The Order: Ecumenical

Still under construction 10/5/21 - needs editing

I finally have the opportunity in my life to take the time to really examine the Order and what caused  my parents to join thereby relinquishing  much involvement in our lives as children. As I have collected and these resources, and based upon my adult life as an activist, I can certainly see how they could get caught up in the religious and emotional excitement of what was being created. But, I just don't understand..... 

Any religious community or commune, I believe, is as only as good as it treats the children, women and others in non leadership positions. I was one of over 500 children that where born into, or lived a portion of their youth life in the Order.  I know that much of the work of the Order, Ecumenical Institute, Institute of Cultural Affair's and the volunteer adult staff (our parents) was important and noble - but to take on "The Mission" they abandoned their children to systemic mental, spiritual, physical and sexual abuse.  And that still makes me angry and sad. 

You can read more about my personal story and feelings about the Order in my Introduction, and more about the experiences of the Phase I: Emerging Generation & Order Youth.

The rest of the text, graphics and external links on this page are from go the public Document Archive of the Ecumenical Institute (EI), Order: Ecumenical (The Order), and the Institute of Cultural of Cultural Affairs (ICA) hosted at https://icaglobalarchives.org and https://wedgeblade.net

All of the text and graphics included on this page come directly from those sites and documents. 

Logos for the Ecumenical Institute, the Order: Ecumenical, and the Institute of Cultural Affairs 

in chronological order. 

In 1968 there were just over 100 people in the Order and on the staff of the Ecumenical Institute, all living in 5th City. By 1974 the number of staff had grown to 1,500, working in over 100 Religious Houses (communes) in 20 nations with a large percentage of the staff coming from countries where offices had been newly established. 

The purpose of the Order: Ecumenical is to serve the Church and society. 

It provides the training and research staff of the Ecumenical Institute and the Institute of Cultural Affairs. It is self-supporting through income earned by its members in various professions who contribute their salaries to a common fund. Part of this fund is held in reserve to be used for the health, education and welfare costs of the staff and their families for as long as they remain members. Each year at the annual general meeting of the Order and of the supporters of the Ecumenical Institute and the Institute of Cultural Affairs, a consensus is reached as to the general priorities and emphasis for the ensuing year. In the light of these priorities staffing allocations are decided and then each of the Institute's national organizations designs its program for the year.

“The Bold Community,” which aired on the CBS “Look Up and Live” program in 1965, is a 30-minute documentary about the beginnings of the Ecumenical Institute (the Order) in the 5th City neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago. 

The Opening scene shows the Daily Office ritual that all members, adults and children had to participate in each morning.

As a symbol of the Ecumenical Institute (EI) - the forerunner of the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICS) - the wedge blade represented a movement of people who were willing to wedge themselves into the consciousness of history on behalf of radical care for the Earth, with the line at the center representing the line between the no longer and the not yet.


When ICA was born and the organization turned from a focus on religious renewal to a focus on communities, the outer circle was added to represent efforts toward positive change on behalf of the world.


The two halves of the circle, as with the left and the right sides of the line through the wedge blade, symbolize the past and the future. Process of social change often engender conflict between those who want to perpetuate the past and those who want to change the future. ICA-USA stands in the center in order to facilitate a transition, both honoring the past and building consensus for the future. 

The Order: Ecumenical includes both family units and single people. Membership does not presuppose a particular religious or ideological persuasion and includes people from many different religious backgrounds. Members volunteer to be a part of the Order from their desire to live a life of service that is based in a structured community and has a definite and active concern for creative renewal within society. Entering or leaving the Order is the decision of each individual or family.

 

The Order: Ecumenical was incorporated in 1973 as a nonprofit making organization. It conducts no programs of its own and does not raise funds, therefore it has not applied for tax-exempt status. The Board of Directors is composed of Order members who receive no payment for their services.

 

THE ORIGINS:

After the war both the Second General Assembly of the World Council of Churches and Vatican Council II began to review the critical issues then facing the Christian Church. At the 1954 meeting of the World Council of Churches in Evanston, Illinois, a resolution was made to begin a centre for the training of laymen in North America, taking as an example the existing Ecumenical Institute of Bossey, Switzerland. In 1956 Christian businessmen in Chicago founded the Evanston Institute of Ecumenical Studies and invited Dr. Walter Leibrecht to come from Germany to be the director.


During the same period, a group of students and staff at the University of Texas began to research the practical relationship of their faith to contemporary life. This group called itself the 'Christian Faith and Life Community' and was founded by a former Naval Chaplain, Rev. W. Jack Lewis. Drawing from the experience of experimental lay communities in Europe such as Taize and Iona, the Christian Faith and Life Community evolved a common life of worship, study and mission and was recognised as a significant experiment in forming a Christian community. It designed a curriculum for students and laity under the direction of Dr. Joseph W. Mathews, formerly an associate professor of Social Ethics at Perkins Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. The curriculum included courses in systematic theology, Old and New Testament and Christian ethics. The community began to turn its attention to the role of the local congregation in society, and a weekend residential seminar, known as Religious Studies I (RS­I) was developed. This seminar was taught to local congregations and student groups.


When Dr. Leibrecht returned to Germany in 1962 the Church Federation of Greater Chicago took responsibility for the centre and reorganized it under the name of 'the Ecumenical Institute'. The Federation invited Dr. Mathews of the Christian Faith and Life Community to become the Dean. 

Lyn & Joe Mathews - early 70's. "First among equals."

These photos are the way I will always remember them. 

In 1963 the Church Federation hired Joseph Mathews as the Executive Director plus six additional leaders from the Austin Faith and Life Community. Since these six men were paid one dollar a year each, their wives were assigned to find Chicago jobs to support their families.  This arrangement allowed these seven families to become the founding leadership team of the Ecumenical Institute.  Joe and Lyn Mathews were the first-among-equals of this team. 


They continued to develop the curriculum for local congregations while researching the form and meaning of contemporary Christian community. After studying the forms of corporate life of the historical religious orders, the staff began to model the community after the 'third' order or family orders, emphasizing a corporate lifestyle of worship, study and service. This was the origin of the Order Ecumenical.

Toward The Establishment of a RELIGIOUS ORDER for the Post-Modern World: “During this twenty-year period, the corporate staff has continued to expand and focus its understanding of the role of the church in civilization and to experiment with ways of adequately structuring its common life in the face of the overwhelming tasks. As the design of this corporate life gradually emerged, the staff came to recognize that it was in fact profoundly engaged in experimenting with the dynamics of a religious order, one which was ecumenical, composed of family units, and in mission to the secular and global revolutions of the twentieth century, but which was also clearly a participant in the great tradition of the religious orders of the church.” 

Joe in the mid 60's and 70's.

THE PROLEGOMENA TO THE RULE OF THE ORDER, A MORAL COVENANT AND CORPORATE DISCIPLINE: "We, the Community, by our free resolve, before the creator of our personal and collective destinies and the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, take upon ourselves the moral covenant and rule of life, for the sake of a particular corporate mission within the total calling of the church, to which we have been commonly elected." 

The Order Sings

Singing was a main component of Order life. Each meal and meeting was opened with 3 songs from the Order Songbooks. Many songs were written by Order members and set to pop, classical, and show tunes, so that they were easy to sing. A room full of Order members singing with gusto and abandonment was a powerful experience. Even the youth sometimes enjoyed it.  Below are 3 recordings of Order songs.

The Crying

All Life is Open

Opening songs of the first plenary of the 1972 Order Summer Program

Reinard's favorite Order songs (PDF) >>>>>>>>>>

Order Songs RK.pdf

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

In 1963 the seven families of the Ecumenical Institute moved to Chicago where they undertook a practical experiment in comprehensive community development. From the premise that a local community is the basic building block of society, the Institute began working in a ghetto on Chicago's west side, known as 5th City. Door to door interviews and neighborhood meetings provided a way for the local residents to review their many problems and to begin to design practical solutions. Forty-five programs in social and economic development were created and carried out by voluntary and corporate effort.

The Institute's curriculum evolved into two distinct branches-the Institute of Religious Studies (focusing on biblical and theological courses) and the Institute of Cultural Studies (focusing on contemporary society and changing attitudes in the family, in community and the world). The religious seminars present people with an opportunity to rediscover the meaning and relevance of the Christian message in the modern world. The cultural seminars provide people with a way to understand the basic dynamics of society, the current issues and new trends of thought within various disciplines. Since the first seminars were taught, hundreds of lay people and clergy have attended them in many countries.

By 1964 the Ecumenical Institute had begun working closely with groups of people who had found the seminars relevant to the needs of their own Church and community. At their request more advanced research and training programs were developed. In 1965 a summer research assembly was organized and was subsequently held annually. These research assemblies have been attended each year by up to 1,000 people from around the world. Their research creates and refines the practical methods and design through which both EI and many other groups have sought to serve the needs of local communities.


During this period, two extensive training programs were developed: the Academy, an eight week course of religious and cultural seminars, and a six week International Training Institute. The ITI was based on the Academy curriculum, but with a greater emphasis on practical field work. The first ITI was held at Trinity College, Singapore, in 1969 and was attended by 102 people from 23 nations. Since then the ITI has been held in Africa, India, North and South America, Australia, Europe and Western Samoa.

First Ecumenical Institute 8 week Academy Program - Summer 65: “Sentinel students across the world are a new breed. Their spirit concern is dramatically transposed. The shift is from identity to vocation. The depth question is no longer “Who am I?” but “What shall I do?” The student of today has become lucid. He knows that there is more to life than bourgeois patterns. He now knows that there is more to vocation than respectable livelihood.” 

The Charlotte North Carolina Religious House in the mid 70's.

An Order wedding in the mid 70's.

Order art representing: the Mountain of Care; River of Consciousness; Land of Mystery; and Ocean of Tranquility.

The growing acknowledgment of both the 5th City experiment and the religious and cultural seminars led to a number of invitations to the Institute to work in other countries as well. In 1968 there were just over 100 people on the staff of the Institute, all living in 5th City-by 1974 the number of staff had grown to 1,500, working in over 100 offices in 20 nations with a large percentage of the staff coming from countries where offices had been newly established. Coordinating centers were established in Bombay, Hong Kong, Chicago, Brussels and Kuala Lumpur.

THE CRUCIALITY OF THE RELIGIOUS HOUSE DYNAMIC: “Now this is spirituality. Now I mean something different then in the depths, though all of these things are related, of course. And as I picture my mind, you know what I come back to on this! And I have to fight that business of feeling. Now that's what I mean when I say I'm a religious person and you're not talking about your own virtues, God help us. But I am under a self imposed mandate that has grown out of the radical indicative of life, to be a man of the mystery, a man of consciousness and a man of concern, a man. of tranquillity. That's who I am. There isn't any doctrine. here. You don't superimpose one's ideas on other people. Or force them into their lives. But you're teaching RS­1 or going down to the Peanut Barrel for a beer. You're a symbol. You just breathe that into their lives.” Joseph W. Mathews 3/20/73 

After careful research and analysis of the methods and programs that had been successful in 5th City, the Institute accepted invitations from Australia and the Marshall Islands to begin similar projects. These projects were viewed as experiments to test the original methods developed in 5th City in the diverse situations of a remote Aboriginal settlement and a South Pacific Island.


Many professional and business men and women took part in all three development projects as voluntary consultants. They asked the Institute to design a seminar to demonstrate the relevance of the project planning methods to other groups in different circumstances. This led to the development of LENS (Leadership Effectiveness and New Strategies), a seminar which has since been used by social agencies, governments and private businesses around the world.


By 1974, the many aspects of the work of the Institute had been grouped into three major programs, for which the ICA took responsibility. They are the Human Development Program, the Community Forum Program and Research, Training and Interchange.

Office of the Hours: 

1971 Research Assembly 

In 1971 this building was donated to the ICA by the Kemper Insurance Company. This became the global residential headquarters for the Order and continues to be operated by ICA-USA. We just called it Kemper and it was an intergral part of our Order experience.

The Order: From religious cult to 

secular community development


Introduction to Inner Life

The backdrop for these works is the 20th Century Theological Revolution which emerged in response to the horrors, tragedies and human atrocities, especially the destructive impact of WWII. This new theological understanding included a sense of a seamless reality– where religion and science were no longer in opposition. This also meant that the old view which included the three geographies of heaven, earth and hell no longer was true.

 

In this context, during the 50’s and 60’s, the Ecumenical Institute explored expressions of Christian living as an authentic response to this new theological awareness. This required an intense demythologizing of language, poetry and symbols into a 20th century scientific context. It also involved conscious study and life practices which were devoted to being perpetually open and willing to change in response to encounters with Mystery in our lives. This lead to a stance of saying of saying Yes to life!- expressed as radical love, compassion and a mission of service for our fellow human beings. 

The Spirit Movement


The 1960’s were a time of great destruction and creation in the world.  Movements for civil rights, women, peace, environment and youth whipped up a great storm of change around the globe that is still in process.  An evolving global spirit movement was birthed in the midst of this wild wind.


The people related to the Institute programs focused on creating signs of renewal in local communities, churches and social structures globally.  They saw the key factor was the emergence of a new consciousness, a new spirit that would enable the emergence of transformed social structures.  They saw themselves as a Global Spirit Movement and were sometimes referred to as the Guardians, the Blue Shirts (in India),  Global Servant Force, Structural Revolutionaries, the League, the Invisible College and the New Church.