THE UNITED CHRISTIAN COUNCIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3309, 15 August 1917, Page 26

THE UNITED CHRISTIAN COUNCIL.

Although it has been the means of doing ! much valuable work in the past, the Dunedin | Council of Christian Churches has lately | been moved by a very earnest desire to j find a way to something more like that • union of the churches about which there has i been so much talk and so little actually j done. Accordingly the executive com- , mended to the recent annual meeting of j the Council of Churches for favourable con- j sideration to revised constitution on a denominational basis rather than j that of separate individual congregations, as had previously obtained. In pur- I suance of this proposal several meetings have during the last week or two been . held of representative men of the churches for the purpose of discussing the possibility of acting together, for obviously occasions arise when the Church might speai in more vivid and sturdy tones united than alone. These recent preliminary meetings have | been unique as well in their compositions as j in their inspiration. Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Congrega- I tionalisls. members of the Church of Christ, I and of the Salvation Army, met on a j common footing, and from first to last there | has been no hitch in the proceedings, nor aught to suggest the denominational equation. The finest Christian spirit was manifested, and it ought to be a liberal educa- i tion in the art of brotherly kindness to j those who are always talking about the dis- j un:on of the churches. It was a goodly j sight on the evening of last Friday week, j when the duly accredited representatives of | the different * sections of the Church already named, agreed to unite their forces j in genuine fashion to safeguard all that j contributes to the best life of the city, ; To make plain the larger constituency of ' the new association it was unanimously determined that the reorganised council should henceforth be known as "The United Christian Council." The following were elected as the officers for the ensuing year: —President, Rev. A. Cameron, B.A. ; vice-presi-dent' Rev.' Canon Nevill B A.; treasurer. : Mr E. Rosevear; sccreta:.*. Rev. Geo. Heighwav. The machinery for greas usefulness is ready, and a full programme of work well in hand—work that is common to , all and can bo best done in concert.