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35
communication was also in order, he argued. However, his pleas met a stony silence. A palpable one. A threatening one.
In the meantime, he had agreed to return to Huntsville, Alabama and the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center where he would immediately assume the duties of Deputy Chief Counsel and Acting Chief Counsel. Before that, however, he was requested to meet with the Session rj? his request to the Session at the recent congregational aeeting. He did so on March 7, 1967, meeting with the minister and the following Elders: T.T. Reboul, Dr. Walter Russo, and Max Dossett. Absent was Scotty Thomson.
At this meeting, which had been called for the sole purpose of	hearing him, Ed was	given	the
opportunity to	"state his	feelings	with	the
operation of this church and his feelings to different members and toward the Session.
"Given the	opportunity	by the	Session	to
discuss his difficulties, Mr. Ling did so for approximately 31 minutes and the crux of the entire thing seemed to be that he is dissatisfied with every phase of our church. He severely criticized Dr. Russo and Mr. Reboul,... and specifically stated that the 'Session took a holier than Thou1 attitude when	discussing	matters	during	a
congregational meeting. He further stated that the only reason he was in the church was to support the efforts of his wife....
"Questioned at length by each member of the Session, however, the differences between the Session and Mr. Ling were not compatible and he was excused...." (Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Session, First Presbyterian Church of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on March 7, 1967.)
Not noted in these Minutes was the fact that Ed was there accused of fomenting dissention in the church "in the form of a conspiracy." Further, he had explained that, as the Elders well knew, he was virtually dormant in the church and had only been a spokesperson for others. (Shades of Genesis 4:12. )
"Well," one of the Elders replied, "I know Ingrid couldn't have been involved in any of this. She's too sweet." Little did he then know. Ha!