Calvin Synod Herald, 1977 (77. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1977-03-01 / 3-4. szám
6 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the United Church of Christ (June 1977), the Stewardship Council has just produced a major filmstrip on our denomination’s history and heritage. “To Walk Together” highlights the unique nature of our four predecessor denominations, Reformed, Christian, Congregational, and Evangelical. But it does more than that, for the filmstrip makes clear that all of our forebears were interested in a reformed church and society. All affirmed the Biblicallyrooted faith that Jesus Christ is sole head of the church. All four groups held to the principle that each congregation is free in Christ and yet bound in Christ to other congregations. All have fervently held that the church must proclaim the Good News to all people. “To Walk Together” gives careful attention to the contributions that women and men, clergy and laity, Blacks and Whites, Indians and Spanish-speaking people, and persons from European and Asian ancestry have made, not only to the life of our church but to the world and to the ecumenical church as well. The Stewardship Council encourages every congregation to secure its own copy of this important filmstrip, since this audiovisual should be shown to the entire congregation, to special leadership and study groups, to persons outside the congregation, and most especially to confirmation and adult membership classes year after year. Visually, the filmstrip is a colorful collection of old photographs, etchings, well-known paintings, historic books and documents, and color photographs. The soundtrack is made interesting with a variety of voices telling of events in our history. In addition, a new song was written and performed especially for this filmstrip. At the end of the presentation, the audience is asked to join in the singing of that song, which is entitled “We Will Walk Together.’’ The filmstrip is approximately 36 minutes long, utilizing two sides of a record or two sides of a cassette tape. Provision is made for an intermission. Despite the unusual length of “To Walk Together’’ and the months of research that preceded its publication, the cost has been held to $15.00 in order to encourage as many congregations as possible to own their own copy. “To Walk Together” can be ordered from the Office for Audio-Visuals, Stewardship Council, UCC, 1505 Race Street, Phila., Pa. 19102. NOTE: Please specify whether you want the record or the cassette with the filmstrip. More Missionaries By voting to appropriate US $100,- 000 for the recruitment and training of new missionaries, the Board for World Ministries of the United Church of Christ in the U.S.A. on January 29, 1977 reversed the trend of the past 15 years during which the UCC overseas missionary force dropped from 550 to 165. The Board will be looking for at least 27 new missionaries to send to overseas posts in 1977. Dr. David M. Stowe, executive vice-president of the Board, described the decision as “an affirmation that our Christian presence in countries around the world is our vital concern.” He said, however, that missionaries will not be sent to countries that have declared a moratorium on U.S. mission personnel, and that the sending of new missionaries to other countries will not slow the indigenization of leadership in partner churches overseas. Chaplain’s Radio Ministry UCC Chaplain Henry F. Ackermann combines his ministry with a network radio program from his Frankfurt, Germany base. His media ministry consists of a weekly radio show on the Armed Forces Network called “Sounds of Sunday” and daily messages titled “The Word and the World.” Chaplain Ackermann believes his radio program adds dimensions to his other ministry. He said that people who have heard him on the radio come to his church to see what he looks like. “Then it is no longer a two-minute relationship or a voice out of nowhere. I have to show them that I am a genuine person, and that I really believe the things I say on the radio.” Chaplain Ackermann is a member of Calvin Synod. Needed: Blankets and Children’s Clothes An unusually large number of requests for blankets prompted by recent disasters has depleted Church World Service reserves. Persons living in areas serviced by CWS trucks may wish to donate good used blankets, comforters, and quilts for disaster relief. Children’s clothing is another high priority this winter. Clothing should be durable, washable, and either new or good-as-new. Dresses and panties are needed for little girls, and shirts with either long or short pants are needed for boys. Information on a variety of self-help kits for use in CWS people-to-people programs is found in a new booklet, F orget-Me-Knots, available from the Church World Service Clothing Appeal, Box 968, Elkhart, Indiana 46514. Faith and Order — at 50 Geneva — In Lausanne, Switzerland, 1927, the first World Conference on Faith and Order was held — an event still regarded as one of the milestones in the ecumenical movement. At Pentecost this year (May 26-29), the fiftieth anniversary of Faith and Order will be marked by special celebrations. These will include lectures by Dr. W. A. Visser’t Hooft, former general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Father Yves Congar, O.P., Professor J ürgén Moltmann, Tübingen, and Professor Nikos Nissiotis, Athens. Brother Roger Schutz of Taizé, and Dr. Emilio Castro of the WCC Department of World Mission and Evangelism will participate in worship events, while Dr. Philip Potter, WCC general secretary, is to be the speaker at a rally that will conclude the celebrations. More information about the program is available from the Faith and Order Secretariat, 150 route de Ferney, 1211 Geneva 20.
