Code,911076
Subject,John C. Lentz
Date,?
Interviewer,?
Abstract,"Reverend John Lentz, pastor at Forest Hills Church, talks about the history of the church and its place in the community. He begins by giving his background and the path he took to get to the church. He then goes into the early history of the church and how it began on Radnor Road in Cleveland Heights. He also talks about previous pastors and their legacies. His discussion of Reverend Ned Edwards leads into a conversation about the activist postions the church took throughout the 1960s into the present day. Reverend Lentz spends a great deal of time talking about the various outreach programs that the church has, and how they continue to expand their role in the community. He concludes with a humorous mention of the church's softball team."
Tags,"Washington, D.C., Arlington, VA, Kenyon College, Yale Divinity School, Edinburgh, Scotland, Winchester, VA, Forest Hill Church, Cleveland Heights, liberal, activism, Reverend Albert J. Alexander, Radnor Road, John D. Rockefeller, Presbyterian, Andrew Carnegie, Reverend Yoder Leith, Reverend Ned Edwards, integration, homelessness, outreach, Great Migration, LGBT, Confessin of 1967, John Carroll, Church hierarchy,"
Special Notes,"fan in background throughout interview-noninvasive, phone rings 7:30"
0,"Introductions; from Washington DC area; high school in Arlington VA, went to Kenyon College: history major; Yale divinity school; 5 years in Edinburgh, Scotland got a phd in New Testament Language and Literature"
1,"First Church was in Winchester VA, there for 5 years; came to Forest Hill church in 1994 to be senior pastor head of staff; Describes how he came to be pastor at Forest Hill-similar to looking for a lay job"
2,"As they looked for churches, churches were looking for them; impressed by Forest Hill because of how progessive it is and how accepting it is; impressed with Cleveland Heights as well"
3,"He got called back, did a practice preaching session got voted on and missed out on unianimous by 1 vote; Familiar with the history of the church"
4,"He talks about the founding of the church; he thinks it was a product of the Old Stone Church Downtown, and that Reverend Albert J. Alexander was the founding pastor"
5,"Talks about how they outgrew the Radnor Road location and needed a bigger space; Says that the Forest Hill area was Rockefeller's Summer home and after world war 2 it was being developed in to a suburban area; they wanted a ""perfect community"" and every perfect community needs a ""perfect church"""
6,"He says it did not matter what denomination church; the church moved from Radnor in 1950; Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller purchased the first organ of the church, but they do not have it anymore"
7,By the 1980s and 1990s the organ fell apart and they replaced it; Changed its name from Cleveland Heights Presbyterian to Forest Hill church as part of the move in deal
8,says there were 1500 members of the church in the 1950s; many people walked to church and congregated around the church-very religious; Says there were 4 presbyterian churches in Cleveland heights within a mile at one point; he thinks the archtecture was set up for walkers
9,"Have only been 3 senior pastors since the church moved there- Yoder Leith til the early 1970s, Ned Edwards to the 90s, and John; Talks about Ned who turned the church into social activism"
10,"Ned was a leader in civil rights in the 1960s and 70s when things were changing; Lists many activist groups like Home resource repair center, Heights community congress, among others were helped along by Ned's leadership; Bob Barnes was an associate and he was a ""young, hip dude"" who rode motorcycles"
11,"During a storm the cross fell off of the steeple which caused many people to question the new activist turn the church was taking; Had a ""Woman's Association"" that used to bring together stay at home moms, but now more women are working"
12,"At the time the woman's association was extremely important; describes the irony that women did most of the work, but were not able to be ordained until the 1950s; Have 2 pastors, him and Clover Beal; several other directors"
13,"Also have a support staff that totals around 11 including the pastors; ""Took the bible seriously"" which led to their liberal agenda"
14,"""Church cannot be a country club"" the church needed to take a stance; Lists many movements like abolition and says they were started by people of faith"
15,He says the church was involved because otherwise what are they doing-they need to be inclusive; also made to be peacemaking
16,Catalyst: late 1960s and 70s-Great Migration of African Americans to Cleveland; talks about East Cleveland changing overnight which caused communities to come to grips with who they were
17,"Lists several mentalities used with regards to African Americans (White flight, Castle mentality with deed restrictions, or inclusiveness); Seeks to be an agent of change"
18,Church membership drops off in the 1960s and 1970s under Ned Edwards because the church was very involved with social issues and because people began moving away from Cleveland and the other inner ring suburbs
19,"Took work to keep the church as a haven for all races and ethnicities, but still not reached their vision; has been closer in the the previous 5 years and getting more inclusive"
20,Very involved with the LGBT community; need to get better still-don't rest on laurels; takes work
21,"Says the Presbyterian Church is very entrenched in tradition, wouldn't consider it contemporary; balance between staying true to who you are and being inclusive; ""the Confession of 1967"" very important document from the Presbyterian Church"
22,"Gives a background to what some of the events were in 1967; Civil Rights, Vietnam, Rock and Roll, Women's Rights"
23,Presbyterians in America got together and thought about their position with what was going on; Key theme is reconciliation-the church needs to be agents of reconciliation
24,"He says he was only 10 and too young to care, but looking back he sees how instrumental it was in his life; irony of the document-very historically bound-it was radical in 1967, but all of the langauge is male, for example"
25,Need to pay attention to what is the church supposed to be faithful to; Describes what makes the church different from other denominations-history and governance
26,The session is the elected body of leaders that runs the church;
27,Talks about what they are doing now to alleviate social injustices; have a food garden and food pantry that they give away on a constant basis; Also have a program where the youth group cooks breakfast for anyone off of the street
28,"""Family Promise"" is another program where the church becomes home for a few families that hit a hard spot and do not have a home; connected to many social service agencies across the city"
29,"Program with John Carroll where they pack up a van and give the stuff to the poorest of poor; ""Courageous Conversations on Race"" began last year to talk about racism in the 21st century"
30,"This fall they are going to Washington DC and see the new Martin Luther King statue; another goal is to do the civil rights trail; some international connections like Haiti; So they have many direct service, conversations to change internally, and community organizing"
31,Community organizing answers the questions like why there are hungry people; He almost got arrested for protesting National City bank 6 or 7 years ago
32,Summarizes what he said about their outreach programs; asked about notable church members says he'll have to think about it
33,Most of the building expansions happened in the 1960s when the church was expanding so they added on wings; since 1970s did significant renovations but no new building
34,
35,"Churches have a habit of being Heirarchical, about 10 years ago they tried to flatten that system; allows for less barriers for getting things done"
36,Won 7 softball championships in a row; always have fun at the church;
37,Likes the mix of fun and seriousness; a lot of freshness and surprises; in the summer oftentimes its community preaching
38,End of Interview
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