CURRENT NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 170, 19 July 1924, Page 18

CURRENT NOTES.

The Rev. G. S. Hendrie, of the Church of Scotland, has just retired after 44 years' service in the one parish. After holding the pastorate of London "Road Church, Coalville, Leicestershire, for 42 years, the Rev. F. Pickborne retired last month. The Rev. Sidney Berry, a Congregational minister, has had the degree of D.D. conferred upon him by the University of Glasgow. A great conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of America has just concluded its sittings in Massachusetts. There were present delegates from four 'out of tbe five continents of this'planet. An address of review, prepared by the bishops, took two and a half hours to read, and was listened to with deep interest, and even enth.usiß.sin.

On St. George's Day tho Archbishop J of Canterbury preached at St. George's Chapel. The King and Queen, accompanied by the Prime Minister (Mr.! Ramsay Mac Donald) were present. i Dr. David Dickie, senior minister of St. Luke's, Church of Scotland, Glasgow, whose death occurred recently, had a lengthy record of service, as be was inducted to that charge 53 years ago. j Dr. R. J. Campbell, one-time preacher at the City Temple, London, has been appointed perpetual curate of Holy Trinity Church, Brighton. This church is purely a preaching centre, and thus Dr. Campbell will be relieved of ordinary parish work. President Calvin Coolidge, of the I'nited States, recently received at! White House, Washington, Commander Kva Booth, of bhe Salvation Army, and manifested great interest in the work I of that great organisation. j A successful territorial Youn? People's j Campaign in Finland was recently held • by the Salvation Army. Altogether G.">o meetings were held, which were attended by over 20,000 children and young people. During the same period TOO meetings were held for adults. I Rev. J. Napier Milne, formerly of New ! Zealand, has announced in tbe English; Methodist newspaper that be is willing : to take "supply" work until tbe conference makes an appointment for him. The Rev. W. A. Sinclair has arrived in England, and will be lecturing on mission work in the Solomon Islands. Unlike some of the Christian churches here and elsewhere the Primitive Methodists in England have no lack of young men offering for the ministry. Sixtyfour men were candidates this year, only forty of these passed the committee, and. only twenty-nine were ultimately accepted. More than half of the number applying had to be declined. On Empire Day, which is also called Wesley Day by Methodists in England, a great "Methodist demonstration was held in Hyde Park, London. Nearly a hundred Methodist ministers led a street procession from Westminster. Seven stands for open-air speakers were used, and it was computed that fifteen thousand people attended. At the last meeting of the English Presbyterian Assembly a memorial was considered from a young lady who desired to be admitted as a student of Westminster College, Cambridge, with a view to entering the ministry of the Church. The reply was that the present position of legislation in the Church renders it impossible to receive her just now as a candidate for the regular ministry. A widely known Methodist theologian, Dr. J. A. Beet, has just died in England at the age of 83. For many years he was one of the professors at the Richmond College. At one time he was the centre of a vigorous discussion on future life problems. He was a writer of commentaries on the Epistles of Paul, one on the Romans being regarded as his masterpiece. At a great conference of over eight hundred representatives of the American Methodist Episcopal Church, and the ! Methodist Episcopal Church South, im- j mense enthusiasm was evoked in a i discussion on the subject of uniting the I two churches. Finally, by 802 votes to 13, it was resolved to support union. I If the union is effected, the United ! Church will number nearly seven million church members, over twenty-eight thousand ministers, and forty-seven thousand churches. North End Brotherhood, Croydon, which has over 2000 members, has distributed personally to 32,000 men in Croydon its annual message. It contains quotations from Viscount Cecil, the Bishop of ' London, and General Smuts. The last-named says: "Our wealth, our institutions, and our science will not see us through the coming ordeal. Only the human soul can do that. We want a new enthusiasm of humanity, a wider and deeper spirit of human fellow-feeling." The Rev. Evans A. Worthley, of the Commission of Life Service under the Benevolent Boards of the Methodist j Episcopal Church in the United States, ! recently stated that a minister is expected to understand human nature, and i be human himself. If he fails on this point his case is practically cleared up, as far as college men are concerned. Extract from the record of a Methodist Home Missionary: "Sunday, three services, with from 25 to 45 miles to travel; Monday, young men's meeting, at the centre jjf tho station; Tuesday, Band of Hope, seven miles away; Wednesday, service five miles away; Thursday, choir practice, missionary as conductor; i Friday, preaching service and choir practice, seven miles away; Saturday, evening free. Durinp the week, the usual j correspondence, visitations, etc., and generally roads bad." y I Dr. Charles H. Sheldon, author of "In i His Steps," and now editor of the j United States "Christian Herald,"! recently wrote regarding the Fundamen- : talist-Modernist controversy: "The whole discussion going on over the questions that are being debated 4 seems to mc like the old straining at gnats and swallowing camels. At a time when great questions affecting the conduct of men onght to be occupying the thought and action of Christ's disciples, it seem? like the profoundest misuse of energy and time to be discussing things that Jesus himself never even mentioned, and which He never emphasised as essential to salvation. The weighty matters of justice and brotherhood and service are being negli; , 1 by all Who are giving their passionate attention to things that in comparison are trivial." The Bey. A. 11. Collins recently preached an interesting sermon on "The Rediscovered Bible." In the course of his sermon, Mr. Collins said: "The story of the Bible is the story of a succession of rediscoveries. Luther rediscovered the doctrine of justification by faith, Carey rediscovered the missionary message of the Gospel, Wesley rediscovered the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, the Quakers rediscovered the doctrine of the Spirit's direct and unobstructed access to the human soul. Tbe task which confronts us to-day, is the rediscovery of the social teaching of the Bible and its application to international and industrial questions. We do not need a new Bible, but the reading of the Old Book with open eyes and humble hearts; not some patent concoction of human cleverness, but the Bible .believed with a new passion and followed with fearless fidelity. We have done almost everything with the Bible except read it."