A study of the Methodist youth movement

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Content A STUDY OF
TÏDS %D5TTB3D]I3T WHDVEBCEEn?
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Religion
University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Theology
by
Thomas Roy Pende11
June 1938
UMI Number: EP65095
All rights reserved
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Disssrtatien Rjblt&h*ng
UMI EP65095
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This thesis, written under the direction of the
candidate’s Faculty Coiraaittee and approved by all
its members, has been presented to and accepted by
the Faculty of the School of Religion in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
mSTER OF IREOLOOY
Date May 20, 1938
Faculty Committee
.ai
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PACE
I. THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS TTSED . . . . . . 1
The problem . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Definitions of terms used ......... 3
Methodism, Methodist . ................. 3
Youth movement . . . - .................. 3
Methodist youth movement.......... 5
Previous studies ....... ............ 5
Method and procedure....................... 6
II. YOUTH AND THE CHURCH........................ 8
The importance of youth for the
church .. ..................... »...♦ 8
The Methodist Board of Education ...... 8
Other influences affecting youth .......... 9
The new world that youth faces .......... 10
The dilemma of the churches................ IS
III. THE YOUTH MOVEMENT IN AMERICA............... 14
The war and its effect upon youth. ..... 14
Youth movement before the war. ...... 14
The World War. 15
The effect of the war.............. 16
In the United States....................... 17
Stirrings of youth . ................... 17
CHAPTER
The depression and youth .............
The interdenominational Christian youth
movement .............................
Unrest among church youth ......
Youth outside the church. ......
Heirs of Rauschenhusch ........
Birth of the interdenominational youth
movement ........ . . ...... .
Development of the united program
• IV. BACKGROUND OF THE METHODIST YOUTH MOVEMENT .
Youth in Methodism’s heritage .........
The "old" program for Methodist youth. . .
The organization of the Epworth League .
Rise of the Epworth League .......
The international conventions. . . . . .
Other elements of the Epworth League . .
The ’ ’ new’ ’ program for Methodist youth. • .
Failure of the old
Two socially conscious gatherings. . . .
Seeking for the ”new” ............ . .
The first reaction. .. ....... .
The deeper results.
iii
PAGE
20
22
22
25
26
26
30
35
35
36
36
36
37
40
41
41
42
44
46
46
iv
CHAPTER PAGE
V. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE METHODIST YOUTH
MOVEMENT................ * 49
The 1934 National Conference of Methodist
Youth................................ 50
The call. .......... 50
The sessions.............. 51
The findings..................... 56
The movement gets under way............. 62
First meeting of the executive committee. . 63
The Board of Education meets........... 64
Further developments in the field ..... 65
The 1935 National Council of Methodist
Youth......................... 66
The sessions. ......................... 66
The findings.......... 71
VI. THE CRISIS................................... 74
Evidence of growing hostility ............... 76
The conservatives become alarmed....... 76
The Board of Education meeting ........ 77
The 1936 executive committee meeting. . . . 80
The General Conference of 1936........... ». 81
Tension in the church. ............ 31
V
OHAPTSR PAGE
Action in regard to young people’s work. . . 83
Reelection of Doctor Eiselen ^ . 83
Election of Board of Education membership.,. 83
Dismissal of the youth leaders ....... 86
The 1936 National Conference of Methodist
Youth .............. 91
The sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
The findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
The closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
The consultative committee and the Board
of Education. . . . . . . . . . . 101
The consultative committee . . . . . . . . . 101
The Board of Education takes action. .... 103
VII THE ORGANIZED MOVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
The 1937 National Council................... 105
The 1937 Student Conference ....... 109
The Executive Committee meets again......... 110
Its present position of leadership ..... 112
The future . . . . . . . . . . . 112
VIII CONCLUSION ................... 114
BIBLIOORAPHY......................................... I'iS-
APPENDIX A. ’ ’Personnel Chart,” San Francisco Area,
Methodist Youth Assembly ...... Ï25
Vi
PAGEC
APPENDIX. B. Offices of National Council of
Methodist Youth .......... 128 ‘
APPENDIX C. Present Status of Christian Youth
Council .............. 131
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITION OF TERMS USED
"Something is happening*." remarked an adult observer
as he watched the hundreds of young people from all parts of
the United States pouring into Evanston, Illinois, to attend
the first meeting of the National Conference of Methodist
Youth. It was an astute abservation. Nearly four years
have passed since that time and the truth of the statement
is daily becoming more evident. We have today what many
term a Methodist Youth Movement. Its significance is
becoming more and more widely recognized. What it means
to the future can scarcely be surmised.
I. THE PROBLEM
Time anddagain down through history the really sig
nificant events were the ones passed over by the writers and
the observers of the day as being inconsequential. Great
movements have their birth in very humble surroundings.
Their fame and glory are things of the future, while at the
present time other movements and events hold the center of
interest. The result is that when historians become cog
nizant of their importance and seek to come to a full under
standing of their background, the forces that gave rise to them,
and their early history, it is too late, the evidence having been
déBti?oyed, Tostt or forgotten» .
Since the time of the World War one of the importante
symptoms of the times has been the appearance, in various
sectors of the world, of what have been termed "youth move
ments." The implications of these movements are significantt
sociologically, religiously, and politically. The MethOdistt
Youth MÔvement is one of the manifestations of this upsurging
of the world’s youth. While those individuals who have
taken an active partbin its early history are still access
ible, and while the happenings are still vivid in their minds,
it is the time to make a permanent record of:those beginnings
and early crises that will be of value and interest in future"
years *
T^e purpose of this study shall be three-fold. First,
it will seek to discover those conditions that gave rise to
the movements Secondly, it will attempt to obtain an accur
ate history of the early development of the movements In
the third place, it will seek to determine whether it can
truly be termed a "youth movement" in the strict sense of
that phrase.
Of course, in any such endeavor, the danger always
remains that those factors that we consider of tremendous
promise forttomorrow may be overestimated.. We take thatt
chance. However, in this particularrcase, opinion is held
by so many that this movementbdoes portend great things for
3
tomorrow that we hazard the time and money necessary for such
a study. Even should the movement in future years come to
naught, it is the opinion of the writer that the situation
giving rise to the movement, the widespread interest it has
secured, and the work it has already accomplished will make
such a study highly desirable.
II. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED
Methodism, Methodist. When the terms ’ ’ Methodism” and
’ ’ Methodist” are used, it will be assumed, if they are not
further qualified, that they refer to the Methodist Episcopal
Church. There are other important branches of world and Am
erican Methodism, but in the United States the Methodist Epis
copal Church is considerably the largest and it will be to this
denomination that reference is made.
^ Youth movement. There is misunderstanding and con
fusion as to what makes a ’ ’youth movement”. Probably it
will be impossible to find a definition that is wholly satis
factory. There is nothing artificial about youth movement.
There is nothing stereotyped. It arises out of life itself
and may express itself in many ways. Youth, finding itself
growing up in a world where freedom to develop its personal
ity to the fullest is denied, where custom and arbitrary rules
bind it, revolts from the status quo and starts out to seek
for itself those qualities of life on which it places highest
value•
Part of it is disillusionment about old dogmas, disen
chantment about the activities of the older generation,
which have proved to be utterly irrelevant to the purposes
of life. Part of it is the transfer of allegiance from
the authority of dogmas to the authority of the scientific
method. The significant characteristic.is not irrespon
sible "èelf-expression"; it is social consciousness, thee
desire for freedom to create and express personality."
As to its organization, definitions differ. "An or^
ganized youth movement," says a Dutch student at Gdlumbia
University, "is a contradiction of terms. You can*tbhave
the free spontaneous expression of spirit for which youth
stands and at the same time have it all qianipulated through
some office."^ Yet the obvious fact is that, unless one.
intends to consider the movement in abstract terms such as
a renaissance, it does find its expression through very defi
nite organization.
We must be careful at this point to realize that a
youth movement does not include the average youth organiza--
tion. Most such groups are organi^^ed by adults for young
people. The Russell Sage Foundation, in its list of youth
movements in America,^ eliminates "the many organizations
^Allan A. Hunter. Youth’s Adventure (New York; D.-Ap
pleton and Company, 1925), p. 3.
“Allan A* Hunter, "Stirring of Youth", Forum. 72:787
December, 1924.
^Marguerite P. williams. Youth Movements Here and
Abroad (New York: Russell Sage Fdundation, 1936).
conducted in the interests of youth Only those orgair—
izatlons having "either active youth participation in theirr
major.decisions or which are entirely directed by young
people themselves "'^qualify . .
Probably the best definition is that given in the
Annals of the American Academy which describes a youth
movement as an
Organized effort on the part of youth itself directed
toward a goal identified with the interests of youngs
people and with the general welfare of society; Youth
in pursuit of a dominant ideal for a new adventure, a
major cause in which youth can lose itself, or break
from the stuffy bounds of narrow living.5
Methodist Youth Movement. By the "Methodist Youth
Movement" will be interpreted that movement of young people
in the Methodist Episcopal Cfturch resulting in and finding
expression through the National Council of Methodist Youth..
III. PREVIOUS STUDIES
No thorough report has to this time been made ofithe
Methodist Youth Movement. . Various articles have from time
to time appeared in current newspapers and magazines. These:
4
Hayes Beall, What Is the National Council of
Methodist Youth? (Chicagoî'Board of Education, Methodistt
Episcopal Church, 1937), p. 11.
^Thomas F. Neblett, "Youth Movements in the United
States," Annals of the American Academy of Political and
Social Sciences, 194^142, November, 1937.
65
haveepractically all .dealt with some specific aspecttof the
program.. The NationaliCouncil of MethodisttYouth has had a
published or mimeographed reporttof each of its four annual
meetings up to the present time. These reports.-contain con—
siderable historical material, but none givess a complete pica*
ture. In answer to a demand for information^ HayeS : BealP, ,
a former president ; has recently prepared a handbook on Whatt.
Is the National Council? However, this handbook was prepared
principally for groups in the local churches of Methodism with
the purpose of bringing out discussion as to their places in
relationship toothe National Council.' It fails to gootb any
length in giving historical background..
Thereohas been, then, no thorough study of this youth
movement. This study will be the firstbtb reach outtand
bring together the many interrelated materials bearing on thisr
subjects..
IV; METHOD AND PROCEDURE
In securing the facts for this study severalltypes of
source^material were used. In the firsttplace, there wereo
the many magazine articles dealing with specific elements off
the movement. The official publications.of the National!
CduncilJand cooperating groups werec available, and gave_ highly /
important information;
Various unpublished materials were gathered fromu
those who have been at the center of the movement, much of
itthaving had only the most limited circulation.
Letters were mailed to many of the adult leaders- who i
had direct brelationship with the movement to secure those
facts that were not available elsewhere; Those with differ*
viewpoints and backgrounds were contacted, soothat the find
ings might be as unprejudiced and as accurate as possible.
The information supplied by these people is extremely rich
from an historical point of view, although some of it musttgo
unstated at the presentttime because of the proximity of the
events and the,emotions that have been aroused in some of
the early crises; Because of their varied relationships to
the Methodist CHurch, the names of these men have largely
been omitted.
Finally, but far from the leasttin importance, it has?
been the writer’s privilege : to bervery close to the Youth
Movement from its second year to the present time. Since
the selection of this topiccfor the thesis, he has been
honored by being elected first to the executive board of
the council, then to the presidency, and, within the pastbfew;
weeks, to the executive secretaryship. This closeness to
the movement has , allowed him an intimate knowledge of many
of-the happenings that twould have otherwise been extremely
difficult , or altogether impossible.to obtain.
CHAPTER II
YOUTH AND THE CHURCH
The Importance of youth for the church. The church
is at no time more than one generation from extinction. The
youth of any one generation could, if they acted as a unit,
completely annihilate the church as we know it by mere in
difference. The church today is vitally aware of that potent
fact. It views with justified alarm great groups of young
people altogether unattached to any church and totally ig
norant or indifferent to its message. The church knows that
what the youth of today are the church of tomorrow will be.
The result of this has been that during past decades
the church has been putting more and more money and time
into the child and youth program. The Sunday School itself
is of comparatively recent development. The young people’s
societies within the framework of the church, such as the
Epworth League, the Christian Endeavor, the Baptist Young
People’s Union, originated in the last century. Religious
Education has developed from a crude quoting of Biblical
passages into a highly scientific profession with paid
workers. '
The Methodist Board of Education. In the Methodist
Church the key to this whole field ultimately lies with one
9?
of Its national boards created by the ruling body of the church,
the General Conference. This key board is the Board of Educa -
tion.^ It is responsible directly to the General Conference.
Its importance is recognized in that the type of religious
education it provides will to a large extent determine the
type of church we are to have tomorrow. Furthermore, the
tremendous effect the total membership of such a large church
as the Methodist Episcopal has on the country as a whole, its
morality, its idealism, and its institutions,is something "that
must be taken into account in any appraisal of the day and
time in which we live.
Other influences affecting, youth. It would be naive
to assume, however, that a comparatively small body of men,
such as the Board of Education,could sit down together and
arbitrarily determine the future line of progress, the think
ing and life outlook, of the total Methodist Church, to say
nothing of the country as a whole. There are many dther
factors to be taken into consideration. The Board is limited
by many things, not the least of which are inadequate finan
cial resources and lack of adëqüate leadership. Out on the
field its work is limited in the larger church by custom, tra
dition, and prejudice. Secular education is a potent force.
Ijohn W. Langdale, editor. Discipline of the Methodist
Episcopal Church 1936 (New York; Methodist Book Concern,1936)
pp. 437_ 63.
lo
Motion pictures, the press, and the radio, all come into the
situation; Technological and scientific advance have a tre
mendous effect on the thinking of the rising generation; Pol
itical events, economic conditions, and social movements
probably have more effect upon us than we imagine.
The new world that youth faces. Life is different
today. The World War marks a turning point, not only in the
world’s political history, but in the lives of ordinary men.
Not that the war itselfl is the cause, although its effects
are not to be minimized, but it came at the time when the old
order was passing and the new was entering. Today we are
living in an interdependent , complex, confused civilization
that few, if any, can understand* Automobiles, motion pic
tures, the radio, telephone and telegraph, airplanes, mass
education, urbanization, all help to put the modern youth in
a situation that young people have never been in before.
The change in mores, the loss of certain types of social pres
sure, the skepticism and intellectual ferment of the day free
his mind, as the new means of travel have freed his body. He
finds himself, in a world that is chaotic, not only in its per
sonal morality and social relationships, but in its fundamental
philosophy of life a s well. "Everything is change’ ’ could
certainly be applied to this day and age.
In the center of all this confusion and wodder and
terror and fear stands the young person looking out upon life.
11
He is a different person from what his father and mother
were at his age. They were provincial. He is cosmopolitair;
He knows little of the day of the horse and buggy, of kerosene
lampsr of long winter nights alone with his family. He caress
less. There is plenty to be worked out for himself withoutt
bothering with past ages. And if he should be the typeethatl,
is unable to work anything out, there are plenty of activities
to keep him busy and free from the trouble ofthinking. Butt
this is nottthe type we are concerned about in this study.
We are dealing with the young person who is able to think
for himself, who dares to overturn the old when it has
failed, who sees afar the dream city of his noblest aspira--
tions, who seeks to find a trail whereby he may reach it.
It would be useless to attempt to cite the personal,,
social, and theological problems facing youth today. Itt
would take many such studies to state them adequately, many3
theses on these problems having already been prepared. Suf
fice it to say that the thinking of the day has not goneiby
without a very definite effect upon the thinking of the
church youth as well as upon those on the outside. A studyy
made at a large gathering of Methodist youth in the West re
vealed that the majority had views upon religion and social
problems that would have been considered by their parents as
p
both heretical and revolutionary.
12
The dilemma of the churches. The whole picture
makes a real problem for the churches. Ruled and governed,
for the most part, by men and women who grew up in a differ
ent age and with a different background and outlook upon life,
how can the church develop a program that will hold and keep
young people in the twentieth century? If it loses them,
the church is on the road to extinction. But on the other
hand, and here the orthodox churchman is equally horrified,
if they remain in the church and take an active part;, they
may revolutionize the thinking and activity in such a mannen-
as to upset what their elders %eld sacred and inviolable.
It is a dilemma, and it is faced with fear and trembling.
Yet it is in that picture that we find the origin of the
Methodist Youth Movement.
2 ■
Carl C. Seitter, compiler, "Personnel Chart, San
Francisco Area Methodist Youth Assembly," 1935. See Appendix,
pp. 125-7.
CHAPTER III
THE YOUTH MOVEMENT IN AMERICA
It used to be that youth was merely an intermediary
stage between childhood and adulthood. It was looked upon
as a necessary transition period when the individual, no
longer a child, would serve in a sort of "apprenticeship"
before being recognized as a valuable part of society. He
was no longer a child, and would not receive the many
considerations received by children. Neither v/as he an adult,
and he would not receive the consideration in the older
society that adults receive. His opinions were minor consid
erations, not having been tested in the school of experience.
Consequently it was a time of life through which one should
go as quickly as possible. Long skirts for the girls and
mustaches for the boys were the means by which one could the
sooner emerge into the adult society. In the meantime, it
was expected that "boys will be boys", which finally found
expression in the typical collegiate "rah-rah" boy with little
more on his mind than football games and "dates", or in other
words, a good time. In a world freed from the restrictions
of childhood and not yet with the responsibilities of. adult
society, it was indeed a world within a world.
But something has happened to change this attitude
toward and of youth. It is a far cry from that approach
14
to life to the eager, devoted young people found in the
youth movements after the World War. Now youth sees it
self as having a right to exist for its own sake, and feels
that in itself it has a contribution to make to society that
is distinctive and would otherwise go undone. It feels its
importance and is proud that it is young. It looks forward
to becoming a part of the adult society, not that it may be
come submerged under the existing mores, but that it will
transform society to a new pattern. It feels itself the vi
tal part of a new crusade.
I. THE WAR AND ITS EFFECT UPON YOUTH
Youth movement before the war. There were signs
even before the World War that youth was reaching out for
something new. Science, the breakdown of certain customs
and social pressures, the new machine age, and the spread of
education were beginning to have some effect. In Germany
the Wandervoegel. a great youth movement, first appeared in
1897.'^ The growing industrialization and urbanization were
potent factors in this "back to nature” movement that swept
over Germany. They shared a "common love of nature and a
common desire to break away from the superimposed restrictions.
^Stanley High, The Revolt of Youth (New York;Abing
don Press, 1923), p. 55.
15
2
of the school, the church, and the home." "To form our
own life in sincerity and upon our own responsibility"
was their aim; and it is suggested that the very indefiniteness
of aim shows the spontaneity and significance behind it
In America we can see at this time the growing spread
of youth serving agencies* While nothing comparable to thee
post-war youth movement was present, the decades preceding
the war saw the organization and the rapid growth of such
groups as the Epworth League and Christian Endeavor in the
churches, the Y.M.C.A,, the Y.W.C.A., theBoy Scouts. The
nuclei of political youth groups were present; The spiritt
was largely the urging of youth to the conquest of new fron-
tiersIt was not so much in terms cffrevolution of ideas,,
as in further expansion*
The World War. The coming of the World War changed
the entire picture. As Stanley High puts its
The youth of Etirope, going about youth’s meaningless
odd jobs, were suddenly taken from their apprenticeships
in August, 1914, and given the task of saving a threat
ened civilization. From the seclusion of inexperience
they became, overnight, the center of world attention*
Their Importance was proclaimed from flaming placards, .
p. 56
^Ibld,. p. 57.
^Thomas R. Neblett, ’ ’Youth Movements in the United
States," Annals of the American Academy, 194:143, November,*3
1937.
le
and in the impassioned speeches of elder_patriots In
city halls and parliaments. To them, for four years,.
the faith and hope of the world, werec fixed.. ...America?
too was out to win the war withhher youth];
Then came the armistice and demobilizaton.. The
world situation,.being no longer a matter of blood and
iron, of"quick-thinking, unerring judgment, and cool
self- confidence”, reverted to the hands of the elder
statesmen. The youths... were left toofind their own
bewildered way back to their old apprenticeships.....
There are no placards or oratorical appeals to herald
its reappearing, only the kindly tolerance of matUrer
minds for what* in times of peace, are called "youthh
ful idealisms”.
The effect of the war. The effect of the war upon
youth cannot easily be stated. It had both a direct and
an indirect effect. The direct effect was on those who par
ticipated and those who were serving in the home lands. As
stated by Stanley High in the preceding paragraph, youth had
been given an ideal to fight for. Its importance had been
stressed. These could not be forgotten, even though they
soon discovered that the ideal held up had been a trick.Cyn
icism, skepticism, and disappointment were rampant, but some--
where there must be a better way.
The indirect effect of the war came through the change
in civilizaton it largely caused. The world discovered that
itt was a neighborhood. It found that great areas were in the
midst of confusion and bewilderment. Economic inadjustmentI
%igh, op. cit., pp. 11413.
17
abounded, with consequent poverty, squalor, and unrest. In
the midst of the upheaval caused by the war, the new discov
eries of science were making themselves felt, adding to the
disorder. The old life of pre-war days was gone. No one
knew quite what the new day was to be, but all over the
world nations and peoples were reaching out toward it.
In it all a new voice appeared, the voice of youth.
It expressed itself through the various youth movements,which
spread rapidly. The youth of India, the youth of China, the
youth of England, France, the new republic of Czechoslovakia,
began to look toward the future. But it was in Germany where
this movement flowered. Here it was a "spontaneous uprising
against the superimposed restrictions of the home, the church,
6
and the school" . They were not all of one mind. The
movement found expression through various types of organiza
tions. Some were Catholic, socialist, democratic, proletar
ian, bourgeois, and nationalist. They maintained their power
and influence down to the time of Hitler’s coup, and then
were absorbed into the Hitler youth movement.
II. IN THE UNITED STATES
Stirrings of youth. The youth of America were in a
different position from the youth of Europe and Asia at the
%bld. , p. 214
18:
close of the war, . They were living in a genuine democracy
where by its very nature they were given more privileges. .
Their country was prosperous. It was the day of feverish
activity, which lasted until 1929. Opportunity beckoned
from every corner. Although there was always unemploymenti;
i4i did nottseriously affect bthe rank and file of youth. Im
a material sense the youth of America had little to revolt
against•
But there-were other factors having their influence.
Even though they had material opportunity, the sudden revo--
lution of the world's ideology was having its effect. Whàtt
had before the war been considered permanent and sacred now
became transient and inconsequential. Youth was not alto
gether satisfied with complete liberty. Free, but foi5 what?.
"So what?" a hackneyed phrase, typifies their attitude..
The disillusionment of the post-war period gave rise to a
groping for a higher reality which would be permanent.
Allan Hunter, writing in 1925, said:
This disorganized groping for reality and for the re
lease of personality, loosely labeled the youth move
ment, is not to be measured by statistics. In Germany
and China it is conspicuous. In the United States it
is "small as a mustard seed."'
In the earlyytwenties it began to express itself oc
casionally at youth gatherings. Ittis said that early in
^Allan A. Hunter, Youth's Adventure (New York:
D. Appleton and Company, 19257, p. 3.
19
1924%,atba national gathering of the Student Volunt e err Movar
ment % /'there blazed out a fire of protest against the type:
of society that breeds war and race prejudice, which was a
shock to many older witnessesA youth conference was
initiated and directed by the younger generation of
Methodists. At Louisville five(hundred of them from
forty states faced their problems with complete..frank--
ness and an amazing willingness to actt..Vague and senti
mental proposals were given short :shiftt . The discus
sion" was sharply directed toward concret'ecsituations in—
volving the issues of public opinion, racial prejudice:; ,
industrial autocracy, and military preparedness.
_A large number of youth conferences were held that testified
to this awakening of youth.
At Bear Mountain, New York, a conferenceewas held thatt
some said was the birth of the American youth movement.. Ini
March, 1924, young people came together thererto work outb
their common problems. They came from the I.W.W., the Chris
tian Endeavor, the Young People's Socialist[League, the Young
People's League of the United Synagogues of America,.the
Young Friends - Society. Together they discussed militarism,,
10
race prejudice, birth control, and economic problems.
Yet in spite of these stirrings, it was not typical!
of the average young people in America. Prosperity wasitOOD
much with them, and they were caught : up in the enthusiasm of
^Allan A. Hunter, "Stirring of Youth."Forum. 72:788,
December, 1924. .
^Ibld.. p. 791.
p, 791.
80
the day in which they lived. In 1926 one author could
write that three separate groups, each hoping to become the
youth movement of America, had either disbanded or material
ly retrenched in the last few months. They could not se
cure the support of youth. "There is no youth movement in
America," the author continued, "and there is not likely to
be one."
The depression and youth. Thomas F. Neblett, writing
12
in the Annals of the American Academy, states that there are
three steps in the development of the youth movement:--first,
the activities leading up to the time of the World War; second,
the spread of the movement after the war up to the time of
the depression; third, the increase in youth’s activity
during and since the depression. Before the war the movement
was not strongly felt or widely recognized. After the war
it became a factor in any consideration of youth. With the
coming of the depression it really became significant.
The severity and the length of the depression caused
youth to stop and think. Unemployed, on relief, without money
enough with which to get married, with few doors of oppor
tunity opening for either the high school or college graduate,
11
Granville Hicks, "No Youth Movement in America,"
Christian Century, 43:443, April 8, 1926.
&eblett, cit., p. 143.
21
youth had time to think. The ideological lack of foundation
of the preceding years and the intellectual turmoil demanded
a re-evaluation of life. Ideas and philosophies which had
been kept alive by militant minorities now found ready hear
ers. The old values and standards that had survived the war
were now knocked down by the depression. Youth began ear
nestly looking toward the future.
The Student League of Industrial Democracy, faced with
the growing problems of economic confusion and world chaos,
split into two groups in 1933, the socialist young people,
maintaining the League for Industrial Democracy, and the
communist group, forming the National Students’ League. But
as the world moved on seemingly in a catastrophic rush into
militarism and fascism, in 1935 they reconciled their differ
ences and formed the American Student Union, with chapters on
college and university campuses from coast to coast. It was
this group that originated the "Student Strike against War",
which, through obtaining the cooperation of other important
organizations of youth, by 1937 took one million students into
their anti-war demonstration.^*^
The National Student Federation, originally organized
in 1925, took a renewed interest in public affairs. The Am
erican Youth Congress, seeking to bring together all the
, p. 147.
22
liberal youth, began with an enthusiastic conference in 1934
at New York City, and since that:tinie has come into national
prominence.
But for youth as a whole,concludes Mr* Neblett in his
study, there is no dominant ideal1around which enthusiasm may
center. And for that reason we turn to a movement that began
to show its head about this tim^ which was built around a n
ideal that has challenged mankind for nearly two milleniurns.
III. THE INTERDENOMINATIONAL
CHRISTIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT
The influences of the day could not pass by the youth
in the American churches. Today life is unified, although
complex, and very few areas remain sealed to the outside in
fluences that are so numeroua and interwoven.
Unrest amonn church youth. The church youth are tra
ditionally the conservative youth. Holding on to the status
quo, they are expected to be the last to fall in line when
any new movement comes along. Today that is fast changing,
and we find the youth of the church in the forefront of the.
struggle, while society around gasps or shouts, "Radicals!"
The reason for this change is complex. Much of it,of
course, rests upon those influences that already have been
noted as affecting youth in general. But there are some spe
cial factors affecting youth in the churches that should be
25
mentioned.
The development of science has perhaps been one of the
most important single factors in causing unrest among church
youth. Theories and facts discovered by the scientist, often
times not agreeing with what they had always assumed was
inviolable truth, upset their calm equilibrium and started
them questioning and doubting what had always been given as
the verities of their faith.
A parallel movement in the field of religion itself
was what has been termed "higher criticism". It is the
scientific study of the Bible, armed with information from
the study of other sources, that give light to the origin
and development of that book. The results have caused a
revolution in Christian thinking. Many old concepts have
been thrown overboard by scholars concerning the "inspiration"
of the scriptures, the infallibility of the Bible, and the
meaning of divine revelation. In their places have come new
religious values. Progressive development of religion, pro
gressive revelation, and continuous creation are samples of these.
Two results of this new approach deserve special men
tion. One is the rediscovery of the personality of the
Old Testament prophets and the other is the rediscovery of
the historical Jesus. The effect has been dynamic. Realiza
tion of the true situations in which these characters lived
has given a reality and a thrust to their lives and messages
24
that fori centuries had been lost. It" has to a large extentb
counterbalanced the movement of intellectuals, under the
influence of science, away from the church*.
The.result of this new interesttin these historical
characters has been the promulgation of what"has been knowni
as the "social gospel". Under such leaders as"Walter Raus—
chenbusch of England in the early partiof the century,it has
14
rapidly reached out into all of Protestantism. In brief,
its purpose is to-bring the spirit of Gftpist's love and at
titude into the social conditions in which man finds himself
tod^yj. It makes Christianity work. Itbforces it to make
the ideal which it professes real in the actual situations of
war, industrialism, capitalism, race dis crimination.Probably
Walter Rauschenbusch is the most influential personality in
the recent history of Protestantism.
All .these factors that have been listed had a specials
effect upon youth. In the colleges and seminaries they came
into contact with this whole new approach to religion and they
soon discovered that the older members of the church who had
been trained under the older tradition could not understand
or appreciate their position. Churches seemed to stifle their
religion.. They could not find an opportunity to express them
selves through it. Youth was uneasy.
^Walter Rauschenbusch, Christianity and the Sbcial
Crisis (New York; George H, Doran Company,1907), 422 pp.
25
Youth outside the church. In the meantime, enough
of the new scientific approach had reached the youth outside
the church to make them skeptical of the entire Christian
program. Many young people both within and without the church
who came in contact with the negative and destructive elements
of the new scholarship remained in complete ignorance of the
new positive program of the Christian message and Christian
church, a situation which is ètill going on today. The re
sult is that youth as a whole is not in church. A recent
writer travelled over ten thousand miles in the United States
in a second hand car, talking with boys and girls wherever
opportunity afforded itself, in schools, in homes, at work,
and at play. Her findings concerning their attitude toward
religion are significant.
By and large, they have no religion. The church of
their fathers belongs to the horse and buggy age.
. ...religion has no place, or at best no vital place,
in the lives of the majority of the boys and girls with
whom we talk.
In the Midwest "Bible belt", in the South, and in the
New England villages, they go regularly to church,
sometimes because it’s sociable, and it’s the thing to do.
Sometimes they go because their families are devout, and
it’s easier to go than to argue or hurt their parents’
feelings.
l^Maxihe Davis, The Lost Generation (New York: MacMillan
Company, 1936) p. 68.
,p.69
Davis, loo. cit.
26
They do not Interest the despairing hy hope of heaven
nor do they deter the wayward by threat of hell. Judg
ment Day has * appâreâtlÿ. been mofe:. opmpletely discredited
than Hoover in 1932. • . .Our youth are so absorbed in
living today that they do not look at tomorrow.
Possibly the writer’s own opinions may bo reflected in her
findings, but at least they represent a very definite trend.
Heirs of Rausohenbusoh. But while this movement away
from the church and religion was going on, the new ideology
was reaching a larger and larger group of youth. One young
man writes concerning the problems of society:
Rationalization, shorter working hours, improved trade
do not touch the problem; an entire change of spirit, of
face, and of outlook is needed. X believe this change
has already started. I believe that many people, espec-
ally young people, are today looking toward the society
of Christ not only as an ideal but as a longed for real
ity, a reality where nation will speak unto nation not
over tariff walls but over the planks of common inter
ests and common progress, where the whole human race will
be united in one brotherhood of good will. . . .The society
of Christ offers us our only salvation; you can see that
if you stop to think.
Birth of the interdenominational youth movement. In
the month of June, 1934, there appeared an article in the
New Outlook entitled, "In Search of a Youth Movement". The
author cited several of the youth groups that were in the
field, but ends his survey as Granville Hicks had done eight
years before with the remark that anyone "who will set out
18
Ibid., p.71.
19
W. Kenworthy, "Youth Looks Ahead", Forum, 94:244.
27
to search for the long heralded youth movement in America,
as I have, will be apt to conclude that there is none worthy
20
of the name." That was in June, 1934. During the same
month a group of young people were meeting as Christian youth.
It was the birth of the Christian youth movement#
"In the past there never had been a nation-wide Chris-
21
tian youth movement." Christian youth had been too apath
etic. Even while the "youth revolt" was sweeping the young
people both within and without the church, even at the moment
that, because of the visions of great numbers of Christian
youth, a new movement was coming into being, one of its lead
ers pictured the young people of the average church as having
no sense of mission. Few have any sense of going anywhere
except to church. They feel they want peace but they
know of no strategy of action whereby they can get peace.
They want social justice, but they know that the economic
power is in the hands of a small group of people. They
know that as long as these people have the power, there
■ is little others can do# Consequently they have a sense
of futility, spending their days wondering if they will
be lucky enough to get jobs#^**^
For a dozen years the leaders of young people in the
various churches and Christian agencies had cooperated through
the International Council of Religious Education. When they
met in February, 1934, "they were deeply impressed by the fact
E. Berchtold, "In Search of a Youth Movement",
New Outlook, 163:49, June, 1934.
^^Roy A. Burkhart, "Christian Youth and a New America,"
Missionary Review, 58:333, July, 1935.
^^Loc. Git.
28
that young people in all their agencies were showing a new
concern about religion-- religion as it affects all the areas
23
of personal and social experience." "These leaders knew that
urgent issues...pressed with a cruel insistence upon the soul
of youth and that something must be done. O u t of their
proposals grew the plans for the United Christian Youth Move
ment. In March, 1934, they met with others at a more repre
sentative meeting, drawing up a statement of conviction, and
carrying their plans further. "Building a new world", was the
challenge they gave to the young Protestants of America.
Uniting upon a common program, it was the "first time in the
history of Protestantism all agencies working with youth were
25
actually working together."
About the same time, another division of the Interna
tional Council was working along a parallel line. In June,
1934, the Christian Youth Council of North America met at
Lake Geneva to face the Implications of their religion for
persons and society. The gathering brought 113 young people
and twenty-five adult leaders from thirty-five Christian
23
Report of the Christian Youth Conference of North
America (Chicago: Joint Committee on United Youth Program,
3.
^^Forward Together (Chicago: Committee on United
Christian Youth Movement, 1937), p. 2.
^^Burkhart, £U. cit.. p. 333
29
26
agencies. This representative group of young people,im
five days of earnest and intelligent study, developed the
first outline of what the Cl^ristian Youth Movement might be
come, and made out their own otatement of Christian convic
tion, which read in part as follows;
, the Christian Youth Council of North America,find
ourselves confronted with a task and a situation which
lay upon us the utmost demand for thought and decision
and action. Nineteen hundred years ago there lived upon
the earth one who sounded the depths of the human soul
and reached the heights of spiritual experience and life
as none has done. He laid the foundation of our church.
From him we take our name, and in his nause we have en
listed. He prayed for the coming of His Father's King
dom, where God's righteous will should be done on earth •
We share in his hope, and pray that prayer with him. .
After nineteen centuries, however, we find the will
of C^irist yet unrealized. The Kingdom of Love has not
been established on earth. Calling ourselves Christians,
we have not built upon the earth a CHristian society....
Whileeappreclating the contribution our nations have
made to civilization, we must not be blind to the fact
that millions of our fellows are unemployed and support
ed by charity; millions more live in the constant shadow
of insecurity*-and fear; the majority, even in prosperous
times, dwell in poverty, while the wealth of the world
is controlled by the few. Youths are denied a chance to
prepare for life work; or if they do prepare, they fre
quently find themselves in the long line of the unem-
ployed. . . While Jesus taught the law of cooperation and
good will, we live in a social order that sets every
man's hand against his brother; hatreds of race and nat
ion and class divide us. Professing to follow the Prince
of Peace, we blindly follow the militarists from one war
to another....Growing up to believe in the sacredness of
personality and the value of the Christian home, we find
ourselves denied the opportunity to establish homes of
our own, or forced to compete in a life and death strug
gle for our security.
26
Report of the Christian Youth Conference of North
America(Chicago : Joint Committee on United Youth Program,1936),
p.3.
30
We cannot escape the conclusion that our Christianity
has failed in its task to realize the prayer of our Lord*
Conscious of our failures and our sins, we affirm our
faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Firm in
the faith and with hope for the future, we declare our
purpose to join with those who would bring this strife
and suffering to an end, and build a world of brotherhood,
where God-given resources are used to serve all mankind,
where cooperation replaces competition, where peace
abides in place of war, and where special privilege
gives place to justice and equal opportunity for all.
We are not alone in the task. The strength of Christ
is ours. Divine resources flow through us and human
fellowship sustains us as we give ourselves to the task.
He that loseth his life shall find it.
For us there is no alternative; we give ourselves,
and invite others to join us— Christian youth building
a new world.
Development of the united program. For a time the
Joint Committee on United Youth Program of the International
Council suggested six approaches to the general objective of
"Christian youth building a new world." These were: 1) a
new person, 2) a new home, 3) a new church, 4) a new commun
ity, 5) a new nation, and 6) a new world.
In September, 1934, the Joint Committee revised the
emphases in order that they might be more specific as
follows:
Statement of Christian Conviction (Chicago:
International Council of Religious Education, 1934),
31:
L. Developing a program of personal religious living.
2, Helping Other young people to be Christians,
3, Assistirgin bringing about world peace,
4, Working to help solve the liquor problem*.
5*.Helping build a Christian economic order.
6, Providing a constructive use of leisure time,
7. Being a Christian with other racial and cultural
groups.
6. Preparing for marriage and home life.
9* Developing a Christian type of patriotism
At a later date, probably under the influence of the
National Council of Methodist Youth, a tenth point was added:
10. Sharing the gospel with all the world.
In March, 1935, in cooperation with the Federal Coun
cil of Churches, twenty-nine youth conferences were held
throughout the United States by the movement^contacting fif
teen thousand young people. Summer camps and conferences in
1935 increased its scope. The following winter further con-
conferences were held. On Armistice Day peace demonstrations
28
were held.throughout the country sponsored by the movements
A special lenten emphasis at Easter,1936, was placed on the
devotional life.
As the movement grew, a desire arose to have a great
national gathering wherein all could come together and see
OQ
Forward Together.pp.5-6
32
the magnitude of their task and together find strategy for:
future action* A special committee was appointed with both
youth and adult members, to lay plans* Itiwas arranged fori
Lakeside, Ohio, June 23-28, 1936* The stated purpose was ;
To work out with young people methods by which the
common aims and the essential procedures of the move
ment can be carried out in the areas for which these
young people are responsible;
To develop plans of action by which the ideals of the
movement can be made effective in our world*
To give these representative young people a sense of
fellowship with those of similar purpose in other Chris
tian agencies *29
Coming from twenty-four denominations, there was an
attendance at this meeting of 862, approximately one-fifth
of whom were adults ; sixty-three leaders; and six outside
30
speakers* The findings of the various commissions cannot
be given here* They take up forty pages in printed report*
They are rich in suggestions for Christian social and personal
action* Following in the liberal tradition they denounced
the present economic order as "anti-Christian; a ruthless,
competitive, profit system cannot be reconciled with the King
dom of God as revealed in the life and teachings of Jesus*"^^
^^Reporttof the Christian Youth Conferences of North
America* pv 5•
p. 6.
p. 33.
35
The vote was: yes, 432; no, 9; doubtful, 46.^^On the state
ment, "I declare it to be my intention never to participate
in, or support, any war for any purpose whatsoever," 319
33
voted yes; 33, no; and 72, doubtful.
In studying the report of the meeting, it is interest
ing to note the large number of Methodist young people who
took an active part in the conference. Is it because Metho
dists are naturally more aggressive or liberal? Or is it
because of their background of experience in the National
Council of Methodist Youth, which by this time was a
functioning agency of the Methodist Church?
Since that date the movement has been going ahead. No
other large national conferences have been held, however.
The committee in charge has been renamed the "Committee on
the United Christian Youth Movement". It is made up of
representatives of the following agencies:
The Committee on Religious Education of Youth, the Young
People’s Work Professional Advisory Section, The Mission
ary Education Section, and the Christian Youth Council
of North America, which consists of representatives of
the various denominations of the International Council;
the Federal Council of Churches; the International Society
of Christian Endeavor; the national boys’ work and stu
dent departments of the Y.M.O.A.; the national girls’
work and student departments of the Y.W.G.A. ; the Mission
ary Education Movement; the University Committee of the
32
Log. Git.
33
Ibid..p. 63
34
Council of Church Boards of Education; the Stu^nt Chris
tian Movement; and the Home Missions Councils.
Cooperation and harmony between the youth conferences,
such as the one at Lakeside, and the sponsoring committee,
was stated by the committee in September, 1936, and since
confirmed. Matters referred to the committee by the con
ferences are to be taken as "issues deserving attention and
to help young people to keep abreast of the development in
those issues in their thinking and action as opportunities
35
suggest...."
The committee has prepared a set of youth action
pamphlets and guides. The one weakness of the program is that
it is so far removed from the local situations that it can
not adequately reach the average Christian youth. It has no
membership in itself, and only insofar as cooperating groups,
sometimes two or three times removed, make use of its ser
vices, is it able to be effective. Nevertheless, it remains
as the symbol and the hub of the Christian youth movement
in America today.
^^Forward Together, pp. 6-7. See Appendix, p. 131 •
35
Hayes Beall, What Is the National Council of
Methodist Youth? pp. 13-14.
CHAPTER IV
THE BACKGROUND OF THE METHODIST YOUTH MOVEMENT.
Youth in Methodism's heritage^ . Youth has always
had a prominent place in the Methodist tradition.. Metho--
dism was started by a young man. John Wesley, a priest in
the Church of England, regarded as the founder of world
Methodism, was only a young man at Oxford University when
he and a group of friends formed the "Holy Club". Their
methodical habits earned them the derisive name of "Method
ists". It was John Wesley, a young man, who went as a
missionary to the American Indians and returned two years
later wondering who would save his own soul. It was Johm
Wesley, a young man, that at Aldersgate in 1738 felt his
heart "strangely warmed". It was John Wesley, a young man,
who went out from that experience to transform the religious
life of England in one of the most amazing careers inhhist:-*
ory.
In America, likewise, youth figures prominently in
the Methodist picture. It was young men who were present!
at the famous "Christmas conference" that officially
launched the Methodist Episcopal CËurch. It was young men
who were demanded to meet the trying experiences of the
famed "circuit-riders"of the early days. It has always
been a youthful, virile church.
36
I. THE "OLD" PROGRAM FOR^METHODISTrYOUTH
The organization of tEe Epwofth LeaRuew Fb311dwing^
the sthenuous days?of the Civil Warrwhen, perhapss more:,
than in the World War%' the emphasis was on youth, there?
sprang up throughout Methodism several organizations:for:
young people within the church. Their rapid growth would*
testify that the conditions of the day were such that would
give rise to such movements. Among the larger of these?
groups was the Oxford League with its emphasis upon coursesi -
of study, the Young People's MethodistrAlliance with itss
stress on personal religion and "holiness to the Lord, " the-.
Young People'8 Christian League:with its motto,"Look up,
lift tup," the Methodist Young People's Union, and the North
Ohio Conference Methodist Episcopal AllianoeQ.
In 1889 the adult leaders ofthese groups were brought!
together at Cleveland, Ohio, for the purpose?of merging theirr
organizations. It was distinctly a meeting of elders plan^
ning a program for youth. Time and again it appeared that*
it would be impossible to get the groups to unite; but, final
ly, after hours of debate^ the new organization was assured.
It twas given the name of the "Epworth League .",
Rise of the Eoworth League. IttlSHhard for the
Leaguer of today to realize with what a thrill the young
Methodist of I889 and the early nineties heard of thee
formation of the Epworth*League. Bèfore’ thehchurchppa-
pers had time tb carry official news of the event, to
57
their readers, requestis began to pour in on the temp
orary offices in New York for charters, or for inform
ation as to how to go about organizing chapters*^
Seven months after the organization of the League,
charters had been granted 1,480 chapters. At the close of
its first year 2,000 chapters were in existence. At its aea
ond anniversary it had risen to 5,602; and the third year to
8,102. The following year it totaled 10,200, jumping to
12,519 the fifth, 14,719 the next; and the year after that
to 16,302 chaptersAnd it still hadn't reached its peak
by several thousand chapters !
Along with the rise of the Epworth League must be men
tioned the Epworth Herald, which grew to the phenominal size,
fora denominational paper of over one hundred thousand circu
lation.
The international conventions. Most outstanding of
the many activities of the early days of the Epworth League
were the international conventions. Four years after the
founding of the League the first international convention •
was held. This included Epworthians of the Southern Method
ist Cêurch as well as the Northern. Five thousand delegates
attended this meeting. Two years later they met at
^Faul Hutchinson, The Story of the Epworth League
(New York: Methodist Book Concern, 19271, p.. 31*
^Ibld.. p. 32.
3&
Chattanooga, Tennessee, with an attendance of twelve thou
sand. Tdronto; Canada, was host ini897 to twenly-five thou^
Sand Leaguers. In 1899 twenty thousand delegates gathered
at Indianapolis. A picture.of one of the meetings is given
in the Epworth Herald of the day. The scene follows three
missionary addresses.
At Tomlinson Hall occurred the most remarkable reli
gious meeting we ever attended....Missionary zeal was
kindled anew in many hearts, and the result must, be
bénéficient. At the close the multitude united in sing
ing the old missionary hymn, "From_Greenland’s icy moun
tains _ Then Bishop Fitzgerald and the Methodist Epis
copal Church, South, took hold.
The two hours which followed were wonderful, wonderful.
The bishop made a striking address. Then followed a sea
son of silent prayer. "Now," said the venerable man,
"we will turn this meeting loose."'' Well, the meeting
did get loose, and no mistake. Songs echoed through the
room. Testimonies came up from the front.. They rolled
down from the galleries. They echoed from the big choir*.
Two at a time. Three at a time. Five at a time. But
the hall was so large there was no confusion of sound..
Sometimes the singinggwould start in the farthest
gallery. In a moment the multitude would catch up the
strain and instantly lift it into a mighty anthemm
Shouts broke out on every side--not shallow shouts pro
duced by mere excitement, but shouts literally compelled
by the incoming of the Holy Spirit. He seemed to possess
the people. It was Pentecost come again.
Thhs the meeting swept on for nearly two hours. Then
Mr. Black led in his stirring song,,"When the roll is
called up yonder".. While we sang, the multitude was melt
ed. Tears streamed from hundreds of eyes. When the cho
rus was reached for the last time, four thousand handker
chiefs were flung out and waved in triumph above the heads
of the happy people. What a sight! Waves of joy swept
over us-- waves which inundated the singing hundreds..
Then came a season of handshaking, which lasted half an
hour-- handshaking to the time of the songs which came
39
•X
from all parts of the hall.
That was in 1899J
In 1901 seventeen thousand delegates journeyed to San
Francisco for the convention. It was at this convention that
the missionary passion first took hold of the Epworth League.
A great banner in front proclaimed, "Our Chief Aim— Missions."
At what was probably the largest convention, Detroit
in 1903, the song, "When the roll is called up yonder", reached
its heights. Traffic was tied up at two o’clock one after
noon so the delegates could jam the streets about the city
hall and "roar their triumph song."
The year 1905 saw the last convention held in the days
of Cheap excursion railroad rates. Fifteen thousand gathered
at Denver that year. Resolutions passed called for Sabbath
observance, temperance, uniform divorce laws, a single social
standard, and a bill forbidding interstate transport of liquor,
while others protested Senator Smoot’s admission to the United
States Senate, and the sale of liquor in army canteens.
By the 1909 convention at Seattle, some suspected that
the day of general mass convention was over. The 1914 con
vention in Buffalo proved it.
It emphasized the international aspect of the League, and
never dreamed that already, in a little Bosnian town, a
mad young student had, with a pistol shot, laid fire to a
fuse that would, within a few weeks thereafter, explode
40
the powder magazine of the world. A world was passing
as the Buffalo convention met. It passed for the League,
as well as for every other institution. There are no inr
ternational conventions in the League's post-war world..
Other elements of the Epworth League. The Epworth
League's early history cannot be judged by the international
conventions alone, however. . Other elements were a part of the
picture. The place of missions has already been suggested.
While the League accepted largely the philosophy of the times
of individual personal purity as the central element in the
Chteistian religion,it did not fail to have that social con
sciousness, which, though nebulous, was to flower later in
the Methodist Youth Movement* Its interest in foreign missions
was an instance of this. T he sums faised by the Leaguers of
that day would stagger some of the same districts today.
The second department of the League began as the Depart
ment of "Mercy and Help". Suggestions from the national of
fice as to what to do included systematic visitation of the
members of the chapter, the sick of the neighborhood, the aged
and newcomers of the community." It spoke of taking an inter
est in"the charities of the place," and of having charge of
"temperance work, social purity work, and tract distribution."
Allttypes of charity work were under its care ,such as "visit
ing hospitals, nursing, distributing flowers, starting indus
trial schools, running employment bureaus, coffee houses
"^Ibid.. p. 96
141
day nurseriesProbably,many of these suggestions re--
geived the same lack of application in the local situations
as such recommendations, today♦ ,
Adjustments were later made in the program from time
to time, "Mercy and Help" being transferred to the third
department with the second department staking over the mis
sionary enterprise. .
Other'elements of the League's program that should
becnoted are a positivecprogram of recreation, an emphasis
upon study and culture and training in stewardship;'. ' The
MethodisttOhurch owes .much to the training its leadens re
ceived through the Epworth League, and many of the laterrdee-
velopmenta were earlier foreshadowed in the Epworth League*.
Ill THE "NEW" PROGRAM RORRMETHODIST!'YOUTH
Failure of the old. In 1925 a new man was selectSdl
by the Methodist Church for the important :posttof sennetSry,
of the Departmenttof Epworth League, Blaine E. Kirkpatrick.
Before attempting anything in the way of a constructive changes
he took a year . or two to '.study the situation in which he
found himself * He found himself living in the new post-warr^
days, but with a youth program thatthad been inherited fromn
pre-war days. Living in the midsttof the "revolt of youth,"the
42
Epworth League program was still largely an adult dominated
affair built on educational principles that were fast being
relegated to the ash heap. . There was little democracy or
participation of youth in the decisions. It was "conceived,
organized, and to a great extent administered by adults for
youthWe have already noted the difference in outlook
between the two generations separated by the war.
That the League was no longer serving the need was
testified to by the fact that its membership had been dropping
steadily since 1000,when it had reached its boom level.
Other signs confirmed this. In 1927 Paul Hutchinson, in his
Story of the Epworth League , felt prophetically that a new
day might be dawning.
There have been a few stirrings among young people here
and there that are not without their hints....This "youth
movement talk" you hear about may not be all talk....
Things may not be happening in spectacular fashion in the
League just now, but things are happening just the same.
And they are important things.7
Two socially conscious gatherings. Two meetings of
students at the time were quite significant as to the tSndr
of the leading Christian youth. The first was the National
Conference of Methodist Students, held in Louisville, Ken
tucky, in the spring of 1924 for college students of the two
major branches of American Methodism* This meeting was
7
'Hutchinson, op. cit.. p. 105.
43
labeled radical" and ”communistic** by the press at the time#,,
but went ahead as scheduled. The meeting had all the ele--
mentS;. on the face ot it, of the later meetings of the Nation
al Council. Their findings were progressive, asking for re
statement of doctrine of the GHurch to bring it into line
with the knowledge of the day, endorsing the right of labor:
to bargain collectively, socialization of public utilities
and natural resources, enactiùent of a child labor law, the
League of Nations , and laws for the protection of all races.
It denounced all military training in colleges and universities..
The second of these meetings was held in Evanston a
year or two later. This was an interdenominational student
gathering. A number of the leaders expected a youth movement
to develop out of it, but, while the meeting itself was sig
nificant, the movement died on their hands. Reasons given
include the following. It was abortive. The time was not
ripe and the preliminary preparations had not been made.
There was considerable evidence at the gathering of the"smarts
alecky", "flaming youth" attitude of the twenties. It was in
no way related to the denominational enterprises, being worked
up by a few leaders almost in defiance of the existing pro
grams for youth. Sjqme of the leaderspof the denominational
groups were invited to sit in the "gallery" as observers.
Being limited to students, it was a transient grouppwhich
could not include the active workers who were in a position
44
to follow up out in the larger field and carry on the results.^
Seeking;, for the "new" . . As early as the fall of 1926
the leadership in the Central Office of the Epworth League,
under Blaine E. Kirkpatrick, began a series of conferences
with educators, church leaders, and youth to determine just:
what the needs of young people were in this post-war period
and what, in the light of the best known principles and meth
ods of education, psychology, and religion, the youth program
shouldhbe•
The fi^st experiment in a newer type of approach was
with the Intermediate group in 1927* Since this groupo
did not have the handicap of traditions, we started an ex
periment with a quite different approach--making an ex
tensive study of the problem, interests and life situations '
of intermediates across the country, and attempting to
build a series of units suited to the need of that groupe
The response, at least from alert leaders who were in
position to appreciate what was attempted and to give it
a trial, was so encouraging that we made bold to explore
the possibility of extending these procedures to the older
groups.
In the fall and winter of 1928-29, we inaugurated a
series of Young People's Councils in ten widely separated
centers across the country, where 100 to 150 young pecple
and leaders of youth were brought together in each place ,
to explore frankly what were the needs, problems, and in
terests of young people on the basis of which the program
should be built. Supplementing these councils, we circu
lated the check list, "How Dp You Feel about It?", to a
sampling of several thousand young people over the country.
From these two sources we secured some very valuable data
that formed the basis of the projection of the newer type
of program. A group of about thirty people, including
educators, religious leaders and young people, met in
INdianapolis in the fall of 1928, and spent five very cre
ative days. It was there that the new program took
&
Letter from Blaine E Kirkpatrick
45
shape ^
Feeling a heavy responsibility in introducing this
new program, Blaine Kirkpatrick received a leave of absence
from Central Office and spent a semester at Columbia Univers
ity and Union Theological Seminary to adequately prepare
himself. He brought his problems wibh him and the educational
center responded who1e-heartily in attempting to work them
out. In addition to regular courses and study, a special
seminar was set up with this particular prefect in mind,
wherein a small group of outstanding students and faculty
members shared together in building this new type of program,.
many of the study units being developed at that time togeth
er with methods and procedure. Types of units were developed,
such as problem solving, historical, biographical, and appre
ciation.
Main differences between the new and the old were thatt
the new were no longer planned on a basis of adults deciding
among themselves what would be "good" for the young people,,
but the young people in the local group were to build their
own program, calling upon Central Office and other agencies
for resource materials whenever the need arose. It was frank
ly built with the needs of youth in mind, centering in their
everyday experience. It was the belief that unless religion
Q
^Ibid.
46
were something that was experienced and lived in the every
day problems of work, school, and play, it was altogether,
inadequate.
The first reaction. The first reaction to the new
program, in spite of a series of articles appearing in the
Epworth Herald during the summer of 1929 interpreting them,.
was a storm of protest. For several months a flood of pro
tests and criticisms poured in on Central Office. Local lead
ers, conditioned to doing things in a certain way, and not
understanding 'what the change was all about, were "greats
ly agitated".!* When the program committee met in December of
that year these criticisms were taken into careful consider--
§tion and plans were made, while not retreating on principles,
to bridge the gap and make the transition to the new. Much
was also done through the training cf leaders,,partly through
councils of deans and faculty members of summer institutes,.
which by this time had come to far overshadow in importance
the old international conventions, and partly by leaders* '
conferences throughout the country..
The deeper results. The storm of protest gradually
calmed. As various groups began to have significantsexperi
ences under the new program the reaction changed. Membership
in the Epworth League took an upward turn for the first time
lO
in many years, as the following table will show:
47
Year Membership
1923 740,965
1924 731,089
1925 697,549
1926 670,440
1927 644,813
1928
617,309
«1929
569,876-
1930 579.171
1931
598, 392
1932
613,363
1933 625,111
*In July,1929, the new type program, "Every-day A||ven-
tures in Christian Living," was adopted.
Institutes,which partly adopted the new program,grew by leaps
and bounds. The Leaguers brought up under the new program
began t o show the "fruits" of this more creative method..
At the same time that this was going on in the young
people's work, out in the secular world the depression was
running its course. The dropping off of financial support!
in the church at large caused the budget of the young people's
department to be slashed from $100,000 annually to $25,000.
* 1 o
"A decade of Epworth League Membership."District
Epworth League Officer. March 1935,p. 8.
48
Serious retrenchment all the way along cut the staff of the
department from eight down until Kirkpatrick and Owen Geer
were the only two left. Had not the young people themselves
throughout the country rallied to their support, not ohly
holding their own, but increasing their giving, it is said
that the progran would have practically been wiped outt
Another development necessarily followed the new pro
gram. A program that was meeting the needs and problems of
young people during the depression would inevitably reflect!
the economic situation. Furthermore, when the program insisted
that decisions be made effective in everyday actions, it took
the young people and put them into the"very center of econom
ic problems of the day. In 1931 and 1932 this began to devel--
op, in 1933 becoming plainly evident when a series of confer
ences were held across the country. The youth of Methodismn
were fast awakening to the'realities of life, and the picture:
was not always a pleasant one. They were daily more deter
mined that they would not rest until something was done about
it. The time was ripe for a nation-wide movement
GHAPTERisV:
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE METHODIST I YOUTH MOVEMENT!
Bièglrmlng in 1933 a sentiment began to grow among?
Methodist young people over the country favoring-the calling'
of a national gathering of Methodist!youth where^ together
they might iface the problems of living in the modern world
and"achieve; a national solidarity for intelligentLChristian
action in regard to them."^ At the annual convention of the
Epworth Leagues of the New York Area a resolution was passed
calling for the establishment of a national organization! off
p
the Epworth League.
Similar requests for a national meeting of Methodist!
youth were voiced in a young people's conference- at
Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1933pfee same city whereea
stirring camp meeting had giveh^a group of young people
just fifty before the inspiration to form the Young- Peo-^
pie's Methodist Alliance, one of the antecedents of the:
Epworth Leagu^ at Round LAke Institute in New York in
1933 ; and at a youth conference at Daytona Beach,,Flori
da, in February, 1934,3
Over and over again this desire was voiced.
1
Myron A. Morrill, editor, Methodist Youth in Council
(Chicago: National Council of Methodist Youth,1934) p. 1.
^Hayes Beall, What IS the National Council of Methodist
Youth? ( Chicago : Board of Education, Methodist Episcopal^, 1937 ),
p. 18.
^Loc. cit.
50
I. THE i$34 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
OF METHODIST""YOUTH
The call ; The national staff weighed these requestss
carefully, and after careful?^ consideration set: up a comm it tee:
to organize forra national gathering of Methodist youth..
For a period of several months : plans went!ahead for this con
ference. Those on the comm it t é e c and others who assisted in
the planning'included the : following:
Bishop James 0. Baker, George A. Coe, the Reverend
Edwin E. .Voigt,,Dr. Frank M. McKibben, the Reverend John
CC Irwin, the Reverend Wesley Israel, the Reverend Ray
Honeywell, the Reverend Morgan Williams, C. Stanley John
son, Truman Kirkpatrick, the Reverend Hayes Beall, Miss
Mary Randolph, Dr. O.Wi Auman, Professor Harold Ehren--
sperger. Dr. P. Hargraves, Dr. W.E.J.Gratz, Miss Nellie
M. D^y, the Reverend T. Otto Nall, and the following
members of the staff of the Board of Education: Dr.Freder
ick Carl Eisel&n, Dr. Merle N. English, Dr. Blaine E. Kirk
patrick, the Reverend Owen E. Geer, Dr^ W.J. Davidson,,the
Reverend H. D. Bollinger, Dr. N, F. Forsyth, the Reverend
Charles F. Boss, Jr., the Reverend Frank A, Lindhorst,. the
Reverend Myron A. Morrill,.Dr, Wake Crawford Barclay, Dr.
Merrill J, Holmes, Harold K. Wright. . A great many others,
both young people and other leaders throughout the church,
gave their suggestions and contributed to the shaping of
the program.
The theme selected for the gathering was "Working with
God for a new world." A call was soon issued to the youth
of American Methodism, inviting them to Evanston, Illinois,
Aûgust 30 to September 2, 1934, to counsel together on the
Christian way of life. In it the national youth leaders wrote:
4
Morrill, op. cit., p
51.
With a general breakdown of moral standards among a gen
eration which has served the god of profits, youth is won
dering what we mean by "being a Christian."5
Unless we are entirely wrong, these days call for such
clear thinking as has not been done in generations. T^ere
is little clarity of insight on the meaning of the CHr'is--
tian life today. Those who call themselves Christians
can be found on either side of almost!every major issue
of modern life....From this Council we have a right to
expect:
A clearer vision of the meaning; of the Christian life-.
A keener appreciation of the issues which confront!
youth in the world today.
A more effective method and program for dealing with
issues.
A spiritual]fellowship through the church which will
bring a new glow to Christian experience. =
6
A share in the making of a new world*
It was impossible to estimate what response the call
would receive. Distances in A*merica are great and the young
people of 1934 had little money. Theeestimate was for a
total attendance of five hundred youth and their adultplead
ers .
The Sessions. With the coming of August 30th, the
conference site became a busy scene. One description seems
5
Frank W . Herriott.Christian Youth in Action (New
York:Friendship Press, 1935), p. 27.
6
Ibid.. p. 94-5.
52
distinctly apropos.
... here they come. . There seems to be a large
crowd— more than were expected. And now the question is.
Will the space be large enough for ïhem? Send for more,
group leaders to help in the discussion sections. Still
they come I The streeto about the auditorium become con--
gested. Gar after car pulls up to the curb to unload &-
crowd of delegates. Some of the cars hav^e noisy motors,
and would not be confused with current models, but they
have furnished adequate transportation for the laughing
boys and girls who tumble out of them. Here is a group
in hiking clothesÿ comparing distances they made each day
since they left home..The five hundred figure is doubled.
AN attendance of over one thousand in this national gath
ering of youth?* ' From forty-three states of the Union
they have come; some hiking, some driving, some ridingrin
trains. Some were sent by their churches, some paid their
own way.'
The sessions were held in the beautiful sanctuary of
the First Methodist GHurch. The first meeting was called
to order by Blaine E^ Kirkpatrick, secretary of the Depart
ment of Epworth League and Young People's Work of the Board
of Education. The conference had been called, he said,be
cause of a succession of mandates they could not evade. .There
was the mandate of that crisis moment of history. "Vast and
vital issues are at stake-- personal, social, economic, polit
ical, international— which are going to be decided in one
way or anotherThen he cited the mandate of the young
people themselves, and finally the mandate of the GHristian
faith. "We have a deep conviction that in Jesus GHrist and
p.1-2
"Morrill, OD. clt.. p. 1.
53
in His way of life are to be found the answers to the deep
est problems confronting mankind.*!^
We are not a political convention or a secular gather
ing, but an assembly of Christian people set to the high
task of discovery of the will of God for ourselves and
for our world.
In concluding, he turned the meeting over to the temp--
orary chairman,.Hayes Beall, a native of Oregon, who was at
the time a senior in the Y&le Divinity Bchool, and the chair
man of the National Student Christian Associations..
The next to speak was Doctor Frederick Eiselen, the
Executive Secretary of the Board of Education; He spoke om
the subject, "Why Are We Here?",.answering this question by
saying, "We are here, then, to consider ways in which we as
Methodist young people may cooperate with a Cftristlike God to
realize His eternal purpose for a Ghristlike world."
It would be impossible to include in this study even
the highlights of the great messages that were brought to
this conference. Such nationally prominent figures appeared
on the speaker-s rostrum as Bishop Ralph S. Cushman, Albert
E. Day,,Nelson P. Horn, president of Baker University, Kirby
Page, Merle N. English, Wade Crawford Barclay, Clarence Tucker
^Ibid. , p. 1-2.
pp. 2-3
^hbld. . pp. 5-6
54
Craig, Regina Wescott-Wieman, and Ralph E. Dif f endorf er... The
conference theme was constantly before the group as they moved
from one climax to another..
The worship services were both unique and!powerful.
Centering around social problems, they brought to those prob
lems all the dynamic of effective personal devotion.
Youth was prominent on the program. Various short!
talks were presented by young people themselves on:various
problems they faced. They were potent with experiences that!
they themselves had faced, and the young people from other
sections listened attentively as they were told about condi
tions and Christian action they had never even imagined exist
ed .
The real work of the conference was done in the small
diseus8ionsgroups. Here the young people themselves formed
the resolutions that were later to find their way through a
findings committee to the floor of the conference. Eachi
discussion group had adult resource leaders present,their
place being outlined by Doctor Eiselen in his opening speech.
The considerations of this Council must begin with the
attitudes, experiences, and interests of youth. But
resource men and women and other leaders of more mature
experience and more extensive observation are here, not
to dominate the discussion or to determine the findings,
but to share their own experiences, in order that the dis
cussions may be based upon a fuller appreciation of a
wider range of facts and experiences.
^^Ibid.. pp. .4-5
55
This has been the position of the Methodist Youth
Movement ever since that time. Youth insist upon making
their own decisions, but welcome all the suggestions and
advice that they can receive from those with wider experience.
A ruling was passed at this conference prohibiting any two
adults to speak on the conference floor in succession, unless
some youth gave them special privilege.
One happening at conference should be noted as being
typical of the attitude of the conference that was going to
manifest itself in future years when dealing with a question
of far greater magnitude. It was brought to the attention of
the delegates that the negroes were not allowed to eat at some
of the restaurants in Evanston that the delegates were frequents
Ing. With a conviction that they could not complacently stand
by while their brothers of another race were being discriminated
against, the conference immediately ordered an investigation
into the problem. The committee brought back a report that
negroes were allowed to eat in practically no restaurant in
the community. Upon hearing this, the conference adopted a
resolution in which they determined to eat only at those
restaurants which practiced no race discrimination.’ ^ As a
result, those two or three restaurants were thronged at the
next meal. Some of the others, discovering the cause of their
lack of patronage, changed their policy.* It was a real edu-
. pp. 166-7.
6 6
cation all the way around. In the meantime the conference
had sent a copy of the resolution to the local Chamber of
Commerce i
The findings.. The findings of the conference, as
has been stated, originated for the most part in the dis—
cussion groups. These were passed on to the findings oom*-
mittee, which edited them and passed them on to the entire
conference. A few originated in the findings committee it
self , of which Doctor Jesse Murrell of Florida served as
chairman. Once upon the floor they were open for debate,
amendment,and vote on adoption.
The results, according to the Christian Century."for^
range of subjects and for detailed suggestions for action,,
stands alone even in these days of many resolutions."^^
Fields covered by special reports included the following:
1) On the Department of Epworth League and Young People's
Work, 2) Racial Discrimination,3) Peace, War, and Internation
al Relations, 4) Article by Winifred Grappelli(which had ap
peared in the Epworth Herald.stirring up a controversy with
the national commander of the American Legion), 5) Textile
Strike, 6) Social Ethics-- Liquor, Education, Motion Pictures,
^^T.O.Nall, "Methodists Form New Youth Bog.y, " with
editorial comment, Christian Century, 51î1182, September
19, 1934..
57
7) Inter-racial Relations, 8) Economic:Considerations,
9) Christian Missions, 10) Devotional Life, 11) United Meth
odist Youth Council, and 12) Courtesy and Confidence.
With the’ publication of the findings one Chicago paper
came out with headlines, "METHODIST YOUTH GO COMMUNIST;!"
The second edition, however, was somewhat changed. It read,
"METHODISTTYOUTH go SOCIALIST'!"
Indeed, for far-reaching and unorthodox'findings of
a church group, this body of youth seemed to go the limits.
The following excerpts taken from the reports will demon--
strate why the country gasped from coasttto coasti# .
In accordance with our Christianaconvictions, we de--
clarecour intention neither to sanction nor to partici
pate in any war for any purpose whatsoever, and we ap
peal to our pastors and adult leaders to support :us in
this stand.^5
As Christians we are unalterably opposed to all types
of military training, voluntary or compulsory
We recommend that the Cduncil request the General Con
ference Commission on Revision of the Hymnal and Psalterr
... to eliminate all war Imagery.. .^7^
We recommend that the Council!stand and work for total-
disarmament.
Permission was given the continuation committee
^^Morrill, pp. cit., p. 167#
l6
Ibid.. p. 168.
p. 169.
^®Loc. olt.
53
to work for a nation-wide student strike against
19
war I
We believe that before permanent peace can ever be
achieved, the present economic system must be changed
to a cooperative commonwealth-^0
We resolve to send . . . to dongress a resolution urg
ing immediate passage of the Wagner-Costigan Anti-ljmching
Bill . . .21
condemn that practice of residential restriction
which prohibits any American citizen from securing prop-
erty in a particular district and living where he choos
es.
The present economic structure of individualistic cap
italism is founded upon the principle of private owner
ship of tools of production and distribution for selfish
gain. This profit system encourages ruthless competi
tion and selfish greed which are in direct opposition to
every principle for which Jesus the Carpenter stood. The
new world which we have pledged ourselves to build with
God can only be achieved by the process of cooperation
for-the common good.
The only final satisfactory solution is social owner
ship of resources and means of production, distribution,
credit, utilities, communication, and transportation.^^
Many were, of oource, shocked and alarmed at such a re
port. On the other hand, there were those who saw in the
^^Ibld.. pp.170-1.
^°Iblcl.. p. 167.
PI
Ibid., p.175.
22
Loc. Clt.
5Ibid., p.177.
^Ybia., p. 178.
'59
resolutions the first sign of hope that the church of Jesus
Christ was at last awaking to its mission. In the center
were still others who took it mare calmly. In its editorial.
comment the Christian Century maintained that the conference
was not as critical of the church and ecclesiasticism as the
25
youth a decade before.
As the findings were examined more closely,it became
apparent that the group was not as rebellious as at firstt
appeared. The follov/ing quotations will show that the youth
were not ready to throw the whole past over and condemn itb
as useless;
As -folowers of Jesus Christ we are sincerely striving to
discover how the religion of Jesus can find more adequate
expression in the world of our day.^6
We affirm our belief in God, the Father of all men .
We affirm our belief in Jesus CËrist and his power and
program to redeem the individual and society.
We affirm our belief in the Holy Spirit as- sufficient
as a dynamic for Christian living.
We affirm our belief in the Church as an institution
offering the opportunity for Christian fellowship and
highest spiritual development.
We affirm our belief in the Bible as a record of man'^
progressive experience with God.
We affirm our belief in the Kingdom of God as realiz
able in the here and now through the incarnation of the
o£. cit., p. 1164,
^^Morrill, op. cit.,,p. 165A.
6©;
spirit of love in our individual and social living,
We recommend to the members of the Council the follow
ing means of attaining deeper spiritual growth:
1) A period each day for Bible study, prayer, medita
tion. and devotion. . .
2) As a part of daily living to seek contact: with
Christian personalities and regularly to practise Chris
tian deeds.
3) Since we believe personal religion to be a growing
experience, young people should make it their responsibil
ity to exert a definite effort to continue in their study
of Christianity and its applications....
27
A definite effort to read devotional literature...
We appreciate that the Board of Education is doing
the best it can out of available resources
We affirm our love for, and our loyality to, our na
tion and government. We believe that the American form
of democratic government, through which our heritage has
come,should be perpetuated to the end that a more perfect:
society democratically conceived and modified, may come
to be.^9
We affirm our faith in our church-- a church born in
a period of social unrest, with a passion for the voice
less and the underprivileged, as inheritor of the proclam
ation of the gospel of the Living Lord who is concerned
even with the least of the sons of men.
Resolved:...That we as young people should promote
legislation against advertising propaganda in behalf of
liquor. That all members of the Council wherever possi
ble refuse to deal at any place selling alcoholic bever-r
ages.3i
Ibid.. pp. 181-2.
^^Ibld..p. 166.
^^Ibld.. p. 16SA.
^h o c . clt.
3^Ibld.. p. 173.
6li
That we place on record our recognition of the fact!
that the Christian missionary movement is today the greats
est single influence in behalf of international good will
and understanding..,3^
In a resolution adopted Sunday morning,,September sec
ond, the last day ofCthe conference, provision was made for
the permanent organization of a National Council of Methodist!
Youth.
Feeling deeply the necessity to carry out into Chris
tian living in our own communities the challenge of a new
society, which we have found here, and feeling that we,
as a privileged group who have known this great inspira--
tion, are under profound obligation to carry to others it’ s
spirit and program; we, the National Council of Methodistb
Youth,33 feel that some type of“national organization
should be effected, that this conference may not prove to
have been in vain. In a larger sense, we feel this organ
ization is necessary that we as Methodist youth of America
might better cooperate with youth of other lands and with
other kindred spirits in Christ, who have accepted the
challenge of Christian youth to build a world wherein we
can live as well as pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be:
done-in earth."3^
The resolution went on to outline a proposed National
Council consisting of an executive committee of regularly
p. 180.
It should be noted that this first national confer
ence was at tjfie time called the "National Council of Meth
odist Youth'' J Since that, however, according to its
own recommendation, the term "council" has been reserved
forrthe smaller delegated body, while the larger open meet-
ingÿ,8uch as the one here described , are termed confer
ences." There has been much misunderstanding in the mind
of the.general church as to the distinction between the
"National Council of Methodist Youth" and the "National
Conference of Methodist Youth" ." Writers have erroneously
used the two interchangeably. The Council is now the
official and responsible body.
34lbid.. p. 160 A.
62
chosen officers and staff members, together with one repre#-
sentative from each annual and^miasion conference in the
United States. Age requirements were sett from seventeen to
twenty-five, inclusive; and all couneilmemmust be members
of the Methodist Episcopal Ctiurch.
Permanent officers were selected with Hayes Beall as
35
the firsttpresident. The National Conference of Methodist
Youth, such as the meeting then drawing to a close, was ex
pected to meet biennially, "in or near Chicago, Illinoi-s ."3^
II . THE MOVEMENT GETS UNDER WAY
He went like one that hath been stunned.
And is of sense forlorn;
A sadder and a wiser man
He rose the morrow morn/37
Probably few other lines could betterrpicture the re
turning hosts from the first National Conference of Methodist!
Youth. Yet, with this new sense of moral responsibility for
the sin and evil of the world, there was a joyous abandon,
expressed best :by the old phrase, "it bis good for us to have?:
been here." It was an enthusiastic group thatr.returned to
their local churches . At blast they felt!themselves parttof a
33por a complete listtof original officers see Appendix,
pp. 128-9.
p. 161.
From Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."
65
great movement. ''Christian Youth Building a Hew World!"
First meeting of the executive committee. The execu
tive committee that had been selected during the conference
had been instructed to make a permanent organization. The c
committee met for their first meeting in New York City, Janu
ary 18 to 20,1935. Although distances prohibited many from
attending, there were several present.
The group discovered that the idea of a Methodist Youth
Movement was spreading like wildfire.. A handbook containing
the report of the Evanston conference, had been published by
the National Council. It was dedicated "to Christian youth
in every land and every communion, but especially to those
sons and daughters of John Wesley and the Methodist Societies
who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour and his vision
of the Kingdom of God as the Way for their own personal l i v i n g "38
The first edition of five thousand copies was about sold out,
and another edition of three thousand was ordered.
After reviewing the effect of the Council on the field,
the committee launched into the forward program:
how to win the confidence and support of the older leaders
of the church; how to awaken young people who are unaware
of the urgency of working for a nev7 world; how to finance
the movement ; etc.,etc. Eager plans were laid: active re
sistance to war; support of vital legislation; place,date.
38
Myron A. Morrill, editor, Methodist Youth in Council!
and program for the next meeting of the National Council!;
summer caravans to institutes and local communities; co
operation with the united program, "Christian Youth Build
ing a New World"; plans for personal discipline and a
life of sharing; training of leaders through graduate in
stitutes, etc., etc.3^
The Board of Education meets. During the same month
the regular annual meeting of the Board of Education was held.
The corresponding secretary, Frederick G. Eiselen, made special
mention of the National Conference, describing the delegates as:
one of the finest, most intelligent and most!consecmtied
groups of young Methodists it!has been my/privilege to
observe. Ittis not to be expected that!everyone, reading?
the pronouncements., will find himself in agreement! with
alllthe conclusions. Thereowere striking differences of
opinion concerning important!points even among those, pres
ent*. Personally, I cannot agree with all that was said
and done.. Attthe same time, it would have been unfortu
nate to make any attempttto interfere attany point! with
perfect/freedom of thought and expression...
From many parts of the country have come testimonials
of spiritual rebirths, rekindled ideals, renewed consecra
tions to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and to his eter—
nal purpose of establishing the Kingdom of God on earth...
The real significance of this gathering is not to be found
in specific utterances or resolutions or conclusions or
even recommendations— signifleantbas these are— but!rather
in the spirit and attitude which characterized the gather
ing and the general direction in which the young people
are looking and moving.. Surely it means much that!atta
time when supposedly well-informed critics condemn youth
in a general way as superficial, pleasure-loving,materi
alistic, and selfish, a thousand young men and women eleo-
ted by other thousands and scores of thousands, should
gather rfrom all parts of the country and spend four busy
days considering how they may cooperate more intelligent
ly with God for a new world... Ituis most!heartening tt>
39 u 'Pxxrth.err N ews : 11 ems, " Pis trActt Epworth League Officer,
March, 1935, p. 7«
discover... these devoted sons and daughters of our Meth
odist homes affirming their loyalty to the churchthat
at a time when men everywhere are tempted to place thein
trust in economic and political forces and machinery.-.,
there should come from this group...a clear recognition
of the primacy of moral and spiritual forces and of the
necessity of inner spiritual regeneration if external,
economic, g^gcial, and political transformations are to he:
permanent..
The Board of Education adopted a strong statement on
young people's work in which, after recounting the seriousness
of the social crisis from the standpoint of youth,it goes on
to say
we count our church fortunate in the program of the Board
of Education for young people, in which youth are being
given an opportunity to face the vital issues of their
lives and the world in which they live. The church must:
see to it that this program goes forward with increasing
strength and resources.
The Board approved suggested study topics for the coming year,
among them a unit on "Seeking a New World throughhthe Coopér
ait ives ." They also approved the volume, "Methodist Youth in
Council," as resource material for young people*§ groupsg mak
ing it clear, however, that this did not carry endorsement of
all of the findings and recommendations.
Further development in the field. While these things
were going on in the national picture, something was also hap
pening out in the field. The large sale of the Council re
port has already been mentioned. Events at this time, largely
^^Ibid.,pp.6-7.
^^Ibld.. p. 6.
6 : 6
inspired by the Evanston meeting, were said to be peace par—
ades, adventures in inter-racial good will, activities in sup
port of moral legislation such as the Anti-lynching Sill, dep
utation teams to tell of the Christian Youth Movement#, In
some sections organizations in districts, conferences, states,,
were modeled after the pattern of the National Councils I ^ ' ^
the San Francisco Area, embracing the states of California,
Arizona, and Nevada, plans were started to hold a great assem
bly of Methodist youth the following year. Most widely? pub—
liclsed was the participation of the Methodist college students,
under the leadership of the NAtional Council, in the Student!
Strike against War.
III. THE 1935 NATIONAL COUNCIL
OF METHODIST YOUTH
The sessions. The first meeting of what was to be
known in the future as the "National Council of MethodtJStt,
Youth" was held in Garrett Biblical Institute, Northwestern
University, Evanston, September first to second, 1935. It
was called together by the executive committee that had been
chosen by the National Conference the preceding year. The
meeting was on a delegated basis, each annual and. mission con-~
ference in continental United States being allowed one rep
resentative , in addition to representatives from the Wesley
Foundations, Methodist colleges, Methodist seminaries. Stand -
à?"
ard Bearers, Queen Esthers, and Kappa Phi. The conference.
delegates were to a large extent the same individuals who had
been chosen "on the spot" at the 1934 Conference by their c '
delegations. Several of these had since^been confirmed by
their groups at'home. There were some changes and several del
egates from groups not represented before. The addition of:
the representatives from the additional Methodist youth or
ganizations marked the passing of the movement from being rep
resentative almost exclusively of Epworth League groups. .
The five days together were days of creative experience.
Under the chairmanship of Hayes Beall a spirit of harmony and
cooperative endeavor prevailed, even though at times there
were sharp differences of opinion. Longest debate on any one
topic was on the Student Strike against War. One group was
eager to have the National Council remain the national planning
committee as a sponsor of the strike. The other group, and
by votes on several items apparently the larger, disapproved
of the strike, contending it had more harmful than beneficial
results. The issue was referred to committees two or three:
times,the discussion finally ending in a compromise late Sat
urday night, the day befoie the convention was to close.. T^e
compromise was to the effect that the Council would partiel—
pate under two conditions, first, that it be .called a "demon
stration" and not a "strike", and secondly, that the Board of
Education give its approval. The opposition, feeling satisfied
69
that they would not be called upon to "strike**, agreed.
The sessions opened with reports from the officers and
delegates concerning-whatihad happened in the field since the
preceding year. From the tenar of the reports it could be
seen that social action was considered a vital part of the
program and the critical issue of the day. Several delegates
stated that they came expecting to receive something that\
would help them back home.
Most interesting of the sessions was that spent with
three representatives of the Methodist laymen * s «movement that :
had been organized around Chicago to combat radicalism in the
church. , After the initial speech of one of their number, the
rest of the morning was spent in the young people's question
ing and cross-questioning the trio. I t was obviously appar
ent that the Council and the daymen's movementtwere at opposite
poles of thought.
Most significant of the addresses was Kirkpatrick's
analyses of the philosophy behind the Council. A brief out-
42
line would be as follows :
I. The National Council, in its conception, purpose, organiz
ation, and method, is definitely and whole-heartedly
Christian.
1. A Creative Love and Eternal Purpose are at the
heart of the universe.
2. God is Revealed not only in nature, the prophets,
and Jesus , but in social movements.
69
3. Human personalities are the most priceless values
in the universe. All else is relative.
4. All factors affecting human personality come with
in the range of the Kingdom of God.
II. The program is educational.
1. We must learn how to meet and solve new and
unexpected problems.
2. It will mean continuous reconstruction of individ
ual experience and social relationships.
3. The best education takes place through participa
tion.
4. It must solve problems facing men and women, thus
going into controversial areas.
III. The program includes Christian social action.
1. Society must provide opportunity for all men.
2. It must be cooperative, based on the Christian
motive of service.
4P
3. Spiritual and human values must be apparent.
Hiselon, representing the Board of Education, told
the delegates;
You youth are in the true prophetic and apostolic
succession. Three faiths must guide your prophecy—
a faith in God, a faith in man, and a faith in the
eternal rightness of your purpose.
Moral and spiritual forces are more important to the
building of a new world than social and economic. Our
method should be one of; first* inspiration; second,
education; and third, action*
42
Hayes Beall, editor. The National Council Meets
Again (Chicago: Board of Education, Methodist Episcopal
Church, 1936), pp. 16-19.
p.9.
70
Owen Geer, assistant to Kirkpatrick, and one of thee
outstanding leaders of the movement, reviewed Gregg's book
on The Power of Non-violence as being oneeof the basic ele
ments of-the Council's philosophy.
other speakers were W, E. J. Gratz, editor of the Ep-
worth Herald; Paul Hutchinson of the Christian Century; James
Meyers, industrial secretary of the FederalICouncil of Church?»
es of C^isttin America ; Mrs Thomas Nicholson, national pres
ident tof the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society; Wade Crawford
Barclay of thé Joint Committee on Religious Education in For^-
eign Fields; Reverend Edgar M. Wahlberg; MargarettEnglish,
who had just returned from a European tour; and two people
representing other elements of the youth movement--Percy
Hayward,of the International Council of Religious Education;
and Helen Mueller, who had been a member of one of the Ger
man youth movements and who was now a Nazi refugee• Miss Muel
ler was with the Council during all of its sessions as an in
terested observer.
The Council divided into three discussion groups under
the chairmanship of three youth leaders. Miss Margaret Weiner;
Joseph Bell, and Tom Pendell, to work out their findings.
Sub-committees under these handled details.
The Council adopted a permanent form of organization
whereby the officers would be elected biennially at the close
of the C6une 11 meetings in oddr-numbered years, as opposed to
7f
the plan decided upon the preceding year of electing at the
time of the National Conferences in even-numhered^lyears•.
For officers for the coming biennium.,.the group decided to
reelect the group that had been selected by the National Con
ference the preceding year, with those changes that had been
made during the intervening time.
To assure the representative character of the Council
from all Methodist groups, representation was voted on the
follovfing basis, which has been in effect until the present
time with but one addition:
dO) One representative of each annual and mission confer
ence to be chosen by the conference Epworth League
or Council of Methodist Youth, or other corresponding
group, wherever such exists,
(2) Eleven representatives of Queen Esthers,.
(3) Eleven representatives of Standard Bearers,.
(4) Nine representatives of the Wesley Foundations,
(5) Nine representatives of church related colleges and
seminaries.
(6$ Two representatives of Kappa Phi,
(7) Two representatives of Phi Tau Theta.
(8) Two representatives of the Executive Committee,.,.
(9) fcertain staff member
The findings « The National Council of Methodist Youth
is a spontaneous outgrowth of a meeting of the Methodistt
^hbld.. p. 22
92
young people held in the summer of 1934..,.It was not
pre-determined, that a permanent fellowship would be ef
fected. .. .The desire for this was a development during
the meeting.. ."^5
The purpose of the National Council of Methodist i.Youth
is to provide a: national medium through which the various
organizations of young people... may form and give expres
sion to their convictions and purposes with reference to
the issues affecting the life of young people today, and
to receive the help that such an opportunity will provide
for each organization to carry out the aims and purposes
of the church.
It does not seek to supplant, absorb, eliminate, or in
any way interfere with any existing organization...Rather,
it seeks to provide a medium for inter-agency and church-
wide cooperation among all young people of the church to
the extent that this seems desirable,. ..The Department ofJ
Epworth League and Young People's Work functions as a su
pervisory and service agency for the entire Young People's
program, and the Council serves as a field agency for the
Department and for Methodist youth in conference, district,
and local organizations..
...T^e Council is identified whole-heartedly with
the united.movement, "Christian Youth Building a New
World..." 45
To the nine point program of the united youth program,,
the Council added a tenth, "Sharing the gospel of Christ with
'all the world' .
The pre-Easter emphasis was placed on the devotional
life and evangelism, and techniques were suggested. Missions
were again endorsed with the recommendation that they receive
^^Ibid.,pp. 19-20, as revised by executive committee.
^^Ibid.,pp.
‘ ^’ ^Loc. cit.
^^Ibid.,pp. 20-21, as revised by executive committee.
73
added emphasis. The Epworth Herald *s wider use was recommend
ed. Means of Council finance were suggested.
In the field of social action, the student strike was
recommended for local groups as conditions weirranted; the
workers ^ rights amendment and the bill calling for the "Amer
ican Youth Act" were endorsed; the Epworth Herald was urged
to publish a series of articles on the history of the labor
movement as well as biographies of prominent labor leaders;
cooperatives were endorsed; a study was authorized of the
American Youth Congress to determine the advisability of Join
ing it; social action summer schools were encouraged; civil
liberties were championed; the platform of "Allied Youth" was
endorsed in regard to the liquor problem; the Council urged
repeal of the Oriental Exclusion Act; it continued its fight
upon lynching; letters were sent to Rome, Ethiopia, and Wash
ington regarding the Italian invasion; boycott of the Olympic
Games scheduled to be held in Nazi Germany was urged; and
several memorials to the General Conference regarding unifica
tion of the Methodist churches, young people *s program, courses
48
of study in seminaries, and world peace, were sent.
Most provocative of all was the repudiation of the uni
fication of Methodism, expressing the hope that the General
Conference would take no action which would write into , the law
48
Ibid., pp.35-52
74
49
of Methodism the principle of racial segregation.
49
IMd., p.51.
CHAPTER VI
THE CRISIS
As the delegates left the 1935 Council meeting at :
Evanston it was with high spirits and great hope for the fu
ture of the movement. Little did the delegates realize the
storm that* was brewing and the events that would take place
before the meeting one year later. ,
In the meantime, everything was moving ahead. Prob
ably the most outstanding event was the San Francisco Area
Assembly of Methodist Youth held for four days in Ngvember
at Fresno, California. Skch outstanding men as Kirby Page,.
J. Stit Wilson, Roy L. Smith, Bishop James C ^ Baker, Blaine
E.Kirkpatrick, Owen M. Geer, Lynn Rohrbough, Allan A, Hunter,
E. Guy Talbott, and many others were on the program. The
assembly proved, to be tremendously enthusiastic and inspiring.
Eight hundred young people and their leaders were present
from three states of the area, California, Arizona, and Neva
da, as well as a delegation from distant Idaho.. The résolut
tions of this assembly followed squarely in the trend of the
national gatherings, both in devotion and. potency, coming
under the four general heads of --1) Personal religion,evan
gelism, and missions; 2) World peace and patriotism; 3) Chris
tian economic order; and 4) Moral and social problems.
I. EVIDENCE OF GROWING HOSTILITY
The conservatives become alarmed. The attitude of the
leadership of the church to the new youth program had for some
time been that of "tolerant condescension", as one leader puts
it. Preoccupied with other things, they had little time
to give to the opération of the young people's department;.
For years it had been innocuous and harmless. By the time t
they became aware of what the program really was, it had been
going three or four years and had taken hold of the best lead
ers in the field. When a creative program based firmly on
what one believes to be the fundamentals of his religion is
once under way, it is a difficult, if not impossible thing,
to stop.
Several occurences caused the conservative group to
suddenly take a closer interest in the activities of the young
people's department. A social action conference held in
1932 had put several of the youth leaders' names in a little
volume intended to show the interwoven communist movement': in
America, The Red Network. The same year one of the staff
members, Roy Burt, secured leave of absence to run for office
of Governor of Illinois on the Socialist ticket. With the
coming of the 1934 National Conference of Methodist Youth,
newspapers played it up as a radical gathering. All of these
tended to worry many individuals, both within and without the
church, about the "dangerous tendencies in the young people's
department.
Influenced by THe Red Network , some patriotic organ
izations began making attacks on the department. In January,
1936, the Midwest meeting of the Methodist Federation forr
Social Service was sufficient to light the fuse.. For ten
days previous to the meeting of the Board of Education, which
must annually ratify all^nominations for the staff, certain
Chicago newspapers launched an attack on Blaine Kirkpatrick
and Owen Geer in attempt to show sympathy on their part*'to
ward Russian communism.
The Board of Education meeting. l%en the board of
Education met in Chicago the latter part of January a com
mittee was appointed to investigate these attacks. Later the
matter was taken up in executive session and the charges were
found to be without foundation in fact.
However, in addition , the following statement was
adopted in regard to young people's work:
1. The Board of Education has no desire or intention
to interfere with the personal views, attitudes, actions,
and affiliations of its staff members in their individual
or private capacity,
2. Because it is not easy to draw a line between the
actions of a staff member as an individual and his actions
in his official capacity, the staff member must recognize
the necessity of abstaining, even as an individual,from
actions which would embarrass the Board, the Church, ...
or the cause of Christian education.
3 . If for conscientious or other reasons the staff mem
ber is incapable or unwilling voluntarily to recognize and
assune such restrictions, the Board reserves the right_to
impose such restrictions; and if these continue to be
178
disregarded, to bring the official relationship to an end.
4. The principle laid down...in no wise interferes with
the opportunity and responsibility ....to interpret:fear
lessly and courageously the meaning of the Christian gos
pel and to encourage its practice in all human relation
ships.. . The function of the Board...is primarily educa
tional and... religious. Important as are economic and
political factors in achieving a Cftristian civilization,
it is not the function of a staff member to engage in what-
may be regarded as economic or political propaganda.
5. In considering complaints... the Board will seek
to ^ake a full and unabiased study of all relevant facts.
Hayes Beall,‘president of the National Council, ap
peared before one of the sessions and gave a lengthy state
ment asking their endorsement of the Student Strike againstb
War. All the conditions listed by the National Council had
been met by the strike committee with the exception of term
ing it a"demonstration". The Board adopted the following
motion in regard to it:
The members of the Board have deep sympa-chy with the
desire of youth... to promote the cause of world, peace
by any intelligent, effective, and legitimate means.
The Board, however, in its representative capacity,.
cannot approve a policy of refusal to cooperate with the
government of the United States in the event of war, and
it cannot look with favor upon any method or means of agi
tating for peace which involves rebellion against lawful
authority on any American college or university campus.?
^Proceedings of the Board of Education of the Method-
ist Episcopal C^^urch CChicago: Board oh Educatioh,Methodistc
Episcopal ChurchI 1 9 3 6 pp. 63-4.
^Ibid., p. 65.
7^
Bishop Blake, liberal president of the Board, presented
a set of objectives for the young people , which was adopted
as follows :
We most earnestly approve and command the following
personal and social objectives for the enlistment of our
Methodist youth:
I surrender my life to Jesus Christ and his way of liv
ing, and I enlist in his Service.
I believe that it is the purpose of God to establish
His kingdom upon the earth, in which all human relation
ships are controlled by the law of love, and I propose to
live, so far as I am able, as if that Kingdom were here
now.
I will faithfully observe a "quiet time" each day for
meditation and prayer.
I will regard my lifework as my share in the building
of God's Kingdom. I will choose my lifework in accord
ance with what I can discover to be God’s will, and not
for personal gain.
I will practice restraint and self-discipline in all
my personal habits.
I will keep my friendships on a high level not conform
ing to lower standards, but helping to lift the standards
of my group to the best that I know.
I will serve Christ through the Christian church, doing
all that I can to make it the effective instrunent that _ •
it must be if the world is to be made truly CKristian.
I will oppose war and the war system and will work
ceaselessly for the establishment of peace.
I will treat those of all races as my equals and brothers.,
I will refrain from the use of alcoholic liquors in all
forms, and will work to rid the world of the liquor traffic.
I will give myself to the creation of economic and social
conditions wherein every member of society shall have op
portunity to earn a livelihood for himself and those depend--
ent upon him, and wherein every member of society shall
80 ^
have a sufficiency to meet his economic and cultural needs.
I will use my leisure for recreations which are whole
some and which enrich and uplift personality, and will re
frain from amusements which degrade personality.
I will give of my time,as far as possible, to working
for the building of a Christian world, in personal work,
public speaking, circulating literature, and in every
possible way evangelizing for Christ.
I will give sacrificially of my earnings and substance
to support the enterprises which are working to build a
Christian world.
Your Committee further recommends that the Board request
and_^require the staff... to follow the above objectives.
.•.3
regard to the National Council itself, the Board
adopted the f ollowing report :
Since the movement is still in its exporiental stage
we urge members of the Board... to study it carefully and
open-mindedly and to help interpret its meaning and pur
pose to the church at large...The leadership and supervi
sion of the department and the Board are to be clearly
recognized...the National Council of Methodist Youth is
to be considered a field force thoroughly integrated wlY.
with the department and with the youth organizations of
the annual conferences, the district, and the local church.
We commend the hearty cooperation of the Methodist youth
in the interdenominational movement, "Christian Youth Build
ing a New World," in which our Methodist leaders and youth
have shared creatively, from the beginning. We believe that:
it affords a genuine opportunity of making religion a vi
tal force in the. life of modern youth
The 1936 executive (committee. A few days later the of
ficers of the National Council gathered in Chicago for the -
^Ibid.. p. 63.
^Ibid.. pp. 69-70.
81
annual - executive committee meeting.. In the light of the action
of the Board, they did not endorse the Student Strike, bpt re
commended that the local groups might participate as situations
warranted .
Emphasis was laid on the pre:- Easter period so that:
Methodistbyouth might "offer our lives anew to God and His re
deeming grace, trusting in Him for power to conquer evil in our
lives and in society." ^
It was decided that the members of the National Council
would be the official Methodist delegates to the conference of
the Christian Youth Council of North America to be held the suc^
ceeding summer. Plans were outlined for youth day at the com
ing General Conference and for the National Conference of Meth
odist Youth to be held the succeeding September. In connection
with the unification problem, a committee was appointed to
gather up the differing viewpoints of leaders so that they
mightobe published. The interdenominational movements was
urged to take the initiative in organizing peace demonstrations
on Armistice.Day. .
II . THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1936
Tension in the church. In various American denomina
tions there is tension within the church upon matters of doc-
^Hayes Beall, editor. The National Council Meets Again
(Chicago; Board of Education, Methodist Episcopal Church", .19365),
p..53. •
^2.
trine and theology, frequently dividing the church between:
fundamentalists and modernists. In the Methodisttchurch dur
ing recent years this has never been a big issue.. Rather the
tension has come in the field of the social gospel, with the
church more or less divided between conservatives and liberals
and all shades in between.
The General Conference, ruling body of the church, had,
in its quadrennial meeting of 1932, taken a very advanced pos
ition in the realm of economics and social relationships..Con—
servative forces insisted that it had been "put over" while:
the Conference did not know what was happening; Equally ir
ritating to them was the Methodist Federation of Social Service,
an unofficial group of liberal church leaders that was quite
aggressive in putting forward its own viewpoint:..
When the General Conference of 1936^convened in Colum
bus ,,Ohio, in the month of May, everyone was conscious of this
tension. One magazine in its weekly reports of the conference
headed them "The Battle of Columbus." Hot spots were the so
cial creed, the Methodist.Federation of Sf cial Service, elec
tion of bishops and editors, and the Board of Education mem
bership. But those who expected a blow-up at Conference were
disappointed. A compromise.social creed was adopted which,
after listing a series of indictments against the present con
ditions, gave three possible solutions that they requested
Methodists to study : reformed capitalism., socialism, and
cooperatives g i On the election of bishops and editors , it
was pretty largely a draw, with both conservatives and liber—
als being named. One ofithe liberals reelected was W, E. J..
Gratz, editor of the Epworth Herald, and a staunch supporter;
of the National Council. As to the Methodist Federation of
Social Service, conservative forces wanted to deny them the
use of the name "Methodist"I but this effort failed, the Cone-
ference issuing a statement calling upon all unofficial bodies
to state plainly on their literature that their status was
unofficial.
Action in regard to young people's work. When the
sub-committee that was to draft the report dealing with the
controversial young people's department met, a sharp conflictt
of opinion was discovered. Critics of the department were
manifestly in the majority, as in both the committee and the
sub-committee. Bays were spent trying to arrive at a common
ground without much success. Neither a condemnatory nor a
commendatory resolution could be drafted concerning the staff
of the Board of Education. One of the sub-committee members
tells of this significant incident:
At one session... Dean Holgate appeared, unannounced
and uninvited... where he had no right to come,except!
by invitation, and made a long, rambling speech. He was
rather vague and indefinite in his statements, but the
substance of what he was trying to say seemed to be that
our committee need not make any definite recommendation
about the program and its leadership, for the Board of
84
Education would be in a.better positiog to handle the
whole matter in a satisfactory manner*
Finally a compromise measure was passed and referred
to the Conference. The committee vote stood: yes, 47; no,
19; not voting, 0.'^ This report included the statement on
political activities of staff members and the objectives of
the young people's program as passed by the Board of - Educa
tion the preceding January, quoted earlier in the chapter.
When the report was presented to the Conference, Lester W.
Auman, a delegate from the New York East Conference and friend
of the National Council, rose to his feet and in a short
speech declared:
The implication of this report is that these
principles announced in the report were.imposed upon
the Young People's Department by the Board of Education,
but I think it ought to-be clearly understood... that
these principles.originated with the Secretaries of
the Young People's Department....°
He went on to pay a fine tribute to the youth program
and what it was actually accomplishing.
The report was adopted by a show of hands.
Ellen Lund, secretary, "Complete Transcript of
Sessions of the National Council of Methodist Youth With
Bishops Leonard, Baker, Blake, and Doctor Lester Auman,
Held at Berea, Kentucky, 1936."
'^"Reports of Committees", Daily Christian Advocate.
23:417, May 16, 1936.
o
"Proceedings of the General Conference, Morning
Session , May 18, 1936, " Daily Christian Advocate, 23:500,
May 19, 1936.
<85
Reelection of Elselen. Eiselen's positiom as cor--
responding secretary of the Board of Education and responsi
ble for making all nominations to staff positions to the
Board was the center of considerable speculation. He had c
stood firmly behind his staff in all of the controversies
9
raging'about them. . ' When his name appeared before the Con
ference, he received an enormous votb, and the liberals who
had taken an active part in his reelection, regarded it as a
vindication of his leadership
Election of Board of Education membership. Nominations
for membership on the national boards of the Methodist CHurch
are made by the Board of Bishops to the General Conference,
which elects the members. The nominations are by secret
ballot, and it is claimed that the first ballot is by prece
dent simply a nominating one, out of which those names to be
presented to the General CBnference will be chosen.'"*"
These nominations did not reach the floor of the Gen—
eral Cbnference until the closing morning shortly before the
^Robert Leonard Tucker, "Methodists Snub Liberal Bishop,"
Christian Century- . 53:816, June 3, 1936.
^^"What are the Methodist Liberals Going to Do?"Chris
tian Century.53:827. June 10,1936.
^^"An Explanation Is Due the Church".Zion's Herald,
114:533, June 3, 1936.
86
adjournment. For some reason the name of Bishop Blake was
omitted , which caused a storm of protest throughout the church.
Just what the intention of the Board was no one can say. One
bishop declared:
It was by no chance nor was it by any regular procedure^
as has been stated in some sections, that one member of
the Board of Education from the Board of Bishops was
dropped. It was because certain men believed that he stood
for certain things that they did not want to have at the
center of the Board of Education.
Dismissal of the youth leaders. Within a few days af
ter the close of the General Conference Blaine E Kirkpatrick
and Owen M. Geer received communications from Ejselen sug
gesting voluntary withdrawal on their part. The reason for
this has never been agreed upon although large numbers have
very definite convictions about it. W:^th all that had gone
on during the preceding weeks and months, many felt that Efs-
elen saw the handwriting on the wall as he surveyed the new--
ly chosen Board of Education. They insist that it was the
social issues that.caused their removal.. The dismissed
officials feel this to be the reason. . T^eir opinions we do
not need to give . T^ey are based upon the attacks upon these
two men by the conservative forces, the assurances that E%s -
elen had given the two men, the action of the Board of Bishops,
which even some of their own members call a "frame-up", and
12
Lund, op. cit.
^^Tucker, pp. clt., p. 8l6.
r
87
the conservative personnel of the new Board. Eiselen
was by this time a sick man and not up to his usual vigor..
Others who have been close to the scene point out thatt
there were other factors. Eiselen was working on a coordination
of the various elements ofTthe departmental program. For years
there had apparently been some friction in the realization o f
his proposed program among the staff members.. In working to
wards his goal it was not the first change he had made in per
sonnel. Those who should be in a position to know claim thatt
other factors were involved; and had the two men cooperated
with Eiselen in the total program of the Board , and especial
ly with certain aspects of it, there may not have been the
change. . However, all agree that the social question was one
of the issues.
When word of this reached the field, it was like a
thunderbolt. Hayes Beall, president of the National Cpuncil,
and at that time working in Central Office, sent out immediate
word. Letters began to pour in from all parts of the country
urging the continuance of these men. Eighteen thousand peti
tions arrived, over eighty percent asking for their retention,
and the balance opposing the Kirkpatrick-Geer administration^;,
Eiselen , who was under doctor's orders, could not hope to
read all of these, and it is felt by many that he never real
ized the tremendous protest that arose. Of the total number
of names on these petitions. Bishop Blake later affirmed that*.
88
ninety toninety-five percent as aminimum supported KirkpatSrick
and Geer..
When the Board of Education met on June thirtieth, the:
eyes of the church were upon it. Bishop Leonard was elected
president. When it came time for nominations, Eiselen nomizr-
ated another member of the staff,.Heil D. Bollinger,, secre--
tary of Wesley Foundations, as temporary head of a United
Young People's Department, that was to include all branches..
Three young people, representatives of the National
Council, were present to tell the Board how the young people-
felt concerning the expected dismissal of their two leaders
Herman W^ll, a member of Irving Park Church, Chicago^
delegate to'the 1934 Council of Methodist Youth and the
Lg^keside Conference, pointed out a reviving interest in
young people's work during the incumbency of Doctor Kirk
patrick and Mr. Geer...Young people are bewildered , he
said, when a successful program is now attacked. Miss
Louise Clark of the Minnesota Youth Council, also a dele
gate to Lakeside, drew attention to tfie interdenomination
al significance of the young people's program, urging
especially upon new members of the Board further consider-
tion because of the summer program of institutes, and so
on, now in process of organization. Miss Hgzel Kennedy,
whose great-uncle was BishopiH.0. Stuntz, whose father
and other relatives were ministers, spoke the voice of
Ohio youth who had sacrificed to send her, declaring that
defeated youth had found a way out, a Christian way.
It was youth's program, not Doctor Kirkpatrick's nor Mr.
Geer's program. "l represent a thousand youth leaders.
Can you get along without us? Weewant to be with you.
We do not want to leave the church. It 's up to you.^"^
In the further discussion of the Board remarks were
Momentous Meeting," Zion's Herald. Il4:653f,
July 6, ,1936.
89
made as to "emphasis" and the "inefficiency and one-sided
presentation" of the present program. When the vote was tak
en on the corresponding secretary's nomination, all but one
voted to uphold him. The Board in a statement issued to inter
pret their action said:
We recognize that throughlia number of years there has
been a growing sense of tension as between several phases
of the work of the Board. We support the corresponding
secretary in his belief that a change in personnel will
relieve this tension and effect greater harmèny and effW--
gtghoy
The difficulties which the Board has encountered have
arisen as matters of administrative, attitudes and proce
dures and do not involye nor require a change of policy
or social philosophy. ^
T^e explanation of the action has widely contrasting
interpretations. Supporting Eiselen and the Board's conten
tion that it was administrative. Bishop Leonard later told
the National Council:
As for the June 30th action, it was purely an adminis
trative affair. What the personal reasons are, if any,
must be left to Doctor Eiselen. Although some of us did
not agree with some of the interpretations and with some
of their methods and procedures,,the matter of program
did not enter into the consideration. The young people's
work was coordinated by the action of the Board at the sug
gestion of Doctor Eiselen. . .IJ.have nothing personal againstl
these two meh.
The Board is heartily in favor of the youth program. I
have voted for it at every turn.... The Board is in hearty
accord v/ith the action taken by the General Conferences
^^Ibid., p. 665.
^^Lund, pp. cit.
90
approving the youth program and will carry forward that
program which is even now being worked out.^*^
On the other hand, Zion^s Herald stated that the "real
object of attack is the * Program for Young People*."^® The
liberal Christian Century said it was feared that Methodist
youth would "upset the applecart.The conservative
Chicago Tribune headlined it as "Oust Radicals as Methodist
Youth Leaders,Even a year and a half later, the American
Mercury contained an article on "Radicals in Our Churches" in
which it said:
A further result of this new militance of the non-
Socialists was the speedy eclipse of the Radical youth
leadership. Bishop A. W. Leonard, an informed non-
Socialist, was appointed to head the Board of Education
in place of Bishop Blake. The new head made short shrift
of the Ward-ites; Kirkpatrick and Geer were dropped from
their secretaryship and a new, non-political policy was
introduced.
Probably the truth is that there were other factors
involved. It appears doubtful, however, that these would
have been sufficient to cause the shake-up it did at the
17
Loc. cit.
^®"The Real Object of Attack," Zion's Herald, 114:581,
June 17, 19S6.
1 Q
"When Discipline Fails," Christian Century, 53:1383,
October 21, 1936,
20
"A Momentous Meeting," 21on * s Herald. 114:665,
July 8, 1936.
21
"Harold Lord Varney,/Radicals in Our Churches,"
American Murcury. 43:51, January, 1938.
91
particular time it did were it not for this pressure being
brought to bear from the outside.
IV. THE 1936"'NATIONAL CONFERENCE:
OF METHODIST YOUTH
While this controversy, was raging around the youth
program, the youth movement was going ahead with a sign out,,
"Business as usual". The call was issued to the young peo
ple of Methodism inviting them to the second biennial Nation
al Conference of Methodist Youth.
Before the Conference came together, the Board of Ed
ucation committee had ratified the name of Doctor Jesse L.
Murrell of Florida as the successor to Doctor Kirkpatrick.
Murrell had been the chairman of the Findings Committee of the
first National Confer ence of Methodist Youth.
: sessions. The Conference was held in Berea College ,
Berea, Kentucky, September 2 to 6, 1936. Although farther
away from the centra.1 metropolitan area, over eight hundred
youth and their leaders responded to the callBy the time
of this Conference the storm was at its peak. There was spec
ulation as to what would become of the Methodist Youth Move
ment in light of the developments at the Général Conference
and the Board of Education. There was talk of secession
among the young people, breaking away from the authority of'
9È
the Board of Education and establishing a totally independent,
organization. Especially did resentment run high with those
members of the National Council executive ’ cbmm'itteelwho had
been close to Central Office during the entire affair. They
felt that the young people could more effectively promote
and direct their program than to be hindered and blocked at
every turn by a hostile Board of Education.
A young ministerial adult delegate from Sbuthern Cal--
ifornia, Carl G. Seitter, arriving at Berea the evening be--
fore the Cb^ference was scheduled to open, discovered this
spirit very evident among some of the leaders. He cautioned
them to hold àny decision until the Southern California dele
gation arrived, and the entire relationship'*was talked over.
Mhe delegations from the two conferences. Southern California
and California, had always been considered key delegations.
At home their young people's organizations had strongly cen
tralized, conference-wide programs with young people carrying
on and promoting the work.The ©.xperiences they had had in t
their own sections had given them an ideal for participation
in the national scene. As a consequence they frequently held
tthe floor of the National Conference and Council, as well as
holding important offices and committee chairmanships.
With the arrival of the first California automobile
party about ten o'clock that night, the group were scarcely
registered before an earnest discussion with some of the ex
G3'
ecutive committee members was under way. Southern Cali—
fornia advised caution in any hasty action,as it might cut
the principal supports of the National Council causing it in
a few yeare to wither away.
The following morning the worship opened under the \
leadership of the Reverend Harold Metzner of Waterville,
Maine. TRe hymn and responses were
There’s a light upon the mountains,
And the day is at the spring,
When^our eyes shall see the beauty
ANd the glory of the King:
Weary was our heart with waiting.
And the night watch -seemed so long.
But his triumph-day is breaking.
And we hail It with a song.
The leader:
When wilt thou save the people?
0 God of mercy, when?
Not kings and lords, but nations.
Not thrones and crowns, but men 1
The group:
When wilt thou save the people?
0 God of mercy, when?
The service moved on into the great Inspirational
closing;
’ ’Are ye able,” said the Master,
”To be crucified with Me?”
”Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered,
”To the death we follow Thee.”^^
22
Hayes Beall, et al., editors. Being Christian in '
Times Like These(Chicago:NAtional Council of Methodist Youth,
1937),pp. 1-8.
94
Greetings-from Frederick C. Eiselen, who:was stdlH
sick, were read by Merle N. English, secretary of; the Divi
sion of Religious Education in the Local CiiurchV of which the
young people’s work is a departments. The message:-, closed?:
The Board of Education is tremendously inter es tied in
the desire of the young people to cooperate with GOd ini
building a new world* . Ittis my earnestthope that the
young people and the Board of Education will continue to
share cooperatively in the program of the entire church,
so that Christ may be lifted up universally in a consis
tent crusade for a. Christian Person, a Christian Home, a
Christian Church, a Christian Community, a Christian
Nation, and a Christian World.^3
Hayes Beall, president, reviewed beforeethe Conference
many of the activities of the Council during the preceding
two years, such as financial support of the Hamilton-Reynolds
R î O . T . C . case which was taken to the Supreme Court, the pro
test-*- against inter-racial discriminations in connection with
Methodism’s sesquicentennial, the Student Strike*. He paid
a tribute to Blaine Kirkpatrick and Owen Geer, going on to
say, "No matter how acceptable our newly chosen leaders may
be, the Council cannot escapee the conviction that the action
of the Board ignored the will of the overwhelming majority
of Methodist youth who expressed themselvesSince
Beall had apparently changed his tentative purpose 6f bring-
pp. 9-11
24
Ibid.. p. 17.
9Ô
ing-the secessionist move before the entire Conference,,he
made five recommendations*.
First, the Council must ; continue as basically and
centrally a Christian.movement of youth*. Second, it mustt
be a fellowship whose freedom of action is unhindered by
institutionalism. Third, it must go forward as a pioneer
ing fellowship of those who are desperately in earnest;
about the theme of this Conference--BeinK Christian in
Times Like These. Fourth,,while nevgr overlooking the
importance of personal living, the Council must be a'
socially relevant force which seeks Ôonstantly to labor
attthe points most important in the creation of the phys
ical and social foundations of the abundant life.. Fifth,
any continuing work of the Cquncil will mean a déclaratiion
of freedom of thought and action; also the maintenance of
democratic p r o c e d u r e .^4
The key-note address was delivered by Lester W. Auman
of New York on ”The Significance of. Jesus for T^^ese Tipes
A masterly and powerful address, he departed from his pre--
pared manuscript when he came to field of "sin” to pay his
"respects” to the action of the Board of Bishops.
Most :thrilling moment during the Conference came at:
the close of Bishop Blake’s address on "These Times and the
Ij^ternationa.1 Situation,” when the entire Conference rose
to its feet .as one man to give the bishop a tremendous ovation
It twas '^onlÿs rivaled by the ovations given to Blaine Kirk
patrick and Owen Geer when these two former staff members,
serving as resource men for the Conference, were brought to
the Stage. Other addresses were given by Bishop Adna W,
Leonard, President William J,Hutchins of Berea College,
24
Ibid., p. 17.
96:
Samuel L* Hamilton, Bishop James C. Baker, and Harold Cl Càse:*
The real‘ .happenings during the five days were nott, how
ever, on the floor of the Conference. Rather, they were in
smaller meetings of the National Council itself which met atb
differentttimes during the Gdnference. Wanting to getLat the.
bottom of the trouble, a settof questions was prepared, which
was presented to different men appearing before the Council;.
Among those questioned were Bishop Leonard, Bishop Blake, Bish
op Baker, and Lester Atbnan. Bishop Leonard insisted that the
other men not be in the room when he appeared. He answered
all the questions presented with the exception.of one in re?-
gard to the action of the Board of Bishops, which he held to
be beyond the proper field of the group. He was given an
enthusiastic applause as he left, several members securing
his autograph*
The findinKS* For the first time the interest of the
church at large and the outside world did not center upon the
social action reports* Interest"was glued upon the reports:
regarding the future of the National Council, the action of
the Board of Education, and youth and the church * The reports
were prepared by two groups, one the National Council itself;;
and the other a commission of the larger National Conference
dealing with "Youth and the Church.” Would the National Coun
cil secede? It was a tense meeting and those who were looking
for ecclesiastical dynamite in the reports certainly found
97
plenty. In regard to the Board of Education, Tom Page read
the following statement to the Conference from the National
Council:
We, the National Council of Methodist Youth, represent
ing the young people of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
are mindful that this, our organization, was initiated and
fostered by Doctor Blaine E. Kirkpatrick and Reverend Owen
M. Geer, with the help of others. We recognize and are
deeply grateful for the dynamic leadership of these two men
We have now been unjustifiably and arbitrarily deprived
of that leadership. Their effective and prophetic Chris
tian service to Methodist youth and to the youth of other
denominations of the Protestant Church has challenged us
to the privilege of being Christians in days like these.
We have been stirred from a sequestered expression of our
faith into a contact with the vital realities ...For sev
eral years a steady line of attack has been aimed at the
social effectiveness of their Christian convictions;
Their removal from office rests directly upon their social
effectiveness...
It appears very plainly that there is now in the high
circles of the church a determined effort to still the
voice of our liberal leaders., which is a source of pro
found distress and gives suspicion of possible defeat of
our entire program. Therefore, we express our profound
disapproval of the actions of the Board of Bishops, the
Executive Secretary of the Board of Education, and the
Board of Education itself which resulted in the removal
of these men. The fact that some of these actions were
taken in the face of one of the greatest storms of pro
test ever registered within the Methodist Church is indic
ative of the fact that it is not a just representation of
the position of Methodism...Furthermore, we are greatly
distressed by the fact that so many of the moves involved
were sub rosa or indirect in their nature so that no op
portunity was given either for a hearing or a clear-cut
challenging of the action.
We also desire to express our high appreciation of the
devoted service rendered by Bishop Edgar Blake...
We are undaunted, however, in our determination to con
tinue an aggressive program of study and action. We will
not drop our task of building a new world...We have faith
in the Christian message...It is our desire to demonstrate
the spirit of Christ, who with love in His heart, never
98
theless,”set His face steadfastly toward Jerusalem.” We
salute all who may go forward with us and pray God that He
will give us strength for the facing of this and every hour*
We, the National Conference of Methodist Youth, pledge
our confidence in and cooperation with the present staff
of the Young People’s Départiraient in the continuance of the
program for which we stand.
?7
The report was adopted unanimously*
As to the future relationship with the Board, a commit
tee was authorized to work this out, the personnel consisting
of five from the National Council, five from the Board’s Com
mittee on Religious Education in the Local Church, two from the
Young People’s Department of the Women’s Foreign Missionary
Society, one of them a young person, and two similar represen
tatives of the Women’s Home Missionary Society, the committee
to be convened by Hiel D. Bollinger. They were instructed to
report to the next meeting of the Council on the following:
1. Representation from the National Council of
Methodist Youth on the Curriculum Committee.
S. Participation by youth representatives of the
Executive Committee of the National Council in meetings
which affect policies and personnel of the Department of
Epworth and Young People’s Work...
3. The selection of a full-time field worker to be
chosen according to the statement on organizational
principles of the National Council by the Administrative
Committee. His duties are:
A. To carry out and promote the program of the Nation
al Council as defined in the principles of organization
20lt)ia. , pp. 83-4
P7
"Statement from the Youth Council, "Zion’s Herald*
114:905, September 16, 1935.
99
B», To promote and organize conference young peo^-
ple’s organizations, the officers to be within the
age,limits of seventeen to twenty-five.
C. To be responsible for training young people
as volunteers for the field.
D. Tb organize and direct any specific projects
included in the National Cbuncil program.
4. Ways and means of providing budget:for the Counci11
under which the funds raised by the Council through
individual contributions from members, alumni groups,.
and friends will be supplemented by appropriations
sufficient to provide : the funds: necessary for const it?
uent organizations
The most provo cat ivee act ion taken by the Council was
the continued opposition to the unification of Methodism under;*'
the plan of a separate Jurisdiction for negroes* In regard
to the Student Strike against War,,the commission recommended
support, but urged the Strike Committee to find a more adequate
word than "strike”.
In addition to the special reports on the Council or
ganization and the church, ten commissions corresponding to
the ten points of the Christian Youth Movement brought; in
complete reports on
1. Personal religious living
2. Helping others to be Christian
3. Developing Christian patriotism
4. A warless world
5. Breaking down race barriers
28
Hayes Beall, op.cit.. pp. 82-3.
100
6;.Building a Christian economic, order^i
7*.Home and marriage
8. Use of beverage alcohol
9. Creative use of leisure time
10.,Youth in"missionary action
The closing* In spite of the tension during the days ;
together, the Conference ended on a high note. The last .night
a great pageantt "Rise Up and Build”^ had been presented and
following that the entire Conference-had a social evening to
gether. The final action was taken on' th’ e consultative com
mittee and everything seemed ready to go ahead. Harold Case
of'Topeka, Kansas, gave the closing sermon. At the final meal
the::group broke up as the Câlifornia delegation marched outt
singing, "California, Here I Come"..
After, however, a smaller group met to go over some
details. Hayes Beall had been notified that he couldn’t ex
pect to remain on the office force much longer. Again the
feelings andclthe suspicions of the past weeks broke out*
Beall surrendered the chairmanship of the meeting to Hal
E rickson of California so that he might present.his side.
One delegate from Iowa rose to his feet during the course of
the discussion to assert that he had been instructed at home:
to notify the Council that their annual conference would with
draw from the National Council if it were severed from the
Board of Education. A reason given fbrrBeall’g dismissal was
that he had not been faithful to the Boardc^ having come down
to Berea with the intention of having the Council secede..
No employee could hope to remain on under those circumstances.,
Others objected that Beall had a right to his convictions as-
any other Council member.. The meeting broke up in a rather
dismal mood..
It should be stated that in all the controversies during
the days together, Blaine Kirkpatrick and Owen Geer kept them
selves free, going quietly about the special commission work
to which they had been assigned. It was the youth of Method
ism aroused that wanted to go to the bottom of things.
IV. THE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE AND
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
The consultative committee. The consultative commit?
tee authorized by the Berea meeting met ready responsecby the;
Board of Education. The first meeting was called o n Octo
ber 15, 1936, in Chicago. Those present;were : representing
the Board of Education--Bishop Adna W, Leonard, T. B. Lugg,
David Jones, W. G. Coffey, Horace G. Smith; representing thes
National Council of Methodist Youth--Hayes Beall, Albert;
Hamilton, Herman Will, JrHarriet Lewis, Joe Bell; repre?
senting the Women’s Home Missionary Society--Miss Helen John
son, adult and youth representatives respectively; and repre^
102
senting the Wesley Foundations— H. D. Bollinger and Joe
Nimtz, adult and youth representatives respectively. Bishop
Leonard was elected chairman and Herman Will, Jr., secretary.
The work of this committee was epoch making* Thoir
work was extensive. It showed a spirit of give and take. Â
sub-committee was appointed to take care of some of the work.
The final committee meeting was held on February 2, 1937.
The agreements worked out included:
1. ' ’The participation of representatives of the
Executive Committee of the National Council of Methodist
Youth in any meetings which affect policies and personnel
of the staff of the Department of Epworth League and
Young People’ s Work.
2. Representation of the Council on the Curriculum Com
mittee of the Board, and also an Advisory member on the
Board of Education on the same basis as that of other
organ!zati on s.
3. ... the statement of purpose of the National Council
as formulated by the Consultative Committee in harmony
with the action at the Berea Conference.
4. ... division of World Comradeship Funds under which
partial provision can be made for the budget of the
Council.
5. ... When the financial situation warrants, the Board
will add another person, preferably about twenty-five
years of age, to the staff of the Department of Epworth
League and Young People’s Work, an important part of whose
task will be the promotion of the National Council of Meth
odist Youth. This staff member will be selected from a list
of three persons ( young people) submitted by the Nation
al Council of Methodist Youth to the Executive Secretary
of the Board of Education and in consultation with the
Secretary for Epworth League and Young People’s Work.
6. ... assignment of responsibility for promoting the
interests of the National Council to the newly elected
member of the staff...Carl C. Seitter, until such time.
l o ; B
as a full-time executive secretary might be in the
field.
The Board of Education:takes action. On February third
and fourth the Board of Education met for its annual meeting.
One C 2fjits important actions was to adopt the report of " the don--
sultative Oommittee. It was the beginning of a new day in the
Councillife.
In the report;of Merle N. English to the Board, he
stated:
The Biennial Meeting of the National Council Conference"]
of Methodist Youth held at Berea, Kentucky, under the
presidency of Mr. Hayes Beall, brought together more than,
seven hundred of the finesttof our Methodist youth and a
group of adult counselors and leader's . The Church has
abundant reason for confidence in the rank and file of
her young people. Their dedication to Christ, loyalty;
to the Cnurch and concern for present-day social, econom
ic, racial, and international problems are occasion for
rejoicing. Their insights and consecration are the hope
of the future. A wise church will be sympathetic,patient,
and loving in its effort to understand and counsel with
her youth as they seek to give expression to the Chris
tian ideals to which they have dedicated their lives.^
In two reports, that of Merle N. English and that of
Jess L. Murrell , fine tribute was paid to the work of Blaine
Kirkpatrick and Owen Geer*
The National Council of Methodist Youth was officially
recognized for the first time, its purpose being to provide
Thomas R. Pendell, "Report of the National Council
of Methodist Youth," pp.2-3.
^^"Board of Education Makes Plans for Youth',’ Epworth
Hemld48; ,' ‘ -■February 20,1937.
104
functional cooperation between the various young*people’s
organizations of the communions including the half a million
members of the Epworth League, the fifty thousand students
of Methodist colleges and universities, and others.
Carl C. Seitter, pastor of the Culver City Methodist
Church and long active in young people’s work in the Southern
California Conference, was named to take Owen Geer’s place.
Jesse L. Murrell, in his report, listed fourteen goals
for youth work which were approved by the Board. These includ
ed Christian character, Christian attitudes in life’s situa
tions, sound beliefs, guidance in sex problems, personal
initiative, wise use of leisure time, churchmanship, the
service motive, appreciation of democratic institutions,
understanding and good will toward all, world vision and loyalty,
the cooperative way of life, the proper selection of a voca
tion, and better leaders.
How can Christian character be achieved in a society
where life is largely fashioned by the motive of person
al gain? What can be done to change the viewpoint of
society from the selfish motive to the service motive?
Our youth need guidance at this point.
Competition is the source of much of society’s troub
les. It leads to all sorts of evils. We feel that our
youth must be led at least to an appreciation of the
cooperative way, in the hope that they and their society
may ultimately adopt it.^^
^hoc. Pit.
®^Loc. Cit.
CHAPTER YIX
THE ORGANIZED MOVEIMT
The 1957 National flonncil» It was in a new spirit
that the National Council met during the first week of Sept
ember, 1957. The tension that had marked the Berea meeting
was gone. The consultative committee had finished its work
and its findings had been confirmed by the Board of Education.
The executive committee at its mid-year meeting had moved
several Council projects along. The new staff members in
Central Office were cooperating with the Council. More and
more of the annual conferences and other constituent groups
were taking an active interest in the Council’s activities.
Meeting in Evanston, it was evident from the start that
the Council was ready to dig in and make itself effective. Re
ports of the different Council members showed an awareness of
what the Council was attempting to do and a group of earnest
young people seeking to make the Council more and more effect
ive. When the Council broke up into commissions, it was with
the purpose of making the youth movement prove itself by its
accomplishments. Fields covered included: 1) The relation
of the National Council of Methodist Youth to the Board of
Education and the larger church, 2) The relation of the Nation
al Council of Methodist Youth to the interdenominational move
ment, other Methodist groups, and non-church agencies, 3) The
relation of the National Council of Methodist Youth to confer-
106
enc© and district groups, 4) The relation of the National
Council of Methodist Youth to the local church, 5) The rela
tion of the National Council of Methodist Youth to student
groups, 6) Young adult program,- 7) Problems of the rural
church, 8) 1937-1938 program: goals and technique, 9) Consti
tution. When it became evident that there was a real possibil
ity of securing their own field worker, the Council immediately
sat down to see how much they could raise* Pledging usually
by annual conferences, in a few minutes $1750 was raised in
pledges to supplement the World Comradeship giving. Twelve
other conferences promised ”as much as possible”.
The Council was organized on a business basis. Few ad
dresses outside of the worship thought were on the program.
Those speaking before the Council included Charles F. Boss, Jr.,
of the Methodist World Peace Commission, Dan Brummitt of the
Christian Advocate, W. E. J. Cratz of the Epworth Herald,
Charles C. Webber, exueutive secretary of the Methodist Feder
ation of Social Service, Harry W. McPherson, the man selected
by the Board of Education as successor to Frederick C. Eiselen,
who had died during the year after an illness of several months,
and the following men at the worship periods: Lester W. Auman,
Wade Crawford Barclay/, Samuel Sweeney, and Jesse L. Murrell.
The findings were, on the whole, very well thought out.
The constitution was presented and adopted, giving for the
first time a careful outline of the Council’s membership,
10?
relationships, and structure. The recommendations of the:
Commission on Young Adults has since been taken up by other
groups and is being developed out on the field, with the
possibility that there may come out of it a Methodist program
for young adults somewhat similar in organization to the
younger groups of Epworth League age. The Consultative Com
mittee was confirmed as a "basic existing agreement,” and
plans were outlined for financing the Council’s program. .
Various recommendations were made as to implementing the pro
gram in specific relationships. Miscellaneous actions taken
include the following :
We stand against gambling in any form, and specifically
denounce bank nights, slot machines and the numbers racket.
We deplore all evidences of repeal and regret the be
trayal of youth by the advocates of repeal, Including the
President himself, through their now meaningless promises
and laxity.
We ;note with disapproval the increasing use of tobacco
and recommend that young people refuse to adopt this hab
it, or break from it as rapidly as possible if they now
are addicted.
We implore Christian youth to take a definite individ
ual stand against obscenity in any form, whether in stories,
literature, movies, or pictures.
We endorse a physical and mental examination before
marriage.
W@ advocate the repeal of the federal law which prohib
its dissemination of birth control literature.
^Carl Seitter, editor, "Building Together.” (Unpublished
report of the 1937 meeting, .National C^^uncll of Methodist Youth,
1937),pp.8-11.
We are committed to the maintenance of chastity and
virtue among y pun g people, as'‘ ppposed to the tendencies
to promiscuity so prevalent in certain localities
We... endorse the Student Strike against War.
We recommend,,.promoting the Lenten emphasis on a life
of devotion and personal Christian living.
We urge all youth groups ... to devote a period to the
mission study...
wE recommend the... Scottsboro defense.
We recommend negro representation on Central Office
staff.
We condemn the profit system, seeing in it the degrad
ation of the individual personality...
We confess the failure of our own nation, along with
the other "have” nations, such as England and France, to
share natural resources and acquired wealth with "have
not” nations, such as Japan, Germany, and Italy, thus
giving them arguments for the use of violence...
...TWe pledge ourselves to build a cooperative common
wealth. ..
We recommend that... the Oxford pledge be a vital part"
of the Student Strike against War...
As required by the constitution, the Council selected
3
a new set of officers for the biennium.
There was - far greater unanimity of opinion than at the
C ouncil meeting two years precious. Divisions offopinions
now were on minor issues. Indeed,"apologies" seemed to be
in order by those who now felt that their previous attitude
2
Seitter, pp. cit
^Loc. cit.
109
had been a hindrance to the Council.
As the meeting closed it was with the feeling thatt
great days were ahead.
The 1937 student conferencei Mention should be made .
in passing of a great convention which, although not organ
ized by the National Council, was closely related to it. This
was the National Methodist Students’ Conference held in St.
Louis during the Christmas holidays. A joint affair planned
by the Methodist Episcopal, the Methodist Episcopal South,
and the Methodist Protestant Churches, it drew approximately
one thousand delegates. The president of the National Council
represented the students of the northern church in a short
talk the opening night. The meeting was the first contact of
the youth of the uniting churches. It was discovered that
they could really get along together 1 Youth leaders of the
three churches became acquainted for the first time. In the
committees that were set up to make arrangements for permanent
organizations, the National Council was the youth body of the
northern church authorized to make the selection of their re
presentatives.
Indicative of the extent of the Methodist youth move
ment, the findings of this gathering, which was in no way
responsible to the National Council, followed the same gener
al pattern of thought as the Council itself. While it did not
IID
always take the extreme stands of the Council, its general
tendencies were in the same directions
The executive committee meets again. In January,1938,
the newly elected executive committee of the National Council
met in Chicago. A 100 per cent attendance testified to the
hoi# the movement had taken on its leaders.. Many routine re
ports and actions were taken on the Council program, making^'
effective several of the recommendations of the preceding Sept?
ember. . Most importanttof all to the Council,the committee:
at last found itself ready to go ahead and nominatecthree
young people for the executive secretaryship. Finances were'
in excellent condition and no other hindrances remained in the
way. A nominating committee brought in a report"developed
out of some months of investigation. From their recommenda—
tions, the committee selected the following names to be pre--
santed to the corresponding secretary of the Board of Education,
in this order: Tom Pendell, Hayes Beall, and Herman Will, Jr.
A budget was developed and adopted. Committees author
ized by the Methodist Student Cbnference were appointed.
Peace conferences were authorized for strategic:centers across
the country, with the Council working hand in hand with the
Methodist World Peace Commission. Ann investigation prepara
tory to launching a campaign to assist the Epworth Herald was
started.
Ill
Faced with a world in which there was every prospect
of war, the committee appointed a committee to work out some
recommendations for Council peace action and bring them back
the next day. When the committee reported, the report inclu
ded a suggested open letter to the President of the United
States ending in these words:
We express the opinion of the National Council of
Methodist Youth, Mr. President, when we say: ”If you
lead us into wan in the Far East, we will not support
your administration in that ww. It will not be our
war, we cannot fight in it.”
The response of the executive committee was immediate
and enthusiastic. It was the high point of the two days’
session. A few modifications were made and the entire youth
group signed it unanimously. A special delivery, air mail
letter was sent direct to President Roosevelt. Other copies
were prepared and given to the church press, the Chicago
papers and the news services. The Associated Press sent a
photographer up to get the picture of part of the group look
ing at a globe map of the world. Before the members had
returned home practically every paper in the country was car
rying the story of their action. It is said it made the front
page in Washington, D. 0. The wire-photo picture was in all
the larger papers. The executive committee ordered immediate
printing of several thousand copies of the letter for distribu
tion, Two thousand were passed out at the United Methodist
Council alone.’
112
Its present position of leadership. Today the Nation
al Council of Methodist Youth stands as the officially recog
nized national agency of Methodist; youth. Its insistence upon*,
being responsible to the youth "back home" has demonstrated
that it does not desire to be a self-perpetuating group. While
the church realizes that its thinking has gone considerably
further than the average Methodist young person, they do real-*
ize that the young people who make it up are the responsible
leaders. When the committee planning the great United Meth
odist Council that was to bring four thousand delegates to
Chicago's Hotel Stevens wanted a representative of youth, they
chose the devotional chairman of the Council, Karl Downs.
The Council has demonstrated that it can go ahead in
spite of‘ difficulties. The crisis arising when its trusted
leaders were dismissed gave it a severe testing, but the fact
that it not only met the situation but is going ahead with full
vigor testifies to its solid foundation.
It has the pace fdr^'^the thinking and spiritual develop
ment of Methodist youth. Throughout the country local, dis
trict, and conference councils are being formed on the same
basis as the National- Council. They are eager to be a part;
of the larger movement and want to do their share.
The future. The Council is facing some critical prob
lems in the near future. Already some have noted what:they
"113
terms as aitendency to take a "middle of the road" position.
Will its official recognition and "respectability" t«nd to
make it more content with the âtatus quo? Will it lose its
crusading spirit?
Will increasing prosperity or a'War mania cut off its
roots in the local churches? The Council cannot survive save
in name unless it can rely on support from the youth of Meth
odism.
What effect will the unification of Methodism have up-~
on it? There are many who suspect that the present "cooper
ation" is merely a stall until the uniting general conferences
can "spike" the National Council.
All of these problems and many others the Council faces,,
determined that it shall remain true to what it considers its
divine calling. It is still young and virile and it is working!
so that when some unforeseen conditions arise, it will have
the power and support necessary to overcome' them.
CHAPTER Till
CONCLUSION
Owen Geer, writing for the Epworth Herald* in 1935,
listed three conditions that must underlie all youth move
ments:
1. A long-continued human need, wherein a large part
of the population suffers because of the sins or ignor
ance of others.
2. The "awakening” of youth to this suffering, either
through being involved in it, or by becoming identified
with those who are involved.
3. The discovery of a possible solution for the dif
ficulty— a solution which is challenging enough to
enlist youth and to motivate a crusade.1
Have these been met in the case of the movement we
have been studying?
We discovered that the Methodist Youth Movement was
born in the very heart of the depression. Youth knew in a
very real way at that time what conditions were. They had
experienced the effects themselves, and where they had not,
suffering was all about them. The meetings of previous
years with an almost identical program had fizzled out, not
only because of organizational features, but because there
evidently was no response in the average Methodist young
people to that program. They hadn’t had the necessary
^Owen Geer, ”Do We Want a Christian Youth Movement?”
Epworth Herald. 46:587, October 5, 1935.
115
experience. But the National Council grew out of a need
and demand from the'young people themselves. It survives
only as they support it. The growing support from local
groups demonstrates that it fundamentally comes up out of
life itself rather than being a program foisted upon youth.
The way the movement went through the great crisis testifies
to its vitality.
The movement has identified itself with the exploited
and oppressed. Wherever there is suffering caused by the
sins of others, there the movement has come in to identify
itself with those in need. Its championship of the under
privileged, the laboring man, the "have-not” nations, and
the minority racial groups is proof of this.
That it has discovered what it believes to be the
solution for the world’s difficulty no one can deny. With
an aggressive sureness they hold their solution to be the
one ultimate solution of the world’s problems.
Neither is it a mere ebho of secular youth movements.
While on many issues they have joined with the other youth
of the day, nevertheless where the Christian philosophy parts
with the other groups they part and in no uncertain terms.
Clear demonstrations of this came at the 1937 National Coun
cil and the 1938 Executive Committee meeting. While the peace
movement in America was split in twain on the "collective
security" technique, the National Council utterly repudiated
116
it, urging the continuance of the Oxford Pledge as a vital
part of the Student Strike. The boycott of Japanese goods
was rejected, even though practically all other elements
of the youth movement*were supporting it, because it did
not fit into the Council’s basic Christian philosophy of
overcoming evil with good.
So we come to the end of our survey. We have seen the
background that together with the essentially dynamic Christian
heritage gave rise to the movement. We have seen the response
it secured from Methodist youth throughout the country. We
have seen how it overcame obstacles that would have shattered
any but a living, throbbing movement. Now we come to the
question, Is it in a strict sense of the term, a "youth move
ment?" The conclusion we are forced to give is "Yes", that
it does meet the requisites. This does not mean that Methodist
young people all over America have been swept into a "movement."
It does mean, on the other hand, that throughout the country
sufficient numbers of them have been so stirred by the need
of the world and have so caught the idea of the proposed
solution as to build a strong organization and to exert
the influence and power necessary to make themselves a
vital factor in the future of their church and country.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS
Beall, Hayes, and others, editors, Being Christian in Times
Like These. Chicago: National Council of Methodist
Youth, 1937. 136 pp.
Beall, Hayes, editor. The National Council Meets Again.
Chicago: Board of Education, Methodist Episcopal Church,
1936. 63 pp.
Beall, Hayes, What is the National Council of Methodist Youth?
Chicago: Board of Education, Methodist Episcopal Church,
1937. 30 pp.
Chambers, M. M., Youth-Serving Organizations. Washington:
American Council on Education, 1937. 327 pp.
Coe, George A., What Ails Our Youth? New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1927. 93 pp.
Davis, Maxine, The Lost Generation. New York: Macmillan
Company, 1936. 385 pp.
Forward Together. Chicago: Committee on United Christian
Youth Movement, 1937. 8 pp.
Guidance Through Christian Education. Chicago : Board of
Education, Methodist Episcopal Church, 1937. 92 pp.
Harriott, Frank W., Christian Youth in Action. New York:
Friendship Press, 1935. 169 pp.
High, Stanley, The Revolt of Youth. New York: Abingdon
Press, 1923. 222 pp.
High, Stanley, editor, Through the Eyes of Youth. New York:
Abingdon Press, 1924. 193 pp.
.9 Youth Looks at the Church. New York: Abingdon
Press, 1926.
Hunter, Allan A., Youth’s Adventure. New York: D. Appleton
and Company, 1925. 154 pp.
Hutchinson, Paul, The Story of the Epworth League. New York:
Methodist Book Concern, 1927. 120 pp.
119
Kirkpatrick, Blaine E., Adventures in Christian Leadership.
Chicago: Board of Education of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, 1930. 97 pp.
Langdale, John W., editor, Discipline of the Methodist
Episcopal Church--1932. New York; Methodist Book
Concern, 1932. 719 pp.
, Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church— 1956
New York: Methodist Book Concern, 1936. 768 pp.
Morrill, Myron A., editor, Methodist Youth in Council.
Chicago: National Council of Methodist Youth, 1934.
204 pp.
Proceedings of the Board of Education of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Chicago: Board of Education, Methodist
Episcopal Church, 1936. 99 pp.
Rauschenbusch, Walter, Christianity and the Social Crisis.
New York: George H. Doran Company, 1907. 422 pp.
Report and Findings of the Christian.Youth Council of North
America. Chicago: International Council of Religious
Education, 1934.
Report of the Christian Youth Conference of North America.
Chicago : Joint Committee on United Youth Program, 1936.
63 pp.
Statement of Christian Conviction. Chicago: International
Council of Religious Education, 1934.
Williams, Marguerite P., compiler. Youth Movements Here and
Abroad. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1936. 8 pp.
Winslow, W. Thacher, Youth a World Problem. Washington, D. C.:
National Youth Administration, 1937. 138 pp.
B. PERIODICALS
"Are the Churches Worthy of Their Youth?” Christian Century.
52:846-7, June 26, 1935.
Auman, Lester Ward, ”As an ’Elder’ Saw the Council,” Epworth
Herald. 46:580, October 5, 1935.
120
Auman, Lester W., ”How the Report Originated,” Christian
Advocate (Pacific Edition!, 83:12, June 11, 1936.
Avey, Clarence F#, **A Momentous Meeting,” Zion’s Herald.
.114:655, July 8, 1936,
Beall, Hayes, ”From Our President,” District Epworth League
Officer. %rp. 19-11, a&eixdb, ISKiS.
, "Missions at the Council,” Epworth Herald. 46:591,
October 5, 1935.
, W. E., "In Search of a Youth Movement,” New
Outlook. 163:46-9, June, 1934.
"Bishop Blake Interviewed,” Zion’s Herald. 114:684, July 15,
1936.
"Board of Education Makes Plans for-Youth,” Epworth Herald.
48: February 20, 1937.
3PI
Bridging a Chasm,” Epworth Herald. 48:240-1, April 17, 1937.
Burkhart, Hoy A., "Christian Youth and a New America,”
Missionary Review. 58:335-4, July, 1935.
Chambers, M. M., "Organized Youth in America,” Journal of
Educational Sociology. 11:351-9, ■ February, 1938.
"A Church in Peril of Its Soul,” Christian Century. 53:790-2,
(Tuae 3, ISKSG.
"A Decade of Epworth League Membership,” District Epvmrth
League Officer, p. 8, March, 1935.
Dickie, J. 0., "Is America Facing a Youth Movement?" Pic
torial Review, 36:2ff, November, 1934.
Siselen, Frederick Carl, "Letter to College Presidents,"
District Epworth League Officer, pp. 4-5, March, 1935.
, "The National Council of Methodist Youth," Epworth
Herald. 46:577, October 5, 1935
English, Merle N., "The Board of Education and the Work of
Young PeopleEpworth Herald. 47:145, March 7, 1936.
"An Explanation is Due the Church," Zion’s Herald. 114:533,
June 3, 1936.
1211
"Further Hews Items," District Epworth League Officer, pp. 6-
8, March, 1935.
Geer, Owen M., "Do Vfe Want a Christian Youth Movement?"
Epworth Herald. 46:587f, October 5, 1935.
Gratz, W. E, J., "Building in Troublous Times,” Epworth
Herald. 47:560, September 19, 1936.
"Items of Special Interest,” Epworth Herald. 49:145f,
March 5, 1938.
, ”H. C. M. Y.,” Epworth Herald. 49:113, February 19,
1938.
, "A New Skyline,” Epworth Herald. 47:560, September
19, 1936.
, "Unite and Challenge,” Epworth Herald. 46:592,
October 5, 1935.
Hicks, Granville, "No Youth Movement for America,” Christian
Century. 43:443-4, April 8, 1926.
Hunter, Allan A., "Stirring of Youth,” Forum. 72:787-93,
December, 1924.
Kenworthy, W., "Youth Looks Ahead,” Forum. 94:241-4, October,
1935.
Lewis, Harriet, and Hayes Beall, "Forward-Moving Youth Council,”
Epworth Herald. 49:108f, February 19, 1938.
. Littell, Frank, "Called to Be Jesus Christ’s,” Christian
Student. 38:13, November, 1937.
Luccook, Halford E., "Youth Looks to the Church,” Zion’s
Herald. 114:557, June 10, 1936.
"Methodist Youth Make Known Their Convictions,” Epworth
Herald. 46:581f, October 5, 1935.
"A Momentous Meeting,” Zion’s Herald. 114:653ff, July, 1936.
"Morning Session, May 19, 1936,” Daily Christian Advocate.
23:540-52, May 20, 1936.
Morrill, Myron A., "Methodist Youth Attack Bishops," Christian
Century, 53:1236-7, September 16, 1936.
122
Nall, T. 0., "Methodists Form New Youth Body," with editorial
comment, Christian Century. 51:1164, 1182-3, September 19,
1934.
"National Conference. Principles of Organization," Epworth
Herald. 47:561f, September 19, 1936.
Neblett, Thomas F., "Youth Movements in the United States,"
The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science. 194:141-51, November, 1937.
"Ninety Youth Face God," Epworth Herald. 46:579f, October 5,
1935.
Pendell, Tom, "Turning Youth’s Noble Thoughts Into Action,"
Christian Student. 38:11-12, November, 1937.
"Proceedings of the General Conference, Morning Session,
May 18, 1936," Daily Christian Advocate. 23:491-508,
May 19, 1936.
"A Program For Young People," Christian Advocate (Pacific
Edition), 83:12, June 11, 1936.
"The Real Object of Attack," Zion’s Herald. 114-581, June 17,
1936.
"Reports of Committees," Daily Christian Advocate. 23:416-23,
May 16, 1936.
Seitter, Carl 0., "The National Council of Methodist Youth—
an Interpretation." Christian Student. 38:9-10, November.
1937.
Shaw, J. G., (Fictitious name), "Will the Communists Get our
Girls in College?" Liberty. 12:12-15, September 7, 1935.
Tucker, R. L., "Methodists Snub Liberal Bishop," Christian
Century. 53:815-16, June 3, 1936.
Varney, Harold Lord, "Radicals in Our Churches," American
Mercury. 43:51-67, January, 1938.
"What are Methodist Liberals Going to Do?" Christian Century.
53:827-8, June 10, 1936.
"When Discipline Fails," Christian Century. 53:1383-5, October
21, 1936.
Will, Herman, Jr., "The Youth Replies, ’% Can’t,’" Christian
Student. 38:18, February, 1937.
"Youth Council Sets a New Slant on Faith," News Week, 4:24,
September 15, 1934.
C . UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS
Butler, Marie, ^ al., "The Report of San Francisco Area
Assembly of Methodist Youth," Department of Epworth
League and Young People’s Work, of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, California and Southern California
Conferences, 1935. 67 pp.
Eyerick, Carl, £t ^ . , "The Report of the Second San Francisco
Area Methodist Youth Assembly," Departments of Epworth
League and Young People’s Work of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, California and Southern California
Conference, 1937. 79 pp.
Lund, Ellen, secretary. Complete transcript of sessions of the
National Council of Methodist Youth with Bishop Adna
Leonard, Bishop James C. Baker, Bishop Edgar Blake,
and Dr. Lester Auman, held at Berea, Kentucky, 1936. 16 pp.
Pendell, Thomas R., "Report of the National Council of
Methodist Youth." As yet unpublished report of the
president of the National Council of Methodist Youth
to the Board of Education, Methodist Episcopal Church,
1938. 6 pp.
Seitter, Carl C., editor, "Building Together." Unpublished
report of the 1937 meeting, National Council of
Methodist Youth, 1937. 43 pp.
, , compiler, "Personnel Chart, San Francisco Area
Methodist Youth Assembly." 1935.
Will, Herman, Jr., "Minutes of the Meeting of the Consultative
Committee of the Board of Education and the National
Council of Methodist Youth." 1936-7. 25 pp.
Letters to the author from the following: Blaine E. Kirk
patrick, George A. Warmer, Francis R. Bayley, James C.
Baker, H. D. Bollinger, Merle N. English.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX À
Some personal religious attitudes of Christian youth, taken from
"PERSONNEL CHART,SAN FRANCISCO AREA METHODIST YOUTH ASSEMBLY"
compiled by Carl C. Seitter, 1935
Each young person was asked to check the sentence felt to be
nearest to his belief or attitude. Votes are in parentheses..
2, My belief about Jesus is:
a. He was the only Son of God, was miraculously born,.
died to save us from our sins, rose from the dead
leaving the tomb empty. (91)
b . He was in a very unique sense both Ggd and man. (65)
c. He was a human being like us who developed a sense:
of God to a higher degree because ofthis complete
obedience to the will of God. (153)
d. He was an outstanding ethical teacher. (24) , [Tt
should be noted that there were in attendance a small!
group of non-Christian youth who entered the assembly
as "Methodists". Their presence would explain such
votes as thisT
4. The Bible is best described as :
a. The infallible Word of God given fbf'the salvation
of mankind. (74)
b. A divinely inspired book, but not all parts of it
on the same level. (54)
c. A usuable source of devotional literature, (negligible)
d. The story of man’s progressive discovery of God. (83)
e. A book containing the principles upon v/hich a practi
cal program of personal and social living may be based.(12]C)
f. A collection of religious writings of historical
interest, (negligible)
7. -It is the duty of every Christian chiefly to :
a. Win souls for Jesus. (94)
b. Cultivate his own inner life so as to assure sal
vation from sin, (5lO^
c. Attend church regularly and give liberally to its
support, (negligible)
d. Do a kind deed every day, (negligible)
e. Attack social conditions thwarting the develop
ment of the Kingdom of God on earth. (164)
2. The economic system most compatible with the teachings of
Jesus is:
a. Capitalism. (21)
b. Fascism. (6)
c. Socialism. (162)
d. Communism. (24)
e. Some other system. (Name your choice)
42 wrote in "Cooperatives.
7. Our attitude toward war should be:
a. It is a necessary instrument for the maintenance of
national honor, and an aid in the solution of problems
of excessive population. (3)
b. It is a permanent part of international life which
should be kept at~a’minimum.,(11)
e. It is justifiable and expedient only as a defensive
measure. (50)
d. It is never justifiable. (l62)
e. It is always a racket for the money interests. (98)
^hese statistics are not to be taken as typical of
the average'Methodist young person in America. They come from
an area that has been aggressive in attacking social problems.
If?
and it would be the thinking young ppeople and the leaders
who would be attracted to such an assembly* On the other hand,
the study was made at the opening of the four day meeting. What
it would have read had it been made at the conclusion can only
be surmised
•APPENDIX B
II. ORIGINAL OFFICERS OF THE
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF METHODIST rYOUTH’ ^
President— Hayes Beall, New Haven, Conn.
Vice-presidents- Juanita Jackson, Baltimore, Md.
Secretary— Clodelle Tompkins, San Jose, Calif.
Treasurer— Mansel Smith, SalttLake City, Utah.
Devotional Life Chairman-- Herschel Hedgpeth, Boston, Mass*.
Missions and W^rld Peace Chairman— Grace Klinger Cole,
Philadelphia, Penn.
Social Action Chairman-- AlbertLHamilton, Wheaton, 111.
Recreation and Culture Chairman— Harriet Lewis, Wheaton, 111..
Education and Publicity Chairman-- Joseph Bell, Lincoln, Neb;.
The following members of the staff were considered as officers
of the Council: Blaine E. Kirkpatrick, Owen M. Geer, W.E. J.
Gratz, ,H. D. Bollinger, and adult advisory members.
\Addresses given were those at the time. Originally these
young people had come from the following sections:Hayes
Beall, Oregon; Herschel Hedgpeth, California; Albert. Hamil
ton, California; Harriet Lewis, MontanaT)
*Myron Morrill, editor, MethodisttYouth in Council. (Chicago:
National Council of Methodist Youth, 1934), pp. lë3-4.
129
11. ORIGINAL OFFICERS OF THE
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF METHODISTTYOUTH
as modified up to March, 1937*
President— Hayes Beall, Eugene, Oregon.
Vice-pre8ident&- Juanita E. Jackson, Baltimore,.Md*
Secretary— Ellen Lund, Shelton, Conn.
Treasurer^-— Herman Will, Jr4,, Chicago, 111.
Devotional Life Chairman— Tom Pendell, Los Angeles, Calif.
Missions and World FriendshipoChairman— Gface Demetriades,.
Baltimore, Md.
Social Action Chairman-- AlberttHamilton, Chicago, 111.
Recreation and Culture Chairman— Harriet Lewis, Denver, Cdo.
Education and Publicity Chairman-- Joseph Bell, Evanston, 111.
The following members of the adult cooperating agencies t
Jesse L. Murrell, H. D. Bollinger, Carl CC Seitter,.W. E. J.
Gratz, Harry G. Wilson, and adulttadvisory members.
^Narnes as listed on stationery published at that time..
130
IIII OFFICERS OF-THE
NATIONAL COUNCILLOF- METHODIST J YOUTH
às elected for the term 1937— 1939
President— Tom Pendell, Los Angeles, Calif.
Vice-president— HarriettLewis, Denver, Colo..
Secretary-- Wonnetah Parks, Pittsburgh, Penn.
Treasurer— Leslie Ross, Evanston, 111.
Devotional Life Chairman-- Karl Downs, New York, N.Y.
World Friendship Chairman— Grace Demetriades, Baltimore, Md
Social Action Chairman-- Frank Littell, New York, N. Y.
Recreation and Leisure Chairman— Jack Lamping, Downingtbn,
Penn.
Members at large :
Joseph Bell, Evanston, 111.
James L. Farmer, Jr.ï? Marshall, Tex.
Herman Will, Jr., Chicago, 111.
Past President-- Kayes Beall, Eugene, Oregon.
The following members of the adult cooperating agencies :
Jesse L. Murrell, Carl C> Seitter, Kiel D. Bollinger, Mrs.
Albert Beebe, Miss Helen L. Johnson, and advisory members.
APPENDIX C
PRESENTVSTÂTUS OF THE
CHRISTIAN YOUTH COUNCIL
Since the preparation of this thesis a reorganization;
of;the interdenominational movement has placed the Christian;
Youth Council in a new position. . Ittis now an unofficial ad--
vtsory body consisting of @,bout 250 delegates from the partic
ipating groups. The Committee con the United Christian Youth
Movement, the officially responsible body, is made up of one
youth and one adult from each of these officially approved
agencies , together with a few specified members selected by
the Committee on the Religious Education of Youth of the Inter
national Council of Religious Education..

Asset Metadata

Creator Pendell, T. R. (author)

Core Title A study of the Methodist youth movement

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Degree Master of Theology

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,philosophy, religion and theology

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c39-169388

Unique identifier UC11312477

Identifier EP65095.pdf (filename),usctheses-c39-169388 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP65095.pdf

Dmrecord 169388

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Pendell, T. R.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA