When Lester Fretz passed away in December 2020, I lost a friend and faithful supporter. For many years, I could count on Lester emailing me after a new edition of Shalom! (the other publication I edit for Brethren in Christ U.S.) or this journal came out. He usually thanked me, commented on something in an article that resonated with him, often gave me suggestions or advice, and sometimes he would offer his own commentary on various things that were happening in the Brethren in Christ writ large based on his perspective after many years of service in the church. We enjoyed an interesting dialogue.
Occasionally, he sent me stories, articles, or devotionals he had written, and I published a few in Shalom! or the Historical Society’s newsletter, “History Matters.” I would periodically tell Lester he needed to compile all his memories and stories into a memoir or autobiography. Then he passed away, our dialogue ended, and I stopped receiving feedback and more stories.
The next best thing has been to collect some of the many stories Lester wrote in one place, with the help of his wife Mary and daughter Sandi Fretz Marr. At my request, they willingly searched Lester’s files for more stories and sent them to me. From those stories, I’ve chosen a small selection to publish in this edition of the journal.
The Theological Study Forum (TSF) began about fifteen years ago “to provide a healthy forum for Brethren in Christ pastors, church leaders, and others to explore and discuss relevant theological and ministry-related issues.” For most of those years, the meetings were held in person in Pennsylvania, but went to Zoom during the pandemic allowing people from other places to join the discussions. The journal has occasionally published articles based on TSF presentations, and we do so again in this edition. Rob Douglass offers a middle view on holiness and the judgment of God. He says that “[t]he traditional view [God’s judgment of sinners] is wrong because it believes that we must be freed from our sins in order to avoid God’s judgment. The middle view believes that we must have our sins judged, sent away, and eradicated so we can know and experience God’s love. Similarly, the modern view [God doesn’t judge sin but is a God of love] is wrong because it believes that God’s love eliminates the possibility of his judgment and wrath.” It’s a complicated argument that takes a while to develop, but I encourage you to stick with it!
Typically, the Historical Society’s annual meeting is held in the fall and often in central Pennsylvania, but sometimes we hold it in conjunction with the Brethren in Christ U.S. General Assembly, which is what we did this year. Ken Hoke, our outgoing executive director, with roots in the Brethren in Christ Church in Ohio where the Assembly was held, organized a gathering focused on historical storytelling from several Ohio congregations. Abbreviated versions of the stories were published in the Summer 2024 edition of “History Matters,” and now we are offering the full stories as they were told at General Assembly.
The four books that are reviewed in this edition tackle the demise of a Brethren in Christ network of congregations, activism related to ecological and climate change concerns, a theology of marriage, and a writer’s experience of being “ghosted” by political alliances but “Holy-Ghosted” by God.