Evening star., 1932-10-08
CHURCH TO GUIDE
HOME INTERESTS.
Federal Council Secretary to
Give Marriage and Other
Training.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press
NEW YORK, October 8.-Because 1t
believes the church can and should play
a leading role in dealing with problems
of the home, including marriage and d.
vorce, the Federal Council Of Churches,
representing most of the major Prot
estant denominations, has appointed q
permanent, full-time secretary to guide
the work of its Committee on Marriage
and the Home.
In taking ofice, Dr. L. Foster Wood,
formerly professor Of social ethics at
Colgate Rochester Divinity School,
Rochester, N. Y, and earlier for a time
a missionary in West Africa, announced
that the committee would enlarge its
work for happier home relationships
and would attack divorce by attempting
to reach the causes Of marital unhap-
piness.
I'VE aim," he said, ito help the
Protestant churches deal with sex edu-
cation, the training Of youth for mar
riage, assistance to young husbands and
wives in the building of successful
homes and the development by minis
ters Of consultation service to disor-
ganized families"
Church Guidance Need.
While DR.. Wood believes the guiding
hand of the church Is greatly needed in
the problems Of home life, he does not
feel that the institution Of the family
is seriously threatened.
There are many Conditions in modern
life inimical to family welfare" he de-
clared. but ! do not believe there Is
danger of a general breakup Of the
homogeneous family There is always a
oanger, however, that married people
may fail to achieve the greatest happi-
ness in marriage"
That greatest happiness" will be more
often reached, he believes, If there is
closer connection between the family
and the church.
Through all history" he said. the
family has been primary concern to
the church. Northumberland In
some cases 1t has been the church's
fault-people have not always felt free
to take family problems to their minis
ters. We want to remedy this situation,
for the clergy is more advantageously
situated than any other profession to
hep young people in their mating and
to strengthen family life with large
sections of the population. We believe
that religion can have profound in
fluence for good in the home"
The happy home. rather than the
broken one, will be emphasized by the
new secretary and his associates. We
believe it will be Of greater value to
point out and discuss the causes Of
happy home relationships than to list
the failures" DR.. Wood explained.
Extent Of Program.
The committees program includes
working through ministers and re-
ligious educational leaders in all parts
of the country and holding a number
of one and two day conferences IN va
| rious cities.
Emphasizing that his group Is not
concerned only with the religious aspect
of family life, Dr. Wood stated that in
| promoting a wider understanding Of
what successful marriage involves, We
are utilizing the help that science can
give. and We shall continue to assem-
Ole the most important literature on the
scientific as we'll as on the religious and
moral aspects of family life"
Organized five years ago, the Com
mittee on Marriage and the Home had
previously been under the direction of
DR.. Worth M. T1pry. executive secre-
tary of the Federal Councils Commis-
sion on the Church and Social Service.
and Miss Amelia Wyckoff, his assist
ant, both of whom will continue to de-
vote time to the committees program.
DR. Wood, the new secretary, has
/ taught courses on the family, has been
a member of the advisory council of
! the Family Welfare Society Of Roches-
| ter, and has written authoritatively on
| the family institutions of Africa.