Dear Friends:
In the interest of establishing greater concentration on my outreach work with the Christian churches, I asked the Executive Committee last September to accept my resignation as chairman of our committee and suggested they elect Mo Siegel as our new chairman. The Executive Committee was not agreeable to making this change and persuaded me to continue as chairman.
I believe it is important that we involve the younger members of the Brotherhood who have leadership abilities in supervision responsibilities and experience. All of the current members of the Fraternal Relations Committee have significant leadership capabilities. To help actualize these potentials I sent the following directive on October 3, 1983 to our committee:
I should like to ask Vern and Bettina to be responsible for relationships and education regarding the various religions of the world. Literature, conference programs, and multi-media related to this broad area will be under their supervision. I would ask Cap and Jim to be in charge of directing our activities and relationships in interfacing with Christianity. Ecumenical activity among Christian churches, educational activities in colleges and universities related to the Christian culture, and other institutions of Christianity are a fertile field for interface functions. Finally, I am asking Mo to assume responsibility for integrating and directing our committee activities and initiating short and long range planning for the committee. I should like to have Mo take charge of communications within the committee and communications to the Executive Committee. I will act as a consultant to any of you in carrying out your committee responsibilities if you should need my involvement and I will cosign with Mo all committee communications directed to the Executive Committee. I trust this sharing of responsibilities will enable each of us to be creatively involved in doing the Father's will as we understand it in our lives.
During the year Mo has done an excellent job directing planning strategies, has issued a Planning Book, and has supervised the planning of our program at the General Conference. We look forward to some truly creative contact work with members of the various religions of the world. I believe we are at the beginning of a fruitful period of outreach ministry.
Cordially, Meredith J. Sprunger
6/1/84