In many ways, it is consistent with the vision that inspired the transformation of the Missionary Orientation Center into Stony Point Center during the late 70s. It was not that “Jim and Louise Palm pressed to open the center” but that a visionary group of people in the national offices, including Margaret Flory, Newt Thurber, and J. Oscar McCloud, along with ourselves, pressed to open the center to address and express the changing patterns of worldwide mission. The full name given to the center was: Stony Point Center for Education and Mission. And it was very much the “Education and Mission” part of the title that was emphasized during our years at the Center (1975- 1994).
Thus, the primary focus was not on “offering retreats, conferences, and meeting space for Presbyterians and their friends” but on issues of justice and peace as they related to the worldwide mission of the church. Indeed, the opening lines of the Statement of Purpose adopted in 1977 reads: “Stony Point Center shall be a place where the meaning of mission is probed, where world issues of justice and liberation are confronted from a Christian perspective, and where Christians consult on the worldwide life and work of the Church.”
To help live out that vision, we utilized the 14 residences on the campus to create an international community. Among those who gave shape and substance to the community were the Kimani family from Kenya, the Moon and the Hahn families from Korea, the Barkat family from Pakistan, the K.C. Abraham family from India, Cora Sobrepena and her children from the Philippines, the Abhari family from Iran. The community also included Presbyterian missionary families such as the Setos from Iran, the Weltys from Chile, the Schutmaats from Colombia. Other residents came seeking political asylum from repressive regimes in South Africa, and El Salvador.
All of these persons contributed in one way or another to the life and mission of the center — theologians in residence, artists in residence, resource persons for retreats and conferences — as well as helping out in the dining room, administration and maintenance. In many ways, this was the precursor of Rick’s vision of an “intentional community.”
This residential community also provided the vision and the resources for what was to become Stony Point’s signature event: The Global Village. For one week each July, the Center was transformed into a Global Village, an intergenerational and international experience in living and thinking globally. Difficult issues confronting the church were explored and life together was celebrated. Moreover, the village provided a pilot project for a number of other Global Villages held in presbyteries and synods around the country.
With the support of the General Assembly and the Synod of the Northeast, the center was able to offer several ongoing educational programs including The Southern Africa Education Program, The Central America Education Program, and the Middle East Education Program. Many of the leaders in the anti-Apartheid movement came to the center through this program, as did Dr. Benjamin Beit-Hallami of the Israeli/Palestinian Peace Movement. In addition, the center provided a lectionary resource called “Preaching in a Global Context Sermon Notes.”
Among other highlights was the first conference between the Presbyterian Church leaders from Cuba and leaders from our church. Another was a music workshop in which Doreen Potter introduced some of the new music emerging from the church ecumenical, including “Help Us Accept Each Other” and “Let us Talents and Tongues Employ.” These hymns were carried to the Women’s Triennium that year — and the rest is history!
These, then, are a few of the highlights of those years when Stony Point Center was a center for education and mission — a program made possible by a commitment to the vision on the part of both the General Assembly and the Synod of the Northeast. And through it all we were able to remit to the General Assembly $44,000 per year to repay a loan the GA had taken out (from its own funds) to purchase the center.
Now, a new vision is emerging, a vision deeply grounded in the rich history of the center. I am excited about its possibilities and I hope that our church has the will, the commitment, and the courage to see it through.
Jim Palm is an honorably retired member of Hudson River Presbytery living in Cornwall, N.Y.
