CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 70, 21 March 1908, Page 10

CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

Archdeacon Calder, who has been act- j ing as Bishop commissary since ' : the latters departure, leaves for England I * on his holiday on Monday week, pro- I eeeding Home by -way of Sydney and I - the Cape of Good Hope. He will be a delegate to the Pan-Anglican Conference. His duties as commissary -will be taken j up by Canon MaeMurray. A social will i be held at AJI Saints Church on the 25th I inst. .by the Archdeacon's parishioners, to j grive him a. send-off, and probably also-' for the purpose of making him a presentation, of a purse of sovereigns. The Southern Cross, the Melanesian Mission steamer, leaves Auckland on the 4th April for the first of her winter cruises in the South Seas. Amongst her passengers will be Archdeacon Comins, "who is at present the guest of Archdeacon Calder, two ladies from Christchurch who are joining the Mission staff, and the Rev. Mark Sutton, who is going to make a tour of the islands prior to taking up his work as organising secretary of the Mission in Victoria. Tasmania, and West Australia. A farewell social is to be tendered to I j Canon Nelson by his late parishioners at ' St. Paul's church, on the 26th. inst. The Rev. Mr. Favell will be instituted as vicar of Stratf OTd Anglican Church on ' the 29th inst., by the Archdeacon of Taranaki. Eev. J. Guy, who lias been rppointed Superintendent Minister in tli3 New Plymouth Primitive Methodist district, in place of Eev. A. Harding, who is to go to Thames, should arrive in Sew Plymouth about March. 17. At the quarterly meeting of the Tara- , saki Primitive Methodist Church on ' Wednesday, arrangements wsre made for the reception of Rev. H. Whit", who has been appointed to take up work at Fitzroy, the Key. A. Armstrong Laving been transferred to Hamilton. _ Xo action has yet been decided upon m regard to the placing of Maori clergy a≤ missionaries on special islands in the Melanesian Mission, where the dialect is similar to the Maori language The Rev. Mr. Smailes is to assume his position as curate in St. Sepulchre's parish as soon as possible. He is to hold Jus nnal services at Hamilton to-morrow and will be entertained there by the parishioners, after which he will come down to Auckland. The instituting of the Rev. C X B Watson 8.A., to the position of vicar of bt. Paul's Church (Symonds-street) was effected by Archdeacon Calder on' Inursday night. Yesterday Mr Watson returned to Stratford to complete his arrangements for tie removal of his household to Auckland. He will return to Auckland at the beginning of next month. Archdeacon Calder has to arrange for the services meanwhile. Archdeacon Cole wok -the service last Sunday night.

- The vacancy in the Anglican parish, of Te Aroha, caused by the appointment of the vicar, the Key. E. Cowie, to Hamilton, has not yet been filled, but the nominators hope to be able to obtain the Eervices of a suitable priest shortly.

The Rev. Marmaduke Warner, who has been appointed home missionary of the Anglican district .of Inglewood" has arrived at Melbourne, and will arrive in Auckland in about a week's time.

Bishop Lenihan left Brisbane-on Wednesday by the Marama, en route for Vancouver. Father Lynch, of the Otago R.C. diocese, left Auckland this week for Suva to join the same boat for Canada on his way to Great Britain.

The Key. Thomas Lord, of Horncastle, last month delivered two excellent, vigorous addresses at the Lincoln City Mission Hall, in spite of the burden of his JJ9J years. Born in 180S—three years after the battle of Trafalgar, and seven years before Napoleon's career was blighted at Waterloo—he has lived under five sovereigns. He can remember distinctly the accession of Georg-> IV. He was a grown man when William IV. succeeded to the throne. In 1837, when Queen Victoria was called to wear the crown, he had already been a Congregationalist minister for several years. He walks with a firm step, though a dimness of sight makes him peer a little as he goes along. He is but slightly deaf. But his limbs are supple yet, and his hands steady. As for his voice, it is deep, strong and resonant —a perfectly marvellous voice for so olu a man. He has a gift of simple eloquence, and gets far more expression into his tones than many a preacher half his age.

Widespread sympathy is being expressed in England with General Booth in his latest physical difficulty. In more than one of his public utterances during l the week (says the London "Christian World," January 9th), he has referred to the failure of his eyesight, which robs him of the great inspiration —so real to platform speakers—that of witnessing the effect of his burning eloquence on the crowd before him. The general can now only see the front three or four rows of his audience—beyond ■that all is confusion. "It is months since 1 read a newspaper," he says, gaily; -i but 1 don't think I'm much the worse for that" The general can read bold script letter better than type. The blindness may become more acute in a few weeks. and then it is hoped that the oculist will be able to remove the cataract.

Eishop Julius, of Christehureh, left Auckland on his way bacK to Christchurch on Wednesday last. After the ordination service for the seven candidates and the installation of the new Warden of St. John's College, he preached again on Sunday evening in the Cathedral. On Monday he went to Hamilton to confirm candidates there, and on Tuesday night he confirmed a large number of candidates at St. Mary's in the presence of a crowded congregation.

It is announced that Rev. Father Bernardo, of the Capuchin order, who was sent by the Pope in July last to AdisAdeba with a decoration for King Menelik, is returning to Rome with an autograph letter from Menejik and two lions as a present for the Pontiff. Father Bernardo will bring with him to Rome an Abyssinian Catholic priest who suffered persecution and imprisonment at the hands of the Coptic priests, and whose liberation was secured through King Menelik.

A Washington telegram states that an extraordinary incident occurred during service in a Baptist Church there on Sunday, a large piece of plaster becoming detached from the ceiling and falling on the head of the pastor, who at the moment was offering prayer for the President. The weight of the fragment and the force with which it fell were such that the reverend gentleman was rendered unconscious, and had to be carried out of the building, the service being abandoned.

The V.E. Dean Hackett, of. Paeroa, has returned from his visit to Dargaville, where he gave a lecture on the occasion of the opening of the new convent there last Sunday. Father Williams, curate of the Sacred Heart parish, has been transferred by Dean Gillan, Vicar-General, to the parish of Wailii as curate to Father Brodie. Father O'Connell, of the Society of Marists, has been visiting Auckland on a holiday, and was to return to the South this week. He has been called by his order from the position of Administrator at Cliristchurch E.C. Cathedral to that of missioner in the combined -district formed by the archdiocese of Wellington and "the aiocese of Christchurch. He will be working in the Hawke's Bay district for some time. It is interesting to note that both Archbishop Redwood and Bishop Grimes are members of the Marist Society. Father Kemble, another member, is at present on a holiday visit to Auckland, having arrived early- in the week.

Father Tigar, of the Order of Preachers (St. Benedict's), has returned from Sydney, and it is understood that he will settle in the Auckland R.C. diocese. He arrived in Auckland from Europe just after the Bishop left for Sydney, and went on to see him. He has now returned, and will take up the work of the late Father Benedict, of the same Order.

Organ-buildmg is a flourishing business in Auckland just now. Some time ago Mr. Thomas Peacock announced that he intended to give a new organ to St. Stephen's Church, Ponsonby. and the order for the instrument has been placed with Mr. Croft, the local builder. As Mr. Croft has already the work of two big organs in hand—that for St. Andrew's being just about completed, and that fdV St. Mary's, r-arnell. in hand for delivery in August—it will be some time before he will be able to give delivery of the new organ for St. Stephen's.

What is believed to be a new saying of Christ, lost to the world for fourteen centuries, and found in Egypt, has been given to the world by Professor H. A. Sanders, of the University of Michigan. The fragment is part of an old Bible dating back to before the Moslem conquest of Egypt in the seventh century, and appears to be authentic. This long-lost fragment belongs to the 16th chapter of Mark, and follows the 14th verse. The words attributed to Jesus, who was addressing the disciples in a room at J?rusaleni, are as follow:— "The limit of the years of the power of Satan has been fulfilled, but otner terrible things are at hand, and I was delivered unto death on behalf of those who sinned in order t'tat they may return to the truth and sin no more., to the end that they may inherit the spiritual, indestructible o-lorV of righteousness (which) is in heaven" In connection with the great Missionary Pan-Anglican Congress to be held in i-ondon from June 23rd to 26th, the London committee has decided to sell 5000 tickets at one guinea each. These will not be allotted to purchasers in Erioi a nd until a n opportunity has been afforded to every diocese throughout the world to say whether persons visiting England wish to become members of the confess by purchase. With this object seats" will be reserved tffl April sth for purchase by members outside the British Isles.