Canadian Church Rejects Jewish Missionizing in Key 73

The United Church of Canada has disassociated itself from descriptions of Jews as a “target” group for Key 73, the North American evangelistic movement for commitment to Christ. It does not, however, rule out seeking converts among Jews as well as among the rest of North American society. The executive of the United Church’s General Council said in a statement:

“We view with deep concern the fact that some literature produced in the United States, and some movements associated with Key 73 in that country have suggested that this is an opportunity to ‘present the Messiah to your Jewish friends’ and to win ‘Jews for Jesus.’ We take exception to the implications of these statements and point out that we are aware that theologically this is not the only place many United Church people would find parts of this document less than compatible with present United Church belief and practice.”

Continuing, the statement says that “we will oppose any tendency within the Key 73 program to single out any groups as a particular ‘target’ for our evangelistic thrust. We are also aware of the fact that some Jewish leaders have found these implications offensive, while others have declared that they do not share this fear.”

Br. George Morrison, secretary of the General Council, said yesterday, “We think evangelism is a broader thing than many others in Key 73 would think. Evangelism to us is expressed not only in proclaiming the Gospel, but also social action and justice. We seek conversions among all people, but do not single out Jews for special mention among them.”

Labor Minister Joseph Almogi predicted that college graduates and technicians would comprise a greatly increased share of Israel’s labor market during the next five years, due partially to large numbers of professionals among new olim.