Magyar Egyház, 1962 (41. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1962-04-01 / 4. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9 MAGYAR CHURCH What Is the National Council of Churches ED. NOTE: In 1950, the National Council of Churches was formed by 29 Protestant and Orthodox church bodies — representing the common spirit and purpose of its members. Today, 33 denominations (with nearly 40 million church-goers) are members of the Council. The following article on the NCC’s domestic activities will be followed by one on operations abroad. What can the churches do better together than alone? Oppose the growing strength of the forces which challenge the Christian Gospel by “reinforcing each with the strength of all.” So say the leaders of 33 Protestant and Eastern Orthodox communions and to this end they work together through the National Council of Churches which they themselves formed ten years ago. Contrary to widely held beliefs, the Council does not speak for the nearly 40 million churchgoers represented in thee 33 member denominations. but it serves them in the field of Christian education, foreign and home missons, overseas relief, evangelism, and in matters affecting spiritual, moral and social conditions under which the Church and its Christian believers must carry on. The Council is charged by the member denominations to develop and maintain more than 70 programs in these fields. Each program is directed by qualified staff who are in turn under the supervision and guidance of interdenominational committees having more than 5,000 members from the churches,. Over-all authority over the Council is vested in its triennial General Assembly, which consists of 659 clergymen and 386 laymen appointed by member communions. Interim policy decisions are made by the General Board which meets three times a year. Member denominations are represented on the Board by 162 clergymen and 91 laymen. The Council has, in its short ten years, managed to build an impressive record of service to the churches and the country. For its work in “pointing up the differences between Christianity and Communism and the unique values of the American way of life,” the N.C.C. in April, 1961, received the George Washington Honor Medal Award of the Freedoms Foundation. The Council received the award, together with the ABC network, for a radio series of its Broadcasting and Film Commission entitled “Christianity and Communism.” It was further honored by the American Heritage Foundation with a 1961 award for “outstanding citizenship.” Through its Division of Home Missions, the Council has provided “churches on wheels” for 250,000 migrant farm workers in 30 states. Designed to give migrants the protective benefits and warmth of a community life they otherwise lack, it offers a religious ministry, adult education, vacation church schools, recreational activites and child care and community centers. In an attempt to meet the social, economic and spiritual needs of the Indian American, the Council carries on a program of Indian work that includes staffing ten U. S. Government boarding schools for Indians with twelve full-time chaplains. Many of the millions of visitors who annually enjoy the natural wonders of our national parks, and the parks’ 30,000 employees, share in Sunday worship services led by the 156 student ministers of the Council’s Ministry in the National Parks. On the education front, the N.C.C. gives executive leadership to the United Christian Youth Movement, embracing ten million young people. Interdenominational committees of the Council’s Division of Christian Education administer the preparation of Sunday School curriculum outlines used by thousands of church groups. The Division also syndicates Sunday School lessons to newspapers and magazines through “National Council Religious Features.” Hundreds of religious radio and TV broadcasts reach Americans, through the Council’s Broadcasting and Film Commission. The film, “Split Level Family,” has played to an audience of about two million, while “Off to Adventure,” “Talk Back,” and “Man to Man,” a few of the B.F.C.’s TV series, have helped it win the 1960 George Foster Peabody Award for Radio-Television Education. Another current TV favorite from the Council, in cooperation with the United Lutheran Church, is “Davey and Goliath,” viewed by children over 200 stations. The U. S. Army and Air Force are among the heaviest purchasers of National Council audiovisual materials ranging in subject matter from pre-marital counseling to foreign missions, international church relief and the training of youth leaders. In connecton with the churches’ education programs, the Council sponsors Christian Education Week, which begins this year on September 21 under the theme “The Christian and his Community.” Also on the Council’s yearly calendar are 20
