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IV
THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT
As previously noted the question of dual pastorship was almost a perennial dilemma. Consequently the congregation received this message with dismay and apprehension:
To the Menbers and Friends of South Berkeley Community Church (Congregational)
Greetings:
I have received a call from Memphis, Tennessee to become Minister of Second Congregational Church and Student Personel Worker at Lemoyne College. After much meditation and prayer, I have decided to accept the call.
My resignation from the pastorship of South Berkeley Church is hereby presented to become effective on Monday August 31, 1953.
You can readily understand the reluctance and searching of heart this decision has occasioned. Our church here is in the midst of a great work. It has been a real pleasure to serve with the other pastors of the church and with you in kindom building. Your support and tender concern for the church program, and your generous affection for my family and me have been sources of great joy and comfort...
Yours in Christian service,
John Charles Mickle
Pastor
P.S. You are requested to be present at a meeting of the congregation which is to be held in the sanctuary of the church on the evening of Friday, July, 24th at 8:00 o'clock. You will be asked to accept formally my resignation and to make plans for the continuing work, service and fellowship of our church.
It was necessary to find a replacement. During the long and arduous search, those stalwart soldiers in the service of the Lord, Fred Stripp and Ernest Houlding once more stepped into the breach.
The pulpit committee began a nationwide search for a minister able to carry on the work of the church in the direction desired by most of the congregation. By the end of November the nomination of Asa J. Davis was submitted to the church for approval. He was thought to be satisfactory and was duly approved. His ministry began on January 1, 1954.
The new pastor came highly recomended and quite well prepared academically, having completed extensive studies towards his doctoral degree at Harvard Divinity School. However his tenure of office was a time of difficulties and of uneasiness. There were frequent requests for permission to travel East to complete his studies; while the requests were always granted there were still the unasked questions: Where do the minister's interests lie? Is the church, or his studies, of paramount importance? The ties between the Church and Reverend Mr. Davis were severed in January of 1955. His last notice to the congregation was stated in most polite terms, yet one can sense hint of friction:
"Today is my last Sunday as your minister and spiritual leader. Mrs. Davis and I are leaving with many fond memories of the warm reception and genuine cordialities from most of the membership. There is much yet to be done that CAN be accomplished with the right spirit and consecrated effort. With this in mind, I hope each of you will give the official boards and Dr. Stripp and the Rev. Mr. Houlding your fullest cooperation in the future. Both Mrs. Davis and I also hope and pray that this church will continue to grow, prosper, and take its rightful place among the many fine churches both in the immediate community and broader fellowship. May the spirit of God and the example of the life of Jesus be ever present in your homes and in this church as a guide for the broader horizons and many challenges of the years ahead."
In reviewing Mr. Davis' year at South Berkeley one achievement stands out: the purchase of a new organ. The minister of music, Mr. Willian Duncan Allen, had performied beautifully and manfully on the old instrument; now with less effort he could give harmony to the congregation. It was left for others to eliminate the discordant notes in the spiritual life of the church.
As a successor to the Reverend Asa Davis the church selected the Reverend Hazaiah Williams. He was welcomed into the Church on June 3, 1956 and seldom, if ever, has there been a more promising beginning. But the seemingly bright future was only the calm before the rising of controversy that was to rend the church asunder. The details of the conflict would require much more space than is now available, but the intensity can be gathered from the records available. On November 4. 1956 this message was given to the members of the congregation:
"Dr. Fred Stripp is not here this morning due to a restraining order preventing him from attending church service, issued by the Superior Court of Alameda County..."
November 19, 1863 is a day of special significance to Dr. Fred Stripp because it is the date around which he constructed his highly interesting sermon "Lincoln at Gettysburg." How ironical was the appearance of this notice in the Prophet for Sunday, November 19, 1956:
NO CHURCH MEETING
There will be no church meeting on Nov, 19th at any time. No special meeting will be called to consider any question which might be affected by the proceedings in Alameda County Superior Court. The legality and propriety of such a meeting or any other action taken might be well dependent upon, or influenced by the results of those legal proceedings. The Alameda County Superior Court has modified its previous decree in order to permit Fred Stripp to visit the church and worship with us if he so desires. However, for your information Dr. Stripp has been ordered by the Court, because of serious questions about his authority to act as Associate Pastor not to attempt to perform any pastoral duties or functions and not to enter the pulpit. The Court order also forbids any interference with your ordained and installed pastor in the performance of his duties.
The schism was now beyond the realms of compromise. There was a period of acrmonious debate, suits and counter-suits, rumors, threats and rash charges. In the end Mr. Williams resigned. A substantial protion of the Congregation followed from the halls of South Berkeley Community Church. Whether the Church could survive the stress of partition was a moot question at the end of 1956. The bitterest points of differences had reached their climax in the last weeks of December - the Christmas holiday season. Never had there been a greater need to sing and mean the old familiar carol: "Peace on earth and goodwill toward men".