answer criticisms of those opposed to
noncooperation, and he expressed amaze-
ment that the chief dissatisfaction with
their efforts came from those of whom he
said, "Your case is won."
Delegates, however, must have shared
the feeling that the committee's report,
however well intentioned, was inadequate,
for at least a majority of them voted to
recommit the paper, with the added pro-
vision that the committee be enlarged
by adding three more persons, two of
whom should be young people.
During the discussion several of the
youth referred to their attendance at the
trial of John Flory, a Brethren nonco-
op>erator, held the previous day in
Lafayette, Ind. Portions of the 1970
statement were read at his trial, and many
of the youth who were present indicated
that such support and encouragement is
part of the heritage of the Church of the
Brethren.
14 MESSENGER August 1972
Indochina: Another resolution
on the war that won't wind down
The Church of the Brethren passed a res-
olution on Indochina for the ninth time.
Since 1961 the denomination, through
its General Board or Annual Conference,
has made eight separate statements and
resolutions opposing American involve-
ment in Vietnam while rededicating the
church to the "principles of love, peace,
and humaneness as exemplified in New
Testament teachings."
The church's peace and international
affairs consultant, H. Lamar Gibble, in
introducing the resolution indicated am-
bivalent feelings.
He said that the first draft of the paper
was tentatively titled "Still Another Reso-
lution on Vietnam," in effect a commen-
tary on resolutions, but also on a war
that doesn't wind down.
He and his staff colleagues decided that
"at this point in history we cannot remain
silent," Mr. Gibble said.
Neither could the conference. Though
some sought to include a paragraph on
amnesty for deserters and draft evaders,
and to speak more directly to other na-
tions involved, the mood was for passage.
All amendments lost.
In processing the resolution for recom-
mendation to Conference, the General
Board had added a section to speak gen-
erally to all nations who have supported
the war to take steps to bring it to an
end, though the import of the action was
still that Americans who were called to
represent the districts and congregations
of the Church of the Brethren were ad-
dressing their country to take appropriate
nonviolent means to end the war.
Staff expressed concern over the re-
fusal of Administration officials since the
mining of Haiphong harbor in North
Vietnam to hear out churchmen who
might differ with current policy.
"Years of concern, action, and frus-
trated hopefulness have now brought us
to the verge of despair, questioning
whether this nation will soon recognize
the sheer folly of attempting to stop the
killing by more killing and whether po-
litical leaders in our system have grown
insensitive to the will of the people," the
resolution declared.
Upon citing psychological, ecological,
and political measures that have been
waged against Indochina, specifically
North and South Vietnam, the statement
contended, "There is no justification for
a continuation of this war" and "as a
nation we stand morally condemned."
There may have been a longing for
something better than resolutions, but un-
til something better comes along, dele-
gates seemed to feel that a resolution will
have to do.
August 1972 MESSENGER 15 '
©OlHKSDPDDaftD [f@p@[fS
Housing: For the poor,
a limited, but practical, response
"Brethren were once a homeless people
who came to this country seeking a place
to build a new life. . . So it is not sur-
prising to learn that Brethren today are
concerned about housing for the needy,
who are often like strangers and sojourn-
ers in their own land."
This affirmation by Annual Conference
of the church's participation in housing
concerns came with Conference reception
of a report prepared in response to a 1971
query.
"The need for housing is well-docu-
mented," said committee chairman Roy
Johnson in introductory remarks. The
Westminster, Md., pastor noted that at
least 89 Brethren are already involved in
housing issues on the grass roots level.
Pastor Johnson stressed also the "pol-
itics of housing" ■ — the enforcing of
building codes to refuse living space in
certain locations. "We are not against
building codes, but we have discovered
that they are used to prevent persons
from moving into locations because of
color or economic status. This is a strat-
egy taking place in many communities."
Though some debate focused on what
a few Conferencegoers saw as "limita-
tions" in the report, or its "overcautious
manner," most speakers, and the vote,
affirmed the content of the paper, "a lim-
ited but practical response to the existing
concerns of the Brethren for housing."
Conference answers farmworkers:
"No" to lettuce boycott
There were fine ironies all week, not the
least of which was the resounding "no"
to boycotting nonunion iceberg lettuce.
Persons who wanted the Annual Con-
ference to support the boycott argued in
the name of the violence being done to
farmworkers, "our brothers and sisters
who have suffered for so many years."
Persons who wanted the Conference to
veto the boycott argued in the name of
the violence being done to farmers, whose
profits may already be eroded by drought
or pests.
On the one hand the workers — who,
statistics show, do the third most dan-
gerous job in the US — struggle with an
unfeeling giant, agribusiness. Victor
Benalcazar, BVSer with the National
Farmworkers in Texas, noted, "Agribusi-
ness is not concerned with the environ-
ment or the lives of persons. It is con-
cerned with profits."
On the other hand small family farmers
may also be victims of agribusiness, since
they are unable to compete on the large
scale. And that does not lessen the real-
ities of feeding their families and educat-
ing their children.
For both farmer and worker, the real-
ities are grim: facing inevitable smaller
profit margins over against "inhuman liv-
ing conditions." Farmers' "having real
trouble hiring help" over against the low
earnings, poor health care, and short life
expectancy of workers. Some charge the
union with violent tactics. Others declare
the farmer ought to compete for labor on
an open market. Of persons who be-
moaned the rising cost of lettuce, BVSer
Carol Smith asked, "Should price be a
greater concern than human beings?" To
those who argued for the union, Robert
Walters, Arizona pastor, replied, "Work-
ers need to make the choice [to join the
union] on their own."
Though Annual Conference withheld
its corporate support of the lettuce boy-
cott, many Conferencegoers signed indi-
vidual pledges to refrain from buying or
eating nonunion lettuce.
And the debate • — heatedly — contin-
ues.
Each and every Brethren:
A fiddler on the roof
In our little denomination of Brethren
you might say that each of us is a fiddler
on the roof, trying to play a simple New
Testament tune without falling off and
breaking his neck.
It isn't easy.
You may ask, "Why do we stay up
there if it is so dangerous?"
How do we keep our balance?
That I can tell you in one word: Tra-
dition!
Who every year must supervise a confer-
ence, organize the business, visit all
around;
And who has the right as spokesman for
the church to say a final word for all?
Moderator! Moderator! Tradition!
What do we say must undergird our
practice, regulate our life-style, be our
only creed;
And what must appear; be clear in all
our lessons, printed on the left-hand
page?
The Bible! The Bible! Tradition!
Who gets assignments every Annual Con-
ference, does the major work in local
congregations?
Who must repwrt on items controversial,
pray we don't refer them back?
Committees! Committees! Tradition!
What do we do to feed and clothe the
needy, pass along the gospel, multiply
our witness?
What helps our church to reach around
the world, and makes the treasurer
jump for joy?
Donations! Donations! Tradition!
Who is the source of all creative notions,
who ignites our faith, and keeps the
flame alive;
And who helps us see what's fire and
what is ashes, as we try to pass it on?
The Spirit! The Spirit! Tradition!
— Excerpts from Friday evening worship.
Music from "Fiddler on the Roof." Text
by Earle W. Fike Jr.
16 MESSENGER August 1972
Annual Conference:
Week of encounters
August 1972 MESSENGER 17
©ODiicsDiniDTigitD \r®^©wt
The Conference mix:
Worship, debate, sidelights
18 MESSENGER August 1972
August 1972 MESSENGER 19
©DDTKSDDTlDTlSll^D [TSpOD^'fe
Association for the Arts:
A first anniversary
20 MESSENGER August 1972
General Board report: Laden
with happiness and tears
Something of special and deep signif-
icance was in process in the days im-
mediately preceding conference.
At least one early arrival approached
a General Board staff member with,
"How are things going?" only to receive
the response, 'Tve just lost my job."
Most staff members came to Cincin-
nati with anxieties. Some left without
jobs. Most left with changes in their
position descriptions, perhaps only minor,
known or anticipated.
The changes were decided Saturday
upon recommendation of the Administra-
tive Council, approval of the Executive
Committee and general discussion by the
board.
By late Monday, the contacts with in-
dividuals most directly involved had been
made, and the news shared with all staff.
To head off growing rumors and to
save further embarrassment, General Sec-
retary S. Loren Bowman made the an-
nouncement to the delegates Wednesday
morning, early in the opening business
session.
In short, four national staff members
were released: Wilbur E. Mullen, draft
counselor; Carl W. Zeigler Jr., group life
and training consultant; Wilbur E. Brum-
baugh, design consultant; and Ronald E.
Keener, news director.
Two others were reassigned to nonstaff
positions: Ruby H. Linkous, from parish
ministries administrative secretary, and
Doris M. Walbridge, marketing director.
Redeployed were Clyde E. Weaver,
from evangelism and family life to mar-
keting director; Hubert R. Newcomer,
from the personnel office to parish min-
istries; and Richard N. Miller from com-
munications coordinator to news direc-
tor.
The release of the four staff members.
Dr. Bowman emphasized, is related to the
need to bring program into balance with
available resources and not to the per-
formance of these staff persons. "Their
services to the Brotherhood have been
significant and their gifts have blessed
the life of the total church," he stressed.
Without the staff reductions, expenses
were expected to exceed income by more
than $250,000 for the extended 15-month
fiscal period ending this year, even
though expenditures have been within the
budget and even though churches are giv-
ing more than last year. The current
three and a half percent increase in giving
over the same period last year has not
kept pace with inflation.
Dr. Bowman listed other economic re-
alities including the devaluation of the
American dollar affecting the church pro-
gram from eight percent in Nigeria to
fifteen percent in Europe.
There were two other parts of the
General Board report and two full days
before there was time scheduled for the
delegates to respond.
By Saturday, groups of delegates were
well prepared to share their concerns for
what this might mean to the future of
Missions Twelve, woman awareness, draft
counseling, and the evangelism and com-
munications priorities.
There was a concern for persons as
well as priorities, a greater concern than
one might have expected for a staff with
which there is less than daily contact.
"We would wish them to know our
love, prayers, and best wishes ... as
they move into new opportunities for
service," read part of a motion to which
delegates stood in approval.
There was concern for those remaining
and for a total denomination that had not
known this kind of experience before.
This one action overshadowed the
printed report. Those who had read it
earlier had noted the list of accomplish-
ments.
Written reports do that. For lack of
space, setbacks are deemed temporary
and omitted. The tensions and struggles
that gave birth to direction are edited.
Looking back one sees only evidence of
progress.
Friday evening's board report in music
and film looked backward too. "We hon-
or the past by taking from it its fire, but
not its ashes," is what that evening was
about.
"We receive the fire of the past," read
the narrator, "live in its power in the
present, and pass it along to the future."
There was movement: interviews with
three overseas churchmen, a preview of
the new Brethren Volunteer Service film,
"In This Human Way," a staccato review
of Messenger, and a male staff chorus
that took music from "Fiddler on the
Roof" and made it strictly conference
material.
Beautifully and creatively done, it
seemed to accomplish its purpose for
many. It set the theme, it mixed tradi-
tion with now, the secular with the reli-
gious, and somehow for some made the
"Elgin staff" more human.
One line bridged the printed accom-
plishments and celebrative visual reports
with the "crisis" news heard earlier. In
the rendition of "Sunrise, Sunset" the
years are said to swiftly fly, "one season
following another, laden with happiness
and tears."
There was that mixture in the report
of the General Board this year in Cin-
cinnati.
August 1972 MESSENGER 21
©DiTQcsDiniDTisiftD \r®p@\rt
Evaluation and review: How's
the General Board doing?
When Annual Conference in 1968 voted
to reorganize what was then the General
Brotherhood Board, it also recommended
the appointment every three years of a
Review and Evaluation Committee.
The committee was to "evaluate the
work of the General Board in terms of
its mandate from Annual Conference and
to report on the evaluation both to the
Board and to the next Annual Confer-
ence."
Well, it happened this year.
After four meetings of the five-member
committee, an opinionnaire addressed to
585 persons, including one out of five
1971 Annual Conference delegates; per-
sonal interviews; and face-to-face hear-
ings with groups in selected districts, the
report was developed, heard by the board,
the Standing Committee and the dele-
gates, and received approvingly by An-
nual Conference.
No one doubted the apparent thorough-
ness of the report. Its comprehensiveness
filled five pages in the Conference book-
let and eight mimeographed pages.
In a nutshell, the evaluators found that
the board and its professional staff are
"functioning generally with effectiveness
and efficiency."
However — and one became accus-
tomed in the conference proceedings to
wait for the "howevers" and "buts" that
often turned from words of praise to deep
questioning — the report made numerous
suggestions for improvements in effective-
ness, in relationships, and in interpreta-
tion.
Communication was an obvious issue.
While noting what is being done is "of
high quality," they stressed the need for
a "quantitative increase" in communica-
tions between the board and the constitu-
ency.
As another answer to the problem the
committee called on the conference to
"instruct all districts to assign General
Board members living within their boun-
daries consultative-advisory functions on
the respective district boards and district
board executive committees."
Part of the communications concern
was a call for a sense of direction.
In a "praise, however" paragraph, the
committee noted "a high level of trust
and confidence in the board" but a "sig-
nificant gap in understanding the board's
goals." The report continued:
"We believe that the board should
move with dispatch to intensify its efforts
to develop and interpret its goals, objec-
tives, and priorities to the Brotherhood."
Recommended was a goal-setting proc-
ess that includes clear and concise long-
range goals (five/ ten years), short-range
objectives, priorities, and criteria for their
establishment. There should be built-in
periodic reviews with appropriate instru-
ments, the report added.
The committee's officers said later in
an interview that what needs to be com-
municated is not so much "events" as "a
sense of mission."
At issue, also, is the process of setting
that direction.
"The board needs to seek input from
widely diverse groups in the church's
life," they said and called for "participa-
tion by district and local church leaders
in the goal-setting process."
The interrelatedness of this report and
the General Board report was apparent
in both the hearings and the floor debate.
One example came when the secretary
of the committee asked during the.
Board's report by what criteria the Ad-
ministrative Council and Executive Com-
mittee made the decision to cut certain
program and staff.
The committee might well have been
embarrassed that in the year of review
and evaluation they had not noted the
developing financial crisis. No one was
crying "coverup," for even the committee
noted the "remarkable openness" and
"lack of defensiveness" on the part of
the board and staff.
They may have been disappointed, al-
so, at not having been asked to give their
input on priorities and process. But
again, the recognition of the crisis and
decision to act caught even the board off
guard, involving the Administrative
Council in a crash program of less than
two months.
Left out of debate at board. Standing
Committee, and Annual Conference lev-
els was half of the report of the commit-
tee: the one in the Conference Booklet.
No questions were raised on the evalua-
tive criteria: some 70 statements of con-
ditions which "would exist if the more
general goal(s) were being achieved."
It may have been too much to expect a
deliberative body itself to evaluate the
committee's criteria, but it is significant
that the committee began at that point
and laid it out for all to see.
The next committee will have a starting
point significantly different from this
year's first committee.
However, their conclusion may be the
same; "Things are going well with the
General Board and its staff, but. . . ."
22 MESSENGER August 1972
New hymnal or supplement:
The press for flexibility
For a century now a new hymnal has
been published at least every 20 or 25
years in the Church of the Brethren:
1872, 1879, 1901, 1925, and 1951, ac-
cording to Leiand Wilson, La Verne,
Calif. He went on to ask if this was
the average life span of a hymnal in
the past, in this day can it be expected
to last longer?
The question followed a report of a
Conference study committee examining
the church's needs in music. In its report
to delegates the committee offered several
observations. The report affirmed music
as a major vehicle for expressing personal
and corporate statements of faith. It sug-
gested more attention be given to hymns
of an Anabaptist and Pietist character.
It commended lyrics that accent such
current concerns as identity, evangelism,
celebration, social consciousness, stew-
ardship. It acknowledged areas of de-
ficiencies in the present Brethren Hymnal.
It suggested wider use of instruments
to augment piano and organ. It recom-
mended: to continue use of the present
hymnal with emphasis on new or untried
hymns; to publish yearly supplements in
a new expandable binding.
Factors leading to the recommenda-
tions, said Phyllis Carter, committee
spokesman, is the inflexibility of a bound
volume, the lag of six or seven years
required for its planning, and the need
for new material now. Doris Coppock
also of the committee added that the pro-
posal allows for experimentation with
various types of songs not knowing how
long they will remain popular, at the same
time retaining the unity the present hym-
nal brings to the churches.
A motion by Leiand Wilson to look
toward the publication of a new hymnal
was defeated. An amendment by Claude
Sumner of the West Marva District to
provide a clearinghouse for new songs
by Brethren writers was adopted.
The seven-member study committee
did not specify in its report the details
on the yearly supplements or who would
publish them. The eventual solution per-
haps lies in a suggestion from Bill Henke
of La Verne: "We need a creative new
way of putting together a hymnal that is
not just a hardbound book."
Health and welfare study:
Coordination steps taken
Greater coordination of health and wel-
fare institutions in the Church of the
Brethren is in the offing as the result of
a study approved by Annual Conference.
In follow-up the Conference confirmed
appointees to a permanent committee on
health and welfare. The seven-member
committee will propose national and de-
nominational policy and coordinate com-
mon concerns and programs among the
church's 21 retirement homes and two
hospitals in the US and Puerto Rico. The
committee's expenses are to be covered
by Annual Conference.
The action also allows for the employ-
ment of a staff person to direct the co-
ordination, with staff expenses to be un-
derwritten by the Brethren Homes and
Hospitals Association.
An amendment to the report urged
administrators "to recruit and hire minor-
ity persons at the various levels of re-
sponsibility." The original report had
noted that "all of the boards of trustees
of the homes were Caucasian and only
the hospitals had nonwhite membership
on their boards."
An amendment presented from the
floor that sought to include residents on
institutional boards lost.
A key aspect of the two-year study
is the establishment of minimum criteria
of standards for institutions wishing to
use the name "Brethren" and related to
a church judicatory. Most institutions
are already meeting or nearly meeting
such standards now.
The overall impact of the paper is to
strengthen the ties between the church
and districts and the institutions in terms
of relationship, governance, financing,
program, and services.
Considerable stress is placed upon
congregations to find opportunities to be
of assistance to persons in need. "It is
in the local congregation where it is af-
firmed that all of life is sacred, and that
therefore social service is at the same
time spiritual service, when it is derived
from the desire to act out the love of
God," the report says.
The report noted that there are grow-
ing numbers of older persons in the
Church of the Brethren and that by 1975
there will be about 20,000 persons over
age 65 within the church.
In its work the committee bringing the
recommendation visited Brethren insti-
tutions, analyzed reports, participated in
various national conferences on health
and welfare, and probed various ap-
proaches to such matters as the aging,
poverty, cost and specialization of care,
institutionalization, and preventative care.
(gDinicgDDTiDi]®!^! ir®\p)©\rt
Potpourri: Drugs, a hvliday,
pastoral year, ordination, FAUS
In other actions the temperate Brethren
responded to a query on media adver-
tisement of beer, wine, and liquor by
referring the paper to the General Board.
An amendment to include "tobacco" and
"other drugs" did not alter the spirit of
the query.
Everyone on the floor voted to urge
Congress to designate Jan. 15 a legal
holiday honoring the late Martin Luther
King Jr. "We believe that keeping the
memory of Dr. King alive will remind
all of the effectiveness of nonviolence
and will still the raucous voices that call
for violence in our country every day,"
affirmed the Conference.
A vote to change the church and
pastoral years to coincide with the fiscal
year will have to wait until 1973. The
mood of the Conference was to hold
action for a year, while the General
Board could study congregation's reac-
tions to having all their years begin at
the same time.
With its naming of a study committee
to research the meaning and function of
ordination. Annual Conference pointedly
recognized the changing nature of the
pastoral role and the expectations of per-
sons in the "set-apart ministry." Among
the five-member committee's assignments
will be looking at effective counseling
services for pastors who undergo "crises
in their personal and family lives."
In a study of the Fund for the Amer-
icas program and its relation to evange-
lism, a five-member committee pointed
up that guidelines already exist for the
support of minority groups whose pri-
mary concern is evangelism. The report
proceeded to question, however, if FAUS
is not in need of clearer communication,
if its educational phase can be made
more effective, and if the program as a
whole merits higher priority in terms of
staff time.
People: Elections, appointments,
and a raft of committees
Wayne F. Geisert, president of Bridge-
water College in Virginia, will moderate
the 1974 Annual Conference in Roanoke.
The layman economist ran against Leland
Wilson, La Verne, Calif., pastor.
Other offices filled:
Annual Conference secretary, William
R. Eberly, North Manchester, Ind., five-
year term
Central Committee, J. Stanley Earhart,
Grantham, Pa., three-year term
Committee on Interchurch Relations,
Gordon W. Bucher, Hartville, Ohio,
three-year term
Bethany Seminary electors, Curtis W.
Dubble, York, Pa., Paul Keller, North
Manchester, Ind., five-year terms. Ap-
pointed by the Conference, Ruther
Armey, Fresno, Calif., five-year term
General Board representatives. Carmen
Torres Boaz, San Diego, Calif., Robert
M. Keim, Somerset, Pa., Anna B. Mow,
Roanoke, Va., E. Paul Weaver, Nap-
panee, Ind., Gladys C. Weaver, Hyatts-
ville, Md. At-large representatives,
Phyllis Carter, Bryant, Ind., Fabricio
Guzman, Chicago, III., C. Wayne Zunkel,
Elizabethtown, Pa., three-year terms
Appointments made by the Confer-
ence:
To the National Council of Churches,
Harold D. Fasnacht, La Verne, Calif.,
Irene Kohr, Lancaster, Pa., Harold B.
Statler, York, Pa., Roy A. Johnson, alter-
nate, Westminster, Md. Named to the
NCC by the General Board: Arlene May,
Timberville, Va., S. Loren Bowman and
Joel K. Thompson, Elgin, 111., three-year
terms
To the Committee on Interchurch Re-
lations, Naomi Kulp Keeney, Harris-
burg, Pa., three-year term
Study committees selected:
To clarify the meaning and function of
ordination, Oswald H. Goering, Oregon,
111., J. Earl Hostetter, Everett, Pa., Arlene
May, Timberville, Va., Carroll M. Petrj',
North Manchester, Ind., Charles E.
Zunkel, Akron, Ind.
To study a response to taxation for
war, Dean E. Denlinger, Dayton, Ohio,
Galen Detwiler, Everett, Pa., Vemard
Eller, La Verne, Calif., James F. Myer,
Manheim, Pa., Robert B. Myers, Rock-
ville, Md.
To facilitate closer ties with health and
welfare institutions, Leona Z. Row, Wash-
ington, D.C. (1975), Hazel M. Peters,
Elgin, 111. (1977), Harold D. Fasnacht,
La Verne, CaliL (1979), all named by
Standing Committee; Larry K. Ulrich,
Chicago, 111. (1976), Gerald Roller,
Roanoke, Va. (1978), named by the Gen-
eral Board; Raymond R. Peters, Sebring,
Fla. (1978), and WiUiam H. Cable,
Syracuse, Ind. (1976), named by Breth-
ren Homes and Hospital Association
To the nominating committee of Stand-
ing Committee, Wanda Button, Iowa-
Minnesota, Hiram J. Frysinger, Atlantic
Northeast, Don L. Glick, Shenandoah,
John L. Huffaker, Mid-Atlantic, Alton
Kurtz, Northern Ohio, Rhett R. Petcher,
Virlina, Louise Shively, South-Central
Indiana
In General Board reorganization Ira B.
Peters, Roanoke, Va., continues as chair-
man, with A. G. Breidenstine, Lancaster,
Pa., vice-chairman. Heading commis-
sions are. General Services, Ina Ruth Ad-
dington, Kingsport, Tenn.; Parish Minis-
tries, C. Wayne Zunkel, Elizabethtown,
Pa.; and World Ministries, Charles H.
Bieber, Brodbecks, Pa. Members at large
on the Executive Committee are Phyllis
Carter, Bryant, Ind., and Leon C. Neher,
Quinter, Kans.
To the Pension Board, Ina Ruth
Addington, chairman, Robert M. Keim,
vice-chairman; to the Investment Com-
mittee, Ina Ruth Addington, Robert M.
Keim, Ira B. Peters
24 MESSENGER August 1972
The overseas brothers:
Passing on the fire
In a Conference sometimes leaning with
a sectarian tilt three overseas representa-
tives stood out. They were a visible and
poignant reminder that the body of Christ
is worldwide.
Through informal contacts as well as
public statements, the churchmen from
the United Evangelical Church of Ecua-
dor, the Church of North India, and
the Church of Christ in the Sudan in
Nigeria helped Brethren put into per-
spective the events of the hour. Who, for
example, could have expressed more suc-
cinctly than Eric S. Nasir, moderator of
the Church of North India, what so many
Thursday evening listeners felt after the
Rosemary Ruether presentation. Ob-
served the bishop wryly, "Her sermon
was like the peace of God which passeth
all understanding."
Both at Cincinnati and since, the fra-
ternal visitors had opportunity to meet
Brethren in casual situations as well as
in business meetings and worship services.
Of particular joy to them was learning
to know American youth, youth whom
they saw as knowledgeable on issues and
committed to shaping the church of the
future.
For Pastor A. P. Mai Sule Biu of
Nigeria Annual Conference was an es-
pecially appropriate time to be in the
States, on the occasion when delegates
formally were acknowledging and cele-
brating the independence of Lardin
Gabas (Eastern District), Church of
Christ of the Sudan. And while the
matter did not precipitate floor debate,
the presence of Pastor Mai Sule affirmed
the partnership with the Nigeria church
that has extended for 49 years and prom-
ises to continue into the future.
At the Friday evening service Merle
Crouse of the World Ministries staff put
to each of the fraternal visitors what they
discern to be the Brethren contribution
to them and their people.
To Seiior Muzo the answer was
"knowledge of the word of God," "the
many avenues of hope" this word has
opened, and "the new unity we have
discovered in ourselves, our families, and
our community."
To Mai Sule Biu, the answer was also
%/
"the word of God which is the salvation
of light."
To Bishop Nasir, the gift was "the un-
adulterated good news of Jesus Christ
and his redeeming grace" and the ex-
amples Brethren missionaries have offered
of simple life, the love of peace, and
service medically, educationally, and
spiritually.
A second question Mr. Crouse asked
of the overseas brothers focused on what
gifts they could bring to the church in
North America: the fire they could pass
on.
"We have huge buildings, big planes,
even rockets putting men on the moon,"
replied Sr. Muzo. "Our technology is ad-
vanced. How much closer have we got-
ten to God? As Brethren and Christians,"
he appealed, "it is time to reconcile this
question among us."
Pastor Mai Sule suggested a possible
sending of Nigerian missionaries to the
United States, "to share the fruit and
the ideas you have already given to
them." Beyond this, he said, is the shar-
ing of "the mutual understanding of love
between the churches."
Bishop Nasir felt the Church of North
India "in a very humble and prayerful
manner would wish to pass on the fire
of first love with which you began work
both at home and abroad. The fire of
recapitulation, looking back. The fire of
the Christian way of life. The fire of
good conscience, genuine love for souls
that people may see Jesus Christ in your
lives and in your work so they become
inheritors of everlasting salvation."
"This is the fire we prayerfully would
offer you."
Fraternal delegates, from left,
A. P. Mai Sule Biu, Nigeria;
Segundo Muzo, Ecuador; Eric
S. Nasir, India
August 1972 MESSENGER 25
©DITQCSDOllDTiarSD [r©[P©[ft
The week that was:
One delegate's response
Cincinnatus was a fifth-century Roman
hero, the man for whom the city of
Cincinnati was named. History gives him
status for one main reason. His country-
men once elected him to a task, one
which required him to travel to Rome.
He is said to have fulfilled his mission
in a matter of days and then to have
returned to his plow. Persons, especially
delegates, going to the 1972 Annual Con-
ference could well feel some kinship with
Cincinnatus.
We too were chosen for a task which
took us from our homes and jobs for
several days. Our participation will nev-
er give us hero or heroine status but we
can hope that our history will reflect some
of the results of our completed mission.
"Flamed by the Spirit," the theme of
the Conference, touched every person
who attended. The mood of celebration
captured in 1971 in St. Petersburg, still
lived, and this year it joined forces with
the Spirit's flames. The result of that
union produced one of the most creative
and joyful conferences held in recent
years. This was most evident in the mu-
sic, the worship, and the art expressions.
However, the spirit of the business ses-
sions reflected it also. Throughout the
entire week the Brethren applauded, quite
literally and quite liberally, what they
heard, saw, and experienced. Clapping
hands seemed an appropriate expression
of approval and identification since it
knows no barriers of age, sex, race, lan-
guage, or intellect. It also attests to a
feeling of being involved.
To suggest that only the mood of St.
Petersburg carried over into the Cin-
cinnati Conference is to tell just a part
of the story. Eight items of unfinished
business also carried over and when
added to the new concerns produced a
business agenda of twenty-one items.
Those of us who served on Standing Com-
mittee soon realized the extent of our
assignment — to arrive at recommenda-
tions for all items of new business and
possibly take another look at the un-
finished items.
An agenda which includes a range of
topics like abortion, music, taxes, mi-
grant farm workers, evangelism, liquor
advertising, war in Indochina, health and
welfare, and elections requires many men-
tal "gear changes." I readily admit to
my own limitations at the point of mak-
ing intelligent decisions on such a
smorgasbord of interest areas. There-
fore, I find the combined intellect and
wisdom of the delegates very helpful. As
one delegate put it, "I never allow myself
to make a final decision on Conference
business at home. I first want to hear
what others have to say." The presence
??aj
-/•4.
lC- -
i • ♦
^^■K^
and witness of a large number of young
people, doctors, counselors, musicians,
home administrators, business persons,
and educators, gave substance to the de-
bate and significance to the final deci-
sions. (One might hope that since an
additional business session had to be
scheduled for Saturday night, those prone
to use the microphone might apply more
brevity and pertinency to their input.)
As Conference proceeded one question
persisted: How can we live consistent with
our decisions? Undoubtedly all persons
who attempt to interpret and support the
decisions made in Cincinnati will struggle
with this question for a long time to
come.
Variations of the question sound like
this: Over half our budget, including our
pastor's salary, comes from money
earned in war-related employment. What
do we do? How can I on the one hand
refuse to pay telephone tax but on the
other hand pay income tax, a large part
of which I know goes for war purposes
and part for revenue to support the
liquor industry? The pertinent question
in Cincinnati was: Can I denounce such
things as war machinery and the liquor
industry and at the same time live in and
enjoy plush accommodations financed to
a large extent by one or the other or
both? As one delegate struggled to find
acceptable answers, she concluded that
"at least this is a step in the right direc-
tion." Another put it similarly: "You
have to start somewhere." Some may
share the opinion of one man who said,
"That's okay for the preachers but the
rest of us can't do it."
Another area of concern for me, per-
haps related to inconsistency, is evidenced
in speeches that seem to question the
competency of those persons whom we
have elected or appointed to represent
us on committees and boards. Choosing
certain individuals for these assignments
in itself is an act of faith. It seems
then that a lack of faith is intimated when
we use such resources as quotes from
the secular press, authorship unknown
or known by name only as "proof" to
seriously question or refute a committee's
report. Again it occurs when we attempt
to amend or revise a report so extensively
that the intent of the original is lost in
the verbosity. For some this same lack
of faith permeated the discussion concern-
ing the vision electors may have for
Bethany Seminary and the course they
may chart for it. There must be a mes-
sage in this. Perhaps we need a query
calling for an evaluation of where Breth-
ren put their trust, with a set of guide-
lines included.
An announcement that united delegates
in a serious concern for the present and
the future was that extensive budget cuts
had to be made. Budget cuts take on sig-
nificance when they dismiss dedicated per-
sons and realign valuable programs. Now
that the initial shock has worn off, the
issue calls all of us to an appraisal of our
priorities. As one person suggested, "We
need a new spirit of dedication to our
homework to make amends for what we
have allowed to happen." Properly flamed
by the Spirit we can do that and more.
If one word describes the Cincinnati
Conference, for me it would have to be
"creative." Art forms displayed in Con-
vention Center, banner making by the
youth. Brethren-authored music and other
expressions of worship, singing on the
Square and other "outside the walls" wit-
nessing, SERRV exhibits, children's choir
handmade stoles, visual Board, BVS, and
Messenger reports all emphasized the
creativity alive in the Brethren. Hope-
fully this kind of creativeness will be
kindled across the entire Brotherhood
and, as a result of 4,575 persons being
flamed by the Spirit, will be the carry-
over to Fresno in 1973.
In conclusion, I refer again to my
incidental research on Cincinnatus, the
namesake of Annual Conference's host
city. It seems that following the Revolu-
tionary War a group of people organized
into a Society of Cincinnatus. The So-
ciety had three purposes: (1) to promote
fellowship among the members; (2) to
preserve the freedoms of all people;
and (3) to aid needy members and their
families. Brethren will detect a familiar
ring in these purposes.
Alas, I may now spoil my whole anal-
ogy. One assessment of the Society of
Cincinnatus suggests that when any at-
tempt is made to evaluate the organi-
zation, it is "impossible to distinguish fact
from fiction."
O God, may the words of our accept-
able motions in Cincinnati become an in-
tegral part of our daily actions in our
home communities and may those actions
be subject to your infinite wisdom.
Whether history grants us a memorable
place or not, let there be no question
about distinguishing the facts from fic-
tion. Let there be no fiction. — Elaine
SOLLENBERGER
August 1972 MESSENGER 27
When we leave Cincinnati:
The work of Pentecost
When the tongues of flame are no longer visible,
When the mighty winds of the air conditioners are still,
When the white dove has been packed away in the truck
for the trip back to Elgin,
When the disciples go home.
When the delegates are back in their churches,
The work of Pentecost begins:
To find lost persons,
To heal the broken ones,
To feed the hungry, even when some call him the enemy.
To stand with and support the prisoner.
To help people who are suffering because of flooded waters
and to be with and help people who hurt because of falling bombs.
To bring peace among the brothers and sisters.
To make music in the heart.
— Dean Miller, after Howard Thurman's "The Work of Christmas"
28 MESSENGER August 1972
Gamble?
^u Bet ^ur Life!
by L. John
Weaver
G
ambling is the largest illegitimate busi-
ness in the United States today. Ten
years ago Estes Kefauver, then chairman
of the Senate Crime Investigating Com-
mittee, estimated that the gross amount
bet yearly in the United States would ex-
ceed the combined profits of United
States Steel, General Motors, General
Electric, and the top one hundred man-
ufacturing enterprises of the nation.
The trend now is to "legitimize" gam-
bling, making it even bigger and more
pervasive, with governments sharing in
the take. As new gains in power and
influence have been made by gambling,
in all too many instances the church has
remained silent. The individual Christian
is left to decide alone whether to par-
ticipate in this growing national pastime.
What is gambling?
Is it gambling for a young person to
borrow money to go to school in the
hopes that he will make it up eventually
in increased satisfactions and earnings?
Is it gambling to walk down the street,
or even live life itself?
In a court of law, gambling is defined
as having three necessary elements: (1) a
consideration (such as money) which is
given for the right to participate: (2) a
game in which the outcome is dependent
largely upon chance; and (3) a prize of
some value which is paid to the winner.
Thus, business ventures, insurance pro-
grams, even marriage, become matters of
risk, not gambling.
After forty-five years of research in
this field, Clyde Brion has written in his
book. Something for Nothing: "Gam-
bling, and I mean unquestionable gam-
bling such as betting on horse or dog
races, betting on the outcome of sports
events, shooting craps, playing slot ma-
chines, roulette, twenty-one, or black
jack, keno or bingo, buying lottery or
raffle tickets or numbers, is without a
doubt the most potent vice cherished by
Throngs queue up for lottery tickets
in New York's Grand Central Station but
also in small towns in many states
August 1972 MESSENGER 29
the human race. ... No less an authority
than the notorious Harry Gross (now
languishing in prison) has said it is im-
possible to operate a bookmaking estab-
lishment or gambling house without
police knowledge and consequent
bribery."
"With each passing week," observes
Newsweek, "gambling seems to take on
greater significance as a dominant social,
political, and economic force of the
1970s. . . . The trend can be attributed
partly to the general permissiveness of
society; like alcohol, marijuana, and
se.\ual freedom, the institution of gam-
bling is steadily losing its shock value
and becoming accepted as a part of
modern life."
And now the growing number of state
lotteries makes "legitimate" gambling as
available as the neighborhood grocery.
Recently Pennsylvania and Massachusetts
became the fifth and sixth states to launch
lotteries; voters in Michigan have ap-
proved a constitutional amendment pav-
ing the way for a lottery there. Other
states are considering similar action.
What is wrong with a "little" gambling
at the supermarket or the race track?
Consider these among points listed in a
leaflet circulated with our congregational
newsletter:
1. It won't stay little. Gambling is
Thejurells,
from Palmyra, Pa.,
had a grand week.
like a drug. It is habit-forming. It may
start little but it ends big.
The inner workings of a gambler's
mind is described by Fedor Dostoevski in
"The Gambler," a quotation with which
Newsweek opened its cover report
recently:
"I lost everything I had then ... I
walked out of the casino, and suddenly
discovered that I still had one gulden in
my waistcoat pocket. Well, that'll pay
for my dinner at least, I said to myself.
But after I had taken a hundred steps or
so. I changed my mind and went back to
the roulette table . . . It's true, it gives
you a special feeling when you are all
alone in a foreign country, not knowing
whether you're going to eat that day, and
gambling your very last guldens!"
The Gamblers Anonymous organiza-
tion claims there are ten million com-
pulsive gamblers who need help.
2. Any gambling is part of all gam-
bling. It's wrong, for example, to steal
$1,000 or to murder ten men. Is it not
equally wrong to steal only $100 or mur-
der only one man? It is estimated that
at least half the population now shares in
gambling.
3. Gambling undermines a community.
As Thomas Dewey once put it, gambling
"has brought nothing but poverty, crime,
corruption, demoralization of moral and
Stanley Kuzniar,
from FarreU, Pa^
had a grand week.
Fiftygrand! ^ Fiftygiand!
^k v..nn<ng tn« top dii« Ln ir>e Pennsyf- ^ i(Lt V %^
■Pie, !e just one of ti'-
inmng m* lop oii« In \ne Paonsyt-
vmnia Lottery BV»ry wB«k,
\V\-J) ticket saiw swrt^nc over 7
m:il.cr naVobeenBUatogivoSKray
■-.- .. ■' T-'-.-^^-andcastprtlw
SSO.OOO St
Mr. Kumar, aJen) w«h savsn odwf 1M*T (^ _ _ .
trcmily won the IM) waflkty proa o( SSa0O3 m $» P«»-
sytvamsLotMry.
A/«3 ihouMndi mon a«n cash piteanng^ <n*> MO
toKOOa
Miaia nore. cvaiy ««ak IhomaiA of pao*
pie Bra ouaBlywig for ma Miaion Oeaar OraMig
in arvcn Via grar,4«8t priia ol iHcai ail tM
M g<,an away: SSO,CX a y«ar tor SO yaai^
$1,000.0001
Eacn aae* tuara a na* morwy to ba oImh
Bwar and n*a peopla tc mn a. Yau ^ ftt
In en Hw acson ijaiplir by tMying a SDt Ikart
wtiaiatgr you aaa iha Of^cial sraao vd
■riiia Lottery Kayatona.
IMw knows, naM *«4a ewM ba a
101 you.
PmuyliAAiA
Uttarr
Its a chance v^iuVt gM to take.
For 50 cents you are in the running for the big money, say Pennsylvania Lottery ads
ethical standards and ultimately a lower
standard of living and miser>' for all the
people."
America was not built on luck or
chance. Dedicated pioneers toiled long
and hard to clear the land and secure a
living from it, to build their homes and
rear their families to see the value of
honest toil.
Today the mad scramble on the part of
management and capital for ever larger
profits is matched only by labor's desire
for more pay, less work and lower
standards.
The moral and economic leadership of
the world has passed from us as one
result. We have become another Babylon,
not knowing that in our craving for idle-
ness, luxury, and something for nothing
the kingdom is taken from us.
Gambling corrupts ever>'thing it
touches. Gambling, a social and ec-
onomic leech, inevitably corrupts
go\'ernment.
A few years ago the Senate Crime
Commission reported that twenty percent
of the gamblers' take (one dollar in five)
is used as a fund to corrupt public
officials. Gambling supports the network
of evil which makes communities unsafe
and threatens the ruin of the nation.
4. Gambling destroys the gambler
himself. Christians oppose gambling be-
cause it damages personality. The New
Testament, especially Luke 15, teaches
that the most valuable thing in the world
is human personality. If we follow Christ
we love people and use things. The
gambling promoter uses people because
he loves money and things.
The phenomenal success of gambling is
based on the appeal to selfishness both
on the part of the promoter and the
patron. The patron hopes he will get a
lot of money and the promoter knows
that he will get a lot.
Suppose a SlOO-a-week clerk who has
been functioning rather normally with his
income were to win $200 on a $2 bet. He
now has taken $198 out of society and
has put little or nothing back. This does
something to him. He is now likely to
become less capable of functioning
normally at his old job, esp)ecially if he
should win several times.
He has learned what seems to be a
shortcut. Greed enters and he begins to
feel that he was a fool to have worked so
30 MESSENGER .\ugust 1972
hard for so little before. Gambling does
something vicious to a person's character.
5. Gambling is the denial of steward-
ship. Christianity is a giving faith. Jesus
said, "If you then, who are evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is
m heaven give good things to those who
ask him? So whatever you wish that men
would do to you, do so to them; for this
is the law and the prophets" ( Matt. 7:11-
12). How different from this is the lure
of getting in gambling?
The gambler assumes the right to take
out of society more than he puts in. This
is what Ray Sprigle meant when he said,
"Gambling is an easy form of theft." It
is a violation of the commandment: Thou
shall not steal.
Gambling is based on greed. Christ
calls us to love and care for others and
to give to the needy.
I believe that everything we have is
received in trust from God. "The earth
is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."
Gambling is a waste of precious re-
sources. The fruits of gambling are
crime, corruption, wasted fortunes,
crippled legitimate business, and despair.
6. The end does not justify the means.
Susanna Wesley wrote: "Would you
judge the lawfulness of a pleasure take
this rule: Whatever weakens your reason,
impairs the tenderness of your con-
science, obscures your sense of God, or
takes away the relish of spiritual things,
whatever increases the authority of your
body over your mind, that is wrong!"
Gambling is not right because the
"profits go for a good cause." Would it
be right to rob a bank if I gave to the
Scouts? Or murder a man as long as I
gave the body to medical research?
A "little" murder, a "little" house-
breaking, a "little" adultery, or a "little"
gambling — all stand condemned for one
who seeks to follow Christ. Regardless of
the cause for which the profits are sup-
posed to go, can the end possibly justify
the means when the means corrupts
character?
Let us see gambling for what it is: An
evil that promotes the worst and often
destroys the best.
Why not gamble?
Because the stakes are too high — the
health of the community, nation, and
one's very life. And that's a sure bet. D
GRIT/nm cEntliPaiaDEPcilnmaiiP^ nmcEaiSDnrPCB
Although It is several months since Grace
Clapper's passing on March 14, I feel
impelled to express my personal praise
to God for what she meant in my life and
to mention briefly our experiences to-
gether in North China.
Grace first went out in 1917 and left
for the last time in 1943. When she re-
turned from furlough in 1938 I accom-
panied her as a new missionary. Follow-
ing a school year of language study in
Peking I was assigned to her station at
Showyang, Shansi Province, about 400
miles interior.
On returning to her beloved home and
work Grace greatly missed her former
colleague, Minneva Neher, who with
Alvin and Mary Harsh had disappeared
from Showyang at the hands of the
Japanese military the previous year while
Grace was gone. There were continuing
unpleasant local contacts with the mil-
itary, but always Grace's practice was to
"take it to the Lord in prayer." We lived
together there for a year. I soon learned
that prayer was a very important part
of her life, and by her example and her
prayers for me it became a much more
important part of my life.
After 13 Chinese Christians were killed
at Liao the fall of 1939 and our mission
family decided it was time to evacuate
to Peking, we and hundreds of other
missionaries in North China faced the
question of further evacuation to the
States in view of increasing political ten-
sions. That a "skeleton force" should
remain became the conclusion of num-
bers of groups. Grace and I with Minor
Myers became the "Brethren skeleton."
During the ensuing three years, which
included the summer of '43 in an intern-
ment camp and then the long repatriation
voyage home that fall, Grace's health was
not good. But she never doubted divine
guidance in the decision to stay on in
China. Nor did the other two of us.
That first term ended my close associ-
ation with Grace, but through nearly
30 years since then she remained a stead-
fast friend and an inspiration to me by
letters, in the sharing of prayer concerns,
and through very occasional visits. That
we could again be together for several
weeks last fall after 16 years of absence
was indeed a special gift of God.
One person described Grace as having
grit in extraordinary measure — so true
in view of her health problems through
the years. Much could be said in her
praise. To me loyalty to Jesus Christ and
steadfast faith are high on the list and
qualify her as bearing the honored name
of "Valiant for Truth." We can be cer-
tain the welcome home from the Lord
Himself included, "Well done, thou good
and faithful servant . . . Enter thou into
the joy of thy Lord." — Hazel Rothrock
Upon leaving for furlough in 1937, Grace
Clapper is bade farewell by children at
Showyang, China. Months later, three of
her Brethren companions at the Show-
yang station mysteriously disappeared.
Miss Clapper resumed work there in 1 938
August 1972 MESSENGER 31
XWoDnmcEnn dlnscEODwcBiPnmi^ ttDncBtinQScEnwcBS
Aiivkiivard, Maybe-- but
Ruffle the perfect manners of a
frozen heart,
And bid it to be awkward and
alive.
— W. H. Auden
We gathered in May, the time of unex-
pected showers and the surprise of hot
days. The gifts we brought to each
other — thirty Church of the Brethren
women at a Lemont, Illinois, retreat
center, and twenty-seven at New
Windsor, Maryland — were unexpectedly
varied. They suggest a corporate strength
that seems far-reaching in its significance
for all women in the Church of the
Brethren.
"The purpose of these events is two-
fold," wrote Parish Ministries Commis-
sion Identity Task Group member Carl
Zeiglcr Jr., in the invitational letter. "To
provide a major opportunity for women
to engage in a consciousness raising ex-
perience — to touch base with one an-
other; and to engage in strategizing and
learning skills as preparation for creative
involvement in church and society."
Nelle Morton, professor emeritus.
Drew University, and consultant on
women's liberation for Church Women
United, acted as enabler for both groups,
along with teams of Brethren women,
Mary Cline Detrick and Norma Trax in
the East; Nancy Peters and Carole Zeigler
in the Midwest. The design — flexible,
with a reliance on the theory that dis-
closure evokes disclosure from others.
And disclosure there was, in varied and
diffuse ways, as we struggled with the
question, "What does it mean to be a
Christian woman in the 70s'?"
Getting in touch
Our first task, getting in touch with our
own stories — "her-story" — rapidly
revealed its complexity. At first wc
carefully defended our own situations, as
though the woman problem were far
away from us: We talked of having been
liberated for years, of being thankful for
husbands who let us do anything we want
or who help with household tasks, of
working for bosses who don't take us for
Woman awareness event at New Windsor: Responding to feelings on all different levels
granted, of not having experienced dis-
crimination. Wc resisted feeling in favor
of intellcctualizing, speaking apologeti-
cally of small resentments, as if they
might really have occurred in our
imaginations.
But in the process, the small resent-
ments began crystallizing into several
larger ones: our common feelings of frus-
tration, guilt, and inadequacy. Such bar-
riers as age and marital status, and our
defenses of satisfaction with ourselves as
women and as persons began sliding away
as we shared feelings, often choked and
awkwardly.
Frustration ... at not being able to get
credit cards in our own names ... at
being discouraged by well-meaning
counselors from careers in engineering or
medicine. . . . Guilt . . . because, though
we know our families can take care of
themselves, we came to this event without
stocking the freezer . . . because the
anger we discover deep in ourselves as
women appears to damage some relation-
ships. . . . Agony ... in discovering that
perhaps the relationship, and not the
woman, is unhealthy. . . . Pain ... at
hearing from media, from the church,
from the schools, from women themselves
the message that our womanhood limits
our possibilities as human persons.
We talked of cultural institutions and
systems like the church which have
reinforced the idea that such expressions
by women of negative emotions are in-
appropriate. Asked when we first realized
we were women, our responses were
baffled ones: "Oh, I can't remember any
specific time"; "I've never given that
much thought." Our socially accepted
roles of nurturer, comforter, helper, and
sustainer of the species have left little
room for thinking about ourselves as
persons with special identities. Those
same roles have called us to find our
identity only in relation to someone else;
they have caused us to distrust one an-
other as competitors for the approval
of the men from whom we have drawn
MESSENGER .August 1972
our identity. Some theologians even
maintain that woman cannot receive sal-
vation except by man, taking their cue
from Paul, who wrote to Timothy that
"it was the woman who . . . fell into sin.
Yet she will be saved through mother-
hood" (1 Tim. 13-14, NEB).
On all different levels women at the
Lemont and New Windsor awareness
events began responding to feelings and
trying out ways of dealing with those
feelings. 'T feel weepy all over," one
woman said as she touched her thighs, her
wrists, her throat. "But I don't know
where to weep."
Another laughed nervously, admitting
that laughter concealed frustration and
anger she could handle in no other way.
Great cries choked in the throats of
others, and tears came very hot.
For some of the women these feelings
were so subterranean that, as intensively
introspective as each weekend became,
they could not be touched. For these
women, resistance seemed a defense
against pain they could not confront.
Throughout it all we had no one but
ourselves on whom to rely: no authorities
telling us how to feel, no theologians
instructing us in the language of the-
ologizing; we had only each other. Some-
times we struggled awkwardly with group
process: sometimes we failed to deal
thoroughly with a woman's very real
feelings: sometimes we avoided the
deepest and most painful centers of our
being for easier revelations. But these
were shared experiences in which each of
us had some investment. We were
startled, and then exhilarated, to discover
that each of us was becoming truly a
sister to the others.
I wish I knew how it would
feel to be free
In the learning of our stories, we
became conscious of where we feel the
"crunch" of the woman problem.
Some of the women expressed deep
frustration in being unable to find ade-
quate child care so that they might
participate more freely in decision mak-
ing positions, in fulfilling jobs, or in self-
enrichment. Theirs is the frustration of
women whom society has taught to feel
guilty if they dare question the unex-
amined assumption that ultimate re-
sponsibility for rearing children lies with
Mother.
Others described how male leaders in
their congregations rationalize theologi-
cally their reluctance to permit women to
serve the Eucharist. These women would
want to be free to consider themselves as
members of the priesthood of all
believers.
Some of the women felt the crunch in
the male orientation of language: con-
sider brotherhood of man, Christ came
that all men might be free, faith of our
fathers. Brotherhood means sisterhood?
Man means woman? Father means
mother? Some insist so. But these wom-
en know the pain of feeling excluded by
such terms. The ridicule we have ex-
perienced in challenging the use of these
phrases led Nelle to write, "There is no
longer doubt in the minds of liberated
women that the common speech of the
American people presents an image of
male control in pulpit, politics, education,
industry, and family."
As we shared in this way, it was easy
to take one another seriously, and there-
fore to affirm one another as persons.
Not everyone had reached the same
level of awareness. No matter: the week-
ends were times to listen to all our
sisters, from whatever place they spoke.
Clusters of women continued talking
long into the night.
We learned that we could play to-
gether, and we explored our sense of
humor.
All of this led to our dealing with
specific issues within the Church of the
Brethren. Strategies included a request
for free child care at Annual Conference,
plans for a from-the-floor contribution to
the General Board report in Cincinnati,
and the resolve of Mid-Atlantic District
women to come together soon in a similar
kind of experience.
Most profound, though, were the evi-
dences of personal growth that the two
weekend events engendered. Some wom-
en spoke of new strength they did not
know they could possess. Others left
thoughtful. Some expressed feelings of
frustration and anger more intensely at
the end than when they had arrived —
for those women, "back home" would not
be easy. In some way, each of us had
gotten in touch with some unexplored
parts of ourselves — awkwardly, perhaps,
and hesitantly, but with every expectation
of finding new life there. — Linda
Beher
SUBSCRIBER
SERVICE
Please include a Mes-
senger address label
to insure prompt
service v^/henever you
write us about your
subscription.
For change of ad-
dress: If you're mov-
ing, please let us
know four weeks be-
fore changing your
address. Place mag-
azine address label
here, print your new
address below. If
you have a question
about your subscrip-
tion, place your mag-
azine address label
here and clip this
form to your letter.
■\^/— n
ATTACH
LABEL
HERE
— / \— .
Mail to: Messenger, Church of the Brethren,
General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
III, 60120
name
(please print)
address
city
state
zip code
An interpretation of
C/turcii of ttie Bret/tren
beliefs and practices —
6-page pamphlet.
5<^ each; 50(i
per dozen
Please send
copies of
The Faith That Is In Us
To
Address
City
State .
Zip.
Bill
Address
City
State .
.Zip.
Church of the Brethren
Date
Add 20c postage for first dollar;
5c each additional dollar
The Brethren Press
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, III. 60120
LETTERS/ continued from I
holm's hymn. "Great Is Thy Faithfulness,"
and many, many more?
As for the author's comment on the mor-
bid emphasis that "Jesus Loves Me" places
on death and dying for a child, I doubt if
children have even thought of this when
they sing it. They're thinking of the love
emphasis. I don't regard the phrase, "If I
love him when I die, he will take me home
on high," as morbid but as a blessed promise
for children and adults as well. It is the
same as if a minister would preach on the
biblical text, "Be thou faithful until death,
and I will give thee a crown of life." Why
not speak of death? We all have to face
it. And the blood'? Is this not the life?
Jesus said. "Unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink his blood, you
have no life in you" (John 6:53). Should
I get so sophisticated that I can't mention
in song blood, death, or the cross?
May I suggest a most profitable devotion-
al time for a year? Read the hymnal
through. Read at least one hymn each day.
I found it to be most revealing and helpful.
The majesty and strength of the poetry gave
me a new appreciation of what I'd been
singing all along. In my mind, what is
needed as much as new forms of celebration
in worship are order, dignity, a real sense
of the presence of God. and less careless-
ness of preparation and "sloppiness" in per-
formance.
L. Byron Miller
Akron. Ohio
THE IMPERATIVE Of CHOICE
The article by Dale Aukerman on "War
and Abortion" (June 1) makes three basic
errors (I usually make more): ( 1 ) no force
in religion; (2) the moment of life; (3) the
parity of the involved.
1. For me the key issue is this one: The
Brethren from the beginning have shunned
creeds and rigid statements because of ac-
ceptance of the God-given responsibility (not
freedom) of every individual to make his
own choice (and bear the consequences —
pleasant or unpleasant). God holds me
responsible for my witness in the community
— not for the other person's choices. We
cannot legislate morality without being in
danger of playing God. We do have a re-
sponsibility to express our concerns but not
to legislate our moral concepts; laws are nec-
essary to clarify logistics, like traffic regula-
tions.
The concepts of "Jesus is sufficient" vs.
"the lesser of two evils" as guidelines in
decision making are very relative, not ad-
solute as Dale implies the first to be. Harold
Martin in a recent pamphlet on abortion
acknowledges there is a time when it is all
right to kill — if it is a nonuterine or similar
pregnancy. Whether the choice is to carry
the pregnancy or have an abortion, "Jesus
is sufficient" for the needs of the individual
(this is absolute).
2. The assertion in the paper that "the
Bible teaches us that human life is a sacred
gift of God" is good; but no mention is
made to when life actually begins (the as-
sumption for Dale is that life begins at
conception). But there has been no clear
statement at any time in history as to the
beginning moment of "sacred life." There
are those who feel that every "ripe egg"
should be fertilized; others would wait to
see if the newborn life is physically all right
(both points very extreme — there are many
points between). This humanness — does
God have a "storehouse of souls" from
which one is placed in each baby at birth or
at conception, or does each egg within the
ovary (all 30 to 50.000) contain a soul, or
each male sperm?
3. In war. we are talking about settling
differences between adults; in abortion, one
party has no developed "rational choice"
ability (can't communicate); there is no
parity here at all. In a life or death opera-
tion, consent is secured from the parents
for minors. The point is well made by Dale
IhaS too often we do argue against ourselves
in support of our wishes and try to make
it appear to be God's will we are defending.
There is no easy answer. Basically I favor
the committee's work, not to endorse abor-
tion but neither to condemn those who use
it — God has given us the right to choose.
Do we know more than God in attempting
to take away that right?
Philip Zinn
Oneonta, Ala.
SPIRITUAL, SPIRITED
I have read and reread your June 15 edi-
torial, "On Becoming a Spirited People."
It is very interesting and has much food for
thought.
Do we all long for something permanent?
■V'es and no. . . . Many of us in the church
— Brethren and others — are looking for
the new and different — a change. Yes. we
want something spirited: the dash, the spec-
tacular, the exciting, an outward demonstra-
tion, something physical to be seen. Do we
want this more than the deep silence of
the inner soul and spirit of the heart centered
in God? . . .
The various concerns of Annual Confer-
ence which the editorial mentioned were
lifted up in prayer by various Bible study
groups of us Brethren at La Verne. We
prayed there would be appeals for peace,
plans for evangelism, bids for work with
minority groups, and struggles for libera-
tion. But more important than all of those
things are our spiritual lives. . . .
My prayer was and is that the Holy Spirit
may make of us not a spirited Conference,
a spirited church, a spirited people, but rath-
er that we may be a spiritual Conference, a
spiritual church, and a spiritual people.
Bertha Kimmel
La Verne. Calif.
NO TO AMNESTY
In the April 15 Messenger you asked for
an opinion poll regarding amnesty. . . .
There should be no amnesty for any crim-
inal who commits a crime against his or her
country.
Especially should this be true where the
crime was premeditated as in the case of
draft-dodgers and deserters.
Also, the people who aid and abet the
criminal are equally guilty of treason against
the government and should be treated as
such. . . .
Victor H. Stevens
Myrtle Point. Ore.
EDUCATE FOR SURVIVAL
Our churches could spend less time worry-
ing about the poor (Appalachia. May 15)
and spend more time and thought on how-
to educate people in the art of survival so
that they need not be on relief. Let the
state take care of the needy.
William R. Sullivan
Vale. Ore.
CHURCH AS USUAL
Churches throughout our land ought to
be draped in black as a symbol of mourning
for what we have been told our nation
has to do to preserve its "honor." Could
it be that with our stepped-up methodical
bombing once again a United States Presi-
dent has decreed another Hiroshima, only
this lime in slow motion? And we may
end up wiping a whole country off the face
of the earth — a country smaller than the
state of New Jersey and one that never did
anything to us.
It is a horrible realization that in .America
we are seemingly at the same point that
many German churchgoers were in the time
of Hitler. Church "goes on as usual" and
there is not a word about Vietnam in our
sanctuaries while the bombs fall and the
screams go on too far away for us to hear.
How God's heart must be broken to see
us, who call ourselves bv his name, "pass
by on the other side" while our military
leaders methodically go about destroying his
creation. By the silence in our churches we
give consent and crucify him anew. And
hauntingly his words ring down through
the corridors of time "Inasmuch as ye did
it unto one of the least of these my brothers.
ye did it unto me."
Dorothy F. Shoemaker
Oaks, Pa.
34 MESSENGER ."Vugust 1972
INTRODUCING
medlasci
§ §
A new service offering
• sales and rentals of current films, filmstrips, records, tapes, slides
• consultation on program planning using multimedia resources
• help in locating and booking films regardless of source
A new service for
• pastors
• teachers
• leaders
A new service with
• up-to-date resources
• the new line of TeieKETICS films
• open-ended, high quality materials
,n>»^
Name
Address
State
Congregation
WRITE FOR FREE LISTING
OF CURRENT FILMS
Zip
A DIVISION OF THE BRFTHREN PRESS 14Fi1 Dundee Ave.. Elain. III. 60120
The Illusion of Something for IVothing
When Michigan voters overwhelmingly voted in
May to kill a 137-year-old constitutional ban on
lotteries the Detroit Free Press observed that
"surprisingly, churches and religious groups have
remained officially quiet on what used to be one
of the issues that churches — particularly Protes-
tant churches — considered a clear sin."
After surveying several denominations and
ecumenical groups. Free Press religion writer
Hiley H. Ward said little organized opposition
was to be found. For example, the Michigan
Council of Churches, which the Free Press said
"condemned all forms of gambling as late as
December 1970 . . . ignored the current lottery
proposal." A mission executive in Detroit com-
mented that in his board "everybody seemed to
come out with some ambivalence. Thumbs are
still down on gambling," he added, "but not as
much as before."
John D. Tomlonson, Church of the Brethren
district executive in Michigan, contrasted the sit-
uation to 15 years ago when religious leaders
took concerted action against the legalizing of
bingo. Now, he said, churches are so busy coping
with their own problems that they have drawn
away from wider concerns.
Another factor, said Mr. Tomlonson, was that
proponents of the lottery in Michigan remained
obscure. "There was no one to fight against," he
explained, "and the churches aren't in the habit
of going out to start battles." He said that when
opposition was evolved, such as the newspaper ad
sponsored by the Committee on Lottery Informa-
tion and Prevention (CLIP) which Brethren and
other churches supported, much of it was too late
to be effective.
The Michigan experience is not unique. In
Palmyra, Pa., Brethren pastor Donald W. Rum-
mel revealed that the churches there were quite
exercised about pornography at the local news-
stand. As council of churches president, he called
on the dealer to express concern over the quality
of materials. Curiously. Mr. Ruimnel said, not
a voice had been heard from the churches object-
ing to the same news dealer's sale of tickets for
the state lottery.
In Northern Ohio, the executive committee of
the district board in April issued a statement to
the press and to the churches opposing the lottery
proposal yet to be voted in that state. In the re-
lease Gordon W. Bucher, executive secretary, ap-
pealed to Ohioans to rely on taxation, not gam-
bling, to finance state operations.
The Northern Ohio statement opposing the
lottery quoted from the 1966 Annual Conference
paper on ethics:
. . . The hope to gain something for nothing
is a flight from reality, so much so that for
many persons gambling is habitual and uncon-
trollable. Life before God is not an unrealistic
hope for a lucky break, but is a way of facing
the future in the confidence that Jesus Christ dis-
closes God's steadfast love and care for man. The
risks it runs are those of faith undertaken in
loving concern for one's fellowman and the sur-
prises it expects are not those of chance but the
free operation of God's grace. The Spirit of
Christ is that of charity, sacrifice, and self-giving
rather than of gaming in order to gain the prop-
erty of the neighbor, no matter how worthy the
use to which the gain is put.
Mf we Brethren believe that in 1972 as ap-
parently we did in 1966. we need speak up. for
legalized gambling is fast being built into the
framework of American life. Scarcely is there a
legislature not faced with bills proposing off-
track betting or other gambling schemes intended
to boost revenue and ease the chronic financial
woes of government.
But, as L. John Weaver writes in this issue,
gambling is not something for nothing; it ex-
ploits human weakness to exact a toll that socially
and morally is untenable. A nation of gambling
addicts we can do without. — h.e.r.
36 MESSENGER -August 1972
FUND FOR THE AMERICAS
IN THE UNITED STATES- .
Coming to grips ^
with racism in
our fractured
society... ,
1 FOR THE FUND FOR THE AMERICAS IN THE UNITED STATES
1 1451 Dundee Avenue, Elgin, Illinois 60120 '^^
1 Amount \ IW
'■■«
1
1
)i
1
■
- 1
■
_ ■
1
1
- ■
■
1
! Name
1 Street State Zip
1 Congregation District
IHImt)]
NEW
A collection of prayers
by R. H. Miller
HUNGER OF THE HEART
Can a prayer from the pulpit serve equally well as a prayer to "pray in person"?
The answer is yes if written prayers, like the ninety-eight collected in this volume,
grow out of experiences shared alike by pastor and congregation. But their value
for personal and family use is even more assured if they speak directly to what
Dr. Robert H. Miller calls "the hunger of the heart," a hunger for God that cannot
be satisfied by attempts "to live as though we were suflRcient in ourselves."
Observing that many persons pray who are not aware that they pray, he notes
that "all love is of God. When we pray we reach out with love by way of God,
the source of all pure and holy love, to those both near and far, for whom God has
given us to care."
A generation of college students learned to know and love Dr. Miller as a teacher
of Bible and religion. Then several congregations discovered his gifts as pastor
and preacher. Now it is possible for many more Brethren to be instructed and
guided by him as they add this volume to their devotional library. It will be a
treasure and resource for many years to come. 96 pages. $2.95 paper.
Postage: 20c first dollar; 5c each additional dollar
O
\^
LtudU
u
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
1 '^jiA-rtg
©©DTllbSDIIlt^
Dsl^ltSD^^
On Rebuilding Bangladesh. A new nation is born. But attending
its advent were bloodslied and violence the scope of a massacre. Here
are three perspectives on what newly free Bengalis face as they
rebuild their nation. Syed Ally, Elgin, Illinois, reports on "The
Plunder of the Bengalis." Leon Howell, churchman/correspondent
in the Far East, describes "The Battle to Sustain Life." A third
section notes the global response of churches, including the Church
of the Brethren
The Spirit and the Spirits of the Brethren. In his address to
Annual Conference the 1972 moderator characterized the Church of
the Brethren with seven "spirits." by Dale W. Brown
^^ Who Speaks, Listens, Decides on Brethren Ministries? The
m answer is everyone — until cuts in program must be made to stay
within budget, according to the General Secretary of the denomination.
S. Loren Bowman
67th Class Names Its Gifts. Twenty-four graduates of Bethany
Theological Seminary participated in the naming of the gifts,
a ceremony that may become a tradition
Tooling Up for Today's Generation. In the first appearance of
a new column. "Resources," materials for youth ministries receive
the spotlight
In Touch profiles Barnard Taylor. May Aiiread Baker, and Garland Miller
(2). . . . Outlook reports the calling of a doctor to Nigeria, notes the
death of Athenagoras 1, and introduces the new president of McPherson
College, a flood worker, and a new district executive (beginning on 4). . . .
Look also for a column on pastoral placements (16), and an editorial
that poses "Questions to the General Board" (24).
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K, Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOL. 121, NO. 15 SEPTEMBER 1, 1972
CREDITS: Cover, 1. 9, II Religious News
Service: 2 (left) Juniat.i College photo:
(right) Howard E. Rover: ,1 Patrici.i M.
Churchman: 3. 12-13 Edward J. Buzinski:
21 couriesv of Bethany Theological Sem-
inary: 22 from Youth Ministries Resource
Notebook
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter .\ug. 20. 1918. under ,\ct of
Congress of Oct. 17. 1917. Filing dale. Oct. I.
1971. Messenger is a member of the Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Scr\'ice and Eciunenical Press
Service, Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Revised Standard
Version,
Subscription rates: S4,20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions: $3,60 per year for church
group plan: S3, 00 per vear for ever\' home
plan: life subscription, $60; husband and
wife, $75. If vou move clip old address
from Messenger and send with new address.
.Mlow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly by
(he General Services Commission.
Church of the Brethren General
Board. 1451 Dimdee .\\'e.. Elgin.
111. 60120. Second-class postage
paid at Elgin. 111.. Sept. 1, 1972. Copvright
1972. Church of the Brethren General Board.
Iioill iMtA:
i
MOVED BY THE RIGHT SPIRIT
Let's balance all our budgets. Throw out
all our preconceived notions that the world
knows how to run a business and start letting
God run it. We might set our world afire
along with our spirits if we really turn our
faith loose and beheve what Christ told his
disciples. Let's cast our bread on the waters,
purify them and our world, and begin to
breathe the clean breath from heaven each
day!
If one man or woman is healed from what
he or she knows is wrong with him or her
or it, then if it is well-healed or well-heeled.
as one might say. some of the filthy lucre
is going to be tossed in the direction of the
publishing house to cover the costs just out
of natural gratitude for favors received from
God.
People may start believing that Messen-
ger has a healing spirit uithin it which can
heal them too. and the subscription costs
will begin to be borne as a substitute for
the medical cost that would otherwise have
had to be borne. Pure gratitude has power-
ful motivating impact, and we haven't been
making use of it.
Having seen how the fires of the Spirit
(the Holy Spirit) can really be stirred when
people moved by the right spirit get together
as they did in the arts festival of the District
of Illinois and Wisconsin May 21-23. I have
a renewed confidence in the capacity of the
Church of the Brethren to move mountains
— the mountains of despair, the mountains
of fear, the mountains of misery with which
the people of the world are burdened down.
Let us at least cast off these burdens of
the spirit and let our spirits burn with the
hot flame of inspiration from heaven!
Clifford J. Bingham
Lombard, III.
COMMON OWNERSHIP
Wayne F. Geisert (April 15) suggests that
"major investments must continue to be
made both publicly and privately if the level
of life for any large portion of the world's
people is to reach a reasonable level." By
our personal decisions and democratic politi-
cal activities we can influence those invest-
ments to be made where they will really
help rather than exploit, possibly reversing
the trend that brought us to the present
situation: the United States comprising six
fiercent of the world's population, yet con-
suming over fifty percent of the natural
resources. We treat our own people a little
better: the top five percent received nineteen
percent of the national income.
Mr. Geisert revealed a basic flaw in our
economy by stating correctly that "a grow-
ing GNP must be a part of the American
picture if the unemployed are to be em-
m
©Olio
ployed. . . ." If we could find ways to change
our economy in the way that Jesus looked
at life we might say. seel; first the welfare
of people and all these things will be added.
That will probably mean increased practice
of common ownership, direct and indirect,
in familiar successful forms and in forms
yet to be discovered. By indirect is meant
labor unions and legislation as examples of
institutions that encourage owners to treat
their workers as if they were share owners.
Cooperatives and community water systems
are familiar direct forms.
Common ownership tends to prevent pov-
erty by keeping wages, prices, and reserves
in balance so workers can buy the products
of industry. A growing GNP may result.
When workers share in the ownership of
the machines they have helped to purchase,
they will tend to add only those needed to
increase production or reduce drudgery rath-
er than to replace men, thus preventing
unemployment.
With production only to satisfy normal
needs, not overstimulated by high-pressure
advertising, natural resources will be con-
served. A high level of purchasing power
with its built-in markets should decrease the
pressure to seek foreign markets followed
by "gunboat diplomacy." It seems that pub-
lic foreign investments should be more apt
to be made to really help undeveloped coun-
tries rather than to exploit them, encouraging
peace. The trick is to elect leaders who
will take us in that direction.
If we seek first a growing GNP, the tend-
ency, as Michael Harrington says, is to
prime the economy by increasing the living
standards of the rich. Keith Murray summed
it up in The Liberal Democrat: "How long
can we chase our tail in an endless spiral
of growthmanship, producing further ex-
cesses of unneeded goods and using up a
grotesque share of the world's resources.
in order to give a forced-draft infusion to
the economy?"
George Heitsman
Tucson, Ariz.
CHARISMA FREE AND LOUD
We have had another fine Conference,
though much too short to cover properly
everything that needs to be handled.
As to the charismatic service Friday night,
that was about the noisiest Brethren meet-
ing I ever attended. It was more like a Sal-
vation Army meeting, which is very good
indeed.
I was a bit surprised that some would
call it charismatic and not seem to know
what the word means. I wrote charisma
in Greek for several persons and told them
that it means gift or free gift or perhaps
more correctly gift of grace. The only way
to pay for a gift of grace is to accept and
use it gracefully, or better, to let God's
gifts of grace use us freely. . . .
More power to those who will accept and
use the charisma gracefully and freely, not
quietly.
Harley J. Utter
Wichita, Kans.
HURRAH FOR THE YOUTH
When the fire came down at Cincinnati,
it fell on a lot of long-haired kids. They
were great!
Many thanks to the Convention Center
for allowing them to bunk down in the
basement. The week of roughing it together
built friendships that will last a lifetime.
One of the night guards said, "I've never
seen a more joyful group of people!" Bare
feet and all, they were beautiful!
As they sang in the square, passed out
newspapers and Bibles, talked about Christ,
and helped in the art exhibit they added
sunshine and life to the conference.
Hurrah for our Spirit-filled kids! Hurrah
for those who made this experience possible.
Let's do it again!
Betty White
Carlinville, III.
SACRIFICE: A FAIRY TALE?
While I experienced many moments of
joy at this year's Annual Conference, I also
felt a deep disappointment when the farm-
workers' endorsement statement was de-
feated.
It seemed as though the persons who
spoke against the statement weren't really
facing the true issue. The only issue they
seemed to be concerned with was how the
statement would affect them as farmers and
landowners. The true issue was to help
those whom we know have suflfered all their
lives. Where is the "sacrifice for those less
fortunate" that I've been taught by our
ministers and the Bible? Is this only a
fairy tale?
All this seems to be only another ex-
ample of how we tend to brush aside any
issue which calls for action on our part.
We either defeat the issue or pass it on to
a committee, relieving ourselves for one
more year of the burden of a moral issue.
I feel the Church of the Brethren has
great potential to lead in the march for
relief of the suffering. So, where are the
marchers?
Olive Bagwell
Covington, Ohio
CROSS THE LINES
Within the last two years (and I am 83)
1 have come to see how many of us "Chris-
Contimied on 19
Messenger's major coverage of An-
nual Conference appeared in August,
comprising 21 pages of an enlarged
issue. Two nuggets held over were Dale
W. Brown's moderator's address, car-
ried in full in this issue, and Tom Skin-
ner's 90-minute sermon from which ex-
cerpts are scheduled for the September
15 issue. The requests for Messen-
ger's publishing these two presentations
have been numerous.
Annual Conference matters also have
tended to spawn a considerable number
of letters to Messenger, as this issue
and coming issues reveal. Because the
Letters column is one of the most wide-
ly read features of the magazine, the
staff is committed to reserving prime
space for this forum. At the same time
we appeal to contributors to keep their
statements short and sharp.
Two new columns are breaking into
Messenger this month and will appear
occasionally hereafter. The first, aimed
at congregational workers, cites "Re-
sources" on selected themes. In this
issue the topic is materials for youth
ministries. In coming treatments the
themes will be Advent, goal setting,
peace, family. Lent, summer education,
and teacher training.
In the September 15 issue "Here I
Stand" will be introduced as a column in
which readers express convictions of a
more extended length on specific con-
cerns. J. Benton Rhoades of Agricultural
Missions is the first spokesman, taking
off on the farmworkers' lettuce boycott
issue debated at Annual Conference.
Messenger's Review column next is-
sue will sound a new note in its treat-
ment of The Anderson Tapes, a recent
film to be shown on network television
September 11. It will be the first of
several tv films commended for use in
Christian education.
Also beginning this month the staff
intends to update its reporting of pas-
toral changes, deaths, anniversaries, and
related data through regular listings,
issue by issue.
With these new directions, as with
existing columns and features, the edi-
tors seek to serve the varied interests
of readers. Reactions to the old and
the new, and suggestions of topics for
future coverage, will be most earnestly
welcomed. — The Editors
9-1-72 messenger 1
Barnard Taylor: Illustrating Brethren history
Barnard C. Taylor of Juniata College
in Pennsylvania is not only editor
of college publications but also a
professional graphic designer and
painter.
Mr. Taylor recently completed the
second in a series of illustrations on
Brethren history commissioned for
Juniata College. His latest work
depicts an 1890 scene at the Snake
Spring Church of the Brethren near
Everett, a congregation instrumental
in establishing seven other churches
in central Pennsylvania. The painting
is a companion to Taylor's 1964
rendering of Christopher Sauer,
famous Germantown printer. The
paintings are on display in Juniata's
L. A. Beeghly Library.
A few years ago Mr. Taylor
painted five pictures on the history of
the Methodist Church in America.
A student of illlustration, he was en-
couraged in this interest by his uncle,
H. Weston Taylor, well-known artist
for the Saturday Evening Post, Red
Book, Cosmopolitan, and American
Boy.
Illustration is not the only style in
which Taylor works. He is interested
in modern art and exhibits abstract
watercolors employing a calligraphic
style to relate painting to writing. He
is a close student of Jules Biesser,
Miro, and Paul Klee, as well as such
contemporary Americans as Helen
Frankenthaler.
Barnard Taylor has had one-man
exhibits at a half dozen colleges and
has participated in Pennsylvania and
New York State regional exhibitions.
He will offer one-man shows at the
■"Gallery" in Harrisburg. Pa., in
November and at the "Ridgeway
Gallery," Oak Ridge. Tenn., in April
1973.'
A graduate of Lycoming College,
Williamsport, Pa., where he majored
in art, Taylor studied for three years
at the Pennsylvania Academy of the
Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He will
complete work on a master of fine
arts degree at The Pennsylvania State
University this fall, majoring in
painting and graphic design.
Taylor joined the Juniata College
staff in 1965 as director of public
information. In 1970 he was named
college editor. He has served as a
member of the board of directors of
the Stone Church of the Brethren.
Taylor is a native of Red Bank,
N.J. His wife Leila, a native of
Monmouth Beach, N.J., graduated
from Juniata in 1971.
inRo
MayAUread Baker: Ohio
The old rolltop desk in the dining
room is where May Allread Baker
does her writing, but her inspiration
stems from the out-of-doors, particu-
larly garden, meadow, and stream.
That she is a keen observer of the
natural world is revealed in her two
works published by The Brethren
Press — Willow Brook Farm. 1946,
and The Gift of the Year, 1964.
Of English and Irish descent, the
energetic Mrs. Baker has drawn her
impressions of the changing seasons
in prose and poetry and, most recent-
ly, in painting. Her writings have ap-
peared frequently in church and farm
magazines, in the Cincinnati Enquir-
er and the Toronto Globe, and more
recently on WEFG radio, Winchester,
\'a.
One of her favorite works is the
poem. "Snowy Morning," where upon
awakening the reader finds
Each tree, each twig in shining
filigree.
Was hushed and bowed in breath-
less ecstacy.
Similarly, Mrs. Baker has rhap-
sodized about the j'oung muskrat
which plays in Painter Creek close by
her house in Arcanum. Ohio; the
song sparrow that remains faithful to
its homeland and doesn't migrate
south; even the sweet peppers to
which she alludes as her "problem
children."
With zest she has wTitten about
turtles, bobwhites, a sleek bay mule
2 MESSENGER 9-1-72
I
)oet and painter
team, strawstacks, the Darke County
Fair. And willows, especially
willows:
Down beside the grassy meadows,
Where the sleepy waters drowse,
And small, country streams mean-
der,
Willows dip their pendant houghs.
Standing ankle-deep in mosses,
Leaning, cloudlike, o'er the brink.
Willows lend their shade and
beauty,
Where the cattle come to drink.
Enchanted as she is with the world
of nature. May Allread Baker knows
that it can be a vicious and unmerci-
ful world that offers no assurance.
Hence her observation: "Only in
things of the spirit can we have love,
peace, hope, charity, and the anticipa-
tion of a- higher and better life."
But for her and doubtless many of
her readers even the things of the
spirit find enrichment in a rustic
setting. This is the statement of "The
Country Church," a poem which in
essence describes Mrs. Baker's own
Castine Church of the Brethren —
. . . Where pious folks with un-
assuming ways.
Breathe forth their earnest prayers
and hymns of praise.
Garland Miller: Maker of hand plows
Garland F. Miller, member of the
Bridgewater, Va., Church of the
Brethren, is president of the Domin-
ion Manufacturing company which
produces a unique product — hand
plows.
With today's back-to-the-earth
movements, the hand plow is experi-
encing an upsurge in popularity.
Dominion expects to manufacture
and market 20,000 garden plows this
year. In 1965, the first year of op-
eration, the firm built and sold 3,000,
and each year since then the produc-
tion has steadily increased.
In 1964, Dominion Silo, with Mr.
Miller, president, bought the grounds,
equipment, and buildings of the
former Bridgewater Plow Company,
established in 1908. Mr. Miller
wanted to provide year-round em-
ployment for his twenty-five em-
ployees who manufacture concrete
staves and erect silos from May
through October. His firm is one of
three hand plow factories in the
country.
A native of Rockingham County,
Mr. Miller, who also raises beef
cattle, had previously raised turkeys
for forty years, but gave that up after
five years in the plow business. He
handles most of the business from the
oflRce with the secretarial help of
Mrs. Miller.
The white oak used for handles
comes from West Virginia and Ten-
nessee. After the lumber is cut and
shaped, it is then bent in a steam-run
handle-bending machine. "The
handle bending, I reckon," said Mr.
Miller, "is the most unique part of
the operation. There are probably
not more than a couple of steam-run
handle-bending machines in the
country." The handles, after being
bent, are sanded and dip-painted.
Cast iron and steel for the hubs
come from Pennsylvania. The spokes
are fitted into the hub and the rim
attached.
Mr. Miller owns one of his
company's products, but he said that
he isn't a very good advertisement
for it, because he doesn't have time
to do much gardening. He is a trus-
tee of his alma mater, Bridgewater
College, vice-president of a savings
and loan association, on the boards
of Rockingham Memorial Hospital,
an electric cooperative, and a fire
insurance company, and for seven
years was president of the Rock-
ingham Co-operative Farm Bureau.
The retail price for the plow
without attachments is approximately
$12, and with a five-prong cultivator,
mold board, double-pointed shovel,
and four-inch and two-inch shovels, it
sells for $18. Even at that it appeals
to the gardener who wants to keep
the initial investment low, who pre-
fers pushing a hand plow to jogging,
or whose spouse is doing the work,
which makes a rototiller an unneces-
sary extravagance! — Patricia M.
Churchman
91-72 MESSENGER 3
Lafiya's public health
program calls doctor
One expects to find a doctor bedside and
not in a hospital bed, but Dr. John S.
Horning was definitely hospitalized.
That is not what he had expected come
mid-July. Had their visas arrived and
plans gone as laid, he and his wife.
Estelle, and three of their five children
would have been en route to Nigeria.
The delay was expected to be only
temporary. His stay in an Illinois hos-
pital was for a two-day treatment of a
back ailment.
His assignment overseas: work with
the government of the North-Eastern
State of Nigeria and the Lardin Gabas
(which means "Eastern District")
Church of Christ in the Sudan in setting
up a new phase of a public health pro-
gram.
Lafiya, synonymous with the one-
million dollar, five-year Nigeria Medical
Program of the Church of the Brethren,
makes possible this new ministn,' there.
Public health is actually a major re-
direction of the medical program in Ni-
geria. The rationale for the new emphasis
came from a number of sources. Among
them. Dr. Wolf F. Bulle, medical mission
secretary of the Lutheran Church, Mis-
souri Synod.
In a rejwrt to the World Ministries
Commission in November 1970, the
month that the Lafiya (pronounced
la-fee-ya) program was launched, he
confirmed what some of the Brethren
medical staff had been saying. He
stressed the need to turn attention to pre-
ventative, rather than curative, health
care.
Dr. Bulle called for "attacking the
causes rather than confining [program]
to the treatment of the results of the
diseases."
He listed the need for improved nutri-
tion, better sanitation, and general health
care to improve the health and life ex-
pectancy of a total area.
In Dr. John Horning, the program
finds a person uniquely equipped. His
major work experience comes from
Ecuador, a country to which the Hom-
ings had fully expected to return this fall.
He first went there in 1957 just out of
two years" residency in general surgery at
Milwaukee County Hospital in Wisconsin
and a year of language study.
His first term was spent in rural medi-
cine while earning his Ecuadorian license
to practice.
His next task was to train auxiliary
nurses and paramedical persons (techni-
cian types who supplement the work of
medical doctors and registered nurses) to
serve in setting up rural health programs.
During his stay in Ecuador he received
the Meritorious .-Xward from the United
States Agency for International Develop-
ment for his two years work as a popula-
tion officer. As a USAID employee he
worked with the Ecuadorian Ministry of
Health and various institutions and pri-
vate organizations in the development of
family planning programs.
His coming to Nigeria will increase the
number of Lafiya medical doctors to four
in the Lardin Gabas area in the North-
Eastern State, the area to which the
Brethren first sent workers in 1923.
Dr. Roy Pfaltzgraff Sr. is at the
.'^damawa Leprosarium, Dr. Wilfred
Athenagoras I: "The brotherly aristocrat"
"A man of daring simplicity who found it
natural to be audacious" is one of the
tributes paid to Athenagoras I, the
spiritual leader of world Orthodoxy who
died in Istanbul in July.
Recognized as "first among equals" in
the heirarchy of the Eastern Church, the
86-year-old patriarch is credited with do-
ing more than any other Orthodox leader
in history to improve relations of his
church with Catholics and Protestants.
At the Mount of Olives in 1964, the
tall, white-bearded Athenagoras reached
out and embraced Pope Paul VI as the
two prelates met for the first time. The
gesture symbolized an end to the schism
that had endured between the two
churches for nearly a millennium.
"What divide us are interpretations of
doctrine," the patriarch explained at the
time. "I leave that kind of division to the
theologians. For us. the task is to love.
Love does not divide: love heals wounds."
Brotherly exchanges between the patri-
arch and other church leaders continued.
But in spite of the respect and status he
commanded, Athenagoras chose to live
in simplicity.
"Yet wherever he was," one observer
said, "it was obvious he belonged to the
natural aristocracy of the spirit."
Dale Ott, Brethren Service director
in Europe, wrote: "Though the church is
divided, Athenagoras steadfastly refused
to accept these divisions as final and
challenged all Christians and Christian
bodies to reaffirm their oneness in Christ
even while confessing the sin of their
divisions."
Successor to Athenago.as is Demetrios
I, archbishop of Imbros and Tenedos.
4 MESSENGER 9-1-72
Derksen serves at Garkida General, and
Dr. A. Schlosser is at Ngoshi of the Basel
Mission. Negotiations are in process for
securing a fifth doctor at Lassa, the other
hospital that was started by the Church
of the Brethren.
The only other hospital in the area,
located at Mubi, is government operated.
It usually has one or two certified medi-
cal doctors. The government also oper-
ates several dispensaries (satellite health
stations staffed by technicians equipped
to treat the most common ailments) in
the area.
The population and area served by
these doctors and hospitals in Lardin
Gabas approximate the population of the
city of Baltimore spread over the state
of Maryland: one million people in a
10,000 square mile area.
The $1 million Lafiya program antici-
pates $230,000 budgeted by the World
Ministries Commission from Brotherhood
Fund receipts, an additional $300,000 by
December 1973 from special gifts over
and above regular giving from Brethren
donors, and $470,000 from governmental
and other church and private agencies.
Toward these financial goals:
— More than $168,000 is reported in
cash contributions and commitments to-
ward the special gifts total.
— A $40,000 grant from Church
World Service Nigeria rehabilitation
funds has been designated for the church
agencies" portion.
— Contacts have been made in several
West German church agencies that have
expressed interest in the medical needs in
Nigeria.
Interpretive meetings on Lafiya are set
at Roanoke and Harrisburg, Va., and
Palmyra, Lebanon, York and Coventry,
Pa., this fall and winter.
Directing the scheduling are Donald
L. Stern and Stewart Kauffman of the
Stewardship Enlistment Team, charged
with securing special gifts.
They indicate that most of the larger
contributions have come as a result of
eight group meetings held since last Sep-
tember in Indiana, California, Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland, and Virginia. Some
170 couples attended these meetings.
In other developments:
— A Board of Health and Welfare
Service was established during the sum-
mer. The board consists primarily of
Nigerians and includes a representative
from the State Ministry of Health and
Social Welfare and from the Ahmadu
Bella University Medical School.
The new committee will give direction
to the total medical program including
public health, the four hospitals, and the
seven dispensaries. It will choose, also,
those eligible for scholarships.
— Whiting Associates of Rome, Italy,
have made their survey and initial report
on facilities development, indicating that
site plans will be available soon.
Kenneth E. McDowell, World Minis-
tries development consultant and liaison
for the Lafiya program, further reports
that the consulting firm has been given
an additional assignment; drawing up a
prototype of a cluster of facilities that
would become a health center.
The center would be a step between
a dispensary and a hospital. Still in the
dreaming stage, the facility probably will
include maternity, temporary hospitaliza-
tion, public health, prenatal and chUd
welfare units, and a basic dispensary.
Lafiya is a Hausa word meaning health
and well-being. In the North-Eastem
State of Nigeria it is a daily expression
of concern used in the ritual of greeting.
It is becoming a familiar word stateside
as it symbolizes growing support for the
Church of the Brethren Nigeria Medical
Program.
McPherson's tenth president
known as 'student's friend'
The new president of McPherson College
is seen by others as having a deserved
reputation as a "friend of the student."
He has found his own interest lies pri-
marily with youth and their needs, a
concern that was a major determinant in
setting his vocational direction.
Dr. Galen Robert Snell, at 38 years
of age, became the tenth president of the
Kansas college on Sept. 1.
His selection to succeed Dr. J. Jack
Melhorn was made from some 30 highly
qualified candidates. The chairman of
the presidential selection committee
noted that "an interest in and dedication
to Christian higher education was at the
top of both our priority list and Dr.
Snell's."
Born in La Verne, Calif., Dr. Snell
is the fourth of a family of five boys.
The family of Ernest and Iva Vaniman
Snell had its roots in the Virden-Girard,
111., area. It was the related Snell-
Vaniman-Brubaker stock that helped
create the Pleasant Hill Church of the
Brethren, now no longer in existence,
but which was the mother church to at
least three present congregations in the
Two presidents: Galen R. Snell, I; Wayne
F. Geisert, Bridgewater College, who is
moderator elect. Church of the Brethren
Springfield area of Illinois.
Dr. Snell considers the religious roots
of his family a tremendous influence on
his life. His four brothers and their
families are active members in Brethren
congregations in the Pacific Southwest
Conference area.
Following graduation from La Verne
College in 1955, Dr. Snell attended
Bethany Seminary, spending one summer
at Lybrook Navajo Mission in New
Mexico and a second summer at the
Snake Spring Valley Church of the
Brethren in Middle Pennsylvania
District.
That first summer influenced him to
accept the directorship on graduation of
the Lybrook Mission, where he spent
four years.
It was the sight one night of three
nearly naked children in 20 degree
weather at Lybrook, while their parents
were drunk in the hogan, when Dr. Snell
decided to direct his energies at working
at the alcohol problem among Indians.
An Alcoholics Anonymous group was
started and continues today under Nava-
jo leadership.
9-1-72 MESSENGER 5
In 1962 Dr. Snell entered graduate
work at the University of Arizona at
Tucson, but soon began to question the
educational experience required for his
professional goal of clinical psychology.
He discontinued his work and took the
pastorate for two years at Glendale,
Ariz., Church of the Brethren, where he
rediscovered his interest in working with
young people.
He returned to the university and ob-
tained his master's degree in psychology
and his doctorate, in 1967, in student
personnel and counseling. He is a cer-
tified psychologist in Arizona.
No stranger to McPherson, he served
at the college from 1967-70 as assistant
and then dean of students, dean of men,
and assistant professor of psychology.
For the past two years he has been
at Scottsdale Community College in
Arizona, most recently as the school's
first dean of education services (in-
struction).
"My commitment to the Church of the
Brethren and now specifically to Mc-
Pherson College calls me back to
Kansas," he said recently. "McPherson
College has a wonderful history.
"Private colleges across the nation are
having problems for many and various
reasons. I believe in private, church-
related education. I wish to see this
continue as a viable force in the Church
of the Brethren in the Midwest. The
college and church must remain related
in the future, as in the past."
Dr. Snell and his wife, Ruth M. Mc-
Clure, have three children, Linda, 15,
David, 13 and Ataloa, 11. Mrs. Snell
is an accomplished organist and teacher,
with degrees from La Verne College and
the University of Arizona. For the past
two years she has been teaching at
Arizona State University.
Dr. J. Jack Melhorn, 51, McPherson
president for seven years, has taken a
position at Kansas State Teachers College
in Emporia, as professor of sociology and
assistant dean of School of Liberal Arts
and Sciences.
Prior to his service at McPherson, Dr.
Melhorn spent 18 years at La Verne
College as chairman of the sociology de-
partment, director of admissions, chair-
man of the financial aids committee, and,
for several years, acting chairman of the
social science division.
Brethren pastor spending year
in West Virginia flood area
"For the ne.xt couple of years the people
in this valley will be leading almost
'temporary lives,' " said Glen H. Sage,
who in coming months will be helping to
minister to the survivors of the Buffalo
Creek flooding in West Virgmia that took
120 lives Feb. 26.
Mr. Sage resigned his pastorate at the
Crab Orchard, W. Va., Church of the
Brethren and since June 1 has been part
of a team ministry to help meet the
emotional and spiritual needs of the coal
mining community.
When an 1 S-acre lake spilled into the
valley of 15 communities, that same eve-
ning Glen Sage was m the affected area
to help in a ministry to the survivors. He
worked 20 hours with little rest. [Mes-
senger, May 1, 1972.]
He has lived 24 of his 28 years in the
West Virginia coal fields and has had
extensive training in work related to the
mining industry. His performance has
won the respect of his colleagues and
rapport with those he is serving.
From an office in Amherstdale made
available by the United Methodists, Mr.
Sage is working with two ministers of
the Methodist and Presbyterian churches.
His support comes from the Church of
the Brethren Emergencx Disaster Fund
through Church World Service.
"The trauma continues to be so real in
the lives of the people of this valley.
"For example, an eight-year-old boy is
fearful of getting out of sight of his
mother when it rains. He refers to the
area as 'the hole.' "
Mr. Sage sees the work of his team
not only with the region but to local
ministers as well.
Glen Sage: "The trauma
continues for the people
of the valley"
Most of the resident clergv' "are sat-
urated with feelings," he said, and also
work in the coal mines which has al-
lowed them little time to minister to their
people.
An eleven-member Buffalo Creek pas-
toral care advisory board, six of whom
suffered damage in the flood, will assist
the team in working in the valley. Six
members on the board have secular
occupations, including a physician who
lost 93 patients in the flooding.
Other Brethren involvement in the
Buffalo Creek area has included a four-
day pastoral counseling ministrv' by
Virlina District executive director Owen
G. Stultz and Ralph Spradling, witness
commission chairman. Ray Tritt, a
builder from .Aurora. III., spent a month
in the area for Church World Ser\ ice
helping in the rebuilding program of the
denominations channeling their disaster
response through CWS. The rebuilding
program will focus on obtaining housing
for the 4.000 persons who were left
homeless.
Prayers for peace urged
in September emphasis
Prayers for peace during the week of
September 10-16 are being urged by
Mennonite Broadcasts, an agency with
which the Church of the Brethren has
worked closely in the past two years. All
interested churches and individuals are
invited to join in the emphasis.
Special use is urged particularly of the
Peacemaking Spots on television stations
during the week, the series produced
cooperatively by the Mennonites. the
Church of the Brethren, and the United
Methodist Church.
The proposal for the emphasis came
from a listener to The Mennonite Hour
who wrote that he hears many persons
talking about the problems of peace but
saying little about the use of the greatest
resource available, namely prayer. He
urged that listeners be called to a day of
pra\er for peace.
In follow-up, Kenneth J. Weaver, ex-
ecutive director of Mennonite Broadcasts,
indicated, "Our emphasis is to call people
to prayer for the leaders of the world's
nations, the leadership on both sides of
the conflicts in Southeast Asia, Ireland,
and the Middle East."
6 MESSENGER 9-1-72
New Tri-District executive
will take 'listening' stance
Martin A. Gauby sees his twelve years of
pastoral experience as helping him to
identify with the concerns of both pastors
and laity in his new position of executive
secretary of the tri-district field program
of Iowa-Minnesota, Missouri, and South-
ern Missouri-Arkansas.
"I expect one of the biggest challenges
to be that of listening and caring for
individuals. There are many pressures on
church people, and many honest differ-
ences which can divide and alienate or
which can unite people in determined
Christian discipleship.
"People in the church are often hurt-
ing with too few constructive outlets of
expression of those needs," he feels.
In the past year Mr. Gauby was pastor
of the Beacon Heights Church of the
Brethren at Fort Wayne, Ind. His pastor-
ate from 1965-71 was with the Commu-
nity Church of the Brethren at Klamath
Falls, Ore., the latter two years in a
yoked parish with the United Church of
Christ.
Thus he brings to his current position,
he says, an interest in "exploring new
areas of cooperative church life and
work." The district office is located at
Dallas Center, Iowa.
While pastor of the Weston congrega-
tion in Oregon, 1960-65, he spent two
years as interim executive for the
Oregon district. Age 38, the new execu-
tive grew up in Fal-
furrias, Tex., and
graduated from Mc-
Pherson College and
Bethany Seminary.
He has been active
in scouting and min-
isterial associations,
toastmaster's club,
and was president of the Weston, Ore.,
Chamber of Commerce.
Mrs. Gauby is Edith Buckingham of
Fairfield, Iowa; the couple has two sons
and a daughter.
Martin Gauby succeeds Lyle C.
Albright, who for the past ten years was
executive of the 40-church, 4,876-
member district. Mr. Albright has as-
sumed the pastorate of First Church of
the Brethren, Wichita, Kans.
[U][n]dls[fDDDi](
PEOPLE YOU KNOW ... At ElizabetJitown College Dr. Carl W.
Zeigler Sr. received a citation from the John Frederick
Steinman Foundation for teaching excellence. The pro-
fessor of religion and philosophy has been with the
college since 1959.
Pastor Harold S. Moyer , Williamson Road Church of the
Brethren, Roanoke, Va. , has been elected president of the
Roanoke Valley Ministers' Conference. He had served as
vice-president and program chairman in the past.
Marion Bricker , who has been in Nigeria for six
years, has returned to the St:ates. He first served as a
music teacher at Hillcrest School and on termination was
business agent for the mission at Jos.
Two pastors recently celebrated many years in the
ministry: Ches ter H. Royer , York, Pa. , observed his 50th,
and Frank S. Carper noted his 60th year at Palmyra, Pa.
A pastor for thirty years , Raymond Risden , died fol-
lowing Annual Conference of a heart attack. He had been
pastor of Maitland church. Middle Pennsylvania, since 1969.
... Onetime missionary Byron M. Flory , Bridgewater, Va. ,
died May 3, 1972. He was 83. He had been honored only a
month before by Bridgewater College, founded by his fatJier.
. . . More than fifty years in the pastoral ministry ended
with the death March 7, 1972, of Clarence G. Hesse, Peters-
burg, W. Va. He was 84. ... Active in the ministry for 63
years, John R. Hershman , Elizabethtown, Pa., died March 23,
1972. He was pastor of lihe Swatara Hill congregation for
twenty-five years. ... Historian Freeman Ankrum, Boones
Mill, Va. , died May 18. He was authoi; of several Brethren
books.
YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW . . . Thfe 1972 production of the
musical, "Oh, Shenandoah, the River and the Valley," is
scheduled Sept. 16-17 in Page County, Virginia. Included
in the production is The Ballad of John Kline , recotinting
the life of the itinerant Brethren minister martyred in the
Civil War.
"Aiaerica the Beautiful," a 12-minute, sound, color
filmstrip on ecology, has been designed particularly for
use with elementary grade children in church and school.
The photography and script are by Henry and Minnie Mae
Hackman; the audio by Clyde Hollinger; and the narration
by Clifford S. Huffman. The complete packet may be ob-
tained for $14 from the Lancaster County Conservation Dis-
trict, 1383 Arcadia Rd. , Lancaster, Pa. 17601.
The Brethren in the Carol inas , by Roger Sappington,
traces the history of the Church of the Brethren in the
District of North and South Carolina from its eighteenth
century beginnings. The book may be ordered for $7.50
plus 25<? postage and handling, from Ronald K. Wine,
Box 5268, Kingsport, Tenn. 37663.
World Friendship Center is looking for staff replace-
ments at its Hiroshima, Japan, headquarters. Inter cul-
tural activities, a youtJi club, and peace discussions are
among pursuits. Contact WFC, 1544 Midori Machi , Hiroshima
734, Japan, or the WFC American Committee, 2425 E St.,
La Verne, Calif. 91750.
9-1-72 MESSENGER 7
J Syed Ally: The plunder of the Bengalis
Since I was born and raised in Bangla-
desh, I recently made a six-week fact-
finding trip to my homeland and the
world's newest country. I went mainly to
locate relatives and friends who were
fortunate enough to escape the Pakistani
butchery and to observe general condi-
tions. What I heard and saw was much
worse than what I had expected.
First, though, let me trace briefly the
background of Bangladesh. Situated on
the northeastern corner of India, it was
once a part of the British empire. In
1947, the British colony was divided into
India and Pakistan, the partition made
strictly on a religious basis. The Moslem
majority areas went to Pakistan while the
Hindu majority portions were given to
India. The two Pakistans, East and West,
were separated by 1.000 miles of Indian
territory.
From 1947 to 1971, West Pakistan
colonized East Pakistan and diverted
almost all the resources to improve its
own sector. Industry, banking, business,
civil service, and military were domi-
nated by West Pakistanis. East Pakis-
tanis were less than second-class citizens
in their own country since West Pak-
istanis considered themselves superior to
the Bengalis who lived there. All this
was made possible by military dictators
from West Pakistan who ruled the coun-
try since 1958.
Finally, there was a general election
in the country in 1970. A political party
in East Pakistan by the name of Awami
League, under the leadership of Sheikh
Mujibar Rahman, ran on a platform of
provincial autonomy (not secession) and
won 98 percent of the seats. Awami
League Party wanted East Pakistan's
share of resources and a stop to the flow
of wealth to West Pakistan. West Pakis-
tanis, who had no intention of sharing
either power or wealth with Bengalis, did
not respect the results of the election.
Instead, the military started a genocide or
mass murder of Bengalis. This genocide
lasted for a period of nine months
(March 25 — December 16, 1971) after
which Bangladesh was liberated by the
local people with an assist from India.
The plunder of East Pakistan followed
a "master plan," which in part went like
this:
— Exterminate all Bengali educated
people.
— Murder and/or drive away all
Hindus who formed about 10 percent of
the population.
— Start a Hindu-Muslim communal
riot in India, thus causing a flow of non-
Bengali Muslims into East Pakistan and
create a non-Bengali Muslim majority
there.
— Install a non-Bengali family in
every village in Bangladesh and give it
weapons to rule the Bengalis for all time
to come.
— See to it that every Bengali family
have an illegitimate child fathered by a
non-Bengali.
— Teach the Bengalis Urdu, the lan-
guage of West Pakistanis.
— Destroy Bengali culture completely.
Pakistan partially succeeded in several
areas during the army occupation. But
the 75 million Bengalis rose against this
"master plan" and expelled the brutal
forces from East Pakistan. .An inde-
pendent Bangladesh emerged.
During the process the Bengalis paid
an extremeh heavy price for their in-
dependence. There was not a single
Bengali family that did not suft'er on
account of this Pakistani holocaust. Ten
million people fled to India for fear of
their lives. Twenty million more had to
flee from place to place inside the
country to escape murder or torture by
West Pakistani soldiers or the nearly
three million non-Bengalis who had
joined hands with the military in this
genocide. Five million Bengalis were
massacred. Two million homes were
8 MESSENGER 9-1-72
International response: At left and cover,
a child receives treatment from a Nor-
wegian doctor for signs of anemia. Be-
low: As a boy plows with bullocks
children nearby follow one of 300 power
tillers supplied by Christians in Japan
9-1-72 MESSENGER 9
I
burned to the ground. Hundreds of
thousands of schools, factories, and
office and other types of buildings were
heavily damaged. West Pakistani soldiers
raped nearly 400 thousand Bengali wom-
en, causing 250 thousand pregnancies.
Torture tactics used by Pakistanis beat
all imagination. Grooves were cut on
human bodies and salt and powdered hot
pepper rubbed in them. Gunny sacks
full of eyes were discovered near mass
graves. Skulls of Bengalis were cracked
open and Bangladesh flags inserted in
them to serve as a dreadful example to
other Bengalis. After the first few
weeks, the army did not bother to
"waste" bullets to kill Bengalis. The
soldiers as well as the West Pakistani
civilians either beat the Bengalis to death
or slaughtered them with knives, daggers,
and machetes. Sometimes three to five
people were tied together with ropes and
thrown in rivers to be drowned to death.
Since the Pakistani military did not
have a just cause in Bangladesh, the
army was demoralized. It had to accept
defeat in the face of Bengali cry for
independence. In their time of retreat,
the Pakistanis made certain that every
sphere of life in Bangladesh was virtualh
destroyed. They broke or damaged the
bridges that form the backbone of com-
munication in Bangladesh where rivers
crisscross the country. As a result com-
munication is crippled. The factories and
machinery were damaged in order to
destroy the economic base.
At the outset Pakistanis had mas-
sacred the Bengali policemen. Can you
imagine a country of 75 million people
starting out with a new police force? The
civil servants were also killed. So
Bangladesh had to get new recruits or
shift responsibilities. Much of the mov-
able property was shipped to West
Pakistan. This included private auto-
mobiles and motorized rickshas taken
by force from Bengalis. The treasury in
Bangladesh was nearly empty since the
money was transferred to West Pakistan.
The Pakistan International Airlines had
less than $20 in its Bangladesh account.
The ten million Bengalis who had fled
to India now have come back. But they
are refugees in their own country. The
farmers' homes have been burned; their
primitive plows were destroyed by
Pakistani soldiers and the livestock to
pull the plows have been eaten or killed.
The famers did not have seed to start
the planting season. During the military
occupation by Pakistan, the Bengalis had
lost two crop seasons and the third is
gone without much farming. Although
the country is full of rivers and fish is
abundant, there is a shortage of fish in
the market since the fishermen have been
killed, their homes burned, and their nets
destroyed.
A large scale famine costing an esti-
mated three million human lives looms
on the horizon. The world community is
ofl^ering a helping hand through the
United Nations. India is the largest con-
tributor of aid to Bangladesh. Next to
that is the United States which has do-
nated or pledged slightly less than $200
million to date. But the needs are stag-
gering. The reconstruction cost alone is
estimated to be $2.5 billion. Non-
governmental agencies including the
church are coordinating relief efforts for
devastated Bangladesh. Church of the
Brethren-donated funds were channeled
to Bangladesh Ecumenical Relief and
Rehabilitation Service through Church
World Service.
One positive factor in the country's
favor is the unity and determination of
the people to rebuild Bangladesh. In
spite of the immediate gloom, Bangla-
desh is a viable entity. In the six months
since independence, the rate of recon-
struction has been promising in spite of
such handicaps as lack of funds, virtual
nonexistence of building materials, and
the collapse of transportation. If the
world community ofi^ers a generous help-
ing hand and Mother Nature is kind to
Bangladesh to keep droughts, floods, and
cyclones away, I am certain this eighth
largest country on earth (in terms of
population, not area) will take its right-
ful place in the community of nations. []
Howell: The bottle to sustoin life
A somber cloud of uncertainty has
descended over Dacca and the major
towns of Bangladesh. The elation that
came with liberation and the joy in the
near miraculous return of the revered
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have quickly
given way to a grim wrestling with the
nearly intractable problems of the world's
newest nation.
On the surface a rather remarkable
sense of normalcy seems to prevail.
Millions of refugees from various parts
of India have returned much more
quickly than most Western observers
thought possible.
Dacca streets are crowded and bus-
tling. Farmers in rural villages are pre-
paring fields for the next cycles of rice
and jute and sugar, as well as harvesting
a surprisingly large rice yield in certain
sections of the country. Dr. Lincoln
Chen, an American who worked at the
Cholera Research Laboratory in Dacca
until the killing began last March, re-
turned in early February and wrote in his
diary; "The contrast between the fear,
terror, and controlled anger of nine
months ago . . . and the current en-
thusiasm, freedom, vitality, and con-
fidence are striking. The biggest differ-
ence is that people are without fear."
Schools have reopened in most places,
though great damage was done to build-
ings, equipment, and books. Government
ministries have almost full staffs, and a
mass of statements and position papers
emanate from their offices.
Bangabandu (the name given Prime
Minister Mujibur Rahman, rather weak-
ly translated as "friend of Bangladesh")
has gone from the isolation of prison to
the flurry of the world diplomatic scene.
Every day another country recognizes
Bangladesh as the momentum increases.
But these are surface normalities; un-
derneath are myriad swirling problems
that will not soon go away. The battle to
sustain life with a nearly totally disrupted
transportation system is only the most
obvious. The Pakistani army, and the
short war, destroyed much railway stock
and track, regular railway bridges, vital
ferries, trucks, and boats. It is simply not
going to be possible to get food grains
through this shambles to some of the
areas where people do not have food.
10 MESSENGER 9-1-72
Wage earners are seen listlessly sitting
on the street, hoping for mills and fac-
tories to reopen. At midnight recently, a
Bengali television cameraman and I
visited long lines of people waiting at the
employment exchange for employment
cards — which are not going to mean
jobs. They were playing cards, singing,
or sleeping, using bricks as pillows, in 48
degree weather. The cameraman, who
had just returned to his native country,
was visibly shaken. "If these people are
not helped to find work soon, they will
stop singing songs. They will be the most
desperate and dangerous people in the
country and even Sheikh Mujib will not
be safe from them."
Within the new government the best
jobs have gone to those people who fled
to Calcutta and overseas. Those who
remained behind but may have risked
their lives by secretly working for libera-
tion are increasingly resentful. A com-
mon conversation of destructive in-
tensity hinges around who collaborated
and who only appeared to while working
against the Pakistani army.
Through it all. Sheikh Mujib remains
very much in control. An Asian journal-
ist recently wrote of him: "Everyone in
this country revolves round Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman. He is the State . . .
with his colleagues head and shoulders
below him in popular estimation, he is
the rallying point — the foundation of all
inspiration, the universal mentor, the
father of the nation." His great prestige
can conciliate contentious factions for
some time to come. The great orator and
communist leader, Moulana Bhashani,
now 90 and ailing, states that he will give
Mujib four years to rebuild the nation.
It is easy to be overwhelmed by the
problems. But an outsider has to ask,
are things going more slowly than ex-
pected, are problems greater than an-
ticipated? A Bengali now in a major gov-
ernment post for the first time, who
asked not to be identified, responds:
"Look, I was in London in 1946. Those
were difficult times. Many were unhappy
with the government, there were long
food lines, many were without work. But
they made it. I think it is premature to
say now that we will not. Maybe you
foreign correspondents ought to go home
for a year and then come back to see
what we have done." \J
JUU From Churches: A global response
In less than a month after the fighting
between East and West Pakistan sub-
sided, global church agencies established
the Bangladesh Ecumenical Relief and
Rehabilitation Service (BERRS). Even
before Sheik Mujib had returned to his
homeland, a fact-finding team from the
churches was in Dacca.
The program BERRS is mounting and
will invest %]?> million from churches
around the world in Bangladesh relief by
June 1973. Instrumental in forming the
agency were Protestant groups, among
them the World Council of Churches,
Church World Service, and Lutheran
World Relief, in consultation with the
Bangladesh government, the United Na-
tions, and Catholic and other aid
organizations.
The first direct flight of supplies was
sent to Dacca in January by Church
World Service and Catholic Relief Serv-
ices. Included were medicines from the
New Windsor, Md., Church World Serv-
ice Center. Continuing air lifts have
kept up deliveries of supplemental food.
^M^.
blankets and cloth for clothing, and
medical assistance, in order of priority.
In addition, BERRS provided the gov-
ernment of Bangladesh $1 million to buy
coastal and upriver freighters to trans-
port goods and supplies during the
monsoon.
Further impetus to developmental
activity has been given in 17 projects un-
der the Bangladesh Christian Council.
The projects will provide work for 3,500
laborers and enable basic repairs to be
carried out on roads, bridges, and irriga-
tion canals. Help is also being given to
repair schools, open tube wells, provide
seeds and bullocks, encourage coopera-
tives in the fishing industry, and set up
home looms — all basic enterprises for
the majority of the people who are very
poor.
Director of the BERRS program head-
quartered in Dacca is Harris R. Amit, a
Ceylonese with 17 years experience in
development.
As of May $2 million had been con-
tributed by US churches through Church
World Service, the money having gone
for aid to the besiged Biharis, to Catholic,
YWCA, and other rehabilitation projects
offering job training, and to maternity
care and adoption services for the dis-
honored women of Bangladesh.
Included in the gifts of churches was a
$45,000 sum from the Church of the
Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund,
channeled through Church World Serv-
ice. Contributions to date designated by
donors for Bangladesh aid have totaled
$36,300, according to General Board
treasurer Robert Greiner.
Impressive as the combined $13
million investment of the churches may
seem, the amount is but a fraction of the
billions required for the new nation to
stand on its own.
Observers on the scene maintain that
the damage of civil strife was so great
and the number of homeless is so vast
that the rebuilding of Bangladesh has
really just begun. □
In Dinajpur a workman uses mud to build
houses (top). In Dacca a partially deaf
woman learns to type in a World Council
of Churches/ Concerned Ireland project
9-1-72 MESSENGER 11
WT"^ wm)(S\®\rm'k(mr''9, adldlir©^
The Spirit
After I spoke out on controversial issues
at the close of the 1971 Conference, I
received some Matthew 18 type of letters
questioning whether I was qualified to be
moderator at all. My defensive reply
was that there are different charges laid
on the head of the moderator. The first
of the many opportunities is to preach
the gospel, and in my book, one cannot
preach the gospel and remain neutral on
vital issues. The second charge comes
when one picks up the gavel. Then one
has the obligation to be as fair and
impartial an umpire as the grace of God
makes possible. There is a third func-
tion, however, which I have discovered
to be very important. This is the obli-
gation to listen. The moderator receives
many letters and in his travels hears
many concerns.
From all of this listening, I have
discerned seven spirits blowing in the
Brethren winds. There may be more,
but seven is a good biblical number, even
if too large for a respectable sermon.
From a love letter of the New Testament,
we do have this command: "Beloved, do
not believe every spirit, but test the
spirits to see whether they are of
God . . . " ( 1 John 4:1). May we test
the spirits, keeping in mind that in a
Brethren context my word is not the
final one, but through my word, your
word, and others, we might discern
together whether a spirit truly confesses
Jesus Christ.
Another guideline is given by Paul in
1 Corinthians 2:12: "Now we have re-
ceived not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit which is from God, that we might
understand the gifts bestowed on us by
God."
In fear and humility, let us test the
spirits to see whether they are of the
world or from God.
"^
The first spirit, increasingly a stronger
wind, is the spirit of conservatism. Do
not deiyje it too quickly; rather, listen
by Dale W Brown
12 MESSENGER 9-1-72
#
& the spirits of the Brethren
to what I am feeling.
Some of the folk who embody this
spirit have really gotten through to me
this past year. Attending the Rhoades
Camp Meeting last fall, which I confess
I had never heard of before, I was made
aware of how many plain people there
still are in our brotherhood. I was
flattered that they recognized me from
former beardless photos and greeted me
with the holy kiss. Brethren con.serva-
tives are in some ways like and in many
ways unlike American evangelicals.
They have elicited a warm response from
me as they have shared the sentiments
expressed by the plain brother. In
many ways there has been manifested a
sincere loyalty in spite of a lack of shar-
ing in the leadership structures of our
fraternity. Now, they sincerely appreci-
ate the fact that their voice is being
taken more seriously in a way not al-
ways true in recent decades.
At the same time, I believe that the
conservatives, though not as guilty as the
rest of us, have been invaded by the
spirit of the world. I have often been
hurt, for example, to find some con-
servatives in our brotherhood who trust
the words of a radio preacher who
preaches hate toward communists, be-
lieves in baptizing infants, and does not
observe the love feast, more than of a
brother who serves on the staff at Elgin.
Rightly reacting against some aspects of
the social gospel, conservatives have
often overreacted to the extent that their
substitution of personal pronouns in the
gospel story sometimes makes it seem
that their version of the gospel goes back
to 18th and 19th-century individualism
more than to the first-century message.
The Spirit with a capital "S" truly
speaks through the conservatives in
calling us back to the biblical and Breth-
ren roots of our faith. But when a the-
ology about the Bible is equated too
easily with having the theology of the
Bible, that makes it easy for the spirit
of the world to get in.
That's why we need one another in the
body of Christ. We need to confess with
Paul: "We know in part." "Our knowl-
edge is imperfect."
spirit of God Descend, banner by
V^irtril Hvlron. RraHdork Hpifrhts. \fd.
We need to be conserative enough
about our heritage to turn to what some
would call a liberal note of our fore-
fathers, who emphasized that we must
ever be open to new light as it breaks
forth from the Word.
Another spirit, with a small "s" —
which many claim blew in when the
bonnet and broadbrimmed hat blew off
as the first Dunker couple jumped into
the Model T Ford — is the spirit of
Americanism. In the twentieth century,
this spirit has penetrated all of our lives,
conservatives and liberals. America has
been good to the Brethren, providing a
refuge of religious freedom and virgin
land, some of the best being occupied by
our forefathers after someone else had
killed the Indians. Like others, we came
to do good and did well. Because this
land has been so good to us in a material
way, it is very difficult for many of us
to accept the fact that America has not
been and is not good to many of the poor
of our own land and the oppressed of
the world.
Wanting to believe the best about
America, many of us have departed from
our heritage in adopting a civil religion,
one which identifies Americanism with
Christianity. Popular preachers of
American civil religion, many claiming
to be Bible believing, so identify Christ
with America that they preach against
our personal sins but fail to preach
against the sins we commit together in
mass murder through bombing, exploita-
tion of peoples in the Third World,
support of some of the most corrupt
dictatorships in history, and operation of
a system in which the rich get richer and
the poor, poorer. They often change our
Lord's prayer to "My Father who art
in heaven, forgive me my personal sins."
The testing of this spirit constitutes one
of the basic struggles in our churches.
In one congregation I met a family who
had withdrawn their membership but still
maintained some relationships. In
response to my inquiries, they told me
that the Vietnam War had confronted
them squarely with the question of
9-1-72 MESSENGER 13
THE SPIRIT AND THE SPIRITS / continued
whether they knew a higher allegiance to
their government than to their church.
They concluded they did. I wish it would
have been the other way, but their spirit
represented a great amount of integrity.
The spirit of the world, even Robert's
Rules of Order, teaches that our highest
loyalty should be the state. Everything
the Spirit taught me in Sunday school
about Daniel and the acts of the apostles
leads me to proclaim that Jesus Christ,
not Richard Nixon or any other leader,
is Lord. A brother wrote requesting that
It is wrong to have
a theology of
resurrection
without a theology
of the cross.
we place a flag on the platform. I an-
swered that the decision was not mine to
make but that personally I am not anti-
flag as long as the flag stands for liberty
and justice for all. Neither am I greatly
pro-flag as I place symbols pointing to
my Christian faith as being more im-
portant, and I am Quaker enough to
wonder about many of these. I can spell
America with a "c" in that one should
be loyal to everything which this nation
should be under God. I can also spell
America with a "k," as many youth do,
to point to the fact that because of our
gross collective sins, it is difficult to be
proud that one is an Amerikan.
The Spirit with a capital "S" does com-
mand us to make prayers for all men in-
cluding those in high positions. But the
Spirit, no doubt, says to us what he said
to the Christians at Pergamum: "But I
have a few things against you: you have
some there who hold the teachings of
Balaam" (Rev. 2:14), Balaam being one
of the symbols in the Book of Revelation
to point to idolatry of the ruler cult.
A third spirit which is being tested
is the spirit of liberalism. In many ways
I have felt that I have had the right to be
rough on the liberals, whoever they are,
because I have been one of them.
Christianity came alive for me, first,
through the social gospel movement of
the Thirties. Liberals have returned this
favor in being rough on me, so much
so that on occasion I have discovered
that conservatives are not the only ones
who can be afflicted with a closed mind
and dogmatic spirit.
I believe it was the Holy Spirit of love
who led the Brethren into greater open-
ness and mission to others. But this same
openness to the world has led to greater
infiltrations of worldly spirits. In our
desire to move from a peculiar pilgrim
people, to comfortable conforming cit-
izens, we have often followed the spirits
more than we have tested the spirits.
The truth of the matter is that the early
Christians were not respectable. Though
commanded to live at peace with all men
so far as possible, we are also promised
the sword of division and persecution. In
the name of openness, efficiency, and
acceptance, liberalism has too often led
us to compromise our convictions and
soft pedal our witness.
Nevertheless, as the Spirit speaks
through the conservatives to have us hold
fast to what is good, so the Spirit speaks
through the liberals to have us be open
to the coming of the new. It has been the
liberals who have kept alive the old
Brethren theme that Christianity applies
to all of life. This quote from Martin
Luther is appropriate: "... if you
preach the gospel in all aspects with the
exception of the issues which deal spe-
cifically with your time you are not
preaching the gospel at all."
When others have forsaken the king-
dom teaching of the Bible, it has been
the liberals who have pointed to the first
fruits of the kingdom — righteousness,
peace, and justice, and kept us praying,
"Thy kingdom come ... on earth as it
is in heaven."
A powerful spirit which is much with
us is the spirit of evangelism. In the
m.idst of so much bad news, it is wonder-
ful to have many discovering and sharing
the Good News. The spirit of Key 73
will blow all around us.
The spirit of the world will get in,
however, if we depart from our bap-
tismal vow that Jesus Christ is both
Savior and Lord. If we proclaim Jesus
Christ as Savior only, evangelism will
become a program from those who want
protection from the scrutiny of Christ
over their American life-style and who
attempt to escape God's judgment on our
racism, militarism, and materialism. If
we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord without
receiving him as Savior, we fail to heed
the call to repent of our own sins and
know the power of new birth and radical
commitment.
The world will get through if we think
we can sell the gospel in the same way
that Madison Avenue sells cars or that
salesmen sell encyclopedias. If we live in
the Spirit of Christ, we cannot manipu-
late people for our own ego trips or even
for the sake of our own institutions.
Their good, their wholeness, their salva-
tion must be at the heart of our concern.
Neither should we "schematize" the
gospel by assuming that Christ has to
come into all of our lives in exactly the
same way. I have a prejudice against any
scheme which attempts to set it up too
neatly, such as a person will be saved,
then serve and change the world. In the
New Testament as I read it, the call to
faith and obedience is so dynamically
interrelated that it is impossible to dia-
gram. Bonhoeffer's statement is a good
one: "Only he who believes, obeys, and
only he who obeys, believes."
The spirit of the world is getting
through if we participate in evangelism
only because it will make the people
happy that we are finally doing some-
thing. The spirit may be more from the
world when we become more oriented
toward results than faithfulness. The
Brethren are sometimes proud, some-
times ashamed, sometimes guilt-ridden
about size. And this is right, for there
are both bad and good reasons why we
do not have more members. We have
lost members because of self-righteous
legalisms and clannishness. We have
failed to attract members because of our
failure to witness boldly and enthusiasti-
cally to our faith. But we have also lost
members when congregations defected
because their members found it more
profitable to join denominations with no
14 MESSENGER 9-1-72
scruples against slavery. We have also
lost to the growing cult of civil religion.
But to worry too much about size is to
ask the wrong question. The question is
faithfulness, not success. I am con-
vinced that through some periods of
history, a faithful church would lose
members. In other eras, God might use
such faithfulness of witness for a new
ingathering of his people. The important
question the Spirit asks is "Brethren,
how can you be more faithful? How can
we engender the love we had at first?"
There is much more to say, but those
of you who know me will guess that I
want to reflect on a fifth spirit which is
abroad, the spirit of pacifism. Some have
used the word pacifism to name the spirit
from the world and biblical nonresistance
to point to the Spirit from God. I have
opposed this way of defining the issues
because I believe that pacifism means
We can't sell
the gospel
in the same way
Madison Avenue
sells cars.
peacemaking (Matt. 5:9) and nonre-
sistance (Matt. 5:39) — both Sermon
on the Mount concepts.
To get at the same thing, however, it
might be well to distinguish between the
anti-war and Christian peace movements.
I do not make this distinction to sep-
arate the sheep from the goats but rath-
er to attempt to clarify some things which
have happened these past months. As
the government has taken away the threat
of the draft and reduced the number of
American deaths, it has been revealed
that many opposed the war because of
the death and possible loss of Americans
and not out of Christian compassion for
the Vietnamese. There is a real question
whether the majority of Americans op-
pose the killing of Vietnamese, even
women and children, if very few Amer-
icans are dying. At the same time we
have experienced the demise of the anti-
war movement, we have growing num-
bers of Christians yearning for Christian
and biblical foundations for their peace
concern.
The Sixties revealed much about us.
In one mood we were thrilled as the
songs of our Brethren campfires were
sung on the streets and as our private
thing about conscientious objectors be-
came common stuff in our daily news-
papers. In another mood, however, we.
some of us, were saddened by the un-
faithfulness of our own congregations.
In our efforts to be open to our com-
munities we had de-emphasized the very
beliefs which would have made us popu-
lar with many in the Sixties. Accultura-
tion combined with our liberal home
mission strategy backfired to cause us to
miss a tremendous opportunity to witness
to a large anti-war crowd.
What about the Seventies? If the
Vietnam tragedy comes to an end, the
anti-war movement will evaporate more
quickly. Nevertheless, hatred, injustice,
and slavery will still abound. With fewer
voices around, the peace witness of the
Brethren will be needed more than ever.
Many of us who have enjoyed the com-
pany of so many crying, "Peace, Peace,"
may discover anew that there are few
who enter the narrow gate that leads to
the Way of the Cross. Can we expect the
Brethren who were unfaithful to their
peace genius in the Sixties when peace
was in the songs of the land, to be more
faithful when peace is no longer a fad?
If we are Flamed by the Spirit, such a
miracle may be possible.
I agree with Floyd Mallott who felt
that the real story of the destiny of the
Brethren in the twentieth century is tied
up to our faithfulness on this issue. I
believe the Spirit desires to enflame us to
share both with those who preach peace
without Christ and with those who
preach Christ without his way of peace.
From my biased perspective, spirit
number six, the spirit of radicalism, is
often regarded to be a larger wind than
it really is among the Brethren. Else-
where, I have written identifying and
defining this mood in the context of our
biblical and historical heritage.
Diversity can be good
if in testing
the spirits
it leads us to be
more faithful.
Here I would like to place the radicals
in the same bag as the other spirits. Yes,
the spirit of the world has gotten through
to them in spite of the fact that some
radicals have so ably captured the spirit
of the pilgrim people not conformed to
the world. Turned oflf because nominal
Christians do not practice what they
preach, radicals also are often prone to
reject what they preach. The spirit of
radicalism can throw out Christianity
with the church.
Many of the sons and daughters of
Brethren who accuse local congregations
of acculturation, namely, selling out to
their culture, have been acculturated
often in their own way to subcultural
values. Some efforts to begin new con-
gregations from those dissatisfied with
the church have failed because the
alienated are so brainwashed by other
aspects of American culture as to not
really accept the Christian faith. Like-
wise, some radicals imbibe personal
habits and life-styles out of tune with
New Testament positions.
At this point, however, I would like to
pursue my interest as to how those of us
in the church might relate to radicals, our
own or others. This has come to special
focus with the trials of the Harrisburg 7
and Angela Davis. These past months,
I have often wanted to declare Elder
George Miller of Lancaster County,
9-1-72 MESSENGER 15
mt
THE SPIRIT AND THE SPIRITS / continued
Clvde S. Albangh, from Circle\ille. South-
ern Ohio, to retirement
Lvle C. Albright, from district executive post.
lowa-Minnesota-Missouri-Arkansas. to ^\'ichita
First. Western Plains
F. Mer\in Baker, from pri\ate employment to
Larchmont, Pacific South\sest
Leonard Blackwell. from pri\ate enterprise to
Oak Gro\e. South. \'irlina
Louis D. Bloom, from Fairchance Fain ieiv.
^\■estem Penns^hania, to Monroe\ille. A\'ei;tern
Pennsylvania
Harold L Bowman, from South Bav Community.
Pacific South^vest. to Arbor Hill. Shenandoah
John S. Breidenstine. from Glendale. .\riz..
Pacific Southwest, to Hershey. Spring Creek.
Atlantic Northeast, associate pastorate
Joe E. Campbell, from Lindsay Community
Pacific Southwest, to Santa .\na. Pacific Southwest
L. Clyde Carter Jr.. from Nfidland. Mid-At-
lantic, to Dale\ille, Virlina
Gerald F. Delfenbaugh. from Tire Hill, West-
ern Penns\l\ania, to Geiger church. Western
Pcnns\l\ania
Benjamin Franklin Deitz. Trout Run and An-
tioch, Shenandoah, yoked parish
Earl D. Dietz. from Leamersville. Middle Penn-
syhania. to Old Fin-nace. West Mar\a
Emerson Fike. from Nft. Hcrmon, \irlina, to
Midland. Mid-.-^tlantic
\\'endell P. Florv. from Wa^'nesboro. Shen-
andoah, to Flower Hill. Mid-.Atlantic
Robert Fryman, from Donnels Creek. Southern
Ohio, to Potsdam. Southern Ohio
Be\erly Good, from .■\rbor Hill. Shenandoah, to
Elk Run/Moscow. Shenandoah
Terry L. Grove, from Seattle. Olympic \'iew.
Oregon-Washington, associate pastorate, to Elk-
hart \'allev. Northern Indiana
John \\'. Handlev. from secular position to
Lake Breeze. Northern Ohio
John .A. Harpold. from secular position to
Thurmont, Mid-.Atlantic
Glenn A. Heckman, from Jenners\ille, .\tlantic
Northeast, to Edgewood, Mid-Atlantic
Hardy D. Henson. from textile manufacturing
to Concord. Shenandoah
John E. Hoffman, from teaching post. Florida,
to Pittsburg. South Central Indiana
I. D. Hoy. from Bethany. Virlina, to Mount
Hermon. \'irlina
Donald R. Jordan, from Lafayette. South/
Central Indiana, to Dayton. Shenandoah
J. \\'ayne Judd, from chaplain, St. Luke's,
loua-Minnesota, to Waynesboro. Shenandoah
\Villiam Kidwell. froiu chaplain resident. L'ni-
\ersity of \'irginia Hospital, to DaMon, Mack
Memorial, Sotuhern Ohio
Kerby Lauderdale, from Oakland, Pacific South-
west, to Eel Ri\er, South/Central Indiana
Samuel W. Longenecker, from Dayton, Shenan-
doah, to Jackson Park. Southeastern
Ralph B. Martin, from Pasadena. Pacific South-
west, to South Bay, Pacific Southwest
James O. Mc.\voy, from Currnille, Middle
Pennsylvania, to Whittier. Valley View, Pacific
Southwest
Jeffrey McCorkindale, from Roanoke. Central,
\'irlina. interim part-time pastorate, to Terrace
\'iew, \'irlina
Russell L. Mclnnis, Cherry Grove and Yellow
Creek, Illinois and ^Visconsin, yoked parish
Roy McVey. from Smith Chapel. Virlina. to
Ca\e Rock. \'irlina
L. Jay Minnich. from bookstore ownership.
Indiana, to Stony Creek. Southern Ohio
Pennsylvania, as a patron saint for our
time. In the 18th century, his ox was
Stolen. He knew where it was but made
no claim to it, being a Sermon on the
Mount literalist. His neighbors, however,
had the thief arrested. This preacher,
George Miller, walked twenty miles to
Lancaster to see him. He wanted to
plead that the man not he whipped and to
make efforts to supply him a warm bed.
Though he knew the man to be guilty,
he was willing to do more for him than
many Brethren this last year were willing
to do for those whom the jury later found
innocent.
There is a biblical command that few
liberals, conservatives, or biblical literal-
ists take seriously. That is, Hebrews
13:3: "Remember those who are in
prison, as though in prison with
them, . , ,"' I feel the Spirit is calling us
to take seriously these biblical com-
mands. As Brethren ministered so well
to the victims of war, may we also be
led to remember the victims of poverty
who often land in prison. We do re-
member our own Bob Gross in prison at
Ashland. Kentucky, for draft resistance
and John Flory on trial in Lafayette,
Indiana, also for draft resistance.
Through them may we be led to remem-
ber many others in word and in deed
who are in these evil institutions. We
read that Jesus knew that the Spirit of
the Lord was upon him because he had
been anointed to "proclaim release to the
captives" and to "set at liberty those who
are oppressed."
The seventh spirit is the spirit of
enthusiasm. The Holy Spirit comes in a
powerful way through many enthusiastic
responses and miraculous gifts today.
Nevertheless, the spirit which comes
from the world gets mixed in with the
Holy Spirit. I believe it gets through
when there is a primary appeal to our
selfish motives to know joy, healing, suc-
cess, happiness, forgetting that "whoever
would save his life will lose it" (Matt.
16:25) and that basic to Christianity is
losing one's life for the sake of Christ
and others, in seeking first the kingdom.
I have had to examine myself as to why,
when I hear Jane Kennedy or Daniel
Berrigan radiate with joy in offering a
homily of hope, I like it while many other
statements about the power of prayer and
great success stories about the working
of the Spirit turn me off.
I do have something to offer. It is
wrong to have a theology of resurrec-
tion without a theology of the cross. In
our type of world we are called as Chris-
tians to participate with God in his great
sutTerings for the sins of the world. If
in the midst of our compassion, opposi-
tion to e\il. and struggles, we can receive
h>' God's grace promises and victory, this
is biblical hope. But if we attempt to
gain joy, peace, health, and well-being
apart from the way of the cross, then our
efforts can represent an attempt to es-
cape from the problems of the world.
The Spirit movement and Jesus move-
ment might in part be a response to the
fact of the great despair about our old
world. If the world is so bad out there,
then, the least we can do is to get things
right in here. If that happens in the thick
of our joining God in his suffering for
the sins of the world, good: if it repre-
sents an escape, then this can be a tem-
porarily happy, but unchristian trip.
Now. I confess that I have said far too
little to be fair on such big issues. I
deliberately did not set out to make
anyone mad. Neither have I wanted to
leave any of us comfortable.
Last year's Conference was one which
emphasized the strength of One Spirit in
the midst of diversity. This year, how-
ever, in testing the spirits I would like to
punctuate the theme of faithfulness.
Diversity in itself is not good. It can be
had if it leads us away from love of one
another and discipleship.
Diversity can be good if in testing the
spirits it leads us to be more faithful.
The purpose of church discipline is not to
conform to the church: rather its pur-
pose is to help us help each other more
nearly conform to the mind of Christ.
.\nd it is our faith that in conforming to
Jesus Christ, our individuality will be
enhanced and our gifts will be sanctified
by the Holy Spirit.
In this testing of the spirits if there has
been anything of the Holy Spirit, "Let
him who has an ear . . . hear what the
Spirit says to the churches" (Rev.
2:29). □
16 MESSENGER 9-1-72
The in answer is everyone:
Who speaks, listens,
decides
on Brethren ministries?
In the church today, there is continuing
concern about who speaks, who listens,
who decides, who ministers in the
name of the Church of the Brethren.
The "in" answer is everyone. As
translated by some, this means each
member who is interested in the
life/witness of the church should have a
voice in deciding how that life/witness
shall be expressed. It is easy to assent to
the feeling of the rightness of the goal.
But one has to ask promptly: how do
you hear the voice of every interested
person in the church? how do you re-
solve the profound differences among
those voices today?
Functionally speaking, do we have to
fall back upon "representative democ-
racy" and assigned responsibility? And,
if we do have to live with the decisions
of representative groups, can we main-
tain the increased participation of inter-
ested persons in the decision-making
process?
Participation on upswing
Speak up . . . make your influence felt
. . . help shape your future: These are
the rallying cries in most of our institu-
tions today. Persons are responding in
rather significant numbers. For Brethren
this desire to share in decision making
is expressed by more persons speaking
out about their concerns and values in
congregations, districts. General Board,
and Annual Conference. It is no differ-
ent in the seminary, the colleges, and the
retirement homes. In some instances the
concerns are voiced by a number of
persons speaking individually. In other
cases those with a common concern use
a group as their way of being heard.
This encouragement to be involved,
to go to bat for your values, is part of
the very climate of our common life
today. In our situation the urge is fed
from both directions: persons are taking
initiative to shape the life of the church
to which they belong, and our basic
agencies — Annual Conference, General
Board, districts — are deliberately in-
viting wider sharing by opening channels
for unrestricted two-way communication.
Specifically, in terms of the General
Board, the internal pressures to secure
ideas beyond its own ranks have resulted
in a marked increase in the number of
Brethren speaking directly to the board
about their concerns and about the
board's actions. This participation in-
cludes more interested persons or con-
gregational officials regularly attending
board meetings, submitting concerns or
proposals, and voicing agreement or dis-
agreement with actions of the board. In
its goal-setting task the board has
involved the delegates of Annual Con-
ference, held hearings with representative
groups across the Brotherhood, and
recently invited the district executives to
name three persons from their group to
participate as ex officio members of the
Goals and Budget Committee in de-
veloping the priorities for 1974-75 bi-
ennium. The voice of the Brotherhood
is also fed in through the board-proposed
Annual Conference Review and Evalu-
ation Committee.
Current program adjustment decisions
The question of who speaks, listens, or
decides on our ministries arose sharply
in connection with Cincinnati General
Board actions to reduce Brotherhood
programs to match the available financial
resources. Operational expenses needed
to be reduced approximately $200,000
in order to approximate a balanced
budget in 1973. With deficits last year
and this year in this basic $200,000
range, undesignated reserves of the
board will be well below the established
minimum goal of $750,000 as we come
to the 1973 budget year.
Although this increased participation
complicates the making of decisions, it is
a positive trend in the life of the church.
It should be encouraged and the board
should find improved ways of using these
shared insights as it fulfills the responsi-
bilities given it by the church. There are
limits imposed by the representative
nature of our Brethren decision-making
structures and this reality has to be bal-
anced with our individual desires to
shape the ministries in keeping with
our perspectives. A response to an
invitation to speak cannot always lead
to a decision in keeping with the ideas
voiced.
Forces moving us to a position of
deficit financing are numerous and have
been at work over a period of time.
Some of these forces are easily identified:
We have been a part of the expansive
mood of our nation in this century and
have added ministries more frequently
than we have dropped them. Inflation
has drastically reduced the reach of our
dollars during the past decade. The
percentage of the Brethren outreach
dollar coming to the Brotherhood Fund
has steadily declined during the past
decade. The patterns of personal and
congregational life have changed in ways
that are reducing the board's income
from printing and marketing. The
recent change in our government's mone-
tary policy increased our operating ex-
by S. Loren Bowman
9-1-72 MESSENGER 17
penses overnight by 15 percent in
Europe and more than 8 percent in
Nigeria as the dollar was devalued.
How then (staff and nonstaff members
asked) could the board be so short-
sighted in projecting program and budg-
et? Why such abrupt decisive action?
If this was coming, why had the board
continued to employ staff over the past
three years? There are no easy, fully
satisfying answers to these questions.
The apparent abruptness of the de-
cision — especially for those not closely
related to the budgets of the General
Board — stems from forces such as:
our reluctance to admit we were over-
extended; our difficulty in saying no to
acute human needs around the world;
our stubborn hope that the financial
picture would change in our favor: our
need for a wider variety of staff skills to
assist our Brethren ministries on six
continents.
In adjusting programs downward, the
board's basic guideline was to continue
the essential ministries at their current
comparative strength in relation to each
other until the 1974-75 goals are estab-
lished. This meant cutbacks of similar
order in the broad program priorities of
congregational renewal, communication,
peace, and personnel functions. The
obvious meaning is that the various
major units of the staff will be unable to
perform some of the functions carried
in the past and that the selection of what
is most vital will need to be exercised
with greater care.
As the board reported its specific ac-
tions to Conference, it was clear that
persons in the immediate board-related
family and in the larger family of the
church had concerns they wished to
express — questions they wanted an-
swered. One series centered around:
Who was involved in making the de-
cisions? Were the decisions made by the
staff (meaning the five executives who
make up the Administrative Council)?
Were the decisions made by the members
of the General Board? Wouldn't it have
been helpful to get the counsel of district
executives and Standing Committee?
And why was there surprise among staff
members being released or redeployed
as a result of the cutbacks in program?
Another series asked: Why did you cut
this program instead of that program?
Why did you release or redeploy this
person and keep that person?
Simply stated, though fairly compli-
cated in practice, the General Board
made the basic program adjustment
decisions. By policy, the total board
must approve the launching of new pro-
gram and the dropping of present
program. The Goals and Budget Com-
mittee (composed of the Executive Com-
mittee and the Administrative Council)
recommended to the full board the basic
guideline on program balance and the
specific items to be adjusted. The
decisions on releasing or redeploying staff
were made in light of these program
adjustments by the Executive Committee
and the 'Administrative Council, the two
units of the board responsible for selec-
tion, supervision, and termination of
personnel. Since decisions on program
adjustments needed to come first, staff
members directly involved were not
aware of specific personnel decisions
until they reached the final stages. The
general staff had opportunity to share
in the basic budget picture and in pro-
posing possible solutions prior to the
meeting of the board. They were not
involved in formal discussions on
personnel.
Obvioush the choices between pro-
grams and staff persons in a 5200,000
budget adjustment are difficult and are
based upon the judgments of those in-
volved in the decision. This kind of
responsibility is accepted b\' the board,
on behalf of the church, with a clear
understanding that its judgments will not
always be right and with the hope that
new insights for its tasks can come from
the church. But on specific issues and
particular personnel choices, the General
Board cannot escape the need to make
decisions. However, the freedom of a
number of persons to voice their con-
cerns about these decisions represents a
wholesome development for the future
of our Brethren ministries.
Viewing our ministries relationally
Persons and institutions do not nor-
mally find joy in curtailing their activities
or programs. When such downward
adjustments need to be made, it is
difficult to avoid a sense of failure. In
the current actions of the board, agony
of spirit is clearly present in the decision
makers and in the lives of those who
must undertake significant career and
family adjustments. Sincere efforts are
made to keep persons central in its per-
sonnel considerations and policies but the
General Board is not in a position to
guarantee lifetime jobs to its employees.
Therefore, staff contracts contain two
qualifiying items: the employment agree-
ment may be terminated ( 1 ) at the
initiative of the board on three months'
notice: and (2) at the initiative of staff
on thirty days' notice.
It is urgent that we see the witness
of the Church of the Brethren relation-
ally and inclusively at this time. Our
numerous and varied ministries are all
involved in the church's impact in the
world — whether they are expressed by
congregations, districts. Annual Con-
ference, seminar.. General Board:
whether they are expressed by the witness
of individuals, special interest groups,
camps, publications, colleges, hospitals,
retirement homes. When these are
viewed in relationship to each other and
seen as reenforcing each other, a down-
ward adjustment in one may not mean
the total Brethren impact will be less
in 1973 than it was in 1968 or 1963.
Our changing structures and patterns of
ministry may be coming into a new,
creati\e balance.
With the development of districts, it
may be that some reduction in staff at
the Brotherhood le\el is a proper ap-
proach to the total professional leader-
ship of the denomination in this period
of our history. As I stated to the Con-
ference. "It should be expected that
new relationships and new balances of
strength should occur within and be-
tween our wide varieties of ministry
as different conditions needs emerge in
the church and in the world. Together,
in Christ, the witness of the Brethren will
go forward as we move into the future."
Operationally, this is how I, as the
board's general secretary, see our de-
cisions and ministries; it is how I view
the process in terms of my faith per-
spectives and personal values. I do not
expect that any other person shall view
these matters in this same manner but
I do hope that you have a glimpse of
some of the assumptions and feelings of
one person deeply involved in the
decision making of the General Board. □
18 MESSENGER 9-1-72
LETTERS//row 1
tians" have applied Jesus" teaching about
brotherliness only to the members within
our own particular denomination. Jesus
would have us cross the lines that divide
the Protestants into so many groups, and
separate Protestants from Catholics.
I have in mind simple commandments
such as these: "Exhort one another to good
works"; "in honor preferring one another";
and "be ye kindly affectionate toward each
other"; even "that you love one another as
I have loved you." This is much more than
tolerance or respect.
We Brethren should love the Methodists:
both of us must love the Pentecostals and
Seventh Day Adventists; and all four groups
here named should love the Catholics.
Idealism? Dreaming? Impractical? I say
no. This is Jesus" formula to keep this world
from destroying itself with nuclear weapons
or pollution; to keep people from losing
their souls by greed, self-centeredness. and
all that is sin. He summed it all up in two
verses in John 17:
"I pray for those who are to believe in
me that they ma>' all be one; even as thou
Father art in me and I in thee ... so that
the world may know that thou hast sent me.""
We at York Center are making a start in
this direction, having arranged to ask the
Seventh Day Adventists in nearby Hinsdale
to send a representative to tell us at a Sun-
day morning service about their phenomenal
growth since 1900. when both our denomina-
tions were about the same size. In that time
we Brethren have doubled our membership,
while they have increased theirs 25-fold • —
are baptizing about 500 persons a day,
doubling every ten years.
We will begin with dialogue, getting ac-
quainted, hoping that respect will be fol-
lowed by knowledge: and then such love as
will call us to pray for them and them to
pray for us.
O. E. Gibson
Westmont, 111.
THE PEACE WE SEEK
I would like to raise the question of
whether or not we are really following Jesus
Christ and his teachings.
I am afraid too many of us are looking
for Jesus as a political messiah who will
bring social justice. The Jews were also
looking for a political messiah. so they
overlooked Jesus. Do we also overlook
Jesus" true teachings? It has seemed to me
lately that so much of our Christianity is
more like humanism and leaves God out.
It seems that man has been made the thing
of ultimate importance.
I think social justice is important (Tve
worked with the peace movement), but in
the last few months my eyes have been
opened to the possibilities of deeper peace
through a personal relationship with God.
I can't say very much about it myself since
I ha\en"t found it. but I've seen how other
people"s lives have been enriched.
Gary Frantz
Beatrice. Neb.
THE SPIRIT IN DAILY LIFE
Messenger continues to speak for Christ
and the church with increasing effectiveness.
After reading "Where the Spirit of the Lord
Is,"" by Carroll M. Petry (July), I must
respond with a note of appreciation.
This much needed article brings the reality
of the Holy Spirit down out of the realm
of theory and speculation to where the
action is in the daily experiences of the
Christian, even into every human relation-
ship. I am especially impressed with the
concluding paragraphs which contain the
following excerpt:
"The Holy Spirit is not a seizure. It is
a way of life."" Truly this is representative
of the best in our Brethren heritage.
Recently I heard it said of Bishop Gerald
Rennedv, widely recognized as one of Amer-
ica"s great preachers, that he prepared his
sermons out of deep spiritual insights and
in the light of the best available scholarship,
and when delivered it could be clearly un-
derstood by an eighth grader. Petry has
succeeded in doing this so very well.
Albert Hollinger
La Verne, Calif.
KITS, CATS, SACKS, AND WIVES
I don't want to prolong the discussion,
but the jingle "Going to St. Ives" (May 15
and July 1972) is still short a line!
It was recited to me always thus:
As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives.
Every wife had seven sacks,
Every sack had seven cats.
Every cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives:
How many were going to St. Ives?
No matter how we learned it, it was en-
joyable — it still is!
I, too, enjoy Messenger and read it from
"kiver to kiver."
Bernice G. Eraser
Washington. D.C.
^ev^^evotioiial ^ooks
LIVING ON TIPTOE
by Jo Carr
A book of devotions for homes with school-
age children, written in a fresh, down-to-earth
style for the family interested in sharing and
growing together in their faith.
Per copy, $1,25; 10 or more, $1,00 each.
A FAITH FOR
ALL SEASONS
by Marjorie Wilkinson
Looking into the meaning of
life from the lessons of nature
—in spring, summer, fall and
winter— a gifted author shares
observations for persons who
want to grow spiritually.
Per copy, $1.25; 10 or more,
$1.00 each.
Taitli Q
'^SeasoqS C3
THE UPPER ROOM DISCIPLINES 1973
365 daily devotions keyed to '73, written for
those who want a deeper experience in daily
devotions and in the vital reality of KEY 73.
Per copy, $1.50; 10 or more $1.30 each.
Order direct from
The Upper Room
Dept, 121/1908 Grand Ave., Nashville, Tenn. 37203
9-1 72 messenger 19
Bethany Theological Seminary
67th class names its gifts
Graduates this year of Bethany Theolog-
ical SeminaPi' included more who were
not members of the Church of the Breth-
ren than in recent past classes. Five
members of the 67th graduating class are
affiliated with the United Church of
Christ.
For the second year the student body
included a service in the commencement
for the Naming of the Gifts. The col-
loquium groups participated in writing of
each graduate in terms of "the gifts of
the spirit he has shown ...,"' "as a
member of the body of Christ in this
place he has shown . . . ." and "for
equipping the saints for the work of
ministry and for building the body of
Christ we commend (this graduate) as
one who will. . . ." The service is taken
from the biblical reference in Eph.
4:7-13.
Twenty Master of Di\inity degrees
were awarded and four Master of Arts in
Theology degrees were given.
This year's graduates receiving the
Master of Divinity degrees are:
Paul W. Allen n From Modesto,
Calif., congregation; age 24. Son of Mr.
and Mrs. J. Wayne Allen of Escalon,
Calif. Married to Jayne L. Copeland.
La Verne College. Assignment pending.
Ronald E. Beachley ^ Member of
Beachdale, Pa., congregation; age 31.
Son of Mrs. Elsie Beachley of Berlin, Pa.
Married to Linda E. Brougher; three
children. Former farmer. McPherson
College. Became pastor of Jones Chapel
Church of the Brethren at Martins\'ille,
Va., on July 15.
Ronald R. Boose G Home congrega-
tion at Lancaster, Pa.; age 25. Son of Mr.
and Mrs. Raymond R. Boose, Woodbury,
Pa. Married to Gail M. Evans. Eliza-
bethtown College. To enter graduate
school for a doctorate in philosophy of
religion.
John David Bowman [^ Member of
Staunton, Va., congregation: age 27.
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Bowman,
formerly of Broadway, \'a., now Tampa,
Fla. Married to Sharyn Marie Halter-
man. Has held part-time, full-time, and
summer pastorates in Shenandoah Dis-
trict. Studied for a year in Fife, Scotland.
Bridgewater College. Became associate
pastor of the Frederick-Walkersville,
Md., Church of the Brethren on June 18.
Randall Brakemeyer ~ Member of
First Congregational United Church of
Christ, Elmhurst, 111.; age 27. Son of Mr.
and Mrs. L. W. Brakemeyer, St. Louis,
Mo. Married to Catherine Jourdan.
Elmhurst College. Continuing in associ-
ate pastorate of First Congregational
United Church of Christ, Elmhurst, and
taking graduate work.
Dennis L. Brown ~ Member of North
Webster, Ind., congregation, home church
at Troy, Ohio; age 27. Son of Alberta
R. Brown of Everett, Wash., and the late
Frank W. Brown. Married to Rachel
Weaver Neff of East Petersburg, Pa.; one
daughter. Northern Indiana camp pro-
gram director. Former pastor of North
Webster, Ind., church and Laud-Saturn
Unity Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), Laud, Ind. Manchester College.
Assignment pending.
Richard O. Buckwalter ^ Home con-
gregation at Conestoga church, Bareville,
Pa., member of York Center Church,
Lombard, 111.; age 25. Son of Mr. and
Mrs. Richard Buckwalter, Leola, Pa.
Married to Anita Smith of North Man-
chester. Ind. Juniata College. Taking
graduate work at George Williams Col-
lege (III.) for master's degree in counsel-
ing psychology.
Ronald B. Cassidente P Member of
Prince of Peace Church, Denver, Colo.;
age 26. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry
Cassidente of Denver, Colo. Married to
Carolyn Lehman. In alternative service.
McPherson College. .Assumed pastorate
of the Batavia, 111., Faith Church of the
Brethren in June.
Allan W . Eichelmann n Member of
Peace United Church of Christ, Bensen-
ville. 111.; age 25. Son of Mr. and Mrs.
Arthur Eichelmann, Itasca, 111. Married
to Maryann Schultz. Northern Illinois
University. Taking graduate work at the
University of Chicago in social sciences.
Larry C. Graybill G Member of East
Fairview congregation, Manheim, Pa.;
age 25. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Mahlon H.
Graybill, Manheim, Pa. Married to
Sharon L. Patrick. Elizabethtown Col-
lege. On Aug. 1 became pastor of the
Coventrv' Church of the Brethren in
Atlantic Northeast District.
James L. Hollinger ~ Member of
East Fairview congregation, Manheim,
Pa.; age 25. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Allen
B. Hollinger, Manheim, Pa. Elizabeth-
town College. To become pastor of the
Bethel Center Church of the Brethren in
South Central Indiana.
Marlin Hoover G Formerly of Rocky
Ford, Colo., congregation; age 24. Son
of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Hoover, Mc-
Pherson, Kan. Married to Marv' Nell
Albright. McPherson College. To take
graduate studies in psychology at the
University of Chicago.
Esiella Horning ~ Member of the
York Center congregation, Lombard,
III.; age 43. Daughter of Mrs. Carrie
Stern of Villa Park. III. Married to Dr.
John S. Horning; five children. Spent 15
years with the Church of the Brethren
mission in Ecuador. Manchester College.
This summer going to the Church of the
Brethren mission in Nigeria with her
family.
Ervin L. Huston "Z Home church at
Nampa, Idaho: age 28. Son of Mr. and
Mrs. Roy Huston, Nampa, Idaho. Mar-
ried to Joan Bucher. Served in Brethren
Volunteer Service and International Vol-
untary' Service in Vietnam. La Verne
College. Seeking social services position.
Jeffrey H. Johnson ~ Member of
Gettysburg, Pa., congregation; age 28.
Son of Mrs. Frieda Johnson, Gettysburg,
Pa., and the late Howard Johnson. Mar-
ried to Marilyn Wampler. Juniata Col-
lege. Going to pastorate at Lone Star,
Kan., Church of the Brethren, a yoked
parish.
Jerard P. Jordan □ Home church is St.
20 MESSENGER 9-1-72
Brown. Buckw\lter,
ca.ssidente,
ElCKELMAN
Af^
p. Allen, Beachley.
Boose. Bowman,
Brakemeyer
John's United Church of Christ, Lewis-
burg, Pa.; age 26. Son of Mr. and Mrs.
Paul Jordan, Lowden, Iowa. Married to
Patricia Jacobsen. Served three years at
Rollo United Church of Christ, Earlville,
111. Elmhurst College. To become pastor
Graybill, Hollincer,
Hoover, Horning,
Huston. Johnson
to the Greenville, Ohio, United Church of
Christ.
Arnold R. Koriath □ Member of St.
John's United Church of Christ, Arling-
ton Heights, III.; age 26. Son of Mr. and
Mrs. Arnold R. Koriath Sr., Arlington
Heights, 111. Married to Gail E. Dannen-
berg. Elmhurst College. Became asso-
ciate pastor in June at St. Paul United
Church of Christ, Palatine, 111.
Koloinan K. Ludwig □ Home church
is First Hungarian Reformed Church-
United Church of Christ, East Chicago,
Ind.; age 26. Son of Mr. and Mrs.
Arthur A. Ludwig, East Chicago, Ind.
Married to Patricia Marie Parulis. Coun-
selor and chaplain's assistant at Chicago
Residential School for Boys, Chicago.
Elmhurst College. "Will study Hungarian
theology, hermeneutics, and tradition in
Debrecen, Hungary.
Patricia Parulis Ludwig □ Member of
Ridge Road United Church of Christ,
Parma, Ohio; age 27. Daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Daniel Parulis, Parma, Ohio.
Former director of Christian education at
St. Peter's United Church of Christ.
Elmhurst College. Will study Hungarian
language and European theology in
Debrecen, Hungary.
James G. Miller Member of Peace
Church, Portland, Ore.; age 24. Son of
Mrs. Marie J. Miller, Portland, Ore.
Married to Pamela K. Gross. La Verne
College. Has assumed pastorate at the
Glendale, Ariz., Church of the Brethren.
Four persons receiving the Master of
Arts in Theology degree were:
Robert M. Allen Jr. □ Member of
First church, Chicago; age 25. Son of
Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Allen Sr.,
Chicago, 111. Manchester College. As-
signment pending.
L. Edward Plum n Member of
Waynesboro, Pa., congregation; age 25.
Son of Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy E. Plum,
Zullinger, Pa. Elizabethtown College.
Assignment pending.
Donald A. Schultz D Home church is
St. John's Lutheran Church, Ely, Iowa;
age 26. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert
Schultz, Ely, Iowa. Married. McPher-
son College. Graduated in absentia.
Robert Mitchel Vianello D Lutheran
Church; age 24. Son of Mr. and Mrs.
John Vianello, Frankfort, 111. Married to
Claudia Collins. Kalamazoo College.
Continuing graduate studies in philosophy
in France.
9-1-72 MESSENGER 21
[r(SS,@M\r©m
Tooling up for today's goieration
From the numerous resources available,
Ralph G. McFadden, Consultant for
Youth Ministries for the Parish Minis-
tries Commission, recommends the fol-
lowing "best buys."
Yoiirh Ministry Resources has been de-
signed to assist adult adviser/teachers and
youth planners with a selection of new
and stimulating resources for the youth
ministry in the local church. It is not pre-
packaged material; rather it is a listing of
resources that may help in programming.
Major topics include issues, celebrations,
simulations, books, films, music, records
and tapes, tv and radio, creativity, drama,
and periodicals, with sections especially
for junior high and voluntary service and
international travel. Youth Ministries
Resources is updated annually by youth
ministry directors of six denominations.
The first packet is $1 .50 plus $.75 for the
1971 supplement.
Recycle, a sharing of what's been tried,
is edited by Dennis Benson whose name is
big in youth ministries circles currently.
The format of Recycle is that of an infor-
mal newsletter, in which youth ministry
persons, lay leaders, pastors from around
the country share their "good news" —
the news of things that have worked.
"Recycle is committed to the hunch that
everyone who reaches outside himself or
herself for meaning and love is a creative
being. In our world ideas and probes don't
'belong' to anyone. Creative people are
not in competition with each other."
Price: 10 issues a year for $5.
In the all-new Respond, youth groups
will find resources for their regular meet-
ings and suggestions for different kinds of
retreats; youth leaders will find sugges-
tions about planning and methods; and
everyone will find some new songs and a
list of resources for further help in youth
ministry. In three main sections — Com-
munication, Exploring the Word of God,
and In Your Town; Issues — you'll find
starters for discussion, surveys, dramatic
skits, choral readings, and simulation
games, many written by young people or
youth leaders in local churches. A best
buy at $3.95.
Youth Ministry Notebook V (On Hun-
ger and Poverty) provides practical guide-
lines for those who plan the church's
22 MESSENGER 91-72
ministry with senior highs. The notebook
will test your assumptions and sharpen
your perspectives on the subject of hunger
and poverty. Dedicated to the premise
that Christians everywhere are committed
to doing more than talking about love in
the world. Youth Ministry Notebook is
action-oriented and contains models for
seminars, task forces, semester projects,
weekend conferences, summer confer-
ences, marches, walks, peaceful demon-
strations, hunger rallies. $3.50.
Youth Ministry Training Kit is all the
leader needs to bring together a workshop
of adults and young people who wish to
talk over the issues and concerns of youth
today, clarify for themselves how the
church relates to the world of youth, and
discover the motivations and skills that
arc needed to bring about their own pro-
gram. In four two-hour sessions, adults
and youth can become significantly ac-
quainted, and then use the strategies pro-
vided for learning to plan and for actually
planning. This training kit could be used
annually for a youth cabinet setting up its
schedule for the coming year. The train-
ing kit states, "The workshop concludes
when the participants have developed
Ihcir plan and have committed themselves
to taking action. Their youth ministry is
launched." Each kit contains supplies for
1 0 to 12 participants — games, simula-
tions, communications exercises, discus-
sion formats, and planning strategies. $9.
The Kcysort Library of Resources de-
veloped by the Church of the Brethren is
a listing and description of materials
which can be of very significant value to
leaders and youth in program planning.
If your congregation does not own a Key-
sort, it can be purchased for $45. A
best buy — with unlimited possibilities.
Items evaluated could be helpful to work
and action groups, to administrative
bodies, to those responsible for worship
and symbolic life as well as to educational
planners and workers. The Keysort in-
cludes materials for use with all ages and
provides resources for all areas of con-
cern in the church's internal life and
external mission.
Order these items from The Brethren
Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III.
60120.
Cultural Information Service, published
monthly by the Commission on Youth
Ministry of the Lutheran Church in
America, provides a comprehensive
analysis of America's cultural scene
through essays, reviews, and meditations.
Rock music, television, film, literature,
drama, and art, along with a section
called "Americana" — brief previews of
what's happening during the month —
mix in challenging ways to aid clergy and
laity in the teaching and preaching minis-
tries of the church. Order from CIS,
Lutheran Church in America Youth Min-
istry, 2900 Queen Lane, Philadelphia,
Pa. 19129. S6ayear.
Probe enjoins youth leaders to "share
your creativity with others." Published
by the Department of Communications,
Christian Associates of Southwest Penn-
sylvania, Probe lists magazines, song-
books, workshops, film, people, other re-
source listings — ten times a year for $5.
Order from Christian Associates of
Southwest Pennsylvania, 1800 Arrott
Building, 401 Wood St., Pittsburgh, Pa.
15222. D
Books ^ ,
on timely
subjects
The Identity Society
William Glasser, M.D.
The author's previous books REALITY THER-
APY arid SCHOOLS WITHOUT FAILURE have
sold over 340,000 copies, in this new
book, he extends his theory of Reality Ther-
apy to cover almost all human behavior and
motivation. According to Dr. Glasser, west-
ern man has entered a period in which
people are more concerned with their identi-
ty in life than with their goals. In this book,
he applies his knowledge specifically to the
problem of child rearing, to resolving the
parent-child cultural gap, and to giving de-
tailed instructions to those faced with
children failing in school, taking drugs, and
acting out sexually. $5.95
Personal Living
Monroe Peaston
This book is written for the many people who have come to know Paul Tournier
through his writings and who care to learn more about his thought and life-style.
Peaston's reflections open with a sketch of Dr. Tournier's formation as a person and
as a doctor, indicating how his "medicine of the person" contributes to the living
of a whole life. The book outlines the main thrust of his major themes and concepts
and concludes with an overall estimate of Paul Tournier's place in the field of
psychiatry and religion. $4.95
The Nixon Theology
Charles P. Henderson, Jr.
This book uncovers the religious assumptions and convictions of Richard Nixon,
with unique emphasis on the role religion plays in determining the shape of his
political policies. Seeing Nixon as the archetype of American civil religion, the
author exposes the curious relationship between religion and politics that operates
on the American scene. Charles Henderson sees President Nixon as a high priest —
a master blender of patriotism and piety, relying skillfully on the plastic material
of our "national spirit" to validate specific political ends. $6.95
Year One Catalog
Edited by Ira Friedlander
Centers for alternate life-styles, spiritual ashrams, and places for inner growth
are spreading throughout the country. Year One Catolog is a sensitive directory
to various spiritual resources — meditation centers, bookstore, new age publica-
tions, and the figures prominent in Yoga, Zen, Encounter, and other related
disciplines. The editor has had personal contact with each of the entries to insure
the accuracy and intention of each description. An invaluable aid to anyone
seriously interested in the attainment of higher states of consciousness. $1.95 paper
Postage: 20c first dollar; 5c each additional dollar
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
9-1-72 MESSENGER 23
Questions to the General Board
To live within income is a right and noble goal.
It is a life-style worthy of institutions no less than
of individuals.
Hence the declaration of the Church of the
Brethren General Board in Cincinnati to bring
operational expenses within projected income was
ostensibly a virtuous act. Given the dual obstacles
of inflation at home and devaluation abroad, the
course appeared necessary, responsible, bold.
To save a needed $200,000 involved the ter-
mination of four positions on the general staff
and the reassignment of two others to nonstaflf
status. It meant also the termination of a half
dozen or more office and plant workers and ad-
justments for other headquarters personnel. In
addition, the overseas program will entail reduc-
tions yet in process.
The impact is only partially revealed by sta-
tistics. The far greater reality comes in the pain-
ful separation from the denominational team of a
cluster of able and devoted workers, the second
round since 1968; in the frustration of staff col-
leagues long having struggled to define tasks and
goals and relationships, now needing to begin
again; and in feelings of anxiety about the General
Board as employer and long-range planner.
Such feelings of course are not unique; they
exist in a growing number of vocations today, and
especially in those that are service, public, or non-
profit oriented. Certainly no one can fruitfully
argue that the church ought not have the right
to terminate employment as well as to initiate it;
otherwise as an institution the church would read-
ily become unadaptive and unresponsive.
It was the establishment of a more flexible
and responsive Brotherhood program that
prompted the General Board restructuring of
1968. The interval since then has been one of
building and testing, discerning the strengths and
weaknesses of the new organizational plan.
The directions then launched have been basi-
cally productive. One area glaringly inadequate,
however, has been the delineation of program pri-
orities, an assignment given the Goals and Budget
Committee of the General Board. While hindsight
is a dubious value, it may be conjectured that had
clearly-defined goals shaped program develop-
ments all along, the revisions in personnel now
called for would have been far less drastic.
In fairness, it is to be acknowledged that out
of the Goals and Budget Committee some areas
of priority were evolved. But they became over-
shadowed by such claims as the Lafiya program
in Nigeria, extra appropriations for Bethany Sem-
inary, and other pressure points so that the origi-
nal priorities were eroded.
Beyond the arduous task of deciding upon
program objectives and seeing them through, the
General Board will do well to assess its policies
and performance at other points:
• When staff members are dismissed, have
they recourse with the board to defend their jobs?
• Is there an "eff'ectiveness trap" whereby
those who may be most productive become the
most vulnerable in the face of retrenchment?
• Is too much authority on personnel matters
concentrated in individual executives? Is the Ex-
ecutive Committee of the board integrally in-
volved?
• With a diminished staff, to what degree can
the board continue to provide congregations
and districts and overseas churches with pro-
gram specialists — one thrust of the 1968 re-
structuring?
These questions are heavily internal, but they
are more than that. They speak to a climate of
trust and a clarity of purpose which deeply affect
the spirit of fellowship and quality of witness of
the Brotherhood. They are questions the General
Board needs to review and answer. — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGER 9-1-72
^_yMl€lJlm"lM^f3!^» In new experiences.
Fronn self-evaluation. Out of involvement with persons.
They don't stop for the over-thirties. So
Brethren Volunteer Service has some challenging assign-
ments for older folk who know they still have a
lot to give in service to others. Do you want to learn more
about BVS? Or support it with a financial gift? Write:
Church of the Brethren General Board,
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120.
Bretliren Volunteer
Service /III creative response,
AFiYA
means
WELL-BEING
means
HEALTH
means
means
TRAINING
means
MONEY
means
GIVING
means
m
means
LAJFWA
IH] Here is my special gift for Lafiya/Nigeria Medical Program.
I i I'm interested in the medical program but desire further information.
Amount enclosed: $
Name
Street/RFD
City
State, Zip Code
Congregation District
Please clip and mail to: Lafiya/Nigeria Medical Program
Church of the Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Avenue, Elgin, Illinois 60120
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN SEPTEMBER 1 5, 1 972
■:V.-V^k.--.'
m^f-^^'.
rm:
In Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania: We can
and ive must say to every victim
of tliis disaster:
You liave not lost everytiiing.
We will not let you lose hope.
Bishop Joseph McShea, Allentown
,Jrr-
■^5 fo
Dsltte[r^
2 Lost Everything But Hope. Wilkes-Barre is not unlike other
cities struck by disaster, unless you are a resident of that Pennsylvania
community. Text by Richard N. Miller and photography by Henry
H. Rist III note volunteers' efforts to bring back the area pounded
by Hurricane Agnes
Q Christ Is the Answer. What Are the Questions? In his 1972
Annual Conference address evangelist Tom Skinner describes a
Christianity that transforms and makes radical differences in persons
12 A"<^ '^'l Found Sanctuary Within Its Walls. The Little Dunker
church at the Antietam National Battlefield Site reminds us still
of a spirit of love and tolerance it came to symbolize during the
Battle of Antietam. by Linda Beher
1^> Here I Stand. A new Messenger feature opens with Agricultural
Missions executive secretary J. Benton Rhoades' commentary on
"Brethren and the Farm Worker Issue"
22 Those In Need of Healing. Arden K. Ball, Roann, Ind., pastor,
writes about some Christians who believe illness is God's special
punishment and others who blame demons or lack of faith
Outlook spotlights Brethren authors (4) and reports on a new work
agreement at denominational headquarters (6). . . . Harold Z. Bombcrger,
Atlantic Northeast district executive, comments on the third Believers'
Church Conference (7). . . . Turning Points lists pastoral placements,
wedding anniversaries, and deaths (17). . . . Frederic J. Brussat, editor
of Cultural Information Service, reviews "The Anderson Tapes: A Movie
Parable on TV" (18). . . . People and Parish cites activities of five
congregations (20). . . . And an editorial queries, "Is Open-mindedness
Out of Date?" (24)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ronald E. Keener / News
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh / Design
Kenneth I. Morse / Features
ASSISTANT EDITOR
tinda K. Beher
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Richard N. Miller
VOt. 121, NO. 16 SEPTEMBER 15, 1972
CREDITS: Cover. 2 (all but center). 3
Henry H. Risi III; I (left) Howard E.
Royer; (right), 11 Edward J. Buzinski; 2
(center) McKinlev CofTinan; 12. 14 Mathcw
Brady photographs, courtesy of the Library
of Congress; 13 from Battles and Leaders;
15 Dale Swope; 16 Les Pauvres, etching by
Pablo Picasso, courtesy of The Art Insti-
tute of Chicago: 19 Josh Weiner for Co-
lumbia Pictures
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter Aug. 20, 1918, under Act of
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date, Oct. 1.
1971- Messenger is a member of the Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Service and Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Re\'ised Standard
Version.
Subscription rates; 54.20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions; S3. 60 per year for church
group plan: S3. 00 per year for every home
plan: life subscription, $60; husband and
wife, S75. If vou move clip old address
from Mf-ssencer and send with new address.
Allow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly by
the General Ser\'ices Commission.
Church of the Brethren General
Board. 14,51 Dundee \\c., Elgin,
III. 60120. Second-class postage
paid at Elgin, ill., Sept. 15. 1972. C^opvright
1972, Church of the Brethren General Board.
1
AN ANSWER FOR SOME
This is in response to I. Wayne Keller's
letter, "Oppose Abortion" (June 15).
Abortion certainly is not the answer for
everyone but it is the only answer for some.
It is morally wrong to allow hundreds of
babies to be born of passion, ignorance, and
lust just so a pitiful few of these may be
adopted and the majority be condemned to
a life of hate, cruelty, and ignorance in the
ghetto or in any home void of love.
As a registered nurse, I have helped to
bring hundreds of babies into the world and
I am convinced there is no greater miracle
than birth — when the baby is wanted! I
have seen babies born because "there was
no other way out." These are the ones who
really suffer. These unwanted children be-
come "lost souls." Is it worse to lose a
soul, which is eternal, or an immature body
of flesh, which is temporary?
Don't fear for the future of this country
because abortion laws are becoming liberal.
But rather be glad that in the year 2000
and much sooner, there will not be swarming
masses of hungry people raging over the
face of the earth in search of food. The
population explosion is fast becoming a
crisis. Over the entire world it took 6.000
years to produce a population of one billion
persons. At the current birth rate we are
producing one billion persons every 15 years!
Today more than one half the World's
population is going hungry. And in less
than 20 years the number of hungry people
will more than equal the present world pop-
ulation. Abortion is necessary to help con-
trol population. I cite for you the relevant
example of Japan where abortion clinics
have contributed significantly to population
stability.
It is time to consider the problems that
face our world in 1972 and the world for
which we lay the future. . . . God gave
us the intelligence and opportunity to have
knowledge to provide for population control;
it would be a sin not to use it.
Geraldine Martin
Lewisburg. W. Va.
THE WORSHIP OF MAMMON
In the article "Pastoral Ministry and Beth-
any Theological Seminary" (June I ). the
list of leaders who are not graduates of BTS
has one notable omission — Jesus.
Jesus was not a graduate of rabbinical
school, to the puzzlement of the people
(John 7:15). Moreover, Jesus did not take
refuge under the umbrella of a salary scale.
He preached good news to the poor — with-
out pay. He instructed his disciples to do
the same (Matt. 10:8). This was not an
innovation, however. All rabbis were for-
bidden to take pay. They were required
Pc
<D)im
to support themselves by a trade or craft.
Paul was a tentmaker.
Am I calling into question the paid pro-
fessional ministry? Yes, but not primarily.
The greater fault lies elsewhere. A money-
loving laity feels tolerably comfortable with
a well-paid clergy. Such a clergy cannot
speak a clear word against the evils of ma-
terialism. Let the pulpit speak "propheti-
cally" against those evils that the pew also
condemns. Such as war.
Why do we oppose war? Because war
is WRONG! The fact that war anywhere
in the world could easily touch off World
War III — a war that will be right smack
in our front yard, playing hob with our
worship of mammon — has no bearing on
the case!
Do we seriously expect to buy that bag
of rotten potatoes? There is none so zeal-
ous for the Lord as he who harbors a false
god in his heart.
Christian Bashore
Gettysburg, Ohio
A MORE POSITIVE ATTITUDE
Concerning Arthur Hoppe's article (June
15) copied from the San Francisco Chron-
icle, I am moved to comment.
Certainly I would be the last to question
his credentials as a columnist for a daily
newspaper, but as an authority on Chinese
and international pohtics, I wish to raise
some deep questions.
When after twenty years we at last have
a man who happens to be our president,
bold enough and courageous enough to take
the first step toward an attempt at redirect-
ing our thinking and trying to establish the
right relationship with the great country of
China, I feel we should support and com-
mend him for this positive step rather than
condemn and ridicule him as you and Mr.
Hoppe are doing. Yes, you, by the very
fact you chose to copy this article from a
daily sectarian newspaper and publish it in
our church publication. By so doing, you
give your approval to the writer's ideas.
For a change, let us support our president
in the efforts he is making to bring about
a better understanding of our enemies if you
wish to call them that. Didn't Christ direct
us to go to those with whom we disagree
and try for a better understanding? What
man in these past twenty years has done
that? Now that President Nixon has taken
the first step, I would like to see our
Messenger and the Church of the Brethren
commend and support him.
I pray for a more positive attitude and
approach toward international understand-
ing and peace.
Helen Forney
Fresno, Calif.
The action was bold and swift. In one
seemingly fell swoop at Cincinnati the
jobs of several staff persons were termi-
nated by a financially-pinched General
Board.
Included were the services of two as-
sociate editors of Messenger, two of
the ablest communicators in any church
anywhere.
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh since 1965
carried primary responsibility for the
graphic design of Messenger, perform-
ing in a style which brought accolades
from readers and awards from profes-
sionals. A multitalented man, he was
organist at the Cincinnati Annual Con-
ference and creator and builder of the
Conference worship center.
Ronald E. Keener in his two years
with the General Board brought top
journalistic skills to news handling, the
outgrowth of former experiences in the
US navy, with the Wall Street Journal
and other periodicals, and in graduate
training. For Messenger, Ron wrote
and shaped the Outlook section and
special reports, contributed to In Touch
and features, and since last September
was a prime consultant in ongoing edi-
torial planning.
To speak of the two men's work in
terms of Messenger is to tell but part
of their story. For each was widely
involved in other assignments with the
Brotherhood.
Upon commencing work at the Gen-
eral Offices in 1960, Wilbur Brumbaugh
was managing editor and later editor
of Leader magazine for nine years. At
various times he edited denominational
story papers and participated in cur-
riculum production. He edited and de-
signed series of leaflets and books for
the General Board and The Brethren
Press. He was involved in Mission
Twelves throughout the Brotherhood.
A special assignment undertaken by
Ron Keener was serving as liaison be-
tween the communications team and the
World Ministries Commission. In cov-
ering World Ministries developments he
filed on-location reports and photo-
graphs from many points in the nation
and from Ecuador and Peru. He also
was the Brethren liaison in the 1971
production of the award-winning Peace-
making Spots for television. He issued
the monthly News circulated to pastors
and congregational newsletter editors,
introduced Aheadline for a selected list
of workers, coordinated year-round
news coverage with the mass media, and
directed press operations at Annual
Conference.
But again, to recount the productions
which flowed from the minds of these
men is to reveal but a partial story.
For what they contributed to the
Church of the Brethren was far more
than a stream of magazines, books,
pamphlets, news stories, tapes, photos,
m.usic, and graphic designs.
Wilbur and Ron were at home in
what they were doing, pursuing work
they loved to do. Each found meaning
and motivation in working for the
Wilbur Brumbaugh, /., Ronald Keener
church, if not always the church as it
is, certainly the church that is to be.
Each exuded a gentle but probing rest-
lessness that is perhaps the hallmark of
the creative mind.
In some quarters the tightening of
the bureaucratic belt may be seen as a
kind of positive twist in the well-being
of an institution.
When those whose services are ter-
minated are as committed, resourceful,
and productive as were these two men,
by no quirk can loss be imagined as
gain.
At this juncture what regrouping
there is to be of the communications/
editorial team is undetermined. An-
nouncement of realignments will follow
in due course.
More important at the moment for
us who remain is to declare to Wilbur
and Ron our thanks, our esteem, our
love for their having given the Brother-
hood, Messenger, and us their very
best. No finer associates could we have
had. — The Editors
9-15-72 MESSENGER 1
ImimB^ial
Lost everything but hope
Wilkes-Barre is not unlike other communities struck
by disaster, unless you are a resident of that Penn-
sylvania community. For those who once lived there,
the tragedy is unique.
In every community pounded by Tropical Storm
Agnes, the destruction was unique yet similar.
In the Wilkes-Barre area, a 13-mile long by
three-mile wide stretch was totally devastated.
Downtown, where there had been 50 retail stores,
only a newsstand and a drug store were open a month
after the flood.
Volunteers came in droves from up and down the
eastern seaboard and as far away as Ohio, Indiana,
and Illinois. Brethren were among them.
Not alone Brethren, but by total communities
they came. There was what one on-the-spot observer
called "an incredible, fantastic outpouring of love,
concern, money, and labor."
Henry H. Rist III, a staff member of the Atlantic
Northeast District, was one who went. After his first
work day in Wilkes-Barre he couldn't sleep at night.
All he thought of were the images of Wilkes-Barre.
At Messenger's request, he returned to capture
the feel and record something of the Brethren
involvement.
It could have been the Brethren at work in any
place of need. But this time it was in Wilkes-Barre.
Why do people go and help?
One churchman, a Roman Catholic Bishop sug-
gested that persons go to say to every victim : "You
have not lost everything. We will not let you lose
hope."
One couple who went were members of the
Hershey congregation. They had experienced exten-
sive loss to their motel: water in every room, guests
evacuated, damages extensive and expensive.
When they went, they chartered a bus, enlisted
persons, and underwrote the cost.
It is said, "They are so deeply grateful for what
people did for them and that their losses are not
total."
Some in every disaster lose everything but hope.
And many come dangerously close to losing even
that.
LOAN^!
.-lK~. .;-;•
^
II UJ9 IIS!
cstHi IP Si
^ •''. --r-.-^
-^.-
t^
1^^
J
This page, from top, volunteers scrub
floors in flood-ravaged Wilkes-Barre,
where houses in neighborhood after
neighborhood sag in the slime and mud
residue. Above, coordinators of volun-
teers: BVSer George Million, New Haven,
Conn., Mrs. Harold Monte, Forty-Fort,
Pa., and Miller Davis, New Windsor, Md.
Upper left, even those institutions to
which persons looked for help were
devastated; below, flood left debris
high in the trees
^:./'
WITH
THAN
«€A«^1
Volunteers came
by truck and bus,
bringing tools of
hope and a will to
rebuild
S ^-
1 1'
Brethren authors remain busy
in book publishing projects
"They are writing, publishing, selhng —
and dreaming," says Kenneth I. Morse in
response to a query on what Brethren
authors have been doing. Mr. Morse,
book editor and features writer for the
Brotherhood, has compiled some of the
recent accomplishments — and some of
the dreaming — of authors in the church.
His summation follows:
If any Brethren author can claim to
have a best seller to his credit, it is
probably Russell Bixler, whose book on
the Holy Spirit and the charismatic move-
ment, It Can Happen to Anybody, has
sold some 50,000 copies since it was
published two years ago. Sales are still
climbing.
Although the Pittsburgh, Pa., pastor
has no immediate plans for another
writing project, he reports that he is
presently editing books for the Fleming
H. Revell Co. and for Whitaker Books.
Dale W. Brown has not published a
book within the past year, but has had
some conversations about future projects
with Eerdman's, publisher of his last
book. The Christian Revolutionary
(1971). One would be a general book on
the theology of peace and another on
theology and doctrines for a radical
church. He is interested also in develop-
ing a book based on a course he has
taught every year at the seminar^' en-
titled "Brethren and Theological
Perspective."
On the basis of Dr. Brown's experience
with his book published a year ago, he
notes that having a book published by a
major publisher opens up opportunity for
dialogue with many persons he would
Puritans, published by Abingdon. A
chapter from this book was the lead
article in the October 1971 issue of
Coronet magazine. In January the Chris-
tian Board of Publication (Disciples of
Christ) picked it as a book of the month
for their denomination. His earlier vol-
ume, The Mad Morality, came out in a
paperback edition by New American
Library and can be seen across the
country on newsstands.
not contact otherwise. Christian theology
professor at Bethany Seminary, he was
1972 Annual Conference moderator.
The most recent of Vernard Filer's
books to appear is The Sex Manual for
Scheduled for fall publication by
Eerdman's is Dr. Eller's In Place of
Sacraments: Study of Baptism and the
Lord's Supper. He is also under contract
to Eerdman's to do a book, a year from
now, on the simple life entitled Simply
Put. It's the Life. For Abingdon, Dr.
Eller, La Verne College professor and
theologian, is doing the final work on a
book entitled King Jesus' Manual of
Arms for the Armless.
"It is a biblical study, although done in
a somewhat light style, tracing the theme
of war and peace all the way through
from Genesis to Revelation," he says.
Publication date is next spring. Dr.
Eller is involved in several different writ-
ing projects and plans to take his regular
sabbatical at La Verne during the fall
semester, spending the time writing.
Art Gish of Philadelphia, Pa., is
presently negotiating with a publisher
regarding a book he has written on sim-
plicity of life-styles. He indicates also
that he is working on another book —
this one on what he calls "radical ec-
clesiology." "This will be an Anabap-
tist view of the church, a picture of what
the church should look like," he explains.
Free to Be a Woman is the title of a
book written by Patricia K. Helman and
published by Doubleday during the past
year. The book takes a critical look at
the ways in which society defines women.
The author counters these stereotypes
with her own understanding of "how we
define ourselves." The thrust of the book
is directed toward what she describes as
woman's "spiritual identity'." A paper-
back edition of the book is planned in the
coming year.
Mrs. Helman reports that seeing her
first book published has been an inter-
esting experience, "one which has in-
cluded much learning from both the
technical and the personal viewpoint."
She finds it has been interesting to hear
other people interpret her ideas and she
realizes how subtle the art of communica-
tion really is.
She is not committing herself at this
moment regarding future plans but the
North Manchester, Ind., woman says,
"One book leads to another, so I am in
the process again of trving to sort out
ideas and thoughts into some intelligent
whole."
Abingdon Press announced the publi-
cation on September 11 of an original
paperback by Joanne Kimmel entitled
Steps to Prayer Power. The publishers
say, "Jo Kimmel has worked with people
from over the entire United States in her
prayer labs and workshops. Using meth-
ods learned from others and experiment-
ing with those of her own. she has
sought to help people contact God in
order to live courageously and victorious-
ly." She is presently in business and
living near Phoenix, Ariz.
A collection of 13 sermons originally
preached at Pleasant Hill church in Penn-
sylvania by Harold S. Martin was pub-
lished last year by Carlton Press under
the title Sermons on Fternal Themes.
The author suggests that the book rep-
resents "the kind of preaching occurring
in the more conservative congregations
of the Brotherhood." Mr. Martin is
chairman of the Brethren Revival Fellow-
ship. He is currently working on a prac-
tical layman's commentary on the Epistle
to the Romans.
David E. .Miller has not published a
title during the past year but indicates
that a paperback edition of his earlier
book, Gods and Games: Toward a
4 MESSENGER 9-15-72
Theology of Play (World), will be avail-
able near January 1973. A chapter in his
book Theology and Humor will be pub-
lished by Westminster Press. He indicates
that he has nearly completed a book-
length manuscript tentatively titled
Humor, Homecoming, and Happy End-
ing. Dr. Miller is a professor of religion
at Syracuse University and was a Bible
hour speaker at the Cincinnati Annual
Conference.
Robert H. Miller's new book, a collec-
tion of prayers entitled The Hunger of the
Heart, is the most recent publication of
The Brethren Press. It developed out of
pastoral prayers that Dr. Miller wrote
for use in several churches he served
following his retirement from teaching
at Manchester College.
Dr. Miller has completed three chap-
ters on another writing project, a com-
mentary on the gospel of John.
Although Anna Mow of Roanoke, Va.,
has not published a new book in the past
year her past volumes published by
Zondervan, Harper, and Lippincott con-
tinue to sell. She e.xpects soon to be able
to announce specific publication plans
for one manuscript already completed
and another one soon to be available.
Four young poets, Terry Pettit, Brooks
Couser, Paul Hoover, and Robert Allen,
all of them graduates of Manchester
College, are contributors to Watermarks,
a collection of contemporary poems
published last August by The Brethren
Press. The volume was edited by James
HoUis, a Manchester professor. It is
illustrated with drawings by Kevin Miller,
a Manchester student.
Within the past year Roger Sapping-
ton has seen two new books brought to
the publication point. One is The
Brethren in the Carolinas. a history spon-
sored by the Southeastern District and
completed in March. The second book
is a biography of Reuel B. Pritchett, the
Tennessee preacher.
The Bridgewater College history pro-
fessor looks forward to seeing his his-
tory of the Church of the Brethren in
Virginia published next year. He is
currently at work compiling information
and preparing for the eventual publica-
tion of another in the series of Brethren
history source books. His will deal with
what is sometimes called the "Wilderness
Continued on 6
\ijmd(B\rWm(i
PEOPLE YOU KNOW
Church of lihe Brethren pastor H. Dale
Zimmerman , associate professor of psychology at Kutztown,
Pa., College, has been appointed director of the Counsel-
ing and Development Center at the college.
In Southern Pennsylvania Merle Bievenour , Lester
Eckert , and Dean Fahnestock were ordained, Mr. Bievenour at
Pleasant Hill, and the others at Lower Cumberland. Robert
Hoke , West York congregation, was licensed.
Two members of lihe Bro1±ierhood received advanced de-
grees in stammer graduation exercises. Robert A_. Hess , Eliz-
abethtown. Pa., was awarded a Ph.D. in African studies from
Howard University, Washington, D.C. The onetime educational
missionary in Nigeria is presently assistant professor of
history, Messiah College, Grantham, Pa. ... Middletown, Ohio,
pastor J. Ronald Mummert took his master of education degree
at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
Jesse W. and A. Ruth Beahm Whi tacre , active for more
1±ian 50 years in the ministry, have moved from their home
in Keyser, W. Va. , to Friendship Manor at Roanoke. Their
new address is Friendship Manor, 320 Hershberger Rd. , N.W.,
Apt. 808, Manor West, Roanoke, Va. 24012.
Another address change comes from Martin Rock , whose
assignment viith Vietnam Christian Service in Saigon was
cut short by six months for a new post at Akron, Pa. ,
headquarters of Mennonite Central Committee. His new
address: 21 S. 12th St., Akron, Pa. 17501.
A former employee of the General Board, Robert Tully ,
has joined Manchester College staff as director of alumni
affairs and placement. He returns to the college where he
was acting dean of men and instructor of mathematics.
Charles C. Cripe , the Church of the Brethren minister
who died last November, may have among the highest records
of Annual Conference attendance. He served in Minnesota
and Indiana churches, attended 55 yearly meetings. He was
known for his temperate and simple style of life.
YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THESE
Concerned church
people who want firsthand contact with the frustrations of
poverty may want to join the Home Repair Work Camp Oct. 15-
22 at Patton Springs Camp in North Carolina. Sponsored by
the Coromission on Religion in Appalachia, the camp will
concentrate its efforts on home repairs and the building
of new homes with mo\intain families. Write CORA-SEPI ,
P. 0. Box 846, Black Mountain, N.C. 28711.
A 24th annual reunion of CPSers is slated Sunday,
Sept. 17, at the conference center, Donegal Springs, near
Elizabe1±itown, Pa. A buffet luncheon for $2 will be
served. Make reservations with Ed Crill, 350 Lemon St.,
Elizabeth town. Pa. 17022, telephone 717-367-5190.
Entiries close Oct. 15 for the eighth annual round of
the Church of the Brethren postal chess tournament . Play-
ers are grouped into sections of about the same skill.
Winner in each section will receive a certificate. Enter
by sending name , address , and approximate strengtJi (aver-
age, above or below average) to chess tournament director
Ward B. Crabill, 11819 Mentone Rd. , Silver Spring, Md.
20906. No entry fee necessary.
915-72 MESSENGER 5
Period" in Brethren history.
Letters to Eva in Heaven is the title
of a new book by W. Russell Sluill pub-
lished early in 1972 by the Macalester
Park Publishing Co. The book is in the
form of a series of "letters" to his wife
Eva following her death in April 1961.
Mr. Shull is the author of a dozen books
and pamphlets, many of them in the
field of religion. He was the managing
editor for 18 school texts on guidance.
Retired, he is now living in North
Manchester, Ind.
KEuii B rtiicHni
Groydon F. Suyder. of Bethany The-
ological Seminary, with Roman Catholic
theologian Rosemary Ructher, contrib-
uted major studies to Colloquiiun I. the
first of a monograph series published
this year by the seminary. The title of
Dr. Snyder's contribution is "Power and
Violence: A Biblical Study."
He is currently writing a book on the
local and translocal church in the early
history of Christianity.
Grady Snyder, along with colleagues
Donald Miller and Robert Neff, has
signed a contract for a book with Judson
Press which has a tentative title, Usini;
Biblical Simulations. The book explains
the nature of biblical simulation and
gives examples as well as instructions on
how to do them.
Stop and Consider is the title given to
a new collection of meditations and
prayers that has been issued by Glen
Weiiner, a retired minister living at
Scbring, Fla. Mr. Weimcr is currently
compiling and preparing other devotional
books. His medit.ilions and pr.ivers have
reached a wide audience over many
years in Brethren and other publications.
Without dispute. Glee Voder of
McPherson, Kan., is the most prolific
curriculum writer in the Church of the
Brethren. Since last June she has seen
two of her curriculum courses published,
one a course for elementary grades on
the Gospel of Luke (Christian Board of
Publication, St. Louis), and the second
a course for fifth and sixth graders, A
Worldwide Fellowship (Warner Press).
The Brethren Press will be bringing
out later this summer a new peace unit
for junior highs under the title Why Not
Peace? Mrs. Yoder has already com-
pleted a manuscript entitled Handle With
Care to be published by Judson Press as
part of the Vacation Venture Series of
the Cooperative Publishing Publication
Association.
The feature that Glee has contributed
recently for Messenger under the head-
ing "Take It From Here" is to be pub-
lished in book format soon for Judson
Press. She is also committed to develop
a curriculum course for junior highs for
the Church of God and the American
Baptists under the title The Christian
Facing His World. This will be her
ninth curriculum project. She feels that
as a Brethren curriculum writer she is
in a unique position to help bridge the
gap between various theological stances.
Brumbaugh accepts editorial
post with rival publisher
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh, until Conference
time an associate editor of Messenger,
has accepted an editorship with the
David C. Cook Publishing Company in
Elgin.
A nondenominational publisher of
church and Sunday school supplies, the
D. C. Cook organization is a friendly
competitor of The Brethren Press.
Mr. Brumbaugh now heads the work
of a new division for the Cook organi-
zation, a part of their diversification
program. He will edit nondated, multi-
media materials to be used in a variety of
edLicational settings.
One of four stalT dismissed by the
General Board in June, Mr. Brumbaugh
was in his 13th year of service in the
denomination's offices in Elgin.
During his staff years, he served as
editor of Leader and Friends magazines
and as supervising editor of Journeys and
Tell Ate story papers. He carried major
editorial and design functions with Mes-
senger and numerous hooks, pamphlets,
posters, and promotional materials pro-
duced by The Brethren Press.
He began his new job August 7.
Church's nonstaff employees
ratify shorter work week .fl
Shorter hours rather than increased pay
as such is the result of negotiations with
nonstaff persons employed in the denom-
ination's international offices in Elgin.
A four-day work week beginning in
October has been negotiated by one
group of wage and hour employees. It
affects the manufacturing group, about
21 in number, who make up the produc-
tion, printing, bindery, composing, and
plate-making departments.
A separate contract continuing the
five-day week, but shortening the work-
week to 37V2 hours, takes effect Oct. 1
for office and mailing room wage and
hour persons.
The latter contract also provides dis-
cretionary time in arriving and leaving.
The employee must work seven and a
half hours a day between the hours of
8 A.M. and 5 p.m., and must be in the
office between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The flexible schedule, however, permits
the employee to arrive on the job anytime
between 8 and 9 a.m. as long as seven
and a half hours are worked that day.
Hazel Peters, personnel director, indi-
cates that the flexible work schedule for
office personnel gives the employee an
opportunity to care for personal affairs
during the regular working day while
stores and services are open.
Persons with small children may
choosj to come in at a later hour in order
to see them off to school or to care for
emergencies, she said.
The four-day workweek for the manu-
facturing group has the advantages, Ms.
Peters said, of saving on transportation
to work by cutting out one day, of less
start-up and clean-up time niaking for a
more productive operation, and gives the
employee more time for his family and
work at home on long weekends.
The manufactLiring group will work a
nine and a half hour day, or 38 hours
during the four-day week.
There will be a half-hour lunch break,
a reduction of 15 minutes, and two rest
breaks as at present.
The professional members of the de-
nominational staff have responsibilities
which require various daily and weekly
work schedules.
6 MESSENGER 9-15-72
ps©D®D \r(B\^(n)\rt
Uocs Jesus Really Mean It?"
■Do We?"
This was the disturbing theme of the
third conference on the Believers' Church
held in M:iy at the Laurelvilie Mennonite
Church Center in Western Penns\ Ivania's
mountains near Mount Pleasant. It was
planned especialK for lay bejiesers who
would wrestle with Jesus' disturbing
words, "Don't worry about eat, drink, or
clothes . . . don't pile up treasures . . . ."
Earlier Believers' Conferences were
summit meetings involving theologians,
historians, and scholars. The purpose of
the Laurelvilie conference was 'to facili-
tate the process of translating the work
of scholars into workable models for
congregational life through conversations
between scholars, pastors, and laymen."
The first Believers' Church Conference
was called in 1967 by the Southern Bap-
tist Seminary in Louisville. It assembled
people not only from the historic peace
churches but also from several Baptist,
Disciples, and other free-church groups.
Participants numbered about 150 who
listened and reacted to twelve scholarly
lectures. Its orientation was largely
historical. It dealt with the concept of
the Believers' Church which, according
to John Howard Yodcr's introduction at
Laurelvilie, meant that the historians
discussed whether the label itself is a
useful one. whether there is a distinct
conception of what the church ought to
be that can be identified through the
centuries as having certain abiding im-
plications. [See Messenger, Aug. .^1,
1967.]
The second conference in 1970 was
sponsored by Chicago Theological Sem-
inary. It dealt with the new forms and
contemporary shapes of church renewal
and the directions for the Believers'
Church. It was scholarly and theologi-
cally oriented. [Sec Messenger, Aug.
27, 1970.]
Even thoLigh there is not a formal
organization which keeps on meeting,
there is a continuing Committee for
Conversations on the Concept of the
Believers' Church which plans for a
periodic conference. This 1972 model
varied from the former two in that it
was designed primarily by and for the
historic peace churches — the Societ\' of
Friends (Quakers), Mennonites, and the
Church of the Brethren — and that it
WrestlingWith
Disturbing Words
was to be geared to the laity for im-
plementation in the local church.
To insure prompt and aggressive tack-
ling of the theme, prior to arrival regis-
trants were charged to study Jesus'
Sermon on the Mount and two provoca-
tive books interpreting it. Special at-
tention was to be focused upon property
and treasure and the implications for the
follower of Jesus and for the church.
Leadership included Dale W. Brown,
Church of the Brethren, who keynotcd
the conference: T. Canby Jones of the
Sociel) of Friends, who lectured on the
Bible and led worship experiences; and
John Howard Yoder, Mennonite, who
helped the group summarize the
conference.
There is a sense in which the confer-
ence didn't quite "come off," in which
its stated objectives were not realized.
Instead of the 100 registrants sought,
fewer than forty turned up. In addition
to Dale Brown, only three other Brethren
were present — none a layman and none
representing a local church or the de-
nomination officially. Remaining partic-
ipants were about equally divided among
the Mennonites and Quakers, with the
latter sharing their identit\' the best.
DiscLissions and Bible studies failed
to focus long and penetratingly upon the
theme. The coordinators, several youth,
and a layman or two struggled valiantly
to keep the issues clear and the discus-
sions centered upon the Sermon on the
MoLint. Jesus' teaching on possessions,
anti contempor,iry implications. Except
for short periods this was impossible and
the group side-stepped its task. It is
hard to know why. Better clarification
and orientation prior to coming or im-
mediately upon arrival to the tasks of
the conference, to what progress was
achieved in the two previoLis conferences,
and to the concept and natLire of the
Believers' Church would have been
helpful.
And, perhaps, this was not the right
crowd for such a conference. Cotild it
be that the theme was too threatening?
This is not to say the conference was
without value. The openness, support,
fellowship, and discussions of the small
groups were enriching. Dialogue with
leaders and thoughtful people of other
communions was stimulating. Canby
Jones proved once again that the Bible
is alive, its study can be exciting and its
message as the Word of God is both
comforting and discomforting.
Spontaneous worship services in the
Quaker tradition and a concluding Love
Feast — agape meal, communion, feet-
washing. Brethren fashion, led bv the
Brethren — were moving experiences
even though not all Friends, by convic-
tion, could participate in the com-
munion.
For those interested in the meaning
of radical discipleship to JesLis in the
Believers' Church tradition, much work
— praying, thinking, studying, exploring,
confronting, dialoguing, loving —
remains. Just who — what — is the
Believers' Church? Who are members?
What is the nature of Christian commu-
nity? The Sermon on the Mount: does
Jesus really mean it? Is it normative for
us today? Literally? What are the
implications?
For our aftlucnt culture, materialistic
churches, and prosperous members, what
docs it mean to practice the simple life,
share sacrificially. be economically ac-
countable, strive for community, be
coLirageous for peace, love those within
and beyond the fellowship, and be
obedient to "Don't worry about eat,
drink, or clothes . . . don't pile up
treasures . . ."? Do we really want to be
Christian?
The failure of the Laurelvilie confer-
ence to come to grips with these issues
and to offer guidance to the churches
has produced some guilt feelings, in-
creased sensitivity. enlarg:d horizons,
disturbed convictions, and a group of
concerned vouth and adults who will
continue to ponder and work at obedient
discipleship and Christian life-styles.
In this way and in the long run the
conference may prove to be more suc-
cessftil than an immediate assessment
indicates. Brethren. Friends, and Men-
nonites— and the larger Believers'
Church body — must continue their
explorations. — Harold Z. Bomberg[:r
9- 15 72 MESSENGER 7
Christ
One of the pet phrases
we have as Christians
is "Christ is the answer." You say,
"pollution — oh, Christ is the answer."
"Racism — Christ is the answer."
"War — Christ is the answer." In other
words, we lay this "Christ is the answer"
on every issue that comes up.
It reminds me of the young man who
committed himself to Jesus Christ and
who was told by other Christians that in
order to be an effective witness he must
find some way to communicate Jesus
Christ to other people. He came up with
a tremendous scheme: He would enter
the classroom every morning ahead of the
class and write across the blackboard in
big bold letters, "Christ is the answer!"
And he would sit back and feel tre-
mendously enthused that he had wit-
nessed another day to the whole class.
Until one morning a very sharp pagan
kid came in behind him and under
"Christ is the answer" wrote, "Yeah, but
what are the questions?"
Christ is the answer to what? The
problem is that we don't want to discuss
the what. We prefer to leave Jesus hang-
ing up in the clouds. Frequently people
have said to me, "Now, brother, just
stick to the Word. Just preach the
Word." And I couldn't understand what
they were talking about because I had
prepared my whole message around the
Word. Then I began to see that what
they were saying is, "Lay the scripture on
us but don't tell us what it means. Preach
the Word but don't apply it to anything.
Preach Jesus but don't say how that
shapes our everyday lives." And the
8 MESSENGER 9- 15-72
tragedy is that we have been preaching
a word that doesn't say anything.
Christ is the answer, but Christ is the
answer to something, to what. We must
begin by coming to grips with what it
means to be the people of God. For
Jesus Christ was the greatest radical
revolutionary that ever lived. Jesus
Christ was a radical and is a radical
because he gets to the root of man's
dilemma, man's problem. He is a revolu-
tionary because he has come to change
things completely. Now, when you and
1 think of changing the world system that
we live in, there are three alternatives.
One alternative is to burn the whole
thing down, to bomb it out, to destroy it.
The only problem with that is that it
assumes that by destroying the facilities of
the system that you can change the
system. But systems are not made up of
facilities. Systems are made up of
people, and if you want to change the
system, you've ultimately got to change
people. The problem is most people
don't want change.
The second alternative is to change the
system by working from within. The
problem here, however, is that, first of
all, you've got to get in the system.
And by the time you get in the system,
you then must work yourself up so that
you can get in a position of power where
you can effect change, and by the time
you work yourself up to a position where
you can effect change, you've had to so
prostitute yourself on the way up that
you forgot what you came there for.
The third alternative is for some of us
to get together and build live models of
what ought to be. This is the one I opt
for: A community of people who are to
be live models on earth of what is
happening in heaven. People who trust
Jesus and who are a community. If we
are to be that kind of community, there
are some essential concerns going on in
the world that you and I must deal with.
First, people are searching for identity,
seeking to come to grips with who they
are. If you listen closely to the f>op
artists of our generation, they are all
raising the same question. "Who's going
to help us get it together? Who's going
to help me learn who I am? Who's going
to help me find out what I'm about?"
The new community has got to be made
up of people who know who they are,
who have solved their identity crises, who
can stand up and live in a world where
people don't know why they are, and
say, "Over here — we have it together."
Another concern in the world is com-
munity — people are trying to find ways
by which they can come together. The
world system is torn and people are
divided. The lonely and the despondent
and the frustrated stand up and say,
"Where is love, where has love gone?"
The new community, God's people, ought
to be able to stand up and say, "Over
here, we practice love. We don't just
preach about it; we practice it. You're
looking for love; work among us."
When the hungry are being denied the
right to a living, when the poor are being
denied the right to legal defense, when
the wretched of the earth are being
stepped on because of their economic
status or the national backgrounds or
their racial identity, the new community,
God's people, has to stand up and say,
"You want justice — you'll find it among
us. We practice justice."
^^ the answer.
A third concern to be dealt with is
the issue of power, of people in a power-
less society trying to find the means and
the right to determine their own futures.
The Chicanes are standing up and
saying, "Don't call me Mexican-Ameri-
can anymore. From now on you call me
Chicano because Mex is your definition
of me and Chicano is my definition of
me, and from now on I'm going to exer-
cise the right to define myself. And if
you want to deal with me, you deal with
me on my definition, not yours."
Black people are standing up and say-
ing, "We ain't Negroes, we ain't migras
and nigras and nigroes and colored: we
are black. And if you want to deal with
us, you must deal with us on the basis of
our definition of ourselves and not on
the basis of your definition."
Women are standing up and saying,
"We're not sexual objects, we're not play-
things, we're not detached individuals;
we are persons. And if you want to deal
with us, you must deal with us as
persons."
All the niggers of the society — that is,
persons who are looked down upon by
other people and who accept other
people's definition of themselves — are
getting uppity these days. And the only
way to stop being a nigger is to stand up
and begin to define yourself as God
intends you to be defined, and not on the
basis of other people's definition of you.
The world out there, crying out for
power, is epitomized in the words of the
apostle Paul in Romans 7: "The will to
do is present with me. In my mind I
know what I'm supposed to do. I know
I'm supposed to do the will of God. In
my mind I want to be what God intends
What^j-g
the questions?
me to be, but every time I attempt to be
that, there is something that drags me
down so that which I don't want to do, I
do it. And that which I do want to do, I
don't do. I find another law that when
I would do good, evil is present with me."
Then he cries out, "What a messed up
man I am. Who will deliver me from
the body of this death? I find that I am
powerless. Who will deliver me?" And
he adds, "I thank God ... I thank God
through Jesus Christ."
Of course the question is, how does he
arrive at Jesus? Why Jesus? I suggest to
you that he arrives at Jesus Christ
because nothing else works. Look at the
society we live in. It has tried several
alternatives to restructuring itself. One
alternative has been education. If we
could produce a more informed society,
if we could just educate people, that
would wipe out poverty and hunger and
racism and war, we thought. Well, we
are the most informed society in the
history of man. Information in our
country doubles every six years, and ten
years from now it will double every three
years. Look at the people who are
making the decisions in our society, who
are dropping bombs on people, who are
polluting our air and water. They are
educated.
We thought economics was the answer.
So we said if we could just produce a
more affluent society, that would solve
our problems. The reason a kid throws
a brick in the store window, the reason
he starts riots in the ghetto is that he
doesn't have enough of the world's goods.
I used to believe that. But now it is
almost as if the rich kid and the poor
kid were passing each other on the road:
by Tom Skinner
the rich one leaving the system and the
poor one trying to get into it. And the
rich kid says to the poor kid, "Where are
you going, kid?" The poor kid says, "I'm
heading toward the system. You dudes
locked me out for 400 years and I'm on
my way to get a piece of the action."
The rich kid says, "Let me tell you some-
thing, friend. I just left the system. My
old man owns it."
The final solution that we offered was
religion. We said if we could just give
people a flag to wave, a song to sing, and
a creed to believe, that would solve our
problem. So we came up with good old
Americanized religion: God, country,
motherhood, the girl back home, and
apple pie. We put bumper stickers on
our car saying support god and coun-
try, as if they go together. One nation,
under God. We even stuck his name on
our money: In God We Trust. And we
created a certain kind of Americanistic
religion, a certain kind of spiritual super-
patriotism, and we convinced ourselves
that America was run by God, that God
is on our side, a vote for God is a vote
for America.
And I'm suggesting to you that maybe
the sign ought to read the cross or the
flag, God or country — not God and
country. My allegiance is not to America;
my allegiance is to the kingdom of God.
Period. Now if you want to call me a
communist, that's just your shrewd way
of ducking the issue. But that is not the
issue. The issue is that we've produced
an Americanized religion that doesn't
have enough oomph to turn the inside of
9-15-72 MESSENGER 9
a garbage pail. It is devoid of power.
It is not speaking. It is not transforming.
It is not making a radical difference in
the nation. Religion has not worked in
America. That is why Paul now brings
us back to "I thank God through Jesus
Christ."
Jesus Christ made a very emphatic
statement when he asked his disciples,
"Who do men say that I am?" And you
remember the reply, that you are the
Christ, the son of the living God. and on
that testimony Jesus said, "I will rebuild
my church. I will build the ecclesia, the
called-out people. I will build the new
community. And the gates of hell will
not prevail against it." And it is in this
new community that Jesus Christ has
decided to build the alternative to the
messed up world, the church, a people
who would be live models on earth of
what is happenmg in heaven.
What we are faced with toda\' is a
group of people who arc eonsers .ilive in
their iheologs, coiiser\ati\e in their
commitment to the Bible as the word of
Ciod. conservative in the sense that they
are bibheisls and the\ beliexc the scrip-
lures, but they are iiol Christian. We
have produced .i gencr.ilioii of people
\\ho are like the Pharisees — we know
all ihe nghl things lo sa\. we know what
worUlK ihings lo be ag.imsl. wc behese
the Uible is the inherent, inspired, in-
fallible word of Ciod. we are fumla-
menl.il. orthodi>\. eonser\ali\e. ev.ingel-
ie.il, but we're not Christians, simie i>f us.
Because even with .ill of ih.il conserva-
tive theology, there is a l.irge number of
us who have never had a rel.itionship
with Jesus Christ. People with the right
vocabularv and the right phrases have
never met Jesus. There must come a
point in your life in which you confess
that vou've been running your own life
and th.it Jesus is 1 ord and you allow him
to be Lord in vour life. That's what the
church is.
But what does this new communitv do'.'
I want to suggest these things:
Number one. it worships. .And wor-
ship is very simple. Worship is making
love to God. Worship is looking at God
and saying. Wow! It is. as with the
Psalmists, pleasing God, adoring him. It
is, as with the early disciples, speaking
to the people who did not know Christ,
but also speaking to God. It is letting
The reason that I need fellowship is
I have clay feet right up to my navel. .
it's so hard to get next to God's
because we've built
the things of earth grow strangely dim in
the light of his glory and grace.
Now. if that is what worship is, the
question we must ask ourselves is. v*hat
goes on in our churches on .Sund.-.v
morning'? I hear some preaching and I
hear some singing, and I have to ask
myself, is it worship'.' Some churches I
enter hand me a program that tells me
what God is going to do for the ne.\t 59
minutes. It is all clocked out. We will
make love to God by script. But I want
you to understand something, that mak-
ing love ought to be a spontaneous thing
My wife would have some difficulty if
some evening I walked into the room
with a script and said. "Honey, this is
how it's going to happen tonight, and this
is how long it will happen." It is that
ridiculous, it is that ludicrous, because
love ought to be spontaneous.
And you must give me the right to
worship God in my style, as I must give
vvHi the right to worship God in yours.
.\iiJ so with our voiilh. I et us be re-
nunded th.it m.inv of the songs th.i! von
.iiid I sing in church tod.iv v\cre the pop
music of e.irlier generations: .Some of our
l.ivoiite In mils emerged ]io\ fiom the
g.ilcs of he.ivcn but from the pits ot the
pub. Music from the vouth culiurc. fioni
lod.iv's culture, can be used to glorifv
tiod .IS niLich as the songs that come out
of vour Cierm.in heritage. If we e.m gel
together in our differing stv les .uid I le.un
voiirs and voii le.un mine, something far
superior might emerge. W hich is what
it's all about. .And th.it's wh.il the church
does. It makes love to CuhI. It worships.
The second thing abom this church is
that it is a community. God's people are
people who are together, committed to
each other, in communion with each
other. It is very interesting that the Holv
.Spirit onlv operated in the corporate
bodv of God's church as its people were
in singleness of purpose.
Jesus said to the new communitv . ".-X
new set of rules I give vou to play by,
and that is that you love each other the
way I love you." He told them that the
such walls.
oniv v\a\ the world would know that you
are His disciples is by how you love each
other. The world will not know that you
are the disciples of Jesus because vou
preach on the corner or because you pass
out tracts or because you knock on
people's door in visitation programs, as
good as those things may be. The world
will know that you and I are his disciples
bv how we love each other. And we
must understand what that love is all
about. Love is demonstrated. Jesus says:
"Greater love no man has than this,
when a person lay down his life for
another."
Are you acquainted with such a com-
munity where people are committed to
each other unto death'.' The tragedy with
most of our congregations is that we
don't even know each other, much less
can we talk about dy ing for each other.
Fellowship is people who get under each
other's skin, who are honest with each
other, who remove the walls from each
other.
The reason that I need fellowship is
because I have clay feet right up to my
n.ivel. Sometimes I get lonely. Some-
times mv mind gets messed up. I fall
down occasionally. I need some brothers
.iiiil sisters who will throw their arms
.iroiinil me when I get frustrated. But it's
so h.ird lo get ne\t to God's people today
because we've built such walls.
We live in such a superspiritual world
we snow each other. So when we see
each other, we shake hands, how are you
brother'.' Fine, praise the Lord. I'm
dying inside, but I can't tell you. Because
if I tell vou where I really hurt, then
you'll find out something about me that
I don't want you to find out, and I've got
to snow you into believing that I'm spiri-
tual. I could be bleeding but I can't tell
vou because I put on this big spiritual
act.
The new communitv is a witness in
community. It confronts people with one
10 MESSENChR 91J-72
because
but
people today
witness, and th.it witness is that Jesus is
alive. That is our message. The new
comnuinii). h\ its life-st>le, not just by
its \erbal preaehmg. is one great big
witness. .\nd we ought always to be
experieneing people in our midst who are
coming to know Jesus. It is the will of
God that the new community be one
great big maternity ward. People are
always being born into the kingdom.
That is why there's got to be this big
push toward evangelism.
Actually, though, there should never
have to be a push. Do you know that
one denomination in a recent convention
actually had to pass a resolution that the
church become involved in evangelism?
What are you laughing about? You're
kidding; you didn't do that? No, you
didn't! Oh, no, I'm in trouble. I didn't
know; honestly, I didn't know! If there
was ever a word from God, that was it!
But don't you understand that there
should not be the need to pass resolutions
on evangelism? That is the heart of the
church. If it is not evangelizing, it is not
functioning. It is not reproducing. The
reason we are not reproducing is because
of our misunderstanding of the gifts in
the body of the church. Most of us don't
reproduce because we've hired a guy
called the pastor to do that. But the
function of a pastor, according to the
sciipuires, is to equip the saints for the
work of the ministry. The Bible says that
ihe p.islor is the shepherd of the flock.
And it isn't shepherds who produce
sheep; sheep reproduce sheep. There is
no such thing as clergy and laity. Every-
one in the church is called to some role;
e\er\one is to find OLit what the role is
and be ordained in it.
Finallw we must put our energy to
raising healthy people in the church. All
of a sudden a gLiy becomes a Christian
and just like that, he's supposed to be
superspiritual, full grown. And it never
occurs to us that he needs somebody to
feed him, to help him to learn how to
walk, to stay with him and nurse him.
Oh, yes, we do have a special convert
class that meets for 4.'i minutes once a
week, some of us. And we think that's
follow-up.
One of the things that excites me
and scares me is the Jesus move-
ment in this coLintry. Kids getting
turned on to Jesus. Exciting. But you
know why I'm scared? I'm scared be-
cause these kids lack sound biblical
teaching. They are excited because they
are out winning souls. But the problem
is that they're winning people into the
kingdom of God btit there's nobody to
disciple these people they're winning.
And in the next ten years we may well
end up with the largest amount of re-
tarded Christians in the history of the
church.
The word of God teaches that we are
to make disciples out of people, not just
get them born again but to make dis-
ciples out of them. Now, that's the func-
tion of the new community. And all I
ask >ou to do is to search your heart
and ask \ourself. is that occurring
among sou?
It is not enough just to talk about your
traditions and to talk about your beliefs.
Can you say that ( 1 ) you're making love
to God. I 2) \ou are truly a community
(>1 people committed to each other unto
death. (}) \ou are involsed in seeing
people won into the kingdom of God,
and (4) you are invoKed in discipling
and de\ eloping those people. That is the
function of the new community.
I ch.illenge you, my brothers and sis-
ters For God's sake, become the
church. Q
9-15 72 MESSENGER 11
<Sl All Fbund
Sanctuary
Within
Its Walls
The little meetinghouse
squats on a lo^w limestone
rid^e above a blacktop road.
Antietam Creek
ivinds by to the east*
Across the ^^ay
a thick stand of maples
shades a monument
to the Civil War dead
from Maryland*
A little to the southeast
by Linda Beher
12 MESSENGER 9-15-72
9-15-72 MESSENGER 13
A Mathew Brady plwtograph taken after
the battle shows troops dead and dying
in the field before the shelled and
battered Mumina church
you can see the angular stone building
that serves Antietam National Battlefield
Site as visitor center, information dis-
pensary, and slide theater. The country-
side dips and swells gently all around.
Mj\ 1862 there were more trees, no
monuments, no visitor center. And the
church was whitewashed instead of paint-
ed. People then, as now, called it "the
little Dunker church," for the plain folk
who immersed their baptismal candidates,
refused conscription, and declared in
their Yearly Meeting that slavery "could
in no wise be justified in a brother, ac-
cording to the Gospel."
But ironically the wood near which
the church stood became the site of what
Civil War historians like to call "the
bloodiest battle" of the war, with many
troops left dead and dying around the
church, itself shelled and battered in the
thick fighting.
After 1 10 years legend and history can
blur together. Many stories, some myth,
others documented, circulate still; Stone-
wall Jackson secured the church for
headquarters during the fighting at
Antietam/ Sharpsburg. Officers described
maneuvers in terms of the church's loca-
tion. Clara Barton, Red Cross founder,
organized a field hospital at the church.
President Lincoln reviewed the troops
there, perhaps surveying its damaged
interibr. Some folk could remember the
townspeople of Sharpsburg, including
Brethren, coming through the lines to
care for the wounded, and to identify and
bury the dead.
Ten years earlier Samuel Mumma Sr.
could not have imagined the powerful
witness for peace the little church would
make when he deeded "100 perches more
or less" of his farm on which to erect a
meetinghouse. Its member families —
the Eckers, the Millers, the Neikirks, the
Sherricks, and the Mummas — came
from the Manor congregation, and they
named the new fellowship for the donor
of the land. They built the church after
the style of Brethren meetinghouses of
the time: two doors, one in the front for
the men, one at the side for the women;
eight many-pancd windows, their shutters
a soft gray-green; whitewashed bricks; a
limestone threshold.
Inside, appointments were stark. Un-
stained pine benches, uncompromisingly
hard. A longish table that held the thick-
lidded Bible and a stonewear pitcher. A
wood stove in the room's center.
^^learly a year after the Battle of
Antietam. Daniel P. Sayler described in
a letter to the Gospel Visitor "the calam-
ities of war" for "the brethren abroad."
In July 1863, near South Mountain,
across the valley where the Antietam
foray began, "the fields were laid waste,
and all that was on it trampled under foot
. . . one unbroken scene of desolation
and waste."
Following the battle members of the
Mumma church salvaged their damaged
building, and descendants held services
regularly there until 1916. Attendance
diminished, and finally, in 1921, a spring
windstorm flattened the building. It
dropped into obscurity, giving way to a
souvenir shop and filling station. An oc-
casional historian would renund Wash-
ington County folk of the church's sig-
nificance, and the old stories would be
re\iewcd. One traced the dis.ippearance
of the leather-covered Bible inimedialely
after the battle, taken, it is said, by a
soldier from the 107th New York
Regiment. For forty years the Bible re-
mained in New York, until John J .
Lewis, a black farmer, onetime Mar\ land
resident, and a member of the Pipe C reek
congregation of Brethren, loc.itcd and re-
turned it to Washington Count). These
14 MESSENGER 9-15-72
On Sept. 17 Sharpsbitrg
Brethren will commemo-
rate the spirit which the
church symbolizes.
Photographs show scenes
of the 1971 service.
The service begins at
2:30 p.m. at the
Antietam National
Battlefield Site, near the
Hagerstown-Sharpsbitrg
Pike. The National
Park Service co-
operates to provide
use of the building.
Ministers of divi-
sions 7 and 8 of the
Mid-Atlantic District
will participate
3n
stories, the Mathew Brady photographs
of the shelled church, the old foundation,
and some of the original bricks, hand-
hewn timbers, and tonguc-and-groove
llooring were all that remained.
But in 1951 the Washington County
Historical Society ptirchased the plot
where the stone foundation walls still
stood. Restoration of the building began
in 1 960 under supervision of the National
Park Service: some of the flooring, door
and window frames, several thousand
bricks, and a few benches are original.
Annually, Brethren from Sharpsburg
and the surrounding area gather in the
clothes of the period to celebrate and
commemorate not the battle but the spirit
of love and tolerance which the church
came to symbolize. This year the com-
memoration falls on September 17, 110
years to the day when the little meeting-
house withstood the batteries of the Blue
and Gray. The afternoon service will
reenact all the traditions: the lining of
hymns, the extemporaneous preaching,
the use of separate entrances for men and
women.
■"Some may even arrive in horsedrawn
buggies," said Page T. (Ted) Otto, the
spark behind the commemorative service.
Youth adviser for the Sharpsburg church
and a longtime student of history, Ted
along with historian and pastor Austin
Cooper pled the case for restoration in
1 96 1 to Department of the Interior offi-
cials in Philadelphia. Later Ted en-
couraged the young people in his charge
to plan the 1971 commemorative service.
Betty Otto, whose employment as a
gLude at the .Antietam site gives her a
special feel for the history of the place, is
researching the style of plain clothing —
would the Brethren have used buttons or
hooks and eyes? — and sewing bonnets
and prayer coverings. The old Bible, now
rebound in conventional cloth cover, will
play a part in the service, on loan from
the Park Service.
We
rlien the winds of war had swept
through the valley, the government in-
stalled a marker near the Mur.ima church.
Its cryptic language reminds us still of
the little Dunker church's part in a
ferment that enveloped the pcaceloving
Brethren who renounced slavery and war
in the name of goodwill toward all per-
sons: "The Dimkard Church. Erected
AD 1853 by the German Baptist Breth-
ren. During the battle the wounded of
both armies sought and found sanctuary
within its walls." Q
915-72 MESSENGER IS
h®\r(B D ©l^SDDd
\\
Bretiiren and the Farm Worker Issue
by /. BENTON RHOADES
Few issues in the news these days come
as close to Brethren hearts and pocket
books as the current effort of the United
Farm Workers to organize their own
union for negotiation with the growers
who hire them.
Our deep feelings about this surfaced
at the Cincinnati Annual Conference
which debated and defeated a resolution
to support a boycott on iceberg lettuce.
The boycott is being used by the UFW as
a negotiating tool in the struggle between
themselves and the growers, mostly in
Arizona.
The debate at the Annual Conference
was heated. Feelings ran high between
those who favor unionization of farm
workers and those who oppose it. Why?
One clear reason is that many Brethren
are farm operators or have been. Very
few of us have ever been migrant farm
workers. Those who are farmers fear
that, with a strong workers' union, they
might stand to lose some money and
some of the freedom to manage their
own farm enterprise entirely as they
wish. The matter of possible loss to the
grower should be considered on the basis
of what has happened to the grape grow-
ers since the coming of the union to
California. If Brethren farmers suffer
serious damage from the coming of
equality, perhaps the church should help
them, too. But, meanwhile, the cause of
equality should not wait. The poor have
already waited too long!
In the debate, it also became clear that
we Brethren do not see ourselves as being
exploiters of anyone. Haven't we helped,
in the past, to alleviate the situation of
farm workers by BVS day care for chil-
dren and by following the letter of the
law on housing and other required bene-
fits? Brethren growers are saying: "Let
us alone. We have given. Lay off."
Others are saying: "Be that as it may, our
nation is still far from justice in dealing
with farm workers. Let us act now for
justice." So, we differ honestly and
vigorously. I believe dialogue is neces-
sary. Perhaps Messenger can serve as
one vehicle for dialogue. Let's keep
talking.
What do "they" want?
I work with agricultural missions on a
worldwide scale. As I see it, what the
farm worker in the USA wants is the
same kind of freedom to effect his own
life situation as is being sought by
landless peasants everywhere in the
world. It is akin to the freedom which
early Brethren sought in coming to
America. This struggle includes wage
scales, but it involves much more than
money. I believe the farm workers are
not out to "get" the grower. The grower,
after all, is their source of employment.
What is sought and what workers are
gaining, through the leadership of Cesar
Chavez and others, is a sense of hope and
a feeling of the strength in unity that was
not possible when each migrant family
faced the future alone.
This rebirth of hope, this sense of self-
determination, is precious to people who
have, for generations, been dependent on
those who own the land, whether on
the haciendas of South America, in the
colonies of Asia and Africa, or in our
own fields. Such hope is a commodity
which the world needs now and which
may be the only alternative to violent
revolution in our world of injustice.
Why boycott?
One argument put forward against the
present boycott of lettuce is that it will
only hurt the workers' cause — the same
argument used when black people began
to strike for equality under the law. To
a degree and in the short run, this is
true. Yet, I am convinced and it stands
to reason that the workers themselves
16 MESSENGER 9-15-72
■{^[uiD^iriiDDTig p©D[n]lt^
do not want to boycott or to strike, since
either one causes them to lose work.
What they are asking for is only the right
to organize and to negotiate the con-
ditions of their employment. Boycott is
not a first thought, but a last resort and
a very powerful one when other attempts
to negotiate have failed.
I am reminded now of the Exodus.
When various attempts at bargaining be-
tween Moses and Pharaoh had failed, the
children of Israel walked out of Egypt as
God had commanded them. It is on this
basis that I support boycott in the present
situation.
Why involve the church?
The same question is often asked about
the Brethren involvement in world peace
and in other movements for social
change. I believe the answer is the same
in either case. Religion that does not
touch the issues of our daily life is not
worthy of the name. One of the com-
ments heard in Cincinnati was that min-
isters and youth are not well enough
informed or have been led astray by
false information. It was interesting and
disturbing to note that there were pastors
on both sides of the issue, having differ-
ing information according to the sources
one trusts most.
Some members tell us that the church
should "stay out of politics." Perhaps
this is because those same members are
so deeply involved ifi politics of keeping
things as they are.
I favored the resolution that would
have endorsed the United Farm Workers
Union. The resolution was opposed by
the majority at Cincinnati. The majority
rules. What I do hope now is that
Brethren, during the coming year, wUl
continue to discuss the issue at youth
meetings, in congregations, and in
district meetings. It might be good to
invite farm workers also to be present
where possible. Nothing will be lost
by talking — when sincere people differ
on a matter as important as this for us as
Brethren and for the cause of nonviolent
change in our society.
As Brethren we are involved, whether
we like it or not, in this issue. What I
believe is required now is careful study
of the facts, frank discussion, and a
continued search for the mind of
Christ. D
Pastoral placements
.Albert Richards, from East McKeesport,
Western Pennsylvania, to Rummel. AVestern
Penns\l\ania
F. Robert Ruyis. from Detroit First, Michi-
gan, to Lake Ridge, New York. .Atlantic
Northeast
Butler .A. Sizemore. from Potsdam, Southern
Ohio, to Flat Creek, Southern Ohio
John O. Wagner, from Mt, Etna-Salem,
Iowa-Minnesota, to Iowa River, Iowa-Minne-
sota
Guy Wampler Jr., from Ephrata, .Atlanta
Northeast, to Ft, Wayne, Beacon Heights,
Northern Indiana
Dale F. Watson, to New Hope, Virlina
G. Curtis Weddle. from Indian Creek. .At-
lantic Northeast, to West Goshen, Northern
Indiana
Stanley Wevbright, from Eglon/Brookside,
\Vest Mana. to Terra Alta, West Marva
Donald P. Wiest. from alternative service to
Unity, Shenandoah
Robert Winkler, from Woodland, Illinois
and \\'isconsin, to retirement
Mark Wolfe, from Boones Chapel, Virlina.
to Crab Orchard, V'irlina
Wedding anniversaries
.Mr. and Mrs. Ralph ,Avev. Polo, 111., 50
Mr. and Mrs. Leo Hastings. Richmond, Ind.,
50
Mr. and Mrs. Rov Hendrickson, Modesto.
CaHf., 50
Mr, and Mrs. \Valter Hoppes, Kokomo, Ind.,
50
Mr. and Mr5. Sherman Kauffman, Belle-
fontaine, Ohio, 50
Mr. and Mrs. Wilmer Lay, Chambersburg,
Pa., 50
Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Patrick Sr., .Aline,
Okla., 50
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Sheets. Newport News.
Va.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Graham, Virden. HI., 51
Mr. and Mrs. Omer B. Maphis, Sebring, Fla.,
54
Mr. and Mrs, Earl Haney, Jasper, Mo., 55
Mr. and Mrs, W. Warren Gish, McPherson,
Kan., 57
Mr. and Mrs. Newton Michael, Mt. Solon,
Va., 58
Mr, and Mrs. George A. Garber, Oaklev,
111,, 60
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Marshall. West Eel River
church, South/Central Ind., 61
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Staufler, Polo, III,, 61
Mr. and Mrs. G. A, W, Stouffer, Chambers-
burg, Pa., 62
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Bard, Chambersburg,
Pa., 62
Mr. and Mrs. Price Heckman, Polo, 111., 63
Mr, and Mrs. Samuel Powers, Mt, Morris,
III., 67
Mr. and Mrs. Jess Metsker, Quinter. Kan.,
68
Deaths
Russell Baumgartner, Decatur, Ind., on
Nov. 26, 1971, aged 62
Edward Bender, Lititz, Pa., on Feb. 4, 1972,
aged 84
Ethel E. Bennett, HoUidaysburg, Pa., on
Jan. 30, 1972, aged 73
George Brook, Polo, 111., on Jan. 30, 1972,
aged 72
John F. Bruckharl, Manheim, Pa., on Feb.
3, 1972, aged 61
Harry .A. Bucher, Canton, 111., on June 29,
1971, aged 69
Virgil Coffman, South English, Iowa, on
Jan. 14. 1972, aged 74
C. C. Cripe, Elkhart, Ind., on Nov. 12, 1971,
aged 89
Paul M. Delp. Souderton, Pa., on Feb. 6,
1972, aged 54
Nora Florv, Bridgewater, Va., on Jan. 4,
1972, aged 83
Roy Fox, Goshen, Ind., on Feb. 2, 1972,
aged 79
Frank D. Gibble, Lititz, Pa., on Dec. 10,
1971, aged 92
Wilbur Grossnickle. Polo, 111,, on Feb. 9,
1972, aged 51
Claude C. Harshbarger. Ladoga, Ind., in
January 1972, aged 91
Mae Hecathom, Polo, III,, on Feb. 13, 1972,
aged 74
Gilmer E. Hennis, Martinsville, Va., on Nov.
26, 1971, aged 68
John E, Hose, Boonsboro, Md., on Jan. 5,
1972, aged 88
Bessie Holsinger Jenkinson, Laton, Calif.,
on Jan, 7, 1972, aged 83
Carolvn Hundley Johnson, Craig County,
Va., on'May 27, 1971, aged 28
J. Fred Johnson, Craig County, Va., on May
27, 1971, aged 38
Martha .A. Kerr. South English, Iowa, on
Dec. 4, 1971, aged 61
Effie Kletske, \Vinona, Minn., on Dec. 10,
1971, aged 98
Pauline Ludwig, York, Pa,, on Feb. 5,
1972, aged 59
Samuel McCown, Winona, Minn., on Jan.
23. 1972, aged 86
Harry ^Iiley, Ephrata, Pa., on March 11,
1972, aged 75'
J. Q. Neher, Green\ille, Ohio, on .April 18,
1972
.Marion M. Norris, Fortville, Ind., on Dec.
14. 1971, aged 76
Mary Oldham, Alum Bank, Pa., on Oct, 1.
1971, aged 75
Elma Peoples, New Carlisle, Ohio on Jan.
10, 1972, aged 86
Mary .Alice Pyles, Fort\ille, Ind.. on March
26, 1972, aged 75
Susan Reed, Saxton, Pa., on Nov. 5, 1970,
aged 92
Earl Rogers, New Paris, Pa., on Jan. 12.
1972, aged 71
Mary Seaman, Greenville, Ohio, on April
6. 1972, aged 104
.Alonza Shaw, Danville, Va., on March 22,
1972, aged 71
Jeanette Shepherd, Pendleton. Ind., on
Oct. 27, 1971, aged 32
Thor Shock, Cando, N.D., on April 24, 1972,
aged 52
Josephine Showalter, Cloverdalc, Va., church,
on Jan. 23, 1972. aged 89
John Shropshire. Eden, N. C, on March 24,
1972, aged 91
Harry Sivits, New Paris. Pa., on July 16,
1971, aged 84
Charles Stouder Sr.. Nappanee, Ind,, on
Nov. 18, 1971, aged 89
Harold J. Treace, .Ashland, Ohio, on Jan.
19, 1972, aged 51
Frank Wales, Polo. 111., on Dec. 8, 1971,
aged 76
Ralph L. Webb Sr., New Paris, Pa., on
Nov. 12, 1971, aged 75
Andrew W'ehrley, Greenville, Ohio, on .April
8, 1972
LeRoy M. Wenger, Quarrvville, Pa., on Dec.
22, 1971, aged 63
Paul Wenger, Quarryville, Pa,, on Nov. 14,
1971. aged 53
Sadie Price Whisler, Lowpoint, III., on
March 24, 1971, aged 85
Mrs. Chester Whitehouse, Cleveland Heights,
Ohio, on Nov. 8, 1971. aged 76
Ada Willis. Mc.Allisterville, Pa., on Feb. 18,
1972, aged 88
Milev G. 'Wine, Mt. Sidney, Va., on Oct. 4,
1971
Vance Winegard, Barren Ridge, Va., on Dec.
15, 1971, aged 66
Jess Winger, Marion, Ind., in .April 1972,
aged 76
Hazel Mumpower Witt, Dan\ille, Va., on
Feb. 3, 1972. aged 63
Donald L. Wood, Barren Ridge, Va., on
Sept. 18. 1971
Lena Zimmerman, Green\ille, Ohio, on
March 24, 1972, aged 90
9-15-72 MESSENGER 17
BOOKS
ON FAITH
ASA
PERSONAL
THING
The Old Law and
The New Law
by WILLIAM BARCLAY, One of the
most popular of ail Bible commenla-
lors compares Ifie law of the Ten
Commandmenis witfi [he principles
of Ifie Sermon on the Mount.
Paper $1.95
Contemplating
Nnur ^y MONICA furlong
■"'■'' Written in simple and
beautiful English, this book argues
eloquently in favor of the inward,
contemplative aspects of religion.
Paper $1 95
Struggle to Pray
Prayer Mcdilalions Irom rhe Old
Testament by REX CHAPMAN The
spiritual insights of the Old Testa-
ment are powerfully applied to mod-
ern life. Paper $1 95
A companion volume by the same
author, published last year A KIND
OF PRAYING Prayer Meditations
from the New Testament.
Paper $1 95
Acquainted
with Grief
by ADA CAMPBELL ROSE. Mature
reflections to help the reader face
bereavement, by a woman who has
herself experienced the loss of a
loved one and who knows that there
are no easy answers $4 50
Now at your bookstore
THE WESTMINSTER PRESS
Witherspoon BIdg., Phila , Pa. 19107
\v
i^Eimi [r(SWD®m^g
18 MESSENCCR 0 I,". 72
The Anderson Tapes:
A Movie Parable on TV
it has been cstimalcd that most Ameri-
cans see only seven feature lilms a year.
For a whole host of reasons, the average
family misses many of the best movies
showing at the local theater. A lot of
people just wait until these shows are
aired on television. But, often, it has
been a long wait. This year, the situation
promises to be different. Television
viewers will have a chance to see some of
the most successful movies of the 1970-
1971 year (such as Pcitlon. Love Story,
The Andromeda Strain). Indeed, movie-
going at home may be one of 1972"s most
convenient and rewarding experiences.
It may even be a religious experience!
A good film is similar to a parable.
It is an extended story drawn from every-
day life that often arrests the viewer
with its strange twists of plot and im-
precise ending. Jesus repeatedly told
such stories in order to draw people's
attention to important moral issues. Al-
though contemporar)' filmmakers may
not have religious messages behind their
art, they frequently render Christians a
moral service by focusing our attention
on important ethical concerns of the day.
This September 1 Ith NBC will air
The Anderson Tapes, a film directed by
Sidney Lumet. (Check your local listings
for the specific time.) Some of you
may have read the novel by Lawrence
Sanders: it has been adapted for the
screen by Frank Pierson. On the surface
The Anderson Tapes is an engaging heist
story about the attempt of a bold and
highly individualistic thief to rob an
entire luxury-apartment building in New
York City's Upper East Side. The thief,
played by Sean Conncry, gathers together
a cadre of odd partners (Martin Balsam,
Christopher Walken, Stan Gottlieb).
They are then funded by a "respectable"
Mafia figure (Allan King). As an ad-
venture yarn, the picture scores well; it is
spiced with some fine humor, sustained
by good performances, and accented by
the lively music of Quincy Jones.
by FREDERIC J. BRUSSAJ
Bui the film also operates on another
le\cl. Director Sidne\ l.umet again
proves that he can deliver movies that
work well as serious ethical probes on
troubling human problems. With The
Pawnbroker ( 19(S5) and Bye. Bye Brav-
ernian ( I96S). he put together immense-
l\ interesting cinematic considerations of
guilt and death. With The Anderson
Tapes. l.umet has given us a parabolic
film that hides a serious moral issue
behind its surface of slick theatrics.
Since Conncry and his cohorts have all
been involved in one way or another
with organized crime, they are sur\eyed,
photographed, taped, and bugged by the
local police, FBI agents. Treasury spies,
and a host of private investigators.
Throughout the film, Lumet swings our
attention to the presence of electronic
surveillance de\ ices sp>ing on the gang's
activities. Our first reaction is one of
laughter — to see how amazingly com-
prehensive this eavesdropping process can
realh be! But once that initial response
of humor subsides, we are left with a
feeling of fright. It is at this point that
7 he Anderson Tapes becomes a moral
probe on the meaning of privac> in an
age of technological wizardr\.
Movies on tv offer Christians an easily
accessible medium for discussion. With
the famils or a small group of friends,
spend an evening viewing and discussing
this film. The following questions are
designed to assist you in evaluating and
reacting to The Anderson Tapes.
A personal probe
Whereas our own lives may not be
invaded by electronic bugs and hidden
cameras, the area of our privacy rapidly
diminishes each year. Schools measure
our intellectual capacities and psychologi-
cal tests pry into our emotional secrets.
Computers chart our financial ups and
downs and credit companies rate our
trustworthiness. There is even specula-
tion that a National Data Bank in
Washington, D.C., will eventually contain
information on all of us derived from
hundreds of resources. Thus, even if
electronic eavesdropping devices do not
trespass against our sense of self, the
computer and psychological testing syn-
drome will steal the space within each of
us which we want to cherish as our own.
Questions for discussion
1. Although the Justice Department,
the FBI, and state and local police have
to rely upon court orders for wiretapping,
it is estimated that no one really knows
the extent of this type of snooping. What
procedures should be taken to prevent
the average citizen from being harassed
by bugging?
2. Consider this thought by Alan
Weston: '"Personal information, thought
of as the right of decision over one's
private personality, should be defined as
a property right." How do you feel about
this way of safeguarding privacy?
least a few personal and spiritual con-
cerns, if necessary in defiance of all the
pressures of modern society."
What information about yourself —
your homelife and associates — would
you be unwilling to give away to im-
personal agencies?
5. Does the nature of privacy in an
increasingly technological and electronic
world presuppose a new definition of
soul? Edward Shils thinks so: "The so-
cial space around an individual, the
recollection of his past, his conversation,
his body and its image, all belong to
him. . . . He possesses them and is en-
titled to possess them by virtue of the
charisma which is inherent in his ex-
istence as an individual soul."
Like any worthwhile parable, The
Anderson Tapes challenges the viewer to
make a moral decision.
1. Does the church have a responsibil-
ity in a highly technological age to ad-
dress itself to the problem of privacy?
3. If we are the sum total of informa-
tion compiled on us, what happens to
our identity bestowed to us in grace by
our Lord?
4. In an era when snooping and data
consciousness are given high priority,
what happens to our understanding of
forgiveness? If we are judged by our
mistakes, will it ever be possible for us
to overcome our past in "new life"?
5. Some Christian leaders would have
us believe that our faith has grown flabby
due to lack of exercise. How would you
exercise your faith in relation to the issue
of privacy? What can the individual
believer do to insure the right to privacy?
You might want to carry this discus-
sion on with an in-depth study of this
moral issue. Two important resources are
available on the subject:
The Assault on Privacy by Arthur R.
Miller; Signet Paperback, 1972.
The Death of Privacy by Terry M.
Rosenberg; Random House, 1969.
"The right
to be left alone
is indeed the
beginning of all
freedom."
Justice Douglas
3. How much should the individual
cede to the state? In exchange for what?
4. Discuss this quotation from Clinton
Rossiter: "Privacy is a special kind of
independence, which can be understood
as an attempt to secure autonomy in at
2. How does St. Paul's understanding
of Christian freedom relate to this whole
issue? ("For freedom, Christ has set us
free; stand fast therefore, and do not
submit again to a yoke of slavery,"
Galatians 5: 1.)
Tliis discussion is part of ttie Feedforw.ird
Scries, .1 rct^ul.ir feature of the Cultural Informa-
lion Service. CfS is a monthly 32-page resource
(Icsiirncd for clergy, educators, and laity. CIS
provides extensive coverage of cidtural events in
the areas of: Art. Drama. Film. Literature-Criti-
cism. Television, and Rock Music. Subscriptions
are S'J a year. \\'rite to: CIS, 2900 Queen Lane,
Philadelpliia, Pa. 19129.
9-15-72 MESSENGER 19
Staunton church sets retreats
for membership training
"The Disciples as Servant" was the theme
studied by 14 young people of the
Church of the Brethren in Staunton, Va.,
in preparation for baptism. Instead of
engaging in the usual after school weekly
membership class, the youth and their
resource leaders experienced two over-
night retreats at Church of the Brethren
operated Camp Bethel.
"I am convinced that by living together
we were far better able to deal with the
questions of sin, judgment, forgiveness,
and reconciliation within the group than
by a formal classroom method," Alton L.
McDaniel, pastor, said.
Two licensed ministers, students at
Bridgewater College, aided with the lead-
ership: Wally Landes of the Waynesboro,
Va., church, and Ronald NoUey and his
wife, Dana, of the Staunton congrega-
tion. Also participating was Bonnie
Robertson of Staunton, who this summer
supervised youth ministries at the Buena
Vista church.
The youth were enthusiastic about
simulation games developed for the oc-
casion.
During the second retreat the youth
created resource materials to be used for
the Sunday morning worship period,
bringing the congregation into their ex-
perience. Continuing the theme of serv-
anthood, various depictions of the youth's
world such as "war and violence," "lies
and deception," "money and power" were
placed on the chancel throughout the
service. Prior to the baptism candidates
placed towels over "their world."
Denver churches, agencies strive
to create 'a living community'
A mother with five children needed food;
another needed coats for sons who had
to miss school because of cold weather.
Two girls without homes were assigned
to houseparents at a special youth center.
A child exercising on a trampoline found
someone to talk to in the adult who
stopped to watch.
Such needs may occur in many com-
munities. What makes a section of south-
west Denver unique is that an agency.
Inter Faith Community Service, Inc., has
been set up to help meet them. Lucille
Clannin, of the Prince of Peace Church
of the Brethren, directs the agency.
Launched six years ago to share ma-
terial goods, persons, and faith in the
creation of "a living community," the
program is supported by the Prince of
Peace church, a Lutheran, a Catholic,
and a Presbyterian church, and two com-
munity agencies. The sections served,
Athmar Park, Valverde, and Westwood,
have a population of 25,000. Adjuncts:
o The Grab Bag, a thrift shop where
used clothing and small appliances may
be obtained to fill emergency needs.
• A food shelf at St. Rose of Lima
Catholic church.
e Tutoring at Good Shepherd Luther-
an church for adults wanting to complete
high school.
e The Glasier House, a youth-help
center, established as a memorial to
Prince of Peace member Ruth Glasier,
sister of missionary H. Stover Kulp.
• Volunteers — more than 50 — who
"adopt grandparents," visit nursing
homes, conduct Bible classes, furnish
transportation, help with crafts.
e The Valverde Recreation Center, re-
located from deteriorated facilities to the
educational unit of Prince of Peace
church. The church also houses the of-
fices of Inter Faith Community Service.
A $2,700 grant from the Western
Plains District enabled Inter Faith to hire
an Ilifl^ Theological Seminary student to
coordinate youth activities.
Future items possibly to be considered
by the agency, according to Mrs.
Clannin, are dispersed low income hous-
ing, renovated housing, and enlistment of
other churches and community leaders in
the effort of "people helping people."
Peace pilgrimage and love feast:
Brethren witness reenacted
In a drama reminiscent of Brethren
beginnings in Germantown, Pa., a Sun-
day afternoon service of witness and
celebration was conducted on June 11.
Beginning with a creek-side service on
the sands of the Wissahickon, where the
first Brethren baptisms in America took
place in 1723, the event involved a mile
and a half peace pilgrimage to the Com-
munity Meetinghouse of the German-
town Ministry. There the group of ap-
proximately 100 persons celebrated the
love feast and communion.
In the service at Wissahickon Creek,
Jay Gibble, pastor of the Ambler church,
spoke of the first baptisms on Christmas
Day, 1 723, and the procession and com-
munion which followed at Germantown.
At the church the participants sang folk
songs, shared a simple meal of rice, broke
bread, drank the cup, and washed feet
in a service led by Art Gish and Harold
Z. Bomberger, Atlantic Northeast execu-
tive.
In the march a number of posters and
banners were displayed reaffirming the
Brethren commitment to nonparticipation
in war. Sponsors included the Brethren
Peace Fellowships of the Philadelphia
area, Lancaster County, and the Atlantic
Northeast District.
According to a spokesman, the pil-
grimage was designed "to sharpen the
group's identity as Brethren peacemak-
ers" and "to witness to the community
that peace and reconciliation are at the
heart of the Christian life-style."
Throughout the activities expressions
of sorrow and concern were voiced re-
garding the continued military involve-
ment of the United States in Indochina.
20 MESSENGER 9-15-72
Shalom: the pursuit of peace
at the congregational level
A special interest group in an Indiana
congregation has as its concern making
meaningful the peace vision of the gos-
pel at the local level.
Prompting the establishment of the
Peace Emphasis Group in the Lafayette,
Ind., Church of the Brethren was the
desire of making the church's peace her-
itage come alive in congregations — not
just through Annual Conference, the
General Board, Bethany Seminary, and
the district.
Toward this end, the group which was
born two years ago as a college age
church school class studying Six Papers
on Peace has taken to the road to enlist
others in a peace witness. The group's
first project was to visit Brethren congre-
gations within an hour's drive. In eight
to ten parishes the group met with youth
classes, talked over carry-in dinners,
sometimes led Sunday worship services.
The group sponsored a booth at a local
hospital fair, displayed a banner express-
ing "Love Your Enemies," projected the
television peace spots which Brethren
helped produce, and recruited 28 persons
to talk with visitors. At Christmas the
group sang carols at shopping centers,
distributed literature on Selective Service
options, and made cards for war re-
sisters in prison.
More recently the Peace Emphasis
group visited non-Brethren churches in
the city; met with Brethren youth groups
on Saturday nights; led worship on Sun-
day mornings and dialogued afterwards
with those interested; and sponsored a
community showing of "The Automated
Battlefield" in conjunction with Hoosiers
for Peace, a statewide organization. Sev-
eral internal sessions were given to the
creative handling of conflict and ways
of communicating across the generation
gap-
Donald R. Jordan, until this month
pastor at Lafayette, explained that on
approaches to peacemaking and in life-
styles members of the group differ, in-
volving as it does a number of university
students. But on one point there is ac-
cord, he said, and that is an intense de-
sire to activate local churches in a peace
witness.
"Shalom," said Mr. Jordan, "best de-
scribes the kingdom envisioned by Jesus
in his teachings. Shalom refers not just
to the absence of war but to a style of
life: a style that grows out of living
for the glory of God and the neighbor's
good.
"Peacemaking is not just social action;
it is the incarnation of the gospel."
It is to this incarnation, in local bodies
of believers, that Lafayette's Peace Em-
phasis Group is giving its witness.
Bumper tags: York Center's way
of getting the Word around
In looking for new ways for members of
the congregation to proclaim the Good
News, the witness commission of the
York Center Church of the Brethren in
Illinois turned to the "pop" medium of
bumper stickers.
Max Bailey, commission chairman, in-
dicated that consideration was given first
to the placement of newspaper ads. On
further reflection, the commission mem-
bers turned to a newer medium and one
that would enlist the talents of the con-
gregation.
To widen involvement, the witness
commission sponsored a contest for the
best message. The requirement was that
"York Center Church of the Brethren"
be included in the overall design.
As a part of the total project, the
commission asked the youth group if
they would like to print and sell the
winning selection. Several of the youth
accepted responsibility for the project
and, moreover, two of the youth them-
selves submitted the winning entries.
Dave Largent and Dennis Wiles spear-
headed the committee that silkscreened
the winning designs.
"To Love Is to Live" and "Brother-
hood of Man" are two affirmations which
now are displayed on cars that go out
from the Church of the Brethren at York
Center into Chicagoland. At shopping
centers, places of employment, and homes
the Word of love and brotherhood is
expressed in a unique and creative
witness.
9-15-72 MESSENGER 21
Arden K. BaU
comments on some Christians
who believe illness is God's special punishment
and others who blame
demons, or lack of faith.
1 his article is written for the handi-
capped and those in need of healing.
I believe this includes everyone, because
we all have handicaps and all are in
need of healing in our lives.
About three years ago I was suddenly
initiated into the world of the physically
handicapped. At a ministers' retreat in
Indiana, I noticed that my ping-pong
game was failing, and I developed severe
headaches. I left the retreat early, went
home to rest, and then attended district
board meeting that evening.
Two weeks later I was in the hospital
unable to walk, and in a few days I
had lost the awareness of my body,
experiencing almost total paralysis. My
illness was later diagnosed as viral en-
cephalitis. Because the sensory part of
my nervous system was not functioning,
my mind was very alert. This must have
been about the nearest thing to a spiri-
tual being a person could experience in
this life.
I could share much on the strength I
received from lay persons in the church
and the ministers who visited and re-
membered me in prayer. Being a mem-
ber of "the fellowship of believers" was
very strengthening. As a pastor, I had
always wondered what I would do if I
were the one near death. How would I re-
spond? What about doubts? Would my
faith see me through? In retrospect this
early part of my illness was the easiest
part because there was no pain, and
people were kind and considerate in all
they did for me.
Later, however, came the muscle
spasms and severe pain. We installed a
bathtub in our kitchen and rented a
portable whirlpool. This helped to relax
the muscles and gave me great relief.
Then came the exercises, learning to
feed myself, learning to write, learning to
use a wheelchair and later to walk with
a walker and then with crutches. It has
been a long hard struggle for my wife,
children, and me, but through all of
this we have found many new insights
into life. I became aware of how little
time I had spent with my family. I
realized how much it means to be able
to touch your children and wife and to
be aware that you are touching them.
Every little perception I have regained
over the last three years means more to
me now than before I became ill.
Those in Need of Healing
But my experiences of the past year
have been made more difficult because of
a great misunderstanding which many
well-intentioned Christians have about
handicapped people.
Numerous people have hinted that
God is trying to tell me something. Some
have said that God is trying to get me to
see the errors of my ways, or that God
is doing this to make me a better person.
After long months of pain and suffering
1 have found that it is easier to become
bitter than better. Most prolonged
suffering causes bitterness.
There are also the healers. One lady
stopped in at the church on Sunday
morning and said, "The Lord sent me,
and I will talk with you following
services." I invited her to my study
and she informed me that my problem
was that I had one leg shorter than the
other and that her speciality was
lengthening legs! I shared with her how
God had been healing me for over a year
and how many rich experiences I had
had and how much deeper my apprecia-
tion was for the things I had lost and then
regained. But she was very persistent.
Many have tried to "get their hands
on me" to cast out the demons. They
have told me the reason I cannot walk is
that the devil has hold of me, or even
that the devil is in my wife. One man
put his hand on my arm and asked, "Do
you feel that?" I said, "What?" He
proceeded to tell me that he had a "hot
hand." I tried to explain how because of
an infection and scar tissue on my nerves
I was unable to feel very much, but he
was very quick to tell me that he worked
on nerves, lowered blood pressure, and
made crippled people walk. He said, "If
you were around me I would work with
you and you would walk."
Others tell me that I ought to see
one of the "professional faith healers,"
implying that they might manipulate God
to heal me. Or they imply if "I would
just believe," "just have faith" I would
be able to throw my crutches away.
Some tell me their chiropractor could
heal me if I would only go and let him
work on my spine. Some recommend
physical therapy, which I have been
doing, but when I suggest that there
might not be a complete recovery, many
well-meaning Christians tell me this is a
gross lack of faith. They tell me that I
should settle only for a complete recov-
ery: anything less is a copout.
I have ministered to victims of cancer,
polio, muscular dystrophy, and multiple
sclerosis, and have watched some of
these live and die with what I felt was
'"spiritual wholeness." I want to say in
behalf of myself and all handicapped
people, we must not give up; it is a real
struggle to keep going and to make the
best of what we have, but there is noth-
ing wrong with being realistic about our
physical condition!
In spite of the frequent ventures by
others to pray that I be rid of devils,
I feel that I am more spiritually whole
now than I was before my illness a few
years ago. I was not as close to God
then, even though I was more in need
of his healing powers than I am now.
Yet perhaps because I was not on
crutches no one came to pray for me
or to lay their hands on me. So many
people look at the outward physical
22 MESSENGER 915-72
appearance and fail to see how God has
worked within to give jjeace, strength,
understanding, and spiritual wholeness.
Some of the most spiritually whole
people I have known have suffered
physical afflictions. Older disciples with
pain every day, heartache, and loneli-
ness have experienced healing through
God's specialty, "internal medicine."
They have witnessed beautifully to their
faith and have strengthened me through-
out my years in the ministry.
On the other hand some very sick
people I have known in my ministry
have possessed healthy physical bodies.
Though they are much in need of God's
healing powers, we Christians often fail
to reach out and want to "lay our hands
upon them." Their handicap may not be
as visible as that of persons with crutches
or in wheelchairs, but it is real and
spiritual. They are filled with greed,
hate, pride, envy, and fear, and they are
the ones truly being destroyed and dying.
Our bodies are miraculous. They
can repair themselves, and God has
given us the ability to find cures for
diseases and to prepare the way for his
healing. But our bodies do wear out!
Physical illness and death come to the
Christian and the non-Christian alike.
We Christians do not live in protective
bubbles. I am concerned about some of
the faith-healing trends which deny the
fact of physical affliction and suffering
as a part of this life.
It is my plea that we remember Paul's
"thorn in the flesh" and the way God
dealt with the apostle through internal
medicine. Let us realize that persons
with physical handicaps can still be
spiritually whole, and that they have
experienced a part of life that may lie
ahead for us. Too quickly, we want to
"help them" when maybe we ought to
listen to them and allow them to help us.
The anointing service can bring
spiritual wholeness without being de-
pendent upon the physical outcome of
the illness. Anointing is not a way of
manipulating God for our own purpose;
rather, it is trusting in him and accepting
his forgiveness, mercy, and grace.
However, we do know that when we are
in right relationship with God and other
persons, our bodies have a greater po-
tential for recovery from any illness. My
recovery has seemed miraculous to me
because of the "internal medicine" that
God provided.
I do believe in the healing of the
body through prayer and faith in God.
Indeed, when I was failing so fast, I was
fully aware that medical science had no
"magic pill" that could help. If it had
not been for the faith of many who were
praying for me, I would not be here
today to share my own experience and
understanding of illness. I may, some-
day, be able to walk without crutches,
but if I need to remain on crutches, I
will praise God for the fullness of life
which handicapped people can have.
Looking back over my ministry, I can
recall times when I did not understand
those struggling with a physical or
spiritual handicap. Even though we are
well meaning, many of us do not
realize how judgmental and how unkind
we have been at times in discussing the
whys and wherefores of sickness. There
are still many mysteries and questions
that remain unanswered, but our faith
in God, and his divine plan for each one
of us in this life, and the next, allows us
to experience fullness of life through his
son Jesus. I praise God for the healing
that has taken place in my body, and I
will continue to praise him as I ex-
perience his continued care, love, and
healing. D
CLASSIFIED ADS
PERMANENT PRESS BAPTISMAL ROBES —
Weighted, zippered, six sizes. Ministers' robes
custom-made. For other than black, white, re-
quest color card. Reasonably priced. Details:
ROBES, P.O. box 1453, Martinsburg, W. Va.
25401.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ALASKA -Air con-
ditioned bus tour to Annual Conference in Fresno,
Calif., and then to Alaska, returning via Cana-
dian Rockies. A second bus will travel to Fresno
and return directly after Conference. Both tours
leave June 19, 1973. Write J. Kenneth Kreider,
Route 3, Elizabethtown, Pa. 17022.
This-
is tine
greatest
love
story
of all...
MARJORIEHOIMB
MflHOfiOF I
I'VE GOT TO TALK TO SOMEBODY, GOOl
TWO
FROM
GALILEE
^^" ■"., ^.>v «0 JOS
^„OfM*R»AI.0JOSCW
Now Marjorle Holmes tells the story of Mary and Joseph as It has
never been told before ... a teenage girl and a young carpenter,
alone, frightened, in love . . . faced with family conflict, a hostile
world, an awesome responsibility. TWO FROM GALILEE Is a
compassionate, gripping novel, filled with the emotions of com-
mon humanity. $5.95
AT YOUR BOOKSTORE
Fleming H. Revell Company
Old Tappan, N.J. 07675
9-15-72 MESSENGER 23
Is Open-mindedness Out of Date?
n If a religious enterprise is to succeed, it will
be reasonable, rational, responsible, restrained,
and receptive to criticism.
D It will be democratic and gentle in handling
internal affairs.
D It will be responsive to the needs of persons
and will work cooperatively with other groups to
meet such needs.
n It will not let dogmatism, judgmental moral-
ism, obsessions over purity stand in the way of
cooperation and service.
Do you agree with the above? Think again if
you do. For what is outlined here is a recipe for
failure. At least this is the contention of Dean M.
Kelley, based upon his findings that conservative,
fundamentalist, separatist churches are gaining in
membership and strength while mainline, liberal,
ecumenical churches are losing members and in-
fluence.
Among points noted in Mr. Kelley's work,
entitled Why Conservative Churches Are Grow-
ing, are the following:
( 1 ) The indispensable function of religion is
to explain the meaning of life in ultimate terms.
What enables religious meanings to take hold is
not their rationality, but rather the demand they
make upon adherents.
(2) Through norms of strictness, conservative
churches, even while holding to a seemingly out-
moded theology, offer people a sense of authority,
stability, and relationship which meets very deep
needs.
(3) Membership standards are crucial. The
social strength of churches is proportionate to
"the difficulty of getting in and staying in and to
the number of manifest distinctions between those
who belong and those who do not."
Of this latter point Mr. Kelley makes a great
deal. The "power of the gate" — who enters, who
stays, who speaks, who is in or out — is, he de-
clares, "the only power a voluntary group pos-
sesses to preserve its integrity." And it is a power
he commends to groups old and new.
Coming as it does on the heels of a period in
which the watchwords of religion were dialogue,
diversity, and relevance, the Kelley plea for strict-
ness bounds with a jolt. And it stems from one
who is no darling of conservatives; he is rather
the National Council of Churches" director of civil
and religious liberty.
Mr. Kelley predicts the separatists eventually
will suffer too, because they draw from those seg-
ments of society which are dwindling. But be-
cause he sees the conservative churches presently
fulfilling the function of religion for more and
more adherents, he suggests mainliner churchmen
take some cues from them.
Interestingly for Brethren, a number of the
cues derive from our own Anabaptist heritage:
Be in no haste to admit members. Test the readi-
ness of would-be members and prepare them. Re-
quire continuing faithfulness. Bear one another
up in small groups.
But there are also sectarian and separatist
characteristics that deter. Stress on strictness can
lead to grievous excesses. Exclusiveness, elitism,
intolerance run counter to unity, openness, humil-
ity. The gospel of Jesus Christ does more than
impose and bind; it enables and liberates.
kjtill Dean Kelley's probe merits serious dis-
cussion. For he lifts up points that need to be
brought into tension with prevailing patterns: A
congregation must know what ultimate meanings
it will embrace and embody. Personal commit-
ment must be thorough and uncompromising.
Faith must make a difference.
But let us plead that some place be left for
openness. Lest we lose our desire to listen and
learn from those fellow Christians who seemingly
are not open. — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGER 9-15-72
Barn IWdrship,
A
/^
\
r>v
1
HI
11
i
Creative Congregations
The Community of Christ the Servant in
Lombard, Illinois, meets in a barn ; gives near-
ly 50 per cent of its budget to benevolence ;
and asks its members to join and influence
secular organizations rather than segregate
themselves within the congregation. Just one
of many efforts described by editor Edgar R.
Trexler as people try to "do what Jesus would
do" even if it's not tax deductible. Commen-
tary by Lyle E. Schaller. Paper, $2.45
and a host off others
River of Life
Scottish minister James S. Stewart brings alive bibli-
cal doctrine in this collection, all built symbolically
around Ezekiel's vision. Themes vary and have been de-
livered before congregations of different types. Inspi-
rational and imaginative. $3.50
Pastoral Care With the Poor
Preparatory material for those with little or no first-
hand experience in a ministry of this type. Charles F.
Kemp clearly states basic principles and answers ques-
tions. Illus. with photographs. Paper, $2.45
Commands of Christ
Much of the misunderstanding and skepticism about
the authority and authenticity of Jesus' commands is
countered by Paul S. Minear. He traces the application
of several commands by early Christian teachers and
assesses the implications as to the original intent. $4.95
Men Who Build Churches
Using Paul as the supreme example of Christian lead-
ership in action, the early church and its dynamism is
seen as a direct challenge to today's Christians. Harold
A. Bosley. Paper, $2.95
Techniques and Resources
for Guiding Adult Groups
A panorama of methods and practical advice under
four heads: group life, guiding a study group, ways of
learning, and resources for learning. Ed. Harold D.
Minor. Paper, $2.25
The New Testament: The History of
The Investigation of Its Problems
Available for the first time in English, Werner Georg Kum-
mel's revised work sorts out major movements and
prevailing ways of investigation of the New Testa-
ment. Index. $10.95
ot Ljouf locol book/tore
Qbingdon
OB^ in the Spirit - that
is what we are. One in
the Lord.
Even so, we Brethren
have differences aplenty.
And that is good. Some-
times they bless, bother,
help, frustrate, correct.
Always they remain.
And so does oui commit-
ment to Christ. So does
our partnership in His
body — the church. And
so does our task of Chris-
tian mission.
We share in the single-
ness of spirit that makes
all Christians one. By
our giving to the Brother-
hood Fund as individu-
als and as congregations
we join with others —
both here and there — in
the work of Christ
throughout the world.
And in that process we
are indeed one in the
Spirit.
Send your check for the
Brotherhood Fund to:
Church of the Brethren
General Board, 1451
Dundee Ave., Elgin, 111.
60120
Amount $_
Name
St./RFD
City
State
Congregation
District
Zip
IBfTHE
I
K
1
m
Wrh0 fiuixkf r
14
©(Q)DT]"SS[riTl^^
4 Ministry in Appalachia: Brethren Work Grows. Flat Creek
workers Dwayne Yost and Butler Sizemore will engage in expanded
efforts in Kentucky. It's a homecoming for the Sizemores, who leave a
parish in Ohio
Q Let's Uncomplicate Our Lives! The simple life is the Christian
life, asserts T. Wayne Rieman: simple, focused, free, and
uncomplicated
You've Got a Lot to Give. Robert W. Neff combines a soft drink
slogan and biblical references to point up a central gospel theme:
Life is in the giving, not in the taking
The Dunker Love Feast, 1871. Non-Brethren journalist and
reporter Phebe E. Gibbons went to a love feast a hundred years ago
to record her impressions of the folk whose "chosen title is Brethren."
Howard Pyle's drawing, "A Love Feast Among the Brethren,"
accompanies the essay
The Fish on the Lord's Table. In a short exceqjt from his forth-
coming book. In Place of Sacraments, Vernard EUer describes the
custom of serving fish at the communion meal
In Touch profiles Mary Cline Detrick, Enos Heisey, Dean Wolfe, and
Lowell Frantz (2); Outlook notes a race training project at Bethany
Theological Seminary and announces explorations by Anabaptists for joint
curriculum (beginning on 6). . . . A stewardship meditation calls us to
"Let Them Know God Lives" ( 1 ! ). . . . Dorris Blough reports on "The
New Face of Human Rights" (24). ... In "Take It From Here" Glee
Yoder shows how to make "apple people" (26). . . . Dave Pomeroy
reviews a current film, "The Trial of the Catonsville Nine" (28). . . .
Shirley J. Heckman itemizes resources for Advent (30). . . . An editorial
declares life to be "More Than Pace and Possessions" (32)
Dsltl^sir^
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Richard N. Miller
Kenneth I. Morse
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
VOL. 121, NO. 17
OCTOBER 1, 1972
CREDITS: Cover. 16-17, 18. 19, 20. 21
"A Love Feast Among the Dunkei's," draw-
ing and details by Howard Pyle; 2 (left)
Belva Ebcrsole; 3 Alan Whitacre: 5 cour-
tesy of Commission on Religion in Ap-
palachia; 8. 10 Edward Wallowitch; 23
George Pickow for Three Lions; 26 (top)
Rohn Engh; (bottom) Jean-Claude Le-
Jeune for Tom Stack and Associates; 27
Larry Kitze!; 28 Religious News Service;
30 Johanna Sperl. from Advent, the Days
Before Christmas, by Paul M. Lindberg
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter Aug. 20. 1918, under Act of
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date. Oct. 1.
1972- Messenger is a member of the Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Scr\'ice and Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Revised Standard
Version.
Subscription rates: $4.20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions; $3.60 per year for church
group plan; $3.00 per year for every home
plan; life subscription. $60; husband and
$75. If you move clip old address
Messenger and send with new address.
Allow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly by
the General Services Commission,
Church of the Brethren General
Board. 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin.
111. 60120. Second-class postage
Elgin. 111.. Oct. 1. 1972. Copyright
Church of the Brethren General Board.
wife,
from
■
I
1972,
GOOD HONEST FACTS
For years I have wanted to get some good
honest facts about our candidates. In one
"Between the Lines," Charles Wells said one
could get good information from the League
of Women Voters Education Fund. So I
wrote for information. What was recom-
mended was so good I would like to share
it with Messenger readers.
"The Almanac of American Politics" is an
aid for intelligent voting. Its 1,050 pages
contain an examination and an analysis of
the voting records of all 585 senators and
representatives. It contains both commentary
and statistics. The book is priced at $12.95
cloth, $4.95 paper. It may be ordered from
Gambit, Incorporated. 437 Boylston Street,
Boston, Mass. 02116.
The writers are three young men, one
Democrat, one Republican, and one Inde-
pendent. They expect to revise and update
this book every two years.
I hope this particular work will be of
help to many concerned people.
Martha Harding
Saint Joe, Ind.
KNOWING FARM WORKERS
As I visit in the homes of farm workers,
my heart longs for swings for the children.
I wish the mothers had sinks and running
water for washing their dishes. Fathers apol-
ogize because they have no chairs and offer
me a box or a bed to sit on. It grieves me
that the Annual Conference Of my own
church is not ready to support these people
in their self-determined and nonviolent ef-
forts to improve their plight through a let-
luce boycott.
Knowing the Church of the Brethren to
be a church that seeks to practice the love
that it preaches, I can only conclude that
Brethren are uninformed and misinformed.
Therefore, I would like to recommend that
those among us who are unaware of the
powers of agribusiness in this country and
who view the Farm Bureau as still being a
cooperative to help the small family farmer
read the book Dollar Harvest by Samuel
R. Berger (D. C. Heath and Company. 1971).
To those who feel that the exploitation of
farm workers has been exaggerated, come
on out to the camps (I've discovered that
they are closer to our back doors than most
of us realize) and make some personal ac-
quaintances with your farm worker brothers
and sisters.
Carol Smith, BVSer
Dowagiac, Mich.
PREACHING THE TRUE WORD
This morning our pastor reported to our
congregation some of what took place at
which puts approximately $6,000 a year
into Flat Creek work.
The new focus in community and eco-
nomic development is not a forever kind
of assignment. In the event that a hous-
ing program is not feasible for this partic-
ular area, the program will be terminated
or redirected.
Dwayne has a background of ministry,
including 12 years in the Flat Creek area.
Among his involvements across the years
is the Cumberland Valley Work Oppor-
tunities Council, Inc.
Under normal circumstances, this pro-
gram would be administered by the Office
of Economic Opportunity (OEO) as part
of their Community Action Program.
That is not the case in the area around
Flat Creek, where they looked for help in
1967 from church leaders: representa-
tives of both the Flat Creek and the
United Methodist's Red Bird Mission.
"This was something new for the
church," recalled Yost. "We had tried
several projects of our own, like the
sorghum project. But this was the first
time we had been asked to administer a
program such as this."
There were some who argued that the
church should not be involved in a pro-
gram where government funds were being
used. But if the church had not accepted
this responsibility, and the program de-
nied these five counties, 99 men probably
would not have been employed that first
year.
The church took the challenge. The
CincinnatirC
I'Hi
„«Cl
Sections of 13 states
comprise the Appa-
lacliian region. In
economic develop-
ment ministries the
Flat Creek program
serves as many as
seven Eastern Ken-
tucky counties (shad-
ed on map), with
varied projects in
several other counties
Lexington I
/inston-SalemA
e.vei Me
%'«
,,...,,/
/
[dr
ville-
^Spartanburg
bm(|/-t
im
igh<
I Montgomery
corporation was formed. And Dwayne
reports that more than 230 persons now
have jobs.
He goes on to raise the rhetorical ques-
tion, "Where could we have gone to find
$1,485,990 a year to spend in helping to
provide jobs for the people in this area?"
That is the budget for the Cumberland
Valley program this fiscal year.
The new direction for Flat Creek came
mira
rgh/
iHarrisburg
•Hagerstown
'Roanoke ■
after joint consultations involving the
Flat Creek congregation, the district wit-
ness commission, and two General Board
staff members: Ralph Smeltzer of WMC
and Clyde Weaver of PMC.
More than $8,000 of the cost of the ex-
panded program is being underwritten
through December 1973 by the District
of Southern Ohio. In addition, the youth
of the Atlantic Northeast District have
contributed $2,500 toward the program.
They raised the amount through an auc-
tion.
There is evidence of a growing aware-
ness of Appalachia among the Brethren
and a growing commitment to address
the needs there.
For the Butler Sizemores, the call was
demanding indeed. As moderator, Butler
wrote last March that "we need to hear
the Macedonian call, 'Come over here
and help us." "
The Sizemores arc there already. And
the program is expanding.
10-1-72 MESSENGER 5
Seminary shares in two-year
project aimed at racism
Bethany Theological Seminary is one of
three theological schools in Chicago's
western suburbs to share in a $67,000
grant to carry out a two-year Chicago-
area project to combat racism.
Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Foundation of
Columbus, Ind., gave the grant to Beth-
any Seminary, Evangelical Theological
Seminary, Naperville, and Northern Bap-
tist Theological Seminary, Oak Brook.
Other seminaries in the Chicago area are
expected to participate once the project
gets under way.
The Chicago area was selected as one
of six US sites for participation in Project
Understanding, a program designed to
organize local white suburban churches
to counter racism in the churches and in
the surrounding communities.
Other metropolitan areas involved in-
clude Los Angeles, San Francisco, At-
lanta, Indianapolis, and South Bend.
Project Understanding is designed so
that theological students, professors, and
training center personnel cooperate with
local clergy and laymen to organize anti-
racist support groups and to involve
churchmen in the task of changing racist
attitudes, policies, and structures.
It is expected that in the Chicago area
five ecumenical clusters of churches will
be formed, with a team of seminary in-
terns appointed to each cluster.
Bethany Seminary personnel participat-
ing in the planning have been Dr. Donald
Miller and students Tom Bowser and
Tom Woodward. The seminary's partici-
pation is through the Suburban Training
Center in Lombard where Bethany grad-
uate Gary Rowe is on the staff. The
two-year project will be part of Bethany's
field education program.
Heifer Project changes name,
enjoys record breaking year
Heifer Project has announced a name
change from its headquarters in Little
Rock, Arkansas. The new name —
Heifer Project International.
Commenting on the name change,
Thurl Metzger, director, stated, "We felt
it appropriate that, after working for
thirty years in almost 90 different coun-
tries of the world, we add 'International'
to our name."
It was also announced that 1971
proved the biggest year in the organiza-
tion's history. More than $1,300,000 in
livestock, medical and veterinary equip-
ment and technical services were sent to
20 developing countries of the world.
Domestic programs were also assisted
in Prentiss, Miss., Appalachia, and on
Indian reservations in Oklahoma, South
Dakota, New York, Arizona, Nebraska,
and North Dakota.
Serving as secretary of the HPI board
of directors is Shantilal Bhagat, a com-
munity development consultant for the
Church of the Brethren World Ministries
Commission. Mr. Bhagat is a citizen of
India.
Heifer Project, founded 28 years ago
by the late Dan West of the Church of
the Brethren, today is an ecumenical
self-help program.
The organization now has its inter-
national headquarters in Little Rock and
has purchased the Fourche River Ranch
in nearby Perry County to help expand
its potential in livestock assistance to the
poor.
WMC has budgeted $5,000 in each of
the 1972 and 1973 budget years for HPI,
a ministry in which Brethren have had a
heavy involvement since its founding in
1943.
Brethren explore curriculum
proposals with Anabaptists
The Church of the Brethren and seven
other church groups in the Anabaptist
and believers' church tradition have de-
veloped a proposal for a cooperative
graded curriculum for use in their
congregations.
At this point, it is only a proposal.
And it wasn't easy for the consultation to
arrive even at this stage.
Earle W. Fike Jr., executive secretary
of the Parish Ministries Commission, and
one of four representing the Brethren,
noted the similarity and the differences in
the groups.
"Anabaptists seem to be close on
heritage and far apart in practice," he
said. He pointed to the issue of child
evangelism as one point of disagreement.
For some, an emphasis on child evan-
gelism and an emphasis on believers'
baptism seemed inconsistent.
Another point of major disagreement
noted by Hazel Kennedy and Shirley
Heckman, two other PMC representa-
tives participating, is peace and peace
education.
Some of the groups are not aggressive
in teaching peace, said Ms. Kennedy,
and are not sympathetic to demonstra-
tions or social action. And some are
much involved in the confrontation
models of peace education.
These issues were real hangups early
in the week, the Brethren reflected, but
by the week's end there was a proposal
with which all could live.
AH groups present at the consultation
agreed to present the proposal to their
decision-making authorities by next April
1, when, if approved, more detailed work
on the new curriculum would begin. As
now scheduled, materials could not be
ready for use before September 1977.
Meeting for the Anabaptist curriculum
exploration were representatives of the
Brethren in Christ, Evangelical Menno-
nite Church, Evangelical Mennonite
Conference, Friends United Meeting,
General Conference Mennonite Church,
Mennonite Brethren (Canadian and US),
and Mennonite Church as well as the
Church of the Brethren.
The proposal outlines theological, ed-
ucational, and administrative guidelines
for the proposed new curriculum.
The theological stance focuses on some
1 3 statements. Included are the love of
God, Christ's universal atonement, the
saved status of children, the centrality of
the Great Commission, voluntary com-
mitment to the church, church discipline,
and believers' baptism.
Agreement came on the proposal, in
spite of the differences, when it was
decided that participating groups would
be able to prepare special substitute texts
where doctrines differ substantively.
This is the same policy we have with the
denominations developing the Encounter
Series and other cooperative ventures
in which we've been involved, said Ms.
Kennedy, a curriculum editor for the
Brethren for more than 23 years.
Galen B. Ogden, executive secretary
of the General Services Commission and
the Brethren's fourth representative
I
6 MESSENGER 10-1-72
because of his marketing and printing
responsibilities, said further details on
objectives, the settings for learning, and
educational philosophy will not be
decided until after each group has had a
chance to weigh the proposal.
Zeigler joins Tri-Cities in
expanding youth ministry
Carl W. Zeigler Jr., former Consultant
for Group Life and Training for the
Church of the Brethren, joined the
Tri-City Youth Project August 1.
A community based program, the
project works with youth and their fam-
ilies in the Illinois communities of St.
Charles, Geneva, and Batavia.
As a result of state and federal grants
from the Department of Mental Health
and Health, Education and Welfare
(HEW) , the program is in process of ex-
panding to seven staff persons.
It started five years ago with one
Church of the Brethren minister, James
B. Weaver. Another Brethren minister,
John H. Lengle, joined the staff the fol-
lowing year.
Support from local churches, industries,
and contracts with the cities involved
continues.
On the expanded staff, Mr. Zeigler will
be involved in relational ministries,
youth-adult training events, and counsel-
ing.
The Tri-City program is varied. It in-
cludes crisis intervention and a one-to-one
program for youth on probation, but also
continuing education, volunteer service,
and a student run anti-pollution program
of paper and glass collection for
recycling.
In addition to Mexican American and
black studies this past summer, youth in
the area were involved in volunteer pro-
grams, serving in a mental hospital, an
American Indian day camp, a veterans'
hospital, and a crippled children's center.
Unique is a companion program for
elementary school children in trouble.
High school youth are trained to relate
one-to-one in supportive ways to those
recommended by school personnel.
In June, Mr. Zeigler was one of four
persons released by the denomination in
a budget economy move. He had been
on the national staff since 1969.
[La[n]d]s[rDD[ri](
PEOPLE YOU mow
Pleasant View/Wakeman' s Grove pastor
Jimmy Robinson was named recently to the presidency of
Shenandoah County Interchurch Planning Service. SCIPS was
featured in the March 15 Messenger, Jimmy in July's In Touch.
Edward K_. Ziegler left Bakersfield, Calif. , last
month for a post with the faculty of Gujarat United School
of Theology, Ahmedabad, India. The Zieglers plan a one- or
two-year stay in India.
Discontinuing his traveling evangelism ministry is
David Albright , who has accepted an interim appointment
with the North Indiana United Methodist Conference as pas-
tor of the Ashley- Hudson parish near Fort Wayne.
Herbert Hogan ' s retirement as vice-president and dean
of La Verne College occasioned a dinner in his honor. Dr.
Hogan plans a sabbatical leave, then a return to the college
as professor of history.
A former president of Manchester College in Indiana,
Otho Winger , was one of forty posthumous members chosen for
the ranks of the Indiana Academy Hall of Fame, established
in 1970.
La Verne, Calif., resident and onetime missionary in
Denmark Niels Esbensen died July 1, 1972. For forty years
in pastoral and mission work for the church, Mr. Esbensen
served in pastorates in California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
and Pennsylvania. His wife Kristine continues residence
at Hillcrest Homes.
CONGREGATIONAL COLLAGE ... In Dallas Center, Iowa,
Brethren will mark a harvest homecoming Oct. 15, with Ray
Monsalvatage , Dayton, Ohio, guest speaker.
Six Church of the Brethren congregations are cele-
brating anniversaries this summer and fall: Worthington ,
Minn. , 50, August 19-20; Natrona Heights, Western Penn-
sylvania, 50, August 20; Somerset and Mount Pleasant , West-
ern Pennsylvania, early spring; Bel 1 wood , Middle Pennsyl-
vania, 75, July 30; and Morrill , Kans . , centennial, June
21-25.
The Church of the Brethren at Moorefield, W. Va_. ,
celebrated a note burning recently.
The Yellow Creek Church of the Brethren, Northern
Indiana, with a membership of 153 is a good example of a
peace church in action — with at least 21 men and 7 women
who have served through CPS, BVS, IW, lAO , or the Medical
Corps. One family, the Chester Detwilers, may have the
record — he was in CPS, and his wife and five children all
participated in BVS programs.
IN MEDIA
Public television will air a special fall
program on venereal disease, translating provocatively a
variety of information about VD and the predicament of per-
sons who have it. The Broadcasting and Film Commission of
the National Council of Churches is encouraging communities
to provide follow-up programs geared for each one's unique
problems with the nation's number one disease.
Patricia G. Johnson is searching for descendants of
Ohio and Indiana Millers. Readers who can help her may
write her at 6905 Westchester Dr., Camp Springs, Md. 20031.
10-1-72 MESSENGER 7
Let'!
8 MESSENGER 101-72
by T. Wayne Rieman
We live in a complex society. Things are
hard to figure out. Putting the pieces to-
gether is no easy thing. We are bombard-
ed by many voices; some make persistent,
gentle demands on us, others stridently
shriek for attention. Do this, do that, go
here, go there — so the claims come for
our time and energies. Many are good
causes, too, not to mention the third-rate
claims that come. We are bowed down
with burdens, "crushed under commit-
tees, strained, breathless, and hurried.
We are too busy to be good husbands,
wives, fathers, mothers, or students." We
are go-go people. Our model is the one
on the go.
Few of us are strong enough, deliberate
enough, intentional enough, spiritual
enough to be free. And we feel caught!
Often we are like the tourist on the super-
highway. An intersection is just ahead.
Large-lettered words loom there with
numbered routes and arrows, but they
seem to pwint in wrong directions. He is
pressed for a decision, but the time is
short as the thirty-ton monstrous hulk of
a poison-spewing diesel tractor-trailer
breathes down upon him. Perhaps he is
in the wrong lane — hemmed in — so
that he is no longer in control, except to
commit suicide by lane crossing without
discrimination. Maybe he passed his exit,
and he must drive forty miles needlessly.
Many people speak of life as a rat-race
in which they are caught. We get visions
of a rat in a cage running round and
round on a wheel. What a strange figure
of speech for the "good life"! How can
Christians call the life God gave us a
"rat-race"? What a sad distortion!
Can we get off the racing wheel? Can
we gain control of our lives? One wishes
it were as easy as a loan company's ad.
We see a harried husband trying to
stretch his check to cover everything, but
it will not reach. We are admonished
never to borrow needlessly, but when
necessary, borrow from Household
Finance, which puts all our indebtedness
into one lump and off'ers smaller repay-
ments than previously. The final line is a
great one saying: "We uncomplicate
things!" It is pretty audacious!
This is the good news of the gospel.
There are ways to uncomplicate things.
Jesus spent his years untangling knots,
getting people out of fixes, setting people
free, ministering to the bruised and bro-
ken, pointing people to the good life and
the abundant life.
Let us consider the simple life, the
good life, the uncomplicated life which
has concerned Christians for hundreds of
years — from the first century to the
twentieth. The question we raise is about
the quality of life. What kind of lives are
we living? Who will define them? Can
we really control them? Or are we to be
like the ball in the pinball machine,
pushed around by uncaring forces: Mad-
ison Avenue manipulators, seductive tv
ads, uncontrolled capitalism, ruthless
commercialism which gets rich by spill-
ing human blood?
The answer is an unequivocal "Yes."
Life can be simple, single, focused, free,
uncomplicated. There's Good News to be
told and lived! How can it be? How live
simply, sanely, and serenely in a complex
world? Four guideposts commend our
consideration.
We are the problem!
Let us say "No" to the frequent but
false explanation that the complexity and
desperation of our lives are due to the
complexity of our environment. That's
an easy out — too easy! We are the
problem! Let us not indulge in escap-
isms. Our deepest problems are not ex-
ternal, but internal. War, pollution, pop-
ulation, starvation, exploitation, man's
inhumanity to man — pushed to their
depths root in the hearts of man. They
would not exist without a tragic distor-
tion on the inside of man. We are the
problem, not the environment. We are
not focused or centered on Jesus. He is
not Lord! We refuse to accept responsi-
bility for ourselves. God gave us free-
dom. It is the glory of man to exercise it,
to assume control of ourselves and our
world. We rat-racers are irresponsible!
If we rat-race, it is because we have cho-
sen to do so. Though it breeds a mood of
breathless futility, despair, circularity,
and panting meaninglessness, like a rat
on a wheel, it feeds our ego. It gives a
sense of importance to us to go-go-go, to
be involved in no matter what, to get on
the merry-go-round and spend our ener-
gies at most anything; and we give our-
selves to the strangest things.
David O. Woodyard suggests that the
tempo of modern life is like being caught
in a cloverleaf : "Getting on and off a
superhighway is a life and death matter.
If you are in the wrong lane, it is almost
impossible to exercise your intention; all
about you others are moving with maxi-
mum speed and minimum control; any
abrupt change of direction is apt to create
a twenty-car accident; the overwhelming
feeling you have is of great momentum
but little maneuverability."
Many of us are experiencing life like
that — hemmed in, caught, driven, going
very fast. But there is more to it than
that. We chose this road, this lane, litis
speed, this exit! While some things are
beyond us — mechanical failures, erratic
drivers, and human miscalculations by
well-meaning people — we still have
many opportunities to control our lives.
Flexibility and fluidity are still options,
not always, but often.
A young minister backed his car out of
the drive one morning and then looked
forward to see that he had run over his
three-year-old son. The family had the
traditional interment . . . but no funeral.
A few days after the death they gave a
party for the relatives and warmest
friends. When the minister was asked
why and how he could do that, he re-
sponded: "I wanted all of us to remember
together — indeed to celebrate — that
Uncomplicate Our Lives!
10-1-72 MESSENGER 9
one moment of tragedy does not define all
moments. We have lost one we loved but
there is a wider web of love relationships
in which to participate. There is more to
life than this one death."
Living simply means living
"under orders"
The early Christians lived simply be-
cause they were under orders. There's a
strange and wonderful clarity about them.
We see it the way we perceive things on a
fog-free day when one can see forever.
They said, as they met each other: "Je-
sus is Lord!" He was Lord of their lives
and he was Lord of the cosmos! They
knew who was in control and how things
were coming out. They were surfing on
the wave of the future. It was said of
them that they lived with "singleness of
heart." Chief among them was Paul who,
amid a busy life of preaching, teaching,
writing, traveling, pulled it all together
saying: "This one thing I do!" His life
was single, focused, and simple.
When we seek first the kingdom of
drul. many things are added. We know
who we are and what we are about. We
become whole beings instead of divided;
we are unified instead of torn; we are
serene instead of frantic; we live focused
lives instead of flaying wildly in many
directions.
Christ is the head of the church. When
the church loses its head it is like a chick-
en with its head cut off — lots of action,
but it is irrational, erratic, purposeless,
frantic, and its life is short. So it is with
the Christian who can no longer say:
Jesus is Lord! The simple life is a life
under orders.
The Old Order Amish are under or-
ders. Let us not laugh at them. They
know what they are about, and their life
is simple. They have doubted the extrav-
agant values we have attached to tractors,
tv, trains, cars, cotton gins, and internal
combustion engines. They spotted the
phoniness of so-called progress centuries
ago; they haven't bought the glib prom-
ises of the technological hucksters as
many of us have. Instead, they asked:
"What kind of life will it bring?" "What
will they do for persons?" they asked of
modern conveniences, plush and extrava-
gant living, a thousand miles per hour
travel, skyscrapers, millions of acres of
concrete and asphalt, summer cottages,
and boats on the lake. Yes, what have
they done for persons?
But we need not join the Amish,
though we have much to learn from them.
Albert Palmer speaks with calm assur-
ance to modern man, saying: 'T am not
working for man or money, but for God,
the master of the universe whose recom-
pense is sure." To say this as we go to
work is to simplify one's life.
Take Paul
seriously:
Don't let the
world
squeeze you
into its mold!
We must cultivate the life
of reflection
From time to time wc ought to engage
in "existence clarification." We will ask
what life is about, and ponder the mean-
ing of the life given to us. We spend
much time earning a living, and so little
"learning a living." Roy Burkhart used
to go through a little daily exercise each
morning. He asked himself three ques-
tions: "Who am I? What am I doing?
Where am I going?"
Thoreau went to the woods — to find
himself and the meaning of life. People
laughed at him, called him an impractical
dreamer — this man who lived by
Walden Pond so that he could ponder
what the true necessities of life were. He
went to jail for refusing to pay war taxes.
He argued that in these solitudes (a mile
of two from town) the problem of exis-
tence is simplified, that the stillness and
wildness were kind of a boneset to his
mind, that in wildness is the preservation
of the world, and that in these places he
met a grand, serene, encouraging, invis-
ible companion and walked with him.
Now our young people read Thoreau to
discover what the good life is and what it
means to be human.
We must fight for our lives! It is hard
to be! It is easy not to be! A lot of young
people are searching for identity, trying
to find who they are and can be. It is a
worthy end. The Amish spend a large
part of their lives being — being-being
themselves, fighting for identity. In our
suave sophistication we laughingly deride
their quaint ways, but follow the crowd
like dumb sheep. They have decided not
to join the procession led by Detroit,
Paris, Madison Avenue, and the Penta-
gon. This is no plea to join the Amish; it
is a recognition that they are asking some
of the right questions. And they have
taken Paul seriously: "Don't let the world
squeeze you into its mold!" Some young
people today are wildly "doing their
thing," often running down lots of dead
end streets. But they are engaged in
existence clarification.
We will simplify our wants
Deep within us we know that life does
not consist in the abundance of things.
Jesus was right, we know this, but few of
us can withdraw from the frantic, grasp-
ing, acquisitive pursuits. We buy-buy; we
pile up; we lust more-MORE-MORE as if
we are in a vast cheering section led by
those who make things to sell. Psycholo-
gist Karen Horney says that "the domi-
nant neurosis of our time is the desire to
have everything."
It is necessary to resist those economic
fads that tell us we must consume, as if
10 MESSENGER 10-1-72
weather, but now I rolled it off upon the
floor, and, with the help of a spare com-
fortable, was soon at rest. The pillow-
cases, which were trimmed with edging,
were marked with black silk, in a large
running-hand, in this manner: "Henry
G. Kreider, 1864."
As I sat the next morning a while with
the landlady in her basement kitchen, she
remarked, "Here is it as Dutch as
Dutchlant." But she said that my Dutch
was not like theirs. The neighborhood,
however, is not nearly so German as
Germany. I was told by an intelligent
young man that half the grown men did
not speak English; I understand by this,
not that they do not speak our language
at all, but not habitually and with fluency.
Many speak English very well, but the
"Dutch" accent is universal. For several
years the school-books in the township
have all been English. I laughed with the
landlady, who herself seemed somewhat
amused, at the children having English
books and speaking Dutch, or, as she
would say, "Die Kinner lerne Englisch
und schwetze Deitsch." However, at the
Dunker church a pretty girl told me after-
ward that she had had no difficulty at
school the preceding winter, although
"we always talk German at home."
At breakfast this morning, among other
dishes, we had raisin-pie. Not a great
while after this meal was over, the morn-
ing having proved wet, a neighbor took
me over to the church in his buggy for
twenty-five cents. Although the hour was
so early, and meeting was fixed to begin
at one, I found a considerable number
here, which did not surprise me, as I
knew the early habits of our "Dutch"
people. Taking a seat, I began to read a
number of the Living Age, when a black-
eyed maid before me, in Dunker dress,
handed me her neatly-bound hymn-book
in English and German. I told her that I
could read German, and when I read a
verse in that language she said, "But you
don't know what it means." Reading
German is with us a much rarer accom-
plishment than speaking the dialect.
Ere long, a stranger came and sat
down behind me, and entered into con-
versation. He was a preacher from a
distance, named L., and spoke very good
English. We soon found that we had
mutual acquaintances in another county,
and when dinner was ready he invited me
down to partake.
Here the men sat upon one side, and
the women on the other, of one of the
long tables, upon which was laid a strip
of white muslin. We had bowls without
spoons, into which was poured by attend-
ing brethren very hot coffee, containing
milk or cream, but no sugar. We had the
fine Lancaster County bread, good and
abundant butter, apple-butter, pickles,
and pies. The provisions for these meals
are contributed by the members at a pre-
vious meeting, where each tells what he
intends to furnish, how many loaves of
bread, etc., while some prefer to give
money. To furnish provisions, however,
is natural to a people of whom about
seventy-five in a hundred are farmers, as
is the case with the Dunkers. Whatever
food is left over after the four meals are
finished is given to the poor, without dis-
tinction of sect; "whoever needs it most,"
as a sister said.
At this dinner, before eating, my new
acquaintance, L., gave out, by two lines
at a time, the verse, —
"Eternal are thy mercies. Lord."
But few joined in the singing. They
would doubtless have preferred German.
In that language thanks were returned
after eating.
When we went up into the meeting-
room again, a young man of an interest-
ing countenance, a preacher, named Z.,
asked me if I was not the one who had
written an article which had lately ap-
peared in one of our county papers. It
was very gratifying to be thus recognized
among strangers.
An elderly sister, who sat down by me
and began to talk, was named Murphy.
The name surprised me much, but it was
not the only Irish one here. It is probable
that some such persons were taken into
Dunker families, when young, to be
brought up, and thus had been led to join
the society.
Having observed that there was a good
deal of labor to be performed here in
waiting upon so many people, I asked
Mrs. Murphy whether there were women
hired. She told me, "There's a couple of
women that's hired; but the members
does a heap, too."
On another occasion, I made a remark
to a friendly sister about the brethren's
waiting upon the table, as they did. She
answered that it was according to the
Testament to help each other: the women
cooked, and the men waited upon the
table. She did not seem able to give the
text. It may be, "Bear ye one another's
burdens." I was amused that it should be
so kindly applied to the brethren's help-
ing the sisters.
Before meeting began in the afternoon,
a lovely aged brother, with silvery hair
and beard, and wearing a woollen coat
nearly white, showed me how the seats
were made, so that, by turning down the
backs of some, tables could be formed for
"A Love Feast Among the Dunkers,"
drawn by Howard Pyle for Harper's
Weekly in 1883, was sent to the
church's historical library by Claude
V. Smith, Three Rivers, Calif., and
illustrates, according to the 1883 note,
"the Dunkers, a sect whose doctrines
and habits of life are very similar to
those of the Mennonites." ►
the Love-Feast. He told me that the
Dunkers number about one hundred
thousand, — that they have increased
much in the West, but not in the Eastern
States. To which I rejoined, smiling,
"You Dutch folks do not like poor land,
like much of that at the East."
"This is not good land," he said, "we
have improved it;" for I had left the rich
limestone soil and had come to the
gravelly land in the northern part of the
county.
Continued on 18
10-1-72 MESSENGER IS
/.
/ y
//^
"'4,
/'//
'i!/
:y
f^- %!¥
*^
r^z^
N sV
^liilli
,^.;
68/liP
■<.i I
pj(i '^
When meeting began, as brethren came
in, I saw some of these bearded men
kissing each other. These holy kisses, as
will be seen hereafter, are frequent
among the Dunkers, and, as the men
shave only the upper lip, it seems strange
to us who are unaccustomed to the sight
and the sound. The oft-repeated kissing
was to me, perhaps, the least agreeable
part of the ceremonial.
The afternoon meeting became very
crowded, and, as is usual among our
"Dutch" people, a number of babies
were in attendance. During the sessions
their voices sometimes rose high, but the
noise did not seem to affect those who
were preaching or praying. They felt it
perhaps like the wailing and sighing of
the wind, which they regard not, and
would rather bear the inconvenience of
the children than to have the mothers
stay away from meeting. This afternoon,
during prayer, a little fellow behind me
kept saying, "Want to go to pappy." but
if his father was among the brethren, he
was on the other side of the house.
My new acquaintance, L., was the only
preacher here who spoke in English. All
the other exercises, except a little singing,
were in German or in our Pennsylvania
dialect. This afternoon L. said, among
many remarks more sectarian, or less
broad, "Faith is swallowed up in sight;
hope, in possession; but charity, or love,
is eternal. It came from God, for God is
love." The allusion here is to Paul's cele-
brated panegyric on charity; but how
much more charming it is in the German
version, "Faith, hope, love; but the great-
est of these is love. Love suffereth long
and is kind, is not puffed up," etc.
About the middle of the afternoon I
perceived a speaker giving some direc-
tions, and I asked the women near me
what he had said. One answered and said
something about "Wahl halten fiir
prediger," by which I perceived that the
election for a preacher was now to take
place. Both brethren and sisters were to
vote; not to select from a certain set of
candidates, but at random, among the
congregation, — or family, as it is some-
times called, "for all ye are brethren."
In the room above-stairs were the
bishop or elder and an assistant, to re-
ceive the votes. This bishop we might
call the father of this family, which has
four preachers and as many meeting-
le MESSENGER 10-1-72
houses. The bishop is always that preach-
er who is oldest in the ministry. Meeting
is held by turns in the different houses,
occurring only once in six weeks in the
large new house which we then occupied.
These particulars, which I gathered in
conversation, are, I believe, substantially
correct.
n
HB^'uring the interval of the election I
sat and read, or looked out from my win-
dow at the young people, the gayly-
dressed girls mostly grouped together.
Some of these were, probably, relatives of
the members, while others may have
come for the ride and the fun, to see and
to be seen, — meetings of this kind being
great occasions in the country-side.
The young men stood around on the
outside of these groups of girls, some
holding their whips and twirling them,
with the butts resting upon the ground.
Of course the young girls were not con-
scious of the presence of the beaux.
On the back of the house, or rather the
front, — for, as I have said, the main
doors open upon the wood instead of
upon the roadside. — were more young
girls, and plain sisters and brethren.
I asked a nice-looking woman about
the election, but she could not tell me. al-
though she wore the plain cap. "Most of
the women do around here," she said, and
added that Dunker women in meeting
had offered to kiss her. "You know they
greet each other with a kiss."
After the brethren, the sisters were
called up to vote. I laughed, in talking
with some of the members, at the
women's being allowed to vote, in con-
trast to the usual custom. Mrs. Murphy
reckoned it would be different if the
women should undertake to vote for
Governor or President.
I said to some of the sisters, "Who do
you think will be chosen?" But they
pleasantly informed me that to talk upon
this point was against their rules, — it
was a matter for internal reflection.
After meeting was over next day, as
the bishop was talking with a sister, I
ventured to ask him whether a majority
was necessary to elect a preacher, or
only a plurality. He seemed quite willing
to talk, displaying no clerical pride, and
answered, "A majority," adding, "Do you
speak German?" I feared that I could
not readily understand him on such a
subject, and put the case to him thus in
English: "Suppose one man has twenty
votes, another fifteen, and another ten?"
Then the bishop said that the one having
twenty would be elected; whence it seems
that a plurality only is required. On this
occasion the vote was doubtless much di-
vided, for I afterward heard that the
bishop had said to the congregation that
it seemed there were a good many there
that were thought fit for preachers.
As sunset approached, some of the
members began to form tables from the
benches for the Love-Feast, which made
me wonder when supper was to be ready.
I soon found, however, that my ignorance
of the language had prevented my observ-
ing that while the "family" voted the rest
of the congregation were to sup. I was
told, however, that if I would go down I
could still get something to eat. These
meals were free to every one that came.
All were received, in the hope that they
would obtain some spiritual good.
In the basement I found a number of
men sitting at the end of one of the tables
waiting for food, and I also sat down nea
them. I was invited, however, by a sister
to step into the kitchen, where I stood
and partook of hot coffee, bread and
butter, etc. As we went along through th
dining-room. I thought that the sister cas
a reproachful glance at a disorderly man
seated at the table with his whip, and
who was perhaps intoxicated. I won-
dered that she should have taken me
from the table to stand in the kitchen, til
I remembered that that was a men's
table.
In the kitchen, brethren were busily
occupied cutting large loaves of bread
into quarters for the coming Love-Feast;
and when I returned to the room above
active preparations were still going on,
which consumed much time. The impro-
vised tables were neatly covered with
white cloths, and hanging lamps shed
down light upon the scene. Piles of tin
pans were placed upon the table, knives,
forks, and spoons, and sometimes a bowl.
The tables, with their seats, occupied
nearly the whole floor of the church,
leaving but little room for spectators. I
was myself crowded into a corner, where
the stairs came up from the basement and
went up to the loft; but, though at times I
was much pressed for room, I had an ex-
cellent place to observe, for I stood at the
end of the main table. Here stood, too, a
bright and social sister from a neighbor-
ing congregation, who did not partake of
the feast, and was able and willing to
explain the ceremonial to me, in English,
— Mrs. R., as I will call her.
Near by at the table, among the older
sisters, sat a pair who attracted a great
deal of my attention — a young mother
and her babe — herself so quiet, and
such a quiet babe! They might have been
photographed. Once or twice the little
six -weeks' child gave a feeble young wail,
and I saw the youthful mother modestly
give it that nourishment which nature
provides.
The brethren came up carrying tubs of
meat, which smelt savory, for I had fasted
from flesh since the morning. Then came
great vessels of soup, — one of them a
very large tin wash-boiler. The soup was
taken out into the tin pans before men-
tioned, and the plates of meat were set
upon the top, as if to keep both hot. And,
now that "at long last" the Love-Feast
tables were spread, the fasting family was
ready to begin, not the supper, but the
feet-washing! This was the more remark-
able, because the Testament, their rule of
action, relates that "supper being ended,"
Jesus washed the disciples' feet.
The bishop arose in his place at the
table, and, lamp in one hand and book in
the other, read in German the account of
the feet-washing in John's gospel.
Four men who stood in front of him,
watching his words, started when he said
"legte seine Kleider ab" ("laid aside his
garments") , and, in imitation of Jesus,
took off their coats; and, as the Scripture
says, "He took a towel and girded him-
self," they, or two of them, put on long
white aprons tied around the waist. Two
washed feet and two wiped, and then he
who was thus ministered unto was kissed
by one or both of the ministering breth-
ren. I was a little surprised that two
should perform that oflice, which Jesus is
said to have performed alone: but Mrs.
R. told me that, as the church was one
body, it was considered that it made no
difference to have two persons.
The four who had ministered took their
seats, and were served in their turn, four
others taking their places, and so on.
Upon the sisters' side of the house, on a
front bench, the sisters were, in a similar
manner, performing the same ordinance.
While the religious services of the eve-
ning were going on within, from without
there came the sound of voices and laugh-
ter, — from where the young people of
the world were enjoying themselves in the
clear, cool moonlight. I doubt not that,
by this time, the girls had recognized the
presence of the young men.
Once there was a shriek or a yell, and
Mrs. R. said, "Oh, the drunken rowdies!
there's always some of them here!"
Having heard of the non-resistant or
wehrlos tenets of the Dunkers, I won-
dered what they would do should the dis-
turbance without become very great and
unpleasant. Mrs. Murphy thought that
the other people would interfere in such a
case, — that is, that those not members
would interest themselves to maintain
order. But on this point I afterward re-
ceived information from a brother, as I
shall mention. The services were so long
that I told Mrs. R. I thought that the soup
would be cold. "Oh, no!" she said, "that
won't get cold so soon." So I ventured to
put my finger against a pan near me, and
it was yet warm. She asked me, during
feet-washing, whether I did not think that
I should feel happy to be there, partaking
of that exercise.
I answered, in a non-committal man-
ner, that if I had been brought up to such
things, as she had been, I might feel so,
but that all my friends and acquaintances
were of a different mind. She rejoined,
"But we must follow Christ, and serve
God, in spite of the world." Even after
the feet were all washed, the fasting fam-
ily could not yet eat, on account of the
protracted exhortations.
At length they broke their fast. From
two to four persons, each with a spoon,
ate together from one pan of soup, very
quietly, fifty feeding like one, so to speak;
the absence of sound proceeding in part
perhaps from the absence of earthen
plates. Then they cut from the meat and
from the quarter-loaves, and partook of
the butter, this being all the food. There
was no salt nor any other condiment.
The occasional bowl was for water. I
suppose that most persons would think
that there had been enough kissing of the
kind; but about this time a young bishop,
an assistant, stood up at the centre of the
main table, and after some remarks shook
hands with the sister upon his left and
kissed the brother upon his right, and
from brother to brother, and from sister
to sister, the kiss went around the con-
gregation.
The bishop, and this assistant, went
around upon ours, the women's side,
superintending this ceremony, as if to see
that none failed in this expression of
unity, and that it was conducted in an
orderly manner. The last sister, who has
no one to kiss, goes forward and kisses
the first one, with whom the bishop had
shaken hands, thus completing the chain
of unity. This was doubtless done before
the Communion, and showed that
brotherly love existed among these breth-
ren, fitting them to partake of the sacra-
ment. I was also told that the latter half
of the afternoon meeting had been for
self-examination on the same subject.
A.
ubout this time of the evening Mrs. R.
told me that if I would go down I could
get some of the soup, as there was plenty
left. I was willing to partake, not having
had a regular supper, and I got a bowl of
good mutton-broth, containing rice or
barley, etc.
After the Love-Feast, these "Old
Brethren," as they are sometimes called,
held the Communion. The bread and
10-1-72 MESSENGER 19
wine were placed upon the general or
main table — being set before the bishops
— and were covered with a white cloth.
Before the celebration of the ordinance
there was read in German the passage of
Scripture upon which it is founded; and
also, as it seemed to me, the narrative of
the crucifixion. The hymn now sung was
an English one, and the only one in our
language that was sung by the whole
congregation during the two days' meet-
ing. It was,
"Alas! and did my Saviour bleed?"
Meantime, the assistant bishop divided
the bread, or cakes, which were unleav-
ened and sweetened. He directed the
members, while eating the bread, to re-
flect upon the sufferings of the Saviour.
His manner was devout and impressive.
As he and Bishop D passed around
among the women, distributing the bread,
the former repeated several times, in a
sonorous voice, these or similar words:
"Das Brod das wir brechen ist die
Gemeinschaft des Leibes Christi." ("The
bread that we break is the communion of
thebody of Christ.")
The wine, which smelt strong, was the
juice of the grape, and was made in the
neighborhood. An aged bishop from an-
other congregation made some observa-
tions, and while speaking marked the
length of something upon his finger. Mrs.
R. said that he was showing the size of
the thorns in the crown. She added,
"They are there yet." I looked at her in
much surprise, wondering whether she
believed in the preservation of the actual
thorns: whereupon she added, "They
grow there still. Did you never read it in
Bausman's book on the Holy Land? —
Bausman, the Reformed preacher." The
simplicity of the surroundings upon this
occasion seemed in keeping with those of
the original supper, at which sat the "car-
penter's son" and the fishermen.
When meeting was over, as I did not
see my escort to the public-house, and as
I had been told that I could stay here, I
followed those who went above-stairs,
and received a bolster made of a grain-
bag filled with hay or straw. I shared it
with Mrs. Murphy. Our bed was com-
posed of straw laid upon the floor, and
covered, or nearly so, with pieces of do-
mestic carpet. We had a coverlet to lay
over us. I talked with some of the other
women who lay beside us, and could not
get to sleep immediately; but at last I
slept so sweetly that it was not agreeable
to be disturbed at four o'clock, when, by
my reckoning, the sisters began to rise.
When some of these had gone down. I
should perhaps have slept again, had it
not been for a continued talking upon the
men's side of the partition, quite audible,
as the partition only ran up to a distance
of some feet, not nearly so high as the
lofty ridge of the building. The voices
appeared to be those of a young man and
one or two boys, talking in the dialect. A
woman near me laughed.
"What is it?" said I.
"It's too mean to tell," she answered.
I surmise that the Dunkcr brethren had
gone down and left these youths. Al-
though a baby was crying, I lay still until
two girls in Dunker caps — one ten years
old, the other twelve — came with a
candle, looking at us, smiling, and making
remarks, perhaps thinking that it was
time for us to be up.
I asked the eldest what o'clock it was.
She did not know.
"What made you get up, then?"
"I got up when the others did."
Then some one explained that there
were a good many dishes left unwashed
the evening before.
I was surprised to see such young per-
sons members of the meeting, for I sup-
posed that the Dunkers, like the Menno-
nites, are opposed to infant baptism. The
former explained to me, however, that
they thought such persons as these old
enough to distinguish right from wrong.
I was told, too, of one girl, still younger,
who had insisted on wearing the cap. The
Mennonites baptize persons as young as
fifteen. Both sects seem to hold peculiar
views upon original sin.
A Dunker preacher once said to me, —
"We believe that, after Adam, all were
born in sin; but, after Christ, all were
bom without sin."
And a Mennist neighbor says, —
"Children have no sin; the kingdom of
heaven is of little children."
I continued to lie still, looking at the
rafters and roof, and speculating as to
their being so clean, and clear of cobwebs,
and whether they had been laboriously
swept; and then, gathering my wardrobe
together, I was at last ready to go down.
As I went to a window, I saw Orion and
Sirius, and the coming day.
^^bing down to wash at the pump, in
the morning gloaming, while the land-
scape still lay in shade, I found two or
three lads at the pump, and one of them
pumped for me. I was so ignorant of
pump-washing as to wonder why he
pumped so small a stream, and to suspect
that he was making fun; but thus it seems
proper to do, to avoid wetting the sleeves.
Here I met a pretty young sister, from
Cumberland County, — fat and fair, —
whose acquaintance I had made the day
before. Her cap was of lace, and not so
plain as the rest. There was with her at
the pump one of the world's people, a
young girl in a blue dress.
"Is that your sister?" I asked.
'Tt's the daughter of the woman I live
with," she replied. "I have no sister. I
am hired with her mother."
To my inexperienced eye it was not
easy to tell the rich Dunkers from the
poor, when all wore so plain a dress. I
was afterward much surprised on dis-
covering that this pretty sister did not
understand German. Another from
Cumberland County told me that I ought
to come to their meeting, which was near-
ly all English.
After washing, I went up into the
meeting-house, where the lamps were
still burning. A few sisters were sitting
here, and two little maidens were making
a baby laugh and scream by walking her
back and forth along the empty benches.
About sunrise the bishop had arrived,
and a number of brethren ranged them-
selves upon the benches and began to
sing. Before long, we, who had stayed
over-night, had our breakfast, having
cold meat at this and the succeeding meal.
I think it was at breakfast that my pleas-
ant friend mentioned that there was still
a store of bread and pies.
The great event of the raoming meet-
20 MESSENGER 10-1-72
ing was the "making the preacher." At
my usual seat, at a distant window, I was
so busily occupied with my notes that I
did not perceive what was going on at the
preachers' table, until I saw a man and
woman standing before the table with
their backs to the rest of the congregation.
I made my way to my former corner of
observation, and found that there was an-
other brother standing with them (the
sister in the middle) , and these were re-
ceiving the greetings of the family. The
brethren came up, one by one, kissed one
of the men, shook hands with the sister,
and kissed the other man. This last was
the newly-chosen preacher, the former
brother, named Z., being a preacher who,
by the consent of the members (also giv-
en yesterday), was now advanced one
degree in the ministry, and was hence-
forth to have power to marry and to bap-
tize. The sister was his wife. She is ex-
pected to support her husband in the
ministry, and to be ready to receive those
women who, after baptism, come up from
the water. This office and that of voting
seem to be the only important ones held
by women in this society. Herein they
differ greatly from another plain sect, • —
Friends or Quakers, among whom
women minister, transact business, etc.
After the brethren were done, the sis-
ters came up, shook hands with Z., kissed
his wife, and shook hands with the new
preacher.
The bishop invited the sisters to come
forward: "Koomet alle! alle die will.
Koomet alle!"
While this salutation was in progress,
L., who spoke in English, made some ex-
planatory remarks. He told us that he
had read or heard of two men travelling
together, of whom one was a doctor of
divinity. The latter asked the younger
man what he was now doing. He replied
that he was studying divinity. He had
formerly been studying law, but on look-
ing around he saw no opening in the law,
so he was now studying divinity, which
course or which change met the approval
of the reverend doctor.
"Now," said L., "we do not approve of
men-made preachers;" a striking remark
in a congregation where a preacher had
just been elected by a plurality. But he
went on to explain that he trusted that
there was no brother or sister who had
voted for him who had just been chosen
for this arm of the church who had not
prayed God earnestly that they might
make such a choice as would be profitable
in the church. He went on to explain that
the newly-chosen preacher was now re-
ceiving from the congregation an expres-
sion of unity.
There were various other exercises this
morning, — preaching, praying, and sing-
ing, — before the final adjournment. At
the close we had dinner. I made an esti-
mate of the number who partook of this
meal as about five hundred and fifty.
One of the men guessed a thousand; but
we are prone to exaggerate numbers
where our feelings are interested.
Before we parted, I had some conver-
sation with certain brethren, principally
upon the non-resistant doctrines of the
society. In my own neighborhood, not a
great while before, a Dunker had been
robbed under peculiar circumstances.
Several men had entered his house at
night, and, binding him and other mem-
bers of the family, had forced him to tell
where his United States and other bonds
were placed, and had carried off property
worth four thousand dollars. The brother
had gone in pursuit of them, visiting the
mayor of our town, and the police in
neighboring cities (without recovering his
property) . I asked these brethren at dif-
ferent times whether his course was in
agreement with their rules. They an-
swered that it was not.
'M the present occasion I repeated the
question as to what they would have done
on the previous evening if the disturbance
had risen to a great height. One of the
brethren, in reply, quoted from the Acts
of the Apostles, where it is narrated that
forty Jews entered into a conspiracy to
kill Paul. But Paul sent his nephew to the
chief captain to inform him of the con-
spiracy. The captain then put Paul under
the charge of soldiers, to be brought safe
unto Felix the governor.
From this passage the Dunkers feel at
liberty to appeal to the police for their
protection; but only once: if protection
be not then afforded them, they must do
without it.
I further mentioned to these brethren a
case which had been told to me some time
before by a Dunker preacher, of a certain
brother who had been sued in the settle-
ment of an estate, and had received a
writ from the sheriff. This writ was con-
sidered by the Dunkers as a call from the
powers that be, to whom they are ordered
to be subservient, and the brother there-
fore went with some brethren to the office
of a lawyer, who furnished him with
subpoenas to summon witnesses in his
defence. But the Dunkers argued among
themselves that for him to take these
legal papers from his pocket would be to
draw the sword. He therefore sent word
to his friends, informally, to come to the
office of a magistrate; and, the evidence
being in his favor, he was released.
"This," said my informant, "is the only
lawsuit that I have known in our society
since I joined the meeting," which was, I
believe, a period of about seven years.
In repeating this narrative to the breth-
ren at the Love-Feast, I learned that they
are now at liberty to engage in defensive
lawsuits. They have, as I understood one
to say, no creed and no discipline, al-
though I believe that a certain confession
of faith is required. The New Testament,
or, as they say, the Testament, they claim
to be their creed and their discipline.
There is also much independence in the
congregations. But in some cases they
have resort to a general council, and here
it has been decided that a Dunker may
defend himself in a lawsuit, but only
once. Should an appeal be taken to an-
other court, the Dunker can go no
further. This reminds me of Paul's ques-
tion to the Corinthians, "Why do you not
rather suffer loss than go to law?" Does
it not seem hard to practise such non-
resistance, to remain upright and open-
minded, and at the same time to acquire
much wealth?
The Dunkers do not like to be called
by this name; their chosen title is
Brethren. D
10-1-72 MESSENGER "
The Fish
Ihe New Testament accounts all make it
clear that the Lord's Supper is essentially
a table fellowship in which covenant
is pledged, renewed, and celebrated.
But a further consideration must be
raised concerning the nature of the
covenant it celebrates. To whom and
with whom is this covenant pledged?
Is Christ one of the covenanting parties,
or is he simply the mediator of a cove-
nant between God and man, himself the
sacrifice whose blood is used to seal the
covenant but whose role ends with that?
Obviously, the first alternative is the
correct one; but some aspects of the
upper-room experience tend to point
toward the second. By virtue of its place
in the sequence of events, the upper room
is oriented strongly (almost exclusively)
toward Christ's crucifixion, the sealing of
the covenant. V/ith this, it is very nearly
implied that, in Christ's death, the cov-
enant is complete and that it is largely
incidental whether he were resurrected or
not.
Certainly, such implication lies far
from the New Testament intention. This
covenant creates the body of Clirist and
not simply the people of God. Christ is
present as the living Lord and active
leader of his church. The new covenant
in Christ wants and requires the resurrec-
tion which was not needed in earlier
covenants.
The very nature of the gospel, then,
would suggest that a resurrection em-
phasis needs to be included if the Lord's
Supper is to speak the full truth about
its covenant; yet (although understand-
ably so) the upper room hints about the
resurrection only very obliquely if at all.
There is evidence that the early Chris-
tians sensed the difficulty; and that is
why, in some ways, post-Easter celebra-
tions of the Supper give it fuller and
more accurate expression than does the
upper room itself.
How the resurrection theme comes to
be incorporated into the Supper forms a
very interesting study. Think back and
you will realize that, although the gospels
give us a very limited amount of material
regarding the post-resurrection appear-
ances of Christ, mealtime occasions
figure very prominently. Matthew re-
lates a bare minimum of post-resurrec-
tion stories. Mark gives us next to
nothing — although, depending upon
which manuscript of Mark one follows
and how much of the damaged ending
one accepts, there is a reference to the
risen Christ appearing to his disciples at
mealtime (Mark 6: 14). Luke has Jesus
breaking bread with the two disciples on
the road to Emmaus and then joining
the gathered disciples at mealtime and
eating fish with them.
John presents the risen Lord appearing
to the fishermen-disciples on the sea-
shore, preparing and serving them break-
fast. "Jesus now came up, took the bread,
and gave it to them, and fish in the same
way" (John 21:13). And if the feeding
of the five thousand is taken as a picture
of the Lord's Supper (which John at
least most surely intends) and if, as
many scholars believe, it is to be under-
stood as a type or back-reading of a
resurrection appearance, then here is
another meal of the risen Jesus with his
followers in which the menu is loaves
and fishes.
Finally, in Acts 10:40-41, Peter says:
"God raised him to life on the third day,
and allowed him to appear, not to the
whole people, but to witnesses whom
God had chosen in advance — to us, ii7io
ate and drank witli liim after he rose from
the dead."
No
Sow all of this emphasis on post-
resurrection meals (of bread and fish)
cannot be sheer coincidence. What the
writers seem to be feeling toward is a
Lord's Supper (better, a continuation of
the Lord's Supper) with a focus upon the
celebration of the resurrection. The idea
gains plausibility when we discover that,
with impressive consistency, the early
Christian artistic depictions of the upper
room and subsequent occasions of the
Lord's Supper give prominence to a table
setting of loaves and fish. The capstone
comes, then, with the realization that a
fish was the symbol of Jesus Christ in the
usage of the early church.
The customary explanation of that fish
by Vernard Eller
22 MESSENGER 10-1-72
3n the Lord's Table
symbol is that the letters of the Greek
word "fish" form an anagram of the
Greek words "Jesus Christ God's Son
Savior." But this explanation is too
sophisticated to account for the symbol's
rising to dominance in a folk culture;
such clever devices are inventions after
the fact. Rather, a growing number of
scholars understand the evidence to indi-
cate that fish was the main dish in the
Lord's Supper of the early church.
In the course of time, then, this fish
which graced the Lord's table became the
symbol of the Lord himself. And notice
that this symbol — unlike the cross,
which points back to an event of the past
— speaks specifically of the one who is
present with his people as they gather to
commune with him and celebrate the
covenant which binds them into a living
relationship with him. The fish is the
symbol of the resurrected, living, present
Christ.
In the early church the Lord's Supper
did not take the form, as it so largely does
with us, of a commemorative funeral for
Jesus. Of course, we do not want to for-
get that the covenant we celebrate was
sealed i?i his blood and that that blood
represents a pouring out of himself unto
death; but the Supper has built-in features
to prevent that sort of forgetfulness.
I do not know how many Christians
will choose to use fish in the Lord's Sup-
per. It can be done in several ways —
either by serving fish dishes or by using
the motif in table decorations. But in
whatever way it is done (and always with
appropriate explanation and interpreta-
tion, of course) , the presence of the fish
can help restore to the Supper the note of
joy it so desperately needs. And, note
well, this does not represent "celebration"
injected simply for the sake of celebra-
tion. The fish knows what is the object
and ground of its celebration: nothing
less than festive fellowship with the
Resurrected One who gives us the victory
over death, sin, and the world. Q
From Vemard Filer's new book. In Place of
Sacraments: A Study of Baptism and the Lord's
Supper. Copyright (g) 1972 by W'm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Mich. Used
by permission.
10-1-72 MESSENGER 23
tuirmngj p(n)mt'.
Deaths
Charles E. Barnhart. Greencastlc. Pa., on
March 2. 1972. aged 46
Henrv Baughman. Hopewell, Pa., on Jan
28, 1972. aged 68
Jane Cunard Boor, E\erett, Pa., on Nov. 8
1971, aged 49
Esther Bordner, Cleona, Pa., on April 20
1972, aged 70
Frankie Bowser. Glenford. Ohio, in Febrii
ary 1972, aged 71
Harold Bowser, Glenford. Ohio, on Dec. 31
1971, aged 72
Jack Briggs, Flora, Ind., on April 22, 1972
aged 58
Cleo Burkett, Hopewell. Pa., on iMarch 8
1972, aged 58
Bessie Butler, Bridgewatcr, V'a., on Feb. 21
1972. aged 84
William Clegg, Santa Ana, Calif., church
on Dec. 5. 1971, aged 65
Carl Craun, Bridgewater, Va., on Feb. 2
1972. aged 54
Clarence H. Detwiler, Woodbury, Pa., on
Dec. 31, 1971, aged 80
G. Paul Dining. Martinsburg, Pa., on March
1, 1972, aged 71
Chancy Dove, .Annxille. Pa., on March 2,
1972, aged 76
Elmer E. Eberlv, Litilz, Pa., on -April 4.
1972, aged 77
Florence E. Ciarner. New Windsor, Md., on
Jan. 29. 1972. aged 99
Leonard T. Hawkings. CarrolUon, Mo., on
Feb. 29, 1972, aged 84
Roe Helser, Ihornxillc, Ohio, on May 21,
1971, aged 67
Mabel Stutsman Hoffman. Muscatine, Iowa,
on .Sept. 22. 1971, aged 81
Elam B. Hollinger, Lititz, Pa., on Oct. 4,
1971, aged 73
Helen Howard, Santa Ana, Calif., church,
on Dec. 4. 1971. aged 57
Jesse Jolliff, .Arlington, Ohio, on March 7,
1972
Effie .Ada Jurell, Litilz. Pa., on Feb. 10,
1972, aged 72
Owen Koehler, Thornxille, Ohio, on Jan.
30, 1972, aged 66
Effic Lo\e, Somerset, Ohio, on June 23,
1971, aged 93
John L. Miller, La Venie, Calif., on Feb.
29, 1972, aged 98
W'illiam Miller, New Oxfoid, Pa., on March
21, 1972, aged 18
Cle%eland Minnix, Boone Mill, Va., on
March 29, 1972, aged 90
Charlie R. Moomaw, La Verne, Calif., on
April 1, 1971, aged 99
Cora Myer, Flora, Ind., on Feb. 2, 1972.
aged 85
Charles N. Morris, Bridgewater, Va. , on
Dec. 5, 1971
Wray T. Paslev, Wirtz. Va.. on March 6,
1972, aged 73
\\'aller Paul, Polo, 111., on Oct. 7, 1971.
aged 77
Bessie Randolph, Mt. Solon, Va.. on Jan.
19. 1972. aged 76
John W. Raney, Lowpoint, III., on March
28, 1971. aged 83
Ora E. Rarick, New Palestine, Ind., on
March 3. 1972, aged 89
Vernon V. Reppcrt. Stanley, Wis., on Auff.
23, 1971, aged 76
Cora Reighard, Martinsburg. Pa., on Ian
30, 1972, aged 79
Minnie Belle Roades, Santa .Ana, Calif.,
church, on Oct. 13, 1971
Glen B. Roberts, Ashland. Ohio, on Nov.
27, 1971, aged 65
Pearl Ross, Flora, Ind.. on Feb. 8. 1972
aged 80
Otis L. Rvman. Woodstock, Va., on Au"'.
28, 1971, aged 80
Paul Sanford, Santa Ana, Calif., church, on
Dec. 4. 1971
Wayne Seal, Woodstock, Va., on .Sept 25,
1972, aged 25
Elam M. Sensenich, Lititz, Pa., on Dec. 9,
1971, aged 74
David S. Shcnk, Manheim, Pa., on Dec. 7,
1971, aged 80
Frank Shook, Polo, 111., on Oct. 10, 1971,
aged 74
Edna Simpson, Bridgewater, Va., on March
4, 1972
Ruth Sissel. Santa Ana, Calif., church, on
Feb. 27, 1972, aged 72
Iva Snider, Somerset, Ohio, on March 1,
1971
Martha Snifler, Zanes\ille, Ohio, on March
23, 1972, aged 79
Chester Stout. Santa Ana. Calif., church,
on Feb. 28, 1972
Mchin Teeter, Santa .Ana, Calif., church,
on June 25, 1971, aged 76
Edith Traverse. Polo, 111., on April 3. 1972.
aged 51
Blanclte W'cimer. Urbana. Ohio, on Jan. 19.
1972. aged 84
Esther Ci. Wineland. Martinsburg. Pa., on
Jan. 25. 1972. aged 93
Esther C. Wingert. St. Thomas. Pa., on
April 1. 1972. aged 75
Pastoral placements
Paul M. Basehore. from Cleveland. First,
Northern Ohio, to Jenners\ ille, Atlantic
Northeast
Floyd P. Brcneman. from Muncie. South/
Central Indiana, to Upper Fall Creek, South/
Central Intiiana
Farrell .A. Caillcr. from Bethel. Neb.. West-
ern Plains, to Cabool/Mt. Grove. Southern
Missouri and -Arkansas
Warien Eshbach. from Baltimore. Friend-
ship, Mid-.Atlantic. to chaplaincy of Clross
Kevs Home. Southern Pennsyhania
Syh lis Flora, from secular position to Cier-
mantown Brick. Virlina
W'illard L. Grant, from Ross\ille. Soiitliern
Indiana, to VVoo(lgro\'e/Christian. Michigan
John B. (irimley. from Paoli, Iinmanuel.
Atlantic -Northeast, to Brookville. Southern
Ohio
Ciecil Hess, from secular position to 1-Inion-
town. Weslcrn Pcnns\l\ania
I-uon Hironimus. from Hyndman. Western
Penns\ l\ ania. to Fairchance/Fain iew. Western
Pcnns\ Kania
Cieorge Jeffrey, from Bassett. Virlina. to
Hopewell. \'irlina
C-lvdc R. Lehman, from Red Hill, X'irlina, to
Donnels Creek, Southern Ohio
Wihncr .A. Lehman, from Wiley, AVestern
Plains, to Nocona, Southern Plains
Wedding anniversaries
Mr. and Mrs. Martin -Abrahamson, St. John,
N.l).. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Ailing. Cabool, Mo.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. .Aryland Baker. Santa Ana.
Calif., church. 50
Mr. and Mrs. -Amsev Bollinger. Wa\erlv.
Ohio. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Cooney. Santa -Ana. Calif.,
chinch. 50
Mr. and Mrs. O. D. Eller. Salem. Va.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Lucabaugh. Hano\cr.
Pa.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. John Metzler Sr.. Friiitland,
Idaho. 50
Mr. and Mrs. William F. Ochs. Davton.
Ohio, 50
Mrs. and Mrs F. C. Rohrer. Sebring. Fla.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Stout. Hagerstown.
Ind.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Horace \Valker. Hano\er. Pa..
50
Mr. and Mrs. Allen Weldy, Elkhart. Ind., 50
Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Swank. West Milton.
Ohio, 52
Mr. and Mrs. Harley F. Hoo\er. .Albany,
Ohio, 55
Mr. and Mrs. Harlan Smith, North Man-
chester, Ind., 55
Mr. and Mrs, Mar\in Sink. Rockv Mount.
Va-. 60
Mr. antl Mrs. Roscoe Inman, Greenville.
Ohio. 61
Bi,
ilack and white are moving inexorably
apart. The gap is widening. Racism is
too much a part of our culture to change
in time.
That was what I had read and what I
believed at the time that I was appointed,
by the governor of Idaho, to the State
Human Rights Commission in 1970. It
was an honor, but really, what could one
person do, or several persons on a com-
mission?
But a Supreme Court decision in early
1970 changed the picture drastically.
Not only do I now have hope that
changes can be made in time, but I am
participating in the changes. It is an
exciting experience.
The historic decision by the Supreme
Court was called Griggs vs. Duke Power.
It was a case in which a black man had
been working for many years in a manu-
facturing plant, only to see white people
with no more seniority than he moving
into better jobs with better pay. The suit
was handled by two young men from the
US Justice Department, acting under the
Equal Employment Opportunity Com-
mission.
In examining the employment records
of the company, it became evident that
no matter how long the black man
worked, he would never be allowed into
certain jobs because there was a require-
ment that workers had to have high
school diplomas. And very few blacks
had diplomas. Yet the black man was
capable of doing the same work as the
white man.
The Supreme Court ruled that there
could be no artificial test or requirement
such as the high school diploma. The
only valid test for hiring was whether or
not a person could do the job.
"But," the employer says, "I am not
discriminating against Chicanos. I give
that test to every single person who ap-
plies, not just Chicanos."
The Supreme Court ruled that if the re-
sult of the use of a test is to eliminate a
minority, then it may not be used, regard-
less of the reasons it is given, regardless
of the good intentions of the employer.
Because more blacks, Chicanos, and
Indians fail to finish high school, it fol-
lows that few of those minorities could be
hired under a high school diploma re-
quirement or an intellectual test. From
our experience on the commission, it
24 MESSENGER 10-1-72
The New Face of Human Rights
would appear that the high school
diploma guarantees no automatic abilities.
In some places, a number of minor ar-
rests would disqualify a person for a job.
The court ruled that an employer may
not "import" community prejudice into
his hiring practices. If in that commu-
nity more blacks are arrested for minor
offenses than are whites, then it would be
discrimination to refuse to hire a black
solely on his record of minor arrests.
( Felonies are another matter. ) Nor is it
permissible to say that the community
obviously condones refusal to hire minor-
ities as evidenced by the fact that other
businesses would not hire them.
It would seem that an unequal burden
is put upon the employer to see that dis-
crimination does not take place. Yet the
point at which a man is given a job or
refused a job is the point at which the
survival of himself and his family is
determined.
Another very important step was taken
when the Supreme Court allowed a per-
son to bring suit against an employer as
one of a "class" of people wronged. In
that way, each single person would not
have to bring suit, but the case would
serve for all involved in that situation.
For instance, as a result of the Griggs vs.
Duke Power decision, all the blacks in
that factory who had been refused ad-
vancement because of lack of a high
school diploma were given the opportu-
nity to advance on the basis of their abil-
ity to do the job.
"But," someone says, "if I hire blacks
(or women, or long-haired boys, or
Indians, or Chicanos, or women with
preschool children) they won't be able to
do the job (or my customers will stop
coming) and I'll lose money."
The Supreme Court said that the em-
ployer must be able to show "business
necessity." In other words, he must
show that he will not be able to continue
in business because he has hired a par-
ticular person.
Federal laws now compel any company
or institutiorf using federal funds to
comply with equal employment laws. As
a result some people are decrying so-
called "reverse discrimination." forcing
nonminorities to go without employment
in order to hire minorities. The one who
is the victim of discrimination should not
continue to pay to overcome discrimina-
tion. But Chief Justice Burger said non-
sense to discrimination in reverse: "In
order to rectify past injustices, we (the
courts) must reach out to these people."
Companies are now required to show
their "affirmative action plans" by which
they are actively working to bring in
women, blacks, Chicanos, or Indians in
proportion to their number in the com-
mimity.
T.
Ihe case handled by the Idaho Human
Rights Commission was that of a pizza
house which refused to hire women, say-
ing that women were not strong enough
to lift beer kegs. The Supreme Court de-
cision was applied directly in that case,
asking the employer to show that his
business would suffer financial loss. It is
admitted that some women could not
handle heavy kegs, but it must also be
said that some men could not handle
heavy kegs. The employer is free to
refuse to hire anyone who cannot do
the job, but he may not refuse solely be-
cause of the sex of the applicant, or any
other artificial requirement.
It has become obvious that at least in
Idaho there was a great need for a group
that would help persons who felt they
had been discriminated against. It is
often the poor or minorities who need
help, but they are also historically the
ones least likely to know how to find help.
It is interesting to note that over fifty
percent of the cases have been on sex
discrimination. One young man working
in a food processing plant was fired be-
cause of his long hair. He offered to wear
a hair net as the women with long hair
did, but the employer refused. The deci-
sion handed down from the attorney
general's office through the Human
Rights Commission required that the man
be reinstated as long as he agreed to wear
a hair net. Otherwise the employer was
discriminating on the basis of sex.
Several companies pay women for
coffee breaks but do not pay men, or they
pay women more than men for overtime.
Some bars refuse to serve persons who
do not speak English. How quickly we
forget that "freedom of speech" does not
mean freedom to speak only English.
One case which points up the double
standard in American culture was
brought by a woman who had been a
cook at a lumber camp. She and two
other young women were dismissed for
sleeping with the men of the camp. She
brought the case to the commission, say-
ing that she had not been a part of the
alleged actions. But her real anger came
from the fact that the women had been
dismissed, but the men had not!
Before going onto the commission, I
had visions of cranks demanding their
rights and the commission being trapped
into defending them. That is not at all
the case. One third of the cases were
dismissed because we found no reason to
believe discrimination had taken place.
All but two cases were conciliated without
having to resort to court. It is not as
difficult as I had feared to differentiate
between the cranks and those with a
valid case.
The face of discrimination has changed
dramatically as a result of the Supreme
Court's decision in the Griggs vs. Duke
Power case. With the backing of that
body, discrimination may be routed. □
by Dorris Blough
101.72 MESSENGER 25
Dlt f [r(Q)[rin] hmirm'i
I
millions of faces — &
"If we could but read it, every human be-
ing carries his hfe in his face. . . . On our
features the fine chisels of thought and
emotion are eternally at work." Thus
Alexander Smith reminds us that each
one of us is a sculptor; our material is
our own flesh and blood and bones. A
countenance molded by amiable feelings
acquires a beauty all its own because
such feelings stamp their mark indelibly
upon it. Pride, jealousy, envy, hatred,
contempt, and fear etch their tell-tale
lines upon the face. In the Shakespearean
play, Hamlet says, "God has given you
one face, and you make yourself an-
other." Or, "a man of fifty is responsible
for his face."
In the phrase "children's faces looking
up, holding wonder like a cup" Sara
Teasdale captured the imagery of inno-
cence and awe. We envision the open-
ness, the simplicity, and the trust so
characteristic of a small child. The
words, "when grace is joined with
wrinkles it is adorable for there is an
unspeakable dawn in happy old age,"
prompt us to recall the beauty in the faces
of older persons we know and love. Dan-
iel Webster once remarked, "In this sea
of upturned faces there is something
which excites me strangely." This stimu-
lation, this excitement, this responsive-
ness in the faces of his audiences pro-
duced a great orator.
The sad, frightened face of a child who
is lost gives way to one of radiance and
relief when he sees his mother's face
again. One cannot forget the exhilarat-
ing and delightful experience of seeing a
familiar but unexpected face in a crowd
of strangers. It is by the face that one
person is known and distinguished from
another, yet there are so few parts com-
posing it and in a space so small.
TTie language of the face is understood
by all peoples. The smile, an expression
of friendship, is returned by those living
in Africa. A look of bewilderment brings
unsolicited help in locating a hotel in
Norway. The puzzled expression when
languages differ brings an interpreter in
Caracas. As the language of the face is
universal so is it very comprehensive. It
is not only the index, but also the short-
hand, of the mind. It crowds a great deal
in a little room for a man may look a
sentence while speaking a word.
The human face is the masterpiece of
God. There is something in a face, an
air, a peculiar grace which is most dif-
ficult for even the best of painters to
capture. The wonder of it all is how
among so many millions of faces there
should be none that are alike!
by Glee Yode^
no two alike!
So it is with little "apple people."
Everyone falls in love with Apple Grand-
ma and Grandpa. They have an air of
having grown old gracefully, wrinkles
and all.
The largest solid apple you can find
will be none too big for the head, for the
apple will shrink a great deal in drying.
Pare the apple and carve the features,
being careful to have the nose protrude
the farthest and making quite deep eye
sockets. Make a few faint wrinkles with
your fingernail. The rest of the wrinkles
will take care of themselves.
Now hang it up to dry for about four
or five weeks. If dried properly, it will
last for years. When it is dry, color the
cheeks and lips lightly with a bit of rouge.
A light coat of shellac will preserve the
features and enable bits of cotton, nylon
hair, or yarn to be glued on. Use pins or
beads or dried beans for the eyes. Rice
may be inserted for teeth.
Fashion bodies from clothes hangers,
bending into a framework with arms and
legs. Design and make clothing for the
miniature people. Grandma's dress may
be made from a scrap of black satin or
taffeta. Use a piece of old felt for her
bonnet. Accessories, a ribbon, a touch of
lace will give Grandma a sophisticated
air.
Some of you may not see Grandma or
Grandpa in the facial features or ex-
pression of your dried apple. You may
see an old salt of the sea, a lass with a
roving eye, some gossipy old busybodies.
Dress your "applehead" to look like the
person you see in the face. You may find
that your apple people seem to come to
life as you become acquainted with them.
10-1-72 MESSENGER 27
■ffaDDTTD [fswosm^i
A Plea to Redeem the Times
Courtroom drama is one of our most
durable forms for displaying dramatic
tension and probing human motivation.
TV courtroom shows, however, have
taught us that the screen cannot limit it-
self just to the courtroom without depict-
ing the larger context from which
emerges judicial decision-making.
Gregory Peck's film production of
Daniel Berrigan's play "The Trial of the
Catonsville Nine" utilizes this insight —
resulting in an excellent filmic treatment
of what could have been bare words. To
be sure, the words have a potency of their
own, and director Gordon Davidson does
not lose sight of the verbal truths these
nine defendants, their judge, and the con-
testing attorneys offer. The integrity and
authority of having Mr. Peck as producer
are also significant in establishing the po-
tency of this film.
Dan Berrigan's play derived its power
from his almost exclusive use of the trial
record. The interplay between articulate,
morally outraged defendants and a judge
who shared their convictions but was
even more committed to the letter of the
law evoked meaningful dramatic conflict.
In the film strong performances across
the board maintain this integrity of con-
flict. At only one point is the scale un-
necessarily tilted in the direction of
propaganda: when near the end the de-
fendants ask the judge if he would try
the President, and the judge equivocates:
If the President has not obeyed the law,
there is very little that can be done."
■"Trial" begins with cinema verite style,
black-and-white shots of the October
1968 burning of the Catonsville draft
files. This scene is returned to infre-
quently throughout the film as the de-
fendants talk about the meaning of their
actions. Also, footage from the horrors
"The violence stops here, the death stops here, tlie war stops here. Redeem the times!"
of Vietnam is interspersed. But it is to
Davidson's credit that this is done only
briefly and principally near the beginning.
The trial itself is highly stylized with
the defendants and attorneys building
their speeches upon one another with lit-
tle regard for realistic court procedure.
Interspersed are stage comments by Dan
Berrigan (Ed Flanders) directly to the
audience (a directorial aflfectation I could
have done without ) and two added
scenes of the defendants and their lawyer
talking over strategy' while eating lunch.
Because of the poetic way Dan Berrigan
has arranged the testimony this styliza-
tion works beautifully.
But, of course, the most important ele-
ment is the content of what is said. First,
we hear of the background of these (ex-
tra) ordinary people driven by moral
outrage over governmental indiff'erence to
policies that destroy human meaning into
breaking the law: Tom and Marjorie
Melville and George Mische, whose work
in South and Latin America opened their
eyes; Thomas Lewis, who became in-
volved while photographing a civil rights
protest: the Catholic social ethics which
shaped a Mary Moylan, a Phil Berrigan,
a Dan Berrigan.
Despite the judge's contention, the
war in Vietnam is very much on trial
here. Dan Berrigan's words are the crux
of this film — indeed the crux of human,
moral, Christian understanding of where
we are as a society: "We have chosen to
say with the gift of liberty, if necessary
with our lives: the violence stops here,
the death stops here, the suppression of
the truth stops here, the war stops here.
Redeem the times!"
There is no more explicitly Christian
movie I can think of than 'The Trial of
the Catonsville Nine."
Of more than passing interest is this
film's PG rating: there is no harsh lan-
guage, no sex or nudity: therefore, the
"may contain material unsuitable for pre-
teen-agers" can only refer to the horror of
the actual scenes from Vietnam.
What wry and poignant commentary:
on movie ratings, on this war, on our-
selves. • — Dave Pomeroy
28 MESSENGER 10-1-72
LETTERS / from 1
any killing and atrocities by US armed
forces, yet nowhere in the editorial policy
of Messenger do we find condemnation of
the Communist North Vietnamese for their
killing and much more atrocities, or of the
Communist Russians who enslaved the free-
dom-loving peoples on their borders. . . .
Although I have seen this traitorous trend
growing, I never thought that the moderator-
elect of the Brethren Church and more than
300 of its ministers and members would
betray two of the cardinal principles of
Christianity (nonviolence and obedience to
law) by lining up on the side of criminals
and conspirators (the infamous Harrisburg
8, one of whom is already serving a prison
term for the destruction of US government
property), and that Messenger would glor-
ify treason!
Joseph D. Saylor
Royersford, Pa.
PART OF THE POWER
I just finished reading Carroll Petry's ar-
ticle in the July issue. I would like to see
more of that style of article.
Of course what our denomination and
what this world needs is more men such
as Carroll Petty. I have met Kaydo and
have great respect for him. I sense a broth-
erhood with him that is part of the power
of the Holy Spirit of which he speaks. I
feel free to call him a friend because of
our kinship with Jesus Christ as Lord.
I pray Messenger will carry many more
articles as spiritually enriching as this one.
Dennis L. Brown
Rocky Mt., Va.
CLASSIFIED ADS
10-DAY TOUR to the Holy Land and Geneva,
Switzerland. Leave New/ York Feb. 19, 1973.
Benefrts for Immediate membership. Tour hosts:
Mr. and Mrs. Raymon Eller, 358 Selden Ave.,
Akron, Ohio 44301, Phone 216-724-9595. Tour
host: Mrs. Howard Whitmer, 45 Woodland, Elgin,
III. 60120, Phone 312-742-2281. Call collect.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ALASKA —Air con-
ditioned bus tour to Annual Conference in Fresno,
Calif., and then to Alaska, returning via Cana-
dian Rockies. A second bus will travel to Fresno
and return directly after Conference. Both tours
leave June 19, ]973. Write J. Kenneth Kreider,
Route 3, Elizabethtown, Pa. 17022.
PERMANENT PRESS BAPTISMAL ROBES -
Weighted, zippered, six sizes. Ministers' robes
custom-made. For other than black, white, re-
quest color card. Reasonably priced. Details:
ROBES, P.O. box 1453, Martinsburg, W. Va.
25401.
Free Literature
(no follow-up mailings unless requested)
BIBLE HELPS offers a number of booklets that tell about
the doctrines of the church, the way of salvation, and the re-
sponsibilities of the Christian life, Mark the titles you would like
to have, and send this order to:
BIBLE HELPS
Amos Lehigh, Editor
R. 3, Hanover, Pa, 17331
#64 A Joume\' Through the Halls of Hell
f 153 A Glimpse of Our Home in Heaven
. #80 The Seven Deadly Sins
#83 Let's See Your Tongue
. #87 The Christian's Hope
. #90 Worrs' — its Cause, Curse, and Cure
. #91 The Christian Home
. #96 The Majesty of God
. #97 The Magnificence of Jesus
. #158 The Mission of the Holy Spirit
. #111 The Superiority of Christianity
. #112 The Search for Happiness
. #113 The Purpose of Suffering
. #125 The Parable of the Loving Father
. #126 The Divine Plan of Salvation
. #129 The Characteristics of Christian Love
. #131 The Days of Noah Repeated
. #141 The Mistakes of the Rich Fool
. #142 The Real Problem of Highway Safety
. #150 The Ministry of Angels
. ffT6 Would You Believe? (Tract)
. #T7 What Are You Worth? (Tract)
Your Name
Address
City
State
Zip
10-1-72 messenger 29
[r©s©[La[f(S©i
Preparing for Christmas
Advent begins this year on Sunday, Dec.
3. Historically, the Advent season is the
beginning of the church's liturgical year,
which retells the story of the Christian
faith through different emphases during
each part of the calendar year. The se-
quence of the year is Advent, Christmas-
tide, Epiphany (between Jan. 5 and the
beginning of Lent, when the life and
works of Jesus are studied). Lent (prep-
aration for Easter), Eastertide (the forty
days prior to the Ascension), Pentecost
(when we celebrate the beginning of the
church ) , and Kingdomtide ( when we
celebrate growth and spread of the
church throughout the whole earth) . For
some groups, the time of Pentecost and
Kingdomtide are called Trinity.
As the beginning, Advent is the season
of the Christian year during which prep-
aration for Christmas is encouraged.
Many of us have felt through the years
that our celebration of the birth of Christ
could have more meaningful elements in
it. Sometimes we feel trapped by the
busyness of the holiday season and com-
pletely miss the religious and symbolic
significance of the celebration.
From Shirley J. Heckman, educational
development consultant. Parish Ministries
Commission, come some resources that
will be helpful as you and your family
celebrate Advent and prepare for Christ-
mas. Unless indicated otherwise, all of
the resources are available from The
Brethren Press.
Paul Lindberg has written a book
called Advent: The Days Before Christ-
mas, in which he presents the symbols,
story, songs, and celebration ideas of
Advent. 40 pages, $1.10 each; $12.10
per dozen.
A 10-page pamphlet called Story of the
Advent Wreath discusses the Advent
season as the beginning of the church
year; the mood of Advent as a season of
prayer and anticipation; and the history
of the Advent wreath. Scriptures suitable
for use on each of the Sundays of Advent
are suggested. 17c each; $1.87 dozen;
$13.50 per hundred.
Advent Day by Day in the Home, by
Liselotte Nold and Gisela Harupa, is a
translation from the German writers,
both associated with the Bavarian
Mutterdienst (Service of Mothers) of
Stein, Germany. The two-page articles
for each day of Advent are like chats
across a kitchen table with the mother of
the household discussing how to make the
experience of Christmas more meaning-
ful. 75c each; $8.25 per dozen.
A Christmas Crib book, by Reinhard
Herrmann and Friedrich Hoffman, is a
cut-out Advent Calendar which tells the
story of Christ's coming. Three-dimen-
sional figures are cut out each day to add
to the manger scene. The book is spiral
bound with the instruction and informa-
tion pages alternating with the pages to be
cut out, thus permitting the storybook of
blue pages to remain intact when all the
figures have been cut out and appropri-
ately placed. $2.
Family Worsliip Idea Book is "not pri-
marily a devotional book but it is a book
to encourage and stimulate more creative
devotions in the family." The chapter on
"Why Worship as a Family?" is built
around paragraphs on unity, sharing,
forgiveness, and learning. A worship
calendar which picks up on important
occasions of the family is suggested. It
could contain such significant dates as
birthdays and anniversaries; vocational
dates, like the beginning of school; dates
of vacation from work; important church
dates, like church year festivals or con-
ventions; civil holidays; and recreation,
hke the beginning of the fishing season.
In that context then, the family can begin
to lay out its goals for the upcoming year.
Twenty-five pages provide suggestions for
the special celebration of the festivals of
the church year beginning with Advent.
Other features of this book are celebra-
tion of family events, the prayer life of
the family, and the use of music and
worship centers. $1.35.
A Christmas Gallery. Randolph E.
Haugan. editor, brought back by popular
demand. .•\ volume of highlights of the
past 40 editions of Christmas, an Amer-
ican A nniial of Christmas Literature and
Art. 128 pages, $9.95.
A Child Is Born, John C. McCoUister,
editor, contains messages for .Advent,
Christmas, and Epiphany — ten stimulat-
ing sermons by American churchmen for
the Christmas season. 96 pages, $2.50.
Let Us Adore Him. by W. A. Poovey.
Dramas and meditations for Advent,
Christmas. Epiphany, exploring related
themes in fantasy, biblical setting, and
realism. 128 pages, paper, S2.95.
The Festival of Christmas, by Edna
Hong and Mary Hinderlie. This illus-
trated booklet tells of things for the fam-
ily to do during Advent — devotions,
customs, readings, and suggestions for
music. 48 pages, paper, 75c
Advent Chain of Stars, translated from
the German, by Herbart Martin. A pack-
et of pages on devotions and activities for
the family, including an old German
custom of hanging a chain of paper stars
to celebrate his coming. 36 pages, paper
over board, $1.75.
Advent Worship in the Home. Eight-
page pamphlet with worship services for
each of the four Sundays of Advent and
one for Christmas day. Inexpensive
enough to be provided to a whole con-
gregation. 15c each; $1.25 per dozen;
$6.50 per 100. Order from The United
Methodist Church, Service Department,
P.O. Box 871. Nashville. Tenn. 37202.
Teaching and Celebrating Advent, by
Patricia and Donald Griggs. A packet of
eight pamphlets to assist parents, teach-
ers, and church educators to teach and
celebrate Advent at home or at church in
the classroom. $3. Order from Griggs
Educational Service, P.O. Box 362,
Livermore, Calif. 94550. D
30 MESSENGER 10-1-72
O^^ in the Spirit - that
is what we are. One in
the Lord.
Even so, we Brethren
have differences aplenty.
And that is good. Some-
times they bless, bother,
help, frustrate, correct.
Always they remain.
And so does our commit-
ment to Christ. So does
our partnership in His
body — the church. And
so does our task of Chris-
tian mission.
We share in the single-
ness of spirit that makes
all Christians one. By
our giving to the Brother-
hood Fund as individu-
als and as congregations
we join with others —
both here and there — in
. the work of Christ
throughout the world.
And in that process we
are indeed one in the
Spirit.
Send your check for the
Brotherhood Fund to:
Church of the Brethren
General Board, 1451
Dundee Ave., Elgin, 111.
60120
Amount $_
Name
St./RFD
City
State
Congregation
District
Zip
IX THE
" SPIRIT
More Than Pace and Possessions
The people with the greatest needs may well be
the people who seemingly have it all. CBS made
the point vivid last season in an hour television
special on an upper middle class family in Michi-
gan about to move from one posh home to an-
other, from one posh suburb to another. Were
Dad, Mother, children elated? To the contrary,
the family members appeared aimless, trapped
and, as columnist Garry Wills put it, "sad — sad
in their wealth, their health, their tv-ad good
teeth and medicated breath."
More than we may want to admit, the essen-
tial message of the documentary touches raw
nerves for us all. For whatever our economic
level, the pressure of a consumer culture is to
measure life in terms of pace and possessions.
The effect things have on feelings and feelings
on things came into focus recently when three
friends, each in different ways subjected to a
period of stress, decided somewhat on impulse
to trade in late model cars for new ones. It was
not their purchases that were revealing so much
as their separate comments about the especially
good feeling that comes with disposing of some-
thing worn and acquiring something new. How
readily we can identify with that. For most of
us, the interplay between mind and matter, or
mood and matter, is very real.
Few would discount the satisfactions which
our supermarket society brings. The mere pros-
pect of choice boggles the mind. But therein lies
peril, if our vistas come to encompass only
material things, to center on the tantalizing mar-
vels within grasp, to insist upon and settle for
gratification now. The peril, as explained by
Brazilian theologian Rubem Alves, is that in
moving from one object of desire to another, the
mind may never be able to move beyond them.
"The only initiative left is to choose and to buy,"
he states. "Too often, imagination no longer has
either the power or the time to pursue its own
aspirations."
That describes well the dilemma of the family
in Michigan for whom a moving van has become
an escalator to success. It says something about
those of us who in crisis moments find release
in a materialistic binge. Indeed it describes the
rich man of Jesus' parable who felt his security
lay in tearing down barns and building bigger
ones.
To measure existence by houses or bams or
any other possession, to gauge meaning by the
number or variety of experiences, to limit reality
to that which is tangible is to distort the abundant
life. It is to subvert the imagination, the capacity
to be what we are meant to be. It is to crowd
God out of our lives.
In this issue contributors T. Wayne Rieman
and Robert W. Neff speak of getting and giving
from a Christian perspective. Theirs is an open-
ing wedge, but the dialogue needs to broaden.
Some global churchmen go so far as to declare
that it is not so much the poor who need liberation
today as the affluent — those rich on the outside
and poor on the inside — so they can become
free of their own material oppression.
Ihe liberation everywhere needed is one that
bridges the chasm between the material and the
nonmaterial. It is one that makes place for the
transcendent, knowing full well the shallowness
and confusion of humankind trj'ing to create its
own destiny. It is one that models the good life
not by the quantity of possessions but by the
quality of relationships — with God. with other
beings, with nature.
Conceivably one of the most profound theo-
logical needs of the day is to develop the concept
of "enough." Though we are sure to differ mark-
edly in how we respond, it is a right question,
one the faith community needs pursue with open-
ness and diligence. — h.e.r.
12 MESSENGER 10-1-72
Our Heavies
Reliable • resourceful • relevant. Tested and
proved through generations of continuous useful-
ness. Still among our most popular biblical edi-
tions. There's something BIG about them.
THE ABINGDON BIBLE COMMENTARY— Five
volumes in one. Enhanced with colorful maps,
cross-references, index. 1,452 pages. Regular edi-
tion, $10; thumb-indexed, $12.50
CLARKE'S COMMENTARY ON THE ENTIRE
BIBLE. The only complete, original edition. Six
volumes. 5,468 pages. Each volume, $6.75 ; com-
plete set, $37.50
STRONG'S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF
THE BIBLE. One volume — complete and original.
1,807 pages. Regular edition, $15.75; thumb-in-
dexed. $17
qI" Lpuf bcol bookjtofe
Qbingdon
IN PLACE OF SACRAMENTS
a study of Baptism
and the Lord's Supper
■liv%^-'-v/>v^6^>'-
another NEW book by VERNARD ELLER
Here, by Vemard Eller, is a fresh, witty, and helpful analysis of the Christian
sacraments. The author's basic contention is that the church has deserted
its original understanding of its nature, and has taken on the character of
a formal and authoritarian institution. In the process, baptism and the Lord's
Supper have been given a different interpretation — that of the sacramental.
Eller's style is deliberately conversational. His intent is to communicate easily
with the average layman and pastor — and he is not
opposed to a bit of humor as a vehicle for theology.
IN PLACE OF SACRAMENTS constitutes a careful
analysis of all the New Testament references to the
sacraments, and suggests a new understanding of what
these rites were meant to be. But he doesn't stop there;
at every point he explores the implications of his findings
for today s church.
Vernard Eller teaches at La Verne College and is the
author of several books, including The Mad Morality
and Sex Manual for Puritans.
$3.25 paper
Postage: 20^ first dollar; 5<f each additional dollar
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, 111, 60120
messenger
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN OCTOBER 15, 1972
IfeaMiQa So (DaiD°[p(BEP^
ff
The ^brk\\as Newr Finished*'
©©DlllbSDlTi^^
DSI^I^SD^^
g^ An Experiment in Personal Communications. A special report
details events experienced by four staff families as they visited small
congregations on caravans to the east and west, by Kenneth I. Morse
^J Render Unto Caesar. What are some Christian considerations in
the question of the relation of church to state, asks theologian W.
Widick Schroeder
12 The Work Was Never Finished. Frank S. Carper, now pastor
emeritus of the Palmyra, Pennsylvania, Church of the Brethren, and
recent celebrant of sixty years in the ministry, reflects on a life in
which work in a growing church meant unending challenges, by
Ronald E. Keener
1^> The Sins of the Fathers. A young teacher asks the hard questions
that confronted her in her classroom and in a race relations lab for
high school students, by Shirley Hershey Showalter
Baptism, the Lord's Supper Reinterpreted. A Roman Catholic
theologian reviews a book on sacraments by Church of the Brethren
theologian Vernard Eller. by Augustine Flood
Outlook features a Glendale, Ariz., health clinic, spotlights Bethany
Theological Seminary's Challenge II otTering, notes how Brethren colleges
are using grants, reports Brethren favor of Supreme Court rulmg on the
death penalty, profiles the new World Council of Churches president,
and reveals a new post for a former staff member (beginning on 2). . . .
Three poets, David S. Strickler, Lonnie S. Howell, and Jeanne Donovan,
afTirm "I Think That I Believe in Miracles" (IS). . . . Charles E. Zunkel
addresses "An Open Letter to the Brotherhood" in Here I Stand (19). . . .
Turning Points lists pastoral placements, deaths, and wedding anni-
versaries (22). ... An editorial comments on "420 Hiroshimas: How
Many More?" (24)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Richard N. Miller
Kenneth I. Morse
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
VOL. t21, NO. 18
OCTOBER IS, 1972
CREDITS: Covct, 13. 14. 15 Ronald E.
Keener; 1 Don Honick; 2 Arizona Re-
public; 4 Religious New.s .Service; 7, 8
Matthew M. Meyer, Kenneth I. Morse;
9 Ken Stanley
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second
class matter .Aug. 20. I9I8. under .Act o
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date. Oct. 1
1972. Messenger is a member of the .Associ
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli
gious News Service and Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, imless otherwise
indicated, are from the Revised Standard
Version.
Subscription rates: S4.20 per vear for indi-
\idual subscriptions: S3. 60 per vear for church
group plan: S3. 00 per year for every home
plan: life sub.scription, $60; husband and
S75. If you move clip old address
Messenger and send witli new address.
-Allow at leas^ fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthlv bv
the General Services Commission.
Church of the Brethren General
Board. 1451 Dundee Ave.. Elgin.
III. 60120. Second-class postage
p.iid at Elgin. 111.. Oct. 15. 1972. Copvright
1972, Church of the Brethren General Board.
wife,
from
■
ON COMING ALIVE
With our renewal to Messenger, I would
like to express my appreciation for the June
15 and July issues.
A caption in the July issue read, "Evange-
lism comes alive." I think it should have
read, "The Brethren church is coming alive
again." Praise the Lord!
I agree with the statement made in the
Letters column by the writer who urges that
"more detailed Bible study aids and anointed
teachings on the Word ... are desperately
needed. . . . The intellect can be fed by
the daily newspaper. But let the Messenger
feed the spirit. Really feed it."
The world is waiting to have their spirits
fed. and if they don't receive it through
one denomination, they will attend another
or drop out of church altogether. I am
happy to renew my subscription this time.
Mrs. John Miller
Lima. Ohio
LORD OF THE DANCE?
I don't know who Sydney Carter is. but
he has certainly attempted some pretty far-
out syncretism in his song, "The Lord of
the Dance." I am acquainted with the Lord
of the Dance of the Hindu Pantheon, but 1
can't fit Jesus my Lord into it. Hence, it
was quite a shock to find the Brethren ac-
cepting this song for use in the Annual Con-
ference song book.
Are there Brethren who can actually pic-
ture Jesus as Lord of the Dance? I can't.
I can think of him as counselor, elder broth-
er, mystic, revolutionary, love incarnate; but
Lord of the Dance? No! No!
Amsey F. Bollinger
Waverly, Ohio
COMPLIMENT
I want to compliment you on the August
1972 issue of Messenger. With the excep-
tion of one article, "Awkward, Maybe — But
Alive," it was very scriptural and timely. I
am glad to see more emphasis put on ob-
jection to alcohol, tobacco, and other vices.
James M. Hite
Hershey, Pa.
THE SUPREME COURT SPOKE
We like to picture Justice as blind, hold-
ing a scales to measure out justice impar-
tially. The ideal of the United States has
been held to be "liberty and justice for
all."
The Supreme Court decision on capital
punishment caused me to rejoice so much
when it hit the headlines that I bought two
copies of the Cincinnati paper. It was a
cause for which many of us had worked
for many years. We should be happy.
m
@{m
Then I began to reflect. The decision
was 5-4. This is not a very safe margin.
The horror of that decision began to dawn
upon me when I realized that in the cases
of at least two of the men before the court
their real crime was that their skin was
black.
The history of the United States is filled
with the times that white men have raped
black women. Society has usually responded.
"Tut, tut! Boys will be boys." Most of us
are opposed to all rape. In my reading of
court decisions I have yet to learn of a
case where any white man has received the
death penalty under the Supreme Court for
raping a black woman.
This brings us all to the conclusion that
the real crime was the color of the skin of
the parties involved in the act.
The thing that makes me shudder is the
fact that just one more appointment like the
last four and the words "justice for all"
must be deleted from our pious pretenses.
We have come too close to tragedy.
We dare never again let ourselves come
this close to the brink of national disaster.
I think of our Brethren in Africa and India
and the rest of the nonwhite world. They
look at us. They know what is happening
in America. We could be a light in the
world. By just one vote we were spared
from putting out the light completely.
Every Christian in the United States ought
to spend some hours brooding over this
tragic situation. Perhaps as Christians we
can bring our nation back from the brink
of such a disaster.
E. Paul Weaver
Nappanee, Ind.
LOVE WITHOUT DISCIPLINE
I was disappointed that the report of the
Study Committee on Abortion satisfied the
majority of Annual Conference delegates.
Perhaps the changes that were attempted on
the Conference floor were too lengthy and
complicated. We tend to look for the quick
and easy.
If we are to work toward the cure of the
disease, rather than the treatment of symp-
toms, let's prevent unwanted pregnancies.
There are medical and social groups doing
an excellent job in the area of birth con-
trol for married couples. The church must
do something about babies out of wedlock,
and the misguided idea that this is the kind
of love the Bible is talking about. Too many
young people seem to believe, at least on
the surface, that relating and sharing and
loving inevitably leads to this.
How tragic that girls actually think they
can"t be popular if they have high standards
regarding sex! I dated over 60 different
fellows before meeting my husband and the
unfailing method of birth control was a
simple "no." But then it's hard to get rid
of the guys, because they like girls who are
different. Of course that was back in the
"good old days" — after all I am now 40.
so my ideas are probably no longer relevant.
But the Bible, more up-to-date than to-
morrow's newspaper, and a good bit more
accurate, seems to teach that sex is ordained
of God and should be part of a discipline.
Love without discipline is not for real.
What can we do to get this old-fashioned
teaching back into homes and churches? It
makes for wanted children and population
control, and can even contribute toward
being crazily in love with one's spouse even
after nearly two decades of marriage.
Shirley Pike
Castaner, P.R.
BEGINNINGS IN NIGERIA
We here in the bush receive Messenger
about two months after publication, so
please forgive my late response.
I would like to correct two errors in an
article in the June 15 issue, "Conference to
Celebrate Lardin Gabas Autonomy." Both
errors are in the last sentence. First, Church
of the Brethren work began in Nigeria in
1923. not 1922 (otherwise we would hardl>
celebrate the 50th anniversary in 1973,
would we?). Secondly, the work was begun
by two missionaries. It seems absurd to me
that after all these years we still ignore Dr.
Albert D, Helser's contribution to the found-
ing of Lardin Gabas.
I have always been grateful for the privi-
lege of being a co-worker of Stover Kulp
during the first three years of my service
here in Lardin Gabas. By then he had been
advanced to near sainthood in Lardin Gabas.
but still had his feet firmly on the ground.
He grew a beard, and laughingly identified
himself with us "angry young men of the
mission" (that was when our beards were
a bit daring!), and I recall dropping in on
him late at night and getting a warm wel-
come and accommodations as if I were a
senior missionary. We all loved him.
But Stover Kulp has been dead nine years
now — and Albert Helser since 1969. I
think it is time now to stop our practice of
ignoring the fact that Kulp and Helser came
here as a team and jointly began the work.
Further. I will consider it a disgrace if. next
year at the 50th anniversary of the founding
of Church of the Brethren work in Lardin
Gabas, Mrs. Lola B. Helser — the last sur-
\ ivor of the two founding couples — does
not head the list of distinguished guests in-
vited to be with us here.
Kermon Thomason
Garkida, Nigeria
Logging nearly 15,000 miles in seven
weeks' time on an itinerary that in-
cluded such diverse points as Turkey
Creek, Kentucky, and Shafa, Nigeria,
might exhaust the ordinary traveler.
But such assignments fuel the ener-
g\' of Messenger associate Kenneth
I. Morse.
Ken participated in the eastern leg
of the Carevangelism Tour this July,
was at home for a month, and then
took off again for a three-week field
visit to Nigeria.
There Ken conferred with contrib-
utors preparing a book commemorat-
ing fifty years of Brethren work. He
toured the area of
Lardin Gabas,
And he became
facile with an un-
familiar camera
and a tape re-
corder.
Messenger ed-
iting duties kept
Ken heavily "tied
to his desk" for
years, preventing
extensive field
contacts. But
now, as book editor for the de-
nomination and features editor for
Messenger, he is becoming much to
our delight and his, something of a
roving correspondent.
You'll want to turn in this issue
to Ken's account of four staff fam-
ilies' caravan visits with congregations
of small churches.
Other contributors to this issue
include Thelina Heatwole, reporter
for Arizona Republic, Glendale; W.
Widick Schroeder, religion and soci-
ety professor, Chicago Theological
Seminary; former staffer Ronald E
Keener, community relations director.
Harper College, Palatine, Illinois;
Shirley Hershey Showalter, Harrison-
burg, Virginia, teacher; Charles E.
Zunkel, North Manchester, Indiana;
Augustine Flood of the Faith and
Order Commission, California Coun-
cil of Churches; Jeanne Donovan,
Carpentersville, Illinois; David Strick-
Icr. Manchester, New Hampshire;
and Ea Vonna Howell, Cordeil, Okla-
homa.
The Editors
K. MORSE
1015-72 MESSENGER \
I
Health clinic testifies to concern in Glendale
A three-trailer county health clinic
stands on church property in Glendale,
Ariz., as a hallmark to the deep concern
for the poor by members of the Church
of the Brethren.
Members were not only concerned.
They were ready to take concrete action
to help. When the desperate need for an
out-patient clinic went unanswered for
want of land, members offered use of
church land as site for the clinic.
Today, the facility is a hub of help
and health for the poor who pass daily
through its doors.
But all this did not come about over
night.
For five years there had been con-
certed interest in getting the clinic in
Glendale so that the county could render
aid to the sick without their long drive to
the major facility in Phoenix. Mari-
copa County had a small prenatal
and well-baby clinic in the basement in
the city-county building in downtown
Glendale.
Grandiose schemes for a larger build-
ing to offer more comprehensive service
never materialized.
The situation remained bogged until
Brethren colleges use grants
for innovative education
Juniata, McPherson, and Manchester
colleges have announced educational de-
velopments, some involving grants. All
three institutions are affiliated with the
Church of the Brethren. Developments
include:
— Juniata College, Pennsylvania, re-
ceived $200,145 from the National En-
dowment for the Humanities to support
its innovative approach to liberal arts
education. In addition, the college was
offered a matching grant of $25,000.
Dr. John N. Stauffer, president, de-
scribed the Juniata program as unique
because the entire college, not selected
departments or students, is engaged in
the new approach.
In the approach, the traditional majors
have been replaced by groups of courses
designed by each student to suit his or
her particular aims and interests.
"The grant is an endorsement by the
NEH of our stress on human values and
personalized education," said Dr.
Stauffer. "This is still possible on the
small college campus."
— McPherson College, Kansas, has
established a Center for Public Policy.
The center will provide information
and new materials for students, faculty,
and community in the area of public
policy news.
Cooperating with the college in es-
labjishing the center is the American
Enterprise Intitute for Public Policy
Research.
The AEI is a publicly supported,
nonpartisan research and educational
organization located in Washington,
D.C. It was begun in 1943 to assist the
nation's legislators and educational lead-
ers by providing factual analyses of im-
portant policy issues.
— Manchester College, Indiana, re-
ceived a $120,700 grant from the Na-
tional Science Foundation for support of
a college science improvement program.
The grant provides support for the
development of an academic major in
environmental studies and the establish-
ment of an environmental studies insti-
tute which will promote activities in the
area of environmental education.
Dr. William R. Eberly, professor of
biology al the college, has been named
director of the program.
— Manchester College also received a
grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice
Planning Agency, underwriting a student
work experience and educational project
in correction during the summer.
Twenty MC students served as interns
in ten counties working with probation
officers, youth service bureaus, and cor-
rectional institutions and assisting in re-
search with the Indiana component of
the National Council on Crime and
Delinquency.
2 MESSENGER 10-15-72
the spring of 1969. That was when the
Glendale Development Board, chaired by
Brethren member Paul Svvartz, was or-
ganized to give leadership to local com-
munity action programs for the poor.
Civic clubs, city officials, law enforce-
ment officials, and representatives from
every church in the Glendale Ecumenical
Parish were reflected in the board mem-
bership.
Almost from its inception, the Glen-
dale Development Board started working
on the needed health clinic. For two
years efforts ran into one barricade after
another.
The county, it seemed, wanted a big
facility but did not have the money.
County officials finally developed the
idea of an outpatient clinic but had no
land and claimed there was no money
to buy the necessary site. In spring 1970
the church offered use of its land directly
across the street.
The county didn't recognize the offer
until about a year later after a telephone
and letter writing campaign seeking the
clinic was launched at the county health
department and county supervisors. The
campaign, instigated by the Glendale
Development Board, was publicized by
area newspapers and in parish church
bulletins.
Things started happening in spring of
1971.
The county held a public meeting in
Glendale and officially made public the
church's land offer. Officials disclosed
that they planned to get three trailer
units to place on the church property.
Proper negotiations were made with the
church for leasing the land for a token $1
a year.
The modern facility opened its doors
Feb. 1, 1972. In pre-opening ceremonies
there were fanfare, speeches, and tours of
the building.
Mrs. Paul Rojas, a Mexican American
and mother of nine children, termed the
building about "the nicest thing that
could happen to the minority people of
Glendale."
"In the eyes of God, we are all his
children," she said. "Nobody should be
turned away who needs help."
The facility represents community in-
volvement. Besides the church's provision
of the land, the city of Glendale provided
water and sewer connections, fencing, and
landscaping. And the county equipped
and staffed the 3,120 square foot facility.
Robert Stark, chairman of the county
board of supervisors, said the "clinic is
not only a building. It is people, working
together to meet the health needs of this
community. With God's help, may it
heal and soothe all those who enter here
for treatment."
Jack Breidenstine, then pastor of the
Glendale church, said later that the clinic
need had provided an opportunity for the
church to be of service to the community.
"The church has a mission to the
community," he said, "and it must recog-
nize and serve those needs. It is an
important and vital mission that the
church is performing in the community
— to make the land available."
Mr. Breidenstine said that visibility of
the church readily identifies it with the
clinic.
"In that sense," he said, "the church is
doing more than just responding to an
obvious need. It is testifying to the
Word, which is to say that we hope to
share with those people our Christian
care and concern." — Thelma
Heatwole
The purpose of the program was to
upgrade correctional personnel and to
increase the effectiveness of corrections
and rehabilitations.
High court ruling on death
penalty has Brethren favor
The US Supreme Court decision banning
the death penalty in most capital crimes
I found support in official action by the
Brethren.
The Church of the Brethren, in its
latest position on the death penalty
enunciated in 1959, commended efforts
to abolish capital punishment, calling on
members to use their influence against it.
The Annual Conference resolution
held that the sanctity of human life and
personality is a basic principle which the
' state is committed to uphold.
Capital punishment does not really
serve the ends of justice, said the Breth-
ren. It sometimes results in "tragic and
irrevocable miscarriages of justice."
The 5-to-4 decision of the Court,
which sets aside capital sentences im-
posed in three specific cases, leaves open
the door for legislatures to reconsider the
death penalty.
It is expected that a series of hearings
in state and federal courts will be nec-
essary to determine whether all persons
now sentenced will escape execution.
There are now approximately 600 per-
sons on "death rows."
While the majority agreed on setting
aside the death penalty in the test cases,
the Court was divided on the meaning
of the Eighth Amendment phrase which
bars "cruel and unusual punishment."
Justice Steward pointed out that the
"constitutionality of capital punishment
in the abstract" was not before the Court
in the three cases.
He asserted that the death penalties in
these cases were "cruel" in that they
"excessively go beyond" punishments the
two state legislatures involved (Georgia
and Texas) have determined as neces-
sary, and "unusual" in that this sentence
is "infrequently" imposed for murder and
for rape.
An increasing number of nations have
abolished the death penalty, as have 1 1
states in the US, nine by legislative action
and two (California and New Jersey) by
court order.
No death sentence has been carried
out in the US since 1967.
Numerous churches, including the
Church of the Brethren, had supported
the abolition of capital punishment on
humanitarian and Eighth Amendment
grounds. The Brethren joined with six-
teen religion-related groups in filing
"friend of the court" briefs with the
Court in August and September 1971.
Said one brief: "Life ought not to
stand forfeit upon human judgments.
Such judgments are necessarily fallible."
10-15-72 MESSENGER 3
I
Bethany Seminary: November
offering is Challenge II
Bethany Theological Seminary hopes to
match what President Paul W. Robinson
refers to as last year's "warm and gen-
erous response" on Nov. 19, the date set
by the seminary for its special offering
called Challenge II. The offering is for
supplemental operating funds.
The financial goal is $60,000 to be
applied toward the school's $444,075
operating budget. That goal is just slight-
ly more than last year's reality, $57,500
from the challenge offering.
There is hope for more, however: an
increased number of participating con-
gregations. In a letter to Annual Con-
ference delegates and other church
officials. Dr. Robinson called on every
congregation to help. "It is necessary,"
he said, "if we are to relieve the financial
pressures on our seminary."
(Delegates were commissioned by the
1971 Annual Conference to return to
their congregations and interpret the
seminary, its services, and the financial
crisis facing it.)
Last year, some 400 congregations re-
sponded to the special appeal. That is
roughly the number of congregations
served by persons who either graduated
or received part of their training from
the denomination's only graduate school
of theology.
While the participation of ever)' one of
the denomination's 1,036 congregations
may be too much to hope for, there are
considerably more parishes interested in
the seminary than those responding to the
Bethany Challenge- 1971. Some 600
congregations regularly budget an amount
for the school's debt retirement. Last
year this amounted to $169,000 given to
reduce the debt on the building complex
into which the seminary moved in 1963.
Delegates will find an assist from the
seminary in their interpreting task.
Bulletin inserts and off^ering envelopes
are being mailed to ever\' congregation.
Supportive materials will appear, also,
in Agenda and Messenger.
Although some congregations may
choose another Sunday for the interpre-
tation and offering, the seminary plans to
close the Challenge II reporting on Dec.
29.
Special offerings for the seminary are
not expected to be an every year occur-
rence, at least, not at this time. Annual
Conference made exceptions in 1972
when it called for a two-year supple-
mental support program for the seminary.
During that time, the General Board was
instructed to "guarantee the fiscal sol-
vency" of the seminary. Last year that
required $25,000 from the General Board
which receives and distributes Brother-
hood Fund giving.
Meanwhile, long-range financial plans
are being projected by the Bethany Board
in cooperation with the General Board.
Annual Conference asked for new plans
to be reviewed by 1973.
Bethany enrolls just under 100 full-
time students and provides courses for an
equal number from other Chicago theo-
logical schools on a part-time basis.
The seminary graduates some 20 students
per year and provides continuing educa-
tion, extension schools, and training
institutes for both laymen and pastors.
West Indian churchman
to head World Council
Philip A. Potter, a West Indian Methodist
minister, Bible scholar, and mission spe-
cialist, was elected in August as the third
general secretary of the World Council
of Churches.
He succeeds Dr. Eugene Carson Blake,
a United Presbyterian from the United
States, the world's top Protestant-Ortho-
dox ecumenical post. Dr. Blake retires
this month.
Dr. Potter is the first black to hold the
general secretary's post, the first Meth-
odist, the first Third World worker, and
the first from the mission side of the
ecumenical movement.
But he has spent most of his adult life
on the World Council staff and is an
intimate insider who at mid-career has
lived the history of the council and
knows what its future demands.
The tall and strapping (6 ft. 2V2 in.,
210 lbs.) West Indian was the unanimous
choice of the governing Central Commit-
tee of the council, which represents 255
Protestant and Orthodox churches and is
headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
(Geneva is the city from which the
Church of the Brethren European Pro-
gram is directed under Dale Ott's leader-
ship. Mr. Ott conveyed his "warm
personal greetings and hearty congratu-
lations" to Mr. Potter upon his appoint-
ment.)
Dr. Potter, in accepting, empha-
sized the indivisibility of faith and action.
He pledged to continue work for Chris-
tian unity, including closer relations
between the World Council and the
Roman Catholic Church. He said he
would intensify efforts in the areas of
mission and development, extend the
fellowship of the WCC, and press for-
ward the work in justice and unity begun
by his predecessors.
"The nearer we come to the cross,
the closer we come together," he told the
Central Committee. "Only as the cross
becomes a central part of our life will we
come closer together."
At the same time, he pleaded with the
WCC to face the world with both love
and justice, and to understand that pro-
grams in social justice, international af-
fairs, and development are part of "an
incarnate engagement with the world."
The churchman has literally grown up
in the World Council, serving two stints
on the staff, from 1954 to 1960 as head
of the Youth Department and since 1967
W. A. Visser't Hooft (I.), Eugene Carson
Blake (center) greet Philip A. Potter
as head of the powerful Commission on
World Mission and Evangelism, now
the Program Unit of Faith and Witness.
Philip Alford Potter came to world
notice in 1948 when he addressed the
First Assembly of the World Council in
Amsterdam on behalf of youth dele-
gates.
He speaks elegant British-inflected
4 MESSENGER I0-15-72
English, and knows French and German
as well. An extrovert with a hearty
laugh and friends around the globe, his
favorite pursuits include Bible study and
music. Nearly a quarter of a century
later, at age 51, he is heading the interna-
tional organization. — Betty Thompson,
RNS Special Correspondent
Mullen joins Brethren
home staff in Ohio
Wilbur E. Mullen, since 1969 director
of the Church of the Brethren ministry to
men facing the draft, joined the staff of
The Brethren's Home in Greenville,
Ohio, in September as that institution's
purchasing agent.
In his new position, he is charged with
the responsibility of buying a half
million dollars worth of food and medical
and operational supplies annually.
The Southern Ohio institution is a
130-room home for the aging with a 90-
bed extended care facility. However, its
capacity will exceed 500 persons when
the six-story medical wing and four-story
residential wing now under construction
are completed in 1973.
It is an eight million dollar expansion
program, explains Ira A. Oren, the
home's administrator, and will make The
Brethren's Home the largest of the de-
nomination's 20 homes for the aging.
In moving to the new position, Mr.
Mullen returns to a field of special
expertise. From 1961 to 1964 he served
as director of social welfare for the de-
nomination. In that capacity he related
to the homes and hospital and to the
Brethren Health and Welfare Asso-
ciation.
From 1964 to 1969 he was director of
Brethren Volunteer Service.
Mr. Mullen was one of four persons
released in lune by the denomination
when his program area was cut back in
an economy move. He had been on the
national staff twelve years and with the
exception of two years as the admission
officer of McPherson College and five
years in academic work he had been
related directly or indirectly to the Breth-
ren Service aspect of the denomination
since he was drafted in 1941.
The Mullens reside at 109 N. Broad-
way in Greenville.
[LainidlsfrDDDiio
PEOPLE YOU KNOW
Annual Conference Bible hour speaker
and associate professor of religion at Syracuse University,
David L. Miller , spent the month of August in Switzerland
teaching a seminar on literature and psychology and a class
in comparative mythologies.
Celebrating forty years in the ministry is Jra Oren,
administrator of Greenville Brethren's Home in Ohio. He
terminated a part-time pastorate at the Cedar Grove church
in September.
Covington, Ohio, church member Gail Martin participated
in the cast of the Ohio State Fair Youth Ministry, now in
its fiftJi year of engaging fairgoers in dialogue. This
year's approach involved a dramatic production.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
John W_. Hunter , pastor of the
Modesto, Calif., Church of the Brethren, licensed his two
sons to the ministry recently. Jonathan and David Hunter
are attending Bethany Seminary this year.
In Northern Indiana Paul McBride Jr . , Blissville,
participated in licensing ceremonies. And his f aliher ,
Paul Sr. , was ordained by the district.
POTPOURRI ... Mid-Atlantic District's evangelism task
team is beating Key 73 's 1973 1:hrust with an evangelism
clinic scheduled for Oct. 27-28, 1972. Myron Augsburger,
Merle Grouse, DeWitt Miller, Larry Fourman , Mary Detrick,
and Ralph Detrick will provide leadership at the clinic
which will include a mass rally at a local high school.
Volunteers answering an urgent call from 1ihe New
Windsor Service Center processed 600 ,000 pounds of clothing
to meet a request for clothing from the war ravaged country
of Sudan.
Fifteen International Christian Youth Exchange stu-
dents are at home in Northern Indiana for the 1972-73
school year. Seven Church of the Brethren families are
hosts for the students, who hail from Germany, Japan, j
Korea, Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland.
Fifteen campers from Lybrook Navajo Mission joined
other Southern Plains District intermediates for camping
fun in August. Fifty-four persons participated.
Southern Ohio hosted Children' s International Summer
Village delegates in July and August at Sugar Grove. The
village was one of twenty being held throughout the world.
Four South/Central Indiana congregations , Burnetts-
ville, Buffalo, Pike Creek, and Guernsey, have joined in
placing Choice 3_ radio spots in the Monticello area.
Choice 3 spots were produced cooperatively by the Mennonite
General Conference and the Church of the Brethren.
Twenty- five Northern Indiana Brethren from nine
churches will depart for the Holy Land Nov. 27, along with
an Illinois and an Ohio family. The group will return
Dec. 5. Wilburn Lewallen, Nappanee, is host.
Oakland Church of the Brethren in Gettysburg, Ohio,
has opened its school for migrant workers ' children. In-
fants , Head Start age youngsters, and first through sixth-
graders are participating in the school, forty-six in all,
with more families expected to enroll.
10-15-72 MESSENGER 5
\u)(B©m\i [Tsrpxo
An Experiment
in Personal
Commnnieations
"The small church has felt left out of
the larger Brotherhood." "We are so far
away." "How can we keep in touch?"
"Doesn't the small church also have a
unique job to do?"
In response to comments like these,
which have been heard frequently over
the years, four Elgin staff families spent
the month of July in two caravans, one
traveling east, another west, visiting small
or isolated Brethren churches. Covering
several thousands of miles in their cars
and trailers the eight adults and seven
children experienced many rich contacts
with the churches they visited and the
1,500 or more persons they talked to.
Earlier in the summer Clyde E.
Weaver, coordinator for the caravan,
explained that the intent was "to affirm
the validity of small congregations and to
discover together the advantages of avail-
able gifts inherent in their parish life."
As it turned out, there were many other
values realized both in the enriching
personal experiences for the travelers and
in what the caravan meant to many of
the churches who seldom had close
contact with General Board personnel or
the larger church.
Another purpose of the caravan was to
provide opportunities to engage in dia-
logue on the concerns especially urgent
in small Brethren fellowships. Such dis-
cussions proved to be particularly helpful
to staff persons who in turn could share
their findings with colleagues and pre-
sumably do a better job in serving the
entire Brotherhood. The meetings were
also helpful to the churches contacted
because they could obtain information on
specific questions and learn how the
Brotherhood could serve them. But
perhaps the chief benefit to both caravan-
ers and the churches they visited came in
the simple, direct, personal communica-
tion that understanding brings.
Talking to caravaners on their return,
you noted that they had a new appre-
ciation for the face of America, for their
travels took them across the continent
from Maryland's Eastern Shore to Ore-
gon's rocky coast. They soon became
aware that Brethren pioneers looked not
only to limestone soil and broad fertile
plains when they established their farms
and churches, but that some of them
literally took to the hills, choosing to
locate their small churches in view of
ridges crowned with mountain laurel, in
the sight of magnificent snow-capped
mountains, on the edge of what are now
national forests, or close to fields of
cotton.
The natural scenery surrounding many
of the denomination's small churches is
overwhelming in its beauty. Most of the
great mountain clusters have made homes
for a few small Brethren churches. You
find them in the Rockies and in the
Cascade Range, on the edge of the
Smokies, along the ridges and knobs of
the Alleghenies, in the mist and haze of
the Cumberlands, and in the rugged
crests of the Ozarks.
Frequently the caravaners found them-
selves looking for places like "Dunker
Hill Road," not sure whether it would be
at the end of "Tar Hollow" or on the
other side of "Rattlesnake Ridge." At
other times they were seeking "Capon
Chapel" and might be looking a few days
later for "Ike's Fork" or "Chicken Roost
Road." Some of the place names invited
them to stay longer than their schedule
would permit. Who could resist Temper-
anceville or Peace Valley, or any of the
churches called Pleasant Valley or
Sunnyside? The weary travelers came to
appreciate the many small Brethren
churches located in groves: Oak Grove,
Cedar Grove, Pine Grove, to name a few.
Some of them have distinctive names like
GBSiiPaiwainQ ttcn) snniainn cEDnuniPCBDQCBS
6 MESSENGER 10-15-72
by Kenneth I. Morse
From top, caravaners Clyde Weaver and
Marjorie Morse; a West Virginia wel-
come; Matt Meyer and guitar provide a
sing-along at Alberta, Canada, camp-
ground
Chimney Run, Stonewall, Rock House,
Prairie View, or Rice Lake. Others
reflect their natural setting — Grant's
Pass, Klamath Falls, or Green Hill.
But we found the people to be even
more interesting, even more fascinating
than the areas in which they lived.
When the caravaners came home at the
end of July, their notebooks were filled
and their picture books crowded with
memories about the hundreds of new
friends they had made. It is hazardous to
mention only a few of them, but who
could forget the elderly pastor who,
while he was serving rural churches, put
in long hours every day as a locomotive
engineer, maintaining a remarkable rec-
ord for safety until, just a month or two
before he retired, the train he was on
was involved in an accident that was not
his fault? Or the layman who is em-
ployed by one of NASA's tracking sta-
tions on an island along the Atlantic
Coast? Or the pastor whose first funeral
was for an amputated leg? Or the man
who felt so strongly about the King
James Version of the scriptures that he
would allow no other translation in his
home? Or the former missionary doctor
who now serves in a clinic and on the
hospital staff of an Appalachian regional
hospital? Or the pastor's wife who wel-
comed the caravaners as she was ac-
companied by two of her ten children,
three of her grandchildren, and some
neighbor children she was babysitting?
Or the energetic layman who kept such a
busy schedule in the control tower of a
large city airport that his wife could
keep track of him only if she had a new
schedule for each week? Or the elderly
sister who lived in a small trailer near the
rural church she had known most of her
life, where her father had been pastor
and from which many of her family had
gone forth to serve the Brotherhood in
pastorates, on mission fields, and in
service work around the world?
One conclusion that became quite
evident to both teams before their month
was over was that the members of small
churches have rich gifts to share with
the entire Brotherhood. Their talents
were evident in the songs that they sing
and the spirit with which they sing them.
Their gifts were revealed in the quilts
that the sisters fashion, in the handi-
crafts that men and women produce, in
the rich heritage of stories they tell
reflecting the grace of God, in the devo-
tion that enables a few to keep a church
alive, in the warmth of the friendliness
they extend to strangers, and in the loy-
alty to their faith and to their church that
sometimes seems fiercely narrow but at
all times can become a source of strength.
Yet there are problems too. In many
instances church attendance is small.
When there are few economic oppor-
tunities locally, young people leave to
search for them elsewhere and older fam-
ilies are left to complete the membership
of the church. But even when there are
prospective members in the community,
the church program does not always
appeal to them and church attendance
suffers. One reason may be that in too
many instances the church program is
limited to Sunday, perhaps even just
Sunday morning services. Some small
churches look to revival meetings as a
means to stir up new interests and im-
prove participation. But for many of
them this pattern has not been too
successful.
Some would say that what the small
church needs is more adequate pastoral
leadership. Certainly the patterns of
leadership are varied. Some churches are
served by pastors who live 50 and 60
miles away and who have other jobs;
these pastors drive in on a Sunday,
preach in two or three different locations,
then leave to spend most of their time
where they live and work. Or full-time
pastors may find it necessary to serve
several churches, often preaching four
times on a Sunday and otherwise apply-
ing their efforts at many points and
places. In some cases pastoral leadership
is shared in cooperative programs where
Brethren may join with Methodists or
Baptists. Many of the pastors are retired
or able to give only weekend services.
Even though such leadership is provided
at great personal sacrifice, in most cases
10-15-72 MESSENGER 7
it seems inadequate to help small church-
es realize the potential of which they are
capable.
No matter how adequate the pastoral
leadership may be — and the caravaners
found examples of extremely capable
leadership — the key for most small
churches, as indeed it may be for larger
ones as well, is in dedicated lay leader-
ship. Where the caravaners observed the
most vital and lively church programs,
they found that there were lay persons
ready to assume leadership responsibil-
ities, willing to lead groups in Bible study
and in prayer services, to assist in wor-
ship and singing, and to extend the
ministry and witness of the church
beyond a Sunday service.
One of the messages the caravaners
heard loud and clear told them that too
many of the materials prepared in na-
tional offices simply do not speak to
many of the people in small churches.
Curriculum materials tend to be too
difficult, providing far too much material
to cover and oriented more toward urban
and suburban situations than toward
persons in small churches. Yet at the
same time local spokesmen also indicated
that they felt a great need for more help
in learning how to use materials to best
advantage. And they expressed apprecia-
tion for the function that a magazine such
as Messenger can fulfill in helping to
inform the entire Brotherhood and in
interpreting where the church stands and
what it is doing.
In many of the churches youth and
children were much in evidence, and
they were vocal in sharing their aspira-
tions and indicating their needs. Some
young people expressed dissatisfaction
with the quality of the instruction they
are currently receiving in church school
as well as in their public schools. Some
of them said they desire to have more
opportunities for leadership within their
churches and to have the assurance that
the older people accept them. There were
other young people who felt that the
church generally was not helping them
form clear-cut convictions and failed to
strengthen their basic beliefs.
A small church, no less than a larger
one, can minister to the needs of its im-
mediate community if it has the vision
and the willingness to do so. For ex-
ample, a small church in a Virginia town
puts its limited facilities at the disposal
of Boy Scout and Girl Scout activities; it
encourages a ministry among older
retired persons; it makes young people
feel at home in the life of the church; and
currently it is reaching out in a new
kind of ministry to community college
students. In a quite different rural situa-
tion in West Virginia, the caravaners who
parked their trailers not far from the
pastor's door soon discovered that his
doorstep was a busy place. For people in
his mountain community knew that they
could find a hearing and help at his door.
There were other persons, also in small
churches, who, when asked to state what
they felt to be the mission of their church,
Top, Ellisford/ Whitehill pastor Escil
Hiser il.) greets caravaners Tom Wilson,
Danny Meyer. Matt Meyer: below, bap-
tism at Capon Chapel, W. Va.
said it was "to spread the gospel in our
community" or "to offer an outstretched
hand for all who are in need." Yet it is
evident that some churches lack this
kind of vision, and it is important for the
larger church to realize that in most
small churches their significant Christian
outreach will likely follow somewhat
traditional patterns and only rarely be
expressed in what have been called
"newer forms of ministry'."
Frequently throughout its history the
church has asked Annual Conference to
offer help in facing the problems con-
fronting small congregations. Confer-
ence committees have made careful
studies, produced documents, and pro-
pounded recommendations. As wise and
reasonable as these recommendations
have been, frequently they have not been
followed, simply because they appear to
members of small congregations to be
urging them to conform to some kind
of standard that identifies the church
chiefly in terms of larger units.
If the caravan to small churches this
past July accomplished nothing else, it
apparently did communicate to many
small congregations that they are cer-
tainly not the only ones who have prob-
lems. Indeed, their very smallness can in
some instances be an asset as well as a
liability. It became evident to the cara-
vaners that small congregations have a
unique contribution to make to the
church as a whole. They bring with
them gifts that the larger church can
cherish and in which it should delight to
share. The teams concluded that change
is more likely to come if small congrega-
tions are encouraged in their own way to
fulfill the unique mission to which God
has called them.
When the caravaners this past summer
left the churches they visited, they did
not, like the Arabs, "silently fold their
tents and steal away." Rather as they
hitched up their trailers they heard the
friendly invitation to "Come again,
often," or, as it was expressed in one part
of the country, "Come back, y'all."
The travelers would be glad to "come
back." They will long remember their
new friends. As one staff wife put it,
"We're not sure what we have contrib-
uted to small churches, but they have
helped us to affirm our faith in a new
way." D
8 MESSENGER 10-15-72
READER r NTO
CAESAR
If Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jeflferson,
and some of the other founding fathers
of the United States were to view the cur-
rent rehgious situation in this nation, they
would probably reaffirm their wisdom in
promoting the separation of church and
state. They would find various religious
groups offering competing and conflicting
remedies to persistent social, ethnic, po-
litical, and economic problems. They
would probably conclude that relative
state neutrality was indeed the best way
of harmonizing these conflicting factions.
Because of the large number of differ-
ent religious groups in colonial America,
these early leaders were concerned about
possible conflicts between them. They
were afraid warring factions would tear
apart the social fabric of the fragile, de-
veloping nation. Some religious groups
rooted in parts of the broad family of
Calvinist churches favored religious
liberty on religious grounds, and they
added their support to movements seek-
ing to guarantee religious liberty and to
discard the European practice of an
established state church.
Both the realism of political leaders
and the religious convictions of some
Christians contributed to the gradual dis-
establishment of state churches in Amer-
ica and to the gradual general acceptance
of religious pluralism, religious liberty,
and religious tolerance. These ideas ap-
pear commonplace today, but they are
novel and unique in world history. Until
modern times, the religious sphere and
political sphere were very closely related
to each other.
Continued
nm (BaDmtt(Er]m[p(iDrpairp^ AinmcBiPncEai
10-15-72 MESSENGER 9
(DttDnceiPxwcDipndlD^/
A most significant shift of emphasis
has taken place during the life history of
various rehgious communities in America.
Until the sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
turies the overwhelming proportion of
Christian leaders whose writings have
been preserved were preoccupied with
the eternal salvation of the soul. Though
they were not unaware of the relations of
the Christian to the state, the liberty or
freedom of which they spoke was the
inner freedom of the Christian man.
Almost no ancient or medieval Chris-
tian writers challenged the widespread
practice of human slavery in pre-indus-
trial societies. Paul certainly accepted
the practice. He was not referring to po-
litical liberty when he asserted that in
Christ there was neither male nor female,
Jew nor Greek, slave nor free man. This
reinterpretation is the work of later
thinkers.
In the ferment of sixteenth, seven-
teenth, and eighteenth century Europe,
some Christians associated with the
Left-Wing of the Reformation began to
relate Christian liberty and equality to
political, social, and/or economic liberty
and equality. Such views have become
widespread in America.
This shift of emphasis is critical, for it
marks a turn among Christians from an
otherworldliness to a greater interest in
the affairs of this world. In the American
context, this shift is reflected in the much
more intense contemporary conflict about
involvement by religious institutions in
political, social, and economic matters
than about religious beliefs and creeds.
It is also reflected in a persistent concern
among American Christians for freedom
and equality in the political, social, and
economic spheres.
(DnwfiD iPCBllng
mmdl DRcEnnai
Such ideas are no longer associated
with a particular religious tradition, but
they are broadly diffused throughout
American society. Shorn of their specific
theological undergirding, "iiberty" and
"equality" constitute an integral part of
what some have called ".America's Civil
Religion," a religion including and tran-
scending the various special religious
groups in American society.
Every society must have some inclu-
sive central values guiding the ways vari-
ous individuals and groups relate to each
other. Some religious communities with-
in a society may understand themselves
primarily in opposition to certain of the
dominant values of the given society, but
they cannot deny their existence.
Many members of a particular reli-
gious community, such as the Church of
the Brethren, affirm some of the dominant
values of American society, such as reli-
gious liberty, and deny others, such as
the legitimacy of milita^^' power as an in-
strument of foreign policy. This com-
plexity leads to ambiguous relations be-
tween some members of the smaller
group and some members of the larger
society.
A\Iltt(ED°mffitl.fiw(E
Some Christian groups, such as classi-
cal Lutherans, have tried to overcome the
disharmony in this church-world contrast
by seeing a paradoxical relation between
the two kingdoms. Others, including
Left-Wing Anabaptists such as the Men-
nonites, sought to overcome this tension
by withdrawing from the world and seek-
ing to avoid political, social, and eco-
nomic involvements with nonbelievers.
Emerging in opposition to the established
church in Germany, the Church of the
Brethren in America has often had con-
siderable affinity with these earlier
Anabaptists.
Both groups have a basically negative
view of civil government. In the classical
Lutheran view, civil government is neces-
sary to restrain evil, but the state does not
contribute positively to the harmony of
life with life. In the view of the with-
drawing sects, the state is an evil with
which Christians are to have as little to
do as possible.
Other Christian groups, such as Roman
Catholics and Presbyterians, have had
different views of the relation between
the church and the world. In somewhat
different ways, many members of these
historical groups have encouraged Chris-
tians to participate in the world, seeking
to shape it in ways conforming to their
vision of the way things ought to be.
Both groups traditionally felt the church
should provide rather direct guidance for
the public sphere, producing, among
other thinas, conflicts about religious
10 MESSENGER 10-15-72
liberty. Presbyterian groups in America
began to modify some of these views in
the context of the American experience
in the eighteenth and nineteenth cen-
turies, and Roman CathoHcs in America
have more recently begun to modify their
traditional views as they have become
more Americanized. In both groups,
however, significant leaders continue to
address a range of public policy issues.
Both classical Roman Catholicism and
many historical Calvinistic groups had a
more positive view Toward civil govern-
ment. It did more than restrain people
from doing evil; it also contributed posi-
tively to the common good.
Lutherans and early Anabaptists were
not the only ones who interpreted civil
government negatively. Some Christians
looked dimly upon the existing social or-
der, but they called on leaders to use the
sword to effect a radical transformation
of the social order. By eradicating the
roots of the evils corrupting the social
order, they envisioned the establishment
of a more holy community. Others of a
more conservative turn felt the given
situation was about the best one might
expect, granted the corruptness of human
nature.
ITDncE (DaDmtl;(Eiim[paDi]?aii]?'gr
SfittnnaittfiaDm
People can be found in every Christian
group in America today with spiritual
and intellectual roots in each of these
contrasting views on the nature of civil
government. Among the Church of the
Brethren the pessimistic view, analogous
to the classical Mennonite view noted
earlier, probably is dominant today.
Nonetheless, able proponents of most of
the other views are present.
This diversity within every religious
communion in the United States today in-
creases the likelihood of internal dis-
agreements about issues of public policy.
Christians cannot agree as to the attitude
their church should take toward the gov-
ernment in general and toward various
social, economic, and political issues in
particular.
These disagreements about the church's
role in the public sphere extend across
denominational lines. Often certain
people in one denomination will find
themselves in more agreement with cer-
tain members of other denominations
than with other members in their own
denomination.
In the present circumstances, one of
the most important contrasts in attitudes
is between some members of ecclesias-
tical bureaucracies and many members of
local churches. Generally speaking,
spokesmen for denominational and inter-
denominational church bodies have been
clearer in their denunciation of the
Vietnam War, current public welfare
practices, and racial, sexual, and ethnic
inequality than most laymen have been.
Members of historic peace churches may
have been generally sympathetic to
ecclesiastical opposition to the Vietnam
War, but probably they have not been as
sympathetic to ecclesiastical proposals
regarding domestic policy.
These disagreements among church
members in the American context are al-
ways balanced by conciliatory efforts,
based partly on conviction and partly on
necessity. Many are persuaded that the
things unifying Christians are more im-
portant than the things which divide
them. Because of the principle of volun-
teerism, absolutely central in the Amer-
ican context, religious institutions ulti-
mately must rely on suasion rather than
coercion.
In spite of intense social pressures
which might be brought to bear in certain
circumstances, anyone who wants to dis-
sociate from any given religious institu-
tion may do so with political impunity.
Such a reality contributes strongly to the
pragmatism, activism, and "clubbiness"
of American religious institutions, noted
with disdain by many European church-
men.
This style of church life blunts conflicts
and enhances lay involvement in religious
institutions. It is one of the major rea-
sons for the much greater participation of
American laymen in their churches than
is the case in any northern or western
European country.
Some members of a given denomina-
tion may have a clear sense of the theo-
logical and historical roots helping shape
their attitude toward the government.
Most have vague feelings about them, but
they have not brought various alternatives
fully into self-consciousness. The per-
spectives highlighted here may help some
come to such a self-consciousness as they
struggle with the perennial problem of
what a Christian should render unto
Caesar.
If a Christian prizes the ideas of reli-
gious liberty, religious tolerance, religious
pluralism, and at least some of the broad
values embodied in the notion "liberty,
equality, and brotherhood in a democracy
under God," he is bound to give qualified
support to American society, where these
values are partially realized. Christians
who offer a very strongly negative assess-
ment of American society find their roots
in classical Lutheranism or in the Left-
Wing of the Reformation, for Christians
in these groups view the public sphere as
a realm to be endured, evaded, or radical-
ly transformed. □
10-15-72 MESSENGER 11
^'ipaumlk So CDffliEPipcEi]?
ff
The Work Was
Frank Carper arises at 5:30 each morn-
ing, "coming down hard with both feet,"
ready for his usual half-hour, two-mile
constitutional. Joining him for one of
those walks, I was less enthused than he
about the hour, despite the brisk, bright
daybreak that greeted us. These were not
the "banker's hours" of which I had
heard stories.
But it is the stuff of which life has
been made for Frank S. Carper, 79. Pas-
tor from 1929 to 1961 of the Palmyra,
Pa., Church of the Brethren, while serv-
ing full-time as an executive vice-presi-
dent of one of the community's banks,
teacher of a men's Bible class since 1910,
husband to Ella Ebersole Carper and the
father of four children, a regular re-
vival speaker, a mover and leader for the
camp, the college, and the district, and
still nearly as busy in retirement — Frank
Carper needed every hour of the day. Be-
sides, as he put it, "God is very real early
in the morning."
To a parishioner who once met him on
one of his walks and said whimsically,
"You're out early this morning, aren't
you?", Dr. Carper responded with a wry
smile, "Yes, and a half hour late."
In our walk I came to know the town
in which I was born and raised through
the eyes of one who had spent a lifetime
there. Dressed in topcoat, scarf, and
homberg, my host carried a cane for
which he seemingly had no need as he
stepped off a pace that kept us both warm.
Our jaunt through the community —
taking exactly an hour — found us on
Cherry Street by the high school ... up
to the town square to the soon-to-open
Valley Trust Company where he pur-
sued a business career until 1966 . . .
down Main Street and North Chestnut
to the Palmyra church . . . into the east
part of town and near my family's home
on South Forge Road. And as we went
I gained a nostalgic account of the roots
of myself, and more so, of my guide.
And we talked.
"I wouldn't ask anybody else to do it,
but I think I was real fortunate that I
could get a bank and a church at the
same time.
"There was no question about it. The
church wouldn't have thought of sup-
porting anyone, and there I must give
credit to Brother Longenecker [who pre-
ceded Dr. Carper as Palmyra's elder-in-
ch arge].
"He always considered himself pastor
of the church. He married us in 1916
and signed his name J. H. Longenecker,
pastor of the Church of the Brethren.
"The church Bible, I know, has in his
handwriting that it was presented to the
Palmyra Church of the Brethren by one
of the pastors. He was that pastor and
I think that did something to me.
"With Brother Longenecker the church
was always first. He neglected his family,
his farm, everything for the sake of the
church. I knew that if there was to be
a church at Palmyra, somebody had to
do the work of the pastor."
And indeed there has been a church
at Palmyra, born in the nurture of the
Spring Creek congregation at Hershey,
growing from a small fellowship in a
frame building into a gathering of some
1 .024 members meeting in a massive,
brick, white-steepled structure, and be-
coming one of the largest — and perhaps
the strongest — of the denomination's
congregations.
Jeeing the congregation through its
major period of growth was Frank S.
Carper, a man of immense energy abated
only by his years, a keen intellect, a wit,
and, some will attest, a temper for which
he sometimes has had to ask forgiveness.
For those who have known Frank Car-
per, it is easy to paint him in glowing
terms, in strokes larger than life, merely
on the merits of his accomplishments in
the congregation and district.
One is tempted to ask the real Frank
Carper to step forward, so much are his
role and philosophy sometimes obscured.
One of the questions that remains in poor
perspective is the style of leadership he
demonstrated.
To call the Palmyra church during his
long pastorate a "one-man church" is
probably both true and unfair at the same
time. It is a characterization he himself
raised — and quickly refuted — as we
conversed in the basement study of his
home.
"I used to get so tired of this stigma
that one morning I counted the people
who had participated in leadership in
some form or another during the two
hours we were at church. There were
200.
"I think the secret of a good church
is that the church must not only mean
something to the individual, the individual
must mean something to the church."
Dr. Carper's leadership must be seen
as of a strong hand, centralized, at times
even arbitrary. When political and eco-
nomic instability in the country demanded
persons of authority, he enlisted firm sup-
port for the church as an institution.
This began in the building of the local
parish. And he is concerned that today
attendance is dropping because people
across Christendom are losing the loyalty
they have had to the local church.
Is there still something necessary' about
members of the corporate body coming
together? "I find people wanting to work
together and wanting to play together," he
responded. "You ought to have the
same idea about worshiping together.
"Sure you can worship with some
other people, but you lose something by
not having a continued fellowship with
your own group. That doesn't mean that
12 MESSENGER 10-15-72
Never Finished
^T)
we are so narrow-minded that we can't
worship with anybody else. We enjoy
that, but there must be a core of sta-
bihty in the congregation. We can't all
go out the same Sunday and keep the
work going."
1
_ he work at Palmyra kept going
through careful attention to lay participa-
tion — those 200 members involved in
some leadership roles each Sunday and
through the week. And in this respect Dr.
Carper must be looked upon as an enabler
of others, not as one who did it all him-
self.
In fact, whether he planned it or not,
he was moving his congregation from his
own era which more easily accepted an
authoritarian approach, to the social
scene today which embraces a more
text,
photography
by Ronald
E. Keener
I
democratic, lay-oriented stance. Palmyra
was one of the first congregations of the
district to expand the deacon board into
a lay member board of administration.
One in a unique position to reflect on
Dr. Carper's leadership is Palmyra's pres-
ent pastor, Donald W. Rummel, who 12
years ago served also as associate pastor
with Dr. Carper. " 'The times' and 'the
man' were naturals for each other. . . .
Frank Carper is a man who learned to
carry authority with an ethical dimension
and with a deep sense of responsibility.
I believe he enjoyed it."
m)„
•^uring part of the 32 years he was
pastor at Palmyra, the Brethren were in
transition from a sect to a church, and
the forces of fundamentalism and divis-
iveness were tearing at the fabric. Dr.
Carper recalls;
"We were the smallest church in town
and we were the most backward church
in town. We were the church that was
known as the old Brethren. We had no
young people. When I came into the
church there were less than one half
dozen in this area that were as young as I
was, and I was 15."
Significantly, when divisions broke
upon many congregations in the district,
the Palmyra church survived the splits.
One former pastor in the district recalls:
"Frequently, disgruntled members from
adjoining churches would go to Palmyra.
Frank was sure to cater to them and find
a place for them in the life of the church.
He saved many for the Church of the
Brethren."
Exposed to the conflicts of the funda-
mentalists and the modernists of an earli-
er day. Dr. Carper preached from a gos-
pel base. "I did a lot of expository
preaching and stuck very close to the
Bible so that members didn't need to go
to a Bible conference or to some other
church to hear Bible preaching."
His first sermon in the ministry at
Hershey was on the centrality of Christ
and the cross in our faith. Inscribed in
Palmyra's pulpit today is a reminder
visible to the minister: "Sir, We Would
See Jesus."
J. H. Longenecker had a large influ-
ence on Frank Carper, significantly so in
church polity. Longenecker was "not
one who thought the official board runs
14 MESSENGER 10-15-72
the church," recalls Dr. Carper, and was
called at times to remind the deacons
that "we don't decide anything. The
church has the final decision."
Dr. Carper attributes the neighboring
church divisions to a misplaced spirit of
authority. "I think that's why we lost the
office of deacon — so largely because in-
stead of 'deaconing' they wanted to rule."
"Brother Longenecker didn't always
agree with the leadership of the church.
He would come back from Annual Con-
ference and tell us it wasn't quite the way
he thought he would have done if he had
his way, but it was the voice of the
church and we would abide by it." And
it has been that "voice" which has guided
Dr. Carper.
Undoubtedly his force of personality
at times has dissuaded persons from dis-
agreeing with him. But his prevailing at-
tributes — a dynamic and positive per-
sonality, a melodious and powerful voice,
a genius at administration, the ability to
put persons to work, to inspire support,
to roll with the punches, to make deci-
sions quickly — have helped hold people
together in a changing church. His
strong convictions indicated he knew
where he was going; he inspired a similar
vision in the congregation.
Frank Carper's ministry at the Palmyra
church (pictured right) reflects time spent
in a book-filled study
Given his reputation as "local church
builder," preacher, and leader in the re-
gion where Brethren first came to this
country, why then was Frank Carper not
more of a national figure in his denomina-
tion — moderator, for example? It seems
apparent that he saw the work of the
local church more pressing, more urgent
than Brotherhood matters. He felt the
sincere obligation to his banking career as
well. Time simply didn't permit wider in-
volvements. And too, says one friend,
"He never aimed at popularity."
It is not unfair to say that, by orienta-
tion, he was provincial in his ministry.
One observer has noted: "He could func-
tion well in a local area but was not one
to mix well or feel he understood wider
perspectives.
"Annual Conference was for him his
guideline to authority. He felt little need
to influence the Brotherhood. If he
could support the church at large with
the church at home, that to him was
fulfilling enough."
/till, he was a member of Standing
Committee for many years, was on the
mission board before 1947, and chaired
a committee which reported on the
church's membership in the National
Council of Churches at the 1966
Louisville Conference. He was a major
Conference speaker on occasions and in
1951 received an honorary degree from
Bethany Seminary.
Some will call Frank Carper a con-
servative. But one must ask, conservative
as compared to what? He is not a sec-
tarian, not a fundamentalist, not an
evangelical.
Without a seminary education, he has
read constantly to find new insights.
When fundamentalism was making an
impact in eastern Pennsylvania, he
studied all he could find on both sides of
the issue.
He has probably been expert at testing
the political temperature on any church
issue, knowing where his people stood and
to what extent he could lead them a step
further. If he was not liberal, he was
progressive; if he did not move swiftly,
he moved decidedly.
He explained: "I wanted to be ahead
of the times but I wanted to wait until it
was right. I think that's why our Pal-
myra congregation had so many council
meetings on the baptism question — three
I think. Some persons wanted to force
change. Now it's all settled.
"If there wasn't enough sentiment for
change, I wondered whether we wouldn't
better wait a little — that we'd gain more
time that way, and I think we did. . . .
"That's where our present generation
doesn't understand. They think we're
traditionalists and have to do everything
the way we used to, and that's not true.
We made more changes than a lot of
other people and I think, though they're
not aware of it, they're harder to change
already than we were.
6677
J— L don't care how good a change was,
how good a plan was, there was nothing
that worked on indefinitely. You had to
change. Surely things I did 50 years ago
were questioned by the older folks.
"You can't run ahead and lose your
team, but you can't wait till everybody
is on the bandwagon either. You have
to know when to move and you have to
keep on the move. The church doesn't
grow if there's no change. The child
doesn't grow if there's no change."
It was Palmyra that was ahead of oth-
er congregations in introducing musical
instruments into worship, in organizing a
Sunday school, in instituting a lay ori-
ented polity, in setting up day camping
programs, in making use of a divided
chancel, in developing an undershepherd
plan of parish visitation, in launching a
strong program of stewardship, in broad-
casting to extend the word of the minis-
try. Pastor Carper was one of the early
ministers to perform marriage ceremonies
for persons who had been divorced, and
in this respect he was in advance of the
position of Annual Conference.
"Palmyra frequently set the pace for
innovation in church administration, and
in forms and methods of worship," said
Carl W. Zeigler Sr. of Elizabethtown,
Pa. " Tf it works at Palmyra, why will it
not work with us?' was a frequent com-
ment."
In sixty years of ministry, marked by
congregational observances this past
spring. Frank Carper has held 121 re-
vival meetings, sometimes driving 70
miles one way each day; 809 funerals, of
Ella and Frank Carper celebrated his
sixty years in the ministry that began at
the Spring Creek church in Hershey
which some 250 were for non-Brethren
who regarded him as their pastor; and
358 weddings — my wife's and mine
was number 356.
His work and accomplishments have
come with risks to his health and to his
family. Ella Carper, he admits, "had
the burden of the family."
Difliering from his predecessor, J. H.
Longenecker, on the matter of the paid
ministry. Dr. Carper saw ample scriptural
cause for the laborer being worthy of his
hire. Yet he always found ways to return
to the treasury unused whatever he re-
ceived. It was more with pride than with
conviction, he believes, that the Brethren
proclaimed, "We're not like the
Lutherans; they have to pay for their
minister."
He recalled the elder from the Ann-
ville church five miles distant who had
spoken at Palmyra. His car fare was
$1.97.
"I don't know the number of deacons
they had to get together until they could
get the exact change. They wouldn't give
him two dollars; the three cents would
have been paying him, you see."
Gardening has been Dr. Carper's
"nerve tonic" through the years. He still
speaks occasionally, but has been mostly
involved in organizing the files and his-
torical records he has kept over the years.
He maintains one of the most complete
historical files on the church outside the
college and denominational archives.
DD,
/r. Carper's contributions to the
church cannot be separated from the con-
text of his times, or even from an aware-
ness that he spent his life in one com-
munity, one congregation, and one dis-
trict. But does he speak only for an era
past, or for a single parish? No, I sug-
gest there is in his life story and in his
mind today insights to guide the crucial
struggles of the church and of Christians,
if we but listen.
To know Frank S. Carper is to know
more fully what it means to love the
church and to want to live a fuller life.
Other congregations sought his ministries
over the years, but at Palmyra, "the work
was never finished." He gives us an
example of life and love for the larger
church — whose work indeed remains
incomplete. Q
10-15-72 MESSENGER 15
TT
mcE
fims
cdIT ttDncB UkittDQCBrp
"I just don't like white people!"
Twenty-five high school students and
several community leaders lifted their
eyebrows at this outburst from one of the
three black students in the room. The
junior girl continued, "I don't enjoy going
to school with them, and I don't even
enjoy talking with them."
The scene was Harrisonburg High, a
predominately white, middle-class ori-
ented school in Virginia's serene Shen-
andoah Valley. The occasion was a half-
day seminar on human relations. I was
the only teacher present.
Shock and indignation swept in waves
over most of the white people in the
room. They had just expressed their
concern for brotherhood. They had dis-
cussed the prejudices of their parents and
grandparents. They had deplored racist
policies in education, housing, and
business. Instead of a pat on the back,
they had received a slap in the face for
their "enlightened" attitudes.
As the discussion leader, I listened to
the heated exchange which followed,
thinking of the bitterness of the sins of the
fathers visited upon the children.
"Why do I have to pay the price for the
bigotry of my ancestors when I am willing
to accept you now?" was the mute cry of
many. They repeatedy tried to reason
with their black classmate who stood
stoically behind her right to hate.
I remembered the words of Msimangu
in Cry, the Beloved Country: "I have one
great fear in my heart, that one day when
[the whites] turn to loving they will find
we are turned to hating."
I also recalled a conversation with
evangelist Tom Skinner at an Eastern
Mennonite College peacemaking seminar.
He said that the best thing a white person
can do now is not to try to help the black
man, because he doesn't want help. The
real need is for white persons to change
the prejudice in their brothers' hearts,
he added.
nncErPsDncB^
BDncBxwainiicEir
16 MESSENGER I0-15-72
That medicine was hard for me to
swallow then. But now I understood why
most of the people in the room were hurt
after their goodwill had been rejected.
I missed an opportunity to remind the
group that true dedication to healing
human wounds means that we love those
who spurn our attempts to share. The
group moved on to other important, but
less painful, topics.
The president of the local human rela-
tions council, a black citizen, then told
the group how two EMC professors and
a Church of the Brethren minister had
altered some of the injustices of institu-
tionalized racism. The students asked
how they could apply lessons the council
learned to the high school situation. But
we ended the seminar with no major
proposals or solutions.
The Harrisonburg High administration
had planned a series of seminars to en-
able students to dialogue in areas of their
interest — the supernatural, rock music,
Vietnam, and race relations among them.
When we teachers informally discussed
the seminars, one remarked, "I wouldn't
touch the one on race with a ten-foot
pole."
As a first-year teacher, I wasn't overly
confident myself in accepting the dis-
cussion leader assignment for this con-
troversial area. But I volunteered be-
cause it fit in with my rationale for want-
ing to teach in a public high school.
What better opportunity to share con-
cerns that matter — in the Spirit that
matters, I reasoned.
Even before entering the classroom
last September, I had tried to ascertain
mentally what my approach to race
relations would be. I had grown up in
lily white Lititz, Pennsylvania, where my
only contact with a minority group mem-
ber was the annual visit of a Puerto
Rican "fresh air girl." The only mixture
of black and white I ever saw was the
Holstein cows I helped milk daily. I
never had an extended conversation with
a black person until I entered college.
At EMC I began to realize my cultural
deprivation. Although I had intellectu-
ally aligned myself with the civil rights
movement and lent my vocal assent to all
causes which championed nonviolent
black power, I still lacked real contact
with members of the black community.
Even on campus most of my discussions
on black issues involved international
students, not Afro Americans.
To compensate for my sheltered ex-
perience, I tried reading black literature:
Sou! on Ice, Go Tell It on the Mountain,
Manchild in the Promised Land. Stride
Toward Freedom had happened to me in
high school. There was so much more
to read — and even more to learn.
The question of my motives kept
haunting me, however. Did my concern
stem from the fact that it was groovy to
carry around The Autobiography of
Malcom X? Was it because I wanted to
be on the right side of the revolution?
Perhaps my true motive was a sense of
Christian obligation to become ac-
quainted with my black brothers and
sisters and their problems. I didn't want
to deceive myself, but I thought this
rationale was sound.
(Be
ne of my biggest concerns before
stepping into the classroom centered
around methods of relating to black
students in a special way without alienat-
ing whites. I very naively questioned
Tom Skinnei about the best contribution
a white English teacher could make to
black students. He responded, "Teach
them English!" My missionary zeal
didn't melt entirely, but I saw some of
my own very subtle prejudice being
exposed.
To break down barriers in the few
minutes I have with students each day is
extremely difficult, especially when t'hese
same barriers have been carefully con-
structed of stone and mortared shut over
the years. Steady chipping away at the
stone walls brings small, but significant,
rewards.
One day Bill asked me to help him
pronounce vowel and consonant sounds
he had never learned even though he was
a high school junior. He didn't even
have me as one of his classroom teachers.
Other students stopped after school or
between classes just to chai.
My learning experiences with blacks
have brought more than one smile to my
face. Once while the remainder of my
ninth graders were busy at their desks,
John started rapping his desk top as if
it were a drum. I wanted to stop the
disturbance immediately, so I walked
over to him and said quietly in language
I thought he would understand, "Let's
cool it and get back to work."
"What you mean 'cool it'?" he asked
with a look of amazement spread over his
face. "Man, I already cool!"
With one last flourish on his "drum,"
he returned to his work with a satisfied
air. No one could challenge his coolness
and get away with it. To many blacks,
being cool is the most important virtue.
Another black student invited me to
the talent show of his church youth group.
I learned as much about differences be-
tween black and white culture that night
as any other time in my twenty-two
years. For one thing, I was a member of
a vast minority in the crowd. For anoth-
er, the program started one-half hour
late — which didn't concern anyone. A
young man exhorted, "Keep it cool,
ladies and gents. Just keep it cool."
When the entertainment began, I didn't
understand what was happening. I
couldn't hear what they were saying —
something I didn't have problems with
in the classroom. The black dialect was
thicker when it was spoken to a pre-
dominately black audience. They under-
stood each other; they had a beautiful
thing going.
Hopefully, blacks and whites can share
the best of both worlds with each other
some day. But sometimes I do get dis-
couraged. When I tried to teach a unit
on prejudice, I ended up with the feeling
that some of my students were only
reinforcing the prejudices they had al-
ready formed, holding to them with the
tenacity of Linus towards his blanket.
When the light of truth struggles to be
born in just one person's eyes, however, I
know any efl^ort is worthwhile. I have
seen that light.
The Promised Land will be made up of
that same light, rolled up in a ball and
flung at the darkness. D
10-15-72 MESSENGER 17
(DnnPDPDns AimaiilcDnDnncE
Little boy relaxed like X
Sprawled backward on a blanket
In the front yard, looking up
Wide-eyed to read the cloud shapes.
Grotesque faces on the edge of thunderheads
Move their massive features solemnly.
Looming faces stare down too,
He knows, while looking up to panoramas.
Mother told him once late summer afternoons
Unfold more than one world of forms
For boys to rest their automated legs,
Look up to run with their imaginations
For a change.
White cirrus clouds, the highest ones
Repeat their slender arches side by side on blue.
Suddenly a little boy gets wider eyed;
He leaps up breathless off his back
Into the house of one bounding:
"Mother, come quick, quick look —
I think I see God's ribs!"
by David S. Strickler
n W^s m IPfffisoDmcBi]?
Yesterday
I was a prisoner
In the darkness of a terrible, exitless cell.
Chains about me made movement agony.
And there was only the sound of a silent scream.
I was there because I had a need to be.
To take the necessary steps to free myself
Was impossible.
No friend nor enemy came
To help or taunt me.
No one could help.
I did not dare to grasp
A reaching hand.
This was life,
Or, anyway, existence.
If I could live my life over,
(I think I wouldn't want to.)
I would inevitably do the same things again,
Make the same mistakes,
A victim of my own experiment in perpetual motion,
A caged squirrel running around and around
The same purposeless course.
The I that lived is still the I that lives.
ni! n (DoDnnncfl nicn)ndl
If I could hold the ocean in my hand;
Or feel the strength a grass blade feels in rain;
Or know the number of the grains of sand
That fall in place to make the earth's terrain;
Or know the fledgling's urge to try his flight;
Or give a star the name I choose; or know
I hold the dusk, not letting day turn night;
Or I alone can make the storm winds blow;
Or I could make the rivers, large or small.
Turn back and flow into the ground again;
And know how seeds make trees like oaks, so tall;
Or why the difference is 'tween men and men • — -
I'd know that I, unworthy man of sod,
Had blindly touched the face, the brain of God.
by Lonnie S. Howell
Today,
I am free.
I am let loose in a world that is full of light
And sound and movement.
No more courage than before,
Not a revelation of a new person,
But a discovery of the real person hiding behind the walls.
Fear imprisons,
Love releases.
A miracle?
Perhaps.
I think that I believe in miracles,
If a caterpillar can become a butterfly.
by Jeanne Donovan
6617 ^
nm BDnD^aicBllcBS^^
18 MESSENGER 10-15-72
\
hmtrm D s-Saiinid
An Open Letter
to the Brotherhood
by Charles E. Znnkel
The Annual Conference of 1972, as I
view it, was in many ways a great confer-
ence. The first one I attended was in
1925 at Winona Lake when I was a stu-
dent at Manchester College. Well do I
remember working with the youth as we
prepared and served gallons of soup and
hundreds of sandwiches at our youth con-
cession stand. I felt, as many of them
did, that it was great to be a part of this
annual gathering of the Brethren. But
serving soup and sandwiches until we
were so weary we could scarcely stand
was about our only participation in this
historic religious event. Conference was
for and by the oldsters of our church.
How different was this conference of
1972! Youth were among the most vig-
orous, active, and perceptive participants
in the discussion of vital issues on the
floor of conference. Many of them spoke
briefly and clearly to the items under con-
sideration. They did not seem to wish to
speak merely to be heard, or to entertain,
as in the past some of their elders have
done. They were concerned, they were
thinking through the issues, and it was
evident that many of them had done their
"homework."
Personally, I am gratified that youth
have now become responsible participants
in the life of our church. We need their
insights, their dedication to truth and to
right as they understand it. We need
alongside this the experience and the
retrospect of older men and women. In-
deed, I sensed in this conference that
youth were taking "the long view" on
To hold in respect and fellowship those
in the church with whom we agree or
disagree is a characteristic of the Church
of the Brethren. It is to the continuation
of this value, and to an open and prob-
ing forum, that "Here I Stand" is dedi-
cated. Reader response is invited.
issues under consideration, when some-
times their elders were being more short-
sighted. It is this concern to which I
wish to address my remarks.
There is a great temptation to be too
nearsighted in dealing with issues that are
vital. What may seem opportune now
may be most unfortunate later on. It is
said that Lord Northcliffe was gifted with
very long sight. They say he could read
the prices of articles in shop windows
while he was riding in a taxi down the
street. But most of his time was spent
reading books and newspapers. At one
time he was threatened with blindness.
A London occulist told him that the only
thing which could save his sight was an
operation. Unwilling to accept this ad-
vice, he went to a German eye specialist.
This man told him he was suffering from
extreme weariness of the optic nerve.
The cure prescribed was that for a time
he must give up looking at things close at
hand and look at things in the distance
and far away. What was true for North-
cliffe is often true for us in the life of the
church.
One trend that I regard as taking the
nearsighted view is the very way in which
we prepare for and handle items of busi-
ness. There has been a trend of giving
our General Board the task of making
studies in answer to various queries, rath-
er than appointing competent conference
committees to give the study, do the re-
search necessary, and bring to conference
reports that can then be debated and
finally adopted when the church is satis-
fied with the answer. While it may be
said that this is not done routinely, in
fact not frequently, it still is done too
often and is too easy a way out. This
method does several things: ( 1 ) It often
brings to the board unnecessary criticism;
(2) It loads the already overworked
board with more work; (3) The board
must assign to staff most of the work
delegated to them by the conference in
making the study and preparing the an-
swer; (4) And so it concentrates too
much responsibility or power in our
board and staff.
Another trend is much like the one
just mentioned. It is the resistance ex-
pressed to questioning of a conference
committee report or an action taken by
the board. There is the feeling of some
delegates and concerned persons that
sometimes subtle efforts are being made
to cover up the real intent of an action
which, in the long run, may reverse some
major decisions already taken by the
church. Why should not the conference
body have every right and duty to chal-
lenge, debate, and clear the issues of any
report by any body, be it board or com-
mittee? It is in such challenge and debate
— dialogue, if you please — that new in-
sights, new knowledge, and better deci-
sions can come. To ask, "Why are we to
question the fine work of the committee
or board?" is to beg the question. Vigor-
ous discussion needs to take place. If not,
then what is the use of the delegate body
or of all the interested churchmen who
come to conference? A "rubber stamp"
conference will die of uselessness.
l/his resistance to the interrogation of
a board or a committee report was evi-
denced in the seminary issue. The sem-
inary board came suggesting options for
the future of the institution. These cen-
tered around teaming up with other
seminaries in the training of our ministers.
A motion was made requesting the con-
sideration of other options for theological
education and asking that, before any
decision be made which would be of basic
change in the nature of the seminary, it
be brought to the Annual Conference for
full discussion and approval before the
change took place. One such important
possibility in theological education would
be the training of laymen and laywomen
for Christian leadership; this would be in
keeping with our historic belief in "the
priesthood of all believers."
This motion was opposed by the sem-
inary board on the grounds that it would
undermine the responsibility placed by
the Annual Conference upon the board
and handicap its work. Do we forget
10-15-72 MESSENGER 19
OPEN LETTER/ continued
that the seminary came many years ago
to ask Annual Conference that the
church take responsibility for it? It
is a church-owned institution in a far
greater sense than our colleges and its
future and direction should be determined
by the parent body — the church. This in
no way undermines or handicaps the
work of the board unless the board should
have plans for its future and life not in
harmony with the wishes of the church.
It was said that of course the board
would bring such a major decision of
direction back to the Annual Conference,
but there was opposition by the board to
put this into the written record. Verbal
promises are so easily forgotten,
especially in the turnover of a board's
membership. It needed to be in the
written record. To question a board or
committee, to debate the issues, should
be welcomed, always.
■>his human tendency to "let Joe do
it" strikes in various ways and I seriously
question its wisdom, if we wish to keep
a vital church with a vigorous grass roots
concern and participation. I see it in the
announced decision to move to two
General Board meetings next year. I look
at this as one who has been an "insider,"
although my knowledge may be partial
and my judgment faulty. Yet, for twenty-
five years I served either as a member of
the General Board or as one of its staff.
During all those years the General Board
struggled and made great strides to refine
its methods of getting work done and
being a good steward of time. Yet we
never were able to get our work done as
we should have. We never had time to
dream or to brainstorm as a board should.
Always there was the pressing reality of
routine business which often had to be
done too hastily toward the close of a
meeting, just as at Annual Conference.
It was just this sort of dilemma that
resulted in the confusion we are now in
concerning our church years. When time
begins to run out. either in the board or
in Annual Conference business sessions,
we begin to push business through with-
out the due consideration it needs, or we
do a thing just as undesirable — we as-
sign it to the board or to the staff to work
out. Lest I be thought to be totally un-
aware of what goes on now, since I am no
longer a board or staff member, let me
say that I have attended board meetings
as an observer each of the last two years.
And the board has worked sometimes
into the very late night hours on crucial
issues. In spite of this, I have seen the
same pressures of insufficient time.
It may be argued that business people
who make up the board cannot give time
for three meetings each year. I fully
realize the sacrifices these devoted people
make, but even so, as a church we need
to realize that one less board meeting in-
evitably means the assignment of more
work to an already overworked staff, and
it means a concentration of power which
the church at large always is unhappy
about.
I understand some staff suggested to the
General Board that the Annual Confer-
ence of 1974 be cancelled and that this
might become a test to show whether wc
might be able to do with less than an An-
nual Conference of the church. Fortu-
nately, this was not accepted or seriously
considered. This idea is not new. Some
>'ears ago there was pressure to move
toward less frequent general conferences.
But this, like the move toward fewer
General Board meetings inevitably means
that more decisions will need to be made
by fewer people and the vital decision
making process will slip out of the hands
and out of the concern of the church as a
whole. Much of our strength as a church
has come from the .Annual Conferences
and the vital participation of the church
at large in determining direction and
policies.
It is my belief further, and again I can
be wrong, that the \'ery structure of staff
and the working procedures it uses tend
to further concentrate responsibility and
decision making. I believe in the wisdom
of considerable counsel before vital deci-
sions must be made. There need to be
constant and widespread team counsel
and decisions in the total staff. This is
essential for good working relationships
within the staff and it is \itaily important
if the wisest decisions are to be made.
Could it be that the rather sudden and
drastic decision to dismiss staff and shift
others within the staff in order to meet an
operational deficit this year would have
been done differently and perhaps more
wisely in the long-term values of our
church witness, if there had been more
involvement in that decision making?
Personally, I am deeply distressed at
the sudden dismissal of staff and I seri-
ously question the way in which this was
handled and the areas affected by it. For
instance, the dismissal of our draft coun-
selor to me was anachronistic for a
church with a major thrust for peace
across its entire history. The explanation
for this was not adequate — namely, that
he had done such a good job creating and
training draft counselors across the
brotherhood that he had "worked himself
out of a job." Who will continue to train
new counselors as new ones are needed?
And who will be the official person to
represent us in contacts with Selective
Service when issues or crises arise? This
cannot be satisfactorily delegated to who-
ever happens to be handy at the time of
need — not if it is to be effective. I be-
lieve the church will rue the day this
action was so hastily taken!
I write not as a soured or disgruntled
or alarmist oldster, but rather as one who
is a "lover." I love the church. It has
been the church of my choice. I was not
cradled in it. I came into it at fifteen
years of age because I found in it values
that to me were and are central to a seri-
ous discipleship with Jesus. Because of
our deep love for our church and for her
Lord. Cleda and I have given nearly a
half century in service in its ministry. I
have grown in the depth of my convic-
tions of what my church really has to
offer, as the years have come and gone. I
rejoice that as a small church, one seg-
ment of the Body of Christ, we have giv-
en a witness far beyond that which our
numbers might have indicated. I am
concerned that we continue to be aware
of and cherish the values that have been
unique and meaningful. I want us to
cherish these, revitalize them, and use
them to God"s glon'.
Minally, I believe that if we want to
continue to see our youth vitally con-
cerned and actively participating in our
church, we need to take the "long view"
in the issues I have raised. They will not
be content, nor should they be, to attempt
to share in vital decision making if they
find themselves thwarted by procedures
and concentrations of power which make
their efforts ineffectual. D
1
20 MESSENGER 10-15-72
^
- - --4 ^- ->■ - «.t :r;;; t ^- -r fir, tr i--
.*° "'^ Probate Co ' "^^^"-> 'or th" Tr '""'''
- ".. cb.d.e. --, , ,„ „^^ ..;::;^52^,. -deeea.
.""'"■' -~r - -... „, ,,„ .« ~». - „«,..-
=;-.• its - -... c.„ .. ,. '" ■"' ■''- -tx
'eg-'Kmate =. FOURTH .„ '' ™"rt ^vlT " "
■«ed forl::""'^^ open to „, tStSIICLE ""'''^^. '> may
^--'^-tTff-t' p".>ors :;^-/ea,r£?J« -a. ,.„,^ ^,^^
'^ -"-^ - '0^;: r ^- ^^^ '.etro^/--- ire^;:--
!:^«--^.. ^"^^"-'^-'^td^--'":f^
— ^^^^t^ sr-tr--. "^ ^^^^- ™
JOi^^^BT-- — ~-__^ — -~-4o^'
Please send me, without cost;
"Making Your Will"
~\ "37 Things People Know About Wills That Aren't Really So."
This is not a real will. But it accurately Will" and "37 Things People Know About
tells what can happen when you do not have Wills That Aren't Really So."
a correct legal Last Will and Testament
drawn up for you by an attorney.
In advance of your appointment with the
attorney there are important things you will
want to know. These are to be found in two
brief and authoritative booklets you may
have without cost. Send for "Making Your
address
city
zip .
THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN GENERAL BOARD
OfHce of Stewardship Enlistment
1451 Dundee Avenue, Elgin, Illinois 60120
14 101572
r'hirann
[b(Q)©[k \r(B^mw^'.
Baptism^ the Lord^s Supper
Reinterpreted
IN PLACE OF SACRAMENTS: A STUDY OF BAP-
TISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER, by Vernard Eller.
Eerdmans, 1972. 176 pages, $3,25
It is with a certain frustration that this
Roman Catholic reads Vernard Eilcr"s
latest book on the sacraments, or should I
say [sacraments]. The feeling is nothing
new as indeed the book covers old theo-
logical ground, surely with a freshness
and crispness that is characteristic of the
author but still ground well worn by
four-hundred-years-plus of controversy.
We are again taken through the mag-
ical and forboding land of the "mys-
teries," and again given a truncated
definition of sacrament which is rightly
rejected. Sacraments do have something
to do with "holy things," and do find
their human roots in fetishes and wax-
dolls but please do not leave us poor
sacramentalists there anymore than a
description of Christian marriage could
leave off with the matings and pairings of
primitive persons.
There is no way here to adequately
comment on Eller's many pages of bibli-
cal e.xegesis ( and this forms the heart of
the book, especially his Chapter Two,
"Ways and Means") save by as many
pages of exegesis, the same citing of
commentators, and distribution of empha-
sis. I am certainly in accord with the
idea that there are many traditions in the
New Testament in reference to the sacra-
ments and most evcPithing else. I am also
just as willing to admit that Eller's case
can be made from the New Testament.
So we are again thrown back on the na-
ture of the church, her self-understanding
both within the New Testament and later.
Eller describes two basic modes of that
self-understanding vis-a-vis sacraments:
the church as commissary and the church
as caravan. His is an eminently tradition-
al (dare I say Catholic?) point de depart
when he says that "the ordinances are
means by which the church portrays to
herself and works toward becoming that
which she is called to be. . . . " How-
ever, while admitting that no church is
a pure specimen of either type, he carries
through the analogy into the realm of
sacraments ascribing function and or-
dinance to the caravan and essence and
sacrament to the commissary.
Let me sound my "Nein" most strongly
here because the caravan/commissary
image resounds through the rest of the
book. I do not deny that the images have
a certain validity as attitudinal descrip-
tions, nor would I deny the shortcomings
of the essence/commissary side of the
question as Eller sets it up, but I have
difficulty with some of the implications
drawn by him, fully aware that my own
tradition has often come close in its theo-
logizing as well as in its praxis to fitting
the commissary mode of church ideal.
E.
(Ilcr has failed to convince me that
sacraments — and let me use the term
in the most traditional sense — cannot
mark the journey of the people of God
in pilgrimage — that is, on caravan. John
6, the church elders and mainstream
Catholic theology do not recall the
"manna in the desert" for nothing, nor do
they apply the image to the Eucharist
without a sense of function as well as of
essence. For example, if it is nonsense
(and I agree) to say that "real presence"
has to do with ectoplasm and atomic
manifestations of divine gore, can we for
all that simph' speak of spiritual pres-
ence" with no reference whatever to the
elements which our fathers in caravan
have always brought with them and
handed down to us? Can there be any
meaning to the ordinances themselves —
remembering that in them or through
them the very meaning of the church is
signified — if we separate them from the
bread, wine, water, and human action
involved? Watch it! You are very close
to talking about holy things. For all the
ink spilled over the ex opere operato of
Catholic sacramentology, there is that
indispensable something given us as real
food and real drink without which any
talk of sacraments or ordinances on cara-
van or in a commissary would be impos-
sible. The basis for the Christian sacra-
ments is not the elements but the incarna-
tion of Christ himself and the doctrine of
grace.
The diff^erence of interpretation is
clearly felt in Eller's discussion of infant
baptism, a point not at all mentioned in
the New Testament but which did arise
from time to time along the journey of
the caravan. Indeed "at stake is the root
meaning of the very rite of baptism."
And, I would add, the very meaning of
the caravan itself. To baptize or not to
baptize infants does change the nature of
the caravan, but not in the way Eller
suggests. For it is not simply a question
of "believer's baptism" in the psycho-
logical sense, i.e., a person capable of
an act of faith, but whether or not chil-
dren are indeed members of the caravan
(by grace) or hangers-on. Of course,
the time will come when the choice to
stay with the caravan or to depart, to be-
lieve or not, must be made. But to
create a spiritual limbo for the child or
infant, not to pour over its head the
Waters of Life nor share with it the Bread
of Life, seems to me to violate the image
of the caravan.
Having said all this which might "be
expected" from a sacramentalizing Ro-
man, let me say that once through the
real theological differences which separate
us. Eller's book does much more than
merely rehash traditional theological
controversy. There is something more
than superficial agreement between Eller's
approach to modern reform and Catholi-
cism's Vatican II which began its work
w ith the Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy. Eller puts it this way: "But
what needs to happen for sure — if the
church is to find health and truth in this
day — is that we feel free to question
and modify tradition, not so much in an
effort to get up to date and cool in the
eyes of the "now" generation, as to get
obedient to our Lord and true to the
Gospel which he has entrusted to the
church. Baptism ( and the Lord's Supper
. . . ) is the place to start."
It may yet seem strange to some that
two traditions starting from such varied
theological interpretations can yet be
striving to express liturgically (a word
22 MESSENGER 10-15-72
I'm probably more comfortable with than
Eller would be) that same obedience to
the Lord. Simply attempting to get the
ordinances "back into the context from
which they came, namely that of the un-
sophisticated down-to-earth New Testa-
ment where the likes of Peter live" may
not be the most realistic way of express-
ing it, but the movement is there even for
Catholics to lift the sacraments out of the
context of Byzantine-Roman splendor,
the court-liturgy, and seek the humbler
evangelical setting in which they were
given us by the Lord. This is especially
apparent in the "home-mass" phenome-
non which although a compromise and
not wholly satisfying, does restore the
Supper to the setting of the Christian
home and usually involves a meal. Eller's
Supper liturgy set down in detail at the
conclusion of his book would be especial-
ly meaningful in this setting.
Of great theological moment is Eller's
chapter "Until He Comes" where the on-
goingness of the covenant is expressed in
terms of the eschatoiogical tension so
marked in the ancient church and so lost
on most Christians today. Nor is the uni-
versal thrust of the church's mission and
of the sacraments lost on Eller: "The
body of Christ is not fully the body of
Christ until it incorporates not only that
body which is the church but that body
which is mankind. The body of Christ is
not fully the body of Christ until man-
kind as such has attained to mature man-
hood measured by nothing less than the
full stature of Christ. The body of Christ
is fully the body of Christ only in the
kingdom of God." Truly "the idea of
covenant and the metaphor of a caravan
fit together very nicely."
E,
I ller's book is a sign of hope in this
ecumenical age of ours for it honestly
sets forth a Christian tradition, call it the
tradition of the Brethren if you will,
which from my sacramentalist point of
view serves as more than a mere re-
minder or even corrective. It tells me
again that we are a wandering people,
ever to be recalled to obedience to our
Lord but given signs of the "hope that is
in us" in Word and Sacrament. It's just
that I wouldn't want to replace the latter
any more than the former. — Dom Aug-
ustine Flood, o.s.b.
l^lLaC^OllDDTig p©DD1]l^^
Pastoral placements
John J. Cassell, student at Penn State.
Pennsylvania, to Curn'ville, Middle Pennsyl-
\ ania
\\'illiam C. Crunilev, from Sugar Creek
.South Central Indiana, to Buffalo, South'
Central Indiana
Thomas W. Deal, from secular position
to Cedar Lake/Pleasant Chapel. Northern
Indiana
Robert K. Higgins. from Columbia Citv,
Northern Indiana, to .\rcadia/\\'indfall.
South Central Indiana
J. Ira Met/ker, from Woodland, Michigan,
to Lindsay Community, Pacific South^vest
Harold W. Miller, from secular position to
Baltimore. Friendship, Mid-.\tlantic
Rhett Petcher. from Dale\ ille/Trinity,
\irlina. to Red Hill, \'irlina
William Pugh. froin Roanoke Central
N'irlina. interim part-time pastorate in team
ministry, to Trinity, \'irlina
Doyle Snodderh, to Sugar Creek, South/
Central Indiana
Donald Willoughby, from .Antioch, \'irlina,
to Marilla. Michigan
Wedding anniversaries
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Bacr, Waynesboro, Pa.,
SO
Mr. and Mrs. Jessie Baker, Cerro Gordo,
111.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. George Cauffield, Lake Placid,
Fla., 50
Mr. and Mrs. Friend Couser, Kettering.
Ohio. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Eversole, Bremen,
Ind.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Oliyer E. Fillmore. Nampa,
Ida. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Mchin Glass, Altoona, Pa., 50
Mr. and Mrs. Galen Lehman. North Man-
chester. Ind.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Herman PfaltzgrafI, York,
Pa.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Puterbaugh, Troy,
Ohio. 50
.Mr. and Mrs. Deyon Rowe, South Bend,
Ind.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Sarver. Freeport,
Mich., 50
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Shiffler. ,\ltoona. Pa., 50
Mr. and Mrs. Gustave Widlund, Philadel-
phia. Pa., 50
Mr. and Mrs. .\lexander Hetrick, Hanover,
Pa.. 53
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Kauffman, CoUege-
\ille, Pa., 53
Mr. and Mrs. Harry M. Fields, Maitland,
Fla., 55
Mr. and Mrs. Levi Meyer, Elizabethtown,
Pa., 60
Mr. and Mrs. H. D. Michael, Olvmpia,
Wash.. 62
Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Coffman, Roanoke,
Va., 64
Mr. and Mrs. Irvin Hostetter, Hanover,
Pa., 65
Deaths
Woodie .\kers. .\lum Ridge, Va., on April
16. 1972. aged 74
Quintcr .Akets, Flo)d, Va., on May 1,
1971, aged 79
Curtis Austin, Quakertown, Pa., on May
6. 1972. aged 43
Chloe Landon Berkev, Goshen, Ind., on
May 7. 1972. aged 91
Charles J. Boone, Farmington, Calif., on
May 24, 1972, aged 82
Clair Brumbaugh, Martinsburg. Pa,, on
April 3, 1972, aged 37
Har\ey Cassel, Norristown, Pa., on June fi.
1972. aged 69
Silas Davidson. Lititz. Pa., on July 1, 1972,
aged 89
Catherine Dunbar. Jamestown, Ind.. in
April 1972. aged 83
.\rlin B. Funderburg, New Carlisle, Ohio,
on .\pril 29, 1972, aged 63
Harrv Z. Geib, Elizabethtown, Pa., on
April 27. 1972
John E. Harris, Monrovia, Md., on Feb.
8. 1972
Ella R. Heagy, Lititz. Pa., on May 14,
1972. aged 81
Burv Henard, Santa .Ana, Calif., church, on
May 10. 1972, aged 94
Joseph C. Hershberger, Sr., York. Pa., on
April 24. 1972. aged 74
,\lincr\a Hoffman. CoUegeville, Pa., on June
10. 1971. .aged 61
01i\e Iskc. Polo, 111., on May 4, 1972,
aged 64
Ciro\er Jamison, Santa .Ana, Calif., church,
on Mav 1. 1972. aged 79
Mar\' King. Norristown, Pa., on Feb. I,
1972, aged 87
Richard Lawrence, Santa .\na. Calif.,
church, on May 6, 1972, aged 62
Delia Lester, Riner. Va., on Sept. 22. 1971,
aged 84
"Delia Lester, Riner, Va., on July 26. 1971,
aged 79
Reginald Lester, Riner, Va.. on June 12,
1971." aged 50
Flora Main. Monrovia, Md.. on April 16,
1972
Laura Marx. Norristown, Pa., on Jime 12.
1972, aged 79
Beulah Dehart McCulIen, Eden. N.C., on
May 22. 1972. aged 81
Marv B. McGoIerick. Monrovia, Md.. on
Jan. 26. 1972
\\'illiam McKinney, Lebanon. Pa., aged 82
Carrie Meyer, Lima. Ohio, on June II,
1971. aged 91
Florence M. Miller. Lititz, Pa., on May 13,
1972. aged 69
B. Saylor Neff. Harrisonburg. Va.. on June
5. 1972. aged 68
Harry Peters. Davton, Ohio, on Feb. 9,
1972. .aged 80
Har\ey Picking. Chambersburg. Pa., in
January 1972. aged 77
Mattie Reed. CoUegeville, Pa., on March
8. 1971. aged 69
Price L. Reed. CoUegeville, Pa., on Dec.
10. 1971. aged 70
Robert Reed. .Alexandria. Va.. on .April 14,
1971, aged 54
Rose Repine. West Eel Ri\er church, Tnd.,
on Jan. 27. 1972. aged 68
Ama Ritchie. Lima. Ohio, on Nov. 20,
1970, aged 74
John F. Rogers. Darlington, Ind.. on .April
1972. aged 90
Lewis Rumsey. Lima, Ohio, on Mav 6,
1971, aged 85
Mary E. Bittinger Sanger. Orange. Calif., on
May 9. 1972, aged 95
\ViIliam Shade, Davton. Ohio, on June 10,
1972, aged 73
Daisy Shellv, Lititz, Pa., on May 18, 1972,
aged 84
Bvard F. Snvder. Thomas. Okla., on Feb. 14,
1972. aged 61 "
Marv .A. Spangler, York, Pa., on May 22,
1972. aged 84
Mae Spiizer. Harrisonburg. Va., on March
31, 1972. aged 73
Perry Stahly. South Bend. Ind., on Mav 31,
1972. aged 88
Lvdia Stephens, Wabash, Ind.. on March
9. 1971. aged 89
Charline Tuggle. Longwood. Fla., on May
9. 1972, aged '68
Mary Underwood, Eden, N.C., on June 8,
1972. aged 61
George Voce, Lima, Ohio, on June 23,
1971. aged 65
Al Waud. Zion Hill. Pa., on April 1, 1972,
aged 68
Claude Wean, Harrisonburg, Va., on May
13. 1972
Ron Weybright. New Paris. Ind., on June
19. 1972. aged 20
Sarah Voder. Long Beach. Calif., on July
29, 1972. aged 97
10-15-72 MESSENGER 23
420 Hiroshima^: How many uiore ?
One week in Vietnam I found was far too limiting
to grasp the intricacies of the conflict there. But
it was sufficient exposure to gain two unforgettable
impressions: the countenance of the Vietnamese
people as seen close up. and the contours of the
country as viewed aloft Air America.
In both the people and the land I glimpsed an
ethereal beauty, a grace that surpasses natural splen-
dor. The villages and the villagers, the pastures
and the paddies and the peasants who attend them,
the snakelike rivers and the winding coasts, entire
families on hoof or on Honda, university students
and grade school children, Buddhists and Monta-
gnards, orphans and refugees — in all the qualities
of sturdiness, cohesiveness, discipline seemed visible
in spite of a generation of war.
That was South Vietnam two years ago. By
now reports indicate that idyllic land and its people
in North and South have been subjected to a bom-
bardment unprecedented in the history of warfare,
of such magnitude as . . .
... to deliver in seven years of US bombing al-
most seven million tons of bombs, more than three
times the tonnage dropped by American planes in
World War II, inflicting upon Indochina the ex-
plosive equivalent of 420 Hiroshimas.
... to render an enemy even of the landscape,
employing defoliation, fire bombing, ground strip-
ping, rain making, and other weaponry, leaving
jungles scarred, croplands sterile, flood control sys-
tems endangered, and a giant pox over the land —
21 million bomb craters and duds and mines strewn
indiscriminately.
... to expell from the North whole urban popu-
lations and to uproot in the South six million per-
sons, making refugees of one out of three persons.
Such startling statistics are available from sev-
eral sources; one of the most comprehensive and
revealing is a Beacon Press book, "The Air War
in Indochina," based on a report of 21 scholars
in the Cornell University Air War Study Group.
Many of the cold and clinical estimates have been
corroborated since by National Security Council
memoranda.
The Cornell Group's calculations point up that
in \ ietnam from 1965 to 1971 six times more US
bombs fell on the friends of the South than on the
enemies of the North. Less than 10 percent of the
fixed wing air activity in the South was for tactical
support of ground troops; more than 90 percent
was for "interdiction." which carries fearful con-
sequences for ci\iiian populations. More than half
the ordnance is estimated to have fallen outside
the intended target area.
Militarily grave questions have been raised on
the effectiveness of wide-scale bombing. Some
strategists contend it has been marginal, self-de-
feating, and all out of proportion when the damage
caused is measured against the advantage sought.
Observed Robert Kleiman of The New York Times:
"Of all the tragedies in devastation of Indochina
from the air. perhaps the deepest lies in its over-
whelming futility."
Yet we sense in Indochina a tragedy more trou-
bling than the efficacy of US firepower. We con-
tinue to ponder its morality, seeking a reasonable
answer to the reasonable question: Why? Why
bomb Vietnam back to the Stone Age to prop up
the dictatorial Saigon regime? Why accept My Lais
from the air as somehow more tolerable than My
Lais on the ground? Why dislocate a centuries-old
society because foreigners see it threatened by an
enemy its own people fail to fear? Why. in sum.
the ruthless benevolence — pulverizing a tiny coun-
try while trying to save it?
How long the N'ietnamese in either the North
or the South can endure the devastation is one
urgent question, but for sensitive Americans there
is another more pressing. It is one the Christian
community needs weigh with renewed vigor. How
long can we be party to the wanton destruction of
a people and a land? — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGER 10-15-72
LiiU
& power
patience,
peace,
Steps to Prayer Power
Rosalind Rinker acclaims, "Jo Kimmel has given us a practical
usable guide which will open new doors of service, and unfold
hidden 'gifts of the Spirit' for countless hundreds of people." After
you have discovered Mrs. Kimmel 's powerful prayer techniques
yourself, share them. The spiritually hungry are everywhere. Paper,
$1.95
A Time to Seek
Introduction by Billy Graham. Jesus is The Way, and Lee Fisher
helps put up the road signs for the young who are looking. These
Christ-centered chapters hit each topic dead center — love, hon-
esty, involvement. Don't miss it. Paper, $1.95
Key to Luke, Part I
As part of Key 73 — the most exciting ecumenical effort in history
— this unit reveals Jesus through the study of Luke. Watch for it.
Harold Fair and Horace Weaver. Paper, 40^
An Evangelical Faith for Today
What is really at the center of the dying institutional churches to-
day? Nothing. And that is the problem. John Lawson calls for the
rekindling of the evangelistic fires. Paper, $1.75
You Can't Con God
Tank Harrison, a former Memphis, Tennessee, detective has be-
come contagious with enthusiasm for his Lord. This Spirit-filled
Christian shares his joy and his story in a book you can't forget!
Paper, $1.25
qI" Ljour local book/tore
Qbingdon
After the earthquake, wind, and fire. . .
. . . comes not a "still small voice" but cries of need from survivors, the homeless and helpless,
threatened by pestilence and poverty.
War in Nigeria. Human agony in Bangladesh.
Hurricanes Camille and Celia. Earthquakes in Peru and California. Inverness tornado.
Pakistan tidal wave. Fire in Southern California. Drought in Rhodesia.
"Acts of God"? That's what some call them.
But no question about what to call the responses they brought from the Church of the
Brethren.
Over $95,000 in personnel and materials — acts of God through his people for his people.
And after the next earthquake, wind, or fire, the Church of the Brethren will be ready to
serve again. Because you care.
e
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN GENERAL BOARD
1451 DUNDEE AVE., ELGIN, ILL. 60120
WORLD
MINISTRIES
COAAMISSION
WiVS
In creative *
response.
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN NOVEMBER 1, 1972
Paul: Envoy, Exile, Brother, a book review by G ray^l^^^Bder / A Personal Thing Between the
Patient and Me, an interview with Chaplain Clyde R. Shallenberger / Amnesty, Yes!, by Leiand Wilson
©©D1]to[M^
Dsti^©[r^
^L Iowa Celebration: The Wind Blowin' in the Wildwood.
A Tri-District gathering this past summer celebrated the past,
augured the future, and gave participants a sense of the Spirit moving
Q A Personal Thing Between the Patient and Me. In an
interview Clyde R. Shailenherger, director of Johns Hopkins Hos-
pital's chaplaincy service, talks about experiences with the
terminally ill
^■1 The Health of Lafiya. How fares the Church of the Brethren /
Nigeria medical program after one year? Joel K. Thompson affirms
its health couldn't be better
I^L Amnesty, Yes! Although the United States government historically
has not been generous in granting amnesty, the only answer to the
"amnesty for draft resisters" question in these times is a firm Yes,
according to Leland Wilson
Paul: Envoy, Exile, Brother. Three recent books on Paul,
Graydon F. Snyder reflects, describe the apostle in differing and
sometimes highly imaginative ways
In Touch profiles Cclia Burnham, Steven Lange, and Ina Ruth Addington
(2). . . . Outlook notes attention to the Annual Conference resolution
on Indochina, reports a Bible training event, describes a national land-
mark rich with Brethren history, and details follow-up activities in
flood-torn Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (beginning on 4). . . . "Take It
From Here," by Glee Yoder, recalls such childhood pastimes as making
a spool tractor ( 18). . . . Resources lists material "For Study and Action
on Mission" (20). ... An editorial has "A Lesson for the Teacher" (.24)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Richard N. Miller
Kenneth I, Morse
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
VOL. 121, NO. 19 NOVEMBER 1, 1972
CREDITS: Cover. 2,1 Religious News Serv-
ice: 3 Don Honick: 4 (ierald Mease: 8-10
Richard W. Linfield: 111:) Lawrence Biir-
ley: 15 "Return of the Prodigal Son."
etching b\ Jean-Louis Forain. courtesv of
the Cincinnati .-^rt Muscuni; 18 Edward
Wallowitch; 19 Edward Buzinski
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter .\ug. 20. 1918, under Ml of
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date. Oct. I,
1972. Messenger is a member of the .Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Service and Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are from the Revised Standard
\'ersion.
Subscription rates: ^i.20 per year for indi-
\idual subscriptions; S3. 60 per vear for church
group plan; S3 00 per vear for every home
plan: iife subscription, $60: husband and
wife, $75. If vou move clip old address
from Messenger and send with nev\' address.
.Allow at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly bv
the General Services Commission.
Church of the Brethren General
Board. 1451 Dundee .\ve., Elgin.
111. 60120. Second-class postage
paid at Elgin. 111., Nov. 1. 1972. Copvright
1972. Church of the Bretliren General Board.
i
ON VICTIMS AND SACRIFICE
I arrived at the Federal Correctional In-
stitution in August to begin serving a six-
month sentence for refusal to cooperate with
the Selective Service, after 1 1 days in cus-
tody in Tippecanoe County Jail.
First I want to express my deep apprecia-
tion to all those who have given me their
support, especially to the Standing Commit-
tee of Annual Conference for the encourag-
ing telegram sent to me immediately before
going to trial. I was permitted to read that
message in the process of the trial, and I
feel it contributed greatly to the effect of
the trial.
Second I would like to assure friends that
I am calm and confident and expect to gain
more from this experience than what is
extracted from me. Though admittedly my
experience at this point is brief, my general
impression is that prison does not need to
be a great hardship or sacrifice (depending
heavily on one's mental attitude), and that
it in fact can offer us an entry into another
side of American life which respectable peo-
ple are shielded from. It is on this darker
side that the victims of our society lie.
Many of us would be Good Samaritans
but for the fact we don't see the wounded
one by the side of the road, either because
we stay at home in secure surroundings or
take a road that is safe, well-lighted, well-
protected. (Possibly some readers will take
issue with the concept of the convict as
victim, but from what I have seen so far.
I would say that in most cases it is hard
to dispute.) At this point I think I could
say that the greatest sacrifice I have made
was that of respectability, often a more
painful sacrifice than we care to admit. I
think, though, that it is a sacrifice from
which one easily recovers when it becomes
apparent that respectability is a superficial
achievement.
Finally. I would encourage other consci-
entious persons not to let fear (whether it
is fear of prison or fear of loss of security
or status) deter them from carrying out ac-
tions which may lead to the development
of a compassionate and just community
where one does not now exist.
John K. Flory, 28530-117
Milan. Mich.
A WAY OF LIFE
I can say with Brother Petry that the
experience of the Holy Spirit is a way of
life. It brings a freedom which allows me
to move serenely in areas where others fear
to tread. It provides a hope to carry me
en after attending three funerals in two days,
funerals of young men.
m
(Bind
I. too, feel the Spirit as I worship in a
strange tongue, taking an active part in the
singing and praying. But most of all. I know
the Spirit when four men of three national-
ities work and struggle together to encourage
others in their efforts to regain dignity.
Dennis E. Metzger
Tarn Ky, Quang Tin, South Vietnam
WE MEAN WHAT WE SAY
I would like to take this opportunity to
say I appreciate reading Messenger very
much. But I am a little upset when people
are always saying awful things about one
another or about articles in the Messenger
and sending them to you for printing.
I am a post card collector and this sum-
mer I entered a few of my post cards in
shows. One set I sent was the Church of
the Brethren murals cards that are at Camp
Mack near Milford, Ind. I believe if we
would show the world where we came from
and what we believe in maybe we would
be able to tell and show the world we mean
what we say.
Let all of us get down on our knees
right now and ask forgiveness.
Ruby Martin
Goshen, Ind. -.,
ON AIRING CONCERNS
I want to express my appreciation for
the Messenger! I can hardly wait for its
arrival and after quickly reading through
it. I reread, to get all of it! I am so glad
that our church is open to hear the concerns
of every individual.
And since we can't all attend Annual
Conference, how wonderful to read the
Moderator's Address of 1972! ... It would
be such a challenge to us all, and especially
the youth, to pursue the heritage of our
peace teachings!
I feel personally grateful to Wilbur E.
Mullen, who was always available and so
efficiently counseled our son in draft matters
when he decided to register as a conscien-
tious objector and found his draft board
uncooperative.
Bethany Seminary needs our support. We
may disagree with some things but no one
is infallible. We have had in our pulpits
so many fine young students who have
become pastors. So let us get into a sup-
portive position of our seminary.
One thing I feel we neglect is the per-
sonality of the Holy Spirit. We are baptized
"in the name of the Father, and of the
Son. and of the Holy Ghost." but we sel-
dom hear the benediction of the "love of
Jesus Christ, the grace of our Father, and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.". . .
2 Peter 1:21 tells us "for the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man,
but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost." I am sure it
was the Holy Spirit who inspired David as
he wrote the psalms of praise and adora-
tion! Likewise, many after him wrote
hymns and I do not agree that any of them
have "had their day." As long as a hymn
expresses the longing of spiritual expression
it cannot be "out of tune for the times."
No generation needed the plain teachings
cf faith taught by "the love of Jesus Christ,
the grace of our Father and the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit," more than ours.
Again, thanks to the Messenger for
keeping us in touch with one another.
Myrtle Kenyon
Oak Lawn. 111.
WHY I AM FASTING
I write on the thirty-third day of a water-
only fast begun Aug. 6, Hiroshima Day, as
a protest "against any continuation of the
war by any method or for any reason."
I began it with thirteen other sisters and
brothers in New York City as well as
eleven brothers in Danbury, Conn., federal
prison; seven of us continue. Our fast is
open-ended, indeterminate in length. To
explain why I am not eating — either by
staying solely on water or by going onto
liquids at least until the November elections
or for as long as I can humanly continue —
I must begin where this current resistance
life style of mine began: with the war.
Two days ago. while taking a break from
a picket line, I picked up some campaign
literature from a Harrisburg. Pa., "Commit-
tee to Reelect the President" campaign head-
quarters. Under big dark blue letters which
say "THE RECORD" is listed this "record"
on Vietnam; "The President has brought
400.000 Americans home from Vietnam.
He has reduced American ground combat
involvement by 90%. He has reduced
casualties by 95%. He has reduced spend-
ing by two-thirds. He has laid the founda-
tions for a lasting peace in Southeast Asia."
Where does one begin in a response to
that "record"? . . . Where does that "rec-
ord" speak of the over four million tons
of bombs dropped by the President in less
than four years in office, more than twice
the number dropped by the United States
in all of World War II? How does one
take the statement. "He has reduced
casualties by 95%" in light of Pentagon
statistics which show that as many Indo-
chinese and Americans have been killed.
Continued on 21
ON
DEATH
AND
J3YING
What the dying h3\^ lo
teach doctors, nurses, clergy and
their own families
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
What does a person say to a patient who
is dying?
All too frequently the tendency is to
treat the topic of dying with a con-
spiracy of silence. Not only family
members but even those in the helping
professions evade dealing with the pa-
tient's most fundamental concerns.
Recently, Messenger staff members
had opportunity to hear a crusader on
ministry to the dying. Dr. Elisa-
beth Kiibler-Ross
of Chicago, tell of
her work with ter-
minally-ill patients
of all ages. Out of
intensive research
the European-born
counselor com-
mends approaching
the subject with the
patient sensitively
but directly, seek-
ing to understand the patient's changing
attitudes, and in the process helping
open the door for the patient's facing
reality with acceptance and grace. And
in turn, as the subtitle to Dr. Ross's
book suggests, the dying have a great
deal to teach doctors, nurses, clergy,
and their own family.
Prodded by Dr. Ross's pleas, the
editors regard as significant the sharing
by one Brethren of his experience with
the dying. On page 8, Dr. Clyde R.
Shallenberger of Baltimore reflects on
daily encounters with the critically ill
at Johns Hopkins Hospital where he
is director of the chaplaincy service.
On a related theme, the health of
the living, Joel K. Thompson, executive
secretary of the World Ministries Com-
mission, updates developments in the
innovative and far-reaching Lafiya med-
ical ministries launched in Nigeria by
the Church of the Brethren in con-
junction with local and national au-
thorities. The article, with a related
quiz and response form, begins on
page 1 1 .
Other contributors are Leland Wil-
son, pastor. La Verne, Calif.; Glee
Yoder, writer, McPherson, Kan.; Gray-
don F. Snyder of the faculty of Bethany
Theological Seminary, Oak Brook, III.;
and Matthew M. Meyer, evangelism
consultant for the General Board, El-
gin, III. — The Editors
II-I-72 messenger 1
Celia Bumham: Radiant at 100
After one century of living Mrs.
Celia Burnham of the Glendale,
California, Church of the Brethren
continues to witness actively for God.
When asked recently about her
thoughts on evangelism, she wrote:
"Jesus gave us his commission to go
into all the world. I can't go far.
But I must make my life count to
let others see me as God would
see me and use me to influence
others to yield their lives to Christ."
Celia Burnham has been an in-
spiration to several generations of
friends, relatives, and acquaintances.
At age 100 this radiant matriarch of
the church still regularly attends
worship services. She is a loving,
compassionate soul who continues to
express her interest in persons by
maintaining a correspondence sched-
ule which amazes those near her. She
writes lovingly of her large family,
which includes sixteen great-grand-
children: "Do you wonder I keep
young (or old) and active, being with
them all several times a year?" she
asked in a letter to our family.
As her pastor for thirteen years I
know her as a woman endowed with
a rugged durability which gives her
strength to take in stride the jolts
and shocks of life. Somehow she can
appreciate the unpredictable flam-
boyance of youth as well as the some-
times rigid conservatism of adults
half her age.
For La Verne College's oldest liv-
ing alumna, the college has estab-
lished the Celia Burnham Scholarship
Fund, to assist students in the Chris-
tian education field. The Glendale
church surprised her on her birthday
Sept. 24 with a celebration in the
morning worship and during a buffet
reception.
Among her most cherished quali-
ties is her freedom to be herself, to
declare what she believes, and to
give suggestions to persons who come
to her with concerns of their own.
Her advice is always grounded in
biblical and Christian concepts. Her
unfaltering faith and continued com-
munication with God, combined
with her abiding love and personal
interest in people, make her a very
special, and radiant, woman.
— Matthew Meyer
■nm
Steven Lange: Conventio
A relatively few persons attended
both political conventions in Miami
Beach, Florida, this summer. Steven
Lange was among them.
A Brethren Volunteer Service
worker from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Steve was assigned to Religious and
Community Leaders Concerned
(RCLC).
It was a different kind of work for
Steve, a June graduate of Anderson
College, Indiana, whose parents were
Church of God missionaries in Japan
for nine years. He received the as-
signment because of his interest in
the political process.
It was a different style of ministry
as well for the Brethren and other
Protestant, Roman Catholic, and
Jewish groups who participated in
RCLC.^
Motivating the organization was
an overriding concern to provide an
atmosphere which would "enable the
democratic process to work effectively
through the major political parties."
The other two major concerns were
for "the peace and stability of the
Greater Miami Community during
the conventions" and "the right of
citizens and organized groups to ex-
ercise fully their freedom of speech
and petition."
Things could have been much
worse at the conventions. "In one
instance," Steve recalled, "demon-
strators who had been forced out of
an area where they were blocking
traffic threw two or three rocks at
a formation of police. The formation
2 MESSENGER II -1-72
^oer
remained intact, and small amounts
of gas were used to disperse the
group. The ofBcers' professionalism
in this case was impressive."
However, in another incident Steve
witnessed, some contingents of the
State Patrol and the Metro police
broke off into small groups and com-
mitted maverick acts of aggression
on people, including persons clearly
marked as RCLC observers and as
medics, Steve said.
That was one of the major RCLC
tasks: to observe as objectively as
possible and to participate in a ru-
mor control network to stem the false
and sometimes dangerous rumors.
Steve gave special credit to RCLC
for "creating an accountability of all
concerned to something besides the
media."
No one knows what might have
happened without RCLC. One only
remembers what did happen in Miami
in contrast to what occurred four
years earlier in Chicago.
The Brethren were in touch in
Miami, in the person of Steven Lange,
age 23.
Ina Ruth Addington: Begin with the church
Interviewing a successful business-
woman, one is tempted to begin with
women's rights, the usual circum-
stance of a woman's being in manage-
ment, her identity as an administrator.
But Ina Ruth Addington says firm-
ly, 'T don't want to begin with my
job. I would rather begin with the
church."
This soft-spoken Tennessee native
was tapped this summer in Cincinnati
to be the first chairwoman of a Gen-
eral Board commission. Her election
by board members to the top post in
the General Services Commission
came as a surprise to Ina Ruth. "For
a few minutes afterward, I wondered
if I could accept the job — if I were
really the kind of person who could
do it. But I decided that if people had
the confidence in me, I would try."
Ina Ruth has been saying "I will
try" all her fifty-nine years, ever
since growing up in Bull's Gap,
Tennessee. Participation in deputa-
tion tours with the youth cabinet of
her district, she remembers, created
the magic of self-confidence. Since,
"Except for pianist and pastor, I've
served in almost every capacity in the
local church — from janitor to chair-
man of the board."
Her involvement with the Church
of the Brethren extended beyond lo-
cal boundaries, to the district board.
Standing Committee, Mission One
consultation, and finally, in 1971,
election to the General Board. Ecu-
menically she is Church World Serv-
ice clothing chairman for Kingsport
Church Women United and a mem-
ber of the area's Interfaith Council.
She represented the Brethren at the
National Council of Churches 1964
gathering.
"People say I'm an enthusiastic
person," Ina Ruth smiles.
And her history as a business-
woman reflects why, no less than her
record as a churchwoman. She
learned the retail business during the
Depression, and for twenty-two years
was manager of the Mason-Dixon
Employees Credit Union, joining the
movement she can compare with the
church. "The credit union is based
on the dignity of the individual and
persons helping each other. What
could be more like the church?"
In 1971 Ina Ruth became director
of member relations, a post she cre-
ated in the belief that face-to-face
contacts strengthen relationships.
The new job seems to fit well in the
life-style of a businesswoman who,
in identifying herself, would rather
begin, not with her job, but with the
church.
IM-72 MESSENGER 3
AC Indochina resolution
given personal attention
The Resolution on Indochina passed by
Annual Conference in June was more
than just another resolution, as a result
of follow-up work by Conference Mod-
erator Dean M. Miller and Washington
Representative Ralph E. Smeltzer of
the Church of the Brethren General
Board staff.
The resolution called on "leaders in
governments to take decisive nonviolent
steps to bring this war to a speedy
conclusion."
Although it had concerns to address
to "responsible leaders of all nations"
involved in the continuation of the war,
it had specifics addressed to the Presi-
dent and the Congress.
The specifics were carried in person
by Brethren representatives Miller and
Smeltzer in twelve visits made in late
July.
Reflecting on the event, Mr. Smeltzer
said. "I don't remember any time during
my twenty years of service on the
General Board staff when a single dele-
gation such as ours has visited so many
high-level offices in one day." He was
referring to the second day of visiting
when eight conferences were held.
Among the persons visited were the
chairman of the House Foreign .Affairs
Committee, two from the National
Security Council and Dr. Henry Kissin-
ger's staff, a special assistant to Secretary
of Defense Melvin Laird, and Repre-
sentative Gerald Ford, House Minority
Leader.
The visit with the men from the
National Security Council stood out.
"They were highly articulate and knowl-
edgeable of Vietnamese culture and
political life," Miller said. "It was much
easier for me to understand why those
who develop and carr\' out our policies
in Indochina feel as confident as they
do."
The Brethren noted, however, that
the impressions Security Council spokes-
men had received from being in Viet-
nam do not match the reports from our
service workers and others who are on
the scene there.
In spite of their strong position, the
two men who help to shape decisions on
the National Security Council did read
the Brethren resolution and engage in
conversation with the two representa-
tives of the denomination for more than
an hour.
Moderator Miller philosophized on
the rationale for the visits this way:
"Unless we confront those who support
both our militarv' and political opera-
tions in Indochina, they move with a
free hand, supposing they have the sup-
port of the American people."
Whatever else happened, a Brethren
witness was made in Washington. D.C.,
those two days in July. It began with
what many had feared in June might be
just another resolution.
Iowa celebration: The wind
blowin' in the wildwood
It was a service of celebration, a first of
its kind for the nearly 400 Brethren
gathered from across a thousand mile
span. It was an occasion of recognition,
of tribute to one district executive's work
of ten years and of anticipation for the
coming of his successor. It was a model,
or models, of mission, demonstrating
through evangelism, the arts, and spe-
cialized ministries ways of communicat-
ing the theme, "The Beautiful Hope:
Oneness in Christ."
Such was the event which in mid-
summer drew Brethren from the Mid-
west's Tri-District, encompassing Iowa,
Minnesota, Montana, the Dakotas, Mis-
souri, and Arkansas, to Graceland Col-
lege at Lamoni, Iowa. There, principally
honored was Lyle C. Albright, complet-
ing a decade as district executive, but
recognition was directed too to the in-
coming executive, Martin A. Gauby.
In planning the celebration, serious
attention was given to the differing
perspectives of the participants. Di-
4 MESSENGER 11-1 72
"The Beautiful Hope: One-
ness in Christ" was theme
lived out by Brethren in
celebration at Lamoni, Iowa
""•
Bible training school level
experience may be repeated
A Bible training school level experience
held on the Bethany Theological Sem-
inary campus this summer will probably
be repeated, according to Paul M.
Robinson, president of the seminary.
Based on the response of persons and
their evaluation, Mr. Robinson said that
repeating the Bethany Summer Institute
in 1973 will be considered by both the
seminary and the Parish Ministries Com-
mission, co-sponsors of the event.
Two women and twenty-five men met
in the two-week institute in late August
to broaden ministerial skills. Most in
attendance are serving as pastors.
This particular institute was the direct
result of requests from the constituency.
A formal concern was presented by an
Indiana delegation to the General Board
and its Parish Ministries Commission
last November. PMC assigned a joint
committee of its own and seminary
personnel to explore alternatives and act.
The seminary, however, has been
working on the concern with district
executive secretaries for more than a
decade. The annual one-week Bethany
Extension School in the east is one
answer. (Approximately 60 persons
attended this summer's extension school
at Elizabethtown College.) But an
institute similar to the one at Bethany
this summer was planned and cancelled
in the mid-1960s for lack of registration.
Some persons who have pressed for a
training school level approach note that
only half of the congregations of the
Church of the Brethren with full-time
pastors require persons with seminary
training. Moreover, numerous congrega-
tions seek part-time leadership from
those for whom seminary and often
college are not live options.
In evaluating this year's event, par-
ticipants were generally positive, so
positive that a few had difficulty even in
listing what they found "least helpful"
in the seminar.
Most seemed to approve the biblical
orientation. Centering on "The Bible
and Ministry," the institute group dealt
each morning of the first week with key
Bible texts for congregational life on the
topics of counseling, church administra-
tion. Christian education, community
development, evangelism, and human
relations.
The second week's biblical texts dealt
with creation, the fall, Christ, the Holy
Spirit and the Church, and the theology
for congregational life.
In addition, there were skills sessions
that included planning, decision making,
and preaching, using video tapes to
permit participants to see and hear
themselves as others do.
Said one in reflecting on the experi-
ence, "I feel more confident to accept
roles that I have heretofore declined."
Persons came from thirteen districts
and ten states for the professional
versity was embodied in the orders of
worship — from formal to ad lib — and
in the selections of music — from
"Beulah Land" and "Bringing in the
Sheaves" to "Heralds of Christ" with
trumpets and a folk rendering of
"Gloria Patri."
Throughout the event music was a
focal point, both the choral and group
singing. The leader, Wil Nolen of the
Parish Ministries staff, was commended
by one choir member for his "charisma
in music communication" and by other
participants as a "modem day Al
Brightbill."
Among others involved in the leader-
ship were Floyd E. Bantz, pastor. Roar-
ing Spring, Pa., who led in an explora-
tion of who the Brethren were and are,
and Shantilal P. Bhagat, World Minis-
tries staffs member who shared insights
into the character of world missions
today.
Key planners for the event were
former Iowa pastor Kent E. Naylor of
the Parish Ministries staff and three lay
persons, Pat Hykes of the Ankeny
church, Bonnie Grossnickle of the Cur-
lew church, and Pearl Miller of the South
Waterloo church, all in Iowa. Greet-
ings were brought in slide and tape by
Martin Gauby and in person by Galen
R. Snell, the new president of McPherson
College, and Wilbur R. Hoover, exec-
utive of the neighboring Western Plains
District.
"For the three districts to come to-
gether was something of a homecoming
and a fulfillment," observed Milton
Early, who has held pastorates in both
Missouri and Iowa. One woman said
the sharing was especially meaningful for
congregations struggling to exist — they
will take heart from it. College student
David Hendricks of Kingsley, Iowa,
commented, "Praise to the Lord for
being alive in our hearts while at
Lamoni." James Baile, Warrensburg,
Mo., stated: "The sharing of faith
through music and song struck a re-
sponsive chord in our souls that still
keeps us humming."
The honored executive responded
with the observation, "These are my
kind of people." He suggested such
occasional coming together was crucial
to the reshaping of the district.
From a larger perspective, that of
world missions, Shantilal Bhagat noted
to staff colleagues at the General Of-
fices, "I am convinced, from the kinds
of questions asked in sessions and con-
versations, that mission education needs
to be strengthened considerably. Some
persons were surprised to learn that we
still have missionary personnel in India."
That in essence points to what the
Lamoni celebration was about, supplant-
ing detachment and unconcern with
awareness and mutuality, not only across
the expanse of the Tri-District but
across gulfs wherever they exist in the
church. Thus taking into account dif-
ferences which are real and many, but
accenting the common affirmation that
in Christ the diverse is united, one group
of Brethren sensed ihe beautiful hope.
Along with the leading of the Spirit,
what took place was summed up well by
Mariann Michaels, a social worker from
Iowa City:
"The celebration combined the
strength of an oak tree with a willow
branch flexibility and the nostalgia of
The Church in the "Valley by the Wild-
wood with the anxiety of the changes
that are Blowin' in the Wind."
11-1-72 MESSENGER S
growth experience in Illinois.
Attending were Stanley G. Barkdoll,
John R. Gibble, Robert E. Hoke,
WilHam E. Hoover, W. Owen Horton
St., Rodney E. Moseman, and Verna W.
Moseman of Pennsylvania.
Claron Brown, Wilbur L. Fischer, Roy
W. Fulk and Galen B. McGuire of
Illinois; Roger M. Combs and James W.
Eberly of Virginia: Darlene M. Garwick
and B. D. Hinegardner of Iowa; John
Handley and James L. Hostetler of
Ohio; and Glifford F. Klein of Kentucky.
Others were John C. Hurst of Michi-
gan, Robert L. Williard of North Caro-
lina, Duane Strickler and Loyal H. Van-
derveer of Maryland, and Ralph W.
Johnson, Phillip G, Kessler, Willis W.
Maugans, Wilbur J. Norris, and E. Myrl
Weyant of Indiana.
"They love us in Wilkes-
Barre," McDowell says
"They love the Brethren in Wilkes-
Barre," said Kenneth E. McDowell, the
General Board staff member with whom
ultimate responsibility for the disaster
program rests.
With embarrassment, he repiorted the
outpouring of thanks he received from
many of the residents of the area. "I
didn't know how to handle the thanks
they insisted on sending our way."
He visited the area in mid-September
to observe both the progress and con-
tinuing needs.
"We're now in Phase II of our work
there," he reported, "with the clean-up
operations virtually finished."
Moving to the restoration phase, the
need now is for master craftsmen who
will give a week or more to supervise
those who are less skilled in carpentry,
electrical, plumbing, and heating work.
George and Romelle Million of West
Haven, Conn., serve as co-directors of
the restoration phase. Mr. Million has
served as coordinator of the Brethren
disaster work in the Wilkes-Barre area
since mid-July.
Phase II, expected to last through
January, will continue to focus on the
borough of Forty-Fort. Priority will be
given to residents whose resources are
limited because of age, disability, or
fixed income.
6 MESSENGER 11-1-72
Work to be done includes the repair of
electrical and heating systems, installation
of doors and windows, and repair of
structural damage. Materials are to be
purchased by the residents. Labor is to
be free.
Phase II will be directed from the
recently purchased and reconstructed
house in Forty-Fort located at 18 Wesley
St. The project directors will live on the
second floor and the first floor will serve
as housing for volunteer workers.
Volunteers are encouraged to phone
the Millions, 7I7-28S-8304, for the latest
information on skills and services
needed.
Tunker House recalls
early Virginia Brethren
From the outside the Tunker House
resembles dozens of other houses built in
the ISOOs and "kept up" through the
years by 'many owners. The stone foun-
dation, brick and mortar, the four
chimneys are old and burnished with
history.
For Brethren, though, the Tunker
House is not just another old house in
Rockingham County, Virginia: The his-
tory that hovers about it is Brethren
histor}'.
Declared a national landmark in
spring 1971, the Tunker House is owned
by Samuel D. and Pauline Lindsay. Mr.
Lindsay, now retired, has pastored
Church of the Brethren congregations in
the area for more than forty years.
In July the Lindsays hosted 800 visitors
in a weeklong open house to celebrate the
house's new landmark status. Area pas-
tors participated in afternoon and eve-
ning worship services during the week.
They were marking one of the pur-
poses builders Benjamin and Barbara
Yount conceived when they erected such
a commodious residence with its hinged
pine partitions between rooms on the first
floor: church services for the early
Brethren, whose custom was to meet in
neighborhood homes.
In the house's long history Elder
Peter Nead, the first Brethren preacher to
write a theology, was married there and
built a tannery on the property. The
Annual Meeting came to the Tunker
House in the 1830s. Neads, Younts, and
The Tunker House, Broadway, Va.
i
Shanks lived in the house, adding on
rooms and porches, until 1858, when a
Zigier bought the homestead. Church-
man M. R. Zigier grew up there.
Long before the three-and-a-half-year
restoration of the Tunker House began,
the Lindsays were avid collectors of
antiques. Family heirlooms, along with
more recent acquisitions, enhance the
nineteenth-centur>' aura of the house.
Collections of early lighting devices and
Brethren communion utensils fill many
shelves. A set of 1738 cards with scrip-
ture printed in German were used by the
Mother Church in Germantown, Pa., to
teach the Bible.
In the cellar, where narrow portholes
measure the twenty-inch-thick walls, are
still more memorabilia: tools, horseshoes,
square nails, iron hinges.
A permanent marker will identify the
Tunker House and its long histor>' of
Brethren occupancy, described by a
present-day Yount, Joseph IH, of
Waynesboro, Va., as "the remarkable
continuity of a major force in the devel-
opment of this section of Virginia."
Keener accepts college
public relations post
Ronald E. Keener, until Annual Confer-
ence time the news director for the
Church of the Brethren General Board
and an associate editor of Messenger,
has accepted a position as director of
community relations at William Rainey
Harper College.
A two-year community college in the
Chicago suburb of Palatine, Harper's
student enrollment has risen to 9,500
during its seven years of existence.
Mr. Keener served on the General
Board staff since May 1970 and before
that was director of public information
for Bridgewater College in Virginia. He
began his new job in mid-September.
Mr. Keener and his wife Judy reside
at 1240 Braebum Drive, Elgin, 111.
In June, in order to balance the budget
and readjust program priorities, four
staff persons were released. All four
have now been employed elsewhere.
Wilbur E. Brumbaugh and Carl W.
Zeigler Jr. continue to reside in Elgin;
Wilbur E. Mullen has moved to
Greenville, Ohio.
[U][rQdls[rDD[n](
PEOPLE YOU KNOW . . . Ruby H. Linkous , for seven years a mem-
ber of the General Board staff, resigned in September to
move to St. Petersburg, Fla. Ms. Linkous was administra-
tive assistant to the executive of the Christian Educa-
tion Commission and after reorganization held a similar
post with the Parish Ministries Commission. In June her
staff position was eliminated, but she continued on in a
secretarial capacity until her resignation.
Memorial services Oct. 1 marked the death of Dorothy
Cordier in New York Sept. 28. Wife of Andrew W. Cordier ,
president emeritus of Columbia University and trustee of
Manchester College in Indiana, she was 72. Burial was at
North Manchester.
Historian Earl Harvey , who wrote History of the Church
of the Brethren in Southern Missouri and Arkansas died at
his Jasper, Mo. , home during the summer. He was 79.
Ted Whitacre , pastor of the Woodbridge Church of the
Brethren in the Mid-Atlantic District, participated in a
six-week program, "Dynamic Renewal for Pastors," under
auspices of the Virginia Theological Seminary Center for
Continuing Education. Ted was on full scholarship.
Southern Pennsylvania District Conference elected its
first lay moderator, Cyrus G. Bucher, Biglerville, Pa. He
will serve in 1974.
For fifty years in the ministry John H. Eberly , West-
minster, Md. , received the recognition of the Mid-Atlantic
District Conference in October.
Delaware pastor Allen T. Hansell this fall assumed the
presidency of the Richardson Park Community Action Pro-
gram in Wilmington. And, this month he represented his
state at a drug workshop in Washington, D.C.
NUMBERS GAME
A grant from the Charles A. Dana
Foundation, when matched by gifts from aluim:ii and other
friends , will add half a million dollars to Juniata Col-
lege's endowment. The $250,000 grant, which the Pennsyl-
vania college received in 1959, will provide for four
supported professorships when the base amount is matched.
A NEW HISTORY
Biographies , congregational stor-
ies , institutional accounts, and photographs comprise the
newly published history of the Church of the Brethren in
Southern Pennsylvania District, Change and Challenge. Auth-
ored by Elmer Q. Gleim, the book will retail for $5.50
before March 1973 and for $6 after March 1. Orders may be
sent to Russell E. Hamme , 108 W. Highland Ave., Spring
Grove, Pa. 17352.
CONGREGATIONAL COLLAGE
Living Stone Church of the
Brethren, Ctmiberland, Md. , marked its fiftieth annivei
sary during September and October with a four-Sunday cele-
bration that included music, love feast, and special guests.
Three Springs church , Southern Pennsylvania, has be-
gun a radio ministry over a Mifflintown station. Fifteen-
minute programs each Wednesday will include an invitation
to listeners to call t±ie church for counsel or prayer.
11-1-72 MESSENGER 7
Clyde Shallenherger:
Wherever the patient is Juirting
that is my entry point
- ■ I . - •
Each morning at Johns Hopkins Hospital
in Bahimore the hospital chaplain, Clyde
R. Shallenherger, joins doctors in the
Intensive Care Unit (ICU1 and, with
them makes the rounds of critically ill
patients.
Though a scientific institution, Johns
Hopkins Hospital has from its begin-
ning given prominence to the religious
spirit. The founder wrote to the e.xec-
utors of his will, "It is my especial
request that the influence of religion
should be felt in and impressed upon the
whole management of the hospital." To
the visitor, this concern is visualized in
the statue of Christ the Consolator that
stands at the main entrance. To the
patient, the religious spirit is made real
through the ministry of Mr. Shallenherg-
er as director of the chaplaincy service.
In the following interview with the
Church of the Brethren minister. The
Johns Hopkins Magazine centered in on
one part of Mr. Shalienberger's work,
his counseling of dying patients and
philosophy of ministry in a hospital
setting.
Why do you make morning rounds in
the Intensive Care Unit?
One reason is simply to let the patient
see me with the medical staff. I don't
wear a white coat, but he sees me as a
part of the health care team. Then if I
go back to visit that patient later, Fve
minimized the threat of the chaplain's
coming to see him. It isn't like the hos-
pital has called in somebody from the
outside because he's about to die.
On the rounds, the medical staff will
talk about each patient. Most of it is
technical, medical discussion: and I
tune out because I don't understand
about blood gases and that kind of
thing. But often there are other things
besides body chemistry that affect a pa-
tient's convalescence: his fear, his
hostility, his relationship to his family,
his nonmedical kinds of problems. It's
at that point that I tend to plug in.
Then, too, the biggest questions in
medical care are coming to be ethical
questions, not medical-technical ques-
tions. Is a man's life his own? Do we
have a right to determine how long he
li\es? If the plug is pulled, who pulls it?
With modern medicine's life-prolonging
devices, we are forcing the physician
into the role of being an ethicist.
How do you contribute to the making
of these ethical decisions?
With patients who have a ver\- slim
chance of survival, the question arises:
"How long should we keep up an in-
tensive regimen of drugs, respirator, and
so on?" I encourage the intensive care
team (of which I'm a part) to answer
for itself two questions. One, is the
patient being kept alive for his own or
for staff needs? Two, are we prolonging
life or are we prolonging death? To put
the second another way. are we support-
ing a life system that can mean a richer
life for the person, or are we simply
putting off two days the time he is
declared dead?
Dying is a threatening thing to all of
us, but particularly to the physician. He
sees his job as alleviating suffering and
maintaining life. All I try to do is
encourage those young guys on rounds
to think about those two questions.
Is there an increase in physician contact
with dying patients?
I think there is, particularly in a
teaching hospital like this one. We get
a lot of patients from other Maryland
counties or other states with problems
8 MESSENGER 1I-I-72
hotmmLli/^ patxMtouu^^
their doctors or smaller institutions
cannot handle. And more people die in
hospitals rather than at home the way
they used to.
This raises serious psychological
problems for patients and their families.
Fifty years ago people died among
people they knew in familiar surround-
ings. Now they are brought into an
institution like Hopkins, surrounded by
all kinds of gadgetry, worked on through
the night. Blood gases are drawn, studies
done, X rays taken. For the patient
this can be an overwhelming, frightening
experience.
Of course, this feverish activity saves
many, many lives. But it tends to de-
personalize the patient's world, a world
where he tends to become the M.I.
[myocardial infarction] in room 209
instead of Henry Jones who is very
scared.
How do your conversations with pa-
tients relate to the normal doctor-
patient relationships?
They are supplemental. That's why
the team relationship is so important.
There has to be a comfortable, easy
communication between the medical
staff and myself. I think most physicians
see the importance of what I try to do,
but the sheer pressure of time limits
them. They feel, for example, they can
do "a" and "b" to keep a patient alive
and would like to do more than that; but
the patient in the next room needs "d"
and "e" done for him.
Do you have that close relationship in
the ICU?
I think we do. Let me give you an
example. Several months ago a patient
was brought into the ICU who had been
traveling through Maryland with his
wife and family on vacation. He had
gotten very sick, had spent two weeks
in a smaller hospital, and had been there
three or four weeks. Because he had a
tube in his throat, he couldn't talk. On
rounds one morning, I noticed him
trying to communicate. I'm not a good
lip reader but it was clear what he was
saying. At the same time the physicians
were busy checking his heart and his
lungs and his pupils.
After we left his bedside, I realized
that some of the staff hadn't noticed
what the patient was trying to com-
municate. I'm not being critical because
the physicians were doing life-saving
things for the patient. But some hadn't
been aware that he had mouthed the
words ""go away."
I talked with him later and what he
meant was "go away and let me die."
He didn't know exactly what was wrong
with him, but he knew he was terribly
sick, and he felt he wasn't going to live
long so why didn't they just let him go
ahead home and die.
Should we have let this man go back
to his home state as he wanted to do,
or were his body support systems just
too tentative to risk moving him? We
finally did arrange for an ambulance to
take him home.
When I mentioned this patient's
frustrated attempt to communicate, I
picked up absolutely no resentment on
the part of the staff. That's why I guess
1 feel accepted as part of the team.
Can you generalize at all about how a
dying patient feels about his death?
First of all, we live in a death-denying
society. We act as though death doesn't
exist. Clergymen participate in this, too.
We don't often say a man "died."
Instead we say he "'passed away." The
physician says so-and-so "'arrested" or
had a '"renal shutdown." It's as if not
to use the word ""death" would change
the fact that someone died. This is why
many people have great difficulty relat-
ing to the dying patient. They have not
yet worked through their own feelings
about death, especially their own
death. I have strong feelings about
this. I think (no play on words in-
tended) that death is an important,
natural part of life.
A friend of mine, Elisabeth Kiibler-
Ross, originally classified five stages that
the dying patient goes through. The
more I've worked with dying patients,
the more I have observed how accurate
her classification is.
The first stage is denial. The patient
may feel the doctor read the X rays
wrong or the lab tests were incorrect,
that kind of thing.
The second stage is anger. This is a
stage where I try to help the physician
and the nurse understand that the anger
of their dying patient is not directed
toward them as people. It is directed at
11-1-72 MESSENGER 9
what they have that the patient does
not have — namely, secure life. "Why
are you so healthy while I am dying?"
says the patient in effect. This kind of
misdirected anger can be disturbing to
people around a dying patient.
In this stage, patients are often angry
at God too. "Why am I being pun-
ished?" they say. I don't buy that it is
sinful or unholy to express anger toward
God. My job is to help a person express
his understandable anger. If I can help
him work through that feeling, I have
helped him with his death.
The third stage is what Dr. Kiibler-
Ross calls bargaining. In this stage, a
patient becomes very compliant. He
feels that if he is a good boy he will get
better care and live longer. Patients will
also bargain with God in their prayers.
"God, if you will just keep me alive a
little longer, I'll be the best person
you've ever known."
The fourth is a time of depression.
Another problem I have with our society
is the emphasis we place on not express-
ing honest feelings, particularly with
men. In pediatrics I hear mothers whose
sons are about to get stuck with a needle
say, "Come on, Johnny, big boys don't
cry." We grow up hearing that kind of
thing and are denied the right to cry.
Dying patients cry in this fourth stage
and their tears threaten some people.
But you can't say, "Cheer up, the sun's
out." All that says to the patient is that
you don't understand what he's feeling.
Then you have missed him. I just try
to accept the patient in that stage of
his feelings.
The fifth stage is acceptance. The
patient is reconciled to coming to the
end of his life. He's taken care of all
the last details of life, his will and so on.
He knows how the cards are stacked
and says, "This is it." How comfortable
a patient is at his death really depends
on how well he has worked through
these five stages.
Do you find most dying persons going
through each of these five stages?
No. Some patients die in the first
stage, denying that they are dying, or
while they are angry or in any of the
other stages.
Do you try to move people through the
stages?
At one time some of us thought we
could move a person from one stage to
another. But I have not had any success
with it.
I remember a teen-age girl in this
hospital whom we (the physicians,
nurses, and I) felt should move from
her denial to anger. She was in terrible
pain; and we thought if she could just
ventilate a little anger, which we felt
she just had to have, it would help her.
I tried everything I could to open doors
so that she could express a little anger.
But she was just locked into denying her
death.
As I look back, I realize it was a
mistake to try and move her from one
stage to another. Anger was just not
where she was at. She had been taught
all her life that good kids don't show
their anger. She was more comfortable
denying her death than she would have
been expressing her anger.
Should every dying patient, particularly
young patients, be told that they are
dying?
With children at different stages of
development, death means different
things. Below age two, death doesn't
have much meaning to a child. A little
later, say if a child's father dies, the
death itself doesn't bother him maybe as
much as that dad isn't around to help
him make a racing car. It depends on the
child's stage of development.
But I would say 90 to 95 percent of
people who are dying know that they
are dying. We don't have to tell them.
The hang-up comes when a patient
wants to talk about his death, and we
deny him that right. The physician
doesn't have to come in and tell the
patient he has got only a short while to
live. A patient reads clues very well.
But when that patient brings up the
subject of death, we have got to help him
talk about what this means to him. I
like what one of our surgeons here says
when a patient asks, "Doctor, am I
dying?" He says, "Yes, and so am I.
But I think you want me to talk about
how soon, don't you?"
Do you work with people of faiths other
than Protestant?
One of the nicest things about my job
is that I can be very ecumenical, which
I am by nature. When a person is in a
crisis, denominational affiliations don't
mean very much. What he wants to
know is does somebody care. My caring
as a clergyman symbolizes to him God's
caring.
My being a clergyman creates a prob-
lem too. Many people who see God as
very judgmental feel the chaplain is also
judgmental. How well I can work with
a patient depends on how quickly the
patient and I establish what I call a trust
relationship.
That's one reason I don't wear a
clerical collar. I don't hesitate to tell a
patient first thing that I'm the chaplain.
But I want to meet that patient on
neutral ground. I don't want either the
positive or negative image that might be
set up in his mind by a religious
garment. It's a very personal thing
between the patient and me.
iVhat about meeting the patient who
doesn't believe in God?
I approach him simply on the basis of
where he is hurting according to the
referring physician, nurse, or social
worker. I tell him that I'm the chaplain,
but wherever he is hurting is my entry
point. If a patient says, "I hope you're
not going to try and convert me," I
respond, "If you think you need to be
converted, Mr. Y, that's your problem.
In the meantime, let's talk about your
feelings."
My job is to help the patient wherever
he's hurting by using religious concepts.
However, I don't have to use religious
terminology, words like "salvation" and
"grace," to do a religious thing.
His response to my caring symbolizes
to him God's caring for him regardless
of his inability to convey in words a
formalized belief in God. □
10 MESSENGER I1-1-72
Lan^a
by Joel K. Thompson
There was once a missionary doctor
who went to a famous pediatric hospital in Africa
which had been in existence for almost
fifty years and of which the people and the
church were very proud, for every child who
bame to the hospital received the best treatment.
When this new pediatrician arrived,
I1-1-72 MESSENGER 11
THE HEALTH OF LAFIYA / continued
he looked at the infant mortality rate in
the area served by the hospital and dis-
covered that it hadn't fluctuated much
over the past years. It was about 282
deaths per 1000.
It wasn't difficult for the doctor to
discover that the children were dying of
three diseases. One was malaria. If
you can talk to the people, feel the
spleen, and give tablet "r," by and large
school. He taught them some basic
medical skills and sent them into the
local villages. To be honest, they made
an enormous number of mistakes, some
disastrous from the traditional medical
point of view. But the significant point
is that in five years' time the infant
mortality rate dropped to 78 deaths per
1000.
What had been killing all those chil-
Atlendant, patient at Gulak, where ground was
broken this fall for new health center
you can cure the disease. Another
cause of death was some kind of
dysentery: by talking to the people,
having a rough look at the stool, and
persuading the child's mother to give
tablet "s" it will cure the disease in most
cases. The third disease was similar, and
again it was not very difficult to solve
the problem providing you were willing
to make mistakes in diagnosis and live
with the consequences.
The pediatrician had been taught back
home that individual excellence of
diagnosis is the mark of a good doctor,
but he found that to solve the problem
which confronted him in another country
he needed to assume a new professional
style and a new measurement of ex-
cellence. He enlisted a few young
women, age 15, from the local mission
dren before? I personally believe it was
a stereotype view of what should be
excellent health care. Fortunately a wise
doctor understood a more compre-
hensive health care approach for the
community would solve the problem.
Today it is evident that a Christian
medical ministry must be comprehensive
if it is to be effective. But what is
comprehensive health care? One person
has said that it is an "attempt to balance
a traditional emphasis on the cure of
disease with the need to promote better
general health." Someone else has
suggested that a comprehensive health
care program is one in which "the
community guarantees all groups the
best available medical care and the
maximum coverage for the prevention of
illness and the promotion of health."
In other words, medical authorities
look at persons in their community and
ask two questions: "What are the major
threats to health?" "Which threats to
health are susceptible to control within
the resources that are available
to us?" With both these questions in
mind, the same officials then ask them-
selves how best they can use their limited
resources to improve the health and
well-being of all persons for whom they
are responsible.
Health authorities in East Africa have
found that 80 to 90 percent of the ill-
nesses contracted by persons in a com-
munity can be taken care of by auxihary
medical personnel. They have also
found that the majority of these illnesses
can be taken care of in the patient's
home or in a small health clinic close to
the patient's home.
A study in Kenya, Africa, has shown
that illnesses treated in a dispensary cost
23 cents while the same illnesses treated
in a primary health center cost 56 cents.
If the patient has been taken to a
district hospital the cost advances to
$11.80 per illness. If the patient is
treated in a regional hospital, the cost
jumps to S24 per illness and a central
hospitalization case increases the cost to
S52. The point is that patients should
be taken care of as close to their homes
as possible in the smallest, least ex-
pensive, most humbly staffed, and most
simply equipped unit that is capable of
looking after them. That is, if we are to
learn anything from the African studies.
When the World Ministries Commis-
sion and its staff began to read and
digest such surveys and when they began
to think of the implications this might
have for medical program of the Church
of the Brethren General Board in
Nigeria, "Lafiya" was born. The
trauma of the birth has not been easy.
Someone said that the changing of the
medical program direction was similar
to attempting to change a tire going
down the road in your car at 50 miles an
hour. However, through careful plan-
ning and through determined leadership
by World Ministries Commission field
1 2 MESSENGER 1 1
■72
TEST YOURSELF ON
Can you answer these questions about this life-
giving medical program? Answers are on next page
LAFIYA
1. Lafiya
This innovative million-dollar pro-
gram is planned by the Church of
the Brethren in coordination with
Nigeria's North Eastern State. The
meaning of the title, Lafiya, is:
A. Mission
B. Health
C. Service
D. Gift
2. Doctors
Today in the Lardin Gabas area of
the North Eastern State of Nigeria
there is one doctor for every
200,000 people. In the United
States the average doctor-patient
ratio is one doctor for every:
A. 659
B. 1,000
C. 250
D. 5,600
3. Lardin Gabas
With a membership composed of
a dozen different tribes, scattered
over 10,000 square miles, the
Lardin Gabas Church has a mem-
bership of 18,000. It traces its be-
ginning back to:
^ A. 1923
B. 1897
C. 1942
D. 1912
4. Garkida Hospital
In 1970 this hospital had an aver-
age daily in-patient population of
106, delivered 530 babies, per-
formed 938 minor and 416 major
operations, and cared for 93,000.
Along with a 3 5 -member staff, how
many doctors serve this facility:
A. 20
B. None
C. 5
D. 1
5. Community care
The Nigeria Medical Program (La-
fiya) will give increased attention to
urgent community health needs.
These will include:
A. Under-five clinics
B. Insect control
C. Sanitation
D. Health education
6. Training personnel
Through Lafiya, major resources
will go for the training of Nigerian
doctors, nurses, midwives, lab tech-
nicians, and other professional med-
ical workers. How many Nigerian
doctors currently are at work in the
Lardin Gabas area:
A. 10
B. None
C. 50
D. 5
7. Facilities
Among recommendations for re-
designing present Garkida Hospital
and dispensary facilities are the
construction of:
A. Clinic
B. Warehouse
C. Men's and women's wards
D. Living facilities
8. Personnel
While professionally trained person-
nel being recruited for Lafiya in-
clude a lab technician, business
manager, medical anthropologist,
and others, the top priority is for:
A. Nigerian supervisor of dis-
pensaries
B. Three teaching nurses
C. Another doctor for Garkida
Hospital
D. Doctor for Lassa Hospital
Lafiya is setting up clinics in the
Nigerian villages to combat the high
mortality rate among children five
and under. So far, through the
services of missionaries Lena Wirth
and Grayce Brumbaugh, how many
children have been treated:
A. 1400
B. 725
C. 300
D. 2,000
Developmer
In a community "peoples' partici-
pation" program missionary Von
Hall helps the Nigerian villagers to
begin to understand their part in
improving themselves. Some of the
projects they have engaged in are:
A. Digging weUs
B. Literacy classes
C. Youth clubs
D. Cutting grass
LAFIYA!
SAME TO
YOU BROTHER!
THANK
Lafiya is a commonly used
Nigerian expression
of interest in one
another's health
and well-being
ANSWERS
1. Lafiya. B. Health. In Nigeria the
common word of greeting is "Lafiya"
translated "Are you well?" The re-
sponse is also "Lafiya" meaning "I
am quite well." The Nigeria Medical
Program, called Lafiya, means whole-
ness, well-being, and hope to countless
people for whom disease and malnu-
trition are a daily concern.
2. Doctors. A. 659. We become im-
patient when we are asked to wait
an hour to see our neighborhood doc-
tor. What if we had to walk fifty
miles and wait two days to see a doc-
tor who might not even know our
language! Lafiya will train Nigerians
to treat Nigerians.
3. Lardin Cabas. A. 1923. The
Lardin Gabas Church has a very spe-
cial relationship to the Church of the
Brethren. It traces its beginning to
March 17, 1923, when H. Stover Kulp
and Albert Helser, together with 32
workers, first broke ground for the
first mission residence. Since that be-
ginning, the Church of the Brethren
has sent more than 300 persons to
serve in the evangelistic, medical, ed-
ucational, and developmental pro-
grams of the Lardin Gabas Church.
4. Garkida Hospital. D. 1. This is
remarkable, but more doctors are
urgently needed. Lafiya will help to
provide them. Already Mr. Hyedima
Bwala, a 1971 Manchester College
graduate who is enrolled at Ahmadu
Bello University Medical School, has
received a medical scholarship under
this new program. Others will follow.
5. Community care. All of them! Dr.
Wolf F. Bulle, a specialist in Nigerian
health needs says, "It is generally as-
sumed that about 85 to 90 percent of
all diseases occuring in Africa, many
of which if left untreated might lead
to prolonged illness, if not death, can
be treated successfully by rural health
facilities staffed with auxiliary per-
sonnel (locally trained workers)."
6. Training personnel. B. None.
7. Facilities. All of them again! Also
medical auxiliaries training facilities.
8. Personnel. C and D. Both will
need to be qualified for training medi-
cal auxiliary personnel.
9. Under-five clinics. D. 2,000.
These children have received DPT and
measles injections. Thousands more
will be saved through Lafiya.
10. Development program. You
guessed it. All of them. One of the
earliest projects was cutting the grass
along the footpaths to the schools. All
of the projects have been done at the
people's initiative and without any out-
side financial help.
E ..
c
E-B
2 =
1^ o
CJ 1-1
•- C3
S E
o o
O "
ail o
•9 o
t3 O
u
c
o
o
3
O
.2
u
a
CS
a Cu
iJ
Q. 3
■♦-'
C8
c« s«
fs
en
^.2
— o
0^
r-
CO
"-I
'-'
CS
. c
o
CS C3
C
>:• c
^~-
« tC
w
CO
OJ
-J >^
o
.li;
ja
J3
0
u.
c
o
c
o
a
3
CJ
o
00
2
S
E
O
'Si
Ui
_c
_c
>.
C3
Vi
'.B
n
oo
c
S
15
c3
'a
E
&0
"*-*
00
o
E
- s
£i
•5)^
n)
s
E 2
&e
V5
■a
B
8
u
E
ca
.£2 ^
w
u
w
ra
1)
D
a
N
C
o
c
Q.
3
O
i-
00
ca
E
o
ca
o
o
pa
c
O UH
O O
3
o
C3
■5.2
cu?°
c«
00
C3
^
SiH
H
CU
^
^ Q
o
^n
D
D
s
O
n
1 —
-r
u
n>
n
-n
7r
1 —
(/>
>
u
C/l
3
o
—1
O
3
<
n
m
z
o
n
—1
-^
m
LL
:^
y
(D
^
<
t/i
—1
m
q
m
o
Z
u
m
CD
-n
o
7U
m
1 —
D
n
l_
^
O
(n
"D
m
O
10
(n
IL
m
>
i:
1—
_^
3-
>
[n
Z
UI
o
0)
■<
^
.clOp-
^iion of the
.dtion to young Ni-
trained to participate
ical ministry to their
th of Lafiya? It is
t and vigorous! And
A'ill continue to move
s to come. D
11-1-72 MESSENGER 13
FOLD IN
to..
miles anu
tor who might ,.
language! Lafiya wil"
to treat Nigerians.
3. Lard in Gabas.
Lardin Gabas Church
cial relationship to th
Brethren. It traces i
March 17, 1923, when
% tu
? OS
< lU
S; =:
^
^
O
as
■^
1 "s
1 ID
Cl
1 ^
1 "2
1 V
' c
1 u
1 ^
1 c
1
1
O
"^
5"
■^
>2
>5
^^^^ CD
0)
>
<
cs
o
1
1
0)
0)
TJ
C
3
"5
^
g
?
^
5
"S
LA
Church
c
'at
111
i
Si
1
1
dedicat
YOU!
=<
■s
6c
1
eq
2
2
2
II
S
-K.
^
•K.
i2 ^
!*^
t*.
^
--^
1 -2
1 c
1 p
1 ^
1 Qi
Ni mod
staff, a new program that focuses on
giving high priority to community care
has been established.
"Lafiya," the Hausa word meaning
health and well-being, is a courageous
and exciting program of finding a proper
balance between the "curative" and the
"preventative" approaches to medical
care. Thus the majority of patients in
the years to come will be treated in
village health centers rather than in a
centralized, more expensively equipped
surgical facility.
In 1971 the Lafiya program was
launched at the Church of the Brethren
Annual Conference in St. Petersburg,
Florida. Now, some 16 months later, it
is right and proper that we examine that
program. What is the health of Lafiya?
First. A cooperative, community
approach has become a reality! The
report of the Whiting Associates Inter-
national, a consultant firm of Rome,
Italy, which evaluated the existing health
care facilities and services and made
specific recommendations for their
upgrading, has been shared with appro-
priate Nigerian state government officials
as well as with sister missions who work
with us in Nigeria and other agencies
in Europe. The government officials
have given the Nigerian medical board
their support by appointing key officials
to the medical board and by extending
permission to proceed with site plans at
the Garkida Hospital, Lassa Hospital,
and Ngoshie Hospital and the Adamawa
Provincial Leprosarium. They have
also indicated that a prototype health
center is to be erected at Gulak, in the
Basel Mission area; ground breaking was
scheduled earlier this fall.
Sister missions and other agencies who
are interested in the Lafiya program
becoming a model for other countries of
the world have given a preliminary indi-
cation that they are willing to support
the program with the cash gifts of
between $450,000 to $500,000. Church
World Service has already presented the
Lafiya program with a $40,000 cash
grant.
Since the launching of the Lafiya pro-
gram cash contributions have amounted
to $147,000 from members of the
Church of the Brethren. Pledges will
increase that amount $46,070. Another
$106,930 is needed to reach the $300,000
goal.
Second. There have been major ac-
complishments in the program in Nigeria.
Last June, J. Roger Schrock was ap-
pointed medical coordinator of the pro-
gram and is functioning to train business
managers for all of the medical
institutions.
A Board of Health and Welfare Serv-
ices for the Lardin Gabas area has been
established and held its first meeting in
July 1972. It is made up of primarily
Nigerians who will give leadership to the
Lafiya program as it develops.
Last year it had been hoped that with-
in 12 or 13 months a Nigerian super-
visor of dispensers could be found and
placed in a position of responsibility.
Yusufu Wawaka was named to that
post in July 1971, almost a year ahead
of schedule!
A class of dispensers has been trained
at the Garkida Hospital. Also three
missionary nurses have been given spe-
cial training in "under-five clinics" and
Ali Alt, chief dispenser at Shafa, where
patients number 100 to 200 per day
have continued to develop this critical
area of preventive health care in
various communities.
A Nigerian senior nurse has been
granted a scholarship for a three and a
half month course at the Institute of
Child Health, University of Lagos.
Another nurse is also in training on a
scholarship of $152 per year. In addi-
tion Hyedima Bwala is on a $1,500 a
year medical scholarship which is to
extend for five years during his training
to become a medical doctor at Ahmadu
Bello University in Nigeria.
A school for Nigerian drivers has been
established in order that eight to ten
drivers will be available for the mobile
clinic programs which are being pro-
jected in the Lafiya program.
Finally, while a year ago World Min-
istries was having difficulty in recruiting
adequate medical staff for the Lafiya
program it now seems as if we will have
a very capable medical team on the field
if visas can be obtained.
Dr. Roy Pfaltzgraff Sr. remains at the
Adamawa Provincial Leprosarium while
Dr. Wilfred Derksen continues his work
at the Garkida General Hospital. Dr.
John Horning is awaiting visa clearance
to begin work in preventive health pro-
gram in the Uba area while Dr. Daniel
Zirm and Dr. Dale Nash hope to be in
Nigeria by early 1973 to round out the
program. Dr. Daryl Parker and Dr.
D. Stanley Houser continue to plan for
a short-term service in 1972 and 1973
to allow coverage while new doctors
are obtaining language skills needed for
their program.
The renovation and rebuilding of the
hospitals at Lassa and Garkida have
been a cherished dream for more than
ten years. But exciting as this develop-
ment may be, the exhilaration of the
moment is the invitation to young Ni-
gerians to become trained to participate
in a Christian medical ministry to their
own people.
What is the health of Lafiya? It is
sound! It is robust and vigorous! And
in its strength it will continue to move
ahead in the years to come. D
11-1-72 MESSENGER 13
AMNESrX
YES!
by Leland Wilson
Pollster: Tell me. sir, do you favor
amnesty for draft resisters?
Man on the street: Certainly. I not
only favor amnesty for draft desisters.
I favor amnesty for Robert McNamara,
Dean Rusk. Walt Rostow. McGeorge
Bundy. Lyndon Johnson. Richard
Nixon. . . .
Pollster: Now. that's a strong am-
nesty program!
T.
here are today an estimated 80,000
young men who are in violation of the
Selective Service laws of our nation.
Most of these young men, perhaps as
many as 70,000, have fled to Canada,
Sweden, and other countries. They are
young men who were inducted into the
military, hut have since refused to go
to war or have become absent without
leave. Some 500 of these young men
are now in federal prisons.
Among them are Brethren and others
who established a claim to conscientious
objection, accepted alternative service
assignments, but left their projects be-
cause they came to feel they could not
cooperate with the whole process.
Among them are men who accepted
the classic "just war theory" that sets
forth guidelines to determine whether a
Christian should participate in the war,
14 MESSENGER 11-1-72
and they have concluded that the Viet-
nam War is an unjust war; hence, they
will not participate. Some 9,000 of
these young men are currently in mili-
tary stockades, convicted or awaiting
trial by courts-martial. Among them
are men who became conscientious ob-
jectors after entering the military.
The nation is now engaged in a
public debate over whether amnesty
should be granted to these men. Tiiyte
magazine calls it a question that "tran-
scends politics and comes down to a
basic moral question." Indeed, it is a
political question. It is a legal question.
It is an historical question. But it is
first and primarily a moral question, and,
therefore, a perspective on it dare not
be left to the whim and manipulation
of political candidates, to the debating
of the halls of Congress and the inner
circle of the White House, to the tabu-
lation of pollsters or the pleadings of
editorialists. Surely the churches and
synagogues of the nation must be in the
forefront in giving shape to such a moral
judgment. The response to William
Sloan Coffin's speech on amnesty and
the discussion on the floor at Annual
Conference indicate some readiness in
the Church of the Brethren to relate to
the issue.
The present question of amnesty
concerns only those men who willfully
and illegally have refused to be a part
of the war in Southeast Asia. This does
not concern conscientious objectors who
have been recognized by the government
as such and have fulfilled the legal
requirements of the draft through al-
ternative service. It does concern con-
scientious objectors whose draft boards
would not recognize their position and
who, rather than be inducted in the
military, have remained at their regular
activity, hidden within this country or in
a foreign nation.
This does not concern men who have
made a decision to take up citizenship
in a foreign country. Emigration from
this country is legal, and people have
always moved to new lands, new places,
in search of freedom and new conditions
conducive to conscience. So it was with
the Brethren who left Europe to come to
William Penn's colony. This does con-
cern US citizens in other countries when
their induction notices come, or persons
AWOL from the armed forces, who do
not intend to become citizens of the new
country but wish to return to the United
States.
This does not concern military per-
sonnel who are in prison for other
reasons such as theft or destruction of
government property or disrespect to
an officer. It does concern military
personnel whose consciences have been
awakened against the war and who have
deserted or taken other illegal steps to
be free from the military.
ijhould amnesty be granted to these
men? A Newsweek poll indicates that
58 percent of the people oppose the
granting of amnesty. Those results are
moderated a bit, however, when the
same poll shows that as many as 7 1
percent would favor amnesty if certain
conditions were attached. The Pomona
(California) Progress-Bulletin says edi-
torially, "Amnesty? No, Let the Evad-
ers Stew!" Senator Henry Jackson,
campaigning for president earlier this
year, spoke in opposition to amnesty,
saying it should be prison for these men.
President Nixon has been surprisingh
open to the idea of amnesty. In a CBS
interview he said. "We always, under
our system, provide amnesty. ... I
for one would be very liberal with
regard to amnesty, but not while there '
are Americans in Vietnam fighting to
serve their country . . . and not while
POWs are held by the enemy. After
that, we would consider it. . . ."
Senator Edmund Muskie has said that
the matter should not even be discussed
until after the war. Senator George
McGovern has announced that if he
is elected, he will grant amnesty to all
draft resisters, but not to military
deserters.
Two bills related to amnesty have
been introduced in Congress, one by
Senator Taft of Ohio and one by Rep-
resentative Koch of New York. They
would oflfer amnesty to draft resisters,
on the condition that they undertake
three years of alternative service in work
of national importance. Other develop-
ments in the national public debate
include the formation of a national
voluntary organization working for
amnesty, and church groups beginning
to e.xplore the problem.
As a church, how do we approach the
issue? Neither from scripture nor from
church tradition is there clear guidance
on amnesty. There are some guideposts
from which to work, however. One of
the clearest is from the prophet Micah:
"What does the Lord require of you but
to do justice and love kindness [KJV —
mercy] and to walk humbly with your
God?" (Micah 6:8). In his warning to
the Scribes and the Pharisees, Jesus
identified the weightier matters of the
law — the most important of all the
teachings. They are, he says, "justice
and mercy and faith." He accused them
of getting tied up in legalisms, little
matters, and forgetting these larger
concerns (Matt. 23:23). The Hebrew
people, in their effort to reflect the ways
of God in their laws, had provision for a
"Year of Jubilee," a fiftieth year in which
liberty and recovery of property was
proclaimed for everyone. Whatever a
person had done, whatever fate had
befallen him, there was the promise that
in the Year of the Jubilee, a new start
could be made (Lev. 25:8-43). Jesus
moved beyond law to love, and while
law might require forgiveness at a
certain level, the message of Jesus to
Peter was that forgiveness must be
without end, not seven times, but seventy
times seven times (Matt. 18:21, 22). In
summation, as the church seeks light
on amnesty, it must be sensitive to both
justice and mercy.
Ou
fur word amnesty has a Greek back-
ground. It has the same root meaning
as amnesia. It means forgetting. It is
the intentional overlooking of certain
criminal acts against the state — almost
always amnesty is related to political
acts or crimes.
Amnesty is different from pardon,
though in everyday usage they become
mi.xed and confused. Pardon assumes a
proven guilt and punishment. The crime
is not necessarily related to political life,
and usually is not. Pardon is given to
one person and it is an act of forgive-
ness. Amnesty, on the oher hand, is
granted not to specific individuals, but
to a whole class of people who may be
guilty. Giving amnesty is not to forgive;
it is to abolish or to totally forget the
offense — as with amnesia. The Consti-
tution of the United States vests the
power to pardon in the office of the
President; stales give it to the governors.
There is now a legal debate whether the
power of amnesty rests with the Execu-
tive or the Congress. In practical terms,
probably either could act.
Historically, amnesty can be traced to
the Greeks as early as the fifth century
before Christ. When Spartan conquerors
were expelled, those who had collab-
orated were freed from prosecution. The
Romans used amnesty to secure recon-
there is unfairness
in amnesty, it is the
same kind of un-
fairness protested
by the elder son
upon his broth-
er's return
11-1-72 MESSENGER 15
ciliation after attempts at political over-
throw or after periods of internal strife.
France, a country which has had more
experience with war than most, has a
histor}' of granting amnesty after almost
every major civil conflict. The latest
came in 1968, when right wing op-
ponents of de Gaulle's Algerian policy
were granted amnesty to cover their
earlier acts of terror.
In the United States. President Wash-
ington granted a general pardon to all
who participated in the so-called Whis-
key Rebellion. President Adams was also
involved in granting amnesty to some
who were involved in a tax insurrection.
Perhaps the most frequently cited am-
nesty comes from the Civil War period.
President Lincoln acted twice and his
successor Andrew Johnson acted four
times to grant amnesty to those who
participated in the rebellion against the
Union. Just weeks before the war
ended, Lincoln granted amnesty to all
Union deserters with the provision that
they return to their units within 60 days
and serve out their enlistment periods.
After World War L President Wilson
pardoned a few opponents of the war, but
refused to do so with others. On Christ-
mas Day 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt
granted amnesty (called "full pardon")
to all violators of the World War I draft
laws and the 1917 espionage law.
After World War IL President Tru-
man formed a President's Amnesty
Board, but though there was consider-
able popular support for a general
amnesty, the President's board became,
in effect, a parole board and considered
Selective Service violators on an indi-
vidual basis. Of more than 15,000 cases
considered, only about 1,500 were
pardoned. The board at that time de-
clared that '"intellectual, political, or
sociological convictions" against the
war were not acceptable as excuses and
clemency was not granted to those who,
in the board's words, "set themselves up
as wiser and more competent than
society to determine their duty to come
to the defense of their country."
Surely, in any general historical as-
sessment, it must be acknowledged that
the United States, while sometimes grant-
ing amnesty, has not been inclined
generously in that direction.
What do justice and mercy now call
from us?
First, the Christian's decision can
never be based on how it will appear to
others. The Los Angeles Times, edi-
torially, has raised that problem. The
Times says the amnesty answer must be
responsive:
— to the 2.5 million Americans who
went and did what they and the nation
judged to be their duty in Vietnam.
— to the next-of-kin of the 55,600
who went and did not return. Among
these are parents who remain convinced
that their sons died in the cause of
freedom as well as families embittered
bv a fear that the sacrifice was in vain.
Majority in poll oppose unconditional amnesty
Both the Harris and Gallup polls have
indicated that the majority of the US
population oppose unconditional am-
nesty. Both polls were taken in August.
Only when the sampling is broken
down into age, sex, and locale is the
general opinion reversed.
Gallup asked: "Do you think young
men who have left the United States to
avoid the draft should or should not be
allowed to return to the country without
some form of punishment?"
Of the 1,554 persons polled in more
than 300 areas, 60 percent said "no,"
36 percent said "yes" and 4 percent had
no opinion.
Among men, 66 percent opposed am-
nesty. Of women, 55 percent endorsed it.
In the Harris poll, the question was:
"Do you favor or oppose giving amnesty
after the war in Vietnam is over to
young men who left the US rather than
be drafted?"
Of this total, 38 percent indicated that
they favored amnesty, but when broken
down into various segments, favorable
response was 50 percent for those in
cities and 27 percent for those in rural
areas. Of voters under 30, 55 percent
were in favor; of those 50 and over, 28
percent, and of those in between, 36
percent.
— to Lt. William Calley, whose
crimes were his own, but whose action
cannot be separated from the action of
the nation.
— to those who refused arms but
stayed to face sometimes unjust con-
sequences; not all were recognized as
conscientious objectors and some as-
serted a selective opposition to just one
war that afforded them no escape from
prison.
In short, some oppose amnesty be-
cause it does not appear fair to those
who were drafted, either serving in the
military or doing alternative ser\ice as
conscientious objectors and to those who
have already served in prison. That is,
it looks "too easy." They get off "free."
But we cannot resolve the question of
amnesty by fearing the attitude of those
who have no need for amnesty. If there
be unfairness, it is the same kind of
unfairness protested by the elder son
in the story of the Prodigal Son. The
older son was obedient and stayed at
work with his father, but was outraged
when his younger brother, who had
wasted his money, could come home to
such a warm and loving welcome. "It
isn't fair!" he screamed.
lotential resentment did not turn the
father aside. And potential resentment
must not turn us aside from amnesty.
If the 2.5 million men who served in
the military and alternative service in
this time were doing what seemed right
to them, they have no basis to be re-
sentful should a society feel led to grant
amnesty to those who chose another
way. Injustice is not involved to the
larger number because amnesty does not
take anything from them.
For the 80,000 men under condemna-
tion, it must be said that justice cannot
be approached by avoiding stands that
appear to be unpopular to certain seg-
ments. We must ask ourselves not what
are the risks of resentment, but what is
the right act related to these men.
Second, the Christian cannot delay
doing and advocating what is moral un-
til it becomes acceptable. Even a
Messenger report (April 15, 1972)
seems content with a time delay. It
says, "Granting amnesty while the
war goes on seems undesirable and un-
16 MESSENGER 11-1-72
likely. But public debate on the issue
is in place." Jules Feiffer, in the cartoon
accompanying the Messenger report,
had one of his figures refer to amnesty
now as "premature morality." That is
precisely how Christians are called.
They are to walk beside and be
bruised with blacks before national
television becomes interested. It is their
sweat and blood that focuses the atten-
tion of the nation. They are to be creat-
ing a new world before the ecological
crisis becomes a national concern. It is
their creating that leads to the concern.
They are to be visiting the prisoner and
calling for reform before prison reform
is written into legislation. It is their
interest that leads to legislation.
Those who believe in amnesty cannot
wait until Mr. Gallup or Mr. Harris
reports to us that it is safe. They
cannot wait until the war is finished
(who knows when that will be). They
cannot wait until all the prisoners of war
are released. The Christian is called to
stand with courage, often against the
times, but in the time of Almighty God,
often against the nation, but with the
kingdom of God.
There are many questions to place in
determining when amnesty should be
granted. It is true that amnesty must be
considered in the context of the larger
community. Since amnesty generally
deals with political offenses, the political
climate of the times in which the
offense was committed becomes an im-
portant factor. In this case, it will be
helpful to ask what kind of offense these
men have committed. How have they
proceeded against society? And what is
society's attitude toward the cause which
they represent?
Ihese men are not thieves. They are
not rapists. TTiey are not murderers.
They are men who have refused to go to
war. They have refused to fight in a war
considered "morally wrong" by 65
percent of our nation, according to a
November 1971 Harris poll. They have
refused to fight in a war that a prose-
cutor of the Nijrnberg trials says should
give any American citizen the right to
prove its legality in court. They have
refused to fight in a war that has been
characterized this way by Business and
Society, a publication whose clientele
includes major American businesses:
"Our adventure in Southeast Asia has
been a senseless exercise in destruction
and utter futility. The most socially
responsible action a corporation could
have taken was to refuse to participate."
They have refused to fight in a war that
President Nixon promised four years
ago, if elected, to end, and that every
major presidential candidate has ac-
knowledged either explicitly or implicit-
ly as a mistake. They have refused to
fight in a war that the Council of
Roman Catholic Bishops has condemned
as totally immoral. They have refused
to fight in a war denounced from its
beginning by the Church of the Breth-
ren. Illustrative of those statements was
"A Call for Peace in Vietnam" made by
the 1967 Annual Conference, saying in
part: "Out of a heritage of peacemaking
and reconcilation, we must and shall
continue to make our dissent against our
unjust and sinful involvements in
Vietnam."
Given the judgment about the war by
our society, given the judgment and the
teaching of our church about the war,
what answer can we give but AM-
NESTY, YES? These young men need to
be restored to our nation, restored to our
communities, restored with all the
dignity and rights that are due to any
person. They and their families must
be relieved of the emotional and ec-
onomic suffering that has been put upon
them. Their action reflects the deep
recesses of the nation's conscience more
than it does a political crime.
And on behalf of our nation, AM-
NESTY, YES. Perhaps the need for our
nation is greater than it is for the men
themselves. It could be a healthy and
clearing act of repentance of our war-
making. Even for those who are not
ready to repent for Vietnam, it could be
an act of reconciliation. It could help to
bring this nation together in pursuit of
goals that stand noble and true. It
could make possible the productive cit-
izenship of persons now barred by legal
restrictions.
The Lord of history weeps over
America as he wept over Jerusalem,
"Would that even today you knew the
things that make for peace!" (Luke
19:42). D
t^iLao^D^DOTigj p(Q)D[n]fe
Wedding anniversaries
Mr. and Mrs. Rex Aldridge, Roanoke, Va.,
50
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hartman, Ashley,
Ind.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Jamison, Quinter,
Kans.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Christ Koehler, Lititz, Pa., 50
Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Prugh, Trotwood,
Ohio, 50
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Yoder. Huntington, Ind..
50
Mr. and Mrs. Haney Starner, Glendora,
Calif.. 62
Mr. and Mrs. Jess Bamhart, Wenatchee,
^Vash,, 64
Pastoral placements
Samuel L. Barnhart, from Sacramento,
Larchmont, Pacific Southwest to Oakland,
Pacific Southwest
Harlan J. Brooks, from Miami Community,
Florida, to retirement
William Faw. from Los Angeles. Imperial
Heights. Pacific Southwest, to Roanoke. Cen-
tral, Virlina
John I. Masterson, from Yellow Creek.
Illinois and Wiscmsin. to chaplain at Pinecrest
Manor, Illinois and Wisconsin
Galen L. Miller, from Bethany Theological
Seminary staff to Sunnyslope. Oregon-Washing-
ton
William A. Miller, from Cabool. Southern
Missouri and Arkansas, to Prairie City/Morgan
Citv. Iowa-Minnesota
John Schmidt, from Bartlesville. Southern
Plains, to Antelope Valley. Southern Plains
William Stovall, from Hopewell. Virlina. to
Basset. Virlina
John O. Wagner, from Mt. Etna/Salem,
Iowa-Minnesota, to Iowa River, Iowa-Min-
nesota
Dale F. Watson, from secular position to
New Hope. Virlina
Elmer West, from Garrison/Robins. Iowa-
Minnesota, to Mt. Etna/Salem, Iowa-Min-
nesota
Deaths
Ellsworth Baxter, Laurens, Iowa, in Julv
1972
Mary Faulders Betts, Boonsboro, Md.. on
July 18, 1972. aged 48
Margaret Bollinger, North Manchester. Ind.,
on June 26. 1972
Daisy Callane, Flora. Ind.. on June 27,
1972, aged 90
Malinda Clapper, Boonsboro, Md., on June
22. 1972. aged 91
Gordon Crawford, Cloverdale, Va., in July
1972. aged 73
Aura Davidson. Golden Valley, Minn., on
May 27. 1972. aged 90
Floyd E. DeWitt, Liberty, 111., on June 21,
1972. aged 83
Retta Dinnes, Eidora. Iowa, on May 6. 1972,
aged 87
Casper M. Dri\er, Mai t land. Mo., on Julv
19. 1972, aged 85
Bessie C. Gamer. Boonsboro, Md., on June
30. 1972
Ralph Gibble. Manheim, Pa., on Feb. 17,
1972. aged 64
Morilz O. Gockenour. Woodstock, Va.. on
May 30. 1972, aged 53
Esther Harper, La Verne, Calif., on June
21. 1972. aged 70
Beulah Harter. Flora. Ind., on July 3. 1972,
aged 69
Margaret R. Hawk, New Carlisle, Ohio, on
June 15, 1972, aged 76
Adrian L. Hull. Kansas City, Kans.. on
April 4. 1972
Dixie Lee Jewell. Strasburg, Va., on May
5. 1972, aged 62
Bertha Bowman Liebno, Boonsboro, Md.,
on June 20. 1972, aged 83
John R. Luther, Ligonier, Pa., in July 1972
11-1-72 MESSENGER 17
Dlt f [fcDDin] h(B\r(B^.
For eyes
that are dim
"Would I wish to be young again?
No, for I have learned too much to wish
to lose it. ... I am a far more valuable
person today than I was 50 years ago,
or 40 years ago, or 30, or 20 or even 10.
I have learned so much since I was 70!"
These are the words of Pearl Buck, now
79, who is at work on three major
novels.
In "Essay on Life" in Modern Ma-
turity. Miss Buck explains her reasoning.
In earlier years one has to spend so
much time learning the techniques of
how to live happily. A newborn child
has to learn to breathe, to cry, to eat, to
sit up, to reach for, to walk, to talk.
Year by year each of us has to work
For eyes ^ ith frames
around them
for techniques in order to master our-
selves and reach a growing understand-
ing of ourselves and others. Happiness,
Miss Buck believes, is based on this
primary understanding. We must under-
stand ourselves before we can respect
ourselves. We must respect ourselves
before we can win the respect of others.
We need both self-respect and the re-
spect of others to achieve happiness. "It
has been a wonderful experience," writes
Miss Buck, "to learn to know myself —
my capacities, my weaknesses, my likes
and dislikes, the strengths and weak-
nesses of my body in which I am
presently housed. It has been an absorb-
ing study, a lifetime process which of
course goes on endlessly."
"Where did you go?" "OUT" "What
did you do?" "NOTHING" is the title
of a book written by Robert Paul Smith
in 1957. The antics described in it lead
me to suspect that he was in that stage
of life called middle-age. I chuckled
my way through much of the book be-
cause it recalled many familiar ex-
periences.
In the summer, there were long eve-
nings under the street lamps to "talk to
girls, to watch the big kids talking to
girls, to tease the big kids talking to
girls, to be hit by the big kids talking to
girls, to play Red Rover, to sit on the
porch steps and listen to your father tell
Mister Fenyvessey what he thinks of the
Republicans. . . ." It was the time to
find a jelly glass and to fill it full of
lightning bugs and to see, when it got
very dark, that your finger, where you
touched the lightning bug, glowed too.
Seasons also determined what you
you played. There was a time you
played immies if you were a boy and
skip the rope if you were a girl. Girls
didn't play marbles and boys didn't
jump rope, except maybe the boys would
play "higher and higher" until they fell
flat on their faces by tripping over the
rope. There was a time you played
stoop ball. There was a time when you
built kites. There was a time you played
Red Rover and statues. Everybody did
did it. As Mr. Smith explains it, "There
was something that clicked and gears
shifted and we all got up in the morning
and put our immies in our pockets
because that was the day everybody
started to play immies."
Spring always meant radishes and
green onions from the garden. The
Fourth of July, fried chicken. Corn on
the cob came later in the summer.
Some things were not eaten together like
pickles and milk. You believed, but
really knew better, that grasshoppers
spit tobacco and that if you stepped on
a crack you would break your mother's
back. Dad watched the newly-sprouted
corn, hoping it would be knee high
by the 4th and Mom's decision to hang
out the weekly wash was determined by
"Rain before seven; quit before eleven."
When nothing more exciting was go-
ing, you sucked water through a licorice
stick, caught tadpoles, played in the
mud, learned to whistle and snap your
fingers, looked at the sky which was full
of animals that seemed to float, swoop,
and swim in the air, or you just stretched
out in the backyard and chewed grass,
made clover bracelets, or curled dande-
lion stems with your tongue. There
seemed to be nothing wrong about doing
nothing.
"These days," writes Mr. Smith, "you
see a kid lying on his back and looking
blank and you begin to wonder what's
wrong with him. There's nothing wrong
with him. except he's thinking. He's
trying to find out whether he breathes
differently when he's thinking about it
than when he's just breathing. He's
seeing how long he can sit there without
blinking. He is considering whether his
father is meaner than Carl's father, he
is wondering who he would be if his
father hadn't married his mother,
whether there is somewhere in the world
somebody who is exactly like him in
every detail. . . ."
Robert Smith admits that his kids are
bored. And that he was bored. But
"There is a difference between doing
nothing and being bored. Being bored is
a judgment you make on yourself. Do-
ing nothing is a state of being. Kids
know about this, if you'll let them be."
How long has it been since your wrists
were red from playing scissors-paper-
stone? Have you played Ant-Ante-
Over lately? Do you remember how to
play "Wire, briar, limber locks — ten
geese in one flock?" Gossip? Have you
taught your kids how to play Button,
Button or Hide the Thimble? When did
you last pop corn, eat cold, crisp, juicy
delicious apples, or pull taffy? Have you
taken time to look at the flowers, trees,
insects, and people with the same awe
you did when you were 6 or 8? Have
you played Fox and Geese in the snow?
Statues?
Where did you say you were going?
Out? What are you going to do? Just sit
on the back steps and watch the grass
grow!
18 MESSENGER 11-1-72
For eyes that dance
ivith anticipation
Before days of do-it-yourself kits
and when the ready-made toys were
very expensive, you used the things
around you, appHed your imagination
and skill, and made your own toys.
Here are directions for three funny little
things I enjoyed as a kid. I hope you
will enjoy them, too. They are toys
which your father or grandfather may
remember making.
A spool tractor
You will need a thread spool (a large
one is best but any will do), a rubber
band, a candle or soft soap (such as
Ivory), two kitchen matches. From the
soap or candle cut a disc about V4 " thick
and smaller than the end of the spool.
Make a small hole in the center. (It
takes a bit of patience and skill to keep
from breaking the soap or candle.)
Break off the ends of the matches,
making one about 2" long; the other
about 1". (These will vary with the size
of the spool, a part of your experiment-
ing.) Cut a small groove on either side
of the hole on one end of the spool.
Thread the rubber band through the
hole, insert the smallest match through
the loop and slip into the groove. Now,
thread the disc onto the other end of the
rubber band and insert the larger match-
stick in that loop. Your spool tractor is
ready to go. Wind up its rubber-band
motor by turning the longer matchstick.
Place on a smooth surface and watch it
go!
To make a climber out of the tractor,
notch the wheels (ends of the spool)
with tiny grooves. Make a hump in a
scatter rug and up the hill it will climb.
Experiment with your tractor until it's as
efficient as you can make it, then sug-
Here are components for
making a spool tractor.
For fun, we decorated
ours with flowers in bright
tempera colors
by Glee Yoder
t
gest a race with another tractor. Or,
place two tractors together (head on)
and see which is the stronger.
A small nail or two small nails may
be used instead of the small matchstick,
and a bead may be substituted for the
disc of soap or candle, but some of the
fun is in the experimenting. The
"sophistication" takes away part of this
experience.
Buzz-saw buttons
These little hummers are made by
passing a nylon string through two holes
of a very large button. ( Hope you can
find one in these days of the zipper!)
Tie the ends of the thread together.
Wind up the string by twirling the two
ends in your hands — round and round.
Now, pull the string out and the button
will look and sound like a buzz-saw.
After pulling the hands apart, relax
them and let the string rewind itself
before stretching it out again. It works
on the same principle as a yo-yo.
There's an art to it — so keep experi-
menting until you're an expert "buzz-
saw operator."
For a more sophisticated toy, cut a
Vs " hardboard disc with a jig saw, 3,
2'/2 or 2" in diameter. Drill two holes
in the disc about V2-I" apart. Drill two
holes in two %" dowel pins for handles.
Thread string through handles and disc.
Pull the handles and the disc spins and
hums.
A handkerchief parachute
Tie four one-foot lengths of string to
the corners of a handkerchief. Gather
the free string ends and tie in a knot
about 4" from bottom. For the weight,
use a stone or some metal washers. Add
the amount of weight to make the para-
chute float gently to the ground after
its toss into the air. A parachute has to
be "packed" just right for its descent to
be smooth and strings remain un-
tangled. Happy landing! Q
11-1-72 MESSENGER 19
Christmas
cards
Designed by a
Norwegian artist,
this year's
Christmas
card offered by
^The Upper Room wi
'give unique color and interest to
your greeting.
25 cards with matching envelopes,
$3.00; 100 cards, $10.00
Li\iiig
on Tiptoe
by Jo Corr
A book of devotions
for homes with school-
oge children, written
for the family
interested in shoring
and growing together in their faith.
Per copy, $1.25; 10 or more, $1.00 ea.
So, Open
the Door
by Idolee Volk
A new book of
devotional and
inspirational verse, j
with special over-
tones related to
putting one's faith
into action.
Per copy, 35<; 10 or more, 30^ each.
The L'pt>er Room
Disciplines
1973
Daily devotions
written for ministers,
church leaders and
others who wont a
deeper experience
in the vital reality
of Key '73.
10 or more, $1.30 ea.
?Per copy, $1.50;
hm
.-^
%\
Write for our free catalogue
of devotional literature for
easy Christmas shopping at
home.
The Upper Room
Dept. 121
1908 Grand Ave.
Nashville, Tenn. 37203
[r(3m@Mr©3i
For Study and Action on Mission
20 MESSENGER 11 •1-72
A wide selection of new resources is
available this season on two crucial
mission themes: India, as the overseas
topic, and Faith and Justice, as a uni-
versal but close-to-home concern.
In the treatment of India, examination
is given to the role of that nation's
Christian community, a community
which comprises two percent of the pop-
ulation in a land inhabited by one sixth
of the world's people. A focal concern
is, how can the church elsewhere under-
stand and reinforce so tiny a leaven in
so large a lump?
Particularly informing is the film, The
Cross in the Lotus (23 minutes, color,
sound, rental $12), which employs
authentic music and dance of India
to give rhythm and color to the cen-
turies-old history of the church. In
visualizing the evolvement of the in-
digenous church, the film speaks to the
question, "Is there still reason to send
missionaries to India?"
A basic reading book for youth and
adults is Ask an Indian About India,
by Blaise Levai (Sl.75). In interview-
ing Prime Minister Indira Ghandi,
sitarist Ravi Shankar, and the unknown
and unheralded as well, the author offers
inside views on sensitive concerns.
Another insightful work is Mother
India's Children, by Edward Rice
(S2.95), a photo-essay book about 20
Indian teen-agers. The work has been
listed by the New York Times Book
Review as one of the "outstanding books
of the year."
A record lending itself to imaginative
use with all ages is Listening In on India
(33V3 rpm, $3.95), composed of inter-
views, a folktale, a sound montage of-
fering something of the flavor of Indian
life, descriptions of musical instruments,
and the sound track of the film. The
Cross in the Lotus.
Among other items are The Guide on
India for Adult and Youth Groups, by
Marilyn Hill ($1.35): books for pri-
maries and juniors, including Marion
Van Home's delightful A to Z story
book for juniors. Come Inside India
($2.25); photographic sets, maps, a book
of poems and prayers, and teaching
guides for junior and primary leaders.
On the theme Faith and Justice,
various study resources strive to bridge
the "either-or" impulse — either you
cultivate the life of the spirit or you
become enmeshed in social reform. The
onus in this material is on faith and
justice, belief and action.
For adults and youth, Grace at Zero
Point, by Loren E. Halvorson ($1.75),
points to the premise that there is more
creative response to America's problems
than the public realizes. The setting is a
retreat of volunteers occurring in 1986.
In the scripturally centered To Set
Things Right, by Justin Vander Folk
($1.25), the prophets are interpreted as
challenging the distinctions commonly
made between personal and social, mysti-
cal and ethical.
Also issued for the Faith and Justice
series are a local study-action manual on
Get Out There and Do Something About
Injustice, by Margaret Kuehn ($1.95; a
book for early teens. See It! Do It.' by
David Ng (S2.50), geared to promoting
justice in one's hometown; and other
studv guides, audiovisuals, and drama.
Ihree walk-on dramas. Confronted!
by Myra Scovel and others ($1.35),
present discussion starters on both
themes. Faith and Justice and India.
The 1972-73 mission study resources
have been developed from Friendship
Press and the film on India through the
Broadcasting and Film Commission,
both units of the National Council of
Churches. The items are geared espe-
cially for mission study schools, special
study classes, congregational, and in-
dividual use.
To order most items listed above or
to obtain a currrent catalog of mission
study materials, write Marketing, Church
of the Brethren General Board, 1451
Dundee Avenue. Elgin. 111. 60120. The
film is to be ordered directly from Holhs
Melton, Broadcasting and Film Com-
mission, 475 Riverside Drive. New York,
N.Y. 10027.
LETTERS / continued from 1
wounded, or rendered homeless in Nixon's
years in office as Jews were killed by Hitler
— six million? Are not Vietnamese, Lao-
tians, and Cambodians "casualties"? Are
they not human beings? Are we not all
children of God? Or are they less than
we — Communists, Aggressors, Internation-
al Outlaws, Gooks? Where does one find
a "foundation for a lasting peace in South-
east Asia" — in the Thieu dictatorship's
newly-built, American financed Tiger Cages
on Con Son Island, in the devastated and
defoliated countryside of South Vietnam,
in the villages "destroyed in order to save
them," in the bombed-out hospitals and
churches, the cratered dikes and sluice gates
of North Vietnam?
The simple truth, for those who take the
time to learn it, is that in the interests of
keeping in power one of the most unpopu-
lar and oppressive regimes in existence to-
day — the Thieu regime — the Nixon ad-
ministration has unleashed massive tech-
nological death on the people of Indochina.
. . . Four and one half million Indochinese
civilians have been killed, wounded, or
made homeless and one and one half
million soldiers on all sides have lost their
lives or been injured. Clearly, for the
people who live in Indochina the war is
worse than ever, . . .
I have been working, acting, and risking
to end this war for almost four years. . . .
I am now fasting. I have lost forty pounds
in thirty-three days and am very often quite
weak physically. Yet spiritually I remain
strong, convinced that such an action is
not only consistent with the life I have
led the past four years, not only much in
the religious tradition out of which I come
and with which I identify, but also wholly
appropriate for the massive suffering of the
war. . . .
Much has been written about the people
of Nazi Germany, good people who became,
knowingly or unknowingly, for whatever
historical or personal reasons, "good Ger-
mans," Believing that many people do not
want to be "good Americans" I began
and continue this fast to help awaken them
to the realities which I perceive and the
responsibilities we all have toward one
another. My urgent cry: Do not give your
support or your silent consent to this war
and to those who carry it out. Use your
vote, your voice, and your life now. We
cannot be silent and unwitting accomplices
in what must be one of the most terrible
and heart-rending agonies of our time —
the continuing war upon the people of
Indochina.
Ted Glick
New York City
WHOSE CHURCH?
There are two articles in the Sept. 15
Messenger on which I wish to comment.
First, a sincere Amen!!! to "Those in
Need of Healing." by Arden Ball. He ex-
pressed a faith and trust which is the real
approach toward healing. His position
needs to be kept before all of us.
Second, "Wrestling With Disturbing
Words," by Harold Z. Bomberger, leaves
me feeling that the "disturbing words" are
not those of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount,
but are "Believers' Church." I have always
been happy to be a part of Christ's church.
When others begin to be enthused about
Believers" Church, "Bible Believing Chris-
tians." and "Born Again Christians," I al-
ways feel that those who glibly use these
terms are sure that they are in, but at the
same time they have serious doubts about
me.
I am more concerned about living to the
best of my ability the teachings of Jesus'
Sermon on the Mount than in the forma-
tion, however loosely put together, of a
Believers" Church.
Fred J. Miller
North Manchester, Ind.
BROADENING VISTAS
A year ago I was visiting friends in Vir-
ginia and I noticed a copy of Messenger
in their home. I was not only impressed
by an article "Look Who's Coming to Din-
ner!" but the whole magazine is fantastic!
Having read that issue (Oct. 1, 1971) sev-
eral times, I am writing you to ask for
permission to do the above mentioned ar-
ticle (in whole or in part) in braille for
the blind and in large print for the visually
handicapped. Also please enter my sub-
scription for one year to Messenger.
I have become very aware of the word
Christian in the past five years despite the
fact I am a Methodist, attend Episcopal
services, work for the Lutherans two days
a week, and feel quite comfortable in the
Roman Catholic Church, the Presbyterian
Church, or the Church of the Brethren,
Mrs. Robert Smith
San Rafael, Calif.
A WINNER
Congratulations on the awards you re-
ceived for Messenger. I didnt need to
read about that to know that your paper
far surpasses some other publications I read
in the course of duty. I passed the Messen-
ger on to the pastor from which he gleaned
many ideas.
Your magazine is one we aren't going
to be without in our home.
Lorene Moore
Winfield, Kans.
An interpretation of
Church of the Brethren
beliefs and practices —
6-page pamphlet.
5?; each; 50?;
per dozen
Please send copies of
The Faith That Is In Us
To
Address
City
Bill
. State .
Zip.
Address
City
State .
Zip.
Church of the Brethren
Date
Add 20c postage for first dollar;
5c each additional dollar
The Brethren Press
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, III. 60120
CLASSIFIED ADS
PERMANENT PRESS BAPTISMAL ROBES —
Weighted, zippered, six sizes. Ministers' robes
custom-made. For other than black, white, re-
quest color card. Reasonably priced. Details:
ROBES, P.O. box 1453, Martinsburg, W. Va.
25401.
FOR RENT — The Maple Grove Church of the
Brethren, Norton, Kans., would rent their two-
bedroom, rural parsonage to a Brethren couple
or family who would like to locate in this area.
For further details contact Trustee Chairman Gor-
don Davis, 308 N. Brown, Norton, Kans. 67654.
HELP WANTED — Unique living and service op-
portunity for mature individuals and families: Live
in (and help develop for new purposes) a manor-
house by historic Shenandoah River near New
Market, Va.; participate in "The Bridge," dedi-
cated to Christian community and reconciling
service. Need vision and varied work skills.
Contact Willard Dulabaum, 303 Broad St., Bridge-
wafer, Va. 22812.
BRETHREN HISTORY
BICYCLE TOUR
in Eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland. Visit
Ephrata Cloister, Germantown Church, Antietam
Church, New Windsor and other points of inter-
est. If you enjoy bicycling and are interested in
a week-long trip of this nature for summer, 1973,
write to John Post, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, 111.
60120.
11-1-72 MESSENGER 21
[boolk [r®wD©^^^a
Paul: Envoy Fxile,
Brother
PAUL, ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY, by Malcolm
Muggeridge and Alec Vidler. Harper and
Row, 1972. 159 pages, $5.95
PAUL: MESSENGER AND EXILE, by John J.
Gunther. Judson, 1972. 190 pages, $6.95
MY BROTHER PAUL, by Richard L. Rubenstein.
Harper and Row, 1972. 209 pages, $5.95
Paul. Envoy Extraordinary consists of the
tv te.xt of a dialogue between Malcolm
Muggeridge, a famous, controversial
journalist, and Alec Vidler, dean of
King's College, Cambridge, England.
The British Broadcasting Company vid-
eotape was shot as the two traversed the
path of Paul from Jerusalem to Rome.
The idea of two famous men, the one a
somewhat agnostic reporter and the other
a Bible scholar and educator, following
the footsteps of Paul across the Mediter-
ranean world certainly sounds intriguing.
And one suspects the television show
was just that, if the pictures in this book
are any indication of the television
photography. Seldom have I seen such
beautiful prints of the biblical world.
This is partly due to the high quality
paper and printing used for this book.
It is an extraordinary publication.
Unfortunately the accolades must stop
at this point. The printed conversation
between Muggeridge and Vidler is neither
interesting nor informative. Paul's fame
does not consist in his travels but his
dynamic faith. The background informa-
tion does little to inform that faith and
in itself is insufficient to constitute an
adequate historical introduction to Paul.
The study by John Gunther, Paul:
Messenger and Exile, stands in sharp con-
trast to the above study. It is not a
beautiful book and it lacks the style
which a journalist like Muggeridge can
provide. But every paragraph is loaded
with information and controversial opin-
ions which could affect our understanding
of the message of Paul. The work is
essentially a chronology of the life of
Paul which develops in great detail ar-
guments regarding absolute dating
(chronology in terms of events of the
time) and relative dating (the order of
events in the life of Paul). Such a full-
scale study has not been done for some
thirty years, so Gunther's book fills a
need for teachers and students in search
of detailed explanations. The author
provides a wealth of information needed
to decide the dating and order of the
Jerusalem visits, the missionary journey,
and the dates of the letters.
How to characterize the position of the
author is not an easy task. I am tempted
to say he is radically conservative. He
does not purport to defend the tradition-
al picture of Paul, and indeed, docs not
at all times (for example, he favors
Caesarea as the origin of the prison
epistles rather than Rome), yet the net
effect of his arguments will be readily
accepted by those who tend to be tradi-
tional. Most notable of these would be
the argument that Paul accepted an exile
to Spain during a.d. 62-64 before return-
ing to Rome to be martyred in 65.
Gunther's theses will need to be studied
and answered. In general 1 have two
objections to his work. First, his docu-
mentation of certain arguments is not
satisfying. A shocking aspect of his
argument for the Caesarean imprison-
ment is the use of fragments from the
Pastoral Epistles (2 Tim. 4:9-22a; Titus
3:12-15). Tradition places these letters
later and scholarship doubts the authen-
ticity. Gunther (who undoubtedly has
faced this problem) does not provide a
rationale for this radical departure from
the "accepted." A second, even more
serious, problem is the conflict of the-
ological development with chronological
order. While I would not care to insist
that the letters of Paul be dated and
ordered according to the progression of
thought apparent in them, I believe
Gunther has the obligation to defend
his theses in terms of such progression.
Normally, we would think of the Thessa-
lonian correspondence as proto-Paul;
Romans, Galatians, Philippians, Phile-
mon, and the Corinthian correspondence
as mature Paul: Colossians and Ephesians
would be late Paul or possibly secondary;
the Pastorals would be very late Paul
and probably secondary. Gunther, how-
ever, leaves out the Thessalonian period,
places the prison epistles immediately (2
years) after the writing of the major
letters (pp. 120-121), and includes
among the prison epistles letters or frag-
ments from all the stages except the first.
Despite these objections the book is a
gold mine of information and argumenta-
tion. It will be a resource book that
should not he outdated for several years.
My Brother Paul and the two
previous books contrast vividly. Written
by the Jewish "Death of God" theologian
Richard Rubenstein, it stands as a very
moving exposition of Paul's basic under-
standing of Law and Gospel. Rubenstein
describes himself as a fairly loyal, even
legalistic Jew, who at the death of his
son, came to see that the Law cannot deal
with death. In those moments, he turned
to the letters of Paul and saw a victory
there which hitherto had been hidden
from him in Judaism. Rubenstein's first
chapter, in which he describes this
odyssey, is one of the most moving testi-
monies about Paul that I have ever read.
Many of us mouth the Gospel from
lecterns and pulpits and soap boxes, but
others understand it in the deepest sense.
Though still a Jew, Rubenstein clearly
understands Paul.
After such an auspicious beginning the
book takes a fascinating but questionable
turn. Rubenstein then seeks to under-
stand Paul by means of Freudian psycho-
analytic categories. I do not mean to say
such an enterprise is not useful. To the
contrary, I felt it very helpful to under-
stand Paul in terms of some basic human
emotions. All too often, we avoid attach-
ing our faith to our libidian (emotional
or interrelational) life so that the practice
of faith becomes detached from everyday
reality. For example, Rubenstein under-
stands the importance of Paradise or
Eden in Jewish thought as the Freudian-
perceived desire to return to the womb
and its constant nourishment. He un-
derstands that the Jew cannot earn his
way back by means of the Law, but that
in the water of Christian baptism, that
old man who could not return is changed
to a new man who does.
22 MESSENGER U-1-72
The other major libidinal dynamic is
the desire to kill off the father ( in order
to achieve one's own maturity) and yet
to emulate the father (because he is the
standard of maturity) . Rubenstein sees
this acted out in the Abraham-Isaac story
which, indeed, has become the Jewish
counterpart to the Passion of Jesus. This
terrible dialectic between wanting to con-
tinue the past and yet wanting to start a
St. Paul: Detail of mosaic from
Battistero degli Ariani, Ravenna,
Italy. Courtesy of Harper and Row
new thing is handled in the Christian
Eucharist where the body is broken (a
new start), yet the body is eaten (the past
assimilated).
The importance of such observations
cannot be dismissed. By treating baptism
and the eucharist as historical events
to be repeated or as rites of the church
to be performed, we emasculate the basic
dynamics of our church life which
then becomes useless except as an exer-
cise in the keeping of historic traditions.
Rubenstein himself says he would wish
to be a Roman Catholic if he converted
to Christianity because there the libidinal
dynamics are still taken seriously.
Despite the helpfulness of these in-
sights and many others in a mind-bog-
gling book, I have at least two basic ad-
monitions to both Rubenstein and the
reader. While it may be beneficial to
read Paul with Freudian insights, I be-
lieve it would do damage to Paul if his
insights are limited to those which for-
tunately parallel Freud. There are sac-
rificial elements in Paul's understanding
of God's gift in Jesus Christ, but there
are also strong elements of eschatology
(he is the first among many; 1 Cor. 15:
23) or release from captivity (1 Cor.
6:20). These should not be discarded.
Actually this leads to the second ad-
monition. Paul is not all that sacrificial
in his structure. I am persuaded his
eucharistic formulations refer to the
breaking of bread among the body of
Christ rather than to the breaking of the
body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:17; 11:24).
Possibly the only reference to eating
Christ is that of 1 Cor. 5:7. For more
to the liking of Rubenstein would be
the gospel of John, where baptism is
explicitly tied to a return to the womb
(3:5) and the followers of Jesus are
invited to eat him in a literal sense (6:
56 ) . Yet John shows none of the the-
ological conflict dynamics which are so
obvious in Paul. In other words, Ruben-
stein has picked the correct author in
which to see the problem, but the wrong
writer for his solution. Perhaps he should
have written a book entitled My Brother
John. — Graydon F. Snyder
11-1-72 MESSENGER 23
More than a classroom affair
Only the doer of the word is its real hearer.
Karl Barth
One of the more intriguing parables of 1972 comes
from the University of Alabama, from Donald
Noble, about a course he taught on Henry Thoreau.
Never, he wrote, did he sense the writings of
Thoreau coming alive as they did this spring when
he conducted 20 interim term students in a travel
course on Literary New England.
Gathering the students near Concord, Mass.,
walking with them halfway around Walden Pond
to a steep grassy slope, pointing to the site of the
cabin, the beanfield. and the railroad tracks Thoreau
described, and treating in turn the cycles and sea-
sons and symbolism set forth in "Walden." the
professor communicated from a vastly new per-
spective. The enthusiasm, harmony, trust discerned
both from the students and within himself was
something he had never before known.
Back in summer school at the university, Mr.
Noble tried to engender some of the same spirit
in his lectures. But on mounting the platform, grip-
ping the lectern and fixing his gaze on students
aligned in rigid rows, the most he could muster was
occasional eye contact with a student or two who
had been at Walden and knew what learning can
be like.
A change of setting ... all that dramatic? Not
of itself. But given the investment in getting to
where Thoreau lived and wrote, in sitting where he
sat and reflecting as he reflected, the impact was
major.
As a church school teacher, I need be reminded
of the story by the University of Alabama professor.
For in my unit and weekly planning too infrequently
do I take note of the settings and opportunities
for communicating the Christian faith with my class
outside the classroom. Yet if leading critics of edu-
cation are to be taken seriously, it is mostly outside
the classroom or formalized schooling that real
learning takes place.
Consider how meaningful it must have been for
a hundred Brethren to participate this June in a
peace pilgrimage at Wissahickon Creek and Ger-
mantown. reenacting the first baptism and love feast
of the Church of the Brethren in America. How-
appropriate it must have been at Staunton, \'a., for
youth training in church membership — preparing
for baptism in the Christian community — to do
so in overnight retreats rather than in conventional
classes. How moving it must have been for many
members of First Church, York, Pa., at Easter to
break bread not only with other communicants in
the pew but later with friends and neighbors at
home.
To act out as well as to talk out; to center
experiences of learning where the members are
and not merely where the curriculum and the teach-
er are; to regard education not as the imparting
of information in an isolated classroom but as the
application of faith in the midst of life situations:
These are clues to more vital teaching in the church.
"Be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves," instructed the book of James.
"Only the doer of the word is its real hearer,"
stressed Karl Barth. "We shall never know what
we do not do," declared Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
In virtually all parishes. Christian education
planners need to reassess where learning takes place.
The learning environment centers around the learn-
er, around his world of feeling, acting, thinking.
The teacher is an enabler to help the individual do
his own learning; the faith community offers him a
frame of reference. To experience reconciliation
as well as to study and share the Word: This is what
Christian nurture is about.
And this is a great deal more than a classroom
affair. — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGER 11-1-72
NOW AVAILABLE
Group packet with resources for
several sessions —
Posters
Mobile
Games
Plays
Songs
To teach peace as a life-style
Use with children's books
of Teach Peace series:
(Available for $1.35 each) :. i:
— Let's Be Friends (grades 1
— So What Is Peace (grades
& 2)
3 & 4)
— Now, About Peace (grades 5 & 6)
li^jm
D
NEW
A collection of prayers
by R. H. Miller
HUNGER OF THE HEART
Can a prayer from the pulpit serve equally well as a prayer to "pray in person"?
The answer is yes if written prayers, like the ninety-eight collected in this volume,
grow out of experiences shared alike by pastor and congregation. But their value
for personal and family use is even more assured if they speak directly to what
Dr. Robert H. Miller calls "the hunger of the heart," a hunger for God that cannot
be satisfied by attempts "to live as though we were sufficient in ourselves."
Observing that many persons pray who are not aware that they pray, he notes
that "all love is of God. When we pray we reach out with love by way of God,
the source of all pure and holy love, to those both near and far, for whom God has
given us to care."
A generation of college students learned to know and love Dr. Miller as a teacher
of Bible and religion. Then several congregations discovered his gifts as pastor
and preacher. Now it is possible for many more Brethren to be instructed and
guided by him as they add this volume to their devotional library. It will be a
treasure and resource for many years to come. 96 pages. $2.95 paper.
Postage: 20c first dollar; 5c each additional dollar
\R
WW^
LrLJaU
u
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120
messenger
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN NOVEMBER 1 5, 1 972
''More than anything it became clear that with churches so small
the best form of ministry came
from the members themselves.
We'd seen the alternative
wherever religion existed
in Ecuador:
a lordly caretaker
with ignorant sheep.
A new approach made
more sense:
educated sheep from
which many
temporary caretakers
might emerge."
Rene Tufino
^^
MAKES
MCKE SENSE
EVERY D/^
©(0)[n]lbS[M^
Dsltteir^
A Cairo Encounter for an Idahoan. Mountain View pastor Glenn
Stanford tells "why they put the preacher in prison in Egypt"
A Have We Been Divinely Disturbed? Brethren Revival Fellow-
ship members met in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia for a
day of presentations and encounters. J. Stanley Earhart, Southern
Pennsylvania District executive, reports
lO ^" Inside Look at a Man Afraid. A Camden, New Jersey, free-
lance writer. Paul Monroe, retells the story of Jacob and his
night of wrestling
A Church That Makes More Sense Every Day. Rene Tufifio,
the thirty-one-year-old head of the United Evangelical Church in
Ecuador, talks with the intensity of a person who is participating in
an exciting adventure. Free-lancer Gordon L. Burgett went to
Ecuador for the story
f Q A Thanksgiving Sampler. How can a congregation express
thankfulness in a very concrete way? A Gettysburg, Ohio, church
tells its story, with appropriate (tongue-in-cheek) reminders of the
history of the Thanksgiving event from Richard N. Miller
Outlook previews the National Council of Churches Dallas assembly
that begins next month, notes National Bible Week, reports on the
formation of an ecumenical peace group, and reviews Church of the
Brethren response to flood clean-up in Pennsylvania (beginning on 2). . .
Church of India bishop Eric S. Nasir, who was one of three fraternal
delegates to Annual Conference in June, reflects on "Discovering the
Brethren" (9). . . . Cultural Information Service calls the film Patton
a "Reflection of Civil Religion" (20). . . . Turning Points lists BVSers,
anniversaries, pastoral changes, and deaths (22). . . . A Thanksgiving
editorial comments on a way "To Regain a Sense of Ourselves" (24)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Richard N. Miller
Kenneth I. Morse
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Linda K. Beher
VOL. 121, NO. 20 NOVEMBER 15, 1972
CREDITS: Cover. 12. 14 (bottom) Gordon
L, Burgett; 1 Don Honick; 2 National
Bible Week: 3 Religious News Ser\ice; 4
Henry Rist: 6 courtesy of the Boise. Idaho.
Statesman; 9 Edward J. Buzinski; II "Man
With Forsythia," wood engraving by
Leonard Baskin. reproduced by permission:
14 (top) Ronald E. Keener
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second-
class matter Aug. 20, 1918. under .\ct of
Congress of Oct. 17. 1917. Filing date, Oct. 1,
1972. Messenger is a member ot the Associ-
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli-
gious News Senice and Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, unless othenvise
indicated, are from the Revised Standard
\'ersion.
Subscription rates: S4.20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions: $3.60 per vear for church
group plan: S3. 00 per vear for everi- home
plan: life subscription. $60; husband and
^vife. $75. If vou move clip old address
from Messenger and send with ne^v address.
-\llo^v at least fifteen davs for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly by
the General Senices Commission,
Church of the Brethren General
Board, 1451 Dundee .\ve.. Elgin.
111. 60120. Second-class postage
paid at Elgin, III., Nov. 15, 1972. Copyright
1972. Church of the Brethren General Board.
i
THANK YOU
This note is written to say thank you for
the comments of L. Byron Miller in the
August issue of Messenger, concerning
"New Songs for New Times" (April 1).
The Miller letter expresses my e.xact feel-
ings.
Thelma L. Rowland
Greencastle. Pa.
GO TO THE ROOTS
We were given a gift subscription to your
magazine several months ago. Lately Tve
read with a continuing interest the letters
to the editors concerning the Brethren cor-
porate holdings in the war producing in-
dustries. Some folks seemed shocked that
the body politic of the church owned stock ;
in the producers of napalm, builders of '
fighter planes, and other war related firms.
Other letters expressed a degree of pride in
their church membership when the cor-
porate executives decided to seU the war
holdings and purchase stocks in medicine
and food industries. I cannot recall any
letters expressing a reluctance to sell. I
do remember, however, an editorial that
was rather shy in its attempt to defend the
church's past in this situation.
TTie reasons these letters were written
seemed to center upon what the authors
felt was their understanding of Brethren
philosophy. And. how the purity of that
philosophy was being affected as long as .
the corporation held warring stocks.
We live in a society whose economic
policies (which is to say all policies) are
dictated by a corrupt system of capital and
profit. Any consumer participation in the
economies of this state destroys all sem-
blance of philosophical purity. How many
of the letter writers own a car built by
General Motors, or the Ford Company, or
the Chrysler Corporation? or American Mo-
tors? How many appliances carrj' the name
General Electric. Philco. or Frigidaire?
How many homes use the chemistry of
Dupont. Union Carbide. 3M. Monsanto,
Dow Chemical? How many people can
live a day without touching an 111 malig-
nancy? How many, after all. paid their
federal income tax which provides the gov-
ernment with the capital to enter and
maintain war?
If. indeed, the corporate body of the
church wishes to take a stand, go to the
roots. Bandaids can't hide cancer gulch.
If the church wants to speak out. scream
about the 5S<~^ rise in corporation profits
Ford reported recently. Where else is can-
cer gulch if not the gap between the S90
billion total US corporate profits and the _
millions of women and men that are un- j
m
Q)m
employed. oppressed, imprisoned, and
hungry?
Wait! There's more. What else is our
system of capitalism at bottom but a malig-
nancy grown out of profits sucked from
the laborer? If, indeed, the church wishes
to speak, talk of a democratic socialism
in which corporations are owned by the
public rather than by a few major stock-
holders. Pulpits need the works of Marx
and Lenin as much as the teachings of
Jesus.
Capitalism depends on new and renewed
markets to expand, just as cancer needs
new cell life for its continual destructive
growth. Capitalism, like cancer, if allowed
to expand and grow means death. The
newest mutations in the gulch is the Nixon
administration's spread of the malignancy
to Russia and China. The most powerful
socialist countries in the world chose to
let the US play a little longer at squashing
a socialist liberation movement in Indo-
china. In return this country will leave
Russia and China alone to feed their own
cancers.
So sell your stocks to buy other stocks
to keep your worthwhile programs funded.
But know that your corporate holding are
no cleaner than before. The dividends you
receive have been paid for by the blood
and sweat of underpaid labor, planned ob-
solescence, production speed up, and the
highest price at the lowest quality.
Steve Hersch
DuVall, Wash.
NEITHER HARSH NOR COMPROMISING
The editorial "Is Open-Mindedness Out
of Date?" (Sept. 15) raises questions that
deserve our serious attention.
I believe it is possible for a group to
hold to strict standards for themselves and
yet have a good relationship with others
who do not share those values.
We live in a society which indulges in
many things that can rightly be called in
question. One need not be harsh in judg-
ment — at least, not always. Jesus him-
self spoke harshly to those who were com-
pletely satisfied with their lives and un-
aware that they needed God's help. But
he was very gentle with the woman caught
in adultery. However, we need to note
that, even in this case, he said, "Sin no
more."
Non-Christians have convinced some
who should know better that restrictions
such as the ten commandments are hin-
drances to a full life. On the contrary, they
are signposts to the only satisfying way
of life. We sometimes chafe at the necessity
Continued on 22
New approaches in the communica-
tions program of the Church of the
Brethren General Board for 1973 will
have a direct effect upon Messenger
and its readers. Frequency, number of
pages, subscription rates, staff, and sub-
sidy all will undergo change.
To begin, production subsidies from
the General Board available to Mes-
senger in the past ($35,000 this year,
$57,000 last year) are being diverted
elsewhere in communications. Also,
because of General Board staff reduc-
tions in June, which meant the loss of
two associate editors, the director of
news and the director of graphic de-
sign, the staff time available for pro-
ducing the publication is substantially
reduced.
nounced. The increase in rates, under
study for more than a year, is to be
effective March 1.
Elsewhere in the communications
regrouping. Agenda, an information/
resource mailing to pastors, will be con-
tinued and expanded to include key
committee chairmen in the local
church. Richard N. Miller will devote
full time to Agenda.
In electronic media, John G. Fike
will be engaged full time in Media-
scope productions and in educational
thrusts utilizing film, tape, television,
and exhibits.
Kenneth Morse will give an addi-
tional half time to the production of
books, bulletins, and other special print
materials.
H. Rover, L. Beher, K. Morse, R. Miller. J. Fike, C. Weaver
These are prime factors in the de-
cision by the General Services Com-
mission for Messenger to be issued
on a monthly schedule beginning Jan-
uary 1, 1973. In effect, the change
begins with the next issue since the
December Messengers were to be
combined as were issues for the months
of July and August 1972 and Decem-
ber 1971.
On a monthly basis, Messenger
will be enlarged, carrying from 32 to
36 pages plus cover. In terms of con-
tent and format, it will provide news,
features, letters, commentary, and re-
views much as in the present pattern.
Staff for the publication are Howard
E. Royer, editor, and Linda K. Beher,
assistant editor, both on a full-time
basis, and Kenneth I. Morse, features
editor, on a half-time basis. Circula-
tion will be handled by the marketing
department, of which Clyde E. Weaver
is the director.
Subscription rates for Messenger
will be $5 per individual subscription,
$4 per subscription on a group plan,
the details of which are to be an-
Though the communication shifts
entail a degree of retrenchment for
Messenger, the staff recognizes the
diverse audiences within the church
and the need to draw on a variety of
media for reaching those audiences.
In this task Messenger's role, as out-
lined by General Services executive
Galen B. Ogden, remains pivotal:
"... To promote understanding
among us, to build support and loyalty,
to interpret the direction of the de-
nomination, to serve as a forum for
varying viewpoints, to minister to our
spiritual lives."
Still, for Messenger to operate with-
out production subsidy is a formidable
departure, a challenge not only to the
staff but tO' the entire denomination.
In planning the 1973 issues, the edi-
tors pledge to Messenger readers an
all-out effort to produce a publication
that is informative, inspirational, open,
vital. In turn, we invite your sugges-
tions and support in making Messen-
ger a growing, maturing medium of
sharing in the life of the church.
The Editors
11-15-72 messenger 1
Dallas assembly: The thrust
is openness, flexibility
The opening processional for the ninth
National Council of Churches General
Assembly in Dallas on Dec. 3 is to take a
new turn. Instead of robed dignitaries
marching behind denominational ban-
ners down a center aisle, delegates will
walk to a local church for the opening
service, with happenings promised along
the way.
The reason behind the change, ex-
plains the Assembly Worship Committee,
is simply this: "Jesus' ministry was in the
streets."
In an effort to improve the communi-
cation flow, the assembly planners are
hopeful of reducing speech making and
accenting multimedia presentations and
small group discussions.
Among the 850 delegates and several
hundred consultants involved in the pro-
ceedings will be a dozen representatives
of the Church of the Brethren. In dele-
gate capacity will be Charles M. Bieber,
Brodbecks, Pa.: John H. Eberly, West-
minster, Md.: Harold B. Statler, York,
Pa.; E. Paul Weaver, Nappanee, Ind.;
William G. WiUoughby, La Verne,
Calif.; and S. Loren Bowman, Earle W.
Fike Jr., Ralph G. McFadden, and Joel
K. Thompson of the General Board staff.
Alternate is Dean M. Miller, Annual
Conference moderator, Lombard, lU.
Staff consultants will include Hazel M.
Peters, Thomas Wilson, and Howard E.
Royer, also of the General Board staff.
The three themes around which the
assembly business is clustered are evan-
gelism and renewal; the stewardship of
creation; and justice, liberation, and hu-
man fulfillment. The intent of the delib-
erations, states Sterling Cary, assembly
chairman and executive head of the New
York Conference of the United Church
of Christ, is to reach decisions resulting
in actions rather than statements.
The themes and issues will be dealt
with in part by denominational and
regional caucuses, Mr. Cary added,
"because the power to change is in the
hands of local people."
Among the more internal items on the
agenda is approval by delegates of a plan
for restructuring the NCC.
The concerns of women, youth, racial
minorities, and third world interests
which tended to dominate the last Gen-
eral Assembly in Detroit in 1969 are
being integrated in the planning for
Dallas rather than being dependent upon
introduction from the outside.
In describing the concerted thrust
toward openness and flexibility in the
proceedings, Mr. Cary declared, "A new
age and hopefully a new NCC structure
call for new ways of relating to each oth-
er and accomplishing the hopes we share
in common."
The possibility of new relationships,
new actions by the churches: This is the
dream for Dallas.
Peace unit changes
name, broadens scope
Brethren are much involved in Christians
Associated for Relations with Eastern
Europe (CAREE), a new ecumenical
association growing out of a former or-
ganization but with broadened scope and
a new address.
Formerly called the US Association
for the Christian Peace Conference,
started in 1965, the new group will con-
tinue to maintain ties with the often
controversial Prague-based Christian
Peace Conference (CPC).
But it will also seek other channels for
relations between Christians of the
United States and Communist countries
of Eastern Europe.
The revamped US organization has
about 120 individual members, mostly
seminary professors and middle-echelon
Protestant church executives. It does not
have the official backing of any church,
although the Church of the Brethren has
had a major investment during the past
The Bible is a Book for now, not just forever
The above reminder is among appeals to
be broadcast in conjunction with Nation-
al Bible Week, Nov. 19-26.
At the same time, appearing in mass
media magazines is an advertisement
bearing the illustration at the right,
accompanied by the following text:
"We know a book that can guide you
through the drug problem. It's also got
a lot to say about race. And the genera-
tion gap. Riches. Poverty. Violence.
And justice. Not to mention war and
peace.
"We'd like to send you a copy for a
dollar. And not a paperback copy. But
one you'll keep. The name of the book
is the Bible."
Sponsored by the Interfaith Laymen's
National Bible Committee, the offer on
Bibles last year brought requests for
25,000 copies.
In calling for the week's observance
President Nixon urged Americans to
make the teachings of the scriptures "the
touchstone of their lives." He further
encouraged young people "to grow in af>-
preciation of the Word of God" so they
can be better equipped "to do His work
on earth for the good of all mankind."
The Bible Week campaign is nonsec-
tarian and involves leaders of business
and industry.
2 MESSENGER 1115-72
seven years, with staff time and leader-
ship and a budget item of $1,000-2,000
annually.
H. Lamar Gibble, peace and interna-
tional affairs consultant with the General
Board's World Ministries Commission
staff, is the new secretary-treasurer of
CAREE, succeeding former Brethren
minister, Kurtis F. Naylor, an interna-
tional affairs officer for the National
Council of Churches and former execu-
tive secretary of the US Association for
the CPC.
Mr. Gibble reports that the new ad-
dress of CAREE's secretariat is 1451
Dundee Ave., Elgin, 111. 60120, the ad-
dress of the Church of the Brethren inter-
national headquarters.
Dr. Paul Peachy, a Mennonite soci-
ologist from Washington, D.C., is chair-
man of the organization.
Mr. Gibble indicated that in the
changes taking place, that the group is
not withdrawing from CPC and still
considers itself the channel "through
which the churches in the US continue
to participate in the life of the confer-
ence.
Though our work remains modest in
scope," he said, "we remain prepared to
designate participants, to assist in the
development of CPC agenda, and to con-
tribute financially to its program."
However, in an official announcement
from CAREE, two paragraphs point out
that the new efforts will not be confined
to the CPC. "If in specific instances we
must withhold our support of particular
(CPC) actions . . . such dissent in its own
way witnesses to the calling of reconcilia-
tion which we share as Christians."
In 1971, the US group boycotted the
CPC Assembly in Prague and, in effect,
several formal CPC ties for a time. It
was displeased with the manner in which
the meeting was planned, and with the
CPC's treatment of the late Dr. Josef
Hromadka, founder of the organization
who was forced out when he protested
the Soviet invasion of his country in
1968.
Russian Orthodox Metropolitan
Nicodim of Leningrad and Novgorod,
who led the opposition to Dr. Hromadka,
is the present head of CPC. He con-
tinues in that role despite his recent resig-
nation for health reasons as director of
foreign affairs for his church.
Metropolitan Nicodim visited the US
in November 1967 as part of the Church
of the Brethren-Russian Orthodox
exchange, no small part of which was an
outgrowth of Brethren/ Christian Peace
Conference relations.
At the death of W. Harold Row in
1971 the Christian Century pointed to
the role the former Brethren Service ex-
ecutive had both formally and informally
in extending Christian efforts for peace
across the Iron Curtain. "For a long
time he bore the heaviest burdens of US
representation in the Christian Peace
Conference and with ecumenical ex-
changes with the Russian Orthodox
Church," the Century stated.
Mr. Gibble stressed the importance of
an ongoing organization like CAREE in
order to facilitate relations between the
"significant numbers of Christians in
East Europe and the US."
He pointed to the official statement of
the new ecumenical association, indicat-
ing that CAREE has "a broader mandate
on behalf of the churches in this country
to study the issues pertaining to relations
among the churches in differing social
systems, to provide information, to pro-
mote contacts, and to propose common
action in the whole of the church of Jesus
Christ, East and West."
Brethren responses to
hurricane lauded
The response of the Brethren to Hurri-
cane Agnes was hardly singular. The
tropical storm that swept through five
states in June demanded multiple re-
sponses. The variety of Brethren gifts
and the variety of service can be seen in
this roundup of commendations:
1/^ H. McKinley Coffman, director of
disaster services for the Church of the
Brethren, noted in mid-August the "tre-
mendous response" to clean-up opera-
tions in the Wilkes-Barre area of Penn-
sylvania where major denominational
efforts are being directed.
The response, he went on to say,
shows "that Brethren are still mobile and
able to respond."
More than 1,675 persons contributed
3,372 workdays through Aug. 17 in the
Wilkes-Barre area alone under the
supervision of the Brethren program.
MEETS POVVs: Yale University chap-
lain William Sloan Coffin greets captured
American pilots in Hanoi. Coffin made an
appearance at the 1972 Conference
As one might expect, more than half
came from congregations in Pennsyl-
vania, but 300 came from neighboring
states and as far away as Indiana. Some
430 persons from ten other denomina-
tions, including some Mennonites when
their program closed out a week earlier,
worked under Brethren direction there.
By mid-September, the number of vol-
unteers was nearing 2,000. Persons are
still needed there. Phone co-directors
George and Romelle Million at 717-288-
8304 for the latest information on skills
and services needed. Work will continue
there through January.
I/* The Coventry congregation was
lauded by neighboring pastor Fred
Swartz of Harrisburg. Writing in The
Growing Edge, he observed that they
"almost single-handedly managed relief
efforts in the Pottstown, Pa., area."
In addition to lifting offerings totaling
more than $2,500, the women of
Coventry prepared 4,323 sandwiches for
the evacuation centers in Pottstown and
added to that donations of 40 dozen eggs,
1 10 pints of milk, 60 dozen rolls, 9
roast turkeys, and 33 pounds of ham.
Moreover, 15 church families housed
flood victims and some 30 families vol-
unteered to wash dishes and clothing for
a two-week period.
The Coventry congregation was with-
11-15-72 MESSENGER 3
out a pastor at the time. Mr. Swartz
reflected that when their new pastor
arrived in September he would find per-
sons who are "alert to need and re-
sponsibiUty."
ii^ Pennsylvania was not the only state
where service was happening for the
Brethren. In Mid-July, a letter came to
Joel Thompson, executive of the World
Ministries Commission, commending the
work of H. McKinley Coffman in the
state of Maryland.
Although Mac was officially the liaison
officer for coordinating the Church of the
Brethren and Mennonite Disaster Service
efforts in Maryland, he became involved
in what was called "a unique situation in
the history of the Office of Emergency
Preparedness management of the Federal
Disaster Assistance Program" by
regional director Frances X. Carney.
Mac was assigned as the deputy to the
federal individual assistance officer.
Mr. Carney said that "the difficulties
inherent in this position are significant
for a federal official, but even more so
for a 'volunteer.' The job required
directing and coordinating the efforts of
federal and state agencies in a positive
yet tactful manner."
Referring to the work of Mr. Coffman,
the regional director went on to say,
"His untiring volunteer efforts in assisting
in the management of the Maryland
disaster relief effort have been an un-
paralleled bonus to the federal govern-
ment and to the President's Office of
Emergency Preparedness."
l^ Back in Pennsylvania, John R.
Nantz coordinated volunteer efforts for
the Brethren in Harrisburg. Even in the
relatively early days of clean-up he
noted that volunteers were on hand from
as far away as Johnstown, and Dayton,
Ohio.
j> In Ephrata, a used furniture bank
operated by the Brethren there proved to
be "exceptionally beneficial to the vic-
tims of the flood," according to one
news report. A shed on the farm of
Reuben Weaver was fully restocked
twice. In the process, at least 60 mat-
tresses were donated and distributed.
u^ In other locations, Harold Z. Bom-
berger, district executive secretary of the
Atlantic Northeast District, noted that
some churches held very brief Sunday
morning worship services. Members
came in work clothes. After a prayer, a
hymn, and a commissioning service, the
"true service" began as members picked
up buckets, brushes, shovels, rags, and
pumps and went out to help their neigh-
bors along what were for Mr. Bomberger
"the watery Jericho roads."
"Almost every Brethren in the Atlantic
Northeast District was involved in one
way or another or is related to or knows
someone intimately who experienced
serious loss," said Mr. Bomberger.
But they responded, nevertheless, in
Brethren in the Sunday Independent, an
area weekly, Mr. Mante reported that as
he talked with the Brethren coming to
help clean up, he concluded "in part
that it must be their tradition of "foot-
washing" at the communion service. "
In an Aug. 20 article he retells the
account in the Gospel of John and ex-
plains the practice as the Brethren at-
tempt "to fulfill the role of being a
servant."
The passage began to live for him as
he tried to "feel" the why of their dedica-
Wilkes-Barre, Forty Fort, & Kingston, 1972
First, the waters of the Susquehanna
Then, a flood of love.
The sand houses, of course, were washed away
scooped out by bulldozers
or gently swept away by hose and broom.
But the rock houses — ah, yes. the rock houses'.
All they really needed, bless them,
was a back bent to help
an ear bent to listen
and a word of encouragement
Not only to stand —
but sometimes stronger than ever,
lending strength to the helper!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
— Mary Sue Rosenberger
what Mr. Bomberger calls "an incred-
ible, a fantastic outpouring of love,
concern, money, and labor."
There's something of Brethren identity
in all this, something of who the Brethren
are and hope to be when a neighbor is
in need.
Foot-washing ordinance
lives in Wilkes-Barre
What the Brethren are doing in the
Wilkes-Barre area has something to do
with foot-washing is the claim of the
Rev. Harold F. Mante, pastor of the
Forty-Fort Presbyterian Church.
Writing about the Church of the
tion. he said, referring to the Brethren he
met since the flood.
He goes on to suggest that it might well
make a difference "to have been taught
from your youth to bow down and do the
humble task of a ser\'ant."
It might be the "only way we might
be (motivated) to clean the mud out of
the home of someone" in some other
state, he writes.
The foot-washing requirement, he
mused, might make persons "willing to
ride miles and miles to clean out the mud
of someone's cellar."
The Brethren and even some of their
ordinances are known in Wilkes-Barre
today. Neither had been known by many
there before the flood.
4 MESSENGER 11-15-72
[LQDlldlcSD^DDDDO
Thanks for a "one in a
million" brother/sister
A Presbyterian minister in Forty-Fort,
Pa., playing on the name of George and
Romelle Million, calls them "one in a
million."
"We have all made new friends
through the flood experiences," writes
Pastor Harold F. Mante in an area week-
ly, the Sunday Independent, and George
and Romelle are among them.
The Millions serve as co-directors of
Brethren restoration work in the area,
working out of a project house located
at 18 Wesley St. in Forty-Fort. (Phone
717-288-8304 for the latest information
on skills and services needed there.)
Instead of being "one in a million,"
however, Mr. Mante goes on to write the
Millions are, " 'one' in 200,000 members
of the Church of the Brethren found in
36 of the states."
Judging, however, from letters re-
ceived, a servant is "one in a million"
regardless of last name or size of denom-
ination represented. Two cases in point:
A woman in Kingston, in the Wilkes-
Barre, Pa., area, writes how "discouraged
and disheartened" she was but that "his
help was forthcoming" when 21 young
people came to her "devastated castle."
"The tasks assigned to them were
arduous and most unpleasant," she said.
"They cleaned my cellar which was
covered with mud and they came up
covered with slippery, shiny mud, look-
ing like creatures from outer space."
"I'll tell you," she continued, "they are
the grandest group of folks I've ever
met. At all times they were courteous,
jovial, and most willing to help in what-
ever area they were needed."
The writer is a 64-year-old diabetic
who lives alone. She called those who
came "a gift from above" and sent a
small donation in gratitude for what these
unnamed "one in a million" did.
Another woman from Forty-Fort
wrote a thank you for the men who came
to her home to help with the cleaning.
"The physical help was needed, but
you will never realize," she said, "what a
morale boost it is to have total strangers
travel miles to give a hand."
Servants are "one in a million" and
perhaps so are these statements of thanks.
PEOPLE YOU KNOW
Musician and writer Martha Bowman died
in August 1972 at La Verne, Calif. Author of Brethren
Press book Ebony Madonna, she was associated with 1±ie Church
of the Brethren in many capacities.
In Puerto Rico on special assignment with the Mennon-
ite Central Committee are Oswald and Elaine Goering. He
is chairman of Illinois-Wisconsin district board and on
sabbatical leave from his teaching post at Northern Illi-
nois University.
Carl Hilbert , for more than fifty years a minister in
the Church of the Brethren, was honored guest at Nov. 5
services at the White Branch church, South/Central Indiana.
AFTER TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS
Since 1945 no person has
been licensed to the ministry by the Frederick, Md. , Church
of the Brethren in the Mid-Atlantic District. So John
Harpold , pastor of the Thurmont congregation, participated
in a significant happening when he was licensed this fall.
At the ceremony John's father, a Methodist minister, had
the sermon, and Roberta Nelson, of the district's ministry
commission, conducted the service, assisted by pastor
Merlin Garber.
ON THE ROAD ... Two Akron, Ohio, pastors are hosting
a ten-day tour of Geneva and the Holy Land , departing Feb.
19, 1973. The Byron Millers and the Raymon Ellers invite
the 1:ravel-minded to join them. Write L. Byron Miller,
563 Darrow Rd. , Akron, Ohio 44305, for details.
POTPOURRI
Lancaster, Pa., Council of Churches
wound up a six-week leadership education school this
month. Lancaster Church of the Brethren provided one of
two campuses, and Pennsylvania Brethren participated widely
as leaders.
Sisters in the Church of the Brethren Women ' s Caucus
are enlisting women from the twenty-four districts to work
at obtaining equality for all persons in Christ's church,
as well as to focus on issues specifically related to
women. Interested in participating? Write Women's Caucus,
219 Fifth St., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002.
Southern Ohio District Conference named its first
woman moderator-elect at its September gathering. Joy
Dull , Brookville, will assume the moderatorship next year.
West Milton, Ohio, youth spent an October weekend
work-camping at Flat Creek, Ky. The twenty- two young
folk worked on several projects in the community.
The Anderson, Ind. , congregation is worshiping in a
school building after a fire destroyed the church sanctu-
ary and damaged the educational wing in September. Plans
are already under way for rebuilding or relocating.
In Illinois the York Center congregation has voted
to "instruct the church treasurer not to pay the federal
excise tax on the church telephone as an act of conscience
against the Indo-China War, and that the Internal Revenue
Service be informed of the decision." Pastor Dean Miller
noted, "We felt we've tried all [other] channels open to us.
11-15-72 MESSENGER 5
Cairo Encounter
for an Idahoan
or Why They Put the Preacher in Prison in Egypt
It was in Cairo, Egypt, last July 18, the
day that Egypt's President Sadat an-
nounced the expulsion of all Russian
troops from that country.
I was one of three tour hosts in a
group of 49 people traveling in Bible
lands. Coming from Rome and Athens,
we managed two days in Cairo before
visiting Israel.
An obvious warlike atmosphere pre-
vails in the land of the Pharaohs. As our
plane taxied to the terminal, it was met
by an armored truck, complete with
manned mounted machine gun and
eight soldiers with automatic rifles. The
sandbagged terminal itself, with the
spotter's machine gun nests, made one a
bit uneasy about reaching into one's
pocket too rapidly.
It had seemed wise to me before leav-
ing the USA to arm myself with Gospel
literature printed in Arabic for Egypt,
and some printed in Hebrew for Israel.
Not wanting to ofEend anyone, I very
secretively proceeded to leave this Chris-
tian literature in prominent places about
the city. The Egyptian Museum received
a couple; the Sphinx gained one; Repub-
lic Square, the Citadel, some oriental
bazaar shops, the Pyramid of Cheops,
and other places were left with a Chris-
tian message for whoever discovered the
Good News. I felt good about this
clandestine witnessing until that evening
when it was pointed out to me by a
young Egyptian Christian with whom a
couple in our group were visiting, that
the brochures I was distributing were
the ones in Hebrew.
It does seem as though I would know
the difference between Arabic and He-
brew, but alas, I did not. Feeling some-
what disenchanted about providing
Christian reading printed in hated
Hebrew lying about the city, I panicked
to think that I was stuck with all the
undistributed Arabic material still in my
bag. And it was heavy.
It was midnight and our departure was
for 8 a.m. that morning. Now, in
6 MESSENGER 11-15-72
Cairo, as in many warm climate cites, the
traffic maintains its bumper-to-bumper,
horn-honking, madcap frolic until all
hours of the morning. Just envision rush
hour traffic in any American city.
I took my Arabic brochures in hand
and approached a policeman directing
traffic at a main Nile river bridge inter-
section near our hotel.
In my best Arabic fl had learned five
words) I asked his permission to distrib-
ute the literature to cars as they stopped
at the signal. He said okay, I think (he
knew three words in English). Thank
goodness for sign language.
The people in the cars eagerly
gobbled up the material in five minutes
and I was down to the last 10 or 12
pieces. I handed one to a cab driver,
who looked at it, stopped his car on the
"go" light, jumped out of the cab, and
proceeded in Arabic to "button hole"
me with the-finger-in-the-chest ap-
proach. He was mad, to say the least.
The policeman rushed over, car doors
flew open in all lanes of the boulevard, a
crowd quickly surrounded us, and the
battle was on. The irate driver and the
policeman had it out. Fists were shak-
ing in the air (most of them in my
direction). Everv'one was shouting and
yelling in their loudest Arabic, and I
understood nothing.
So I said nothing, just stood there
looking stupid. Some of the crowd were
obviously on my side and were arguing
in my behalf. People were thumbing
through the literature like it was the
most important material in the world. It
made a big hit, but I was in trouble.
A police lieutenant and his five at-
tendants somehow managed to drive
through the tangled mass of cars, and
soon I was in the nearest police station,
accompanied by the cab driver.
For two hours I was interrogated by a
crew of 15 Muslim policemen. "Are you
really an American?" Yes, I really am.
"Do you know that it is illegal to pass
out literature without a permit signed by
by Glenn Stanford
X^>.y,.
i
the Secretary of the Interior?" No, I
didn't.
"Do you know that this material
mentions "Israel" "? No, I didn't, but it
figures.
"Do you know that there are Israeli
spies all over Egypt distributing propa-
ganda?" No, I didn't. '"Have you ever
been to Israel?" No, not yet.
"Why were you giving away this
material?" Because I'm a Christian.
""Who told you to do it?" Only God
(Allah).
"How do we know you are a Christian
minister, you don't look like one?" Oh,
great.
"Do you know that the American
embassy in Cairo is closed and you can-
not have asylum there?" Oh, fine.
They wanted my passport, of course. I
didn't have it because the local tour
guide had taken all 49 of them that night
so that he could get us through the
airport red tape more quickly next
morning. There were many, many ques-
tions, half of them I didn't understand.
The most frequently used term was
"Israeli spy."
The district police captain spoke no
English, but I was told that he was the
only Christian policeman in an entire
precinct of Muslims.
He read the literature. They all sat
around reading the material. I waited.
A paper was brought to me to sign.
""It is simply a report of the incident" I
was told. I didn't sign it. They were not
happy with me.
Finally, I was placed in the back seat
of a Russian-made jeep next to my
armed guard who carried what looked
like an M-1 rifle with bayonet. With
three policemen (they all look like
soldiers to me) in the front seat, we
drove about two miles to a residential
street. It was 4 a.m. Through steel gates
and into a courtyard I was walked by
the four men.
The thought that they looked a
little like a firing squad did bother me
slightly.
There was a building at one end of the
yard that looked like a villa with barred
windows. An eight-foot high wall en-
closed the yard on three sides, with rolled
barbed wire staked to the top of the wall.
There was one wooden bench next to
one wall where I was directed to sit.
They grilled me intensively, I think,
although they spoke no English. I
refused a smoke, a glass of wine. They
went back inside the building.
So there I sat, with the guard in the
chair on the opposite side of the court-
yard, rifle in his lap, sound asleep.
He was in worse shape than I was.
I lay down on the bench and con-
sidered sleeping, but alas it was 4:18
a.m. and the nearby minaret (tall tower
of Muslim mosques) launched forth
with its first of 5-times-a-day recorded
calls to prayer. That indeed is an eerie
sound to stay awake by. The guard
didn't budge. At least it was warm
outside.
A,
Lt last, approximately an eternity
later, three policemen roared up in their
jeep, dashed through the iron gates,
cufi"ed the sleeping guard, and informed
me that I could leave with them if I
wanted to. I wanted to.
The English speaker was polite and
cordial as we drove back to the hotel.
He returned my remaining brochures
with an apology. The policemen were
all smiles, and they all wanted to talk.
They wanted to know all about Islam
in America. I didn't know much (there
aren't many Muslims in Boise). They
wanted to know about Christianity in
America. Is most every American a
Christian?
They wanted to know if I would turn
my cheek if they hit me. I said I'd try.
They wanted to know why we "'are on
the Jew's side." They wanted to know
why, if we are Christian, we fight in
Vietnam.
They did their best to try to convince
me that Egyptians do not want to fight
Israelis. The half million Jews in Egypt
are ""legal" and so are 5 million Chris-
tians; 20 million Muslims guarantee
safety to Jews and Christians.
They told me that the war there is
strictly a "family feud" into which
Egypt has been drawn. Land is the key
factor in Egyptian retaliation against the
Jews. (And it's true ... as we were later
told in Israel.) Jews can learn to love
Egyptians, but it's difficult to love the
Jordanians and Syrians, especially,
because Jews are more related to them.
We have but to check on Lot, Ishmael,
and Esau and others in the Bible to
prove it. Egyptians are outside the clan.
They wanted to know about Christ;
about the Church of the Brethren; about
what we thought of Muhammed; about
how we say we love peace yet are so
aggressive in Vietnam.
These men asked me questions I
could not answer.
They equated Christianity and Amer-
ica. If one is an American, he is a
Christian. Had to set them straight on
that issue immediately. We talked until
broad daylight.
Through the haze of my sleepy mind,
I could see the Apostle Paul being
imprisoned and witnessing to the jailer
and other prisoners. It was a simple
matter to identify with Paul.
It was with a sense of pride ( I con-
fess) that I was able to tell them what
Jesus meant to me. It was quite apparent
that for them the only real problem with
Christ was the Christian. They had not
seen Jesus in the lives of the Christians
they knew and especially not in the lives
of American Christians they knew about.
The conversation ended. I felt as
though these men were my friends. Such
eager inquiries concerning the faith is
something I've seldom experienced. The
highlight experience of a 17,000-mile
journey was behind me.
No
llot though, without a couple post-
scripts. First, while eating a hurried
breakfast after quickly packing my bag,
a waiter saw my remaining brochures on
the table next to me. He asked if I were
Christian and rejoiced to say that he too
belonged to Jesus. He asked for the
Arabic literature for his church, but
since I had told the police I would not
distribute them ""ever again in Egypt," I
couldn't give them to him. Being forget-
ful, however, I neglected to pick up the
literature when I left the table, and upon
leaving the dining room I observed that
the waiter quickly found them.
Second, unbeknown to me, the other
tour leaders were awakened about
4:30 a.m., along with the tour guide,
airlines representative, and a panic-
stricken hotel manager who had en-
visioned all tour groups being sent
packing back to the States. They were all
questioned about me. So while hoping
the incident might be kept quiet, I had
a few questions to answer that morning
on the flight from Cairo. D
11-15-72 MESSENGER 7
ps©D@D \r(Bp(D)\rt
J-he annual meeting of the Brethren
Revival Fellowship, usually held in
Pennsylvania (Conemaugh, 1970; White
Oak, 1971 ), was held this year Sept. 9 in
the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of
Virginia. In addition to words of wel-
come from Pastor S. Earl Mitchell, the
splendid facilities and the warm hospi-
tality of the Mill Creek church combined
to provide a very satisfactory setting for
the 250 persons participating from 67
congregations in Pennsylvania, Virginia,
West Virginia. Maryland, and Ohio.
At the morning session the spotlight
was on youth, with active participation
by a group of young people from the
Atlantic Northeast District, including a
group of young men who presented sev-
eral hymns a cappella and additional
young people who extemporaneously
expressed appreciation for the goodness
of God. witnessed to a love for Jesus
Christ and the scriptures, and thanked
God for those teaching them more about
the Bible.
"Youth are not the church of tomor-
row but they are the church of today,"
said W. Hartman Rice, Columbia City,
Ind., using 1 Tim. 4: 12 as a text for a
sermon on "The Place of Youth in the
Church." Many persons involved in the
current Jesus movement, he stated, have
come from churches which have ne-
glected to teach the scripture and the
language of faith to their youth. The
member of the Brethren Revival Fellow-
ship Steering Committee went on to say
that, in spite of risks involved, there
should be a wider use of youth (and
other laity) in the life of the church in
the areas of worship, committee mem-
bership, and decision making, declaring,
"The life of the church does not need to
revolve around the minister."
The second message of the day shifted
to another emphasis with Wilbur G.
Lehman, Manheim, Pa., speaking on
"The Ministry of the Holy Spirit." His
question was, "Have we been divinely
disturbed since the Holy Spirit came into
our lives?" This .speaker urged his hear-
ers to be open to the power, presence, and
blessing of the Holy Spirit. Stating that
"the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost and
has been here ever since," Lehamn said
some people avoid the Spirit because of
"fear of fanaticism, a preoccupation with
worldliness, or a prevalence of sin in
their lives." He urged that the fruit of
the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23) be the means
of tempering and balancing the gifts of
the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-11).
Included in the day's activities was a
report by Harold S. Martin, York, Pa.,
chairman of the group, who alluded to
the "warm feeling and good atmosphere"
of the meeting. Brother Martin reiterated
that "the Brethren Revival Fellowship is
a movement within the Church of the
Brethren to call the church back to
respect for the authority of the scrip-
ture." Even though there is no official
way by which one becomes a member of
the Brethren Revival Fellowship, mem-
bership is a spiritual unity among those
who share similar concerns. He reported
that there are persons in 270 congrega-
tions of the Brotherhood who serve as
local representatives for the distribution
of the quarterly publication of the
group, "The BRF Witness."
Chairman Martin also indicated that
though there are still concerns regarding
curriculum and other materials available
from our Brotherhood, there are some
signs of hope and encouragement. These
are found in a greater openness by An-
nual Conference and the Brotherhood
staff to the concerns which have been
expressed. He announced that at least
BRF: HaveWe Been
. Divinely Disturbed?
i ,1^.
two of the items contained in a resolu-
tion (adopted in Conemaugh in 1970)
have been dealt with by study commit-
tees of Annual Conference ( FAUS and
noncooperation with the draft).
Numerous questions were raised dur-
ing a question-answer period to which
Harold Martin, Linford Rotenberger, and
James Myer provided answers. Some
statements and criticisms of the denomi-
nation and of Annual Conference were
met defensively by Chairman Martin who
said that "though we do not always agree
with many of the decisions of Annual
Conference, we feel that the conduct of
the business has always been done in a
fair and impartial manner."
He reminded persons also that it is
possible to find, even in the midst of
unsatisfactory conditions, "a nucleus of
people everywhere who are faithful."
There were requests from the floor for
meetings "of this type" to be held more
frequently than once a year to provide
for the needs for fellowship, inspiration,
and sharing. One of the younger mem-
bers present asked whether it would be
possible to have "a BRF-sponsored youth
conference or retreat," contending that
the current youth program at Annual
Conference does not meet the needs of
this segment of the church.
Dean M. Miller, moderator of Annual
Conference, was present for most of the
day and was called upon to address the
assembly. He expressed appreciation for
the opportunity to share in the meeting
and brought greetings from the Annual
Conference, the General Board, and the
Brotherhood staff'. In his remarks he
said there is a need in the church to bring
the Nicodemus story (John 3) and the
Ephesus story (Acts 16) together. "There
is need," he said, "for regeneration and
conversion because Jesus Christ is our
Savior, but there is need also for social,
political, and economic expressions of
the faith, because Jesus Christ is Lord."
No plans were announced for the next
meeting of the Brethren Revival Fellow-
ship, but it was stated that members of
the committee will meet Thanksgiving
week with representatives of several Bible
schools to discuss matters related to the
operation of such schools. The BRF has
hopes and some funds for starting its own
Bible school in the future. — J. Stanley
Earhart
8 MESSENGER 1115-72
Discovering the Brethren
To the Church of the Brethren in the
USA:
My beloved Brethren in Jesus Christ,
grace and peace.
In this letter I shall try to recapitulate
my experience of joy and fellowship
which was my privilege from June 24
to July 19, 1972. It was your kind invi-
tation that brought me to you, and I was
in your midst as the representative of the
Church of North India. Being conscious
of my many limitations, I did try to
present CNI, its work, mission, and pri-
orities as best as I was able to. From the
time that I reached Cincinnati I felt ab-
solutely relaxed and at home, and for
this you all are to be thanked.
My past experience in visiting various
countries has been somewhat different!
To reach a new place, to be in a new
setting does cause tension and therefore
the problem of adjustment stares one in
the face. This was not so when I came
to you. I felt one with you, and that
was mainly due to the spirit of brother-
hood and cordiality which in a natural
way eased my mind, and in spite of the
flight from New Delhi to New York and
to Cincinnati, I was able to attend meet-
ings after a night's rest.
It is strange indeed that in order to
know the Brethren intimately I had to go
to the USA. In India I had heard of the
Until this summer Eric S. Nasir was a
virtual stranger to the Church of the
Brethren, yet he became at once a warm
and spirited brother among us. Current-
ly moderator of the Church of North
India and the Bishop of Delhi, Mr. Nasir
in June was a fraternal delegate to An-
nual Conference; in July he visited Breth-
ren families, churches, and institutions in
several states; in A ugust he participated
in the meeting of the World Council of
Churches' Central Committee, of which
he is a member, in the Netherlands.
Upon return home in September, and at
the invitation of Messenger, he shared
these reflections of his visit with the
Brethren.
Brethren in a vague way and never made
an attempt to know them better. To a
great extent this advertent ignorance was
due to "denominational superiority" on
my part. I am therefore very happy that
I was at your Conference, in your homes,
in your churches for three and a half
weeks. For all this I am the gainer; I am
richer in experience; I am blessed by the
fellowship.
I found your church members un-
sophisticated, friendly, dedicated, and
disciplined. Thus you impressed me as
most businesslike, serious in purpose and
committed to a Mission. This was evi-
dent everywhere, at your Conference, in
your General Offices, in various homes,
and in your pastorates.
I cannot easily forget the uplifting
worship meetings and Bible study ses-
sions at Cincinnati: the singing was
superb and most inspiring. Naturally I
could not take any intelligent interest in
business sessions as most of the items
dealt with were domestic. In spite of the
large number of people that came to the
Conference there was never any con-
fusion or noise; everyone moved about
in a quiet, natural, and relaxed way.
There was a definite atmosphere
pervading the conference: The presence
of the Spirit was evident.
Within your denomination I found a
rational laxity. Some churches even had
liturgical colours (green stoles and altar
frontols) . In every church I found at
least two candles on the altar, but in one
I found 16 candles, so when asked I said
I was feeling eight times more "at home"
as I am only used to two candles!
In spite of the fact that there are about
200,000 members in the USA Church
of the Brethren, I found the habit of
giving well established and budgets well
planned and balanced.
Some of the pastors in remote hill-
areas are real shepherds to their flocks.
They can lay hands to any ordinary work
that demands their attention — repairing
cars and punctured tyres, making furni-
ture and other routine tools. City pastors
must be, I am sure, having the same re-
sourcefulness for their people. What I
mean to say is that pastors in the Church
of the Brethren are not merely concerned
with Sunday morning worship, but also
with daily duties for the people, an or-
der of the day.
I had an opportunity of spending some
hours at two youth camps in different
areas. I felt the young boys and girls
were natural, yet with a difference for the
better.
My visit to the Manchester College,
my three days' stay at a home for the
aged, and a short visit to an ultramodern
farm were most rewarding. The laying
on of hands ceremony when the new
moderator of your church was set aside
for service was indeed moving.
And so, I have come back to my own
church full of happy and blessed mem-
ories. I thank God upon every remem-
brance of you and your Mission. Let us
all keep the flame of the Spirit alive, so
that we could pass on something solid
to those youngsters who will become
pillars of the church tomorrow.
Your Mission has now become our
church in the Church of North India,
and so we thank God for this maturity
and fruitfulness in our relationships to-
gether. You and we are now integrated
in the CNI. What better fruit could be
expected than this achievement? "It is
the Lord's doing and is marvelous in our
eyes!"
With renewed thanks, affectionate
greetings, and Christian love to all in the
Church of the Brethren in the U.S.A.
Yours in His service.
-h
(^,e^4lM^
1115-72 MESSENGER 9
an inside look at a man
t
o be haunted by your past and to be
afraid of the future makes for a difficult
Hfe. To feel guilty about what you've
done and to fear that you may yet have
to pay for it is painful.
Jacob was born into a family with a
destiny. His grandfather Abraham had
God's promise that he would be the fa-
ther of a great people. This made Jacob
a descendant of the promised blessing,
but this didn't make life good or easy or
painless for Jacob, or for any of us. It
seemed Jacob was in conflict and struggle
from before he was born. He seemed to
fight with his twin brother Esau even in
his mother's womb, and when the twins
were born Jacob had a grip on Esau's
heel. Born to struggle.
Jacob was the favorite son of his
mother, but being the favorite one isn't
always easy either. It makes for conflict
and suspicion, for when somebody is the
favorite, it means there is one who is
rejected, is not favored. And somehow
the favored seems to be the target of
the rejected's bitterness, if not in fact, at
least in the secret fears of the favored.
The mother of these twins connived to
get the blessing of her husband for her
favorite son Jacob, when it belonged to
Esau, the first twin born. Mothers have
a way of teaching their sons how to get
ahead in life, and Jacob must have
learned Rachel's tricks, for Jacob be-
came like her, a clever, crafty, tricky
operator. He tricked his brother out of
his inheritance. He tricked his uncle out
of some sheep. He learned how to get
ahead, all right, but living with the con-
sequences of his prowess proved to be
difficult.
How doss a man feel who has been
crafty and clever, who is where he is by
hook and by crook, albeit well-covered
with the cloak of "good business"? May-
be he feels guilty, guilty in having what is
not his by rights, guilty in disappointing
his father, guilty for cheating his brother.
Maybe he's afraid, afraid of losing what
he got by devious means, afraid of some-
day when he would have to pay for his
shrewdness, afraid of his bigger and
stronger brother Esau, afraid of the
future. Maybe he can't sleep at night,
can't sleep because he hears voices telling
him how awful he is, can't sleep because
he's afraid somebody he has tricked will
get him in his sleep, can't sleep because
he keeps having bad dreams. Maybe he
can't forget some things he'd like to for-
get, wanting to start over in a new way
but not being able to forget the past, not
able to forget his father's disappointment
in him, not able to forget his brother's
anger toward him. Maybe he is torn up
inside all the time, always in a struggle
with himself about the past, always
anxious about what to do next.
a
by Paul Monroe
man with all that going on inside
him has to find some ways to protect
himself from all the pain. And all
Jacob knew how to do was to be clever
and scheme, so he did. And the more he
schemed the worse it must have felt.
"Where will it all end?" he must have
thought to himself in his restless hours
before sleep, sleep that was a tardy and
temporary respite. "Will I never know
an end of this pain inside? Will I never
be reconciled with my dead father?"
Death ends a life but it does not end a
relationship. His father was still there
haunting him. "Oh, how to be free of the
terrible burden of this life?" And yet
God had special plans for him. A
strange and yet perhaps not so unique a
burden did he carry.
It was in that condition, twenty years
since he had seen his brother Esau, that
Jacob heard God call him to go back
home, to go back to the land where he
was raised. That was scary. It meant he
would have to face his brother Esau, face
his shameful past. It could mean an end
of his prosperity and being the top dog,
or it might even mean an end to his life.
He didn't know. When life's great cross-
roads face us, and we decide to take one
of those unmarked paths, we don't know
what lies around the bend. And that's
scary, being on the road into the future
without a roadmap.
Clever as he was, Jacob sent some
messengers ahead to learn what he might
expect. They came back, having found
Esau out there ahead, coming this way,
and Esau had four hundred men with
him. In his fear and guilt Jacob could
only think the worst. "Esau is coming
after me with an army of four hundred
men carrying swords and spears." Jacob
feared the worst.
Now what? Clever Jacob got at it
again and planned a scheme to get out of
another mess. He was employing his best
weapons again. He would send out
ahead of him five groups of people with
gifts for Esau. He would send them one
by one, then come himself to meet Esau
after all the gifts had gotten to him. He
couldn't face his brother honestly, open-
ly, personally. He had to substitute
things for himself. "Esau won't accept
me, but maybe he will accept and love
the things I send."
It was the night before meeting Esau.
He had to be alone that night. He slept
across the creek from his family, or
rather he tried to sleep. He was alone.
He was afraid. And in his loneliness and
fear someone came and struggled with
him. wrestled with him, fought with him.
It was like some strange power gripping
him and not letting go. It was like fight-
ing with the voice of his conscience. It
was like wrestling for his life.
Jacob was a lot of things — crafty and
tricky, sneaky and cheating, not to be
trusted — but one thing good could be
said for Jacob. He was a man of
courage. He might have run away, and
he thought about that. He might have
committed suicide, but he couldn't think
of that. He might have murdered the
one who wrestled with him, or his broth-
er, for that matter. Escape and violence
were possible, but not his choice. He
stayed to face the struggle with the man
in the night, and he wrestled all night.
In the night of soul wrestling he pre-
vailed. He came out limping, with a hip
out of joint and a leg muscle in spasm,
but even if limping, he faced the sunrise
on his own two feet. And from the man
who wrestled with him he got a blessing
and a new name. Israel, meaning cou-
rageous struggler. one who struggles with
God and prevails. The Bible says it was
a man who wrestled with him, but Jacob
felt he had met God face to face in the
10 MESSENGER 11-15-72
afraid
night of struggle. In his struggle he met
God. Not peacefully, not with answers,
but with a struggling presence did God
seem to come.
The next day he went out limping in
the daylight. Limping, but on his own
two feet; coming out of a terrible strug-
gle, but coming out into the daylight with
courage.
He met Esau. He expected the worst,
to be killed, to lose his family and po-
sessions, to be made a slave. Again the
man of guilt and fear expected the worst,
as though that is what he feels like doing
to himself sometimes.
And much to his surprise, unbelievable
even to one who reads the story, Esau
ran to meet him, threw his arms around
his neck, and kissed him. And there they
stood, brothers at odds with each other
for a bitter lifetime, arms around each
other, weeping. Not saying anything, not
apologizing for anything, doing nothing
but weeping in each other's arms and
beards. Weeping, pouring the healing
ointment of the heart from their eyes,
sealing with salt water a relationship of
caring and loving and accepting, in spite
of everything.
^•xhausted from the emotional drain,
Jacob shared with his twin brother, "To
see your face is like seeing the face of
God, with such favor you have received
me." From his brother he had every
right to get punishment and revenge, but
he got grace. It was his brother this
time, but again for Jacob it was like
meeting God.
In less than twenty-four hours this
man of fear met God twice in the form
of a man. One man struggled with him,
the other man forgave him. One man
wrestled with his conscience, the other
accepted him without questions; and in
both Jacob saw the face of God.
The Bible doesn't say so, but it would
seem some kind of poetic justice that
Jacob would limp the rest of his life.
Limping, but with a smile on his face.
Limping because he struggled, smihng
because he was loved, knowing whether
struggling or being loved, God was with
him. D
A Church Tl
Below. Rene Tiifino, 31-year-old head of
the United Evangelical Church in
Ecuador; above, one of the church's
16 permanent congregations, the Church
of Jesus of Nazareth in Santo Domingo
de los Colorados
12 MESSENGER I1-15-72
It Makes More
Sense Every Day
by Gordon L. Burgett
The long alley-like entrance to the head-
quarters of the United Evangelical
Church of Ecuador is deceptive. Its
severe, aging buildings with quiet pastel
surfaces suggest a tired faith with an
unmovable hierarchy and steadfast
dogma.
Then you meet Rene TufLno, national
president and director of the Center for
Theological Studies, and the illusion dis-
appears. His long dark hair and black
mustache contrast with the bright yellow
turtleneck shirt. Heads pop into the
office to joke, ask advice, offer a cup of
coffee. For three hours he gestures,
laughs, explains, and shares the joy of
being the 31 -year-old "blindly chosen"
head of a church "that makes sense —
and makes more sense every day."
"They picked me because they wanted
a change and didn't have anybody else.
And also because I'd been at a Mexican
seminary for five years! Kind of a des-
perate grab really, and a real gamble —
but I think it's paying off."
Indeed it is. A month before his elec-
tion by the National Assembly the then
directorate of the church had reached an
impasse with the US mission boards upon
whom the church depended for much of
its financial support. The local leaders
threatened to disband the United Evan-
gelical Church of Ecuador if the North
Americans reduced pastoral support.
Still the sponsoring groups insisted upon
just such a reduction to assure the long-
range emergence of a truly autonomous
Ecuadorian church. Worse yet, when he
was chosen Tufino had no knowledge of
this seemingly insoluble stalemate.
A quick retracing of the history of
Protestantism in Ecuador helps explain
both the nature of the conflict and the
unique position of the United Evangeli-
cals today.
Among Latin American nations Ecua-
dor was the last to break the colonial
Catholic religious monopoly. The first
Protestant group didn't arrive on its
Pacific shores until 1895, when a liberal
revolution guaranteed them freedom of
action. The Christian Missionary Alli-
ance and the Gospel Missionary Union
were the first to establish roots. Thus
a conservative Protestant model was
formed that still predominates today,
with at least 85 percent of the 15,000
Protestants estimated to live in Ecuador
in 1971 belonging to the "fundamentalist"
classification.
L
Ln July 1965 two events signaled a
turning point for the "nonfundamentalist"
Protestants. Five US denominations,
including the Church of the Brethren,
culminated several years' discussion
which centered on encouraging the for-
mation of the United Evangelical Church
of Ecuador. And the Rev. and Mrs.
Ulises Hernandez arrived in Ecuador
under the auspices of the Latin American
Evangelical Mission Board, supported
entirely by Methodists from Latin
America and Waldensians from Argen-
tina and Uruguay.
At the end of World War II the Church
of the Brethren sent its first representa-
tives to Ecuador. Likewise in 1945 the
United Andean Indian Mission was or-
ganized to coordinate the activities of the
mission boards of the United Church of
Christ, the United Presbyterians, the
Presbyterian Church, US, and the Evan-
gelical United Brethren, now the United
Methodists. By 1965 the two North
American missionary programs led to the
joint creation of a national church. Such
was the birth of the United Evangelical
Church.
From the outset the United Evangeli-
cals sailed against the prevailing reli-
gious wind in Ecuador. Catholicism in
1965 remained traditionally ultracon-
servative, even in the face of a striking
reformation elsewhere in the world.
The dominant conservative Protestants
maintained an authoritarianism of a
different stripe, the moralistic piousness
defined in everyday terms as "don't
smoke, drink, dance, or swear."
The United Evangelicals spoke a
curious tongue. They stressed the in-
separability of religion from life's social
and economic realities. Somehow they
proposed accomplishing biblical com-
mands through freedom of thought and
acts of conscience. They emphasized the
importance of education — religious
and secular — and the necessity of
dialogue between all Christians, includ-
ing — heretical as it sounded in that
setting — Catholics! They were quickly
branded as radicals and dismissed as a
noisy, misguided fringe numbering but
300 in eleven tiny rural congregations.
Within the church, however, their
public image was less important those
first five years than an internal crisis that
threatened the institution's continuity.
A comment made in 1966 by the first
president. Rev. Gonzalo Carvajal, sug-
gests the mode of thought the first years:
"A critical need of the church is for
more trained ministers." By 1970,
though, the concept of a full-time min-
istry, and ordination, had divided the
struggling body into two clearly defined
camps, the pastors versus the laymen.
Part of the problem could be traced to
the earlier merging of divergent philos-
11I5-72 MESSENGER 13
ophies. The Church of the Brethren had
always encouraged a pastor to receive
as much of his support from the local
church as possible, while the Method-
ists and Presbyterians of the Andean
Mission group gave its greatest support
to the notion of a full-time ministry.
But the real heart of the problem was
economic. The parent mission boards
reduced pastoral support almost 50
percent from 1966 to 1972, to force the
Ecuadorian Church to establish its own
economic and religious autonomy. In
1971, for example, if a local congrega-
tion wanted to have a full-time pastor it
had to provide a minimum of 20 percent
of his income — an income that was, and
still is, pitifully low. This year it rose
to 30 percent, and by 1975 all of the
pastor's income would have to come
from the local church.
Rafael Sarabia is the pastor of the
Church of Jesus of Nazareth in Santo
Domingo de los Colorados, where he
also shares administrative responsibil-
ities with Ulises Hernandez for the
entire western part of the country.
Sarabia comments on what the new per-
centage system means to a minister now
serving full time in the field: "The bur-
den this places on the congregation de-
pends upon where it lives. In Santo
Domingo our church members are from
the poorest classes. As much as they
may want to, they simply can't contrib-
ute much and still survive. In fact I'm
not sure that any of our churches will
be able to afford a pastor much longer.
Here we can barely manage the 30
percent this year, and I'm sure that 40
percent is far too much. There just
isn't that much money available. I'll
have to get a second job, and let some
of my pastoral duties go, to help with
the salary. Frankly, I don't know what
I'll do."
Ulises Hernandez asked to transfer to
Santo Domingo two years ago so he
could work more closely with the rural
followers. Like Sarabia, Hernandez
thinks the economic shift is taking place
too quickly. "Nonetheless, we are
forced to accept the change. The
churches in the United States that for-
merly supported the idea of a full-time
pastor, and introduced it to Ecuador,
now tell us that it's a thing of the past
and that they will eliminate their support
of such personnel, as they are now doing
by ten percent a year. It's hard to accept
so total a change because the full-time
pastor was the model we have used since
our inception. It would have been a lot
easier to have just begun like the
Pentecostals who from the outset have
felt that the pastor should support him-
self financially."
A few years back there were nine
ordained ministers in the U.E.C. Today
there are seven, including Tufino and
Sarabia. Two have left. Likewise the
control of the National Assembly has
switched from ministerial to lay hands.
The election of Tufifio signified the
change, and in the past two years the
trend toward lay direction at the local
level has become irreversible.
w
Te asked Tufiiio if the sole cause of
the change was the mission board's re-
duction in pastoral support.
"Not really — they've just forced us
to accept an inevitable problem sooner
than might otherwise have been the case.
The full-time pastors haven't been all
that effective anyway. They clashed with
the natural leaders among their "follow-
ers," if that word is appropriate. Others
resorted to heavyhanded ruling or a
patronizing attitude we'\e tried so hard
to eliminate. More than anything it
became clear that with churches so small
the best form of ministry came from the
members themselves. We'd seen the
alternative wherever religion existed in
Ecuador: a lordly caretaker with ig-
norant sheep. A new approach made
more sense: educated sheep from which
many temporary caretakers might
emerge. That's where the Center for
Theological Studies fits in, and a new
program that will start in October to
bring students with leadership ability to
Quito to help finance their secular and
religious education."
"When the missionaries first arrived,"
continued Tufino, "they went into the
field and planted the first seeds. Now
that crop is coming to bloom. In six
years we've grown from 300 to 1 ,090
members and 16 permanent churches.
It's time for the faith to spread at the
local level with well-educated Ecua-
dorians in the lead. One of the best
examples was an Indian boy in Pijal,
Above, Emmanuel church board; below,
Rafael Sarabia (I.), with Ulises Hernandez
near Otavalo, who was attracted to the
church by the first missionaries. Today
he's a man who's highly respected in the
community. He speaks Quechua, he
knows his people's needs, and he particu-
larly wants to teach the youngsters to
read and write. He's the kind of leader
that we're counting on. It's easy to
predict a following of 2,000 people in
that zone in ten years. The key is our
providing the stimulus and training to
the leader: it all gets back to education."
A conflict arises when present-day
missionaries are placed in rural assign-
ments with co-workers who can dedicate
only part of their time to pastoral
activities. Ulises Hernandez, himself a
missionary, notes, "There should actually
be no missionaries sent unless they are
requested by the national church, and
then only the number and kind needed.
And the request should be to fill only
local needs, not to satisfy consciences
abroad. Nor should they fill positions
that can be handled by Ecuadorians.
Missionaries from other lands can't help
but bring other values and other cul-
14 MESSENGER 11.15-72
J . Roy Valencourt (I.), Church of the Brethren missionary at the Cen-
ter for Theological Studies, confers with U.E.C. head Rene Tufino
1 op. iiiarkclplace at Otcivalo, Oucchim vilhii;c: I'clow. Oiiiia
United Evangelical congregation Emmanuel at worship
tural forms, and the result is a foreign
church on Ecuadorian soil. And
naturally if the local pastors must seek
financial support outside the church to
survive, then the missionaries should do
the same."
Yet there are four missionaries work-
ing with the Center for Theological
Studies, all invited by the national
church. They are Gunter Schultz from
the Mennonite Church of Germany,
Augustin BatUe, a Presbyterian from
Spain, Robert Armistead, a Presbyterian
from the United States, and Roy
Valencourt of the Church of the Breth-
ren. Tufiiio takes is^ue with Hernandez,
praising the overseas missionaries and
welcoming them to the church's cause.
"Missionaries are better educated today,
they bring a new mentality. As long as
we are going somewhere and our church
has established its own identity, they
will work with us to help determine its
new path. We're past the point of fear-
ing that missionaries will 'take over.' "
Two years ago the National Assembly
took an unequivocal stand in favor of
part-time pastors and lay ministers, and
it took a gamble on a young, untried
president who could only promise to
lead them on a new road. By November
of 1971 the Assembly overwhelmingly
approved of the new direction, and in
response to a call for placing social
change at the top of the church's prior-
ities, reaffirmed the conviction that Chris-
tianity doesn't live in conflict with reality.
What's along this road in the future?
Again we defer to Rene Tufifio, who
indicated explorations have been under
way to sponsor an institute with outspok-
en Catholic prelate Dom Helder
Camara, of Recife, Brazil, as leader.
"Then next summer • — your winter • —
we will sponsor youth camps during the
school vacation where every aspect of
life and religion will be discussed or
explored," he added. "The mission
boards made this possible by consigning
40,000 sucres for the Christian education
program.
"In the meantime the Center is being
relocated. Normally buildings are low
on our list of priorities but the present
Center is far too small and beginning
to fall apart. We've so much work to do
and so many classes and seminars to be
given a bigger location will be a
godsend."
Ahere's a pervasive feeling of excite-
ment inside the narrow walls of the
Center for Theological Studies. Things
are happening; students and teachers
smile and work with an infectious con-
viction. There are still anxious days for
the full-time pastors, but a mountain that
seemed unscalable two years back has
been crossed and the unavoidable
bruises are healing. Dynamic, intense,
dedicated, are the words that come to
mind when you talk to Rene Tufino.
Serious, logical, and practical describe
Ulises Hernandez. They work together
in the United Evangelical Church of
Ecuador. The church is going some-
where. If an outsider's opinion counts,
Tufino is right, what the U.E.C. is doing
does "make sense — and makes more
sense every day." D
11-15-72 MESSENGER 15
iller's
ALMANAC
One Year Ago
Holy Cow!
Gettysburg. Ohio. Nov. 29, 1971 —
Something unique happened in tlie Oak-
land CJuircli of the Brethren's Thanks-
giving Service. Gettysburg's Beulah M.
Maurer tells it lliis way:
Did you ever see your preacher "out
on a limb""? We did — last Sunday
morning. He was also walking very
gingerly on that limb because it was
completely covered with slick plastic.
The ""limb"" in this case was our nicely
carpeted rostrum. Why "limb""? And
why the plastic? Well, I'll have to go
back several Sundays.
The Witness Commission was saying,
"We need some positive ways to show
our witness.'" A group of 25 or more of
us went forward in church one Sunday
morning to indicate we meant to some-
how "show our faith." There followed a
series of Sunday night meetings of cn-
richening discussion — still searching.
Sunday morning about five weeks ago,
our preacher shared with us the story
that he had awakened in the night with
an idea, he woke his wife and shared it
with her, gained her approval and sup-
port, so decided to go ahead with it.
That is all he shared with us, except for
the admonition to "put your hands where
your mouth is,"" and the balance of his
nocturnal idea would be revealed to all
of us on the Sunday of our Thanksgiving
celebration and dinner at church.
Maybe you can guess the speculation
that began going on. What kind of crazy
scheme can Fred have in his head to be
so mysterious about? Clever posters be-
gan appearing in the vestibule repeating
Fred's slogan — "put your hands where
your mouth is," another indicating the
dates of the upcoming Sundays with a
huge question mark after the 2Sth.
As the time drew nearer, there were
some that began to guess much closer to
the truth. Seeing the carpet covered with
plastic on that Sunday morning con-
firmed those guesses. But none of us (in-
cluding Fred) would in our wildest
guesses have foretold just what was in
store for our congregation.
After our usual introductory stages of
worship and Thanksgiving specials by the
choir, Fred reviewed the events of the
past month that had permitted the revela-
tion of the rest of his "dream" this
Thanksgiving morning. It was incredible
how pieces of the puzzle fell together.
It seems that the week before, our
pastor had been pretty busy. To begin
with, he borrowed a truck from a farmer
in a neighboring congregation so that he
would not have to reveal reasons to any
of our members. In this truck he made a
quick trip to Somerset County in Penn-
sylvania, looked up some good friends
with dairy herds of known quality, and
when he shared his scheme with them,
they offered their wholehearted support
in a very positive way by not only selling
stock at a very reasonable rate, but also
donating some to the project.
At this point in the story, a door to
the rostrum opened and out came 4
overall-clad farmers leading 3 little,
sweet-faced Holstein heifers. The other
8 remained outside for obvious reasons.
Needless to say the response was electric.
All the children wanted to feel the ani-
mals — and they did, freely.
Fred, our pastor, had bought 1 1 reg-
istered heifers aged 2 to 6 months in the
name of the Oakland Church with abso-
lutely nothing to back him but faith and
belief that he would come through with a
true spirit of Thanks-sharing at our
Thanksgiving celebration. Donors and
feeders were asked for. Slowly at first
and then with growing enthusiasm,
voices spoke out on er the congregation
— "This family will donate one," 'TU
donate one and buy the feed if someone
else will raise it," or "rU go in with an-
other family (or 2 or 3 ) and raise one.""
Soon a line formed in the front of the
church and one bewildered church clerk
was attempting to record all offers.
God moved in our midst at Oakland
on November 28th. We felt him there
and we all saw faith in action.
When all the pledges were tallied up,
there were enough pledges to buy 32
heifers. Now we have the happy prob-
lem of having to find a source from
which to buy 21 more animals.
But well get them, and what"s more
this idea may spread and grow until . . .
who knows how far it will reach.
It was Thanksgiving — and Fred
didn"t even preach a sermon — or may-
be it was the best sermon he ever
preached.
16 MESSENGER 11.15-72
This Year
ToSt.Kitts
with love
St. Kitts Island, Caribbean, Nov. 1972 —
Thirty-eight heifers have been distrib-
uted on the island, thanks to work begun
by Oakland Church of the Brethren,
Gettysburg, Ohio, last November.
Pastor H. Fred Bernhard and Don
Dull, both of Gettysburg, took the heif-
ers by truck to Miami, Florida, the last
week in September. Four other Oakland
members, serving as "cowboys," accom-
panied the shipment in the plane trip to
this Caribbean island.
Leading up to delivery, Mr. Bernhard
said that "at least 65 families were in-
volved in buying, caring for, and provid-
ing food for the 33 heifers sent by the
Oakland congregation." The additional
five heifers were raised by a member of
another Southern Ohio congregation,
Beech Grove.
Along with the 38 heifers were two
bulls, six Nubian goats, and six York-
shire pigs. The Ministry of Agriculture
in St. Kitts dispersed the animals to
needy families throughout the island.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Ag-
riculture explained the working philos-
ophy of Heifer Project International
under whose auspices the Oakland con-
gregation worked :
"A family receiving a heifer must
donate the first female offspring to an-
other family, thus insuring the eventual
continuance of the entire project.
"The original animal provides dairy
products and meat as well as a source of
income for the involved household.
"Income alone from just one heifer
can often be as much as the breadwinner
would ordinarily make in twelve to eigh-
teen months," he said.
( Stateside, Pastor Bernhard was in a
reflective mood. Thinking back, he re-
called that it took just twenty min-
utes one Sunday morning to enlist
the more than fifty original families
involved.)
("It was as real and true showing of
sustained faith," he said, "as I believe
I've ever seen.")
(And the faith goes on.)
709 years ago
President proclaims
day of thanks
Washington, Oct. 3, 1863 — President
Abraham Lincoln today by presidential
proclamation appointed the last Thurs-
day of November as Thanksgiving Day.
In the proclamation, the president
called citizens to celebrate the completion
of the harvest and to render homage to
the spirit who caused the fruits and crops
to grow.
A source close to the president gives
special credit for the president's action
to Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, editor of Godey's
Lady's Book, a noted periodical.
The Washington source indicates that
the proclamation came as a result of the
"unremitting efforts" of Mrs. Hale.
The proclamation may cause problems
in some states. Following the example of
New England states, a growing number
of states, each appointing its own date,
had chosen a day of religious observance
to give thanks for blessings of the past
year.
In those states, the date has proved to
be an occasion for family reunions,
bountiful dinners and festivities in the
home.
A citizen in a state where thanksgiving
was already a tradition was somewhat
resentful of the proclamation.
"'Now the president thinks he can tell
us when we can and when we cannot give
thanks," he said.
(One of the Washington seers, adept
at making predictions, suggests that by
1941 the Congress of the United States
by joint resolution approved by the
President will set the fourth Thursday of
November as Thangsgiving Day, a na-
tional public holiday.)
In response to the president's procla-
mation, some global leaders indicated
that their countries, too, had days of
thanks. Jewish leaders pointed to ancient
traditions of thanks, including the Feast
of Ingathering.
In the United States, the day of
thanksgiving dates back to a festival held
by the Plymouth colony in December
1621.
The immediate response of some of
the members of Congress is that "we
probably have not heard the last of this
one," referring to the proclamation.
11-15-72 MESSENGER 17
351 years ago
Plymouth colonists celebrate life
Plymouth Colony, Dec. 1621 — The sur-
vivors in this British colony celebrated
one year in the new world today.
A few more than 100 of the so-called
"pilgrims" had landed near here on
December 21 last year, after a 63-day
trip on the ship Mayflower.
During the day of special thanks,
those remaining reviewed the events of
the year, gave thanks for the mercies of
God, and joined with their Indian friends
in celebrating life.
.■\lthoueh referred to as "wanderers"
and "pilgrims," their determination made
them appear to be well on their way to
becoming the first permanent settlement
by Europeans in New England, observed
one British commentator.
Joining the colonists in their celebra-
tion was Massasoit, chief of the Wam-
panoags who controls all of southeast
Massachusetts, and many of his people.
Massasoit had proven to be a friend and
protector of the tiny new settlement,
said a spokesman for the colonists.
Singled out for special recognition in
the celebration was Squanto, a member
of the Massachusetts tribe, who lived
with the settlers.
( It is alleged that Squanto had been
one of 24 Indians lured on board an
English vessel under friendly pretext
and then carried away to England many
years earlier; that he had been sold, then
ransomed by sympathetic monks; that he
had learned the English language and
finally made his way back to his home-
land.)
In the recognition, Squanto was called
"a special instrument sent by God for
our good beyond our expectation."
It could not be ascertained whether
Samoset was part of the celebration. He
was the first native American to have
welcomed the settlers. He had told them
of the nature of the country and had
been instrumental in bringing about
friendly relations with neighboring
tribes. He had learned to speak English
from fishermen that had come into the
country some years before. It was he
who is reported to have introduced the
Plymouth group to Squanto.
( It is rumored, however, that when
Samoset had noted the determination of
the strangers to move into the area per-
manently that he said to a fellow resi-
dent, "Well, there goes the neighbor-
hood!")
As the colonists celebrated, they were
not far from the granite boulder on
which they had stepped the previous
December, and from which the May-
flower had sailed back to England in the
spring with only the sailors aboard.
Nor were they far from Cole's hill
where during their terrible first winter
they had buried half of their number,
leveling the graves and sowing them
with grain in the spring to conceal their
losses from unfriendly tribes of Indians.
It is reported that during the first
winter that the food was so depleted
that only five grains of com were ra-
tioned to each individual at a time.
It is said, too, that at one point in the
winter, only seven healthy colonists re-
mained to nurse the sick.
The Plymouth colonists were Separa-
tists from the Church of England, having
established independent (congregational)
churches in England and having fled to
Amsterdam in 1608 to avoid persecution,
before setting off to a new land.
Some commentators saw in this cele-
brative event the establishment of a na-
tion of thankful people, living under
God, with liberty and justice for all.
Others saw seeds sown for the devel-
opment of two Americas, separate and
unequal, in spite of the apparent friendU-
ness exhibited by the first Americans and
their neiehbors.
Today 1972
Heifer Protect aids
Indian tribes
New Town, N.D., Nov. 15. 1972 — In a
cooperative venture between Heifer Proj-
ect International and Three .Affiliated
Indian Tribes, an ambitious cattle devel-
opment program has been undertaken on
the Ft. Berthold Reservation in this
North Dakota community.
The Three Afliliated Tribes include
the Mandan, Arikara and Hidatsa tribal
councils. They received the first of their
foundation stock in late May. Added to
these 22 Angus heifers and 7 bulls have
been an additional 25 head of cattle
shipped to the reservation from HPI's
ranch this fall.
"This history of the Mt. Berthold
reservation and its resident Indian tribes
has not always been a happy one." ex-
plained Shantilal Bhagat. Church of the
Brethren World Ministries representative
on the HPI Board of Directors.
He said that in 1837 more than 40
percent of the tribes were wiped out in a
massive smallpox epidemic. The original
reservation lands established in 1880
were three times the size of their present
land holdings.
Today the remaining people on the
reservation eke out a living on the land.
Per capita annual income barely reaches
S2.500, well below fixed government
standards for "poverty level" incomes.
Unemployment, illiteracy and infant
mortality rates on the reservation all run
well above the national average.
"This cattle development program,"
says Mr. Bhagat, "is a self-help attempt
to raise the overall standard of living on
the reservation, while providing training
in cattle and pasture management."
Mr. Bhagat serves as secretary of the
HPI board. He says that HPI is cur-
rently assisting many livestock programs
on reservations throughout the US. To
date, programs are operative with the
Pima and Papago Reser\'ations in Ari-
zona, the Cherokee of Oklahoma, the
Sioux of South Dakota, and the Cat-
taragus Indian Reservation of Buffalo,
New York.
The Brethren, instrumental in found-
ing this organization 28 years ago. con-
tinue to give visible support in many
ways, including a S5,000 allocation in
the WMC budget in each of the 1972 and
1973 years.
18 MESSENGER 11-15-72
FUND FOR THE AMERICAS
IN THE UNITED STATES- .
Coming to grips -^
with racism in
our fractured
society... /
f
y
k
FOR THE FUND FOR THE AMERICAS IN THE UNITED STATES
1451 Dundee Avenue, Elgin, Illinois 60120 /^^^
Amount ( C K
)|
Name
■■d
Street State Zip
Congregation District
IFIDinni irswDsm^a
Patton^ Reflection
of Civil Religion
from Cultural Information
Service
On November 19, the ABC Television
Network will air Franklin Schaffner's
film Pattoii: A Salute to a Rebel. A
re-creation of the World War II career
of General George S. Patton Jr., this
film offers alert Christians an opportunity
to exchange ideas and explore themes —
not only those evident in the movie but
also broader concerns of our society.
On one level, Patton is a portrait of a
highly individualistic man of war. On
another level, it is a reflection of Ameri-
ca's "civil religion."
The questions and probes below are
designed to help you, your family, and
friends to bring your Christian faith to
bear on the movie, the man, and the
significant moral issues suggested by
both.
PATTON: A SALUTE
General George S. Patton Jr. was truly
a military "professional." Fighting was
his career — the thing he did best.
Unlike other generals whose talents were
in diplomacy, administration, or even GI
relations, Patton had one gift: he was
a warrior. He once commented on
battle: "I love it! God help me, I do
love it so!"
The warrior's personality is given a
multifaceted survey in this film. We
follow Patton's career from his triumphs
in Africa over Field Marshal Erwin
Rommel through his successful invasion
of Sicily in 1943, his gallop across
Europe as commander of the Third
Army, and finally his stint as military
overlord in Bavaria after the war. Dur-
ing this journey with Patton, the viewer
is offered vignettes that reveal the un-
usual personality of the man:
— who took the role of preacher to
inspire a lust for war in the spirits of
new recruits;
— who shot some mules that got in
the way of his advance and tried to
shoot down Nazi planes with his own
ivory-handled pistol:
— who struck a GI suffering from
nervous exhaustion because he believed
that any man who could walk and didn't
fight was a coward;
— who knew that he was one of the
ablest war strategists in the Allied Forces
and frequently compared himself to
the great military leaders in history.
War lover, tyrant, preacher, strategist
— Patton emerges as a complicated and
often contradictory personality in this
film. How would you evaluate the man?
1 . React to several specific incidents
in the film: the episodes revealing
Patton's treatment of the GIs (including
movie makes George S. Patton into a
myth — that is, his life is glorified out
of proportion to his accomplishments
and he is made to seem "bigger than life."
Other people claim that the movie has
the opposite effect — that it takes a
famous World War II legend and brings
him down to size actually humanizing
Patton by revealing the different sides to
his personality. Do you think the film
mythologizes or humanizes Patton?
PATTON: A REBEL
George C. Scott is Patton in the film.
"1 love it!
God help
me,
I love it so!"
George S. Patton
the famous Sicily slapping incident), the
scenes depicting his competitive relation-
ship with Field Marshal Sir Bernard
Montgomery, the views of Patton's
private life and agonies. Which inci-
dents do you feel gave you the most
insight into Patton's personality?
2. What are your feelings about
Patton in the first scene of the film?
In the last? Were your attitudes toward
the man changed during the film?
How and why?
3. Some film analysts claim that this
His Academy Award-winning per-
formance is a study of American style
individualism. In fact, it was this side of
Patton — his individuality and eccen-
tricity — that Scott found attractive
about the man:
There is no safety in numbers.
You live and you die alone — he
knew it and lived it. To me the
most reprehensible thing about
young people today is their herd
instinct. To join together like cattle
20 MESSENGER 11-13-'
which means denying the beauty of
the individual soul and personality.
This, I think may be the only
message this man gave to us.
Patton was the last of the red hot gen-
erals in an age moving toward mech-
anistic warfare and the cool killing
techniques of technocrats, computers,
and ABMs. His fierce devotion to his
task often made him appear to be "out
of step" with the times — a rebel. He
sensed as perhaps few persons do what
he was about, who the enemy was, what
was his mission.
1. Does Patton's frontier ethic of
individuality impress you or do you
believe that it is an outmoded stance for
our time?
2. How do you react to George C.
Scott's comments on Patton's message
and his personal feelings about young
people today?
3. What is there in our lives about
which we move with such zeal, such
intentionality, such commitment as to
say, "I love it! God help me, I do love
it so!"
PATTON: A REFLECTION OF
AMERICA'S CIVIL RELIGION
Although we live in a pluralistic
society with no one set of beliefs, sym-
bols, or creeds, there are nonetheless
certain ethical concerns integral to
understanding and relating to the
American way of life. Robert N. Beliah
has called these beliefs a "civil religion."
There actually exists alongside of
and rather clearly differentiated
from the church an elaborate and
well institutionalized civil religion
in America. . . . This religion — or
perhaps better, this religious dimen-
sion — has its own seriousness and
integrity and requires the same care
in understanding that any other
religion does.
Patton. the movie, and Patton, the
man, reflect some of the basic aspirations
and drives of our culture that could be
classified as our civil religion: a fascina-
tion with competition and the reward of
success, a belief in militarism, and a
utilitarian understanding of God. Cer-
tainly this civil religion was evident
during World War II. Some believe that
it is still dominant today. Do you agree?
Compare the tenets of civil religion
displayed in the film with your Christian
understanding of each topic:
1 . On competition and the reward of
success:
George S. Patton was a model Ameri-
can in his lust for victory and the
exhilaration of the game. He played to
win; his entire life was filled with
rivalries. Although we lionize our win-
ners, we also sympathize with the loser
who gives it all he's got. Would you
classify Patton as a winner or a loser?
2. On a belief in militarism:
"All Americans love the sting of
battle . . . that's why we've never lost a
war" ( Patton) . Has this feeling influ-
enced public reactions to recent wars?
How does this reflection measure against
your attitude toward war?
3. On a utilitarian understanding of
God:
Just before one of his most stunning
victories, the relief of Bastogne, Patton
calls for the military chaplain. His
advance is threatened by bad weather,
and he wants the chaplain to pray for
fair weather. The chaplain responds:
"May I say. General, that it usually isn't
a customary thing among men of my
profession to pray for clear weather to
kill fellowmen." Yet he writes this
prayer:
Almighty and most merciful Father,
we humbly beseech thee, of Thy
great goodness, to restrain these
immoderate rains with which we
have had to contend. Grant us fair
weather for battle. Graciously
hearken to us as soldiers who call
upon thee that, armed with Thy
power, we may advance from vic-
tory to victory, and crush the op-
pression and wickedness of our
enemies, and establish Thy justice
among men and nations. Amen.
How does Patton's request and the
chaplain's compliance reveal our
tendency to try to "use" God for our own
purposes? Do you find anything of-
fensive about this type of prayer? In
what ways is this utilitarian view of God
still evident in American culture? Q
This is another discussion guide in the Feed-
fonvard Series, a feature of the CuUural Infor-
mation Service, 2900 Queen Lane. Philadelphia.
Pa. 19129.
r— \^/— 1
SUBSCRIBER
SERVICE
Please include a Mes-
senger address label
to insure prompt
service v^henever you
write us about your
subscription.
For change of ad-
dress: If you're mov-
ing, please let us
know four weeks be-
fore changing your
address. Place mag-
azine address label
here, print your new
address below. If
you have a question
about your subscrip-
tion, place your mag-
azine address label
here and clip this
form to your letter
ATTACH
LABEL
HERE
.— / \— .
Mail to: Messenger, Church of the Brethren,
General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
III. 60120
(please print)
address
CLASSIFIED ADS
ORDER FOR CHRISTMAS — Record album, "Life
Is Good, Yea!" highlighting the story of Ted
Studebaker, Brethren Volunteer Service worker
killed in Vietnam. Selections include folk songs
recorded by Ted, interview by Howard Royer,
wedding music, Kohol congregational singing,
Vietnamese songs. Produced by Gary Stude-
baker and Steve Engle, with proceeds to Ted
Studebaker Memorial Fund, Church of the Breth-
ren General Board. $4 per album. Order from
The Brethren Press, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
III. 60120.
BRETHREN HISTORY BICYCLE TOUR — in Eastern
Pennsylvania and Maryland. Visit Ephrata Cloi-
ster, Germantown Church, Antietam Church, New
Windsor and other points of interest. If you
enioy bicycling and are interested in a week-
long trip of this nature for summer, 1973, write
to John Post, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120.
HELP WANTED — Unique living and service op-
portunity for mature individuals and families: Live
in (and help develop for new purposes) a manor-
house by historic Sherandoah River near New
Market, Va.; participate in "The Bridge," dedi-
cated to Christian community and reconciling
service. Need vision and varied v^'ork skills.
Contact Willard Dulabaum, 303 Broad St., Bridge-
water, Va. 22812.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ALASKA —Air con-
ditioned bus tour to Annual Conference in Fresno,
Calif., and then to Alaska, returning via Cana-
dian Rockies. A second bus will travel to Fresno
and return directly after Conference. Both tours
leave June 19, 1973. Write J. Kenneth Kreider,
Route 3, Elizabethtown, Pa. 17022.
11-15-72 MESSENGER 21
■{^[LairDllDDI]^] p(Q)DD1]l^^
98th BVS unit
Sandv Beeghly. of Oakland. Md., to Creative
Child Care Center. Phoenix, Ariz.
Klaus Bloch. of Dusseldorf. Germanv, to
^Vashington City Church of the Brethren,
Washington. D.C.
Franz Brochschneider. of Rietberg, Germany,
to United Farm \\'orkers. Los .\ngeles, Calif,
Ken Carbern-, of Camp Hill, Pa., to BVS
Training Staff, Elgin, 111.
Ste\e Det^viler, of Nappanee, Ind,, to
Church of the Brethren Home, Neffs\ille. Pa.
Gary Frantz. of Beatrice, Neb., to Full Year
Full Day Headstart. Lancaster. Pa.
Jeff and Debbie Ho\is. of Waynesboro. Pa.,
to Martin Luther King Center, AlcComb. Miss.
Jim and Melinda Jones, of La \^erne, Calif.,
to Europe
Richard Judy, of Canfield, Ohio, to Church
of the Brethren Home. \Vindber, Pa.
James and Sarah .^nn Leasure, of Cuher
City. Calif., to Europe
Georgann Lehman, of St. Charles, 111., to
Handi-Camp. Inc.. Tucson. ,\riz.
Janice Martin, of -Annville. Pa., to Eastern
State School and Hospital. Tre\ose. Pa.
Joe M\er, of Columbia, Pa., to Delta Min-
istry Green\ille. Miss.
Leah Oxley, of Onalaska, \\'ash., to Boulder
Hill Church of the Brethren. Aurora, 111.
Stephanie Polzin. of Saginaw, Mich., to the
Glasier House. Den\er. Colo.
Merlin Reish. of Harrisonburg. Va.. to
Church of the Brethren Home. AVindber. Pa.
Vernon Rodes. of Columbia, Md.. to Delta
Housing De\elopment Corporation. Indianola,
Miss.
Ste\e Sa\re. of Bridge^vater. Va., to National
Institutes of Health. Bethesda. Md.
Dale Shenk. of Lititz, Pa., to Marion Coun-
ty Ju\enile Court and Center, Indianapolis,
Ind.
Karen Simmons, of Harrisonburg. Va., to
Bethany Brethren Hospital, Chicago, 111.
Claudia Swandek. of A\'olfsburg. Germanv,
to First Church of the Brethren. Harrisburg,
Pa.
Judy Tidwell. of Hobart. Ind., to Better
Way, Inc.. Elyria. Ohio
Carol Tritt. of Carlisle. Pa., to Carroll
County Committee for Day Care. Westminster.
Md.
Carol Walbridge, of Easton, Md.. to Darke
County Migrant Ministry, Union City. Ohio
Pastoral placements
W. Luke Brandt, from Mountville, .•\tlantic
Northeast, to Indian Creek. Atlantic North-
east
Ronald Clark, to Muncie, South/Central
Indiana
B. Wayne Crist, from Pomona, Pacific
Southwest, to McPherson. Western Plains
C. Albert Guver. from Denver. Prince of
Peace, Western Plains, to Immanuel Paoli,
Atlantic Northeast
E. Merrit Hulst Jr., to Cedar Grove, South-
ern Ohio
C. Leonard Lutz. from South Whitley,
South/Central Indiana, to Clear Creek, South/
Central Indiana
Norman Meyers, to Kingsley, Iowa-Minne-
sota
Nolan Porter, from African Methodist
Episcopal Cliurch to Los Angeles, Imperial
Heights. Pacific Southwest
Arthur Scrogum. from retirement to Pasa-
dena. Pacific Southwest
Wedding anniversaries
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Gerdes. Dixon, 111. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hartman. Ashley.
Ind.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Layman. Cloverdale.
Va., 51
Mr. and Mrs. Ohmer Kreitzer, Richmond,
Ind., 55
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hickman, Akron.
Ohio. 56
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Royer, Bradford, Ohio.
60
Mr. and Mrs. O. G. Whitmer, Dayton, Va..
60
Deaths
Harold D. .Adams. Modesto, Calif., on July
3, 1972, aged 66
-Alice -Aukerman, Green\ille. Ohio, on Aug.
9, 1972. aged 79
George Berkley. Johnstown. Pa., on June
26. 1972
Minnie Blake. Dayton. Ohio, on July 7.
1972
Fem Bower. Ft. Wayne. Ind., on July 14.
1972
Glenn Bower. Ft. Wayne. Ind.. on July 14,
1972
Karen Bovver. Ft. Wavne, Ind., on July 14.
1972
Ormal Buell, FUnt, Mich., on July 12, 1972
Fred Delk, North Manchester, Ind., on
July 22, 1972
Jacob M. Kurtz. Leola. Pa., on July 8.
1972. aged 82
Minnie Landis, Dayton, Ohio, on Aug.
10. 1972. aged 85
Sarah Lenhart, Mountville. Pa., on July
23. 1972. aged 79
George Lewallen, New Paris, Ind.. on -Aug.
10. 1972
Flora Mae. Boones Mill. Va., on June 30.
1972. aged 78
Benjamin Manning, Mount\ille. Pa., on
July 23. 1972. aged 92
Marv' Baer Martin. Mt. Morris. 111., aged 97
Flo K. McConnell. York. Pa., on July 2,
1972. aged 80
Chester Miller. Hutchinson. Kans., on July
23. 1972
Don Miller. Dayton, Ohio, on July 19, 1972
Irene Miller. Mversdale, Pa., on July 26,
1972
Floyd Mills, .Akron, Ohio, on July 10, 1972
Phares M. Mohler. Leola. Pa., on July 17,
1972. aged 76
John O. Myers, Myersdale. Pa., on July 3.
1972
W. D. Pennington. Cabool. Mo., on July 13.
1972, aged 79
■Albert Penrose. Ligonier, Pa., in July 1972
Gertrude H. Phillips. New Paris, Ind., on
June 18, 1972, aged 78
Ethel Piper, North Manchester, Ind.. on
July 24, 1972
Etta Replogle. Johnstown. Pa., on June 15,
1972
Boyd Revis, Creekville. Kv.. on July 6. 1972
Linda Russell, Hoo\ers\ ille. Pa., on June
30. 1972
LeRov W. Shafer, Pontiac, Mich., in July
1972
Clyde Sheeps. Defiance. Ohio, on -Aug. 13.
1972. aged 68
J. Wilbur Shepherd. Flint. Mich., on July
18. 1972
Robert A. Sipe. York. Pa., on July 22. 1972.
aged 47
J. O. Smith. Conrad. Iowa, on June 14.
1972, aged 82
Gary S. Spitler. Luray. \'a.. on May 27,
1972, aged 32
Ella Berkley Stern, Franklin Gro\e, 111., in
July 1972. aged 83
Ruby Tucker, Hutchinson. Kans.. on June
12. 1972
Edna \\'heelock. Green\'ille, Ohio, on Jt/Jv
10. 1972. aged 89
Tessie Wolfe, Battle Creek. Mich., on July
5. 1972
Richard Workman. Roanoke. Va., on July
26. 1972
Luther Yingling. York, Pa., on July 9, 1972
LETTERS / from 1
of waiting for a trafiic light to change, but
how much worse would be the drive home
without the traffic lights!
Thou Shalt not kill, thou shall not com-
mit adultery, thou shall not covet, are
warnings of a way of life that produces
bitterness and frustration.
In a similar way, our forefathers' admo-
nitions against the use of certain stimulants
were guides to a life that was fuller and
freer than that of others who learned to
depend upon these things and to be miser-
able without them. Medical findings in re-
cent years have borne out the wisdom of
abstinence. We do not condemn those who
choose otherwise, but we find it hard to
understand their choice.
I believe the Church of the Brethren
should firmly maintain the high standards
of honesty, modesty, fidelity, abstinence
from all addictive substances, reverence
for life, and emphasis upon a certain sim-
plicity of life-style, which are all part of
our heritage. I was appalled at the state-
ments on divorce and on abortion which
Annual Conference approved.
We have been created by a loving God
who has shown us a way of life that is
full of joy. He asks us to live in a world
that seeks pleasure — desperately. A world
that cries out that there is no lasting satis-
faction anywhere. How foolish we would
be to let that cra2y mixed-up world tell us
how to live!
Let us hold our standards high and be
about our task of reconciling others to
God's way, bringing them into the fellow-
ship which we know to be rich and satisfy-
ing, but insisting that they accept those
standards before becoming members of the
church. . . . Keeping our eyes on Jesus,
seeing how far short we fall in comparison
with him. will help us to maintain a proper
perspective. , , . God has given us a won-
derful message. I pray that we may live
his love, live it in purity and gentleness,
that we be neither harsh nor compromising.
Dorothy N, Lloyt)
Spring City. Pa.
ANTIETAM REVISITED
As one who had the privilege of attending
the Anniversary Service at the Antietam
Dunker Church, I wish to commend you
for the fine historical background given in
Messenger (Sept. 15).
I came away from the service inspired
but yet somewhat troubled by the differ-
ences between the witness of the nineteenth-
century and twentieth-century Brethren.
The Brethren of Antietam bravely said no
to killing and yes to the sacredness of all
human life, both Union and Confederate.
22 MESSENGER 11-15-72
t
But what about the Brethren witness of
today? Should we not be shouting for all
the world to hear, our no to all killing
and a resounding yes to the sacredness of
all human life; North and South Vietna-
mese as well as American; Arab as well
as Israeli?
Carol Cave
Martinsburg, W. Va.
EXPOSING OUR GULLIBILITY
I wholeheartedly commend Messenger
for its printing of Arthur Hoppe's article
"The Games Global Leaders Play" (June
1). It certainly does put war in the proper
perspective!
This article should be on the required
reading list of every person who calls him-
self or herself a Christian, and professes
to show forth the love of God in Christ.
Sure it hurts to have our gullibility ex-
posed, but in facing up to things as they
are, perhaps we will be more willing to
obey God rather than man.
Pearl Weaver
Fairborn, Ohio
UNDERSTANDING THE ENEMY
I read incredulously Helen Forney's let-
ter (Sept. 15) in which she urged that we
support the President in his action toward
better understanding our "enemy" in Red
China. I will not get into the very possible
greed and political motives. I would like
instead to explain why words like "support
and commend" which Ms. Forney uses in
reference to President Nixon are beyond my
ability to comprehend when mentioned in
relation to that individual.
Every day 4,000 men, women, and chil-
dren die as the result of our bombing of
Vietnam. The dikes are in jeopardy due to
our hitting at their foundations (the Ger-
man responsible for bombing Holland's
dikes was tried as a horrendous war crim-
inal). If the dikes go, a million people
could starve. Antipersonnel bombs — once
cruel enough under previous administra-
tions— have been refined by this one.
These bombs, which in no way affect non-
human targets such as weapons, factories,
and roads, are dropped to blanket highly
civilian areas. The bombs release thousands
of spearlike darts which under Mr. Nixon
are made of plastic and have barbed ends.
You see, Ms. Forney, when these enter
human beings — women and children — a
doctor cannot remove them for, being plas-
tic, they do not show on X rays. And any
accidental or medical attempt to remove
the ones not too far embedded causes hem-
orrhaging and ruptures. Children will be
slowly dying or living in pain of move-
ment all their lives due to this.
Children are born deformed there be-
cause of our defoliants. And surely you
have seen the horrible pictures of children
running from villages tearing at their
napalmed clothing. We were spared seeing
the final pictures. You see, our napalm has
been refined too — it can't be removed. It
finishes its trip through tissue and muscle
to the bone. Does this help us understand
our enemy? His children can be made to
suffer unbearably and he can mourn just
as we would!
Further — there is the brutal genocide
conducted against the people of Bangladesh.
We are giving aid now to Bangladesh.
That's fine. We are not giving as much as
India is and we're the top of the affluent
world.
Do you know who supplied the Pakistani
troops with their weapons? Do you know
who the Pakistanis got electric chairs from,
used to torture, not to execute? Do you
know whose military advisers helped train
Pakistani troops? The horrible raping,
slaughtering, mutilating, maiming atrocity
was conducted with our military aid despite
Senate actions to stop it.
I am not at all sorry to say that I
cannot commend Mr. Nixon for his Red
China trip. I can't do much more at this
point but protest and write and look at
my fine healthy two-year-old son and weep
for the mothers of Vietnam and Bangla-
desh. . . .
Liz Robinson
Carpentersville, III.
WHO ARE THE EXPLOITERS?
Brother Benton Rhoades has called for
"careful study, . . . frank discussion, and
a continued search for the mind of Christ"
regarding what he terms the "Brethren and
the Farm Worker Issue" (Sept. 15). I
^retbri
'^i«t
*.v^,^<^fAe
?*ir^"*
'^^^o..Z^^nWori^^
"> Br.J "«»S ,i„_
ksue
agree with him that such discussion would
be beneficial. I disagree with what I take
to be his position on this issue.
At the risk of putting words into Brother
Benton's mouth, it seems to me that his
position is essentially this:
1. Farm workers are poor.
2. Poverty exists only because there is
exploitation.
3. The proximate (and apparently on-
ly source of exploitation of farm workers
are the growers.
4. The workers have organized to press
their just demands. To date they have been
unsuccessful in winning justice because of
the obstinance of the growers.
5. Growers could, if they only would,
grant the workers' demands, thus achieving
justice, ending exploitation, and consequent-
ly ending poverty.
6. Since justice is a Christian imperative,
Brethren Christians should support the
workers by boycott and resolution.
Such a formulation is too simple. While
such oversimplifications may suit the selfish
political purposes of a Kennedy, Christians
if they seek justice ought not settle for
inadequate solutions to complex problems.
Let us agree that there are a great num-
ber of very poor farm workers. Let us
further agree that many of these individuals
are exploited. Whether or not their poverty
is solely due to exploitation is another mat-
ter and outside of what is properly part
of this issue. I believe that the real con-
siderations are ( I ) Who are the exploiters?
and (2) What is possible ("can be done")
to end the exploitation?
Are the growers the exploiters? Agricul-
ture in general has been faced with reduc-
ing profits over the past twenty-five years.
The family farm or ranch is a disappearing
American phenomenon, largely due to spi-
raling production costs which have driven
agriculture into larger and larger production
units. To accuse the growers, many of
whom are themselves on the verge of being
driven off the land, of exploitation is not
justice either.
Maybe the exploiters are folks like my
family and me who live in the agricultural
communities which are dependent upon "the
crop" which must have low-cost labor for
its harvest.
Maybe the exploiters are folks, like you,
who are the consumers. Maybe it's the
folks who are already unhappy about "high
food costs" even though they spend less of
their income dollar on food than in any
other country in the world. One wonders
if these same folks would pay the higher
prices for produce necessary to pay for
higher costs of production.
Maybe the exploiters are all of us in
the larger community, not just the growers,
who benefit from any economy which ex-
ploits certain of its members. Like Pogo,
I suspect, "We have met the enemy and
they is us."
So let us join Brother Benton's call for
dialogue, study, and discussion. Let us do
so with open minds. Let us involve experts
within our own denomination . . . econo-
mists, sociologists, agriculturists, as well as
farm workers. Let us not settle for simplis-
tic rhetoric.
Robert M. Kintner, M.D.
Wenatchee, Wash.
11-15-72 MESSENGER 23
To Regain a Sense of Ourselves
Thanksgiving is a time for individuals and families to
take stock of matters spiritual and material. But given
the tradition of the event as a national festival. Thanks-
giving is something else as well: a time for reflection
on the quality and direction of our life together as a
nation.
Especially in the years from now up to 1976,
when the USA observes the 200th anniversary of its
founding. And especially for such a time as this, when
so many of the principles upon which that founding
took place have become obscured — recent political
campaign oratory notwithstanding.
The situation of our country in the 70s, asserts
one astute observer, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, is like an
atmospheric inversion in which pollution becomes un-
bearable. As cases in point, the professor/ writer cites
historic values which have been turned upside down.
The USA champions democracy but makes allies of
dictators and arms them against their own people.
We affirm life, yet we and the Soviet Union have in-
vested a trillion dollars in armaments while half the
world's children lack enough protein to build stable
bodies and sane minds. Our countr}' has unleashed its
technical superiority on an underdeveloped nation
which never attacked us. To a large extent ours is a
death oriented society spending its resources on self-
destruction instead of self-elevation. The overriding
concern, warns the Nobel laureate, must be how to
get out of the situation before passing the point of no
return. How to bring about a resurgence of the prin-
ciples upon which the nation was founded. How, in
sum, to Americanize America.
Another voice no less eloquent, poet, playwright,
diplomat Archibald MacLeish has long lamented the
loss of the American past. The American Thing, the
American Idea, the American Proposition, he said
last May on the occasion of his 80th birthday, is no
longer a visible force in the lives of most of us: "We
don't live together as a people with a common vision
of ourselves and our destiny." He would have us re-
turn to a preoccupation with America as a land of un-
folding democratic vistas and as a people respectful of
humanity — their own and others.
But there are also abroad in the Republic reaction-
ary elements as well as revolutionary ones, Jeremy
Rifkin stressed last year in The Progressive. He out-
lined ruthless competition, material acquisition, the sa-
credness of private property, survival of the fittest, and
war as reactionary claims which eclipse the principles
that promise Americans a unique social identity.
Over against these are the revolutionary beliefs
which derive from the principle of our inherent unity
and fraternity. Rifkin adds. These aspirations include
respect for the judgment of the common person, dis-
trust of those who command positions of power and
privilege; freedom of expression; right to self-deter-
mination; cooperative enterprise; government of the
people, by the people, for the people; conscience above
property and institutions; s>Tnpathetic interest in the
new, the untried, the unexplored; equality of oppor-
tunity; confidence in the ability to create a more just
world; and faith in the brotherhood of all mankind.
Ihe appeal I hear from Rifkin and MacLeish and
Szent-Gyorgyi is that the revolutionary elements of
the American past need be sought for the American
future. Structures will change, but the search for ulti-
mate values must go on. The American Declaration
that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." must
be experienced anew.
Christians will not follow blindly values old or new,
but neither will they ignore that of their nation's legacy
which is consistent with their own peculiar values.
Hence we need listen, reflect, respond to what Archi-
bald MacLeish declares of our heritage: "No nation in
history ever announced at its beginning so great a
human purpose. That purpose, soiled and bedraggled
perhaps, is still around us." — h.e.r.
24 MESSENGER 11-15-72
The Jesus Trip: Advent of
the Jesus Freaks
"At least they're not on drugs." "They
are moral." Much is being said re-
garding the Jesus movement. Will it
have lasting significance or is it a fad?
Lowell D. Streiker's vivid first-hand
account is ". . . well worth reading."
— Piiblishers' Weekly. "One of the best
offered on the subject!" — Bookstore
Journal. Paper, $1.95
and a host of others
Abortion: The Agonizing Decision
David R. Mace. ". . . an extremely well
organized presentation of one of the most
pressing social problems of our day, . . .
Forthright, thoughtful . . ."—Dr. S. H.
Sturgis, former head of OB/GYN Dept.,
Harvard Med. School. Cloth, $3.75;
paper, $1.95
Wars and Rumors of Wars
Roger L. Shinn, winner of the 1971
Abingdon Religious Book Award, combines
his WW II combat diary with an en-
lightened 20th-century look at the phe-
nomenon of war. A critical examination
written by one who has been there. $5.95
The Spouse Gap
One fourth of all divorces take place after
15 or more years of marriage. Robert Lee
and Marjorie Casebier show how to over-
come the many crises of the middle years
and have a fuller life together. ". . . rec-
ommended warmly." — Family Life. $4.95
Haircuts and Holiness
If you have ever doubted the reality of any
Christian precept or questioned privately
your true feelings about God, you may
find answers in this extraordinary
book by Louis Cassels. Excellent for group
discussion or private reading. Paper, $1.75
of Lpur local book/t-oce
Qbingdon
Dean Kelley has presented much dis-
turbing truth about the Hberal church-
es. .. . This book is a painful blessing
to us. One of my reactions is "thank
God for the book."
But in addition to presenting truth,
Mr. Kelley has also presented a distor-
tion of truth. ... I think Mr. Kelley's
diagnosis related to the liberal church-
es is inaccurate. He speaks about "dy-
ing churches," "mortal decline," and
states that the "process is irreversible."
Mr. Kelley is prematurely announcing
the death of liberal churches. At this
point I am convinced he is ignoring
all the new life and excitement that is
stirring throughout the liberal church-
es.
After justifiably criticizing liberal
churches for giving central importance
to peripheral causes, the author falls
into the same kind of mistake himself.
He looks at flourishing conservative
churches and then states that the key
to success is "strictness." . . . The em-
phasis on strictness as a gate to success
in terms of growth, financial commit-
ment, and new life is a misappropria-
tion of meaning and importance. The
flourishing churches are strict, but
their strictness is the result of their in-
tense commitment to Christ and to
truth as they see it, rather than strict-
ness being the central key to success.
There has to be something more cen-
tral than strictness. Their strictness is
not appealing, but their full commit-
ment to Christ and their joyous excite-
ment is.
I cannot appreciate the apparent ad-
vice of the book: "Be like those
churches and you, too, will succeed."
To adopt someone else's rules and pat-
terns and especially someone else's
concepts of truth necessitates surren-
dering our own integrity and in fact
"selling our souls for a mess of pot-
tage." The goal is not "success" in Mr.
Kelley's terms, but faithfulness to God's
spirit speaking to and through us! . . .
Matthew Meyer
Dean Kelley's Why Conservative
Churches Are Growing is an unusual
book. Kelley is a United Methodist
who serves on the staff of the NCC.
After giving ample statistics showing
that liberal churches indeed are dying,
he very frankly and pointedly shows
that the churches which are growing
are those that are "unreasonable," in-
tolerant, and "otherworldly." A
church that does not furnish its mem-
bers with beliefs and practices that
give meaning to the uhimate questions
about life and death and the eternal
world, wnll eventually die. The church
(to grow) must serve distinctively "re-
ligious" purposes, and must not merely
be a club devoted to solving current
social problems. The author's discus-
sion of the Anabaptist Movement is
excellent (he is especially perceptive
in distinguishing between pacifism and
nonresistance). The book is written
from a sociological (rather than a the-
ological) viewpoint, and thus Kelley's
"conservative" includes not only or-
thodox Protestant groups, but also
some of the cult systems. I hope
church leaders will read this book
carefully.
Harold S. Martin
With careful study this popular
book can be valuable. It can also be
dangerous. It can be quoted or mis-
quoted, used or misused, helpful or
harmful by both liberals and conserva-
tives who seek statistics, sociological
proof-texts and appealing generaliza-
tions to fortify their strengths or weak-
nesses, their convictions or prejudices.
Brethren must read it. It can help
us to assess who we are, where we are,
where we are going (or not going) and
why. Dean M. Kelley, a National
Council of Churches executive, in this
sociology of religion, documents what
some of us have observed for quite
awhile: denominations that have be-
come deeply involved in social action
and ecumenical movements are losing
membership; those that have, chiefly
been more exclusive, insisting that
they alone and uniquely possess divine
truth, held on to the old-time beliefs,
and are strong on discipline, mission-
ary zeal, absolutism, nonconformity
and even fanaticism, are gaining mem-
bers. Efforts to foster brotherhood,
peace, justice, freedom and compas-
sion, he suggests, do not draw crowds
or add to membership rolls.
Brethren who have tried to under-
stand, accept and practice values in
both groups, who are currently in an
identity crisis and losing members, and
who are eager to be obedient to Jesus
Christ in forms of radical discipleship,
have much to ponder as they read this
book. As we read, we must reflect up-
on this haunting question: Is not faith-
fulness to Jesus Christ as Lord and not
a growing membership our primary re-
sponsibility?
Harold Bomberger
When I began reading Why Con-
servative Churches Are Growing, it
was with a bias against it. . . . Since
I identified more with "'mainline" de-
nominations than I did the "conserva-
tive" or "fundamentalist" groups, I did
not want to accept the material of-
fered.
Having now read. Why Conserva-
tive Churches Are Growing, I consid-
er it the strongest book on evangelism
that I have read. It is not labeled
evangelism. I am not even certain the
word appears in the whole book. But
that is the issue and it relates to the
seriousness and expectancy in church
membership. It speaks directly to the
Church of the Brethren and to our
congregation. Common sense would
say that the lower the requirements for
membership, the less expectation, the
more the people will flock in. But that
is not our experience. It is precisely
in those churches that demand the
most, who command an allegiance
from all of life, that growth is taking
place.
Kelley traces the pattern of the Ana-
baptists (of which we are part) and
the Wesleyans in membership, saying
it "can give us guidance in shaping
and preserving the integrity of reli-
gious organization without violating
the dignity or integrity of persons.". . .
In the early 1950's, the image of the
Church that Brethren embraced was
"downtown Presbyterian." Though
Kelley helps us to see that it is a ca-
daver, whether we can embrace an im-
age more alive is very much a question
at this point.
The author traces membership and
church school enrollment trends in the
"mainline" denominations (as usual,
in national studies, the Brethren do not
rate a notice). From 1800 to 1960,
there is a solid dramatic trend up-
ward. Every one of them turns around
and begins a decline in the decade of
the 60's. One may note that Kelley
has exaggerated the decline through
the base and size of the graphs, with
the last decade isolated and separate.
Still, the decline is real. One need not
accept the author's contention that the
"mainline" denominations are dying
and that there is no possibility of re-
versal. Still, the need to discover a
vital option to authoritarianism and
literalism in the church is very much
on our agenda. . . .
Leiand Wilson
»i^ - '" $6.95
THE BRETHREN PRESS
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, lU. 60120
ssenger
E BRETHREN DECEMBER 1972
I
Dean Kelley has presented much dis-
turbing truth about the Hberal church-
es. .. . This book is a painful blessing
to us. One of my reactions is "thank
God for the book."
But in addition to presenting truth,
Mr. Kelley has also presented a distor-
tion of truth. ... I think Mr. Kelley's
diagnosis related to the liberal church-
es is inaccurate. He speaks about "dy-
ing churches," "mortal decline," and
states that the "process is irreversible."
Mr. Kelley is prematurely announcing
the death of liberal churches. At this
point I am convinced he is ignoring
all the new life and excitement that is
stirring throughout the liberal church-
es.
After justifiably criticizing liberal
churches for giving central importance
to peripheral causes, the author falls
into the same kind of mistake himself.
He looks at flourishing conservative
churches and then states that the key
to success is "strictness." . . . The em-
phasis on strictness as a gate to success
in terms of growth, financial commit-
ment, and new life is a misappropria-
tion of meaning and importance. The
flourishing churches are strict, but
their strictness is the result of their in-
tense commitment to Christ and to
truth as they see it, rather than strict-
ness being the central key to success.
There has to be something more cen-
tral than strictness. Their strictness is
not appealing, but their full commit-
ment to Christ and their joyous excite-
ment is.
I cannot appreciate the apparent ad-
vice of the book: "Be like those
churches and you, too, will succeed."
To adopt someone else's rules and pat-
terns and especially someone else's
concepts of truth necessitates surren-
dering our own integrity and in fact
"selling our souls for a mess of pot-
tage." The goal is not "success" in Mr.
Kelley's terms, but faithfulness to God's
spirit speaking to and through us! . . .
Matthew Meyer
Dean Kelley's Why Conservative
Churches Are Growing is an unusual
book. Kelley is a United Methodist
who serves on the staff of the NCC.
After giving ample statistics showing
that liberal churches indeed are dying,
he very frankly and pointedly shows
that the churches which are growing
are those that are "unreasonable," in-
tolerant, and "otherworldly." A
church that does not furnish its mem-
bers with beliefs and practices that
give meaning to the ultimate questions
about life and death and the eternal
world, will eventually die. The church
(to grow) must serve distinctively "re-
ligious" purposes, and must not merely
be a club devoted to solving current
social problems. The author's discus-
sion of the Anabaptist Movement is
excellent (he is especially perceptive
in distinguishing between pacifism and
nonresistance). The book is written
from a sociological (rather than a the-
ological) viewpoint, and thus Kelley's
"conservative" includes not only or-
thodox Protestant groups, but also
some of the cult systems. I hope
church leaders will read this book
carefully.
Harold S. Martin
With careful study this popular
book can be valuable. It can also be
dangerous. It can be quoted or mis-
quoted, used or misused, helpful or
harmful by both liberals and conserva-
tives who seek statistics, sociological
proof-texts and appealing generaliza-
tions to fortify their strengths or weak-
nesses, their convictions or prejudices.
Brethren must read it. It can help
us to assess who we are, where we are,
where we are going (or not going) and
why. Dean M. Kelley, a National
Council of Churches executive, in this
sociology of religion, documents what
some of us have observed for quite
awhile: denominations that have be-
come deeply involved in social action
and ecumenical movements are losing
membership; those that have, chiefly
been more exclusive, insisting that
they alone and uniquely possess divine
truth, held on to the old-time beliefs,
and are strong on discipline, mission-
ary zeal, absolutism, nonconformity
and even fanaticism, are gaining mem-
bers. Efforts to foster brotherhood,
peace, justice, freedom and compas-
sion, he suggests, do not draw crowds
or add to membership rolls.
Brethren who have tried to under-
stand, accept and practice values in
both groups, who are currently in an
identity crisis and losing members, and
who are eager to be obedient to Jesus
Christ in forms of radical discipleship,
have much to ponder as they read this
book. As we read, we must reflect up-
on this haunting question: Is not faith-
fulness to Jesus Christ as Lord and not
a growing membership our primary re-
sponsibility?
Harold Bomberger
When I began reading Why Con-
servative Churches Are Growing, it
was with a bias against it. . . . Since
I identified more with "'mainline" de-
nominations than I did the "conserva-
tive" or "fundamentalist" groups, I did
not want to accept the material of-
fered.
Having now read. Why Conserva-
tive Churches Are Growing, I consid-
er it the stronge
that I have re;
evangelism. I a
word appears in
that is the issue
seriousness and
membership. It
Church of the
congregation. C
say that the lowe
membership, the
more the people
is not our expei
in those church
most, who coa
from all of life,
place.
Kelley traces tl
baptists (of whi(
the Wesleyans in
it "can give us
and preserving t
gious organizatio
the dignity or inte
In the early 19'
Church that Bret
"downtown Pres
Kelley helps us tc
daver, whether we
age more alive is \
at this point.
The author trac
church school enrc
"mainline" denom
in national studies,
rate a notice). Fi
there is a solid c
ward. Every one o
and begins a declii
the 60's. One ma
has exaggerated tl
the base and size (
the last decade isol
Still, the decline is i
accept the author's
"mainline" denomi
and that there is m
versal. Still, the n
vital option to aut
literalism in the chi
on our agenda. . . .
THE BRETHREN F
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, Ul. 60120
messenger
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN DECEMBER 1972
'■""^^mi^^mmmm^n ■■
07.109
"*»'»^»Hlamm«
the world was made through him,
yet the world knew him not.
II N1I013
ONVinnoM 5^7
A903cl SyW '><3WiIHM
OPiHM e^-9
3-06 -P
©©[mlbSDTTi^^
\\(Btt(B\r^.
1
ia
17
Portrait of a People. Poetry and photographs offer a poignant
look at the people of Vietnam, by Bill Herod
Humanization, Shalom, and the Mission of God. Humaniza-
tion — making people whole — is consistent with God's mission
and united in God's actions and the actions of his people,
by Shantilal Bhagat
The True Meaning of Christmas. Tinsel, tree lights, and gift
shopping are not all there is to Christmas. If the celebration of the
birth of Christ is to have real meaning, it must include the salvation
theme as well, by Harold S. Martin
A Christmas Antiphon Between Genesis and John. Parallels
in the Scriptures and graphics developed by Wilbur E. Brumbaugh,
along with a selection from the writing of Thomas Merton,
affirm the wonder and joy of God's Gift to us
"Your Presence With Us." From all over the Brotherhood letters
reveal appreciation for the church's ministries made possible by
the Brotherhood Fund — disaster relief, leadership, materials.
This "informal report to the stockholders" is a sampling
In Touch profiles Hazel Peters, Joseph Whitacre, and Paul Bechtold
(2) .... Outlook reports on a breakthrough in China, notes a pension
increase, previews the site of the 1974 National Youth Conference, tells
rebuilding efforts in Sudan after a sixteen-year war, and offers college
news (beginning on 4) .... Ohio pastor Ellis G. Guthrie reviews recent
books with insights into "The King and the Kingdom" (24) ... . Turn-
ing Points lists anniversaries, pastoral placements, and deaths (24) ....
In the People and Parish spotlight are four congregations (25) ....
Brethren respond to the farm worker issue in a special Letters section
(29) .... LeRoy Kennel, associate professor of communication at
Bethany Theological Seminary, discusses new films (30) .... Resources
lists materials for planners and goal setters, developed by Ralph G.
McFadden of the Parish Ministries staff (32) .... An editorial com-
ments "On Living in the Vernacular" (36)
EDITOR
Howard E. Royer
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Richard N. Miller
Kenneth I. Morse
ASSISTANT EDITOR
tinda K. Beher
VOL.
NO. 21
DECEMBER, 1972
CREDITS: Cover. 17-20 Wilbur E. Brum-
baugh; 2 (left). 12 Don Honick; 2 (right)
Lane's Studio. Hampton. Va.; 3 Young's
Studio. Iowa City. Iowa; 4 (top. right)
John Burns for The (Toronto) Globe and
Mail: 6 Religious News Ser\ice; 8-11 Bill
Herod; 14-16 ".Adoration of the Shepherds
(With the Lamp)" and detail, etching bv
Rembrandt \an Ryn. from the National
Gallery of .\rt. Rosenwald Collection; 20
photography by Edward Wallowitch; prose
selection, from Raids on the Unspeakable.
by Thomas Merton. Cop>right @ 1966 by
the Abbey of Gethsemani, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of New Directions Publishing
Corporation; 27 artwork by Ken Stanley
Messenger is the official publication of the
Church of the Brethren. Entered as second
class matter .^ug. 20. 1918. under Act o
Congress of Oct. 17, 1917. Filing date, Oct. 1
1972. Messenger is a member of the .\ssoci
ated Church Press and a subscriber to Reli
gious News Ser\'ice and Ecumenical Press
Service. Biblical quotations, unless otherw'ise
indicated, are from the Revised Standard
Version.
Subscription rates: $4.20 per year for indi-
vidual subscriptions; S3. 60 per year for church
group plan; S3. 00 per year for every home
plan; life subscription. $60; husband and
wife, $75. If you move clip old address
from Messenger and send with new address.
Alloiv at least fifteen days for ad-
dress change. Messenger is owned
and published twice monthly by
the General Services Commission,
Church of the Brethren General
Board, 1451 Dundee .\ve.. Elgin,
III. 60120. Second-class postage
paid at Elgin. III. December 1972. Cop\right
1972, Church of the Brethren General Board.
■
FOR A MORE EXCELLENT WAY
I am deeply troubled over the caliber of
many letters to Messenger in recent
months. What bothers me is the acute issue
of deep division widening its ugly, gaping
jaws at an alarming rate, as some con-
tagious disease might ravage the country-
side or some monster might devour its prey.
It appears as if we are suffering from
the same sin of "who shall be the greater
in God's kingdom," as were the disciples of
Jesus at the Last Supper (Luke 22:24-27).
Somehow, too many of us have gotten the
notion (Satan, perhaps?) that Christian fel-
lowship and ministry and witness can only
be one way or have one form alone. And
so on the one hand, then, for example,
this voice says that our witness is invalid
because we haven't committed enough
"treason" (whatever that means); but. an-
other voice says our witness is invalid be-
cause we've committed too much "treason."
It's very unlike what I read in the Acts of
the Holy Spirit (Apostles) — that forgiven
persons had different forms of ministry and
witness in order to validly extend that same
forgiveness to different groups or persons.
My understanding is that one's life-style
and ministry, whether individually or cor-
porately, are valid when tested over against
the only true discipleship of Jesus Christ
and what we know of it biblically. There-
fore, in 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul
could describe the body of Christ as having
many parts and functions, each of them
being as valid and as necessary as any of
the others. His whole argument there
hinged on: " . . . and I will show a still
more excellent way ..." (1 Cor. 12:31).
The alarming thing for me in many of
the recent letters is the glaring omission of
agape love spoken of in I Corinthians 13,
the "more excellent way." Of all the "ac-
cusers" who have written recently none has
first said, "I love that person as a brother
or sister in Christ," and then proceeded to
go to that person, or persons, to settle an
issue. No, I submit, we have instead suc-
cumbed to the evils of the world and now
"sling mud," as it were, at one another
as so many secular politicians.
Such guerrilla warfare is out of place in
God's kingdom and the Lord's church, wrote
Alexander Mack Sr. in his Rights and Or-
dinances in 1713 (see section "On Dis-
sension"). It would appear that we have
forgotten the lesson of Eph. 4:25 — 5:2
and to be subject to one another out of
love for Christ (Eph. 5:21). Is there any
wonder, then, that giving to the Brother-
hood Fund primarily out of love for Christ
is much lower than it should be?
Persons who love one another as Christ
pt
(0)[n](
loves all of us (John 13:34) have no need
to be threatened or become hostile toward
a Christian witness or ministry which is
different from the ones into which we find
ourselves called. Those kinds of believers
instead rejoice and encourage and support
one another, regardless if one of the fel-
lowship is in jail as a result of discipleship
or if another is called to preach in tradi-
tional, evangelical settings. What counts
mostly to our Lord is when a "cup of
cold water is given in his name" (Mark
9:41).
I would therefore invite all of my broth-
ers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ to
repent for aiding and abetting such sin to
enter in among us as a dividing wedge,
begnning with me . . . beginning with the
reader perhaps. Who will join me in recon-
ciling such tragedy? Who will help to bind
up the wounds we have inflicted upon one
another in the name of our Lord who, we
may remember, loved all people, even the
deadliest enemies of his nation, Roman
soldiers (Matt. 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10. 23:47;
John 4:46-53)?
Patrick Chaffin
Flint, Mich.
ON JUDGING PEACE ACTIVISTS
Who is this cold warrior, Mr. Saylor (Let-
ters, Oct. 1), who keeps harping on Com-
munism versus Godliness, Brethren traitors,
etc.? I hope such neanderthals are in the
minority, at least among Brethren.
Not that it would do any good, but I
would like to tell him, "Judge not that
you be not judged." Who are you to pro-
nounce condemnation (your word) on com-
munists in Vietnam or anywhere and then
pass the same condemnation on to Brethren
ministers, calling them supporters of crim-
inals and conspirators! Such talk! Cast
out the stone that is in your own eye first.
You mean to tell us you don't even know
that the US government itself admits that
the whole of Indochina, even the fraction
of it called Vietnam, is not a threat to Big
Uncle Sam? Everyone knows it is only to
test out our new super computer/air war
equipment now that we keep up this war.
Where have you been?
I say more power to all like the Harris-
burg 8 who strive to turn off the faucets
of war and point up its wrongness. Orchids
to all those courageous Brethren ministers
including the past moderator-elect for sup-
porting them with a statement. May some
even have the faith to go as far as Daniel
Berrigan and stand up for peace in a war
torn world, even when it means prison.
Marie Ingerman
Nicasio, Calif.
INFLUENCE OF THE COURT
Dorris Blough (Oct. 1 ) is a very naive
person if she thinks one Supreme Court
decision is going to bring black and white
Americans together. For instance, it is a
provable fact that there are more segre-
gated schools in the country today than
when the Supreme Court issued the 1954
school desegregation decision. So much for
the Supreme Court and its ability to change
the hearts and minds of individuals.
Melvin Gray
Chicago, 111.
OUR LIVES AND OTHERS
Two letters in the October 1 issue stir
me to write: one by "A Michigan Reader,"
the other by Joseph Saylor. It may have
shocked us to see the youth at the Cincin-
nati Conference simulate the death of the
people of Vietnam. But the actual death
and horror is a half a world away in a land
and among a people we do not know. No,
we do not condone the atrocities of the
Viet Cong and North Vietnam. War is
still hell, as General Sherman said over
100 years ago. We like to be confessors
of other peoples' sins. Two wrongs never
make a right.
War itself is the greatest atrocity. We
try and sentence a Calley, the while our
leaders and the military-industrial complex
carry on the diabolical war. Some have
said, "We must fight communism or it will
come to America."
It does not seem to be consistent to have
our President deal with China and Russia,
while we bomb and destroy the small coun-
try of Vietnam. I fear we are fighting for
commercial advantage, rather than to de-
feat communism, the while we support a
very corrupt government in South Vietnam.
Is it not high time for all Christians to
follow the teaching of Jesus, "They that
take the sword shall perish with the
sword" (Matt. 26:52). We love our country
but we cannot say with Stephen Decatur,
"Our country right or wrong."
Also I appreciated the article by Carroll
Petry in the July issue of Messenger. Our
salvation involves our lives with others.
We cannot have it alone. A call to personal
salvation as voiced by many leaders in great
evangelistic campaigns is not enough unless
we have a heart of compassion for our fel-
lowmen in this great and awful world. A
charismatic experience for our own uplift
is not sanctioned by the Word of God. It
is a crutch that will let you down. Let's
try to be consistent as we follow Jesus.
Arthur L. Dodge
Lake Odessa, Mich.
Farm worker issue: page 29
"The Good News of Christmas is not a
date in history," writes Harold S. Mar-
tin, Pennsylvania minister and a con-
tributor to this issue. It is "a Person
who menaces our way of life ... a
threat to our smug, self-centered liv-
ing."
For some. Messenger's treatment of
the Good News of Christmas may seem
somewhat menacing.
This year's Advent/ Christmas sec-
tion, with its somber blue and gray
tones only occasionally relieved with
color, suggests a detachment from the
frenetic gift buying, the crowds, the
winking tree lights that grip us every
December. It is
not, however,
without affirma-
tion. The cover
and the scriptural
antiphon com-
posed and de-
signed by Wilbur
E. Brumbaugh
and the excerpt
from Roman
Catholic theologian Thomas Merton
convey the poignant promise of the
light that even darkness cannot over-
, come.
Other December offerings engage us
in diverse ways of responding to the
Christmas promise.
Bill Herod uses photographs as a
medium. Bill, whose two volunteer
service terms in Vietnam preceded his
current assignment as a peace counselor
with the Disciples Peace Fellowship in
Indianapolis, wrote the accompanying
haiku for "Portrait of a People."
Shantilal Bhagat affirms that making
people whole is united with mission and
God's actions. Shantilal is community
development consultant for the World
Ministries Commission.
And the promise shines through once
: again in words from readers and others
all over the Brotherhood. In "Your
Presence With Us," you'll find expres-
sions of appreciation for half a dozen
of the church's ministries.
In a season when One comes for
whom there is no room, our wish is that
the light he brings might break into all
N our lives, menacing our smugness and
I making us whole persons.
I The Editors
December 1972 MESSENGER 1
Hazel Peters: Personnel officer
To talk with Hazel Peters for half an
hour is to receive a lively history
lesson on postwar Brethren work in
Europe.
Hazel was there, at 30 a BVSer
from Roanoke, Va., working with
Austrian refugees and administering
the Brethren Service office in Geneva.
Three and a half years later she re-
turned to the States and denomina-
tional headquarters for assignments
as administrative assistant to the late
W. Harold Row and later to General
Secretary S. Loren Bowman.
Now coordinator of the General
Board's personnel office, developed a
year ago. Hazel continues the style of
relating to people that makes her
stories about Europe so fascinating
and her effectiveness with personnel
prime: "Some things you can put in
a desk drawer," she smiles. "But
people you can't!"
It's the style that impelled Leland
Wilson, California pastor and former
staff colleague, to write, "No one is
more ready to set aside an involved
task to answer a co-worker's question,
find a piece of material, or do a bit
of research."
It's the style that lets Hazel stay
way beyond quitting time to help
another department get out a special
mailing.
It's the style that helps her imple-
ment a flexible work week for Gen-
eral Offices employees, an idea that
Time magazine in a recent essay on
the work ethic called "'productive and
promising."
And it's the style that keeps Hazel
worrying over passport and visa ap-
plications for field workers.
If there is a frustrating angle to her
job. Hazel might point to that kind
of worrying. "Will a visa come
through so that this or that family can
participate in the program they
signed for?"
No sidestepper of human prob-
lems, Hazel; her soft-spoken manner
can sometimes erupt in volatile, hon-
est anger — a time when, Leland
Wilson commented, "your agenda is
best delayed until another time."
Hazel's nineteen years with the
General Board have been exciting
ones: In Brethren \'olunteer Service
involvements, exchanges with the
Russian Orthodox Church, Heifer
Project, reconciliation and rebuilding
efforts around the world, and now in
the centralized personnel placement
office. Hazel has been there, in com-
mand of all the details inherent in
work with an international
"clientele."
And, of course, doing her best to
keep people "out of the desk drawer."
in^
Joseph Whitacre: His pac
The news of the attack on Pearl
Harbor that Sunday evening in 1941
shook the emotional stability of the
world! And in geometry class the
next day. when my teacher asked me
a question I began softly cry ing. The
teacher commented on the shock the
attack had been for all of us.
But at that moment, I was caught
up in concern for my father, Joseph
E. Whitacre. who had met with an
accident that same evening, and we
were uncertain of the outcome. Dur-
ing a moment of consciousnes at the
doctor's office, he asked that the
church choir go on to the church
where he was holding meetings, and
sing to the glory of God. Then he
told the eldest of us ten children to
help Mother in the days to come as
much as we could. Both our parents
had tried to share a trust in God with
us. Even the three-year-old com-
forted us by saying. "Don't cry!
God will take care of all of us!"
At the hospital, when the doctors
advised amputation of a leg. Dad
claims that in a vision God told him
to keep his limb and walk with him
into his future ministry.
I was most proud of him the day
they rolled his old-fashioned wheel
chair onto the back of a truck and
took him to his church at Pine Creek
near North Liberty, Ind. They car-
ried him up the steps and rolled him
down the center aisle and onto the
pulpit while tears of joy coursed
down the faces of the congregation.
Dad eventually would walk with a
2 MESSENGER December 1972
unhalted
completely stiff knee. But he refused
to let it slow his pace or his spirit in
the work he felt called by God to do.
"Two of the greatest thrills of my
ministry," says Dad at 74, "occurred
when I dedicated the sixth generation
baby with all six generations present,
and when I delivered a Sunday morn-
ing sermon in the presence of the
113-year-old father of 42 children!"
Dad's early education included no
more than 50 days in any one year
until age 12. At 21 he entered high
school at New Windsor, Md., in what
was then Blue Ridge College. He
graduated in three and a half years
and thus ended his formal education.
Dad and Mother, who was Bertha
Ryan Fike of Eglon, W. Va., began
their ministry at the Uniontown, Pa.,
church in 1921. In the 50 years that
followed, they went to 11 pastorates,
in Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Vir-
ginia, and Virginia. In one Dad de-
livered seven sermons each week
with two regular prayer meetings
plus training classes.
When the total of 5 1 attended An-
nual Conferences plus 53 district
conferences is in print along with the
1,010 persons he baptized, the
churches he moderated, the wed-
dings, funerals, and counseling he
did, and the 51 years of having
Mother by his side and guiding us
children, I look with extreme pride
and thankfulness to Joseph and
Bertha Whitacre, and I say, "Thank
God, they're MY parents!" — Olive
Peters
Paul Bechtold: A seeking expedition
Paul F. Bechtold does not believe
literally in guardian angels. But he
cherishes nonetheless the story of a
small boy whose grandmother told
him he need not be afraid to walk
home in the dark; God would hold
his hand and go with him all the way.
The boy ventured forth. Next morn-
ing, when asked how he fared, the
lad said, "Yes, grandma, I got there
all right, but I made God run all the
way."
In recounting the story in his re-
cently published work, A Simple
Way of Life for All. Mr. Bechtold
commented, "If this book makes
God run, I hope it will be in the right
direction."
Doubtless some readers will think
so, others will not. For in the book
which the retired Des Moines, Iowa,
educator and minister terms "a
seeking expedition," he sallies forth
with convictions both candid and
controversial.
For example, he speaks of the
American Dream not only for its
"magnificent glory" but its "sordid
selfishness." He warns of the "exag-
gerated authoritarianism" brought by
overgrown militarism. He challenges
the ethics of high business profits,
acknowledging that some men may
be better financiers than others but
"not a million times better." He
resents expenditures for liquor, cigar-
ettes, and drugs as well as war and
says, "I'm fighting for a better system
of priorities. I want the priorities of
life paid for first."
Yet more likely to stir the waters
than these is his exploration of com-
mon Christian doctrines. "In our
coming 'spiritual explosion' do we
want entertaining and comforting
fiction or truths?" he asks. And he
goes on to share reservations about
entrenched creedal beliefs — om-
nipotence, virgin birth, second com-
ing, an infallible Bible among them.
Convinced that "adults are often
ready to fight for an outworn the-
ology which is only the shadow of
real life," the 75-year-old writer
tunes a sensitive ear to the inquiries
of youth.
Native of Girard, 111., and hold-
er of three degrees, Paul Bechtold
has been a college professor and
pastor of both rural and urban
churches. He describes the recent
volume as an effort to "recapture my
early Brethren faith in all of its
simplicity in the language and
thought-forms of our current cul-
ture." But equally, it is one man's
attempt to engender aspects of wide
religious thought, to broaden the
definition of religion, to affirm a uni-
versal God, and simply, to speak
"plain, common sense where it is
needed: in business, family, educa-
tion, and religion."
December 1972 MESSENGER 3
Survival of the church:
Protestants in Peking
Contact between Christians in America
and the Christian community in China
has been virtually nil for a decade or
two. Reports breaking this year indicate,
however, that at least scattered bands of
Christians meet together in China for
services of worship.
One such meetingplace is Peking's
Rice Market Street Church, described in
a recent news report as the city's only
functioning Protestant church. The pas-
tor, according to the Toronto Globe and
Mail, is Yin Chi-chen, who identified
himself as having enrolled in 1938 "in a
seminar}' run by the Church of the Breth-
ren" in Shansi Province. There, he said,
American missionaries tutored him for
the ministry, into which he was ordained
in 1944.
Filed October 13 from Peking, the
Globe and Mail account stated that the
Rice Market Street Church was opened
"to all comers" last Easter Sunday, after
being closed to foreigners since the out-
break of the Cultural Revolution. Since
Easter, foreign visitors have been free
to visit the church at any time.
The Rice Market Street Church be-
longs to the Three Self Movement, a na-
tional body coordinating Protestant ac-
tivity. Pastor Yin was quoted as saying
the Protestants in Peking number 500,
not all of whom come to church.
Upon checking with Brethren mission-
ary personnel who were in China in the
1940s, Messenger learned that Pastor
Yin may be the son of the first elder of
the Church of the Brethren in China, Yin
Chi-tsung. Only minor discrepancies,
such as the fact that the seminary attend-
ed by the younger Yin was not actually
under Brethren auspices, need yet to be
checked out.
Among Brethren workers who recall
the Yin family are Dr. and Mrs. Daryl
Parker of New Madison, Ohio, and
Wendell Flory of Gaithersburg, Md.
The latter, however, questioned the age
(62) given for Mr. Yin in the Toronto
article. Mr. Flory had grown up in
China with the son of the elder Yin, re-
membered the son's ordination in 1944
and early pastoral assignments.
The Parkers and the Florys were
Clockwise from top: Pastor Yin Chi-chen
offers communion to parishioners at the
Rice Market Street church; the pastor
in his study; the first elder of the
Church of the Brethren in China, Yin
Chi-tsung. likely Pastor Yin's father
among 99 Brethren missionaries who
worked in North China's Shansi Province
from 1908 to 1949. A few additional
workers had served also in the Kwang-
tung Province in the South. At its height
the program entailed 3,000 members, five
organized churches, three hospitals, and
27 schools. In addition. Brethren in
America gave more than $150,000 to
famine relief in 1921-22, channeled
through the International Red Cross,
and staff'ed a Brethren Service Tractor
Boys unit in 1946-47. in liason with the
United Nations Relief and Rehabilita-
tion Administration. In 1949 the Breth-
ren work joined the union Church of
Christ in China.
According to the Globe and Mail re-
port, Peking today has many fine old
churches that are boarded up or are used
as community centers or workshops, but
the Rice Market Street Church doesn't
look like a church at all. Instead, the
two-story high, porcelain tile roof struc-
ture is typically hybrid European-
Chinese architecture.
The simple interior includes rows of
wooden chairs facing a low platform and
altar. On an old piano is an aging hym-
nal yellowed at the edges.
Without ceremony, the service on a re-
cent Sunday included four hymns, a
psalm, lessons from the Old and New
Testaments, three prayers, an exhorta-
tion but no sermon and no collection.
Mr. Yin, in a strong, measured voice,
4 MESSENGER December 1972
led the service, and a half dozen Chinese
and about an equal number of foreigners
followed from the mimeographed sheets
provided.
The Globe and Mail story further in-
dicated the church's sole means of sup-
port, including salaries for Mr. Yin and
for his assistant, 45-year-old Kan Hsuch-
Ching, is through donations placed by
members in a box at the rear of the
church.
In the interview Mr. Yin said little
about his experiences since ordination
and the present. The writer, pointing
up the disdain which both the tradition-
alist Marxists and the Chinese national-
ists have for Christianity, surmised the
period was one of hostility and adjust-
ment.
"From the beginning, freedom of reli-
gion (religious beliefs) was guaranteed
in the Constitution of the new republic,"
the Globe and Mail said. "Worship was
to be permitted, but not proselytization,
and if the churches were to survive, it
would be on their own, cut off from their
foreign connections."
The report stated further that while
there were "trials and some executions,
there was no bloodbath" in the nationali-
zation of schools, orphanages, hospitals
and other welfare activities of the
churches.
"One change wrought by the Cultural
Revolution was the abandonment of all
services other than communion," the
Globe and Mail report stated. "Bap-
tisms, weddings and funerals became a
thing of the past — not, says Mr. Yin,
because they were proscribed, but 'be-
cause the people no longer had a desire
for them.'
"What is the future of the church, cut
off as it is from new recruits? Mr. Yin
replies: 'If people believe in God, then
there will continue to be churches. If
not, then there won't be.' "
"This report of Pastor Yin along with
other emerging stories regarding the ac-
tivities of religious leaders in China and
reports of visits to functioning churches,
temples, mosques, and monasteries give
evidence of religious life in China today,"
observed H. Lamar Gibble of the Church
of the Brethren World Ministries staff.
"There is real reason to rejoice in this
and in the prospect that a new era of
communication may open up."
Brethren pensioners
register appreciation
Surprise and appreciation were expressed
by persons receiving special benefit
checks from the Church of the Brethren
Pension Plan this summer.
The Pension Board in its March meet-
ing agreed to provide this special benefit
for all who became pensioners after Sept.
1, 1968. A previous action had given an
equivalent benefit to all those who be-
came pensioners previous to that date.
"The situation which made this special
benefit possible," explained Galen B.
Ogden, pension executive, "came about
when the board decided to change the
'assumption rate' from T'Vi to 4 percent."
Mr. Ogden explained that when a
member is ready to retire, the board esti-
mates that his combined accumulation
will earn a minimum of 4 percent interest
per year thereafter. Therefore, this fac-
tor is taken into consideration as future
benefits for each pensioner are computed.
The action taken by the board made it
possible not only to increase the monthly
pensions of those who have retired since
September 1968 but also to send checks
covering the retroactive amounts based
on the new rate. As stated above, a
similar benefit had already been given to
those who retired prior to September
1968.
New ABC leader
takes office
Dr. Robert C. Cambell has taken office
as the new general secretary of the Amer-
ican Baptist Convention headquartered
in Valley Forge, Pa. He was elected in
May to be the chief administrative of-
ficer of the 1.4-million member de-
nomination.
Dr. Cambell is a former dean and pro-
Site chosen for 1974
youth conference
Glorieta, N. Mex., is the location of the
next National Youth Conference (NYC)
of the Church of the Brethren. Aug. 20-
24, 1974.
The announcement was made by
Ralph G. McFadden, consultant for
youth ministries on the denomination's
Parish Ministries Commission staff.
The site will be the 2,500-acre
Glorieta Baptist Assembly grounds, a
Christian conference center owned and
operated by the Sunday School Board of
the Southern Baptist Convention.
Located in the foothills of the Rocky
Mountains, 1 8 miles east of Santa Fe on
Interstate 25, the assembly grounds in-
clude the famous Glorieta Pass.
In other events in preparation for the
1974 NYC, a steering committee of ap-
proximately six youth and two adults is
in process of being named, Mr. McFad-
den said. Plans are to call a BVSer early
in 1973 to serve as full-time staff to the
committee.
In projecting future conferences for
youth, Mr. McFadden said that begin-
ning in 1974, the denomination will hold
a national conference once every four
years. In addition, beginning in 1976,
special arrangements are being made to
append to Annual Conference several
days especially for youth.
The last NYC was held in 1971 at
Valparaiso, Ind. Earlier conferences
had been held in Anderson, Ind., in
1954; Lake Junaluska, N.C., in 1958;
Estes Park, Colo., in 1962, and Cornell
University, Ithaca, N.Y., in 1966.
After the 1966 conference, PMC
voted to terminate youth conferences
nationally in favor of regional and
theme-centered events. However, in
response to requests from youth, that
action was reversed in 1970.
December 1972 MESSENGER 5
fessor of New Testament at the Amer-
ican Baptist Seminary of the West in
Covina, Calif. Earlier he served as a
professor at Eastern Baptist College and
Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary,
both in Pennsylvania.
Under restructuring measures ap-
proved by the 1972 annual meeting of
The ABC, the associate general secre-
taries for educational, home, and inter-
national ministries, ministers' and mis-
sionaries benefits, and field operations,
are directly responsible to him.
The Church of the Brethren voted at
its Annual Conference to enter an "asso-
ciated relationship" with the ABC. The
authorization aimed at deepening fellow-
ship and cooperation, not merger.
The proposed relationship stresses the
voluntary nature of the action and the
desire to foster cooperation "at all levels
of church life without losing identity as
autonomous denominational bodies." A
response to the invitation is anticipated
from the American Baptists by May
1973.
Peace breaks out in
Sudan; aid sent
The breaking out of peace, not war, was
the news emitting from Sudan six months
ago, ending a 17-year war that most
Americans, if they ever knew the war
existed, had forgotten.
Southern Sudan had been in rebellion
against the Sudanese government for
nearly two decades. Yet most people had
never heard of the war.
The country was not easily accessible
to newsmen, and since the conflict was
viewed by most outsiders as an "internal"
affair of a sovereign nation, few coun-
tries, international organizations, or re-
lief agencies, including the world's
churches, had taken any steps to alleviate
the suffering of the Sudanese people or
to commit themselves on the issues
involved.
Most groups, according to a Church
World Service (CWS) report this sum-
mer, confined their efforts to helping the
Sudanese refugees who thronged into
neighboring African countries. Howev-
er, in 1971, key church groups finally
took a political risk and became peace-
makers.
6 MESSENGER December 1972
Sudan is one of the largest countries
in Africa with a total population of more
than 15 million. The culture and lan-
guage and people of the northern section
are different from that of the southern
part of the country.
The majority of the people live in the
northern section; their culture and lan-
guage are Arab and their religion Mus-
lim. In the three southern provinces the
population is black, its only common
language English, and its religions Chris-
tian and animist.
In 1898 the British conquered the
country, but while they ruled it as one
nation, very different policies were ap-
plied to the two regions. The differences
between the North and South, deliberate-
ly encouraged by the British who even
forbade freedom of movement and com-
munication between them, became more
and more pronounced through the years.
On the eve of independence in 1955
southern soldiers rebelled, angered by
the creation of a new government that
did not represent their interests. The
insurrection was met by force and the
long war had begun.
Six months after the war officially
ended, a million refugees are slowly mak-
ing their way back to their ruined vil-
lages. Nearly a third of the roads are im-
passable, the waterways are clogged or
inadequate, and means of transport are
few and crude, according to a CWS
spokesman.
Polyethylene for temporary shelter,
and food supplies, clothing, blankets, and
cooking utensils must be airlifted in, or
brought over rutted roads from neighbor-
ing countries to the south.
Housing is so bad, said CWS, that
some of the government officials are fl
temporarily quartered on Nile River ^
barges at the new capital city of Juba.
In a country ravaged by disease, where,
until recently, supplies could only be
shipped in secretly, medicines of all
kinds are desperately needed.
In response to the need, the United
Nations has started its relief operation,
and other agencies and countries are be-
ginning to help.
In March, the Commission on Inter-
Church Aid, Refugees and World Service
(CICARWS), the relief arm of the World
Council of Churches, launched an appeal
for an intial $500,000 to get church-
related relief operations moving even
prior to the government's assessment of
the region's total need.
Since then, CICARWS has extended
the appeal to a quarter of a million dol-
lars. All aid is under direction of the
new government (and the Sudan Council
of Churches' Relief and Rehabilitation
Programme).
As of September, $46,000 has been
given and an additional $104,000 com-
mitted by the churches in the United
States through Church World Service.
The response of churches and church
agencies around the world totals
$714,500 through gifts and pledges.
The Church of the Brethren budgets
$6,000 annually for CICARWS and
$15,000 for CWS, $6,000 designated spe-
cifically for material resources.
Under consideration by the denomina-
tion is an additional amount from its
Disaster Fund.
In other developments, a recent ship-
ment of 2,400 bales of clothing left for
the Sudan from the processing center the
Brethren operate in New Windsor, Md.
Top left. American church relief agency
officials and the Sudanese ambassador,
Rahmatella Abdulla. inspect part of a
$400,000 shipment; below, Sudanese
worker joins rebuilding efforts in Yei
E-town receives
"$ for effort"
Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania,
has received a federal grant of $49,650
to begin the planning phase of the eight-
county South Central Pennsylvania
Health Education Consortium.
The consortium was formed in May
under the leadership of the college to de-
termine and coordinate health manpower
needs in the counties of Lancaster, Leb-
anon, York, Dauphin, Adams, Franklin,
Cumberland, and Perry.
At that time, some 55 representatives
of educational institutions, planning
agencies, professional societies, hospitals,
and nursing homes approved a proposed
statement of purpose and the organiza-
tional structure.
In announcing the grant, a govern-
ment official said, "We are excited with
the prospect of a system developing in
which a community defines its own
health care needs and provides the train-
ing programs and personnel to meet those
needs."
Earlier this year, the college an-
nounced an expanded degree and course
program in the health care field. (Note
Messenger's Outlook section, June 15.)
A recent state study calls Pennsyl-
vania's shortage of personnel in health
care occupations "critical." Elizabeth-
town, one of six colleges affiliated with
the Church of the Brethren, is projecting
a 10-year plan to help meet this need.
La Verne's "number one"
in small college teams
La Verne College's baseball team became
the nation's number one small college
nine this summer, winning its first Na-
tional Association of Inter-Collegiate
Athletic crown. They closed the season
with a 44-9 record and a perfect 5-0
mark in the five-day championships held
in Phoenix, Ariz.
Following the victory, professional con-
tracts were signed by Ben Ochoa, pitcher,
Houston Astros; Craig Bowser, pitcher,
Kansas City Royals; Dave Cripe, third
baseman, Kansas City Royals; Willie
Norwood, outfielder, Minnesota Twins;
and John Calzia, Houston Astros.
[LaoTidlsirDDDDc
PEOPLE YOU KNOW Lynchburg, Va. , pastor Clarence Quay
reports completion of a year's clinical pastoral education
program at Virginia Baptist Hospital in Lynchburg. He
resumes full-time pastoral duties at the Lynchburg church.
Gordon Yoder , McPherson , Kans. , became business mana-
ger for the Institute of Logopedics in Wichita, Kans. ,
Nov. 20. He and his wife Glee will move to Wichita in
January. He had been associated with McPherson College for
25 years.
Working with retarded children at Children's Center,
Laurel, Md. , is Betty Sauder , Manheim, Pa. Her assignment
with Mennonite Central Committee grew out of a summer's
work there. She is a member of the White Oak church.
Retiring from a 52-year active ministry is David H.
Markey , Elizabethtown, Pa. He will fill appointments
"wherever needed. "
Retained as tour director for the 1973 Nigeria Study
Toxir is Vlilhur E. Mullen , purchasing agent for the Brethren's
Home at Greenville, Ohio. Mr. Mullen, former denominational
staff person, will join the tour group in New York.
Future Farmers of America presented a distinguished
service award to Enos B. Heisey , Syracuse, N.Y. , one of
twenty-eight persons to have made outstanding contributions
to the development of the FFA.
Annual Conference speaker Rosemary Rue the r , historian
and Roman Catholic theologian , is serving as visiting lec-
turer in CatJiolic theological studies at Harvard Divinity
School this academic year. She is one of two women named
to the Harvard faculty to help focus attention on women in
theological education.
A onetime La Verne College trustee, and a 16-year mem-
ber of the General Board, Floyd A. Yearout, died in late
October after a long illness. He had made his home in
Fresno, Calif. A memorial service was held Oct. 28.
GO ON CELEBRATING
Several congregations throughout
lihe Brotherhood are marking anniversaries this year : Mo-
desto, Calif., Nov. 11-12, with special banquet and services;
Mont Ida, in Southeast Kansas, Nov. 12; and First Central,
Kansas City, Kans. , the whole year 1972. A Nov. 19 Home-
coming climaxed the year's observance, which included a
rally , a look at the congregation ' s history , and other spe-
cial services.
At Dallas Center, Iowa, Brethren celebrated a harvest
homecoming in October.
ENRICHING EXPERIENCES ... A three-day family camp for
the Florida/Puerto Rico District in September drew 143
persons from eight congregations. With personal and inter-
personal relationships the theme, campers of all ages exper-
iences close fellowship in small groups, Bible study, and
recreation.
Art forms in worship keynoted a weekend workshop- at
McPherson, Kans. , last month. With the theme "Oneness in
God" participants worked at visual, dramatic, and verbal
expressions of discipleship and unity.
December 1972 MESSENGER 7
>i^'
Vietnam's
child
may yet
winl<
forgiveness
and save us
with a
gentle
smile
^^^^^^^1
i
Their play is special —
clouded always by that lurking shadow ,
of Real ^
' ^^iv ' 4IHi9H^
^^^^^^». ^ ^^^^^^1
...._■' :1
.^^v^-**:
a.y '•;. ;■ "-^'"gcgff^ffr^^
.X.
OF A
-^t.
3-^
PEOPLE
aMetnam album
1 with fiiotographs and poems
by Bill Herod
^
^I^PJ^-
\m
S:t>/- . ■
af.<--i\^ ■■-.
1. . »^. ^. rC^,
How many enemy were killed today? / And how
•i^.^f?^fc*^j^!
He told of watching, helplessi
as his village was pacifieq
with fira
Grandmother seems experienced
as she sifts the ashes
of her home
They wait,
these girls of Vietnam,
for a future which they have learned to fear
i^^'
I**- _ **
«p
i^-^'
.-r"^*
-r^:
:<^r^*r5C
•^^' ^<.^^
;:?■?;--
mM
1
■■*a
^U
^^H
fc^
■>■
«v«er
nany men / today?
Humanization, or making people whole, is God's mission
through Jesus Christ.
For Christians mission and humanization
are not contradictory but united
in God's action
and in the actions of his people.
^
Humanization,
Shalom, and
the Mission of God
by Shantilal Bhagat
On the global scene large masses of op-
pressed peoples and social groups have
come alive wanting, even demanding,
participation in the creation of their own
history. The movements for political in-
dependence from Western colonial dom-
ination over the last three decades, the
struggle of nonwhites for racial equality,
and the revolt of the poor against eco-
nomic and political exploitation all are
expressions of revolutionary ferment.
The demand is for radical changes in
the structures of political power as well
as in the existing relations between a
goverrunent and its people. The demand
is for involvement and real participation
in the decision-making process. More
than bread, it is human dignity that peo-
ple are seeking.
In traditional societies the untouch-
ables, the landless, and other oppressed
groups demand change, justice, and fun-
damental human rights. In the affluent
nations the revolutionary ferment is ex-
pressed in movements of civil rights,
black power, and urban renewal. Both
the capitalist and the socialist models of
technical societies face the problems of
creating a participant society. What does
this all mean from the perspective of
Christian mission?
Much Christian work in homelands
and overseas has been and in some in-
stances is still being done on presuppo-
sitions which are not only invalid but
detrimental to the sharing of the good
news. It may be presumptuous if not
sacrilegious even to suggest that some
of the problems which the church faces
today began during the times of .Augus-
tine and his disciples a millennium ago.
For example, the eternal damnation of
all pagans, Jews, heretics, and schis-
matics was assumed almost without ques-
tion, and the work of God in the world
was held to be limited to the people of
Europe.
By stressing opposition between this
world and the world to come, Augus-
tine laid a foundation for the unfortu-
nate choice in Western thought between
world affirmation and world denial.
Further, as Paul Verghese, a theologian
from my country, declares, Augustine
was unwittingly responsible for the
Christian church coming to claim ex-
clusive possession of the good and de-
spising other religions and cultures. Such
long nurtured, theologically derived
concepts were primary factors in the at-
titudes of racial, cultural, and religious
superiority which Western society
evolved.
Even today. Richard Drummond con-
tends. "The consensus of contemporary
Old Testament scholarship that the
election of Israel was for ser\ ice not for
privilege has not yet penetrated deeply
into the fabric of thought of \^'estem
man. And Westerners generally, per-
haps especially the American people,
still lack the comprehensiveness or in-
clusive aspect of much Christian
thought."
The special place given to some
groups or types of people — to those
who are more "worthy" or more
"chosen" than others — affects the
American policies at home as well as
overseas, according to Dr. Drummond.
As evidence he points to the difficulty
with which many Americans support
economic policies that are aimed pri-
marily at the welfare of the whole nation,
as distinguished from certain segments
of it, or of the whole world, as dis-
tinguished from certain parts of it.
Little wonder then that a distorted
view of mission still prevails among
many Western Christians who look upon
mission as an activity from the rich to
12 MESSENGER December 1972
the poor, and from the civilized to the
uncivilized. A Western superiority com-
plex is more widely prevalent than is
generally supposed.
The essential nature and function of
the church have since the Reformation
been identified by three marks: Word,
sacrament, fellowship. The relationship
of the church to the world has bee.i taken
for granted. Herein is the problem.
Word, sacrament, fellowship need to be
cast not in static terms but in dynamic
terms, in relation to mission and the
world.
The church can no longer maintain the
view that God's relation to the world is
through the church. The Bible says God
is the creator and so all creation is his
concern. His attention is on the whole
cosmos. Paul said "God was in Christ
reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor.
5:19).
If we accept the view that the church
is a segment of the world which con-
fesses the universal Lordship of Christ,
then it follows that the church exists
for the world and is called to the service
of humankind or the world. Mission to-
day means rethinking the life, purpose,
unity, and ministry of the church in the
social and political context. It means
coming to terms with social revolutions,
becoming instruments of justice for all
rather than of privilege for the few and
oppression of the majority or vice versa.
It means participation in revolution in
the name of humanity.
"The church, directly through its
preaching and teaching or indirectly
through the influence of cultural values,
informed by Christian preaching and
teaching, has played no small part in
creating the spiritual ferment underly-
ing the revolutions of our time," ob-
serves M. M. Thomas. "So if the church
is defined as including not only the in-
stitution but also its extensive influence,
we could make a strong case for saying
that even where the church as an insti-
tution is rejected, its mission has provided
the ferment for humanism which has
produced signs and anticipations of
the kingdom in the revolution of our
time."
Yet having often sided with the op-
pressors in the name of law and order,
the church for many has lost its authority
to proclaim the Gospel. The appropriate
question is: will the church deal with the
contemporary revolutions positively now
or will it continue to ignore them?
Humanization means making persons
human. Recent studies of the World
Council of Churches interpret humaniza-
tion as the process of enabling individu-
als to be full, mature, and free. As a
goal of mission humanization is the
bringing of persons to perfection. The
studies point to Christian theology that
sees Jesus Christ as the perfect man;
Christ's stature is the measure of human
maturity, so that humanization is growth
in Christlikeness.
God has always acted as a liberating
force in history. God's mission in the
world has been experienced by his peo-
ple as liberation. This is evident in Ex-
odus as also in the resurrection of
Christ. The hope of liberation revealed
in God's actions creates greater expecta-
tions for those longing for a just and
peaceful world.
R
Lumanization or making people whole
is God's mission through his son Jesus
Christ whom he sent for the restoration
of humanity. For Christians mission and
humanization are not contradictory but
united in God's action and in the actions
of his people.
It is significant that the North Ameri-
can working group of the Missionary
Structure Study lifts up "shalom" or
humanization as "the goal of mission."
The group finds this a relevant goal be-
cause more than others it communicates
that men are struggling for their true
humanity and well-being. It best com-
municates the meaning of the messianic
goal. In another time, the study points
out, the purpose of mission was Chris-
tianization or bringing men to God
through Christ and his church. But to-
day the fundamental question is con-
cerned with the "true" man; in response
missions must point to the humanity of
Christ.
Humanization of social structures is
just as important as the humanization
of persons. Here the test question for
the church is, are structures used for the
sake of man or are men used to serve
structures? Missionary structures, the
study asserts, are those which demon-
strate that they are expendable in the
interest of humanizing society and which,
thereby, celebrate the gift of humanity
which God has off'ered in Christ.
The civil rights struggle is perhaps the
most dramatic instance in the United
States which highlights the issue of hu-
manization. It is not merely a struggle
for certain rights, but the struggle to be-
come and to be human. Both the oppres-
sor and the oppressed are victims of the
structures of discrimination and hence
are denied their humanity. The Delta
Ministry of the National Council of
Churches was set up to provide a minis-
try of reconciliation in the Mississippi
Delta region through which the inhu-
manity of segregation could be over-
come.
The Women's Liberation Movement
in the USA is an attempt toward hu-
manization. It challenges the traditional
assumption that "human" equals "male"
and that "female" equals less than
"human."
I see humanization as the basic aim
underlying the Fund for the Americas in
the United States (FAUS) which was au-
thorized by the 1969 Annual Conference
and is supported by designated gifts.
The Fund assists blacks and other mi-
nority groups by providing financial
support for community organization and
economic development, thereby sharing
power and enabling them to make their
own decisions with dignity. The second
part of the fund is to assist the Brethren,
as part of white America, to come to
grips with individual and institutional
racism at every level of the denomina-
tion. It helps us bring our faith under
the power of the new humanity in Christ.
The participation of the World Minis-
tries Commission in the community de-
velopment program of the Brethren
Foundation in Ecuador is an effort to
overcome the dehumanizing influences in
the lives of the Indian people which keep
them in bondage at a subhuman level.
We Christians talk much about con-
version but does the biblical idea of con-
version include the concern for change
in social and political structures or is
conversion strictly an individual spiritual
experience?
The biblical term shalom helps define
the purpose of the mission of God. The
establishment of shalom is God's ultimate
goal. Shalom cannot take place in a
vacuum nor in isolation but as a social
happening. It must be discovered as
God's gift in real, actual situations. □
December 1972 MESSENGER 13
The True Meaning
of Christmas
by Harold S. Martin
We are once again approaching the
Christmas season — the time when we
commemorate the advent of Jesus Christ.
Of all the titles attributed to Jesus, the
one that should warm our hearts most
of all is the title Emmanuel, which
means God with us. When Jesus was
born. God became man. The One who
flung the stars into space came to earth
to dwell among men. The tiny arms of
that Babe in the manger were the arms of
the One who laid the foundation of the
universe. God took on a human body
and dwelled among us. Jesus came for
several reasons.
To reveal the Father
John 1:18 says, "No man hath seen
God at any time; the only begotten Son,
who is in the bosom of the Father, he
14 MESSENGER December 1972
hath declared him." Jesus said, "He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father"
(John 14:9). Hebrews 1 :3 tells us that
Christ is the express image of the person
of God.
God is a great Spirit. He is invisible.
He cannot be seen with the physical eye.
All of us at some time or other have
asked the question, "What is God like?"
Jesus came so that men might be able to
see God, and to know what he is like.
The Apostle John says, "The Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John
1:14). Paul says, "For God, who com-
manded the light to shine out of dark-
ness, hath shone in . . . the face of Jesus
Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6). Ever since the
birth of Jesus nearly two thousand years
ago, we have been able to see the glory
of God.
A little boy whose parents were mis-
sionaries was attending school in the
United States. He hadn't seen his par-
ents since the preceding summer, and
wouldn't see them again until the next
summer. A few days before Christmas,
the principal of the school said to him,
"Jimmy, what would you like to have
most of all at Christmas?" On the princi-
pal's desk was a picture of the boy's
father. The boy looked at the photo-
graph for a little while, and then after
a few moments said to the principal,
"I want my father to step out of that
frame." And you know — this little boy
voiced the cry of all humanity. The
Greek philosopher Plato said many years
ago that he hoped some day to see God
walk down the streets of Athens. In
Israel, generation after generation looked
for the Messiah. Soon after Adam and
Eve were driven out of the garden, they
looked for the promised redeemer. And
then one night nearly two thousand years
ago, God stepped out of the frame of
the universe, and appeared on earth in
the person of Jesus Christ. Before this,
the eternal God had never been seen by
mortal eyes. Even the Old Testament
patriarchs did not see God in his real
essence, but only in angelic form (or in
what is more properly called a theoph-
any). Jesus came to this earth so that
we might learn to know better what
God is like.
To put away sin
1 John 3:5 says, "Ye know that he was
manifested to take away our sins." Jesus
speaking of his death said, "For this
cause came I into the world." Paul says
in 1 Tim. 1:15, "Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners, of whom I
am chief." Jesus Christ came to earth
as the Baby of Bethlehem in order that
he might later become the Christ of Cal-
vary.
All men have sinned. Everyone of us
has fallen short of the standard which
God demands. And our sin places a
separation between us and God. And the
gulf is so wide, the separation so great,
that none by his own efforts is able to
close it.
Many seem to think that the gulf be-
tween man and God can be closed by
good works. If you say so many prayers,
and give so many alms, or make a pil-
grimage to some holy place — these
things somehow are supposed to erase a
sinner's guilt. But this will never do.
Take the man who drives his car faster
than the speed limit. What can he do to
atone for the wrong he has done? If he
thinks good works atone for the wrong
he has done, then he can diligently ob-
serve all the traffic laws for the rest of
the day. But any policeman will assure
you that this is not enough. There's a
penalty for disobedience, and no amount
of carefulness afterward will atone for
past disobedience. If you fall short of
God's standard on Monday, you can
never erase that guilt by walking straight
on Tuesday! No person can erase his
own guilt, and neither can any other
human being erase it for him. Every
man, no matter how upright and how
morally clean he lives, still has come
short of God's demands, and thus needs
to be saved. He cannot save himself.
Suppose a plane flying toward a base
in the continent of Antarctica suddenly
crashes into the frigid waters north of
the continent. Three men are thrown
into the ocean, and the plane sinks at
once. Nobody is near the spot, and the
closest land-area is the country of New
Zealand, a thousand miles away. One of
the men can swim for ten minutes; the
second man can swim for two hours; the
third is the world's champion long-
distance swimmer. Which of those three
men are going to reach safety? The an-
swer is obvious — none of them! The
only difference between them is that the
one man will drown in ten minutes, an-
other in two hours, and the champion a
few hours later. This is a parable of the
human family. The criminal is like the
swimmer who is able to keep afloat for
ten minutes. The average man is repre-
sented by the swimmer who can stay on
the surface for two hours. And even the
unusual man, honest, upright, and a good
citizen, like the champion swimmer, is
still unable to reach land.
Every man, no matter how good he is,
needs a savior. And the message of
Christmas is this: "For unto you is born
this day in the city of David, a Savior"
( Luke 2:11). The brightest message
that has ever been delivered to mankind
is the glad news that in some way which
we will never be able to quite fully com-
prehend), Jesus Christ puts himself un-
derneath our sin, and lifts it off from our
soul, and takes it away. 1 John 3:5 says,
"Ye know that he was manifested to
take away our sins." The phrase "take
away" simply means to remove the guilt
and punishment of sin, by paying the
price. The angel said to Joseph, "And
she shall bring forth a son, and thou
shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save
his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21).
To destroy the devil
I John 3:8 says, "For this purpose
the Son of God was manifested, that he
might destroy the works of the devil."
This message is a sentence filled with
good news. The devil is a murderer and
a liar. The Bible says he is lawless,
deceitful, and subtle. He alienates from
God; he blinds to the truth; he promotes
selfishness, jealousy, and cruelty. But
the Bible says that Jesus Christ came
that he might destroy the works of the
devil.
The word translated destroy is the
Greek word hio. It doesn't mean to de-
molish or to break up — but it means to
December 1972 MESSENGER 15
loosen one who is bound, or to set free.
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the
tomb, he said, "Loose him and let him
go." The word loose is the same Greek
word as the one translated destroy in
1 John 3:8. For this purpose was the
Son of God manifested, that he might
loosen and set men free from the works
of the devil.
Eddie Taylor was once a drunkard
who slept off his stupors under the board-
walk at Atlantic City. He was about as
far gone as a man can get. He staggered
from tavern to tavern until he had soaked
himself with liquor, then he flopped be-
neath the boardwalk. He wrapped him-
self in old newspapers to keep warm.
The devil brings men into a sorry state.
But one day Eddie Taylor responded to
the Gospel invitation and became a new
man in Christ Jesus. Today beer and
liquor no longer attract him. Jesus Christ
has delivered him. He hasn't touched
alcoholic beverages for many years. For
this purpose the Son of God was mani-
fested, that he might loosen men from
the works of the devil ( 1 John 3:8).
One of the reasons Jesus came to Beth-
lehem was to destroy the works of the
devil. And nothing that the devil has ever
done is too hard for Jesus to undo. If
you find yourself living under the power
of the devil's grip, remember that Jesus
Christ who was born on Christmas Day
came to set you free. If you will give
your life in surrender to him, he will
loosen the grip Satan has over you. and
set you free from the bondage of sin.
He will give you power to live a new
kind of life. For this purpose the Son
of God was manifested, that he might
destroy (set free from) the works of
the devil.
To prepare for
the second advent
Hebrews 9:28 says, "So Christ was
once offered to bear the sins of many,
and unto them that look for him, shall he
appear the second time without sin unto
salvation." At this season our thoughts
turn with gladness to the first coming of
Jesus. We are reminded of the songs that
the shepherds heard, and of the hope that
filled their hearts, and of the star that
shone over the place where the child lay.
And yet we are all conscious of the fact
that this present age cannot continue on
like it is going. Sin abounds on every
hand. Crime is on the increase. Lawless-
ness is sometimes encouraged. Peace and
righteousness have not been established.
Mankind threatens to wipe civilization
off the face of the earth. Deep down
within, we realize that something more
is needed.
One main theme that recurs in the
Bible is the teaching that Jesus Christ is
coming to this earth twice! Most people
live as if life as we know it today is go-
ing to continue on like this forever. They
say the grass is still green, cows give
milk, hens lay eggs, dogs bark at the
moon. This is the way it always was.
But remember, the Bible says that this
same Jesus who came to Bethlehem is
going to come a second lime. Life as we
know it today will come to an end.
The scriptures teach that Jesus Christ
is coming to this earth on two different
occasions for two different purposes. He
has already come on one occasion and
accomplished the first purpose — that of
paying the price for sin. Hundreds of
years before Jesus was born, the Bible re-
vealed that he would be born of the tribe
of Judah; that his mother would be a
virgin: that there would be a massacre of
infants in Bethlehem. The prophet
Micah named the very town where he
was to be born. Hundreds of years be-
fore Jesus came to earth, all these things
were foretold about him. And just so,
the scriptures prophesy that this same
Jesus will come to earth a second time.
Jesus is not coming this second time
to put away sin. He's coming to com-
plete our salvation. He came the first
time as the author of salvation; he's com-
ing the second time as the finisher of our
faith. He came the first time to atone
for our sins: he's coming the second
time to execute judgment on earth.
When he came the first time, there was
no room for him in the inn: when he
comes the second time, the whole world
(and all the universe) is going to make
room for him — for the Bible says that
every knee shall bow, and every tongue
shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Jesus came the first time to deal with sin
and to pay the price for it: he's coming
the second time to set up his kingdom on
earth and to bring peace and order to
this tortured old planet.
Every sign indicates that this world is
ripe for the second advent. Our day is
a time that might be described as "The
night before the second Christmas."
And on that second Christmas Day
when Jesus comes again, we are going
to be like him. Our redemption will be
complete. Wars will cease, and peace
will reign on the earth.
As our minds go back across the cen-
turies during this Christmas season, to
the time and place and the setting where
Jesus was born — let us try to remember
the purposes for which he came. He
came to reveal God the Father, to put
away sin, to set men free from the works
of the devil, and to prepare for a second
advent. If during this Christmas season
we concentrate on the reasons for his
coming — surely we'll love him more
and we'll be able to serve him better.
Many a heart and many a home this
Christmas will have no more room for
Jesus than the Judean innkeeper had
nearly two thousand years ago. But each
of us has the power of choice, and the
greatest thing you can do this Christmas
is to accept God's unspeakable Gift into
your life.
He stands at the door of every heart
and seeks to enter - — but you must open
the door. It is not enough that Jesus
was born in Bethlehem. He must be
born in our hearts. G
I
16 MESSENGER December 1972
Beti/i/een Genesis
and John
In the beginning
created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form
and void,
and
was upon the face of the deep;
and the
H-Prf o of God
was moving
over the face
of the waters.
In the beginning was the ^
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was ^ r(Tc\ .
He was in the beginning with God;
all things
were made
through him.
/
f^ f^
■■^:,
.^m^
And God said;''Let there be light"; and there was
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcom
mMm.
Then God said. "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;
and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth.
So God created man in his own image.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth;
we have beheld his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father
s^-
',SS»rfftiiS^iiaa«ai6iSB ■.^.v;*i>.'¥^
ht. And God separated the light from the darkness.
The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.
But to all who received him,
who believed in his name,
he gave the power to become children of God;
who were born,
not of blood nor the will of the flesh
nor of the will of man,
but God.
Into this world, this demented Inn, in which there is absolutely
no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited. But because
he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and
yet he must be in it, his place is with those others for whom there
is no room. His place is with those who do not belong, who are
rejected by power because they are regarded as weak, those
who are discredited, who are denied the status of persons,
tortured, exterminated. With those for whom there is no room,
Christ is present in this world. He is mysteriously present in
those for whom there seems to be nothing but the world at its
worst. ... It is in these that he hides himself, for whom there is
no room. — Thomas Merton
"Your
With
Us"
An Informal Report
to the
Stockholders:
responses from you
on materials,
leadership,
and
other services
provided by
the Brotherhood Fund.
Presence
Persons who contribute to the out-
reach of their church often are far re-
moved from the point of impact. The
occasions seem all too rare for glimpsing
what their investment means in the lives
of others.
To work at this concern, Messenger
excerpted from unsolicited letters the
comments of persons who in one way or
another this year have benefited from the
ministries of the Church of the Brethren
General Board. The comments provide
insight into the nature and scope of the
church's ministries, including some areas
of program that tend to be taken for
granted.
These gleanings may be appropriately
labeled, "The Brotherhood Fund: An
Informal Report to the Stockholders."
On the leadership of Brotherhood
staff members in the field:
Your presence with us over the
weekend brought to life in a new way
the concept of worship. On behalf of all
the conference participants, I would like
to express my appreciation for your help
in learning about new ways of celebrat-
ing the faith. — C. Albert Guyer, Den-
ver, Colo.
Let me express thanks to you for
your trip to Oregon. I could wonder
how much it meant to Parish Ministries,
really, but to the board out here and to
Oregon it was very supportive. — A.
Holderreed, Tacoma, Wash.
Just a brief note to express on be-
half of the planning committee our
appreciation for the significant contri-
butions which you made to our Stew-
ardship Enlistment Encounter. Your
sensitivity to the group moved us for-
ward in a most helpful way. — Carl E.
Myers, Elgin, 111.
Your being here and sharing with
us made Elgin and the Brotherhood Fund
"come alive." ... As a man with a
family of my own, I can appreciate the
personal sacrifice which you are making
in order to visit local churches. . . .
Thank you again for being an excellent
representative and doing your job so
well. — Roger L. Forry, Hanover, Pa.
Thank you for the joy and celebra-
tion you brought to our people in the
morning worship services yesterday and
the help you were to us in the consulting
sessions. You Brethren will live forever
in the hearts of the people at Kingsport
and Liberty. — Bert G. Richardson,
Jonesboro, Tenn.
We profited greatly by the fine way
in which you worked with us ( in the
self-study) and presented our need to
take a real look at ourselves, our future,
our plans and goals. . . . Our people will
be responsive and willing; they are just
that kind of people. — Charles E. Zun-
kel, Akron, Ind.
This is a word of appreciation to
you for the music at Annual Conference.
The choir was especially outstanding
this year. We appreciated very much
the variety and the creativity used in the
selection, arrangements, and presenta-
tion. . . . Thank you for making our
conference a meaningful experience for
all of us. — Jay J. Johnson, Quinter,
Kans.
Acknowledging our partnership
with others:
We received the check for $3,000
and we are very grateful to the Fund for
the Americas. This grant will really
strengthen our program. We are grateful
too for the two Brethren volunteers. —
John M. Perkins, Voice of Calvary Lead-
ership Development Institute, Menden-
hall. Miss.
Our warmest and deepest apprecia-
tion to the Church of the Brethren for its
understanding and recognition of our
community endeavor. We will pledge to
uphold our objectives and goals to bring
forth and further warrant the confidence
the Church of the Brethren has given
through this FAUS grant to our pro-
gram. — Melvin Hanton, Youth Screen
Printing, Inc., Dayton, Ohio.
From and about workers in
Brethren Volunteer Service:
We are teachers, directors, social
workers here at the Christian Church
Uniting Child Development Center. En-
December 1972 MESSENGER 21
rolled are 20 children — 15 black, 4
white, 1 Japanese. Most of the children
are from large, poor families. We also
sponsor the high school age youth group.
The congregation — a merger of the
Church of the Brethren and the United
Church of Christ — is most wonderful.
The members recognize the work you are
doing and support you all the way. A
tremendous project! — Harry and Kathy
Muller, Virginia Beach, Va.
As a nurse I am supposedly knowl-
edgeable about human behavior. Right?
Right. But during BVS training that
theory was shot right through the win-
dow! It is impossible to measure or
explain how much I have learned.
Thank you for making training a
very growing experience for me. Keep
this aspect of training alive. Hopefully
I will now be more aware of people as
people, therefore attaining something
along the lines on the cover of the card
I'm writing on; "When we are closer to
people we are closer to God." I am defi-
nitely happier for the experience. —
Janis Ober, Lend-a-Hand Center,
Walker, Ky.
I am now working as a consultant
both to the Lawyer's Committee and to
the United Front. We are fortunate in re-
ceiving a FAUS grant for a project of
testing sickle-cell anemia. . . . What this
letter is really about, though, is some-
thing else. For some time I've wanted
to talk to a Brethren body — General
Board or World Ministries Commission,
to express personally my perspective on
the kind of things the Church of the
Brethren has made possible through the
ministries I have been a part of.
I feel a debt of gratitude I want to
express to the church. And I want to
help reenforce those already committed
and try to sell those who aren't on minis-
tries of social justice and specifically on
BVS as a ministry. — Eric Schuman,
Cairo, 111.
As we look ahead to our departure,
we cannot be but grateful to Eirene and
to Brethren Service for this opportunity
to have served. We hope that the per-
sonal maturity and the conscious and un-
conscious learning which have occurred
will enable us better to serve in other
capacities. Our service has been most
positive, at least on a personal level. We
could never now begin to question either
our own service or the structure within
which we have worked. I believe that we
have tried our best to fulfill our respon-
sibilities, to criticize when necessary and
to terminate with joyful hearts leaving
the many undone tasks, the continual
struggle for meaning, and the always
necessary periodic analysis to those who
remain and who will come after us. We
take with us innumerable experiences
and the love of many cherished relation-
ships.
Need more be said than thanks,
God bless you all, and till we meet
again, our sincerest love. — Sandy and
Kirby Dubble, Casablanca, Morocco.
h: response to disaster relief:
Upon visiting the flooded mining
area at Man, W. Va., with district execu-
tive Owen Stultz, I found the survivors
overwhelmed by the love and willingness
of people across the country to help in
some way. I visited with persons who
had lost almost everything. One minister
S8H m in sa
■sy wa^^A B^ra w^m
lost 14 members of his family, nine of
them grandchildren. A mother had
watched her husband, as he reached for
his four-year-old, go down, neither to be
seen again. She herself was found later
clutching to her baby daughter already
dead in her arms. Many were the ac-
counts shared by the people. In working
with them on a follow-up ministry, I
felt proud to be a member of a church
who reached out in mission to distressed
people. — Ralph M. Spradling, chair-
man. Witness Commission, Virlina Dis-
trict, Floyd, Va.
We could never express our thanks
to the men who came to our home and
helped with the cleaning. The physical
help was needed but you will never rea-
lize what a morale booster it is to have
total strangers travel miles to give a
hand. — Mrs. E. F. Moritz, Forty Fort,
Pa.
The damages to my real and per-
sonal property due to the recent disaster
are very heavy. In the beginning I was
discouraged and disheartened, but help
was forthcoming. Twenty-one young
people from various areas, all members
of the Church of the Brethren, came to
my "devastated castle." The tasks as-
signed to them were arduous and most
unpleasant. . . .
I'll tell you, they are the grandest
group of folks I've ever met. At all
times they were courteous, jovial, and
most willing to help in whatever area
they were needed.
I am a diabetic, 64 years of age and
live alone.
Your people came to me as a gift
from above.
I am enclosing a small donation in
gratitude for what your wonderful peo-
ple have done for me. — Sophie G. Vnu-
kowski, Kingston, Pa.
From missionaries regarding
assignments or program:
Life continues to be interesting and
challenging for us and we feel we are in
the right place doing the right thing.
Could anyone ask for more? — Chalmer
and Mary Faw, Bukuru, Nigeria
A question we have frequently been
asked is: What do we think of the Lafiya
program the Brethren have launched in
Nigeria. We think it is a wonderful
thing. Our only regret is that it was not
started 20 years ago. Of course we do
not know what the future holds for the
Lafiya program or, for any of us. for that
matter. We would that you, too, would
join us in this dream. — Roy and Violet
Pfaltzgraff, Garkida, Nigeria
I am gratified with and feel tremen-
dously enriched by the experiences of
the past two years in Ambon. Not
everything was easy and satisfying. To
be honest, there were times I felt hope-
less. However, I am even more con-
vinced of the need to continue our in-
volvement and participation in the mis-
sion of our Lord, particularly in this part
of the world. The missionary task is not
outdated and irrelevant for today! On
the contrary, it is the only way the
church can affirm the unity of man and
the love of Christ in today's increasingly
pluralistic world. — Fumitaka Matsuoka,
Ambon, Indonesia
Regarding coverage in the
Group Insurance Plan:
We thank you for the portion our
hospital insurance has paid for our
daughter's bills for tightening her teeth
and retainers. It surely helped us. —
22 MESSENGER December 1972
Robert P. Fryman, pastor, Potsdam,
Ohio.
I have been extremely pleased with
the insurance coverage that has been
available to me. The checks have fol-
lowed my claim most promptly, which is
all the more startling when compared
with how long it takes Blue Cross cov-
erage to pay off. Unfortunately for you,
you are the only one I know to turn to
with my questions. ... I thank you for
your help in answering my questions,
both in the past and now. — Elaine Har-
mon, administrative assistant, Fresno,
Calif.
With reference to the Church of the
Brethren Pension Plan:
This communication is to express
to you my deep appreciation for the re-
cent check which represented a retro-
active increase based on a 1968 action of
the Pension Plan Administrative Com-
mittee. Needless to say I was surprised!
But more importantly the check came
just at a time when I felt I would need
to dip into savings. ... I am grateful for
persons who with wisdom, concern, and
love are serving in the ministry of pen-
sions as well as in other important areas
within the life of the church. — Anna M.
Warstler, Goshen, Ind.
I received the letter announcing a
raise in our monthly pension along with
the check caring for the retroactive
payments. Thanks!
Along with my thanks, let me say
this confirms my feeling about those who
bear responsibility for carrying out the
work of the church. I trust them as
brethren should trust each other. For
this reason we prefer to do most of our
giving through the channels the church
provides for us. — Oscar R. Fike,
Bridgewater, Va.
The form letter from your office ar-
rived today. To say the least, it was a
surprise; however, a very welcome one
to be sure, especially so in our case, since
we didn't have enough insurance to cover
all our expenses during these past
months of five operations and 25 cobalt
ray treatments at two different hospitals
with at least 6 MDs and DOs in on my
case. Since our Brotherhood insurance
is not enough to take care of what Medi-
care doesn't pay, you can understand just
how grateful I am for this check from
the Pension Board. Thanks. — Daniel
Levi Blickenstaff, Tulsa, Okla.
If I were still in Mexico I would say
Mil Gracias: A thousand thanks. —
H. D. Michael, Olympia, Wash.
Your letter and enclosed check were
indeed a pleasant surprise. The check
was particularly welcome because we re-
ceived in the same mail the statement of
our annual property tax. Therefore the
check was a tremendous help to us.
We are grateful also for the increase
in future monthly benefits.
Zola and I want to express our sin-
cere thanks to the Pension Board and
staff for your help in making possible
these financial benefits to those of us who
are in retirement. — George L. Det-
weiler, Greencastle, Pa.
On grants issued from the Ministerial
and Missionary Service Fund:
It is with a thankful heart and hum-
ble spirit that we want to thank you for
your support. You will never know how
much it has helped.
God has been our constant com-
panion and how that does help keep one
cheerful and thankful.
My husband never complains
though he has been bedfast almost 10
years. If it be the Lord's will it will be
my pleasure to continue to care for him.
Thank you so kindly for your in-
terest in our behalf. — Name withheld
And alas, some words on materials:
I write to tell you thanks for the
material in the Encounter Series. ... I
appreciate it. — Mrs. Daniel Thompson,
Harrisonburg, Va.
I am a Lutheran pastor who is an
avid reader of Messenger, having mar-
ried a girl from a Brethren family. I
think your magazine is one of the finest
church periodicals being published these
days. I hope you continue to witness to
the fact that the Gospel is about "here
and now" and not a story about the past.
May the Lord of the church sustain
you in your ministry. — Dave and Doris
Hunsberger, Philadelphia, Pa.
We have recommended to each of
the 66 youth who attended Camp Bethel's
Youth Camp this summer that they read
the whole October 1 Messenger. —
Don and Marie Willoughby, Copemish,
Mich, n
A Faith for All Seasons
by Marjorie Wilkinson
The Christian faith is for
every season of the year,
for every season in life,
through pressure and
change, from birth to
death. Observations for
persons who want to
grow spiritually.
Per copy, $1.25; 10 or more, $1.00 ea.
Break thru
Compiled by Wilson O. Weldon
The thoughts and
longings of young
people revealed
in devotional liter-
ature — prayers,
scripture, poetry,
meditations, pictures, cartoons and
sketches. A new outlook for the young
and those who think young.
Per copy, $1.50; 10 or more, $1.30 ea.
The Upper Room
Disciplines 1973
Daily devotions for a full
year (379 pages) written
by 52 invited authors
who take timely topics,
week by week, and ex-
plore them in depth in
challenging, enlightening
meditations. Keyed to 73.
Per copy, $1.50; 10 or more, $1.30 ea.
Order the above books from
The Upper Room
Dept. 121
1908 Grand Ave., Nashville, Tenn. 37203
December 1972 MESSENGER 23
[book [r@wo@M^g
The King and
the Kingdom
THE EXPANDED LIFE: THE SERMON ON THE
MOUNT FOR TODAY, by Myron S. Augsburger.
Abingdon, 1972. 128 pp., $3.25
THE UNSHAKEABLE KINGDOM AND THE UN-
CHANGING PERSON, by E. Stanley Jones.
Abingdon, 1972. 304 pp., $5.95
THE JESUS MYTH, by Andrew M, Greeley.
Doubleday, 1971. $5.95
CHRIST IS ALIVE! by Michel Quoisf. Doubleday,
1971. $4.95
The Expanded Life by Mennonite au-
thor Myron S. Augsburger ought to be
welcomed by Brethren as well as Men-
nonites. A book on the Sermon on the
Mount, it should be pondered by jjeace
activists and social reformers as well as
by those on the opposite extreme of the
theological spectrum. The latter will re-
ceive, perhaps, more comfort from the
book but there is comfort and challenge
for both left and right in the Christian
community.
For the author scripture is authority:
"... the word of the scripture stands as
the one infallible source for knowledge
of God and the one authoritative word
of faith." Conservatives will also be
pleased by the author's approach to the
Christian faith and to salvation. "Jesus
introduces us," he writes, "to a new idea
of righteousness, one of right relation
with himself and his quality of life
rather than right relation to a system of
laws." And the author's interest in
evangelism is found in his statement,
"There is no one for whom Christ died
that we are exempt from seeking to win
to Christ." This may seem out of place
in a book on the Sermon on the Mount,
but it fits in with the author's convictions
that Christianity is a relationship to the
person of Jesus Christ. The peacemaker
should seek to win people to the Prince
of Peace. "We must avoid the danger
of replacing evangelism with service."
With this statement the author gives a
healthy corrective to the present empha-
sis in liberal circles.
As would be expected, the book lifts
up the centrality of love. Then it states
what ought to be objective knowledge
(but seems not to be): "A revolutionary
finds it nearly impossible to love per-
sons."
If the ultraconservative is gloating at
this point, he needs to read on. Dr.
Augsburger dismisses the dispensational
view that the Sermon on the Mount was
meant for some future age. "The only
consistent position is to accept the
teachings of Christ in this sermon as
his will for his disciples." He writes
again: "Brother cannot take the life of
brother and claim to be serving the same
Lord." It becomes clear that the author
finds no excuse for the Christian going
to war. The author further discomfits
those on the right theologically when he
writes: "We are much too guilty of iden-
tifying Christianity with nationalistic
Americanism."
There is not enough space to lift up
all the "correctives" to religious extremes
mentioned in the book nor the emphases
of special interest to Brethren. The
reader will need to discover these for
himself.
Perhaps the most creative part of this
book has to do with Dr. Augsburger's
presentation of the Beatitudes as the out-
line for the Sermon on the Mount.
While this is debatable, the book itself
makes this theory plausible.
In reading the hook I found myself in
agreement with almost all of Dr. Augs-
burger's presentation and recommend it
wholeheartedly.
Tlie Unshakeable Kingdom and the
Unchanging Person is the twenty-seventh
book to come from the facile pen of Dr.
E. Stanley Jones. The "unshakeable
kingdom" is the kingdom of God and
the "unchanging person" is the king of
that kingdom — the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is difficult to believe that such an
enthusiastic book could come from one
who has reached the eighty-seven year
mark. It is evident that here age has
nothing to do with keenness of mind or
dedication of spirit except to sharpen
them. The subject of the kingdom and
its king is given extensive treatment.
There is some repetition but it is helpful
rather than offensive.
For Dr. Jones, the kingdom is three-
fold. First of all, it is within a person —
"it is written in our blood, our nerves,
our tissues, our bones, our organs, our
relationships." The moral life is the
Christian life and the only healthy way
to live. Secondly the kingdom is among
men. It has been ever since the coming
of the King. Thirdly, the kingdom is
still coming. This part will be fulfilled
at Christ's return. On the latter. Dr.
Jones has little to say.
The book has criticism of both the
church and the doctrine of Christ's sec-
ond coming. Some will fault the book
for this but the author believes in the
church and the "Parousia." On page 19
Dr. Jones writes: "... the church in-
stead of offering the kingdom of God
offered various conflicts — fundamental-
ist modernist; the social gospel the indi-
vidual gospel: racial integration. . . aboli-
tion of poverty and the ghettos — every
ItitaiTDiiDDTigj p©D[ri]1^^
Wedding anniversaries
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Anderson. Long Beach,
Calif.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson T. Huffman, Bridge-
water. Va.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Albert McFadden. Prairie
Ciiv. Iowa, 50
Mr. and Mrs. Rov Sell. Marlinsburg, Pa.. 50
Mr. and Mrs. Lester L. Steele. Marlinsburg.
Pa.. 51
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Circle. Ft. Wa)*ne,
Ind.. 59
Mr. and Mrs. O. Clark .Auspash, Lima,
Ohio, 60
Mr. and Nfrs. .\aron Hollin^er. Hershey,
Pa.. 60
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Brubaker. Prairie Citv.
Iowa. 62
Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Buckingham, Prairie
City. Iowa. 62
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence B. Rhodes. Martins-
burg. Pa.. 67
Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Messick. Middletown,
Pa., 69
Pastoral placements
Neal .Anderson, to \Vawaka. Northern In-
diana (voked parish with United Methodist
Church)
David Ball, to Sweetser. South Central In-
diana, voked parish with Wabash City, South/
Central Indiana
"Warren D. Bowman, from Cedar Grove/
\'allev Central, Shenandoah, to Harrisonburg,
Shenandoah
E. LeRo\ Dick, from \Villiamsburg. Middle
Pcnnsvhania, to Pittsburgh. AVesiem Penn-
svhania
Robert D. Ebev. from Wawaka. Northern
Indiana, to secular position
Guilliemo Encamacion. to Casiaiier. Flor-
ida and Puerto Rico
24 MESSENGER December 1972
issue except the kingdom of God." The
writer places the kingdom of God with
Its king as all important and all pervad-
ing. EvePi'thing. including the political,
social, physical, mental (as well as spi-
ritual) must live by the principles of the
kingdom or be broken upon those princi-
ples. If the church doesn't present the
kingdom it has failed. His criticism of
the doctrine of our Lord's return is not
in the doctrine as such but because men
have put off the kingdom of God until
the Lord's return. The kingdom is to be
lived now.
The book is a very readable book.
Illustrations and a masterful use of words
makes reading it a delightful experience.
The Jesus Myth, by Andrew M.
Greeley, is written in the vein of higher
criticism although not with its objection-
able extremes. The title is misleading as
the author believes in the historical
Jesus. Myth has a different meaning for
the author than for most readers. The
book gives interesting and helpful in-
sights into the kingdom. It also gives
some insights into the Roman Catholic
Church since its author is Catholic. He
claims not to be a theologian or a schol-
ar. Yet here and there he writes as a
scholar trying to show what part of the
gospels are authoritative representations
of Jesus' life and thoughts and what are
reflections of the church. The latter I
found offensive. However, other parts of
the book are very worthwhile. Again, as
in the previous book, the claims of the
kingdom present are laid upon the read-
er. The kingdom future is mentioned
but minimized.
Christ Is Alive! by Michel Quoist deals
with the mystery of Christ. The heart
of the book speaks of Christ as he is in-
volved in the creation, the incarnation,
the redemption, and the resurrection.
For author Quoist, social action per se is
more important than in the other books
reviewed. Parts of the book received rapt
attention from me. At points the author
elucidates some of the doctrines that are
central to the faith; then he seems to say
the opposite. For example: "There are
non-Christians, we have said, who say
■yes' to God's love. Some of those who
say 'yes' are even atheists." The latter
statement mitigates the doctrines of re-
demption in Christ he earlier expresses.
Each of these books on the mission
and purpose of Christ I found to be in-
formative and stimulating, at least in
part. The one I found most intriguing,
however, was E. Stanley Jones. — Ellis
G. Guthrie
Donald L. Fike. from Casianer. Florida and
Puerto Rico, to secular position
Stanley Hockett. to Pleasant \'allev. Iowa-
Minnesota
U. H. Hoeffle. from retirement to Garrison/
Robins. Iowa-Minnesota
Donald G. Holsopple. from West Goshen.
Northern Indiana, to secular position
Glen L. Jones, froin Dan\ille. North Bend,
Northern Ohio, to Maple Grove, Northern
Indiana
Harold Kettering, from LIniontown, West-
em Penns%hania. to retirement
Donald E. Leiter, from Capitol Hill Group
Ministry, Mid-.-\tlantic, to Delmar\a Ecumen-
ical .Agencv, Do\er, Del.
John W. Lowe Jr.. from Drexel Hill. .\t-
lantic Northeast, to Green Tree, .\tlantic
Northeast, as voulh minister
John D. Mummert, from Bethanv Theo-
logical Seminary to Milledgeville, Illinois-
Wisconsin
Richard Peterson, from secular position to
Lewiston, Iowa-Minnesota
Rov S. Richev, from Pleasant Chapel/Cedar
Lake, Northern Indiana, to retirement
Herbert .\. Root, from Lewiston, Iowa-
Minnesota, to Prairie \'iew. Western Plains
.\llen Weldy, from Mount Pleasant, North-
em Indiana, to Wakarusa, Northern Indiana
Kenneth E, Wenger, from Milledgeville,
Illinois-'Wisconsin, to Lafayette, South/Central
Indiana
J. C, Wine, from secular position to Eph-
rata, .Atlantic Northeast
Brent E. Zumbrun. to South Whitley,
South/Central Indiana
Deaths
.Alice Alter, Mt, Morris, III,, on Sept, 2,
1972, aged 63
Reuben Anstine, Hartville, Ohio, on Oct.
3, 1971
.Anna Bachman, Lebanon, Pa., on Aug, 16,
1972. aged 80
Irene Berrvhill. Ashley. Ind.. in July 1972
Minnie Bittinger, Akron, Ohio, on July 24,
1972
Rosa BlickenstafF, North Manchester, Ind,,
on Sept, 2. 1972, aged 88
John Bonar, Mt. Morris, 111., on Sept. 13,
1972. aged 75
Harrv G. Bruckhart, Manhcim, Pa,, on
Sept. ,3, 1972, aged 84
Fannie Buffenmever, Lebanon, Pa., on .\ug.
17, 1972, aged 92'
Walter Burlev, Lvnchburg, Va., on Aug.
26. 1972, aged 85
Jesse Cox, Seymour, Ind,, on Sept, 12,
1972, aged 80
Ezra Ebersole, Goshen, Ind,, in .August,
aged 82
Ruth Eddv, Lewiston, Minn., on June 14,
1972, aged 87
Herman Eminger, San Diego. Calif., on
Julv 29. 1972
Sallie Emmert, Nampa, Idaho, on .Aug. 11,
1972, aged 98
Rov Fox, New Paris, Ind.. on .Aug. 26.
1972. aged 79
Oreille T. Frock. Westminster, Md., on
April 3. 1972. aged 56
Clarence Frollev, .Ashland. Ohio, on -Aug.
13, 1972, aged 64
Enos S. Fryer, Spring City, Pa., on July
3, 1972, aged 77
.Aaron B, Good, Marietta, Pa,, on Aug. 31,
1972, aged 67
Henrv C. Grant, Bent Mountain, Va,, on
.Aug. 7. 1972. aged 96
Cecil J, Harms, Albuquerque, N, Mex.,
on Julv 17, 1972, aged 48
Elton Hill. Mt. Morris. Ill,, on Sept, 13,
1972, aged 66
Erma C, Hoffer, Manheim, Pa., on June 6,
1972, aged 74
Edgar Hoo\er, Hollidavsburg, Pa., on .Aug,
19, 1972, aged 78
Titus M. Hurst, Roths\ille, Pa., on Aug.
24, 1972, aged 57
Ted Inloes, Boise, Idaho, on July 24, 1972,
aged 78
Kenneth L. Jav, .Arendtsville. Pa., on Sept.
6, 1972, aged 18 '
Elizabeth J. Jolly, Seymour, Ind., on .Aug.
17. 1972. aged 35
Mvrtle M. Julius, Modesto, Calif., on Sept.
8, 1972, aged 85
Kathy Kief. Garrett, Ind., in July 1972
Ravmond C. Knoll, Milton. Wis,, on -Aug,
21, 1972, aged 78
.Ahev L. Leatherman, Gettysburg, Pa., on
June 5, 1972, aged 82
Ralph Lewis, Harper, Iowa, on July 26,
1972, aged 68
Linden Lines, Mexico, Ind., on .Aug. 25.
1972. aged 79
Lilv Lontz, Portland, Ore,, on -Aug, 27,
1972, aged 95
Fred Martin, CIo\erdale, Va., on Sept, 17,
1972, aged 77
Henrv Martin, Troutville, Va,, on -Aug. 24,
1972, aged 90
Maranda K. Miller, Gettysburg, Pa,, on
May 18, 1972. aged 89
Golda M. Mills, Ashley, Ind., on June 29,
1972
Charles M. Moore. Boise. Idaho, on Aug.
31. 1972. aged 86
Katie G, Mover, Manheim, Pa., on -Aug.
21. 1972. aged 94
Mabel .A. Offenbacker, Skidmore, Mo., on
Aug. 24, 1972, aged 88
James W, Plank, Gettysburg, Pa,, on July
13, 1972, aged 60
Mavmie Powers, Mt, Morris, 111., on Sept.
5. 1972. aged 87
Edna Ragland, Ceres, Calif., on Julv 29.
1972
Mabel Lewis Roth, Utica, Minn., on July
16. 1972. aged 90
Raleigh Sabin. Lacey, Wash,, on Aug. 3.
1972. aged 89
Sarah E. Simpson, Jonesboro, Tenn., on
July 19, 1972, aged 90
Carl W. Singley, .Arendtsville, Pa., on July
29, 1972, aged 7i
Flovd Steineke, Cloverdale, Va., on .Aug.
15. 1972. aged 67
Ralph Thomas, Mt, Morris, 111., on Sept.
5. 1972, aged 87
Dorotha Tuilluane, Mexico, Ind., on -Aug.
25, 1972, aged 67
Ivy M. Walter, Oakland, Calif., on July
14, i972, aged 88
.Anne L. Wolgeniuth, Manheim, Pa., on July
10, 1972, aged 79
G, Earl York, Watsonville, Calif., on July
19. 1972. aged 79
.Anna Zimerman, Cabool, Mo,, on .Aug.
28, 1972, aged 82
December 1972 MESSENGER 25
[pS(Q)pD(
Shafa: A church grows
at the site of tragedy
In a heavy rain and windstorm in May
1965 the church building of the Shafa
congregation in Nigeria's North-East
State was blown down. The east wall,
formed of mud blocks, fell on women
and children attending the Sunday after-
noon service, bringing death to five per-
sons and serious injuries to 40 others.
At the time some Muslim neighbors lab-
eled the occurrence as "the judgment of
God." But to the Shafa congregation,
it has turned into a strengthening of the
faith and a widening of the fellowship.
The foundation for the new building
rests on solid rock. The roof structure
is supported by the foundation, not by
the walls. The edifice soars gracefully
to an inspiring peak without pillars or
unsightly braces.
To finish the shell of the building
the congregation and district supplied
$3,650: the church in America, $1,680.
The congregation also invested heavily
in donated labor, especially in making
blocks and plastering the pews. When
the 5,000 square feet of floor was
poured, a Muslim neighbor, a mason,
came 15 miles to "work in the fellow-
ship."
Upon the close of the Lardin Gabas
Council at Shafa in April, the dedication
of the new facility was held. M. Ali G.
Mshelia led the worship; Owen Shank-
ster, who designed the structure, preached
the sermon and led the liturgy of dedi-
cation.
The congregation employs eight evan-
gelists, among them Yerkawa Wakawa
who supervises outreach at seven other
preaching points. M. Yerkawa studies
the Bible in the Hausa language, and in
Braille, for he has been blind for many
years.
In addition to rebuilding, the congre-
gation has cared for the medical and
food expenses of those injured in the
1965 disaster. Among its most recent ac-
tions has been the licensing of two men
to the ministry, M. Wasinda Gwayeri
and M. Dauda Lemba.
Eastwood: A week long pageant
of celebration and service
A longtime dream for L. Byron Miller
has been to engage his congregation in
observing the feetwashing service, dis-
missing to go out and do what has been
symbolized — serving the needs of peo-
ple, and returning to celebrate the "bread
and cup" communion. This summer the
dream became an actual experience in
the Eastwood Church of the Brethren,
Akron, Ohio.
In preparation. Pastor Miller and a
committee named the week of June 18-25
"The Pageant of Holy Communion."
Shared in advance with each parishioner
was a five-page folder outlining oppor-
tunities of service within the church and
the community. Individuals or families
were to decide the service to others they
would undertake for the week or the
weeks and months ahead.
On the opening Sunday Mr. Miller
spoke of "The Role of a Servant" at
the morning worship hour. A simple
sack lunch meal was followed by a serv-
ice of feetwashing. Children who were
not members of the church observed,
then under the guidance of their teach-
ers had their own demonstration of in-
tended service by dusting one another's
shoes. The group joined hands and
closed with a musical version of Mat-
thew 25: "Whatever you do to the least
of my brothers, that you do unto me."
"Upon departure," said the pastor, "we
could say as Jesus did in Luke 4, 'The
spirit of the Lord is upon us.' "
In the course of the week many of the
people were together in work and in fel-
lowship. The children and teachers,
meeting each evening in vacation church
school, had their own projects. In the
service on the following Sunday, young
and old shared in public of their ex-
perience, including many who had never
spoken up before. Among the com-
ments:
"We took the bread and cup com-
munion to a shut-in member and had a
good experience together."
"Three of us — a factory worker, a re-
tired man, and a doctor, went to a
widower's home, a shut-in, and repaired
his porch by getting it on a surer founda-
tion." Later, one of the men painted it.
"A couple came to my home and put
in some window panes where some had
been broken. I appreciated it and
learned to know these people better."
"Children from Bible school came to
my home one evening and we had a
good time visiting, eating cookies, and I
told them stories."
"Having been drawn closer together in
giving and receiving, we felt a corporate
need to now receive more resources from
the Lord," Mr. Miller said. "This
strength we appropriated in the ob-
servance of the bread and cup commun-
ion."
The junior girls passed the bread; non-
member children were given cookies
which they broke and shared. The cup
was observed by small groups kneeling
at the altar. The service was completed
by the formation of an unbroken circle
around the sanctuary, the singing of
"Spirit of the Living God," and the unit-
ing of voices and uplifted hands to de-
clare, "We will grow together in love and
unity."
"We came to see that the Brethren
love feast is more than just an old, irrele-
vant form," Pastor Miller said of the
experience. "We understand more clear-
ly that the church is people in a worship
of celebration, but that it is also these
same people in loving mission at their
work."
26 MESSENGER December 1972
Lebanon: Cross and Crown Class
offers specialized ministry
The story of the nativity unfolded in
song and pantomime. As the three
church choirs performed. Dawn, with an
angelic countenance, portrayed Mary;
Marlene, quiet and patient, Joseph; and
Ricky, also with an abundance of pa-
tience, Gabriel. For more than an hour
each child posed quietly for the scene,
while shepherds and wise men entered
and exited on cue.
What was unusual about the drama
last Christmas at the Lebanon, Pa.,
Church of the Brethren? It was the cast
itself, the youth in costume, members of
a class for the mentally retarded, ages
8-25. They were given and were per-
forming a central role, a role which most
townspeople or churchfolk would have
thought impossible.
The Christmas drama was a highlight
for the group and their leaders, but so
is each Sunday class. There the youth
are welcomed by a small corps of volun-
teer workers eager to respond to their
concerns, careful to plan activities suited
to their needs, ready to reach out to en-
courage and affirm.
The giving is not all one way, the adult
workers are eager to point out. "Excep-
tional children are quick to perceive
your feelings, whether you are ill or un-
happy, for example, and then to ask why.
They are also compassionate and loving,"
said Marian Boltz, one of the team lead-
ers.
"If there is anything that irritates me,"
Mrs. Boltz went on, "it is the remark,
That class must take a lot out of you!' "
To the contrary, Marian and her hus-
band Arthur see the class as no chore;
they simply are doing their thing and
rejoicing in it. So too are another cou-
ple, Frank and Nancy Sheer, and a
mother and son, Kathryn and Eugene
Martin, and volunteers Lois Miller,
Henry Smith, and Darlene Brandt.
This summer the leaders planned for
the pupils and their families a chicken
barbecue. Frank and Nancy Scheer pre-
pared the meal; Jean Scheer and Eugene
Martin planned noncompetitive games
and activities; Pastor Donald Fogel-
sanger and his family were guests for the
evening.
Most appreciative of the outing were
the parents who sometimes feel their
families are shunned in social affairs.
They expressed gratitude in seeing their
children involved, in meeting other par-
ents, and in talking with the group's
leaders.
"Too often the retarded are shuttled
from normal children," Marian Boltz
said. "One of their strong needs is for
a feeling of accomplishment and accept-
ance. I should like to tell the world any
one having a child such as this is chosen.
The Lord knows where he places such a
child, and I firmly believe that they are
placed to show us 'Love is the way' after
all."
Untrained for the work but learning
fast, the group of volunteers named the
class Cross and Crown. "It's corny, I
know," Marian Boltz said, "but it's fit-
ting. Each class member has a cross to
bear but one day he or she will wear a
crown. I see it as a privilege to share
one's affection and talents toward this
end."
Recalling at the close of last year's
Christmas pageant the parent who was
so grateful yet speechless, with tears
streaming down her face, Mrs. Boltz
said, "These are our thanks."
Heatherdowns: Pastor, potter
demonstrate Jeremiah theme
A potter and a potter's wheel became
an integral part of a worship service at
the Heatherdowns Church of the Breth-
ren, Toledo, Ohio. Based on Jeremiah
18 and 19, the service was part of a
"Bible Come Alive" series of sermons/
demonstrations currently being pre-
sented.
In introducing the chapter. Pastor Ed
Kerschensteiner recalled how the Lord
told the prophet to "go at once to the
potter's house and there I will tell you
what I have to say. ..."
At that juncture he turned ihe service
over to Mrs. Stanley Corl, art depart-
ment director of a middle school. She
demonstrated the rolling out of the clay,
fashioning of pinch bowls, throwing on
the wheel, use of pressure and repairing
of cracks.
In dialogue the pastor and Mrs. Corl
pointed up how God said he would work
with his people in a forgiving way. Simi-
larly, as clay responds to those who work
with it, the Lord works with people who
respond to his demands. Men and
women are "shapers of clay, under the
Great Potter himself," Mr. Kirschen-
steiner declared.
For the closing hymn, the congrega-
tion sang: "Have thine own way. Lord;
Have thine own way; Thou art the pot-
ter, I am the clay; Mold me and make
me, after thy will, while I am waiting,
yielded and still."
Uccciiibci 1972 MESSENGER 27
This record is aiiout peace.
Ted Studebaker of West Milton, Ohio,
was a young man who told his draft
board he could not conscientiously
accept military service, but that he
was perfectly willing to go to Viet-
nam.
When Ted went to war, he took no
weapons. Instead he took a guitar
and a small tape recorder. But most
important, he took a dedication to
the idea that more can be accom-
plished with tools than with guns.
Ted Studebaker's army was Vietnam
Christian Service. His assignment:
to help the mountain people of the
village of Di Linh. He worked here
for two years and planned to stay a
third. Here he fell in love with
Pakdy, a gentle Chinese girl from
Hong Kong, like him a volunteer.
Here they married.
About a week later, on April 26,
1971, a Vietcong unit attacked Di
Linh. The attack opened with a mor-
tar barrage, and later the invaders
entered the house and shot Ted Stude-
baker to death. The Vietcong obvi-
ously considered him an enemy; after
all he was an American. But they
couldn't really have known Ted Stude-
baker, a man who believed peace was
possible.
Ted Studebaker's life and work for
peace are highlighted in an LP record
called "Life Is Great, Yea!" Running
20 minutes per side, the record in-
cludes folk singing by Ted and ex-
cerpts from an interview with Howard
Royer, from cassette tapes Ted sent
to family and friends, and from Jim
Kincaid's ABC commentary. The
price is S4 plus 35c postage. Most
proceeds will go to the Brother-
hood's Ted Studebaker Memorial
Fund for Peace and Reconcilia-
tion. Pro-
duced by Gary
and Sue Stude-
baker. Order
from Brethren
Press, 1451 Dun-
dee Ave., Elgin,
III. 60120.
TedStudedakerHe
believed peace was possible.
28 MESSENGER December 1972
Brethren
to the
farm worker issue
respond
ON BOYCOTTS AND UNIONS
After reading the article "Brethren and
the Farm Worker Issue" (Sept. 15), I feel
called to tell how I, a farmer's wife, see
this issue.
A lot of people involved do not have a
true picture of the situation. You would
think from all of the notoriety this farm
union is trying to put across that the farm-
ers are guilty of having slave labor. No
wonder we feel indignant.
We raise asparagus. Last year the Yaki-
ma Valley asparagus growers paid out for
labor an average of 45% of what the crop
brought in. My husband paid 48%; some
I understand paid better than half. Part
of the expenses besides labor are taxes,
water, seed, fertilizer, machinery, costly re-
pairs, gasoline.
The farm laborers who I know do not
want this union, which has been anything
but nonviolent, contrary to its leaders'
claim. A good share of the workers are
making more than they would under the
union.
Before we started farming my husband
worked on farms. With a house and a
garden spot furnished we were always able
to have extra money in the bank. Now
since we are farming what we make on
one crop has to go back into raising the
next one.
I'm also tired of hearing about poor
housing. We made a tenant house out of
a house we had lived in for seven years,
only to have it made into a garbage
dump. . . .
On boycotting crops, I quote from an
editorial written in our local paper that
earlier had been for the United Farm Work-
ers, but has now changed its tune. "The
boycott, as a tactic or weapon in any dis-
pute, is a dangerous and unpredictable thing,
a carrier of injustice to the innocent and
uninvolved as well as of implied coercion
in causes supposedly just and its use tends
to impugn the judgment as well as the sense
of full fair play of those who resort to it."
This editorial also refers to the myth
that lettuce workers are poverty stricken.
The Post reporter found that UFW litera-
ture implies full-time lettuce workers aver-
age S2,700 a year for a family of four.
"The fact is," the reporter wrote, "that
the lettuce worker because of the grueling
stoop labor and specialized techniques in-
volved is in the economic elite among ag-
riculture laborers. He can make up to
$12,000 in a good year and rarely less than
$5,000 to $6,000." He works the year
round, usually following the harvest with
the same firm from Salinas to the Imperial
Valley in Arizona.
I also read Chavez pays his staff mem-
bers only $5 a week and board and room.
I don't know if this is true but it was
printed in one of our local papers and
so far I haven't heard any rebuff. I'm sure
no farmer could get away with that kind
of wages, if he wanted to. . . .
I definitely feel it is wrong to boycott
a man's crop, trying to starve him into
being forced into submitting to a union he
doesn't believe in. I feel as the Farm
Bureau that there should be a law to make
secondary boycotting illegal.
No doubt there are injustices on both
sides but I feel a Fair Labor Relations
Board manned by men that are familiar
with both sides would be much more fair.
ViNNIE Malmgren
Outlook, Wash.
MORE HARM THAN GOOD?
In reply to J. Benton Rhoades (Sept.
15), first I want to say I am in favor of
helping the migrant workers, but in this
case, are we?
The United Farm Workers Union is the
only one I ever heard of that does not
give the workers the privilege to vote wheth-
er or not they want to join a union, and,
if so. what union should represent them.
Instead their employees are harassed and
forced to permit the union to have control
over the migrant worker.
After Cesar Chavez succeeded in doing
this with the grape industry there was a
survey made of individual workers. They
said that they were not any better off after
joining the union. One of the reasons stated
was after paying their dues to the union
many did not have money left to buy gaso-
line for their cars to get to work, and often
were assigned to work farther away from
where they lived.
Cesar Chavez is not satisfied with the
unorganized workers he got from the grape
industry. He now wants to infiltrate the
Teamster's Union in the lettuce industry
which now harvests about 70% of the let-
tuce under the Teamster contract.
Chavez charges the Teamster's contracts
as being illegal and not binding.
The Superior Court in Monterey County,
California, in September 1970 declared
these contracts legal and binding with wage
and benefits equal or superior to UFW
contracts and met every test of validity and
are still in force, as upheld by the Cali-
fornia court of appeals as late as March 29.
One of the top five operations in the
industry recently announced a major cur-
tailment of its lettuce and celery produc-
tion, citing grave difficulties in operating
under the contract it had signed with
Chavez in 1970. Over a thousand farm
workers' jobs are in jeopardy. Does Mr.
Rhoades consider this helping the migrant
worker?
I was so glad to hear there were enough
people at Annual Conference who really
understood the facts well enough to vote
down the church's participation in the let-
tuce boycott. These boycotts cause dis-
sension, dissatisfaction between store man-
agers and their employees, and prevent the
customer from being able to buy fresh
produce hundreds of miles away from the
location of the actual controversy.
If we are going to help the migrant work-
er then we'd better find a way that does
not do more harm than good.
S. Rupert Harshbaroer
Lewistown, Pa.
A DRIVE FOR POWER
Most of us are inclined to form an opin-
ion before knowing all the facts that are
available. A current example is the lettuce-
grower dispute where the housewife is
brought into a jurisdictional dispute between
two competing unions. The Teamsters Un-
ion and the United Farm Workers.
What are the facts? One hundred seventy
growers have contracts with the Teamsters;
four have contracts with the United Farm
Workers, an afliliate of the AFL-CIO.
Nearly 90% of the California lettuce is
picked by union labor, but, unhappily for
Mr. Chavez, it is picked by the wrong union
pickers, at least 70-75% of it.
Earnings range from $5.70 to $7.41 per
hour, according to the California Depart-
ment of Agriculture. Chavez quotes base
rates admittedly much lower, but fails to
tell the public that these employees are on
"piecework." Their earnings fluctuate with
their diligence and skill.
Would I be too cynical to suggest that
the Kennedy clan and their wing of the
Democratic party have been playing footsie
with Chavez since the grape war of 1967-70
and that one fourth of US Catholics have
Spanish surnames? What Chavez seeks is
political control over California Chicanos.
More
December 1972 MESSENGER 29
foDinrD [fowDO^M^i
The pickers have nothing to gain in this
dispute whether union members or not.
Everybody loses, except Chavez himself in
his drive for political power.
Robert D. Royer
Richmond, Va.
FACTS, YES, AND UNDERSTANDING
Concerning the article by J. Benton
Rhoades, "Brethren and the Farm Worker
Issue" (Sept. 15), the United Farm Work-
ers (UFW) are not the agricultural work-
ers. They are Cesar Chavez and his group
affiliated with and supported by AFL-CIO,
an industrial labor union.
Chavez is not primarily concerned with
the migrant workers. His activity has been
concentrated in areas employing large num-
bers of satisfied farm workers with steady
employment, and wages at least as high
as would be if belonging to his union.
The agricultural workers do not want
to strike, and have not been striking. The
strikers are folks paid by the Chavez move-
ment and brought in from other areas, try-
ing to prevent the workers from working.
The boycott is promoted by the same
movement to prevent consumers from buy-
ing produce which they wish to buy. Con-
sequently, some employers have unwillingly
been pressured to sign contracts with the
union; this automatically made their em-
ployees, without their consent, become
members of the union.
In some areas many employees already
belong to a different union, one more sat-
isfactory- for them than the AFL-CIO. Agri-
culture does not object to a union. What
is needed is a new law applicable to agri-
culture which would do two things: first,
permit employees to vote by secret ballot,
whether or not they wish to join a union,
and if so. which union; second, prevent a
strike at harvest time, which could cause
farmers the loss of a crop and also the
cost of producing it. . . .
Yes, Brother Rhoades, what "is required
now is careful study of the facts, frank dis-
cussion, and a continued search for the
mind of Christ." Also very important is
to secure and to understand the facts, and
not be led astray by false propaganda.
W. H. Meyers
Fresno, Calif.
CLASSIFIED AD
ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ALASKA —Air con-
ditioned bus tour to Annual Conference in Fresno,
Calif., and then to Alaska, returning via Cana-
dian Rockies. A second bus will travel to Fresno
and return directly after Conference. Both tours
leave June 19, 1973. Write J. Kenneth Kreider,
Route 3, Elizabethtown, Pa. 17022.
t
Beyond Portrayal
o perceive life more accurately and
clearly rather than to portray it, to
create an environment in order that we
can better understand the environment
in which we now live — this is film,
responsible film.
A Clockwork Orange, which has been
called a Christian fable and a brilliant
vision is regarded by many as responsible
film. Anthony Burgess, author of the
novel, sees it as an act of redemption,
and Stanley Kubrick, the film director,
synthesizes many of his concerns, such
as the military, political, and scientific
sensibilities he dealt with in his earlier
films, Dr. Strangeglove. Lolita. Paths of
Glory, 2001: A Space Odyssey. John E.
Fitzgerald, a recipient of the Directors
Guild of America's "Best Critic" award
judges "the more I think about it, the
more I think 'A Clockwork Orange" is
truly a work of art, and truly Christian
in its essence."
Indeed, what is this most controversial
and acclaimed film? Some see beatings,
rapes, and low-key sadism. What in fact
is seen is film taking place in near-future
London. Alex (Malcolm McDowell) is
the leader of a teen-age gang that drinks
drugged milk at a pop art milkbar before
going out on a night of ultra-violence of
beating, fighting, and drink. Alex is
placed in jail following a rape-killing
and there trained to be sickened by vio-
lence with the Ludovic treatment. As a
cured person he becomes the victim of
his former friends who are now police-
men. He then becomes retrained with
government approval to his former state,
thus having gone full circle, like a clock-
work orange.
What is the film message and life-
vision? It would appear to be clearly
that Alex is not to be tormented or de-
prived of his ability to choose. Author
Burgess reminds us that a person is a
microcosm or little world, a growth as
organic as a fruit, capable of color, fra-
grance and sweetness: to meddle with
him or to condition him is to turn him
into a mechanical creation. Moreover,
the film interrelates freedom and survival.
Other themes emerge: The brave new
world of 1984 may be upon us (a bru-
talizing prison system which is but a
conditioning process of drugs and films
offering an ironic freedom) . Everyone
is victim of manipulation — by scien-
tists, writers, the police, even politicians.
Insofar as this film exposes the nature
of man, good and evil, and choice re-
quiring audience resolution, this film can
be called "chillingly Christian" in its
vision.
This film challenges the viewer to think
and reflect upon what one is experiencing
in the film experience — to examine
one's own responses to the emotional
challenge of threat. Other hard ques-
tions call out for resolution: How do
we best rehabilitate or condition in
prisons? Who should do this? Some
viewers will conclude that Director Ku-
brick exploits violence in that the pain
and hostility are too heavy and therefore
the film experience is degrading. Al-
though the film has relentless horror, the
violence is not for its own sake. TTie
aftertaste of the film is not emotional
drain but intellectual stimulation to use
God-given gifts to think and choose
freely and to turn from Alex's perverse
glee.
Church and chaplaincy are also im-
aged. The chaplain who at first favors
the Ludovic treatment, upon later reali-
zation that Alex is a robot, prophetically
calls out that "he's duped" and that it
is imperative to "choose good over and
over again." Alex, when conditioned to
be passive to evil, appears as a Christ-
figure but it is false appearance in that
he does not choose to do good since he
himself is brainwashed and conditioned.
Other questions exist such as the rela-
tion between music and violence, the rela-
tion of violence and language, and how
Alex's first choice of evil could have
been averted. So the theological ques-
tion at the end of the film is the one in
the opening words, "What is it going to
be then, eh?" What are you going to
choose?
Sounder is the story of all of us. It
is a new film that Judith Crist, New
York film critic, says we have all been
1
30 MESSENGER December 1972
Perception
"The Confessions of Tom Harris"
waiting for. Although it is about a
black boy's struggle for a better race
and about a sharecropper family's living
in the Deep South during the Depression
era, this film transcends time, place, and
race as it affirms the human spirit in a
blend of life's humor and heartbreak.
Sounder is named for a coon hound.
The story is of David Lee Morgan, who
with his parents lives an impoverished
existence. David is later awakened to
his potential by a teacher. With his
father's urging he sets out from home
to get an education.
English literature teacher at the Uni-
versity of Virginia, is an authentic
"auteur" who acts from conviction that
it is possible to have a black theme with-
out violence and angry social protests,
that it is possible to use a black theme
identifiable as Everyman, and that even
children are capable of learning about
life without dishonesty from producers.
Sounder is an excellent family film,
not just because of its message and act-
ing, but because it has family strength
(and extended family strength in a
neighbor and in a schoolteacher) that
enables the Morgans to survive.
This excellent new 20th Century-Fox
release by Radnitz who also produced
A Dog of Flanders, Island of the Blue
Dolphins, and Misty is based on the
Newberry Award-winning novel by
William H. Armstrong.
The Candidate is an excellent film for
election year. Its theme of how a candi-
date becomes softened, how a "radical"
and prophetic position is domesticated
in that inevitable leaning toward the
safe, safe center. Robert Redford plays
a young poverty-ecology lawyer, McKay.
Once in the race, however, his profes-
sional political managers trim his side-
burns and blunt his issues until he be-
comes too similar to the conservative
incumbent. At the very end of the film,
as he is about to make the acceptance
speech as senator-elect from California,
he calls his aides aside and asks what to
do and what to say. McKay is no longer
okay.
The move from idealist to opportun-
ist is the issue that confronts the viewer.
A twin issue is the role that the media
elect the candidate. A further concern
is the gullibility of the populace to listen
to nice sounding words rather than to
hard resounding facts.
The Confessions of Tom Harris is an
illustration of what Gateway Films of
Valley Forge, Pa., believes about how
Christian communicators ought to be an
active force within the motion picture
industry. Ken Curtis, leader of this or-
ganization, sees his role similar to that
of his work as a pastor in that the gospel
is too concerned with the totality of life.
He further contends that one of the
church's sins is the neglect of new media
such as films.
The Gateway approach is to produce
films that portray themes that help peo-
ple come to grips with themselves, their
relationships, society and world from the
perspective of the gospel. Gateway's
first release. The Cross and the Switch-
blade is now followed with two films.
The Late Liz, a true story of Gert Be-
hanna, a wealthy socialite who was for
30 years an alcoholic, and The Confes-
sions of Tom Harris, the true story of a
corrupt fighter, rapist, sadistic gangster
who was transformed into a man of love.
The real Tom Harris is now a Holly-
wood stunt man who spends his spare
time helping convicts. The film Tom Har-
ris is Don Murray, writer, producer, ac-
tor, director, humanitarian. Murray, who
has starred in twenty motion pictures, on
the Broadway stage and on tv, is one of
a group who is not satisfied to live in
the world of motion picture without
trying to make filmdom the kind of
world in which he wants to live.
Confessions is a shocking movie for
some and an inspiring one for others.
It explores the actions and attitudes of
a man who personifies the cruelty and
violence of our times and who in our
kind of times is changed by Christian
love.
Gateway Films hopes that the Chris-
tian constituency will encourage their
theaters to book this film and to patron-
ize its viewing. I hope the constituency
does too. Unfortunately, most Ameri-
cans are so conditioned that they need
a film with more violence and thrills to
"move" them away from the tv set.
Hopefully, theaters with our encourage-
ment will book Confessions along with
another outstanding short. — LeRoy
Kennel
December 1972 MESSENGER 31
[f@@©(LQ[r(S®i
Helping People Plan
by Ralph G. McFadden
Coming increasingly into use over the
last several years have been such terms
as "goal setting," "long-and short-range
planning," "management by objective,"
"organization development," and "pro-
cess planning." It may well appear that
these terms will be a passing fad, as is
often the case with new developments.
However, with the very likely continu-
ance of rapid changes in all aspects of
life, it is almost certain that something
more is at stake. Planning has become a
requirement if not for survival, at least
for purposeful direction.
The following resources can be of
aid to persons of local congregations.
Most of the resources are for use by any-
one; a few items are a bit specialized.
Groups in Action, a mini-course
in group development, offers a step-by-
step strategy that challenges people to
live in "Christian community, to find a
mission, and to take responsible action."
It is geared for senior highs. Part of the
Serendipity book series by Lyman Cole-
man, "Groups in Action" operates at
three levels of study of six sessions each.
There is a lab course, a subjective Bible
study, and an objective Bible study.
Cost, $2.95.*
A Problem Solving Program is a
workbook designed to help in analyzing
a problem that either individuals or
groups may face. A programmed ap-
proach presented in a series of separate
steps or frames, each of which contains
a complete idea and instruction, this
workbook will help you tackle change
without so much confusion and discom-
fort. Available from National Training
Labs Institute for Applied Behavioral
Science, 1201 16th St., N.W., Washing-
ton, D.C. 20036. Cost, 25c.
The Christian Family and Its
Money by David M. Graybeal, center-
ing on the crucial area of family finances
and stewardship, asserts that goal setting
applies to families and individuals as
•Items available from The Brethren Press,
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, III. 60120.
well as to larger groups such as con-
gregations. And one of the book's best
sections, Chapter 4, lifts up family eco-
nomic goal setting. The approach is most
appropriate for study by a class or a
family. Cost, $1.*
Using Problem Solving in Teaching
and Training is a workbook approach
with a step-by-step process for problem
solving. Though focused on groups of
teachers, the workbook can be used for
other groups or individuals as well. It is
humorously illustrated and yet deals seri-
ously with ways of coming to solutions
for problems. Printed by Broadman
Press. Cost, $1.95.*
More Effective Church Boards and
Committees: A Manual is written by
William F. Haase, executive director of
the department of organization and man-
agement of the National Council of
Churches. This 64-page booklet includes
the following chapters: Defects in the
Committee Process, How Committees
Are Classified, Planning for Meetings,
Choosing Procedures, Leading Meetings,
and Barriers to Understanding. The man-
ual is designed to satisfy a need for ele-
mentary but a comprehensive guide on
the essentials of church boards and com-
mittees and on the techniques of meet-
ing leadership. Cost, $1.*
Let's Plan: A Guide to the Plan-
ning Process for Voluntary Organi-
zations by John C. DeBoer is a com-
prehensive treatment of the planning
function. This book has been developed
for voluntary organizations which of
course includes the church and other
community organizations. It explores
the practical aspects of the planning
system and deals with such perplexing
problems as goals, articulating realistic
alternatives, and achieving actions. De-
Boer also emphasizes the need for and
a way of evaluating programs. While
more technical than the other books
suggested earlier, this guide is still very
useful for church boards or executive
committees which take seriously such
concerns as "How decisions are made,"
"Determining goals and objectives," "The
application of planning," and "Evalua-
tion procedures." Printed by Pilgrim
Press. Cost, $2.95.*
Work Book — Developing Your
Educational Ministry is the most com-
prehensive of the workbooks listed here.
It is for persons who are responsible for
the educational work of their local
church. It is for people who want to put
their imaginations to work and to have
the patience and skill to help reasonable
groups to plan for changes that are
needed. It is a looseleaf workbook —
sort of a do-it-yourself kit for congrega-
tions who want to rethink their educa-
tional ministry from top to bottom. It is
a road map to help you take up that ex-
citing and risky responsibility of creat-
ing an educational ministry that is
uniquely suited to the needs and op-
portunities in your congregation and
your community. Developed by the
General Board of Education of the
Methodist Church and available from the
Service Department, P.O. Box 871,
Nashville, Tenn. 37202. Cost, $3.
A Planning Kit for Church Re-
newal by David G. Jones, Inc., is of
particular use to a congregation that
would like to do a self-study. Its
uniqueness lies in the fact that the goals
of the congregation are determined by
the total congregation together; the goals
have to do with what happens to people
rather than program; and the goals are
determined out of the burning desires of
persons rather than out of "we ought"
feelings. The kit includes a planning
guide and five reel-to-reel tap>es. For
more information write David G. Jones,
Inc., 50 W. 91st St., 104B, Minneapolis,
Minn. 55420.
Management Excellence Kit, by
its own definition, "shows how to identi-
fy the structure of excellence that is
unique within each person." It offers a
very useful and clear approach for an
individual working on personal goals.
Bernard Haldane, the developer of the
workbook, has been recently involved in
working with a cross-section of people,
from dropouts to clergymen, in help-
ing them to identify the positive aspects
of who they are and to set achievable
goals for their lives. Available from
Bernard Haldane Associates, 1 150 Con-
necticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.
20036. Cost, $3.25
32 MESSENGER December 1972
INDEX 1972
Listed on the next pages are articles, poems,
editorials, and names of contributors which ap-
peared in MESSENGER during 1972. Classifica-
tions have been made according to author and
subject matter. Numbers indicate isiue and page.
AUTHORS
Ally, Syed 15-8
Alwine, Paul E 1-23
Aukerman, Date 1 3-23
Bantz, Floyd E 8-16
Ball, Arden K 16-22
Bagwell, David 11-6
Beher, Linda 4-10, 6-8,
10-32, 11-15, 14-32, 16-12
Bhagat, Shantilal 3,8, 21-12
Blough, Dorris 8-19, 17-24
Bollinger, Richard A 3-10
Bomberger, Harold Z 1 6-7
Bowman, Mabel 8-24
Bowman, S. Loren 8-8, 15-17
Brown, Dale W 3-20, 15-12
Brown, Robert McAfee 3-3
Brumbaugh, Wilbur E 21-17
Brussat, Frederic J 16-18,20-21
Bucher, Glenn R 3-24, 6-18
Burgett, Gordon L 20-1 2
Caldwell, Doris E 6-17
Carlisle, Leonard 1 1-7
Churchman, Patricia M 15-3
Crouse, Merle 9-21
Donovan, Jeanne 18-18
Downey, Gregg W 1-18
Drescher, John 9-11
Dull, Joy 7-19
Earhart, J. Stanley 20-8
Eberly, William R 8-17
Ei:er, Vernard 2-6, 7-22
Fetterman, John 10-25
Fike, John G 5-22, 12-12
Flood, Dom Augustine, O.S.B 18-22
Flora, James S 13-22
Franfz, Ira 13-25
Frederick, Mrs. Jack 13-24
Geisert, Wayne F 8-16
Gibble, H. Lamar 3-16
Gibble. Pius 13-22
Gibbons, Phebe E 17-14
Groff, Warren F 11-11
Guthrie, Ellis G 21-24
Heckman, Shirley 12-22
Hemmis, Michael 6-21
Herod, Bill 21-8
Hoppe, Arthur 1 2-20
Horning, Estella 3-23
Howell, Leon 15-10
Howell, Lonnie S 18-18
Johansen, Robert C 3-9
Jones, G. Curtis 4-14, 14-4
Jones, Loyal 10-16
Keener, Ronald E 1-8, 3-26, 4-8, 5-8, 6-6,
6-28, 7-8, 8-6, 10-9, 18-12
Kennel LeRoy E 6-25, 13-28, 21-30
Kidwell, William 2-21
Kuenning, William H 1-10
Kulp, Mary Ann M 12-2
Long I nez 2-14
Lyons. Ruth 8-18
McFadden, Ralph G 21-32
McFadden, Robert 3-8
Martin, Harold S 21-14
Mathis, Andrew G 8-18
Mathis, J. H 7-26
Merkey, Edith Mae 1-2, 9-18
Merton, Thomas 21-20
Meyer, Matthew M 7-9, 1 9-2
Miller, Dean M 9-10
Miller. Donald E 9-12
Miller, Richard N 11-18, 20-16
Miller, Robert H 12-10
Monroe, Paul 20-10
Morse. Kenneth ! 5-10, 7-11, 18-6
Mullen, Wilbur E 4-19
Nasir, Eric S 20-9
Neff, Robert 17-12
Neher, Robert T. 8-22
Nolen, Wilfred E 7-22
Norquist, Marilyn 14-6
Norris, Glen E 7-20
Nyden, Paul 10-22
Peters, Olive 21-2
Peters, Hazel 5-14
Petry, Carroll 13-12
Penit, Terry 4-10, 10-10
Pomeroy, Dave 17-28
Rhoades, J. Benton 16-16
Rieman, T. Wayne 17-8
Rodgers, Patricia L 14-2
Rosenberger, Mary Sue 20-4
Rothrock, Hazel 14-31
Royer, Howard E 1-28, 2-24, 3-34, 4-24,
5-24, 7-28, 8-28, 9-24, 11-24, 12-8, 12-24, 13-32,
14-36, 15-24, 16-24, 17-32, 18-24, 19-24, 20-24,
21-36
Schroeder, W, Widick 18-9
Shatan, Chaim 4-17
Showalter, Shirley Hershey 18-16
Simmons, Ben 9-23
Skinner, Tom 16-8
Slaats, Gary 10-15
Snyder, Graydon F 1 9-22
Stanford, Glenn 20-6
Stern. Donald L 6-22
Sirickler, David S 6-21 , 18-18
Taylor, Susan Krehbiel 2-18
Thompson, Joel K 19-11
Wall, James M 2-20
Wallace, Lenore 13-6
Weaver, L John 14-29
Wedel, Cynthia C 7-22
Wertham, Frederic 3-30
Willoughby, Lena 6-21
Wilson. Leland 12-22, 19-14
Yoder, Glee 4-20, 8-20, 13-26, 17-26, 19-18
Ziegler, Vivian 5 9-14
Zinn, Marty 3-9
Zunkel, Charles E 18-19
SUBJECT MATTER
CHRISTMAS
A Christmas Antiphon Between Genesis
and John, Wilbur E. Brumbaugh 21-17
The True Meaning of Christmas, Harold
S. Martin 21-14
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
AC Indochina Resolution Given Personal
Attention 19-4
And All Found Sanctuary Within Its Walls,
Unda Beher 16-12
Baptists and Brethren: Are We Ready for
Anything More?, Howard E. Royer .... 12-8
Bethany: Place of Learning, Center of Mis-
sion (Conversation with the Dean) War-
ren F. Groff 11-11
Bethany Seminary: November Offering Is
Challenge II 18-4
The Bethany That Eludes the Catalog (Con-
versations With Students), Linda Beher 11-15
Bethany Theological Seminary 67th Class
Names Its Gifts 15-20
Bible Training School Level Experience
May Be Repieated 19-5
Brethren Authors Remain Busy in Book
Publishing Projects 16-4
Brethren Colleges Use Grants for Innova-
tive Education 18-2
Brethren Evangelism Congress Is Projected
for April 1974 4-4
Brethren Explore Curriculum Proposals
With Anabaptists 17-6
Brethren Gather by the Ohio for 1972 An-
nual Conference 5-4
Brethren Hispanic-Americans Form Council,
Seek Members 7-4
Brethren Responses to Hurricane Lauded 20-2
Brethren Witness to Peac& in White House
Feetwashing 2-3
Camp Swatara Offers German Tour, Facil-
ities to Tourists 8-5
Church's Nonstaff Employees Ratify Shorter
Work Week 16-6
Cincinnati Conference to Open in Celebra-
tion, Consecration 10-4
Cincinnati Delegates Will Deal With Four
Queries of Last Year 9-4
Cincinnati Report: The 186th Big Meeting 14-9
The Dunker Love Feast, 1781, Phebe E.
Gibbons 17-14
Evangelism and Youth: "The Gospel Blitz,"
Matthew M. Meyer 7-9
FAUS: Since October 13 Projects Accept
Funds 13-10
Foot-Washing Ordinance Lives in Wilkes-
Barre 20-4
From the General Board 1-4
From the General Board 9-6
Going on Faith in the Ghetto, Gregg W.
Downey 1-18
Health and Welfare, Abortion Issues to
Confront Delegates 11-3
The In Answer Is Everyone: Who Speaks,
Listens, Decides on Brethren Ministries?,
S. Loren Bowman 15-17
"I've Been Putting on the Brakes," Inez
Long 2-14
LAFIYA Program Begins Reach Toward
$300,000 Goal 6-4
Lafiya's Public Health Program Calls Doc-
tor 15-4
Messenger Wins Two Awards in Publica-
tions Competition 1 1-5
Ministry in Appalachia: Brethren Work
Grows 17-4
New Curriculum Offerings for Church
School, Shirley Heckman 12-22
New Features for Conference Business Ses-
sions, Dean Miller 9-10
Notes on a Tenth Year: Brethren in Wash-
ington 13-8
Pastoral Ministry and Bethany Theological
Seminary — As Initial Assessment, Rich-
ard N. Miller 11-18
Report and Recommendations on Bethany
Theological Seminary 11-8
Seminary Shares in Two-Year Project Aimed
at Racism 1 7-6
The Spirit and the Spirits of the Brethren,
Dale W. Brown 15-12
"They Love Us in Wiikes-Barre," McDowell
Says 19-6
Tunker House Recalls Early Virginia Breth-
ren 19-6
2000: As Seen Through a Glass Darkly,
Ronald E. Keener 4-8
Uniform Series; 100th Year, Glen E. Norris 7-20
Washington Office: Making an IMPACT on
Government 6-2
Whence the Church and Pastoral Years? 12-17
Who Cares About the Congregation? A
Messenger Guide to the Parish Minis-
tries of the Church of the Brethren
General Board 6-13
The Young Spirits Tell Their Faith in Folk
Musical Idiom 8-2
"Your Presence With Us" 21-21
Youth Hike to Conference Aids Fund for
the Americas 1 0-5
CONGREGATIONS
Brethren Helping to Fill Lower Income
Housing Needs 5-5
A Church That Makes More Sense Every
Day. Gordon L BurgeH 20-12
The Community of Christ the Servant: A
Caring Place With a Common Cup,
Linda Beher 4-10
Cooperative "Christ's Parish" Begun in
Middle Pennsylvania 4-6
An Experiment in Personal Communica-
tions. Kenneth I. Morse 18-6
Health Clinic Testifies to Concern in Glen-
dale 18-2
Heifers Used as a "Sermon" for Thanks-
giving Service 4-4
In Service, For Justice, John G. Fike 12-12
Iowa Celebration: The Wind Blowin' in the
Wildwood 19-4
Manchester Youth Center "Mission to the
Community" 7-5
Metro-Parish Provides Unity, Fellowship for
Plains Brethren 6-2
Mid-Atlantic District Opposes Junior ROTC
in High Schools 4-4
People & Parish; Breaking Bread Together:
The Continuing Communion 12-18
People & Parish: Bumper Tags: York Cen-
ter's Way of Getting the Word Around 16-21
People & Parish: A Church Grows at the
Site of Tragedy 21-26
People & Parish: Cross and Crown Class
Offers Specialized Ministry 21-27
People & Parish: Denver Churches, Agencies
Strive to Create "A Living Community" 16-20
People & Parish: Home Bible Study for
Families Urged by Indiana Parish 12-18
People & Parish: "Nail Service" Inaugurates
Theme of Renewal for Ohio Worshipers 12-19
People & Parish: Pastor, Potter Demon-
strate Jeremiah Theme 21-27
People & Parish: Peace Pilgrimage and Love
Feast: Brethren Witness Reenacled . . . 16-20
People & Parish: Shalom: The Pursuit of
Peace at the Congregational Level .... 16-21
People i Parish: Staunton Church Sets Re-
treats for Membership Training 16-20
People & Parish: Troy Members Issue Own
Guide for Devotional Use in Lent .,,. 12-19
People & Parish: Sunrise and Resurrection:
The Portrayal of Joy 12-19
People & Parish; A Week Long Pageant
of Celebration and Service 21-26
Seven Men Given "Sanctuary" by San
Diego Congregation 9-4
Symbols Aid Congregations in Worship
Experiences 12-6
Three Models for the Brotherhood 13-20
When Churches Discover One Another,
Linda Beher 6-8
EASTER
Listen to the Sunrise, Kenneth I. Morse 7-1 1
Now Every Human Being Is Cousin to the
King of Kings, Cynthia C. Wedel 7-22
EDITORIALS
Aunt Arie Carpenter Takes on Li'l Abner,
Linda K. Beher 10-32
Brethren and the Burgeoning Arts, Howard
E. Royer 1-28
A Campaign on Rethinking Mission, How-
ard E. Royer 8-28
The Church and Investment Ethics, Howard
E. Royer 5-24
420 Hiroshlmas: How Many More?, How-
ard E. Royer 1 8-24
The God of Glory Thunders, Howard E.
Royer 13-32
Government Vs. a Denomination, Ronald
E. Keener 6-28
"If You Think You Can Help Our World a
Little . . . ," Howard E. Royer 4-24
The Illusion of Something for Nothing,
Howard E. Royer 1 4-36
Is Open-Mindedness Out of Date?, How-
E. Royer 16-24
More Than a Classroom Affair, Howard
E. Royer 19-24
More Than Pace and Possessions, Howard
£. Royer 17-32
On Becoming a Spirited People, Howard
E. Royer 12-24
On Going Public With One's Witness,
Howard E. Royer 7-28
On Living in the Vernacular, Howard E.
Royer 21-36
Questions to the General Board, Howard
E. Royer 15-24
The Signs of a Christian People, Howard
E. Royer 11-24
To Regain a Sense of Ourselves, Howard
E. Royer 20-24
To Take Jesus as the Challenge, Howard
E Royer 2-24
A Wary Eye on National Service, Howard
E. Royer 9-24
Who W;il Help Turn Us Around?, Howard
E. Royer 3-34
GRAPHICS
A Christmas Antiphon Between Genesis
and John, Wilbur E. Brumbaugh 21-27
Faces From the Mountains 10-19
Listen to the Sunrise, Kenneth t. Morse .. 7-11
"A Love Feast Among the Dunkers" ..,. 17-16
Portrait of a People, a Vietnam Album,
Bill Herod 21-8
The Sometimes Praying Hands of Albrecht
Durer, Kenneth I, Morse 5-10
When It's Peace 3-10
ISSUES
Abortion and War, Dale Aukerman .... 11-22
All This and Heaven Too, or the Fair-Haired
Generation, Dorris Blough 8-19
Amnesty, Yes!, Leland Wilson 19-14
Amnesty . . . Yes or No, Ronald E. Keener 8-6
An Ecumenical Witness — A National Turn-
about on War?, Ronald E. Keener .... 6-4
Board's Investment Policies Among Con-
ference Business 5-4
Can We Share the Vietnam Veteran's Bur-
den?, Wilbur E. Mullen 4-19
Christ Is the Answer. What Are the Ques-
tions? Tom Skinner 16-8
The Christian Revolutionary, Dale W. Brown 3-20
Finding of a Survey on Abortion 11-21
Gamble? You Bet Your Life!, L John
Weaver 14-29
The Games Global Leaders Play, Arthur
Hoppe 12-20
A Growing GNP Is a Requisite (Commen-
tary/"Christtan Life-Style"), Wayne F.
Geisert - 8-16
Here I Stand: Brethren and the Farm Work-
er Issue, J. Benton Rhoades 16-16
Homecoming, Chaim Shatan 4-17
Housing: A Growing Religious Concern . . 10-8
Human Violence Can Be Abolished, Fred-
eric Wertham 3-30
In Reply: From the Campus, From the Third
World and Europe Come Responses to
Robert McAfee Brown, Shantilal Bhagat,
Robert C. Johansen, Robert McFadden,
Marty Zinn 3-8
In South Asia — "A World That Wants to
Help," Ronald E. Keener 1-8
Know Your Enemy: Violence — A Conver-
sation With Waller Menninger, M.D.,
Richard A. Bollinger 3-12
Let's Uncomplicate Our Lives, T. Wayne
Rieman 17-8
Liberation: The World Council, the Read-
er's Digest, and the Brethren, Ronald E,
Keener 3-26
Man! You're in Charge! 8-26
A New Ethic Comes With Struggle and
Pain (Commentary/"Christian Life-
Style"), Andrew G. Mathis 8-18
The New Face of Human Rights, Dorris
Blough 17-24
A New Mission for Brethren? Ronald E.
Keener 10-9
No Time for Gradualism. H. Lamar Gibble 3-16
Nonviolence in a Violent World, Robert
McAfee Brown 3-3
Project Equality: "Not a Closed Issue,"
Ronald E. Keener 5-8
December 1972 MESSENGER 33
Render Unto Caesar, W. Widick Schroeder 18-9
The Sins of the Fathers, Shirley Hershey
Showalter 18-16
A Staiement on Christian Ufe-Sfyle .... 8-12
A Statement Regarding Abortion, an Ar>-
nuai Conference Working Paper .... 1-13
Stewardship. Not Primitivism, fs What Is
Required (Commentary /"Christian Life-
Life-Style '), Floyd E. Bantz 8-16
Toward an Environmental Elhic 8-10
Two Inseparable Problems, Quality and
Quantity (Commenlary/"Christian Ufe-
Style"), Ruth Lyons 8-18
Wealth, Property, and Money in the New
Testament, Donald E. Miller 9-12
What Is Political Activity by Churches?
IRS Drops Hints 4-5
The World's Carrying Capacity Is Already
Overextended (Commentary /"Christian
life-Style"), William R. Eberiy 8-17
MEDIA: THE ARTS
Arts Association, New Outlets Express
Brethren Creativity 2-2
MEDIA: BOOKS
American Indians in Mission to Humanity,
Merle Crouse 9-21
Baptism, the Lord's Supper Reinterpreted,
Dom Augustine Flood, O.S,B 18-22
Celebration Is the Name, Joy the Motiva-
tion, Paul E. Atwine 1-23
Consdousness III Revisited, Glenn R.
Bucher 3-24
The King and the Kingdom, Ellis G. Guthrie 21-24
Objectors Conquered by Aliens, Terry
Pettit d-22
Paul: Envoy, Exile, Brother, Graydon F.
Snyder 19-22
Public Education: Socializer or Liberator?
S. Loren Bowman 8-8
Shaping the Forces of Peace, Leland
Wilson 1 2-22
Those Whose Sexual Orientation Differs,
William Kidwell 2-21
To Construct New Attitudes, Robert T.
Neher 8-22
MEDIA: FILM
Beyond Portrayal, Perception, LeRoy E.
Kennel 21-30
Billy Jack: Good to See a Hero Again,
James M. Wall 2-20
Rlm-Arl; How Responsive, How Respon-
sible?, LeRoy E. Kennel 6-25
On Media Front: Film and Cable Television
Services 10-6
Patton: A Reflection of Civil Religion ... 20-20
A Plea to Redeem the Times, Dave Pom-
eroy 17-28
A Religious First in Honoring Outstanding
Cinema, LeRoy E. Kennel 13-28
Sharing the Sights and Sounds of Love,
John G. Fike 5-22
MEDIA: MUSIC
Godspell — Rhythm and Imagery From
Matthew's Gospel, Wilfred E. Nolen . . 7-22
New Songs for New Times, Ronald E,
Keener 7^
MEDIA: THEATER
Churches on Stage, Vernard Eller 2-6
MEDIA: TV
The Anderson Tapes: A Movie Parable on
TV, Frederic J. Brussat 16-18
Jesus' Ministry ... in Minispots 13-15
MISCELLANEOUS
Cairo Encounter for an Idahoan, or Why
They Put the Preacher in Prison in
Egypt, Glenn Stanford 20-6
Coal the Killer, Paul Nyden 10-22
The Culture That Seems Out of Place, Gary
Slaals 10-15
Discovering the Brethren, Eric S. Nasir . . 20-9
Evangelism Comes Alive: "Check ll Out
With the Gospel." Dale Aukerman 13-23
Evangelism Comes Alive: Day of Miracles
at Kokomo, Pius Gibble 13-22
Evangelism Comes Alive: Renewing the
Great Commission, James S. Flora . . , 13-22
Evangelism Comes Alive: The Tale of Two
Churches, Mrs. Jack Frederick 13-24
Experiencing New Light in Unbroken
Blackness, Ira frantz 13-25
Global Awareness: A Humbling Etperi-
ence, Joy Dull 7-19
The Gunfight at the Corral Is Not OK, Ben
Simmons 9-23
Here I Stand: An Open Letter to the Broth-
erhood. Charles E. Zunket 18-19
Humanization, Shalom, and the Mission of
God, Shaniilal Bhagat 21-12
Reconciliation in a Palestinian Village . . .
in a Marburg Ghetto 5-18
The Reunion. John Fetierman 10-25
Some Successful Ventures to Recount, J. H.
Mathis 7-26
A Statement of Concern from the Colle-
giate Staff of Commission on Religion in
Appalachia 10-28
Study of Giving Reveals Gratitude and
Goodwill, Donald L Stern 6-22
Those in Need of Healing, Arden K. Ball 16-22
Woe to Those at Ease, John Drescher .... 9-11
Women Discovering Themselves: Awkward,
Maybe — Bui Alive!, Linda Beher 14-32
You've Got a Lot lo Give, Robert Neff .. 17-12
NEWS
Agenda for the Aging: Have Churches
"Sinned by Omission"? 5-6
American Baptists Nominate Professor as
New Executive 8-3
At 100, International Lessons Still Leading
Study Materials 5-5
Athenogoras I: "The Brotherly Aristocrat" 15-4
The Bible Is a Book for Now, Not Just
Forever 20-2
BRF: Have We Been Divinely Disturbed? J.
Stanley Earhart 20-8
Caravans to Smaller Churches 13-18
Conference lo Celebrate Lardin Gabas Au-
tonomy 12-4
Dallas Assembly: The Thrust Is Openness,
Flexibility 20-2
An Ecumenical Witness Calls for Look at
Indochina War 2-4
Brethren. Mennonites Confer on Social and
Action Programs 2-5
Catholics in NCC? Study Committee Favors
Membership 8-2
Church Agencies Gear Up for Relief to
Bangladesh 7-6
Creative Worship Brings Religion to the
Marketplace 7-7
Delegates From Three Overseas Churches
to Greet Brethren 12-4
Digest Article Says Churches Cannot Be
Both Safe and True 11-2
Environmental Talks Place Crisis in Two
Perspectives 10-7
Exchange in Poland Finds Catholic Youth
Inquisitive 4-4
Expanded Health Care Program Set by
Elizabethtown College 12-4
Few Reasons for Optimism Seen for North-
ern Ireland 4-6
Has COCU a Future? For Some, the Ur-
gency Falters 12-6
The Health of Lafrya, Joel K. Thompson 19-11
Heifer Project Changes Name, Enjoys Rec-
ord Breaking Year 17-6
Heifer Project Work in India, Dominican
Republic Is Cited 6-2
High Court Ruling on Death Penalty Has
Brethren Favor 18-3
Holy Week "Pilgrimage" Supports Harris-
burg Eight 7-4
Lost Everything But Hope - - 16-2
Mammon Gives God an Assist in West
Virginia Flooding 9-8
Meeting With the NAE: "Burned and
Blessed" 13-9
Moscow's English-Speaking Have Episco-
palian Chaplain 8-5
NCC Meeting in December Could "Phase
Out" Assembly 8-4
A Nationwide Call to Christ 13-19
Peace Breaks Out in the Sudan; Aid Sent 21-6
On Rebuilding Bangladesh: From Church-
es, a Global Response 15-10
On Rebuilding Bangladesh: The Battle to
Sustain Life, Leon Howell 15-10
On Rebuilding Bangladesh: The Plunder of
the Bengalis, Syed Ally 15-8
Peace Unit Changes Name, Broadens
Scope 20-2
Prayers for Peace Urged in September
Emphasis 15-6
Relief Aid to Nigeria Closed After $20
Million in Assistance 5-5
Survival of the Church: Protestants in
Peking 21-4
Test Yourself on Lafiya 19-lnsert
Total Amnesty for Resisters Sought by Re-
ligious Leaders 11-4
Virginia Church Honors Men Taking CO
Positions 8-3
Volunteer in Northern Ireland to Work
With Teen-age Groups 10-6
West Indian Churchman to Head World
Council 18-4
Wrestling With Disturbing Words, Harold
Z. Bomberger 16-7
PEOPLE
Alan Jennings Acquitted in Trial on Con-
scription Stance 2-4
Barnard Taylor: Illustrating Brethren His-
tory 15-2
Billy Lewis: Navajo Pastor, Edith Mae
Merkey 1-2
Brethren Pastor Spending Year in West
Virginia Flood Area (Glen Sage) .... 15-6
Brumbaugh Accepts Editorial Post With
Rival Publisher 16-6
Celia Burnham: Radiant at 100, Matthew
Meyer 19-2
Cindy Forbes: Seventeen 7-2
Dean Wolfe, Lowell Frantz: One Way .. 17-3
Dean Young: School Board Member .... 9-2
£, M. Hersch, Formerly on National Staff,
Dies at 77 6-3
Edgar Slater: From Wigwams to High Rise 4-3
Enos Heisey: His Public Is Global 17-2
Ernest Walker: Teacher 10-2
Ernest M. Wampler: "Wang Mushih" 9-3
Frank S. Carper: "The Work Was Never
Finished," Ronald E. Keener 18-12
Gana Dibal: Determined to Learn 5-2
Garland Miller: Maker of Hand Plows,
Patricia M, Churchman 15-3
Grit. In Extraordinary Measure (Grace
Clapper), Hazel Rothrock 14-31
The Harry Brandts: Ufelong Communicators 1-3
Hazel Peters: Personnel OfFicer 21-2
Ina Ruth Addington: Begin With the
Church 19-3
Involvement? Yes! (Unda Keim), Susan
Krehbiel Taylor 2-18
It's Good-bye to "George M/' and a Hello
to "Dolly" Levi 11-4
Dr. J. Jack Melhorn Resigns from McPher-
son Presidency 4-5
Jeannine Pelry: An Axiom to Live 9-2
Jimmy Robinson: Working It Out in Love 13-6
Joseph Whitacre: His Pace Unhalted, Olive
Peters 21-2
Joyce Conner: Helping Unsell the War .. 12-3
Karl Yount: "Heart" Education 12-2
Keener Accepts College Public Relations
Post 19-7
Korean Government Expresses Appreciation
to Brethren Man 4-6
L W, Shultz: One Man's Pursuits 7-3
Larry Mtnnick: Skipper at the Helm,
Patricia L Rodgers 14-2
LeRoy Kennel: Bridging Faith and Art .... 14-3
M. R. Zigler at Eighty, Hazel Peters 5-14
Mark and Naomi Wampler: Pastors 10-2
Mary Ann Saylor; Nursing in India 4-2
Mary Cline Detrick: "God Keeps Calling
Women" 17-2
Mary Meyer: Art as Therapy 5-3
May Allread Baker: Ohio Poet and Painter 15-2
McPherson's Tenth President Known as
"Student's Friend" (Galen Snell) 15-5
A Modern Ministry in a "Ghost Town"
(Robert F. Williams), Marilyn Norquist 14-6
More Than Pastor: Neighbor (David Ritten-
house), Terry Pettit 10-10
Mother Southard: "Simple, Full of Love" 14-2
Mullen Joins Brethren Home Staff in Ohio 18-5
Nathan Miller: legislator 1-2
Navajo Student Placement as Viewed From
Navajoland, Edith Mae Merkey 9-18
Navajo Student Placement as Viewed From
the Pennsylvania Dutchland, Vivian S.
Ziegler 9-14
New Tri-District Executive Will Take 'Lis-
tening' Stance 1 5-7
Olin J. Mason: Clergyman Without a Collar 7-2
The Paradoxes of the Moderator, a Profile
of Dale Brown, William H. Kuenning . , 1-10
Pat Helman: Defining a "Spiritual Identity" 13-6
Paul Bechtold: A Seeking Expedition 21-3
A Personal Thing Between the Patient and
Me (Clyde Shallenberger) 19-8
Ralph G. McFadden Accepts Youth Con-
sultant Post 2-2
Recounting One Good life (Fannie Bucher
Stambaugh), Mabel Bowman 8-24
Reflections on the Death of a Friend, Es-
tella Horning 3-23
Rosaliia Leonard: A New Image Maker . . 4-2
Stanley Bucher: Volunteer 10-3
Steve Engle: Reinterpreting Judas, Lenore
Wallace 13-6
Steven Lange: Convention Goer 19-2
Syed Ally: Bangladesh Advocate 5-2
Thanks for a "One in a Million" Brother/
Sister (George and Romelle Million) . . 20-5
William L. Widdowson: Reflecting Opti-
mism, Mary Ann M. Kulp 12-2
Zeigler Joins Tri-Cities in Expanding Youth
Ministry 1 7-7
POCTRY
Cirrus Anatomic, David S. Strickier 18-18
If I Could Hold, Lonnie S. Howell 18-18
Let Them Know God Lives 17-1 1
Of Love, Michael Hemmis 6-21
Oral Tradition: The Literature of the Mind,
Loyal Jones 10-1 6
1972, Mary Sue Rosenberger 2(M
Wilkes-Barre, Forty Fort, and Kingston,
Wings Above a Day, David S. Strickier . . . 6-21
Yesterday I Was a PrisorJer, Jeanne Don-
ovan 18-18
You Took My Hand, Lena Willcughby ... 6-21
RESOURCES
Designs for Evangelism 13-21
For Study and Action on Mission 19-20
Helping People Plan, Ralph G. McFadden 21-32
On Appalachia 10-14
Preparing for Christmas 17-30
Tooling Up for Today's Generation 15-22
TAKE IT FROM HERE!
For Eyes That Are Dim, Glee Yoder 19-18
Needed: A New Kind of Person . . . Cel-
ebrate the Earth , . . Use Nature's Gifts
. . Beads Are In ... , Glee Yoder 8-20
Now . , . Let Your Imagination Fty!, Glee
Yoder 4-20
Millions of Faces — and No Two Alike!
Glee Yoder 17-26
Weaving: Soda Straws?, Wire? Chicken
Wire?, A Cardboard loom?. Glee Yoder 13-26
THANKSGIVING
A Thanksgiving Sampler, Richard N. Miller 20-16
WORSHIP RESOURCES
An Inside Look at a Man Afraid, Paul
Monroe 20-10
Biblical Basis of a Peace Witness 3-18
The Birds Still Sing. Leonard Carlisle 11-7
"But Why Did You Do It?/' Doris E. Cald-
well 6-17
Finding the lost We Have Lost, G. Curtis
Jones 4-14
The Fish on the Lead's Table, Vernard Eller 17-22
From the Ashes: Petals Again, Glenn (L
Bucher 6-18
Listen to the Sunrise, Kenneth I. Morse 7-11
Living It Out, David Bagwell 11-6
Love as I Have Loved You 2-12
Prayers to Pray in Person, Robert H. Miller 12-10
Statement on Evangelism 13-1
The Timeless Book of Intimate Negotiations,
G. Curtis Jones 14-4
Where the Spirit of the lord t«. Carroll
Petry 13-12
34 MtSSENGfcR Dcccmbci 1972
Messenger is one individual talking to another.
Reporting events, exploring ideas, and
discussing values are only part of
Messenger's focus.
Most of all, the magazine of the
Church of the Brethren is a visit with
brothers and sisters of the faith.
Each Messenger brings you friends
from all over, to share the gospel,
interpret the Bible, and tell how they and
others have acted out their faith.
So when you give Messenger, you are
giving more than a magazine.
Because with Messenger you'll be in
touch with events, ideas, values — and
people — that matter. Month after month.
Give
Messenger.
Talk to someone.
Send a year of MESSENGER for $3 as my gift to:
rn
AnnPFSs
riTY
7IP
SEND GIFT
CARD
SIGNED:
D New
□ Renewal
TO
AnnRFSs
riTY
7IP
SEND GIFT
CARD
SIGNED:
n New
1 1 Renewal
in
APPRFSS
riTY
7IP
SEND GIFT
CARD
SIGNED:
D New
1 1 Renewal
MY NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE
ZIP
CONGREGATION
DISTRICT .
Total number of subscriptions in my order:
O I enclose $ CD Please bill me
Mail to Subscription Services
1451 Dundee Avenue
Elgin, Illinois 60120
December 1972 MESSENGER 35
On Living in the Vernacular
"If you can't turn your faith into the vernacular,
then either you don't understand it or you don't
believe it."
Hard words, these, by C. S. Lewis. But words
he felt and lived as he devoted his scholarship
and imagination to translating into simpler terms
the complexities of Christian belief. And words
of challenge to every Christian who strives to live
and communicate the faith.
One of the paramount tasks of Messenger
is to help translate the gospel in ways that give
insight into what it means to be human today.
In the realm of ideas and relationships Shantilal
Bhagat, Harold Martin, and Bill Herod, each in
his own way, explore such a concern in this issue.
So do others in each and every issue of Messen-
ger.
The gospel, while centered heavily on the
people of a particular time and place, is a story
that never ends. The Word is unfolded not only
in the recounting of the ministry and teachings
of those who lived a couple of milennia ago, but
in pointing to the signs of God's activity through
lives today. Activity, that is, not only of church-
men talking to churchmen but of churchmen ad-
dressing themselves to the injustices of society.
If there is one impression that stands in bold
relief to a relatively new editor of Messenger,
it is that Brethren — individually and as groups
— have myriad stories to tell offering insights into
what practicing the faith means. Something we
do not lack in the fellowship are persons who
quietly and courageously portray in their own
way and in their distinct situations fresh and in-
spiring studies in discipleship. Their verbal and
nonverbal expressions of love, their drive for
newness of life, their reaching out to the alienated
and the hurt and the searching are indeed indica-
tions that the spirit of Jesus Christ is alive and
well and at work among the Brethren.
In upcoming issues Messenger will seek to
inform readers of many such persons, garnered
from near and far and from wide fields of engage-
ment. A youth in prison for his convictions, a
family expanding its number by adopting children
from abroad, another family and community re-
counting its experience with the retarded, a father
and husband's triumph over tragedy, an update
on 50 years of ministry in Nigeria, individuals
who in their life's work have found unique ways
of bringing the past alive in the present . . . these
are among the accounts in store. You may have
others to suggest — of persons or groups not
merely coping but creatively responding to the
gift of God's love.
What Messenger needs most, a friend sug-
gested recently, are more aids to a simple and
clear understanding of the Bible. We concur,
and we are looking for persons who can write in
such manner. But we want also to keep foremost
the stories — parables if you will — which stand
as models to the unfolding of the gospel in the
commitments and life-styles and actions of per-
sons today.
k3ome months ago we wrote that the Incarna-
tion takes on fresh meaning as the body of Christ
becomes involved in the events of the day. As
we offer our love for the sake of others. As we
let our senses, our imagination, our intellect, our
physical and material gifts be infused by the
Word. As we seek to fill the emptiness of soul.
What better way this advent season to cele-
brate the Incarnation than to express in word and
deed, simply and daily, the message of Christ with
us. That is. to seek out those concrete instances
in human history about us in which the Gospel
can be made incarnate, visible, real,
"If you can't turn your faith into the vernacu-
lar, then either you don't understand it or you
don't believe it." — h.e.r.
36 MESSENGER December 1972
SANTA
meets
CHILDREN
The Aminal
Young Patrick finds an aminal friend.
As the news travels, the aminal
^ows fiercer, uglier, and hungrrier —
and the art gets funnier!
Ages 4-7. Written and illustrated
by Loma Balian. $3.95
Rupert Piper and Megan,
the Valuable Girl
Megan Donahu€ has the special gift
of knowing what people are thinking.
So, the Rupert Piper gang makes her
their mascot — with hilarious re-
sults. Ages 8-12. Ethelyn M. Parkin-
son. Illus. by Gloria Kamen. $3.95
The Christmas Carol Miracle
Derrick, Texas, seems an unlikely
candidate for a miracle, but God
doesn't seem to be choosey where
miracles are concerned. Good reading
for all ages. Luise Putcamp jr.
$2.95
Follow the Butterfly Stream
From thin threads of water on a
mountaintop to rushing creeks and
valley streams, multi-colored butter-
flies are captured in photos from
the Smoky Mountains. Lorenz Boyd.
$3.50
Young Readers Bible
Enjoy biblical exploration with
each book of the Bible outlined
in easy-to-read type. Over 600 illus-
trations, reference maps, and much
more. Ages 9-up. $7.95
Young Readers
Book of Bible Stories
As real as today's headlines, 137
stories carefully selected and
vividly portrayed. Based on the RSV
Bible. Helen Doss. Illus. by Tom
Armstrong. $7.95
ADULTS
Wild Rivers
and Mountain Trails
Untamed Idaho wilderness supplies
the backdrop for strikingly simple
and effective inspirational material.
Give it to your hunter, fisherman,
or backpacker. Illustrated by
Roy Wallace. Don Ian Smith. $3
CLAUS
The AMINAL
The Trees of Christmas
Twenty-three trees from different
cultures. Includes histories and
instructions for making the unique
decorations. Exquisite full-color
photography. Boxed. $7.95
Search Every Corner
Share the poignant, everyday mem-
ories of a minister's wife and
discover Christ in everyday life.
Especially relevant to parents of
teen-agers. June Parker Goldman.
$2.95
Great Trails of the West
Beginning at the Santa Fe Trail,
travel over legendary western trails,
see ruins of boomtowns, and
weathered landmarks. Richard
Dunlop leads the way. $7.95
The Interpreter's
Dictionary of the Bible
Defining every person named in the
Bible or Apocrypha; every town,
regrion, plant, animal, and mineral;
plus biblical doctrine and theo-
logical concepts. Four volume set,
$45
The Interpreter's One-Volume
Commentary on the Bible
Including the Apocrypha,
with General Articles
Completely new and up-to-date.
New interpretations for a broad
readership with Protestant, Roman
Catholic, and Jewish contributors.
Ed. Charles M. Laymon. Reg. ed.,
$17.50; thumb-indexed, $19.50
Textile Art in the Church
Winner of a Graphics Arts Award
from the Printing Industries of
America. A handsome presentation
of vestments, altar hangings, and
other magnificent works in full color.
Marion P. Ireland. $27.50
Selections from
E. Stanley Jones
The best from one of the most
distinguished missionaries of our
time. Compiled by Eunice Jones
Mathews and James K. Mathews.
$4.95
Qt" ipur locol bookjtcxe
Qbingdon
■-!*»
i^
,^^|
^
^.^^'
Flat Creek
an outpost of faith
December. The Season of Advent. The month
of Achievement.
Flat Cree}{. A ministry of Christ through
the Church of the Brethren. An example of
what we do together. In places like German-
town, Lybrook, Quito, Djakarta, Bulsar, Casta-
ner, Shafla. All of them ministries that relate
the Gospel to persons.
Outposts of faith. We can keep them strong.
The motivation is our commitment to Christ.
The vehicle is the Brotherhood Fund. The
time is now. The call is to give!
Your Christmas/Achievement contribution
will make a difference. Won't you send
it today.?
c
MY GIFT FOR
CHRISTMAS/ ACHIEVEMENT
Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee
Ave., Elgin, 111. 60120
Name ,
St./RFD
City
State Zip
Congregation District
,v
I
\i\i=j/,7 N. MANCHESTER,
I Sj^y INDIANA 46962