Civil Rights Fund Asked
Diocesan Press Service. January 7, 1964 [XVII-4]
An appeal for funds to aid Episcopal clergy and laity involved in the civil rights struggle was voiced at the December meeting of National Council at Seabury House. An immediate goal of $150,000 was set.
In a resolution, National Council stated that "many people desire an opportunity to contribute to Church programs devised to extend civil rights, as well as to give financial support to persons caught in situations of racial crisis."
An introductory statement to the resolution stressed the "high priority" given to racial justice since "the whole nation became heavily involved in the current crisis early in 1963." Also stated was the expectation that "the emergency will be greater in 1964" and that "all churches will be called upon to devote more time and funds to deal with racial crisis situations as they arise in all parts of the nation." The statement was not adopted as part of the resolutions.
The statement, which was drawn up by the Home, Christian Social Relations, and Christian Education departments, further emphasized the seriousness of world-wide racial relations, saying that "events in the U.S. will have serious repercussions in the Church's mission overseas as well as at home. "
In another resolution National Council members called upon Council staff to re-examine their 1964 programs "to find ways and means for full participation, through staff time and funds, in this struggle" for racial justice. Reports of staff re-examination will be made at the Council's February meeting.
Along this same line, the Council adopted a "Statement of Policy with Regard to Race." It set down three guidelines to be followed by National Council officers involved in local racial situations. They are:
Before entering one of the Church's 87 dioceses or missionary districts to engage in civil rights activities, they must notify the bishop there of the plan and his full consent must be obtained.
If a staff officer is on loan to an interdenominational body, such as the National Council of Churches, the Ecclesiastical Authority in a diocese must be notified of the officer's participation.
If any official representative of the church involves himself in civil rights according to "the dictates of his conscience," he must make it clear that he functions as an individual and not as a representative of the Church or at its expense.
The policy statement also stresses that "the Christian concept of the equal worth of every soul must be carried over into all phases of life, national, church and personal" and adds: "The sin of segregation and discrimination must be honestly faced and the goal of their eradication completely accepted."