From The Michigan Christian Advocate – January 30, 1936
Painted glass window at Grand Rapids First Methodist church is dedicated to Charles and Alvira Foote.
Miss Fern Wheeler welcomed to the pastorate at Freeport Methodist church
My initial thought with this idea was to highlight interesting or quirky (at least to me) stories that touched on Methodist history, but the January 1936 issues are heavy with news of Hitler’s actions in Germany and the possibility of war.
While I understood, historically, there was a strong anti-war, isolationist movement within the United States at this time, reading the MCA is a stark reminder of how deep this sentiment was.
There is a full acknowledgement that very bad things are happening in Germany:
And yet, it appears to be common consensus of opposition to any potential conflict:
In this same issue there are stories of a protest by clergy at Ohio University implementing ROTC training, a vote by the Northern Baptist Youth Assembly to refuse to support any war, “with the possible exception of invasion of continental United States” and a vote by the Congregational and Christian Churches of America to advocate for a smaller military, government control of the munitions industry and opposition to war.
I find the whole thing very unsettling. On one hand, “Wow! Mainline Christians are actively engaged in advocating for pacifism,” which seems almost revolutionary in today’s environment. On the other, knowing the level of violence and injustice that is about to unfold, this stance seems dangerously naive.