PASTOR DAVE MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

April 27, 2022

                                                              1968

The focus of the January/February 2018 issue of the Smithsonian was the year 1968.  That year I completed my clinical year at the Institute of Religion in Houston, Texas, and was appointed the Associate Pastor of the Crown Point United Methodist Church.  Diane and I moved into our first real house together with our own furniture.  October of 1968 our oldest son Carl was born.  We dressed him up as Santa Claus for Christmas.

The year 1968 was a turbulent year.  It was the year that the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated.  Then there was the mayhem at the Democratic Convention in Chicago which contributed to the election of Richard Nixon.  On a more positive side in December Apollo 8 circled the moon and Arthur Ash became the first black man to win the U.S. Open in tennis.

1968 was dominated by the war in Viet Nam.  There was the Tet Offensive and the My Lai massacre.   The year was marked by protests which resulted in President Johnson deciding not to seek another term.  There were protests in support of civil rights and women’s rights and on June 19 there was a huge Solidarity Day Rally for Jobs, Peace, and Freedom in Washington, D.C. in support of the demands of the Poor People’s Campaign.

The year 1968 provides a window into all of the changes that were taking place in the 1960’s.  Most of what took place represented changes to the establishment and the powers that be.  A new generation wanted to do things differently.  They questioned many of the values and goals of their parents and grandparents.

One of the institutions that the new generation challenged was institutional religion.  The 1950’s saw the zenith of church attendance.  Going to church was the thing to do, it was good for business.  However, in trying to be popular the new generation questioned if institutional religion had lost its way.   Many people went to church because of what the church could do for them not to be informed by the church concerning their daily practices and beliefs.

The new generation’s criticism of the church was similar to Jesus’ criticism of the organized Jewish faith of His day, especially as it centered on the temple and the priesthood.  Jesus accused the religions leaders of afflicting the common people with ponderous rules and regulations that made their daily life difficult.  Jesus said that leaders are called to serve rather than be served.  One of the contributing factors for Jesus’s crucifixion was His attack on the religious institutions of His day.

When I was reading the January/February issue of the Smithsonian I was reminded of a young couple that came to see me when I was the pastor of the Westville United Methodist Church.  They wanted to be married. In talking with them they told about their being a part of the Woodstock experience.  They may not have been interested in attending church but they felt a need for God’s blessing on their union.  Interesting!

Historians and political commentators still debate the positive and negative consequences of the 1960’s.  Where would our nation be if there had not been a general questioning of all established institutions? One result of the 1960’s is that issues of justice, equality, fairness are an accepted part of the public discussion.  Ever since the 1960’s the church has been more interested in the morality of public discourse and institutions of power.  Faith has implications for one’s ethics.