The last THOUGHTS FROM PAULA column was written in December, 2006. Since then I have been laboring on my autobiography. Dave Kohl, author and historian, is helping me on this project. So far drafts are done of the Prelude, Foreword, plus eleven chapters (covering years from birth through grade school). In all probability, the book's title will be THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING PAULA.
On Friday, February 16, 2007 we filmed at First Congregational United Church of Christ (FCC), in Portland, Oregon, where I am a member. Three, or possibly four, programs will be edited from this filming for both the local public access television outreach and the international audio podcast.
I am active on the Membership Commission, as well as the Open & Affirming Committee at FCC. I have grown to dearly love and appreciate this Church, and am very happy there.
This beautiful historic church was founded in 1851. The book THAT CHURCH WITH THE TOWER, HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR HISTORY, contains the following historical information:
"....Very similar in style to Old South Church in Boston, First Congregational Church of Portland is considered to be one of the few examples of Venetian Gothic architecture in the United States. For its first 60 years or more it was the tallest structure in Portland, clearly visible from many vantage points throughout the city."
One of the groups within FCC that is dear to my heart is named the "Peasley Chamberlain Theatre Goers". Once a month we attend a movie at a downtown theatre. Afterwards, we migrate back up the street to the Church for coffee and refreshments, and discuss the film we just saw. We "rate" the movies. Recent films we saw include "Infamous", "The Queen", "Bobby", and "Notes On a Scandal." On Sunday, February 25, 2007, we will meet at the Church to view the annual Academy Awards show and enjoy a pot luck meal.
Just who IS Peasley Chamberlain? Why is this theatre group named after him? This falls within the purview of FCC's fascinating history. Again quoting from the above mentioned book:
"Peasley Chamberlain....became the [church's] second minister. He arrived....in October, 1855. [His] energetic ministry began on November 13, 1855, and he was pleased to welcome 60 worshippers....he added an evening service to the morning one, and shortly was preaching to 150 each week. The Sunday School quadrupled and a choir was formed. ...the debt on the church building was soon erased.
"...The era of 'good feeling', well described by Egbert Oliver in Saints and Sinners came to a sudden and tumultuous end...on Sunday, October 31, 1858, when Chamberlain mounted a vigorous attack on secret societies. His sermon, printed in leaflet form, generated an intense reaction among the Masons of Portland, some of whom were church members. 'One can, in a sentence, sum up the six-year pastorate of Rev. Chamberlain....as two years of rapid and exuberant growth, and four years of slide downward from that peak of prosperity and influence into a state of disintegration,' said Oliver.
"....another divisive event occurred related to the opening of the first theater in the city. The congregation was soon torn over whether, and how much, to stand in judgment of those who were said to have attended a theater performance, or countenance such attendance by others, including their own children. Chamberlain's vigorous pursuit of this matter, with its accompanying evaluation of the moral life of individuals and families, led to a perception of him as dictatorial. The force and energy that had marked his early months had not worn well.
"Chamberlain's $1,200 per annum [salary] soon proved too difficult to raise....By March of 1862 a special council voted to terminate the relationship of church and pastor."
In my above mentioned tv/podcast interview, The Rev. Paul Davis, Minister of Congregational Life at FCC, shares the story of Peasley Chamberlain excommunicating an entire family from the church simply because they allowed their daughter to attend a Shakespeare play at a theatre. Others left the church in protest of this action.
And so, this is why FCC's long-standing theatre going group, as described hereinabove, is called the "Peasley Chamberlain Theatre Goers."
Throughout my early years as a Christian in the 1950's, evangelical churches considered movie going a "sin." I was, and still am, a movie buff. As a high school student, I just "knew" that if the rapture of the church took place while I was in a theatre, I would be left behind. Yet, I went to movies anyway.
In 1958, one hundred years after Peasley Chamberlain, the Cecil B. DeMille epic THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, premiered in theatres. An Assembly of God lady sharply criticized a friend and I for patronizing the film. "You don't get your spiritual food from a garbage can," she exclaimed. Films that were considered "garbage" back then are now aired on global Christian television!
Renowned televangelist, Joyce Meyer, teaches that it is okay for Christians to see "clean" movies. She does not frequent R rated films. Yet, the same films that Joyce considers "clean" today were "forbidden fruit" for Christians 30 to 50 years ago.
Even televangelist John Hagee, who is very "right wing conservative" in his teachings, does not forbid his followers to attend movies. In fact, in one of his sermons he talks about taking his family to the movies. He states that no where in the Bible is there a commandment saying: "Thou shalt not have fun."
So, you can readily see why I love being part of FCC's "Peasley Chamberlain Theatre Goers." It all plays a part in living a wholesome and balanced Christian life, enjoying fellowship and social activities with Christian peers. Every time I sit in the theatre, with our church group, I imagine that Peasley himself, and the family he excommunicated for attending a theatre, is there with us in spirit.
And when we enjoy the annual Academy Awards come Sunday, February 25, 2007, I will propose a toast to the memory of The Rev. Peasley Chamberlain.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007