Time Magazine from May 1939 - MRA Week

Title: Time Magazine – May 22, 1939

Publisher: Time, Inc.

Publication Date: May 22, 1939

Pages: Approx. 92

Condition: Very Good – cover shows light handling wear and small edge creases; interior pages display mild toning but remain clean, complete, and fully legible. Please review photos for exact condition details.

“MRA Week” – Dr. Frank Buchman and Moral Re-Armament

This issue of Time magazine features the article “MRA Week” in the Religion section, reporting on Dr. Frank N. D. Buchman and the Moral Re-Armament (MRA) movement. The coverage highlights the ambitious public campaign held in New York’s Madison Square Garden, where sports figures and civic leaders endorsed MRA’s message of Absolute Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness, and Love.

The article situates MRA as a spiritual and social movement that evolved out of the Oxford Group, gaining momentum in the late 1930s as international tensions mounted before World War II. It notes Buchman’s strategic emphasis on reaching influential “key people” and his belief that personal moral change could bring about global renewal.

This reporting provides a rare contemporary glimpse into MRA’s prominence on the world stage in 1939, bridging religion, politics, and international affairs.

Collector’s Significance

• Oxford Group / MRA History: Firsthand media coverage of the Moral Re-Armament movement, a direct outgrowth of the Oxford Group.
• Pre-WWII Religious Movements: Highlights how MRA was positioned as a global force for unity amid rising world conflict.
• Frank Buchman: Contemporary reporting on one of the most controversial and influential religious figures of the 20th century.
• Condition: Well-preserved issue with original advertisements and photographs intact.

This issue stands as an important record of the intersection between religion and world affairs in the late 1930s, making it highly valuable to collectors of A.A., Oxford Group, and MRA-related history.