COMPASSION AND COMMUNITY

No more useful book than this has been written in a long time. Here are described the very great antecedents of modern social welfare work to be found in the faith and practice of the Christian Church from its beginning down to today. Indeed, we learn how the church influenced the state to accept its responsibilities toward its weaker and deprived members, and established the value perspectives which undergird today's professional discipline of social work, -- mercy, love, justice, sharing, the worth of persons and the responsibility of all to be compassionate and helpful to the weak and disturbed. Dr. Haskell M. Miller, Professor of Ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, D. C., makes plain the separation which has grown between the church and secular social workers, and he recognizes that the magnitude of the need in today's world could never be met by the Church alone. Still, the church can provide new and pioneer services which the State cannot offer, and can accept a larger measure of responsibility to cooperate with the many welfare services now being provided by the community. The church must move beyond all institutional boundaries to identify with the whole of humanity and with the total social order. It must welcome as allies every person, every agency, and every skill honestly devoted to promoting the general welfare, -- upholding a practical vision of the Kingdom of God. Social workers and clergy of all denominations should not only read but learn from this book to recognize a new vision of a common task which can only be achieved together.