[Springboard] Remembering David

Thu Aug 7 15:49:08 EDT 2008

David, 

You were one of the pedagogues in the Sociology and History Course I took a weekend in early January in Room A.  Most of the participants were from colleges, perhaps a group from that school in Minnesota that sent many participants.

Since you were there before me, I assumed you knew what you were doing and just trusted that things would work out with this venture, as I did with many colleagues who proceeded me, even for a day or a week.

Someone said, that in Summer 67, the way all the lectures got created was by sitting you in a room and you just cranking them out.

Last spring, on our visit to Texas, Judy and I went through Del Rio (we also had a conversation with Sarah Buss on that journey) and I tried to imagine what it was like when you were raised there, and the remarkable journey into uncertainty you took then.  It is almost impossible to imagine the cultural shift between "then" and "now", from the kid from Del Rio to the Consult Spinner in Japan.  Thank you for the venturing and the suffering you took on to make this journey possible and this new reality real.

Thanks for the day you demonstrated using the workshop method to brainstorm and gestalt life questions, not answers, but questions.

And, of course, the cultural shift we have been journeying on seems no where near complete, more of "I am dwelling on an endless sea" than anything about coming home.

Some of the younger people who are thinking in the church, call us "exiles" because of this launching off.

Jim Wiegel
your old friend from Room E

401 North Beverly Way   
Tolleson, Arizona 85353-2401
+1  623-936-8671
+1  623-363-3277
   jfwiegel at yahoo.com
   www.partnersinparticipation.com

One great, strong, unselfish soul in every community could actually redeem the world.  Elbert Hubbard

--- On Wed, 8/6/08, Lawrence Philbrook <larry at icatw.com> wrote:

> From: Lawrence Philbrook <larry at icatw.com>
> Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Springboard] remembering David
> To: "Springboard Dialogue" <springboard at wedgeblade.net>, silencefoundation at cox.net
> Cc: "Order Ecumenical Community" <OE at wedgeblade.net>, "springboard email list" <springboard at wedgeblade.net>, dialogue at wedgeblade.net
> Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008, 10:45 PM
> David got angry with me several times and I appreciated each
> of them
> David laughed with me several times and I enjoyed each of
> them
> David taught me several times and each time I grew beyond
> the words
> We did not always agree but I always felt respected
> David and I travelled together many times and times and I
> wish him well on this journey into that which is calling his
> spirit and his faith
> 
> In silence, in joy and in respect. Larry Philbrook 
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: W. J. 
>   To: silencefoundation at cox.net 
>   Cc: oe at wedgeblade.net ; springboard email list ;
> dialogue at wedgeblade.net 
>   Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 4:01 PM
>   Subject: [Springboard] remembering David
> 
> 
>         Dear Pat and colleagues,
> 
>         As David's days among us dwindle down to a
> precious few, I'd like to share with you all a few
> vignettes and my personal gratitude for having known and
> worked with him.
> 
>         Last December I sat for awhile with David by the
> fireplace in the lobby of the Foundation for Evangelism at
> Lake Junaluska. We were both tired--well, I for one was
> exhausted--after an intense Springboard weekend. And the
> fire wasn't a real fire. It was one of those fancy gas
> log fires. And the fireplace was surrounded by Chrismas
> greenery and all kinds of stuff. And of course David was a
> man of few words. 
> 
>         So in the moments of silence and contemplation in
> that somewhat unreal setting, I managed a few personal words
> of appreciation for David. 
> 
>         I had the privileged assignment of being with the
> McCleskeys and Alerdings on their HDP Consult trek thirty
> years ago. And edited his voice and image into sound bytes
> for the ICA's movie The World of Human Development. 
> 
>         I've always been grateful for his graceful
> presence and the clarity of his articulation of the Word
> about life. And, over the years, so genuinely fond of him! 
> 
>         I fumbled around with trying to tell him so,
> knowing how hard it is to find words to express deep
> appreciation for all of who a colleague really is, including
> personal triumphs, disappointments, suffering, and tragedy.
> Knowing that just hearing this was making him uncomfortable!
> Knowing that I would probably never again get this
> opportunity. And knowing that many of us would never get the
> chance to express our gratitude for his life in a personal
> conversation.
> 
>         David likes to tell the story that as a college
> student he signed up for the Christian Faith and Life
> Community's program in order to get an air conditioned
> room in the Men's Dorm! That's a pretty funny story,
> because as your contextual universe expands, you give up
> your personal need for air conditioning and venture out into
> a wider world. We all have a first step on an amazing
> journey which can't even be imagined at its beginning.
> 
>         David said that at first he didn't think he
> could pull off that Consult assignment, but then found the
> courage and strength to meet the challenge. And of course
> his marriage was hanging in the balance as well. I think our
> wisdom was that the way to address marital stress was to
> take on a major chunk of the Mission! Regardless of the
> ultimate outcome for everyone involved, that trek was an
> amazing breath of new Life. . .for many, many people.
> 
>         David also revealed that his appearance in the CBS
> documentary The Bold Community was "a setup." He
> said, "We didn't do that." So now we know that
> his leading a 'Guernica' art form conversation for
> inner city youth was staged just for the CBS camera. 
> 
>         Well, life in the Order was just like that. You get
> your assigment, you go on stage, and you play the role you
> are assigned to play. You've been rehearsed and trained.
> And then you go out there and self-consciously call people
> into new awareness of who they are.
> 
>         And that's what David did with his life for you
> and me and many others. We can all be grateful.
> 
>         Grace and Peace,
> 
>         Marshall Jones
> 
>         I had another brief moment with David in 1980. He
> went to the trunk of his car, dug out a copy of the Golden
> Pathways CD, and gave it to me. I'm grateful for all the
> energy that he poured into honoring the Order memory through
> that effort, along with many colleagues who worked with him.
> 
> 
> 
>        
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
>   _______________________________________________
>   Springboard mailing list
>   Springboard at wedgeblade.net
>  
> http://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/springboard_wedgeblade.net
> _______________________________________________
> Dialogue mailing list
> Dialogue at wedgeblade.net
> http://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/dialogue_wedgeblade.net