A.J. Muste, brother of Old First pastor Cornelius Muste (1931-1954)
The Muste brothers were born in Holland and emigrated to Grand Rapids with their family in the 1890s. Both brothers (A.J. was the elder) graduated from Hope College and New Brunswick Theological Seminary. As a student A.J. held a summer pulpit job at Middle Collegiate among the poor of the Lower East Side, around 1904-05, which changed his life. He went on to Union Theological Seminary and eventually left the church to be a labor activist and Christian pacifist and longtime director of F.O.R. Cornelius “Neal” lived a more conventional RCA pastor’s life, ending his career at Old First.
Perhaps you will enjoy watching the first two of three planned documentaries about A.J., and consider donating to the film company to complete the third, if the story moves you.
Read the Hope College notice about the release of the 2nd documentary with some background.
Link to first two videos, “A.J. Muste: Radical for Peace”.
Enjoy.
Jane