I saw a moving scene on television: In one of the most beautiful churches in my town, representatives of various Christian denominations had gathered to pray together. Highest dignitaries of some faiths stood side by side with modest spiritual leaders of others. They spoke words of petition, praise, and thanks. As they joined in the Lord's Prayer, the voices of the people attending the service filled the church like the murmuring of the sea.
And I reflected, what do all these people, so different in apparel and in their views on questions of dogma, have in common? Well, they were all representatives of something called "church." But what, then, is church? What is it that has allowed the Christian Church, time and again over the many centuries of its existence, to continue despite terrible human failings and errors? What makes it, even today in our so materially oriented times, a force to which many people are again turning quite consciously—a force that gives their lives direction and meaning?
It must be something that goes far beyond all the compassionate humanitarian aid and care that religious institutions provide, something that is more than advice and help in human crises, as meritorious and necessary as such assistance is.
