Bolded sentence below answers truevine 's question re Overseers: Wm Lewis is deceased; went on to become Overseer of Texas, and was one of Taylor Woods cabinet. Taylor was the Eastern overseer til he died and after him. Now its Barry Barkley.Star and Tribune, Minneapolis, MN
November 1, 1986
By Robert Franklin Staff Writer.
Eagle Bead, Minn.
For four days, they studied their King James Bibles, offered personal testimonies of faith, walked the harvested farmland and slept in long rows of bedrolls in barracks-like buildings.
They share a Christian faith that has no churches, no paid pastors, no membership records, no offering collections and, with rare exception, uses no name. They abstain from alcohol, tobacco, dancing, card-playing, fancy dress, movies and—generally—radio and television. They worship in the homes of their elders. A few days at a time, they share their homes with their unpaid ministers, who are called "workers."
And, in a scene repeated around the world, these 2,400 or so Minnesotans gather annually at one of three large Conventions, two on a farm near Eagle Bend, one on a farm near Hector. It is a Minnesota tradition that has been going on virtually without notice by outsiders for 80 years,
“We know you can’t be born spiritually over radio or TV," said Gerald Eckel. “It takes personal contact." He is standing in the corner of a 500-seat dining hall on a 220-acre farm he operates 3-1/2 miles southwest of Eagle Bend. The noon meal is over, and people are walking outside: Men in suits or sports shirts. Women in long skirts, their hair uncut in accordance with a Biblical injunction and done up in buns. Some children who are out of school for the occasion.
This farm has been the site of the conventions since 1931. Before that they were held on farms near Pillager, beginning about 1907, then Long Prairie, then Clarissa. The Hector conventions have been held on one farm for 50 years.
Of his religion, Eckel said, "I know it's the truth. It can't be any different if you want to be right with God." The faith emphasizes Biblical foundations for living in a Godly way without worldly distractions. Eckel's grandparents accepted this faith in 1911 and he has grown up with it. An array of buildings has grown up, too, on this farm where women once slept in tents, men in a barn loft, above the Holsteins. Now, In addition to the house and barn, there are two-story wood or metal men's and wom¬en's dormitories that can sleep 500.
There are wash houses, some heated by wood stoves, buildings for the handicapped, a nursery. And there is the dining hall. With minister/workers providing the leadership, waiters as young as 6 serve 500 people from modern kitchen equipment, wait for the faithful to eat, wash dishes and reset the long tables in 37 minutes.
For official business with the government, the unnamed church uses a letterhead that calls itself "Christian Conventions." But, aside from registering as conscientious objectors to military service, there hasn't been much official business with the government. Workers don't seek exemption from taxes. They are not licensed by the state, and therefore don't perform marriages. The sect does not own real estate. Others have called the faithful "two by twos" or "go preachers" because the workers seem always to be traveling, generally in same-sex pairs; “black stockings” or “black socks” because of their plain dress; or “Cooneyites,” after an early preacher. Among themselves, they are simply “our friends.”
It's evident that the first (Christian) meetings were held in homes," said William Lewis, 67, a worker since 1939 and the overseer-worker In charge of Minnesota for three years. "We just simply believe that it should remain that way. It's far more intimate." The numbers in a home congregation are limited to about two dozen, the number who could share a Passover lamb. There are 32 congregations in the Twin Cities area, about double that number elsewhere in Minnesota, Lewis said. Although the faith is growing, most people travel no more than 10 miles to a meeting (though it may be 75 miles in parts of Texas). In Barbados, he said, there are so many followers that "one congregation can hear another singing."
There are probably fewer than 100,000 followers in the United States. There are congregations around the world and some people "quietly in fellowship with us" in Communist countries, he said. Eckel's wife, Clarke, a former Lutheran who converted 31 years ago, said that, wherever you go In the world, the followers will find "a hearty welcome and unity and hospitality,"
That hospitality especially extends to workers. Since early workers followed a Scottish preacher in Ireland before the turn of the 20th century, they have spent their lives traveling from home to home with little more than their clothes, Lewis said.
There are 26 active workers in Minnesota, be said. Workers are not educated in a seminary and generally are unmarried, although a few childless couples have served. Individual followers fulfill workers' needs for food, clothing and transportation without any solicitations, "like a family," Lewis said. Larger gifts or bequests are administered by committees of lay elders, he said. Only men are elders and overseers.
There is an overseer considered first among equals for the eastern United States and one for the west, he said.Divorce among followers is rare, and abortion unheard of, Lewis said. Respect for country and "the quiet discipline" of children are important. Youngsters are baptized by immersion outdoors when they feel ready, usually about age 12. There are no special Christmas or Easter celebrations because, Lewis said, those holidays have pagan origins.
Everyone attends meetings, which are held Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Sometimes there are public gospel meetings, other Bible studies and home visits through the week. There are regional meetings each spring, as well as the large conventions.
My life is hid with Christ in God,
Preserved within that sure retreat;
Though Satan rage against my soul,
I worship at my Saviour's feet.
More than 500 people are singing, without accompaniment, from the Scottish songbook Hymns Old and New. It is meeting time, and these worship meetings are the heart of the convention. There are 11 of them with 25 speakers from Wednesday night through Sunday afternoon—2-hour meetings each morning and afternoon, an hour-long meeting each evening.
Youngsters, family and home life are common subjects for the sermons, which are delivered without notes. But many members of the congregation take notes and follow readings in their own Bibles. Linda Sherick's talk notes the role of children, noting especially their service in the dining hall. "I hope I never stop learning from little children," she said. She talks of the reassurance that faith can bring like "a small child nestling close to her parents."
Archie Holcomb, a Wisconsin worker, wants to "thank God for those that are growing up to be pillars in God's family and can withstand pressure." Other speakers come from as far away as Norway and Australia. Marion Halbakken, a clean-cut man of 31, is a worker who converted while a high school senior in Lewiston, Minn. "It was at a time when I was looking for some answers," he recalled. "I found what I needed. I feel that I have the best life that there is.”
But the fervor and theology of the Christian Conventions have offended some people. There have been occasional complaints that they have misled prospective followers about their nature, broken up families or taken on the characteristics of a cult. The national Cult Awareness Network in Pittsburgh does not classify the church as a cult; it does not use "mind control manipulation," a spokeswoman said.
People are free to investigate all they please, said Lewis. "Nobody's making a thing out of this," he said, offering a Minneapolis phone number, 781-2021, as a contact point.
Said Will Weaver, a Bemidji professor and author who grew up in the faith but no longer follows it: "It's a completely personal choice. No coercion, no prompting. It's sort of life by example. Nobody comes around asking you for anything. In a way there's more freedom there than any organized religion I can think of.”