when advocates on both sides of the controversy attempted to enlist Niebuhr’s help, he apparently criticized the new pastor for his “unpedagogical methods,” which led to his dismissal. While Niebuhr was no supporter of racism, he stated, “I never envisaged a fully developed interracial church at Bethel. I do not think we are ready for that,” he wrote in a letter to the church council at Bethel. He contended that no congregation “at the present time”
