[Dialogue] Order Kids Speak!

[Colleen Haithcock]

This is delightful thank you


Regards,
Colleen Haithcock

On Tue, May 5, 2026 at 2:49 PM David Marshall via Dialogue <
dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

> Fellow Order Alums,
>
> Here is my latest Substack article, reviewing five full-length memoirs or
> articles from the Order emerging generation, now all grown up. And I
> preview some more "Order Kids" books or media works I've been hearing about.
>
> David Marshall, Moraga, California
>
> *ORDER KIDS SPEAK!*
> Past & Future Memoirs from Order: Ecumenical Children
>
> I’m not sure of the exact count, but in its heyday in the 1970s, “The
> Order: Ecumenical” had upwards of 3,000 full-time members around the world,
> 500+ of whom were children or teenagers. When I published IRON BOY last
> June, I exchanged email with a former youngish “Order Adult” (joined as a
> college student versus 30-somethings as my parents did), who reminded me
> that my memoir about growing up in the Order was only the third such
> full-length work among 200 books and periodicals he’d obtained and read
> from former or current members of the Order: Ecumenical, Ecumenical
> Institute, or Institute of Cultural Affairs. I was already familiar with
> two other “Order Kids” memoirs, and shared one more I’d recently read, but
> was surprised that the “Order Adults” had written so many. I knew some of
> them, but I had to go on the ICA Global Archives alumni publications page
> <https://icaglobalarchives.org/resources/> to see for myself. He was
> right.
>
> By and large, the 200 works by Order Adults were very complimentary of
> what these three interrelated organizations had done, attempted to do, or
> were still doing. Most were long on mission-speak and intellect, but short
> on personal narratives and feelings. I’ll give you the names and links to
> two books by or about founding members that show personal sides as well.
>
> The four books and one article I’ll review in this piece are *Hey, White
> Girl!*, *Grits, Green Beans and the Holy Ghost*, *From the Rockies to the
> Windy City*, *Iron Boy*, and* Growing Up in the Order*. They are each
> valuable in describing their personally witnessed chapters of a
> three-decade experiment that still exists in derivative form today. The
> chart below shows the approximate timing of when each of us was in the
> Order and our ages at the time. Each also includes a book review that
> resonated with other readers. I’ll also mention several projects underway
> by Order Kids that will certainly add yet more color to this fascinating
> and troubling story.
>
> Authors Years & Ages in Order
> [image: Timeline-OrderKids-Memoirs.jpg]
>
>
> For the full review, please see my latest Substack article:
>
> https://open.substack.com/pub/marshallbooks/p/order-kids-speak?r=23ftwm&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer
>
>
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