In Houston we were told which twig to go to. I moved from one side of town to another and was informed where I should go.
I was also chastized a little for dating girls outside twi.
When WOW's came in we were told not to date, not to go to their twigs, basicly don't talk with them unless we saw them at a branch meeting. It was almost keep away at the brach meetings.
When a class was run you best show up at each session or have a reason.
The first actual fellowship I attended was with Joyce Derr Carr, now awaiting the return, a loss that I have yet to come to terms with.
When we first attended "Way" meetings (the term twig hadnt been invented yet) the meetings were full of teens and the "old people" were like Jim and Kit and Fred........barely in their 20s. The meetings were full of wide eyed wonder.........and thankfulness that we had been called out from before the foundation of the world. We hung out as friends and as "believers."
What Joyce and I DID NOT KNOW........was that there was an entire parallel universe of fellowships in Alameda that were being coordinated by Jerry Carr.......that had split from TWI during the Dopp/Heefner split....over the consolidation of the "ministry" and the sending of the abs to "headquarters." We were constantly told that "someday" we would take the PFAL CLASS.........but it wasnt available right now.
THE REASON that it wasn't available was because VPW/HQ had banned the pfal class in the Way West for at least one year while they figured out the Dopp/Heefner/Carr issue. Joyce and her sister Jeanne and I (who were best friends way before twi) and I waited patiently to be allowed to take pfal. You cannot imagine our shock the first time we met the entire OTHER half OF THE WAY WEST!!! VPW reconciled with Carr and others and all of a sudden we were one big happy family fellowship..............they had finally agreed on where the ABS was to be sent.
Jim.........Kit.......SOCKS...more to offer?
ror
been there..........done that..........have the WAY WEST t shirt to prove it.
VPW reconciled with Carr and others and all of a sudden we were one big happy family fellowship..............
they had finally agreed on where the ABS was to be sent.
So it has always been about the money, eh???
Mat 6:24 ----------
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Glad you got out Radar. Happy 6th Anniversary, and thank you for the info.
I can totally relate to the remembering thing. I, too, got involved in The Way in high school through my best friend. For the life of me, I can't remember the way stuff and how it fit in with all the other things I was involved with. I went to Young Life, some CYO things, and lotza other activities. Some of the "way people" I knew were kinda half in/half out. I didn't take the class til I graduated from high school, (the summer after) mainly because I couldn't manage my time with everything else, and my parents didn't exactly approve of my "way friends." They were, ummm, let's just say, a little different than my high school buddies. For one, they were way older, meaning they were 20 somethings when I was still a young teen. Somehow that fact didn't go over well with Mom and Dad. :D
But I do remember going to TFI in 75? I think. or maybe it was 74. Dang, old age......So, my point is, I don't really think I have much to offer in the way of putting events together and that kind of thing. Sowwry.
I got involved in early 1978, so I fall outside the time frame set here, but my twig was mostly made up of folks who had been involved from the early seventies, some of whom had been out WOW and returned.
Already, some of the "old-timers" were b*tching about how things had changed, gone downhill, and how regimented Way life had become. Steve Heefner was still talked about with respect and almost awe by some.
What Joyce and I DID NOT KNOW........was that there was an entire parallel universe of fellowships in Alameda that were being coordinated by Jerry Carr.......that had split from TWI during the Dopp/Heefner split....over the consolidation of the "ministry" and the sending of the abs to "headquarters." We were constantly told that "someday" we would take the PFAL CLASS.........but it wasnt available right now.
THE REASON that it wasn't available was because VPW/HQ had banned the pfal class in the Way West for at least one year while they figured out the Dopp/Heefner/Carr issue. Joyce and her sister Jeanne and I (who were best friends way before twi) and I waited patiently to be allowed to take pfal. You cannot imagine our shock the first time we met the entire OTHER half OF THE WAY WEST!!! VPW reconciled with Carr and others and all of a sudden we were one big happy family fellowship..............they had finally agreed on where the ABS was to be sent.
Will the twists and turns never end? What was the time frame for this? I remember Jerry coming back from summer school at TWI and being made branch leader. I also remember being told in no uncertain terms that Jerry had done stuff in the past that was "the old man" and that it wasn't to be discussed.
I tried to PT you, radar, but I got a "no such user" error. Could you try to PT me and I'll reply to that?
In 1966, I was a freshman in high school. I first read a Way Magazine probably in 1965 which I remember was a smaller version, just a little bigger than TV guide or something like that. It was in a barber shop while I was waiting to get a haircut.
In 1967, I was into baseball and the Boston Red Sox, as Yaz ruled that year.
In 1968, I was tuning into the Tet Offensive in South Vietnam while watching the Smothers Brothers. I think the last show of the original "The Fugitive" with David Janssen aired with the one-armed man getting shot by Girard. Kimble was found innocent in a retrial.
In 1969, I watched a lot of hockey in Massachusetts and got turned on by the Bruins. In 1970, I graduated from high school and the Bruins won the Stanley Cup that year. Also that year I joined the Army. The only time I had heard of the Way was from that 1965 smaller Way mag.
I was in Vietnam from 1971-72 and returned as a civilian in 1974. In 1975, eight months after I came home, Saigon fell to the communists.
From 1974-1980 I bumped around Ohio State with cults and Christians before running into people from the Way in September 1980. By 1982, I took PFAL and the Intermediate Class. In 1983, I graduated from Ohio State and in 1985 I returned to the Army Reserve as an Infantry officer. I was sworn in May 20, 1985, the day VPW died. While in the service I missed the Passing of the Patriarch and the power struggle, and joined the Advanced Class at Emporia in 1986.
By 1989, I decided to stay with LCM as the line was drawn between Gartmore and TWI HQ.
I joined the 23rd Way Corps in 1991 but left TWI November 1st, 1992 because of all the incredible abuse I saw. I was being taught to be an abusive leader and on occasion found myself being one. I didn't like it. It wasn't Christian. I left.
From there until LCM left I saw TWI get worse and worse. There have been a couple of improvements since LCM left. Attitude may be the same, though. Not sure. Not there.
I had the misfortune of being a WOW in the 75-76 year in Mississippi. Two highlights: Playing "America Awakes" at every twig and being encouraged to be "freed sexually" by our Wow Branch coordinator-had a tough time relating to the two "mandates". What a disaster that year was!
I did not hear the ‘depth’ of TWI-promoted (spiritual-political) conspiracy theories until I took the AC pfal in summer `75 in Emporia.
Such conspiracy theories as the Illuminati, Communist take-over of the USA, etc. were mentioned continually by VPW at this AC. The book, None Dare Call It Conspiracy,by Gary Allen was promoted. The book, Marxist Minstrels, by David Nobel was promoted. Tapes by certain speakers (?names) were played at this AC supporting the info in these books. The Birch society was mentioned favorably.
Also, nailed to a tree just outside of the cafeteria bldg, was a supposed listing (~? 15 items) of the itemized strategies for communist take-over of the USA.
In order to promote WOW, VPW endeavored toscare us into going WOW, stating that if we didn’t go WOW at that time, we would probably loose the USA to communist take-over.
{This blends into the 1976 witnessing push with America Awakes, etc. It also blends into TWI posting in 1978 in the Carnegie Library @ Emporia of the supposed newly drafted USA ‘constitution’ with communist leanings. It also blends into the Dr. Peter Beter tapes (regarding the supposed communist covert operations which had transpired in Guyana) played for the in-residence folks at Emporia in Nov-Dec 1978 (7th & 9th WCs)}.
I confirm what JK said about "None Dare Call it Conspiracy". There was also another book called "None Dare Call it Treason", and VPW advocated reading a right-wing tabloid called "The Spotlight".
Anyway, on to my experiences.
I was witnessed to on Jan 1, 1973. I was living in Alameda and the lady that witnessed to me took me to her twig in Berkeley where btw, I met our own Kit Sober. After a couple of twigs in Berkeley, I started to go to them in Alameda.
I was loaned the book "The Way, Living in Love" and it made a big impact on me.
About 80% of the TWI believers were still in high school. Me being 21 and an Army vet with a car, a decent job and money was definitely the exception. Alameda was considered hot, with 3-4 twigs and its own branch.
I can't remember any promiscuous sex or drug use during this time. Most of the kids were underage
and drugs and alcohol were actively discouraged. Lots of hugging, kissing and blue balls :D
Twig meetings started out once a week, with occasional "witnessing" nights.
These were usually more of an opportunity to eat and play together than to witness.
Once a month there would be an area meeting at the YWCA in Oakland. Del Duncan and J*rry C*rr*di would lead the meeting. Del Duncan had a remarkable ability to logically present a teaching in a very charismatic way. I can't recall *any* teacher, TWI or otherwise that affected me as strongly as he did. There was great fellowship after the meetings. I was pretty shy in those days and I really enjoyed meeting people I could be comfortable with. Something I still miss today.
The Jim Dopp affair was still fresh in many people's memories. It was also a "locked box", so I only heard vague references to it until I had been in for a couple of years. Probably for the same reason the Marin County believers were considered "intense" compared to us in the East Bay.
The "Way of California" office was established in San Leandro. It put out a monthly newsletter called "The Grapevine". I spent a couple evenings collating and stapling issues together.
By '75 things had started to change. We got a new branch leader who started sucking the love and life out of things.
Mandatory witnessing, more meetings, more formality.
It would still be awhile before things got bad, but in retrospect the handwriting was on the wall.
I've probably left out a bunch of stuff, but hey, it was 30 years ago...
Reading the responses I want to add a little.
In Houston we were told which twig to go to. I moved from one side of town to another and was informed where I should go.
I was also chastized a little for dating girls outside twi.
When WOW's came in we were told not to date, not to go to their twigs, basicly don't talk with them unless we saw them at a branch meeting. It was almost keep away at the brach meetings.
When a class was run you best show up at each session or have a reason.
When was this?
I am back.......and slightly less nostalgic <_<
The first actual fellowship I attended was with Joyce Derr C@rr, now awaiting the return, a loss that I have yet to come to terms with.
When we first attended "Way" meetings (the term twig hadnt been invented yet) the meetings were full of teens and the "old people" were like Jim and Kit and Fred........barely in their 20s. The meetings were full of wide eyed wonder.........and thankfulness that we had been called out from before the foundation of the world. We hung out as friends and as "believers."
What Joyce and I DID NOT KNOW was that there was
an entire parallel universe of fellowships in Alameda that were being coordinated by Jerry C@rr
that had split from TWI during the Dopp/Heefner split....
over the consolidation of the "ministry" and the sending of the abs to "headquarters."
We were constantly told that "someday" we would take the PFAL CLASS, but it wasnt available right now.
THE REASON that it wasn't available was because
VPW/HQ had banned the pfal class in the Way West for at least one year while they figured out the Dopp/Heefner/C@rr issue.
Joyce and her sister Jeanne and I (who were best friends way before twi) and I waited patiently to be allowed to take pfal. You cannot imagine our shock the first time we met the entire OTHER half OF THE WAY WEST!!! VPW reconciled with Carr and others and all of a sudden we were one big happy family fellowship.
They had finally agreed on where the ABS was to be sent.
Jim.........Kit.......SOCKS...more to offer?
ror
been there..........done that..........have the WAY WEST t shirt to prove it.
I had the misfortune of being a WOW in the 75-76 year in Mississippi.
Two highlights: Playing "America Awakes" at every twig
and being encouraged to be "freed sexually" by our Wow Branch coordinator-
had a tough time relating to the two "mandates". What a disaster that year was!
I first heard about TWI when I saw the Parade Magazine article w/ VPW on the cover around 1971; I was around 13 at the time. The picture of a preacher on a white harley with a cross on the windshield was interesting enough for me to read the article, "The Groovy Christians of Rye New York."
This is long, sorry. I tried to keep it short but my time in the ministry during the time fram requested kinda has a "gotcha" element to it.
I was raised in a Christian home, my mom had told us of how she read the Bible, cover to cover, 13 times - - impresive. I felt I "knew what the Bible said" at least in general, having gone to church most Sunday for as long as I could remember. I was really wanting to know what the Bible said as well as my Mom did so I started reading it on my own.
My best friend, a guy named Dana, told me sometime during our Jr. year in high school 74/75 that he was gonna get 85 buck from his dad, even if he had to borrow it to take a Bible class. Long story short, I thought he was crazy and that anybody who would charge so much money to teach him the Bible, the whole thing must be some sort of scam. He invited me to twig; I thought that goofy name was more proof of how wacked out the thing must be and would go w/him. At his prompting I finally decided to go, see what it was, expose it to him as being nuts then we'd both leave.
Another long story short, there was a really great group of believers in my town and in the Pittsburgh branch was, in a word, wonderful. The twig leader, Cathie ran a really sweet fellowship. She was respectful, respectable, and really thoughtful when it came to stuff like greeting people with a holy kiss and pretty much everything that a new person would find uncomfortable. I wasn't kissing anybody I didn't know on the lips to meet them, she was cool about it. She showed it to me from the Bible and said, simply, "We only do it because it says so in the Word. I know it seems wierd to most people, but a lot of stuff the Bible says we should do is considered wierd by most people. Hang around with us if you want to, I'll teach you anything I know, & if I don't know enough to answer your questions, we have leadership who knows more than me. I'll ask them and get your answer. If they dont' know I'll keep going up the way tree until I find someone who does, or I'll work the word myself until I find you answer.
I was impressed enough by that to come back again. What I saw over the course of the next two or so years was a group of people who sincerely wanted to know the Bible and act like they were God's people. The branch in Pittsburgh had a few twigs, they were all the same, pretty cool people in every generation.
Anthony Patch was the first person I met from The Way Corps. He was interim 5th at the time; I was impressed by him. I was a jock, playing football and being a wrestler in western PA. There was nothing anyone told me about WC training that phased me on bit. Nothing they said about the corps came close to three-a-days. Football practice in the hottest days of the summer... football camp was a week of sheer torture. Wrestling practice was worse. I actually like the concept of being as committed so serve God as a soldier was to serve country.
At first I attended twig sporadically, then as my questions were answered I'd attend more & more. As I met more people, different kinds of people, my jets cooled because I was impressed by a lot of them and didn't "find anything wierd going on." The 6th Corps they sent to Pgh were decent people, Walter & Diane Holbrook, very down to earth, fun to be around kind and knowledgable, Murphy Price (later to play the Seed of the Serpent in AOS) was cool too, as were the WOWs they sent, too many to mention all the names.
Cathie and Adrianne used to sing for the twig and at branch & are meetings. They wrote really beautiful God & Christ centered folk type songs (hey, it was the 70's man! :blink: ) and sang like angels. They sang two part harmonies with an accoustical guitar. Their stuff really touched your heart. I especially remember one song, "One Body" that Cathie wrote when she was upset about how we, in the twig weren't getting along well. That song had such an impact on me that I still remember every word if it today 32 years later. Not gonna write the whole thing but here's some of it:
"We're one body, we're one body,
God is over us, all the time,
We can't lose His mystery,
Its what set us free.
We're one body and Christ is the head,
God is watching us....
Together we stand, or not at all.............."
She sang that for us one night at twig after telling us how when she was preparing earlier that day for fellowship, she was thinking about all of us, and asking God to help her to help us to "get it." There wasn't any major bad stuff happening, we just didn't get it that we were each a part of the other. When one part hurt, we were all hurt, when one part rejoices we all should rejoice.
She said that she just picked up her guitar, started strumming & singing "were one body" then the rest of the song came to her. She called Adrianne who ran right over and they finished the song shortly before twig time.
I can still hear that last line of the song, "Together we stand, or not at all......................" Then she said, softly.
"I mean that. If you guys don't want to live together the way God says we should then I'll disband the twig. I'll go join Walter's twig, or somebody's, they'd be glad to welcome me. You guys can just keep doing whatever you want."
You could hear a cotton ball fall on a pile of newly fallen snow, it was so quiet.
Then she said. "Well. That's the twig lesson for tonite. Let's go get something to eat." Giggled her famous empty headed giggle (she was BLONDE!) and we all go up and scampered out.
I took over the Twig when Cathie & Adrianne left to go in residence in the 9th Way Corps. It was between a year & 1/2 to almost two years before I cooled my jets and trusted things enough to take the class. Our little group grew tight, we were all in High school except Jack, Cathie's Dad. There was never a period longer than 24 hours where we were not in contact with at least one other person in the twig. If a whole day went by and we didn't hear from someone, one of us would go out of our way to make sure the person was OK.
Jack built a tape library for us and bought every SNS teaching tape there was, even the old reel to reel ones. We would check them out with a card catalogue system just like a library, due dates & all. Those tapes were like a lifeline for us. We listened to every SNS service the Tuesday or Wed following and were constantly up on the haps from HQ with just a day or two lag time.
I started out listening to the SNS tapes to find "the wrong stuff." Over an approximately 3 yr period I listened to EVERY SNS tape in existence multiple times over. The same time frame is when I met washingtonweather who posts here also. I also remember how important for the country they said America Awakes was. Our twig went to two or three concerts on the tour as it passed near our area. We went to the grand finale concert on the steps of the Linclon Memorial in Washington DC.
It was a cloudy overcast day and it rained, threatening to cancel the concert. Of course we got there early and were right up front. It was a thrill to see and meet members of Joyful Noise during the tour, I met socks then although I doubt he'd have remembered me, he shook a LOT of hands during that tour, I'm sure. I remember the MC taking the mike & praying for the event and mentioning something to the effect of how God would not have brought us this far and abandon us. We hung around taking shelter from the rain anywhere we could, in the memorial & all.
After a while, the clouds parted, the bright sun came out it became a sunny day and the show must went on!
Another unforgettable experience. Joyful Noice really wailed it that day,
"WAKE UP! ..... America.
Wake Up, My country!
Wake UP !"
Wow. You're 18 years old. Driven 14 hours in a caravan of believer to our nations capital to hear a concert dedicated to saving our country by doing our part to bring God's presence to the heart or it. The tour designed to help believers accross the country to wake up and help wake up our nation.
IT rains. It's almost dark from the clouds. You've seen rainy days before and this one looks like its gonna be a rainy one. You want to believe that if God could part the Red Sea to save His people from the Egyptian army He could do something about this rain. Some guy prays, not too long after it is a bright sunny day and the show goes on.
Why WOULDN'T you think this ministry, in this day and time, is of God?
I did. America Awakes pretty much sealed the deal for me. The music was GOOD to GREAT, the performers were talented and professional, not like the typical cheezy Christian, turn the other cheek stuff of the day. These people had the GUTS to get up an sing with Abraham fricken LINCOLN's enormous statue looking over their shoulder and wail WAKE UP AMERICA!
This was something I wanted to be a part of. A BIG part of. My teachers, parents, etc. were all telling me I had "talent" and I should use it for something good. I had found out that the artwork and the America Awakes Album cover had been done by "an unbeliever" the ministry had to hire a secular ad agency to do the cover because we didn't have anyone in the ministry who could do that calibre of work. I said,
"We do now... ME. I'll do it."
This was after I'd seen so much cool stuff, things that appeared, to me at least, and to us involved as signs, miracle and wonders from God. We had our share of problem but we handled them in a Godly way. I even went and visited HQ a couple of times, talked to David Craley over the phone them met him in person and he gave me a tour of the publications facilities at HQ. They were in a converted barn in NK, a crampt space, even somewhat dank. I showed him my portfolio and he told me how they didn't have any space on staff at the time but he was impressed with my work and he'd definately consider me if an opening came up.
Professional. Courteous. Forward thinking, David told me of plans to build a huge Outreach Services Center that would be in the same proportions of Noah's Ark (because everything we do here at International has its roots in and gets its significance from God's Word) that would house the majority of the offices and be the support nerve center of the outreach of Gods Word around the world.
I was thrilled to my soul and HONORED thay they would actually consider ME, a 19 year old kid from the streets to be a part of all that.
I applied for the 9th Corps but wasn't accepted. VPW wrote a handwritten note on my rejection letter, to the effect of, "You need maturity and stability, perhaps a year as a WOW would help you with that." Impressed again. Dr. Wierwille really DOES go over every Corps application, well at least he did mine. The main dude took the time to write a note on my rejection letter; that was impressive to me. I showed it to my Mom she was impressed too, "That doesn't happen often, they usually have admissions people who do things like that." Mom said.
I signed up to go WOW, but I wasn't to graduate from art school until a month or two into the WOW year. Franklin Smith, the WOW coordinator that year allowed me to choose where I wanted to go as a WOW (of course that was Pittburgh, where my college was) and I got to pick which of the five wow familes they were sending there I wanted to live with. I knew Franklin prior to this and had worked with him for a year as State Coordinator for Word in Fine Arts Outreach in PA. It was during that time that I got my first glimpse into the "dark side" of TWI.
It was immediately at the end of a Hearbeat Festival in PA. There had been a mix-up and some of the decorations didn't get delivered on time for setup. We did the festival without them, they weren't really missed by the believers, anyway and the festival was a big success otherwise.
There was a leadership debriefing meeting and when I showed up Franklin and other state leadership about 5 or six people were sitting at a booth. He said to me, "Ok, who f@cked up!"
I was SHOCKED. His warm smile led me to think that I wasn't in trouble but I must have even stepped backwarks. He said that I wasn't in trouble we just neede to know what happened so we could do better next time. By this time the shock of hearing a "man of God" who had just "held God's Word so highly" and taught it so well, dynamically, as they say, drop an F-bomb so casually was wearing off enough for me to actually speak. I explained what happened in my usual, overly detailed fashion. He said OK and I walked away when the meeting was done.
Another unforgettable moment. "I guess that's what 'not being under the law' means." I remember thinking something to that effect if not those exact words. That was when the duplicitous TWI dichotomy - behavior vs. confession began in my head. It has bothered me ever since.
I guess I had many opportunities in those first years before to have sex w/ people because the TWI custom of giving backrubs was really in vogue then. It seemed like people were always giving each other backrubs. It was decades later when I found out that giving a backrub was a specific prelude to sex.
I was like REALLY!??? You mean, SHE wanted me? what about that really hot girl during such & such a event.
Yup. Probably, its what people do.
I was like NAW, man you're yanking my chain.
I had heard rumors of wife swapping et al happening at HQ and during large meetings. The meetings were usually at some hotel's meeting room and rumors were about that some of the leadership would be "going into each other's rooms for sex." I, like others have mentioned, was never invited, never knew of anyone who was invited, or involved. I could never envision Mrs VPW, Mrs Owens, Emogene Allen, etc. as sex toys for anyone.
I wasn't naieve enough to believe that there was NO pre, or extramarital sex going on. You get a bunch of young hippie types together in a hotel, or college campus or wherever and there's bound to be SOME hanky panky going on. We were poeple, you know, I knew SOME stuff like that was goin on. I didn't put it past most anyone to have "failed" even more than once maybe. But in my 14 years w/ TWI, 12 of which were at the leadership level, state, local, at HQ, Emopria, Indiana, 2 years as a wow.
I never had anyone tell me personally that they were involved, either from a positive or negative perpspective with VPW or the leadership like has come to the surface. The closest thing I had to to it was a very good female friend of mine in residence who said that she could go see VPW ni the motorcoach anytime she wanted and that she could get favors from VPW any time. She said she knew stuff. That was as far as that went, as close as I've ever gotten to "it."
I'm also not gonna paint such a rosy picture that gives the impression that I was never sexually involved with anyone in TWI through the years. I was. It was more like what would be considered as "normal" in our society, boyfriend-girlfriend, dating type stuff.
BUT. I have had, on a mumber of occasions, women throw themselves at me. I've come to understand this as a type of Florence Nightingale syndrome where patients "fall in love" with nurses or health care providers out of a misguided thankful ness in return for the services renderd by the provoder. It happens "all the time" in ministry.
Nor am I blind. I would not put it past a LOT of guys to proactively go after girls or women, or vice versa. After all, the "Man would you like to get HER in the Word...." double entnedre, DID sweep through the ministry like wildfire.
Bottom line is that during the years there were all kinds of rumors about all kinds of things the vast majority of which were uneducated attacks, we got used to just ignoring most any rumor and moving ahaed with life.
I tust you can see how my TWI experience, especially the first few years was quite different from TWI 2 and three. I went to HQ thinking that the way we operated the ministry in Pittsburgh emanated from HQ. I wrote off the inyour face confrontations and humilations like I would when my coaches woud get in my face. My coaches were trying to build me to be a champion, that requires at time that they tear you apart to rebuild you better. That's what I saw when I saw or heard of people being ripped.
That's my perpsecitve. Not necessarily a "this is the unversal truth" thing.
Several states, at least in the North East did a "MinuteMan Program."
It was the WOW program with the WOW guide lines condensed to a two month program during the summer of 1976. You were sent in your state but to a different city, with a family yadda yadda all to move the move and keep the country free.
Of course, using the Minute Man name being a reference to the common troops who fought in the revoluntionary war to keep the country free.
Yepper HCW, I remember all o' that..and the singing....those girls have beautiful voices. And yepper...remember Pat Yaconis...he and I were Hich School Minutemen..went to Delaware OH---(Watered Garden's turf) to be with Yaconos's older brother and wife becasue Fellow Laborers were hosting the HS minuteman training...where I fist met the Jesse kids.
i wish i had the the "wierewille-al" to read the long stuff and to write the long stuff
i got in toward the latter end of the years in question. twig 74 i think, class 75, coach and pheasant hunting which i refused to visit..... college girls who worshipped this special man. he exposed himself in the way home bathroom as i walked by..... the girl undershepherding told me there is no shame in body something or other when your're spiritual.... i forget the exact words but i got the gist. it made me feel heebie jeebies but yet in a way it wasn't too different from childhoold sexual abuse.... but this one was better. it was in the name of god
ummmmmmmmmm what else
i was in all that "saving the country crap," but that's all for now
These are my recollections, dates and times are confusing after all these years:
1972: I took PFAL the first time in 1972 in Peoria, IL. Becky Belcher (later Fugit) and Dave Pettit were also in that class. Three WOWS were originally sent 71-72 to Peoria, only two were there by January when they found me. I think the rumor was that the third had left the field and had committed suicide, but such things were not talked about openly of course. Beth Harris from NY could be seen somewhere in the Life? magazine picture of "Groovy Christians" I was told. Bruce Bell came from Witchita. I cleaned my parents house for 4 weeks to raise the money. Dave pawned his guitar.
We had fun, being part of sort of a renegade type church, sort of a counter-culture. I don't recall many restrictions on our doings, but drugs and sex were not a part of the twig scene proper. I remember all going to a rock concert, and "mother Becky" making sure we behaved ourselves. No pot, "be good witnesses", that sort of thing. Becky radiated peace and serenity, a real woman of God.
Many people would come through town, Steve Kunkle, Tommy Crabb, and of course Donnie Fugit. He was there for our 12th session. I think Becky set her mind then and there that he was gonna be her husband. His "Kicking the Hogs and Praising the Lord" was the song we would sing for the next 14 years, when thinking of those early Peoria days.
Up in northern IL, John Desmond led another group of believers in Antioch. They started before Peoria. (I always figured Desmond went there for its name alone). As the senior Way believer in IL at the time, he came down to run our intermediate class.
During that year the WOWs (and us) put together several other PFAL classes. Bunches of sweet people. Carolyn Young, her sister Megan, Dawn Clary, Ray Brasga, Brad Hinch and his brother (name escapes me now)......
ROA 72 was huge for us coming from such an ungrown state. We stood NOT alone! what a revelation. Hope Harmon sang, I was infatuated I remember. A movie was made of ROA72. Becky and I made the cuts in the film, but not the BetaVideo. (we are near the beginning, as we enter the grounds.) Was it Sydney that year? I remember, it rained- was there a Rock when it didn't? Rain was nice, it cooled us off, rain was bad, it got muddy. mixed blessings.
1973- more classes. Wit and Und, CF&S, they kept coming. more and more classes. Finally we had all those collateral classes. It was time for AC73 at HQ. It rained. The wind blew. Fortunately I had brought my parent's pop-up camper. It was a good thing. many tents blew down, and we slept 15 in that little 6 man camper. Seating in class was by alphabet I recall. I got to know all the P names. Pavlica, Panyard, Parrish. I thought how collegiate this was. I was also impressed by the roofing pattern on the barn. I had never seen letters worked into a roof before. I knew we had friends there, Howard Allen told us strangers are friends we haven't met before. We felt welcome. It was fun. One of the last nights of the AC we were invited to be inititated into the secret "innermost sanctums of the Way" VPW, and other of the "names" were there. They were dressed in black, with hoods, around a bonfire. I don't recall much of the ceremony now, but in the end, we were given a piece of a root (maybe horseradish?) to eat. If we ate it we would be part of the inner wisdom and pledged to loyalty to the ministry. Maybe it was Bo who made the rounds distributing the stuff. I faked it, never swallowed (or inhaled?). My fate was written in the stars then. God had seen me cheat.
Christmas of 73, we decided we would call IL a limb, even though it was not yet so designated. I invited Mr. and Mrs. W to come and teach at our first "Limb meeting" I think it was Dec 23rd, and asked if he would bring some of the music ministry. I was awakened one morning by someone on the phone saying she was Dr. Wierwille's secretary, and that Dr. wanted to talk to me. I said Riiiiiggggttttt. I hung up. Phone rang again. "this is REALLY Dr. Wierwille's secretary...." I stayed on the phone this time, and Dr. thanked me for the invite, and accepted. He would bring Ted amd Mardelle and Claudette. I was giddy, mostly I think for the music. A letter with the details would follow he said. The letter told us we would be responsible for his expenses, gas rooms for the special guests. He took the liberty of inviting Don and his wife, but would pay for their room himself. They would arrive the day before, and Dr. would do a special teaching, for twig leaders only that night, before the day long events the next day.
Preparations became hectic as December came. A day before the date, Bo Reahard came to town to make sure things were ready. They weren't. The "Way Home" was not nearly clean enough for the Man of God to teach twig leaders. We all worked through the night, Bo included, cleaning every nick and cranny of that old 100 year old house.
The Wierwilles drove themselves in one car. Ted, Mardelle and Claudette in another. I think they were black Lincolns, but now I am not sure. I remember I had expected them to have chauffeurs, but was impressed that they didn't. Wierwille taught that night, he sat in the nicest chair/throne we had. The arm broke immediatley. We were heartbroken at our failure to foresee that, and somewhat concerned for his reaction. It turned out we needn't have been. Dr. laughed and said "Better call Wierwille Upholstery" (I think that was a reference to Uncle Harry's business???) He went on and taught. we were awed. The next day was exciting and Ted's music was awesome. Claudette of course did "Amazing Grace" chills and thrills! Mrs. Wierwille presented me with a Christmas tree shaped candle for organizing the event. I still have most of it. A month later, the bill from HQ arrived. While I had hoped to have extra funds to send as a gift to HQ, I found that we were 3 dollars short of his bill. Still, I thought that was pretty cool that God had covered the expenses so well. I did learn that Wierwille was a good tipper though, it was all on the itemized bill from HQ.
I remember escorting Wierwille to his room. en route Bo asked me to go buy several bottles of Drambouie and bring them to the room. I was shocked. I had never bought liquor before, and now, for the Man of God of the world?????? What was Drambouie I wondered. I did it anyway, and brought it in plain brown bags, kind of like smuggling it in, so that no other of the local believers would know. I was invited to share a glass with them. I was "in"! Maybe God didn't see me cheat afterall with that root thing.
1974- Illinois really became a limb. I ran a branch that ran from LaSalle-Peru down through Peoria to Pittsfield. I traveled running classes. My expenses (food and gas) were paid and taken out of the branch area blue forms. I was not paid other than that. Gerald Wrenn moved to a mansion like home in Bloomington, or was it Champaigne? The company I worked for donated the material and our labor to do aluminum siding on the house. It was a big job. Sammy Wilson came from HQ to Peoria that summer to take over the branch as I was going to go and grow as a WOW. I went to Allentown, PA.
WOW year was somewhat uneventful, ahem, except for meeting my wife-to-be as my WOW sister. I don't remember much else. We were allowed an occassional weekend off, which we used to go to NY city once, and Philadelphia another time. We also could go home for Christmas that year. I think that was not allowed in later years. sometime in spring, Terri and I wrote to Wierwille and said we were getting married instead of coming into the 6th corps. He gave his blessing to our choice, we were relieved by that.
1975- After the Rock I went home to Peoria for 2 months to earn money to move to CO and get married. I arrived in November 1st, and Terri and I immediately rented an apartment. Hendley the next day learned we planned to live together even though he would not marry us until the 29th of the month. Uh uh- we could not do that. Bad witness. I thought it strange, since we had lived together for a year as WOWs, but acceded to my leadership (kind of, sometimes, mostly, sort of). Its been a great 30 years with a remarkable lady.
I think it was around here that conspiracy theories began to permeate the thinking of the more spiritually alert folks (thats a joke). Sometime around this time the "Myth of the 6 Million" made it to us minions. I angered my dad when talking of it, and I found out my grandmother was jewish. I was embarrassed by my ignorance and his hurt, and swore to from then on only teach and speak what I understood, and could show from the Word. I think I did that the rest of my days in TWI. I think my Dad forgave me, I hope so. Those theories were never important to me, and I failed to see how they moved the word.
1976- America Awakes. We heard rumors of the secret rewrite of the constitution. I recall something about the Illuminati, and I remember seeing various John Birch writings which tried to prove our fears. My thoughts were that fear was the devil's thing, and we should not have it. It seemed like we were the last stand of defense. It became very spiritual and secret. We all read "None Dare Call it Conspiracy" We prayed, we did several 24 hour of prayer things, simply said, we were told we saved the country. We were the TRUE patriots. The music caravan, motorcoach etc toured the country. We celebrated "God's" victory. I thought it was silly and superficial.
I guess what I have tried to portray, is that in these years we had fun, we were serious, but not overbearing or anal about things. I had heard nothing about sex or drugs being a major part of the minsitry at this time, in fact, it seemed to be less so than in the "worldly" segments of our generation. We celebrated the freedom we had through our salvation and our saviour, but at the same time, we tried to be witnesses of a godly life. We tried to walk our talk and talk our walk. (a phrase we often spoke). when the conspiracy things came, we tried to do our part to raise awareness, but MANY of us remained true to our initial reasons of signing on with God. We taught hot bible, (or tried to- some with better ability than others, most better'n me probably), we preached and lived love and tenderness, we truly cared about each other's well being, health and spiritual growth. Years later when I left the Way fellowships, I could do so without bitterness or hate, because I had remained true to myself, and in my mind at least, true to my God.
I first heard about TWI when I saw the Parade Magazine article w/ VPW on the cover around 1971; I was around 13 at the time. The picture of a preacher on a white harley with a cross on the windshield was interesting enough for me to read the article, "The Groovy Christians of Rye New York."
Unless it was reprinted,
it was LIFE Magazine. I tracked it down when I was in college.
My best friend, a guy named Dana, told me sometime during our Jr. year in high school 74/75
that he was gonna get 85 bucks from his dad, even if he had to borrow it
to take a Bible class.... I thought he was crazy and that
anybody who would charge so much money to teach him the Bible,
the whole thing must be some sort of scam.
Another long story short, there was a really great group of believers in my town and in the Pittsburgh branch was, in a word, wonderful. The twig leader, Cathie ran a really sweet fellowship. She was respectful, respectable, and really thoughtful when it came to stuff like greeting people with a holy kiss and pretty much everything that a new person would find uncomfortable. I wasn't kissing anybody I didn't know on the lips to meet them, she was cool about it. She showed it to me from the Bible and said, simply, "We only do it because it says so in the Word. I know it seems wierd to most people, but a lot of stuff the Bible says we should do is considered wierd by most people. Hang around with us if you want to, I'll teach you anything I know, & if I don't know enough to answer your questions, we have leadership who knows more than me. I'll ask them and get your answer. If they dont' know I'll keep going up the way tree until I find someone who does, or I'll work the word myself until I find you answer.
I was impressed enough by that to come back again. What I saw over the course of the next two or so years was a group of people who sincerely wanted to know the Bible and act like they were God's people. The branch in Pittsburgh had a few twigs, they were all the same, pretty cool people in every generation.
Anthony Patch was the first person I met from The Way Corps. He was interim 5th at the time; I was impressed by him. I was a jock, playing football and being a wrestler in western PA. There was nothing anyone told me about WC training that phased me on bit. Nothing they said about the corps came close to three-a-days. Football practice in the hottest days of the summer... football camp was a week of sheer torture. Wrestling practice was worse. I actually like the concept of being as committed so serve God as a soldier was to serve country.
At first I attended twig sporadically, then as my questions were answered I'd attend more & more. As I met more people, different kinds of people, my jets cooled because I was impressed by a lot of them and didn't "find anything wierd going on." The 6th Corps they sent to Pgh were decent people, Walter & Diane Holbrook, very down to earth, fun to be around kind and knowledgable, Murphy Price (later to play the Seed of the Serpent in AOS) was cool too, as were the WOWs they sent, too many to mention all the names.
(snip)
She sang that for us one night at twig after telling us how when she was preparing earlier that day for fellowship, she was thinking about all of us, and asking God to help her to help us to "get it." There wasn't any major bad stuff happening, we just didn't get it that we were each a part of the other. When one part hurt, we were all hurt, when one part rejoices we all should rejoice.
She said that she just picked up her guitar, started strumming & singing "were one body" then the rest of the song came to her. She called Adrianne who ran right over and they finished the song shortly before twig time.
I can still hear that last line of the song, "Together we stand, or not at all......................" Then she said, softly.
"I mean that. If you guys don't want to live together the way God says we should then I'll disband the twig. I'll go join Walter's twig, or somebody's, they'd be glad to welcome me. You guys can just keep doing whatever you want."
You could hear a cotton ball fall on a pile of newly fallen snow, it was so quiet.
Then she said. "Well. That's the twig lesson for tonite. Let's go get something to eat." Giggled her famous empty headed giggle (she was BLONDE!) and we all go up and scampered out.
I took over the Twig when Cathie & Adrianne left to go in residence in the 9th Way Corps.
It was between a year & 1/2 to almost two yearsbefore I cooled my jets
and trusted things enough to take the class. Our little group grew tight, we were all in High school except Jack, Cathie's Dad. There was never a period longer than 24 hours where we were not in contact with at least one other person in the twig. If a whole day went by and we didn't hear from someone, one of us would go out of our way to make sure the person was OK.
(snip)
I also remember how important for the country they said America Awakes was. Our twig went to two or three concerts on the tour as it passed near our area. We went to the grand finale concert on the steps of the Linclon Memorial in Washington DC.
It was a cloudy overcast day and it rained, threatening to cancel the concert. Of course we got there early and were right up front. It was a thrill to see and meet members of Joyful Noise during the tour, I met socks then although I doubt he'd have remembered me, he shook a LOT of hands during that tour, I'm sure. I remember the MC taking the mike & praying for the event and mentioning something to the effect of how God would not have brought us this far and abandon us. We hung around taking shelter from the rain anywhere we could, in the memorial & all.
After a while, the clouds parted, the bright sun came out it became a sunny day and the show must went on!
Another unforgettable experience. Joyful Noice really wailed it that day,
"WAKE UP! ..... America.
Wake Up, My country!
Wake UP !"
Wow. You're 18 years old. Driven 14 hours in a caravan of believer to our nations capital to hear a concert dedicated to saving our country by doing our part to bring God's presence to the heart or it. The tour designed to help believers accross the country to wake up and help wake up our nation.
IT rains. It's almost dark from the clouds. You've seen rainy days before and this one looks like its gonna be a rainy one. You want to believe that if God could part the Red Sea to save His people from the Egyptian army He could do something about this rain. Some guy prays, not too long after it is a bright sunny day and the show goes on.
Why WOULDN'T you think this ministry, in this day and time, is of God?
(snip)
This was something I wanted to be a part of. A BIG part of. My teachers, parents, etc. were all telling me I had "talent" and I should use it for something good. I had found out that the artwork and the America Awakes Album cover had been done by "an unbeliever" the ministry had to hire a secular ad agency to do the cover because we didn't have anyone in the ministry who could do that calibre of work. I said,
"We do now... ME. I'll do it."
This was after I'd seen so much cool stuff, things that appeared, to me at least, and to us involved as signs, miracle and wonders from God. We had our share of problem but we handled them in a Godly way. I even went and visited HQ a couple of times, talked to David Craley over the phone them met him in person and he gave me a tour of the publications facilities at HQ. They were in a converted barn in NK, a crampt space, even somewhat dank. I showed him my portfolio and he told me how they didn't have any space on staff at the time but he was impressed with my work and he'd definately consider me if an opening came up.
Professional. Courteous. Forward thinking, David told me of plans to build a huge Outreach Services Center that would be in the same proportions of Noah's Ark (because everything we do here at International has its roots in and gets its significance from God's Word) that would house the majority of the offices and be the support nerve center of the outreach of Gods Word around the world.
I was thrilled to my soul and HONORED thay they would actually consider ME, a 19 year old kid from the streets to be a part of all that.
I applied for the 9th Corps but wasn't accepted. VPW wrote a handwritten note on my rejection letter, to the effect of, "You need maturity and stability, perhaps a year as a WOW would help you with that." Impressed again. Dr. Wierwille really DOES go over every Corps application, well at least he did mine. The main dude took the time to write a note on my rejection letter; that was impressive to me. I showed it to my Mom she was impressed too, "That doesn't happen often, they usually have admissions people who do things like that." Mom said.
I signed up to go WOW, but I wasn't to graduate from art school until a month or two into the WOW year. Franklin Smith, the WOW coordinator that year allowed me to choose where I wanted to go as a WOW (of course that was Pittburgh, where my college was) and I got to pick which of the five wow familes they were sending there I wanted to live with. I knew Franklin prior to this and had worked with him for a year as State Coordinator for Word in Fine Arts Outreach in PA. It was during that time that I got my first glimpse into the "dark side" of TWI.
It was immediately at the end of a Hearbeat Festival in PA. There had been a mix-up and some of the decorations didn't get delivered on time for setup. We did the festival without them, they weren't really missed by the believers, anyway and the festival was a big success otherwise.
There was a leadership debriefing meeting and when I showed up Franklin and other state leadership about 5 or six people were sitting at a booth. He said to me, "Ok, who f@cked up!"
I was SHOCKED. His warm smile led me to think that I wasn't in trouble but I must have even stepped backwarks. He said that I wasn't in trouble we just neede to know what happened so we could do better next time. By this time the shock of hearing a "man of God" who had just "held God's Word so highly" and taught it so well, dynamically, as they say, drop an F-bomb so casually was wearing off enough for me to actually speak. I explained what happened in my usual, overly detailed fashion. He said OK and I walked away when the meeting was done.
Another unforgettable moment. "I guess that's what 'not being under the law' means." I remember thinking something to that effect if not those exact words. That was when the duplicitous TWI dichotomy - behavior vs. confession began in my head. It has bothered me ever since.
I guess I had many opportunities in those first years before to have sex w/ people because the TWI custom of giving backrubs was really in vogue then. It seemed like people were always giving each other backrubs. It was decades later when I found out that giving a backrub was a specific prelude to sex.
I was like REALLY!??? You mean, SHE wanted me? what about that really hot girl during such & such a event.
Yup. Probably, its what people do.
I was like NAW, man you're yanking my chain.
I had heard rumors of wife swapping et al happening at HQ and during large meetings. The meetings were usually at some hotel's meeting room and rumors were about that some of the leadership would be "going into each other's rooms for sex." I, like others have mentioned, was never invited, never knew of anyone who was invited, or involved. I could never envision Mrs VPW, Mrs Owens, Emogene Allen, etc. as sex toys for anyone.
I wasn't naieve enough to believe that there was NO pre, or extramarital sex going on. You get a bunch of young hippie types together in a hotel, or college campus or wherever and there's bound to be SOME hanky panky going on. We were poeple, you know, I knew SOME stuff like that was goin on. I didn't put it past most anyone to have "failed" even more than once maybe. But in my 14 years w/ TWI, 12 of which were at the leadership level, state, local, at HQ, Emopria, Indiana, 2 years as a wow.
I never had anyone tell me personally that they were involved, either from a positive or negative perpspective with VPW or the leadership like has come to the surface.
The closest thing I had to to it was a very good female friend of mine in residence who said that she could go see VPW ni the motorcoach anytime she wanted and that she could get favors from VPW any time. She said she knew stuff. That was as far as that went, as close as I've ever gotten to "it."
I'm also not gonna paint such a rosy picture that gives the impression that I was never sexually involved with anyone in TWI through the years. I was. It was more like what would be considered as "normal" in our society, boyfriend-girlfriend, dating type stuff.
(snip)
Bottom line is that during the years there were all kinds of rumors about all kinds of things the vast majority of which were uneducated attacks, we got used to just ignoring most any rumor and moving ahaed with life.
I trust you can see how my TWI experience, especially the first few years was quite different from TWI 2 and three. I went to HQ
thinking that the way we operated the ministry in Pittsburgh emanated from HQ.
I wrote off the inyour face confrontations and humilations
like I would when my coaches woud get in my face. My coaches were trying to build me to be a champion, that requires at time that they tear you apart to rebuild you better. That's what I saw when I saw or heard of people being ripped.
That's my perpsecitve. Not necessarily a "this is the unversal truth" thing.
i wish i had the the "wierewille-al" to read the long stuff and to write the long stuff
i got in toward the latter end of the years in question. twig 74 i think, class 75, coach and pheasant hunting which i refused to visit,
college girls who worshipped this special man.
he exposed himself in the way home bathroom as i walked by.
the girl undershepherding told me there is no shame in body something or other when your're spiritual....
i forget the exact words but i got the gist.
it made me feel heebie jeebies but yet
in a way it wasn't too different from childhoold sexual abuse. ... but this one was better. it was in the name of god
ummmmmmmmmm what else
i was in all that "saving the country crap," but that's all for now
Just ascribe it to people with real hearts and faith in God who happened to be in TWI. Anyway, no matter how big or little or spotty or widespread any early wrongs of TWI were, there is no doubt there were big changes in daily life from this time to later years.
I was the son of a Lutheran pastor(now deceased) who did not hear of The Way until fall of 1972/spring '73 at
Lenor High School when either Ron Schupping or Mike Tomberlin came witnessing during lunchtime. After 3rd day, the principal asked them not to come back or they would be arrested for tresspassing on school property. During this time, Contemporary Jesus music was for me Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, Leonard
Bernstein's Mass, We are one in the Spirit, You light up my life(Debby Boone), and Put your Hand in the Hand of the man who stilled the water. Only later in 1974 do I see the article in Life magazine about the Groovy Christians of Rye,NY. In the fall oor '73, as a freshman at East Carolina 2 days after arriving, that Saturday morning I go to the Student Union Center to see the cartoon version of Star Trek and meet Ginger
Douglass, an artist and senior wearing low-cut mini-skirt/dress and flip-flops. We talk and she invites me back to The Way Home(wish I had taken her up on it, proably wanted to **** me) but decide to be a gentleman, though she invites me to Twig coffeehouse. I think it to be a nightclub for dancing and drinking. Boy, am I wrong and am jealous that other guys are hugging and kissing her(thought she was a prostitute with many clients), but find out it is a Bible study group. Almost freak ot when Doug Emmerson(or was it Randy Anderson) starts calling by name people to speak in tongues, and being afraid think he will call out my name. They show ROA film and 1st session of PFAL. I flunk out in Feb.'74, that fall I transfer to Appalachian State where I meet Steve and Ann Bolick, Steve McGee and get involved in twig. Sept. 1974, I meet Ellie Ray and Vicki Allen, Mickey Mahaffey, and Ralph Dubofsky. In Summer of 1975, I take PFAL foundational(intermediate is taken in '77). Year later go summer NCWOW and mett and fall in love with Pat Fetner, but never really got to date her.Still love Joyful Noise, Pressed Down, Good Seed, and the original
Selah. That summer , we hear rumors that Craig will be next President and that Walter chose not to be Vice-president, future President-elect because Wierwille thinks he not tough and bitchy enough. In 1979, go to
Hickory "Way Home"(not official). I serve on Bless Patrol at ROA'79, a month later have collapsed left lung
(pneumathorax) and in hospital for 5 days, December I write letter in response to editorial in Charlotte Observer on TWI, defending them, Limb leader asks that I shut up since God needs no defenders and early
Christian apologists thought they had to save and redeem Jesus on trial. I leave and do not attempt to reconnect until 2 years ago through GSC.
I didn't sell any either Evan but I bought more than a few from some of the girls. It had pretty well ended at the time I got involved. I know they got some trouble because the undercover cops thought they were smuggling drugs with the flowers. Of course old Vern the AJ gave us a hard time too at the branch home. We routinely had unmarked and marked police outside our house until early one Saturday they came to pay us a visit.
PS, Also at ASU I met Wayne Duckworth, Ginny Kirk, Celia Arrington, and re-met Cathy Sue Lucianna(previously from two years earlier when Freedom High School band came to football game).
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ex70sHouston
Reading the responses I want to add a little.
In Houston we were told which twig to go to. I moved from one side of town to another and was informed where I should go.
I was also chastized a little for dating girls outside twi.
When WOW's came in we were told not to date, not to go to their twigs, basicly don't talk with them unless we saw them at a branch meeting. It was almost keep away at the brach meetings.
When a class was run you best show up at each session or have a reason.
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Radar OReilly
I am back.......and slightly less nostalgic <_<
The first actual fellowship I attended was with Joyce Derr Carr, now awaiting the return, a loss that I have yet to come to terms with.
When we first attended "Way" meetings (the term twig hadnt been invented yet) the meetings were full of teens and the "old people" were like Jim and Kit and Fred........barely in their 20s. The meetings were full of wide eyed wonder.........and thankfulness that we had been called out from before the foundation of the world. We hung out as friends and as "believers."
What Joyce and I DID NOT KNOW........was that there was an entire parallel universe of fellowships in Alameda that were being coordinated by Jerry Carr.......that had split from TWI during the Dopp/Heefner split....over the consolidation of the "ministry" and the sending of the abs to "headquarters." We were constantly told that "someday" we would take the PFAL CLASS.........but it wasnt available right now.
THE REASON that it wasn't available was because VPW/HQ had banned the pfal class in the Way West for at least one year while they figured out the Dopp/Heefner/Carr issue. Joyce and her sister Jeanne and I (who were best friends way before twi) and I waited patiently to be allowed to take pfal. You cannot imagine our shock the first time we met the entire OTHER half OF THE WAY WEST!!! VPW reconciled with Carr and others and all of a sudden we were one big happy family fellowship..............they had finally agreed on where the ABS was to be sent.
Jim.........Kit.......SOCKS...more to offer?
ror
been there..........done that..........have the WAY WEST t shirt to prove it.
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dmiller
Glad you got out Radar. Happy 6th Anniversary, and thank you for the info.
David
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ex10
Radar,
I can totally relate to the remembering thing. I, too, got involved in The Way in high school through my best friend. For the life of me, I can't remember the way stuff and how it fit in with all the other things I was involved with. I went to Young Life, some CYO things, and lotza other activities. Some of the "way people" I knew were kinda half in/half out. I didn't take the class til I graduated from high school, (the summer after) mainly because I couldn't manage my time with everything else, and my parents didn't exactly approve of my "way friends." They were, ummm, let's just say, a little different than my high school buddies. For one, they were way older, meaning they were 20 somethings when I was still a young teen. Somehow that fact didn't go over well with Mom and Dad. :D
But I do remember going to TFI in 75? I think. or maybe it was 74. Dang, old age......So, my point is, I don't really think I have much to offer in the way of putting events together and that kind of thing. Sowwry.
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Oakspear
I got involved in early 1978, so I fall outside the time frame set here, but my twig was mostly made up of folks who had been involved from the early seventies, some of whom had been out WOW and returned.
Already, some of the "old-timers" were b*tching about how things had changed, gone downhill, and how regimented Way life had become. Steve Heefner was still talked about with respect and almost awe by some.
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Jim
Radar eloquently stated:
Will the twists and turns never end? What was the time frame for this? I remember Jerry coming back from summer school at TWI and being made branch leader. I also remember being told in no uncertain terms that Jerry had done stuff in the past that was "the old man" and that it wasn't to be discussed.
I tried to PT you, radar, but I got a "no such user" error. Could you try to PT me and I'll reply to that?
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excathedra
who knew.....
wow radar. so young. i'm so sorry about joyce.
i think jerry left new jersey and is in washington or somewhere with armstrong
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Eagle
Personal Timeline:
In 1966, I was a freshman in high school. I first read a Way Magazine probably in 1965 which I remember was a smaller version, just a little bigger than TV guide or something like that. It was in a barber shop while I was waiting to get a haircut.
In 1967, I was into baseball and the Boston Red Sox, as Yaz ruled that year.
In 1968, I was tuning into the Tet Offensive in South Vietnam while watching the Smothers Brothers. I think the last show of the original "The Fugitive" with David Janssen aired with the one-armed man getting shot by Girard. Kimble was found innocent in a retrial.
In 1969, I watched a lot of hockey in Massachusetts and got turned on by the Bruins. In 1970, I graduated from high school and the Bruins won the Stanley Cup that year. Also that year I joined the Army. The only time I had heard of the Way was from that 1965 smaller Way mag.
I was in Vietnam from 1971-72 and returned as a civilian in 1974. In 1975, eight months after I came home, Saigon fell to the communists.
From 1974-1980 I bumped around Ohio State with cults and Christians before running into people from the Way in September 1980. By 1982, I took PFAL and the Intermediate Class. In 1983, I graduated from Ohio State and in 1985 I returned to the Army Reserve as an Infantry officer. I was sworn in May 20, 1985, the day VPW died. While in the service I missed the Passing of the Patriarch and the power struggle, and joined the Advanced Class at Emporia in 1986.
By 1989, I decided to stay with LCM as the line was drawn between Gartmore and TWI HQ.
I joined the 23rd Way Corps in 1991 but left TWI November 1st, 1992 because of all the incredible abuse I saw. I was being taught to be an abusive leader and on occasion found myself being one. I didn't like it. It wasn't Christian. I left.
From there until LCM left I saw TWI get worse and worse. There have been a couple of improvements since LCM left. Attitude may be the same, though. Not sure. Not there.
Eagle.
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topoftheworld
I had the misfortune of being a WOW in the 75-76 year in Mississippi. Two highlights: Playing "America Awakes" at every twig and being encouraged to be "freed sexually" by our Wow Branch coordinator-had a tough time relating to the two "mandates". What a disaster that year was!
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WordWolf
When was this?
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fortunateone
I started TWI in Feb 1970 in Mill Valley California.
Hippies made good christians. The love of God was manifested.
I had real brothers and sisters in Christ and saw real miracles. The hand of God moved.
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HCW
I first heard about TWI when I saw the Parade Magazine article w/ VPW on the cover around 1971; I was around 13 at the time. The picture of a preacher on a white harley with a cross on the windshield was interesting enough for me to read the article, "The Groovy Christians of Rye New York."
This is long, sorry. I tried to keep it short but my time in the ministry during the time fram requested kinda has a "gotcha" element to it.
I was raised in a Christian home, my mom had told us of how she read the Bible, cover to cover, 13 times - - impresive. I felt I "knew what the Bible said" at least in general, having gone to church most Sunday for as long as I could remember. I was really wanting to know what the Bible said as well as my Mom did so I started reading it on my own.
My best friend, a guy named Dana, told me sometime during our Jr. year in high school 74/75 that he was gonna get 85 buck from his dad, even if he had to borrow it to take a Bible class. Long story short, I thought he was crazy and that anybody who would charge so much money to teach him the Bible, the whole thing must be some sort of scam. He invited me to twig; I thought that goofy name was more proof of how wacked out the thing must be and would go w/him. At his prompting I finally decided to go, see what it was, expose it to him as being nuts then we'd both leave.
Another long story short, there was a really great group of believers in my town and in the Pittsburgh branch was, in a word, wonderful. The twig leader, Cathie ran a really sweet fellowship. She was respectful, respectable, and really thoughtful when it came to stuff like greeting people with a holy kiss and pretty much everything that a new person would find uncomfortable. I wasn't kissing anybody I didn't know on the lips to meet them, she was cool about it. She showed it to me from the Bible and said, simply, "We only do it because it says so in the Word. I know it seems wierd to most people, but a lot of stuff the Bible says we should do is considered wierd by most people. Hang around with us if you want to, I'll teach you anything I know, & if I don't know enough to answer your questions, we have leadership who knows more than me. I'll ask them and get your answer. If they dont' know I'll keep going up the way tree until I find someone who does, or I'll work the word myself until I find you answer.
I was impressed enough by that to come back again. What I saw over the course of the next two or so years was a group of people who sincerely wanted to know the Bible and act like they were God's people. The branch in Pittsburgh had a few twigs, they were all the same, pretty cool people in every generation.
Anthony Patch was the first person I met from The Way Corps. He was interim 5th at the time; I was impressed by him. I was a jock, playing football and being a wrestler in western PA. There was nothing anyone told me about WC training that phased me on bit. Nothing they said about the corps came close to three-a-days. Football practice in the hottest days of the summer... football camp was a week of sheer torture. Wrestling practice was worse. I actually like the concept of being as committed so serve God as a soldier was to serve country.
At first I attended twig sporadically, then as my questions were answered I'd attend more & more. As I met more people, different kinds of people, my jets cooled because I was impressed by a lot of them and didn't "find anything wierd going on." The 6th Corps they sent to Pgh were decent people, Walter & Diane Holbrook, very down to earth, fun to be around kind and knowledgable, Murphy Price (later to play the Seed of the Serpent in AOS) was cool too, as were the WOWs they sent, too many to mention all the names.
Cathie and Adrianne used to sing for the twig and at branch & are meetings. They wrote really beautiful God & Christ centered folk type songs (hey, it was the 70's man! :blink: ) and sang like angels. They sang two part harmonies with an accoustical guitar. Their stuff really touched your heart. I especially remember one song, "One Body" that Cathie wrote when she was upset about how we, in the twig weren't getting along well. That song had such an impact on me that I still remember every word if it today 32 years later. Not gonna write the whole thing but here's some of it:
"We're one body, we're one body,
God is over us, all the time,
We can't lose His mystery,
Its what set us free.
We're one body and Christ is the head,
God is watching us....
Together we stand, or not at all.............."
She sang that for us one night at twig after telling us how when she was preparing earlier that day for fellowship, she was thinking about all of us, and asking God to help her to help us to "get it." There wasn't any major bad stuff happening, we just didn't get it that we were each a part of the other. When one part hurt, we were all hurt, when one part rejoices we all should rejoice.
She said that she just picked up her guitar, started strumming & singing "were one body" then the rest of the song came to her. She called Adrianne who ran right over and they finished the song shortly before twig time.
I can still hear that last line of the song, "Together we stand, or not at all......................" Then she said, softly.
"I mean that. If you guys don't want to live together the way God says we should then I'll disband the twig. I'll go join Walter's twig, or somebody's, they'd be glad to welcome me. You guys can just keep doing whatever you want."
You could hear a cotton ball fall on a pile of newly fallen snow, it was so quiet.
Then she said. "Well. That's the twig lesson for tonite. Let's go get something to eat." Giggled her famous empty headed giggle (she was BLONDE!) and we all go up and scampered out.
I took over the Twig when Cathie & Adrianne left to go in residence in the 9th Way Corps. It was between a year & 1/2 to almost two years before I cooled my jets and trusted things enough to take the class. Our little group grew tight, we were all in High school except Jack, Cathie's Dad. There was never a period longer than 24 hours where we were not in contact with at least one other person in the twig. If a whole day went by and we didn't hear from someone, one of us would go out of our way to make sure the person was OK.
Jack built a tape library for us and bought every SNS teaching tape there was, even the old reel to reel ones. We would check them out with a card catalogue system just like a library, due dates & all. Those tapes were like a lifeline for us. We listened to every SNS service the Tuesday or Wed following and were constantly up on the haps from HQ with just a day or two lag time.
I started out listening to the SNS tapes to find "the wrong stuff." Over an approximately 3 yr period I listened to EVERY SNS tape in existence multiple times over. The same time frame is when I met washingtonweather who posts here also. I also remember how important for the country they said America Awakes was. Our twig went to two or three concerts on the tour as it passed near our area. We went to the grand finale concert on the steps of the Linclon Memorial in Washington DC.
It was a cloudy overcast day and it rained, threatening to cancel the concert. Of course we got there early and were right up front. It was a thrill to see and meet members of Joyful Noise during the tour, I met socks then although I doubt he'd have remembered me, he shook a LOT of hands during that tour, I'm sure. I remember the MC taking the mike & praying for the event and mentioning something to the effect of how God would not have brought us this far and abandon us. We hung around taking shelter from the rain anywhere we could, in the memorial & all.
After a while, the clouds parted, the bright sun came out it became a sunny day and the show must went on!
Another unforgettable experience. Joyful Noice really wailed it that day,
"WAKE UP! ..... America.
Wake Up, My country!
Wake UP !"
Wow. You're 18 years old. Driven 14 hours in a caravan of believer to our nations capital to hear a concert dedicated to saving our country by doing our part to bring God's presence to the heart or it. The tour designed to help believers accross the country to wake up and help wake up our nation.
IT rains. It's almost dark from the clouds. You've seen rainy days before and this one looks like its gonna be a rainy one. You want to believe that if God could part the Red Sea to save His people from the Egyptian army He could do something about this rain. Some guy prays, not too long after it is a bright sunny day and the show goes on.
Why WOULDN'T you think this ministry, in this day and time, is of God?
I did. America Awakes pretty much sealed the deal for me. The music was GOOD to GREAT, the performers were talented and professional, not like the typical cheezy Christian, turn the other cheek stuff of the day. These people had the GUTS to get up an sing with Abraham fricken LINCOLN's enormous statue looking over their shoulder and wail WAKE UP AMERICA!
This was something I wanted to be a part of. A BIG part of. My teachers, parents, etc. were all telling me I had "talent" and I should use it for something good. I had found out that the artwork and the America Awakes Album cover had been done by "an unbeliever" the ministry had to hire a secular ad agency to do the cover because we didn't have anyone in the ministry who could do that calibre of work. I said,
"We do now... ME. I'll do it."
This was after I'd seen so much cool stuff, things that appeared, to me at least, and to us involved as signs, miracle and wonders from God. We had our share of problem but we handled them in a Godly way. I even went and visited HQ a couple of times, talked to David Craley over the phone them met him in person and he gave me a tour of the publications facilities at HQ. They were in a converted barn in NK, a crampt space, even somewhat dank. I showed him my portfolio and he told me how they didn't have any space on staff at the time but he was impressed with my work and he'd definately consider me if an opening came up.
Professional. Courteous. Forward thinking, David told me of plans to build a huge Outreach Services Center that would be in the same proportions of Noah's Ark (because everything we do here at International has its roots in and gets its significance from God's Word) that would house the majority of the offices and be the support nerve center of the outreach of Gods Word around the world.
I was thrilled to my soul and HONORED thay they would actually consider ME, a 19 year old kid from the streets to be a part of all that.
I applied for the 9th Corps but wasn't accepted. VPW wrote a handwritten note on my rejection letter, to the effect of, "You need maturity and stability, perhaps a year as a WOW would help you with that." Impressed again. Dr. Wierwille really DOES go over every Corps application, well at least he did mine. The main dude took the time to write a note on my rejection letter; that was impressive to me. I showed it to my Mom she was impressed too, "That doesn't happen often, they usually have admissions people who do things like that." Mom said.
I signed up to go WOW, but I wasn't to graduate from art school until a month or two into the WOW year. Franklin Smith, the WOW coordinator that year allowed me to choose where I wanted to go as a WOW (of course that was Pittburgh, where my college was) and I got to pick which of the five wow familes they were sending there I wanted to live with. I knew Franklin prior to this and had worked with him for a year as State Coordinator for Word in Fine Arts Outreach in PA. It was during that time that I got my first glimpse into the "dark side" of TWI.
It was immediately at the end of a Hearbeat Festival in PA. There had been a mix-up and some of the decorations didn't get delivered on time for setup. We did the festival without them, they weren't really missed by the believers, anyway and the festival was a big success otherwise.
There was a leadership debriefing meeting and when I showed up Franklin and other state leadership about 5 or six people were sitting at a booth. He said to me, "Ok, who f@cked up!"
I was SHOCKED. His warm smile led me to think that I wasn't in trouble but I must have even stepped backwarks. He said that I wasn't in trouble we just neede to know what happened so we could do better next time. By this time the shock of hearing a "man of God" who had just "held God's Word so highly" and taught it so well, dynamically, as they say, drop an F-bomb so casually was wearing off enough for me to actually speak. I explained what happened in my usual, overly detailed fashion. He said OK and I walked away when the meeting was done.
Another unforgettable moment. "I guess that's what 'not being under the law' means." I remember thinking something to that effect if not those exact words. That was when the duplicitous TWI dichotomy - behavior vs. confession began in my head. It has bothered me ever since.
I guess I had many opportunities in those first years before to have sex w/ people because the TWI custom of giving backrubs was really in vogue then. It seemed like people were always giving each other backrubs. It was decades later when I found out that giving a backrub was a specific prelude to sex.
I was like REALLY!??? You mean, SHE wanted me? what about that really hot girl during such & such a event.
Yup. Probably, its what people do.
I was like NAW, man you're yanking my chain.
I had heard rumors of wife swapping et al happening at HQ and during large meetings. The meetings were usually at some hotel's meeting room and rumors were about that some of the leadership would be "going into each other's rooms for sex." I, like others have mentioned, was never invited, never knew of anyone who was invited, or involved. I could never envision Mrs VPW, Mrs Owens, Emogene Allen, etc. as sex toys for anyone.
I wasn't naieve enough to believe that there was NO pre, or extramarital sex going on. You get a bunch of young hippie types together in a hotel, or college campus or wherever and there's bound to be SOME hanky panky going on. We were poeple, you know, I knew SOME stuff like that was goin on. I didn't put it past most anyone to have "failed" even more than once maybe. But in my 14 years w/ TWI, 12 of which were at the leadership level, state, local, at HQ, Emopria, Indiana, 2 years as a wow.
I never had anyone tell me personally that they were involved, either from a positive or negative perpspective with VPW or the leadership like has come to the surface. The closest thing I had to to it was a very good female friend of mine in residence who said that she could go see VPW ni the motorcoach anytime she wanted and that she could get favors from VPW any time. She said she knew stuff. That was as far as that went, as close as I've ever gotten to "it."
I'm also not gonna paint such a rosy picture that gives the impression that I was never sexually involved with anyone in TWI through the years. I was. It was more like what would be considered as "normal" in our society, boyfriend-girlfriend, dating type stuff.
BUT. I have had, on a mumber of occasions, women throw themselves at me. I've come to understand this as a type of Florence Nightingale syndrome where patients "fall in love" with nurses or health care providers out of a misguided thankful ness in return for the services renderd by the provoder. It happens "all the time" in ministry.
Nor am I blind. I would not put it past a LOT of guys to proactively go after girls or women, or vice versa. After all, the "Man would you like to get HER in the Word...." double entnedre, DID sweep through the ministry like wildfire.
Bottom line is that during the years there were all kinds of rumors about all kinds of things the vast majority of which were uneducated attacks, we got used to just ignoring most any rumor and moving ahaed with life.
I tust you can see how my TWI experience, especially the first few years was quite different from TWI 2 and three. I went to HQ thinking that the way we operated the ministry in Pittsburgh emanated from HQ. I wrote off the inyour face confrontations and humilations like I would when my coaches woud get in my face. My coaches were trying to build me to be a champion, that requires at time that they tear you apart to rebuild you better. That's what I saw when I saw or heard of people being ripped.
That's my perpsecitve. Not necessarily a "this is the unversal truth" thing.
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Samurai
Several states, at least in the North East did a "MinuteMan Program."
It was the WOW program with the WOW guide lines condensed to a two month program during the summer of 1976. You were sent in your state but to a different city, with a family yadda yadda all to move the move and keep the country free.
Of course, using the Minute Man name being a reference to the common troops who fought in the revoluntionary war to keep the country free.
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washingtonweather
Yepper HCW, I remember all o' that..and the singing....those girls have beautiful voices. And yepper...remember Pat Yaconis...he and I were Hich School Minutemen..went to Delaware OH---(Watered Garden's turf) to be with Yaconos's older brother and wife becasue Fellow Laborers were hosting the HS minuteman training...where I fist met the Jesse kids.
Lordy those were some innocent naive days.
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excathedra
i wish i had the the "wierewille-al" to read the long stuff and to write the long stuff
i got in toward the latter end of the years in question. twig 74 i think, class 75, coach and pheasant hunting which i refused to visit..... college girls who worshipped this special man. he exposed himself in the way home bathroom as i walked by..... the girl undershepherding told me there is no shame in body something or other when your're spiritual.... i forget the exact words but i got the gist. it made me feel heebie jeebies but yet in a way it wasn't too different from childhoold sexual abuse.... but this one was better. it was in the name of god
ummmmmmmmmm what else
i was in all that "saving the country crap," but that's all for now
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WhiteDove
Evan
I can't remember did you guys sell carnations on the street in the early 70's in Wichita I know they did here in Topeka?
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TheEvan
I didn't.
But some sure did...
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HAPe4me
An interesting and useful thread, Wordwolf.
These are my recollections, dates and times are confusing after all these years:
1972: I took PFAL the first time in 1972 in Peoria, IL. Becky Belcher (later Fugit) and Dave Pettit were also in that class. Three WOWS were originally sent 71-72 to Peoria, only two were there by January when they found me. I think the rumor was that the third had left the field and had committed suicide, but such things were not talked about openly of course. Beth Harris from NY could be seen somewhere in the Life? magazine picture of "Groovy Christians" I was told. Bruce Bell came from Witchita. I cleaned my parents house for 4 weeks to raise the money. Dave pawned his guitar.
We had fun, being part of sort of a renegade type church, sort of a counter-culture. I don't recall many restrictions on our doings, but drugs and sex were not a part of the twig scene proper. I remember all going to a rock concert, and "mother Becky" making sure we behaved ourselves. No pot, "be good witnesses", that sort of thing. Becky radiated peace and serenity, a real woman of God.
Many people would come through town, Steve Kunkle, Tommy Crabb, and of course Donnie Fugit. He was there for our 12th session. I think Becky set her mind then and there that he was gonna be her husband. His "Kicking the Hogs and Praising the Lord" was the song we would sing for the next 14 years, when thinking of those early Peoria days.
Up in northern IL, John Desmond led another group of believers in Antioch. They started before Peoria. (I always figured Desmond went there for its name alone). As the senior Way believer in IL at the time, he came down to run our intermediate class.
During that year the WOWs (and us) put together several other PFAL classes. Bunches of sweet people. Carolyn Young, her sister Megan, Dawn Clary, Ray Brasga, Brad Hinch and his brother (name escapes me now)......
ROA 72 was huge for us coming from such an ungrown state. We stood NOT alone! what a revelation. Hope Harmon sang, I was infatuated I remember. A movie was made of ROA72. Becky and I made the cuts in the film, but not the BetaVideo. (we are near the beginning, as we enter the grounds.) Was it Sydney that year? I remember, it rained- was there a Rock when it didn't? Rain was nice, it cooled us off, rain was bad, it got muddy. mixed blessings.
1973- more classes. Wit and Und, CF&S, they kept coming. more and more classes. Finally we had all those collateral classes. It was time for AC73 at HQ. It rained. The wind blew. Fortunately I had brought my parent's pop-up camper. It was a good thing. many tents blew down, and we slept 15 in that little 6 man camper. Seating in class was by alphabet I recall. I got to know all the P names. Pavlica, Panyard, Parrish. I thought how collegiate this was. I was also impressed by the roofing pattern on the barn. I had never seen letters worked into a roof before. I knew we had friends there, Howard Allen told us strangers are friends we haven't met before. We felt welcome. It was fun. One of the last nights of the AC we were invited to be inititated into the secret "innermost sanctums of the Way" VPW, and other of the "names" were there. They were dressed in black, with hoods, around a bonfire. I don't recall much of the ceremony now, but in the end, we were given a piece of a root (maybe horseradish?) to eat. If we ate it we would be part of the inner wisdom and pledged to loyalty to the ministry. Maybe it was Bo who made the rounds distributing the stuff. I faked it, never swallowed (or inhaled?). My fate was written in the stars then. God had seen me cheat.
Christmas of 73, we decided we would call IL a limb, even though it was not yet so designated. I invited Mr. and Mrs. W to come and teach at our first "Limb meeting" I think it was Dec 23rd, and asked if he would bring some of the music ministry. I was awakened one morning by someone on the phone saying she was Dr. Wierwille's secretary, and that Dr. wanted to talk to me. I said Riiiiiggggttttt. I hung up. Phone rang again. "this is REALLY Dr. Wierwille's secretary...." I stayed on the phone this time, and Dr. thanked me for the invite, and accepted. He would bring Ted amd Mardelle and Claudette. I was giddy, mostly I think for the music. A letter with the details would follow he said. The letter told us we would be responsible for his expenses, gas rooms for the special guests. He took the liberty of inviting Don and his wife, but would pay for their room himself. They would arrive the day before, and Dr. would do a special teaching, for twig leaders only that night, before the day long events the next day.
Preparations became hectic as December came. A day before the date, Bo Reahard came to town to make sure things were ready. They weren't. The "Way Home" was not nearly clean enough for the Man of God to teach twig leaders. We all worked through the night, Bo included, cleaning every nick and cranny of that old 100 year old house.
The Wierwilles drove themselves in one car. Ted, Mardelle and Claudette in another. I think they were black Lincolns, but now I am not sure. I remember I had expected them to have chauffeurs, but was impressed that they didn't. Wierwille taught that night, he sat in the nicest chair/throne we had. The arm broke immediatley. We were heartbroken at our failure to foresee that, and somewhat concerned for his reaction. It turned out we needn't have been. Dr. laughed and said "Better call Wierwille Upholstery" (I think that was a reference to Uncle Harry's business???) He went on and taught. we were awed. The next day was exciting and Ted's music was awesome. Claudette of course did "Amazing Grace" chills and thrills! Mrs. Wierwille presented me with a Christmas tree shaped candle for organizing the event. I still have most of it. A month later, the bill from HQ arrived. While I had hoped to have extra funds to send as a gift to HQ, I found that we were 3 dollars short of his bill. Still, I thought that was pretty cool that God had covered the expenses so well. I did learn that Wierwille was a good tipper though, it was all on the itemized bill from HQ.
I remember escorting Wierwille to his room. en route Bo asked me to go buy several bottles of Drambouie and bring them to the room. I was shocked. I had never bought liquor before, and now, for the Man of God of the world?????? What was Drambouie I wondered. I did it anyway, and brought it in plain brown bags, kind of like smuggling it in, so that no other of the local believers would know. I was invited to share a glass with them. I was "in"! Maybe God didn't see me cheat afterall with that root thing.
1974- Illinois really became a limb. I ran a branch that ran from LaSalle-Peru down through Peoria to Pittsfield. I traveled running classes. My expenses (food and gas) were paid and taken out of the branch area blue forms. I was not paid other than that. Gerald Wrenn moved to a mansion like home in Bloomington, or was it Champaigne? The company I worked for donated the material and our labor to do aluminum siding on the house. It was a big job. Sammy Wilson came from HQ to Peoria that summer to take over the branch as I was going to go and grow as a WOW. I went to Allentown, PA.
WOW year was somewhat uneventful, ahem, except for meeting my wife-to-be as my WOW sister. I don't remember much else. We were allowed an occassional weekend off, which we used to go to NY city once, and Philadelphia another time. We also could go home for Christmas that year. I think that was not allowed in later years. sometime in spring, Terri and I wrote to Wierwille and said we were getting married instead of coming into the 6th corps. He gave his blessing to our choice, we were relieved by that.
1975- After the Rock I went home to Peoria for 2 months to earn money to move to CO and get married. I arrived in November 1st, and Terri and I immediately rented an apartment. Hendley the next day learned we planned to live together even though he would not marry us until the 29th of the month. Uh uh- we could not do that. Bad witness. I thought it strange, since we had lived together for a year as WOWs, but acceded to my leadership (kind of, sometimes, mostly, sort of). Its been a great 30 years with a remarkable lady.
I think it was around here that conspiracy theories began to permeate the thinking of the more spiritually alert folks (thats a joke). Sometime around this time the "Myth of the 6 Million" made it to us minions. I angered my dad when talking of it, and I found out my grandmother was jewish. I was embarrassed by my ignorance and his hurt, and swore to from then on only teach and speak what I understood, and could show from the Word. I think I did that the rest of my days in TWI. I think my Dad forgave me, I hope so. Those theories were never important to me, and I failed to see how they moved the word.
1976- America Awakes. We heard rumors of the secret rewrite of the constitution. I recall something about the Illuminati, and I remember seeing various John Birch writings which tried to prove our fears. My thoughts were that fear was the devil's thing, and we should not have it. It seemed like we were the last stand of defense. It became very spiritual and secret. We all read "None Dare Call it Conspiracy" We prayed, we did several 24 hour of prayer things, simply said, we were told we saved the country. We were the TRUE patriots. The music caravan, motorcoach etc toured the country. We celebrated "God's" victory. I thought it was silly and superficial.
I guess what I have tried to portray, is that in these years we had fun, we were serious, but not overbearing or anal about things. I had heard nothing about sex or drugs being a major part of the minsitry at this time, in fact, it seemed to be less so than in the "worldly" segments of our generation. We celebrated the freedom we had through our salvation and our saviour, but at the same time, we tried to be witnesses of a godly life. We tried to walk our talk and talk our walk. (a phrase we often spoke). when the conspiracy things came, we tried to do our part to raise awareness, but MANY of us remained true to our initial reasons of signing on with God. We taught hot bible, (or tried to- some with better ability than others, most better'n me probably), we preached and lived love and tenderness, we truly cared about each other's well being, health and spiritual growth. Years later when I left the Way fellowships, I could do so without bitterness or hate, because I had remained true to myself, and in my mind at least, true to my God.
~HAP
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WordWolf
By "real miracles",
I take it you don't mean the
"parking-space-in-front-of-the-supermarket,
which was the standard later, correct?
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WordWolf
(I chopped down this post following...
Unless it was reprinted,
it was LIFE Magazine. I tracked it down when I was in college.
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Lifted Up
Just ascribe it to people with real hearts and faith in God who happened to be in TWI. Anyway, no matter how big or little or spotty or widespread any early wrongs of TWI were, there is no doubt there were big changes in daily life from this time to later years.
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Thomas Loy Bumgarner
I was the son of a Lutheran pastor(now deceased) who did not hear of The Way until fall of 1972/spring '73 at
Lenor High School when either Ron Schupping or Mike Tomberlin came witnessing during lunchtime. After 3rd day, the principal asked them not to come back or they would be arrested for tresspassing on school property. During this time, Contemporary Jesus music was for me Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, Leonard
Bernstein's Mass, We are one in the Spirit, You light up my life(Debby Boone), and Put your Hand in the Hand of the man who stilled the water. Only later in 1974 do I see the article in Life magazine about the Groovy Christians of Rye,NY. In the fall oor '73, as a freshman at East Carolina 2 days after arriving, that Saturday morning I go to the Student Union Center to see the cartoon version of Star Trek and meet Ginger
Douglass, an artist and senior wearing low-cut mini-skirt/dress and flip-flops. We talk and she invites me back to The Way Home(wish I had taken her up on it, proably wanted to **** me) but decide to be a gentleman, though she invites me to Twig coffeehouse. I think it to be a nightclub for dancing and drinking. Boy, am I wrong and am jealous that other guys are hugging and kissing her(thought she was a prostitute with many clients), but find out it is a Bible study group. Almost freak ot when Doug Emmerson(or was it Randy Anderson) starts calling by name people to speak in tongues, and being afraid think he will call out my name. They show ROA film and 1st session of PFAL. I flunk out in Feb.'74, that fall I transfer to Appalachian State where I meet Steve and Ann Bolick, Steve McGee and get involved in twig. Sept. 1974, I meet Ellie Ray and Vicki Allen, Mickey Mahaffey, and Ralph Dubofsky. In Summer of 1975, I take PFAL foundational(intermediate is taken in '77). Year later go summer NCWOW and mett and fall in love with Pat Fetner, but never really got to date her.Still love Joyful Noise, Pressed Down, Good Seed, and the original
Selah. That summer , we hear rumors that Craig will be next President and that Walter chose not to be Vice-president, future President-elect because Wierwille thinks he not tough and bitchy enough. In 1979, go to
Hickory "Way Home"(not official). I serve on Bless Patrol at ROA'79, a month later have collapsed left lung
(pneumathorax) and in hospital for 5 days, December I write letter in response to editorial in Charlotte Observer on TWI, defending them, Limb leader asks that I shut up since God needs no defenders and early
Christian apologists thought they had to save and redeem Jesus on trial. I leave and do not attempt to reconnect until 2 years ago through GSC.
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WhiteDove
I didn't sell any either Evan but I bought more than a few from some of the girls. It had pretty well ended at the time I got involved. I know they got some trouble because the undercover cops thought they were smuggling drugs with the flowers. Of course old Vern the AJ gave us a hard time too at the branch home. We routinely had unmarked and marked police outside our house until early one Saturday they came to pay us a visit.
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Thomas Loy Bumgarner
PS, Also at ASU I met Wayne Duckworth, Ginny Kirk, Celia Arrington, and re-met Cathy Sue Lucianna(previously from two years earlier when Freedom High School band came to football game).
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