1952

Early this summer, most of us went to a 50th high school reunion party and congratulated ourselves and our muchaltered fellow graduates on having "made it." Following, we went off on our last high school vacation, which most of us still remember with crystal clarity. Then we matriculated as men of Dartmouth with a personal interview with John Sloan Dickey, already a combination of Zeus and Socrates, as our introduction to a genuine liberal education. Each week between now and our 50th Reunion, we can ask "What was I doing 50 years ago at Dartmouth"? Relive it.

Did David Duncombe know then that in the last 16 years at his ministry he would be jailed numerous times for peace demonstrations at the Concord Naval Weapons Station (California) and that he would fast for peace and justice twice? In the last issue, there was a bit about David's life as a pastoral minister. Since that time, he has sent a piece from the Journal of Pastoral Care (Summer volume #52, 1996) describing his prophetic life. It is well worth reading: moving epiphanal, very revealing. Omitting a description of these years is to miss a major point of David's life.

Concord was the staging area for weapons shipments to the Nicaraguan contras and later to Iran, and hence, was a target for numerous demonstrations. David was attracted to the group and agreed to demonstrate, but when the idea of fasting was raised, he doubted his ability to sustain this form of protest. But the following year he went forward and consumed water only for 40 days. He also doubted that he could block the munitions trains with his body, but when one of the leaders was run down by the munitions train, an enormous demonstration ensued and David's resolve hardened.

From "Yale to Jail, a Journey in Ministry" is the name of David's article. He was arrested nearly a hundred times and spent many hours and days in jail getting to know the deputies and the inmates. As the pastoral minister, he was able to do much for the personal matters of the officers and the feelings of shame of the inmates who came to believe they were themselves bad people, which may be one underlying malady of inmate culture. David was incarcerated for two long jail stays. In the second one he decided that if he could not use his body to block the flow of munitions, he would fast again—a difficult decision, dangerous to his health, made after much prayer and conversation with his wife, Sally. What was a fast for public recognition of a social evil became a cause for the inmates who, one at a time, saw it as a fast for them. It was a display of what they could be capable of sacrificing for something truly important in their lives, blotting up the shame, the sense of being bad. In the end David found a sacramental quality contained in his sacrifice.

On the 40th day he was released.

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David Duncombe has Been jailednumerous times lorpeace demonstrationsand has fasted twice lorpeace and justice.HENRY WILLIAMS JR.52