MY FINAL WORKING YEARS- 1969 - 1982
Jesus' disciples went back to their old occupation of fishing when they didn't know what else to do. Similarly, after resigning at Minnehaha Covenant Church, I decided that I should go back to some sort of work with which I was familiar.
My last day at Minnehaha was to be August 10th. After announcing my resignation to the church board on June 16th, 1969, I immediately began to look for a job. I learned that the position of Personnel Director at Deaconness Hospital was open, and applied there. I got as far as an interview, but someone else got the job. I also explored possibilities in the state service, and took two examinations for which I qualified. I received good grades in both exams, and enjoyed the whole process--both the written and oral examinations. The oral questioning was especially interesting.
Meanwhile, I helped with the annual Bible camp, held that year at Silver Lake Campground. The camp wasn't as effective as I had hoped, but not a failure, either. I preached at Minnehaha every Sunday as best I could. I was very depressed, and felt that I had been a failure as a pastor. I prayed for some definite leading from the Lord, but couldn't see anything to do but take a job. This change was by far the most difficult thing that had ever happened to me.
The 10th of August came and went. The church gave us a final reception and a generous cash offering that helped a lot. We needed to move out of the parsonage by the end of the month. We found a suitable duplex apartment on the north side of town, and moved our household goods there on August 30th.
A friend of Jane at Whitworth College offered us the use of her family cabin on Marshall Lake, about sixty miles from Spokane. That was a real break, and we decided to take advantage of it. Then, just as we were ready to go to the lake for a rest, I received a call from Olympia. An office there asked me to come for an interview for a position as Budget Officer III.
We went up to the lake cabin, and I drove from there to Olympia for the interview. When I reported to the State Personnel Office, where the interview was to take place, I was asked if I would instead consider a position as Personnel Officer III. This position offered a higher salary, and was with the Department of Social and Health Services! So I quickly investigated that offer, and learned that I would be headquartered in Spokane. I would be doing the same sort of "field personnel" work I had done in the Air Force years ago! I accepted the job without question, and cancelled my appointment for the interview for the Budget Officer job.
Part of the arrangement for the new personnel job was that I begin by spending some six weeks in Olympia, learning the ropes of Washington State personnel work, the personnel rules and regulations, the organization and main people in the Department of Social and Health Services, etc. That was fine with me! I could start on the job right after Labor Day. So back to the lake I went, with all that good news. The starting salary was almost twice what I had received as pastor at Minnehaha. I really think the Lord had this position all ready for me!
After a week at the lake cabin, we moved back to town. We quickly got settled in at our apartment. The location, on Everett street just north of the North Town Shopping Center, was convenient. I could walk to the shopping center for shopping for light items, and groceries.
When the month of September came, I packed a suitcase or two and headed for Olympia. I found my new job very pleasant, with good people to work for and with. I found a place to live in a little travel trailer located in a motel parking lot in the small town of Tumwater, about three miles south of Olympia. The rent was low, and I had complete privacy. They even provided a little radio for me. I prepared my breakfasts, and packed a sack lunch some days, to eat at the office, as several others did. I found lunch time a great opportunity to get better acquainted with others. Often, though, I ate out at a restaurant with staff people. Usually I ate my evening meals at a nearby restaurant in Tumwater.
Learning the personnel rules and procedures for Washington state was not difficult, and soon I was feeling right at home. I can honestly say that I always got along well with the people in the Olympia offices of Social and Health Services. I made good friends, too, with many in the state department of personnel, with whom I had to work closely.
The four or five weeks of training and orientation (not six, as originally planned) went quickly, and I then set up an office in Spokane. This was in early October, 1969. Desk space was found for me in a large room already occupied by three minor agencies--Services for the Blind, Services for the Aged, and Support Enforcement. The other men all shared the services of one secretary. Secretarial help for me came from another office in the same building, in another room.The girls there were busy, but gave me good help.
My boss, Mike Baldwin, came over to Spokane to see me get settled. He took me to a scheduled Regional administrators' meeting, to get acquainted with the administrators of the Social and Health Services offices in the counties east of the Cascades. My territory was a very large one, and I was the first person appointed in the state to serve as a "field personnel officer," to help administrators and employees with all kinds of personnel matters right on the spot. It was very helpful service, if I do say so, and several other state agencies later copied the idea.
I met the Administrators of the two regions I would serve at that joint meeting in Spokane. Those two men, and some local office administrators, were suspicious of Personnel, and of me. It took several months to overcome their reserve. When they became convinced that I was there to help, and could get personnel matters handled efficiently and confidentially, I worked well with nearly all.
I had a personal phone line, as I did much of my work by telephone. In fact, in the first few months of my work, my boss became pretty excited over my phone bills. They were the highest of anyone in the agency, he said. He became convinced that it was necessary and efficient, as the personnel paperwork and problems were handled so much more quickly.
Right away I began extensive travelling, visiting all my offices monthly, and sometimes even more frequently, as necessary. There were five social and health services offices in Spokane alone, and about fifteen other offices located at county seats, in the eastern half of the state. In addition, I served as personnel officer for Adult Probation and Parole, Juvenile Probation and Parole, and the regional Vocational Rehabilitation office, to name a few. Visiting these offices took a large share of my "free" time--that is, when I wasn't on the phone!
I did enjoy the travelling around to the various offices, and enjoyed the travel so much I often wondered why I should get paid for such work. Some evenings I spent in driving on to the next town on my itinerary, thus reducing the loss of office hours while on the road. Often while visiting one office I would receive several phone calls from other offices, asking for advice and help of one kind or another.
I soon found I needed a newer, more economical car, and bought a new Datsun 10 sedan, probably the most satisfactory car I have ever owned. I travelled at high speed most of the time. I put 56,000 miles on that little car in the two years I drove it.
Our children were all in school that fall--David and Mary at Whitworth College, and Martha at Rogers High School. Mary became engaged in November, 1969, and was married early in 1970.
Working as a personnel officer took far less time than pastoring a church. I had much more time in those days for fishing, hunting, and other activities. This was pleasant, though at the same time it disturbed me. I constantly feltI should be more involved in the Lord's work. Early in the year 1970 a new Canoe Club was formed; Jane and I were charter members, and greatly enjoyed the several river trips the club took that year. Then late in the year, one evening when I was staying in a motel in Olympia, I received word that I was a grandfather! Mary had given birth to a baby girl, Christianne Noel.
Early in 1971, at Jane's urging, we began to look at houses for sale. I admit I was very reluctant; I have always hated to go into debt for any reason. In February we found a dandy house in our price range, at 4820 North Allen Place. We made an offer on it on February 27th, and were a bit surprised when the owners accepted our offer. The house was very comfortable, had a double garage, and a fine large yard with several fruit trees already established.
We moved into our new home on May 1st. That seemed to trigger a series of bad events. Early in the morning of May 4th, I had a serious accident with the little Datsun. I was able to drive the Datsun back home, but the Volkswagen I collided with was a bad wreck. Fortunately, no one received serious injury.
Then only a few days later, David accidently started a nasty fire in the basement of our new home! We all woke up with the house full of terrible smoke, and a lurid fire glow coming from the basement. We had wonderfully prompt help from the fire department, though there was much smoke damage throughout the house. The fire destroyed Jane's beautiful big braided rug. She had worked two years or more on that rug. It measured about twelve by fifteen feet! The insurance took care of everything just fine, but the rug could not be replaced.
Late in 1971 I began working at a new hobby--painting. The next fall I began a series of art classes at Whitworth College and Spokane Falls Community College. After driving the little Datsun for two years, and 56,000 miles, I decided early in 1972 that I should have a heavier car for road work. The Datsun was very light, and sometimes would swerve sharply in heavy winds. On March 4, after looking at several different autos, I drove home with a new Dodge Dart sedan, with the "slant six" engine. Jane approved, as she was also indulging in a project--new carpet for our living room. I'm sure our neighbors must have thought we had found a gold mine! (The new car, including the sales tax, cost less that $3000, though that was a lot of money in those days.) On May 10th my sister Jean called to tell us that our Dad had died that morning, in a nursing home in Great Falls! We drove to Great Falls on the 11th. The funeral was held in the Methodist Church in Glasgow on the 13th. Dad's body lies alongside our Mom's in the cemetary there. My brother Robert had flown out for the funeral, and rode back to Great Falls with us.
Now that we had that new, heavier car, my personnel assignment and territory were changed in May. With the addition of another personnel officer located in the Tri-cities, my field was reduced to only eleven counties, requiring considerably less travel.
A big blow to Jane that October of 1972 was the death of her sister, Margaret Hoxworth. Jane flew to Kansas for the funeral. Jane inherited a modest sum of money, a number of good stocks, and silverware and dishes, etc. She and Mary went to California to bring the things back.
In November we began to attend the First Free Methodist Church. They were very evangelical, which I liked. Invited to preach at the evening service there on December 3rd, I had a good response to my sermon on Mary, the mother of Jesus. I preached there again later. Then we changed churches again! This time we joined with the Baptists, at Central Baptist Church, whose former pastor had been a good friend of mine in the Evangelical Ministers' Association. This was in January, 1973. As you see, we were really browsing around. We worshipped there, taught the college age Sunday School class, and I led in the mid-week Bible study meetings for more than a year.
In April that year (1973) we bought a new 18-foot Grumman canoe, specially designed for running rapids and fast water. It was much larger and more stable than our former seventeen footer. The new canoe carried us on many wonderful trips and I used it a lot. for fishing. One notable river trip was with friends, Conn and Myrna Wittwer, a grand float trip down the Flathead River from near Ronan, Montana, to the little town of Paradise, on the Clark Fork River. We camped out three nights along the river.
During the fall I took a drawing class at Whitworth, with a fine teacher, Mrs. Haas. That drawing class greatly increased my little skill, and gave me new enthusiasm for art work. Another new interest was to come in 1973--we took up cross-country skiing! We had many, many good times on ski trips in the next several winters. It was not only good fun, but good exercise.
We were still busy at Central Baptist all this year. I preached once or twice when the pastor was away. I again led the mid-week Bible study all winter, with fair attendance and interest. January of 1975 brought lots of snow, demanding heavy shovelling of the driveway and walk. I even had to get up on the roof in late January, to keep the snow level down to reasonable levels. We enjoyed the snow, though, getting in much cross-country skiing.
In 1975-76 our daughter Martha was working on the wonderful Freedom Train, touring all around the United States. She was administrative assistant to the director, and really enjoyed her work.
During these years we moved from one church to another. 1976 found us visiting other churches. We just couldn't seem to settle down anywhere. I know that I was too critical of them. For me the biggest event of this year was my attending the reunion celebration at Hinsdale High School. Our class of 1936 enjoyed the spotlight--it had been forty years since we were graduated. I drove to Hinsdale alone, taking the little camper and the canoe. I arrived the day before the big events, and did some canoeing on the familiar old Milk River.
Next day I enjoyed visiting with many old friends--the Carter girls, Earl Britsch, and several members of my graduating class. I enjoyed every minute of the reunion. Also, having my own private living room, kitchen, and bedroom (in the camper) was great.
On my way back to Spokane I stopped for a visit with my sister, Jean. Then, despite a big electrical storm coming up in the west, I decided to drive on toward home. That night's driving was something else! At one point I had to stop, pull off the road and park the rig facing the wind, to avoid having the canoe blown right off the camper. When the wind went down a little, I started on. Brilliant, blinding lightning flashed all around me. I thought that at any moment I might attract a bolt, with that aluminum canoe on top of the camper acting as a lightning rod. Nothing happened, however, and I drove on over Roger's pass to camp at the city park in Lincoln.
In our spare time (!) that summer we were busy preparing for the opening of Jane's quilting shop, the Sampler. She had left her job at Whitworth, and with Mary's help, was going into business. The new business was exciting if not very profitable. I helped often with that, selling, putting up new fixtures, and making routine entries in the accounts, under Mary's supervision. When Jane took on selling a line of fine sewing machines (Elnas and Whites) I became a sewing machine mechanic, too. I took special training in Portland and Seattle over the years while the shop was operating, to keep up with the servicing of the new models coming out. Another big change took place at my office. My former secretary, who never was very satisfactory, decided to leave. I then asked Nancy Hijiya, a Japanese lady who worked in the big Spokane DSHS office, to transfer over. I had told her once before that if I ever had a vacancy, I would like to have her work for me. She turned out to be an excellent helper, very hard-working, efficient, and quick to learn the personnel rules and procedures. Before I retired she had become very skilled in personnel matters,and always seemed happy in the job. I still continued my regular visits to the offices assigned to me.
For some reason I made no entries in my office diary for January of 1980, so I can't recall at all what happened then. The record shows that in February we had switched churches, and were now attending Shadle Park Presbyterian. I was soon busy there. I was finding plenty of work to do at the rental place at North Standard. Changes in renters always involved cleaning, repairing, and repainting, especially after students left. Jane was very busy with her quilt shop, too.
Early Sunday morning, May 18th, David's birthday, I went outside for a few minutes. It was a quiet morning. Suddenly I felt something like a distant concussion, almost a "shudder," as if there had been a heavy explosion somewhere far away. I told Jane about it, but thought nothing more of it. We went to church as usual. Early in the afternoon I was down at the rental place working on something. A huge blue-black cloud was coming up in the west, like a big storm. Then Richard Stubbs, renter of one unit, came out and told me that Mt. St. Helens had erupted, and that the ash cloud was coming our way. The explosion I had felt (more than heard) in the early morning was the volcanic eruption!
The late afternoon and evening was one of the strangest times in my life. Instead of rain, we began to have a gentle shower of volcanic ash, fine light gray stuff, which settled everywhere. We all kept inside, as the health authorities were issuing warnings to everyone by radio to avoid breathing the ash, for fear of silicosis. No one really knew what was going on. We received only a quarter to a half inch of ash here in Spokane, while other areas received much larger quantities--up to three inches or even more.
It took us several days to get things going again. We were afraid to run our cars, lest the engines be ruined. After two quiet days, mostly staying indoors, I walked to work Wednesday morning. I spent most of the day cleaning up around the office, sweeping the ash into the street, and so on. All offices were closed. At home I hosed the ash from the roof, and gathered up one wheel barrow load after another of ash, placing it in the compost area. I had to shake the vegetable plants in the garden, to let the dust fall off them.
This summer of 1980 we began a new outdoor activity-- backpacking. Don and Marilyn encouraged us in that. After an initial trial trip over in Idaho, we invested in backpacks, light-weight stove, and other light weight gear. We used borrowed tents. It was great fun and wonderful, though heavy, exercise. There is something "freeing" about loading everything you need on your back, and leaving civilization (that is, the car) behind for a few days. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would still undertake it if it were not for the doctor's warning of potential heart trouble while in some remote spot!
In late August I decided to take early retirement, with most generous help from John and Mary. I was to work until the end of September, 1981. I used my remaining time at the office in sorting and culling files, trying to leave things in good shape for the person who would succeed me in the job. My secretary, Nancy, well trained, would be of great help to my successor. The Regional DSHS Office, and the personnel and training office where I worked, gave me grand farewell parties, and fine gifts. I hated to leave, in a way, but was happy to know that I had done at least a decent job!

FINAL YEARS AS A PASTOR
We arrived in Spokane late on a Monday afternoon, July 20th, 1964. We had been on the road several days, coming across Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, and Idaho. Of course the area around Spokane looked different without the dirty snow I had seen in February. Now it appeared brown and dry, after a hot summer.
We drove to the home of Vic Anderson, where I had stayed when candidating. Vic took us all out to a good dinner at the Stock Yards Cafe, then back to the parsonage. Our household goods had already arrived. Several people from the church came in that evening to help us sort things out. With their help, we got our house fairly well organized by bedtime. The willing help and friendliness of the people encouraged us.
Although I wasn't yet officially installed, I had my first funeral the following Saturday--for a man in a family who were complete strangers to us. The Conference Superintendent and his wife also stayed at our house that Saturday night. He preached my official installation sermon the next morning. The congregation gave us a reception that Sunday evening; a very nice beginning. My salary at this church started at $500 per month, with the parsonage provided, though we paid the bills for heat and city utilities. The church also paid into my retirement account. The Social Security tax was my responsibility. They also provided a small allowance for car usage. We were a little better off financially!
The church building and parsonage were on a good- sized lot, land donated by Vic Anderson. Vic had a small dairy farm located just a few blocks east of the church property. He pastured his herd of Holstein cows in an eighty-acre pasture immediately south of the church. It was a rustic setting, though well within the city limits. To the north of the church rose Beacon Hill, named for the aircraft warning beacon located on it. Also, a public golf course lay only a half mile away, northwest of the church property.
Houses in the area were mostly small dwellings, of wood frame construction, built in the era following World War II. Many were vacant, and many occupied by renters, rather than owners. Cooper School, the local elementary school to which Martha would go, was only ten blocks away. Rogers High School, where Mary would be a Junior, was maybe two miles distant. Rogers was one of six or seven High Schools in the city, and served the poorest area of Spokane. Hillyard, the business area nearest to Rogers High School, and located about a mile and a half north of us, was familiarly called "dog town." The Great Northern Railroad, then negotiating with the Burlington for consolidation, had once had major locomotive building and repair shops in that area. The shops employed hundreds of men when at their busiest. When we arrived, the shops were closed and were being dismantled.
South of the church about a half mile ran the Spokane River, in a deep channel. The greater part of the city lay south and west of the church, though there was a growing unincorporated area stretching east along the valley for twenty miles. The population of Spokane at the time was about the same as that of Rockford--approximately 180,000.
The congregation of Minnehaha Covenant Church included about seventy members, and a very active Sunday School of about two hundred. The church membership grew but little in the next few years. The Sunday School declined slowly. The church had begun as a mission Sunday School held in Cooper School. People from First Covenant Church had started the work. After a few years, the people formally organized a church, and built the sanctuary. The chartered church organization was about eight years old when we arrived.
Here, as at my former churches, I found no adequate church records. I bought a good record book, and worked at bringing the membership and other records up to date. We also went through the usual necessary business of getting auto and drivers' licenses for ourselves. In the first few weeks I made many calls in the homes of church members and Sunday School families. The church had an adequate church office, and a good mimeograph for printing of bulletins. We had fine musicians available to play the organ and piano, and a very good choir director. Our daughter Mary played the piano for choir rehearsals that first winter.
We also found that the church people counted on using the parsonage basement for a Sunday School class each Sunday. There was no garage at the parsonage, instead there was a convenient breezeway to park our car and the church lawn mower. I used that mower to mow the parsonage lawn, too. The meeting schedule included regular Sunday morning worship, a less formal Sunday evening service, and a mid-week Bible study meeting Wednesday evening. During the school year, I led a Saturday morning confirmation class for 7th and 8th graders. We had a large class that first year, though there were fewer in attendance in successive years. I found plenty to keep me busy right from the beginning. I made calls in all the church member homes as quickly as I could, to get acquainted. Also, I made regular calls in the homes of Sunday School families, and at times went door to door, inviting people to attend services. During the years I pastored this church, the whole community called on me to conduct weddings and funerals, regardless of whether the people involved had any previous connection with the church. Soon after arriving in Spokane I joined the Spokane evangelical ministers' fellowship, and took an active part in the annual Sunday School convention. The group elected me president for 1968. More about that later! We also had many joint meetings and other activities with First Covenant Church, Minnehaha's "mother church." On occasion Pastor Otteson and I exchanged pulpits. That was interesting, as First Covenant was a much larger church, and had a fine big sanctuary and a real pipe organ. The congregation there always made me feel right at home. As in Rockford, the old-time Covenant people had probably too much respect for pastors, placing one on too high a pedestal. That always bothered me, as I knew I was certainly no better, and probably a poorer Christian than some of the lay people.
On that first Labor Day weekend in Spokane, Jane and the girls and I, and a friend of Mary's, went camping. We drove to the Indian Creek Campground on beautiful Priest Lake in Idaho, about ninety miles from Spokane. We had a fine camping spot on the beach, and really enjoyed ourselves. While there Jane and I walked one morning far up into the hills, and enjoyed picking the late huckleberries we found there. That was our introduction to huckleberry picking, which we enjoyed doing nearly every year after that. The berries are plentiful in many areas north and east of Spokane.
Our son David was then working at my sister Jean's place in north central Montana. He came to Spokane in late August, intending to go back to Illinois to college. Then we learned, to our dismay, that the University of Illinois had cancelled his earned honors scholarship because we had moved out of the state! We all were very sorry about that. So instead of going to Illinois to school, he took courses at the nearby Spokane Community College. He also found a part-time job at the Penney's store, selling shoes. He was good at that, and did well.
Mary got started in Rogers High School, and Martha at Cooper School. Martha had quickly adjusted to the change in location, and made friends quickly. Mary had a more difficult time, and didn't adjust well to the change of schools that first year in Spokane. That was another mark, in my mind, against the practice of hiring pastors to move from one church to another. I had begun to think the practice, so commonly accepted in most churches, was not Biblical. About this time the Falcon acted up again--we had to have the radiator core replaced. That car seldom went more than a few months without some major failure! Then to make a little more money to pay for such items as car repairs, Jane and I became Amway dealers. That was fun, but really a fiasco! We found a friend at First Covenant who bought our stock of supplies, with the exception of some things we could use. After several months of trying, we had netted something like $90 for all our time and effort!
As at Rockford, I rarely took a day off from work, and was busy many nights of each week. I know that I did not give enough time to the family.
Eugene Lowe, our Chinese friend from Pasadena, came for a visit in November. He spoke in a morning worship service, and did very well. He was then attending Fuller Seminary on a part-time basis. Among his many other skills, he had recently earned a pilot's license. The next day he took David and me for a great airplane ride over the city, and south over the Palouse hills. I got a few pictures from the plane. We always enjoyed visits from the Lowes.
Guess what? More trouble with the Falcon in December--starter and ignition system repairs, $36! Then again on Dec. 31, I had the brake lights repaired. There was always something wrong with that car!
A note from my diary of Dec. 21st, 1964, reads--"16 inches of new snow, went out calling anyway; got stuck 7 times!" That was the first of many heavy snows that winter! The year of 1965 went by much like 1964. Early in the spring Vic Anderson brought his tractor and plowed the garden spot I wanted, just east of the house. The soil was very rocky, but produced a good garden. I have always found that work in the garden is more fun than work. Hoeing is a good unwinding activity!
In the summer of 1965 our son David enlisted in the Marine Corps, and left for basic training in California. He did well there, and later attended the combat correspondents' school at the University of Indiana. He was home for Christmas, went back for more training, and then flew to Vietnam. He had a very good career there, and signed up for extended service. We enjoyed sending recorded letters on tape back and forth. Some of his letters had live artillery firing as background accompaniment! He earned the Bronze Star for bravery on one occasion, helping remove wounded men from an aircraft on fire, while under attack!
Mary did much better in her senior year at Rogers High School. She enjoyed singing with a madrigal group, very fine singing, a capella. She was popular, sufficiently so that some boy gave her a rabbit as an Easter gift. Lacking any other good place to keep it, we confined it in a room in the basement. After a few days we found that he had other food than that we had been giving him. He had eaten the insulation from an electric cord, laid the wires bare, without causing a short or killing himself! He had to go!
Our vacation trip that summer was to Mt. Lassen, in California. We were to meet the Lowes, our Chinese friends from California, and camp with them for a few days. We took a friend of Mary's along, a girl from the church. Driving down into central Oregon the Falcon seemed a bit noisy and sluggish. We camped out in the open, without a tent, that first night.
When I started the Falcon the next morning, to go on our way, it made a fearful racket. Something was definitely wrong in the engine. We drove into John Day, Oregon, and found the little Ford garage. Fortunately the Lord had been anticipating us, and the mechanic had on hand one set of valves for a Falcon! He replaced the whole upper valve assembly while we waited, and the cost was not unreasonable, though it was high enough. That was the second time we had had that valve assembly replaced. The poorly designed engine, the Ford people admitted, did not receive enough lubrication.
We went on and found the Lowes without difficulty, and had a good trip considering everything. One day I climbed to the summit of Mt. Lassen, with the whole tribe of children, Lowe's and ours. Actually it is an easy climb, on a well-tended trail. I found the beautiful crystals of sulphur at the openings of the vents in the crater most interesting. Later, on our way back to Spokane, we explored a lava tube, a fascinating feature found near some volcanos. We really enjoyed the desert country of eastern Oregon.
Things went on as usual at the church. I tried hard, and preached and taught as best I could. I enjoyed the various meetings with the other pastors in the North Pacific Conference. The church could not afford to send me to the annual meeting of the Covenant, in Chicago, so I had to miss that. In the spring of 1966, after a particularly bad time with the steering mechanism on the Falcon (it would turn to the right, but not to the left!) we decided we must change cars. After extensive looking around I found a 1964 Plymouth Fury Sedan, with high mileage, but in fine shape otherwise. It had the "slant six" engine, and burned no oil whatever. It also had an automatic transmission, which we much appreciated.
With that "new" car, we took a trip back to Rockford. A young couple at Evergreen Church had invited me to conduct their wedding, at the church. After the wedding, Jane and Martha went by bus to Kansas to visit relatives. I left Mary in Rockford, visiting with a school friend, and went to Chicago to attend the Covenant Annual Meeting. That was good! I then went back to Rockford for Mary, and we drove to Kansas to join Jane and Martha. The car handled perfectly on the entire trip, and for some years later.
On our return to Spokane, Jane found work at Whitworth college, as secretary in the alumni office. She did well, and moved in subsequent years to the development office, and finally became secretary to the academic vice president. Jane's working at Whitworth made it possible for Mary to attend there, with her tuition paid. That was a tremendous help for us all. Mary lived at home at first, then later lived on campus. Jane's employment was the only thing that made that possible.
I've already mentioned my joining and being active in the Spokane Evangelical Ministers Association. The local association belonged to the National Association of Evangelicals. Being a part of the local group surely helped me in the years I was a pastor in Spokane. The men were a great bunch, mostly pastors or associates, from evangelical churches. We all had a common goal or aim--the winning of the lost people all around us. We had lunch together about once a month, with some business, and much time spent in prayer.
From the start I helped with various committees. In 1967 they asked me to be chairman of the committee organizing the annual Sunday School Conference. That was a good experience. Then the next year, 1968, the association elected me president!
As president of the local group, I attended the annual meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals, held in Los Angeles. The group paid all my expenses. Jane went with me, and we stayed at the Los Angeles Hilton hotel, the meeting place for the convention. There I had opportunity to listen to and talk with some of the best-known evangelicals in theUnited States at the time. It was wonderful!
Jane spent only a day or so at the hotel, then went to visit the Lowes. When the convention was over, the Lowes loaned us a car to go to Forest Home, the big Christian campground near Redlands, California. There we visited the Jim Dyers, old friends from seminary days. Jim had worked at the campground for several years, in charge of their printing and publications shop.
But I didn't stay up there in the mountains. I had applied and been accepted to spend a week at a pastor's conference at the headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ, at Arrowhead Springs, just outside of San Bernardino. So I buzzed off down there, and checked in at the huge hotel. That was a wonderful experience--hearing a series of lectures by Bill Bright and others, fellow-shipping with pastors from all over the United States and Canada. Early in the week I came down with a horrid cold, and had to have special medication.
On Thursday, we pastors planned to go out and work at door-to-door evangelism, sharing the message of the Gospel using the "4 Spiritual Laws" booklet devised by Campus Crusade. Despite my dripping nose, I decided to go. We were to go out by twos. My assigned partner was a big, roly-poly, jovial Salvation Army man, complete with skin-tight uniform! I thought, to my shame, this will never work out! People won't want to talk to us, when they see him coming up the walk. I was much mistaken. No one slammed their doors in our faces, and in the two hours spent that afternoon, we prayed with several people who accepted Christ as Savior! It was a great afternoon, and did a lot to encourage me. The next day I drove up the canyon to the Dyers to get Jane, and we went back together to stay with the Lowes a day or two longer. Then we flew home to Spokane.
Over the past years I had been becoming more and more discouraged in pastoral work, because few new people were coming to the church. Attendance at the mid-week Bible study and prayer meeting was dwindling down to only half a dozen people. About that time I decided to expand our efforts by having Bible study meetings in private homes. We had already been having one such study, in the home of a young couple. Soon we had another study going regularly, an afternoon meeting, with only women attending. Then one church member organized a group that met at the parsonage while the regular midweek meeting was going on at the church. Soon more people began attending there than at the church! Two or three Catholic nuns were among those who came to that study!
That encouraged me! However, others in the church didn't like it at all, though I didn't realize that at first. The resentment of some grew in that last year of 1968. I kept on teaching and preaching, and working with the Confirmation class. In the fall of 1968 Campus Crusade conducted city-wide evangelism training for people in Spokane and the surrounding area, and we took part in that. A few from Minnehaha church attended. In the neighborhood visitation done following the training, Jane and I had one man receive the Lord.
Each summer our church cooperated with First Covenant Church in conducting Bible camp for our young people. That was good experience, and we had fine times. I sometimes did the speaking in the evenings, and once conducted a baptismal service in the river near the camp. That was memorable to me.
During all the years at Minnehaha church I attended the regularly scheduled meetings of the North Pacific Conference, and the special retreats held for pastors. There were good times in those meetings, but I was growing increasingly discouraged. A couple of times I lead the prayer meetings with the other pastors, and enjoyed doing that.
Sometime in 1968 a fine couple in the church decided to leave to go to another church. Bud, the husband, had worked hard starting the work at Minnehaha. That was a serious loss to us, and a bitter pill for me to swallow. However, I decided not to try to hold them. Later they served as missionaries with International Students, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We have personally helped support them for years.
I tried to be consistent in sometimes preaching the need for a new birth--which our Lord Jesus plainly stated is necessary to receive salvation. Some old line church members resented that message, perhaps because they could not tell of any such experience in their own lives. Some accused me of saying that everyone must have an experience like that of the Apostle Paul. That wasn't true, but I wouldn't argue with them. I could only point out the words of Jesus.
My preaching, plus the home Bible study program, was arousing increasing resentment in the fall and winter of 1968-69. Unknown to me for a time, two families in the church began calling special meetings of the congregation to discuss getting rid of me! The trouble makers never told me face to face of their objections. Word came back to me, finally, through friends, that I must either "shape up, or ship out!" as put in the navy words of one person. (Years later, when that man was dying of cancer, I went to see him several times, but he never mentioned the part he had played. Neither did I!) The objectors wanted me to stop all the Bible studies outside the church building. They said that if people wanted to study the Bible, they could come to the church!
Meanwhile, David returned safely from Vietnam, and received his discharge from the Marines. As soon as possible he entered Whitworth College, where Mary was already attending. He lived on campus, for a time, and had a part- time job or two, to help with expenses. He was receiving help from the GI education bill, too. We were very glad to have him home safely from Vietnam.
Another great problem for me was the realization that none of our three children were showing any interest in the Lord or in spiritual matters. That, too, increased my discouragement and sense of failure as a pastor. Things came to a head in early summer of 1969. Vic Anderson, the man who had donated the land for the church, announced that he would no longer stay in the church while I was pastor! He was also treasurer of the church; a fine problem! After consulting with Jane and with the conference superintendent, I announced my resignation as pastor, and my decision to leave the pastoral ministry.
I hoped that my leaving would heal the troubles in the church, and avoid a church split, the last thing in the world I wanted. There was no split, though a few good people did leave and go elsewhere to worship services. I still think leaving was the right thing for me to do. I believe the objections some had to my ministry were not altogether valid, as I had not neglected my duties at the church.
So on June 16th, 1969, I announced my resignation, with my last time in the pulpit to be August 10th. The church denied me any vacation for the past year. Though the Conference Superintendent urged me to go on to another church, I stuck with my decision to leave the ministry. I felt that I had been a failure in too many ways. Also, both Mary and David were then enrolled at Whitworth College, partially supported by Jane's working at the school. If we were to leave Spokane, the children would lose their tuition benefits. Jane felt that she couldn't face going to another church. Also, Martha was ready for her senior year in high school, and I knew that to force her to change to another school at that time might be disastrous for her. Although I did receive an invitation to candidate at a church on the west side of Washington, I refused it. The whole matter made me very depressed, believe me, and I still have times when I wonder if I made the right decision.
Thus ended my poor career as a pastor. Next began a long period in my life in which I have wondered why and how I had failed. Though no longer a pastor, I have tried to find other ways of serving the Lord. But that belongs in a later chapter.

GOOD DAYS IN ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS
I've never heard of a faster move than ours when we changed our address from Houstonia, Missouri, to Rockford, Illinois on March 26, 1960! We had all our possessions well in shape to move, but had not anticipated the speed with which the men from Evergreen Covenant Church moved us. The men with the truck started an hour or so before we could leave.
We drove slowly out of town, taking a last look at the familiar church building and homes of friends. We saw one elderly lady hoeing in her garden, waving goodbye with her hoe. Only a few months before we had visited her in the hospital in Kansas City, finding her lying totally paralyzed from a severe stroke. Now she was out hoeing in the garden! That was a good feeling, and we thanked the Lord again that she was strong and able to tend her garden again.
Frank Johnson, the Rockford man assigned to ride with us, had the exact route marked on a map so there was no possibility of our becoming lost. We drove angling northeast across Missouri, and into Iowa. Somewhere near Des Moines we had a flat tire on our old Chevy. We quickly put the spare on, but had to stop in the city to buy a replacement tire at the Wards tire store. We had lunch there, too, and then were on our way again. The truck was well ahead of us, and arrived in Rockford some time before we did.
The church did not own a parsonage then, and had rented a large farmhouse for us, about three miles from the church. When the truck arrived, the wives of the men who were helping with the move, and others, joined in putting our furniture in what they thought were the appropriate places. Thus when we arrived there was hot food for all, and a great time of getting acquainted. Tired from the long drive, I remember, we really appreciated the thorough way in which our move had been done. Even the beds were made, all ready for our rest! The men of the church, who had worked together in the same way in building the church building, took real pride in their way of cooperating and getting involved in the work with their hands. That was the typical good spirit seen among the whole congregation. When we later had work days at the church we never lacked sufficient workers; everyone--men, women, and children--would turn out. That move was completed on Saturday, March 26, 1960. The next morning I preached my first regular sermon at Evergreen Church to a good audience. We had much "settling in" to do, so most of the following week was taken up with that.
First, David and Mary had to be enrolled in school. We found that the parsonage was located not in the Rockford school district but in that of Winnebago, a small town about fifteen miles from Rockford. We had to take them there, get them registered, and arrange for the school bus to stop for them. Then there was the problem of having a phone installed, so that we could be in touch with the people of the church. I found the daily 3 mile drive to the church, to my study, something of a nuisance. I began to spend my mornings at the study, in prayer, and preparation for the sermons and Bible study lessons for the week. Then I would go home for lunch, and spend most afternoons on necessary errands and making home visits to my parishioners. I tried to make "loop" trips, to reach as many as possible in the fewest possible miles of driving. Although our salary at Evergreen was considerably larger than we had enjoyed in Houstonia, there was no leeway for waste.
About half of the congregation consisted of people who worked in town, mostly in the hospitals (nurses) and factories (skilled machinists, tool and die finishers), and the other half those who farmed. It was an interesting group of skilled people. Of course, there were also several elderly retired people. I had a wide territory in which to make visits. While visiting members in the farming area, I often stopped to get acquainted with the people who lived on other farms. Some of these later began to attend the church services. Church membership was then about seventy-five, with morning worship attendance at around one hundred. Sunday School attendance was almost double that, around two hundred. Many children from the neighborhood came to Sunday School, though their parents seldom came. Those statistics increased a little in the next few years, but not a great deal.
I soon learned that there were seven Covenant churches in Rockford, with another in nearby Stillman Valley, 20 miles west. Pastor of the latter church was one of our old friends from seminary days, John Bergman. Pastor Swenson of First Covenant Church, that had planted most of the others in the Rockford area, felt some responsibility for us who were pastors of the smaller churches. We met frequently with him for talks and prayer together. The whole atmosphere in Rockford was wonderful, with many very committed Christians working hard in their churches.
My schedule was a busy one, with sermons to prepare for Sunday morning and evening services, and a Bible study for the mid-week prayer meeting. I also taught an adult Sunday School class most of the time while there at Rockford. Then, beginning in the fall each year, I had the Confirmation Class of Junior High age young people meeting with me each Saturday morning. This course of study ran about nine months. At least my hospital visits were nearby. Three women of the church were registered nurses, working in the Swedish American hospital in Rockford. When ill, most of our people went to that hospital, where the care was excellent.
At Jane's wise insistence, we started both David and Mary in piano lessons in Winnebago that spring. Their teacher was fine, and made them work hard. We enjoyed attending the little informal recitals she scheduled for all her pupils. They caught the school bus down at the road about one hundred yards from the house, so getting them to and from school was simple. On days when they had piano lessons after school, we drove to Winnebago to bring them home.
Living in that farm house was pleasant, with about 300 acres of land attached, mostly in timber. There were big oaks, some black walnut, cottonwood, and much just plain "brush." Each evening the continuous calling of the whippoorwills entertained us. They never seemed to pause for breath--it was fantastic! Also, we found deer were plentiful. We found a tiny fawn one day, only a few hundred yards from the house.
One day that summer a spectacular electrical storm came through the area. In the midst of the storm there was an exceptionally bright flash of lightning, and a tremendous crash of thunder. After the storm had passed, we found that a big cottonwood tree only about seventy- five yards from the house had been hit by lightning. The lightning bolt blew a strip of bark from the trunk of the tree from the top to the ground. We were glad the tree was there, to intercept that lightning. Otherwise the bolt might have struck the house!
Beside the longish daily drive from the parsonage to the church and back, there were a couple other disadvantages to our living in the country. We had a very large lawn, watered only by nature, to keep mowed. We were glad to have the power mower that we had brought from Missouri to use. We had to mow a wide strip of lawn from the house clear down to the road, about one hundred yards north of the house. Also, we had to clean up a mess of branches and other debris left there when someone had removed a row of lilacs along the driveway. That took many hours of hard work.
Another advantage of being in the country was enjoying the many different mushrooms found on the farm, and along the roads. We learned to eat eight or ten different varieties while living in Rockford.
There in Rockford I developed a plan for praying for all the church members. That was my first activity after arriving at the church in the morning. I walked around the sanctuary as I prayed thus getting some exercise. I prayed through the church membership list, about fifteen families each day,. I prayed for the people by name, including their children, and asked for God's help and blessing for each one. That practice helped me much when I made visits to their homes. We won't easily forget the first Easter we spent in Rockford. When I got up on Easter morning the house seemed unusually cold. A heavy rain had fallen during the night, and now for some reason the furnace wasn't running. I went down to the basement and discovered about a foot of water on the floor, and the furnace (a stoker) cold. There wasn't time to do anything about the problem before we had to leave for church.
I enjoyed my work, preparing sermons, preaching, the whole ministry. At first I designed the bulletins, typed them, and ran them off on the mimeograph myself. Later a young woman in the church volunteered to do that work each week; she was a big help to me.
While we lived in that farmhouse, my father came to visit us, after visiting relatives in Wisconsin. Dad enjoyed his visit with us, and we surely enjoyed having him see the church, the farm where we were living, and the city of Rockford.. Soon after he left, our friends Dave and Marge Peterson came by to visit. Dave was then serving as a public relations man for the Montana Institute of the Bible. That was the small Bible school in Billings where I had taken some classes.
In June of 1960 I attended the Evangelical Covenant Church annual meeting in Chicago, and met with the Ministerial Committee. They refused to even look at my previous simple ordination, and informed me of the requirements for ordination in the Covenant. For the first year I could only have a ministerial license; there was no difficulty in obtaining that. They said that if I were to continue to minister in a Covenant church, I must attend their seminary in Chicago, and take certain prescribed courses. Then, after passing their examination requirements, I could be ordained. It was a long and difficult assignment! I did have some trouble with the Committee. I told them straight out why I did not believe in the baptism of infants, and could not perform the rite. I agreed that I would invite another Covenant pastor to come in to conduct the service, if it were requested. As a matter of fact, while I was there at Evergreen Church in Rockford no one ever requested it. We had several services for the consecration or dedication of infants. I also agreed to take the courses at North Park Seminary, when I could arrange it.
Everything went quite well that first year at Evergreen. In the summer months we had Sunday evening services with three other churches in the area. We also invited one of my seminary classmates to conduct evangelistic services in the fall of 1961. The meetings resulted in several decisions for Jesus. Our children, and many from Evergreen church, attended a fine Covenant camp on Lake Geneva, in Wisconsin, each summer. There were frequent retreats and special meetings for pastors, too, and I loved to meet and share with the other men. I always felt that the Covenant had a real sense of mission, and promoted teamwork well.
In midsummer of 1960, the board of the church decided that the church should purchase a small house and bit of land just north of the church, to use as a parsonage. The house was old and very small, but we could manage in it all right, we thought. We moved into the house on August 7th, in plenty of time for the children to register for schools in Rockford. Both Mary and Martha attended an elementary school just "kitty-corner" across the street from the church. David enrolled that fall in the new large Auburn high school several miles away.
This new living arrangement saved hours of valuable time, and much driving and gasoline, for I needed only to walk a few yards to be at the study. David got the job of mowing the church lawn, which he appreciated (most of the time!). There were several large maple trees along the driveway of the new place, and we came to love those great trees, except for the piles of leaves they produced. In the early spring each year, when the sap began to flow, I enjoyed the sweet little icicles that formed where the sap dripped from broken twigs. There was also a large fir tree immediately in front of the house. Martha promptly climbed it, clear to the top! Just north of the house there was an extensive woodlot, with many different mushrooms growing there. There was a garage under the house, a small shed in the back yard in which we could store tools, and plenty of room for a large garden. We had a fine garden there each year, beginning in 1961.
Soon after we moved into the "new" parsonage, we were given a well-bred long-haired cocker spaniel, Trooper. We had him only a short time before we found that we couldn't keep him. Many cockle burrs grew in the area. Trooper constantly wandered about, and got his long coat terribly tangled with the burrs. It was impossible to keep his coat clean. We gave him to a farm family later.
We also got a little yellow kitten, who rapidly developed into a big, heavy cat. We called him Toughy. He, rather than Trouper the dog, kept strange dogs out of the yard! Toughy would walk calmly toward any dog that came near, and every time that dog would skeedaddle, rather than face that big cat. We had lots of fun with him, playing in the piles of maple leaves in the fall, and going mouse hunting with him in the woods.
In the spring of 1961 a farmer friend, a member of the church, came with a tractor to plow a garden spot, down below the house. The soil was rich and black. It was fine for gardening. For the first time in my life, I could grow okra! Also, beyond the garden area there was a sort of "wilderness" in which we found wild asparagus in the spring each year, and lots of wild blackberries in the late summer. All the vegetables did very well.
As cool weather came on in that fall of 1960, I became better acquainted with the coal stoker furnace. All went well unless the fire went out. That happened only once, while we were busy at a service in the evening. When we came home, late in the evening, we found the house cold and full of awful fumes. The furnace fire had gone out, and the furnace was full of stoker coal. Controlled by the thermostat, that was calling for more heat, the stoker was still stuffing in more coal! I had a merry time, believe me, shovelling all that coal out of the furnace, back into the stoker hopper. The fire had to be rekindled, and the house ventilated to get rid of the bad air. We soon found that Illinois winters are for real, much more severe than those we had seen in Missouri, though not as cold temperature-wise as in Montana. There was much snow during the winter months. It seemed to me that I shovelled the walks at the church just about every Sunday morning those winters. No one else volunteered to do that job!
We made many new friends there in Rockford. One man, Harold Demus, pastor of a nearby small Presbyterian church, and his wife and children, became our good friends. We truly missed them when in 1963 they left to go to a much larger church in a Chicago suburb. Art Carlson, pastor of another Covenant church in Rockford, a man considerably older than I, became a great friend. There were many others, too many to list.
We found many earnest Christians at Evergreen. Nearly all the members worked days, and could not help much in calling in the neighborhood. I not only called on church families, but also visited in the homes of Sunday School families (people who sent their children to Sunday school, but didn't attend, themselves). I also enjoyed meeting nearly all the people living along the roads in the area. Reviewing one of my old desk calendars from those years, I find that I went out nearly every evening of the week. I rarely took a complete day off from work. Those were busy days! I know now that I badly neglected my own family, and that was a serious mistake. Also, I tried to hold the children to a rigid pattern of Christian behavior, which no doubt did much to turn them away from the real life of faith. I don't know how to undo that now! When we arrived to pastor Evergreen Church, there was a sizeable debt, and the church was receiving regular support from the Covenant. One of my first goals was for the church to become financially independent. We met that goal by the end of our second year there. That effort won the appreciation of the Conference Superintendent!
As the years went by, we found we had time for some visiting, and for regular vacations. John and Nina Bergman moved to Warren, Michigan, in about 1961, and we went there to visit them one Christmas. The travel across lower Michigan in a blizzard was memorable, but we made it all right. We had a grand visit with them and their two adopted children. We also made a trip one summer to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, and visited my brother Robert and his family in Denver. We went up into southern Wisconsin, too, to visit my Uncle Dick and his family, and Aunt Dot Von Valkenburg, and Aunt Eckie. All those relatives had been very good to us children when we were growing up on the homestead.
I often was asked to conduct weddings of young people in the community. I usually enjoyed those, but did not much like to officiate at the many funerals. For some reason unknown to me, people in a community feel they have a right to ask the pastor of a local church to conduct funerals or weddings. They do this whether or not they are a part of the church. Some funerals, especially, were very difficult for me. I felt sad to know that the person who had died had never had anything to do with Jesus or the church.
I have pleasant memories of one funeral, though. A family in the community, not part of our church, but active Christians, had a sad experience. The elderly grandmother was suffering with cancer. She refused to go to a hospital or nursing home, so suffered at home, cared for by her old husband. Toward the end she drifted off into a coma, and would not respond to anything. I stopped one day to talk with the husband, as he sat in an old rocking chair by her bed. On the inspiration of the moment, I decided to sing a couple of old familiar hymns. I did it without accompaniment. Very quietly, and without making a sound, the sick lady smiled! She had heard! She died a day or two later, never having come out of the coma. They asked me to have the funeral, to be held at a little Free Methodist Church miles away in Wisconsin. We drove up, part of a little funeral procession. Jane and another lady sang a duet, and I preached the funeral service in the little church building.
It was a gorgeous day, with lovely clouds in the sky. When the service was over, the pall bearers simply carried the casket out of the church and into the graveyard right beside the church. The service ended with family members filling in the grave. It was sad, in a way, and yet a blessing, as we all knew she had trusted and loved the Lord, and was now with Him forever. I wished that all funerals could be like that!
One wedding I will never forget. In fact, few people know the whole truth of the matter. I guess I can now reveal it all, without mentioning any names. I had worked carefully with the young couple, planning and rehearsing their very formal wedding. Then, just two days before the wedding, I received a call from the groom's mother. She told me her son was too young to obtain a marriage license in Illinois! The wedding would have to be postponed!. The situation looked hopeless.
Then I learned, through some telephoning, that people could be married in the state of Iowa, without any delays for medical reports. So the day before the formal wedding, I drove with that young couple to the nearest county seat in Iowa. We first found a Methodist church, and asked the pastor if he would marry these two young people. He agreed, so we dashed to the court house and bought the license. We then went back to the parsonage, and the two were married by the old preacher, with his wife and me as witnesses!
Then it was back to Rockford, with the agreement that they would not act like married people until after the formal wedding the next day! Everything went just fine, and no one except the family and Jane and I knew the true situation. I went through the usual motions of having the couple sign forms, etc., after the wedding, but never mailed the marriage certificate in for registration. The Iowa wedding was the official one.
In the spring of 1962, I think it was, a church member stopped by and asked me casually how long I was going to drive our old wreck of a car. It was a 1950 Chevy sedan, and still looked and ran pretty well, in my estimation. As so often happens, that remark of his planted "new car fever" in me. So we began to look around. That was bad! We soon found a used, low mileage Ford Falcon sedan, a 1960 (first year) model, light blue in color. It was fun to drive, easy to park, and considerably easier on gasoline than the Chevy had been.
We soon began to find out why the previous owner had sold it! That Falcon car was a lemon! On our vacation trip that summer to Colorado, and Rocky Mountain National Park, the thing would barely climb the hills, and used quarts and quarts of oil. When we returned to Rockford, we had to have a new "short block" put in--the old one was beyond repair. After that it was the transmission, and then the clutch, and the differential, and so on and on. It was without question the most expensive car we had ever enjoyed! Despite all those repairs, we drove it until 1966, when we were living in Spokane, and had replaced just about everything except the body!
Finally, under considerable pressure from the Covenant, I began attending the required "familiarization" classes at North Park Seminary, in Chicago. That was in the fall of 1962. My usual plan was to have Jane take me to catch a train in Rockford about 6AM (harder for her than for me!), study some on my way in to the city (about an hour and a half). Then I would get off the train at Central Station, walk a quarter of a mile or so to catch the elevated train north. That took me within about six blocks of the seminary. With my classes and study time completed, I reversed the process, arriving in Rockford about nine in the evening. A whole day was gone! I had to do this three times a week, except when I decided to skip classes!
The quality of the instruction at North Park Seminary disappointed me. The professors were mostly former pastors who had been designated to teach. That first year I did have one excellent teacher, Karl Olsson, then president of the college and seminary. He was (and is) a brilliant scholar and historian. He taught the course on the history of the Covenant church, from the beginning of the revival movement in Sweden, and continuing in the United States among the immigrants. I loved that class and the subject matter. There were some very brave people in those early days, around the middle of the nineteenth century!
Sigurd Westburg, a retired missionary, was another good teacher. He taught classes on the philosophy and history of Covenant missions. But my other classes, especially under the professors of both Old and New Testament, were very nearly a waste of time. It was an expensive business for me. And with all that study going on, I had no let-up in the services I conducted, sermons to prepare, etc.
That winter I sometimes drove in to Chicago in the little Falcon, thus saving a bit of time. However, I saved little money, because of the expensive tolls on the big tollroad that runs from Rockford to Chicago. Altogether I earned some fifty credits at North Park Seminary, to meet the Covenant requirements for ordination.
My greatest problem in serving as a Covenant pastor was my refusal to baptize infants. I thought then, and still think, that it is a bad practice, and leads to a false sense of spiritual security. People think they are in a right relation with God because they have been baptized. It always appeared to me to work against the concept of a "new birth."
I didn't enjoy my sessions with the Conference and Covenant ministerial boards through those years 1960 to 1964. Much pressure was put on me to conform to the standard Covenant practice. I know that I became unpopular with some of the ministers because I would not change my stand. Sometimes I felt that the pastors on the boards were embarrassed because they could not justify the practice from Scripture. They simply clung to tradition brought over into the Covenant from the state Lutheran church of Sweden.
The Evergreen Church board believed as I did, and came under the same sort of pressure to change their policy. Once I was told very directly by an official of the Covenant that I was not wanted in the Covenant, and would never be ordained. Despite that, I kept on with my studies in Chicago, and working hard at the church. By midwinter of 1963-64, I had met the scholastic requirements for ordination, but still didn't know what the outcome would be.
I remember many very good times from our days in Rockford. I enjoyed the various camps and conferences held for ministers. I went twice with men from our church to work on the grounds at the Covenant campground at Lake Geneva, in Wisconsin. We always had good times working together, and the camp was wonderful. The Covenant owned some 2000 feet of shore front on the lovely big lake, and had good buildings and equipment for summer camping. We had one or two ministers' retreats there, also, in the winter time.
Except for the troubles concerning ordination, my attendance at midwinter conferences of the entire Covenant, and the annual meetings, was pleasant enough. I became good friends of some pastors, particularly among the older men. Our children also enjoyed attending Covenant Bible camps. Twice we went as a family for great vacations in northern Wisconsin.
Also somewhere along in those years, I joined the Rockford Civic Chorus, and sang in Handel's Messiah and other programs with the city's symphony orchestra. That was very enjoyable. I also sometimes sang a solo in a church worship service.
I must admit that by 1963 I was becoming discouraged with the slow progress of the church in Rockford. Despite much effort and prayer, we simply were not growing. I looked around for some means of promoting both spiritual and membership growth. I soon found what I thought might be the answer--a program called "Growth by Groups," prepared by Lyman Coleman. I wrote to him, personally purchased the expensive materials, and then tried to interest the board of elders in the plan. The plan called for starting a number of home Bible study and prayer groups, all following the same excellent course of study. I would work primarily with the leaders of the various groups. I hoped that most of the people in the church might be involved. Attendance at our Wednesday evening prayer meetings had dwindled to a handful of regulars. The home study meetings would replace the Wednesday evening meetings at the church.
That was the plan, and I still think it was a good one. The difficulty was that I just could not "sell" the board of elders on the plan. What I had long since recognized on their part--an extreme conservatism--stood in the way. They wanted to know if First Covenant Church was doing this; I had to say "no." Well, was it being done anywhere else in the Covenant? I didn't know. They voted it down. When I asked for further consideration, I was told that I was just trying to get my own way. That was probably true, but I honestly felt we needed to change our methods.
I was discouraged by the declining attendance at Evergreen, and the rejection of the Growth by Groups program. Soon after, I told the Central Conference Superintendent that I felt I should possibly move to another church. Almost immediately I was called by the North Pacific Conference Superintendent in Seattle, asking if I would be interested in moving to a church in Spokane, Washington. I suspect that someone in the Central Conference saw an opportunity to rid the conference of the fellow who refused to baptize infants! The idea of moving to the northwest was very appealing, so I agreed to go to Spokane to candidate.
I went by train, a long, long ride, in mid-February of 1964. The people in Spokane met me at the station, and did everything they could to impress me with their need. I think my sermons (two of them, at the morning and evening services on one Sunday) impressed them. They took me on a tour of the city, well covered just then by heavy, dirty snow. It was a dismal prospect. The Sunday school was large enough, but the church membership had failed to grow. The church had been organized about seven years, and should have been growing. I didn't feel any special leading of the Lord in the matter, and went back to Rockford pretty well convinced that I should not go to Spokane. The church in Spokane didn't offer any increase in salary, and the area in which it was located was sparsely populated, with many vacant houses in the neighborhood. I didn't see much chance for growth there.
The call from the Minnehaha Covenant Church in Spokane came, much as I had expected. After much prayer, I sent a letter saying I didn't feel I should accept the position. Then several officials of the Covenant really went to work on me. Joe Danielson, the Secretary of Home Missions, invited me to lunch one day, in Chicago, and told me how helpful I could be at Minnehaha. They couldn't seem to get out of debt; I had been successful in getting my present church to pay off their debt. That was true! The North Pacific Conference Superintendent called me long distance, and urged me to accept the call. With some misgiving, I finally agreed to make the move. I felt I was no longer effective at Evergreen Church.
In May of 1964 I met again with the Central Conference ministerial board. Though reluctant, this time they agreed to my ordination, to take place at the Annual Meeting of the Covenant in Minneapolis in mid-June, 1964. We were planning to leave Rockford to move to Spokane in July.
The ordination service was impressive, Jane said. John and Nina Bergman were there at the meeting. Jane and I enjoyed travelling back to Rockford with them (they were on their way back to Warren, Michigan). We all stayed overnight in a little motel cottage on the bank of the Mississippi River, in southeastern Minnesota. That evening we rowed in a large rowboat down the river to a restaurant for dinner. What an adventure, to row on the Mississippi!
Soon after returning to Rockford, we began packing. We left the church with mixed feelings. At the last moment the Board decided that I had not earned any vacation time that year. That meant a loss of about two weeks' salary--and that hurt! Beside that matter, I had other depressing feelings. I felt sad that things hadn't gone better at Evergreen Church, and also had some anxiety about the new assignment in Spokane. I felt that I was not effective as a pastor, and wondered even then about leaving that line of work.
The church in Spokane would pay our moving expenses, but we had to reduce the shipment if possible. So we had a big yard sale. Among other things, we sold our faithful lawn mower, a very good one. I also sold my guns--the beautiful little Winchester .218 Bee rifle, and my Ruger .22 pistol. We needed all the cash we could get. I have often regretted that sale, as I have never been able to replace those fine weapons.
Finally we were ready to move. We left Rockford, our home for a little over four years, pulling our little one-wheel trailer with our camping stuff in it. David had already gone to Montana to work at my sister Jean's farm. Jane, the girls, and I drove down through Kansas, to visit Jane's mother and other relatives, then on to Spokane. Our Rockford days were over--surely the best years I had while in pastoral work.
Looking over my old desk calendars, kept for some unknown reason, I find myself becoming depressed all over again because things didn't go better there. I can only be satisfied that I preached the Gospel and the Bible as faithfully as I knew how, though nothing much had happened. Perhaps things would go better in Spokane!

MY FIRST FULL-TIME PASTORATE
With the call from the Community Church in Houstonia, Missouri, we could pack up and leave Pasadena. By this time we had a large collection of household stuff, and had to have a professional moving company help. We filled our car with ourselves, camping equipment, and clothing. We put as much as we could in our little one-wheeled trailer, and were ready to leave. Of course, it was hard to leave the familiar city, the wonderful school and teachers, and our many student friends.
Because the crossing of the California desert was reported to be so unpleasantly hot in summer, we planned to leave Pasadena about midnight. Thus we could drive in the "cool" of the night. That turned out alright, but I became terribly sleepy. David and I enjoyed seeing the many kangaroo rats hopping across the road, and an occasional coyote caught in the headlights. It was a very warm night. We arrived at Needles, California, on the Arizona border, at about 6AM in the morning, to find the temperature already at 110 degrees in the shade--and no shade.
We cooled off a bit while we ate breakfast in a restaurant, then drove on to Williams, Arizona. There we looked for a motel room, and holed up for the day. The air-conditioned room was a delight. We all enjoyed the rest, though the children were bored. Early next morning we set off to the north to visit Grand Canyon. I took a few good pictures, on black and white film. Later I learned how to make slides from such negatives, and we have enjoyed those.
After that diversion, we drove as quickly as we could across Arizona, New Mexico, the corner of the Texas panhandle, Oklahoma, and on to visit Jane's sister, Evelyn, at Attica, Kansas. We later stopped at Jane's mother's place in eastern Kansas for a short visit. The weather was very hot, and the car unpleasantly warm without an air conditioner. On the hottest days we bought a block of ice, that we kept in the car in a wash pan. We cooled wash cloths on the ice, and used them to keep our faces (and my head) cool! That was a great help.
It was only a short day's drive from Savonburg, Kansas, to our new church town, Houstonia, Missouri, about seventy-five miles due east of Kansas City. Mr. Neef, the church elder who had entertained me in their home on my previous visit, led us to our new home, the parsonage. The house was adequate, though it was terribly old--built before the Civil War! There was a partial basement, dark and damp, but Jane could use it for washing. One central gas furnace located in the floor of the living room, and a fireplace, provided heat when needed. We had a fine front porch, and stored our bicycles there. The large yard offered plenty of space for a garden, though it was too late to start one that year. We had arrived late in July, 1958.
Directly south of the house, in the same block, stood the church, a big, square old brick building, formerly owned by the Christian Church. That congregation had become too small to support the work, so had changed the church to "community church." The congregation had kept some practices of the Christian Church. Other procedures had been borrowed from other churches. Former Southern Baptists and Methodists rounded out the congregation. The sanctuary was bowl-shaped, with plenty of old wooden theatre-type seats. The church yard was pretty weedy, and the grass desperately needed mowing.
I soon learned that the congregation was truly a mixed group. The church board told me on my first visit that the church had some three hundred members. Now I found that there were no really adequate church records, and many members were no longer active, or not living in the area. As soon as I could afford to do so, I ordered a proper church record book, and began to enter membership information, baptisms, weddings, deaths, funerals--all the things that are so important in church records.
The first day we were in Houstonia there came a knock at the door. There stood a couple in their forties, who pleasantly announced that they were the nuts! That is, their name was Nutt! They became good friends, and were very helpful all the time we were there. Her parents and grandparents had been among the founders of the Christian Church, in Indiana, I think it was. Later Mrs. Nutt showed me, with great pride, portraits of many old long-bearded serious-looking men, real "pillars" in the early Christian Church movement.
An important beginning task was to make calls in the homes of the active members in the area, to get acquainted, and find out their thinking on the needs of the church. That was very educational. The Higgins family, actually several families, lived out on Higgins Road (naturally!) west of Houstonia, on farms carved out of the original plantation. The old family home, a beautiful red brick building with white pillars in front, had been built by slaves long before the Civil War. It was no longer lived in. All the Higginses had been former members of the Christian Church.
How well I remember my first visit to one Higgins' home. They had just brought from town a new set of Danish modern living room chairs, and I was invited to try one of them. I seated myself carefully in the low chair, and immediately found myself tossed over backward, doing a complete summersault! The back legs of the chair had collapsed! They, and I, were embarrassed. I assured them that I didn't usually break up the furniture in homes.
The largest family in the area, representing some 60% of the entire congregation through marriage ties, was the Killion family. The patriarch of the whole brood was old "Elder Killion;" that was how everyone knew him. Their farm was about three miles out of town. That farm, the ancestral home, was encircled by farms occupied by sons, and sons-in-law, a very large and influential group in the church. I think they may have originally been Baptists, though I never really knew.
On one of my early visits to Elder Killion’s I found him in the barn, milking. As I visited with him, I leaned against a square upright supporting timber. From old tool marks, I saw that it was hand-hewed. Testing it with my pocket knife, I found the wood to be black walnut--straight as a string, perfectly sound, and some fifteen feet in length. I asked Mr. Killion for the history of the large barn. He said that his grandfather had built the barn from black walnut trees cleared from the land. There was a small fortune in well-cured walnut in that one building!
While I always got along well with Mrs. Killion, I soon found myself out of favor with Elder Killion. There was an old Black lady living in Houstonia, who had been born a slave. She was the only black person in the little town. Jane and I were told about her, and we went down to visit with her one day. We found her a delightful person, a real believer in Jesus. Her Bible was simply a stack of loose pages, it was so well worn. I offered to get her a new one, but she refused it.
After our visit to the black lady, the next time I visited the Killions, he addressed me as "nigger lover," and we never got along well after that. He had heard that we had gone to visit the old lady. It was only a month or so later that Mr. Killion became very ill, and was taken to a hospital in Kansas City, seventy-five miles away. I felt that as his pastor I must visit him no matter where the hospital might be. So we drove all the way to Kansas City, found the hospital and went to his room. When he learned that it was I who had come to visit, he turned his face to the wall, and refused to talk with me. I left the room, while Jane remained by his bedside. After a bit he was willing to talk with her. That was not the last frustrating contact I had with that man. The one hundred and fifty mile round trip to see him was wasted effort and expense.
Checking on the state laws of Missouri, I found that I must be ordained if I were to perform weddings. That wasn't a simple matter, since neither that "independent" church nor I had "ordaining" connections with anyone. From one of my courses in seminary, I had a general idea of how I might go about getting ordained.
I called the pastors of several neighboring churches, asking them to serve on an examining council. The pastor of the Methodist Church, just across the street to the north of the parsonage, agreed to help. I then got the pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church out in the country about ten miles east of town. Two pastors from churches in Sedalia were also willing to come. The Southern Baptist Church pastor, with whom we became good friends later, refused. I think he thought anyone pastoring that community church simply couldn't be a real Christian!
On the appointed day the ministers met at the church, with several members of the church board. I gave a testimony of how I came to believe in Jesus, and told of my training at Fuller Seminary. I then urged the members of the examination panel to ask me questions. No one volunteered any! One or two of the church board members intimated that I seemed all right, and that was the extent of that examination! I had typed up a document stating that I had been examined and ordained on that date, and the several ministers all solemnly signed it. Later, I had that paper recorded in the county recorder's office. I then considered myself officially ordained. No one in Missouri ever questioned it!
Soon after that ordination procedure, I did have a wedding. One day a very shy young woman came and asked if I would conduct a wedding ceremony for her and her fiance. Her father opposed her marrying, chiefly, I gathered, because he would lose a good farm hand! I agreed to help, and we set a date.
The girl, her mother, her fiance, and Jane and I composed the entire wedding party. I carefully checked the license, found it OK, and had the two stand before me, in the empty church. As I read the wedding service, the girl became more and more upset. When we came to the vows, she was unable to speak, and broke down in tears. After a little, when she had regained her composure, we tried again. Same problem! That wedding took longer, I think, than any other I ever conducted. Finally the plain little ring was on her finger, and the ceremony was over. The young couple moved away somewhere, and I think I never saw them again.
Going back to the many inactive members on the church rolls-- I found that there were only about one hundred active members living in the community. I proposed to the Board that we contact the inactive people, to find out whether they wanted to continue as members. They agreed, and I sent out dozens of letters, run off on the ancient mimeograph, asking whether the persons were interested in continuing their church membership. Very few responded, so after waiting a decent interval, I dropped the unresponsive from the rolls, and sent letters notifying them of the action.
Then I learned how much the people in that area treasured their church membership. Several people protested having friends, or even far-distant relatives, dropped from church membership. I persuaded most of them, I think, that church membership is properly for those who really belong to the congregation, and support and attend the activities of a church. The whole business didn't win me any friends.
Houstonia had only one small grocery store, and one tavern. We did most of our shopping on weekly visits to Sedalia, a fair-sized town about twenty miles away. There was a very old, semi-retired doctor in Houstonia, whose abilities everyone questioned. When we needed a doctor, we usually went to see one at a clinic in Sweet Springs, about twelve miles away. There was a large Air Force base in the area, and at least one couple from there were members of the church. There was a small hospital in Sedalia, but most of the folks, when seriously ill or injured, went to a hospital in Kansas City. I made several trips to the city to call on sick people, including the visit I described above.
I soon came to dread the church board meetings. The board was large, about fifteen men, many of whom were heavy smokers. The air would be blue with smoke at every meeting, as they didn't hesitate to smoke in the church building. There were a few earnest Christians on the board, but even they were woefully ignorant of the Bible, or of how a church should operate.
A matter of great pride among the men was their pet project--"God's Acre." One farmer member had offered the use of seventy acres of good farm land for the church to farm. The men had planted soy beans, working cooperatively. The crop was well along when we came to Houstonia. I enjoyed working with the men on those beans. The first work day we all worked at weeding. Later we had a good day combining the beans. The crop brought in a very good return, over $2500, if I remember correctly.
I soon learned that the soybean money was not to be used for any current expenses of the church. It was put in savings, to draw interest, until the board chose some worthy project. Mr. Killion, a member of the board, frequently reminded me in the board meetings that my salary would never be paid out of that fund! Speaking of salary, we soon found that I had agreed to a truly minimum income! Our total salary was only $300 per month. We had to pay our own utilities, buy food and clothing, and drive all over the territory on that money. Jane is a good manager, and we managed to eat well, anyway. Occasionally a farm family gave us eggs or chickens. There were many cottontail rabbits in the nearby thickets. We ate more than a few rabbits that winter! I also shot a few squirrels with my great little .218 Bee rifle, and enjoyed occasional early morning squirrel hunts in the countryside.
I remember one occasion when I had taken the rifle along while out calling in the country. After completing my planned calls, I took a little jaunt up through a likely-looking wooded area, hoping to get a squirrel for supper. When I came back out to the road, carrying the rifle (but no squirrel!), I was just in time to see the Baptist pastor and another man driving by. Jimmy Eads, the pastor, stopped, and they gave me a bad time (joking, of course) about my method of trying to enlarge my congregation at gunpoint!
The other man was a visiting evangelist, and they invited me to their meetings. I did attend that evening, and again they got some good laughs telling of meeting me with the rifle. By that time I had met many of the good Baptists, and we were friends. I attended Jim's church when I could, and Jane and I loved both him and his wife, Naomi, and their children Houstonia was such a little town nearly everyone knew everyone else. I called on many in town, simply going door to door, to get acquainted, and to win anyone possible to faith in Jesus. One little old lady and I became good friends. She was a staunch Baptist, but that didn't hinder my visiting with her, or sharing a Bible passage and prayer time with her. She was nearly blind, and later became totally so. Yet she lived alone, and managed very well. Before we left Houstonia, that lady had cataract surgery, and regained her vision in one eye. She always called me "Brother Cumming," and I just couldn't pass her house without at least calling in a greeting to her. She knew my voice, too, and would ask (when she was blind): "Is that you, Brother Cumming? Come on in!"
There was no suitable space in the church for a church office, so I set up my "study" in our bedroom. I placed a bird feeder just outside the window that first winter, so I could watch the birds. I did leave the ancient mimeograph at the church. I used it for printing the weekly bulletins and some letters. I had learned how to operate a mimeograph while in the CCC’s--another instance where my past experience was of great help.
All too soon winter came on. Then we had to use the gas furnace, located under the living room floor, to heat the house. Several farmers offered tree trimmings for firewood. I cut lots of wood, mostly black locust and oak, to burn in the fireplace. The hardwoods gave off plenty of heat, and always left a fine bed of coals for roasting weiners, or making toast.
David and Mary were soon well established in school in Houstonia. The school was not far from the church. Jane and I became active in the PTA, attending meetings regularly that winter. In those days the ministers of the town, taking turn, had fifteen or twenty minutes to speak at each PTA meeting. It was a great opportunity to speak to a good crowd.
We went to Jane's mother's home for Thanksgiving, and had a great time with Bill and her other brothers and a flock of their sons, hunting quail and rabbits. That was a good visit. I also preached at the little Methodist church one evening. There we met the pastor of the Evangelical Covenant Church located out in the country near Savonburg. On the next visit to Savonburg, I was invited to speak at the Covenant church.
For our own church Christmas program I took pictures of the children of the church in a manger scene--a real one, complete with animals--and scenes in the church yard of the shepherds, etc. Then we showed those slides for the Christmas program. The plan worked out well. The parents, at least, were delighted, though the slides weren't really very good. I kept very busy in ministry, preaching a sermon each Sunday morning, and teaching a men's Sunday School class. For the first few months I also directed the choir and later sang in the choir.
In the fall of 1958 we invited a representative of Moody Bible Institute, Dr. Will R. Johnson, from Galveston, Texas, to come for a week of meetings. He was a grand old fellow, a retired Methodist minister, and did a good job of teaching. He conducted Bible studies at the church each morning, and preached in the evenings, for a whole week. Though he was very good, there was little response to his ministry. As no one else seemed interested, or offered to entertain Dr. Johnson, we put him up at our ancient house. He slept in the narrow "upstairs bedroom" where David had his cot. That worked out fine, except that one morning we heard a terrible thumping, and found that Dr. Johnson had fallen down the stairs! Fortunately, he was not injured! He taught us to sing that great song by Charles Wesley "Oh, Can It Be?" That has been one of my favorites ever since.
Oh, another thing! I wanted some way of presenting Bible stories visually. Jane sometimes used her hand-drawn flannelgraph scenes when telling Bible stories. I wanted something more professional. With my sister Jean's financial help, we bought a good screen and projector for use with both slides and film strips. We still have both "tools," and use them frequently. They were helpful. For the Sunrise Easter service in 1959 I showed a film strip of the crucifixion, and sang a solo "Were You There." I think probably the people were sick of my singing solos!
David obtained the job of mowing the city park soon after we arrived in Houstonia. That meant we must buy a power mower. It was a large area to mow, and sometimes I had to spell him a bit to get the job done. Mary soon became a member of the local 4-H club, and made many friends there. David also mowed the church yard. For entertainment, he often went fishing with neighbor boys, and had much fun doing that, and swimming in the farmponds.
In late winter, about March of 1959, we all came down with Asiatic flu, that was epidemic in the whole area. We all became sick at once. To get medical care, we had to drive to Sweet Springs, to the nearest clinic. I was almost too sick to drive, but the girls were very sick, and needed shots. We went up there two or three times, and had to sit in the waiting room each time with crowds of other sick folks.
After one of those visits to the doctor, I really thought I might die! My pulse that night was down to about 50, and I was terribly nauseated and suffering from diarrhea, as well. Every time I made a dash for the bathroom I became very light-headed, and fainted once or twice. Eventually, of course, we all recovered.
Apart from our visiting with Jimmie and Naomi Eads, the Southern Baptist pastor and his wife, we had no contact with other ministers. I felt that we needed that. Also, there was no church camp anywhere in our area where we might send our children. So after getting the address from the Covenant pastor at Savonburg, I wrote to the Covenant Camp near Grand Island, Nebraska, and asked if there were any possibility that we could attend their family camp. They replied at once with a cordial invitation. That turned out to be a most pleasant week. We took a day driving up, and had lots of fun in the classes, meetings, at meals, fishing, etc. When the camp was over, the pastor of the Covenant Church in Lindsborg, Kansas, invited us to stay at his place overnight, on our way to visit Jane's mother. We did that, and had a great visit with him and his wife.
In the spring of 1959, one church member, a farmer, came and plowed the garden spot for us. I put in a large garden. It did very well, as we had plenty of rain. Jane canned many jars of produce that summer, and we had enough to share with others. A lady in the church, and a farm family who were friends, though not active in the church, loaned me their garden tillers from time to time. The machines helped keep the weeds controlled.
We have always enjoyed harvesting things from nature, mostly to eat. There were many black walnut trees in the countryside around Houstonia. With permission of the landowners, we gathered sacks of walnuts in the fall of 1958 and again in 1959. Sunday afternoons, to help me unwind after preaching, I sometimes went down in the basement and cracked black walnuts for an hour or so. That is slow work, as you may know, but the meats were tasty in cookies and cakes. We also harvested wild grapes, and made jelly from them each year.
In the fall of 1959 the church board approved my suggestion that we invite Harold and Mary Lou Tannehill, from Billings, to come for a series of evangelistic meetings. They came down, as scheduled, and we had "so- so" attendance. Harold preached the first two or three nights on prophecy, jumping hither and yon in the Scriptures in a way that I was sure was confusing to the congregation. It worried me, so after praying seriously for the right way to handle the situation, I decided I must say something. I asked Harold the next morning if it would not be better for him simply to give us good old-fashioned salvation messages. That offended both Harold and Mary Lou, and I was almost sorry I had said anything. But from there on Harold preached for decision, and on the last night of the meeting, one high school girl come forward. I had the pleasure of praying with her to receive Jesus. I think the Tannehills went home a bit unsure whether I was really a sound Christian, as things were a bit cool between us for years after that.
There were some very fine Christian people in the church, and we really appreciated the support they gave us. Most, however, were indifferent. A family reunion or just about any other excuse was sufficient to keep them away from worship and mid-week services. I feel that I was probably wrong in that I always wondered about the absentees, instead of rejoicing in those who did come. I had many a silent struggle with the problem.
In February of 1960 I received an invitation from the Covenant Church to attend their midwinter conference in Kansas City. I think that was a response to our attending the family camp in Nebraska. That was great, and I could hardly contain myself at the prospect of having fellowship with the many pastors who would be there. I went to the conference, and had several interesting conversations with older men in the Covenant.
One, an old traditionalist, must have been afraid that I was trying to weasel my way into the Covenant. He told me strongly, after learning that I did not believe in the baptism of infants, that there was no place for me in the Covenant! Another distinguished man, Gilbert Swenson, senior pastor of the large First Covenant Church in Rockford, Illinois, talked to me at considerable length. I told him that I felt I should move on from the church in Houstonia, but didn't know where to look.
As it turned out, he thought I could work well in the Covenant. Only a couple of weeks after the conference I had an invitation to come to Rockford, Illinois, to candidate at Evergreen Covenant Church, a small, new church on the outskirts of the city. That was encouraging! Jane was invited to come, too, and we took the train from Sedalia to St. Louis and from there to Chicago. We were met in the Chicago station by a friendly couple who drove us to Rockford, about eighty miles away. I preached at both morning and evening services, had a meeting with the board that evening, and immediately had a call to come there as pastor! I accepted, and we returned to Houstonia very happy!
Although it was awkward for David and Mary to have to change schools in the middle of the school year, we arranged to move to Rockford in early April. We had stayed longer (about 20 months) in the community church than any one of the previous twelve preachers. One man had boasted to me that they had "gone through" twelve preachers in a period of 13 years! The new opportunity in Rockford was encouraging, so there was no question whether we should go there. The small, but active, congregation of Evergreen Covenant Church was an energetic group. They had built the church building as a team, and now were ready to try something new. In a series of phone calls, we arranged a date when a group of the men would come to Houstonia to help us move. They would bring a moving truck, gather up all our possessions, and move us to Rockford in one day! Though only a few hundred miles, it sounded like a big undertaking to us.
We set about packing, and had everything ready on the appointed day before the move. That evening we had been feeling a bit sorry for ourselves, since it appeared that the church in Houstonia was totally indifferent to our leaving. Oh, a few folks had come by to say "good-bye," but not many. I remember we ate in the little cafe down town, and then drove back home right at dusk. When we walked in the front door, the lights came on and we found nearly everyone from the church crowded in the house! They had planned a grand farewell surprise party, and carried it off very well. There were gifts and little speeches, and then they all left. They had given us a set of china, that I thought was beautiful
Very early the next morning, while eating our breakfast, we noticed a strange truck parked near the church. Then came a knock at our door! The men from Evergreen Church in Rockford had arrived during the night. They had slept in the truck, and now were ready to load our things. With a busy crew, that didn't take long. One man stayed to ride with us, to make sure we didn't get lost. After a final cleaning of the house, we were on our way to a new start in what I hoped would be a very different situation. How different it was must wait for a later chapter.