TO UNITE CHURCHES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 847, 16 December 1929, Page 14

TO UNITE CHURCHES

MOVEMENT IN WELLINGTON PRESBYTERY’S OVERTURE Press Association WELLINGTON, Sunday. A statement in favour of the union of the Christian Churches, so that the sundered sections of the faith may be welded into one whole that shall thereby more effectively resist the forces of evil, has been drafted by i the Wellington Presbytery. It has i also been decided to recommend the General Assembly to appoint a committee to open negotiations with the other Churches with a view to securing a union. The full text of the overture which is to be forwarded to the General Assembly is as follows: “Whereas throughout the sundered sections of the Christian faith a real and positive unity of belief prevails; whereas it is highly desirable, perhaps even a sacred duty, that that unity of belief should be present to the mind of the faithful in the Church and evidenced to all in the world without; whereas the existing divisions give a false impression concerning the body of Christ; whereas the existing divisions cause waste of man and means and impair the Church’s effectiveness in resisting the forces of evil and advancing the Kingdom of Christ; whereas the witness of the Church in her missionary efforts abroad is gravely hindered by the presence of divisions at home; and whereas a revised confession of faith such as a united Church might frame is the pressing need of our time, the Presbytery of Wellington prays Assembly to take these premises into consideration and appoint a committee to open negotiations with the other Churches, or that Assembly determine otherwise as its w'isdom may direct.” The Revs. J. R. Blanchard, F. H. Wilkinson and R. S. Watson have been appointed to support the overture in Assembly, which is to meet in Dunedin next March.