Moral Re-Armament was an international religious movement that developed in 1938 from the ideas of an American, Rev. N.D. Buchman, and his students called the Oxford Group. Buchman headed the MRA until his death in 1961. The Oxford Group believed the world in the late 1930s needed moral re-armament, not military re-armament. Initially based in Christian roots, the group grew to encompass people of various backgrounds and faith who believed in the "Four Absolutes" -- absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness and absolute love. (From Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University: @)
Up with People -- essentially the Moral Re-Armament doctrine set to upbeat songs -- emerged from the group's annual conference at Mackinac Island, Michigan, in June 1965. The show by the troupe of young people, called "Sing-Out '65," was first staged in Stamford, Connecticut, in early August. Among the songs was "Up with People!", which the touring group later took as its name.
-- Images from program for "The Colwell Brothers in Sing-Out '65" (University of Arizona): @
* Up with People website: @
* Timeline (From UWP): @
* Up with People alumni website: @
* Up with People Digital Collection (University of Arizona): @
* "Up with People!" song (audio): @
* Up with People YouTube channel: @
* "Change Yourself -- And You Can Change the World" (Kiplinger's Personal Finance, June 1953): @
* "Escalation of an Answer" (Moral Re-Armament advertisement, The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, Calif.; July 12, 1965): @
* Up with People Digital Collection (University of Arizona): @
* "Up with People!" song (audio): @
* Up with People YouTube channel: @
* "Change Yourself -- And You Can Change the World" (Kiplinger's Personal Finance, June 1953): @
* "Escalation of an Answer" (Moral Re-Armament advertisement, The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, Calif.; July 12, 1965): @
* "Sing-Out Turns Into Big Thrust" (King Features Syndicate, September 23, 1965): @
* "Moral Re-Armament Plans Revolution of Love, Purity" (United Press International, October 20, 1965): @
* "Frank Buchman: A Life" (Garth Lean, 1985): @
* "Moral Re-Armament Plans Revolution of Love, Purity" (United Press International, October 20, 1965): @
* "Smile 'Til It Hurts" (website for 2009 documentary): @
* "Moral Re-Armament: The Reinventions of an American Religious Movement" (Daniel Sack, 2009): @
I was in a Catholic high school in Boston in 1964. The school was approached by people from Moral rearmament, Who were looking for teenagers to come to Mackinac island in Michigan for the summer. My parents had eight children and I was the second born. I was in high school and it sounded like fun to me. My parents agreed that I could go. I was there on Mackinac Island for the summer and was in the first group that sang up up with people. I had such a great time and met so many fabulous people that I agreed to go back the next summer. I was asked later to travel with the group but I did not want to leave my family and my friends, so I did not travel. I did not continue my association with the up with people organization, but I like to think that I was there at the beginning and share in the early experimentation. I would love to hear from someone else from the Boston area that was also there.
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