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BIRTH OF INTERNATIONALS SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS

by C. D. (Cliff) Bailey
(1915-2003)

The elements considered necessary for the success of the Internationals Program were the enthusiastic support and leadership of the pastor, a receptive church congregation, a dedicated group of members willing to assume leadership roles in a largely unexplored endeavor, and, most importantly, a church staff member with the ability to communicate with the international students.

The students were here. They came from all over the world: Africa, India, Middle East, Europe, Far East, Central and South America, to list a few. Most were members of the elite class. Not only did they bring their culture and religious beliefs with them but also their images of the Christian religion in their country, which in many cases was not flattering.

The support of the pastor was evident from the start; he seemed to always be aware of the presence of any internationals in the church service. The staff member, Fahed Abu-Akel, was present when the time came to seriously begin the organizational efforts.

The activities of the international students which resulted in creating this cadre of interested church members began after World War II. There was a gradually increasing number of foreign students enrolled in Atlanta area high schools, colleges, and universities. By 1970, there were approximately 4,000 and most of the colleges and universities had established a Foreign Student Advisor Office to aid their introduction into campus life. Occasionally one or two would attend the 11:00 service at FPC. Only those church members who knew them were aware of their presence.

Beginning in 1955 the American Field Service (AFS) International Student Exchange Program became very active in the Atlanta area high schools. Although not part of any religious organization, the program was designed to create friendships with individuals from every nation without regard to race, creed, or color. The basic philosophy was that World Peace can only be achieved when we develop friendships on a one-to-one basis with people of all nations.

By 1973, 104 students from around the world had been enrolled in the Atlanta area high schools. Each student lived with a family as a member of the family (not as a guest) for the school year and graduated with the senior class. As expected, this relationship with the family very often resulted in a family exchange. The Westminster Schools hosted 24 of these students. The remaining 80 students were hosted by other high schools in the Atlanta area. Sixty-one Atlanta students were Americans-Abroad Exchange students and lived with families overseas for three summer months after high school graduation. Each school had a student AFS Club which sponsored many social activities during the year. The AFS student usually spoke at one or more PTA meetings. Most of the schools had AFS Day and invited the AFS students from the other schools. They came, attended classes, spoke in the school assembly, and then had a party after school. As a result, many students and families had a cultural exchange experience as well as an excellent geography lesson.

As a result of this program families all over Atlanta were identified in developing friendships with individuals from other cultures. Several were members of First Presbyterian Church (FPC): Dr. & Mrs. Phinizy Calhoun, Cliff & Louise Bailey, and Bob & Iris Eskew. Also involved were Ed & May Moulthrop, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Bagley, and Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Black who are no longer members of FPC.

AFS International selected our family to host AFS student Alberto Chattas from Argentina for the 1961-62 school year at Grady High School. He was the most charming teenager we ever had in our home; our daughters Nancy and Susan adored him. He and our son Rodger assumed the typical non-violent confrontational stance. Recently, Rodger moved to Uruguay and has renewed an adult friendship with Alberto. We visited Alberto in Switzerland in 1971 while he was in medical school, and Alberto visited us in Atlanta in 1985.

In 1963, one year after Alberto returned to Argentina, the volunteer position of AFS Area Representative for the State of Georgia was offered to me, and I accepted. The responsibilities included interviewing prospective AFS student host families, establishing the AFS program in the high schools, escorting the students to speaking engagements at local civic clubs and other organizations, fund solicitation to assist the schools in paying the "participation fee" which went to AFS headquarters in New York, keeping in touch with the AFS students to assure they were adjusting to life in the United States, and maintaining contact with the AFS office in New York. I held this position until 1973 and enjoyed every minute of it. It was a most rewarding experience.

The significance of participation in the AFS program was first, the one-on-one personal experiences in the family provided the basis for developing a mutual understanding and respect for other cultures, which is an essential element for the development of any international program, and secondly, the identification of those people willing to take a part in the development of the program.

Another family that hosted an AFS student was Bob & Iris Eskew. They hosted Cecilia Reyes for the 1965-66 school year. Bob has often said, "the Internationals program at FPC began when, after Cliff Bailey explained the AFS program to our family, we applied and were selected to be a host family." It was a great year that became a family exchange during the following years. Bob & Iris organized the first Christmas International House at FPC and have been leaders of many of the other international programs, including the FPC sponsorship of the first refugee family, the Trans family from Vietnam.

Ginger Dewberry was teaching at Headland High School in southwest Atlanta in the late 1960s and had an AFS student from Brazil in her class.  As a result, Ginger became an active leader in the development of the programs with internationals at FPC.

Other AFS families who participated in the Atlanta Ministry with International Students (AMIS), an outgrowth of the international programs at FPC were Mr. & Mrs. William Jordan, Jr. , members of Oglethorpe Presbyterian Church, Mr. & Mrs. Will Schwotzer, and Mr. & Mrs. Pete Eaves of St. James Methodist Church.

The first major church-wide effort to provide opportunities for FPC members to interact with international students was the 1970-71 Christmas International House (CIH). Bob & Iris Eskew chaired the event, and James & Mary Wohlford co-chaired. The Sunday School rooms were turned into dormitory rooms, and the College Lounge in Room 233 was set up as an activity area. Some 65 college students attended. Committees were established to handle the various functions: food, tours, entertainment, etc. Approximately 100 FPC members were involved in the activities with the international students.

This was such a great success that the Christmas International House was repeated in 1971-72.  James & Mary Wohlford chaired, and Bob & Iris co-chaired.   About 65 students attended.  Ginger Dewberry subsequently managed CIH for many years.

The success of these events demonstrated that a large number of church members were willing to support programs with internationals. Also, Chuck Soralump, a student at Piedmont College, attended the 1971 CIH. He was a graduate of the Christian High School in Thailand. In 1973 he transferred to Georgia State College and joined FPC. Chuck was a key person in the early stages of the formation of the Internationals Sunday School Class. Many oriental students learned about the class through his efforts.

Late in 1974 the responsibility for shepherding Ore & Grace Afolayan from Nigeria was assigned to me. They had joined FPC, probably the first African couple to join the church. Ore was a student at Mercer School of Pharmacy, and FPC had agreed to fund Ore's tuition through an established trust fund. Handling the arrangements for this transfer of funds was part of this responsibility. This created a close relationship between the Afolayans and the church. They were the first major contact between the Nigerian student community and FPC.

Several international students were now attending the 11:00 church services but hesitated to participate in Sunday School and other fellowship programs. In the early part of 1975, Bob Bevis assigned Fahed Abu-Akel to meet with the ad-hoc group to put together a program plan for bringing the international college students into a closer relationship with the church. The ad-hoc group consisted of Frank & Bobby Garner, Bob & Iris Eskew, Jim & Deanye Gough, Francis & Sarah Hill, Bob & Kathleen Duggan, and Jim & Mary Wohlford. Fahed was the major contact between the church and the Palestinians and other Arab students who were mostly Muslims.

As a result, the International Sunday School Class was started in the fall of 1975. Most of the members of the ad-hoc group and several members from the Open Door class joined the class. The operational philosophy of the class was to provide a forum for sharing cultural values, to introduce the internationals to Christianity and the Church, and to assist the internationals in coping with life in Atlanta.

Approximately 45 were present at the first class meeting. There were Oriental and Thai students as a result of Chuck Soralump's interest and Nigerian students resulting from Ore's activity. There were many Palestinian students, a result of Fahed's contacts. Fahed also brought many students from Columbia Theological Seminary. They were from Egypt, Scotland, Ghana, and India. There was a Presbyterian from Egypt who was enrolled at Georgia Tech. We also had two students from Jamaica and Gladys Fuentes from Venezuela in the class at the beginning. Although the mix of nationalities has varied from time to time, the class attendance has continued to remain in the 25 to 50 range.

The first observation of the students was: they wanted to talk, and talk they did! They came early and stayed late after class. It was very difficult to break away to attend the 11:00 church service. Immediately, plans began to shape up for social events with Ginger Dewberry and Iris Eskew taking the lead, an activity that has continued through the years.

The Christmas Around the World program was the first major church-wide social event and has become an established annual tradition at FPC. Other social events included covered dish luncheons in the class room after the 11:00 church services, Chinese New Year celebration, picnic in the park, and Christmas parties in a home. For a number of years the Internationals Class conducted an early worship service on Sunday mornings before Sunday School, which was well attended by members of FPC.

Early in 1976 the class began a search for a motto that expressed the atmosphere of the class and selected a proverb translated from the Sanskrit, a collection of writings in Hindi dating from the period 1500 BC to 200 BC: "Walk together, talk together, all ye nations of the World. Then and only then shall ye have Peace".

A banner was then designed and hung in the class room. The artwork was created by Melanie Lenzman, a student from Germany enrolled in Art Education at Georgia State University. The original banner was executed at a class party held at Villa International. Tom Biggs was director at the time. After much use it became tattered and worn, and the present banner was executed by Billy Tam, a Georgia Tech student from Hong Kong, Susan Farrar Bulit, and several other class members.

The Internationals Class was a success from the start. A general feeling of friendship was generated between the students from various countries. Andrew Unugbro, a Nigerian, expressed it best: "The class was the only place I had ever been where I could talk to an individual from another country on a one-on-one basis." The class quickly became one of the key elements in the Outreach Ministry of the Church. Many of the internationals became members of FPC.

Many Moslems attended the class regularly over a period of several years, probably the only Christian church in the United States that had such an experience. Jamal Awad, a Palestinian whose family has emigrated to the UAE, was an example of what can happen. We had him as a guest for Thanksgiving Dinner. After dinner and the usual small talk, his conversation gradually assumed a distinctly anti-Christian, anti-US bias: "Russia was the world leader, the United States was number two." How and why he came to the United States, we never knew. By just listening and asking simple questions for a two-hour period, he gradually moderated his bias. During the following weeks, he began attending the class regularly, took an active part in the Bible study sessions, and totally reversed his bias to pro United States. He brought his three brothers to Georgia Tech and had planned to bring his parents to the United States to live. That plan changed because his father was killed in a home accident and he had to return to care for his mother.

The Atlanta Ministry with International Students (AMIS) is an outgrowth of the Internationals Sunday School Class. Fahed Abu-Akel was appointed Executive Director by the Atlanta Presbytery. AMIS was incorporated as a non-profit corporation so that financial support could be accepted from a wider range of sources. It is supported by a cluster of churches, including Ebenezer Baptist, Oglethorpe Presbyterian, St. James United Methodist, St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal, Northside United Methodist, and the Atlanta Presbytery.

In summary, Brown Dennis, MD, provided this assessment of the impact that the Internationals Class and AMIS have had on FPC: "From 10 to 15% of the new members of our church are internationals. We have done a wonderful job educating our church members through the Christmas Around the World Dinner and the AMIS host family programs. World Christianity and the World Christian Movement have begun to be understood even more by our church.”