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It is hard to believe that more than 60 years have gone by since we made that long trip together,” said Wayne Spear, a member of the 1957 Covichords quartet.
The purpose of our program was threefold: to promote Geneva College, the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary, and the National Conference (now RP International), which would be held at Lake Koronis, Minn., in 1958. Bob McFarland, Jim Pennington, and Wayne Spear had graduated from Geneva College, and Ray McCracken was a senior there. (All of us would graduate from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary.) We prepared large placards with information about Geneva College, the coming national conference, the seminary, and the need for laborers in the ministry.
Our program was in two parts. The first was barbershop singing for entertainment, with the quartet dressed in red sweaters. The second part was serious and spiritual, addressing young people, especially, to consider the call of Christ. Included was a slide show with pictures of churches without pastors, to make vivid the need of young men for the ministry in Reformed Presbyterian congregations.
We started off dressed informally to demonstrate that the godly know how to have wholesome fun, and laughter is not only permitted but encouraged. We sang fun songs from the music of a seminary quartet that we learned from our fathers: Dr. P. D. McCracken and Dr. A. J. McFarland—members of a 1926 seminary quartet.
For the remainder of the program, we dressed in more formal sport coats. We gave information showing the need for manpower in the church and for young men to step out for Christ. Jim Pennington told of his life before Christ, and how he was led into the pastoral ministry. The quartet sang psalms such as Psalm 51 (tune Myra): “My lips which have so long been closed now open Thou, O Lord; And when Thou hast restored my speech I will Thee praise accord” (Ps. 51, stanza 12).
A rich time of fellowship and learning concluded the evening’s program. Friendships formed that are continued today. Both quartet members and audience members spoke to us of the impact on their lives.
Our schedule called for us to cover 14,000 miles in 10 weeks, visiting over 30 congregations and 6 summer family conferences. Each day we planned to stop for an hour for relaxation and personal devotion time. To prevent us getting too tired, we also built in one day a week for rest and recreation. We stopped by Yellowstone National Park, Mt. Hood in Oregon, and Long Beach in California. We would often drive cross-country in the middle of the night for the next destination on our agenda. We had the practice of alternating drivers each hour—especially good for one who had difficulty keeping awake or for avoiding collisions with wild horses, etc. We give thanks and praise to God for His protection over us through all of the miles of travel.
When we arrived in Los Angeles, we found Pastor Paul Robb had rented a power boat and water skis for an afternoon break in the ocean. All four of us were happy to get into swim trunks and enjoy the California sun. Then came the sunburn. We were probably as red as the sweaters we wore that evening for our program! We learned how to sleep sitting up so that our sunburned backs did not touch the sheets.
After we had driven most of one day on our way to give a program in Portland, Ore., we began to think of plans for sleeping overnight. We saw Mt. Hood in the distance and decided to drive to the ski area, where we discovered a dormitory for skiers, 6-8 in a room. After moving in, we explored the spacious lobby: beautiful furniture, soft music, and a ping pong table. Jim remembers hearing a resounding crash of the ping pong table as he arrived in the lobby. Bob and Wayne remember wondering why the table did not hold up to their world-class game. Bob still wonders if he got the ball back over the net. Jim saw the broken table the same time as the lodge manager, who remarked, “Well, I guess that is that!”
Ray McCracken has been taken in death to sing bass in the heavenly choir, but his bride of 39 years, Mary, wrote: “Though some of the details are vague, I have a vivid memory of one thing where I was present. The Covichords came to the Pacific Coast Presbytery conference after a lengthy cross-country road trip together, giving programs all along the way. I was somewhere around the age of 16, I believe, and was living in Seattle.
“I remember being quite enamored with the Covichords following their program one night. They were scheduled to leave early the next morning. When I saw their car, I noticed that it was filthy! So, I got up around 4:30 a.m. the morning they were scheduled to leave and went out and washed their car using a hose, couple of rags, and dish soap I found in the dining hall. I don’t recall telling anyone I did it—just something I wanted to do before they went on their way. I’m sure they would have noticed the change in their car’s condition when they were ready to leave!”
Lessons Learned
Wayne Spear: The trip gave me a sense of the Reformed Presbyterian Church as a whole and deepened my sense of God’s call to serve as a minister of the gospel. In fact, all four of us later served as pastors in places we visited that summer: Bob McFarland in Quinter, Kan.; Jim Pennington in Morning Sun, Iowa; Ray McCracken in Phoenix, Ariz.; and Wayne Spear in Glenwood, Minn.
In God’s providence, at the Pacific Coast Conference, Ray McCracken met Mary Jane Stilo and encouraged her to attend Geneva. She did so, and later married Ray and served with him as a pastor’s wife.
Jim Pennington: This trip gave me the opportunity for attending and participating in every presbytery summer conference in the US and provided interaction with many of the RPCNA youth. Before leaving the Covenant Heights conference in Colorado, we got up at 2 a.m. to climb Twin Sisters to watch the sunrise. We were able to share, by testimony, biblical exhortation, and singing, God’s grace in our lives and His calling to serve Him in the ministry of the church. It also provided very close fellowship in a two-door Ford that deepened that summer and in succeeding years. Those experiences were good preparation for my later ministry in various places in the US and Japan.
Bob McFarland: I first heard Covichords in 1947 (10 years before our trip). As I looked on these young men (two were WW2 veterans) speaking and singing for Christ and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, I was mesmerized by the harmony and Christian love for one another and their audience. I listened intently as these young men spoke of the personal Christ. Our church had people on the roll that are Christians I would like to be.
On my own Covichord trip of 14,000 miles in 1957, I learned several important truths:
I saw elders and pastors who possessed management gifts rivaling any large corporation, including school administrators.
I saw sons of pastors growing up to be strong Christians.
God placed older men where I learned from them.
God signs my paycheck. I could spend my summer in this ministry, and God would provide. (I wrote to Georgia, “Because we are not just out to entertain, I am convinced the Lord will bless our messages to the churches.”)
Staying in pastors’ homes, I learned how to pray for my congregation and family.
Quartet singing was a great factor in loving the Psalms and public worship.
Lasting Impact on the Church
“The Lord hath done great things for us…Though bearing forth the precious seed the reaper sow-ing grieves, He doubtless shall return again and bring with joy his sheaves” (Ps. 126:3, 6).
Following are several comments we heard about this summer ministry:
The mother of four children told us: “We still look back on your Covichords trip as the beginning of the best summer our church has had.”
A mother of a teenage son said, “My son just told us he wanted to be like those in the quartet.”
A father of four little girls told us that “it was encouraging to know that there will be godly young men like the Covichords when my daughters grow up!”
One pastor responded that the Covichords were an example of appreciation, sending each host a thank-you note by mail. (This was in the days before texting, cell phones, and email.) However, Bob reported that one time his fiancée, Georgia, who wrote regularly and sent her letters in care of the host pastor, forgot to write on the envelope that the letter was for Bob McFarland. It was opened by the pastor and began, “Dear Sweetheart.”
“The gospel of salvation in Christ and service in the Reformed Presbyterian Church was clearly presented.”
Another family mentioned “the example that was set of giving your summer to the Covichords team instead of taking summer jobs to earn money.”
“The Syracuse elder who loaned the new 1957 car for your summer ministry impressed me with my responsibility to look for practical ways to enable ministry like this.”
“I was happy to see that our church homes and college produce men that could live the gospel through their lives.”
A mother of an 8-year-old boy said, “The members of your group from covenant homes encouraged me as a young parent that there is hope for my boy!”
Another pastor remarked: “The love and respect towards each member of the Covichords representing four different presbyteries in the church was a much-needed lesson in unity in our denomination.”
God greatly blessed us as members of the Covichords of 1957. God placed in our hearts a personal commitment to be faithful over the years.
“Those planted by the Lord will in God’s courts be seen; When old they’ll still bear fruit and flourish fresh and green” (Ps. 92:13–14).