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Sermon May 2, 2021
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers,
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Fifth Sunday of Easter
http://lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Easter/BEaster5_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Eucharist__May_2__2021
Video: https://youtu.be/545-WNOoCW0
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
Please be seated.
I am terrible about checking the messages on the church telephone and rely upon Michele to listen to them and send any that need attention to me. If you really need to reach me, it is best to call my cell phone.
A couple of weeks ago, Michele sent me an email saying there was a message from the President of HACC, President “Ski” as he is called. He wanted to talk to me about serving on the HACC Board of Trustees.
Wow, I thought, and how interesting. I have attended Harrisburg Community College at various times over the years. I was also a Delegate from the Harrisburg School Board to the College and helped with the hiring of President Woodbury. My daughter attended HACC for her senior year of high school. My mother took various courses there. I have worked with professors from there over the years, especially as relates to the social work profession. When I was in Washington DC, I also paid attention to what was happening with community colleges as part of a pathway for people to join the social work profession.
Yet, I wondered how I had even received this call. When President Ski and I had a chance to talk, I found out a Board of Trustees members from Perry County was needed and my name had come up. I filled out and submitted the paperwork. We will see what happens next.
Yet, there must have been something about thinking about the Community College, because as I was thinking about this sermon and about Asian and Pacific Islander Sunday, a woman I had known came to mind, Helen Swope. It was hard to find information about Helen and I was surprised about that, because she was quite an accomplished woman. How was she so hidden from anything on the web?
I cannot even remember when I first met Helen Swope. I have a vision of her smiling warmly at me and inviting me over to sit with her at some event. Yes, that warm and inviting smile. I have also always remembered the story she told me about how she was a United States citizen of Japanese descent, a Nisei, when the United States entered World War II. The Japanese government did not know what to do with her, because she was a citizen of the United States, but her parents were from Japan. The United States government did not know quite what to do either; they were rounding up people of Japanese descent and putting them in concentration camps. Her obituary says she was under house arrest in Tokyo during the war.
It was that time in Japan after the war when she met her husband, Guy Swope. Guy Swope led a very interesting life. He was Governor of Puerto Rico for a time. He was a US Congressman. After World War II ended, he served as civilian chief of the National Government Division in Tokyo and assisted the Japanese government in writing their new constitution as part of the staff of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Helen was also employed by the American Occupation Team.
He and Helen were married and lived in Germany for a time, while Guy was an assistant to the American High Commissioner in Germany. While there, Helen was President of the American Women’s Club in Bonn, assisting refugees.
They then returned to Harrisburg where Guy was appointed State Treasurer.
Helen saw the need for a community college in the Harrisburg area. An article about her that appeared upon her death in 1999 said she had to convince skeptics of the need. In a 1988 interview, she said, “'It was a struggle. Some people thought a community college was just an extension of high school. Others didn't think it would work.”
By 1964, she and other founders had obtained 167 acres of land and worked with colleges within 50 miles to make sure they would accept transfer credits. She was also able to convince the Middle States accrediting body to accredit HACC after only 18 months instead of the mandated waiting period of five years. Thus, HACC became the first community college in Pennsylvania.
She was also instrumental in establishing the $3.1 million Public Safety Training Center in 1988, and a supporter of the college’s advanced-technology program including drafting, robotics and architecture.
There is a carillon on the Harrisburg campus in memory of her. She was also a Jury Commissioner in Dauphin County from 1974-1995.
Upon her death, then Chief Judge Clarence Morrison said
“She was a very conscientious person . . . very much interested in the service she provided. She was a pleasure to work with. She went far beyond the normal requirements of the job, was always available to do whatever had to be done, and was always cheerful -- the job was not drudgery to her.”
Fellow HACC founder and former board member James W. Evans called her “a warm,
wonderful, interesting person, dedicated to the community. She played a significant role in [HACC’s] formation, growth and acceptance. She was a consummate feminist, a loyal Democrat.”
Today Harrisburg Area Community College offers 100 programs on five campuses and online with 15, 350 students seeking degrees and 4, 100 Remedial and Workforce development students.
In our reading from 1 John today, we hear how love is the key to knowing God. Love is from God and everyone who loves is born of God. The life of Helen Swope definitely exemplifies love. When few others could see and understand, she saw the need and had a vision for post-high school education. She worked tirelessly and fiercely to make it happen, just as she had worked to help others in Japan and Germany after the World War. She did so with great love and beauty. Thousands benefitted from her great love for all people. May we follow her example.
Amen
Guy Swope: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_J._Swope
Obituary: Patriot-News, The (Harrisburg, PA) - Friday, January 8, 1999
HACC Fact Sheet: https://www.hacc.edu/AboutHACC/CollegeFactSheet/index.cfm
