[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 50 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               WORKERS TAKE BLESSED BREAK FROM THEIR TOIL

  Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I ran across a remarkable month-old 
newspaper clipping Saturday afternoon as I was trying to reduce the 
size of a pile of accumulated correspondence. The headline from the 
March 28 edition of the Raleigh, NC, News & Observer told it all--or 
almost all of it: ``Voluntary Sessions Bring Scriptures Into the 
Workplace.''
  What it did not mention, and there was no reason it should have, was 
my personal relationship years ago with a Raleigh City bus driver named 
Rufus Moore. Let me mention it now.
  Dot Helms and I had not been married long when I finished my 
inconspicuous and unheroic wartime stint in the Navy, and became news 
director at Raleigh's radio station WRAL. Rufus Moore was driving a 
city bus whose route began downtown near the radio station and followed 
a winding route to and beyond Dot's and my home on Stone Street in 
Raleigh's suburban area.
  Today, Rufus W. Moore and his fine wife, Joan, own the thriving R.W. 
Moore Equipment Co. in Raleigh, which happens also to be the dealership 
in eastern North Carolina for the John Deere Co.
  Madam President, Rufus and Joan Moore faithfully practice their 
spiritual values; they now own and operate a sizable business in 
Raleigh. When I called Rufus Saturday afternoon to praise him for the 
newspaper account of his Christian witness, he chuckled and said:

       Well, Jesse, I'm 70 now and I can draw full Social Security 
     without my private income affecting it. You know what I'm 
     doing with it? I'm sending my Social Security check each 
     month to pay for the training of two missionaries--so I'm 
     using Uncle Sam's money for something that maybe is taboo up 
     there in Washington, but there's not a thing they can do 
     about it.

  Mr. President, this is the genial fellow who always waited a minute 
or so for me when I finished my news broadcast at 6:30 each evening and 
hot-footed it to the nearby bus stop for the ride home. Rufus is a 
successful businessman, but he still has his priorities straight--as he 
always has.
  Madam President, I need not describe the contents of the news story 
that I am about to include in the Record. Suffice it to say that Rufus 
and Joan Moore are giving their employees the voluntary opportunity to 
participate in Bible study on the job. It's a fascinating story which I 
believe Senators and others will enjoy.
  Therefore, Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the article 
from the March 28 edition of the Raleigh News & Observer be printed in 
the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

           [From the Raleigh News & Observer, Mar. 28, 1994]

         Voluntary Sessions Bring Scriptures Into the Workplace

                          (By Deidra Jackson)

       Garner.--When the clanking and whirring of motors and 
     electric tools roar through the offices of R.W. Moore 
     Equipment Co., it's hard to find a quiet place.
       But on Mondays, some employees claim an inner sanctum in a 
     company training room when they close the door and pray.
       These workers, usually a mixture of about 15 blacks and 
     whites, gather at noon for weekly bible study sessions, a 
     voluntary 30-minute religious break begun two years ago by 
     the company's co-owner, Joan Moore.
       Pensive and attentive, the employees listened Monday as 
     Allen Terry, the firm's product-support manager, stood in 
     front of a world map and related the work ethic to 
     scriptures.
       ``If we commit ourselves to hard work, we must balance it 
     with proper priorities in life, meaning the Lord and 
     family,'' Terry told the group. ``If we remember that we're 
     working for the Lord and not for man, we can improve our 
     performance in the workplace.''
       His talk of Genesis, Revelation and other books of the 
     Bible muffled the sounds of nearby mechanics servicing John 
     Deere industrial machinery inside the 20,000-square-foot 
     building on U.S. 70 West.
       The group members take turns leading the study, which Moore 
     started as a practice session for a women's Bible class she 
     helps teach every Tuesday at Garner Methodist Church.
       ``This is a great opportunity,'' said L.D. Collier, a 
     mechanic who participates regularly. ``There are very few 
     workplaces where there's freedom to look in the Bible.''
       Since Collier began attending the meetings, he has led 
     sessions on creationism, the fate of mankind and the 
     responsibility of government as mandated by God.
       ``It helps me through the day and week,'' Collier said. 
     ``Christians are in need of being around other Christians to 
     hear the Word.''
       Other employees also consider the spiritual break 
     therapeutic.
       ``I learn a little more about the Bible every day,'' said 
     Grover Worthington, a service manager. ``I come away with a 
     good feeling.''
       That pleases Mrs. Moore, who along with her husband made 
     the spiritual lunch break permanent after some employees 
     began attending regularly.
       ``We would like for them to have the opportunity to come 
     and hear about Jesus Christ,'' Mrs. Moore said. ``I'm sure 
     there are some that come here and don't go to church.''
       Thomas Allen, a custodian at the company, said he thinks 
     more businesses should offer Bible breaks.
       ``This could be beneficial to all employees,'' Allen said. 
     ``Mr. Moore doesn't twist your arm or beg you, but asks if 
     you'd like to come.''
       R.W. Moore stresses to his nearly 50 employees that the 
     Bible sessions aren't required or even encouraged.
       ``They're absolutely voluntary,'' Moore said. ``You come on 
     your own, and if it's a benefit to you, that's fine.''
       Moore said he can tell that the employees who regularly 
     fill the training room on Mondays are profiting from the 
     sessions.
       ``They seem happier and stop to consider other people 
     more,'' Moore said. He and his wife have owned the company 
     for 32 years.
       Jerry Campbell, a shop foreman, was among the first few 
     employees to begin studying the Bible at work.
       ``It helps me get through the week, with everything going 
     on around us,'' Campbell said. ``Some say it's hard to 
     believe in someone you've never seen before, but I can't get 
     by without him.''

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