What's YOUR Score?

The Rev. Frederick D. Tyner is a gaunt, 65-year-old Episcopal rector in Minneapolis who looks like Lord Halifax but has a lot more bounce. He has probably done more than any other man alive to combine the activities of golf and religion; he has built St. Luke's Church up from 30 to 1,000 members while cutting his golf handicap down to 8. His "Good Golfers' Dinners" are famed throughout the Northwest, feature screwball debates on such subjects as "RESOLVED, That all bad putting is due to a bad conscience." Now Pastor Tyner also preaches twice weekly in a sports column for the Minneapolis Star-Journal.

Mr. Tyner believes that "the average man has more faith than he is willing to admit; you can talk to him about this as well as you can talk to him about a golf game." He got the idea for his column when he heard whispering about the propriety of his playing a round after church on Sundays. So he persuaded cherubic Sports Editor Charles Johnson of the Star-Journal to give him space to preach the gospel that Sunday sports are all right--but go to church too.

His column started Aug. 2 and has already acquired an enthusiastic following, from bookies to bankers. "It will start some regular fellows thinking," said one Minneapolis lawyer.

Parson Tyner knows his sports, brings them easily and accurately into his discussions. His column, What's YOUR Score? usually has some sports newspeg, followed up by comment and anecdote, slyly works in religion on the side. Mr. Tyner keeps his pieces lively and under 200 words. Typical column:

"Many a golfer who finds himself a bit tense and jittery pauses, takes a couple of deep breaths, and then makes his shot. It helps a lot. It may take some effort to get one's self into the habit of deep breathing; but with a little perseverance, it becomes automatic; and the results are excellent. The game is to make a start and stay with it. And this is true of almost every thing.

"It is especially true of churchgoing. The game is to make a start and stay with it for a few weeks, and what a start for the week an hour in church on Sunday morning really gives one! . . .

"What's your score?"

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.