Episcopal Press and News
World Church - In Brief
Diocesan Press Service. September 1, 1968 [68-9]
Ecumenically Speaking
An in-depth study of one city's church-related community organizations brought 300 participants from 30 denominations to a five-day Ecumenical Evangelism Conference, Aug. 19 - 23, in Chicago. The Conference was sponsored by the National Council of Churches' Department of Church Renewal.
The Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church in South Africa have created a joint commission to promote closer collaboration between the two communions. The 10-man commission is modeled on the joint commission established on the international level by Pope Paul VI and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Arthur Michael Ramsey.
The General Board of the National Council of Churches meets for its third and final policy session of this year Sept. 12 - 13 in Houston, Tex. Among items on the agenda are the NCC's program on the crisis in the nation, statements on defense and disarmament, abolition of the death penalty, and guidelines for churches to use in developing a policy on purchasing goods and services.
Roman Catholic Bishop George A. Hammes of Superior, Wis., is believed to be the first Roman Catholic prelate to grant general permission for marriages between Roman Catholics and Protestants, Anglicans or Orthodox, in the non- Roman Catholic Church. In a letter to the priests of his diocese, Bishop Hammes stated that such permission would be automatic provided certain guidelines were adhered to. These include a signed commitment by the Roman Catholic that the children of the marriage should be raised as Roman Catholics; a Roman Catholic pastor or authorized priest as official witness; and the condition that the marriage should take place during a "Bible Vigil Service" constructed around the exchange of vows. Such a service may include the reading of Scripture, a sermon and a blessing of the couple by the non-Roman Catholic clergyman. The Bishop did state, however, that Vatican permission will be necessary for a non-Roman Catholic clergyman to be the official witness.
An International Committee for the World Day of Prayer was created by representatives of 22 national World Day of Prayer committees during their meeting in Valligby, Sweden. The Day originated 82 years ago and is now celebrated in 127 nations. The theme for the 1969 World Day of Prayer, to be held the first Friday in March, is "Growing Together in Christ."
The 1968 national Liturgical Week, a Roman Catholic-sponsored event, was held in Washington, D.C. Aug. 19 - 22. Its theme was revolution and Christian response. Among other liturgical music, the Jazz-Rock Mass, written by an Episcopal priest, the Rev. Ian Mitchell, was presented during the occasion.
OVERSEAS
The Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto, Ont., Canada has torn out 10 rows of pews at the rear of the building and moved in bunk beds to accommodate American youth who have moved to Canada to avoid the draft. A member of the parish council described the effort as "the traditional role of the Church -- a sanctuary."
The Anglican Archbishop of Guyana, the Most Rev. Alan J. Knight, was recently criticised in a front page editorial in the Opposition paper, The Mirror, for his recent support of stern action taken to curb strikes in that country. The Archbishop, in an article he wrote for his diocesan magazine, stated that the "veritable epidemic of strikes" since independence two years ago have weakened the economy and possibly driven off investors. He also, though, stated that workers are not always responsible for strikes, which he called "the very last weapon. " The Mirror is the daily voice of the (pro-Communist) People's Progressive Party.
The capital of Ghana, Accra, will soon have a new Anglican bishop, the Rt. Rev. Ishmael Samuel Mills Lemaire. The new bishop was educated at St. Augustine's College, Kumasi, Ghana, and became Assistant Bishop of Accra in 1963.
The World Council of Churches has sent a second medical team, consisting of a doctor, three nurses, and two relief workers, all Danes, to Nigeria in an effort to assist victims of the year-long civil war in that country.
Anglican Bishops, attending the 10th Lambeth Conference in London, did without lunch on Aug. 9 and gave the money saved to the Lord Mayor of London's "War on Want."
AT HOME
The Rev. Kenneth E. McDonald, rector of St. Augustine's Episcopal Church, Atlantic City, N.J., became the first Negro to serve on the board of directors of the Miss America pageant. Pageant officials have also announced that predominantly Negro colleges are now being encouraged to seek pageant franchises, stage contests and send winners to state finals. A $1,000 scholarship is also being given to the NAACP.
The Hymn Society of America is seeking a number of new hymns on the subject, the mission of the church. Texts should be submitted to the Society, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, N.Y. 10027, no later than Dec. 31. The immediate concern is for words of new hymns. Those selected may later be submitted to composers. Texts, though, should be in meters found in standard hymnals.
Leaders of Episcopal youth in Tennessee have urged the diocesan convention and local vestries to give representation to youths on all levels. In a position paper drawn up by the youth, the church was accused of "copping out." The young churchmen stated that it was time for the church to get the job done and that in order to do so it must consider the morality of the draft, extend the ministry of the Church to the poor, use Church funds for broad needs rather than purely parochial purposes and lower the voting age in church structures to 16.
The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a seminarian, James J. Oestereich, who was reclassified 1-A after turning in his draft card. At stake is the question whether men can secure court orders which would restrain draft reclassification before induction.
Clergymen and laymen participated in ecumenical church services and outdoor vigils in New York, Aug. 18, in an effort to convince both sides in the Biafra- Nigeria dispute to allow relief supplies to enter the war-torn country. At St. Patrick's Cathedral and St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and later at the United Nations, thousands demonstrated in favor of immediate aid to the starving, mostly women and children, in the African nation.
