In many other cases our local churches and pastors seek to give assistance to workers who suffer discrimination. A typical case came to my office in the denominational headquarters in 1977 when an appeal was made by a member of the Christian Reformed Church working for Greyhound Food Management in Southfield, Michigan. This member serviced vending machines at the Fisher Body Plant Number One and was dismissed from his work because of his conviction that he ought not to work on the Lord's Day. In behalf of this member we wrote to the employer and sent copies to the State of Michigan, Department of Civil Rights Enforcement Division, in care of Mr. George F. Rivas, Field Representative. Copies of these two items of correspondence relating to this case are attached to this testimony as typical of the sort of thing faced by many of our pastors.

From a denominational perspective it is difficult for us to ascertain how many cases we may have of denial of equal employment opportunity. We are talking about our denomination across the United States and Canada. In most cases these are dealt with, the people are dealt with through our experiencing difficulty with the local pastor or office bearers. In some cases they come to the attention of our denominational office. It is certain, however, that if there were assurance of some sort of protection of the convictions of our members on this score many of our members who have forfeited work opportunities out of conviction would seek further assistance.

Thank you for this opportunity of presenting this testimony.

Chair NORTON: Thank you very much, Rev. Brink. Now, the Christian Reformed Church worships on Sunday?

Rev. BRINK: Yes.

Chair NORTON: Most businesses are closed on Sunday, so, I take it your problems would be in those factories and industries which maintain a seven day week.

Rev. BRINK: I think that is correct, factories and industries. I am thinking of our own central city headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In Grand Rapids, Michigan it is not only the factories and the industries that are working, but most of the retail department stores and other retail stores are today open on Sunday paying premium wages. And I can see right in our own locale without looking across the continent that they experience a great deal of difficulty. Our people simply cannot accept work in many cases, and other cases they receive little preferential treatment, and they certainly miss out on the triple time on Sunday.

Chair NORTON: This then has become a problem as more businesses have decided to stay open on Sunday?

Rev. BRINK: Yes, indeed it has. I believe that it is an increasing problem to us because of the increasing secularization of Sunday, yes. Chair NORTON: Employers have some historic experience, of course, in accommodating to people who have a Sabbath on Saturday and may not be as familiar with the problems of Christians for whom Sunday was no problem in the past and increasingly is one because of the changing style you allude to.

I would be interested in how employers receive the notion of Sunday as a day that is creating problems for their employees. Do they seem receptive? Do they seem surprised? Is there a tendency to wish to accommodate? Because our testimony has generally gone to the Sabbath, the Saturday Sabbath, I'd be interested to know if any particular response comes when your employers are faced with the Sunday Sabbath?

Rev. BRINK: I am compelled to make some generalizations on this because I don't deal with all these employers in any sense. However, from what I am told and what I have received in a limited number of cases as I have written to employers is the response that other Protestants don't hesitate to work on Sunday, we don't understand why your Church should take that severe position with respect to this day. This is a typical response that we receive.

Chair NORTON: Lack of understanding, a lack of sensitivity of the particular requirements of this particular religion?

Rev. BRINK: That is correct.

Chair NORTON: Commissioner Walsh?

Commissioner WALSH: I am a bit surprised by the difficulty that an employer might have in making an accommodation for Sunday work as you had pointed out. Most Sunday work is triple time and it is premium pay. And it would seem to me to make that accommodation certainly the other employees, and I would think in most cases unions have no problem when you are substituting a premium day for a non-premium day. I wonder if you could perhaps expand a little bit on that problem? Rev. BRINK: I suppose to quote one letter from the employer whose testimony I included here, or whose letter is included here, this is his response. "If your church is unable to allow you to work these limited hours under these conditions for the indefinite period that the seven day work scheduling is required by General Motors, then we would have no alternative but to have you replaced with an employee who is able to do this work."

Commissioner WALSH: Thank you. I have no other questions.

Chair NORTON: Your company was on a seven day work week in that instance?

Rev. BRINK: Yes.

Chair NORTON: Every day?

Rev. BRINK: Yes, the company here is Fisher Body Plant, General Motors and is on a seven day week in this instance.

Chair NORTON: Thank you very much, Rev. Brink, for that important testimony.

I would like to call next Dr. B. Edgar Johnson, General Secretary, Church of The Nazarene.

Dr. B. Edgar Johnson, General Secretary, Church of the Nazarene

Dr. JOHNSON: It is a privilege to have the opportunity to appear before the Equal Opportunity Commission to give information concerning the religious needs of employees and the opportunity for them to work schedules which allow these needs to be met. I represent the Church of The Nazarene, a conservative Protestant denomination of approximately three-fourths of a million constituency in the United States as well as members in 62 countries of the world. Perhaps my best contribution to these hearings can be to interpret the rationale for the particular day our Church, as a Christian group observes Sabbath. Our church has quite definitive teachings and emphasis on the Sabbath observance. This statement is in the constitution of our fellowship:

"It is required of all who desire to unite with the Church of The Nazarene and thus to walk in fellowship with us that they shall show evidence of their salvation from sins by a Godly walk and vital piety and that they shall evidence their commitment to God by doing that which is enjoined in the word of God which is both our rule of faith and practice, avoiding evil of every kind, including (and this is one among them) profaning the Lord's Day by participation in unnecessary activities thereby indulging in practices which deny its sanctity."

The Sabbath principle must be understood to properly appreciate the conscientious feelings people in our fellowship have in this observance. The idea of a day in the week for the Sabbath rest and celebration of worship has a rich biblical and theological meaning. It begins with the Genesis 2:3 account of God's celebration of the Sabbath upon completion of creation. "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

This sabbath principle was further reinforced to God's people by being included in the decalogue. The reason for observing this commandment was given by God in the next sentence, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

Though the application of the observance of the Sabbath may vary from one period in time to another, the principle remains firm in the commands of God to us. In the Fifth Chapter of Deuteronomy the command of the decalogue is repeated, "Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it," and so forth. Here the command to keep the Sabbath day remains the same, the reason for its observance is changed. Originally it was to celebrate the completion of creation. Now for the nation Israel the application is for a new reason, the commemoration of their deliverance from bondage and slavery. "And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day."

In the New Testament Jesus restated the observance of the Sabbath principle but lifted it from legalistic observance when his followers were criticized for going through the grain fields and picking some heads of grain for food as they walked on that day. "And Jesus answered, 'Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?' Then he said to them "The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath'."

There is further change in the application in the New Testament which gives us the reason for our fellowship to observe the Sabbath principle and celebrate on the Lord's Day which is Sunday for our people. The disciples of Jesus kept the Sabbath principle on the first day of the week in celebration of his resurrection. And there are numerous references. "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Accordingly, it is evident also in the Christian community as new Christian communities appear they apparently met on the Lord's Day, first day of the week for their regular fellowship and worship activities. Paul addressed the Corinthian Church in worship on the first day of the week, “As I have given order to the Churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him, let there be no gatherings when I come," indicates that they were worshiping on that day.

In the last book of Scripture the Sabbath principle is further supported. Early in the record of John's Revelations he speaks of being in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and so forth. There is a general and strong feeling regarding our Lord's Day celebration of worship and Christian fellowship among our people.

From the deep root in the Decalogue and the succeeding repetitions of the commandment though the application changed the Sabbath principle was firm.

Recognizing then the firm biblical and theological base for the con

viction of our people concerning the Sabbath principle it is not surprising that there are persons in our fellowship who feel it necessary to change employment when there is conflict with work scheduling and their employers do not accommodate their religious needs and convictions.

The church is aware that in a highly industrialized and strongly urbanized culture problems of Sabbath observance become increasingly complex especially when compared with the rural and agrarian culture in which the commandment was first applied. We recognize these changes and the application of the principle is generally in language like "to avoid unnecessary labor, business or holiday diversions".

A comment is probably appropriate and in order concerning some of the blue laws which have been so strongly berated in recent years. In the area in which I live several counties have repealed them of recent date. The arguments for repeal which won support and major voter concensus affirmed that they seem only to apply to a very ancient and very musty law which has become outdated in our modern urban culture. However, these laws did make it easier for members of our Church community to find satisfaction in the observance of their religious principles and with a minimum of difficulty. In the Kansas City area, to which I refer, more of the constituency of our churches are finding clashes of conscience with the demands to "take their turn" in Sunday or Lord's Day work schedules.

In other places and across a number of years where this kind of problem has arisen we have word of numerous instances where Nazarene members changed their employment rather than give up their convictions about their day and manner of worship. Such conflict resulted in some members beginning their own businesses which they could then close to fulfill their religious commitments. Some of the accounts of these experiences make beautiful modern day success. stories. For example, a used car lot business that was parlayed into a multimillion dollar enterprise by the young salesman who would not surrender his worship day convictions. And there was the owner of a small machine shop who saw his business grow into a mammoth industry by the quality of his work rather than meeting competition's seven day work week schedule.

The Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City operating under a variety of merchandising labels, producing only materials for churches and religious community has become a multimillion dollar a year enterprise without any commercial printing support and consistently allowing for the employee's practice of their religious observances and by accommodating their religious needs.

In the informal survey of a number of our adherents who are leaders