SPIRITUAL REVIVAL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 171, 22 July 1931, Page 10

SPIRITUAL REVIVAL.

LONDON YOUTH CAMPAIGN.! REV. LIONEL B. FLETCHER'S PART. WELCOMED BACK TO AUCKLAND. That the world was on the threshold of a spiritual awakening on the lines of interdenominational Christian Church unity, was stressed at the public meeting of welecome held in the crowded Bercsford Street Congregational Church last evening in honour of the Rev. Lionel B. Fletcher and Mre. Fletcher, who have just returned from the Youth Evangelistic Campaign in London. Sir George Fowlds presided and welcomed the minister. The congregation, he said, felt that as the result of its prayers, it had helped its pastor and wife in their special wdrk overseas. The Rev. Ivo Bertram, for the Auckland Ministers' Association, said all were impressed at the success attained by Mr. Fletcher in the campaign which had helped to show that the solution of the world's troubles was contained in the Bible. Tlie Rev. W. Walker, of Pitt Street Methodist Church, after conveying the personal greetings of the Rev. Joseph Kemp, referred to the international reputation of the returned pastor. The Rev. Evan Harries, of St. James , Presbyterian Church, spoke on similar lines. The Moderator of the Congregational Union, the Rev. Harry Johnson, said they rejoiced to have Mr. Fletcher bad because of his value in the councils < i the church. Delivering a message of good will srrtd congratulation from Archbishop Ave.ill, Archdeacon Mac Murray said there aras an inclination these days to attribute troubles to material causes, wl sreas world-wide troubles could be considered to have deeper world-wide causes. The Christian Church, in its widest senpe, had failed to apply the Gospel of Christ, which was the salvation of society as well as of the individual, to all matters in life. The Archbishop believed with him in the ideal of Christianity as a body of men and women who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in all sincerity. It was the spirit of love and unselfishness that would quickly clear away all barriers to happiness and prosperity. The words qf the Archdeacon, said Mr. Fletcher, had touched him deeply, for he considered that it was by attending the 1900 th anniversary of Pentecost at St. Mary's Cathedral, he wae blessed with the spiritual preparation and ordination for his London campaign. Having returned as promised to his congregation he looked forward to taking part in a spiritual revival in New Zealand as accomplished in the Homeland. There was an unmistakable call for Christianity ' amongst young people. The possibilities of evangelism had been denied in England, but before it was over complete success was iroclaimed. All the. churchee in London worked together, and with, the help of effective publicity, thousands atten.l';d the revival meetings and 11,250 decision cards were signed in five months. It was moral relationships in life that troubled the young people. He found that they were sick of the sound or mention of war because they knew nothing about its ghastliness and futility. They were unspoilt by it and looked for something better. They desired, like the world in general, the Message of Christ, not denominational, but as a reality. Spiritual revival that had swept throughout the Homeland, had spread on the Continent, even into Russia. Poland and Germany.