10,000 Communities in U.S. to Start “brotherhood Week” Obser Vance

More than 10,000 communities in the United States will start the observance of Brotherhood Week this week-end under the sponsorship of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

A call by President Eisenhower to the people of the United States to join in the observance of the Week was issued from the White House. Responding to this call, governors and mayors will this week-end issue proclamations in their localities. Special activities related to the Brotherhood Week will be sponsored by civic bodies, schools, colleges, fraternal organizations, veteran, youth and labor groups. Special religious services will be conducted in churches and synagogues throughout the country.

In his Brotherhood Week message, President Eisenhower, who is honorary chairman of this year’s observance, said: “The spirit which lies behind our observance of Brotherhood Week is as old as our civilization. It goes back to the answer given to the first man who asked, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper#’ Through thousands of years there have been many noble answers to this same question, answers which bravely affirm that all men–of all religions, of all colors, of all languages–are in fact brothers, that no man can live alone. But in every age the question is asked, and in every age it must be answered anew.

“We live in a period in which the question has a new sharpness and a new edge, because there are new forces in the world which divide and threaten men, forces which work to lock each man within the prison of his own mind, which make friend distrust friend, nation distrust nation. In the face of these forces it is imperative that we heroically by word and deed give voice to our faith: that every man is indeed his brother’s keeper, that no human being in the world can escape his spiritual involvement in what happens to any other human being, that no man, in the troubled sea of mankind, can be an island. It is the purpose of Brotherhood Week to inspire us to give that answer for our time, with an eloquence never before heard.”

The National Conference of Christians and Jews, which sponsors Brotherhood Week, was founded in 1928. Its purpose, as stated in its by-laws, is “to promote justice, amity, understanding and cooperation among Protestants, Catholics and Jews, and to analyze, moderate and finally eliminate inter group prejudices which disfigure and distort religious, business, social and political relations, with a view to establishment of a social order in which the religious ideals of brotherhood and justice shall become standards of human relationships.”

The board of directors of the NCCJ is made up of 200 members of nearly equal numbers of Protestants, Catholics and Jews. They represent most geographical areas, and many economic, ethnic and social groups of the United States. The board has complete policy power and the authority to decide budget, raise money, elect officers, and appoint committees and commissions.

VOICE OF AMERICA TO BROADCAST PROGRAM IN 38 LANGUAGES

The Voice of America has prepared a Brotherhood Week program called “The Life We Prize” which will be beamed throughout the world in 38 foreign languages. Radio and television stations will carry brotherhood messages in song, story and discussions throughout the week. Utilizing the facilities of the broadcasting industry to reach the largest possible home audience, the major religious groups have scheduled a series of network religious programs.

The nation’s 18,500 picture theatres have organized a Brotherhood Week campaign to enroll 50,000 new members for the National Conference of Christians and Jews. As a highlight of the week’s observance, 35 winners of brotherhood awards, selected from all fields of the media of mass communications, will be presented with scrolls at special Brotherhood Week ceremonies. The winners will be cited “for outstanding contributions promoting the cause of good will and understanding among the people of our nation.”