Paul Jones: Apostle of Peace

Paul Jones, whom we commemorate today, came from a family of long-tenured clergy. His grandfather served as the rector of Epiphany Episcopal Church in New York city for over three decades. His father was the rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, PA for forty years. When Paul graduated from seminary in 1906, his father offered him a job at St. Stephen’s where all of Paul’s siblings and his grandmother worshiped. An older brother was even on the vestry. Paul’s father assured him that when he retired, Paul would be elected as his successor.

Paul Jones was not at all interested. He knew who God was calling him to be and it was not a nepo baby. 

Jones instead answered the call of Frank Spalding, Missionary Bishop of Utah, to move to Logan, Utah, home of Brigham Young University and Utah State University. Jones’ primary responsibility was establishing relationships among the young adults in town. So that’s what he did, and his ministry flourished.

After a decade of ministry in Logan, Jones and his wife moved in with Bishop Spalding in Salt Lake City, and Paul began work as the Archdeacon of Utah in August of 1914. The following month, the bishop was fatally struck by a car and Paul was quickly chosen by the House of Bishops as his successor.

Paul was 34 years old, an outspoken socialist, and pacifist, yet none of this deterred his appointment in the House of Bishops. After all, Bishop Spalding had been a pacifist and socialist. When World War I broke out in July 1914, Bishop Spalding spent the final two months of his life preaching peace, Christian ethics, and the economic costs of war. 

Three years into Paul Jones’ episcopate, the United States entered World War I. The common understanding of the war among Episcopal clergy was that it was a righteous crusade to establish justice on earth and prevent all future wars. When framed this way, Episcopal clergy believed the Great War aligned with Jesus’ teaching. Paul Jones disagreed. 

He accepted the invitation to speak at a Christian pacifist meeting in Los Angeles when he was in town visiting his in-laws. After Bishop Jones spoke about the incompatibility of war and Jesus’ teachings, he left the meeting. Police arrived a bit later and arrested the group’s leaders. The following day, A.P. newspaper articles were filed with headlines like “Swarms of Police Chase Bishop Jones.” By the time Jones arrived back in Salt Lake City, members of his had petitioned the Episcopal Church to relieve the bishop of his Episcopal duties.

The House of Bishops formed a committee, listened to Bishop Jones’ side of the story, then gently dismissed the petition. But as clergy know all too well, it is very difficult to silence a vocal group demanding a change in leadership. A second committee within the House formed with three members of “a different spirit from the original committee” and they asked for Paul Jones’ resignation. 

Paul Jones complied, but not before making a statement to the House of Bishops. He addressed his brother bishops on October 18, 1917, in part with these words, 

I have been led to feel that war to feel that war is entirely incompatible with the Christian profession. It is not on the basis of certain texts or a blind following of certain isolated words of Christ that I have been led to this, for I am not a literalist in any sense of the term; but because the deeper I study into it the more firmly I am convinced that the whole spirit of the Gospel is not only opposed to all that is commonly understood by the word ‘war,’ but offers another method capable of transforming the world and applicable to every situation which the individual or the nation is called to face. If we are to reconcile (humanity) to God, to building up the (kinship) of the kingdom, preach love, forbearance and forgiveness, teach that ideals are worth more than all else, rebuke evil, and stand for the good even unto death, then I do not see how it can be the duty of the Church or its representatives to aid or encourage the way of war which so obviously breaks down (kinship), replace love and forbearance by bitterness and wrath, sacrifices ideals to expediency, and takes the way of fear instead of that of faith.

While Paul Jones left the office of Bishop in the Diocese of Utah, he was never deposed. He continued serving Jesus Christ and the Episcopal Church for the rest of his life. He worked for ten years as the secretary of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), an organization that brought together Christian pacifists scattered across the country. In this role he saw himself as an Apostle for Peace, preaching and speaking before crowds on college campuses, synagogues, and churches of all denominations. 

When this work with FOR concluded, Paul Jones returned to his passion of working with young adults by serving as a professor at Antioch College and its de facto chaplain. He realized that young adults often turned away from organized religion not because they were indifferent, but because they found more meaningful methods of self-expression. So he made Christianity relevant to their lives and students flocked to him. All religions, he said, offered people a sense of security in the universe, especially when one is met with failure, disappointment, and loss. Religion proclaims that life has meaning, and God’s created people are beautiful and valuable. 

As the war between Israel and Hamas nears the one-year mark, I wonder who our Apostles for Peace might be. I believe most of us agree that this war is incompatible with Christ’s gospel. I also believe that many clergy fear saying so publicly. We are fearful of hurting our interfaith relationships or being misinterpreted. We fear consequences within our own congregations. Bishop Jones reminds us that speaking out in the name of peace and justice has always been risky. And, that it has always been worth it. 

Bishop Jones’ resignation letter concluded with this powerhouse of a statement. “I believe that the methods of modern international war are quite incompatible with the Christian principles of reconciliation and brotherhood, and that it is the duty of a Bishop of the Church, from his study of the word of God, to express himself on questions of righteousness, no matter what option may stand in the way.” 

Paul Jones knew who God was calling him to be and he courageously honored that calling until he died on September 4, 1941, no matter what opinions challenged him along the way.

Author’s Note: All quoted material comes from one of two small books. Paul Jones: Minister of Reconciliation by John Howard Melish published by The Fellowship of Reconciliation and The Voice of Conscience: A Loud and Unusual Noise by Nathaniel W. Pierce and Paul L. Ward which tells the story of Episcopal Peace Fellowship’s first fifty years.