Tracing Your Ancestors in Church or Synagogue Records

The Mormons do genealogical work as part of their religious activities called Temple Work. The concept a non-Mormon would most readily recognize is "baptism for the dead" which is mentioned in  1 Corinthians 15:29. What "baptism for the dead" might actually mean is not an object of discussion in this particular post.

I am not a Mormon and it is not necessary for you to be a Mormon to be interested in your family history. Your ancestry is a large part of who you are. It is your link to history. You love your parents. Why not also learn of and love your great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents?

There are many techniques genealogists use to trace family relationships. One of them is studying church and synagogue records. These are as much primary source records as are public civil records.

Jewish genealogy seems to present particular problems since there is very little centralization of the records. The following repositories may be helpful: The Center for Jewish History, the American Jewish Archives at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, the Douglas Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center, and the Jewish Genealogical Center. The New York Public Library has a Jewish Genealogy Collection. If your family has a long connection with a particular synagogue there may be records available of some family specific information.

Christian church records are also highly fragmented because of the existence of over 200 different religious denominations in the United States alone. 

Many of today's Christian religious denominations have gone through highly contentious times, with multiple mergers, splits, mutinies, power battles, excommunications, shunnings, relocations, etc. Many splinter groups declared themselves to be the original pre-split group. The groups often took with them as many historical documents as possible. Lawsuits over ownership of property and documents produced court records which are also primary historical source material.

Organizational records may include payroll information, property rental and purchase documents, tax records, employment records, records of disciplinary actions, chains of command and job descriptions, etc. The records may also contain personal records (births, marriages, deaths, burials, consecrations, and ordinations.

When individuals shifted their allegiance from one group to another their church-held vital genealogical records usually were not shifted with them and remained with the parent group. The records may now be stored in the archives of the original body (which may or may not be in their original geographic  location.)

If you know the dates when organizational shifts occurred or the approximate dates when your ancestors moved from one group to another, you may be abler to infer the likeliest place to begin searching for a particular record. Early public records are often spotty and incomplete or even totally lost due to floods,  ,fires, or wartime rapacity. The only extant record of the marriage of your great-great-great-grandparents, who lived in California, may be housed in church archives in Florida for a group which originated in Minnesota.

Many universities and colleges with denominational ties have extensive records. Samford University (Southern Baptist) and Birmingham Southern College (Methodist) are two examples. Contact the national headquarters of your particular religious denomination and they may be able to steer you to their own historical repositories.

Film Comment: Mom’s Night Out

The Erwin Brothers of Birmingham, Alabama (USA) have set a new standard for Christian films which too often in the past have been obviously low budget, preachy, and sadly, painfully amateurish in execution. The movement began with the Kendrick brothers of Georgia who recruited their church members to produce and act in surprisingly high quality films such as Fireproof, Courageous, Flywheel, and Facing the Giants. 

I have said before that truly quality films are rarely about what they appear to be about on the surface. The Erwin Brother’s films are examples of this. October Baby can be seen as an anti-abortion film but the deeper meaning is about the redemptive power of forgiveness. Woodlawn is a football film which is not in any way about football. Football is merely the setting of this film which recounts events which seem impossible but which actually happened. The film depicts the personal, social, and racial reconciliation which can occur when the power of the Lord is unleashed.

Mom’s Night Out (2015) is another Erwin Brothers film but it is a departure from the others in that it is a comedy. A real comedy, A fall on the floor and laugh out loud comedy. And a totally Christian film. Just remember to forget subtlety.

The film is about a woman who is living her dream, She has a loving, loyal, and successful husband, a nice home, beautiful children, and attends an actively growing and supportive evangelical church. She is miserable.

She feels stressed from every direction and feels inadequate to handle her life. She often fells as if she is a failure, especially when she explodes like a volcano during her frequent emotional “moments.”

The plot of Mom's Night Out involves a stress-free night she plans with her friends, who are also secretly suffering from serious stress. The fathers will keep the children! The women invite the pastor’s wife whom they all admire because she always seems so able to remain calm in any situation.(An aside: the pastor’s wife is touched that the other women chose to include her in the event since no one has invited her to anything in five years.) Surprise! The simple event rapidly devolves into a worst night of your life scenario.

Without ruining anything for you if you choose to view this film, here are the take-aways:

1. Everyone is stressed. Stress is normal.
2. Pastors and their families are just like everyone else. They are stressed too.
3. You cannot fix everything.
4. God does not take away all of our problems.  He helps us find meaning in the problems and chaos.
5. Take the focus off of yourself and return it to God where it belongs. He is in control.

Psalms 46:10

Comedy/Music Comment: Chonda Pierce. A Piece of My Mind

Chonda Pierce is a hilarious Christian stand-up comedian and singer whose performances have the same effect as those of Michael Jr. whom I have mentioned in several earlier posts. While making the listener laugh uncontrollably, she carries a sword, and thrusts with that sword to deliver her message. She is a warrior and an evangelist of the first order. All of her comedic routines are sermons.

Chonda talks about subjects not normally considered to be funny, especially for a Christian comedian. Her topics include menopause, depression, clothes which for some unknown reason no longer fit, aging parents, annoying neighbors, and family dysfunction. Nothing is off limits. Why should it be? Christians  live in the real world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbZ4MLc4th8  menopause

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LdGs-eioMQ  depression

Chonda Pierce. A  Piece of My Mind, INO Records, 000768303917

Korban

“For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:  But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that."” Mark 7:10-13

The Hebrew noun korban (קרבן) is derived from the root word KAREV which  means “to approach,” “to come near,” “to get into a close relationship with somebody.”  From this, applied to God, the word came to mean “sacrifice,” “gift,” or “offering.”  A man who declared his worldly possessions korban was thus dedicating them to God so that they could not be used for any other purposes.  The property would become God’s (belong to the priests) upon the man’s death.

Some men declared their possessions to be korban so that they could not be required to use their funds to support their elderly parents.  The man was not required to give his money to the temple as long as he was alive.  This was casuistic hypocrisy, which Jesus exposed in Mark 7:10-13.

The effect of the tradition was to nullify the intent of the practice by insisting on a literal, and sometimes cynical, strict implementation.

More on casuistry tomorrow.

Honoring Your Father

The New York Yankees professional baseball team defeated The Baltimore Orioles 7-2 last Saturday night in the American League Division Series.  The team found out on Thursday from a newspaper report that manager Joe Girardi’s father died before the Saturday game. Girardi learned of his father’s death while on the team bus travelling from Yankee Stadium to Grand Central Station for a train ride to Baltimore for the game.  Why would Girardi have continued to manage his team and tell no one of his loss?

The answer: he was honoring his father.  One of the things his father taught him was to “finish the job.”  The father, Jerry Girardi, once illustrated the principle by finishing a home plumbing repair even though he broke his thumb during the repair.

“So I thought that’s what my dad would want me to do, so that’s what I tried to do.”

Honoring one’s parents means respect in what we say and what we do.  It is an attitude, a decision for action based not only on love but also on the position of authority into which our parents have been placed by God.  It is based not only on merit, what they “deserve,” but also on direct instructions from God.

What the Bible says about what Joe Girardi did.

“Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12

“Honor thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Deuteronomy 5:16

“Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 19:19

“For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:” Mark 7:10

“Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;” Ephesians 6:2

“Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.”  Luke 18:20

“For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.”  Matthew 15:4

“Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.”  Mark 10:19

“And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: 19Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.” Jeremiah 35:18-19

“My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:” Proverbs 1:8

“A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.”  Proverbs 13:1

“Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.”  Colossians 3:20

Jesus practiced what the Bible taught.

“And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.”  Luke 2:51

“And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”  Matthew 26:39

Embryo Adoption

As a follow-up to my series of posts on Why Life Begins At Conception, here is something to think about from the edges of reproductive science: embryo adoption.

In-vitro fertilization is the procedure of fertilization of human eggs outside of the mother’s body and their subsequent implantation in the uterus..  This procedure is used when, for various reasons, it is highly unlikely, dangerous, or impossible for fertilization to occur in the natural way.   The procedure can be used for non-spousal donor fertilization, for fertilization after the death of the husband, or for implantation into surrogate mothers.  Some lesbians use this method to become pregnant.

It is common for 10 to 30 eggs to be chosen for fertilization.  The healthiest eggs are incubated for about 18 hours in a concentrated solution of sperm.  Any eggs which become fertilized are graded on several factors to choose those which will optimize the expected pregnancy rate.  With women under 30 the pregnancy rate approaches 50%.  The rate drops off sharply as the mother’s age approaches or exceeds 40.

Two to three of the optimal eggs will be implanted into the mother’s uterus.   The fate of the other fertilized embryos then becomes a controversial question.  Many agree with former US president George W. Bush that “These boys and girls are not spare parts.”

What currently happens:

1.     Many of the fertilized embryos are discarded or are donated to research laboratories.

2.     Some embryos are donated to other couples who are otherwise unable to conceive.

3.     Some of the embryos are intentionally implanted when conception is unlikely, letting “nature take its course.”

4.     Some couples pay to maintain their unused embryos in a frozen state. There are currently about 400,000 to 600,000 frozen embryos in the United States.

A growing movement among evangelicals is embryo adoption.  In 2003, there were about 11,500 embryo adoptions in the United States.  By 2010, the number had risen to about 15,000.

“The earliest Christians were distinguished by their care for those society discarded.  Embryo adoption seems to me a seminal way to do such a thinhg here in the third millennium.”  Gabriel Fluhrer. 

Youth Involvement

"The best way to get most youth more involved in and serious about their faith communities is to get their parents more involved in and serious about their faith communities."  Christian Smith and Melinda Denton

Film Comment: Getting Ready Morally

This 1951 black and white film, Getting Ready Morally, would invoke groans and eye rolls from modern audiences, but the points it makes are still as valid as ever. It was made, surprisingly enough, by the United States military. The concern of the film is with innocent young men being suddenly away from home and family and expected to cope with the almost total lack of restraints and guidelines of free unsupervised adults.

Anyone whose son or daughter "went wild" during their first semester at college knows the validity of this film. One of the main points is that one's parents aren't there to help the young man (remember, this is 1951) make the right choices so the right choices must come from within the young man, ie. personal responsibility. The film counsels choosing one's friends wisely and avoiding some people altogether. Finding a mentor is also important as is thinking about consequences before taking actions. As the narrator says, "When you choose the start of a road, you also choose the end."