World Affairs Chairmen to Meet
Diocesan Press Service. May 7, 1965 [XXXII-12]
Diocesan World Affairs Chairmen will meet in Chicago, June 7, for the first planning conference in international affairs for the Episcopal Church.
These Chairmen have been selected by the bishops of their dioceses at the request of the Chairman of the Executive Council's Department of Christian Social Relations. Such an intensified program in world affairs was suggested by the House of Bishops statement in 1963 and is being conducted in cooperation with the International Peace Advisory Committee.
In a letter to all bishops, cosigned by the Rt. Rev. William Crittenden, Chairman of the International Peace Advisory Committee, and the Rt. Rev. William Marmion, Chairman of the Department of Christian Social Relations, it was suggested that diocesan World Affairs Committees were long overdue. They stated further, "Peace is the most vital issue in our time. The Episcopal Church has been quite ineffective in keeping our people informed and in asserting the role of the Church. Our witness as Christians is important, and the time has come to take more definite action."
World Affairs Chairmen are responsible for advising in recruiting for diocesan and national education conferences and seminars; for co-ordinating international affairs programs in the diocesan structure; and for deepening the understanding of the interdependence of Christians in all countries. This work is seen as vital in the Church's concern for peace, international understanding and mutual responsibility.