Pentecostal Meeting Makes Holy Land History

When viewed in retrospect, Pentecost week end of May 21 probably will be associated with a religious spectacle in Jerusalem unparalleled almost certainly since New Testament times. In historic proceedings climaxed on Pentecost Sunday, more than 3,000 delegates to the sixth Pentecostal World Conference participated in what is believed to have been the largest meeting of any kind ever held in the Holy Land. Appropriately enough, the three-day meeting came on the edge of what its followers the world over regard as a twentieth-century revival of Pentecostalism in general and glossolalia in particular.

“We are under no illusion that merely sentimental associations with time or place guarantee a special blessing from God,” cautioned Pentecostal patriarch Donald Gee, “but we do believe that there cannot but be a unique effect upon the hearts and minds of those who gather at such a time and in such a place as they reverently recall the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit given there from the Lord of glory.”

Gee, editor of the quarterly review Pentecost, has had a big hand in each of the five previous world conferences (Zürich, 1947; Paris, 1949; London, 1952; Stockholm, 1955; and Toronto, 1958). He has seen them as a chief means in achieving a strong Pentecostal world fellowship.

The 1961 gathering coincided with the Hebrew observance of the Feast of Weeks (cf. Lev. 23:15–22) and the giving of the Law, but the only significant touchpoint came when both Gentile and Jewish worshipers went to Mount Zion.

Conference leaders contended with three impressive facts touching upon twentieth-century Pentecostalism.

One was the movement’s world scope. It has grown to represent a virile segment of Christianity which ecumenical leaders have described as “the third force.” As such, it operates outside classic Protestantism, is of relatively recent origin, and is characterized by unusual evangelistic zeal with a socio-cultural appeal reaching below the middle class. Some 20 world Pentecostal organizations have a combined membership of more than 1,600,000. In recent years Protestant ecumenical forces have made a bid for Pentecostal affiliation, and set up exploratory talks on the edge of the Jerusalem sessions with the Rev. David J. DuPlessis as liaison. Conference leaders had publicized in advance an official message by the World Council of Churches that “it is possible that they [ the Pentecostalists] have a central truth of the Christian religion at the heart of their success story.” Nonetheless, the U. S. Assemblies of God, whose more than 500,000 members make it easily the largest of the Pentecostal bodies, tends to look upon DuPlessis, whom it ordained, as a roving self-appointed ecumenical explorer, and stresses its identification with the National Association of Evangelicals. General Superintendent Thomas F. Zimmerman is also currently president of NAE. Although Pentecostal theology has not been codified, there is scant sympathy for an inclusive theological commitment.

Glossolalia: Then And Now

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1–4).

At the first Pentecost Sunday, tongues were divinely given in the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit sometimes called “the founding miracle of Christianity.” For all Christians, Pentecost has marked the Holy Spirit’s inscription of the Law upon the hearts of believers, and most Christians view the divine gift of tongues which enabled the apostles to speak to the multilingual assembly as a once-for-all outward sign of the birth of the body of believers whom Christ indwells by his Spirit. But Pentecostalists insist in a special way upon a continuance of spontaneous eruptions such as punctuated this month’s conference in the Israel sector of Jerusalem, largest assembly of any kind ever held in the Holy Land. Pentecostalists cite such utterances in support of their contention that the gift of tongues is still being divinely bestowed.

Ecumenical explorations, however, were merely a shadowland activity in Jerusalem; in the forefront of conference sessions was the staggering evangelistic and missionary responsibility devolving upon evangelical agencies, and particularly upon Pentecostal forces. And this priority set in clear view the fact that many Pentecostal leaders are restudying the movement’s distinctive doctrine of “the gifts” of the Spirit, and the tendency to view “speaking in tongues” as the criterion of legitimate Christian experience.

By “the Pentecostal experience” most Pentecostalists mean that in an experience of prayer a worshiper has spoken ecstatically in an unknown tongue. Whoever has this initial experience is described as “having received the Holy Spirit.” Doubt is widening among Pentecostal ministers, however, that this description is to be denied others, and that it is to be rigidly attached to the “experience of tongues.” Pentecostalists further hold that if the initial experience is repeated, the believer has “received the gift of tongues.” More and more Pentecostal leaders, however, while stressing the universal possibility of “the gift,” hesitate to consider it the crowning criterion of Christian consecration and to view other criteria as inferior.

These phenomena appear, Pentecostalists say, in private devotions or in open services. Pentecostalists do not insist that an interpreter be present, since they do not believe that new revelation is communicated by the Spirit, but view the Bible as the inspired authority. While tongues remain for most Pentecostalists the decisive experience of a Spirit-centered life, some regard them only as a mystical reassurance of salvation, while here and there a spokesman may be found who insists that the tongues-phenomenon of the first Pentecost has only a historic and sentimental significance and ought not to be regarded as repetitive at all.

In the background of this theological dialogue stands the deeper debate over “the gifts.” All Christian bodies insist on the work of the Spirit in the Church and the life of the believer, all insist on the Pentecost “gift” of the Holy Spirit, and some especially stress the Spirit-filled life.

But Pentecostalists insist on the continuing “gifts” of the Spirit. There is, however, a wide divergence in their uncodified teaching. In the earlier days of the movement, almost everywhere among Pentecostalists, the stress fell on specific gifts divinely bestowed on individuals. Now there is more emphasis, in some circles at least, that the Spirit’s gifts are “for the Church,” but are accessible for every believer’s immediate needs through his relationship to Christ. The claim of charismatic individuals specially to possess one gift or another is no longer recognized throughout Pentecostal circles as decisive for Pentecostal theology.

This divergence is also evident with respect to healing. Pentecostalists universally welcome the emphasis on divine healing. But they view with differing reactions the ministry of Evangelist Oral Roberts, whose mass campaigns and radio-television programs have shaped a national image although his Pentecostal group is rather small alongside the Assemblies. Ministers in the Assemblies of God do not as a rule hold that illness is to be attributed only to a lack of faith, and there is latitude in the particulars.

Within the Pentecostal movement, some leaders think Roberts gives a distorted impression not only through flamboyant methods but by his orientation of the ministry of healing to an individual rather than to the Church. And others doubt that dedication to Christ assures, as Roberts has emphasized, material-mental-physical as well as spiritual well-being.

What the Jerusalem conference made clear, however, was something more than evangelical commitment albeit theological exploration of Pentecostalists. The assembly provided new indications that the first emphasis for many Pentecostalists is salvation, not healing and tongues, which find a subsequent prominence. The first walls separating many Pentecostalists and evangelicals seemed rather low. As movements like the Assemblies of God looked ahead to codifying their theology, to establishing accredited schools, and to a divinity school for the training of ministers, a new era seemed to be dawning for theological conference with Protestant evangelicals.

C.F.H.H.

Prayer for the Dead?

President Kennedy was on the spot this month for using his office to promulgate distinctive Roman Catholic doctrine.

His official Memorial Day proclamation urged U. S. citizens to observe the occasion “by invoking the blessing of God on those who have died in defense of our country.”

Many interpreted the appeal as requesting prayer for the dead, a concept repugnant to most Protestants. It was Kennedy’s first faux pas on a religious point since he took office as the first Roman Catholic president in U. S. history.

“He has invited the people to do what the majority of the people will not do,” said Dr. Oswald C. J. Hoffman, radio’s “Lutheran I Hour” preacher.

Hoffman called the incident “unfortunate,” coming at a time when the country is watching the President to see if he will insinuate his Roman Catholic beliefs into national proclamations.

Southern Baptist Convention President Ramsay Pollard said the White House staff “should be more careful of phraseology.” Lie declared that no one would question the sincerity of Kennedy’s motive, that all Americans are thankful to God for those who have died in the cause of freedom. He indicated his displeasure, however, over confusing gratitude with prayer for the dead.

“We don’t want Roman Catholic superstitions made a national policy,” said Dr. Gordon H. Clark, religious scholar of Butler University.

A White House press officer said the proclamation had been drafted by a Protestant member of the President’s staff. Told that protests of the wording of the proclamation were being received, the press officer quipped: “Some of your Protestants are oversensitive.”

Some observers felt, nevertheless, that the White House might subsequently amend the proclamation or issue a statement of clarification.

Kennedy had acted originally in keeping with a Congressional resolution approved in 1950 which requests the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace.

The proclamation states:

“Now, therefore, I, John F. Kennedy, President of the United States, do hereby urge the people of the United States to observe Tuesday, May 30, 1961, Memorial Day, by invoking the blessing of God on those who have died in defense of our country, and by praying for a new world of law where peace and justice shall prevail and a life of opportunity shall be assured for all; and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at eleven o’clock in the morning of that day as the time to unite in such prayer.”

Protestant Panorama

• On the eve of its dedication, a new Baptist church in Howe, Oklahoma, was destroyed by a tornado this month. The Rev. Ron Lewis, pastor of the church, was inside with his nine-month-old daughter when the twister hit, but they escaped injury. Also badly damaged were a Methodist church and an Assemblies of God church in Howe.

• An Amish farmer from New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, lost three horses to the Internal Revenue Service this month for refusing to make compulsory Social Security payments. The animals and a harness were sold to collect a $308 federal lien filed against Valentine Y. Byler. The Amish take a dim view of insurance, preferring to trust God for needs.

• The 60-family congregation of Bethany Community Church in Fresno, California, is conducting a drive for trading stamps to raise funds for a new sanctuary and education unit. Their goal is 50,000 books—or 60,000,000 stamps. The Rev. Al Silvera, pastor of the church, says more than $1,000 worth of stamps already have been converted to cash for the building fund.

• The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions is marking its 150th anniversary with the publication of a book of 366 true stories relating to missionary enterprise. They Lived Their Faith was compiled by Fred Field Goodsell, who headed the American Board for nearly 30 years after serving as a missionary in the Near East for 25 years. The board was originally an interdenominational Protestant agency, although it now serves the Congregational Christian churches.

• Nation-wide release of “Question 7,” feature-length film depicting the church-state struggle in East Germany, is scheduled in the fall. A second “test engagement” phase in the public release schedule was begun this month with showings in theaters in Wisconsin, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. The film was produced by Lutheran Film Associates.

• The new Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, was dedicated this month. Dr. Harry V. Richardson was installed as president of the pioneering Negro ecumenical institution. Four theological schools are part of the new center: Gammon Theological Seminary (Methodist), Morehouse School of Religion (American Baptist), Phillips School of Theology (Christian Methodist Episcopal), and Turner Theological Seminary (African Methodist Episcopal). The ITC plan permits the four co-operating schools to retain their denominational identity and autonomy while sharing a joint educational program.

Elizabeth in Rome

Scenes in which human warmth and sympathy mingled with ceremonies of rich pomp and splendor marked the call upon Pope John XXIII this month of Queen Elizabeth II of England, according to Religious News Service. Elizabeth was the third British sovereign in history and the first in 38 years to meet with a pope in private audience in Vatican City. They talked for 28 minutes.

Elizabeth was accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip. She was veiled and wore a black satin dress with a diamond tiara and necklace.

Catholic Growth

The rate of Roman Catholic growth in the United States is tapering off, according to the church’s own official figures.

Membership statistics for 1960 were released this month with publication of the newest Official Catholic Directory.

The latest increase, about three per cent, still is the highest among the larger U. S. churches, excepting the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, which boosted its membership by 3.2 per cent last year.

The new Catholic directory says that U. S. Catholic membership increased last year by 1,233,598 to bring the total to 42,104,900. The year before, the increase was 1,366,827, and the year before that 1,418,498 (not counting 2,000,000 reported for the first time by the Military Ordinariate).

Landlocked Laos

What is the extent of Christian witness in strife-torn Laos? How have hostilities affected missionary work?

For authoritative answers,CHRISTIANITY TODAYwent to the Rev. G. Edward Roffe, who as a missionary with 35 years of service has been in Laos longer than any other American. Roffe, who serves under the Christian and Missionary Alliance, plans to return to the field July 1. Here is his report:

Beginning in 1940, normal conditions disappeared from Indochina and, consequently, from Laos. Japan came in from both north and south, following the fall of France, while Thailand invaded Cambodia and Laos, occupying territory throughout World War II. Following the return of the French, guerrilla activity continued in the countryside, while terrorism recurred in city, town, and village. Then came the crisis of recent months. Thus for more than 20 years, Christian work in Laos has been complicated.

Missionary work began in Laos before the turn of the century when Presbyterian missionaries from North Thailand itinerated intermittently across North Laos. Resident missionaries of the Swiss Brethren Mission settled in South Laos in 1902 and have carried on active work there ever since with a few forays into the north.

World War I presented serious border-crossing problems to the itinerant missionaries from North Thailand. Eventually, official steps were taken to transfer responsibility for North Laos to the Christian and Missionary Alliance of North America. Thus the Alliance was given all territory included in the colonial complex then known as French Indochina, with the exception of South Laos, which continued to be the field of endeavor of the Swiss Brethren.

Until recently, the work of Christian missions in Laos has been severely handicapped by a shortage of personnel. For years the Swiss in the south operated only three or four stations, though recently they have opened up several others and their work now extends through four provinces. The Alliance has never been able to locate missionaries in more than four out of the seven provinces in the north. Beginning in 1929, it placed missionaries successively in Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Xieng Khouang, and Sayaboury. Deaths and withdrawals for reasons of health have depleted ranks, and replacements have been scarce.

Now two families of loosely associated Brethren missionaries from the United States have joined hands with the Swiss Brethren in the south. The Overseas Missionary Fellowship has accepted the challenge of the tribal areas of South Laos, hoping for 40 missionaries in the field by 1962. A group of Japanese bachelors, now augmented by a group of single women, is beginning work, also in the south, while a Seventh-day Adventist family recently opened up work in Nam Tha, North Laos. The Alliance has additional missionaries under appointment with the intention of increasing its present staff in the north.

Laos is essentially a Buddhist state, and the traditional tolerance of Buddhism has erected no barriers to the message of the Cross, unless it be that of indifference. From the inception of missionary work in Laos until recently, Laos was largely a protectorate under the French colonial regime, with considerable liberty automatically extended to the missionary. This was not the case, however, in the kingdom of Luang Prabang, an enclave existing in the north and a reduced remnant of the once proud “Kingdom of the Million Elephants.” Shortly after the arrival of the first missionary to North Laos, who settled in the royal city of Luang Prabang, royal edict made provision for religious liberty. Following language study, this missionary was readily granted authorization to preach the Gospel throughout the kingdom by the late king, H. M. Sisavang Vong. Cordiality has characterized the relationship between the Alliance and authorities in the northern kingdom and this has been extended to the work throughout the country as it ultimately became the kingdom of Laos, ruled over by the dynasty of the former limited kingdom of Luang Prabang.

Buddhists in Laos have not generally responded to the proclamation of the Gospel. In the south, however, more converts have been won from followers of Buddhism than in the north.

Buddhist Laotians live largely in the lowlands: on the plains, the limited plateaus, and along the river banks. Having reached these lowland peoples, Buddhist missionaries lost their pioneering zeal and, although Buddhism has been in Laos at least as far back as the eleventh century, it never made any attempt to win the upland primitives, who speak 40 to 80 languages and dialects.

Most of these minority groups, which represent about 50 per cent of the overall population of Laos (estimated at something less than 2,000,000 with a density of about 20 to the square mile), have never invented any writing system. They practice varying forms of animism and thousands of them have turned to Christ. In 1950 what amounted to a mass movement began in the vicinity of Xieng Khouang, and the converts of that period and region, from among the Miao and the Khamoo tribes, form the bulk of the church in North Laos today.

In 1957 the Gospel Church of North Laos was organized with its own constitution, electing its own slate of officers and assuming financial responsibility for its own clergy. This independent, autonomous body has received at least tentative recognition by the duly constituted government of the country. A second church, not as organized, exists in the south, the fruit of long years of devoted ministry on the part of the Swiss mission.

Linguistic analysis of two tribal languages has progressed toward providing them with alphabets, but opportunity and challenge still awaits the painstaking, plodding skill of the trained linguist, translator, and literacy worker.

An early emphasis on translation work on the part of the Swiss mission saw the New Testament in Lao published in 1926, followed by the Old Testament in the early thirties. Additional titles were translated and published subsequently. The center of translation and literature work has since shifted to the Alliance in the north and one current project is the retranslation of the New Testament under the auspices of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In addition, much Christian literature has been made available to both north and south. In 1959 Christian missions formed a committee to co-ordinate and avoid duplication of publishing activities.

Radio programs, prepared in Lao on an inter-mission basis and sent to Manila, are beamed at Laos twice daily through the facilities and courtesies of the Far East Broadcasting Company. Laos and contiguous Lao-speaking areas are thus reached morning and evening with a Christian message.

A full-time Bible school has been operated variously in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and, currently, Xieng Khouang to provide the church with a national clergy trained in the Word of God.

Communism has now overrun the homeland of vast segments of the northern church and, significantly, it is in this Christian-oriented area that the most determined opposition is prevalent. Christian villages have been destroyed and their chapels burned. Believers have fled to the elevated highlands with what they had on their backs, leaving behind all their possessions, including their homes and harvested crops. Nevertheless, reports filter through of continuing faith and devotion.

The significance which this remote and otherwise unimportant little land-locked kingdom represents in political alignments and developments is matched by that which it holds for the world of missionary endeavor and for Christians everywhere.

THE PRESBYTERIAN U. S. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The following report was prepared forCHRISTIANITY TODAYby Dr. John R. Richardson, minister of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia.

“A new commitment for a new century” was the 101st General Assembly motif of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S., and from start to finish it challenged the 530 commissioners to greater loyalty to the central purpose of their church and their mission to the nation.

The centennial assembly met in the Highland Park Presbyterian Church of Dallas, April 27-May 2. In an opening sermon, the retiring moderator, Dr. Marion A. Boggs, pastor of Little Rock’s Second Presbyterian Church, elucidated the basic principles on which the Presbyterian Church, U. S. has prospered: the infallibility of Holy Scripture, God’s sovereign purpose in human history, the unrivaled Lordship of Christ in the Church and world, and the continuing reformation as the Church is subjected to the Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Dr. Wallace M. Alston, president of Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia, was elected moderator on the first ballot. At a press conference during the assembly Alston said, “I am completely committed to the ecumenical movement.” He told the press that he favored integration in every department of the church, but acknowledged that Agnes Scott College has no Negro students in its student body. Dr. Alston served the Assembly with competence that contributed much to the fine spirit that prevailed in assembly debates.

The 98th General Assembly had appointed an ad interim committee to prepare a brief statement of belief setting forth the historic Presbyterian doctrines in the language of our time. The committee made its report to this assembly. One of the most spirited debates resulted from the report. Many commissioners felt that the brief statement was inferior to the one adopted in 1913. It was criticized as lacking in clarity and characterized by verbosity. On motion of Dr. Edward G. Lilly of South Carolina the report was returned to the committee for further study in light of the many objections raised.

The report on possible revision of Chapter III of the Confession of Faith that deals with “double predestination” or the negative aspect of predestination evoked extended debate. The committee recommended that the Confession of Faith not be changed because to do so would destroy the unity of the document. This elicited unanimous approval. But when the committee declared that the third chapter is not an adequate statement of Christian faith many demurred. Dr. G. Aiken Taylor, editor of The Presbyterian Journal, moved to delete the second part of the recommendation on the ground that to say so would threaten the foundation of the creed’s usefulness. Taylor’s motion lost by a vote of 309–120 and the report with recommendations was approved as a whole by the assembly. A protest was signed by a number of commissioners against the assembly’s approval of the recommendation that criticized the church’s official creed.

The ad interim committee, appointed last year to study “Non-Denominational Youth Movements,” presented a comprehensive report. The study included Youth for Christ, Young Life, Word of Life, Youth on the March, Inter-Varsity Fellowship, Navigators, and Child Evangelism Fellowship. Dr. Albert J. Kissling, chairman of the committee, said all of these movements have much in common: “All are theologically conservative, emphasizing individual conversional experience. They usually conduct their meetings on the local level in a loosely organized manner with programs in more or less informal manner. They often tend toward a somewhat critical attitude toward the work of denominational churches. They share a literalistic interpretation of the Scriptures. Nearly all center their programs around the personality of the leader. They tend to emphasize the negative aspects of personal morality, often implying that Christian character consists of ‘thou shalt nots’.”

The report further declared that the best way to come to grips with a movement in question is to engage in personal investigation at the local level. Leaders in Christian education were urged to study the effective techniques used by some of these groups that they may develop programs of greater efficiency in the fields of personal evangelism and Bible study. This report was received by the court as information by a vote of 256–207.

The assembly approved a record high budget of $9,617,180 for its benevolence operations in 1962, and authorized a special church-wide conference on benevolences. It reversed the recommendation of the General Council’s Standing Committee by answering in the negative an overture asking that some liturgical days not now in the official calendar be included.

The Church Extension Committee’s report included an answer to a resolution asking that the assembly accept its mission as being to the whole of the United States without regard to geographical limitations. This was answered by citing the fact that no geographical boundaries have even been established except as they may be established by presbyteries and synods, and these were encouraged to extend their work to the limit of their ability wherever there are contiguous unchurched areas.

In response to a resolution calling upon those who make “wholesale and irresponsible charges” of communism among the clergy as reported in the press in recent weeks, the assembly requested those with such information to “name names and produce evidence,” and promised swift action by church courts in any documented case.

Convention Circuit

Plans for a theological study commission authorized during the 19th annual convention of the National Association of Evangelicals last month are now in the hands of a three-man planning committee. The committee, appointed to chart the course and help determine who will serve on the commission, is made up of Dr. Merrill Tenney, dean of the Graduate School of Wheaton College, Dr. Robert A. Cook, first vice president of NAE and a vice president of Scripture Press, and Dr. Fred P. Thompson, Jr., pastor of Chicago’s First Christian Church.

Here are reports of other religious meetings across the nation:

At Pittsburgh—Thirteen U. S. church buildings won top awards for architectural design in the annual exhibit sponsored by the Church Architectural Guild of America at the National Conference on Church Architecture. The winners included five churches seating more than 250 persons (listed with architects): Bellevue Presbyterian, Bellevue, Washington, Mithun, Ridenour and Cochran; Church of the Holy Family, Orange, California, Criley and McDowell; First Presbyterian, Elkhart, Indiana, Wagoner, Wiley and Miller; Unity Church of Truth, Seattle, Washington, Young Richardson and Carleton; and St. Vitus Roman Catholic Church and Rectory, New Castle, Pennsylvania, P. Arthur D’Orazio.

At Green Lake, Wisconsin—Dr. Mary Steichen Calderone, medical director of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told the North American Conference on Church and Family that churches ought to include comprehensive sex education as part of their Sunday school curriculum for children from the time of puberty.

At Cambridge, Massachusetts—Delegates to the annual assembly of the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church’s Diocese of North America learned that the denomination plans to establish its first theological seminary in this country. The site is still to be chosen.

At Wilmette, Illinois—A report read at the 53rd annual convention of the Baha’i’s of the United States cited “unprecedented growth” of the movement which now has 24 independent national assemblies in the Western Hemisphere. The report came from Baha’i international headquarters in Haifa.

At Washington, D. C.—Delegates to the Methodist National Conference on Christian Social Concerns rejected a proposed message on political and social issues after an amendment was introduced deploring “United States military intervention, direct or indirect, in the internal affairs of Cuba.”

At Chicago—Top awards made at the annual meeting of the Associated Church Press honored: Together, Methodist family monthly (for superiority in make-up, typography, and use of color), The Christian Century, undenominational weekly, and This Day, Lutheran family monthly (the latter two for excellence of content in keeping with their expressed purposes).

At New York—“Awards of Merit” were presented to four daily newspapers, a weekly newsmagazine, and a radio-television station at the 32nd annual meeting of the National Religious Publicity Council. Cited for their reporting of religious activities were The Washington (D. C.) Post, the New York Herald Tribune, the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, the Toronto (Ontario) Telegram, Time magazine, and station WFIL and WFIL-TV of Philadelphia. Named as NRPC Fellows were Jo-ann Price of the Herald Tribune, Kenneth Dole of the Post, Marianne Kelsey of the Times, Aubrey Wice of the Telegram, and Douglas Auchincloss of Time.

At Boston—An aggregate of more than 25,000 persons attended sessions and witnessed exhibits at the 22nd annual Missionary Conference of Park Street (Congregational) Church. The conference got a first-hand report on the African situation from its pastor, Dr. Harold John Ockenga, recently returned from a 22,000-mile trip through 14 African countries. The one-day drive for missionary funds which traditionally climaxes the annual conference reached $269,153. The church currently supports some 117 missionaries in 49 countries.

At Cicero, Illinois—Resolutions opposing federal aid to education were adopted at the 32nd annual convention of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America. Another resolution voiced support of capital punishment.

People: Words And Events

Deaths: Dr. E. K. Higdon, 73, missionary educator of the Disciples of Christ in the Philippines; in Manila … Dr. J. A. F. Gregg, 88, retired Anglican Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland; in Rostrevor, County Down … the Rev. Carl Alfred Bjornbom, 100, oldest minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church of America; in Chicago.

Resignation: From the presidency of Southwest Baptist College, Dr. John W. Dowdy.

Appointments: As general director of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, Charles H. Troutman … as associate professor of historical theology at National Methodist Theological Seminary, Dr. Carl Bangs.

Elections: As president of the United Presbyterian Board of Christian Education, the Rev. John E. Bouquet … as chairman of the Methodist National Lay Committee on Evangelism, H. J. Taylor … as president of the Military Chaplains Association, Msgr. Patrick J. Ryan … as president of the Associated Church Press, the Rev. Edwin H. Maynard … as president of the National Religious Publicity Council, Dr. R. Dean Goodwin.

Retirements:Dr. Marion J. Creeger, executive secretary of the General Commission on Chaplains and Armed Forces Personnel, effective June 30, 1962 … the Very Rev. C. E. Riley, Anglican Dean of Toronto, effective June 30, 1961.

Quotes: “The John Birch Society has stirred up a reaction that offsets the stated purpose of the society—in other words, it has to some extent defeated its own purpose … What disturbs me is the unwillingness of segments of Americans to allow the extreme right wing to exercise the same liberty that the extreme left wing has been granted … I am waiting to see whether the American Civil Liberties Union will now rise to the defense of Robert Welch and the members of the John Birch Society.”—Dr. William Sanford LaSor, writing in the Altadenan-Pasadenan.

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