Autobiography of Bob Racine

Please indulge me a bit this time around.  During the year and a half that I have had this blog going I have revealed little in it about my identity and my personal history, though I have shared personal views and opinions, mostly in the essays I have posted.  Many of you reading are already acquainted with me and are somewhat familiar with my personal circumstances and background, but for the benefit of many who are not I wish to share a brief autobiographical summary and a listing of my beliefs and values.  If any of you have further questions pertaining to who I am or about the beliefs and values I will be listing, please direct them to bobracine@verizon.net and I will be happy to answer them and perhaps get to know a few you individual readers I have not had the privilege of meeting in person.

It was on February 25, 1933 in Norfolk, Virginia, that I, Robert Wayne Racine, arrived in the world, the only child-to-be of Raymond and Virginia Racine.  Growing up in Norfolk I was nurtured in Central Baptist Church of that city, where I felt the call to the ministry very early in my life.  I graduated from Maury High School there in January, 1952 and received my Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest College in 1955 as a pre-ministerial student.  My divinity degree came from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1963, after a few years of experience in the field as a welfare caseworker, and I served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Scranton, Pennsylvania from 1963 until 1967.  I then accepted a job with Mass Media Ministries in Baltimore, Md., an interfaith agency designed to serve churches of all faiths seeking to develop media programs.  I worked for them as chief writer and assistant editor on their bi-weekly Newsletter publication, reviewing short films, TV and current cinema.  I also conducted seminars on media usage, wrote promotional fliers and gave personal consultation to people in church-related professions on the planning of media programs. 

In 1974 I moved to Columbia, Maryland, where I have resided ever since.  Following the discontinuance of the Mass Media Newsletter in 1980, I became involved in community theater, organizing my own in conjunction with Kittamaqundi Community, an ecumenical church body in that city.  The theater remained in operation for twenty-two years.  In that endeavor I got training in acting, directing, and producing, and in 1988 began writing scripts, several of which have been performed in public, one for the annual Baltimore New Playwrights Festival.  In recent years, since the retirement of the theater, I have segued from script writing into fiction writing.  A novella, “It Won’t Fit Through the Door,” remains available on compact disc.  “All Saints Eve” is my first full length novel still seeking publication.  I have also written over the space of the last forty years a considerable body of poetry, and at varied times and on varied occasions have given public recitations of them.  Some of them have already appeared in this blog. 

I seem to have always worn two hats throughout my adult life – religion and the arts.  Almost all I have done over the past half century has involved participation in both worlds.  And now the early profession of film critic that I practiced in association with Mass Media Ministries, cut short by the onset of a severe hearing loss, has found a soul-gratifying rebirth in the reviewing of motion pictures on DVD on this blog, along with other writings.  The word processor now has become my new stage as well as my new printed page, thanks to the brilliant assistance of my stepson JC Nolan, to whom I will be eternally grateful.

I have been married to my third wife, Ruby, since 1981. An elementary school teacher for close to thirty years (retired in 1996), she is the supreme love of my life and has been a magnificent support to me in all my endeavors since we met.  We reside in Columbia.  We have seven offspring between us from previous marriages and eight grandchildren.  Though now in our latter years, we remain very active in the Kittamaqundi congregation and share in its leadership and work. 

The following is a list of what I regard as my personal beliefs and values, to which I hold myself personally accountable:

Biblical writings as a repository of moral, ethical and spiritual instruction

The existence of God both as unfathomable mystery and redeeming presence

The perseverance of faith, both as outlook and practice

A spiritual community that is supportive and nurturing

Diversity of expression within a unity of faith sharing

Integrity and wholeness of character

Personal discipline in all domains as opposed to off-the-wall lifestyles

The dignity of work

Scrupulous care of one’s own body as indeed the Temple of God

Equally scrupulous care of the planet Earth as the bosom mother of us all

The sanctity of all living creatures

The unique giftedness of each and every human individual

The loving family as the foundation of civilized society               

A creative fusion between religion and the arts

Music and poetry as the language of God and food for the soul

The preservation and study of sacred and classic writings

Friendship that sets no boundaries and imposes no obligations

Patience and kindness

Humility of spirit

Unbounded and unqualified forgiveness, both of self and others

And basic to all:

Love as a verb, not a noun, which is to say aggressive good will in action,

compassionate service to others, selfless labors to lighten each other’s burdens, and active commitment to the ongoing liberation of the human spirit

To read other entries in my blog, please consult its website:  enspiritus.blogspot.com

I welcome feedback.  Direct it to bobracine@verizon.net