Highlights in Restoration History. . .

A LITANY OF CELEBRATION

It says something for our sense of history that we have given more than passing notice to the union of the Christian Churches, under the leadership of Barton W. Stone, and Disciples of Christ, who looked especially to Alexander Campbell, a century and a half ago this month. I fear it might be ignored. I was preparing to celebrate the occasion all by myself, if necessary. I may have been influenced by the fact that our folk allowed the 100th anniversary of the death of Alexander Campbell to pass without notice. I recall that night, March 4, 1966. I called my friend Louie Cochran, author of The Fool of God, and we had our own memorial service there on the telephone!

The Wilshire Christian Church in Los Angeles hosted a Celebration of Heritage, inviting Disciples of Christ and Churches of Christ to participate. The “Heritage Committee” was made up of folk from all three groups, including Frank Pack and Jerry Rushford from Churches of Christ, Robert Fife from Christian Churches, and Ronald Osborn from the Disciples. It was sponsored by the Disciples of Christ Historical Society in Nashville.

The highlight of this celebration was a reenactment of the handshake between Barton W. Stone and Raccoon John Smith back in 1832 in Lexington that symbolized the union that was then being effected. In Los Angeles Frank Pack and James Pierson (Disciple) joined hands in memory of that event. The Wilshire church was presented with a bronze plaque to commemorate the occasion.

We all realize of course that it takes more than a handshake to make any real difference, but a handshake is a good start. Back in 1832 they backed up the handshake by sending out two men to ride horseback among the churches, proclaiming their oneness. Shortly after the union in Lexington Barton Stone moved to Jacksonville, IL. where he found a Disciple church and a Christian church still separated. He met with each group, insisting that he would have no more to do with either until they got together. They soon became one church. It is apparent that they had a passion for unity that we do not have. While we can be thankful for all the handshakes, let’s move beyond that and do something like our forebears did!

Other things are being planned as part of the sesquicentennial celebration. Paul Crow, president of the Disciples’ Council on Christian Unity, will give a lecture series at Lexington Theological Seminary, and there will be a Cane Ridge Day on June 29 with Willis R. Jones as speaker. The Disciples also plan a gathering in Lexington in August to further celebrate, with William E. Tucker of TCU as the speaker, one of their leading historians.

While the Churches of Christ may not do much of this, it is noteworthy that editor Reuel Lemmons of the Firm Foundation suggests that every church should have “some sort of meeting” in celebration of what happened at Lexington. He also said, “We believe that something should be done—not just once every one hundred fifty years—to keep alive, and give meaning to, the spirit of unity characterized by the Lexington meeting.” He says we can learn from Lexington how to unite upon our agreements rather than to divide over our differences. But it is unlikely that any of our churches will follow these suggestions. We still have a fear of the lessons that history teaches, but in time this will change.

I was honored to be a part of the sort of celebration that Reuel had in mind, at the Calvary Christian Church in Flint, Michigan. Despite inclement weather we had a fine assembly made up of people from all three churches. I spoke on the occasion, sharing anecdotes on some of the favorite passages of Scripture of our pioneers, which revealed their love for the Bible and for each other. But the thing that impressed me was a Litany of Celebration prepared by Bill and Linda Watson and issued by the Disciples of Christ Historical Society. We all read it together, responsively, which is what a litany is. I wish all our churches could make it part of its program sometime in 1982. A copy can be obtained by writing to DCHS, 1101 19th Ave. South, Nashville 37212. But part of it is as follows:

Leader: On this 150th anniversary of the joining of Christians and Disciples, we remember our heritage, ask forgiveness of our failures, and pray for the future.

People: Hear our prayers, a God.

Leader: For the vision of Barton Warren Stone, who saw through petty differences to the bonds that unite all Christians in one body.

People: We thank you, God, Source of our vision.

Leader: For the dream of Thomas Campbell, who knew that “The church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one.”

People: We thank you, God, giver of dreams.

Leader: For the leadership of Alexander Campbell, who wrote and preached, who studied and debated and worked to give shape to the vision and the dream.

Prayer: We thank you, God, Strength of leaders.

Leaders: For the many unknown disciples who shared the vision of church united, and who covenanted together to be that church on Jan. 1, 1832, at Lexington.

Prayer: We give you thanks, God, Source of our unity.

Unison: We thank you for the rich heritage that is ours, and for the exciting possibilities facing us in the future. We pray that as your people in this world, we may work to be reconcilers bringing healing, peace, and unity; in the name of the Christ who reconciles us to you, Amen—the Editor