|
Words From The Author . . . About The AuthorWalter E. Williams was born June 7, 1941 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. For the firstfour years of my life, we lived in a small trailer in a clearing in thewoods in West Virginia. When my father abandoned us, my mothertook us back to Scranton where we moved in with her parents.Our family became active in the Washburn Street PresbyterianChurch.By the time I reached junior high, the issue of salvationconfronted me. A wily adolescent, I decided I would live as Ipleased and get into heaven with a deathbed conversion. I was somischievous that my Sunday School teacher Ted Koch joked tomy mother that he would like to demote me. Yet Mr. Koch, whowas also our youth fellowship advisor, was an example of a lovethat was there for me despite the trouble I caused.We all moved to Middletown, Pennsylvania between ninthand tenth grade. There we attended Middletown PresbyterianChurch, where my Sunday School teachers and youth fellowshipadvisors were Bob and Marge Lebo. Once more they displayed anunlimited patience and love for all of the young people. They reallyreminded me of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson who were prominenton TV at that time. In school I was the science nerd, but in thechurch I found a loving fellowship. Still during these years I beganto worry that I might die too quickly to get that deathbedconversion in.I entered Lafayette College, in Easton, Pennsylvania in thefall of 1959. I majored in Physics. While reading a letter by MartinLuther for freshman religion, I suddenly understood Luther’s beliefthat we are saved by faith, as a free gift of God’s grace. This wasmy rebirth experience, which I now realize is simply a flash ofinsight that is not even necessarily correct. I wanted to share thegood news of the gospel with others. Each summer since Igraduated from high school I volunteered to counsel at our churchcamp, Camp Michaux. Between my junior and senior year ofcollege, I decided that I would rather be a minister than a physicist.I graduated from Lafayette College in 1963 with a Bachelor ofScience in Physics. That summer I worked with children in wheelchairs at Camp Harmony Hall for the Easter Seal Society.I enrolled in Princeton Theological Seminary that fall. ThereI majored in pastoral psychology. I served as student pastor atIrvington Presbyterian Church near Newark, New Jersey in thesummer before my last year of seminary. I graduated from seminaryin 1966 with a Bachelor of Divinity, which I upgraded to a Masterof Divinity in 1970.The summer of 1966 I took a quarter of clinical training inpsychology at Philadelphia State Hospital, living on the hospitalgrounds for the three months of training.In the fall I began my work as assistant pastor at FirstPresbyterian Church in Ambler, Pa., just north of Philadelphia. Ichose an assistant pastorate to get more experience beforelaunching out on my own.In the fall of 1968, I moved to McAlisterville in centralPennsylvania to become the pastor of Lost Creek PresbyterianChurch, which had 120 members. Now I was on my own, and Ilooked around for needs I could meet. I saw that the school districtwas not transporting children to kindergarten. So I begantransporting some of the poor children who would not get thereotherwise. Eventually my concerns for a good and equal educationled me to serve on the school board for ten years.I saw that no one was working with young people, so I starteda single young adult group. I also started an ecumenical youthfellowship, became scoutmaster and opened a community youthcenter.The manse was located close to the Fayette Fire Companyand when the siren blew I knew someone needed help. I became avolunteer fireman. I also became an ambulance driver and attendant,eventually certifying as an Emergency Medical Technician. Mylove of nature led me to also serve as a volunteer Forest Fire Warden.When I came to McAlisterville, I was a young social activistand anxious to make the church what I thought it should be. Thecongregation patiently accepted my zeal and naiveté, until I learnedfrom them that loving and accepting people as they are is the bestway to minister to people’s needs. Love then may inspire peopleto be more beautiful and loving themselves. Condemnation andpressure inspires judgment and rejection.From the many youth I worked with, there emerged a smallsharing group which met in my house to share faith and otherfeelings. These teenagers helped me to love and accept even more,as they loved me, and I loved them, as if they were my own children.Despite my rebirth experience in college, which assured me ofmy salvation, I was still troubled by my failure to live up to my idealvision of a Christian life. The sharing group made me want to beworthy of their acceptance, yet I knew I was still a mixture of goodand evil. Reading the writings of the psychiatrist, Carl Jung helpedme to understand that we are all a mixture of good and evil.Reading Walt Whitman’s poetry helped me to accept all partsof myself and when I had accepted myself, to accept all others.I had always had trouble with the idea that some people wouldgo to hell, but I did not know of any other way of interpreting theBible. Reading Behold the Spirit by Alan Watts opened my eyes toother possible interpretations. I began to study other religions andother philosophies, I took Walt Whitman’s advice to, ”Re-examineall you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismisswhatever insults your own soul”.I discovered it was possible to interpret scripture in other ways,and found passages which could mean that God would saveeveryone.But if everyone is saved, why obey God’s law? I realized thatGod’s law shows us the wisest way to live. To follow it is wisdomand to disobey it is foolishness. The law is God’s loving guidanceto help us find the best possible life now.In 1982 I began taking college courses in computerprogramming. While I was taking courses at Harrisburg AreaCommunity College, I was hired to teach computer courses there.I taught courses to people on public assistance, regularundergraduates and even a course for the prisoners at the stateprison in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.Unfortunately driving back and forth to teach these coursesruined my back and I had to quit. I did earn an Associate Degreein Data Processing from HACC in 1983.I continued as pastor of my church until 1987 by which timeit was obvious that my back was not going to improve, and I couldno longer accept money for a job I could not adequately perform.Laying on people’s floors might be all right for visiting members,but it did not work well for prospect calls. During the five yearsthat I could not adequately minister to the needs of mycongregation I wrote my book Love Without Limit. Some of the bookwas even typed lying down.I finally resigned from my pastorate in January 1987. I wasplaced on the inactive list. After two years on the inactive listCarlisle Presbytery set aside my ordination with the possibility ofpicking it up again if I could ever serve another church. I retain myordination in the Universal Life Church. I continued to marrypeople for a few years, until it became too hard on my health.My interest in church camping continued throughout myministry. I served on and chaired the Carlisle Presbytery CampingCommittee, counseled, directed, and served as Chaplain at variouscamps. When Camp Michaux closed I headed the committee thatnegotiated our merger with two other presbyteries in CampKrislund. I wrote the “History of Presbytery Camping” for ABicentennial History of the Presbytery of Carlisle, published in 1986. Ialso wrote a poem entitled “Relationships” at Camp Krislund. Ilater submitted the poem to a poetry contest where it wonhonorable mention and was published in Days of Future’s Past in1989.Each summer on vacation I would camp in the National Parksof the U.S. and Canada. Ranger hikes and campfire talks sparkedmy concern for the environment. I recycled all my waste and startedthe first newspaper recycling in the county.In response to the Arab oil boycott of 1972, I insulated themanse and the church, installed storm windows, and constructedsolar heating panels on the manse. I also invented some electricsocks to keep my feet warm as I turned the thermostat back to 60degrees. I bought a bicycle and began using it or walking for housecalls. I sometimes hitchhiked to hospital calls.My hobbies were very practical. I did the maintenance andrepairs on my vehicles. I did woodworking, plumbing and electricalwork, as well as repairing radios and TVs. I was an organic gardenerand even saved my own seed from year to year. I studied eatablewild plants and other survival skills in the wild. All these hobbiesended when my back went bad in 1982. I fell back on readingwhich I had always enjoyed, although this was limited because ofmy inability to sit long. When I finally invented an infinitelyadjustable back rest I was able to sit enough to do more reading.When I resigned from the church in 1987 I still did not acceptthe reality of my disability. I thought I might be able to teachschool because teachers stand most of the time. I used mycertification to teach high school physics and mathematics to workas a substitute teacher. I was tentatively hired to teach Physics fulltime at John Harris High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, butI failed the physical because of my back problems. I soon foundthat substitute teaching was also beyond my ability.That summer I passed a course certifying me to be a DistrictJustice in Pennsylvania and worked two hours a day in that officefor a while. I found that even this was too much for my back.I started walking and swimming when I was able. I suffered aseries of other health problems. Finally I was able to crawl out ofthe hole enough to volunteer at the Juniata County Library for afew hours a week. I had served as secretary of the library board forabout six years in the early 1970s.When some of the people at the library learned I had writtena book many years ago, they read it and urged me to get itpublished. The idea that writing might be a way to continue myministry, which was cut short by my disability, led me to startwriting a weekly religious column in Standard-Journal Newspapersof Milton, Pennsylvania. The column has been well received and Ifeel heartened that I am able to reach out and help people again.I hope that my book, Love Without Limit, offers some serviceand guidance to others. The book is only an attempt to pass onsome of the blessings and love I have felt from God and otherpeople.Walter E. WilliamsMcAlisterville, Pennsylvania 2003
©2004 Love Without Limit. All Rights Reserved. |