Tuesday, July 9, 1968
Summer Nebraskan
Page 3
nter faith Marriages Reflect Ecumenical Spirit
Rii CnflnH 1TA..1....I. i ...
By Susan Hevbrock
NU School of Journalism
m a lar more subtle way
than talks of mergers and
pulpit exchanges, the
members of churches are
showing their own ecumenical
spirit by the increased
numbers of Interfaith and In
terdenominational marriages.
While the official position
of most churchmen on mixed
marriages remains a solid
"no," leadership toward the
"we can work It out" feeling
found in such marriages is
clearly traced to the
ecumenism of the church.
" Faced with statistics and
other less documented
measures, clergymen point to
Catholic priests who are
becoming more willing to of
fiicate at Interfaith marriages
and to better understanding
of the person-religion rela
tionship as two results of the
ecumenical movement which
have led to more interfaith
marriages.
Dr. Raleieh J. Peterson is
one of the many clergymen
who recognizes this trend.
As director of the Nebraska
School of Religion, he has
noticed more publications
appearing on the subject and
steady increases In the
enrollment of the denomina
tions class offered at the
school.
Deeper Reasons
While Dr. Peterson agreed
that this might indicate just
Increased interest, he thought
tnere were deeper reasons.
The figures presented by the
Rev. Raymond Hain, director
at St. Thomas Quinas, seem
to bear out Dr. Peterson's
suspicions.
ry W7h
vvti.r : r
, 1 : " i SS ' U
On Being Jarred to Reality by a Train Whistle
Why do you intrude, shrill whistle on the move?
How dare you to impose upon this academic serenity
And peace of life removed; Removed from troubles
And from cares Gone to my small and peaceful world.
By virtue of whose authority do you interrupt blind chastity;
The chastity of lethargy which is the chastity of men?
Stay away you worldly horn, with your anxieties;
For I am contended here and now, without your ugly din.
Poet; My voice does beckon you call you to your arms.
I command you now, take up your pen and let the world,
The world of nothingness, know the stupor that it's in.
Tell it this, and tell it now, before all time is past:
The chalice of fear is empty and cold
To live or to die, man must be bold.
David A. Domina
SUMMER
NEBRASKAN
Editor Larry Erkholt
Buineu Manager Met Brawn
Information rr publication may be
bnrnfht to 311 Nebraska Ball or called
la la 4114590. The SUMMER NEBRAS
KAN b published eight times during the
anmmer sessions, tire In (be first, and
three in the second.
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Father Hain said that
although the percentage was
less In 1967, 70 percent of the
marriages at St. Thomas
during the previous year iir
volved a non-Catholic. Com
paratively, about ten years
ago in Nebraska, th figure
was about 50 percent.
Father Hain thought the
"spirit of ecumenism" is the
for the rise, but other answers
were suggested by his fellow
church leaders.
.Both Rev. Alvln Peterson,
Lutheran Student Center, and
Dr. Alan Pickering, United
Ministeries In Higher Educa'
tlon, traced the increase to
more mobility in society. Dr
Pickering said that one factor
was the increased number of
persons In college where they
make a larger number of
contacts.
Better understanding 1 s
responsible for more
Interfaith marriages accord'
ing to the Rev. Ronald L,
Wiley, Episcopalian minister
at St. Marks on the Campus.
He explained that young peo
ple have adopted "take them
as they are" as their motto,
rather than the "come along
my way" of a few years ago.
In the Episcopal church, a
marriage may take place as
long as one of the persons
is a baptized Episcopalian.
"An interdenominational
marriage can be successful,"
Rev. Wiley emphasized. "It
Is the understanding of - the
other's faith, not emphasis on
the differences between faiths
that is important." He con
cluded that the rise in in
terdenominational marriages
"proves that exclusive claims
of a particular denomination
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Many Factors
Most clergymen agreed
with Rev. Wiley that
inter denominational mar
riages have a greater chance
to succeed than when the in
dividuals are of completely
different faiths. When two
faiths are Involved, D r
Pickering said that the iiv
dividuals are faced with
psychological and sociological
factors, not just those involv
ing religion because t h e
person is generally relating
to someone with a different
emotional background.
Problems in mixed mar
riages are often cultural
problems. This seems to be
true in Judism, for example,
where religion and culture
are so close that they are
hard to separate.
A young woman from a
traditional Jewish homo ex
plained the factors that she
is considering with her
finance, who has a protestant
background.
"Ours Is a cultural pro
blem," she explained. "My
parents have always dreamed
that I would have a
synogogue wedding, so they
disapprove of the marriage."
She didn't anticipate a
religious conflict between
herself and her future hus
band. They both attend the
Unitarian church.
"We do not see a difference.
We are both basically
humanistic with a t o u c h of
agnostic," she said.
Concerning children, she
said she expects a few ques
tions when the children go to
their Christian grandparents
for Easter and to their Jewish
grandparents for Passover.
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"we plan to raise our
children so we as parents will
be happy,' ' she said. "It
might be confusing to them,
but it can be explained. If
we present both religions
without emotional tension,
then I think the children will
be flexible enough to grow up
accepting both."
Education
Father Hain Indicated that
one of the reasons for the
Catholic agreement about the
education of the children Is
to force young people to con
front hits problem before
marriage. The agreement has
recently been changed to
place the rsponsibility upon
the Catholic rather than the
non-Catholic party.
Now the statement can be
verbally acknowledged and
requires that the non-Catholic
party recognize that it is a
matter of conscience that the
Catholic party have his
children raised in the Catholic
church. Previously , the non
Catholic had to sign a state
ment that the children would
be educated in the Catholic
church.
Birth control is another
aspect which Rev. Haitn con
tinuously encountered.
"All I can do Is clear the
air and let them do what they
want as they are guided by
conscience," he said.
When asked about interfaith
marriages, "It doesn't work,"
was the first reaction of Jan
Hodges, one of 13 Ba'hais in
Lincoln. She Indicated that
most Ba'hais are so active
to their faith that mixed
marriages usually end in
divorce unless one of the in
dividuals converts.
statistically, divorce is
more frequent in mixed mar
riages than when the couple
shares the same religious
beliefs. This is part of the
reasoning for pre-marriage
counseling programs offered
by many churches.
Counseling
The emphasis on counsell
ing generally varies from
congregation to congregation
within denominations. The
Rev. A. J. Norden o f
University Lutheran Chapel
said that his goal in counsell
ing a couple is that they
achieve spiritual unity.
"It is difficult to agree, but
if there is no spiritual union,
the subject of religion is often
not" discussed and religion
does not become an integral
part of daily life."
Nearly every congregation
has a doctrines class, but
some also employ professional
marriage counsellors.
St. Thomas Aquinas has a
pre-Cana series set up by the
Fine Arts
Schedule
ine scneauie lor various
forms of entertainment on
campus during the next two
weeks is:
"Midsummer Night's
Dream" 1935 film adapta
tion of the Shakespearean
play by the noted German
director Max Reinhardt.
Tuesday, July 9, 7:30 p.m.,
Sheldon Auditorium.
"The Court Martial of Billy
Mitchell," Union film,
Thursday, July 11, 7:00 p.m.,
Union auditorium.
"Romeo and Juliet" 1953
film production starring
Lawrence Harvey and Susan
Shentall Tuesday, July 16,
7:30 p.m., Sheldon.
"Newport Jazz Festival AI1-
Star Quintet" Union Artist
Series, Wednesday, July 17,
w.st lawn of Sheldon.
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Family Life Bureau of the
Liocese in Lincoln. About 250
couples attend the sessions
during the four times they are
repeated each year. Four,
two-hour programs are pre
sented by medical doctors,
businessmen, insurance per
sonnel and married couples.
Besides professional coun
selling, the individual person
in an interfaith or interde
Play May Be
Continued from Page 1
The svstem offers manv
advantages in many areas.
list, from an actor's
standpoint: An actor may
change a role three times in
the course of a week.
He will have a tremendous
experience," Williams said.
He may have three comic
roles, but each will he dif
ferent. He will have different
rhythm, timing and move
ment patterns. He is forced
to chance his sneerh nnrl
dialect patterns constantlv
within a week. A piano player
can't learn his craft bv
Today's Nebraskan
Last of Session
Today's issue of the Sum-
mer Nebraskan is the last
issue of the first session of
the University of Nebraska
summer term.
Publication will resume
July 23 with a six-page issue.
Two more papers follow: July
30 and Aug. 13.
Students and faculty are
reminded to submit articles
for publication at 319
Nebraska Hall, or call 472
2590 for any information
regarding possible publica
tion. Women's Swimming
Each afternoon from 2:30
women faculty may
participate i n recreational
swimming in the Coliseum
Pool. There is a 10c fee.
Tofels and suits are provided
but each swimmer is asked
to bring her own swimming
cap.
The Nebraska Union
Summer Performing Artist Series
presents
George Wein
and the
Newport Jazz All Stars
July 17
7:30
West Steps Sheldon Art Gallery
"I-- - rxJ . "Z"
nominational marriage has
some responsibilities.
Rabbi Sanford Ragins of the
South Street Temple Con
gregation, believes that
"marriage is the function of
the maturity of the people
who enter into it." He com
pared the preparation for
marriage to buying charts for
navigating a boat. "It tells
you where the reefs are and I
Presented Immediately
playing one piece of music
all of the time; neither can
an actor. The repertory
allows an actor to do a lot
of different things.
Second, from an audiences
viewpoint: The audience can
see three plays instead of just
one, and then make some fort
of judgment on the plays and
the actors.
"Plus it will be much more
culturally enriching for the
plyagoer to see three plays
instead of just one," he add
ed. Third, from a standpoint of
economics: If a play is done
four or five times in a row,
then finished, followed by
another run of yet another
play, the cost of building and
maintaining sets is much
higher. In repertory, many
parts of a set, or of costuming
and props can be utilized in
many plays, thus reducing the
cost.
Also, repertory allows more
flexibility in scheduling so
manv more people can see
all of the Dlavs.
"But the greatest
advantage of repertory is that
a play I s established,
Williams said. "When a com
pany of actors has given a
play over a period of time
ten that play could be put
in mothballs, so to speak, and
brought back again at a later
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makes sure you are aware
of all the pitfalls and poten
tialities." "Acceptance of the other as
a person is the big thing,"
Rev. Hain commented.
"Marriages don't go wrong
because of r e 1 i g iou s
differences. It's because they
haven't accepted each other
as persons including the
person's particular
date."
That is precisely what the
NU Theatre hopes to do with
"Serjeant Musgrave's
Dance," one of the three
plays in the summer season,
opening July 14.
Since most of he cast will
be back in the fall, Williams
said it is quite possible that
the University Theatre will
have a production ready for
the opening week of school.
and thus give better promo
tion for the upcoming season
of drama.
And Williams has greater
visions for the repertory in
Nebraska.
He is predicting a traveling
repertory company comprised
of at least 20 drama students
from college all over the state
which could present produc
tions in many of Nebraska's
college towns and other cities.
The company would consist
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background, heritage,
training and personal convic
tions." "There is something that
Catholics can learn from
other religions and the same
for them, if we would only
share our insights," he said.
"If we could only talk about
religion like our favorite
authors."
This Fall
of graduate students, earning
credit while performing on
the road over a period of
about two mmnths.
"This could be an
extremely popular and feasi
ble endeavir," Williams said.
"It is part of the future of
theatre in the state of
Nebraska."
He said that this program
would be an outgrowth of a
public awareness in the fine
arts of music, painting,
theatre, the film.
"People are not going to
be attracted to amateurism.
If they want to appreciate
culture they will want only
the best that can be brought.
They will soon begin to de
mand the best there is.
"I repeat, I think the hope
of the American theatre, and
of fine arts in general, rest
with the academic communi
ty," Williams concluded.
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