The Mail-Journal, Volume 7, Number 15, Milford, Kosciusko County, 13 May 1970 — Page 14
THE MAIL JOURNAL— Wed., May 13, 1970
4
& THE EDITOR
Country Bumpkins Should Know Enough To R. S. V. P.
To The Editor, We moved to this area sometime ago from a fair-sized city. All my life I had heard jokes and cutting remarks about smalltown hicks and country bumpkins. I always considered it so much talk but, I’ve just about changed my mind. Several times since moving here we have had occasion to entertain. Since the nature of the event required serving food the invitations were mailed with our phone number and R.S.V.P. on them Anyone who has visited a grocery store recently understands that preparing food for an extra person or two can be a costly venture. , .
Biased And Blatant Attack
Dear Editor: Very recently, ai letter, allegedly written by Jack Farrell. Sr., Pastor of the Syracuse Church of the Brethren, was received at the American Legion Post in Syracuse and subsequently a copy was received at the Milford Post. In good conscience I feel that it is my responsibility as a Christian and a citizen (neither, warlike nor militaristic) to refute such an obviously biased and blatant attack on Americans and patriotism Consequently I would like to publickly comment about his letter and specific statements therein. “The Christian faith calls man to think for himself, and in light of his best understanding, to make his own decisions" unquote In the context of his letter. I think Rev Farrell owes itto the rest of the community to state that he is not speaking for Christianity, jus for the Church of the Brethren . The statement smacks of demagoguery and. if taken literally and practiced out of context, constitutes anarchy "iKjhe democratic process the majority may rule and they may rule wrongly." Why doesn’t he add that the democratic process also provides for free elections and due process'* I believe that Christian faith calls man to think for himself in the light of God’s law and gospel and out of love as lived and demonstrated by Christ. This doesn't mean that, in the light of Christian doctrine, man has an inherent right to place his own construction on everything and extend that right by forcing it upon others Under the laws of our government (which has civilian control of the military) we have the written consent of that government to dissent, to be pacifist, to make known our views The teaching of the Church of the Brethren is given license under those laws in spite of the fact that the teacher and pupils become a burden to national security. Where, in'the history of the world, has such license been a right in a military society** One of the major issues confronting us today is war. However, this war has to do with this nation's constitutional and Christian conviction that it has the responsibility of love, of
/J/ Give a / W .#BULOVA XX i M and I make any occasion Q s r<Z a special EgjT *(’ event IErT J BOLDEN SEA Kitt “BO" fc 'jf -1/ CENTENNIAL “0" 30 jewels, iC-Jf [ 17 jewels, UK solid stainless steel, f gold case, shock automatic, water > if resistant. SIS resistant S7O < Butova -These Days, Tba Right Time Isn’t Enough 'O' E. NEWCOMER t SON — Gifts That Last — 107 S. Main St Nappanee
I was appalled when practically nobody responded to the R.S.V.P. and turned up anyhow. A few who did respond didn’t bother to show up. I don’t know if this was just gross rudeness or ignorance or both. I use just this one example to point up my disgusting violations of basic etiquette to which I have been witness. A little book on etiquette can be purchased at any news stand for a few cents. When in doubt it is not that difficult to find out. From now on our entertaining will be limited and the guest list confined only to people who I am sure were not raised in trees. Yours Truly Old Fashioned
brotherhood, to lend support to the desire for freedom. It has an obligation as a morally responsible free democratic society to those people, who. having expressed that desire, are in danger of losing it to a society that is bent upon denial by any means, practically all of them, inhuman by any standards. This latter society, completely un-Christian. pagan, patently atheistic as to moral conduct, practices terror, torture, death to those who impede her utterly evil progress. It denies freedom of the press (including letters of dissent) Christian evangelism (which should interest the church) and any freedom of endeavor The very freedoms practiced on such a biased basis by Rev Farrell are the specific subjects of denial of that bloody red society The men who volunteer or are conscripted to preserve our freedoms. Rev. Farrell condemns as unworthy as Christian burial because of symbolism Or has he already consigned them to hell and is condemning the relatives and other citizenry? Romans. Ch. 13, the only construction possible is that these men are Christian patriots. V. 1 begins “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God . . . instituted by God . . . and those who resist will incur judgement. V 8 refers to the commandments and sums them up in one sentence: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself ’’ I don’t believe that this means that we should lie down together in the path of the common enemy. It certainly is clear that we are not to stand aside and watch the slaughter thereby giving sanction to the act. I believe that to the Christian it does mean that we should not hurt nor harm our neighbor, but help and defend him in every’ bodily need The flag, which Rev. Farrell despises as militaristic is not a symbol of war; it is, however, a patriotic symbol of respect for the ideals which American men knowingly, or by virtue of leadership, died to protect, here and on foreign soil. The militarily dressed men are not men of war, but symbolically dressed as men of peace, proud of
and grateful to the men who died under that symbol which recognizes Christian ideals as basic tenets of humanity. 1, for one, am proud to say that I served in the military, that the military in which I served carried the American flag, that that flag symbolizes all of the inalienable rights which I enjoy. I am especially proud to say that the current head of our government, Mr. Nixon, has shown that he has the foresight to know that we cannot, in this world of speed and communication and interdependent world economy, withdraw into a shell, allow the strong to overrun the weak and in the twinkling of an eye, impose their restrictive society upon our land as well. I am proud that with that foresight, Mr. Nixon has the political and Christian moral courage to stand up and be counted. If my memory serves me correctly, Mr. Nixon is a Quaker.
16-Year-Old Soon Must Make Decision
Dear Editor: I am writing a response to the letters concerning Rev. Jack Farrell and the letters he circulated to his congregation. I am sixteen and will soon be faced with the decision of how to serve my country. 1 am a member of the Church of the Brethren but I do not attend the church where Rev. Farrell is pastor. I love our country very much. It doesn't take a fool to see that our nation preserves many liberties not present in many other nations. But it also doesn't take a fool to see that our country has faults, tod. Both Mr. Ayers and Mrs. Huffer state that they place God above our nation. Yet books of government state that our government is made up of three main branches, executive, legislative, and judical, with no mention whatsoever to God. I cannot understand how anyone can say they believe in God and the Bible and then say that they have a duty to serve in a war. My Bible says “Thou shalt not kill" and Luke 6:27 says “ . . . Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” It is true that the Bible says things that apparently contradict this but the Bible is a book that show’s all sides and tells it like it is in order to more clearly show the main ideas. Thus people are continually quoting scripture for the srltall literal facts but missing entirely the whole idea behind it. Another thing I can’t understand is how someone can say they believe in God who created the whole universe but cannot trust him to take, care of their nation. When you stop to think about it. isn’t our country pretty small copi pared to the universe? Yet they would send a nineteen-year-old youth out to kill to protect them. In our church the decision in replying to the draft is left to the individual. Mr. Ayers states that the Church of the Bre'hren is recognized as having strong beliefs concerning military service and that "... they do not refuse non-combatant service in which they tend to serve their fallen comrades in battles and to give aid and succor to the dying.” It is true that some members of the church serve in noncombatant service and some serve in combatant duty, but many like myself, are conscientious objectors opposed to war in any form. Army Field
Dale E. Weldy MICHIANA “On Ths Job” AlobHo FobdcaHon EAVESTROUGHS A DOWNSPOUTS Rain-How mobile units deliver precision termed con nuous lengths of guttering that are fabricated on the job site to your exact specifications. Seamless lengths of Rain Flow continuous guttering not only eliminate soldered joints and leaks, but also beautify and compliment any architectural design, extenor surface or texture. • NEW STANDARD IN qUHIH I STYLING • AU. ALUMINUM • BAKED ENAMEL FINISH • SEAMLESS— Fml« mt w Ma • CONTINUOUS OUTTEMHG SYSTEM IFOR FREE ESTIMATE I CALL 533-6373 | RAIN FLOW OF MICHIANA GOSHEN, IMNANA M7W.N.YMOTR
or of Quaker origin, a pacifist whose head is not in the sand, but one who recognizes that “brotherhood” and “love” is in the doing, that love is in giving, sometimes sacrificially, that hope is not in the dole, that hope is not charity, that charity is not lip service, that people given a real Christian helping hand pick themselves up by tneir oootstraps enabling them to extend their help to others. No sir. Rev. Farrell, sir. I’m not a minister, but the next time you get a call for a “militarytype” funeral, have the family call me. I’m not very good at eulogizing and probably not up to your standards for extemporaneous prayer. There’ll be hope in the words I’ll pray because I believe in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. He will have known the life style and He won’t need me as interpreter. Very sincerely, W. O. Wollman
Manual FM 8-10 (page 195) states “The primary duty of medical troops as of all other troops is to contribute their utmost to the success of the command of which the medical service is a part.” The meaning of this is very clear. The purpose of armies in combat is to win military victories and every part of the military is coordinated toward this goal. It is true that medics save lives and help the wounded but their primary purpose is to get the wounded soldier well enough to fight again. Saving lives and easing pain is not even mentioned as part of the mission of the medics. Army Field Manual FM 8-1 says, “The mission of the medical service in a theater of operations is to contribute to the success of the military effort through —a. Conserving Man Power, b. Preventing Adverse Effects of Unevacuated Casualties on Combat Efficiency.” (page 20) It is a shame indeed that so many Americans think they must fight Communism physically to be effective. Take the example of a minister abducted in China shortly after the Communist takeover. He was put through the unimaginable tortures of “brainwashing,” and finally after three i. onths, denied his Faith and country and said yes to all the Communist accusations, but not before he had converted seven of the indoctrinators to Christianity. So I don't think an American ca» be termed anti-patriotic just because he doesn’t agree with the majority. I also don’t think it is wrong to want to help people instead of kill them. Sincerely, Kerry Barrett
photograph! spoolallsts 110-112 L WMfcMffM, Sr. H GmXm. la«MM 4CS2A ■ Commercial • Aerial Industrial * Wedding Phone: 533-3744
Erroneous Report Brings Letter
To: Church of the Brethren pastors of the area, During the past week an erroneous report was made in news media of the area concerning the funeral for James Ritter of Syracuse. The news report alleged that on April 19, Pastor Jack Farrell of the Syracuse Church of the Brethren had refused to conduct the funeral for Mr. Ritter, a veteran of military service unless the flag was removed from the casket. Investigation of the circumstances reveals that Mr. Farrell conducted the funeral in the church with both a military honor guard and American Legion representatives present and that he made no effort to remove the flag from the casket. However, a week later Mr. Farrell issued a statement indicating that he would not officiate at funerals involving military rites. This statement aroused strong unfavorable
U ANNOUNCING ... U H New Store Hours H R 7a.m. to 11p.m. H R Burger Dairy Store H BURGER creamed f J M taSI COTTAGE __ B Hw CHEESE ib 29 ( R U BURGER HEE_VEE PAK [ ] M pßii ire m HLW CREAM mi, d 79'm WW ECKRICH WW HFUN FRANKS » '7*U Ww WEBER “The Great White Bread Is Here” m RI A A VW H BREAD 5. o v?l uu H ■ ■ Pkg- 24 Ice Cream Cones lbw With Purchase Os Gallon Vw jwJwBMWBw Carton Burger Ice Cream ww WW SERVE YOURSELF , . M Il Clear, Clean, Cubed And Crushed Ice M Vw 10 Lbs. Cubed or Crushed —59 c 20 Lbs. Cubed — 85< D Mr. Slushy Is Here 111] H TRY IT TODAY! Orange and Cherry — 10<, 20< & 30< M New Store Hours P D 7a.m. to 11p.m. A 7^ s „ rl Your Quick n Hck-Up B—WAWASEE VILLAGE SYRACUSE, IND. |
opinion in the community, which in turn distorted the report of the funeral. The District Pastors’ Association of the Church of the Brethren is meeting at Camp Mack this week, and will make a fuller statement this week concerning the issue. James McKinnell, chairman District Pastors’ Association Doctor Re-Elected To AAGP Membership KANSAS CITY, MO. - Floyd L. Rheinheimer, M.D., Milford, has been re-elected to active membership in the American Academy of General Practice, the national association of family doctors. Re-election signifies that the physician has successfully completed 150 hours of ac-
credited postgraduate medical' study in the last three years. Members become eligible for rejection at the end of the third year following their election to membership. The academy, the country’s second largest national medical association, is the only national medical group that requires members to keep up with medical progress through continuing education. The academy, founded in 1947 and headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., has been instrumental
NITE— PUBLIC AUCTION —NITE 1,000 feet north of the Fish Hatchery on Old 13A on the east side of Lake Wawasee, east of Syracuse, Indiana On Friday Evening, May 15, 1970 STARTING AT 4:30 P. M. SHARP, INDIANA TIME Shop and carpenter tools, household goods and miscellaneous MRS. AL GRAF, OWNER Winford Lewis & Harvey Lambright, Auctioneers — See large ad in last week’s Mail-Journal —
in the establishment of a new primary medical specialty in family practice. The new specialty is expected to increase the numbers of family physicians available to serve the public in the future. The academy’s postgraduate education program is the foundation of eligibility for family doctors now in practice who apply for certification in the new specialty. Snakes charmed by music. They’re deaf.