Edward Ellsworth Guy, Human Being of Note
Mark A. Scherer of Independence, MO, USA
[Excerpted from The Journey of a People: The Era of Worldwide Community, 1946-2015, Mark A. Scherer, Community of Christ Seminary Press, 2016, pp. 238-243]
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” -John 20:19-21
During his years of peace and justice ministry, Edward Ellsworth Guy (Ed Guy) advocated for the poor and dispossessed like few others of his generation. He used his well-honed speaking skills to minister to the needs of downtrodden people in rural Mexico and Central America.
To earn money in preparation for his ministerial career, Guy spent nine summers working for the United States Forest Service fighting forest fires. As a “smoke jumper” Guy parachuted into dangerous burn areas…making 74 jumps.
A tireless advocate for human rights, Ed Guy was an independent minister whose efforts were self-initiated. He was not an appointee minister and did not depend on the church for his employment.
“The church is a catalyst for community development inasmuch as it teaches people to work together, and to be concerned with their own stewardship, and with the welfare of their neighbors,” Guy wrote in 1975.
Ed Guy was less concerned for his personal safety than he was for the spiritual needs of his people. Often he found himself in dangerous urban settings. …Guy taught those around him a rule that said: “Never go alone, never travel at night, and always have a taxi waiting.”
Shootings occurred on the country roads that Guy often traveled. Traveling across Mexico and Central America under such difficult circumstances made him susceptible to many diseases. At different times he contracted malaria, dysentery, and other maladies; but Guy saw these afflictions as opportunities to identify with those to whom he provided ministry.
On Wednesday,13 April 1994, attendees of the World Conference stood to recognize Ed Guy as the first recipient of the church’s International Human Rights Award for Service to Humanity. On Friday, 21 September 2001, Ed Guy died of a heart attack in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Lloyd Hurshman summarized Ed Guy’s years of service by stating, “Perhaps very few are called to be homeless in order to reach out to the homeless, to be hungry if by that means the hungry might be fed, to sacrifice health and life expectancy that others might live. But to Edward Ellsworth Guy, human being of note, this is the normal course of life.”
Prayer Phrase
God bless the spaces between us.
Spiritual Practice
Tears of Compassion
Offer a silent prayer for the gift of God’s compassion. Cup your hands and ask God to make you aware of the suffering that causes the Earth and its inhabitants to groan and weep. Be open to faces or places, sounds or voices, feelings of connection with those who suffer. Imagine catching the tears of those you see and holding them in your hands. Listen for prayer images or words God may give you. Discern any active responses of ministry or healing you sense invited to complete for those who weep.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
