CV\ar\-^i

THEY OP ITALY SALUTE YOU*

Hebrews 13:24

'

Italian Ctfriaitan fission

(Etfsrisa anh ^arg prances ^tjtpps
Terracina, 6 September 1977

RADIO MINISTRY

forwarding agent
Mr.GMis.HowaidR.Battin

EVANGELISM IN ITALY

2209 Chestnut Street

Columbus, Indiana 47201

Dear friends in Christ,

At 12:54 p.m., September 1, the Lord released Mary Frances from the
limitations of this life after years of suffering.

The cancer which

over two years ago had caused her massive mastectomy and subsequent cobalt
treatments had spread to her liver, destroying it as a functioning unit
and had heavily involved her entire abdomen^.

At the moment

breath, Mary Frances had been unconcious for several hours, but^had never
lost her usual higji degree of awareness and clarity of thought.

She died at peace with the Lord and in her heart was at peace with all
those with whom she had ever had to do.

Mary Frances had known the truth concerning her condition from the moment
of the Doctor's diagnosis and faced it courageously and with serenity of
spirit, inspiring all who came in contact with her.

Literally hundreds of people (not only "our" church folks) from various
parts of Italy and abroad attended her funeral on September 3 in the church
meeting place in Terracina. There were at least as many left standing in
the street during the service as there were in the packed (standing room
exhausted) auditorium - plus a large crowd waiting where we live as we left
for the place of worship. Mary Frances' witness for Christ was heard

very clearly by everyone who knew her here - these people love her and
demonstrated

it.

Personally, there is much more to my feelings than there are words to

express them. Mary Frances was not perfect, thank God, or she could not
have lived with me - put up with me - but she was unfailingly loyal to
her convictions and in her love she never wavered in her faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, in her confidence in the presence of the Holy Spirit,
and she never ceased to praise and th^nk our loving Heavenly Father for

all things, in spite of the great pain, the

enervating weakness, the

prospect ofionminent separation from her loved ones.

I am deeply grateful to God for having given us more than forty years
together as a family.

God willing, I will continue in the work here. I have no desire to do

otherwise and am eager to see what other great things (such as the effect

of Mary Frances' witness) the Lord has in store in His wisdom and power.
Please pray for me.

I know there will be many times when I will feel the

need of your fervent prayers even more than in the past.

Lo^e in His grace,

CmAJ^ Charles

'
joBmim5_U9

TITLE:

PAGE

ttat.y

^^ARY FRANCES PHIPPS 01'^6

T

Mary Franr.ps fMrs. Charles) Phipp^

passed from this life September 1, 1^77,

in Italy.

Cancer of the liver, pancpas,

and stomach caused her death. She h^d

been weak and in great pain during tljie last
I

weeks of her life on this earth.

,
I

Charles and Mary Frances first we^t

\

to Italy in November, 19A7.

Chuck hp

been a radio evangelist with Gospel ^road-

casting Mission and Mary Frances did|much

I

of their follow-up work.

Mary Frances Fields Phipps was bopi

November 5, 1917, in Marion, Ohio, phe

attended Cincinnati Bible Seminary wjiere

she met and married Chuck in 1937.

The Mission Services staff joins a

host of other Christians both here and in

Italy in expressing concern and symp^athy

to Charles Phipps during the coming |days

of adjustment. Chuck's address in I^taly
is Via Tripoli 11, Palazzo Concordia,
04019 Terracina (LT), Italy.

Forwarding

agents are Mr. and Mrs. Howard Battl^n,

2209 Chestnut Street, Columbus, IN |47201.

Type within the lines. If short, lengthen the next line that number of char
acters. If long, shorten the next line that number of characters.
hyphenate words on this copy sheet.

Do not

j_

COPY PAGE.

TITLE: Special ( Sept. 1, 77 WEN)

HORIZONS NO.
I I OTHER

Mrs. Mary Prances Phipps ^asse(|

DATE.

from this life September 1, 19'S^ at

1

h
JOB PAGE.

1 EUROPE

8:00 A.M. (Indiana time).

She 'servec
I

5 well as wife, help-meet and pai*tner

I

for Charles Phipps.

Their service
t

included singing, serving as mihistSi

to churches in America, Bible c'ollege

E
S

professors, and went to Italy a's

I

10

missionaries in November, 19^7.' Chucjk

11

serves as radio evangelist with'

12

Gospel Broadcasting Mi^ipn and'

13

Nary Frances did much of their tadio

1U follow-up vrork.

'
I

Mary Prances Fields phippfe

1^

16

rfas born November

1917 in Mation,
t

17 Ohio.
1

19

She went to Cincinnati Bible

Seminary where she met' and

Qarried Chuck in 1937-

They haVe
I

20

shared a very busy and successful

i

21

Life together.

Cancer of the liver,

22

pancreas and stomach area all m&tted

I

23

ogether caused her death.

She'had
I

2h excellent care.

'
i

25

We extend our concern and'

I

26
27
28

sympathy to Charles Phipps durihg

phese days of adjustment. The forwarding agent!; swS^ are:

!!talian Christian Mission, Mr. 4nd Mr s. Howard Battin.

2209 ^Chestnut St., Columbus, IN 4720I.

short, lengthen tlie next line that number of char

acters. If long, shorten the next line that number of characters. Do not
hyphenate words on this copy sheet.

CHARLES & MARY FRANCES PHiPPS

Ital ian Christian Mission

Forwarding Agent:
0 Wayne Hay
4 B i I I i ngsIey Dr.
Mt. Dora, Florida

32757

THUMB-NAIL SKETCH

Charles began preaching in 1935; he and Mary Frances were

married in 1937.

They first went to Italy in 1947 and served

there unti I 1953/ when the Undulant Fever Charles had contracted
forced their return to the Stateso

After five years as head of the Music and Missions Depts

at Midvvest Christian Col lege and teaching on the faculty

of Oklahoma City University (for four of these years), Charles'

health had so definitely been restored that he and Mary Frances
returned to Italy in November, 1958, where they continue to work

They are located at Terracina (half way between Rome and Naples

on Italy's V/est coast), where their missionary responsibi l ities

include evangel ism through the church there and at Fondi, a city

about 12 mi les away

Giuseppe Ital iano is the native preacher.

Since Apri l , 1959 Charles and Mary Frances have been doing the
"Search the Scriptures" radio broadcast in Engl ish every week.

It is heard over Radio MANX, located on the Isle of Man, England,

This work involves a careful ly planned and executed fol low-up
program among I isteners who write in response to the broadcast.

CHARLES & MARY FRANCES PHIPPS

Italian Christian. Mission

Forwarding Agent:
O. Wayne Hay
4- Billingsley Dr.
Mt. Dora, Florida 32757

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Why missionaries to Italy?

The historic philosophies of Europe have formed an attitude in the

people which leaves them disillusioned, spiritually empty, without God.

The modern Italian feels he has good reason to remain uncommitted to

any particular philosophy of life that demands personal religious com

mitment. He has seen the failure of past national governments to pro

vide national and personal security so that he may work In peace and he
is skeptical that any administration will ever succeed In doing so.
He has also seen the failure of the State religion to give him the
peace of mind and soul which he requires. Thus the average Italian of
today Is a cynical, unbelieving skeptic who is hard to reach with any
kind of reasoning, let alone anything to do with religion. Yet he Is to

be brought the Gospel, according to the command of Christ to preach

the Good News to every creature In the whole world.

There are many things in Italy different from our way of life, even

though Italy is more or less a modern country. Some of these things

are amusing, some are desirable and some of them are definitely ob

jectionable. But none of them eliminate the responsibility of taking

and sending the Word of Life to its people.
The Need

It Is essential to remember lliat from Italy an evil enslaving by force

and by fraud of the minds of helpless men crept over the whole world like
a malignant growth. It was from this land that It was flrsf decreed that

reading the Bible was a crime unless one had special permission from
his bishop. It was from this land that the edict was given that culminated
In one of the most cruel, bloody periods of human history, known as the
"Holy Inquisition". From Italy such anti-Scriptural doctrines as that
Mary Is the " Mother of God" , the "Queen of Heaven" , the "Motherof
the Church" came forth. It was from this country that the ruling was
Issued that the Bishop of Rome is the "Vicar of Christ" , the "Head of
the Church" , the "Bishop of Bishops" , the infallible voice of God,
From this land came the doctrine of "Transubstantlation" which teaches

that the priest sacrifices Christ Himself In the Mass and that the bread
and wine miraculously become the actual body and blood of Christ. It

was from here that the false doctrines of "Purgatory" , "Intercession

of the Saints" , "Indulgences" , baptism by sprinkling or pouring and
almost countless others came into being in direct contradiction to the
Word of God.

Page 2 - Phipps

Statistics report that Italy is a Roman Catholic country; 99.6% so.

But this is only true numerica i.ly, since all babies born into a family that
is nominally Roman Catholic are counted as members of the Church, No

one needs to convert the babies: they automatically increase the member

ship reported by the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, the "baptism" of

babies has really become more of a social amenity than a religious con
viction.

The true picture of active membership is very different. Relatively

few men ever darken the doors of the churches except for the minimum
number of formal occasions required in order to have their legal docu
ments in order. This means they have been "baptized" , confirmed and
if they are married by the priest, they'll have been to confession and
Mass for that occasion. The fact is that most of the population of Italy
is not active at all in the pursuit of Roman Catholicism.

It is well-known that the largest Communist party in the world has

been for years (except for Russia) the Italian Communist party. It is
the largest single political party in Italy.

If one questions the need for the simple Gospel in Italy today, he
in reality doubts the need to return to God's Word and hlis way anyplace
in the world. The Reformation was the result of efforts to correct the

errors of Roman Catholicism, and tlie "Restoration Movement" seeks

to return to the simple truth God has revealed for the Church in the
New Testament. If there is any single country in the world that is in
need of this restoration of the Church to God's original design, it is
Italy. Whatever progress is made in Italy toward the elimination of
false doctrine and wrong practices will have more effect than in other
places, since the very center of Roman Catholicism is here.
The Country

Italy is about twice the area of Georgia. Its population is about

54. million (1970) while G eorgia has somewhat over 4- million. This
high concentration of people in a small area is one of the main reasons
so many Italians are to be found all over the world.

Much of Italy is occupied by mountains, which reduces the area

that can be cultivated. The topsoil is generall^^ shallow since the en
tire country is so rocky. A missionary, seeing Italy for the first time,
remarked that if someone found the right rock and moved it, the whole
country would slide down into the sea! And it is that rocky.

The Second World War was a catastrophe for Italy, When Charles
and Mary Frances first arrived in Italy in 1947, bread, flour, sugar,

salt and coffee were still rationed. Automobiles were pre-war, of

course,and scarce; bicycles were everywhere. Housing was very poor,
with many collapsing because of bomb damage. In the room Charles and

Mary Frances first lived in, the floor was so shakyv it was held up by
timbers in the room below and the bindlady was afraid that the weight
of their few books would cause it to fall through!

Page 3 - Phipps

Now - in 1971, more than 7.3.years later - many changes have taken

place. Bomb-scarred bui.ldi;igs still attest to the terrible conflict. Many

still show the effects of ma chine-gun fire in their pitted walls. Every year
several children in various parts of the country are killed, maimed or

otherwise injured by bombs or hand grenades thej^ have found in the ground.
But for the most part, people visiting the large cities are amazed at

how modern things are. What they often don't discover is that most people
in Italy do not live as comfortably or prosperously as all this would make it
appear. The traveler who ventures just a few miles out of the cities will

see hard living conditions, families who hardly know what a newspaper looks
like, children who never get as far from their home as the nearest town,
ox-carts, horses, donkeys, ancient farming methods...even the wooden plow
Even here modern sys tems and equipment will at times be found along
side the ancient, especially where a group of more progressively thinking
farmers join to form a Co-op.
Buildings

Most of the cities are divided into three distinct sections: Ancient Pre-World War II - Post-World War II,

All buildings, even in the smaller towns, are crowded one against
another. The spacious yard that surrounds the average American home
is practically non-existent in Italy. The ancient part of a cit3'' is always
characterized by a formidable maze of narrow, crooked streets and
blind alleys.

The pre-war buildings are usually'- rather drab stone structures,

ranging from one to four stories in lieight. The post-war type general
ly rises to about eight stories and range from plain dull stucco to some
of the most excitingly beautiful structures that will be found an3^here.
Until recently no Italian home was ever heated except by the fire
place where cooking is done or by embers placed in a charcoal brazier
which is perhaps slid under the table to warm legs and feet. This is

especially true of Central and Southern Italy, In recent years, though,

many of the buildings are being constructed with central heating.
Climate

Italy is known as "sunn3'' Ital3''" . That is a good description of it

when the sun is shining! But Italian weather can become quite vicious.
Northern Italy is subject to verv^ severe weather since it lies on a lati

tude above that of New York. Central and Southern Italy, too, have
periods of both unpleasant, cold and at times, dangerous weather. Be
cause Italy is so mountainous and the topsoil is so thin, floods and land
slides, resulting in great damage to property and loss of lives are fre
quent. Earthquakes are almost a constant occurrence somewhere in the
country,

During the season of hot weather, for relief from the heat, Italians
traditionally try to spend time either at the sea or in the mountains. Of

course, the poorer people (the vast majority) cannot afford the luxury.

Page 4 - Phipps
Shopping

Shopping in Italy is done rather differently^ than in America. Al

though there are some small "supermarkets" in the larger cities, in
order to do yoin^ day's shopping yon v/ill have to deal at several stores.
If you wont regular meat, for instance, you go to a store which
sells only meat; but it is more limiicd or specialized than the familiar

butcher sliop in the States. There is a meat store for beef, another for
pork, another for horse meat. Muiton and goat meat can be bought at
the "beef shop" .
Horse meat can only be sold in a store limited to the sale of that
particular mecit; this is required by law. Incidentally, when horse meat
is cooked correctly and well, it is very good. If you buy the meat,of a
young colt, it is very tender and hardly distinguishable from veal.
Horse meat is the most economical meat you can buy and when you figure

that a pound of hamburger of the cheapest kind costs about Si.50, you
might swallow your prejudices along with the horse meat!
Certain household items such as salt and matches are sold under

a Government monopoly, so you buy these in the store where postage

stamps and tobacco sup[)lios (also under tlie State monopoly)are sold.
When you v/ant bread, you go to the. bread store which us ually sells
all items made from flour. For such things as sausages, oil," etc.,
there is the everywhere present " Salumeria" , which is a sort of cross
between a grocery store and a delicatessen.

You can't go into a pharmacy and buy just everything from an aspirin
to an iron to a garden tractor, as yn'^u can in the American drug store.

A pharmacy^ sells only pharmaceutical products, with some of the more

modern ones, handling a few things in the line, of cosmetics and products
for baby care.
If you need such things as toilet articles, spices, flavorings, soap,

or a thousand other miscellaneous items, you go to the "drogheria" and there is no single American word to translate this one!

Then if you really want to do your shopping as the average Italian

housewife does, you throw all the above to the winds and go to the openair market which holds forth every^ day from about 7^00 a.m. until 2:00

X^.m. Here you can find anything aad everything IF y^ou don't mind the
flies and other insects which abound - and if you are ready to "bargain" I
Mary^ Frances does mos t of her shopping in Terracina in the open
market and she has found that it is possible to shop well by making it a

habit to go back to the same stalls and to make friends with the vendors.
However, this is time-consuming and when she returns home it means
that all of the fruit and vegetables must be washed with special care, in
order not to risk a bad case of liepatitis. Charles and Mary Frances
are thankful to the Lord that in their many y^ears of service in Italy they
have not held this dre<id uisease - in sx^ite of the fact that they have eaten
hundreds of times in homes where the food is not washed properly. In

a situation like this, in order not to offend the peox^^le you are there to win,

you eat what is xdaced before you aisd pimy^ the Lord to protect you from
illness, if it be His Will.

Page 5 - Phipps
Food

Though Italians don't use anything as drastically different as "chop

sticks" , there are some Interesting eating habits in Italy, Doctors, as
a rule (elsewhere!), indicate that breakfast should be one of the most sub
stantial meals of the day, but it is considered of very little Importance in
the Italian eating schedule.
Breakfast for most consists of a cup of strong "espresso"(ademitasse of very strong, concentrated coffee). Others, less hearty, will
mix it with some hot milk, in which case it becomes "caffe e latte" , The

obvious question is; "llow do they get by on a cup of coffee until noon?"
The answer is that most of them don't. The majoritj'" will consume what
we could call a mid-morning snack. It may consist of a chunk of bread,
but one of the more popular snacks is the hot, delicious "focaccia" , This
is a type of yeast bread with tomatoes squirted on top and then literally
bathed in olive oil before being put in the oven to bake. The bakeries
are just about the most popular and busiest spots in town about mid-morn
ing, not only for the "snack" , but because many hous ewives do not have
ovens in their homes and so have to take their food to the bakery to be

cooked. Mary Frances sent a pan of food to be cooked in the public oven
one time and when the .little boy who worked for the bakery delivered it,
she noticed that it had a piece missing from one side. She asked the boy
what had happened and shamefacedly he said, "1 wanted to see what Amerlcan food tasted like, but it was nothing but eggplant,,,and we eat
that here all the time!" Naturally! Mary Frances cooks Italian style!
The noon meal is the main meal of the day. Stores and offices close

for about three hours in the afternoon, so people go home to eat at noon,
instead of having a quick lunch as is the custom in the States,
The evening meal is usually made up of leftovers from noon or else
a dish of broth, eggs or cheese.
The work of the churches of Christ and Christian churches in Italy
was begun by Guy W. Mayfield during World War II, when he was stationed
as a chaplain in southern Italy, Wlien the war was over, he returned to
the States and began to develop plans to return as a missionary to Italy,
While speaking of the possibility of the woi-k, he challenged Charles and
Mary Frances and a registered nurse, Betheen Grubaugh, to return to

Italy with him and his family. Thus these arrived in Italy in 1947o
Charles and Mary Frances are both graduates of the Cincinnati
Bible Seminary. Their student ministries were held in Kentucky, Indiana
and Ohio, Charles studied voice at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music

and has hymns and choruses published. He has written a number of songs
used in the Italian congregations.
They went to Toledo, Ohio in January, 1942 to minister to the newly

organized Monroe Street Churcli of Christ (now Boulevard Church of

Christ), They led this congregation until December 31, 1946 when they
resigned their ministry to take up missionar}^ work in Italy, Charles and
Mary Frances arrived on the field in November, 1947. In 1953 they were
forced to return to the States because of the serious effects of the

Page 6 - Phipps

Undulant Fever which Charles contracted while in service on the mission

field.

1'rom 19l33 until June, 1958 they were in Oklahoma City where Charles
Wcis head of the Missions and Music Departments at Midwest Christian

College and also taught Italian in the Oklahoma City University. After

having been told by the doctors that Charles'physical condition would per
mit returning to Italy, they made their announcement of plans in February,
1958 and sailed November 1 of that year after a brief tour of the churches
following the close of the academic year in June, 1958.
Since that time the work Charles and Mary Frances are doing has
been known as the; Italian Christian Mission" and is financially inde
pendent of other missionary efforts.

Before leaving for Italy in 1958, Charles and Mary Frances promised
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Coble of theGospel Broadcasting Mission that they
would help with the work of the English language radio program which was
then being broadcast over Fadio Luxembourg. In April, 1959, the Cobles
asked Charles and Mary Frances to undertake the production and follow-up
work of the broadcast, and requested that the program's name be changed
to Search the Scriptures". So Charles became the preacher on the air
and he and Mary Frances carried on the follow-up work.
Charles and Mary Frances are responsible for all costs involved in

this radio ministry, except for the air time, which is paid for by Gospel
Broadcasting Mission funds.

At the present time, this English language broadcast is transmitted

from Radio MANX on the Isle of Man - an island of the British isles, lo
cated in the Irish Sea midway between England and Ireland.

In December, 1959 Charles and Mary Frances moved from Perugia

where they had been taking a refresher" course in the Italian language,
back to Bari, where they had first located in 1947. This move was made

necessary by the serious illness of Malcolm Coffey. They stayed to help

with the work in the "heel" of Italy.
They remained there until June, 1969 when they moved to Terracina.

This small city where Charles and Mary Frances now live and work is

on the West coast of Italy, half-way between Rome and Naples. Their
missionary responsibilities in this area include evangelism through the
church in Terracina and the one at Fondi; Giuseppe Italiano is the native
preacher.

Giuseppe as a boy studied in the Bari Bible Institute in addition to

his public school education. At tha t time he determined to become a public

school teacher. His steadfast efforts ever since have been crowned with

success; he is now a regular teachep in the Italian school system and is

working to finish his University education.

He and his wife, Rosetta,have two children: Roberto, born March 8,

1966 and Daniela, boi^n August 30, 19/0. They are deserving of confidence
and prayers as faithful workers for the Lord.

Page 7 - Phipps
Tills

Paly, and lor that matter, ail hurope needs Christ...perhaps more
now than ever before. Why? When Europe is civilized and Italy has a
iorin of aLlegediy Christian religion?

Simply because it is not enough to be civilized. It did not satisfy

Christ - and we dare not be content with less than what lie requires.
And because it is not enough to have a form of Christianity! That is
exacti\^ the reason the "Restoration Plea" challenges churches gone astra}^ today. The slightest comparison of the State religion of Italy with
the Word oi God shows how often and how flatly they contradict each otherand we l:now which one is bound to l)e right in such a conflict!

Years of experience in talking with Italian people prove that this

conflict is disastrous to personal faith in Christ on the part of the people.
False teaching cannot produce Christian results. And in all Europe, the
false teaching and flimsj^ formality of modern sectarianism and flabby
modernism is suffocating the cause of Christ.

To see how great the need is, just look at the tendency of the faithless,
tottering denominations of Europe to fall under the spell of Rome's concoction
of human tradition and authority so-called, its incredible distortions of the
Scriptures and alarming, relentless mixture of modern skepticism and her
ancient policies.

As 3^011 will have gathered, the people of Italy and all of Europe are
not easy to evangelize - and yet there are those who are searching for
something to fill the emptiness in their lives. And there are those who
recognize immediately in the Gospel of Christ that for which they have
been longing.

The missionaries in Italy need the support- of the churches at home.

The field in Italy and the rest of Europe is not a glamorous one and the
tendency of some is to think that a mission field must be a primitive area,
rather than one with a long history of Western civilization.
But as a matter of fact, all it takes to make an area a mission field

is that it be populated by people in need of Christ to which workers must

be sent on His mission to the lost.

The tragic spectacle of masses of people who have lost all thought of
responsibility to Divine authority is evident everywhere in the world to
day...and Ital3'', Europe are no exceptions.

Some ask: "But does it pa3'" to do missionary work in Italy? In Europe?"

The answer is clear: It does pay, becaus e it has worked and continues
to work. The answer is there to be given by old and young in the churches

established in these years, by zealous men and women who capably and
gladly witness to friends and neighbors, to all they meet, of their joy in
the Lord. The cinswer is there in the lives of people...people as real as
you and your loved ones. Charles and Mary Frances say: "When we asked
you to send us back to Italy, we believed the work could be done, prayed that
the Lord would use us. Now we know from experience what faith told us."