Global Centrum: Chicago
Global Research Assembly
June 12, 1975

We visited the Calcutta office of a multi­nationa1 corporation based in India. As I was going into the office, Vinod brought me hack to look at a poster which showed that the name of the corporation was "The Blue Star". That interested me, first of all because all of us there were in blue. But Vinod wanted to call my attention to something written underneath the name: "We have outlets in 23 different places." That is exactly the number of places we have outlets! I tell you, the call was made.

This incident transported me back to the time when we sent out the first four religious houses. We said, "The day will come when we will not be building a global network but will be using that global network to serve humanity." That hour has come. I want to discuss another, more modest illustration of this fact. I want to talk about 24 social demonstrations around the world, every hour on the hour. I think that God arranged the shuttle system between Boston and New York so that he could have that slogan, "Every hour on the hour, a social demonstration."

This trip, as you well know, was not like any other trip. Until now, we were out to set up networks and to test the networks' glue. I can say to you now that the globa1 network is set up. There are still spots with noticeable vacuum, but only because of our primary contradiction, the lack of adequately trained forces . Excluding China and the USSR for the moment, I see no reason why we could not set up houses even down to the metro level any place else in the world. The network is there.

I was shocked by the amount of glue. Slicker was in many ways very kind to some of your colleagues when he was overseas observing what seemed rather hard to say was right. He could have said much more. We found childish bickering at times, but that was not important. The crucial thing, and perhaps this is the key to any religious order, is that those people were able to contain their private bickering in the context of globa1 movement that serves the world.

On this trip, we were simply out to find the flays of effectively rising the network to serve humanity. Our first concern was social demonstration, social demonstration, social demonstration, social demonstration, social demonstration, social demonstration. Is that seven or eight? In case it is seven, social demonstration, around the world. Secondly, we thought about the feasibility of Global Community Forum as a balloon on every hunk of soil. Therefore, I deem this a sisal moment in our history which has been overf1owing with signal moments .

I am now convinced that when you look at the glory of human existence through the screen of sociality, there are just five things that are finally important. One is primal community, the second is personal integrity, the third is functional eptitude, the fourth, historical participation and the last, transparentizing prowess. New conviction has come with the realization that the greatest of these is primal community. I have had fun around the world pretending that I did not know what CPE meant. I use that as a gimmick to say that we are only interested in the church as servants of the world to the glory of God. Particularly, we are only interested in the local church, and if you name it EPX or PCE, you are not going to remember that this is the local church experiment in its parish emphasis.

I have something like a candelabra in mind right now. One light is historical participation and another is methodological or functional prowess. One candle is personal awakenment or personal integrity. There is nothing moral about the word 'integrity'. Integrity is not a possibility for humanness save as profound awakenment. Personal integrity is hilt personal awakenment in a profound sense. Character and to use our poetry, the Christ happening, are one. The last candle is the light of facility in the Other world, or Prowess in the Netherland. Without these, you are not a fully filled human being. But the base upon which all rest and to which all return is primal community. In the ultimate sense, you have trans­awakenment, trans­eptitude (not aptitude), trans­engagement, trans­consciousness, and trans­community itself.

You can understand why, at this moment in history, our emphasis has to be on Primal Community. In one sense, our emphasis has been there for a long time. After this trip, I believe it will return there sooner rather than later. This is because in the first image of who we are, this is the historical church in its many forms, and this is the world. We started out to attack, if you will, in the arena of the church, to awaken the church to her concern for the world, but we were concerned with the world. This diagram shows that one day we will have to do an end run in order to show the church.

I am more convinced than ever that the 60's was a time of protestation. When I hear any protestation out in the world, in the church or in the Order today, I just die inside. The 60's are gone. The 70's is a moment of demonstration. By God, if you have some kind of gripe, do not protest; go out arid demonstrate. This is that moment in history. I am trying to think what in the world the 80's are going to be and, by God, I want to live at least long enough to see that.

A colleague said that today, as we walk out in the midst of the world, we are calling the church out into the world. I like that. All of this Bicentennial news has turned my mind to military language. This is the primal community experiment. Soldiers marched 70 steps per minute during the Revolutionary War. Now the armies march 120 steps per minute. They said the armies were more graceful in those days. I like that. The PCE is doing a slow march so that the cavalry or the elite movement boons can flank troth sides. One flank is social demonstration and the other is Town Meeting, for these two things come and go. Primal Community goes on forever, though In perpetual change. Keep your eyes focused there. This represents the Order and we are going to see clearly that we have to redo our entire training design and then draw together the Holy Life .

It is interesting that training in the deeps and the Holy Life, which we do for ourselves, then turns out in mission. Functional eptitude, methodological eptitude or eptitude for living are new terms for the new education required in our time. Knowing is irrelevant save that I can live myself one great life. I was pleased when two you men in Europe just decided not to attend university. But they are goings to get an education.

If I were a young one attain, unless I was very clear that 1' wanted to be precisely a carver or precisely a doctor, I would think a long time before rushing off to Lincoln Memorial University in Harragate, Tennessee. But I would get an education for myself. In reviewing my own life, I concluded that in some ways this living aptitude came late for all of us. This living eptitude is knowing the methodology that has to do with thinking, with engaging, and with profound consciousness in the spirit. I am excited. When these two flanks strike the enemy, they are going to walk through it. When they do, you are going to have the new shape of the Church to be.

This is all introduction to social Demonstration. What is Social Demonstration? I do not know. But we are out to find out. However, you have to carve out certain arenas in which to begin thinking and experimenting. You have to distinguish between a social demonstration and a primal community experiment. PCE is most important, for the New Social Vehicle is going to come and has no choice but to show up in the form of local community. I care not what large local tactics you employ. Those are necessary. But if you want to be one of the first standing on tiptoe to observe it, do not focus upon some great global stuff; begin to look at local man. The primary social contradiction around the world in every nation we were in had to do with local man and there is no local man save local community. Let us not forget this.

Then you have to make a distinction between social demonstration and social institutional pilot project. In a pilot project you might build a model educational structure for the whole world, whether it be preschool, elementary school, secondary school, or University 13. I think it best to hold back just a bit on these; putting up all kinds of balloons and playing around here and there will he necessary, but that time has not yet come. After we break through with these social demonstrations, then that kind of a social experimentation is going to be required of us. What is social demonstration? A social demonstration has to do with total community development within an isolated area that is set off from the rest of society, where a particular human need that represents a broader sense of human need is present, ensuring the possibility of replication. That is the direction.

Now, what is our aim? Our aim is the broad is the 24 demonstrations around the world every hour on the hour, each emanating in every direction vision, methodology, motivation, and care. I remember Ohio Northern University. In that outstanding city in Ohio the bonfires at football games were lit in a ring. They would light one here and there and pretty soon an entire ring was fire. That is what we are after. Now, 24 would rock anyone. You remember that we had to cut 10000 Town Meetings in North America to 5,000 because of our psyches. It would not surprise me, but people in Town Meeting post said the first year, "You are only going to do one thousand," simply because of psyches. "We will not think of four thousand the following year; we will just think of one thousand which is not very many." Therefore, we have to think of something other than 24. We could, of course, go the route of 12. This year we could do that. Or we could go 6. That would be simple. We almost had that before we started. Now, a compromise would be 8. That would mean the first year we do eight, the second year we do eight, the third year we do eight, and we will be half­way into the next four­year plan when 24 bonfires around the world shall be seen .

I want to talk a little bit about these bonfires. Out where tomorrow begins you begin with Majuro. Every tomorrow that you ever experience begins in Majuro. We begin our social demonstrations, 24 around the world, there. The next one is in Jeju­Do, in Korea, The third one is Oombulgurri. The fourth one is Taj Gunj. The fifth one is Kawangware. The next one is Trastevere. The next one is the Isle of Dogs. Then, of course, we return to where we actually started, on the way to where the sun sets, in City 5. Now, you say Uptown? No, Uptown must continue to be the symbol of the primal community experiment. Of course, you understand that you cannot finally separate any of these activities.

Now, I want to walk through those quickly with you to get them located. You would like not to go to pure symbolism, although what you are after is symbolism. In one sense you do not care where it is located as long as you are systematically going around the globe. Probably the solution is to divide the globe into either eight segments with three in each one, or six segments with four in each, which would hold the symbolism of every hour on the hour. The Pacific Ocean is broad with very little land in it. Majuro is here. Jeju­Island is right down at the bottom of the peninsula. What a place! It has 400,000 people. It fits any criteria you have for insularity. The people on that island are less developed than the rest of Korea because they have been away from it. The crucial and interesting thing about Jeju Island is the way the Lord has it divided. It is something like a watermelon or a football, with a mountain range right down the middle. Recently, two roads were built across those mountains which obviously divide the Jeju Island into six portions. There are now two hundred villages on Jeju, and exactly 24 town centers that are equally distributed through the six districts. That is interesting, isn't it? There is one major city of 60 thousand people and one minor city of 15 or 20 thousand people. Now, can you imagine what fun you are going to have making this total thing a social demonstration? Allen the consult team arrives, they will build their strategy. Maybe they will do one first, or they might pick out one village in each of the six town centers to do, but it will be neatly laid out.

Now, due to Kang Byoung Hoon, and the unbelievable work that has happened in Korea, we have the field support and the invitation of the government. We saw the governor of the province, which was tremendous. We were invited there and the CIA man met us at the airport. He turned out to be a school chum of Kang which helped, and he was through the day. The interesting thing is that both of those governments are positive . We had the opportunity to meet the head of the Home Affairs Office, General Park. We did not meet President Park because extenuating circumstances required the President to postpone the meeting until the next time we could come. But we have full permission in Korea to do that project with the added snort of the private sector, too.

The next place is Oombulgurri. Until now, Oombulgurri has simply been a stop gap because of Mowanjum. Now it will become a full global social development project. I will not go into detail about that, but they are ready to move. The local leadership is behind anything that we would do. One of the touching moments was when we left. We made a bit of a speech and asked for permission to have a consult. The old chief, whose name is Robert Roberts, cried as he made his speech back. I mean, we have their local support. linen we went to the state of Western Australia ad saw their Aboriginal Affairs men, one of whom had waited there a year ago for three days to finally see me. When we went in to see them, the answer was yes. So we went to the Federal government. We saw the minister of Aboriginal Affairs in Australia who was supportive. He told us that next year they are going to give us $600,000, that is 800,000 American dollars, just to do Oombulgurri where there are 200 people at the moment. Then, when we laid out the plan of Majuro to him, he said, "Why don't you make a four­year plan?" I said that we could do it in two and he said, "I'll pay for four of it. You bring it in here and we will fund it." My guess is that it will be over 2 million Australian dollars. He also said he would not pay for any Americans who come on that consult there, although he wanted Americans to come, but he would pay up to $20,000 for any Australians who go there . That is interesting, isn't it? My point is that Australia is behind that social demonstration. The guardians have moved in Australia and all around the nation the private sector is focusing anew ore the Aboriginal situation, particularly on Oombulgurri.

The next social demonstration is Taj Gun; in India. Of all the maces you could have an experiment such as this, you could hardly name a better one. It is located about 200 miles south of Delhi, in the city of Agra. Agra is the setting of one of the seven wonders of the world ­­the Taj Mahal. Taj Gunj means the home of the Taj, the home of royalty, or the village of the Taj. It is a rural farmland community. It is now stuck to Agra, as Aura is growing, but it maintains its separateness as a village . Any of you who have gone to Agra, to the Taj, will remember the depressed village right around it. What a place, just sitting there to be dumped. We went in there at night just to check it out, and the people gathered. One man told me in perfect English that he was excited about it.

The people who are interested in our doing the demonstration in India as a whole represent, first of all, the private sector. One is the India Tobacco Company, formerly called the Imperial Tobacco Company, but now completely Indian - owned. We went to visit a man by the name of Haksaw, who is the president of the India Tobacco Company. he is probably the seventh greatest industrialist in all of India. I found that we did not need to sell him. He wanted a description. He said that we had to go over and see Mr. Tada and a man named Mapatlau in Bombay, and a man named Reddy who is in charge of the office of the Minister of Home Affairs in India. And so we went to see the Minister of Home Affairs in India. He was not there but we will go back to see him. We saw the second man in charge, not under him, but parallel with him. We also saw the head of tic structure that is most like the Ford-Rockefeller Foundation in India. Then we went to Bombay to see Mr. Mapatlau Nacho is a Hindu, find is the number three industrialist in all of India. He was so excited that he invited me to take a trip with him to the kind of work that he is doing that can feed into that demonstration. By using his company he has borrowed three hundred million dollars from banks to disperse small loans. He took us in his own personal 1imousine back to the hotel and kept talking all the way. Then we went to see to see the top industrialist in all of Indian Mr. Tada, who probably is one of the five great industrialists in all the world. He is a Parsee. This is the first time I ever went into the office of somebody who was trying to write me a check and I did not know what to ask for. So, I kept saying, "Right now, I can't tell you but I will be back." I said that three times but he kept pushing, "No, what must I do?" Finally, the man he had with him, who is the chairman of his foundation, said, "The man said he would come back after it, didn't he? I also asked Mr. Tada to go with Mr. Mapatlau and me on the tour to the villages and he said, "When are you going? I said October and he said, "Too hot. Wait till November." Now I am excited about this, as you can see. We had a celebration of the blood that the Lingos and God only knows who has poured into India, when no one could go into India and do anything. It paid off. And those of you who have been there and paid with your blood ought to feel some of the glory that I believe is the movement in India.

The next place was Kenya. This is Nairobi. As you known have been extremely critical about what Campbell and company have been doing over there by starting new houses in places that make no sense. But he got by with it. Anyway, he took us to four different places, and it was obvious that it could not be done there. The human suffering is so great that the only way you could solve it is to get a bulldozer in there and move the whole community. You could not build a social demonstration there. In other places the village structure has been ruined by being too close to a city. It is not that you cannot do a social demonstration anywhere, but it would take ten years to redo a mind­set in order to do a social demonstration. If you cannot do a social demonstration in two years it is not a social demonstration. In Majuro, we did in seven months what it took seven years to do on the West side . The fifth community we went to was a tremendous village called Kawangware. It is at the edge of Nairobi but a big wall separates it from the rest of the community.

The next one has to do with the eternal city itself. You understand, that no matter what it may have been in the cast, of all the various churches, religious bodies and denominations, the Roman Catholic Church is fly far the most useful to us at this moment in history. I had Woes and dreams that we could find a place in the eternal city for a social demonstration, for effectiveness around the world. This is the Tiber River; here is St. Peter's, and here is the Vatican. Trastevere is right here. Trastevere means "across the river". Rome was across the river. Trastevere had the first Christian church in it. During the Middle Ages, it was the Badge of the Yellow, the Jewish ghetto. Human suffering is here. It very likely will operate there. I could go on with unbelievable history on it.

Last is the Isle of Dogs, a little loop in the river Thames, right in the middle of London. Unbelievable! One of the things you have to look for is insularity. Unbelievable! These are the working class of London. I would like to describe this in some detail. Here is another picture. Right across the Thames River, is Greenwich. Our social demonstration is on the timeline so that here is London, exactly half­way around the world, and over there is Majuro.

I have to get back to number eight, which is where we really began. It is in this country, the United States of America, and is about a quarter of the way around. It is in the city of Chicago, in the Midwest ­ state of Illinois, right adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is City 5, which is our beginning.

We have Majuro, Jeju Island, Oombulgurri, Taj Gunj, Kawangware, Trastevere, Isle of Dogs, and Fifth City. That gives US over first year. Sometime I would like to talk about the criteria by which you determine the feasibility of a social demonstration and how you decide the steps you have to take to set one up. One thing we have to do is to set up the consults. Before a consult, you have to go into a social community and initiate local leadership. Then you have to deal with the public and private sectors on the provincial and national level, as well as the local level. .Authorization on the immediate local level is not necessary but right next to the immediate local level is or you might as well not move on it. After you get that, you need the type of consult that was held out on Majuro.

The consults are scheduled like this: in August, the consult is in Oombulgurri; in September, the consult is in Jeju; in October, the consult is in Taj Gunj; in November, the consult is in Kawangware, Now the World Council of Churches meets in Nairobi around the 15th of November. The house is operating in Lagos and is planning to have an ITI that summer. The house is operating in Lusaka and I hope they will have an ITI in winter quarter there. Of course, there will he an ITI before the meeting of the World Council in Nairobi itself. I hope that one or two weeks before they get there, the consult will he held in Nairobi.

Now in December, it may very well be that we ought to have the second consult after a year in Majuro, and in January, after the ITI, in the Isle of Dogs. By the way, Charles the II, King of the Restoration after Cromwell, kept his fine dogs on this island. In February there will be a consult in Rome, and then in March one in City Five. At that point we will have had eight of the 24, systematically put around the world to be doubled.

Now I need not say that social demonstration is secondary to Town Meeting, but if you could not point to a social demonstration that was emerging in nations outside of North America, you would have a hard time selling Town Meeting. Town Meeting is designed for one day. Both are for the sake of the primal community experiment, the recovery on the local level of the sociological form of those around the world who care.

­ Joseph W. Mathews

7/12/75