JOTTINGS.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13105, 2 May 1908, Page 13

JOTTINGS.

I The Bishop td London organised reU a replica of Jiie famous "Wall \ -'Srwfc eerrioe in New York by holding * crowded midday service for City men \ *j> St. Michael's Chxiroh, Oorcdial. &>p» 500 invitations had been sent ow to representative City men. If lie S* gnaetf/aid Dr. Ingram, did not work : ;?wn morning till night, ajui give . T'fcTtliiig he possessed to tie work, - r>ai ' <Joing Ws duty. But J 1 * People to whom God looked next ~ wth-j Bishop of London were the very H* n in that ohurch that aiternoort. *ewe aerer was such ft problem in ■» history of the w-hole world as Lon- **• It -ft-as not merely that London f** gnww already, but that no on© - tp?* , " it wouW stop growing. *™ popnlation increased 40.000 a I* 1 * m his own diocese,' whioli took * 4,000,000. For nrac of the beet *™£* <rf his life he lived amCng the Fl?*' _ an d nothing struck him more ~*a *"° awfnl division betti'ecn rich "** Poor. They w«re like two cities— i SZ? , ?* 6 Tleir problem wtis XT ,' >rin t? the lore of God to every «lul<l "In London. There were - 1»V r * n who ha . d bc * n . as was forcibly f**u? ful,v said - 'damnwl into the , r P° n tnoso >n that diuroh [Mα^ 0 " 5 * ny la - V - L ' fo WBR a stoward[s£t not an ownership. He de-

J sirpf] them to inako their City Association for tho Bishop of London's fund a I first charge on their resources, purine ■ tlip last forty yeans the association had built 220 churches in tho metropolis. j Tho llcv. Dr. Crawford, President I of Alkpliany College, who has boon on a visit to Grt'ut Britain, has published a sorifs of papers giving his impressions of tho work and progress of tho English Wesleya.ni Methodist Church. His papc-T on tho London Misi sions is an excellent production. Hβ j spoaiks of all eulogistically with one I exception, tho West London Mission, where instond of the Gospel of Josus Christ, ho heard tho gospel of sociai-' l ism. The conclusion of Dr. Crawford's I paper expresses amazement at the j improvement in English. Methodism, i since his first visit to England in 1891. ! In looking into the soul-amd-body eav- | ing work of tho Mission. Halls bo has i read new chapters in the Acts of the ■ Apostles, and has seen such visions of opportunity and revelations of duty that he returns to his College work I with the determination to put moro emphasis on tlie evangelistic note and to render more worthy social service. The Theological Students' Association of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand lias elected Mr J. H. Lang secretary for tho year. The '"Tablet," London, states that the Tohgious procession through the streets of Quebec and the unveiling of a statue to the Yon. Francois d , © Laval do Mo-ntmoreiicy (its first Bishop), originally fixed for St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24th, will probably be postponed by the hierarchy of the Province in order to synchronise with tho tercentenary of Champlain. Bishop do Laval de Montmorency was the founder of the Grand Semiiuaire from which Laval University, founded _ by royal charter of Queen Victoria in 1852, is lineally descended. The Bishop was declared "Venerable" in 1890, and he will figure amon-g the characters _ of tho great pageant which is mow being prepared according to strict historical researches carried on by experts in the new public record offico at Ottawa.— a representation in which will be impersonated many of the soldiers, priests and administrators who spread French civilisation and French, religion throughout a province. where they endure to-day. On. the conclusion of the pageant the Prince of Wales, as the King's representative, will hand to Sir Wilfrid Laurier the deed! of gift - of tho two 'battlefields,' •which overlap one another, the one associated , with the triumph of British arms, the other with the success of tie French. Recent reports express regret at the serious state of health of tho Rev. Dt. Stephenson, founder of the Wesley an Children's Home and the Deaconess Institute. The graver symptoms, however, were passing away, though some months must elapse before the patient ■will be able to resume his ordinary labours. j The Bishop of fiouthwark dedicated at Saltloy Parish Church a few weeks ago the Chapel of the Transfiguration with screen and reredos, in memory of tho late Lord Norton, the founder of the church. After dedicating the chapel and the memorials contained in : it, the Bishop said that they were present to make memorial of a memorable man, and a man who-belonged to a memorable generation in Church and State. Hβ must connect in the closest association the lives and memories oi Charles Lord Norton and George Lord Lyttolton. Together they worked for the public welfare, together they worked in the service of the Church and of her Lord. Looting back, ihe connected them, with other men-—men of the same stamp and mould—of whom he would only mention one, William Ewart Gladj efcono, as the type .of mom who sot a magnificent example, which he would iwe of this generation sufficiently esti- ' mated and profited by. Two matters in which Lord Norton and. Lord Lyt- . telton. worked together hand in hand ; were the founding of the Canterbury Settlement at Christclrarch, New Zea- > land, and the founding of Saltley Collego. There were many more examples i of the liberality and munificence of ; Lord Norton which he need not dwell i upon, but it might be truly said of him and of Lord Lyttelton that they went about doing good'; they were es- • Bontially helpful and liberal mea. i Primitive Methodism, which has not a great hold in London, will gain much by the , return of the Rev. J. Tolefreo ' Parr to his old pastorate at Surrey Chapel, in Blackfriars road (says an English paper). Mr Parr has for seven years past been acting as a special missioner of the National Free Church j Council, but retires in July of next year, and has accepted a cordial invitation to take up tho pastorate he relinquished in 1901, in which year the Primitive Methodist' Conference made him a "pastor without charge." Mr Parr is understood to contemplate the organisation of a great forward movement in connection with Surrey Chapel. Preparations are now in progress by the Methodists of Papanui for celebrating tho jubilee of the church at that' place. Fifty years ago the late Rev. John Aldred was tho only minister in what was known- as the.Canterbury circuit; and the total number of European attendants at the public religious services was 520. vi these, Sα were members of tho church ,whilo , the total number of young persons ati tending the Sunday schools was 130. It was the day of small things, and ono can now scarcely realise in these days of well-made roads and speedy locomotion the amount of hardship and toil endured and expended in carrying on the work and ministering to tho religious needs of small and scattered congregations in those early days of the province of Canterbury. Fifty years ago the number oi Methodj iste who set tied in tho Papamii district was relatively larger than the ' number who made thoir iiomea in ! Christchureh and Lyttelton. So by ■ tho exercise of much self-denial, generous giving, and fervent religious devotion, these pilgrim settlers reared a fcouso in which they met to worship God in the early part of 1858. On Sun'Hy, the 10th of this month, ministers who themselves are Canterbury men of many years' standing will conduct the jubilee religious services, i and on Thursday, tho 14th, others I vho h&ve eewn many years in the province will contribute to the celebration after partaking of tea in TSC Anglican St. Paul's schoolroom. The President of tihe Meitihodist Conference, the Rev. O. E. Beecroft, has i issued a circular to tii£> manisters amd members of tho Church thToughourt New Zealand in favour of a week of epecial prayer. The President requests that i thas weak commence to-morrow. May j 3rd. and ihai aH roimstens of the ; Church, will make arrSngememte with- a ' view of giving effect to the- proposal. Reference is made to the desire which I fou<nd frequent in the ro- : oen<6 Conference that the new Connexional year might witness a greaiUy quickened marolfestationi of spiritual , Ufe throughout tiho churches. Tie P«c j Kident then enumerates the objects j for which, and persons- for whom, spe- ; cial intercession rhould be offered, and ' expresses the hope that tibia eroroise J or supplication, may result in a deeper personal religious experience, and that tho connexional year may be with rrepeat to all tie churches one of rich b'etsLng. Preaching in Norwich Cathedral, Dean Lefroy said a moral epidemic

w»med to be settling domrn upon people in" regard to abstention from public worship. Hβ remembered the time when it Tras deemed "bad form" if a person did not occasionally attend public worship • but it was not so new, and in many London houses there was no difference to be observed on Stuidays, only the absence of ehogpiniSAlthough there never -was so much done in the way of attractive services and earnest preaching—long sermons and short sermons—yet the ghastly truth was that one half of the population were never within the walls of a hous» of prayer. Perhaps, in their pastoral work, houfee-to-hooiee visitation wae not carried on 6o effectively ac it was twenty-five years.ago, but this dad not account for tie present position. Three «kie«s were doing damage to religion and jelisious worship. HeJigion was being discredited by Bfblical critriedsmj and by the ecierofcrfic disGonanoe with Hody Scriptures, tthrowins: a certain- amount c<f diacolouna.t'ion on Holy Writ, while the dootrioe of evolution was regarded in Gome cases as doang away with tibe need of a Creator, and wiiJ* the idea of a fwtuTo e«t-3.te. Far rr.oro disn*trous and misjchievo.ue, in Ims opindon, wees tiho influenoo cf Herbert Spemcor's philosophy, which gavo us an "eternal onergy, omnipotent and inscrutable." instead of the Fatherhood of God. To accept tJio "eternal eoiergy" was to Riye up tihe Divine Fatherhood and tHio Divine revela.tiion. This creed of Agnostacism was saipping and emixtying the churches.