Pilgrimage of Joy. . . No. 56

PEOPLE AND PLACES
W. Carl Ketcherside

One of the outstanding gatherings of men in the United States is the Cavalier Men’s Retreat in Virginia. I have now spoken there three times. When I went in 1974 it was held at Oak Hill Christian Assembly grounds, just outside of Richmond. Now it meets some seventy miles away, near the little village of Yale. There were 460 men present the first time I was there. Now it consistently attracts more than 500. Campers are parked all over the hillside and tents pitched throughout the pines. It is a strictly “come as you are event” and no one dresses up for it. The music is under the direction of “The Gospel Lads,” who direct audience participation as well as render specials. Those who attend go back home refreshed in spirit, and ready to try and remove mountains for the Master. It is truly an inspirational something. I flew next to Saskatoon, where brethren met me and took me way south to Macrorie. Here it is that a kind of wilderness camp has been carved out by the brethren. Room has been made in a deep valley for the pitching of tents and the parking of camping vehicles. A tractor stands by to snake the cars out in case of rain. Brethren come from all over Canada and part of the United States. All eat breakfast together. At noon camp stoves and campfires are going all over the place as every family prepares for itself. There are meetings in the morning and evening, the latter generally around a fire which is needed occasionally when the sun goes down. The pace of life is slow and relaxing with the afternoon given over to games in which anyone may feel free to participate.

During the light refreshment period at night, choruses are sung around the dying embers. The young people are exceptionally good singers, and the wooded hills resound to the sound of their voices. Cecil Bailey, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Harold Fox, from Malta, Montana, were the other two speakers. I was endeared to them by their seriousness of purpose and their love for the Word of God. I spoke analytically on the Ephesian Letter. It was hard to bid each other goodbye when the time of separation arrived. I had to hurry back to the states in order to get to the School of the Ministry, an annual feature conducted at Milligan College in Tennessee. Milligan is a famous school because of its origin and its setting. It is one of the loveliest places in the world. I joined Knofel Staton, Mildred Phillips and Olin Hays on the program. The entire Vernon family was present and regularly provided us with superb music. I came to believe that Knofel Staton was one of the most capable men in the restoration movement in our day. Young and vigorous, he was also filled with knowledge. He talked about marriage and I thought I had never heard another series to equal it. Sister Phillips was excellent in her presentation of personalities she had known in the restoration movement. She is the daughter of the late P. H. Welshimer of Canton, Ohio, whose name has already become legendary: Brother Hays was also in his usual excellent form. It provided a good time for all.

It was about this time I learned that in England, Carlton Melling, who had been gradually losing his sight, resigned as editor of the Scripture Standard. He was succeeded by the efficient James Gardiner of Edinburgh. The paper was once under the editorship of Walter Crosthwaite, so during my lifetime had been blessed by three dedicated men, capable and scholarly. It was good to realize that it had been entrusted to good hands.

The war had made a greater impact upon the British brethren than they had at first realized. Those who lived in Scotland, England and Wales, were all pacifists. During my two trips among them I found only two men who believed it was right for a Christian to bear arms in defense of his country. During World War I they had suffered indescribable physical torture because of their conscience on the matter. They had been thrown into prison and starved on bread and water. Some of them always bore the marks of their suffering.

But World War II brought among them a different breed, men from the United States, some of them in uniform, some of them conscientious objectors, but who tried never to allow anything to interfere with their devotion to the Lord. These men, and some of their contemporaries went back to Europe after the hostilities had ceased, taking with them American ideas and methods of evangelism. In Italy, Finland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and even behind the Iron Curtain, as well as in England, they planted congregations of believers. Neither group was as tolerant of the other as they might have been. Challenges were issued to debate, and to all intents and purposes, a divided group of believers was the result. At present it appears that both sides continue in a kind of suspended animation, watching each other, talking about each other, but seldom talking to one another. A new paper has been started, and there has been a sad polarization.

September 13, 14 I went to the Men’s Retreat at Round Lake Christian Assembly, in Ohio. There were 601 men registered for the occasion. Don DeWelt was the other speaker, and he did a masterful job. Many years ago, when we first began to try and bring some degree of understanding and tolerance into an area where hostility had always raged, Leroy Garrett and I met with Don and Seth Wilson at Nowata, Oklahoma, in an epoch-making forum which was conducted openly and fairly. My brother Paul presided over it. At the time I came to have a deep appreciation for the men whose position we opposed. We have grown closer together through the years.

Don has taught at Ozark Bible College for years. He has always been an advocate of intense evangelism coupled with nurture in the Word. He has published a whole series of books devoted to helping men understand and teach the Word of God. One of his most noted accomplishments was. that of bringing back the entire set of Campbell’s Harbinger. His latest feat has been the returning to print of the periodicals by Walter Scott, with “The Voice of the Golden Oracle” as the final volume. I consider it one of the greatest volumes I have ever read. Don’s method of public presentation is unique. One of the blessings of it comes from his ability to carry on a conversation with himself. It was a great blessing to me to be associated with him. The men all loved him!

Four days later I went to Hanover, New Mexico. To get there, it was necessary to fly to Albuquerque, and take a small commuter plane which flew by way of Truth or Consequences. We landed at Silver City, which was founded in 1870 to mine the gold and silver ores in the foothills of the Mongolion Mountains. Although the supply of these precious metals is about exhausted, copper mining has displaced the work of digging them out. It is thriving. The little town of Hanover lies in sight of a copper mine. The handful of saints meeting there were precious in their faith. The sisters brought lunch and we ate together at noon and again at night after the meetings. The Mexican-flavored food was super. We lingered on in the company of each other, unwilling to break the magic spell of fellowship which engulfed us all in its embrace.

Al Botts, who had been successful in forging a career in the Far West, had returned to Silver City, where he was engaged in his trade, while preaching for the little band of saints. He was not caught in the sectarian noose at all, and extended the love of Christ to all who deserved it. I was refreshed greatly by the simplicity of life in this remote village which was literally “the end of the trail.” Ghost towns and abandoned mining villages dot the mountains. Owls fly in and out of deserted houses. Coyotes make their dens under the ruins of old taverns which once echoed to raucous laughter. But there is nothing ghostly about the fellowship of the saints. It is genuine.

The following month I went to Solsberry, Indiana, where James Root ministered. He had been a successful newspaper editor, but an inner gnawing had driven him to become a preacher of the Word. So he left the desk and went out “not knowing whither he went.” He was never able to divorce himself completely from his former vocation. One who has smelled printer’s ink never is. So he continued to report the news and do book reviews for the paper, but his work for Christ became very challenging and satisfying. Fortunately, he was not caught up in a lot of the political strivings which seem to be part of the religious establishment. So he and the little band of saints were making progress. This was evidenced in the capacity crowds which attended the meetings. The house was filled every night.

It was while I was there that I came to realize the urbanization of our culture and the words of Jacques Ellul struck me with full force. He said, “We are in the city even when we are in the country for today the country (and soon this will be true of the immense Asian steppe) is only an annex of the city,” Solsberry had once been a quiet Hoosier village. The old country store was still there. It stocked everything from horse collars to kerosene lamps. You could still buy an ice cream cone for a nickel. There was a bench behind the stove where “the spit and argue club used to meet.” But times had changed. The village was now the bedroom of the city. Every morning people arose from their sleep and headed for the city to work. Some of them were on split shifts. Times had changed and were still changing before our very eyes.

My next work was in Saint Louis, Michigan, where a congregation was thriving under the direction of Henry MacAdams. We had been together years before near South Bend, Indiana. It was good to see him again. He was loved by the people and respected in the community. I was pleased to see brethren from several wings of the non-instrument group come. Some of them were ill at ease at first, walking gingerly as if treading upon forbidden ground. But they were soon listening quite calmly and were resigned to the fact of where they were.

I went next to Beaverton, Oregon. Donald S. Cox was the minister, and I had the great privilege of staying in his wonderful home. Don is man intent upon following God’s leading as he understands it. He has a tremendous grasp of the sacred scriptures and a sense of the relevance of the good news to our present age. He is an excellent administrator, but seeks to lead the flock gently home. It was a tremendous blessing to be associated with him.

On August 9, Richard M. Nixon became the first president of these United States to resign from office. The day before he had made his farewell address to the nation admitting only to poor judgment. I had defended him until a few days before. When I became convinced that he was no longer speaking the truth I could not speak up for him. I was greatly disappointed. It seems incredible that a man who had held religious services in the White House could deceive the people of our land. But I was glad when the Watergate ordeal was over and Gerald Ford took office. I think he made a grave error in political judgment when, on September 8, he announced that he had unconditionally pardoned his predecessor for all crimes against the United States he “has committed or may have committed.” I do not think the public was ready for this and I do not think his reasons for doing it were all that logical.

It was December 19 before both Houses of Congress gave a majority vote of approval to Nelson Rockefeller as vice president. This came only after a lengthy and full investigation of the sources and use of his colossal wealth. For the first time the country had an unelected President and Vice President. Meanwhile two famous show personalities died after years on radio and television. Ed Sullivan passed away in New York on October 13, and Jack Benny died in Beverly Hills, California on December 26. The first was 73, the second was 80 years of age.

Change and decay were upon every hand. The small and the great were all subject to it. But it was a blessing to be in one whom it could not affect. It was with faith in Him I began what was to be the final year of publication of the Mission Messenger.