Jesus said, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” - John 3:8 NRSV

How does one learn how to pray when one’s soul is frozen in anger and fear? How can one find community with other Christians who also have a deep longing for communion with God and Christ? How does one create a place of inclusiveness where all are able to join at the Lord’s table to break bread and share in the cup, in spite of denominational walls and fences? How can one concretely encourage another in the service of Jesus, so as to make of it a life-giving call and a joyous gift?

All of these yearnings blew in the spirit-filled prairie winds of the Midwest USA in the 1970’s and 80’s. The Spirit compelled seekers with raw spiritual hunger and those already gathered into Franciscan community to find each other.

In 1980, Dale Trana (later changed to Dale Carmen) petitioned the Third Order of the Society of Saint Francis to accept her as a postulant, so that she could learn the spiritual disciplines with guidance. Even though she was not Episcopalian, they accepted Dale into the formation program, which became a river of life-giving water to a parched soul. At this same time, God’s mysterious planning brought Ron Nuss-Warren, Charles Maxfield and Dale Carmen and their families together on a farm in North Dakota. It was there that they discovered common ground in the search for spiritual growth. They longed to be nurtured by a Christian community called to serve Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis.  Ron, Charles and Dale were all pastors in the United Church of Christ serving small churches in North Dakota and they realized the importance Francis gave to accountability to the church. Therefore, they sought obedience and responsibility through proper channels in the United Church of ChristFor the next three years, letters flew between UCC dignitaries, TSSF officers and an increasingly excited trio of dreamers who sought to form an expression of Franciscan community within the protection and direction of the United Church of Christ.

In August of 1983, Ron Nuss-Warren, Charles Maxfield and Dale Carmen claimed an empty room at Annunciation Priory south of Bismarck, North Dakota, and began to hammer out, sentence by sentence, word by word, a General Rule and Principles for yet another expression of Franciscan community. Their primary building blocks came from Francis’ “Rule of 1221” and “Rule of 1223” as expressed in Source Documents: For the Living Tradition of the Society of St. Francis (commonly known as the Book of Roots) published by the Society of St. Francis, and a summary by Fr. Marion A. Habig, OFM on “The New Rule Approved for the Secular Franciscan Order, by Pope Paul VI in 1978” (from “The New Rule in a Nutshell,” p.82).

Over 90% of the words of the “General Rule” and “Principles” of the Order come from these primary documents, and only those words were changed that were necessary to have this new Franciscan Order be inclusive of all Christian denominations. After three long days of work and prayer, a fledgling “Rule” and “Principles” were ready for review by the sisters and brothers in established Franciscan communities. Through the grace of God, Robert Hugh, SSF, Minister Provincial of SSF was nearby in Minneapolis, Minnesota (only 500 miles away!). Dale Carmen hand-delivered the new “Rule” and “Principles for his scrutiny. Graciously, Brother Robert Hugh offered to stop in North Dakota on his way to California to discuss possible corrections in the document.

On the plains, scattered clouds on the horizon are reason to hope that God may gather them into a thunderhead laden with rain for parched earth. And so it seemed the will of the Lord when, on November 22, 1983, Ron Nuss-Warren, Charles Maxfield and Dale Carmen met at a notary at the bank in Parshall, North Dakota, and signed papers of incorporation (by the state of North Dakota) for the Third Order of St. Francis – United Church of Christ. On that same evening, a ‘Celebrating Birth” service was held at the Parshall United Church of Christ. The main speakers were Rev. George Metcalf, Chaplain of the Minnesota Fellowship of TSSF, and Rev. Marwood Rettig, Conference Minister of the North Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ. Witnessing to the spirit of ecumenism, the service was blessed by the Lutheran minister, Assembly of God pastor and Roman Catholic priest – all from Parshall – and the Sisters of the Benedictine Priory at Garrison, North Dakota. Fumiko, a Japanese exchange student, played classical music; the choir offered up “Seek Ye First” and the local priest sang “Prayer of Saint Francis,” accompanied by a Vietnamese-born guitarist.

During the service, Rev. Metcalf read a framed parchment signed by TSSF officers blessing us with these words:

We the capitular tertiaries of the American Province of the Third Order of the Society of St. Francis greet you as you begin to provide for a Franciscan expression of the Gospel life in your part of the Lord’s vineyard. We pledge to you our fellowship, and our concern and those sharings that occur between brothers and sisters. May your walk in the steps of the Little Poor Man of Assisi be one blessed with peace and perseverance.

The blessing from TSSF. was followed by the reading of the “Rule” and “Principles” of the new Order. Rev. Metcalf received the vows of Profession from Dale Carmen, and Dale received the vows of intention to the postulancy from Ron Nuss-Warren and Charles Maxfield. Later, seventy-some worshippers gathered for fellowship in the church basement. A tangible sense of hope and joy permeated the gathering as though they had, indeed, become instruments of God’s peace. In some humble way, there was a sense that they had participated in one of God’s awesome mysteries.

Just as Francis was filled with joy as he lived simply and purposefully with his first few brothers in Christ, so the first few years of TSF—UCC seemed uncomplicated and exciting.

Very quickly, they were a community separated by great distances. By their Third Annual Chapter they met in Alcester, South Dakota, to be “central” for Jimmie Reese to come up from Texas. All five attendees to the Alcester Chapter slept in the UCC parsonage there. In 1987, all nine attendees to the Fourth Annual Chapter slept on pews and in Sunday school rooms, cooked meals in the church kitchen and worshipped in the sanctuary of a UCC church in Denver, Colorado.

By the time the Order had ten members (in all stages of formation), they already represented five Christian denominations. In the spring of 1988, at the Fifth Annual Chapter at Afton, Minnesota, with eleven attending, they voted to change the name of this Franciscan expression of community to the “Order of Ecumenical Franciscans.” A Certificate of Dissolution of TSF—UCC was filed with the state of North Dakota. On July 11, 1988, a new “Articles of Incorporation” was filed in the state of North Dakota for the non-profit corporation named, “Order of Ecumenical Franciscans.” Directors Jimmie Reese, Lyn Dockter-Pinnick, Ron Nuss-Warren and Dale Carmen all signed the document. Article 3 states that the purposes for which the corporation was organized are:

• To observe the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people. (Rule 1)
  
  
• To join with members of any Christian denomination, men or women, married or single, ordained or laity; who, through following ordinary professions of life, feel called to a lifelong dedication under a definite discipline and vows. (Prelude to the General Rule)

Throughout its brief history as the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans, there was a definite understanding that OEF was an offspring of established Franciscan communities. These communities have given love and guidance from OEF’s conception and now all hold each other in mutual need, respect and desire to effectively cooperate in the service of Jesus Christ, for the sake of a suffering world.

This article was taken from "A Brief History: Order of Ecumenical Franciscans 25th Anniversary, November 22, 2008, Part I" by Dale Carmen, OEF and Ron Nuss-Warren, OEF, which appeared in Fiddlesticks issue 87, Francistide 2008.