Erie Conference, December 1969 (Part A)

The time got closer for the Christmastime conference in Erie, PA. I still said nothing, but I felt that someone from our group should attend. But not me, because we always had family over for Christmas, including my Dad, Uncle Dave Neill, Uncle Fred Blankenburg, and my sister Barbara Neill, if she was available. About the Sunday before Christmas, Bill Barker got up in our meeting and voiced his opinion that someone from our group should attend the Erie Conference. Of course this confirmed my own feeling, so I got up and voiced the same thought. Our minister, brother Stanley Albanesius pointing in turn to Bill Barker, and then me, said to each of us, "You have the burden that someone should go; you go." Someone said to him: "How about you going?" He said "Oh, I always go to these things." So actually he didn't want to go either. Another brother, Bernie Lamereaux stood up, and he actually wanted to go! Thus Bill and I were "forced" to go, and Bernie came along with us.

Bill drove, and it was an approximate 460 mile trip to a resort that had been rented about 10 miles outside of Erie. I believe we arrived about Christmas eve, and there was plenty of snow on the ground. There was a bunkhouse for brothers, with double-deck bunks, another bunkhouse for sisters, a large assembly hall with kitchen facilities, and also a hill for tobogganing. On arrival we entered the main building where there were a group of brothers sitting in a circle praying, and often saying "Amen!" together in a loud voice. I thought this quite unusual, and also thought it might bother some people, but not me.

The conference lasted 3 days. The pattern was as follows: Every morning we met in the main hall for Morning Watch, then moved our chairs over for Breakfast. After Breakfast we moved our chairs back over for the Morning Meeting. After the Morning Meeting, we moved our chairs again for the Noon Meal. After the Noon Meal, the young people typically went tobogganing, and the older saints headed for the bunk houses for a nap. At this time there were typically going on other individual meetings that I was unaware of. Later, there was an Afternoon Meeting in the meeting hall, after which we moved our chairs over for the Evening Meal. After the Evening Meal, we moved our chairs over for the Evening Meeting.

All these main meetings typically consisting in hymn singing, testimonies, and sharing by various brothers, especially Witness Lee, and sometimes others including Titus Chu. Brother Lee shared on Revelation. But he also shared a number of things that I could never forget. He said we are on the shoulders of the Brethren, who, in turn, were on the shoulders of ones who went before (Zinzindorf and the Moravian Brethren?). Then he said that if we did not bring the Lord back, he didn't know who would be on our shoulders. Another impressive thing he said was in reference to a number of young Chinese brothers. He said they were so busy pursuing their medical careers that the only way they could contribute was by way of money. He lowered his voice when he said "money", so that it sounded like a dirty word. It was clear what he meant.

It was a very intense conference, and at the end of each day we all were pretty well worn out. In the middle of the night, I remember the brother in the bunk above me calling on the Lord in his sleep!

Perhaps on the second day of the conference, a group arrived (after driving through the night) from Houston, Texas. They shared that they had been scattered all over Texas, but had quit their jobs, sold their houses, and all relocated to Houston solely for the purpose of creating a strong testimony for the Lord in one place, i.e., Houston. Essentially, by this corporate move, they began meeting simply as the local church in Houston according to the New Testament pattern, such as "The church in Ephesus", for instance. By this means they also avoided partaking of divisions such as mentioned in Corinthians where the "dividers" were saying, "I am of Apollos", or "I am of Paul", or even "I am of Christ". Footnote: Along this line, Martin Luther said, "I pray you leave my name alone. Do not call yourselves Lutherans, but Christians." John Wesley said, "I wish the name Methodist might never be mentioned again, but lost in eternal oblivion. Charles Spurgeon said, "I say of the Baptist name, let it perish, but let Christ's own name last forever. I look forward with pleasure to the day when there will not be a Baptist living."

This testimony of the Houston saints was very moving. That evening in the bunkhouse, I asked Bernie if he could picture me selling my house and moving to another locality. He said "Yes, if the Lord was in it." I told him I never could picture such a thing until this night. In fact, I used to take people through my place in East Hartland where we had a large family and a business with 6 employees. People would ask me, "What would you do if you ever have to move?" I would always reply, "Ha ha, I'm not moving." But the Lord hears every word we speak.

This is a big subject and I've run out of time. Hope to continue shortly.