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of the agency, and himself. Referring
to a “rebellion” he attributes to White,
Hudson continues:
There appears to be a rather serious
problem affecting Kingdom House and the
Kingdom House church...A staff meeting
was called on Friday of last week to
evaluate the results of the first Parent and
Neighbor meeting held on the previous
Tuesday and to work out some plan
and methods for cooperative efforts...I
became more conscious of antagonisms
of the Kingdom House Church members
towards the agency and the fact that these
antagonisms naturally carry over to the
director, who is not a member of or working
in the Kingdom House Church...He [White]
pointed out that if I were interested in the
Church, it is my duty to see that the church
had an appropriate setting just as I would
take care of other physical needs of the
Neighborhood House...
White then proceeds to tell Hudson
that the Kingdom House Board is
not behind him, and that either he or
Hudson would have to go. Hudson
continues, “This much can be said. Mr.
White, according to his statements, has
built up some sort of following in the 7
weeks he has been
here. Apparently, he
has been spending
his time on things
other than those
for which he was
hired.” Hudson
follows with four
pointed questions
directed at the
Board relating to
White’s continued
employment, easing staff tensions, the
opinion of the Board (whose side they
are on), and “4. How does this seeming
rebellion affect our total program? What
steps should be taken to evaluate the
whole situation and correct it?”
11
It is
not clear how the situation was finally
resolved, but by summer of 1954 both
men are no longer at Kingdom House.
The last mention of Reverend White
appears in the Women’s Board
Minutes
of May. The Kingdom House
Visitor
reported “Mr. L[ester] C. Gardner, who
was director at Wesley House for many
years and who retired in March, 1954,
has been engaged as Acting Director.
Mr. Edward W. Hudson resigned as
Executive Director effective June
30th.”
12
The tale of Reverend White and
Mr. Hudson, although an unpleasant
one, illustrates some of the difficulties
Kingdom House had during this time.
Ongoing tension between the mission
of the settlement and the ministry of
the Kingdom House church seems to
A
B
C
P
hotos
:
A:
Boxing practice
B:
Greco-Roman
Wresling
C:
Youth