CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 279, 22 November 1913, Page 14

CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

Amongst the unexpected results of the stoppage of the tram cars is a change in the incidence of church attendance in the city. Although church t people were strongly opposed to run ning the car 3on Sunday, still many have gradually adopted the practice of riding in from the suburbs to the places of worship they formerly attended. Many elderly people were able to attend church by riding to and fro in the cars, who are not equal to walking both way?. Since the cars have ceased pinning, many of these people have turned into places of worship nearer home, so that the loss to the central church is a gain to the suburban ones. Amongst other things disorganised by the -:iike was the sitting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian (Lurch. This was fixed to open on November 11th, at Cbristchurch, but, in ron»'"qnonc" of the disturbed state of ;'■.■ r. miry, has been adjourned until December 10th. Referring, at a meeting of the Meljri'.inic Hoard of Health, to the danger of the use of a single cup at communion eerv'.ivs. Mr F. J. Wood said that some ;i::i« :igo an expression of opinion was r'iTj-i from -a number of denomina- •■ r.r» regarding the iit=t> of separate cups. Tile m.ij.ir.ry of the churches favoured M'jHirale cuds, but others refused to make any change. The use -of one cup ■i< most insanitary and unhealthy. '!•• had received a communication from Ari'hl>ish-c-p Clarke on the subject, in ' v hifh it was staled that the matter had been d-iscuased at t.he Lambeth Confer•■n<\\ and it was decided that the use of the separate cup wafi not desirable. Dr. Robcrtenn remarked that he did not 'hink That the board "nan the power to dictate .is to the way in vnn'c'l the camnviiriun -.vrae should' be distributed. It wan ;i rel'-cjiotas rite. Mr Smith moved thai fie subject 'bo referred to the various li-'-rvominatione r\<rt using separJte caps. -.vrt-h a reqi;.\ ' that it be dinouffted si: the annnal conferences. The m 'ti.in was carried. Ureaiiso their popular rector, the Rev. Louis yon Kovics, haH "been transferred to I'a-'euii , . Now Jersey, one thousand members >.f the local Hungarian Catholic congregation held an indignation meeting and decided to withdraw from the Philadelphia diocese unices the order of '.ranefer if s withdrawn. When Mr Kovice ti'.jk ;iie ohurdh it had 14S members and a lirgv debt. Within a year it had l..".0O members and the church debt was wiped out. The Swedish poet and dramatist, Ptrindberi. who died in Stockholm some ; time .lac was a. ratiomlist. and railed ! frequently ig-iinst the Bible. The "Bcr- ; liner Tuircblatt" thus told the story of : ?trindber<r's last hours. —"lt was Monday i evening, about 9 o'clock, when Strinberg regained full consciousness. lie took hold of the Bible which had been at his side all the time (since he became ill), and said with an audible voice, 'I am through with life, the account has been closed, and this (pointing to the Bible) alone lis truth.' After that he did not speak again; but smiling during the few remainin; moments of consciousness, he pointed I out that he wanted the Bible placed J upon his breast when life was extinct." The Rev. M. S. Breach, who died recently at New Plymouth, at the adi vanced age of 80 years, was formerly ! stationed in the Kaipara. He went to i New Plymouth in 1872, and for ten j years was in charge of St. Andrew's i Presbyterian Church m that town. j Mr. Raymond Robins, who, with Sir Fred. B. Smith, has been touring the world in the interest of the "Men and ' Religion Movement," worked at first as j a miner. Then he studied, and gradu ! ated in law at Columbia University. He j was in the Klondyke rush, and returned j a very wealthy man. Mr. Robins de I votes his time to Christian work in the I Chicago slums, lie insists that the I progress of the race can only come from j Christianity and politics, that arc mov I ing with the line of human life, and are I recognising human need. The N'ewcastle-on-Tyne Y.W.C.A. raised £9,000 towards the £27,000 re quired for the extension of the premises in the. city, the Holiday Home at Whitley Bay, and for the branches in the country. Brigadier-General Doran made the following eulogistic remark anent the Y.M.C-A. work in the regular army camp at Devon:—"During my tour 1 have heard nothing but praise of the work the V.M.C.A. is doing. It has a remarkable effect on the conduct of the

troops." The Rev. J. C. Jones, M.A., closed his 67th year as pastor of Spalding Baptist Church, and had attained his 90th birthday. He celebrated the latter by presiding over a meeting of the Spalding Board of Guardian. The old gemlemaii had not had an illness for 70 years. Alderman Sara Edwards recently celebrated his diamond jubilee as a Sunday-school teacher in connection with Kbenezer Congregational Chapel, .-Mi-oliH'iisn Lane. Jn 11)00 he was Lord .Mayor ol Birmingham. He has corr dueled the same class for 60 years, excepiiiig when laid aside by sickness on onr or two occasions. During his furlough in Great Britain, Mr. J. \\\ Walker, who is a director oi the Papuan Industries, Limited, an industrial mission carrying on operations at Torres Strait and British New Guinea, succeeded in securing £12,500 which, with the £24,000 previously sub scribed, brings up the total to about £36,000.