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Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs.

Many Congregational churches claim their descent from a family of Protestant denominations formed on a theory of union published by the theologian Robert Browne in 1592. These arose from the Nonconformist religious movement during the Puritan reformation of the Church of England. In Great Britain, the early congregationalists were called separatists or independents to distinguish them from the similarly Calvinistic Presbyterians. Some congregationalists in Britain still call themselves Independent.

Congregational churches were widely established in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, later New England. The model of Congregational churches was carried by migrating settlers from New England into New York and the Old Northwest regions that now includes Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. With their insistence on independent local bodies, they became important in many social reform movements, including Abolitionism and women's suffrage. Modern congregationalism in the U.S. is split into three bodies: the United Church of Christ, which most local Congregational churches affiliate with; the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches; and the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, an evangelical group.

Origins[link]

Congregationalists sympathetically interpreted various dissident movements among the western churches, which were suppressed throughout the Middle Ages. By the 16th century, political and cultural changes had created a climate in which men such as John Wycliffe, John Hus, Martin Luther and John Calvin sought change, with new ideas about the relationship of individual men to God. This influenced what they saw as the power of people without priests to intercede between them and God, the need for the people to read and interpret the Bible, and correction of distortions from original Christian thinking, as well as their protests against church abuses. These reformers advocated a return to the simplicity and authenticity they believed was described in the New Testament. Congregationalists believe their model of church governance fulfills the description of the early church and allows people the most direct relationship with God.

Congregationalism is more easily identified as a movement than a single denomination, given its distinguishing commitment to the complete autonomy of the local congregation. The idea that each distinct congregation fully constitutes the visible Body of the church can, however, be traced to John Wycliffe and the Lollard movement, which followed Wycliffe's removal from teaching authority in the Roman Catholic Church.

The early Congregationalists shared with Anabaptist theology the ideal of a pure church. They believed the adult conversion experience was necessary for an individual to become a full member in the church, unlike other Reformed churches. As such, the Congregationalists were a reciprocal influence on the Baptists. They differed in counting the children of believers in some sense members of the church. On the other hand, the Baptists required each member to experience conversion, followed by baptism.

In England, the Anglican system of church government was taken over by the king, Henry VIII. Influenced by movements for reform and by his desire to legitimize his marriage to Anne Boleyn in 1533 (without the blessing of the Pope) after divorcing his first wife Catherine of Aragon, Henry's government influenced Parliament to enact the 1st Act of Supremacy in 1534. It declared the reigning sovereign of England to be 'the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England.' In the reign of Elizabeth I, this title was changed to Supreme Governor of the Church of England, an act still in effect. The Church of England thus replaced Catholicism as the established state religion.

Robert Browne, Henry Barrow, John Greenwood, John Penry, William Brewster, Thomas Jollie and John Robinson were notable people who established dissenting churches separate from the Church of England. In 1639 William Wroth, then Rector of the parish church at Llanvaches in Monmouthshire, established the first Independent Church in Wales "according to the New England pattern", i.e. Congregational. The Tabernacle United Reformed Church at Llanvaches survives to this day.^[1]

With the demise of the monarchy, the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) was officially declared the statement of faith for both the Church of England (Anglican/Episcopal) and Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). In 1658 the Congregationalists created their own version of the Westminster Confession, called the Savoy Declaration. The underground churches in England and exiles from Holland provided about 35 out of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower, which sailed from London in July 1620. They became known in history as the Pilgrim Fathers. The early Congregationalists sought to separate themselves from the Anglican church in every possible way and even forwent having church buildings. They met in homes for many years.

Argentina[link]

The mission to Argentina was the second foreign field tended by German Congregationalists. The work in South America began in 1921, when four Argentine churches urgently requested that denominational recognition be given George Geier, who was serving them. The Illinois Conference licensed Geier, who worked among Germans from Russia who were very similar to their kin in the United States and in Canada. The South American Germans from Russia had learned about Congregationalism in letters from relatives in the United States. In 1924 general missionary John Hoelzer, whilst in Argentina for a brief visit, organized six churches.

Elsternwick Congregational Church (1894-1977); Orrong Road, Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia^[2]

Australia[link]

In 1977, most congregations of the Congregational Union of Australia merged with all Churches of the Methodist Church of Australasia and a majority of Churches of the Presbyterian Church of Australia to form the Uniting Church in Australia.

Those congregations that did not join the Uniting Church formed the Fellowship of Congregational Churches or continued as Presbyterians. Some more ecumenically minded Congregationalists left the Fellowship of Congregational Churches in 1995 and formed the Congregational Federation of Australia.

Canada[link]

In Canada, the first foreign field, thirty-one churches that had been affiliated with the General Conference became part of the United Church of Canada when that denomination was founded in 1925 by the merger of the Canadian Congregationalist and Methodist churches, and two-thirds of the congregations of the Presbyterian Church of Canada. In 1988, a number of UCC congregations separated from the national church, which they felt was moving away theologically and in practice from Biblical Christianity. Many of the former UCC congregations banded together as the new Congregational Christian Churches in Canada.

Congregational Christian Churches in Canada[link]

The Congregational Christian Churches in Canada (or 4Cs) is an evangelical, Protestant, Christian denomination, headquartered in Brantford, Ontario and a member of the World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship. The name "congregational" generally describes its preferred organizational style, which promotes local church autonomy and ownership, while fostering fellowship and accountability between churches at the National level.

Ireland[link]

The Congregational Union of Ireland was founded in the early 19th century and currently has 29 member churches.

Samoa[link]

The Congregational Christian Church of Samoa is one of the largest group of churches throughout the Pacific Region. It was founded in 1830 by the London Missionary Society, missionary - John Williams on the Island of Savaii. As the church grew it established and continues to support theological colleges in Samoa and Fiji. There are over 100,000 members attending over 2,000 congregations throughout the world, most of which are located in Samoa, American Samoa, New Zealand, Australia and America. The Christian Congregational Church of Jamaica fall under the constitution of the Samoan Church.

Southern Africa[link]

There are many United Congregational Churches in Southern Africa all independently run, however they all meet together to discuss challenges. Visit www.uccsa.org.za/

United Kingdom[link]

In 1972, about three quarters of English Congregational churches merged with the Presbyterian Church of England to form the United Reformed Church (URC). However, about 600 Congregational churches have continued in their historic independent tradition. Under the Act of Parliament that dealt with the financial and property issues arising from the merger between what had become by then the Congregational Church of England and Wales and the Presbyterian Church of England, certain assets were divided between the various parties.

In England there are three main groups of continuing Congregationalists. These are the Congregational Federation, which has offices in Nottingham, the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches, and about 100 Congregational churches that are loosely federated with other congregations in the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, or are unaffiliated.

In 1981, the United Reformed Church merged with the Re-formed Association of Churches of Christ and, in 2000, just over half of the churches in the Congregational Union of Scotland also joined the United Reformed Church. The remainder of Congregational churches in Scotland joined the Congregational Federation.

Wales traditionally is the part of Europe which has the largest share of Congregationalists among the population, most Congregationalists being members of Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg (the Union of Welsh Independents), which is particularly important in Carmarthenshire and Brecknockshire. Among its leaders up to the end of the 20th century was R Tudur Jones.

The Congregational Federation, Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg, and the United Reformed Church enjoy good relations and share certain aspects of church life together including their joint involvement in the Council for World Mission.

Mission[link]

The London Missionary Society was effectively the world mission arm of British Congregationalists – it sponsored missionaries including Eric Liddell and David Livingstone.

As thinking developed, particularly in the context of decolonisation, and churches wanted to recognise the gifts of people of the South, the London Missionary Society transformed into the Council for World Mission – an organisation in which the United Reformed Church is no more important than the Church of South India (for example)

United States[link]

A Congregational church in Detroit, Michigan (1880).

A Congregational church in Ceredo, West Virginia.

The Pilgrims sought to establish at Plymouth Colony a Christian fellowship like that which gathered around Jesus himself.^{[citation needed]} Congregationalists include the Pilgrims of Plymouth, and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which were organized in union by the Cambridge Platform in 1648. These settlers had John Cotton as their most influential leader, beginning in 1633. Cotton's writings persuaded the Calvinist theologian John Owen to separate from the Presbyterian church. He became very influential in the development of Congregationalist theology and ideas of church government. Jonathan Edwards was also a Congregationalist.^{[citation needed]}

The history of Congregational churches in the United States is closely intertwined with that of American Presbyterianism, especially in New England where Congregationalist influence spilled over into Presbyterian churches farther west. Some of the first colleges and universities in America, including Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, and Amherst, all were founded by the Congregationalists, as were later Carleton, Grinnell, Oberlin, and Pomona.

Without higher courts to ensure doctrinal uniformity among the congregations, Congregationalists have been more diverse than other Reformed churches. Despite the efforts of Calvinists to maintain the dominance of their system, some Congregational churches, especially in the older settlements of New England, gradually developed leanings toward Arminianism, Unitarianism, Deism, and transcendentalism.

By the 1750s, several Congregational preachers were teaching the possibility of universal salvation, an issue that caused considerable conflict among its adherents on the one side and hard-line Calvinists and sympathizers of the First Great Awakening on the other. In another strain of change, the first church in the United States with an openly Unitarian theology, the belief in the single personality of God, was established in Boston, Massachusetts in 1785 (in a former Anglican parish.) By 1800, all but one Congregational church in Boston had Unitarian preachers teaching the strict unity of God, the subordinate nature of Christ, and salvation by character.

Harvard University, founded by Congregationalists, became a center of Unitarian training. Prompted by a controversy over an appointment in the theology school at Harvard, in 1825 the Unitarian churches separated from Congregationalism. Most of the Unitarian "descendants" hold membership in the Unitarian Universalist Association, founded in the 1960s by a merger with the theologically similar Universalists. This group had dissented from Calvinist orthodoxy on the basis of their belief that all persons could find salvation (as opposed to the Calvinist idea of double predestination, excluding some from salvation.)

Congregational churches were at the same time the first example of the American theocratic ideal and also the seedbed from which American liberal religion and society arose. Many Congregationalists in the several successor denominations to the original tradition consider themselves to be Reformed first, whether of traditional or neo-orthodox persuasion.

In 1931 the Congregational Churches and the General Convention of the Christian Church, a body from the Restoration Movement tradition of the early 19th century, merged to form the Congregational Christian Churches. The Congregationalists were used to a more formal, less evangelistic form of worship than Christian Church members, who mostly came from rural areas of the South and the Midwest. Both groups, however, held to local autonomy and eschewed binding creedal authority.

In the early 20th century some Congregational (later Congregational Christian) churches took exception to the beginnings of a growth of regional or national authority in bodies outside the local church, such as mission societies, national committees, and state conferences. Some congregations opposed liberalizing influences that appeared to mitigate traditional views of sin and corollary doctrines such as the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. In 1948, some adherents of these two streams of thought (mainly the latter one) started a new fellowship, the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC). It was the first major fellowship to organize outside of the mainstream Congregational body since 1825, when the Unitarians formally founded their own body.

In 1957, the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches in the U.S. merged with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to form the United Church of Christ. About 90% of the CC congregations affiliated with the General Council joined the United Church of Christ. Some churches abstained from the merger while others voted it down. Most of the latter congregations became members of either the CCCC (mentioned above) or the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. The latter was formed by churches and people who objected to the UCC merger because of concerns that the new national church and its regional bodies represented extra-congregational authorities that would interfere with a congregation's right to govern itself. Thus, the NACCC includes congregations of a variety of theological positions. Still other congregations chose not to affiliate with any particular association of churches, or only with regional or local ones..

See also[link]

• Congregational Christian Churches, which operated in the U.S. between 1931 and 1957
• Christian Congregation of Brazil

References[link]

• McConnell, Michael W. "Establishment and Disestablishment at the Founding, Part I: Establishment of Religion" William and Mary Law Review, Vol. 44, 2003 pp 2105+

Further reading[link]

• Works by John Waddington
  • Congregational Martyrs. London, 1861, intended to form part of a series of 'Historical Papers,' which, however, were not continued; 2nd ed. 1861
  • Congregational Church History from the Reformation to 1662, London, 1862, awarded the bicentenary prize offered by the Congregational Union
  • Surrey Congregational History, London, 1866, in which he dealt more particularly with the records of his own congregation.
  • Congregational History, 5 vols., London, 1869–1880

External links[link]

Congregational Church Links:

• Congregational Federation (UK)
• Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches (UK)
• Union of Welsh Independents/Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg (UK)
• Congregational Union of Ireland
• Congregational Christian Churches in Canada
• National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (USA)
• Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (USA)
• Evangelical Congregational Church (USA)
• União das Igrejas Evangélicas Congregacionais do Brasil
• Congregatioinal Alliance of Brazil
• Congregational Federation of Australia
• Fellowship of Congregational Churches (Australia)
• Congregational Union of New Zealand
• Christian Congregational Church of Samoa
• Evangelical Congregational Church of India
• United Congregational Church of Southern Africa
• International Congregational Fellowship
• World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship

John Rutter
Born	John Milford Rutter (1945-09-24) September 24, 1945 (age 66) London
Nationality	United Kingdom
Alma mater	Clare College, Cambridge
Occupation	Composer, conductor
Known for	Founded the Cambridge Singers, prolific composer
Awards	National Patron of Delta Omicron (1985); Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2007)

John Milford Rutter CBE (born (1945-09-24)24 September 1945) is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.

Biography[link]

Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener.^[1] He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the choir. He served as director of music at Clare College from 1975 to 1979 and led the choir to international prominence.

In 1974, Rutter visited the United States at the invitation of choral musician Melvin (Mel) Olson and conducted the premiere of his cantata "Gloria" in Omaha, Nebraska, in the Witherspoon Hall of Joslyn Art Museum. The composition, commissioned by Olson's Voices of Mel Olson chorale, has become a much-performed favourite over the years.^{[citation needed]}

In 1981 Rutter founded his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, which he conducts and with which he has made many recordings of sacred choral repertoire (including his own works), particularly under his own label Collegium Records. He resides at Duxford in Cambridgeshire and frequently conducts many choirs and orchestras around the world.

In 1980 he was made an honorary Fellow of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, and in 1988 a Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians. In 1996 the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of Music upon him in recognition of his contribution to church music. In 2008, he was made an honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple while playing a significant role in the 2008 Temple Festival.

From 1985 to 1992 Rutter suffered severely from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME; or Chronic fatigue syndrome), which restricted his output; after 1985 he stopped writing music on commission, as he was unable to guarantee meeting deadlines.^[2]

Rutter also works as an arranger and editor, most notably (in his youth) of the extraordinarily successful Carols for Choirs anthology series in collaboration with Sir David Willcocks.

He was inducted as a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity in 1985.^[3][4]

Compositions[link]

Rutter's compositions are chiefly choral, and include Christmas carols, anthems and extended works such as a Gloria, a Magnificat, and a Requiem.

The world premiere of Rutter's Requiem (1985), and of his authoritative edition of Faure's Requiem, took place with the Fox Valley Festival Chorus, in Illinois. In 2002 his setting of Psalm 150, commissioned for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, was performed at the Jubilee thanksgiving service in St Paul's Cathedral, London. Similarly, he was commissioned to write a new anthem, "This is the day which the Lord hath made" for the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, performed at Westminster Abbey during the service.^[5]

He has also written an opera for young people called Bang!

Rutter's work is published principally by Oxford University Press in England and by Hinshaw Music in the US. He has been recorded by many choirs, but conducts his own recordings principally on his Collegium label.

Influences[link]

Rutter's music is eclectic, showing the influences of the French and English choral traditions of the early 20th century, as well as of light music and American classic songwriting. Almost every choral anthem and hymn that he writes,^{[citation needed]} in addition to the standard piano/organ accompaniment, has a subsequent orchestral accompaniment as well, utilizing various different instrumentations, such as strings only, strings and woodwinds, or full orchestra with brass and percussion, among others.

Despite composing and conducting much religious music, Rutter told the US television program 60 Minutes in 2003 that he was not particularly a religious man, yet still deeply spiritual and inspired by the spirituality of sacred verses and prayers.^[6] The 60 Minutes program, which aired a week before Christmas 2003, focused on Rutter's popularity with choral groups in the United States, Britain and other parts of the world, and on his composition, Mass of the Children, composed after the sudden death of his son Christopher while a student at Clare College, Cambridge (where Rutter himself had studied).

In a 2009 interview,^{[citation needed]} Rutter discussed his understanding of "genius" and its unique ability to transform lives - whether that genius is communicated in the form of music or other mediums. He likened the purity of music to that of mathematics, and even connected the two with a reference to the discoveries of the early Greeks that frequencies of harmonic pitches are related by whole-number ratios.

Reception[link]

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Rutter's music is very popular, particularly in the USA (NBC's Today Show called him "the world's greatest living composer and conductor of choral music")^{[cite this quote]}. In the UK it receives a more mixed reception^{[citation needed]}: while one conservative British composer, David Arditti, does not regard him as a sufficiently "serious" composer,^[7] others hold him in high regard, as illustrated by the following quotation from a review in the London Evening Standard (25/09/2005): "For the infectiousness of his melodic invention and consummate craftsmanship, Rutter has few peers."

List of compositions and arrangements[link]

Carols[link]

Choral works[link]

Most of these works are arrangements.

Anthems and other compositions[link]

Most of these works are original compositions, including new musical settings of standard texts, whilst others are arrangements of traditional hymns.

Music with narration[link]

• Wind in the Willows
• Brother Heinrich's Christmas
• The Reluctant Dragon

References[link]

Footnotes[link]

Notations[link]

• Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4

External links[link]

• Rutter at the Oxford University Press website
• Collegium Records
• John Rutter interviewed by Alan Macfarlane, 28 January 2009 (film)
• John Rutter interviewed by C Music TV, October 2010 from YouTube
• John Rutter interviewed by C Music TV, October 2010 from C Music TV
• This is the Day, performed at the royal wedding, 2011

A Rocket to the Moon is an American rock band. The band was founded during 2006 in Braintree, Massachusetts by Nick Santino, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Guitarist and backup vocalist Justin Richards (also of Brighten), bassist and backup vocalist Eric Halvorsen, and drummer Andrew Cook eventually joined Santino.

History[link]

Nick Santino started A Rocket to the Moon in the summer of 2006 as a musical experiment. He formerly fronted the local bands The Bad Year and The Midway Class.^[1]

Santino assembled a band of musicians in early 2008 with the help of The Maine prior to A Rocket to the Moon's first major festival appearance, at The Bamboozle.^[2] They then appeared on the July 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live, performing the song "Dakota".^[3] This performance had recived notoriety from a lot of people. Pete Wentz in particular. Contrary to popular belief, A Rocket to the Moon was never signed to Decaydance Records by Pete Wentz bassit of Fall Out Boy. Wentz had shown interest in the band and wanted to do a Fueled By Ramen/Decaydence split but the Decaydance side of the deal never worked out.^[4][5] An official announcement of the signing to Fueled by Ramen was made in August 2008.^[6] Separate tours supporting both The Cab^[7] and A Cursive Memory^[8] followed in the fall of 2008. They also toured with Cute Is What We Aim For, Secondhand Serenade and Automatic Loveletter.^[9] On October 14, 2008 the band released their EP Greetings From... (produced by Matt Grabe), featuring the singles "Dakota" and "If Only They Knew". The record reached #21 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.^[10]

The band spent the first part of February and March 2009 in the studio with Matt Squire recording their debut full-length album.^[11] They were the opening band on Alternative Press magazine's AP Tour 2009, with The Maine, Hit The Lights, Family Force 5 and 3OH!3 sponsored by Rockstar.^[12] They played the May 3rd lineup of the 2009 Bamboozle festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey^[13] and played select dates on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour ^[14] before touring with The Cab, Eye Alaska, The Summer Set and My Favorite Highway on the "What Happens in Vegas... Tour". While on Warped Tour, the band did many signings with the non-profit organization Music Saves Lives, where they met with fans who gained special access to the band by donating blood. Andrew Cook, formerly of prog-rock band The Receiving End of Sirens, was made a full-time member upon release of the band's full-length album, On Your Side' (released on October 12, 2009) .^[15] In the fall of 2009, they supported Boys Like Girls along with VersaEmerge, The Maine, and Cobra Starship on BLGs' Love Drunk Tour presented by Op.

They played on the Take Action Tour presented by Hot Topic with Mayday Parade, There for Tomorrow, Stereo Skyline, and We the Kings in early 2010. In spring 2010, A Rocket to the Moon toured with Motion City Soundtrack, Sing it Loud, and Fun. They also opened for Hanson on select dates on Hanson's Shout It Out! tour. They were second on the bill next to All Time Low, Before You Exit and City (Comma) State on All Time Low's My Small Package Tour in October 2010.

In spring 2011 A Rocket to the Moon went on their first headlining tour, the On Your Side Tour, with Anarbor, Valencia, Runner Runner, and Go Radio. In May 2011, the band toured the UK with Mayday Parade. They also toured Australia and Indonesia with Hey Monday.

In Fall 2011, A Rocket To The Moon went the Time Travel tour with Never Shout Never, Carter Hulsey and Fake Problems.

On February 16-20, 2012. A Rocket To The Moon had 4 mall shows in the Philippines along with The Summer Set, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Ready Set, and A+Dropouts called the LIV5 before going to Australia for Soundwave Festival

Band members[link]

Current members

• Nick Santino - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Justin Richards - lead guitar, backing vocals, bongos
• Eric Halvorsen - bass guitar, backing vocals
• Andrew Cook - drums

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

• "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (December 8, 2009)
• "Like We Used To" (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• A Rocket to the Moon on Myspace

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2012)

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Stuart Forster is a photojournalist, photographer and writer from North-East England.

Forster's work has appeared in newspapers such as the Financial Times [1], The Washington Post, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun-Herald, The Hindu, The Times of India and Deccan Herald. He has written and photographed for magazines such as National Geographic Kids, Australian Photography, The Wisden Cricketer and Real Travel Magazine.

Forster was influenced and mentored by the late Indian photojournalist N. Thiagarajan, who described himself as "a pictorial photojournalist".

In May 2009 one of Forster's images, photographed during a demonstration in Delhi, India, was selected for inclusion in the UK National Union of Journalists' Photography Matters exhibition of fifty of the strongest news photographs taken by NUJ members during 2007 and 2008. The exhibition was held in London.^[1]

Forster's work was exhibited in Pingyao, China, at the 2006 Pingyao International Photography Festival^[2].

Forster is also active in the field of intercultural studies (cross-cultural communication), in which he has developed a concept of Intercultural Photography.

An accomplished athlete, Forster played national league basketball in England and Wales for U.C. Swansea (1990–93) and Leicester Falcons (1993–94). He was selected to play for the University of Wales in the British Universities Sports Federation championships in 1992.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stuart Forster's official website
• Stuart Forster's Lightstalkers page
• Cricket Cheerleaders Cover-Up Story
• Bollywood Goes German by Stuart Forster

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George Lincoln Rockwell
File:RockwellUSNRFOIANPRC.jpg
Lieutenant Commander Rockwell in 1951.
Commander of the American Nazi Party
In office March, 1958 – August 25, 1967 (9 years)
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Matt Koehl
Leader of the World Union of National Socialists
In office 1962 – August 25, 1967 (5 years)
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Matt Koehl
Personal details
Born	George Lincoln Rockwell (1918-03-09)March 9, 1918 Bloomington, Illinois, United States
Died	August 25, 1967(1967-08-25) (aged 49) Arlington County, Virginia, United States
Political party	American Nazi Party
Spouse(s)	Judy Aultman (1943-1953) Thóra Hallgrímsdóttir (1953- 1961)
Occupation	Military Lieutenant, Politician , activist
Religion	Agnostic
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1941–1960
Rank	Lieutenant Commander
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War
Awards	*American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal (w/1 service star) Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (w/3 service stars) European-African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (w/1 service star) World War II Victory Medal National Defense Service Medal Naval Reserve Medal Philippine Liberation Medal (w/2 service stars)

George Lincoln Rockwell (March 9, 1918 – August 25, 1967) was the founder of the American Nazi Party. Rockwell was a major figure in the neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs and writings have continued to be influential among white nationalists and neo-Nazis.

Early life[link]

Rockwell was born in Bloomington, Illinois, the first of three children of George Lovejoy "Doc" Rockwell and Claire (Schade) Rockwell.^[1] His father was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and was of English and Scottish ancestry. His mother was the daughter of Augustus Schade, a German immigrant, and Corrine Boudreau, who was of Acadian French ancestry. Both parents were vaudeville comedians and actors, and his father's acquaintances included Fred Allen, Benny Goodman, Walter Winchell, Jack Benny, and Groucho Marx.^[1][2] His parents divorced when Rockwell was six years old, and he divided his youth with his mother in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and with his father in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.^[1]

Rockwell attended Atlantic City High School in Atlantic City, and applied to Harvard University when he was 17 years old. However, he was denied admission. One year later, his father enrolled him at Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine.^[3] He became an avid reader of Western philosophy and socially significant novels, leading him to re-examine the topic of religion. He had initially perceived himself as a devout Protestant, but after reading the Bible numerous times, he perceived religion as a necessary pillar to civilization. He contemplated the possibility of a "total intelligence" existing in the universe, and identified himself as an agnostic. Despite this, he promoted the Christian Identity sect in the 1960s.^{[citation needed]}

In August 1938, Rockwell enrolled at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island as a philosophy major.^[1] In his sociology courses, he rejected equality and the idea that man was made by his environment and all human beings had the same potential in life. He debated with fellow students over topics such as social themes in popular novels.

Military service and marriages[link]

In his sophomore year, Rockwell dropped out of Brown University and accepted a commission in the United States Navy.^[1] He appreciated the order and discipline of the Navy, and attended flight schools in Massachusetts and Florida in 1940.

On April 24, 1943, Rockwell married Judy Aultman, whom he had met while attending Brown University. Aultman was a student at Pembroke College, which was the female section of the university. At the time, Rockwell was studying at the Navy's aerial photography school in South Florida. When he completed his training, he served in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

Rockwell was recalled to duty as a Lieutenant Commander at the beginning of the Korean War. He relocated to San Diego, California with his wife and two children, where he trained Navy and United States Marine Corps pilots.^[1]

In 1952, Rockwell was ordered to report to Norfolk, Virginia, where he was notified by a superior officer that he would be transferred to Iceland.^[1] Since families were not permitted to be with American service personnel stationed there, his wife and children stayed with her mother in Barrington, Rhode Island. Due to the separation, his wife filed for divorce the following year. Several months after his return to Iceland, Rockwell attended a diplomatic party in the capital city of Reykjavík. He met Þóra Hallgrímsdóttir there, and they were married on October 3, 1953 in the Icelandic National Cathedral by Þóra's uncle, the Bishop of Iceland. They spent their honeymoon in Berchtesgaden, Germany, where Hitler once owned the Berghof mountain retreat in the Bavarian Alps.

Rockwell told Þóra about his political beliefs, and she replied he would either be a "bum or a great man".^[4] She divorced him on October 15, 1961.^[5]

Civilian career[link]

When the Korean War ended, Rockwell decided to become a graphic designer. He was accepted into the art program at the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.^[1] He and his wife moved to New York City so he could study at Pratt. Rockwell was introduced to the post modern art concept, something he considered to be a corporate form of trendy Communist chic mixed with Madison Avenue marketing. He viewed Jewish New Yorkers as the main promoters of this simplified yet marketable movement, and felt even more contempt towards Jews.

In 1948, Rockwell won the $1,000 first prize for an advertisement he did for the American Cancer Society.^[1][6] The contest was sponsored by the National Society of Illustrators in New York. He left Pratt before finishing his final year, and founded his own advertising agency in Maine.

Rockwell saw a business opportunity in publishing a magazine for United States servicemen's wives. In September 1955, he launched the U.S. Lady. After presenting the idea to the generals and admirals who headed public relations departments of the military services, Rockwell began publishing in Washington, D.C. The new enterprise also incorporated Rockwell's political causes: his opposition to both racial integration and communism. He financed the operation through stock sales and subscriptions. With a staff of thirty workers, Rockwell could only promise to pay his employees before the launch of the first issue. The publication continued to have financial problems, and he sold his interest in the magazine. However, he still aspired to pursue a career in publishing.

Political activism[link]

During his time in San Diego, Rockwell began moving towards the political far right. He was influenced by Senator Joseph McCarthy's stance against communism. Rockwell supported General Douglas MacArthur's candidacy for President of the United States. He adopted the corncob pipe, following MacArthur's example. Rockwell attended a Gerald L.K. Smith rally in Los Angeles, and read Conde McGinley's Common Sense, a political newspaper that introduced him to anti-Semitism. He then read the National Socialist manifesto Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler and the Russian propaganda pamphlet Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Privately, he adopted their beliefs. He published an Animal Farm-type parody, The Fable of the Ducks and the Hens.^[7] This was Rockwell's interpretation of Jewish power in the United States in the 20th century. In 1952, Rockwell began working with anti-Semitic and anti-communist groups. That year, he attended the American Nationalist Conference, which was organized by Conde McGinley’s Christian Educational Association.

In July 1958, Rockwell demonstrated in front of the White House in an anti-war protest against President Dwight D. Eisenhower's decision to send peace-keeping troops to the Middle East. One day he received a large package from a supporter; it contained an 18-foot-long Swastika flag. He placed the flag on the wall of his home and made a shrine with Hitler's photo in the center, three lighted candles in front. In his autobiography, Rockwell claimed to have had a religious experience and swore allegiance to his leader, saluting "Heil Hitler!" Rockwell and a few supporters had uniforms. They armed themselves with rifles and revolvers, and paraded about his home in Arlington, Virginia. The window to his home was left open, so that others could see the huge Swastika flag. Drew Pearson wrote a news column about Rockwell, giving him his first publicity. In the presidential election of 1964, Rockwell ran as a write-in candidate, receiving 212 votes.^[8] He ran unsuccessfully for governor of Virginia in 1965 as an independent, this time polling 5,730 votes, or 1.02 percent of the total, finishing last among the four candidates.^[9]

American Nazi Party[link]

In March 1959, Rockwell founded the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists (WUFENS), a name selected to denote opposition to state ownership of property. In December, the name was changed to the American Nazi Party, and the headquarters relocated to 928 North Randolph Street in Arlington, Virginia.

In order to attract media attention, Rockwell held a rally April 3, 1960, on the National Mall of Washington, D.C., where Rockwell addressed the crowd with a two-hour long speech. The second rally was held at Union Square in New York City. Mayor Robert Wagner refused to grant him a permit to speak, and he appealed that decision to the New York Supreme Court. Jewish war veterans and Holocaust survivors gathered to oppose his appeal and, during a court recess, when Rockwell emerged into the court Rotunda he was surrounded by a crowd of television reporters. One of the reporters, Reese Schonfeld, asked Rockwell how he would treat Jews if he came to power in the United States. Rockwell replied he would treat Jews just as he treated any other American citizens. If they were loyal Americans, everything would be fine, if they were traitors, they would be executed. When Schonfeld asked what percentage of Jews Rockwell perceived as traitors, Rockwell replied, "Ninety percent."^[10] The Jewish war veterans and Holocaust survivors rioted and began beating Rockwell and the reporter with their umbrellas, and Rockwell was escorted out of the Courthouse Rotunda in the midst of a police convoy. Rockwell, with the aid of the ACLU, eventually won his permit, but it was long after the date of the planned event.^[11]

The third rally was set for July 4, 1960, again held on the Mall. Rockwell and his men were confronted by a mob and a riot ensued. The police arrested Rockwell and eight party members. Rockwell demanded a trial, however was instead committed to a psychiatric hospital for thirty days. In less than two weeks, he was released and found capable of standing trial. He published a pamphlet on this experience titled How to Get Out or Stay Out of the Insane Asylum.

In summer 1966, Rockwell led a counter-demonstration to Martin Luther King's attempt to bring an end to de-facto segregation in the white Chicago suburb of Cicero, Illinois. He believed King was a tool for Jewish Communists to integrate America.^[12]

Rockwell led the American Nazi Party in assisting the Ku Klux Klan and similar groups during the Civil Rights Movement, in attempts to counter the Freedom Riders and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. But he soon came to believe the Klan was stuck in the past and ineffective for helping him wage a modern race struggle. After hearing the slogan "Black Power" during a debate in 1966 with Black Panther Stokely Carmichael, Rockwell altered the phrase and started a call for "White Power".^{[citation needed]} White Power later became the name of the party's newspaper and the title of a book authored by Rockwell.