December 2022 Monthly Letter

Dear Reconcilers,

Last year on December 23, 2021, Neil Earle unexpectedly died of heart failure at the age of 74. He was a respected and beloved friend of our Reconciliation Ministry.

Neil was a retired Grace Communion International (GCI) Church Pastor who served for 44 years in congregations across Canada and in Southern California. He held an M.A. in History from the University of Toronto and an M.S. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He was a creative and innovative instructor who taught Church History for GCI Seminary for 12 years. Neil wrote several books and hundreds of articles for international magazines, newspapers, and websites.

Perhaps Neil’s greatest gift was loving God. He viewed each person as a child of God. His earnest desire was to reach the wounded and hurting. He clearly had a passion for Reconciliation Ministry. Although he will be forever missed, Neil’s legacy will live on. As we near the anniversary of Neil’s passing, we would like to honor his memory by reprinting the very last letter he wrote for us. I hope you enjoy reading it again.

ORM AT 25: A Work of Loaves and Fishes!

When ORM began in 1996-97 it was in context of what some were calling a time of racial peace. But in Texas, some Churches were spreading a book that could be interpreted to assert that America’s leading minority at the time was mentally inferior to the larger majority. 

Curtis May gathered a small band of committed Christians around him to get the message of the tactics of racial reconciliation out to those who would in turn rally to support it. It was what the Bible calls a “loaves and fishes” operation rather than a well-funded Madison Avenue high-powered outreach. At first, there were two prongs of endeavor: Curtis May responded to workshop requests coming in to our then headquarters at Pasadena, CA and a small-scale print mission began acting as a clearing house for so much that was to explode around us. 

Curtis himself soon travelled to South Africa under the auspices of Fuller Seminary’s retired head of Psychology,
Dr. Archibald Hart. Then he went to the United Kingdom where ORM attended the 200th of the end of slavery across the British Empire in 2007. In Richmond, VA Curtis and I shared a deeply meaningful reenactment of a prayer walk along the old slave trail. These were milestones along the path where others had trod long before us. With his gift for friendship, Curtis was soon interacting with NBA great A.C. Green, as well as America’s leading church historian Mark Noll, who spoke most warmly about our work. Along the way came a full-fledged book, Mending Broken Relationships, used by counselors across North America (and available upon request), to an award-winning DVD titled, A Time to Reconcile. Gradually we added 24 Chapter Leaders “from sea to sea,” including the U.K.’s Conflict Resolution Specialist Evelyne O’Callaghan Burkhart. 

In many ways we have been ahead of our time. ORM was invited to the first national seminar on “Community Policing”— an idea that is now quickly gaining ground in the United States. Most people we’ve met have been astonished and gratified that such an organization exists and that it has the communication “smarts” to teach principles of true reconciliation, principles expounded in living clarity in the Sermon on the Mount, waiting to be brought into the modern era. 

We at ORM are well aware that our strength lies not in our own abilities but in the One who said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) It also comes from YOU, our loyal and devoted followers who have shared the vision and in some cases, have had it before we arrived. We are grateful to God that you have been with us on the journey. Here’s to another 25 years! 

As we celebrate our 25th year, I want to thank Cherry Steinwender for being willing to mentor us as we started our journey. Cherry’s ministry is called the Center for the Healing of Racism in Houston, Texas. For three years we joined with the Center and presented seminars around the country. She was always there whenever we called and we cannot thank her enough.

Thank you all for your support over the years and for your prayers. We are looking forward to another year of helping to bring unity in any way we can. Wishing you a wonderful 2022.