THE CHURCH CONGRESS AGAIN
By the VENERABLE ARCHDEACON DALDY ',FHB ,decision of Convocation to revive the Church Congress, after an interval of five years, was a wise one.. At first it was thought by many that the National .Assembly of . the Church of. England would make the Congress unnecessary. But the experience . of the last fifteen years has shown that the proper work of the Assembly is legislative ; the Church. Congress is . something quite different—a voluntary . meeting of Church People, having no formal constitution. Provided the subjects discussed are " live " and practical, and the speakers are men of learning and authority, it may give a message in clear language, with convincing poWer, and with permanent results.
The general subject chosen for the Congress dis-, cussions at Bournemouth next month is " Christianity in the Modern State." No one will question its appro- priateness. Men are asking everywhere whether demo- cracy can survive. Dictatorship in one form or another, Communist, Fascist, National Socialist, seems on the surface to be so much more effective. The growth , of nationalism challenges the collective system . of the League of Nations. The League gets its inspiration from the ideal of the Family of Nations, but the family is not complete. To many, Capitalism appears as a necessity for progress, but hardly,consistent with human freedom. They point to the unemployed, housing scandals and the overcrowding. What causes lie behind these evils ? What is really wrong ? These are large qiiestions going to the roots of " authority " and " freedom," and the Congress in nine carefully planned Sessions proposes to tackle them. Undoubtedly the Gospel must be applied in every generation in terms which the people can understand. The Kingdom of God, ideal and yet actual, involving the supreme authority of Christ and the fellowship of all men in Him, needs to be re-proclaimed in its sim- plicity today as it was proclaimed 1900 years ago. Its victory and final triumph through sacrifice and love must be . made fresh. The newly converted are ever the most zealous. Just because the Congress can keep itself free from ecclesiasticism and officialism it may speak with greater power. But the Congress must speak first to the Church. Rapidly, but only recently, Christians are coming to think of the responsibility of the individual for the laiger problems of the world. Many still think of religion as a private affair between themselves and their God'. The business of .the Congress is to bring home to the Church that " the Modern State " is their affair. Christ is first King of Righteousness and then also King of Peace. But Righteousness and Peace by themselves are sub-Christian, Behind them is the Cross. The King of love, claiming authority by sacrifice and service, alone has the right to insist on Righteousness and Peace.. The Congress may renew in the Church the spiritual conviction which inspires moral effort.
The influence' of Christianity in the Modern State is probably much larger than is commonly admitted. But it cannot easily be measured or tabulated. Still it is there, and it can be deepened and made More. effective. When men accept naturally but firmly fellOwshiP of individuals and nations in Christ as the Plan and purpose of God, though the way to forward the, plan is the way of the Cross, they have no misgivings. The parson is said to be a bad business man. He is generally no economist nor a reliable politician ; but if he is convinced of the spiritual message he has to deliver he can lead the Church and the Nation to do great things: Probably the less he says of practical politics or Cednornies,' the more weighty will be his application of. the' principles of the Gospel to modern thought. Spiritual truths are caught by spiritual men. Of individual . discussions only one or two can be mentioned. That on" Christianity and the Relationship Between States," which Mr. George Lansbury will open and Lord Cecil of Chelwood close, ought .at all ,events to be lively, and it may clear the air. Pacifism wants, thinking out today in the light of the full revelation of the Gospel. Among other topics the well-worn subject of " Church and State in England " is to be dealt with. The experience of the Archbishop of Wales, who has served long in a Church established and then clisestablished, though the circumstances of England and WaleS are so different, should be of great value. The President of the Congress, the Bishop of Winchester, has included " Housing " in the programme. His ministerial life has been spent as Parish Priest and Bishop in the crowded industrial areas of Portsea and South London. He speaks with knowledge and authority on the subject. And the Congress may be sure of a sound and vigorous pronouncement from Sir Kingsley Wood, the Minister of Health.
The Congress closes on the note of individual responsiL bility for these world' problems—and rightly. . Clergy and ministers are Often too much engrossed with their own congregations. We may look to the Congress to press the wider view. If it can give a real grasp of human fellowship in Christ and a conviction that this is the will of , God for mankind, it will make men look to Christianity as the inspiration of the Modern State. gxplanation,. reason, light are needed, but most of all spiritual conviction and personal service.
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