God Calls Men, Women to Witness, Action
Diocesan Press Service. February 8, 1966 [40-9]
"God calls all men and women to committed witness and action in all the dimensions of our daily lives. We live in the world, and we are in no way separated from it. We must work out our ministry in the structures of everyday experience, at work and at leisure, in family and neighborhood relationships, as buyers and consumers, and as politically responsible citizens."
Thus the some 450 delegates from throughout the U. S. and Canada defined their ministry as laymen at the end of the second North American Conference on the Ministry of the Laity in the World, held Jan. 13-16 in Chicago.
The Message drafted by the Conference also urged new experiments in the expression of Christian ministry in the world, experiments which have the freedom to work with persons outside the institutional church. It recognized the need for better education and training for lay people and for increased responsibility of laymen for decision making within the churches.
The Message also recognized that there must be a more effective partnership between laity and clergy in order to identify and deal with the difficult practical ethical issues of daily life. The new emphasis in the Roman Catholic Church on the apostolate of the laity should be welcomed and every chance taken by laity of all communions to study and act together.
Finally, the delegates in their Message called for local churches to "make a ruthless examination of their structures and budgets, in order to assess how far these help the laymen in their ministry in the world." They also called for national church organizations to make the same examination.
Recognizing that there are many difficult problems in today's world, problems of poverty, discrimination, armed conflict, the loneliness of the old and outcast, which are difficult and painful to face, delegates still stated they "would not wish to live in any other age." For, they said, "Jesus Christ accepted pain and suffering; and we are called to accept it with him. "
More than 85% of the 450 delegates were laypersons, representing some 20 occupational groups including "marginal workers, " or the chronically unemployed. Co-chairmen of the conference were the Hon. Constance Baker Motley of New York City and Eric G. Freeman of Toronto, Canada.
Some 24 laymen, two priests and one bishop attended as delegates from the Episcopal Church at the invitation of the Presiding Bishop. Included in the delegation were three members of the Executive Council staff.
The Rt. Rev. Stephen F. Bayne, director of Executive Council's Overseas Department, was one of the conference speakers. Defining the role of the laity, he said that "Our job is to run fast and try to catch up with God, who is already at work out there in the world. He has chosen us, not we him; he doesn't need religion." He stated the essence of religion is to choose God; whereas the essence of Christianity is to be chosen by God.