Dear Fellow-Believers,
Greetings to all and welcome to our new web-site for
The Unity of the Spirit.
December 31, 2008
My father, Landis McNeill Temple, died on Sunday night
Dec. 28. He was one of the greatest men - indeed, Christian men - I've
ever known. The following is my Euology of him which I presented at
his funeral service or, more properly, a "Celebration of the Life
of Landis McNeill Temple" on Wed. December 31 at West Raleigh Presbyterian
Church in Raleigh, N.C.:
A Eulogy of the Christian Life of My Father, Landis
McNeill Temple
By his Third and Youngest Son, Allen Richard (Richie) Temple
December 31, 2008
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”
(Proverbs 25:11 NRSV, ESV)
My father was, very simply, one of the greatest men I have ever known.
The older I have become the more he has stood out for me as the single
most important example amongst those whom I personally know of how to
live my own life in relationship to others. Indeed, more and more I
see him in me. Although we rightly honor him today for the many, many
good works of service that he performed on behalf of others, the father
I knew was, above all else, a man of principled Christian character
– a character which manifested itself in many different ways throughout
his life, depending on the times and situation. Like so many others
of his generation – which, if not the greatest, was certainly
one of the greatest – his life and values were shaped in the midst
of the world in which he grew-up and lived. He was born and raised in
a large Christian family on a farm in Lee County, North Carolina. He
grew up during the Great Depression and fought and was wounded in World
War II. He finished college on the GI Bill and after graduating from
North Carolina State University spent his entire professional life helping
develop North Carolina’s road and bridge system into one of the
nation’s best. He also lived his adult life as a dedicated Christian
layman, a devoted husband, a strong and providing father, and, finally,
as a progressive Democrat and Christian volunteer.
All of this took place in the midst of the tensions of the Cold War,
the tumults of the racial tensions of the Civil Rights movement that
so divided the South, and finally, in the midst of the more recent decline
in Christian values and the sweeping social changes of modern America.
Through all of these times the principled Christian character of Landis
McNeill Temple, the father whom I knew, did not change. Never once in
my entire life did I ever see him compromise on what he would consider
to be his bedrock principles, beliefs, and values – irrespective
of the cost. He was, however, wise enough to grow and adapt in accordance
to his own personal situation, age, and the times in which he lived
– while still holding to those bedrock principles, beliefs and
values.
The Landis McNeill Temple whose life we celebrate today is for most
of us the Landis McNeill Temple of more recent memory. That was, in
a sense, the kinder, gentler version whose life was known to many –
including his daughters-in-law, his grandchildren, his great grandchildren,
and the many, many other people whose lives he touched. This was a man
who in his retirement was freed from the daily pressures of working
for a living and was able to devote himself fully to serving others.
This man was not only my father but also my friend and I will always
remember this more recent time of his life with great endearment.
There was, however, another aspect of my father’s life that
was, for me, even more important because it helped form in me the character
that I have carried throughout my own life in the many varied and challenging
endeavors that I’ve undertaken or faced personally. This was the
sterner father of my childhood and teenage years. It was the same Landis
McNeill Temple of principled Christian character. However, that character
manifested itself at that time in a more no-nonsense and straightforward
manner. After all, my father whose character was formed during the times
of the Great Depression and World War II wasn’t raising daughters;
he was raising sons to become men. Simply put, my father expected us,
his sons, to know what was right and to do it. When we did there was
not praise but simply the acknowledgement that duty had been fulfilled,
as should be expected. At most, there might be a little nod of the head
in our direction. On the other hand, when we did not do what was expected
there were consequences – very direct – and without discussion.
After all, we knew what was expected.
My mother has at times mentioned to my brothers and me how my father
softened in his later life, hoping that we her sons would understand
that. Indeed, my father himself has at times said that he was perhaps
too stern with us in our childhood. Well, maybe and maybe not. The older
I get the more I think that that kind of attitude, which is so against
the grain of modern Western society, is just is needed, though perhaps
leavened somewhat with a mixture of tenderness. Personally, I cherish
the memories of all that I learned during those days. And, I do not
think the lessons I learned would have been as effective for me personally
had they been delivered in any other way. Let me share with you some
of the most precious of those memories and the lessons I have learned
from them. We are all familiar with my father’s sterling example
in deeds. But these memories have to do with words that he, my father,
spoke to me, as a son, while I was growing up; and, the profound impact
that those words have had on my life in so many ways ever since. That
is why I have sub-titled this eulogy:
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”
1. Race Relations: When I was very young – around eight years
old – in the early 1960s racial tensions were at a fever pitch
in the South. One day I was out playing with my brother Steve and some
of our neighborhood friends. Somebody – I don’t remember
who – made a racial slur and ……….. my father
heard it. Immediately, he told us to come into the house. He then sat
us down and very directly and sternly told us, “ We are all equally
important to God, irrespective of the color of our skin – I never,
ever want to hear a racial slur coming from your mouths again.”
He never did, because his point was made – very directly –
and, because we observed that very same belief, principle and value
in his own life through his own actions during those years. He was far
ahead of his times in that belief because such an attitude was very
much against the grain of the segregationist South in which we lived.
But those words that were so “fitly spoken” were embedded
in my heart from that day onward and they have always enabled me –
whether here in America or in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe
where I have lived, worked and traveled – to look at people without
any racial or national prejudice whatsoever; but rather, to deal with
each person as an individual human being who, like me, was created in
the image of God and was, therefore, intrinsically worthy of dignity
and respect.
2. Baseball: In my childhood and teenage years sports dominated much
of the life of my family. Both of my older brothers were athletes and
so was I. We constantly practiced, played together and played in school
and community leagues. When I was fourteen I was playing in Junior League
baseball and my father was my coach. During that year I was tearing
up the league with my hitting and by near the end of the year I gotten
at least one hit in every game. In one of the last games I got a base
hit and while rounding first base slipped, fell, and dislocated my left
thumb. Our assistant coach, Ken Creech, came out and grabbed my hand,
looked at it, and then popped my thumb back into place. Nevertheless,
I was still in a lot of pain. I continued to play, however, and the
next time I came to bat I had to hold the bat with my right hand a few
inches above my left hand so as not to put any pressure on my left thumb.
I was, however, afraid to swing at the ball for fear of the pain and,
of course, for fear of how ridiculous I might look. Therefore, I took
five straight pitches without swinging so that the count became three
balls and two strikes. As I stepped out of the batter’s box to
calm myself for a moment a voice - a booming stern voice - broke the
tense silence throughout the ballpark. “Richard!” - not,
mind you, “Richie”; but …. “Richard!”
….. “if you’re not going to swing at the ball, I’ll
put somebody in there who will!” That voice was, of course, my
father’s voice and everyone in the ballpark could hear it. He
didn’t say, “Richie, are you o.k.?” or “Richie,
take a little time to get in touch with your inner feelings.”
Instead, he was stern, direct and to the point. And so, I knew what
was expected. On the next pitch – I don’t remember if it
was a strike or a ball; it didn’t matter to me at that time because
from the moment I had heard that voice I was set in my mind to swing
irregardless – I swung and hit a hard ground ball that bounced
over the third baseman’s head for a single. After that I continued
to play every game until the end of season getting at least one hit
in every game – while, of course, holding the bat with my right
hand a few inches above my left to relieve the pain in my left thumb.
The lessons that I learned from these words that were so “fitly
spoken” were many. First, my father taught me that as his son
on a team he coached I was not only to receive no special treatment;
but, if anything, that more was expected of me than others (he would
not, of course, have said those words to anyone else on the team). Second,
I learned that if I was to undertake any endeavor in life that shrinking
from the task or feeling sorry for myself or complaining would do me
no good at all; instead, if I was to compete – in a game or in
life – I needed to do my best irrespective of the obstacles in
my way. I cannot adequately express how deeply those words and the lessons
learned from them were embedded in my heart from that moment on. I have
carried them with me in all that I’ve done ever since.
3. Learning English: When I was a junior in high school I constantly
complained to my parents about having to take English. I – at
the age of 17 - felt it was worthless, boring and a waste of my time.
In the last discussion about this that I had with my father I demanded
to know “Why do I need to take English?” His reply was short,
stern, and to the point: “Because you do!!” That was the
end of that discussion and we never discussed it again. But what I didn’t
understand – or refused to acknowledge - at that time was that
I did not, at that age, know what I needed to learn to help me in my
future life. I was simply too young and did not know the usefulness
of mastering English for my future life. My father, of course, did and
he expected me to simply acknowledge and trust that adults simply knew
more about what I needed to learn than I did. Mine was a generation
where “father (and other adults) knew best” – not,
the other way around. Ten years later I was to teach English for five
years to doctoral students and college professors at one of finest universities
in Poland. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. In my
first semester I also had the joy of teaching a young doctoral student
in physics named Dorota Sendorek. She was the best English student I’ve
ever taught and one of the greatest lovers of the English language I’ve
ever known. Today, her name is Dorota Sendorek Temple, my wonderful
wife of twenty-four years.
4. Going to College: My first attempts at going to college were less
than successful. I was involved in many other things that I thought
were more important and was dismayed with the general attitudes prevalent
on college campuses during the 1970s. My parents, especially my mother,
believed I had the ability to do well in college and believed that it
would benefit my life greatly. In our last discussion about it my mother
told me of all the benefits of getting a college education. She was
right, of course, but I had a counter argument for everything she said.
My father, however, after listening for a while simply said to my mother,
“He doesn’t need to go to college. He can be a good citizen
without going to college.” Those words went straight to my heart
and there is probably nothing he could have said that would have more
inspired me to go to college. Not because I was rebellious and wanted
to do the opposite of what my father said. Instead, his saying those
words made me realize that they were not encouraging me to go to college
just because it was thing that everyone else was doing at the time and,
thus, it was expected of me as well. They really did want what was best
for me and they really did believe that a person’s worth had nothing
whatsoever to do with one’s education or academic achievements.
And so, I did, in fact, complete my college education, doing quite well
and achieving a fair amount of distinction in doing so. More than that,
however, it opened up doors for me for the rest of my life that never
would have been possible without a college education and college degree.
Indeed, for the last ten years I have taught high school history at
Woods Charter School in Chatham County – a college preparatory
school. During that entire ten year period I have also been responsible
for college preparation for the school, an area in which we have achieved
a great deal of success. What are the first words I say to my students
in preparing them for college? They are, “You don’t need
to go to college to be a success in life. College will never make you
any better than anyone else and you can be just as good of a citizen
by not going to college as by going to college. However, we are a college
preparatory school; so if you’re here, this is what we expect
of you ……” And so, my father’s words “fitly
spoken” motivated not only me, but have also, through me, motivated
many of my own students as well.
It is this father whom I will always remember and cherish. A father
who taught me by both words and deeds. Not by deeds alone, but by words
also - words “fitly spoken like apples of gold in a setting of
silver”.
In one of the last conversations I had with my father – just
a few weeks ago – he told me that he was fearful of the world
that the next generations including his sons and their wives, and his
grandchildren and great grandchildren would be living and growing up
in. My response was to remind him of the world that he himself grew
up in - the world of the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War
and the tumultuous changes of life in the South. I told him that he
had set an example for others to follow - an example that would not
be forgotten - and that those who followed could, by living with the
same principled Christian character that he had lived, deal with challenges
of their own generation as well – however great they might be.
And that, I believe, will prove to be true. Surely, no greater statement
could be made about any man’s life.
Richie Temple
richie@unity-of-spirit.org
December 25, 2008
May God bless you all on this day when we especially
commemorate the significance of the birth of our savior, Christ Jesus
our Lord! Following is a beautiful rendition of the birth of Christ
in the New Living Translation from Luke 2:
"At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed
that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. ( This was
the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) Everyone
went to register in the cities where their ancestors had lived. And
because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem
in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village
of Nazareth in Galilee. Joseph went there to register with Mary. She
had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant. While they were
in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her baby. She gave birth
to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid
him in a manger because there wasn’t any room for them in the
inn. That night in the fields near Bethlehem there were some shepherds
guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the
Lord, and the Lord’s glory flashed brightly around them. The shepherds
were frightened. The angel said to them:
“Don’t be afraid! I have good news for
you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. The Savior—yes,
the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, King David’s
hometown! You will know who he is, because you will find him wrapped
in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared
with the first angel, singing praises to God:
“Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone
who pleases God.”
Then the angels left the shepherds and went back to
heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem
and see what the Lord has told us about.” They hurried off and
found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger!
After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and
what the angel had said to them about this baby. Everyone who heard
the shepherds’ story was amazed, but Mary kept all these things
in her heart and thought about them often. As the shepherds returned
to their sheep, they were praising God and thanking him for everything
they had seen and heard. It had been just as the angel had told them."
(Luke 2:1-20 NLT).
This is certainly a beautiful translation of this life-changing historical
event. What a great day that was for those involved and for those of
us who, ever since, have received the benefits of "the grace and
truth" which came to us through God's beloved Son, Jesus Christ.our
Lord (John 1:1-18)..
With much love in Christ,
Richie and Dorota Temple
richie@unity-of-spirit.org
