CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER Five

So we got to Massachusetts and Betty got in the care of a good doctor. I soon got a call to a small village church in Woodville. This area is a part of Hopkinton. which is where the Boston Marathon starts. It is also in Middlesex County of Paul Revere fame.

My first year was not particularly eventful. I commuted the 20-25 miles each day and on return home was often able to stop in Framingham and visit a sick parishioner. Woodville was a close knit community and I soon knew most of the people and also learned a vital lesson. Do not talk ill of another. He or she is probably related to the other.

The first Summer I took a course in Clinical Pastoral Training. Betty took the kids and went to visit her family in WV since I would be living in Boston for the program at Massachusetts General Hospital. It was sometime during this program that i felt that the lead Prof. and i had entirely different ideas as to the nature and cause of mental illness. That is why I decided to major in Theology rather than Psychology. I therefore studied primarily with Nels Ferre and Samuel Miller. As soon as the Summer program was over I headed to Ceredo, WV to visit and to bring the family back. My main memory of that trip is getting to New York City, parking the car in front of Riverside Baptist Church and taking the subway to Times Square. On the way back I took the wrong line and landed in Harlem. I remember walking through Riverside Park to get back to the car where I slept that night. The walk through Harlem and the Park was fortunately uneventful.

Dr. Ferre was to speak at my ordination after my Senior Year. Actually I had a heart attack during my Junior year (more about that later) so spent a fourth year finishing my degree. The Seminary agreed to support my ordination the summer before i completed the degree. A part of this was because my brother, Bill, a Navy Chaplain, was stationed in the area and this would allow him to take a part in the Service.