History of Jewish Christianity – American University
History of Jewish Christianity continues after I graduated from high school. I didn’t want to attend college in New Jersey, so while in high school I applied to four universities outside of New Jersey. My goal while I was in high school was to work for the federal government either as a Foreign Service Officer or in some other capacity. So, I applied to four schools that offered International Studies as my major. These were Georgetown University, American University, University of Maryland and Widener College.
American University accepted me and I chose to attend that school that is located in the northwest part of Washington, DC. While at American University, I was an International Studies student and studied courses in history, political science, international relations, government, Russian language and in philosophy. It was good preparation for my career in the federal government after I graduated from college with a BA in International Studies.
In college I was on the staff of the Diplomatic Pouch, a School of International Service publication. I was also in a sorority, Phi Mu, and was a college Republican. I completed an internship with my Representative Millicent Fenwick on Capitol Hill and also had another internship through College Republicans at the Republican National Committee. I wrote for the Pachyderm Press, a College Republican publication.
American University was founded by John Fletcher Hurst, a respected Methodist Bishop, whose goal was to create a university to train students for future public service. In 1893, the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church (the predecessor of the United Methodist Church) founded the institution as a national Methodist to train students for future careers in public service and government. The university was chartered by an act of Congress in 1893.
In the spring of 2015, the University Senate of the United Methodist Church voted to reaffirm American University as a United Methodist-affiliated university. In 1958, Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam played a major role in founding the School of International Service that I attended as a student. The same Bishop also brought Wesley Theological Seminary to Washington, DC adjacent to the university campus. A Methodist church is located across the street from the campus on Nebraska Avenue. I never attended services at this church.
It was also not convenient for me to attend synagogue services while I was in college. One of my girlfriends at this school was the daughter of a Methodist Minister. This allowed her to complete in her degree in music for free. This exposure to a school with a Christian background was another seed that was planted in my life as I continued on my journey to becoming a Jewish believer in Jesus Christ as the promised messiah of the Jewish people.
History of Jewish Christianity --After College
After I graduated from American University, I wanted to stay in the DC metro area. I accepted a position with the federal government as a Supply Clerk after finishing a short- term assignment as an Archives Technician.
If I hadn’t found this job, I would have had to go back home to live with my parents in New Jersey. Although I wouldn’t have minded living with my parents, since I loved them both very much, I didn’t like living in New Jersey. I didn’t want to go back to living in that state because there wasn’t much there for me. There were more interesting things for me to do in the Washington, DC area.
I moved into an apartment with a room-mate. I met her at the end of my last semester at American. She was a graduate student and I was starting a new position after college. Since I also had a college loan to pay off, it helped me with my expenses. I couldn’t afford a car, so I didn’t have one. I relied on public transportation to travel to work and to visit other places in Washington, DC.
Around Thanksgiving, Darwin Koester asked me out for a Thanksgiving dinner. He was a Supply Cataloger with Federal Supply Service, the same agency that hired me. I found out later on that someone he worked with suggested he ask me out.
I was so happy that I was asked out, I called my mother to tell her about it. She was happy for me.
Darwin and I went out to other places after Thanksgiving. He always went to his home in Hamburg, New York during Christmas. He had a car and he took me shopping, visiting historical sites, seeing shows and movies and other places. We always went out to dinner afterwards. It was always on a Saturday. We went bowling, played miniature golf and took some classes together at Northern Virginia Community College and the United States Department of Agriculture Graduate School.
We both worked during the week for the same government agency on the same floor, so I sometimes would see him in the halls or on the elevator at work. We may have gone to lunch together sometime during the week.
The Role of the Catholic Church in the History of Jewish Christianity
As we talked about our backgrounds and interests, I learned that he was brought up in a Roman Catholic family. He said he always went to mass on Sundays. That was why we never did anything together on a Sunday. Although my father wanted me to find a synagogue to join, it was hard for me to attend Friday night or Saturday morning services since I didn’t have a car.
Darwin’s strong Catholic faith was very instrumental in my journey towards becoming a Christian. He was brought up in the same church St. Peter and Paul in Hamburg New York as were my cousins, the children of my father’s sister. Although I wasn’t close to my aunt or my cousins growing up, I always wondered about their Catholic faith. Aa Darwin and I talked during our outings, I learned more about his Catholic faith and the history of Jewish Christianity.
However, I still had many questions about his belief in Jesus as the promised Messiah. This was contrary to what I was taught in my Jewish education and from my parents. I was impressed that he always insisted on attending his church every Sunday, so we could only do things together on Saturdays. He was working during the week. He prayed for me whenever I was searching for a new position. Later, I learned the reason why he was diligent about attending church every Sunday. He told me that Sundays were days of obligation, days he was required to attend mass at his church.
History of Jewish Christianity – My Mother’s End of Life
In May of 1983, I received a phone call from my father asking me to come home. He told me my mother had passed away. Darwin drove me up to New Jersey and he stayed with us in our home. He came with us to my mother’s graveside funeral. I also attended mass with him at a local Catholic church that Sunday. We drove back to Virginia sometime that week.
I missed my mother very much and was seeking ways of finding some comfort from her loss. A Jewish bookstore owner recommended a two-book set called The World of Prayer by Rabbi Elie Munk. They were books based on the commentary and translation of the Siddur, a Jewish book of the prayers said during normal synagogue services.
A lady in my apartment building invited me to come into her apartment. She read the Bible with me and gave me a copy of the New Testament and some other books to read. She explained to me how Jesus was the promised Messiah of the Jewish people. I realized there was a connection between Him and the Jewish High Holy Days. I understood something about the Jewish day of atonement – Yom Kippur. I related the death of Jesus on the cross in atonement of our sins to the meaning of Yom Kippur. She said a prayer with me to accept Jesus as my Messiah for forgiveness for my sins.
American University's United Methodist Affiliation
Historical websites accessible with a mobile phone
National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC
Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia
National Women's History Alliance
History Today
History News Network
Colonial Williamsburg
