William Edgar
“Anything Happening Here?”
Peter Moore as I Remember Him
I was a new Christian, a Junior in college. My dear friend and classmate Sandra Clark said there was a dynamic leader she wanted me to meet. It was Peter. He not only met me but recruited me, Mardi Drew (now Keyes), and Sandy to help him out at a youth conference to be held at Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania. I think I was all of 19 years old. Maybe 20. The conference was sponsored by CRIS (the Council for Religion in Independent Schools). Peter was its Director. The main speaker was a fellow named Dick Lucas, from London. There were several hundred young people from different private schools gathered, and Dick Lucas delivered some powerful gospel messages. The three of us led seminars or smaller gatherings. Peter had a couple of agendas. Of course, he wanted the best for this conference. He wanted Jesus to be proclaimed. But also, we were to recruit as many young people as possible to a summer house party in Grey Ledges, New York. But we were to do it stealthily, and he was anxious for CRIS not to find out too much about this.
It turns out Peter was laying the groundwork for what would become FOCUS (the Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools). At this point, though, he was a tireless Director for CRIS and going around to different schools, many of them New England boarding schools, preaching in chapels and meeting with school administrators. But behind the scenes he was putting together a more evangelical organization called, at the time, UPSC (University and Private School Camps). Sandy, Mardi and I had been students at one of these schools, and were, according to Peter, ideal speakers. In retrospect it seems he was taking quite a risk!
Though Peter grew up in the church and had a godly grandmother, he only took a clear step toward saving friendship with Jesus Christ in boarding school. He tells his own story, movingly, in From Dry Bones: Reflections on an Unpredictable Life. From St Mark’s he went on to Yale and then divinity school at Oxford. While in England he encountered the Varsity and Public School Camps, run by a colorful bachelor, Eric Nash (affectionately known as “Bash”). When he returned, he became an assistant at a small church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania for a couple of years. Then, after several adventures, Peter became the Director of CRIS, headquartered in New York City. Though a fascinating calling, it was difficult for Peter, since the organization was pluralistic, and he was an evangelical. He did his best to “play the game” inviting speakers from different persuasions to the events, but this soon became an impossible burden. Shortly, UPSC (what became FOCUS) was launched. He was able to leave CRIS, though not without taking certain gambles.
I was a regular at the UPSC house parties and ski vacations. Creatively titled, the February event was known as “Skis and Skeptics”. Besides Peter a number of extraordinary leaders took part as speakers and counselors. One of them was Sam Abbott, one of the most articulate and creative speakers among us. Another was John Howe, the chaplain at Loomis who would later become the Episcopal Bishop of South Florida.
Peter and I became close friends. This, despite his being older and also our missions being a bit different. His was to renew the Episcopal Church from within. I was fine with this strategy but had become a Christian through some Presbyterians, left the church in which I held membership (The American Cathedral in Paris) and went to a Reformed seminary (Westminster in Philadelphia). Peter was disappointed with this and even wrote a letter to Edmund Clowney, the President of the seminary, objecting that it was “separatist” (indeed, Westminster was a dissidence of the large United Presbyterian Church, though the story is quite complicated). Ironically, he would later break from the Protestant Episcopal Church and join an Anglican mission.
I went to every house party and ski party and when we got married Barb and I (introduced by Sandy!) went to every event. When FOCUS acquired the splendid property on Martha’s Vineyard, we went every summer. Peter was a creative organizer. House parties had themes: “Putting It All Together” and the likes. He loved skits. One night we played “Clony and Bod” based on the crime escapades of Bonnie and Clyde. Charlie Drew and Chris Keidel were masters at skits. One of them, led by Charlie, was meant to tell kids with newly minted faith how to handle parents. Mom and Dad were at the breakfast table and called up for their son to come down and join them. “I can’t, Mom, I’m reading Leviticus”. Peter had a beautiful tenor voice and led us and some gifted musicians at FOCUS in high quality Christian songs.
For eight years I taught school in Greenwich CT at the Brunswick School, and tried to get young people to the Vineyard. The breakthrough occurred when an African American, Bob Cosby came. From then on, the flow was steady. Peter was a great encouragement, urging me to be patient, not one of my virtues. We eventually lived at the Study Center, in the “Brown Cottage” (the Moores in the “Green Cottage”). Our kids learned to swim at Uncle Seth’s Pond, encouraged by patient campers like Nina Borie. Sandy and Barb started a school there, called École du Lac. Barb was the teacher and Sandy Chair of the board!
Not only did we have fellowship groups at the school, regional meetings in Fairfield County, and spent summers on the Vineyard, but I joined the FOCUS board of trustees. I became the Secretary. The trustees were extraordinary people. Peter made sure meetings were well prepared. Staff reports were the most riveting part of our meetings, though there was the inevitable financial side. Peter wanted staff to begin to raise their own money, which did not go over well with everyone. But the idea won out especially since most other parachurch ministries worked on the same principle. Peter gathered together an extraordinary group of trustees, and staff. He was something of a pied piper. I remember at some Bible study the woman who gathered it opened with, “Peter asked me to do this and you just don’t say ‘no’ to Peter Moore.” His evangelical convictions were embodied in an attractive, athletic, well-spoken, nicely dressed package. The opposite of the sleazy TV evangelist, one could not be embarrassed by his presence.
One of the most difficult challenges for FOCUS was the pressure from charismatic groups to become more Pentecostal. The most trying debate occurred in Tante Minette’s barn. Minette was a marvelous Christian woman whose husband left her and who more than survived in Greenwich. She lived with us for a while but kept her house in Belle Haven, a rather exclusive part of Greenwich. At any rate, Peter and John Howe squared off and the fur flew. Yours truly was the moderator. After months of controversy, some resignations, and hard feelings, we came to a compromise: the “gifts” were allowed but were not to change our theology, especially with the “second blessing” doctrine. I wrote the document which the board approved, and I believe is still the policy for FOCUS.
Peter was a considerable athlete. He always played, shall we say, competitively. He was excellent at tennis. Wimbledon champ Stan Smith, a regular in our FOCUS camps, told him he was up there with the best of them. But he played to win. Once, on the courts at the Study Center a mixed doubles tournament was held. Barb was his partner. They won hands down, but nobody cheered for them! Peter took up windsurfing. He faced the waves and the gusts as though they were adversaries. He and Sandy loved to ski. In his 70s he took men’s groups to ski in exotic places, including Vail.
Peter loved to travel. Barb and I joined him on several trips. He loved to tour the Reformation sites, and the churches of the first century. Our two families spent some days together in Spain on the seacoast. We then drove all the way to Italy, where I introduced them to our dearest friends, the Brizzis, in Civitella del Lago. Peter complained that I was driving too fast along the autoroutes. Truly a first! We lectured to groups on the Sea Cloud about the saints of the Mediterranean. It was hugely rewarding.
The last time I saw him was at our 50th anniversary bash in Aix-en-Provence. One of the events was a seminar on Paul Cézanne, led by the world expert Denis Coutagne, a dear friend. We started out at the Jas de Bouffan, where Cézanne grew up. After a morning tour of the premises, lunch was meant to come. There was a 15- minute delay and most people just sat around visiting. Peter came up to me and asked, “Anything happening here?” I told him everything was under control and he frowned. Waiting was not one of his virtues. When he was in charge - things happened. They do too in Southern France but at a different pace. Now that he is in heaven, I wonder whether he is asking the angels, “Anything happening here?” He has an eternity to find out :)
We miss you, Peter, and can’t wait to join you in Paradise.
- Bill and Barb Edgar