THE CHRISTIAN WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26625, 22 November 1947, Page 8

THE CHRISTIAN WORLD

NEWS OF THE CHURCHES By A. L. Haddon At Buffalo, New York, the writer sat beside Dr Robert M. Hopkins ft a dinner given by the Polisn Consul. Dr Hopkins had recently returned from service with the' World Council of Churches, during the course of which he had visited Poland. There a “ banquet ” had been arranged in his honour. The menu, he said, had consisted of potato soup, potatoes, and black bread. He believed that the churches needed only to be enabled to visualise the deplorable conditions, and they would unite in a tremendous effort and sacrifice to meet the need. Illustrative of the changed attitude in Germany are the following statements of Christian thinkers:—Bishcp Wurm, president ofthe Evangelical Church Council, says: “For a long time clever people thought that the lack of reverence for God, the turning away from Jesus Christ, were of no significance. To-day we see that it was wrong to think that morality would look after itself. Ther can be no more urgent prayer than this: that God give our people a new heart and a new spirit.’’ The Mayor of Darmstadt, Ludwig Metzger, thinks “ the Church has taken refuge too much in 4 spirituality ’ and forgotten its duly to the whole of life. It is only when our love is great enough to cover every sphere of life that we shall succeed in building afresh.” Professor Gerhard Ritter answers the question, “How can the Word of God become a force in public life?” by urging: (1) The restoration of the true unity of the Church; (2) that the evangelical message be preached in such a way that the people feel that it applies directly to their needs; and (3) _ that Christian convictions should contribute towards the reconstruction of political life.

The great interest being aroused by the meeting of the World Council of Churches next year is being reflected in the stream of applications for membership. In the past six months 23 communions in 15 countries have been accepted. This brings the total to 116 communions in 36 countries, representing a membership of about 300,000,000.

Constance White, first American student at the Ecumenical Institute at Geneva, tells that a chaplain assigned to World Council refugee work at a Russian Repatriation Camp fell into conversation with some young Russians. He offered them Gospels. One turned to the Gospel according to Mark and in all seriousness exclaimed: “ Gospel according to Marx. How interesting! ” In the United States the combined work of the churches is guided by the Federal Council of Churches, representing 25,000,000 members. Cooperating with it are 635 Councils of Churches set up by States or cities Some of these have large blocks of offices and a substantial staff. All are working together to demonstrate the existing unity within the churches, to give evidence of Christian solidarity against materialism and secularism, to co-operate in common tasks and to be the instrument of God’s will in the modern world. Much of the work of the councils has been made possible by generous gifts by individual churchmen. The president of the Federal Council at present is Chas. P. Taft, son of a former President of the United States and brother of one prominent as a candidate in next year’s Presidential elections. He is a layman of the Protestant Episcopal < Anglican) Church

There has just been concluded in Christchurch a conference of about 40 educationists called together by the National Council of Churches to give clarity to the policy of the churches in regard to public education. The report has been accepted by the executive of the National Council‘and is being sent to the constituent churches for consideration.