On Tuesday, May 19, we had a special dinner at the Union League Club in New York to celebrate our silver anniversary. In 1989, Richard John Neuhaus was heading up a new quarterly publication called This World. Jim Neutchterlein had just moved to New York to lend an editorial hand. A dustup with the foundation funding the project, the Rockford Institute, ended with police serving a notice to vacate the only recently established office—immediately. That abrupt episode, remembered as the “Rockford Raid”, that put Richard John Neuhaus at loose ends. It didn't last long. Soon enough he was scheming to found a new magazine, First Things. The first number appeared in March 1990.
The story of the Rockford Raid was one among many told on May 19. The evening featured a panel discussion that included George Weigel, Midge Decter, and Timothy George, friends of and co-conspirators with RJN. The founder's biographer participated as well, and I asked the questions. You can watch a video of the conversation. There's a great deal of substance, ad well as fond memories.
There was a fund raising dimension to the anniversary dinner. I'm grateful to all who contributed. A number of old friends came. It was a wonderful time for us all to express our gratitude to Fr. Neuhaus. He started something that's meant a great deal to many, many readers. There was more than remembrance, however. First Things was founded to ensure that religious voices speaking religiously are heard in the public square. That's a mission as urgent now as it was in 1990. As you'll see when you view the panel discussion, there was as much forward-looking reflection and what we need to do (and keep doing) as there was back-ward looking remembrance.
Here's to making our voices heard for the next 25 years!
