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Presbyterian Forum
By GEORGE K. PRESTON
This is CONTACT . . may
I help you?”
The silence on the other end
of the line is ominous. The
voiceless urgency of the caller
is felt, not heard, by the
Listener.
The time: 3:06 in the morn
ing.
The place: A room in the
city, ordinary in its design and
appointments, extraordinary in
its use.
The characters: The listener
and the caller.
The drama is as old as man
is old, as recurrent as the sea
sons, yet more vitally com
pelling than anything ever com
posed by the great playwrights.
For this is the true story of
a man’s, or a woman’s, or a
youth’s darkest hour.
And in the fearful stillness
of that terrible moment when
human dignity or even a
human life dangles precariously
on the slender thread of a tele
phone line through miles of
inky night, in that critical time
when the very silence shrieks a
story of despair and the ticking
watch counts down the
seconds—in that fateful
moment we can but pray that
the listener will somehow
choose the right words.
For words are all he has to
work with.
It is comforting to know,
then, that the listener is not
only a resourceful and com
passionate individual in his
own right, but that he has been
trained by professionals in how
to respond to such a situation.
There is good cause for hope in
the statistical record of CON
TACT’S achievement in
handling more than 250,000
telephone calls from distressed
persons in various cities
throughout the nation this past
year.
CONTACT is a non-profit
corporation of trained Chris
tian men and women dedicated
to the concept that people can
be helped by other people, not
necessarily in a material way,
and not by sermonizing or
manipulating, but through the
medium of genuine compas
sion-let’s call it love; that one
four letter word we need never
be ashamed of. Initial training
for volunteer workers requires
50 hours of intensive in
struction. For others who later
enter the program 30 hours of
training plus an apprenticeship
is required. The overall purpose
is to recruit and train mature
Christians for service.
It’s a curious thing, and
something of a paradox, but it
is often the will to help, rather
than the help itself, that is
most needed. When a person is
made to feel that someone
cares-really cares-about his
troubles, those troubles begin
to diminish. Often they vanish
altogether.
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With this singular but im
portant fact in mind, a group
of people have set about to
establish ministries in this
country and around the world,
where brotherly love and
human understanding are avail
able without strings or obliga
tions to any and all who need
it—not from 9 til 5 Monday
through Friday-but 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a
year, year in and year out.
CONTACT had its be
ginning in Australia in 1963.
The movement spread to
Canada, New Zealand, Japan,
South Africa, Malaysia, Korea,
and, in 1967, to the United
States. New ministries are be
ginning throughout the world.
Here in the United States 17
new centers are being added to
the 57 already operating.
It is a tremendous under
taking. Some 10,000 volun
teers are now involved in the
mission. It was seen at the out
set that it would be desirable
to incorporate this program
under the jurisdiction of an
existing organization, prefer
ably one which could be
counted on to supply thou
sands of responsible individuals
of the highest moral integrity
and capability, who would in
turn supply their time, their
services, and their money to
the project. Fortunately, such
an organization does exist: the
Christian Church. Without it,
CONTACT might have been an
impossible dream; with it CON
TACT is working.
Many may ask, “Why not
person-to-person meetings?”
The discovery has been made
that the telephone, at once im
personal, yet strangely,
intimately personal, and
staffed by trained but non-pro
fessional laymen and women is
a powerful instrument for crisis
intervention and community
service. Many emotionally
disturbed people shy away
from personal encounters,
especially with strangers.
Wounded in spirit, distrustful
or their fellowman, their
inclination is to avoid con
frontations not to seek them
out.
The problems which emerge
cover the whole gamut of
human needs: Dallas, Texas—
“l’ve been on drugs, I’m trying
to stop. My last fix is wearing
off and 1 need help fast,” the
teen ager on the other end
pleads. Immediately a trouble
team meets the youngster and
has him admitted to the hos
pital. Newport News, Va.—“l
don’t know if you can help me
or not. I’m so down in the
dumps. I don’t even want to
keep going.” An hour later the
worker has, hopefully given the
caller a reason for living and a
conviction that somebody
cares. San Jose, Calif.-“If it
had not been for your tele
phone worker on duty at two
o’clock this morning, I would
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The AMF Quintet, gospel singers from the Oak Hill
Baptist Church in Gore, will be guest singers Sunday,
Oct. 21, at Union Hill Baptist Church in Chattanooga.
The program is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. The local
group was winner of the Gold Cup as the number one
female singing group on the Who’s Who program for
CARD OF THANKS
We wish to thank our many
friends and loved ones for the
kindnesses shown us in the
death of our father-your
words of comfort, the bounti
ful supply of food, the beauti
ful flowers, and especially do
we thank the ones who spoke
the comforting words, Rev.
A. A. Tanner, Rev. Joe Hum
richous, and Rev. George
Kittle. Also, Erwin-Petitt
Funeral Home for their kind
expressions of sympathy. May
the grace of our Lord and
Savior be with each of you.
The Family of George G.
Vaughn Sr.
not be alive to meet you now,”
a woman tells a counselor at an
appointment eight hours later.
This, then, is CONTACT
t eleministries —a proven,
humanizing force in a growing
number of local communities
across the United States and
around the world.
The pilot program has
proven itself; now, the time to
expand has arrived. More
centers are being formed every
month. And now the Chat
tooga County Ministerial Asso
ciation has voted to bring
CONTACT to our area. In the
weeks that lie ahead you will
be hearing much more about
this community project of
people helping people.
Every call from those in
need is answered: “This is
CONTACT. May I help you?”
Soon you will be hearing:
“This is CONTACT. Can you
help us?”
GORE GOSPEL GROUP TO SING IN CHATTANOOGA
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Central Avenue Trion
1973. Spelmon Farmer Jr. is program chairman and
the Rev. W. H. Ryans is pastor of the Chattanooga
church. Left to right: Jeneal Farmer Shropshire,
Lynda Farmer Morris, Alene Adams Mosley, Jessie
Perry Mosley, and Louise Adams Favors.
The Summerville News, Thurs., Oct. 11, 1973
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