Word: visser
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Although little known outside church circles, Barnes belongs - along with such figures as Willem Visser 't Hooft, Henry P. Van Dusen, and the late Anglican Bishop of Chichester, Dr. G.K. A. Bell - to the great generation of ecumenical architects who brought the World Council to life. A former English teacher, Presbyterian Minister Barnes, 62, was associate general secretary of the old Federal Council of Churches (a predecessor of today's National) from 1940 to 1950. He has been the ranking executive of the World Council in the U.S. since...
Once, spreading the Gospel was the white man's spiritual burden; now all the world's Christians share it. Says the Rev. Willem Visser 't Hooft, general secretary of the World Council of Churches: " 'Mission' no longer is traffic from West to East, but traffic from everywhere to everywhere...
Long experience in ecumenical affairs has given Visser't Hooft both hope for the church's continued renewal and a realism concerning the difficulties involved. he becomes excited at the possibility of spiritual renewal when churches examine themselves in the "ecumenical encounter." "Once the churches take each other seriously, once they see each other as Christians," says the Protestant leader, "there is hope that they will be liberated from the captivity of their own provincialisms...
Though joyful that the ecumenical spirit has prompted the Catholic Church to seek ecclesiastical renewal, Visser't Hooft speaks cautiously, about the chances for the ultimate reunion of Protestants and Catholics. "We must understand," he said, "that the Spirit is at work in the new self-examination and self-correction of the Roman Catholic Church, but that the fundamental issues which keep us apart remain stubborn realities...
...church itself an anachronism. But it would be foolish to dismiss the importance of the new spirit which pervades the Christian world today. For as old walls of misunder-standing fall, as love comes to dominate hate, it may be possible that the work of people like Dr. Visser't Hooft will ultimatcly make all men feel closer to one another...