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Appendix VII

Tutzing WSCF General Committee

By Margaret Bearlin and Jean Stock

General committee opened with a service in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tutzing, Germany, conducted by the Chairman, the Rev. D.T. Niles – in the simple but lovely church of the Protestant people of Tutzing, who were to be our hosts for the next two weeks. Before this moment, people had been arriving from all directions. Many had come from the Federation Annual Conference or preliminary consultations at Mannheim, some from the Kirchentag, in Frankfurt, from that great gathering and act of witness of the German Church, others from work camps in various parts of Europe, while still others had come direct from national movements and local scenes in many parts of the world. We had all come together to share in the thinking and planning of the work of the Federation for the next three years.

Perhaps some of you are wondering what a general committee is, what it does and how it functions. It would be quite wrong to think of it as being merely a business meeting at which resolutions are proposed, received and adopted. Certainly we had come together to do this too, because our obedience to God in the Federation asks of us nothing less than the best in the planning and organization of this work to which He has called us. An important part of the program at the beginning was the election of the new executive committee. But this was only part of the whole program of the conference, the theme of which was 'Jesus Christ the Reconciler’. Our prayers and Bible studies, addresses and discussion were au related to this theme. Worship was an integral part of our meetings simply because we knew that we were dependent on God who has called us to witness for Jesus Christ and take part in this task of reconciliation amongst students in different parts of the world. Morning and evening prayers were led in accordance with the traditions of various confessions. We were reminded of the unique ecumenical nature of the Federation through our participa-

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tion in Orthodox services on two days during the meeting. Each day intercessions were concerned with the task of the Church and specially the work of Student Christian Movements in particular areas of the world.

It was a most significant meeting for us all. For the first time in the history of the Federation, all of the related movements were represented. To our great joy, this included our friends from China, one of whom was Bishop K.H. Ting, a former member of the Federation staff and known and loved by so many members of the Federation in different parts of the world. There was a most representative group from the movements in Latin America and their presence gave a distinctive character to the gathering. Also from the continent of Africa, there was an increased representation from the new movements working there.

One of the most exciting parts of any Federation meeting is the opportunity for meeting and talking with other people. We were thrilled to meet D.T. Niles and Kyaw Than again. We had an opportunity of joining in the farewell party for the latter who leaves the Federation staff and we were able to take part in the enactment of "The Life and Times of Kyaw Than" on that occasion. During the meeting, we welcomed a veteran of the early days of the Federation, who was present at the first general committee in 1897, and at the age of eighty-four had joined us in this meeting fifty-nine years later.

To help us focus our thoughts on the theme and yet keep them in a world perspective there were several addresses and panel discussions. Rena Karefa Smart told us of the needs of Africa, where today one-fifth of the world's population is moving slowly towards political freedom but where Christianity is still a new religion fighting against syncretism and in some parts against the challenge of Islam. In the economic struggle, we must not confuse reconciliation with co-existence nor equate reconciliation with success in public affairs. In an address by M. Jeanson, editor of a French existentialist magazine, we were reminded that it is not only Christians who are working for reconciliation. He, as a non-Christian, challenged the very basis of our faith. The main address on 'Jesus Christ the Reconciler' was given by Dr. Visser't Hooft who spoke of the Church being the reconciled community showing its power of conciliation over all forces that divide men from one another. Although the Church is constantly denying this reality of its own life, we must pray that it again may become the reconciled commu-

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nity. In the ecumenical movement, we have seen the powers of reconciliation at work, and the Federation has tried to make these powers visible.

Bishop Ting told us how Chinese Christians have come to a fuller understanding of the meaning of the Christian faith. 'That it is a truly blessed state for the church to be dependent on God alone'. They have realized also the need for identification. Evangelism can only happen in love, and love means identification. To love a man means to understand him, to enter into the depth of his thinking and feeling. Only as we love with this love does a platform emerge for the preaching of the gospel.

In our panel discussions, students from differing situations told us of problems confronting them in their countries, as they seek the meaning of reconciliation in the life of the Church, in social and political questions and in situations of acute tension.

During the first week, we broke up into six commissions each of which thoroughly examined one aspect of the Federation's work. What should be our attitude to different types of national and local SCM organization, to including Roman Catholics in membership (as in parts of Latin America) to consultations with secular bodies such as IUS and WUS, to the inclusion of University teachers in a movement primarily concerned with students, to the desire for 'holy living' and how we can make students everywhere in the Federation conscious that they are members one of another. The recommendations coming from each group were discussed in plenary session. We debated and deleted, amended and adopted until all resolutions met with almost unanimous approval - this was reconciliation in practice.

During the second week, sub-committees worked on the more practical problems concerning finance, mutual assistance, publications, schools' work, theological education, and the working together of men and women in the Federation and in the Church. One sub-committee undertook a survey of all movements within the Federation, which showed us in a most exciting way, the growth and development of the Federation in almost all parts of the world. Closely linked with this was the mutual assistance program, which enables us to show in practice the love for each other, which we profess.

We worked very hard and our relentless but loved chairman,

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D.T. Niles allowed us only short breaks for coffee. In our few moments of leisure, those who felt strong enough went rowing on the Starnberger See or swimming while others simply collapsed on the rather spacious lawns within the grounds of the Akademie.

For many of us the most moving experience of the whole general committee was the Lutheran communion service in which we realized that we are truly one in our need for the love and forgiveness of God. We are one Body, in spite of divisions among us. To see people from Nigeria, Japan, India, Germany, Brazil, China, England, Sweden and many more waiting to receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper together, is an experience never to be forgotten.

As we met together in these days, we were conscious as never before, of the real significance of the Federation. In the Federation, we are bound together not merely by mutual interest but by mutual love, the basis of which is our faith in Jesus Christ. The unity we realize in the Federation is not something we have created - it exists, for, as members of the Body of Christ, we are members one of another. This unity is not dependent on our being together at one time in one place. We must still, however, realistically consider the issues that divide us, not only as nations, but in all spheres of life. These divisions however cannot deny our unity because we are one through Jesus Christ who has reconciled man with God, and man with man. We can no longer think of the Federation in terms of organization. Its very existence is a witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ who cuts across all barriers dividing mankind.

Again, we are called to think of our task in relation to the whole Mission of the Church, especially in view of the changing role of missions in the world today. For many of us a most valuable part of this General Committee was not the questions answered for us, but rather those asked of us. Do we really understand the meaning of evangelism? Are we sincere in our reasons for wanting to proclaim the Gospel? Is our concern just to proclaim the Gospel, without caring whether it is heard or believed? These are some of the questions, we must continually ask of ourselves. In the closing service, we were called to a rededication of ourselves to be used in this task of reconciliation in the world today.