Reformátusok Lapja, 1971 (71. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1971-02-01 / 2. szám
14 REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA CONSULTATION ON CHURCH UNION PRINCETON, N.J. —For the first time since the Consultation on Church Union began its annual meetings in 1962 aimed at uniting American church bodies, COCU will hold its plenary in the fall instead of spring. The 10 delegates from each of the nine communions, plus a host of observers and consultants, will meet this year at the Denver (Colo.) Hilton Hotel, Sept. 26-30. The change from the usual spring meeting was approved by the COCU executive committee so that the churches could conduct studies this spring of a plan of union offered in 1970. Dr. Paul A. Crow Jr., general secretary of the consultation, said the Sept, plenary will be primarily for listening, to insure that individual and group responses find their way into the total process of creating a uniting church. “The Plan of Union is now in the hands of the grass roots for their study, reflection, and suggestions toward revision,” said Dr. Crow. “The participation of people in the local pulpits and pews in the development of the plan at this stage is vital. We want them to have every moment possible to study and respond. “So this plenary will be a listening experience as we attempt to reaffirm the need for a reconciled church in the midst of the changing situation in this country. I believe the Denver plenary will bring maturity to the COCU process, and will give evidence of the new sense of community we have,” Dr. Crow concluded. COCU UCC CHURCHES URGED TO CALL UCC PASTORS Three to five hundred United Church clergy are available for call every month, yet UCC churches are calling pastors from other denominations, according to J. Stanley Stevens, secretary for pastoral relations in the Council for Church and Ministry. The United Church has a variety of able and experienced ordained men and women as well qualified to meet the expectations of the churches as those who come from outside the family, Mr. Stevens said. “Local Pastoral committees should keep in mind their first obligation to consider and call UCC ministers whom we have ordained and, in many instances, helped recruit and train for the ministry. We have a continuing NEWS ITEMS —s>W7y”—;«• ppg responsibility for them which takes precedence over ministers from other denominations,” he said. Mr. Stevens said he would recommend discontinuance of the procedure for “privilege of call” which has enabled about 50 ministers a year to be called from other communions. “In a time of declining church memberships and budgets,” he said, “we are helping to create the professionally unemployed of the United Church.” K.Y.P. DEATH OF MARC BOEGNER Paris — Dr. Marc Boegner, one of the greatest ecumenist of this century died here on December 18. He was 89. Ordained a minister of the Reformed Church in 1905, Dr. Marc Boegner became pastor of a rural parish in Eastern France until he was appointed to a teaching post at the Paris missionary training institute in 1912. After teaching for seven years, he was called to be the minister of Passy (Paris) church, a pastorate he held for more than 20 years. From 1938 until 1950 he served as president of the national Council of the Reformed Church of France. Described as the “grand old man” of French protestantism, Dr. Boegner was closely involved in the shaping and foundation of the World Council of Churches which he served as a president from 1948 (Amsterdam) to 1954 (Evaston). He was the author of many publications, of which his book “l’Exigence oecumenique” (1968) is regarded as his most important work. In a telegram, the Rev. Edmond Perret, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, expressed thanks to God for Marc Boegner’s witness and for the work he accomplished. RPPS CANADIAN DENOMINATIONS MEET SAME PLACE, SAME TIME Niagara Falls, Canada — The General Council of the United Church of Canada and the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada will meet here at the same time, January 25 — February 3. While most of the time will be spent in separate meetings, a number of joint sessions has also been planned. At the combined sessions the delegates will receive a report on Church union, already approved last November by a joint comission on union. A proposed new hymnal for the two churches will also be discussed. If approved, the hymnal containing 500 hymns, of which one-third are new to the churches, is expected to be published this spring. The moderator of the United Church of Canada, Dr. Robert B. McClure, who completes his two-year term this month, has indicated that he intends to go to Southeast Asia to do volunteer work among lepers and the patients. Dr. McClure, who was the first lay moderator of the UCC, spent many years as a medical missionary in China, India and the Middle East. He is 70. The moderator said his 1968 appointment was a sort of double experiment. Not only was he the first layman to be elected; he was also the first fulltime moderator. His predecessors were ordained ministers who had their own congregations or colleges to care for. Dr. McClure’s successor will be elected on January 26; the five nominees for the post are all ministers. RPPS WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1971 1971 will be the eighty-forth year of the every-widening celebration of the World Day of Prayer. On this day, the first Friday in March, women of many denominations — Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox — and of many races and languages, seek to make visible their unity in Christ and to share in an offering that will bring hope to thousands around the world. Now sponsored by Church Women United, the World Day of Prayer this year has the theme, “New Life Awaits!” World Day of Prayer Packets may be secured from Service Center, Church Women United, Box 27815, Cincinnati, Ohio 45237. The cost is $1.00 each. Conference News Service
