Evening star., 1942-07-11

mainly with postwar reconstruction
in the United States and specifically
with the problem of unemployment
after the war. That Is why 1t en-
cages the attention of church lead
ers who are especially interested In
United States economic problems,
and not the religious groups which
are concerned primarily with the
bases of a just and durable peace
throughout the world
Rabbis Urge Federal Union.
This week, also, a leading jewish
group, the Rabbinical Assembly OF
America, adopted a statement OF
peace detectives which advocated, as
the underlying proposal, creation OF
a federal union to whom the con-
stituent nations would delegate
portion of their national sovereignty.
This union, according to the rab-
! binical proposal. would be union of
| democratic nations. which should
aim eventually TO embrace all the
| democratic nations of the world.
The Rabbinical Assembly proposal
( is believed to be an unusual one. Ac-
cording to digest of more than so
major religious announcements on
| the postwar world made by Richard
Fagley, education secretary of the
/ Churcn Peace Union, a federation OF
democratic states, received almost no
support, nor does the proposal that
preponderant power should be in
the hands of the free peoples.
A number of religious statements
| call for some type of international
organization authority or govern
menU, but presumably this body
would include all nations, whether
or not they were democratic. Some
! statements suggest a reconstructed
League of Nations, others some type
of world government, commonwealth
or agency with delegated powers,
still others a federation of peoples,
not a league of states. Several
statements urge regional federations,
with a superfederation to co-ordi-
nate the regional authorities. About
a half dozen statements specifically
advocate a European Federation of
Nations.
Other developments this week on
the postwar front:
The General Synod of the Evan
gelical and Reformed Church called
for new conception" of the eco
nomic order, which would mot be
dominated by the profit nor
directed only to the end of profit
making"
The Northern Baptist Convention
announced it is raising a fund of
$250,00O for postwar church build
| ing. The fund will represent the
initial amount required to begin a
long-term building project when
building operations are again pos
sible. It is planned to build
churches in suburban developments
which have sprung up since the be-
ginning OF the war.
John Foster Dulles and DR.. Walter
Van Kirk, chairman and secretary.
respectively, of the Commission to
Study the Bases Of Just and Dur
able Peace of the Federal Council OF
Churches, arrived in England to
confer with British church leaders
on matters Of mutual interest in the
area OF postwar reconstruction.
They will also speak at British
church gatherings and tell what
American churches are doing in
regard to postwar problems. The
two American churchmen were in
vited by the Archbishop Of Canter-
bury.
Undersecretary of State Welles is
keenly interested in the mission of
the two American church leaders.
Mr.. Welles is said to be greatly i'm
pressed with the work of John Fos-
ter Dulles, an eminent interna-
tional lawyer.
Church Contributions.
| Contributions to Protestant
churches during the year 1941 in
creased by more than $l7,5G0,00O
over the previous year and mem
bership increased by more than one
million over the same period. These
figures are given by the United
Stewardship Council and are pub
lished in the current issue of Church
Management, pastors trade journal.
The statistics, however, reveal
decrease in per capita giving-from
$13.55 in 1910 to 1888 in 1941.
, But Church Management predicts
that both total giving and per capita
| giving will increase during 1912.