UNITY AMONG CHURCHES

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27500, 6 November 1954, Page 9

UNITY AMONG CHURCHES

DIVIDED OPINION A HINDRANCE

MEHODIST DELEGATES WELCOMED

"I think we should have ■« . much church unity as we can at the preset time, for if we have divisionjrf OP 11 ”®” on fundamentals it wiil bring people back into the Christian faith,” said the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr K. M. Marfarlane, M.P.) yesterday, at a civic welcome to the conference of the Methodist Church <rf New Zealand, now being’held at Durham street Methodist Church, y Christen churches must persevere in carrying religious faith to Asian countries, for unless racial was stopped it would spread throughout the parts of the world where it existed At least one country which professed the Christian faith, practised racial segregation, he said. “If we don’t show people of the Asian countries that we are practising £hat we are preaching, we cannot make rnv progress, he said. we must ti-v to divert them from other nhSosool- ' ’ of life, to which many people hi t :e world subscribe today. to the drift away from the church, particularly among young people, Mr Macfarlane said. I need not give more than passing reference to certain recent happenmgs in New Zealand, which have been given undue publicity overseas, but there is a challenge to the church and to the community to rectify and examine the responsibility of those troubles. ManFyouig people in New Zealand appeared to have no aim in life, there were certainly a great distractions for them and this ®®®®ted a problem. But ministers and church members were doing fine writ in helping Christian youth to return to re The° n Church had always nlaved its part in the life of the community ttiroughout New Zealand, “I hope this conference will srl5 r lP g about advances in Methodist Church “ d Ctaistian Church as a whole, Mr Maciariane 3erence bSnK nrt oXy a capable leader in tte administrative life of the city, but everyone knew exactly and stood on the question of moral and spiritual matters.