When Chuck and Jim started the group, they called it “The Men’s Group”.  It was called that until one day, Ron Aebersold told us an amazing story.  Here is the story that changed our name.

His mom had to explain to him that his dad and his fellow employees were on strike and were “locked-in” at the plant and couldn’t leave. His mother thought it would be nice if little Ronnie would write him a letter telling him how much he loved him. Being four years old, this was a challenging concept.

“How do I explain how much I love my Dad”

It took him a few minutes but finally he had the answer. Ronnie decided to think of the biggest number he had ever heard of.  That would surely show his Dad the size of his  “Maximal Love”. That number was 859! Since that day, the number 859 has been the symbol of “Maximal Love” in the Aebersold household and it has passed down through Ron’s family ever since. We thought it would be the perfect name for our Fellowship!