The Birth of Our Daily Bread

By Adolph T. Liebert

Our Daily Bread was a dream of the Rev. Richard H. Tafel, Sr., who was pastor of the Philadelphia Swedenborgian Church for fifty years. His dream was to publish a monthly devotional magazine of sermons and daily prayers as a source of spiritual inspiration and a much needed publication in the church.

As a member and adviser to the American New Church Tract and Publication Society on theological and spiritual matters, he brought to them his dream of a new publication to replace The Helper, which was a small monthly magazine that was failing due to a lack of interest in its contents. His proposal was accepted, and he was appointed editor of the new publication: Our Daily Bread. The first issue was dated December 1949, and it has been published continuously ever since.

The American New Church Tract and Publication Society was an incorporated body run by members of the Philadelphia Swedenborgian Church. Its purpose was "to publish books by Emanuel Swedenborg, and tracts by New Church writers." On February 1, 1986 it dissolved, assigning its assets to the General Convention (the Swedenborgian Church) to establish a restricted fund whose income was to be used, first for the publication of Our Daily Bread, and second for other publication efforts. A further provision was that the editor be selected by Convention's Council of Ministers. This has proven to be a wise requirement.

Since the death of the Rev. Richard H. Tafel, Sr., in 1985, the editorship has continued under the able direction of his son, the Rev. Richard H. Tafel, Jr., and since 1997 under the committed and thoughtful direction of the Rev. Lee Woofenden.

Ad Liebert is the only person still living who was on the board of the American New Church Tract and Publication Society when it founded Our Daily Bread fifty years ago.