TRANSFIGURATION 2005
From the Editor... Still
More From William Orr
I got a lot of nice feedback about my Greek teacher William
Orr, mentioned in the last column. Several readers asked for more
about him, so
here is another story. He and Mr.
Rodgers were friends. A little known fact about Fred Rodgers — he
almost did
not get ordained.
Guess who changed that? Bob Curry describes the scene: The "big
guns" of the presbytery
opposed his ordination on the grounds "that he did not have a call to a
church." It was only after a
passionate address by our beloved Bill Orr in which one of the many
points made
was "this man already has a church and he reaches thousands of children
and you would deny him ordination?"
We approved his ordination as "evangelist", but dear friends,
it was not unanimous. And what a
"church" he had! And it shall
continue from generation to generation.
I draw two lessons from this. First, there is an invitation to
speak
up. Can you imagine what would have
happened if William Orr had not shared what was really on his heart and
mind? It has been said that the greatest
tragedy on earth is the life which dies inside a woman while she lives.
You can
risk it — we need to know what you think!
Also, there is a call for creativity, for thinking outside
the box. Mr. Rodgers didn't fit into
people's predetermined categories, but thank God, William Orr saw that
God's
thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55).
Next time you are in a meeting and someone raises an idea which seems
completely absurd to you, say a prayer to look at it from another
angle. Insight can come from the unlikeliest of
places and voices. If you had only read
about him, you might have concluded that William Orr was a New
Testament
Professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
The truth was he was a servant — a courageous, creative one — of the
most High God.
The
Rev. Canon Dr.
Kendall S. Harmon
Contact Dr
Harmon by
e-mail at ksharmon@mindspring.com
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