David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today
Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book. The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon. https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC Grace & Peace, David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net
I read it all today. Strongly recommended! I left a review on Amazon via my Kindle download. Terry On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 2:01 AM David Marshall via OE < oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends,
Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book)
IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book.
The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy.
Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY.
And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one?
When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do!
Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon.
https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC
Grace & Peace,
David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net
_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
Wow, good for you- does he talk about the Denver House- Cubs up 4 games and Cards seem to be sliding backwards- 3rd On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 6:58 PM Terry Bergdall via OE < oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
I read it all today. Strongly recommended! I left a review on Amazon via my Kindle download. Terry
On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 2:01 AM David Marshall via OE < oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends,
Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book)
IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book.
The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy.
Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY.
And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one?
When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do!
Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon.
https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC
Grace & Peace,
David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net
_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
-- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Net Zero T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton@gmail.com Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor?
David, purchased Iron Boy to give to my 3 sons, reading it first. I experienced it as an account straight from the heart. Cried as regrets for awful emerging generation parenting as well as abandoning my own sons. Your publishing this is a healing balm for all of us, understanding the whole experience as collective as well as a personal responsibility. The final chapter, the hiking trip encounter, holds the call to all all inone image. Your father is right, in spite of or because of it all, the emerged generation is ready for this period in human history. Thank you for sharing your heart and soul with your gift of writing true wisdom so clearly. Bowing in gratitude. On Sun, Jun 15, 2025, 4:02 AM David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends,
Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book)
IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book.
The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy.
Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY.
And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one?
When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do!
Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon.
https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC
Grace & Peace,
David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net
_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
The main reason I left the Order was that I became a single parent of 3 children under 10 and the structures of the Religious House could not handle my situation. Wesson E Gaige wesgaige@mac.com Dallas
On Jun 19, 2025, at 13:32, David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
But he has come around that although creating a Family Order was an audacious “Grand Experiment” with lofty intentions, that so many Order Adults, including himself, were ill equipped emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually to pull it off, especially with regard to caring for the children,
David said : “ creating a Family Order was an audacious “Grand Experiment” with lofty intentions, that so many Order Adults, including himself, were ill equipped emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually (jw: Might also add economically culturally and …) to pull it off, especially with regard to caring for the children, and exacerbated by the drive to scale the global presence and scope of the mission so quickly without sufficiently trained human capacity. “ Currently there is an initiative to work on inner development goals (https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/framework/#explore) to complement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. I wonder if these give some indication of what, looking back, we were lacking…. 2 of my grandkids gave me a book on Nicaragua, Blood of Brothers, and as soon as I finish that, I’m sending for your book!! Deep thanks for all the conversation Jim Wiegel “…the long work of turning their lives into a celebration is not easy. Come and let us talk“. The Sunflowers. Mary Oliver
On Jun 19, 2025, at 11:32 AM, David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
creating a Family Order was an audacious “Grand Experiment” with lofty intentions, that so many Order Adults, including himself, were ill equipped emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually to pull it off, especially with regard to caring for the children, and exacerbated by the drive to scale the global presence and scope of the mission so quickly without sufficiently trained human capacity.
RS-1 MADE SIMPLE I have been in the book publishing industry as an author and/or publisher for about 35 years now, and one of the most interesting and brilliant developments for me was the rise of the “For Dummies” series in the 1990s. It offered topics as diverse as the DOS operating system, classical music, and personal finance. On the face of it, it sounds demeaning, but it tapped into a truth about the American reading public, that a lot of people wanted to know more about certain subjects, but they did not want to read the more extensive books about them in technical language. Kind of similar to Cliff’s Notes, but more humor and attitude. In a funny way, more of a children’s book for adults. Of all the gifts to history from the Ecumenical Institute, and there are many, I consider the Religious Studies 1 course to be the “Gift of Gifts.” It certainly was for me. IRON BOY has am embedded 35-page “RS-1 for Dummies” book inside a book (six chapters in all following the chronological weekend curriculum), which I hope will introduce new audiences to the concepts of RS-1 in 35 minutes with simple language instead of committing the traditional Friday dinner to Sunday lunch 43-hour commitment of the original RS-1 course, in sometimes obscure language. I’m not sure how this easy 35-minute, self-directed learning offering compares to RS-1’s cool group-learning derivations such as Profound Journey Dialogue (PJD) and Leadership Options. Together with my early experiences waiting tables on RS-1 courses as a white-coat-clad kid on Chicago’s West Side in the basement of the Admin Building, a chapter about the Academy I took at 15 in the Program Center in Fifth City, and a weekend pedagogy (learned to teach RS-1) session in one of my Religious Houses—the “Big Idea” messages of RS-1 loom large in IRON BOY. The boy, pre-teen, and teenager has a healthy amount of skepticism about the magic of RS-1, especially with all the moaning and groaning he witnesses from older participants, but the teachings of this seminal course pervade the subsequent pages of the book. You might ask whether an 11-year-old, or even a 16-year-old, could be conscious enough to understand and teach the rather sophisticated concepts of RS-1. I understand if you do. My own father did not believe humans could absorb much about religion until they reached consciousness, which he thought started at around puberty. He even wrote a little book about it. Nevertheless, I believe this 35-page treatment inside IRON BOY is the most concise description and easily digestible version of RS-1 ever written, because it reads like a screenplay, almost all in dialogue, and is story-driven. People remember stories better than prose. It’s how I remember that fateful RS-1 course when I was in 5th grade in the basement of the chapel in our Order campus in Fifth City in 1967, but the names and faces have changed to focus on the integrity of the learnings. Given that each member of the Order Ecumenical Community listserv has their own take on what RS-1 means to you and how it has influenced your life and the lives around you, I would be interested in your take on whether my version resonates with yours. If you don’t read IRON BOY, you can get a drier non-narrative version of this RS-1 primer on my Marshall Books Blog post from a few years back: THIS I BELIEVE: Not My Grandfather’s Christianity (May 2018) https://marshallbooks.wordpress.com/2018/06/27/this-i-believe-not-my-grandfa... Many thanks in advance for the continuing dialogue. David Marshall, Moraga, California On Sat, Jun 21, 2025 at 9:27 AM James Wiegel <jfwiegel@yahoo.com> wrote:
David said : “ creating a Family Order was an audacious “Grand Experiment” with lofty intentions, that so many Order Adults, including himself, were ill equipped emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually (jw: Might also add economically culturally and …) to pull it off, especially with regard to caring for the children, and exacerbated by the drive to scale the global presence and scope of the mission so quickly without sufficiently trained human capacity. “
Currently there is an initiative to work on inner development goals ( https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/framework/#explore) to complement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. I wonder if these give some indication of what, looking back, we were lacking….
2 of my grandkids gave me a book on Nicaragua, Blood of Brothers, and as soon as I finish that, I’m sending for your book!!
Deep thanks for all the conversation Jim Wiegel
“…the long work of turning their lives into a celebration is not easy. Come and let us talk“.
The Sunflowers. Mary Oliver
On Jun 19, 2025, at 11:32 AM, David Marshall via OE < oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
creating a Family Order was an audacious “Grand Experiment” with lofty intentions, that so many Order Adults, including himself, were ill equipped emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually to pull it off, especially with regard to caring for the children, and exacerbated by the drive to scale the global presence and scope of the mission so quickly without sufficiently trained human capacity.
The Inner Development goals are much needed. We have all seen groups and organizations not actualize their potential due to personality & group conflict/dynamics. Collaboration & consensus requires more awareness of our inner self & our “baggage” (or shadow sides), whether from upbringing, our self talk, previous emotional traumas or wounds, and ways of interacting with others which are not the most beneficial. Race, ethnicity, gender, religious perspectives, personality types and last but not least, class also come into play, particularly in the form of micro-aggressions or an unconscious sense of privilege & superiority (or inferiority). This is just touching the surface and our methods, and methods developed by others, help cut across unhelpful dynamics, yet it is not always enough. I am, and always will be, still working on myself, and how I interact with others. Partnerships, whether in our relationships, our families or within and between groups, take continual work & awareness. Thank you for sharing the Inner Development goals Jim, and thank you David for shining a light on the dynamics and reverberations of Order culture & missional focus which was most acutely, but certainly not exclusively felt by Order youth. Marriages were affected, as were individual needs, by subsuming to the mission to urgently change the world. Lofty goals. Now the urgency with climate change, the ever growing number of us becoming refugees from conflict & unsustainablity, the shift toward facism & totalitarianism, all accelerated the need to change the world, yet we require an overall shift in individual and collective consciousness. We need continual ways to sustain spiritual growth. We need time and space for our inner being and our extended relationships, (whether chosen or otherwise). How we and the world’s younger generations will be able to navigate a radically different and compromised world is a huge question. The book, Choosing Earth, outlines some stark realities. We will need emotional and spiritual maturity and a higher level of consciousness to navigate the future. It will not be easy. My son Michael, age 29, is becoming more aware and recently stated “billions will die, not including all forms of life. How will we rebuild?”. Debra Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Saturday, June 21, 2025, 11:27 AM, James Wiegel via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: David said : “ creating a Family Order was an audacious “Grand Experiment” with lofty intentions, that so many Order Adults, including himself, were ill equipped emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually (jw: Might also add economically culturally and …) to pull it off, especially with regard to caring for the children, and exacerbated by the drive to scale the global presence and scope of the mission so quickly without sufficiently trained human capacity. “ Currently there is an initiative to work on inner development goals (https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/framework/#explore) to complement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. I wonder if these give some indication of what, looking back, we were lacking…. 2 of my grandkids gave me a book on Nicaragua, Blood of Brothers, and as soon as I finish that, I’m sending for your book!! Deep thanks for all the conversation Jim Wiegel “…the long work of turning their lives into a celebration is not easy. Come and let us talk“. The Sunflowers. Mary Oliver On Jun 19, 2025, at 11:32 AM, David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: creating a Family Order was an audacious “Grand Experiment” with lofty intentions, that so many Order Adults, including himself, were ill equipped emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually to pull it off, especially with regard to caring for the children, and exacerbated by the drive to scale the global presence and scope of the mission so quickly without sufficiently trained human capacity. _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
Yes David, There was an Iron Man statue in every Religious House. Congratulations on your book. I have ordered it, Mary Laura Jones Mary Laura Jones Grants Resource Development Consultant 53599 Pulver Road Three Rivers, MI 49093 cell: 773 636-2022 mljones2022@gmail.com On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM David Marshall via OE < oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends,
Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book)
IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book.
The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy.
Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY.
And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one?
When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do!
Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon.
https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC
Grace & Peace,
David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net
_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
I don't remember having an Iron Man statue in the houses I was in.. but it was a long time ago. Dick On Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM ML Jones via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Yes David, There was an Iron Man statue in every Religious House. Congratulations on your book. I have ordered it, Mary Laura Jones
Mary Laura Jones Grants Resource Development Consultant 53599 Pulver Road Three Rivers, MI 49093 cell: 773 636-2022 mljones2022@gmail.com
On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM David Marshall via OE < oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends,
Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book)
IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book.
The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy.
Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY.
And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one?
When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do!
Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon.
https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC
Grace & Peace,
David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net
_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
-- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Net Zero T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton@gmail.com Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor?
They weren't very big . . . Jim Wiegel Theunknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybodyscurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, allthat. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plainsailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel@yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com On Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 12:32:46 PM MST, Richard Alton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: I don't remember having an Iron Man statue in the houses I was in.. but it was a long time ago.Dick On Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM ML Jones via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Yes David, There was an Iron Man statue in every Religious House. Congratulations on your book. I have ordered it, Mary Laura Jones Mary Laura JonesGrants Resource Development Consultant53599 Pulver RoadThree Rivers, MI 49093cell: 773 636-2022mljones2022@gmail.com On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both apaperback and e-book. The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixtyyears later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and theirpartners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for thefirst time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with theProgram Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, thestill-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school,now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. Also a vintage wintertime Iron Manstatue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. And finally a little artifact from that era I just received.I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and theygave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up alongthe way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of thesewords from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world isgoing to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Churchcountdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, pleaselet me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon,and through other bookstores soon. https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC Grace & Peace, David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net -- Richard H. T. AltonICA Global FundUnited Methodist Net ZeroT: 773.344.7172richard.alton@gmail.comMake Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor?_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
I ordered it on Kindle and just started reading it- thank you David for your perspective and insights. I encountered and joined the Order in 1984 when I was 26 and often wondered what is was like to grow up in the Order, especially in the earlier years. Sincerely,Debra Harris WatsonHouston Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Thursday, June 19, 2025, 7:26 PM, James Wiegel via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: They weren't very big . . . Jim Wiegel Theunknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybodyscurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, allthat. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plainsailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel@yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com On Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 12:32:46 PM MST, Richard Alton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: I don't remember having an Iron Man statue in the houses I was in.. but it was a long time ago.Dick On Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM ML Jones via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Yes David, There was an Iron Man statue in every Religious House. Congratulations on your book. I have ordered it, Mary Laura Jones Mary Laura JonesGrants Resource Development Consultant53599 Pulver RoadThree Rivers, MI 49093cell: 773 636-2022mljones2022@gmail.com On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both apaperback and e-book. The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixtyyears later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and theirpartners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for thefirst time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with theProgram Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, thestill-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school,now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. Also a vintage wintertime Iron Manstatue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. And finally a little artifact from that era I just received.I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and theygave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up alongthe way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of thesewords from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world isgoing to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Churchcountdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, pleaselet me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon,and through other bookstores soon. https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC Grace & Peace, David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net -- Richard H. T. AltonICA Global FundUnited Methodist Net ZeroT: 773.344.7172richard.alton@gmail.comMake Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor?_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
Debra - As an 8th grader in the New York Religious House in 1969-70, I was assigned to take care of five 2-year-old to 6-year-old girls in the afternoon and evening “Structures” while the inside and outside adults were doing “more important missional” work. I can attest from first-hand experience that I was ill equipped to do so. Perhaps I was better than many emerging generation assigned to this task, because my sister Teresa was the first Order baby born on the West Side of Chicago, and at eight years old, I had already been pressed into service, so I was already a veteran of sorts by the time I got to New York, or so I thought. All in all, good and wise move I’d say on your part. David Sent from my iPad David Marshall www.marshallbooks.net
On Jun 19, 2025, at 7:38 PM, Debra Harris via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Houston
David, I took my RS-1 the first time in 1971. It was very much still available. Susan Susan Fertig-Dykes And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought . Isaiah 58:11 From: OE <oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net> On Behalf Of David Marshall via OE Sent: Friday, June 20, 2025 4:09 PM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: David Marshall <davidpaulmarshall1956@gmail.com>; Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today Whoops, that last message about Order Kids’ structures was meant for Wesson. As an OE listserv newbie, I’m still trying to navigate. Responding to Debra’s comment, that’s one of the reasons I was compelled to write IRON BOY, to give a first-hand account from a child’s and teenager’s perspective from the beginning. Many friends, family, co-works and history buffs over multiple generations have heard about those early days in the Order, but I suspect much of it was second-, third-, or fourth-hand. It’s like playing Telephone as a kid. By the time the secret sentence whispered in each year gets to the end of the line, it’s a far cry from what the original child said. Another motivator for me: I wondered how many folks who joined the ICA in the 1970s and later ever knew what RS-1 was or could measure its direct or indirect impact for themselves if it was not longer available. Many readers may be surprised that an RS-1 primer is embedded inside IRON BOY for that very reason, albeit from an 11-year-old’s perspective. Many EI/ICA alumni may still ask today how much of RS-1 could be understood by a child or teenager. I’ll attempt to answer that in a listserv post this coming weekend. David, Moraga, CA Sent from my iPad David Marshall www.marshallbooks.net<http://www.marshallbooks.net> On Jun 19, 2025, at 7:38 PM, Debra Harris via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: I ordered it on Kindle and just started reading it- thank you David for your perspective and insights. I encountered and joined the Order in 1984 when I was 26 and often wondered what is was like to grow up in the Order, especially in the earlier years. Sincerely, Debra Harris Watson Houston Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone<https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=Global_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100000604&af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_&af_ios_store_cpp=9d3a686e-218d-4849-8298-b480188dc8ac&af_android_url=https%3A%2F%2Fplay.google.com%2Fstore%2Fapps%2Fdetails%3Fid%3Dcom.yahoo.mobile.client.android.mail%26listing%3Demail_signature> On Thursday, June 19, 2025, 7:26 PM, James Wiegel via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: They weren't very big . . . Jim Wiegel <http://partnersinparticipation.com/james-wiegel/> The unknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plain sailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel@yahoo.com<mailto:marilyn.oyler@gmail.com> www.partnersinparticipation.com<http://www.partnersinparticipation.com/> On Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 12:32:46 PM MST, Richard Alton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: I don't remember having an Iron Man statue in the houses I was in.. but it was a long time ago. Dick On Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM ML Jones via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: Yes David, There was an Iron Man statue in every Religious House. Congratulations on your book. I have ordered it, Mary Laura Jones Mary Laura Jones Grants Resource Development Consultant 53599 Pulver Road Three Rivers, MI 49093 cell: 773 636-2022 mljones2022@gmail.com<mailto:mljones2022@gmail.com> On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book. The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon. https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC Grace & Peace, David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net<http://www.marshallbooks.net> _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net -- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Net Zero T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton@gmail.com<mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com> Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor? _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
When was the last RS-1 taught? Did it vary depending on the area? And was it taught in Canada or any other nations? Of course the concepts of RS-1 were embedded into ITI and HDTP, as well as the Academy. However, the Turn to the World necessitated a reformulation, to broaden language & context for a variety of cultures & faith traditions- though the fundamental concepts were universal. Debra Harris-WatsonHouston Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Friday, June 20, 2025, 4:36 PM, Susan Fertig via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: <!--#yiv3506840839 filtered {}#yiv3506840839 filtered {}#yiv3506840839 filtered {}#yiv3506840839 filtered {}#yiv3506840839 filtered {}#yiv3506840839 filtered {}#yiv3506840839 p.yiv3506840839MsoNormal, #yiv3506840839 li.yiv3506840839MsoNormal, #yiv3506840839 div.yiv3506840839MsoNormal {margin:0in;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos", sans-serif;}#yiv3506840839 a:link, #yiv3506840839 span.yiv3506840839MsoHyperlink {color:blue;text-decoration:underline;}#yiv3506840839 p.yiv3506840839yahoo-quoted-begin, #yiv3506840839 li.yiv3506840839yahoo-quoted-begin, #yiv3506840839 div.yiv3506840839yahoo-quoted-begin {margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos", sans-serif;}#yiv3506840839 p.yiv3506840839ydpa512fec3msonormal, #yiv3506840839 li.yiv3506840839ydpa512fec3msonormal, #yiv3506840839 div.yiv3506840839ydpa512fec3msonormal {margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos", sans-serif;}#yiv3506840839 p.yiv3506840839ydp209e23c4msonormal, #yiv3506840839 li.yiv3506840839ydp209e23c4msonormal, #yiv3506840839 div.yiv3506840839ydp209e23c4msonormal {margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos", sans-serif;}#yiv3506840839 p.yiv3506840839ydpb0403242yiv4363658884msonormal, #yiv3506840839 li.yiv3506840839ydpb0403242yiv4363658884msonormal, #yiv3506840839 div.yiv3506840839ydpb0403242yiv4363658884msonormal {margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos", sans-serif;}#yiv3506840839 span.yiv3506840839ydpb0403242yiv4363658884gmailsignatureprefix {}#yiv3506840839 span.yiv3506840839EmailStyle25 {font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;color:windowtext;}#yiv3506840839 .yiv3506840839MsoChpDefault {font-size:10.0pt;}#yiv3506840839 filtered {}#yiv3506840839 div.yiv3506840839WordSection1 {}--> David, I took my RS-1 the first time in 1971. It was very much still available. Susan Susan Fertig-Dykes And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought . Isaiah 58:11 From: OE <oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net>On Behalf Of David Marshall via OE Sent: Friday, June 20, 2025 4:09 PM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: David Marshall <davidpaulmarshall1956@gmail.com>; Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today Whoops, that last message about Order Kids’ structures was meant for Wesson. As an OE listserv newbie, I’m still trying to navigate. Responding to Debra’s comment, that’s one of the reasons I was compelled to write IRON BOY, to give a first-hand account from a child’s and teenager’s perspective from the beginning. Many friends, family, co-works and history buffs over multiple generations have heard about those early days in the Order, but I suspect much of it was second-, third-, or fourth-hand. It’s like playing Telephone as a kid. By the time the secret sentence whispered in each year gets to the end of the line, it’s a far cry from what the original child said. Another motivator for me: I wondered how many folks who joined the ICA in the 1970s and later ever knew what RS-1 was or could measure its direct or indirect impact for themselves if it was not longer available. Many readers may be surprised that an RS-1 primer is embedded inside IRON BOY for that very reason, albeit from an 11-year-old’s perspective. Many EI/ICA alumni may still ask today how much of RS-1 could be understood by a child or teenager. I’ll attempt to answer that in a listserv post this coming weekend. David, Moraga, CA Sent from my iPad David Marshall www.marshallbooks.net On Jun 19, 2025, at 7:38 PM, Debra Harris via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: I ordered it on Kindle and just started reading it- thank you David for your perspective and insights. I encountered and joined the Order in 1984 when I was 26 and often wondered what is was like to grow up in the Order, especially in the earlier years. Sincerely, Debra Harris Watson Houston Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Thursday, June 19, 2025, 7:26 PM, James Wiegel via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: They weren't very big . . . Jim Wiegel The unknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plain sailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel@yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com On Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 12:32:46 PM MST, Richard Alton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: I don't remember having an Iron Man statue in the houses I was in.. but it was a long time ago. Dick On Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM ML Jones via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Yes David, There was an Iron Man statue in every Religious House. Congratulations on your book. I have ordered it, Mary Laura Jones Mary Laura Jones Grants Resource Development Consultant 53599 Pulver Road Three Rivers, MI 49093 cell: 773 636-2022 mljones2022@gmail.com On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book. The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon. https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC Grace & Peace, David Marshall,www.marshallbooks.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net -- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Net Zero T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton@gmail.com Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor? _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
Yes, it was taught in Venezuela. Lead teacher for my first RA-I was Steve Allen. Later I assisted in getting us ready for them--Dave Clark and Marg Tomlinson came to teach it. Then we had various other courses, like CS-III etc. Susan Susan Fertig-Dykes And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought . Isaiah 58:11 ________________________________ From: OE <oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net> on behalf of Debra Harris via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Sent: Friday, June 20, 2025 6:36:58 PM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: Debra Harris <quantum1135@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today When was the last RS-1 taught? Did it vary depending on the area? And was it taught in Canada or any other nations? Of course the concepts of RS-1 were embedded into ITI and HDTP, as well as the Academy. However, the Turn to the World necessitated a reformulation, to broaden language & context for a variety of cultures & faith traditions- though the fundamental concepts were universal. Debra Harris-Watson Houston Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone<https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=Global_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100000604&af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_&af_ios_store_cpp=9d3a686e-218d-4849-8298-b480188dc8ac&af_android_url=https%3A%2F%2Fplay.google.com%2Fstore%2Fapps%2Fdetails%3Fid%3Dcom.yahoo.mobile.client.android.mail%26listing%3Demail_signature> On Friday, June 20, 2025, 4:36 PM, Susan Fertig via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: David, I took my RS-1 the first time in 1971. It was very much still available. Susan Susan Fertig-Dykes And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought . Isaiah 58:11 From: OE <oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net> On Behalf Of David Marshall via OE Sent: Friday, June 20, 2025 4:09 PM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: David Marshall <davidpaulmarshall1956@gmail.com>; Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today Whoops, that last message about Order Kids’ structures was meant for Wesson. As an OE listserv newbie, I’m still trying to navigate. Responding to Debra’s comment, that’s one of the reasons I was compelled to write IRON BOY, to give a first-hand account from a child’s and teenager’s perspective from the beginning. Many friends, family, co-works and history buffs over multiple generations have heard about those early days in the Order, but I suspect much of it was second-, third-, or fourth-hand. It’s like playing Telephone as a kid. By the time the secret sentence whispered in each year gets to the end of the line, it’s a far cry from what the original child said. Another motivator for me: I wondered how many folks who joined the ICA in the 1970s and later ever knew what RS-1 was or could measure its direct or indirect impact for themselves if it was not longer available. Many readers may be surprised that an RS-1 primer is embedded inside IRON BOY for that very reason, albeit from an 11-year-old’s perspective. Many EI/ICA alumni may still ask today how much of RS-1 could be understood by a child or teenager. I’ll attempt to answer that in a listserv post this coming weekend. David, Moraga, CA Sent from my iPad David Marshall www.marshallbooks.net<http://www.marshallbooks.net> On Jun 19, 2025, at 7:38 PM, Debra Harris via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: I ordered it on Kindle and just started reading it- thank you David for your perspective and insights. I encountered and joined the Order in 1984 when I was 26 and often wondered what is was like to grow up in the Order, especially in the earlier years. Sincerely, Debra Harris Watson Houston Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone<https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=Global_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100000604&af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_&af_ios_store_cpp=9d3a686e-218d-4849-8298-b480188dc8ac&af_android_url=https%3A%2F%2Fplay.google.com%2Fstore%2Fapps%2Fdetails%3Fid%3Dcom.yahoo.mobile.client.android.mail%26listing%3Demail_signature> On Thursday, June 19, 2025, 7:26 PM, James Wiegel via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: They weren't very big . . . Jim Wiegel <http://partnersinparticipation.com/james-wiegel/> The unknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plain sailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel@yahoo.com<mailto:marilyn.oyler@gmail.com> www.partnersinparticipation.com<http://www.partnersinparticipation.com/> On Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 12:32:46 PM MST, Richard Alton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: I don't remember having an Iron Man statue in the houses I was in.. but it was a long time ago. Dick On Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM ML Jones via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: Yes David, There was an Iron Man statue in every Religious House. Congratulations on your book. I have ordered it, Mary Laura Jones Mary Laura Jones Grants Resource Development Consultant 53599 Pulver Road Three Rivers, MI 49093 cell: 773 636-2022 mljones2022@gmail.com<mailto:mljones2022@gmail.com> On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book. The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon. https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC Grace & Peace, David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net<http://www.marshallbooks.net> _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net -- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Net Zero T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton@gmail.com<mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com> Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor? _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net<mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
48 Joe Slicker We Saw the Rise in RS 1's Go Over the Hill | | | | | | | | | | | 48 Joe Slicker We Saw the Rise in RS 1's Go Over the Hill | | | This from Joe Slicker -- sorry I did not get the year he is referencing. John and Linda Cock and a host of other colleagues -- also in Canada -- created a program in which they tried to replicate the RS-1 happening in the 2000's. I forget what it was called and also the dates. (sigh) Fred Lanphear shared a great poem about remembering stuff:Fred Lanphear This is a Poem by Billy Collins | | | | | | | | | | | Fred Lanphear This is a Poem by Billy Collins | | | Jim Wiegel Theunknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybodyscurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, allthat. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plainsailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel@yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com On Friday, June 20, 2025 at 06:04:58 PM MST, Susan Fertig via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Yes, it was taught in Venezuela. Lead teacher for my first RA-I was Steve Allen. Later I assisted in getting us ready for them--Dave Clark and Marg Tomlinson came to teach it. Then we had various other courses, like CS-III etc. Susan Susan Fertig-Dykes And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought . Isaiah 58:11 From: OE <oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net> on behalf of Debra Harris via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Sent: Friday, June 20, 2025 6:36:58 PM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: Debra Harris <quantum1135@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today When was the last RS-1 taught? Did it vary depending on the area? And was it taught in Canada or any other nations? Of course the concepts of RS-1 were embedded into ITI and HDTP, as well as the Academy. However, the Turn to the World necessitated a reformulation, to broadenlanguage & context for a variety of cultures & faith traditions- though the fundamental concepts were universal. Debra Harris-WatsonHouston Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Friday, June 20, 2025, 4:36 PM, Susan Fertig via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: David, I took my RS-1 the first time in 1971. It was very much still available. Susan Susan Fertig-Dykes And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought . Isaiah 58:11 From: OE <oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net>On Behalf Of David Marshall via OE Sent: Friday, June 20, 2025 4:09 PM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: David Marshall <davidpaulmarshall1956@gmail.com>; Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today Whoops, that last message about Order Kids’ structures was meant for Wesson. As an OE listserv newbie, I’m still trying to navigate. Responding to Debra’s comment, that’s one of the reasons I was compelled to write IRON BOY, to give a first-hand account from a child’s and teenager’s perspective from the beginning. Many friends, family, co-works and history buffs over multiple generations have heard about those early days in the Order, but I suspect much of it was second-, third-, or fourth-hand. It’s like playing Telephone as a kid. By the time the secret sentence whispered in each year gets to the end of the line, it’s a far cry from what the original child said. Another motivator for me: I wondered how many folks who joined the ICA in the 1970s and later ever knew what RS-1 was or could measure its direct or indirect impact for themselves if it was not longer available. Many readers may be surprised that an RS-1 primer is embedded inside IRON BOY for that very reason, albeit from an 11-year-old’s perspective. Many EI/ICA alumni may still ask today how much of RS-1 could be understood by a child or teenager. I’ll attempt to answer that in a listserv post this coming weekend. David, Moraga, CA Sent from my iPad David Marshall www.marshallbooks.net On Jun 19, 2025, at 7:38 PM, Debra Harris via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: I ordered it on Kindle and just started reading it- thank you David for your perspective and insights. I encountered and joined the Order in 1984 when I was 26 and often wondered what is was like to grow up in the Order, especially in the earlier years. Sincerely, Debra Harris Watson Houston Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Thursday, June 19, 2025, 7:26 PM, James Wiegel via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: They weren't very big . . . Jim Wiegel The unknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plain sailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel@yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com On Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 12:32:46 PM MST, Richard Alton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: I don't remember having an Iron Man statue in the houses I was in.. but it was a long time ago. Dick On Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM ML Jones via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Yes David, There was an Iron Man statue in every Religious House. Congratulations on your book. I have ordered it, Mary Laura Jones Mary Laura Jones Grants Resource Development Consultant 53599 Pulver Road Three Rivers, MI 49093 cell: 773 636-2022 mljones2022@gmail.com On Sun, Jun 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book. The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon. https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC Grace & Peace, David Marshall,www.marshallbooks.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net -- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Net Zero T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton@gmail.com Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor? _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
I thought I'd share with you what I posted on Amazon. Thank you so much for writing and sharing your memoir. I read your book "Iron Boy" and I couldhardly put it down. I reread it again for good measure on our recenttrip. It is very engaging, evocative, and thought-provoking. It is a powerfulmemoir that explores the resilience of the human spirit amidst goodintentions and reality. I resonated well with your sentiment, "Ihated the Order for breaking up our family, but sometimes I loved it just thesame." We were one of those families separated from our 13-month-oldson and I could not reconcile how an Order of Family would separate familieseven for a young baby at that! Like you, I also love our work incommunity development, especially our time in the Azpitia Human DevelopmentProject. The book is emotionally engaging, particularly in its portrayalof the complex relationship between The Order, its members, and the families. Elsa Batica St Paul, MN On Sunday, June 15, 2025 at 03:01:50 AM CDT, David Marshall via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both apaperback and e-book. The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixtyyears later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and theirpartners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for thefirst time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with theProgram Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, thestill-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school,now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. Also a vintage wintertime Iron Manstatue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. And finally a little artifact from that era I just received.I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and theygave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up alongthe way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of thesewords from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world isgoing to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Churchcountdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, pleaselet me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon,and through other bookstores soon. https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC Grace & Peace, David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
I'm glad I caught this thread. Would love to read this book. When in despair in the Order, I would say to myself we could care for the world but we couldn't care for ourselves. I can't imagine what it would have been like to grow up in the Order. And on the other side most of my leadership and organizational skills I owe to the order and I learned that paradoxical spirituality and the will and belief that we could do anything. I'm still on the march. Herman On Tue, Jul 22, 2025, 10:38 PM David Marshall via OE < oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Elsa Batica,
Thank you so much for your kind words and heartfelt Amazon review. I had an opportunity to visit the Azpetia HDP in the 1980s when my mom and sister Teresa lived in Lima. Learned recently that Pope Leo worked close to there when he was sent to Peru in that same decade. I also spent time at the Jamaica and Berlin HDPs.
Other former Order Adults - If you read “Iron Boy” and have similar reactions, I would welcome your Amazon reviews as well. This helps a lot with my low-budget marketing to spread the word and help more families. If you do, please don’t mention that you know me, because Amazon sometimes disqualifies such reviews as bias.
Much appreciation, 🙏
David
Sent from my iPhone David Marshall www.marshallbooks.net
On Jul 22, 2025, at 4:52 PM, Elsa Batica via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
I thought I'd share with you what I posted on Amazon. Thank you so much for writing and sharing your memoir.
I read your book "Iron Boy" and I could hardly put it down. I reread it again for good measure on our recent trip. It is very engaging, evocative, and thought-provoking. It is a powerful memoir that explores the resilience of the human spirit amidst good intentions and reality. I resonated well with your sentiment, "I hated the Order for breaking up our family, but sometimes I loved it just the same." We were one of those families separated from our 13-month-old son and I could not reconcile how an Order of Family would separate families even for a young baby at that! Like you, I also love our work in community development, especially our time in the Azpitia Human Development Project. The book is emotionally engaging, particularly in its portrayal of the complex relationship between The Order, its members, and the families.
Elsa Batica St Paul, MN
On Sunday, June 15, 2025 at 03:01:50 AM CDT, David Marshall via OE < oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends,
Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book)
IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book.
The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy.
Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY.
And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one?
When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do!
Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon.
https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC
Grace & Peace,
David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net
_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
participants (11)
-
David Marshall -
Debra Harris -
Elsa Batica -
Herman Greene -
James Wiegel -
Judi White -
ML Jones -
Richard Alton -
Susan Fertig -
Terry Bergdall -
Wesson Gaige