THE CHURCH IN SOCIETY

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26261, 4 November 1950, Page 8

THE CHURCH IN SOCIETY

RENEWAL OF INTEREST SEEN

VISITING METHODIST’S VIEWS

“I think the tide of interest in the Christian faith has changed and is running in the direction of the churches." said the Rev. Alan Walker, a prominent Methodist minister, of Sydney, who is touring New Zealand at the invitation of the New Zealand Methodist Church to give addresses at Lhe main centres. Mr Walker represented the Methodist Church of Australasia at the Amsterdam assembly of the World Council of Churches, and was an adviser to the Australian delegation to the United Nations at Lake -success in 1949. He will preach at the Durham Street Methodist Church to-morrow afternoon and evening. "For almost 100 years the Churches have been up against It," Mr Walker said. “The ground over which they have been carrying on the fight has been unhelpful. However, develop-

ments over.the last 10 years have caused people to doubt any alternative solution to personal and world problems. They thought that science could give them a brave new world but the bursting of the atom bomb blew that idea sky high. People saw that science was as likely to destroy them as save them.’’ Communism had been sifted over in the last five or six years, and many people who listened to its promises now realised that it held -handcuffs behind its back. Mr Walker said. "We have also listened to secular education, but we are seeing now that education of itself can easily give us a clever devil civilisation. Education without a philosophy of education, without the ideals and values whicn must come from religion, has not a great deal to offer. There seems to be a new readiness to return to the Christian interpretation of people's lives.

“There must be development in the Christian Church if we are going to :? !Ze „.°. n this time of opportunity.’ Mr Walker continued. “The church too often has had a horse buggy mentality in a jet plane age. On the one ■tetid there must be development on the level of local congregations. Here there has been little development in the last, 50 years. Most churches haw been carrying on as they did at th» beginning of the century, though there have been revolutions in styles of life Local churches must expand to be come seven-day-a-week institutions rather than onlv places of worship on 2. Sul ? dl >y The Christian Church ought to be a community centre of the people with its properties in circulation far more than they are. There are great areas of psychological and community needs in all our cities where the church could really serve the people.’’

On the other hand there was need for a growth in the unity of the church. The scandal of division in .he Christian churches had to be ended and the development ot national and world councils of churches was one great sign in this direction. The greatest contribution the church could make to world peace was to build its own international fellowship with Christians of every land, Mr Walker said.