The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-12-06
BISHOP URGES
MORE CHURCH
COOPERATION
Unity Can Not Be Achieved
by Passing Resolutions,
Says Mcconnell.
COUNCIL OPENS FARLEY
% Millions of ProteStantS
Are Represented at
Sessions Here.

Sessions Here.
You can not get union among
the churches simply by passing
resolution about it. Bishop Francis
j. Mcconnell, president of the Fed
eral Council of Churches Of Christ,
warned today, in opening the quad
Tennial conference Of the council
at the SEVERN.
Approximately $50 delegates, rep
rcsenting twenty-six denominations
with membership of 100000
Protestants, we're present as the
bishop advanced plea for a larger
measure of cooperation among the
religious forces of America.
Enlarging on his statement,
Bishop Mcconnell asserted it is
amazing how we'll you can get
along with another denomination if
you have any kind of opportunity
to sit with the representatives of
that denomination long enough, no
matter what your own theories may
be-"
Must Think Together
ITO obtain real cooperation, ."
the bishop asserted, you have to
thing together; you have to live
together in terms of Christian fell
lowship and then, the first thing you
know, the union simply is the rati-
fication of what already exists. You
are there before you know it,"
The conference was opened with
addresses Of welcome by Mayor
Reginald H. Sullivan and Marshall
d. Lupton, president of the Church
Federation of Indianapolis.
One of the most important mat
tiers of the conference was to come
before it this afternoon, in discus
sion of proposals for reorganization
of the council through centraliza-
ton of control of the several COM
AllJtSGS anu COMMISSIONS.
Consultations Planned
Submitted to the delegates by
DR.. George w. Richards, president
Of the Theological seminary of the
Reformed Church of the United
States, who is chairman of the
council committee on functions and
structure, the report embraced such
proposals as:
Council meetings every two years
instead of every four; reduction of
the number of delegates almost so
per cent; elections of officers for
two years instead of four; combina-
ton of the executive and admins
trative committees into one body;
consolidation of the departmental
work.
The report also took cognizance of
criticism of the councils utterances
on social questions by asserting lit
is not practicable to draw a hard
and-fast line between the questions
on which public pronouncement by
the council is appropriate and those
on which it is Inappropriate. ="
First Meeting Tonight
However, the report set out that
constituent churches wisely may
recogflnize the council as an agent
which may, on appropriate occa-
sions, perform administrative func-
lions requested by constituent
bodies"
Mondays failure of the national
house of Representatives to pass the
Garner dry repeal resolution was
brought before the conference in
a resolution by the Rev. r. A.
Hutchinson, general secretary of the
Presbyterian board Of missions.
The resolution referred to the
council business committee, urged
the conference send to President
Hoover a letter urging the federal
government to increase vigilance N
enforcement of the prohibition laws"
in view of the significance of the
house vote defeating the repeal
measure"
First public meeting of the con-
ference will be held tonight at the
First Baptist church when DR..
Mary E. Woolley. president of Mt.
Holyoke college, and United States
delegate to the world disarmament
conference at Geneva, will be the
principal speaker The Rev. Charles
Clayton Morrison, Chicago, editor
of the Christian Century, also will
speak
Three meetings of affiliated groups
were held Monday at the SEVERN.
The United Stewardship Council
voted to hold a world congress in
Washington in June, 1884. The last
world meeting was held in Edin-
burgh, Scotland
Officers Are Named
officers elected are DR.. William
E. Lampe, Philadelphia, president;
Mrs. James Duguit Jr., New York.
president, and the Rev. Harry
S. Myers, New York, secretary.
The Rev. Irwin E. Deer, Kansas
City, former indianapolis resident
and Manual high school graduate,
was elected president of the Asso-
citation of Executive Secretaries of
City and State Council of Churches.
The administrative council of the
Council of Federated Church Wom-
en- also met to discuss plans for
the coming year.