RECONSTRUCTION AFTER WAR

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24567, 16 May 1945, Page 8

RECONSTRUCTION AFTER WAR

“MAKING OUR PLANS COME ALIVE ” ADDRESS BY PRIMATE “The great need of the years to come is not only, or not so much, good and wise plans to rebuild and reconstruct, as a spirit of faith and hope and love, which will make our plans come alive.” said the Primate of New Zealand (Archbishop West-Watson),Oin his presidential address at the Dominion conference of the Church of England Men’s Society in Christchurch yesterday. “Christianity is not just a way of living, but a way of life. “We believe in democracy, because democracy does seek to preserve for men the freedoms to which he has a right if he is to be worthy of the name of man. But unless there is some spiritual power which continually inspires men to measure up to the sense of responsibility . which makes those freedoms a glory and not a danger, democracy will miss its opportunity. The Christian faith seems to us essential it we are to avoid those grievous failings which were undermining our confidence before the war. To be truly free, a man must not only be free from want and fear, free to speak and free to worship, but must be free in soul and spirit; and it is Christ who makes us free. Once liberty degenerates into licence, men will sell it for a mess of pottage, and we have seen this happen. If we consider the world of the last few years, it seems almost to be a choice of Gestapo or Christ. “Christian Decency” Archbishop West-Watson said that British people, undemonstrative and unemotional by , nature, felt rather apologetic about expressions of patriotism, and were apt to be rather apologetic about their religion, sometimes because they felt so unworthy to profess such a noble faith. Modesty could be carried too far, until in people s desire to apologise for themselves they seemed almost to be apologising for Christ. , ... - “I do believe that what President Roosevelt called ‘Christian decency’ is the fundamental standard which we admire and try to live up to,” continued Archbishop West-Watson. ‘But without Christ, Christian decency is a plant without roots, and without men and women consciously rooted in personal faith in and daily experience of Christ. Christian decency is in danger of becoming merely an aspiration. And an aspiration is no sufficient mooring against the tremendous tides of bitterness, fear, and despair are sweeping over the world to-day.’ Discussing rehabilitation problems, Archbishop West-Watson appealed for the extension of fellowship and understanding to men returning from overseas. It was hard for people in New Zealand to realise just how great the influence of all their new experiences would have been on overseas servicemen. It would surely be of assistance to them if they were welcomed into a fellowship which included returned men of the Great War, who had had to face similar problems. Archbishop West-Watson added that he had been disappointed bjrthe small number of active servicemen who had felt called to offer for service in the ordained ministry of the Church. Surely, out of the raw material of such an experience, out of the realisation of the tragedy of a world trying to live bymight and power instead of by the word of God, there must have been many who had heard, the call to give themselves to Christ in the service of His Church, added the Archbishop. The Men’s Society might assist such men to their final decision.