CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOUR UNION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 225, 28 September 1897, Page 2

CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOUR UNION.

THE ANNUAL CONVENTION

At the opening of the convention yesterday afternoon, the Rev. W. J. "Williams (Chairman) gave an address on "The Three Waitings." One of the most familiar of Bible words he said was " Wait." Obviously the word was used with a great many shades of meaning. Sometimes it applied to God, sometimes to man, sometimes to worship, sometimes to work, sometimes to temporal and sometimes to spiritual service. It was said that the great discoverer of chloroform, when asked ■what was the greatest discovery he ever i made, replied with refreshing frankness, " The greatest discovery I ever made was that Christ was my Saviour," and that was the discovery that lay at the root of every true Christian life. They could not: expect to get into touch with God unless j they had communication with him, unless j they made their requests known to Him. He thought a good deal of prayer was,; unsuccessful because of an absence of the ■ spirit of waiting. They should wait upon j the Lord in the way of service—wait to j receive God's orders, and then wait to j carry them out. It was when they felt j that they were waiting upon the Lord, j their loving Redeemer, the glorified Lord, j that they became conscious of all the! strength they needed for His serv ice, and j they would think nothing of doing it, j They would do it feeling that they were i serving the Lord. Another kind of waiting j was mentioned in St. Paul's epistle to the : Corinthians, " Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, There were not wanting Baxters who could say the exact time of the Lord's coming. There were also j some who would say the world was getting worse—everything was working up to a climax ; but never mind, the Lord would soon come and He would set everything right. Do they think Apostolic teaching was to set an exact time and dats to the coming of our Lord ? He thought it was to leave reverently the exact period of our Lord's coming as one of the secrets held in the Father's right hand. He was quite sure that the whole drift of Apostolic testimony was to condemn as unchristian the tendency to sit still, doing nothing, in the hope that when the Lord came He would make everything right. They had to do all that they could to°make the world fit for such a King as Christ to live in. "THE PLEDGE AXD COMMITTEES/ Ten minute papers were then read on "The Pledge and Committees." The paper of Miss Wilson (read by Sister Kenneth) dealt with "The Pledge as it Affects the Individual." Miss Wilson dealt with the clauses of the pledge, and impressed on the Endeavourers that to carry them out they needed a careful, earnest study of God s word. Discussion followed in which the Rev. W. A. Sinclair, Mr Graham and Rev. H. R. Dewsbury took part. "The Pledge, as it Affects the Society " (Mr G. W. L. Robinson's paper) was read by Miss Robinson. The efficiency and very often the existence of a Christian Endeavour Society depended, said the paper, upon a faithful performance by the members of the pledge and the forming of a guard around the society. Miss Woodman contributed the solo, •'The Cry of the Lost,:: Mrs J. W. Stewart accompanying. Miss Mason followed with a paper on " Their Mission Within the Society. The writer thought that the important mission the committee work had, was to teach them the necessity of true and wholehearted consecration. There was not.one committee in any society connected with the Union in which true whole-hearted consecration was not absolutely necessary for efficient service.

Mrs.Haydon read a paper (written by Mr Haydoa) on "Their Mission Without the Society," in which it was shown what good work was done outside the society by the various committees connected wifh it. The members of the Lookout Committee found their work in watching over the spiritual welfare of their fellow-En-deavourers. The Prayer Meeting Committee had not only to attend the meetings, but to see that suitable topics were chosen, and that the attendance was as large as possible. The Social Committee tried to show, by their lives to the world around, the good effects of belonging to the society. The Missionary Committee worked up interest in missions by holding bright, attractive meetings, at which information •was given about those engaged jn mission work. They also busied themselves in collecting subscriptions to enable the mission to be carried on, and in making clothing to be given away by the missionaries. The object of the Sunshine and Visiting Committee was to carry sunshine into the houses of those in sickness. Such houses were to be found in every congregation, and timely visits, a bunch of flowers, or a tract often helped to brighten the sick and the sorrowing. Mr R. B. Heriot said the sphere of the Committees was somewhat limited, and he •would like to see the Gospel taken more to the poor. Many thousands in Auckland never darkened a church door; and no wonder, the churches were too respectable, and men did not like to go into them in their working clothes. Instead of spending money on adorning their churches, they should establish outposts. The Rev. W. J. Williams did not think the churches in Auckland could be called extravagant. He Mould like to see the Societies giving prominence to temperance work.