Church Union Plan On Assembly Agenda

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32127, 24 October 1969, Page 15

Church Union Plan On Assembly Agenda

The proposed plan for church union, public questions, international relations, overseas missions, home ministry, and radio and television are included in a wide range of subjects and reports to be presented for consideration at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand to be held in Dunedin next week. The assembly, which will be held in First Church, Dunedin, will be opened and constituted by the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand (the Rt Rev. L W. Fraser) on Tuesday evening.

Decisions to be made include proposals to centralise the publicity studios, the office of “Outlook” and the Christian education departments (all now in Christchurch) and the overseas missions office (Auckland), in Dalmuir House, the new 14-

storey office block erected by the Presbyterian Church property trustees on The Terrace, Wellington. Two assembly appointments are also to be made. One is to the new chair of pastoral theology and communication of the Gospel, at Knox Theological College, Dunedin, and the other is the directorship of the Christian education department On the Friday evening a service will be held for the reception of congregations who wish to leave the Congregational Union and join the Presbyterian Church. Twenty congregations representing more than 4000 members and including all the Pacific Island congregations are ex pected to be received. At the opening of the assembly the new Moderator (the Rev. O. T. Baragwanath, of St David’s Church, Auckland) will be installed by Dr Fraser.