CONGREGATIONAL CONFERENCE.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7144, 4 September 1888, Page 5

CONGREGATIONAL CONFERENCE.

RECEPTION Off THB ENGLISH DELEGATES.

A tea and public meeting was held last nighrin tonnection with Trinity Congregational Chnrch to welcome the delegates from England to the CVWregational Ooowrenee in Meiboarne, Dr. H_t__ay and Mr Henry Lee. - The tea, which took place in the schoolroom, was provided by the ladies of tbo Tnnlty and Linwood Churches, and was largely attended. The public meeting w.-vs held in the church, which was flUed. Tho chair -ias occupied by the Key. J. HoatHon, and on _he platform, with Dr. Hannay and wLr*_- 6 " the Dall-vstou, Macfarlane. Bradbury, and oOier ministers. ' . {StL?^? 6 * 10 * wnere opened by singing Lso_? * and^ra W. «Vthe fie*. C.W

rh«"&» H 'iEWiS ld that he had to asls the Rev. Mr Bradbury, on behalf of tho 355_EK_^ n ot Ne - Rev. Dr. Hauuay and to Mr Henry Leo our warmest greeting, an d most heartily sympathy which they havo come to cxv nress to us. We thankfully recognise tho "J ng _ a i Qd nob , lo service they have been enabled to render to Congregationalism, and £_5 c *5r lde _ •"Bteresta of the Kingdom of God. We hope that their visit to tha colonies may tend to stimulate and direct our reMgioos zeal, and that it may thai bond of heart and mind "that links us to thesHomoland. We'ju. sure they will receive most gracious wetcotae ____ y go, _<* ttteir owa sates and tor the sake of what and whom itt_*y repre___rt. We trust that they may ___f!f rre !. __ wl Bided "> tal&l aU Uicit wptoa, ftnd that in due _____< thuy may bo they bave-su fAlwiMvsflrvcd Iv th._pr__iKsciiv_ ainiem, a__ w_l bo serve even onto ttuaco—.*" Tney were grateful for tbe mcssago brought to them by their friends—ainessage greatly enhanced by the m_sse_-____s wtio had brough l It. It would not __xv«_ been a -slight thing it their friends acro6_ the sea had sent them a simiile message. but this was more than enhanced by tho fttc t_H at ""hey had sent such mease ngers as Dr Hannay and Mr Lee. As a preacher Dr Hannay had the power of making himself a name wherever be might speak. ait it was not only aa a p-joachor that Dr. Hannay Was known. He was widely known as the Secretary of the Congregational Union of England and WalesT j3r. Hannay had—for England, and, indeed, f*■*-*.? the '* rorld i as for as Coiigrega- , io ' f l as concerned—destroyed tbo lasc.ahred of selfishness. He fe.lt sqre tho cOufitry' was' gtatefiilto him for tne a_lieu_a which he had commended to the Churches and which he had obtained the atsceptaneo ot He felt sure that Dr. Hannay's labors wonld be appreciated for more than tho 'present. As to Mr Lee, he was a sainpto of what religion could do for the life of a business man. As an employer, he was a, sample of _ the patriarchs, like others' at Home. Mr/Lee was a man like ."Salt and Mason, wiio felt that' there waa more syn_pai*,hy between the employerand tho employed' than the mere payment of wages and the rendering of a curtain amount of labor. Mr Lee bad beven a Christian member or the House of Commons, % whose' sympathies were always with those'who did tho right. He _h-are-fore 4aked jt*he meeting to pass'the re*aoIntion unanimously. (Applause.) SheC_tA.&MAN said tho Ministers'Asso;ion ha 4 recognised the importance of this event not only to Congregationalism, but to the general cause of religion, aiwf bad deputed the Rev, Mr. Maclarlahc to speak on .their behalf. I&ev I .' Mr.MAfVAKLA.SK said that tho fatne of Dr. Hannay and Mr Lee had sipt,e&d throughout the Churches, and all .would wish.them God speed. On behalf of .the Ministers' Association of Christchiirch "he #iahed them every prosperity iuid happiness. He regarded the nbjocts Of Congregationalism as conserving * the best in teres te of the world. li© most h_artily secdnded tho motion. The Chairman said he desired on behalf of himself and the church over which he presided, to add their welcome to the words of the resolution. He would: ~k» to suggest to the tWo speakers if he might two topics, viz., the |work of the laity lithe Church and the confederation of the Churches. 'He trusted also that Dr. Hannay and, Mr Lc<? would also speak o<t the topics which he knew were in .the minJds of those present. He would. nov. r put the w resolution," which he trusted would ue carried with acclamation. ,The motion yifas carried with acclamation.

, Hey. Dr. Hannay said the first duty he had to perform was to acknowledge the resolution of' welcome which had been carried . so heartily. . He thanked them most cordially on behalf of Mr Lee and himself for the_reception which had been given them. With reference to the remarks of ~Mr Bradbury as to the part taken by him in the movement he might say that there was one (point* pn which he desired to speak. At his Instance the Union in England and Wales summoned a meeting of representativia deacons at Birmingham to consider; certain proposals which he had submitted to thepnion. After the fiist day's. Conference Mr Lee, who occupied the chair, drafted a scheme of confederation o£ the various Missionary Societies, which he .submitted to the meeting of the Conference next day. The result of that was the formation of the Church Aid and Homo Missionary Society. . He (Dr. _J_u_nay; had taken a part-in commending ; the scheme to the Churches and the country, but he desired to give the praise which was due to, Mr Lee for the bringing forward of the scheme he had spoken of. Having said so much, he must say that ho wished the meeting had been conducted on the principle known in Scotland as 'Heckling the candidate" —that was asking questions. Since they had touched ;Nfew Zealand soil they had not prepared .speeches. With regard to the suggestion of the Chairman, he accepted.it, and would first speak of the lay agency in the Church. It was inspiring that any question should arise in' Congregationalism as to the" employment of the lay agency, so called, In the" work of the Church, Tho people were the Church, and it was a fundamental principle that the work ot th 6 -Church from first to last was in tha hands of- the people. Mr Hoatson, i the Bastor of the church, was a member of the hurch : one asked to become the teacher ojC thb Church. The obligation on the people to carry but the edpeerhs of the Church was'a sacred obligation laid on them by the-Head of the Church. It could not be that members were fulfilling this obligation when they did nothing for the Church. It was not sufficient for them to come to church and subscribe to its funds. Ii this were the state of things then tho members who did this were not carrying out, the spirit of Congregationalism.; Ho must npt be understood by this to mean that the members should preach. * ThGra were'very few men who were so endowed as to be good preachers—the aitt ot givlnp; to others the poweri of belief. There were, hewould point out, many ways, of serving the Church besides preaching. There was the teachinK in tbe Sunday school; devoting trained bubiness faculties, as his friend Mr Lee had done, to the service of the Church. There were people of largo tepder hearts, who by moving amongst their. Church fellows would exercise ah influence second only to that of the pastor. Then there were those who _ad the gift of ■ Song, -who could be made a means or great cohesion amongst. v the members of the Church. Let each one find out what gift could be consecrated to the service of the Church. So much for the topic raised by the Chairman, As to the (second point, the question of federation, that was the one great point they had had to deal with in England. •■ First, ' then, as to the Heonffederation of Churche. in a .district, colony or country. Isolation was hostile to Congregationalism. He contended that Independency was nob Isolation. No one church had a right to interfere"with each other, but they all had Interests in common. They did not meddle with"bite another's business concerns, buti they "held church to church by the strong ties'bf a common faith and common views. Ecclesiastical ligatures they had none, but vital tie* they had many; a spiritual knitting of heart and aim, and they were not living in thespiritof Congregationalism unless they were so found. Moving about in England he saw that this did exist. The federation "brought about In Jb-ngland by the Church and Society was to bring together the parts -where Congregationalism was strong and where i<f, $. a3 weak. There were places in England, like the Boyal County, of whence Mr Lee came whose ()« tionalism was ««'^'2s^dM. cu7fn and.munohed a „ZT TV bring these together, and get __ SiTielo the weak, was the *k! ?*___f feleratiou »a England. As

the day when, throughout«£ e jl a ££ Church selfishness would dow_, Heho_^toseet^^ done d °y federation increased fourfold, dream of federation here> »*gj %_ o ™[\ take in all tie colonies of New Zealand, and if a £ ™ e |£bt wealth of Victoria came tins wav no^ « agi&ed, plae-, and he was not sure that it was not a good thing. But tf Oiey could infuse something Rke a spirit oi of the Congregational Chiu-cbes i£ a free, elastic Association, and form a kind of political Congregationalism, so that they would have on the part of the Mother Country to the colonies, and J vice versa, and tbe colonies to each other a , fraternal feeling towards each other, which would be the highest ideal of tbe patriot. There was, he felt sure, a feeling of the mother to her children in the mother country towards the colonies, and if they had some such a federation in rehgion as he had spoken of they would be taking the greatest step that had ever been taken. The Churches were passing through a severe ordeaL In England Christianity was assailed by a mean superstition, sapping the foundations of the very throne ftselL The Christianity of the day had to meet assaults from the side of science, and they wanted leaders to lead them on in the war in which they were engaged. They wanted in their Churches above all, •vital religion, so as to meet the assaults of infidelity. They wanted to be able to meet the assaults of priestcraft, and the men who had the true belief of Christianity were the best bulwarks against these. His hope was that in tbe members of their Chuiches who knew the power of religion, they would have the most effective weapon to repulse these attacks upon Christianity. Then the attacks would be turned back upon those who delivered them, to their tritter confusion. He now desired to thank them for their kindly reception, and he trusted to be able to carry the kindly feelings of the people here to the Congregationalists in Australia. (Applause). Mr H-NRT Lee, the other delegate from home, next addressed the meeting. He despaired of being able to speak to them with that force of rhetoric for which Dr. Hannay was celebrated. He had been desired by the chairman to say a few words on the necessity of holding fast by the principles In which they believed. It was one thing to say "Oh, I am a Congrebut thts would be as nothing -were they not also to carry out all that this rorolved. He wished to impress upon them the necessity of keeping a strict -watch over their finances, and also of contributing their share towards the collections which were made. There were a number of ways in which service could be tendered to the Church, and the ladies especially could do much. It was customary to speak: of the work of men in the Church, bnt he felt that a good deal more ■was done by the help of the women of the Church. The men now-a-days had to work to make the money, and the ladies had the privilege of spending it when it was made. Besides, the young ladies, especially, had plenty of time to do the work of the -church in teaching and other ways, and if this were taken up generally they would soon see a different state of things. A Christian Church was not a collection of individuals, but •was bound together by words of love *nA mutual friendship. This was a way In -which they could show their adherence to their principles. Let each put to themselves the question: What could they do for the Church ? All could do something; and he had no belief that there was any one who had not a vocation to do something. "When they joined the Church they mast carrr out their principles into the -world. They were not to confine their influence with their own Church. Their dufr was to wish God-speed to every form of Christian effort which they thought was doing good. It might be necessary for them to go into the service of the public, and then they must carry their principles -with them. Their principles were the kindest and most catholic that could be imagined, and this being so, their sympathies were broadened and widened -whilst still feeling attached to their own principles. They could also show their attachment to their principles in private and social life. Wherever they were they must always remember the principles they believed in, and hold fast to them. He thought the prayer of every young man on entering life should be that he might live a useful life. These were a few scattered thoughts on the subject allotted to him; but he must remind them that he was not gifted with eloquence like Dr. Hannay and spoke as a plain Lancashire -man. In these days, he wonld point out, they wanted to pay more attention than ever to their Sabbath schools. Their schools here were secular, and religion -was not taught in them, so that it behoved them to take care of their children in the Sabbath school. The Sabbath school was a necessity for all, and it was their doty to take care that their children were properly instructed in the great truths of religion. Let them, then, carry oat their principles by aiding in the tSabbath schools, which would be a way of showing their principles. He had been much struck in travelling through India -with the avidity which the children evinced in reading the Bible, and he hoped that ere long their children would do the same. (Applause.) The Chairman said that some four years ago they had a debt of some £2400, and this had been brought down to £1900. Colonel Sargcod had promised £50 towards the redaction of the debt if the mortgage was brought down to £1700 by June, 1889. Mr Henry Lee had most generously offered £50 on the same terms, and he desired to thank those gentlemen for their liberality. He now desired to thank the deputation for the strengthening they had given them fa their work. The words they had spoken that night would, he felt sure, prove great good in the future. (Applause.) Votes of thanks, carried by acclamation, to the ladies who had provided the tea, and to the ministers who had attended to assist in the welcome to the deputation, cloned the meeting.