Life Lines
the vision of the academy
This Charter Day in Bryn Athyn (October 10) is the 137th anniversary of the
founding of the Academy of the New Church. It is a time to honor the past
– how far the Academy has come from the few students and buildings of its
humble beginning; to appreciate the distinctive New Church education offered
to so many more students today in the Secondary Schools and Bryn Athyn
College; and to support the founding vision into the future as they continue
to grow.
The dream of the Academy sprang from a meeting in a Pittsburgh
restaurant in 1874, including William Henry Benade, Frank Ballou, Walter
Childs and John Pitcairn. Speculating about their hopes then for what was to
come – and is yet to be – brings to mind a similar vision.
An elderly man who had lived a very productive life had one more dream:
establishing a university. But as he did so, idealism overtook reality. He
assumed that the young men attending the college would be responsible and
could govern themselves. He trusted in their good will and good judgment.
Well, the students lived down to their base instincts, not up to his
expectations. They got drunk, skipped classes, didn’t study, and chaos ensued.
Desperate trustees called a special meeting and asked the founder to address
the student body. This frail old man talked wistfully about his hopes and
dreams, then tears welled in his eyes and he was unable to go on.
The students were chastened. A short time later the old man died. The
college survived but he never got to see his dream fulfilled. Engraved on his
tombstone are the simple words: “Thomas Jefferson – Author of the Declaration
of Independence and Father of the University of Virginia.”
Interestingly, Jefferson did not choose to be remembered as the third
president of the United States, but for the free nation and the university that
he helped to establish. He had no idea that his fledging college would become
one of the great universities of the world. But it was not an impossible dream
because the power of his vision inspired others to make it come true.
As supporters of the Academy we are stewards of a dream even grander
than Jefferson’s, which we nurture with our own hopes, concerns and ideals.
Those four visionaries in Pittsburgh could not foresee what would become
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