Evening star., 1950-12-02
New Church Council
Ends Convention After
Sheriff. Is Installed
By Cospor Names
Stcr Staff Correspondent

CLEVELAND, Ohio. Dec. q
The National Council of Churches
brought it's first biennial conven-
ton to a close last night with a
message to the American people
stating it's formation is "a demon
stration" of Gods power ito unite
his followers in joyous co-opera-
ton"
The message declared in a
statement of principles that the
council stands "as a guardian
of democratic freedom and as
1.-The foe of every political sys-
tenn that is nourished on mate
rialism, and of every way of living
that follows from it.
Noting the menace of world
war as result of the present sit
uation in Korea, the statement
called on the American people to
take whatever may come with
calmness. self-control, courage and
high purpose, as becomes those
whose lives are in the hands of
God"
In addition, the message
affirmed the councils belief in "the
brotherhood of men and seeks by
every rightful means to arrest
those forces of division which rend
the Nation along lines of race and
class and stay it's growth toward
unity"
Bishop Knox Installed.
In ceremony in the Cleveland
Auditorium, the Right Rev. Henry
Knox Sheriff.. presiding bishop of
the Episcopal Church, was in
stalled as first president of the
council. Installed with him were
the other officers of the new re-
ligious body, including Harold E.
Stassen. president of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, and DR..
Arthur S. Fleming, president of
Ohio Wesleyan University, as two
of the councils eight vice presi-
dents.
Bishop Sheriff. in his presiden-
tial address yesterday declared
there cannot be a nation under
God without there being first
churches under God with all that
implies in intellectual and spir-
itual strength and discipline"
Asserting there can be no arti-
fcial division between the sacred
and the secular" the speaker said
"the gospel has to do with inter-
national relations, with peace and
war, with the atom bomb, with
economic conditions, with family
life. for nothing human can be
alien to the love of God in Christ.
The General Assembly approved
a recommendation of its General
Board. which is the executive body
OF the Council. that a 21-man
committee be appointed to study
the programs and budgets of the
National Council.
S2,604, 900 Budget Submitted.
A basic budget for 1851 of
$2,604, ,682 was submitted to the
meeting and Immediately referred
to the General Boards new COM
r1ittee for study. This budget
allocated $541. .147 to the Christian
Education Division, $303, ,285 to the
Christian Life and Work Division,
$271,709 to the Foreign Missions
Division and $267 ,418 to the Home
Missions Division.
Allocations to central depart
ments and bureau included 1922
103 to the Broadcasting and Films
Department, $129,037 to the
Treasury and Business Department
and $4,000 to Church World
Service. A sum of $18.972 was
set aside for the Washington Office
Committee.
In addition, two additions were
made to the budget program-a
provisional and a supplementary
budget. The provisional budget,
for S280,953, is for needed new
activities which should have pri-
ority in new undesignated income
after the basic budget needs have
been met. The supplementary
budget, for $1,549,691. will be
allotted to special operations
such as work overseas. workshops
and conferences and temporary
projects-after the basic and pro-
,visional budget requirements have
been met.
Earlier in the day, Francis B
Sayre, United States Representa-
tive in the United Nations Trus-
teeship Council, addressed the
gathering.
The National Council OF
Churches, organized through the
merging of eight national inter-
denominational agencies, is a
council of churches. There are
20 communions, 25 Protestant
and four Eastern Orthodox, hav-
ing 10000 churches and 31,183,-
227 communicate members in the
council.
Churches throughout the Ma
ton will hold services of rededi-
cation today in thanks for the
spiritual advance signified by Or
ganization of the new religious
body.