Geoffrey Stafford Childs (1926 - 2009)

Born 22 Jun 1926 in New York

Ancestors

Husband of Helga Synnestvedt — married 1 Sep 1951 in Bryn Athyn, Montgomery, PA

Died 4 Feb 2009 at age 82 in Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County,Pennsylvania

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Biography

New church Life 2009, p. 146: Geoffrey Stafford Childs , Jr.

Geoffrey was born in New York City, but his parents, Geoffrey Childs Sr. and Olivia Waelchli Childs, moved to Huntingdon Valley two weeks later, and then into a house on South avenue in Bryn Athyn.

Geoffrey's grandfather was Walter Childs, one of the founders of the Academy, who was known for his poetry and musical talent; and the musical gene is strong in the Childs family to this day. Geoffrey himself played the accordion, a little piano, and had quite a repertoire of songs just right for singing with the family on road trips.

In his youth, he was a gifted athlete, and is still remembered by those who knew him then as an outstanding basketball and football player. His sons claim he finally retired from the very competitive family basketball games only when they became good enough to beat him, even when he cheated! But his love of sports remained with him throughout his life.

Geoffrey was inspired to become a minister during his service in the Army in Europe in World War II. The war was nearing its end, but he was in some combat, and he was present at the liberation of Dachau, so he saw some hard things. It was when he saw fellow soldiers (many of whom did not come back) praying for their lives before battle that he decided to become a minister. Geoffrey and Helga Synnestvedt were married in 1951 and last September celebrated their 57th anniversary. They had eight children, six boys and two girls, and now have twenty-nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

It is a large, affectionate, talented family, with a special talent for having good times together. As one of their daughters-in-law, Jenny Childs, said one time, holding up a group photograph of their large family: "Look at all that's come from the love between you two!"

Geoffrey's first congregation after being ordained was in downtown Philadelphia. After that, he was pastor in Kitchener, where he led in establishing the Caryndale church community. Then he came to Detroit, and while pastor there laid the groundwork for the Oak Arbor church community.

We'll digress here just to say that it was in Michigan that Geoffrey met a young minister from the Convention branch of the New Church, now an old retired minister in the General Church .... who is, for the moment, incapable of expressing how much he owes to that meeting, or rather, to the man he met then. To say he was a good friend doesn't seem enough, and yet it says it all.

The more general point is: Geoffrey took an interest in people. To an amazing degree, he reached out to others - including people outside the New Church. He cared about them, and connected with them. You could see that he felt the joy of another as joy in himself .... which is the definition of love (DLW 47).

Returning to Geoffrey's long years of service to the church: after Detroit, he became pastor in Toronto, as well as the Bishop's representative for all of Canada, and later to Europe and the world.

Then he was called to become president of the Academy. I remember him calling to tell me right after he received the news, and he said he was so excited when the bishop phoned him that when he hung up the phone he somehow managed to smash his glasses!

Philadelphia, Kitchener, Detroit, Toronto, Bryn Athyn .... all those years, during which Geoffrey and Helga raised their family, experienced various joys, and some heartaches, too - including the death of their daughter Heather and their granddaughter Annica.

And then, in retirement, in 1992, they started a whole new, very significant and wonderful chapter in their life, in South Africa. They arrived there during a very difficult time - the country was on the verge of civil war, and the church was also very fragmented. Against the background of apartheid, which ended during their time there, and all the tension and mistrust between the races, Geoffrey worked to establish the General Church Corporation in South Africa, bridging the races and bringing them together into one organization. It was an enormous and extremely delicate task, and he accomplished it with great wisdom and compassion.

The pastor in Johannesburg at the time, the Rev. Andy Dibb (now dean of the Theological School in Bryn Athyn), observed first-hand what a marvelous job Geoffrey did of holding the South African church together.

As Bishop's Representative in South Africa, Geoffrey presided over many meetings in Harrismith, between Johannesburg and Durban, and his unique personality - his gentleness, his sensitivity, his calmness, his love of the doctrines, his fairness and his firm principles - made him greatly loved and respected by both the white and the black people.

Geoffrey and Helga always had a sense of adventure and loved to explore new places, and they found a wealth of unique and beautiful spots in Africa, a number of which Helga captured in paintings, and which they both described eloquently in letters.

They loved the Valley of a Thousand Hills. They loved a scenic drive called the Garden Route. They loved the Indian Ocean.

They were captivated by the whole incredible landscape of South Africa, and, as in all the places they served, they formed close and lasting friendships. As their time in South Africa drew to a close, Geoffrey and Helga made one last good-by visit to every society there, accompanied by their granddaughter Athena. Then, in 1999, they came home to Cairnwood Village, where Geoffrey continued to give doctrinal classes until just a short while ago when he was no longer able.

It was while in South Africa that Geoffrey wrote his second book, The Path, based on the revelation in the Arcana Coelestia about the Lord's inner life and glorification. He and Helga have been working on another book together, about their time in South Africa, drawing from the many letters they wrote from there.

In his final illness, Geoffrey was, as always, cheerful and welcoming to visitors. "Have a seat," he'd say, and squeeze your hand. And even when he could hardly speak any more, he managed to smile warmly at visitors and squeeze their hands and tell them he loved them. His sphere was as strong as ever.

And as peaceful as ever. He loved the fact that he was in his own room, with his books on the shelves next to the bed, and that he could see the sky out the window. "It's so peaceful," he managed to say, even when he could hardly speak any more.

Sources

"United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHCB-KB4 : accessed 19 October 2018), Geoffrey S Childs, Bryn Athyn, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 19, sheet 5A, line 4, family 79, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2080; FHL microfilm 2,341,814.

"United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K418-FB2 : 14 March 2018), Geoffrey S Childs, Ward 8, Saginaw, Saginaw City, Saginaw, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 73-40, sheet 11B, line 55, family 228, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1812.

"United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8YT-VXW : 5 December 2014), Geoffrey S Jr Childs, enlisted 10 Aug 1944, Ft Sheridan, Illinois, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

"Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3NT4-8M5 : accessed 19 October 2018), entry for Geoffrey Stafford Childs, cites sources; "RamseyDavisKirkpatrickBabcock" file (2:2:2:MM6Z-H1C), submitted 12 April 2018 by MaryMathwich [identity withheld for privacy].