ONE BRIGHT SPOT IN GERMANY

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25638, 29 October 1948, Page 3

ONE BRIGHT SPOT IN GERMANY

IMPRESSIONS OF REV. A. A. BRASH ENTHUSIASM AND VIRILITY IN CHURCHES “The general attitude to-day in Germany is one of complete despair and hopelessness. The only place where one finds anything different is in the ' churches. There the life is virile and : the enthusiasm great,” said the Rev. i A. A. Brash, in an interview yester- • day. Mr Brash, who is the secretary of the National Council of Churches in New Zealand, has just returned from a visit to Europe. He attended the Amsterdam Assembly of the World Council of Churches. His main object in going to Germany had been to see what was happening to the relief supplies of food and clothing sent to Germany, as well as to other countries, from the New Zealand National Council of Churches. It had been suggested that the Russian authorities were “getting down” on them, Mr Brash said. “What I found gave me absolute satisfaction,” he commented. “The goods are really getting there and I could find no sign of any interference.” It was harvest time when he visited Germany and food was more plentiful than it had been for a long time. In spite of this, he was struck by the signs of malnutrition in the streets. Mr Erash said. The incidence of tuberculosis was very high. Up to 30 per cent, of the children in schools in certain areas had the disease. Apart from the lack of food and clothing, which were expected in Germany, the thing that struck a visitor most forcibly was the appalling lack of dwelling houses. “Millions of people are living practically in holes in the ground.” Mr Brash said. Cellars and bombed buildings were the only homes many people had. Many millions of houses were needed and the World Council of Churches was unable to assist in this matter, although it had made available a number of buildings for church and community work. A hopeful sign in the economic life of Germany was that currency reform, although it had hit some people very badly, had practically destroyed the black market, Mr Brash said.

Amsterdam Assembly The Amsterdam Assembly was one of the really significant gatherings in the history of the Christian Church. Mr Brash continued. There were 147 churches from 44 countries. These did not include the Roman Catholic Church, but a number of Eastern Orthodox churches sent representatives. There were 18 New Zealanders present, including six voting members representing the member churches of the National Council. The World Council, although it had been active for 10 years, had not been officially constituted, because of the war, until this year. It was most popularly known because of its relief work on a world-wide scale, but it did other work of great importance. The commission on international affairs was making an impact on the'name of the churches on such bodies as the United Nations. The World Council of Churches provided an opportunity for the churches to achieve co-operation in action. This spirit of co-operation was evident at the Amsterdam Assembly. Some issues which divided the churches were very deep and very important theologically. Mr Brash said, but they concerned only about 10 per cent, of the total content of the Christian faith. Mr Brash attended a conference of church leaders at Geneva. This was a “follow up” of the Amsterdam Assembly and delegates there considered questions of world-wide co-operation of the churches.