What is your calling? by Philip Newell: a review

2/14

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The memorial service for my friend Philip Newell was now a few  weeks ago. I am thankful that he left for us his memoir, What is your calling? (https://www.amazon.com/What-Your-Calling-Philip-Newell/dp/1504371259). His own unique voice is very present in the pages of this book and it sounds very much like an extended conversation with him. What comes through very clearly is his intelligence, his faith, and his ability to communicate clearly with anyone.   

For Philip, the question What is your calling? is not just a spiritual question but one with primary existential moral content. In his world view, informed by his love  of Plato and Calvinist reformed theology, all of creation is interrelated and we as human beings have a shared  responsibility for the  overall health of creation. And because we are part of that whole, our own self interest is best served by working for the best for all. For Philip, "True spirituality and religious commitment are about adherence to a transcendent order of things, an order that manifests itself through our own transformation into an increasingly loving person who then supports the well-being, growth, and transformation of others."

The book takes us through the various parts of Philip's life beginning with his childhood and his endearing fascination with turtles. We learn of the impact of his Biblical scholar father on his life as  well as the effect of his father's own spiritual journey. His post World War II service in Japan as well his education at Harvard as well as his student friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr. had their own impact.

More than anything, it was his encounter with  George McLeod and  his time at the Scottish community of Iona that shaped his view of Christian life, beginning with the importance of one on one relationships the power of mutually accountable community and and an absolute commitment to social and economic justice. One can clearly see the connections between the Iona experience and Philip's later advocacy for Alinsky stye community organizing as the best means for social transformation.

Although his years in West Virginia with his closest school friends were rewarding it was in urban ministry, in Washington, DC that he truly discovered his calling. His forging ecumenical and interfaith relationships and the importance of weekly meetings with his colleagues are helpful models for us. 

It is also valuable to read inside stories of both the logistical and strategic planning for Civil Rights Movement actions from Selma to the March on Washington to see what is involved in actually creating change. It is often forgotten for example, that the March on Washington was primarily a Labor Movement action in its inception. Most of the marchers  were from the UAW which also footed most of the bill.The Civil Rights Movement was never separable from the call for economic justice and fair labor practices as in Dr. King's support for the sanitation workers in Memphis and the move towards a Poor Peoples Campaign.

From Washington, Philip worked creatively at the national level the Presbyterian Church forging alliances with working people and community organizers. The efforts to create a worker owned and managed steel mill in Youngstown in the face of industrial collapse was but one example. 

Philip shares  with us both the sorrows and joys of his personal life as well, from the tragic death of his oldest son Philip to his ultimate marriage to Madelyne Tramm. In describing his personal faith, Philip argues (as has Marilynne Robinson) that Calvin and the reformers were the first humanists. He challenges those of that tradition today to seek to reclaim its original  passion to reshape the social order so that human beings could  live as God intended. 

Philip's short but incisive book is a clarion call to faithful witness by faith communities:
"Religious institutions of all kinds, but certainly those for which the Hebrew and Christian scriptures provide inspiration and direction, have a particular vocation: to address the needs of the poor, the outcast, and all disadvantaged people, not only for their sakes, but also for the preservation and welfare of the common life of all humanity, even to the uttermost parts of the earth. And in a world where people increasingly see themselves as spiritual, though without affiliation with a particular denomination, it can only serve each of us individually to think of our own lives in terms of ministry."

For those of us who struggle with these issues, with our own call, this book is not only inspirational but instructive.