A Church At Work 7/9/44
Scripture: I Corinthians 13
I told you last Sunday that I wanted to share with you a few glimpses of what went on for eight days, from June 21st to 28th, at the biennial meeting of the Congregational Christian Churches at Grand Rapids, Michigan. I attended that meeting as a delegate from the churches of this district.
I realize that we are a union congregation of worshippers here this morning, gathered together from two of the denominational families of the church of Jesus Christ; and that there may be visitors here who belong to yet other branches of His church. It is not my purpose to make a purely denominational report, but rather to let all of you see, with me, just a bit of the activity of one church family at work in its nationwide gathering.
We met at the First (Park) Congregational Church of Grand Rapids, the only church of the denomination to entertain the national gathering twice in its history. There were something like 1600 registered delegates and visitors in attendance at this gathering.
It was too large a group, and there was too much going on, to be contained in one church building, however large or hospitable. Neighboring churches threw open their doors to us. Most of the women’s discussion groups, luncheon meetings and forums were held at the nearby First Methodist Church. The Council lectures were given at the Fountain Street Baptist church, where numerous extra services were held. Seminars met in the Central Reformed Church, and at the YMCA and YWCA. We felt the hospitality of the entire Christian community in that part of the city.
Perhaps you would be interested in a word about the organization of the General Council. The Council is made up of the delegates elected by the churches for the next two years, about one-half ministers and one-half laypeople, plus the elected officers of the denomination. For instance, having been chosen one of the delegates this year, I am therefore a member of the General Council from the time its meeting opened, on June 21st, to the opening of the next meeting two years hence.
The presiding officer of the council is called “Moderator.” He serves through the next meeting of the Council. At this meeting, the Moderator was the Rev. Dr. Ferdinard L. Blanchard of Cleveland, who made an excellent presiding officer. The office alternates between minister and layman. The next Moderator is a layman, Ronald Bridges. I must tell you a little bit about him. He is the youngest man ever chosen to head the denomination’s deliberations - 38 years old. His home is in Maine, but for health reasons, he lives in Arizona where he is a full-time teacher at the Arizona State College, a radio news commentator and an active church layman. He suffers from chronic arthritis which stiffens his back and neck and hunches him slightly. His mind is keen and his spirit admirable.
Often laymen assume that no one but a minister can lead in public worship. Though capable speakers in other fields, they shy away from tackling a theme allied to religious expression. It is a mistaken notion. Every congregation can be made richer by occasional active leadership by laymen in religion and worship. A man need not use the kind of phraseology, tone, nor manner he thinks characterizes the ministers of his acquaintance. All he needs to do is to be simple and direct.
Mr. Bridges took the gavel long enough to preside at the Saturday night session of the Council. He opened the meeting with this public prayer. I think you will be interested in the way one layman can do it.
“Almighty God, our Father, we are respectable people gathered here.
“Forgive us.
“We are men of rectitude and good standing in our communities.
“Forgive us.
“Fill us, engulf us, sweep us away with the tides of Thy
Spirit that we may live in righteousness.
“Search us out with all the hounds of heaven when we
hide from Thee in our respectability.
“Send legions of angels to beleaguer us when we make
stand against Thee in the round tower of our good works.
“Forgive us, Lord, when we are stupid and insist on doing
that in Thy name which is not Thy work.
“Forgive us when we invoke Thy name to assert our
vanity and our prejudice.
“Forgive us, Lord, for our impatience with the movement
of Thy hand among events. Teach us to wait Thy time
and to move in the rhythm of Thy purpose.
“Help us to stand rigid - inflexible against all evil, all cruelty, all hatred in the name of justice. But remembering our sins, we humbly ask to know the mystery of mercy that we may yield a little in Thy time and for the sake of Thy son Jesus Christ. These things we speak in His name that we may pray with Him.”
Now I do not know what an expert critic from the field of ethics, or liturgy, or worship would have to say about the expressions used in that prayer. But I can tell you that, in two short minutes, a layman thus led a thousand lay folk and ministers directly into the majestic presence of God!
In such a meeting there were, of course, hours and hours of church business, of the presentation of reports by the many boards and commissions of the denomination (usually printed in advance so that they could be studied), of the discussion and adoption or modification of these interesting and enlightening reports. I can’t begin to give you the substance of them - it would be foolish to try in so brief a time as the time allotted for one sermon.
But delegates to a meeting like that are impressed with the strength and outreach of a great Christian body. The Methodist Church has always been a great missionary-minded church, intent not alone on hearing and enjoying the gospel, but on sharing it and spreading the glad news. And so I take it for granted that you good Methodist folk may be interested in a world or two about the outreach of your Congregational neighbors.
We had direct, personal word from workers in three areas - India, China, Micronesia - and printed reports from seven other fields: Africa, the Near East, Japan (where one missionary remains having twice refused repatriation), The Philippines, Mexico, Spain, and the fellowship in Europe.
One of the most interesting accounts was given by Miss Eleanor T. Wilson of the Caroline Islands. Out among the Carolines and the Marshall Islands went missionaries of our American Board 92 years ago. Later on a few native Hawaiian pastors joined them. To facilitate the work the children of Congregational churches gave pennies by the hundreds of thousands to purchase five successive sailing ships which, sailing under the name “Morning Star” took mission workers and supplies from island to island dotting this western Pacific region.
Recently we have heard in news headlines such names as Jaluit, Eniwetok, Kusae. The work of the Christian churches has been going on there for several generations! For instance, there is a self supporting Christian church on Kusae. Education of children to the 5th grade is carried on by native teachers. Those who show promise of leadership among their people are sent in peace times to advanced schools and seminary in Dumagnete in the Philippines.
As Japanese militarism made conquest of these islands, some of the people were martyred. One native was ordered to give up a hymnal which he had in his possession. He made a Christian issue of it and refused to surrender the book, whereupon he was shot by a Japanese soldier. When American forces took over one of these islands recently, a native woman came out of hiding holding up her Bible, printed in her language and brought from New England. Holding up the Bible she explained, “This is our book; we are Christians from Boston.”
After Americans had driven the Japanese from another invaded island, natives gathered around to watch the simple ceremony of raising the American flag. After it was up, a native spoke up with this inquiry: “Now may we pray?”
I had a letter a few days ago from a soldier of this parish, farther south, some place down in New Guinea. He wrote, “Religion has reached the parts where I am - missionaries found their way in these God-forsaken jungles many years ago and it was their good work that made it so easy for us to win the natives’ confidence.”
Hundreds of young men like him are going to come home with a new slant on Christian missions. They may not know the whole story of missionary history in lands where they now struggle. They may not even realize that missionaries are not queer people who found their way to peculiar out-of-the-way places, but the most capable, and intelligent, and highly trained people that Christian denominations could find, sent by the churches in definite Christian strategy and supported by those churches at home. But these soldiers and marines and sailors do know that many of them owe their own lives to Christian foundations laid among people who, until now, were just distant strangers.
Our American Board proposes to recruit 150 to 160 new missionaries during this decade just to maintain the work now going on! During the past two years 33 have been appointed, engaged for short term work, or “accepted.” Only six have been sent to their fields as yet, because transportation permission and priorities have limited any more from going. Meanwhile we witnessed, at Grand Rapids, the commissioning as a missionary to Turkey, of Miss Saisie A. Hibbard, R.N. She is talented; she is very attractive; she is highly trained. A descendant of William Brewster, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and of the Yale University School of nursing, she has been a Sunday School teacher, a camp counselor, settlement worker, a member of the Board of Directors of the Student Volunteer movement. She will go to Turkey as a Christian nurse. She is typical of the kind of men and women every great Church denomination tries to send out in its missionary promotion of the Christian gospel.
Well, we heard from the Home mission boards, too; of work in certain church-supported colleges, and centers of need, of attention to children and young people’s work in wartime, of the ministry to students, of church extension, of ministerial relief and retired lay worker’s support, of publication work and laymen’s fellowship activities; of the work for War Victims and Services.
I must say a word about chaplains in the armed forces. There are now about 10,500 chaplains in the army, marines and navy. About 25% are Catholic chaplains; 2% are Jewish, and the remaining 73% from the various Protestant groups. They suffer casualties along with the men among whom they work. To date 66 have been killed, and more wounded. 30 are missing, and 38 are known to be prisoners of war.
486 Congregational ministers have entered this service. 10% of our pastors and 6 and 1/2% of our ordained ministers are in chaplains’ uniforms. 28 of these men were detailed, by military order, to duty in attending the General Council. I can tell you that their quality, and the accounting of their ministry to our men in service is impressive. Their group was headed by Col. Chaplain Earl D. Weed with a very distinguished record of service for 27 years as a chaplain.
These men conduct services, countless interviews and organized religious expression for our men. They distribute testaments and thousands of pieces of literature to those who will use them. They are constantly available. One of them made this interesting comment in a group meeting. “You folks in the home churches are doing a fine job in supplying us with the things we need in ministering to your men. And we are more than glad to supply them with, for instance, all kinds of literature that will help them now and in the future as they return to civilian life. But send some of it along to the men yourselves! You’ve no idea how much it means. I have repeatedly had men come into my office with some pamphlet received in a letter from their home church - just to say to me, ‘Chaplain, see what the folks at home sent me!’”
The Council lecturer this year was Prof. Reinhold Niebuhr of New York, who gave a series of 3 addresses on the general theme, “The Christian Faith and the World Crisis.” The lectures were as brilliant (and as hard to follow in some particulars) as is usually the case with Niebuhr. But one needs to see Niebuhr in order to hear him adequately. I noticed a very considerable knot of people gathered around wherever he went, firing all sorts of questions from abstract philosophy to an analysis of our political scene.
Incidentally Niebuhr is a minister of the Churches of the Evangelical and Reformed faith with which the Congregational Christian Churches are now exploring the possibilities of union. No final decision on the proposed merger is to be taken for two years, during which time local churches of the two denominations are encouraged to learn more of each other. It seems a case of counsel that these two parties be not unduly hasty about marriage until each has taken ample time to get well acquainted with the other. Meanwhile, let the courtship continue!
On Sunday evening, Congressman Walter Judd spoke. He had to speak twice, because it took two of the largest churches in that part of town to hold the audiences that wanted to hear him. Walter Judd was for some years a medical missionary of the American Board in China. After removing from Chinese bodies a great many pieces of American metal from Japanese-launched bombs, he resigned from the mission in order to stump America with an appeal to stop supplying Japan with materials for aggression. To support himself he opened private practice of medicine in Minneapolis. While speaking, with rapid fire heat, on what citizens ought to require their government to do, certain men of influence asked him to be a candidate for a vacancy in Congress. He demurred, saying “I’m no politician, I’m a physician.” “See here, young man,” said one of his would-be backers, “You have no right to tell the rest of us what to do about this unless you will do everything in your power to get at it yourself. Now you run for office. We’ll supply the money and the organization for a campaign. You discuss the issues!” And so Judd went to Congress.
“Now,” he says, “I have a motto for you. Don’t write to Congress; run for Congress.” Many people felt that he gave the outstanding speech at the Council. He talks mighty directly without pulling any of his punches. He said that we Christians are too timid about our religion. “Buddhists, Mohammedans and Shintoists are proud of theirs. Why do we Christians fail to realize that Christianity has dynamite? Christianity alone places the primary value on humanity. This gives us some of the answers to our problems at once, for while governments and institutions are not self-critical, man is and therefore can be changed. This is the great hope for the future.”
On Sunday morning, following eight o’clock communion services, the 9:30 service of worship was so crowded that people could not even get into the overflow at Park Church, and had to be turned away or wait until 11:00 for the second service. The minister of music had 5 choirs from that church massed for the service - 160 voices from those of mature people down to the little tots of the probationer’s choir. Dr. James W. Fifield of Los Angeles preached the same sermon at both services which were identical except for some parts of the music.
Still a third Council congregation met in the Fountain Street Baptist Church nearby where Hugh Vernon White of New York was the preacher.
In-so-far as the Congregational Christian Churches have any executive head, that person is the Minister and Secretary of the General Council. For six years, Dr. Douglas Horton has been this ranking official of our order. I consider him a rare statesman among the Christian Churches of the world - certainly among our churches. He said many things of importance to the Council.
“The first objective in the total fellowship of our churches is the evangelization of the world,” said Horton. By that he meant a vigorous application of Christianity at home in our own land as well as the outreach of Christian faith and practice among other peoples.
“Undoubtedly the first figure which will catch our eye is that of the young man returning from the wars. He is not waiting until the end of the fighting; he and his comrades are already coming back at the rate of many thousands a month. Millions [more] are all hoping one day to be returning servicemen. The very best way for the church to prepare to receive these men is to maintain contact with them today.
“If the church can offer them participation in a fellowship ... disciplined to the kingdom of heaven, to cooperative enterprise, beneficent invention, the ministry of all the arts, as well as the pleasures of decent recreation -- if the church can offer them a part in a purpose which calls for all their talents, all their virtues and all their vigor, they will find in it a continuation of what was satisfying in [military] life, a repudiation of the life that is soft and insipid. Let them find that in the church and there will be no need for misgiving.”
I could tell you, further, of other personalities, addresses, reports and actions at this council meeting, of its statement on the churches and the post-war world, but the time has slipped by and gone.
One comes back from such a gathering inspired by the achievements and possibilities of a Christian fellowship and desiring to do his own part to help his own church work more effectively.
Multiply one such denominational effort by any number essential to include those of all other faiths and you feel both proud and humble to bear the name “Christian” in a world that needs that name.
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Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, July 9, 1944