THE of x /SAo u L m THISTLE CP Vcil.UMK I, Xl`MUKR 1 jANUAKv
Transcription
THE of x /SAo u L m THISTLE CP Vcil.UMK I, Xl`MUKR 1 jANUAKv
THE 1 of x /SAo u L m THISTLE CP Vcil.UMK I, Xl'MUKR 1 jANUAKv-EhiimrARV, 1()()2 A 0 lJls • M0U< I'.i-Monthly Xcws Hullcliu of (.'ov»'ii;mt (.'olk'^c and (.'ovainul 'rin'olofjical Scmiiiarv Christian Liberal Arts Education by Robert G. Rayburn "i want my son or (laughlcr to go to a large university where the best tcaehing is available. I would like to provide I'ible training, but I don't believe the best education should be sacrificed for the sake of training in the Scriptures." 'I his is a frequently heard comment of Christian parents today. It is based upon a very common misconception concerning what a true education is and especially concerning what Chris¬ tian education means. There are many people wdio have the idea that a Christian college is just like any other college when it comes to the study of English literature, his¬ tory, chemistry or mathematics. Therelore if one is to get the best available teaching in such courses he must go to a famous school where widely known prolessors with an international repu¬ tation in their particular fields are members of the faculty. Entirely apart from the fact that the student might never have the opportunity of taking a course from the famous professor, there is a serious error in this kind of reasoning. We must consider the fact that since the universe in which we live is the creation of a living Cod, and since the mind of man has been darkened by Hubert 0. Rayburn is president of Covenant Collci/c and of Covenant Theological Seminary. the fall so that he cannot know Cod nor recognize llis works apart from the illumination of the llolv Spirit, it is impossible for an unregencrale man, no matter how brilliant his menial ca¬ pabilities, to know the truth either with respect to Cod or llis universe. While not all unregencrale men deny the existence ol a god, all unrcgcncrato persons lake it for granted that the Cod ol the llible does not exist. What¬ ever god they have is the creation of their minds and is not the infmite, omniscient, sovereign ( iod and fa¬ ther of our ford Jesus Christ. The Christian recognizes that the Cod of the llible is the creator and sustainer of the universe. "Ily I lim all things consist" (Col. 1 :17). It would he impossible to understand the uni¬ verse without an understanding of Mini. It would he impossible to comprehcud llis works il we do not rec¬ ognize Mini. Certainly we could never be sure of truth in any realm of kuowl(dge if we reason without Mini, for example, no matter how much intelli¬ gence any unregencrale professor of history might possess, he could never truly teach and interpret history with¬ out a recognition of the controlling providences of a sovereign Cod and underslauding of 11 is purpose and plan as it is revealed in the Scripture. What is true of history is also true of sociology, biology, philosophy or any other field of learning. When the I'salmist said, "In Thy light shall we see light" (I'sa. AO:'1) he indicated a basic truth which must he before all Christians in considering their attitude toward education. We cannot understand the true meaning of fads unless we see them in the light ol (iod and ol Mis revealed Word. That which makes a Christian col¬ lege truly Christian is not the fad that in addition to so-called secular courses the curridilum contains some courses in the llible. Xeither is it the. fact that there is a chapel service each school day in the moruing and a special week of evangelistic services and missionary emphasis once each semester. It is not even the fad that Christian young people attend the school and include prayer groups and practical C hristian service projects in their activities. The tiling which makes a school distinctly Christian is the fact that in the class¬ room and the laboratory as well as in the chapel services a distinctly ChrisI'his is the lirst of a series of articles on the philosophy of Christian educa¬ tion. tian view is taken couccrniug every study, and all fads dealt with are un¬ derstood in the light of (iod and Mis revelation, so that truth is compre¬ hended and learned. To he true educa¬ tion one's education must be distinctly Christian in essence. Ilasic, of course, to Christian educa¬ tion is a laculty composed of regener¬ ate men and women, for "the natural mail receiveth not the things of the Spirit of (iod . . . neither can he know Iheiu, because they are spiritually dis¬ cerned" (I Cor. 2:1-1). The terrible blight upon the mind of man which came about as a result of the fall, can only he removed by the regenerating Continued next /'dge A CHRISTIAN LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION Continued work of the Holy Spirit. When a man is born again his intellect is radically affected. The eyes of his understand¬ ing are opened (Eph. 1:18). He be¬ comes capable of understanding the One who is Himself the Truth. The unregenerate person can only interpret facts in the light of man and this with the darkened mind of man. Professor J. G. Vos, in an excellent little tract on Christian Education has warned that "the human mind must never he regarded as competent to be the absolute and ultimate interpreter of facts; it must he recognized that in the end it is God who determines what facts mean and how they are related to one another." In describing that which is characteristic of truly Chris¬ tian Education he continues: "God must be the major premise of every text-book. God must be the great as¬ sumption in every classroom. God must he the Person whose handiwork is investigated in every laboratory. . . . In textbook, classroom and laboratory the student will learn to think God's thoughts after Him." It is evident that if Christian parents will think through the meaning of edu¬ cation they will not be most concerned to find the school where unregenerate scholars with established reputations in the field of secular education are teach¬ ing. They will be determined that their young people are taught by scholars who, having learned that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowl¬ edge" (Prov. 1:7), and having been themselves delivered from the blind¬ ness of sin, are able to teach Christian young people not only to have an un¬ derstanding of God but also to truly understand His creation. The ultimate purpose of all educa¬ tion for a Christian should be the glory of God. The emphasis then, in Chris¬ tian education, will be not so much upon giving the student certain skills with which he can earn a good living and enjoy comfort and luxury in this world. It will be upon giving the stu¬ dent a valid, scriptural, God-centered view of life itself so that he will be enabled to live it for the glory of God. This is the reason why Covenant Col¬ lege presents without apology a Chris¬ tian liberal arts curriculum. We are concerned with preparing young peo¬ ple for life, not for making a living. 2 BOARD AND OF TRUSTEES ORGANIZES The annual winter meeting of the Hoard of Trustees, held this year on January 10, was one filled with impor¬ tant decisions. In addition to the ap¬ pointment of Mr. Edward A. Steele, Jr., as Pusiness Manager, which ac¬ tion is reported elsewhere in this issue of The Thistle, the board heard re¬ ports from each of its newly consti¬ tuted committees and pledged itself to an active pro¬ gram of strengt h e n i n g the school spiritual¬ ly, academically, and financially. Dr. Marion D. ISarnes, el¬ der in the Cove¬ nant Presbyter¬ ian Church, St. Louis, elected to the chairman¬ ship of the board last fall, has di¬ vided all twentyfour of its mem¬ Marion bers into four permanent committees, charged with oversight and planning in the four ma¬ jor areas of responsibility which the trustees have. Chairman of the Finance Committee is the hoard's vice-president, Hugh Smith, elder in the Huntsville, Alabama, Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Smith showed several charts he had prepared which made clear to the board members the financial prob¬ lems which Covenant faces, and what steps should be taken to solve these problems. The board approved a pro¬ posal to undertake a special program to secure $10,000 per month in faithpromises. This amount would stabilize Covenant's financial structure and make possible necessary expansion without sacrificing current commit¬ ments to the faculty. FOR MEETS ACTION The Reverend E. T. Noe, pastor of the Indianapolis Bible Presbyterian Church, is chairman of the Committee on Academic Affairs. This committee reported that it is working on a fac¬ ulty-staff enlargement program which will cover the next five to ten years. It is also concerned with additions to the curriculum, necessary for full regional accreditation. The Building and M a i n t e nance Commit¬ tee has the Rev¬ erend Donald MacKair, pas¬ tor of the local Covenant Pres¬ byterian Church, as chair m a n. This committee presented a de¬ tailed report of projects which it is undertak¬ ing, not only for the proper care D. Barnes and repair of the present buildings and grounds, but also for development of a long-range program of campus construction. The fourth committee has responsi¬ bility for public relations, and is con¬ cerned with the public ministry of members of the board, faculty and staff, as well as any students who have a public ministry representing the school. Chairman of this committee is the Reverend John Hoogstrate, pas¬ tor of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Kearney, Nebraska. Re¬ sponsible for increasing publications such as the bi-monthly Intercessor, a daily prayer calendar distributed to all friends of Covenant, this committee also promotes such projects as the an¬ nual Covenant Day in all Evangelical Presbyterian Churches. NEW COURSES OFFERED SECOND SEMESTER In addition to the continuing first semester courses, a number of new college and seminary classes have been added for the spring term beginning February 1. Detailed descriptions and credit units for each are listed in the catalogs. COLLEGE COURSES Science Geologv ge 23, Mr. Wilson Bible New Testament Survey 2, Mr. Webber Ephesians 303, Mr. Webber Sociology-Anthropology Anthropology Seminary 410, Mr. Wilson Physical Anthropology 201, Mr. Wilson Psychology Educational Psychology 202, Mr. Sanderson Psychology of Personality 302, Mr. Sanderson M usic Choral Conducting 301, Mr. Taylor Vocal Pedagogy me 402, Mr. Taylor Classics Ancient Mediterranean Culture, Mr. Werner Philosophy Christianity and Communism, Dr. Killen English Chaucer 306, Mrs. Wallis Victorian Literature 314, Dr. Downey H istory Philosophy of History 402, Mr. Barker Nursing Education Introduction to Nursing 101, Mrs. Schmidt SEMINARY ELECTIVES Theology of Paul Tillich, Dr. Killen Christianity and Communism, Dr. Killen Creek Reading 724, Mr. Werner Hebrew Reading IT, Dr. Smick Calvin's Institutes ) or ) Dr. Ruswell Corinthian Epistles ) Theological Writing, Dr. Downey Gospel of John, Dr. Fleece Ancient Mediterranean Culture, Mr. Werner AN IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD Covenant At the annual winter meeting of the Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges in Cleveland, (>hio. on January 8 and 9, the application of Covenant College for membership was approved. This is for Covenant an important step on the road to re¬ gional accreditation. The Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges, commonly called CASC, was founded in 1936 for the purpose of giving assistance to small, non-regionally accredited, non-tax sup¬ ported colleges throughout the country, who were seeking to improve their academic work with a view to full ac¬ creditation. There are approximately 60 colleges in the membership of CASC, and since its inception nearly 30 of the schools have attained full regional accreditation. ( )f this number several have retained their member¬ ship in CASC in order to benefit from its excellent workshops and conferen¬ ces and to lend assistance to the other member schools not yet fully accredit¬ ed. President of CASC is Dr. Roger Voskuyl, president of Westmont Col¬ lege in California. Although Westmont has recently been accredited, Dr. Yoskuyl indicates that his school expects Joins Casc to continue in the Council because it can both give and receive much benefit. The CASC program is directed from a central office in Washington. Fxecutive secretary of CASC is Dr. Alfred T. Hill, who has written a hook called "The Small College Meets the Chal¬ lenge," which describes the work of CASC and the remarkable accomplish¬ ments of this organization. There are four special activities into which the work of the Council is divided: re¬ search, coordination, public relations and fund raising. The CASC Board of Directors is divided into three com¬ missions. The first deals with accredi¬ tation and financial resources; the sec¬ ond with educational improvement: and the third in research and experi¬ mentation in curriculum and instruc¬ tion. CASC provides individual consult¬ ant service to its members and has conducted an all-member student test¬ ing program. It has helped and encour¬ aged its members in their own efforts in such things as fund raising, student recruitment, curriculum development, and improvement of instruction. The average enrollment at CASC colleges is 450. Forty-two member col¬ leges are Protestant, 12 are Catholic, and the rest are non-sectarian. covenants new administration liCii.DiNG. Rising starkly from its surround¬ ing unlandscaped acreage, and (except for the ground floor men's dormitory, at the left rear) as unfinished inside as outside, this much needed and poten¬ tially beautiful building awaits replenishment of the building fund before further construction work can proceed. 3 John W. Sanderson Gives Special Lectures on Public Worship Special lectures given by The Rev¬ erend John \Y. Sanderson, Jr., of Westminster Seminar)', Philadelphia, John W. Sanderson, Jr. have heen a moving force on the Cove¬ nant campus during the first two weeks of January. These lectures, given in SOLTAU TO SPEAK AT ANNUAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCE T. Stanley Soltau, pastor of the First Evangelical Church in Memphis, Tennessee, and mem¬ ber of the Board of Trustees of Covenant College and Covenant Theological Seminary, is sched¬ uled to deliver the annual Mis¬ sionary Conference series of lectures during the week of Feb¬ ruary 12 through 16 to both col¬ lege and seminary students. Dr. Soltau, himself a veteran missionary of some twenty-five years in Korea, is president of World Presbyterian Missions. These special lectures are part of the prescribed seminary aca¬ demic program, carrying one hour of credit. College students attend all sessions, hut are not required to take the examination. 4 the mornings to the combined college and seminary chapel and in the after¬ noons as a credit course for the semi¬ nar)', dealt with the principles of pub¬ lic worship as taught in the typology of the tabernacle and Levitical sacri¬ fices of the Old Testament. Students and faculty alike have felt the working of the Holy Spirit through his ministr yMr. Sanderson, a graduate ofWhealon College and of Faith Theological Seminar)', has previously taught both at Faith and at Covenant and was the first pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. He is now teach¬ ing evangelism, worship, cults, pastoral counselling and Creek in the depart¬ ment of practical theology at West¬ minster Seminary and is nearing the completion of his work for a doctorate in the field of philosophy from the Uni¬ versity of Pennsylvania. The subject of his doctoral thesis is Plotinus. In the spring of 1960, Mr. Sander¬ son delivered a series of special lec¬ tures on the book of Job. A son, David Sanderson, is a former Covenant stu¬ dent, and a daughter, Judy, is a sopho¬ more with honor standing at Covenant. PAINTINGS GIVEN TO COVENANT Albert L. Arenberg of Chicago has presented four valuable contemporary paintings to Covenant College. "Alba Sky" by Martin Engleman, "Still Life with Peuter" by Patricia Cunningham, and "Venezia" by William B. Laurie are oils; "Winterlight" by William Halsey is a water color. Mr. Arenberg is the father of Mrs. David Fiseman, III, of Balcon Estates. The Eisemans have been good friends of the college, showing their interest in many practical ways, often using Cove¬ nant students as baby-sitters and, at present, generously providing one of Covenant's outstanding young women with board and room in return for baby-sitting twice a week. The Eiseman home has also been opened to student work-committees, such as the one charged with making the elaborate decorations for the Tales of the Cove¬ nanters' Banquet. Mrs. Eiseman not only helped create the decorations but delighted the students by serving re¬ freshments. It is not surprising, therefore, that Mr. Arenberg should show a similar generous and thoughtful interest in Covenant in his donation of the paint¬ ings, two of which have already been hung in the president's office. Mr. Arenberg is president of Luminator-PTarrison, Inc.. in Chicago. WPM YHSSIONAIIY PANEL HELD JANUAHY 16 ON COVENANT CAM PUS Covenant students attended a mis¬ terson (North Port Charlotte, Flori¬ sionary panel discussion held in the da). college chapel on the topic of the The discussion period also provided Lord's specific call to a specific field of an opportunity for the individual mis¬ service. The Reverend William A. sionaries to share with the students Mahlow, General Secretary of World their own personal experiences in be¬ Presbyterian Missions, moderated the ing called to God's service. panel made up of representatives from The occasion which made possible the foreign mission field: Miss Anne this unusual meeting for Covenant stu¬ Wigglesworth (Japan), the Reverend Richard 11. Strom (India), the Rev¬ dents was the World Presbyterian erend James S. Gilchrist (Chile), the Missions' Conference being held in St. Reverend George R. Bragdon (Peru), Louis. The continuing interest and concern the Reverend Robert C. Woodson (Peru) ; and representatives from the of Covenant students in missions is home mission field: the Reverend reflected in the active Foreign Missions C. Howard Oakley, General Secretary Fellowship, which, under the leader¬ of National Missions, the Reverend ship of its president, William D. McHayes T. Henry (Cherokee Indians), Colley, sponsors six weekly prayer the Reverend John Palmer (Bethel, groups, each concerned with a differ¬ Maine, and Burlington, Massachu¬ ent field and each meeting separately setts), and the Reverend Terrence Pe¬ on different week days. Coveiumt Chomle Travels Saulh With Hymns of the Christian Church Just after chapel on a cloudy Wednesday morning late in January the Covenant College Chorale began its annual mid-winter tour, which this year was longer than it has been in previous years. Jlecause urgent invita¬ tions had come to the Chorale to sing in many of the Evangelical Presby¬ terian churches in the Southland, the tour had been enlarged to cover nearly 4,000 miles. The program of the Chorale this year presents a brief history of the hymnody of the Christian church. Starting with the most ancient hymns, which reach back to sub-apostolic days, the Chorale sings modern anthem ver¬ sions of selections from all the main periods in the development of the Christian hymn. David Peterson, pres¬ ident of the choir, introduced the pro¬ gram at each concert, after which individual Chorale members in turn Repertoire introduced the individual numbers so that the audience would lie able to en¬ joy and appreciate the music. Personal testimonies from the young people are a feature of each program. At ever}- stop on the southern tour, those who heard the Chorale comment¬ ed on the blessing which the}' received through these testimonies because of the freshness and evident sincerity of the Covenanters. A new feature of this year's pro¬ gram was the presence of Mr. John Taylor, head of Covenant's music de¬ partment, who appeared as guest solo¬ ist on each of the choir's programs. The first concert w.as in Howling Creen, Kentucky, and then the choir went on to penetrate the deep South with a concert the next night in Huntsville, Alabama. After driving all night and all the next day, a Friday evening concert was given in Sarasota, Florida. On Saturday and Sunday, the Chorale appeared in the Evangelical Presby¬ terian churches in St. Petersburg, Tampa, and Lakeland. In Savannah, Ceorgia, on Monday evening, the Chorale sang in the I lull Memorial Presbyterian Church, where the host pastor was the Reverend Cliftord lirewton, who graduated in the first class from Covenant College. There followed concerts in Columbia, South Carolina; Durham, Xorth Caro¬ lina ; 1 lamptnn. Virginia ; < irecnsboro and Charlotte. Xorth Carolina; Rock Hill and (ireenville, South Carolina. The choir ended its tour with two concerts in Tennessee: first at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, and then at the First Evangelical Church in Memphis. In addition to Mr. lirewton, there were a number of other pastors who Continued on page eight THE COVENANT 00ELE0E OHOKALE I'irst Row (Left to Right) : Director Robert G. Raybttni; Carole DePrine; Joy Preston; JoEtta Roiedcn; /Annie Short; Sandra Dorcas; Beatrice Gate; Judy Payne; Second Row: David Bragdon; Merrily Richie; Ahincy Maynard; Diane Coff man; Daivn McCallum; Kaye Brink Icy; Shcryl Blair Ihird Row: Joel Beh; Robert Fiol; Mark Beh; Arlen Dykstra; Sam Pennington; Arthur Scott Back Row: David Peterson; Michael Doyen; Keith Ward; David Robinson; Dick Tosh; Frank Crane Not Pictured : JJavid LeRoy 5 Edward A. Steele Joins Staff One of the most significant actions of the Jfoard of Trustees at its annual winter meeting was the appointment of Mr. Edward A. Steele, Jr., as busi¬ ness manager of Covenant College and Covenant Theological Seminary. Since the inception of this school, all of the Edward A. Steele, Jr. responsibilities for business adminis¬ tration have been divided between the president, the registrar, and the dean of men. An urgent need for a business administrator has been felt for several years, and the trustees agreed that the availability of Mr. Steele was an an¬ swer to prayer. Mr. Steele comes to Covenant after years of experience in the business world. He has been the president of E. A. Steele Associates of Philadel¬ phia, Pennsylvania, which is the only complete insurance and investment ad¬ visory service in the Delaware Valley area. Piefore establishing his own busi¬ ness, he was associated with the insur¬ ance brokerage firm of Peake and Com¬ pany of Philadelphia; and prior to this was administrative vice-president of the Delaware Company, an investment management company controlling two mutual funds. In previous years Mr. Steele had been associated with several other well-known organizations, in¬ cluding Sharp and Dohme, Curtis Publishing Company, and Scott Paper Company. He has had experience in personnel management, organizational 6 Covenant Takes First Place in Invitational Tournament development, research direction, adver¬ hor the first time in Covenant's tising, and sales. His wide experience brief history of intervarsity sports, in the business world will make him a Covenant's basketball team proved very valuable part of the Covenant ad¬ conclusively that it had what it takes ministration. to walk off with top honors in major Mr. Steele's interests have not been sports competition. Three teams from limited to business. He has been an Christian colleges of about the same active layman in Christian work. He size as Covenant accepted bids to Cove¬ has been European Secretary for the nant's first Invitational Tournament, (Ifficers' Christian Union, and helped held January 15 and 16. The visiting to establish its American branch. He is teams represented Central College of also a member of the Hoard of Trus¬ Moberly, Missouri: Manhattan Pible tees of the North American Council of College of Manhattan, Kansas; and St. the North Africa Mission. During Jan¬ Louis Christian College. uary and February of this year he is Two games were played each eve¬ making an extensive tour of Europe ning, and the attendance and spirit at and North Africa in the interests of these games indicated that Covenant these two Christian enterprises. students and friends have plenty of In World War II, Mr. Steele was a enthusiasm for the school. On the first Eieutenant Commander in the United evening, St. Louis Christian College States Navy, and was awarded a spe¬ and Covenant won hard-fought vic¬ cial commendation for his work on the tories over Central and Manhattan, planning and attack phases of the land¬ and therefore qualified for the finals ing operations in Sicily and France. the next night. He received a commendation ribbon A trophy was the coveted prize for for bis performance during the inva¬ the final game on Friday evening. Cov¬ sion of I'"ranee. enant piled up on early lead in the first Mrs. Steele is the former Margaret half and never once actually got bePell Harvey of Wynnewood, Pennsyl¬ vania. The Steeles have three children; Picture on page 8 Edward A. Steele, III, who, following his graduation from Yale University, hind during the entire game. At one went on active duty as an ensign in the point in the second half, however, the United States Navy; Cynthia, who is Covenant men seemed to have trouble to be married in May; and Margaret hitting the basket; and St. Louis Chris¬ Ellen, who graduates from high school tian climbed to within two points of in June of this year and is expecting to Covenant. This aroused the Cove¬ study at the University of Lausanne nanters, who began hitting again; and in Switzerland. the final score was St. Louis Christian, The Steeles have purchased a home 85 : Covenant, 95. Star of the evening on Conway Road opposite from Cove¬ was Rob Parbee of Memphis, who led nant campus, and will be moving to the scoring with 40 points. In the consolation game Moberly St. Louis in June. Mr. Steele will take up his new duties at Covenant as of won the third place trophy by defeat¬ ing Manhattan Pible College, 64-55. July 1. A Visiting Lecturer in Classics for the Spring Semester Mr. John Werner, of Riverton, New Jersey, who received his P.A. as a Greek major under Dr. Wilber Wallis at Shelton College, is again asso¬ ciated with Dr. Wallis, this time as a Visiting Lecturer for the Spring term. However, since Shelton days, Mr. Werner has gone on to earn his P.D. degree at Faith Theological Seminary and to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania. lie ex¬ pects to complete his dissertation this spring. It was while Mr. Werner was in Greece studying on a scholarship granted by the University of Pennsyl¬ vania that he met his wife, the former Helen Poris, an American-born Greekserving in Greece as a missionary. NEWS AND VIEWS ON CAMPUS The Faculty PRESIDEXT RAY BURN sup¬ plied the pulpit of the Olive Branch Bible Presbyterian Church of St. Lou¬ is during the recent illness of the pas¬ tor, Covenant alumnus George Cooper. Dr. Rayburn alsd spoke to an as¬ sembly of the Lafayette Pligh School in nearby Ellisville on the subject of "Americanism" when that school spon¬ sored a patriotic program in connec¬ tion with its observance of Washing¬ ton's birthday. ELMER SMICK, professor of Se¬ mitic Languages and History, was Covenant's representative at the recent College for a Day program at the lurst Baptist Church of Crum Lynne, Pennstlvania. This is an annual event spon¬ sored by the Evangelical Minister's Association of the Chester, Pennsyl¬ vania, area and draws hundreds of high school stu¬ dents from church¬ es in the vicinity to hear representa¬ tives of evangelical colleges and Bible institutes. Each speaker briefly pre¬ sents his school in a public session, and then meets and talks with the students personally as they visit the individual school displays. During Dr. Smick's eastern visit he preached on Sunday morning at the Media Evangelical Presbyterian Church and in the evening at the Bible Presbyterian Church (Independent) of Boothwyn, Pennsylvania. R. LAIRD HARRIS, professor of Old Testament in the seminary, will take a leave of absence the second se¬ mester to conduct the Covenant Bible Lands Cruise and Study Tour. Mrs. Harris and their three children will accompany him. The older daughter, Grace, is a sophomore in Covenant College. JOHN A. TAYLOR, acting chair¬ man of the Music Department, an¬ nounced plans for a Campus Choir as ... AND an extra-curricular activity. The choir would present The Holy City in the spring. All college students are wel¬ come to join : no try-outs will be held. The Students The College .YEIY STL'DEXTS, fulltime, en¬ tering the college for the second se¬ mester include tieo freshmen : JIMMY D. ADAMS, West Hollywood, Flori¬ da, a member of the Plvmouth Breth¬ ren ; DOXWALD IV~. TALLENT, Plainfield, Indiana, a member of the Bible Presbyterian Church of Indian¬ apolis; one sophomore, BARBARA EVERETT, Memphis, Tennessee, a member of the Edrst Evangelical Church of Alemphis; and tieo juniors, ROBERT BslRBEE, Memphis, Ten¬ nessee, a member of the Ehrst Evan¬ gelical Church; and Willis D. Ruyle, supply pastor of the Bible Baptist Church, St. Louis. Miss Everett and .Mr. Barbee are returning to Covenant after short absences. New part-time second semester students, all from St. Louis include MRS. VIRGINIA BRUXNER. LAWRENCE GAUNT, ROBERT KILLEN, and NANCY WATTERS. DHINE MENGLE, Chairman, and her hard-working Social Committee members, delighted Covenanters with the festive theme of "Silver Bells" at the annual Christmas Banquet held in the dining room at Concordia Semi¬ nary, St. Louis. Narrator of the eve¬ ning's program was Mr. Harry Elders, professional radio and television actor, who has appeared in a number of Christian films and has had a part in such Christian radio programs as "Un¬ shackled." THE STUDENT COUNCIL has launched a fund-raising campaign for the athletic field by offering "deeds" to one square foot of the field for the price of one dollar. The goal for this project, which will run until Easter, is $500. To the student who sells the most "deeds," the Student Council of¬ fers full payment of all his semester's books. IN BRIEF OFF... ELEANOR ROWAN EIOL was the first English major to be awarded the Gertrude Forman Fort Memor¬ ial Scholarship es¬ tablished by Ger¬ trude T. F'ort, of Arlington, Virgin¬ ia, in honor of her mother. This award of $100 is present¬ ed annually to a junior or senior English major on the basis of out¬ standing scholarship, Christian char¬ acter, and financial need. THE (NEW) THISTLE With the publication of this is¬ sue of The Thistle, Covenant faculty introduces the bi-month¬ ly news bulletin of Covenant Col¬ lege and Covenant Theological Seminary. Until recently (except for spe¬ cial newsletters), The Bagpipe, a student newspaper, was the chief means of communication between Covenant and its friends. A weekly student mimeographed sheet called The Thistle carried current campus announcements of interest mainly to faculty and students. However, by mutual agree¬ ment between faculty and stu¬ dents, the weekly student an¬ nouncement sheet is now known as The Bagpipe and the new Cov¬ enant bi-monthly information bulletin as The Thistle. The editors will value your prayer support in this new ven¬ ture and will welcome your com¬ ments upon it. THREE ENGAGEMENTS have been announced recently : (1) BEA¬ TRICE GALE, junior, of St. Louis, to Richard Jones. Mr. Jones is a grad¬ uate of the University of Illinois and is employed by Mississippi Valley Structural Steel as an engineer. Both Continued 7 aaisanoau mnm vinvA'USMuad aniAQHOOtJOD II3<1C0D IV'JN H HJI 'Z961 '£1-1 3linr <3§3no3 jinuQAO^) jo snduiBO 3i[} uo poiu jjiav pOU.{g U13U3}.{qS3.I(J [13.1I[3SlH3A3 unossip\[ 'ij, sthot; is '39 xog uiioss-jHf 's-iitoj 'is S8H 'ON iiwaaci •Sao njoJd-'JON a I Yd aSoisoj ■$■{} NEWS AND VIEWS Continued Miss Gale and Mr. Jones are members of Covenant Presbyterian Church. (2) ANN MACKENZIE, freshman, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, to Joseph Little, also of Levittown. Mr. Little is a member of the Evangelical Presby¬ terian Church in Levittown and is planning to enroll in Covenant next fall. (3) CAROL LEROY, first year student nurse at Deaconness Hospital School of Nursing, St. Louis, to JAMES VAN LA ARE, junior, of Vancouver, P>ritish Columbia. Miss LeRoy had two years at Covenant be¬ fore entering the nursing program. Mr. Van Laare is the nephew of Dr. and Mrs. R. Allan Killen. DR. KILLEN is professor of philosophy at Covenant. COVENANT CO-EDS sponsored the annual Valentine party and open house in the Women's Dormitory this year on February 17. After inspection of the girls' rooms, the students ga¬ thered in the library for games and for special Valentine skits presented by the girls. Mrs. Peter Stam led the de¬ votional period. And then came the inevitable and irresistible refreshments. The Seminary PAUL DAVENPORT, junior, heads a new chorale ensemble known as the Seminarians. This group, under the direction of MR. JOHN A. TAY¬ LOR, new music instructor in the college, is preparing an hour-long pro¬ gram of song and Scriptures for pre8 AiDuimec; poi6o];oai|j[ jucuaAOQ puo afiagoQ juouaAOQ jo uija[{ng SAva^[ Ap;uoui-ig apsiqi aqjL sentation in St. Louis area churches. The Seminarians include BRUCE EIOL, middler, and JACK MULLER, freshman (in college), first bass;VVlI^LIAM MCCOLLEY, middler, and JIM SING I.ETON, freshman (in college), second bass; PslUL DAV¬ ENPORT, nvddler, and JIM CON¬ RAD, senior (in college), first tenor; ROGER LAMBERT, junior, and JilCHARD ROIVE, middler, second tenor; and DslUJJJ EIOL, junior, pianist. ROGER I.AMBERT, junior, is not only an Instructor in German in the college, but also is conducting two faculty German classes, each meeting once a week. One faculty course is for "beginners" and the other a reading review for "advanced" students. President Raybnrn receives trophy from Captain Burgess THE THISTLE Robert G. Rayburn, Editor Virginia M. Baker, Associate Editor Editorial Committee .1. Oliver Buswcll, Jr. Rudolph F. Schmidt 1 la'rold Gi Sfigers Robert E. Webber The Thistle is published bi¬ monthly from January through De¬ cember, inclusive, except in JulyAugust, by Covenant College, Box 68, St. Louis 41, Missouri. Subscription : $1.00 per year; single copies 25 cents. COVENANT CHORALE Continued played host to the Chorale who were themselves alumni of Covenant. These included the Reverend Paul Alexander of Huntsville, the Reverend Tom Sidebotham of Sarasota, the Reverend Thomas Waldecker of St. Petersburg, and the Reverend Charles Gosling of Hampton, Virginia. Members of the Chorale were espe¬ cially grateful for the opportunity to sing in several churches that have had no previous contact with Covenant College. Young people in several of these churches expressed a genuine in¬ terest in Covenant, and future years may reveal that the witness of the Chorale members was responsible for bringing a number of new students to the campus.