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Phase I: Emerging Generation & Order youth

Still under construction 10/5/21 - needs editing

My First Life

Dancing with Those Who Care on the tip of a Wedge Blade: 1964-1986

Introduction / Statistics from my life in the Order / My first life chronology / The Order: Ecumenical / Phase I: Emerging Generation & Order Youth / Photos, art & artifacts

Growing up, the adults in the Order called us Phase !, Emerging Generation and Order Youth. Our peers in the public elementary and junior high schools we attended in Chicago called us "The Institute Kids." We just call ourselves Order Kids or Second Generation. (Our parents were the First Generation.)

Over 500 of us were born into, or spent some amount of time in, the Order. This was a very unique experience and we, the Order Kids, feel a strong common bond for having survived. The Order disbanded in 1986 but the Order Kids have remained in contact with each other through newsletters, email list-serves and reunions every 3 - 5 years.

Order Kids Share Their Stories!

Books about living in the Order by three former Order Youth.

Each book represents a different perspective and set of experiences.

If you are an Order Kid and would like to share your story on this website, please fill out this form. Thank you!

From the Rockies to the Windy City, by Ali Anthony Bell (2020) A young white American boy, the son of a preacher, experiences an enormous culture shock when his family moves from the Blackfeet Native American Reservation at the foot of the Rocky Mountains to join a religious sect in the inner-city Black ghetto on the West Side of Chicago in 1969. The main message of the story is that every single life experience is necessary to make us the unique individuals we are.

Grits, Green Beans and the Holy Ghost: Memoirs of a Girl Monk, by Carol J Poole. (2015) The story of a girl and her very large family—including her activist parents and amiable siblings, but also thousands of fellow members of a politically progressive religious cult called “The Order,” based in Chicago in the 1970s. A memoir about the perils of growing up, the resilience of the human heart, and the ironies of meaning well and doing good

Hey, White Girl!, by Susan Gregory (1970) The true story of a girl who moved into the south side of Chicago her senior year of high school as the only white student. "Members of the Institute share a basic understanding that to be a man of faith means to lay down one’s life - “die one’s death” - on behalf of all mankind. Those who decide to join the Institute become a part of a modern religious Order, bound by commitment to the larger corporate body and its decisions. "

The rest of the external links on this page go to the public Document Archive of the Ecumenical Institute (EI), Order: Ecumenical (The Order), and the Institute of Cultural of Cultural Affairs (ICA) hosted at https://icaglobalarchives.org/ and https://wedgeblade.net/

The Journey of Phase I Formation: Birth until age 20: "The Institute created many images related to the dynamics of a life journey. There were images of having five life phases, one phase every twenty years. Many programs were created and experimented with particularly related to Phase I, ages birth through the age of twenty. Within Phase I were the preschool, elementary, junior high, high school and college-aged youth." (1981)

A Chronological History:

Phase I, Emerging Generation, Student House, and Order Youth

1965

Educating the Imagination of the Modern Youth: “The Fundamental Need of post-modern youth is for self images relevant to the actual world in which he lives and adequate to organize meaningfully his personal and communal experience so that he can appropriate a sense of significance in involving himself in the human drama of civilization. In short, it is the need for imaginal education." "The Ecumenical Institute in Chicago, in response to this need and with the encouragement of a pioneering youth development organization, launched an experimental project in imaginal education for the youth of greater Chicago in the spring of 1963." "The faculty of the Institute had been probing the mind-set of the rising generation of the post-modern world for more than ten years. During this effort at diagnosis, a series of specialized curricula and corresponding teaching methodologies and materials were designed for the task of motivational training. Experimental schools were designed to test and develop these courses and teaching devices.”

1966

There was a High School House and College House. (Unknown location and participants)

1967-1968

“The Student House experiment was initiated with twelve high school youth. The first nineteen order youth were sent to live and study abroad.” "Imaginal Education: Six weeks of movement training was conducted and a basic curriculum was created. The key was designing the Imaginal Education approach and curriculum—based understanding of images: 1. Everyone operates out of images. 2. Images govern behavior. 3. Images are created by messages that can be designed and communicated. 4. Images can change. 5. Changed images change behavior."
Our family joined in summer of 1968. We lived on the Order campus in 5th City Chicago. I was in four years old in pre school and my life's memories begin during this time.

1969:

Summer Camp: Warrior Abbey
“Report on the Youth Culture”, John Lloyd, December 30, 1969
Global Youth Academy I: Warrior Abbey, Canada

1970:

Summer Camp: Exodus1971:

EG Theme: 1971 A Great Day To Live …
Summer Camp: New Jerusalem
In August at the Order Youth Council, Joseph Mathews gave the “Youth Council Address”: “Our Order is dependent upon the already battle-scarred youth. I tell you, I am laid bare from time to time about my young - I was going to call them children; They aren’t children anymore. but they’ll always be children to me, thank God. I am proud of them. They carry the scars necessary to do the job now that has to be done. I don’t mean that they are going to have the guts to do it. I am not that naive. No romance here, no sentiment here. These are the issues. Without this council we don’t have any historical order. That’s why you squirts who still haven’t got the scars, as far as I am concerned you keep your mouth shut until you hear. We need the wisdom of the scars. When you have heard that, then you can participate.” and “State of the Life Phases”: “Do you know you young people cannot hope? The hope I am talking about is only born on the other side of the stark-naked awareness that there is no hope. In one sense, only when you are old and have seen it alb you hope where there is no hope. You can’t hope if you aren’t old at the same time you are young, and if I am not young at the same time I am old. I am talking about a dynamic. I can hope on your behalf in a way that you have not dreamed of hoping, and that is the redemptive dynamic of the old in relationship to the new.”
Dale Pierce gave a “Statement from the Second Generation”: “We know we don’t inherit an historical third (family) Order. We inherit the right to be the people who build with our lives historical third Order, and there is no naivety at the center of this table about what it is you get into when you get into that. None. Naivety about practical nitty-gritty, naivety about details, but no naivety about picking up a religious Order, community life style, and the imperative to seize that birthright.”

1972:

EG Theme: The Odyssey: The Mountain of Care
Summer Camp: Geneva Crossroads
EG Problem Solving Unit: "This document creates the common context for the dynamic role of the emerging generation for the Order and the Movement. The socio-spirit analysis articulates the universal sociological spirit journey of youth." "We will have seen the result of our decision to be a family order, to creatively experiment with our children, to develop the comprehensive methodologies for the 21st Century."

1973:

EG Themes: The Wild Winds of Fortune; Trek of Resurgence; The Land of Mystery; Together We’re A Winning Team
Summer Camp: New Day Nation
The Wild Winds of Fortune: "The EG will be mounting the wild winds of fortune, harnessing and directing them toward a new mythology needed for the 21st century."
18 Year Phase I Journey: “This model describes the existential journey of Phase One. The categories are indicative of the universal experience of Youth, Ages 018. They are also self-conscious intentionality brought to bear on that experience. Thus they form the basis for all training constructs created for the Emerging Generation, especially the spiral curriculum and the pedagogical methods. These categories attempt to freight the radicality of each stage of Phase One: 5yo, 7-12yo, and 13-18yo”.
Fall 1973 The Student House was established as a residential program for Order students in the 7th–9th grades. Students lived in the ICA building at 4750 North Sheridan Road, Chicago. Charles Allen Lingo was assigned as Director along with a full staff.
University Students: "For over two decades the faculty of the ICA has been working on new forms and approaches to higher education. First they developed a unique curriculum that draws together in a comprehensive form the cultural wisdom of our time, aimed at enabling authentic self understanding and creative engagement in the tenth century."
The first 17 Order Youth 9th graders graduated from Student House.

1974:

EG Theme: Those Who Care, The Crimson Line, The Great Expectation
Summer Camp: Crimson Covenant
29 Order Youth graduated from Student House.

1975:

EG Theme: Being The Miracle Makers, Exploring Global Care
Summer Camp: New Castle
22 Order Youth graduated from Student House.
Sixth Grade Trip – Plan: “We, the Sixth Graders of the Global Order call into being the seventh sixth grade trip of travel, adventure, growth and a time of dying to the old and being born again to the new”
University 13 - An Innovative Approach to Higher Education: “University 13 has been developed by the Institute of Cultural Affairs, a research, training and demonstration group concerned with the human factor in world development.”
Being the Miracle Workers 1975-1976: “In the midst of finding ourselves in the experiment of creating a training centrum, we have become very conscious of our assignment to care for the emerging generation of the Order across the Globe. This manual is an attempt to give commonness to the quarterly thrusts for the Emerging Generation.”

1976:

EG Theme: 1976 Being The Miracle Makers
Summer Camp: Spirit of 76: “This manual contains within it the skill and task curriculum for the camp. The four program manuals contain the spirit life and heritage celebration curriculum as well as the basic time designs and curriculum rationals.”
Phase I program curriculum: “The Common Intent is to affirm the complexity of the urban world, to concretize the Third Order, to be a missional compliment, to train corporate priorship, and to earn educational resources during the summer of 1976.”
24 Order Youth graduated from Student House.
I was on the 6th grade trip with over 30 kids. We spent two weeks touring the bicentennial hot spots like Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC. Then we hiked the Appalachian Trail for Three weeks. After this summer we all joined the Student House.

Order Youth meetings.

1980:

EG Theme: 1980 Launching Into Adventure, Riding The Third Wave, Experience With Wonder
Summer Camp: New Hope
First Continental Youth Presidium Announcement: One Corporate Thrust For the World (February 15-18, 1980): “A Presidium for Youth … why now? During the 70s one of the key contradictions in any community across the world related to young people: ‘What are we going to do with our youth?’ During this time the Student House, High School Clusters and Community Youth Forums came into being. As we enter the 80s it is clearly time to re-articulate the contradiction relative to youth and to raise the question: Do the Student House, Clusters and CYFs deal with the contradiction?”
Summary Statement of the First Continental Youth Symposium: “Youth in the world today are raising the issues of identity (Who am I?), where am I going (How do I make the transition into adulthood?),what do I need to be doing right now, and how am I responsible for the future (question of vocation).”
1980 Student House Manual: "The Ecumenical Institute began the Student House experiment in 1973. Seventy two students between the ages of 11 and 14 (7th-9th grade), all children of Institute staff, were placed in a residential setting with 12 adults and 8 high school student faculty, with the assignment of designing and testing a comprehensive formation and training program for junior high school youth. The students attended public school in the local community and supplementary curriculum and activities were designed for morning, after school, evening and weekends throughout the school year."

This simple metal rocket ship was the best thing about playing outside in the Order's campus in 5th City in the late 60's. I spent many hours in it as a preschooler and young youth.

1969 Global Youth Academy I: Warrior Abbey, Canada

A collection of short stories meant to exemplify the Order's teachings by a Dean of the Student House.

Order pre-school children early 70's

My 1971 1st Grade Class at Leif Erikson Elementary School in 5th City on the westside of Chicago. All of the white kids in this photo were Order members.

Student House girls dorm mid 70s. This was the kind of dorm I lived in for 2 years with at least 12-15 kids per dorm.

Student House kids working in the Kitchen.

Order summer camp

I (back row, 2nd from right) was part of this 1978 Student House work crew that was sent to help with an ICA Human Development Project in Canada for 2 weeks.

1976 Summer Camp Manual: Nava Gram Prayas

Cover of 1981 Order Summer Camp manual

Student House boys dorm early 80's. In the late 70's We worked for 2 years to renovate each dorm room giving us individual spaces and privacy.

Despite heavy snow and freezing temps during the Chicago winters, Student House work crews were sent out every afternoon.

1977:

EG Theme: 1977 This Is The Day We Have
Summer Camp Manual: Nava Gram Prayas
33 Order Youth graduated from Student House.

1978:

EG Theme: 1978 Our Community Come Alive
Summer Camp: Human Development Project Demonstration
32 Order Youth graduated from Student House.
High School Cluster Context (Summer): "The 1978-79 Phase I Program represents a pioneering effort to capture in structural form the global struggle of Phase I to forge a relevant role of social engagement. Across the globe Phase I exist as a great ‘Hidden Army” ready to be mobilized toward the task of the future."
I graduated from the Student House and was sent with five other Student House grads to Venezuela and then to Brazil to live in a village with no electricity or running water for our 9th grade year.

1979:

EG Theme: Journey of Consciousness
Summer Camp: Drama of Humaness
An Inquiry into the effects of socialization the Student House: “The aim of this paper is to look at a particular socializing environment for junior high school age students called Student House. his particular environment was selected for two reasons: (1) it is a rigorous program of maturation experiences including hours in and out of school, and (2) specifically address arenas the Coleman Report calls attention to. The question to which this paper is addressed is - what are the effects of socialization in Student House.”
The Emerging Generation Manual 1979-1980 Cycle III: “Note: The elementaries are totally responsible for the care of their space with adult supervision and help. This is a training tool and to be treated as such. Demanding excellence is crucial and holding them accountable until the task is done right.”

6th grade summer trips

Student House mid 80s

Student House summer work crew.

This was my Order Youth Cluster at the Houston Religious House in 1980. We were all very close at the time.

One of my first official photographs in 11th grade (that survived) of Bruce.

1981:

EG Theme: Charting The Universe
Summer Camp: New Earth
Second Continental Youth Presidium opening address “Life of Service”: “This talk is designed to provoke your insights for you are the real experts. It is a talk to set the context for and help us look at the radical alternatives required of youth now for the sake of the 21st century. I want to do this by raising two questions indirectly: Is there a revolution now?. and What is it that youth are calling all of society to be?”
Second Continental Youth Presidium closing address, “The World is Watching": “We the youth, representing youth from across North America, have gathered to discern where we are heading in the coming decade, in order to provide all youth with a vision of where we can creatively affect society. The pain and frustration we experience today are in trying to enact our care, to be recognized as responsible members of society and to discover our personal vocations.”
The Journey of Phase I (ages 1-20)
6th grade trip goes to Mexico: “The sixth grade journey of 1981 was an encounter with the land and people of Mexico. Twenty-two sixth graders made the journey. The purpose of the journey, which has been a part of the Phase I program since 1969 is to make the pass from childhood to youth.”

1982:

EG Theme: 1982 The Wonder of Our Time: Spaceship Earth
Summer Camp: New People “The Collegium (intensive study Group or meeting) focus here is the Social Process Triangle with the intent of training in the basic ethical posture of an inclusive picture of society. The methods pedagogy tutorial (dialogue) will do training in both grounding the screen and learning how to practically apply it - thus learning the important skill of inclusive geo-socio analysis.”
Continental Youth Symposium: One Corporate Thrust for the World and Vocational Dialogue Journal – Kansas City, February 12-15: “The third annual Continental Youth Symposium was held February 12-15, in Kansas City, Missouri. Ninety-five youth from across North America gathered at Loretto, a private educational institution, to discern the new forms of education to deal with a life of vocation in the in the new society. Through looking at the history of revolution and the current status of education we discerned bold moves in education for the 80’s and we created practical plans and methods which could be utilized in Local situations.”
Facilitation Packet 82 KC Youth Symposium: "One of the most important things in this business of the vacated life is finding ways to keep yourself awake to the deeps of the journey of care.”
Student House Yearbook 1981-1982 Telling Our Story: “We have discovered that the Student House is important because it helps students (7th & 8th graders) to do better in school, have a better understanding of themselves and the world, to live independently from their parents, and to think through issues and make decisions as Youth Who Care.”
Phase I Orbiter: “A vigil is a night long period by yourself thinking about the purpose and direction of your life. The Knight of the Roundtable had to spend one night praying over his armor. When Gandhi was thrown off the train, he spent one night thinking about what had happened and how he would react to it. In the same way we decided to have a vigil by spending the night alone in the woods thinking about our transition to youth (7th grade).”
Leading the Student House, Fred L, 81-82: “A typical day in the SH began with wakeup at 5:30 a.m. followed by Daily Office. The staff took turns doing wakeup, which was often challenging since many considered the ritual ‘boring’. Breakfast was held in the SH collegium space with singing and conversations. When the youth left for school after breakfast, the staff let out a sigh of relief.”

1984:

EG Theme: 1984 Launching The New Century, The Wonder of Our Time, The New Order, Claiming The Way
Summer Camp: New Order
Phase I Formation (February, 1984): “The attached material concerns the issue of forming a global consensus during this year of Order Council relative to a futuric model for Phase I(0-20) formation programing. We are aware that our present mode of programing has evolved over the past 30 years and has never been looked at from a global perspective. The Year of Order Council provides us with the opportunity to evaluate the pilot programs of the past and to create the needed programs and models for the future. Your Religious House’s thinking and input is critical to this process.”
Celebration 10: “Celebration 10 was originally conceived of as a celebration of the past. During the three days it became quite clear that our commons didn’t end with our Student House experience. We realized that there is another bond that hold us together - that bond has something to do with being Those Who Care.”
Phase I Curriculum 84-85: “Rational Objective: To acquire love for learning and the methods of learning. Life Changing Aim: I am on life’s journey of building and serving.”

1985:

EG Curriculum, January: “Rational Objective: To know the data of Order history. Existential Aim: To experience pride in the opportunity to participate in forming the Order. Story: The beginning of the Order. The decision to form the Faith and Life Community in Austin Texas. ell the story of the Mathews family (Joe, Lyn and 3 sons). They took the idea of Gandhi and the Indian Ashram and also the idea of the early Christian Church, forming a community to serve others.”
EG Quarter IV Curriculum, June: “Dear Colleagues: The enclosed curriculum for Quarter IV completes a year long project which we have done on behalf of the children of the Order, that they might come to understand the uniqueness of their up-bringing and the context out of which their parents have been called to serve.”

6th grade trips

The History
From 6th grade trips to the new Rite of Passage program:
In the summer of 1968, the first “Sixth Grade Trip” took four junior high students on a month-long trip from Chicago to the eastern US – and the tradition began. Each year, the journey was invented afresh, traveling to Canada, hiking the Appalachian Trail, camping in the Colorado Rockies, and visiting the Crow Reservation in Montana and the Pyramids in Mexico among many other places.