Art Mampel

by Phil Johnson

1936 — 2023

I come to praise Art Mampel, not to bury him.

Art was the personification of goodwill, and he was equipped with a magic wand. Was his goodwill ever in doubt? Not by you or me.

As for his magic wand, consider the time when our dear departed friend, the “Bipper,” pastor of the local United Church of Christ on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, was driving his recently acquired Model-A pickup down the road. He was passed by a limousine. The limousine signaled him to pull over. Ken Wales—movie director — got out. I imagine Ken walking back to the Model-A like a highway patrolman. Ken introduced himself and said he needed the pickup for a prop in “Island in the Sun,” the movie being produced on Kauai.

Would the driver be willing?

Did Brer Rabbit want to be thrown into the briar patch?

Art’s love of movies is well known. Ken Wales paid Pastor Mampel $2,000 for the use of the “A” and created cameo parts for the parsonage couple, Jackie and Art, in the movie.

Meanwhile, the fellow who sold Art the pickup boasted to bar mates,“I saw that preacher coming. I got $400 bucks from him for that old Model-A.” The gentleman was unaware of the Preacher’s magic wand.

His magic wand was like unto the rod of Aaron. While Art was Pastor of Beacon Avenue UCC in Seattle, the church created 25 Social Ministries, including a garden, a food bank, South End Talents (a job employment service), SCOC (senior citizens occupational center), a daycare center, and more. KING 5 television did a 20-minute special on the social ministries generated at the small congregation on Beacon Hill.

Mamps said, when asked how he did it, “I stayed out of the way.” He believed in the “Law of Reverse Effort”—good things will happen if you let go of trying. He did have a magic wand.

True though he was to approaching life with reverse effort, Art, in fact, expended a lot of effort: he rode bikes, he wrote poems, he worked out, he read extensively, he made friends, he extended a helping hand, he preached, and he memorized volumes of poetry.

Consider, for example, the effort young Arthur put into his high school education at Minnehaha Academy. Bruce Carlson once told me that Mampel hitchhiked daily from Maplewood, north of Saint Paul, to the school of “Laughing Waters” on the bank of the Mississippi River—for four years! How can such activities be understood by a person who trusted the Law of Reverse Effort? It appears that it cannot be explained in propositions or logic. Art Mampel was the living answer.

A golden era began when Art became pastor of Minnehaha United Church of Christ in South Minneapolis in 1967. It centered around a daily coffee hour at 10 a.m. at the Happy Host on Lake Street; it was regularly attended by Pastor Art of Minnehaha Church, Bruce Carlson, director of the Schubert Club, Arthur Anderson, pastor of Bethlehem Covenant Church, Gordy Nelson, teacher of sociology at United Theological Seminary, and me, youth pastor at Bethlehem. Other folks dropped by frequently. It was an open forum.

We would break up at about 11 a.m. Art and Bruce headed to the library in Red Wing, Minnesota, to study poetry and the rest of us went back to “work.” Why Red Wing? I guess it was the pleasant drive and fine library. The mission of Art and Bruce was to read poems and talk about poetry. That’s when Art became a dedicated poet.

What other experiences should I mention? There was so much fun. I chuckle thinking of it. If you live as long as Art, you have many experiences. There is time for an abundance of good events in 87 years. It’s hard to know what will come to mind. Can the Law of Reverse Effort help me? There is so much material.

For example, shining shoes with brother Ed along the Alamo River in San Antonio. As soon as the young lads accumulated enough money for a movie, they stowed their gear, hurried to the theater, bought tickets, and entered the land of enchantment.

Time came when the Mampels headed north to Minnesota. In Maplewood they grew, they skated on Gertain’s Pond in the winter, they went to Maplewood Covenant Sunday School, and Covenant Pines Bible Camp though they were Christian Science. In 9th grade, Art started school at Minnehaha Academy.

Art was a co–founder of Despair Conferences with Tom Tredway and Bruce Carlson. Conferences were held several times a year. Eventually, after stints as trial members, Carl Blomgren, Phil Johnson, and Arv Adell were granted full membership. Next, the gender barrier went down, and wives were welcomed into full membership.

The fundamental understanding of the Despair Conference is simple: “If you start at despair, there is nowhere to go but up.”

As my good friend Kate Tredway points out, Art was a fountain of friendship. One of his friends (how they became friends, I do not know) is Steve Glauber, CBS News Service producer for 34 years. As I have it from Art, he was visiting Steve in New York. Mr. Glauber showed Art his Tony Awards piled on a shelf. Glauber says to Mampel, “Here, you want one?” The gift was given and received. Makes me chuckle.

When speaking of Pastor Mampel, Arne Carlson, former governor of Minnesota comes to mind. One morning Mampel walked in, sat down at our table at the Happy Host, and said: “You guys should meet this person in my church. He’s the 12th Ward Alderman.” He’s in your church? “Yeah, he’s like a Kennedy.” In a short time, we all knew Arne Carlson who continued to be a member of Art’s church as he went on to be a state legislator, state auditor, and distinguished two-term governor of Minnesota. Art became Arne’s chaplain. At this very moment, Arne is leading the campaign to protect our Minnesota waters.

For a reason I no longer remember, Art lived at my house for two weeks during which time, he began to refer to himself as the “Lodger.” We had a splendid time. It was 2006. The movie “Amazing Grace” came out. The Producer? Ken Wales—he who rented Art’s Model-A pickup. Because Mampel knew him and because we both very much liked “Amazing Grace,” we spent hours talking to Ken about the movie and Ken’s life making movies. The conversations would not have happened without the “Lodger” with the magic wand.

Art Mampel continues to lodge in my heart, in all the hearts of those of you who knew him. He continues to wave that magic wand of Good Will in part by leaving us ten books of poetry.

We bless your memory, Arthur George Mampel. Rest if you like. Thanks for the goodwill and the magic wand you left in our hearts.