Reformátusok Lapja, 1972 (72. évfolyam, 1-7. szám)
1972-02-01 / 2. szám
8 REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA OGHS-SOS SERVICE IN CHRIST'S NAME The 70’s are projected as the “decade of development” in the parlance of Church World Service through which the United Church Board for World Ministries does more than half its service work. In 1971, however, that emphasis had to give way to the pressing crisis in East Pakistan which drove close to 10 million refugees across the border into India. The resulting deaths from flood, plague, hunger and war in East Pakistan and India may be the greatest human tragedy since World War II. At the same time, drought and crop failure in Africa, political tensions in Southern Sudan and the Near East have created continuing need for the basic service ministries of food, shelter and medical programs. Local church members can feel confident that whenever disaster strikes, relief will be quickly administered in Christ’s name. The response of the UCBWM in cooperation with Church World Service provides blankets, tents, foodstuffs and medicines in a matter of hours when there is a disaster. Within days, plans are made for rehabilitation, shelter and home- building, restoration of basic health and water facilities under local Christian leadership in an international partnership. But in spite of the overwhelming demands for quick relief, the key word in Christian service is still “development,” a process undertaken in Christian love to help a brother achieve that measure of dignity, well being, and hope to which he aspires for himself, his family, and his community. The United Church Board for World Ministries is related to development in agricultural, self-help and community projects. “The genius of the concept of development,” say Dr. B. Kenneth Anthony, Director of the UCBWM Service Division, “is not how it relates to economic progress but how it helps to liberate and equip fellowmen to make their own progress.” This concept of development has inspired programs that have revitalized nearly 100 communities in Southern Greece through successful experiments in farming, stock raising, horticulture, bee-keeping, and marketing. A cooperative poultry project was launched in the resettlement of the village of Carmona in the Philippines. A tractor was purchased for a farm complex in Togo, Africa. A creative vocational training device, “brigades,” was funded in Botswana. These projects illustrate the wide range of imaginative development service that is supported through the United Church of Christ One Great Hour of Sharing-SOS all-church offering. March 12 is the suggested time for the OGHS-SOS offering in 1972. Promotional materials have been automatically shipped to every church of the United Church of Christ. You are urged to make good use of these materials and inform your church of the challenge of Christian service that is possible through generous support of the OGHS-SOS appeal. Editor’s Clipsheet AGENDA NOTE: AS YOUR TRUSTEES REORGANIZE FOR 1972 Make it a priority item of business to establish or reaffirm the policy of giving members of your congregation an opportunity to participate in the three all-church offerings of the United Church of Christ for 1972: • One Great Hour of Sharing—Share Our Substance on March 12th, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, supports the overseas relief, rehabilitation, and development efforts of the United Church Board for World Ministries. • Neighbors in Need on October 1, World Community Sunday, supports the work of our denomination for racial minorities in the U. S. — student aid, community organization, economic development—through the Commission for Racial Justice. • American Indian Sunday Appeal on November 19, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, will undergird the new program of scholarships, youth programs, aid to churches, and economic development of our Council for American Indian Ministry. All three of these authorized special all-church offerings are important. If your congregation has an established policy which prohibits your direct participation, plan some alternate method of support. Individual gifts may, of course, be sent to these causes through the Conference Office. NEW THESES POSTED Great Lakes Regional Lay Life and Work meeting in South Bend, Ind., centered on the Faith Crisis priority. Over 80 men and women probed the development of faith and worked on ways faith can be expressed in personal and corporate life. In closing celebration (it was Reformation Sunday) they went to Zion UCC, and posted their version of Luther’s 95 theses — affirmations about the Christian faith — before joining the morning service. Zion’s pastor Donald I. Kaufman reports that members said, “This is something we must do more often.” KYP
