CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 242, 11 October 1902, Page 2 (Supplement)

CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

!r the Irish Methodist Church there . ;•. 254 ministers, 617 lay preachers,

i; if! :._,462.f'hurch_n.mbers and proba-t.ono-r... The number of churches (bn?; .lings) is 468. ■_■":■' <

The Primitive -Methodist Church now .reports the- possession of 4379 churches, worth £4,110,425, and providing 993.49.2 sittings. These are (situated throughout the United Kingdom and British possessions.

The views of the Anglican Bishops Of' England and Wales as to the age at which children should be confirmed have recently been sought, with the result that many express a preference for, and some refuse to accept, candidates under 13, without jspecial permission. The Archbishop of York mentions 12 as the age, to which the Bishop Of London "sees no Objection," remarking' that it is not iage, but fitness, which should be the test. Some prelate* make a differtence between boys and girls, but it 8s evident that no uniformity prevail, (the ages ranging from 10 to 15, and the individual candidature in some Hioceses depending on" the will of the Confirming bishop, and in others, on (the opinion of the parish clergyman.

The annual public meeting of the New South Wales Auxiliary of the ILondon Missionary Society was held _n the V.M.C.A. Hall, Pitt-street, Sydney, on the evening of August 14, the Rev. Dr. J. Fordyce, M.A., presiding. Referring to the financial difficulties of.the society, which the chairman spoke of as "the crisis which had come to the society," he said that it was not the result of mismanagement or defective organisation, but simply the rapid progress of the society's work. The success of their work, and the necessities arising out of success, seemed to be going- ahead faster than the faith and efforts of the people in England and elsewhere. He hoped .that this call from God would result Sn greater interest being taken in the society's operations, especially by their young people.

The Bishop of Norwich, preaching at Cromer, said that there were 200 ilivings in the diocese with a value <if under £150 a year, and the number of curates in the diocese had decreased 30 per cent, in the past 30 years. The proposal to divide' the richer livings was no remedy, the richest living in the diocese being '£1200, from which £750 had to be deIflncted for expenses, leaving- the incumbent £450 a year. It might be iirged with much more reason that 'the incomes of the bishops and other church dignitaries might be reduced. If the Church thought it well to alter _ entirely the traditional status of the bishops, and sell their ancient, venerable, but costly palaces, and relieve them of the frequently high legal ex-, Reuses which they incur, and relieve Vhoro also from attendance in the -Tonse of Lords, no doubt quite a considerable uroportion of their incomes mip-ht well be taken away from them. X the Church thought this would be to its real interest such a measure would certainly meet with no opposition from himself. However, the true remedy .at, the present time was fc^ ♦"> fall hack on the principle of the Ht THw--that the laity should support ■ I»>ose who ministered to them in ■ spiritual things.

What is called the Psalm-singers' Conference, in connection with the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, was held early in August at Belfast, several delegates from America and Scotland being present and taking part. A large number of critical and practical papers were read, followed by discussion or interchange of thought.

Altogether there were 720 new appointments of ministers to circuits made by the Wesleyan Methodist Conference, which met at Manchester. England, in July and August last, and which took effect in September. Of the above number of ministers lIS received appointments for the first time, and 41 trained students entered on circuit work.

The Bishop of London, speaking recently in connection with the North London Collegiate School, said that, though he had induced many young women to work for the Church, still he believed that their first duty is at home; and their education is intended to make them better there. In these days a man looks to find in his wife a companion in his intellectual interests. But beyond this, an educated woman is able to retain a hold over her sons at a critical age, and so, too, a sister over her brothers.

The Right Rev. Dr. Hy. C. Potter, the Bishop of New York, was visiting Europe in July, and it had just been announced that he is engaged to Mrs A. Corning Clark, the widow of a mil-

lionaire, with a fortune of several millions sterling. The Bishop has been a widower since June, 1901, has five children, and is sixty-six years of age. while Mrs Clark has four sons, and a reputation for philanthropy.

. The "Record," a London Anglican newspaper, published in July replies and statements from a number of clergymen on the question of evening communion. These show that in churches where there are both morning and evening celebrations the communicants are more numerous at the latter. One clergyman said that the abolition of the evening communion "would drive half his people into Dissent."

A return recently published in England shows that- the number of benefices in the City of London (some of them including- more than one church building) is fifty-three. The most valuable living, St. Botolph's, is stated to be £2306, and the least valuable, St. Bartholomew's, which is returned at £13 6/8 per year. In twenty-seven instances the incumbent is non-resident, and the parsonage of one of these is let for £550 a year.

The Pope has granted new indulgence in favour of the dead. To all the faithful of both sexes, and to each one of them scattered over the surface of the earth, he has granted an indulgence of fifty days, each time they recite with devotion and a contrite heart, with the sole view of relieving the souls departed, "the versicle and response, 'Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.' "

There was a large gathering of Anglican clergymen on the Adelaide platform on Saturday morning, September 27, to welcome the prelates and clerical visitors to the Church Congress. The opening service, held in the Cathedral on Monday evening, provided a spectacle unique in the history of the Church here. The ecclesiastical procession, including bishops and clergj-men, fifty choristers, banner-bearers, lay readers, and others marched solemnly around the Cathedral three times, the building being brilliantly illuminated outside, and giving a striking effect to the scene. The spacious building was crowded in every part. An eloquent sermon was preached by Dr. Julius, Bishop of Christchurch (N.Z.).

Dr. Bradley the Dean of Westminster, who was present at the Coronation service on Saturday, August 9, resigned on the following Monday. His extreme, weakness was painfully noticed during the great national ceremony, and his intended retirement after the event was generally known.

The Rev. D. Burford Hooke, the Secretary of the Congregational Colonial Missionary Society, London, has arrived at Brisbane on his visit to the Australian Churches connected with the society. The society has already spent about £50,000 in establishing churches and sending out ministers, chiefly in New Zealand. Queensland, West Australia and Tasmania. The operations of the society are also carried on in Canada, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Jamaica

At a thanksgiving service at St. John's, Westminster, on Sunday, August 10, Archdeacon Wilberforce toid the' congregation that the words, "When I was in trouble 1 called upon the Lord, and He heard me," which were introduced into one of the Coronation prayers, were written by the King's own hand, and sent by him to the Archbishop. Whatever materialists might say (and they would be sure to have something to say on the subject), the simple, common - sense solution of the wonderful recovery of the King was that the nation prayed and that God heard the prayer. The pathos of the situation had 'Stirred the slumbering prayer-spirit of a whole people, and the national intercession prevailed.

From what appears in a Sydney Roman Catholic paper, some of the women are not very appreciative respecting the franchise, in fact, quite the opposite. The journal is not very complimentary to these ladies, and speaks of their objection as "this silly attitude," and "the enormity of her silly crime."

Dr. Pentecost, the celebrated American Presbyterian minister and evangelist, who has also become very popular in London, through his annual visits, and by a- prolonged ministry there two or three years ago, has undertaken special evangelistic work in the mission fie.ds of East Asia. Dr. Pentecost expected to start about the middle of September for Hongkong, and will spend a year in Japan, China and the Philippine Islands.

The Temperance and Morals Committee of the Methodist Church in N.S.W. has adopted a resolution condemning the totalisator. It declares that betting and gambling in all form., are prejudicial to the best interests of society, and calculated to undermine those sound principles of industry and integrity on which the welfare of the community largely depends, and protests against the proposal to legalise the betting machine, on the ground that by legalising it the State will surround with legal sanctions a practice in itself undesirable and inimical to the best welfare .of its citizens.