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PAGE 6 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 1966
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C. N. MILLS, SECRETARY
GRIFFIN, GA.
Churches Seek Tighter
Ecumenical Relations
As thousands of delegates to
Protestant conventions this
Spring examined their roles in
relation to a shrinking world
threatened by international up
heaval and loosening social
standards, they exhibited a
deepening desire to tighten their
ecumenical relationships and
re-examine their theological
foundations.
Though still far short of oi—
ganizational unity in many cas
es, there was a profound reali
zation that even without theolo
gical concensus there must be
heightened interreligious un
derstanding and cooperation. It
is interesting that this thought
was pointedly capsuled before
a major Protestant convention
by a Roman Catholic prelate.
Richard Cardinal Cushing of
Boston greeted delegates to the
United Presbyterian Church in
the U.S.A. 178th General As
sembly as "brothers in Christ”
and declared:
"We are on the way to pre
sent a united front to a world
beset by problems,,.Surely, we
cannot in our own time find us
all united in one fold, under one
shepherd. Our differences are
too great. But at least we can
begin by loving one another.”
One of the most liberal of the
nation's Protestant groupings,
the United Presbyterians were
particularly clear in their re
newed call to greater ecumeni
cal advance and more vital
Christian action to combat so
cial ills and attain world peace.
These latter concerns were ex
pressly cited in the convention’s
most significant action—over
whelming approval of a propos
ed "Confession of 1967.” If
ultimately approved next year,
as many expect, the new docu
ment will supplement other his
toric confessions, delineating a
definite mandate for Christian
acceptance of responsibilities
in regard to such concerns as
racial justice, poverty and war.
Steps 1 toward new ecumeni
cal cooperation, theological
probing and social action also
were taken at such conventions
as those of the Presbyterian
Church in the U.S. (Southern)
at Montreat, N.C., the American
Baptist Convention, held in Kan
sas City, Mo., and the Detroit,
Mich., sessions of the Southern
Baptist Convention.
To the surprise of many, the
Southern Presbyterians gave a
boost to the Protestant union
effort by joining the Consulta
tion on Church Union (COCU).
A six-denominational group un
til 1966, the long-range dis
cussion unit this year added the
African Methodist Episcopal
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Church (Negro) as well as the
Southern Presbyterians.
At the same tme, the South
ern Presbyterian vote to be
come a part of COCU caused
some consternation in the Re
formed Church of America.The
two bodies have been in merger
talks. While the two-way union
plan has not been put aside, the
Reformed Church has asked the
Southern Presbyterian Church
to "clarify” its current ecu
menical relationships.
Among other ecumenical ac
tions, the Southern Presbyter
ians voted to continue affilia
tion with the National Council
of Churches — a controversial
issue among some factions of
the denomination in recent
years — and directed its inter
church relations committee to
explore renewed contacts with
the United Presbyterian Church.
Within Baptist circles, active
participation in union programs
remained distant but moves
toward increased contact with
other Churches were made by
both the American and Southern
Baptist Conventions.
While holding to an earlier
decision to remain out ofCOCU
as a full participant, American
Baptists made clear their in
tention to continue as observ
ers. Also, the convention en
dorsed broadened dialogue with
other religious groups through
creation of a new Commission
on Christian Unity.
There was no question at the
Southern Baptist meeting about
the large church’s continuing
individualism, but a highly note
worthy occurence was the con
firmation by SBC leaders that
the convention, together with
seven other Baptist bodies in
North America, has been con
sidering formation of a joint
discussion group with the Rom
an. Catholic Church,-.Greater
Southern Baptist cooperation
and the exchange of ideas with
the American Baptist Conven
tion also was pledged, and the
SBC said it rejoines in the pres
ent signs of “a growing re
spect and goodwill among many
religious bodies.”
United Presbyterians, long
prominent in the Christian un
ion movement, broadened their
ecumenical scope by endorsing
a program designed to search
for ways to contact Christians in
Red China. The Church was
urged, too, by. Anglican Arch- ■
bishop F. Donald Coggan of
York, to realize that new un
derstanding must be soughtwith
Pentecostals.
As stated by Dr. Eugene
Carson Blake, who is leaving
his United Presbyterian ad
ministrative post to become
general secretary of the World
Council of Churches, there is a *
healthy theological examination
underway in virtually all de
nominations — to a large extent ’
stimulated by the ecumenical
movement. This was apparent
at several conventions.
The Southern Presbyterians,
forming a new Council on
Church and Society, specifically
charged the unit to keep in the
forefront of its considerations
"the content of the Gospel and
its bearing on man in society.”
At the American Baptist meet
ing, Dr. Edwin H, Tuller, gen
eral secretary, called strongly
for a re-evaluation of basic
beliefs, commenting that Bap
tists cannot "simply stick to
ancient concepts in spite of ad
vancing times ... The times in
which we live demand that we at
least take a good solid look at
our ’distinctives’ and see the
whether they remain as rele
vant as once they were.”
At the Southern Baptist ses
/CHEVROLET/
sions, devoted largely to spirit
ed calls for new evangelistic
endeavor — particularly in
Northern urban areas -- there
was considerable theological
discussion, but it was largely
aimed at rejection of the “ex
ponents of a radical and specu
lative theology,” particularly
the "death-of-God” theolo
gians.
At the Centennial Year annual
meeting of the Christian Science
Church in Boston, where Erwin
D. Canham, editor-in-chief of
the Christian Science Monitor,
was elected president, the
"death-of-God” concept was
viewed more broadly. A mes
sage from the Church’s board
of directors cited the radical
theology as an indication that
the "concept of Deity as a mag
nified human personality” is
ending and that there is "an
increasing awareness of the
nature of God as infinite Spirit,
which Christ Jesus declared
Him to be...”
Among specific issues draw
ing convention expressions, the
Vietnam war was prominent.
Statements on the conflict in
cluded a call by the United
Presbyterians for “unremit
ting efforts to bring about nego
tiations with all parties” to
end the conflict. Southern Pres
byterians similarly expressed
themselves by adopting the Na
tional Council of Churches’pol
icy statement on Vietnam;
American Baptists urged accel
erated international peace ef
forts, and the Southern Baptist
peace petition included a decla
ration that "our hearts reach
out toward lonely young men in
terrible hardships, suffering
and death...”
Negotiations with "any and
all principals” to the Vietnam
war were urged at the General
Assembly of the Unitarian Uni-
versalist Association in Holly
wood, Fla. The convention in
^ eckiitjpn called for admission of
Red China to the Uijjtedfi%tiQn£.
as a necessary step toward set
tlement of the Vietnam ques
tion.
In regard to the U.N. seating
of Red China, observers at the
Southern Baptist meeting saw
significance in the fact that the
convention resolutions commit
tee refused to bring to the floor
a statement which .called for
keeping the Communist nation
out of the international forum.
Civil rights issues « if not as
prominent as in past years,
were far from ignored at the
conventions. The goal of racial
justice was woven firmly into a
variety of Christian social ac
tion programs seeking equality
in housing, education and em
ployment.
Specific race declarations in
cluded Unitarian Universalist
endorsement of proposed new
federal civil rights legislation
and a strong American Baptist
resolution calling for both gov
ernmental and individual efforts
to eliminate discrimination.
United Presbyterians, clear
ly on record in behalf of racial
justice, incorporated such a
statement in their new confes
sion. And in a separate action,
four high officials of the Church
were authorized to participate
personally in a school desegre
gation court action in Alabama.
The Southern Presbyterian
convention sharply condemned
congregations which refuse to
accept Negro members, autho
rized formation of a pastoral
committee to investigate funda
mentalism and segregation in
Mississippi churches and call
ed on all families of the Church
to "have as an invited guest in
their homes at some time this
year at least one other person
of another nationality ( or anoth
er faith, or another race.”
Developments at meetings of
various smaller Churches in
cluded the election of a Negro
bishop for the first time by the
Reformed Episcopal Church,
meeting at Charleston, S.C.
As with meetings that have
tEiken place, agendas for other
current conventions are heavy
with social concerns, theological
considerations and interre
ligious topics.
The Lutheran Church in
America, convening June 21-29
at Kansas City, Mo., was to have
before it statements on poverty,
church-state issues, religious
liberty and capital punishment,
together with reports on the
nature of the congregation and
jti^ministry Ac ; 33^1
iil D£L» C ioWoi
Concerns of the day were seen,
too, in the themes of other
smaller groups, such as the
Evangelical Free Church of
America, meeting later this
month at Green Lake, Wis.,
where **God’s Word for a New
Age” was to include examina
tion of "new theology,” "new
evangelism” and "new athe
ism.”
At the upcoming Church of
God, sessions at Anderson, Ind.,
“God Confronts Man” was
chosen as the theme, and a main
topic scheduled at the Memphis,
Tenn., convention of the Cum
berland Presbyterian Church
was to be the question of mer
ger with other denominations.
NOTE THIS CALENDAR
19 - Public. reception in honor of Rev. Leonard Spanjers, pas
tor of St. Luke’s Church in Dah-lonega, in the Dahlonega
Community Center Sunday, June 19, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
19 - Holy Cross Parish will hold a Folk Mass in the home of
" Albert Ballard, Sunday, June 19 at 8:00 p.m.
19 - Sacred Heart program on WAGA-TV, Channel 5, June 19 at
7:00 a.m. concerning the problems of religious tolerence.
Second in series.
21 - The Guild of St. Paul will meet in the Assembly room of
Sacred Heart Church Tuesday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m. Slides
of the Holy Land will be shown.
26 - Summer Sessions for Papal Volunteers to Latin America
(PAVLA), Father Leonard F.X. Mayhew, local chairman.
JULY
9 - The Holy Cross Parish Annual Picnic will be held Saturday,
July 9 from Noon to 7 p.m. at Mathis Dairy.
20 - Annual Leadership Conference of the Archdiocesan Council
of Catholic Women is set for Wednesday July 20. Details
to be announced later.
SEPTEMBER
10 - The Annual. Convention of the Archdiocesan Council of
Catholic Women is set for September 10. Plans are pre
sently being discussed. Details to be announced later.
12 - The Promoters, Sacred Heart Local Center, Apostleship
of Prayer will meet Sunday, June 12, at 3:30 p.m. Next
meeting will be in September.
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God Love You
MOST REVEREND FULTON J. SHEEN
“Every anti-Christian is a half Christian gone mad,” writes
Helmut Thelicke. There is some historical background for this,
for Judas proved that the greatest enemies of the Church are often
those who have been cradled in her sacred associations. He
alone knew where to find Our Lord after dark. And because the
Body of Christ is so sacred, its betrayal must always be pre
faced by some mark of affection: "Hail Rabbi, and he kissed
Him.” Similarly, those who attack the Church always begin
~fh§ir'articles ‘*1 "dirn' ’a'Ca tfioIic,°f)uf ,r I am ‘PCatT&olfc mother,
bflt.'tf-1*1 grh-a priest, 0
In the parable Of the soil and the seed, our dear Lord likened
some minds to the seed that fell among thorns. They received
the grace, but there was a parallel growth of seed and thorns,
of faith and underbrush, of intellectuality and superficiality, of
sacramental regeneration and "Pepsi-generation,” magazine
theology and protest banner, the City of God and the Secular
City. Then, when the first catastrophe comes, the first challenge
to their ego, the first splinter from the
Cross, they leave. The Christians who give
Christ their finger, but refuse to give their
hand are often far worse than the downright
Marxist—”!! My enemy had done this...”
Then one day, they slam the door on the
Face of Crowned Compassion while boasting
that they seek and knock. At this moment
in the history of the Church, many of the
forces of disruption are organized, given
banner and print, while the vast army with
a Cross on their heart, are without a voice. The cry of the wolf
is heard above the bleating of the, sheep without a shepherd.
What must we do? Begin to makereparation. No noise,
no circulars, no crowds to hear singing nuns but a deep par
ticipation in the loneliness of Christ on the Cross when He
cried, "Why hast Thou abandoned Me?” The atonement for the
"But culture” of our time will be: first, a steeping of our
selves in Sacred Scripture, and second, the realization that we
cannot be Christian without offering ourselves for others. Scrip
ture teaches us this lesson as its Lord, in the language of
William Blake, says to us: "Wouldst thou love one who never
died for thee, or ever die for one who had not died for thee?
And if God dieth not for man and giveth not Himself eternally
for man, man could not exist; formanls Love, as God Is Love.”
Third, to concretize our reparation for manyfailings among us -
priests, brothers, sisters and laity - by aiding missionaries
in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where the average amount
we spend on tin cans alone (not the contents) is equal to twice
the annual income of the people of those lands. We are too rich;
they are too poor. Remember Our Lord said that the four men
who let down the palsied man through the roof, were respon
sible for his healing, not the faith of the man himself. We are
at a point where as Hamlet said, "By indirections find direc
tions out.” Save the faith in this country, by building it up else
where. Grace is not cheap. Meditate on the Scriptures daily,
and then the Holy Father help all the mission societies and the
poor of the whole world. How many will write to me among
the laity, priests and religious and offer to do these things
to sweep the butts and garbage off the floor of the church and
to propagate the Faith? God Love You I
God Love You to E.L. “Enclosed is one lonely $10 bill found
sometime ago and since I cannot return it I think you could let
it join you and go to work where it can do some good.” ...
to Mrs. H.M. for $4,000 attached to a column” . . .to thank
God for being so good to me and my family. May this help a
little bit in His works.”
Hie GOD LOVE YOU medal, a lovely cameo medal of the
Madonna of the World is one you would be proud to give or
delighted to receive. Designed by the world-renowned jeweler,
Harry Winston, and blessed by Bishop Sheen, the GOD LOVE
YOU medal is available’ in classic Florentine gold finish or
pure sterling silver and may be obtained by sending your re
quest and corresponding offering to The Society for the Pro
pagation of the Faith, 366 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 1001.
$2 small sterling silver; $3 small 10k gold filled; $5 large
sterling silver; $10 large 10k gold filled.
Cut out this column, pin your sacrifice to it and mail it to
Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, National Director of The Society
for the Propagation of Faith, 366 Fifth Avenue, New York, New
York 10001, or to your Diocesan Director.
Rev. Noel E. Burtenshaw, P.O. Box 12047, 2699 Peachtree
jRoad, N.E., Northside Station, Atlanta 5, Georgia.