Evening star., 1960-02-27

These and similar queries n
first started running on the
church pages of The Star last
October.
Worked in Washington
In the first place. DR.. Adams
is not a stranger to Washing
ton. He worked for the old
United States Daily, predeces-
sor to the current U. S. News
& World Report. in 1926. His
job was to cover education in
Government and in the Senate.
From 1927 through 1929 he
was in charge of public rela-
tionS for the National Educa-
ton Association. At the same
time DR.. Adams served as as
siStant editor of the asSocia-
tion's Journal, edited by the
distinguished DR.. Joy Elmer
Morgan.
During these years DR.. Adams
was a member of New York
Avenue Presbyterian Church.
In 1880 he decided to enter the
ministry and enrolled at Auburn
Theological Seminary. He was
graduated in 1884 and ordained
the same year.
Pulpit In Albany
In 1948 DR.. Adams went to
Albany, N. Y, as minister of
the historic Madison Avenue
Presbyterian Church. Three
years later he was asked to
write a column in the Albany
Times Union. The venture
proved so successful DR.. Adams
eventually resigned his pulpit to
devote himself to writing and
lecturing.
Following a one-year visiting
lectureship in philosophy and
religion at Russell Sage College
in nearby Troy, N. Y, DR..
Adams became regular pastor
of First Presbyterian Church of
Rensselaer,, N. Y, across the
river from Albany. He is still
serving the church and is also
currently president Of the
Albany Council of Churches.
Two years ago DR.. Adams
spent six weeks visiting Italy,
Greece, Egypt, Syria. Jordan
and Israel. Out of that sum-
mer trip came a Sunday series
on what he had seen. At the
end Of the series he had a pile
Of questions on his desk he felt
should be answered. The min
lister went to the newspaper
publisher and persuaded him to
let DR.. Adams try a question
and answer column that would
be "free from controversy, that
would try to heal rather than
divide, and that would be as
factual as possible"
Out Of this Immediately pop
ular column grew the current
Our Religions" feature, now
appearing in Is American and
Canadian newspapers under the
aegis Of the Des Moines Iowa)
Register & Tribune Syndicate.
Help With Answers
Many problems naturally
arouse as the column grew in
scope. One was questions re-
lating to other faiths than his
own. For advice on Roman
Catholic questions, DR.. Adams
turns to friends at the Fran
ciscan monastery and seminary
In Rensselaer,. An especially
good friend is the Rev. Edgar
Holden, a native Of Washing
ton who is professor of theology
at the seminary. When ques-
tions about the Jewish faith
stump him, DR.. Adams confers
with DR.. Alvin S. Roth Of Tenn
pie Beth Emeth and Rabbi
Herman Kieval of TempleI
Israel in Albany.
DR.. Adams said his greatest
problem is to condense answers
into the small space allotted
him. Some readers, unaware of
newspaper space limitations,
criticize the explanations be-
cause they are too short. The
writer also pointed out that
often 1t takes him 10 hours of
research to write a one-para-
graph answer.
Sometimes DR.. Adams schol-
arship is challenged. One dis
senter recently wrote him de-
manding equal space to give
his version and then occupied