"Christ--the Hope of the World"

Convened this week: the second Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Evanston, Ill.

Who Is There. Meeting on the campus of Northwestern University are 600 delegates from 161 churches in 48 countries, representing more than 160 million Christians (notable exception: the Roman Catholics). Also present: 150 consultants, 120 youth consultants, 600 accredited visitors, plus fraternal delegates from related organizations, and observers.

Aims, 1) To exchange views on the great continuing issues of Christian faith; 2) to make policies, formulate programs and appoint officers and committees; 3) to worship together.

Main Theme. During the first week 15 discussion groups will consider the main theme, "Christ--the Hope of the World," then gather in plenary session to formulate a message. Agreement will come hard; theologians are roughly divided between orthodox eschatologists (mainly European) who see the Christian hope as Christ's Second Coming at world's end, and the more liberal and activist brand (mainly in the U.S.) who hope for Christ's help in the here and now.

Other Issues. The second week will be devoted to six subsidiary themes:

P: "Our Oneness in Christ and Our Disunity as Churches," which will probably concentrate on the points of recognition between church bodies of differing traditions.

P: "The Mission of the Church to Those Outside Her Life," which will lay less emphasis than usual on conversion of "the heathen," instead pay more attention to what one churchman called the heathen at home--the unchurched and indifferent masses living in nominally Christian countries.

P: "The Responsible Society in a World Perspective" and "Christians in the Struggle for World Community," which will raise questions of church and state--e.g., is there a specifically Christian attitude toward human rights, the U.N., and "peaceful coexistence" with Communism?

P: "The Church Amid Racial and Ethnic Tensions," which will deal with the church's responsibility for reconciliation between races.

P: "The Christian in His Vocation," a subject new to ecumenical gatherings, which will consider the importance of the layman's witness not only in church, but in his job and the whole of his life.

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