Transitions
1972 - 1973
The 1972 Annual Meeting
was held on April 23rd back at the Church of the Holy Trinity
(the kitchen facilities were more convenient than those at St.
Ignatius). Ewert Cousins was reelected President. Robert McGuire,
S.J., a teacher at Regis High School, where he was involved with
the school curriculum oriented toward an Omega training program,
became a new Board members. The Nobel prize biologist from Australia,
Sir John Eccles, who was sympathetic to Teilhard's views, gave
the address on "Brain, Speech and Consciousness."
In May, Minna with her
husband Capt. Paul Cassard, USN, ret., made a week's trip to
England and her first visit to the British Association. In June
there was another departure, though only for a sabbatical year,
when Ewert Cousins left for the newly founded Ecumenical Institute
for Advanced Theological Studies on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Pieter de Jong became Acting President.
But, the fact that 1972
was a pivotal year in the Association's development was due to
Minna's illness which manifested itself soon after her return
from London. For some time her self-discipline had hidden her
ill health, but her courageous struggle with cancer ended with
her death on October 27th. Her vivid presence would no longer
animate the Association. Ewert Cousins, in the memorial he wrote
for the December Newsletter, expressed the deep sense
of loss felt by all who had known her and, for the Association,
the hope that its future would be energized by her spirit, furthering
the goals to which she had so generously devoted her energies.
Gertrud Mellon and Alice
Knight plunged into the work of running the Association during
the long summer months when Minna was in the hospital, helped
enormously by the ever faithful Alice Leighton. They were elected
Acting Secretary and Treasurer following Minna's death. Alice
Leighton resigned at that time, but Winifred McCulloch, returning
to the city in late December after about a year's absence, pitched
in to help. Soon afterwards Fanny Brett de Bary, a friend of
Thomas Berry, became a volunteer despite other heavy commitments,
driving in from Rockland County one afternoon a week.
Change was in the air.
It was felt that the Association faced a crisis, not caused by
Minna's death but precipitated by it. Goals had to be redefined
(should it be an elitist association or open to a large number
of people), and sources of funds had to be discovered. To discuss
these problems, Alice Knight organized a Conference of Board
members and invited guests which was held at Wainwright House,
Milton Point, Rye, New York, on December 15-17, 1972. Pieter
de Jong, Jean Houston, Gertrud Mellon, Alice Knight, Thomas Berry,
Robert McGuire, and Wayne Kraft were present from the Board,
and Anne Brennan, Margaret Bach Lynch, Arthur Ceppos from the
Advisory Board. Guests were Alfred Sunderwirth, John Ballard,
and Phoebe Ballard from the Board of Wainwright House with Robert
Knight, Oscar Lynch, Joseph Pearce, Lathrop Douglass, William
Brennan, Jr., Judith Hollister, and Betty Reardon.
The stated purpose of
the Conference was:
1) To explore new dimensions
of expressing the thought of Teilhard through prayer, liturgy,
communal attitudes, teaching, music, dance, art and other media;
2) To propose new directions and growth to the American Teilhard
de Chardin Association.
The consensus from the
first evening's session was that none of the present board members
had enough time to devote to the Association, there was the perennial
problem of lack of money, and there was indecision about the
goal.
There was agreement that
the Association should be Christ centered, and the general feeling
was that though Teilhard's vision illuminates all areas of life
- religion. science, philosophy - more attention should be given
to individual human growth. Lecture and conference teams, dance,
and the arts should be used, films and television programs and
more aid to students were needed. Thus, this conference emphasized
experiential growth of individuals and the Association's work
was seen primarily as an outreach of Christian ministry.
Wainwright House presented
a tentative offer to permit the Association to merge with them.
It was agreed that this could take place only after the Association
had established its identity and goals and had acquired a source
of financial support. Margaret Bach Lynch volunteered to act
as permanent coordinator of the Association at a minimum salary.
It was also decided that the name of the Association should be
changed to give an indication of its goals.
These problems were discussed
at the 1973 Annual Meeting, again held at the Church of the Holy
Trinity. (Astronaut and para-psychologist Edgar Mitchell was
the speaker.) The still-absent Ewert Cousins was reelected President.
Margaret Lynch was elected Editor of the Newsletter -
she had already brought out an attractive enlarged issue enlivened
with photographs and decorative details. A committee was nominated
to propose a change of name and it was noted that the British
Association had already changed theirs to The Teilhard Association
for the Future of Man.
A pressing problem that
faced the Association was the need to find a new home. The apartment
building at 157 East 72nd Street had changed ownership; switchboard
service had been discontinued, and a rent increase would come
with renewal of the lease. The consensus was that a move to Wainwright
House was not desirable; it was too far out of the city, it would
mean a certain loss of identity, and the financial problems had
not been solved. One tantalizingly attractive offer loomed as
a possibility in New York City. In June of 1971 some parishioners
of St. James' Episcopal Church on Madison Avenue, had purchased
the large building adjoining it on the southeast corner of Madison
Avenue and 72nd Street, both for protection and in order to house
the church's community outreach programs. This was a five-story
elevator structure, originally built in 1898 by Rhinelander Waldo,
a Police Commissioner, for his bride. It was considered one of
the finest examples of French Renaissance style in the city and
later was to be designated a city landmark. There were some fine
shops on the street level, Christie's of London (the Fine Arts
auctioneers) was on the second, and the rooms on the third and
fourth floors were to be completely made over as to accommodate
non-profit organizations. As soon as purchase of the building
had been made public, the Association made a formal request to
become a tenant. The Rector, Dr. James Coburn, was a member of
our Association and though our stated purpose did not fall squarely
within the church's community programs we had hopes that his
awareness of our work might be persuasive.
A year later, word came
that our application had been accepted, and a large, beautifully
proportioned room on the fourth floor was chosen. The rent was
lower than for the 72nd Street quarters, the large former ballroom
was available for our evening lectures, our library-office could
easily accommodate discussion groups of up to 20, and a modern
kitchen made it possible to hold luncheon or supper meetings
of the Board. We felt blessed. The move was accomplished in September
of 1973, not without the traumas that usually attend such perigrinations.
Additional furniture required to fill the large room was made
available from the storehouse of the Church and a little paint
brought everything into harmony. A balcony muffled the sounds
of Madison Avenue traffic and three long windows looked out to
a large vista of open sky. The character of our new center was
both serene and warm, and its welcoming attractiveness was felt
by all who visited it. The address was 867 Madison Avenue, New
York, New York 10021. It was even closer than our old center
to all the buildings in which Teilhard had lived, worked, and
worshipped in those last years of his life.
Winifred McCulloch took
over the running of the Center. On the evening of November 5th
an Open House was held, and some 150 guests from the Metropolitan
area enjoyed a collation, some conversation, and welcoming remarks
by Ewert Cousins.
We inaugurated the ballroom
that November with a fall and winter seminar given by Thomas
Berry on "Contemporary Spirituality," a course he had
given at Fordham and Columbia Universities, reflecting on the
spiritual situation of contemporary society and the manner in
which the interior journey of man to his authentic self can be
successfully carried out. The audience of some 60-70 persons
could never have been accommodated in our old quarters.
The problems raised at
the Wainwright House Conference had still not been answered,
but one step had been taken - the American Teilhard Association
would remain in New York City and there try to solve the questions
still confronting us. What were our new goals to be? Should we
change our name? How were we to finance our work?
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