Religion: Postal Prayers

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Dear Friend: Have You Got PERSONAL PROBLEMS That Are Worrying You? Have World-Wide Sin, Violence and Depression upset YOUR life as they have so many, many others? For example: Are You in Poor Health? Are You Worried About Money Troubles or Debts? , . .

Have You Got Love or Family Troubles? From a 187-year-old, cream-colored Colonial house called "Dutch Oven" (it was once a tearoom by that name) at Noroton, Conn., went out hundreds of copies of this letter last week. The printed signature: "Your Sincere Friends in LIFE-STUDY FELLOWSHIP"—a nonsectarian organization which has no church, no groups of people meeting together any where, but which dispenses its philosophy ("the practical application of Christian principles to the problems of modern living . . .") solely through the mail.

Priest, Angel, and 25 Clerks. The Fellowship's high priest is a shy, amiable, 33-year-old ex-advertising man, Lyman P. Wood, son-in-law of the World's Christian Endeavor Union's famed head, Dan Poling. Right-hand man and financial angel is another advertising man, Wallace R. Boren, 43-year-old author of "Wally's Wagon," a homespun philosophy column syndicated in 21 U.S. papers. Wood puts in full time with some 25 women clerical helpers; Boren does his stint evenings and weekends. Both are entirely sincere.

Wood and Boren, who met when they worked in the same Manhattan advertising office, started the Life-Study Fellowship in 1939. Neither of them regular church goers, they tackled the project at first just as a spare-time avocation and bit of advertising research, to see how large a response they could get by using mailing lists. From mailing-list brokers they bought 100,000 names, circularized them, got between five and six thousand replies.

Today they have 100,000 names enrolled.

These people buy Faith, a quarterly 16-page magazine printed in purple ink ("There is no subscription price . . . send a contribution once in a while"), the New Way Prayers (10¢ each), the Life-Study Fellowship Lessons (25¢ each or five for $1). Two-thirds of the buyers are women, many elderly, most of them in low-income brackets.

$ 15,000 Postage. The Fellowship's running expenses come to about $100,000 annually. Postage alone costs $15,000.

For three years Boren has taken care of the deficit; this year it looks as if they will just about break even.

Faith ("a message of courage and good cheer") contains daily prayers, plenty of testimonials from members who have got out of debt, staved off illness, found happiness in a once-sordid world.

The New Way Prayers are mimeographed on white, pink, yellow and blue paper. Subjects: Success in Overcoming Money Troubles and Debts; Happiness in Marriage; That Other People Will Stop Being Mean and Unjust To Me.

Wood has written most of these 300-odd orisons. Financial prayers sell best ("Teach me, above all, dear Lord, to live within my means"). Prayers for good health and plenty of friends run next in popularity.