All posts by Keith Call

Michener on Buechner

September 16, 2014Books, Collection-related PublicationsKeith Call

James A. Michener authored more than 40 books, mostly massive historical sagas set in a particular geographic location, such as Hawaii, Poland and Texas. He published his first novel, Tales of the South Pacific, at 40 and continued writing until his death at 90 in 1997. His literary career is noted for constant worldwide traveling and meticulous research, often incorporating history into his fictional narratives. In his memoir, The World is My Home (1992), he reflects on certain novelists he admires and supports, including, somewhat surprisingly, Frederick Buechner.

In the lecture on the literary scene I reviewed the work of some half dozen writers but with special emphasis on two who had captured my imagination and for whom I had great hopes. I sold a lot of books for these two young men. The first had attended Princeton University and was either contemplating or beginning a career in the Presbyterian ministry in which he would later excel. Frederick Buechner had a style of great elegance, so highly polished that he reminded me of Wharton at her best. He liked long sentences dealing with, for example, the sensibilities of urbane parents who sent their sons to places like Princeton, and I used to read aloud with great effect several passages from his novel A Long Day’s Dying, in which single sentences ran on for half a page. At the end of each segment I would tell my audience: “I could not in a hundred years write like Mr. Buechner, nor would I want to, but I esteem him as one of the best young writers today and feel sure he will maintain that reputation in the decades ahead.”

Michener adds a footnote, “He has. From his industrious pen has continued to flow a unique mix of intelligent novels and masterfully argued religious essays. His reputation is solid.”

The papers of Frederick Buechner (SC-05) are archives at Wheaton College (IL) Special Collections.

Full Circle

September 9, 2014Alumni, Books, Collection-related Publications, Special CollectionsKeith Call

The 1960s were years of dizzying upheaval for the United States. Its citizens wearied of the complex, seemingly endless war in Viet Nam. University students experimented with radical philosophies and mind-altering drugs. Racial tensions tightened in the inner city, often exploding. Popular music, particularly rock and roll, assumed an edgier attitude, reflecting the spirit of protest. As culture-shattering challenges shook the American psyche, the church did not remain unscathed. Amid the turmoil, David Mains, formerly assistant pastor at Moody Church in Chicago, with his wife, Karen, determined that the moment was right to implement a “creative” congregation on the edge of the ghetto, using all the gifts of its membership while aggressively reaching the socially disenfranchised and those disillusioned by local churches. Under Mains’ leadership, Circle Church began in 1967 with 28 people. Four years later Circle Church’s membership climbed to 500 congregants, comprising students, high-rise apartment dwellers and ghetto inhabitants. Mains tells the story in Full Circle (1971). As the years progressed, however, Circle Church began to slowly unravel. Mains picks up the story in a 2004 Christianity Today essay called “Presumption at Circle Church.” He writes, “Today I am embarrassed about some of the attitudes expressed in Full Circle. I still have the same principles, but my comments seem cocky and presumptuous. I saw Circle Church as the tip of a new wave that would sweep across evangelical churches. That didn’t happen. Circle Church still exists, but in a smaller form and with more specialized emphasis.” Mains cites several reasons for the failure of Circle Church, expounding on each point. 1) I often allowed myself to fixate on issues. 2) I was naive about social problems. 3) In encouraging others’ gifts, I minimized my leadership role. 4) I held onto the church too tightly.

“The best thing that happened to me in leaving Circle Church was the breaking of my pride,” Mains writes. “During the breaking time, I felt rejected by the church that I had poured my life and soul into for ten years. For a brief time I questioned my faith in God. I wondered if I could trust him again.” He concludes,”More than a year passed after I left Circle Church before I began to feel like a man again. I have since sensed a new filling of the Holy Spirit, which was the result of a complete surrender to God. The process taught me to put confidence not in myself but in the Lord. As never before I identify with Paul’s words, ‘His strength is made perfect in my weakness.'”

Though Mains expresses a measure of remorse, his experiment in the Chicago ghetto, using liturgy, art and lively worship, waved a banner of salvation and hope for many, while providing a template for later generations of churches employing similar principles.

In 1977 Mains assumed the position of director for the Chapel of the Air, with Karen acting as co-host of the syndicated radio broadcast. Both have authored several books. Their papers (SC-118) are housed at Wheaton College Special Collections at Wheaton College (IL).

Letters to Jody

June 4, 2014AlumniKeith Call

Letters to Jody, published in 1971 by Thomas D. Parks, is a collection of fictional letters from Dr. Blake, an industrial chemist, to Jody, his Bible class student who has just entered a state university. As she adjusts to academic and social expectations, Jody shares various issues with her wise friend. An article from the January 28, 1972 Record explains the book.

If it is true that many parents send their children to a Christian school because it is a “‘safe’ place for my little Frerkowitz,” then there is greater truth in the statement that going to a Madison, University Park or Berkeley will be a crucial period in the life of a Christian youth. A unique insight into a parent’s mind on this subject may be viewed in a recent book entitled Letters to Jody. The author is Dr. Thomas Parks, father of Jody Parks, a Wheaton junior and literature major. However, the Jody of Wheaton is not the Jody of the State U. in the fictitious correspondence. Supposedly the letters are received from Jody’s Bible class teacher. Her name is employed merely as a personifiation of “the Christian University co-ed.” Dr. Parks combined his experience as the father of a Christian college student with his ideas of the current university picture to elucidate his understanding and convey this to his audience.

Letters addresses itself to anyone who would be involved in answering the problems and questions in the mind of the Christian at college or in any other student-related experience. Also, it serves as a representation to a non-Christian or a new believer of some positions held by most middle-class Christian parents. In an interview, Miss Parks said, “Some of the issues in the book were touch to me.” This especially pertained to the letters the book’s cover reviewer termed “race relations,” since Jody serve with SMP in Spring City, Tennessee, a Bible camp for black children this past summer.

Jody aided her father in analyzing content and style in Letters. There were some personal references which she did not want to see printed. Stylistically she said, “The book was too much like a textbook. I helped him cut down some of the letters in length and add more also.” There aren’t any letters by Jody in the book. She did help edit it, however.

Long out of print, Letters to Jody still offers valuable insight into the cultural shifts emerging during the early 1970s, in addition to reflecting the conservative positions held by Dr. Parks, who graduated from Wheaton College in 1942.

The Invisible PM

May 13, 2014Wheaton College ArchivesKeith Call

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, was voted the third greatest British Prime Minister of the 20th Century in a recent UK poll. As a Member of Parliament, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War and tireless social reformer, Lloyd George expertly navigated the political field, winning the hearts of his countrymen.

Visiting the United States in 1923, the “Commoner,” fulfilling a promise, rode the train with other passengers enroute from Chicago to Mooseheart, Illinois, passing through Wheaton, intending to present a speech in the open-air ampitheatre at the famous orphanage. Excited to hear the great statesman, many students from Wheaton College joined the throng at Mooseheart, expecting at least a glimpse of this renowned international guest. Sadly, their hopes were dashed when Llloyd George’s personal physician forbad him from publicly speaking due to health concerns. Instead, he delivered his address on radio in a building which accommodated only a fraction of those who had gathered for the occasion. The former PM returned to Chicago, where he later delivered another address.

Perry and Tor

April 18, 2014College-related Publications, Wheaton College ArchivesKeith Call

Judge Sam Perry of Glen Ellyn, intending to merely deepen the pond on his property, received much more than he expected when, on October 16, 1963, diggers unearthed a prehistoric femur. Professors from Wheaton College were summoned to investigate. Judging the find to be geologically significant, the decision was made to drain the lake and excavate. After several days additional bones surfaced, revealing 60% of a mastodon. Apparently, the unfortunate creature had broken its leg and died at the site of what had been an ancient lake. Eventually the bones and tusks, meticulously recorded, washed, dried, photographed and coated with dilute shellac, were reconstructed. The skeleton, held together by a steel frame, was proudly displayed in Breyer Hall on the campus of Wheaton College for nearly 40 years, until it was ceremoniously moved to the new science building in 2009.

The eight-day dig was accompanied by extensive media coverage and keen interest from the community. The students determined that it needed “a meaningful pet name,” so the skeleton was called “Bonaparte” (bone-apart). But soon the name was forgotten and the display was simply called Perry.

After centuries alone, Perry finally received a companion when Professor Mazzarella’s Short Story Class published, “The Quest of Tor,” explaining the origins of Wheaton College’s new mascot, a young mastodon who leaves his herd and stomps across the United States, searching for “the land of Wheaton,” where a monument has been erected honoring his legendary ancestor. Endearing himself to the campus, Tor is invited by Dr. Ryken to remain. These days at Wheaton College athletic events, Tor is often seen proudly displaying the Thunder banner amid applauding fans. The booklet, illustrated by Jack Kinyon, can be purchased in the Wheaton College bookstore.

ReCollections

Re-telling stories from Buswell Library Special Collections

All posts by Keith Call

Letters to Jody

The Invisible PM