Reformátusok Lapja, 1969 (69. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1969-05-01 / 5. szám
Hungarian Reformed Religious Paper Founded in 1900 OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE CALVIN SYNOD—UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST PENTECOST 1969 Message from the Presidents of the World Council of Churches God renews! That was the basic message of the Fourth Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in Uppsala, 1968. The Holy Spirit, active and surprising as ever, led us into new understandings of his gifts to the Church: we discovered anew Christ’s purpose to bring people of all times, of all races, of all places, of all conditions into an organic and living unity in Him, by the Holy Spirit under the universal fatherhood of God. This means that we must continue to seek the unity of all Christians and at the same time a new openness to the world in its aspirations, its achievements, its restlessness and its despair. It also means that we have to repudiate all sin and human wickedness which distort humanity in the life of mankind, starting with those still found in the Christian community. We discovered anew our responsibility to participate in the struggle of millions of people for greater social justice and for world development. For the first time in history we see the oneness of mankind as an inescapable mandate. Our common task is to ensure that all men share in the proper use of the world’s resources. We urge all congregations and all Christians to accept joyfully this responsibility as a test of their obedience to God. We must contribute to the search for proper structures on the international and the national level; we must find ways to contribute sacrificially to funds for development, both as churches and as individuals; not least we have to generate among our fellow men the awareness of the reality of human suffering as well as the real chances to break the vicious circle of misery. We believe that the Spirit is at work in the world as well as in the Church; He corrects and directs the energies of people towards a continuous renewal of all our thinking and all our communities; He takes the suffering of men and welds it into pressure for change; He gives voice to the voiceless and teaches silence to the noisy; He instills in men the longing for God and for the revelation of His sons. So let us rejoice in the gifts of the Spirit which have been given “for the common good” (I. Cor. 12:7) and let us be hopeful because He who called us will also give us the imagination, the courage and the perseverance to testify to His work, both in what we say and what we do. Let us therefore unite in the prayer of the Assembly: God, our Father, you can make all things new. We commit ourselves to you: help us — to live for others since your love includes all men, — to seek those truths which we have not yet seen, — to obey your commands which we have heard but not yet obeyed, —-to trust each other in the fellowship which you have given to us; and may we be renewed by your Spirit through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord. Amen. The Presidents of the World Council of Churches: Honorary president: Rev. Dr. W. Patriarch German of Serbia — Belgrade, Yugoslavia Bishop Hanns Lilje — Hannover, Germany Rev. Dr. D. T. Niles — Atchuvely, Ceylon . Visser’t Hooft — Geneva, Switzerland Rev. Dr. Ernest A. Payne — Pitsford, England Rev. Dr. John C. Smith — New York Bishop A. H. Zulu — Eshowe, South Africa pan... íme GfilM ! [Jhc Church is 6od’s I communitu on earth. i)t has no legitimate life of its oton-onlu the life cohirh 6od gioes to it. Jts mis sion is the fulfillment of God's rcdcmptioc purpose for men. loth its life and its mission toe see and knoto in lesus Christ. The Church’s One Foundation The Church’s one Foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation By water and the word; From heaven He came and sought her To be His holy Bride; With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died. Elect from every nation, Yet one o’er all the earth, Her charter of salvation One Lord, one faith, one birth; One holy Name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, With every grace endued. ’Mid toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war, She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore; Till with the vision glorious Her longing eyes are blest, And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union With God the Three in One, And mystic sweet communion With those whose rest is won; O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we, Like them, the meek and lowly, On high may dwell with Thee. Amen. Samuel J. Stone 1866
