Celebrating the Semicentennial of the Scribing of A Course in Miracles (1965-2015)
Here is a smidgen of a recording of Calvin Hatcher; it is part of a much larger collection of interviews. Cal worked with Bill Thetford and Helen Schucman at The Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, where he was assistant to the Vice President in charge of Medical Affairs and where he also studied and did work in psychology. During his tenure at the Medical Center “Cal” became good friends with Bill and Helen, in particular with Bill. They told him in confidence about A Course in Miracles during its scribing. He and Bill reviewed and studied it from 1968 until it was completed in 1975. Calvin Hatcher died in 1996, a little over a year after this interview was conducted at his home in New York City.
“I would say Bill had a lot of influence on my day-to-day thinking about people and work, as he applied the various [principles]. He’d take a couple of pages of double-spaced typewritten material and read it and then we’d discuss it, and then he’d talk about applying it.” – Calvin Hatcher
Read below a preview of the transcription of a very long interview with Cal Hatcher.
“I would say Bill had a lot of influence on my day-to-day thinking about people and work, as he applied the various principles. He’d take a couple of pages of double-spaced typewritten material and read it aloud to me. Then we’d discuss it, and he’d talk about applying it. That type of thing. I know it certainly changed Bill and his attitude towards people, and his tolerance for Helen, because Helen wasn’t easy, although Bill loved her very much. But as Bill got easier, Helen got more and more difficult as time grew on. Bill had the patience of Job. He really did. At the same time he used to get quite nervous about speaking. I always thought that anybody who’s in psychology and a full professor and all of that must be able to get up and give lectures without any difficulty. And Bill was an excellent teacher. But one day he told me, “Cal, it makes me so uptight and so nervous to have to get up and give a talk.” I think he was much more comfortable with his speaking after the Course came. A Course in Miracles definitely changed Bill.”
