C Street
It is an informal and highly secretive international movement that is centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as the common ground across all religious and political divisions. It is best known for its role in organizing the annual National Prayer Breakfast, at which the President of the United States customarily makes an address. The current leader of the organization is Doug Coe.
The group is associated with many influential leaders, from members of the United States Congress to the heads of humanitarian aid organizations.
One of The Family's principles is "leadership led by God—leaders of all levels of society who direct projects as they are led by the spirit."
History
The movement was founded in Seattle in 1935 by Abraham Vereide, a Norwegian immigrant and traveling preacher who had been working with the city's poor. Roosevelt's New Deal and was worried that socialist politicians were about to take over Seattle's municipal government. Prominent members of Seattle's business community recognized his success with those who were "down and out" and asked him to give spiritual direction to their group who were "up and out." He organized prayer breakfasts for politicians and businessmen that included anti-Communism and anti-union discussions.
Vereide was subsequently invited to set up similar meetings among political and business leaders in San Francisco and Chicago.
Vereide's principal collaborator in France was Edmond Michelet, five-time minister under President Charles de Gaulle.
By 1942, the organization had moved headquarters to Washington, D.C., where it helped create breakfast groups in the U.S. In 1944, the organization's name was changed to International Christian Leadership, then in 1972, to The Fellowship Foundation.
It was at this time that the group's leaders decided to lower the Fellowship's public profile by decentralizing its leadership.
The movement's members have been active in reconciliation efforts between the warring leaders of The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and many other similar conflicts around the world. The Family has been criticized, however, for associating with dictators and human rights abusers such as Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, Artur da Costa e Silva, Gustavo Alvarez Martinez, and Suharto.
The movement has had some involvement with the New Age Movement also known as the "Cultural Creatives Movement" in the form of Paul N.
Temple, a former Standard Oil executive who was also instrumental in founding the Institute of Noetic Sciences as well as the World Business Academy. In 1987, The Family co-sponsored a conference, Bridging Through Christ, at the Goldlake New Age center near Boulder, Colorado. Barbara Marx Hubbard and Doug Coe co-chaired the event; David Spangler, Findhorn Community representatives, and Conservative Baptist Seminary representatives including Vernon Grounds and Gordon Lewis participated.
Temple, who co-founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences and is a major funder of both IONS and The Family through his "Three Swallows Foundation." The address of 133 C Street, SE, is the mailing address for Doug Coe, and the address given on the 990 IRS form of the Three Swallows Foundation.
Douglas Coe's son, David Coe, also works for the organization and is considered the presumptive heir. David Coe has suggested that members of The Family "are here to learn how to rule the world."
Activities
The movement in the U.S.
is incorporated in the United States as a tax-free 501(c)(3) organization operating under the name The Fellowship Foundation. While they conduct no fundraising operations, they reported revenues of more than $12 million in 2003 from donations.
To work with the leaders of other nations, and as their hearts are touched, the poor, the oppressed, the widows and the youth of their country will be impacted in a positive manner. It is said that youth groups will be developed under the thoughts of Jesus, including loving others as you want to be loved.
Their primary activity is to develop small support groups for members of Congress, businesspersons, and anyone else who is interested in the teachings of Jesus.
Prayer groups have met in the Pentagon and at the Department of Defense. Boarders at the Family's house on C Street include Senators Tom Coburn, R-Okla., John Ensign, R-Nev., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
The townhouse and organization are now registered as a church with tax free status.
The Family's use of 133 C Street has been linked to Youth with a Mission (YWAM), a religious organization whose founder Loren Cunningham, has stated that God gave him a list of goals which included fighting a battle to "take back" the "mountain of government." YWAM reportedly owns the Family's red brick Church and boarding house, valued at $1.84 million.
Recent publicity
The announcement by US Senator John Ensign of his extramarital affair brought some public scrutiny of the center, as Mr.