Apr 28, 2020
Council on History
Rev. Nicholas J. Kersten
Director of Education and History
As you read this issue of the Sabbath Recorder, word has reached you that our General Conference sessions this summer are canceled. As the situation progressed surrounding the consideration of canceling, I researched recent Conference cancellations on a recollection from John Pethtel that we had canceled previously. When I went to the archives, the recollection was confirmed: Conference was canceled twice during WWII, in 1943 and 1945. Given the circumstances, it’s worth a look back at those decisions.
At General Conference in 1942, like much of America, the Conference was reacting to the events following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into the war. The Commission (the council which held oversight over the work of the Conference as a whole) included in their report language which was adopted by the Conference in session to the effect that the Commission would be empowered to carry out the business of the Conference if it was impossible or “extremely impractical” to meet. As 1942 moved into 1943 and the war continued, the Commission evaluated the situation, including a request from President Franklin D. Roosevelt for civilians to limit travel, and decided not to meet. Similar circumstances in 1945, after the Conference met in 1944, led to another cancellation—though the announcement came later, no doubt because of hope the war would be over (following V-E Day) and that Conference could continue.
The Yearbooks for the work of the Conference in those years begin with letters from the President of the respective Conference sessions. In 1943, Conference President Hurley Warren’s letter suggests that significant consultations were undertaken with both the host church (Alfred), and the site (Alfred University), and that there was a specific request from President Roosevelt to limit travel. In 1945, Conference President Perley Hurley referenced the rapidly changing conditions and pointed specifically to transportation problems and wartime demands keeping people away even if the sessions could be successfully held. The backdrop of the war played prominently in both letters, as things like rationing and the hopes that war might end are obvious in the text of the letters.
As the war drew to a close, it was also clear that Perley Hurley was thinking about the state of the Conference coming out of the war. He acknowledged the difficulty on the people of Conference in not meeting, saying, “…the activities of an organization can be carried on more effectively when there is periodic opportunity for discussion and settling of problems. The people of an organization need the inspiration and help that come from associating with other members.” But beyond the need for meeting, Hurley also clearly understood that the work of the Conference was not limited to one meeting, saying: “…we need to realize that without Conference [meetings], our zeal for denominational interests must be greatly increased wherever we live and work.” Perley closed his letter suggesting that the necessity of raising the entire Conference budget had never been greater and that in lieu of traveling, people should contribute their travel money to the work of the Conference instead. (I wonder how that suggestion would be met today!)
The letters and decision processes obviously give us insight to the past, but should also give us encouragement today. There are clear analogs between the situation faced by SDBs then and now, though obviously there are also differences. In both cases, there were real drains on resources because of a national crisis. Likewise, government leaders requested or imposed significant restrictions on travel. The importance of meeting despite those challenges was clearly understood in both 1943 and 1945, but the circumstances clearly warranted the cancellations. And in both cases, there were groups of duly elected SDBs who stood to make the decisions that were necessary. All of these pieces apply today as well. We face challenges in this present moment around both the physical and economic tolls of the COVID-19 pandemic. But we have the knowledge that God has brought us through these sorts of events before as a people, and we can emerge from this crisis stronger than we have ever been.
