foreword to the Order of the Arrow Handbook from the perspective of more than a half century after the brotherhood's inception: National Council of Churches leadership Following his retirement from professional Scouting, Goodman served the National Council of Churches (NCC) during 1951–1954 as the NCC's first general director of the United Church Men, a laymen's program he formed to strengthen men's ties to local churches and their communities. Goodman publicly inaugurated the laymen's group on October 7, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio. By the end of 1952, United Church Men departments were formed in more than 24 states, providing financial support to NCC-affiliated colleges and missionary work. His new post entailed working closely with Eugene Carson Blake, NCC president (1954–1957), and meeting frequently with officials of the participating denominations in the NCC. Speaking with various men's church groups in the U.S. and abroad was, he believed, a means of promoting brotherhood. Reflecting on his NCC service with these notable church leaders, Goodman said more than a decade later, "Great faith and devoted service, I am very sure, are for ordinary folk as well as for the clergy. ... I have been privileged to know some great clergymen in my day ... but I have also known and loved some truly great laymen, men whose lives and works matched their faith". Goodman retired from his NCC post on September 1, 1954 because of tuberculosis. Later years Maintaining his lifelong interest in music, Goodman was active in the Hymn Society of America (now the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada) in the 1960s and 1970s, and three hymns he composed were published: "Christ Calls Men", "As Within the Pillared Temple", and "O God of Love, Who Gavest Life". In 1965, Goodman wrote The Building of a Life, a collection of reminiscences recounting some of his Scouting experiences and giving advice to young men. Summing up his years in Scouting and church work, he wrote, "In the last analysis, it is the things of the spirit rather than material possessions that count." Later that year, the Goodmans moved to the Penney Retirement Community at Penney Farms, Florida. Goodman then served as Director of Christian Education at Flagler Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, Florida. In retirement, the Goodmans enjoyed a rich family life, visiting often with son Theodore ("Ted") and his wife Carol, and daughter Lydia Ann ("Ann") and son-in-law Bob. To his