World Church- In Brief

Diocesan Press Service. May 5, 1968 [65-5]

Ecumenically Speaking

The special Anglican-Roman Catholic sub-commission on mixed marriages met for its first meeting during three days in late April at St. George's House, a conference center which is part of Windsor Castle. Among problems receiving attention by the sub-commission, which was established at the second meeting of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Joint Preparatory Commission, were those raised by the canonical requirements concerning the Roman Catholic upbringing of children of mixed marriages.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Fisher of Lambeth, and Dr. Leslie A. Newman, a Methodist minister and chairman of the Voice of Methodist Association, were among the first critics of the plan for union of the Church of England and the Methodist Church. Lord Fisher, declared that he was "profoundly unhappy about some of the doctrines of the Church of England which the report abandons and about one or two doctrines which it imports." Dr. Newman's primary objection was centered on the Services of Reconciliation. whereby the two churches will be reconciled and their ministries integrated.

Joint planning in all areas now was called for in an editorial which appeared jointly in the official publications of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada. The editorial, which represents the individual view of the editors of both publications, stated that no new church building should be planned, major project undertaken or serious study initiated without consultation between both churches. The two churches have set 1974 as a target date for union.

An international Christian-Marxist Dialogue, called by the Department of Church and Society of the World Council of Churches, was held in Geneva, Switzerland, April 8 - 11. The meeting, chaired by the Rev. Georges Casalis, professor in the Theological Faculty of Paris, considered the humanization of technological and economic development.

OVERSEAS

A central council for the Anglican Communion has been proposed by the Rt. Rev. G. N. Luxton, Bishop of Huron, in an article in the May issue of the Canadian Churchman. The council, as proposed by Bishop Luxton, would be chaired on a rotating basis and would function as the administrative forum for the communion with modest legislative responsibility. Bishop Luxton also expressed hope that representatives to the next Anglican Congress, scheduled for 1973, would be specifically authorized to speak and act for their diocese.

The Rt. Rev. Eric Samuel Nasir has been appointed Bishop of Amritsar by the Most Rev. L. H. J. de Mel, Metropolitan of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon. The Diocese of Amritsar is in northeast India and includes the state of Kashmir. It is the home of Bishop Nasir, the former Bishop of Assam, who is a Punjabi by birth.

The General Synod of the Anglican Church of the Province of New Zealand is considering proposals to allow divorced persons to remarry. Present rules do not permit remarriage during the lifetime of a former marriage partner.

AT HOME

Archbishop Terence J. Cooke of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York will preach at an afternoon service of ecumenical concern for the urban crisis at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine on Pentecost Sunday, June 2nd, Sponsored by the whole Christian community in New York City, the service will be one of "Christian witness invoking the aid of the Holy Spirit in facing our urban crisis. "

The Rt. Rev. Stephen F. Bayne, Jr. will be one of six national religious leaders featured on "Crisis in American Cities., "a special series during May and June on the Protestant Hour. This national radio program is sponsored by the Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the United Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church U. S., and the Episcopal Radio and Television Foundation, and operated in cooperation with the Broadcasting and Film Commission of the National Council of Churches.

The United Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A, through its Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations, is asking churches overseas to release indigenous leaders and American missionary personnel for temporary assignment in key American metropolitan areas. Part of the United Presbyterian Church's response to the crisis in this country, the program will begin June 1st and continue through December. It is expected that about 70 persons will be assigned to such work, acting as bridges between urban and suburban areas, providing aid as needed in ghetto-based projects and coordinating response to crisis situations.

A panel of architects have volunteered to assist in aiding sponsors of church- oriented non-profit housing in New York City and surrounding areas. The advisory panel, composed of seven members of the American Institute of Architects, has been established by the Office for Housing and Urban Renewal of the Protestant Council of the City of New York to give guidance to groups in the early planning stages when sponsors are engaged in opening discussions with City, State and Federal housing officials.