Excelsior (October 1959 Sermon of the Month): The Function and Challenge of the First Unitarian Church in the Post Loyalty-Oath Era Delivered on June 14, 1959 by the Rev. Stephen H. Fritchman, First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles

Fritchman, Rev. Stephen H. [Hole]

Published by First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 1959

About this Item

Please note: this sermon is *not* reprinted in the Rev. Fritchman's posthumous collection of sermons and addresses entitled "For the Sake of Clarity." Offered is "Excelsior: The Function and Challenge of the First Unitarian Church in the Post Loyalty-Oath Era," the text of a sermon given on June 14, 1959 by the Rev. Stephen H. Fritchman at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles and published in mimeographed print form as the October 1959 Sermon of the Month by the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles. A stapled pamphlet measuring 7" by 8-1/2" and containing 16 pages including front and rear covers. From the Sermon, reading in short part: "Fifteen days short of a year ago this church won an historic victory in the United States Supreme Court [First Unitarian Church v. County of Los Angeles; Speiser v. Randall]. The California requirement of a loyalty oath as a pre-condition for traditional tax exemption was ruled an improper piece of legislation. To all intents and purposes the law was made null and void, although it still remains on our statute books" - "My concern today is with the aftermath of this struggle" - "One observation is called for in the light of last Monday's decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. My phrase in today's title 'the post-loyalty oath era' may prove to be ironically premature. Attorneys and other thoughtful citizens were deeply shaken by the Lloyd Barenblatt decision [Barenblatt v. United States]. A careful reading of the majority and minority statements from the high court convinces me that the Supreme Court has beaten a retreat from its excellent decisions of the past several years in the field of civil liberties." Edges of outer covers lightly sunned. The REVEREND STEPHEN H. [HOLE] FRITCHMAN (1902-1981), author, liberal humanist, and social and antiwar activist, was the minister of the progressive First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, California, from 1948 to 1969.

Seller Inventory # 016506

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Excelsior (October 1959 Sermon of the Month): The Function and Challenge of the First Unitarian Church in the Post Loyalty-Oath Era Delivered on June 14, 1959 by the Rev. Stephen H. Fritchman, First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles
• Publisher: First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
• Publication Date: 1959
• Language: English
• Binding: Stapled Wraps
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Radical and Progressive
  • Religion: Christianity
  • Philosophy and Sociology