Show November b Religion in American Life Month during which Hie nation is reminded of the importance ' of prayer The following article underscores RIAL' theme that strength for a person as well as a nation comes from living faith 1 of f 7 d poicer of prayer is being brought to millions daily by the - simple modern expedient of dialing a number five-year-- utter desolation His hand went out hesitated over the poison then moved toward the receiver In a moment he was listening to the recorded message of inspiration from Dr John Sutherland Bonnell pastor of New York’s Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church No life is hopeless to God Dr Bonnell was saying Eyes closed the man listened to the message over and over before call-- a ing Dr Bonnell directly “Do you really believe what you say on that recording Dr Bonnell?” he asked The clergyman assured him that he did and sensing the man’s crisis invited him to his study for a personal talk When the man left their meeting he handed Dr Bonnell the bottle of potassium cyanide with which he had planned to end his life He had taken' on new hope found new strength “Faith by phone” has saved more than one person from suicide and has given moments of spiritual solace to millions of others caught in the hectic pace of daily living In an estimated 150 areas no man is farther from the comfort of prayer than the nearest telephone and the number of persons using this service increases daily In Los Angeles 10000 calls a day are received by the YMCA service Chicago’s “Y” handles 5000 daily and has counted more than a million in its three years of operation In smaller cities the Memorial Baptist Church of Columbia Mo (pop 32000) gets 400 calls daily for its “Inspira- tion Please” and the Cactus Drive Church of Levelland Texas receives about 100 “In this atomic age men feel the need for prayer more than ever” explains the Rev August F Brunn whose St Andrew’s Lutheran Church offers telephone inspiration to Pittsburgh “Our business as a church is to bring the word of God to men whenever they need it The telephone is one of our ways of doing it” The help offered by these recorded messages is as varied as the people in need An Ohio factory worker victim of a boss with a furious temper dials the local prayer service when there are arguments and hands the receiver to his chief The soothing words calm everybody Housewives find the messages steady jangled nerves businessmen phone when facing a difficult decision as do doctors about to enter the operating room Hospital patients shut-ithe aged and others ns JFamJLXy Wooirly COVER: On our cover: Fred Astaire and the newest addition to his charmed circle of dancing partners Barrie Chase For more about this ageless dancer see " Hitch Your Wagon to Astaire” on page 20 who cannot visit their ministers dial a prayer several times a day A Marion Ohio minister reports that a boy calls the local prayer service severy‘ day listens to the message then dials again for the benefit of his aged potassium cyanide and a telephone The distraught man stared at them instruments of life and death in this moment by CARL BAKAL age-ol- " the night table were a bottle of FAITH BY P The 1 f LEONARD WAITE PATRICX J f D AVI DOW C DREYFUS O'ROURKE and Publisher President Advrrtising Direetor Pre-d- ent Vie old -- blind grandmother Many persons report that they call every day on arising A Broadalbin N Y woman refers to it as her “right start for the day” In Madison Wis an elderly lady afraid at night finds the message gives her the calm to go to sleep Some families have incorporated the recorded messages into their evening devotions churches or groups of Community usually sponsor the dial-a-pra- yer services' which cost anywhere from $15 to $1000 a month The YMCA chambers of commerce Kiwanis and other service groups also give the programs financial backing The recorded devotions run anywhere from 10 seconds to two minutes and are usually nondenominational In most com- muni ties the messages are changed daily and’ in Scarsdale N Y reportedly the town in the nation first twice a day they are changed most are Simple prayers popular but readings may include Psalms Bible verse and other sections of Scripture or perhaps just a plain “pep talk” Some telephone prayers have specific aims though In Chicago alcoholics fighting the urge to lose themselves in a bottle can dial a number to spend “A Minute a Day with the Major” This is a message directed at drinkers by Maj Roland Quinn of the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center on Skid Row More than 100000 calls have come to Major Quinn’s number in three years and many have phoned him personally for specific advice or to afrange an interview Of the general prayers possibly the most popular was recorded by F William Stahl branch associate general secretary of the Baltimore YMCA who has selected and read more than 1000 messages This is dial-a-pra- yer ’ how it goes: “Lord give me the strength to accept with serenity the things that cannotbe changed Give me the courage to change the things that can be changed and give me the wisdom to distinguish one from the other” Simple words But for the anxious person pausing in his day to dial a moment’s peace they lift the spirit and remind him of life’s true importance November 11959 Boord of Editor vThen ERNEST KEN HARTMAN Editor-in-Chi- ef Exeeutive Editor FITZGIBBON Managing Editor ROBERT MARGARET BELL Feature Editor RALPH J FINCH JR Art Director MELANIE Of PROFT Food Editor Sond alt odvortiiin® communication to ’ Family Wookly 133 N Michigan Avo Chicago 1 lit Addrti oil cccnmunkatioa about tditorial Iwfunt to Bob Dritcoll Irma Holdman John Hochmann Ktoln Family Wookly 60 E 56th St Now York 22 N Y Harold London Jack Ryan Poor Opponhoimor Jtrry Hollywood FAMILY WEEKLY MAGAZINE INC 153 N MkMgem A © 1 ( All ri8ht Chico rororvod -- |