• ••.••;•„• •,, - VOLUME • 67 NUMBER • 7 JUCY1984 publication. and Radical reuse for Religious required History: Fragments Permission of a legacy Robert L. DeWitt DFMS. / Gordon Greathouse Paul Buhle Church Episcopal the of Archives 2020. Copyright Letters minded Communist oppressors!) May 200 Soviety defections during the WITNESS not Christian our Lord give you Wisdom and Love and games). In responsing to your recent invitation to Light. One might therefore ask whether, over become a regular subscriber to THE The Rev. Andrei Urusov the last four years, their behavior and WITNESS, I have some observations Research Center their intentions towards us have changed after having read the February and of Christian Russian Culture radically? Or has the constant drumbeat March issues. Trail, Ore. of negative propaganda coupled with My first reaction was that THE WIT- hostile actions generated from the Reagan NESS was a publication of either the White House succeeded in changing our National Council of Churches or the Gillett responds perception as viewers considerably more World Council of Churches. The copy- than the Soviet reality has changed? right is by the Episcopal Church Publish- The letters of William R. Hooper and the publication. Beyond this is the deepest moral issue: ing Company. The tradition and history Rev. Andrei Urusov, while undoubtedly our bounden duty to preserve this planet and of the Episcopal Church is as much or sincere, must be seen in the context of both for ourselves, and for life into the more biblical than any other denomina- anticommunist hatred of the Soviet Union future. Not to talk, not to proceed to reuse tion. THE WITNESS is so far left, liberal, that is rising to alarming levels in our relate to the Soviet Union and its people for anti-United States and lacking in biblical nation. People and politicians who are as fellow passengers on space ship earth, truths, I question if you can be Christian. determined to see the U.S.S.R. as "the is, for religious people, a sin against all One thing you liberals are consistent focus of evil" will not easily be persuaded life: a collective death-wish. required about is that you seldom learn from the that history shows that the Russians can Richard W. Gillett lessons of the past and are always having and do accept periods of accommodation Los Angeles, Cal. to reinvent the wheel; i.e., "Demystify- with other nations. Permission ing the Russian Threat" by Richard W. The United States has signed a num- Gillett in the March issue. ber of international treaties with the Perspective needed I pray for your enlightenment and a U. S. S.R. which, in their detail, they have In the May issue the editors correctly DFMS. / fair opinion of the issues. kept about as well as we have. During castigate Democratic party defense of Dr. William R. Hooper Khrushchev's time, cultural exchanges the needs of capital at the expense of the Ellensburg, Wash. flourished; under Brezhnev, detente reigned poor. This includes, of course, support Church for several years. Despite Reagan's poli- for Washington's war against peasants cies of hatred toward the Soviets, they and workers in Central America. Setting Cow, horse different have offered to negotiate a mutual and aside the war of words about the amount Episcopal I am sorry to say that most of your arti- verifiable freeze on nuclear weapons, or form of aid to the dictators or contras, the cles I can read in advance. They give no and have pledged not to be the first to use what Democrat has said (s)he supports of new ideas, and they just reflect the senti- them. Yes, there have been the Korean the rebels in El Salvador or the popular mental, confused religious social trend of airliner disaster, the detention of Andrei government in Nicaragua? the Western World which I am constantly Sakharov, and the Soviet withdrawal We are faced not with "Reaganism" Archives meeting from the time I arrived in this from the Olympics, and other things that but with a retrenching capitalism. Con- beautiful land of America. rightly have disturbed us over the years. cerned Christians must do more than 2020. Of course such statements sound of- But from their side the Soviets see a re- question the attacks on the poor. We fensive. But really there is no offense in cently announced U.S. strategy for global must join forces with workers, Blacks, stating (as a simple vulgar example) that superiority, the revelation of plans to Hispanics, women, gays and other op- Copyright the cow and the horse are different, al- fight and win a protracted nuclear war, pressed both here and abroad who are though they have common elements like the U.S. intention to wear down their moving or ready to move. We ought to a head, a tail, four legs. The desire of economy in order to create an internal come armed with a perspective that calls your writers to reform the world is so crisis, and a clear hands-off policy in for independent political action as the intense that they seem to lose track of the allowing numerous organizing efforts by principal form of struggle to fight for a reality we live in. (Last example, the fringe groups in California to embarrass workers' and farmers' government in the article on Russia in the March WITNESS, and disrupt them during the Summer United States. where Richard W. Gillett confuses the Olympic Games (including a publicly Robert Schwartz Russian people with their internationally announced target by one group to obtain Chicago, 111. Fan since 5<t a copy lives. Someone said that the Advocate to death of listening to arguments about really lived up to its name because it has women's lib. Every time I waste time on Congratulations on the 10th anniversary been the champion of the poor and an evening of TV, I know in 20 minutes of the reborn WITNESS. I read Bill oppressed of our society. Many com- why I am opposed to the very idea of Spofford's old WITNESS when it was munity groups are rallying to the cause ERA and NOW and women have only five or ten cents a copy (and a weekly) for and planning to raise money to help the themselves to blame. many years and had it available each church. Now I can't help asking, "What The Rev. Charles Johnson week on the table in the vestibule, and is the diocese going to do about it?" Denver, Col. also occasionally wrote articles for him. I would hope that the more "affluent" I have enjoyed the new WITNESS for churches would feel moved to help save much the same reasons. It provides me a church that is not only a beautiful Tribute appreciated publication. with information not otherwise available, historical building but more importantly, "A Different Kind of Obit" in the May and except perhaps in Christianity and Crisis, a place where so many of God's children and it keeps me awake to current and WITNESS was beautiful — you did a have found comfort. fine job of writing about Jo and we will all reuse future happenings. Keep it up. treasure it. for Randolph C. Miller, Mary Austin Jo's association with THE WIT- Executive Secretary Philadelphia, Pa. NESS staff and his interest in the pub- Religious Education Association required lication never lagged, and if he could New Haven, Conn. Seeks aid for video read your tribute to him it would be one of those times when he would be "moved Many thanks for the special issue of Advocate needs repair to tears and pull out his handkerchief and THE WITNESS celebrating the 10th Permission wipe and blow." Love to all in my name The special issue of THE WITNESS anniversary of women's ordination to and his. for the 10th anniversary of women's the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. Virginia Shannon DFMS. ordination was excellent. In the article It's a splendid issue. / by Susan Pierce, "Courage, Longtime I am producing a video documentary West Port Pt, Mass. Hallmark of Rector, Ordination Site," on the ecclesiastical career of the Rev. Church she wrote that when Paul Washington Betty Bone Schiess, which will explore Mountaineer's road map was asked about "burnout" he said, the series of events that led her to that "God is inexhaustible. You just have to historic moment in Philadelphia. Here I am, an aged old West Virginia Episcopal look up." His whole life in the diocese I would appreciate hearing from hillbilly, 74 years old. I am just recover- has been one of looking up. When many ing from pneumonia, a very sick old the WITNESS readers about any photo- of of us were discouraged, frustrated, angry, graphs, slides, video tapes, 8 or 16mm mountaineer. he was a source of inspiration and hope. film available. Please contact me at Now about THE WITNESS. In my But now he needs help to renovate his 4502 Broad Road, Syracuse, N.Y. 13215, estimation it is the very, very best in a Archives church, which is falling apart; $1.5 mil- (315) 469-3902. Many thanks for your battle for freedom and human rights. lion is needed for restoration and this assistance. And your church has some very clear 2020. money must be raised by the end of the road maps on how to find and locate year. Joseph Agonito Jesus Christ. Pray for me, I need it very I first became aware of the plight of Professor of American History much. Onondaga Community College Copyright the Church of the Advocate when I read Emory R.