Calvin Synod Herald, 1973 (73. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1973-04-01 / 4. szám
8 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD CONSULTATION ON CHURCH UNION Princeton, N. J. — Action of the Executive Council of the United Church of Christ (UCC) March 9 recommending that the denomination’s top legislative body affirm a determination “to press forward with vigor and deeply-involve cooperation with churches,” in the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) has been received warmly by Consultation leaders here. “It is clear that ecumenical commitment is part and parcel of the integrity of the United Church of Christ,” said the Rev. Dr. Paul A. Crow, Jr., general secretary of COCU. “We are highly pleased with this willingness of the church to deal with its various ecumenical commitments in terms of the future.” In its March 9 action, the UCC Executive Council recommended to the denomination’s General Synod, its highest legislative body, that the church “mobilize full support for the COCU process, particularly as it seeks new directions in experimental processes. ...” “We declare ourselves to be committed to the process of growing together in the Consultation on Church Union,” the resolution said. “We are determined to press forward with vigor in deeply-involved cooperation with the churches in the Consultation, to experience increased cooperation and unity, and to gain clearer and fuller insight through worship, study, fellowship and action, so there will be steady and determined progress toward full union.” The 749-member General Synod will consider the COCU recommendation, and other aspects of the denomination’s ecumenical commitment, at its biennial session June 22—26 in St. Louis, Mo. The COCU paragraphs are part of a larger policy statement on ecumenical activity prepared by the UCC Commission on Christian Unity and Ecumenical Study and Service headed by the Rev. James Douglass Riddle, pastor of the Community Church of Chapel Hill, N.C. “This statement acknowledges that our history and tradition has led us in paths of unity,” Mr. Riddle said. “It reaffirms our church’s fundamental commitment to be a united and uniting church, and our commitment to consultation wih other churches, such as that provided by COCU, NEWS ITEMS looking toward full union of the church.” The commission chairman said that the statement as a whole emphasizes four major expressions of unity to which his denomination relates and analyses where it is in relation to the full range of ecumenical activity, including the conciliar movement and joint action agencies formed by various denominations. The 2,000,000-member United Church of Christ is one of the original founders of the Consultation on Church Union, and has participated in all activities of the Consultation. There are at present eight denominations who are members of COCU. DR. WILHELM NIESEL HONORED Frankfurt — To mark the 70th birthday of Dr. Wilhelm Niesel, a former president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, a commemorative volume of articles written by fifteen leading German churchmen was presented to him at an official reception organized here last January by the executive council of the Reformierter Bund. The volume “Church, confession, ecumene,” edited by Dr. Karl Halaski and Dr. Walter Herrenbriick, highlights the contribution Dr. Niesel has made to the life of the church during his forty years as pastor, professor and churchleader. COMENIUS FACULTY: NEW DEAN Prague — The new dean of the Comenius Theological Faculty here is Dr. Amadeo Molnár, at present head of its church history department. The 50-year old theologian succeeds Professor Frantisek Dobias, who died suddenly last October when on a visit to the Federal Republic of Germany. Dr. Molnár, who holds doctorates from Strasbourg University and the Comenius Faculty, and an honorary doctorate from Paris University, is a member of the European Theological Commission of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.—rps SPOTLIGHT: SAME CALL, DIFFERENT APPROACH The following is one of thirty-two devotional messages in Lord Make Me an Instrument by D. Douglas Schneider, agricultural missionary of our United Church Board for World Ministries for nine years in Orissa, India, who has recently returned to India for a special tour of duty after serving churches in Michigan for the past two years. “There is a different emphasis to mission work today. Fewer pastors are being called to preach as evangelists and more missionaries are being called to perform social services. But all of these persons are fulfilling Jesus’ command. ‘The doctor, teacher, business administrator, or farmer goes out to work with a Christian community on behalf of some mission board. That person is not necessarily called upon to preach, but he or she is called upon to witness. Healing the sick, feeding hungry minds and bodies are ways of demonstrating that God is Love. These are also ways of showing that the Church is concerned about the physical and mental well-being of man. These supportive ministries give a point of contact at which the Christian and non-Christian meet. It is at this point where meaningful dialogue takes place. It is at this point where the non-Christian can begin to understand that God cares for him as a person, as an individual creation. Once a non-Christian sees himself in this new light, the Church can fulfill its own mission by taking up its task of preaching.” DID YOU KNOW? ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM THE NORTH AMERICAN INTERCHURCH STUDY Did you know that in a recent continent-wide sampling of 26 million Protestants, through the North American Interchurch Study, United Church of Christ participants came up with a number of interesting answers to questions about the church and their support of its work and mission? Here are a couple of the major findings: One U.C.C. member in eight understood our denominational stance on tithing to be “a minimum standard” for giving. One member in two understood it to be “one suggestion in proportionate giving.” One U.C.C. member in fourteen understood our denominational position on tithing to be “unimportant or useless.” One U.C.C. member in two had made a will, but only one in ten had included a bequest to the church in it!
