The story of Joanne and Raleigh Birch in our church community is a story of two extraordinary ordinary people and five houses — and the love that bound them together.
Third Christian Church and its Mission Project
The first house was Third Christian Church, a Disciples church in northwest Philadelphia.
In the Spring of 1955, Third Christian Church bought two and a half acres of land in Broomall with the plan of organizing a new Christian Church in this rapidly developing suburb.
Today, Third Christian Church has become Fellowship Christian Church and it meets in that same building. And the plot of land in Broomall is the home of its daughter congregation, Marple Christian Church.
But it could have all been much different, if not for these two extraordinary people.
Joanne and Raleigh were married on April 2 in 1955, the very spring that their church bought this land. Joanne was an artist and Raleigh, an engineer.
These two newlyweds in their twenties were among the leaders who had helped to find a location for the new mission church. Raleigh told me recently that they almost bought land in Upper Darby, where Barclay Square is now. But they settled on this location in Broomall, in a development of new houses, and right next to an old house. A very old house, as it turns out.
On Sunday, November 11, 1958, Third Christian commissioned 31 of its members to start the new church in Broomall. They marched out of Third Christian to the strains of “Onward Christian Soldiers.” These were the charter members of Marple Christian Church. Among them were Joanne and Raleigh Birch.
Marple Christian Church
The members began constructing the new church building. That’s the second house in this story. A lot of sweat equity went into it.
During construction, they met for worship at Lawrence Park Movie Theater (now a bookstore). Joanne played the piano for services. In 1960, Pat and Frank Johnston came to visit one Sunday, and were instantly welcomed into the fellowship by Joanne’s unselfconscious hospitality.
The congregation moved into their new building in August of 1960, and they held their first official board meeting in October. Raleigh was the chair of that first board.
Sometimes we newcomers wonder why they didn’t put in a basement with a fellowship hall and a kitchen, like a lot of churches have. Raleigh told me it was because they would have had to use dynamite to break through stone — and the explosions could have damaged that old house next door.
The Massey House
And that old house is the third house in this story.
Betty Engh (now Pettersen) and Joanne used to wander over to the old house, which had fallen into ruin. Joanne wrote,
Amongst the wood shavings, tools, dirt and wounded plaster walls we could feel the heart of the house, still beating, emanating hospitality and generosity. The stories of generations of good people seemed to be whispering, “How good this house was to us…”
Neighbors informed Joanne that there were plans to tear down the old house. And one autumn day in 1960, she learned that a bulldozer was being sent to begin demolition. Joanne went to the house and stayed there. Here are Joanne’s own words:
Then came a young workman with a bulldozer. It was medium size, not too intimidating. He began taking out the old retaining walls, and I sat, feet dangling in the cellarway. I thought a union worker would probably quit at five. If I can just stay that long. He shouted over the terrible noise, waving me off. I stayed. It got serious when the worker left the dozer to face me. I mentioned how dreadful tomorrow’s headlines would be. “Man with Bulldozer Kills Young Mother…!” I kept my seat, and at 5:00 the work day ended.
The workman may have thought he was dealing with a delicate lady of artistic temperament. But a man with a bulldozer is no match for a young mother with backbone of steel.
She went home, called the police, who referred her to someone else who referred her to another, and so on and on until she finally reached Clarissa Smith, who knew what to do — and they saved the old house. According to Joanne's account:
“All in all, a fair trade-off. That late afternoon of phone calls, no table set for dinner, and no dinner, began the saving and restoration of the Historic 1696 Massey House.”
The Thomas Massey House is with us to this day.
The Friendly House on Old Forge Road
And that brings us to our fourth house. In 1968, the Birch family moved from Lawrence Park into another old house, Joanne’s Dream House on Old Forge Road in Media. There they made a home — not only for their family but also for the church. There Joanne set the table, and for decades Joanne and Raleigh welcomed their church family into their home with gracious hospitality. There were Sunday dinners, Halloween parties, and ice skating on the pond. My family remembers sitting around a broad table with the family and sipping from china teacups in the living room while we all visited with a missionary to India.
Christian Service at Fellowship, Marple, the Region, the General Church
Over the years, Raleigh and Joanne shared their talents, their knowledge, their hospitality, their labors, and their love in Christian service. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) aims to be a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world, and Joanne and Raleigh have been an active part of that movement, “from their doorsteps to the ends of the earth.”
They were fast friends with Third Christian Church, through thick and through thin. They helped the members of Third Christian Church survive a terrible schism, become Fellowship Christian Church in exile, and regain possession of their church building. For some years, Joanne played the organ for that congregation. Through the years they’ve participated in special events there, and encouraged others to keep in touch.
Joanne and Raleigh served Marple Christian Church in many capacities.
Joanne was a teacher, a deacon, and an elder, president of the Christian Women’s Fellowship, and pianist and organist. What I remember most is that she coordinated Worship and Fine Arts. She brought lovely flowers in creative natural arrangements.
When I took over as Worship coordinator one year, she told me that one of my jobs was to “hang the greens” in preparation for Christmas. I had no idea how to hang greens. She told me to just get some nice evergreen and holly boughs and place them in a natural way. Placing them in a natural way was natural for her; I never got the knack of it.
Most memorably, Joanne created the crèche that we use every Christmas. What evocative art! Look at it closely if you’ve never seen it. It speaks to the heart!
Raleigh has served this congregation as teacher, deacon, elder, trustee, board chair, and the member of most of the congregation’s committees, including the Pastor Selection Committee, the Planning Committee, and the Fund Raising Committee at the beginning of the church. He’s coordinated Property and been Treasurer and Financial Secretary. He knew where all the switches were, knew how to replace the light bulbs, and called contractors for improvements — most recently to put up outdoor lighting in memory of Michael Jamattona.
Joanne and Raleigh sang in the choir. I sat next to Raleigh for about 20 years. He had a marvelous bass voice, and the best I could do was back it up. For all those years, Raleigh made wry comments, which I tried at first to ignore. But they were just too funny. And perhaps it’s the choir loft where I will miss Joanne and Raleigh most. The piano we use in our sanctuary came from their home; they gave it to us recently. It will remind us of their generosity and their music.
We Disciples have a regional organization, the Christian Church of Pennsylvania. Raleigh has served as a member of the Regional Board, as Regional Moderator, Regional Finance Chair, and as a member of the selection committee for the Regional Minister.
Joanne has served on the Region’s Cabinet of the Christian Women’s Fellowship, and as Vice-President of the Regional Board. She has served on Arrangement Committees and designed artwork for several of our Region’s biennial assemblies.
Raleigh has served as a board member of the Pennsylvania Council of the Churches, as a member of the Philadelphia Council of Churches, and as a member of the Disciples’ national umbrella organization, the General Board.
Christian Mission Around the World
Joanne and Raleigh’s service also reaches to the other side of the earth. They have served together on the Rambo Committee, a group that supports the medical mission of Dr. Victor Rambo in Northern India. Dr. Rambo started the Mungeli Christian Hospital with the purpose of bringing “sight to the curable blind” in India.
And so the fifth house in our story is the Mungeli Christian Hospital.
Joanne Birch served as Executive Director of the Rambo Committee. Raleigh served as President and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Rambo Committee. They made several trips to India, and they produced a newsletter communicating the work of the ongoing mission and raising significant funds for Disciples Global Ministries in support of the hospital in Mungeli. At this hospital and at temporary camps under its aegis, thousands of Indians have regained their sight in the name of Jesus. And Dr. Rambo and his successors recruited and trained many Indian doctors to perform the same medical procedures elsewhere in India.
Under the current leadership of Dr. Anil Henry, the Mungeli Christian Hospital is a growing medical complex, thanks in large part to the Rambo Committee.
In 2011, Joanne and Raleigh visited Mungeli to see the hospital’s new facilities. They were honored with a plaque on the wall of the hospital complex.
Mungeli Christian Hospital
It reads:
CT Scanner/Digital X-ray Unit and PACS
Is
In Remembrance of
The Hard Work and Sacrifice
Of
Raleigh and Joanne Birch
Executive Directors, Rambo Committee
1962-2010
For the People of Mungeli
December 5, 2011
For all the people of all five houses, from Marple to Mungeli, we give thanks to God for the life and love, the hard work and sacrifice, the hospitality and generosity, the beauty and good humor, given so gracefully by these two extraordinary ordinary people, Joanne and Raleigh Birch.
This is a slightly edited version of the remembrance given at the memorial service held for Joanne and Raleigh on September 8, 2012 at Marple Christian Church.