Moral Re-armament (Organization)

Variant names
Dates:
Active 1882
Active 1974

Biographical notes:

Worldwide movement dedicated to spiritual and ethical reawakening.

From the description of Records of the Moral Re-armament, 1812-1991 (bulk 1873-1966). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 71131695

Biographical Notes and Organizational History

Frank Nathan Daniel Buchman

1878, June 4 Born, Pennsburg, Pa. 1899 B.A., Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa. 1899 1902 Attended Mt. Airy Seminary, Philadelphia, Pa. 1902 Ordained Lutheran minister 1905 In charge of Luther Hospice, Philadelphia, Pa. 1908 Traveled to Europe and England 1909 1915 Secretary, YMCA at Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pa. 1915 1919 Toured Asia under YMCA auspices 1916 1922 Part-time lecturer, Hartford Theological Seminary, Hartford, Conn. 1921 Visited Cambridge and Oxford, England, where the foundation was laid for the fellowship later called the Oxford Group 1926 Honorary doctorate, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa. 1929 Traveled to South Africa with the Oxford Group 1931 1938 Led Oxford Group teams to Scandinavia, Holland, Canada, and the United States 1938 Inaugurated campaign for Moral Re-armament at East Ham Town Hall, London, England 1939 Launched campaign for Moral Re-armament in New York, Washington, D.C., and California 1940 Initiated You Can Defend America program 1942 Suffered paralytic stroke 1942 1947 Conducted Moral Re-armament summer training sessions, Mackinac Island, Mich. 1946 Presented first annual World Assembly for Moral Re-armament, Caux, Switzerland, headquarters 1952 1957 Traveled with Moral Re-armament teams throughout Asia, Australia, and Europe 1961, Aug. 7 Died, Freudenstadt, West Germany

Ray Foote Purdy

1889 Born, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1920 B. A., Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. 1920 1922 Master, Taft School, Watertown, Conn. 1923 Assistant to the president, Eastman Dillon & Co., New York, N.Y. 1923 1924 Attended Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J. 1923 1927 General Secretary, Philadelphian Society, Princeton, N.J. 1925 Married Elsa Toennies 1927 Attended Mansfield College, Oxford, England 1928 Ordained to ministry, Throop Avenue Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1928 1965 Full-time service and director, Oxford Group and Moral Re-armament; director, Oxford Group and Moral Re-armament 1965, Oct. 30 Died, Atlanta, Ga.

Kenaston Twitchell

1903, Apr. 8 Born, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1924 B.A., Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. 1927 Married Marian Dominick Smith 1929 Traveled to South Africa with the Oxford Group circa 1930 M. A., Balliol College, Oxford University, Oxford, England 1947 Convened meeting of Konrad Adenauer and other postwar German leaders, Caux, Switzerland 1950 Traveled to Japan, where he brought the mayors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and a later prime minister, Yasushiro Nakasone, to a Moral Re-Armament conference 1973 Retired from Moral Re-armament circa 1981 Published Regeneration in the Ruhr: The Unknown Story of a Decisive Answer to Communism in Postwar Europe. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press 1988, Oct. 30 Died, Princeton, N.J.

Organizational History of Moral Re-armament

1918 Houseparty strategy of conversion begun in China by Frank Nathan Daniel Buchman 1921 Foundation laid for First Century Christian Fellowship and later the Oxford Group 1925 1926 "Buchmanism" investigated by Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. 1929 Oxford Group toured South Africa 1931 1937 Oxford Group teams sent to Scandinavia, Holland, Canada, the United States, and South America 1933 1940 Oxford Group supplement published in the New Witness 1936 National Assembly, Stockbridge, Mass. 1937 Rising Tide published 1938 Campaign for Moral Re-armament begun at East Ham Town Hall, London, England World Assembly for Moral Re-armament, Interlaken, Switzerland 1939 Moral Re-armament movement launched in the United States World Assembly for Moral Re-ReArmament, Monterey, Calif. 1940 Peter Howard joined movement (died 1965) 1941 1945 “You Can Defend” America program 1942 Premier of the movie, The Forgotten Factor 1943 1945 Controversy regarding Selective Service deferments for members of Moral Re-armament 1946 First annual World Assembly for Moral Re-armament at Caux, Switzerland, headquarters New World News published 1947 Purchase of Westminster Theatre, London, England 1948 Production of the play, The Good Road in Germany World Conference for Moral Re-armament, Los Angeles, Calif. 1949 The College of the Good Road organized 1951 Assembly for the Reconstruction of Pacific Relations, Los Angeles, Calif. Production of the play An Idea Takes Wings Production of the play Jotham Valley 1952 Assembly of the Americas, Miami, Fla. 1953 Condemned by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions 1954 1955 Report on Moral Re-armament issued by the Church of England Social and Industrial Council 1955 Production of the play Vanishing Island 1955 1956 Statesmen's missions to Europe and Asia 1957 Production the plays Freedom and The Crowning Experience 1961 Peter Howard assumed worldwide leadership of the movement Production of the play, The Tiger 1963 1964 Production of the play, Space Is So Startling 1964 Production of the motion picture, Tomorrow's American 1965 Up With People launched First of several yearly Up With People "Sing Outs" Founding of Mackinac College, Mackinac, Mich. Peter Howard died and no successor appointed; each country developed own leadership 1970 All Moral Re-armament publications ceased 1975 Up With People separates from Moral Re-armament 1976 Moral Re-armament presents Buchman's Allentown, Pa., home to Lehigh County Historical Society, which opened it to the public 1989 United States President George H. W. Bush commemorated MRA on its fiftieth anniversary International conference, Caux, Switzerland

From the guide to the Moral Re-armament Records, 1812-1991, (bulk 1873-1966), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)

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Subjects:

  • Religion
  • Communism
  • Drama
  • Ethics
  • Families of royal descent
  • Families of royal descent
  • Missions
  • Missions
  • Moral re-armament
  • Moral re-armament
  • Moral re-armament
  • Moral re-armament
  • Motion picture plays
  • National socialism
  • Neutrality
  • Pacifism
  • Radio scripts
  • Spiritual life
  • Television scripts
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • Young Men's Christian associations

Occupations:

not available for this record

Places:

  • France (as recorded)
  • Asia (as recorded)
  • Japan (as recorded)
  • Germany (as recorded)
  • Greece (as recorded)
  • Germany (as recorded)
  • Japan (as recorded)
  • France (as recorded)

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