RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 639, 16 October 1909, Page 11

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

HOLY COMMUNION,

STATEMENT BY THE ANGLICAN • BISHOP

OF AUCKLAND. In_his address to his Diocesan Synod on October 9, the Anglican' Bishop of' Auckland (Dr- Nehgan) referred to the resolutions of the Lambeth Conference, which stated;—" The conference is convinced that-it is not desirable to make, on the ground of alarm as to- the possible -.risk-, of infection, any change in the manner of administering the Holy Communion. • ■ -~. ~ •

The Bishop said he alluded to the resolution because it .had.to Mb with a point which had on more than, one .occasion been' submitted to him. He went on to say:-"Per6oriaHy, the very thought of such a thing as infectidn is so repellent that,l find it difficult/ to speak abont.it at all; butil know that men whom I honour and respect, do feel some little dimcutty, over■■.this- matter.' I hope their difficulties will now 'bo removed. The Encyclical says the conference affirms its. conviction that .'.'the fears which have been unwisely'roused should be allayed by the wisdom of sense.' The report states.that the,committee.-'received the help of. important testimony, with •■ ■ high medical authority.' ~No Bishop; is-'at liberty to mention the name of any person 1 who gave evidence-or wrote testimony for.vtfie .information of any committee; but you may roly-on >he quotation in AppendixC as; being:the judgment of a very high medical authority. '• Tho suggestion offered in-the;last paragraph concerning the use of 'a linen cloth with which to wipe -the rim' is, I think, almost, the "jnivorsaland established custom--in this diocese. The. rubric in the .Office for' Visitation .of the Sick in the Prayer. Book lays down the general practice ■to be - observed in. sick visiting. In accordance with . the'-Lambeth resolution,' ihe clergy of this;diocese will, I know, refer to the Bishop for his direction 'special cases involving exceptional risk!' ; ' ■--',- "-••"■ 'Some little diffioutly may be experienced over the provision of the wine in a prohibition area. The difficulty, has already Occurred) but by. the ■ exerciso ■of ■ a little practical'.common sense on the parts of the-Crown and diocesan authorities, the difficulty has been surmounted. I shall bo glad , to, bo of assistance, wherever' needed,-to clergy and.' churchwardens should the difficulty-be of any real trouble to theni." .Appendix C referred to' reads-' as "follows':— "In reply to your, request that I should send you ray opinion on the possiblo risk' of contracting disease by tho use of the' Sacramental Cup' in common, ; I may • say that no. instance of such communication of disease has "arisen within my own experience, or ,ih that of-tho other physicians,, men of wide arid varied knowledge.and experience, whom I. have consulted. Nor have-1 been'able to-find any "iristahce'.recorded in medical'literature in which:such-''ah' origin ' has-been suspected... Absolute cleanliness, as, understood -.by.. the; bacteriologist;.' is unattainable under the circumstances of :ordinary life; it is the proportionate'.''amount"ofrisk incurred in the varying circumstances,of life that lias to be considered. Comparing the risk/incurred iiv partaking of the' Sacrament with those run in ordinary life, it. appears so small as to be inappreciable.'. The risk/which one; must admit is conceivable, would be minimised if the, administering priest were provided with a linen cloth with, which'to .wipe tho' rim, aud : especially the .'outside'- lip, of the cup; and such a .proceeding would tend to' reassure thosb whose ..fears .have been aroused. The cloth, in cases of- large numbers attending, mifjht bp, frequently changed, .and after the service treated in tho same way as piirificators for wiping and drying the cup now afe."

/,-,." ; ;■' PREACHINQ AT 99. '; ;> Ampng the hundreds of strangers who attended Sunday's services on August. 29 in the little chirph'at the village of Blnrton, there.' was not one whbdid'not come away with the impression ,of„ having been in' thd'presence of-i a' miracle..(says the "Daily Mriif"). They' saw a clergyman who had just entered his one hundredth,vonr, saw a 'man .nearly- erect, broad-' shouldorcd,'with:hair silver-white;' it is true,' but luxuriant as;th,at of a 'youth's, with bright, ctear eyes, and cheeks of'healthy- hue. They sah'.'hini coma-into the church before the Lit-' any,.and then, when the.Litany had ended, saw him:nipnnt the. pulpit with assistance that, apparently was not-needed. As Prebendary Hutchinson stood there silent for. a moment," nimi- | lar thoughts must.. liavo' come to many present.- ITere was a man who was old 'enough to understand'.when the news of Waterloo was' 1 brought- to England,' who was- two years olilon than. Dickens, a year'older than. Thackeray, and four years-older than Charles Heade;-wbo Was twenty-seven years of ase when Queen Victoria came to the throne, thirty'fiVo when the prn-Uws were repealed. -And then ho'began to Bpenk. and-wonder turned into" amazement,almost stupofaction. It irasthe voice of a man of- fprty,.-an-, orator of .forty.-\ It, rang;' al) through, the church. It could easily be heard y l-fv.?*'^," 0 . 1 "' ""fef'loi'' The thrill that wont through the building—crowded;to life last a -visible thing. l : H<!Preferred'directly only.two or three time's .to his own long life.' bo many years," he said, in one passage;'" I have, stood-hdre ;- between, the living niid'the dead. And- again;- " A hundred ' years: seems •S. i .'.i t T . , 5.5?.t,.1?n?:"'. i Towards.intend.: ho. said: Lot this be for yon and mo. thi first Sunday in a now life." Prebendary Hutchinson has been vicar of Mnrton forty youi's. His'first curacy was at Dirnchurch: neat liugby, and thon ho went to lJotherhith'e, where his' dpvotion and courage' during,a.cholera cpide'm c Wined, public recognition.: He was - mar rift]

WROMAN .CATHOLIC CONGRESS; : h'Zrft j Cati,olio Times':. claims "that the. list rv?k dr ? d -. J " ears , hav«; ; witnessed' V spread:, of -Catholicity,.and M the same time'an Intensithe whole history of. the .Church: '" "In'the ■Tw^- 8 'J] I*'nineteenth1*'nineteenth century -- .V. : the .religious, orders.;,v'ere'dispersed,.the'"PepV Tf t .tS- ne ' ,n ?»,Alpine fortress,.'hundreds T'" 5cd ' tKe wiss! ° ns abandoned,- it was/.difficult .to recruit .the :clerirv' W f ,° f ,' tne "me, show, that imU lions ptthe laity had- ceased /even to -go to the ohufches...Sin<B} then thero has been'the world--17?« "wnnon, of; the' mission. 1 the ■restoration r-.f i• ■ r ?] l lf>. o 2»s;"ofdcrs;;the., Catho 10 education, the'dose linking'of■. 'all'the th «>o.world..in..■living; l anion;.withvtho Holy. „ - ' /, hc ?.^* lK ' 'Chufch"'is 'now-,.the->'hiost-nowerful religious. organisation in" the' United a i- s K Sa'SS? '' "Presented-. by . a'' little lock-0f.250,000 souls. I n .,Australia;the'Catho. lies were .a few deported Irish'rebels, with'a. convict pastor. -There'is now a Catholic- hierarchy and :.a r flourishing.:church in.the 'island continent. .In. Africa, and Asia"-the missions were abandoned. They <now. count, their, flocks by millions. ; In Europe;there has.been every, whore remarkable progress. It is safe:to say that ••evenin-Pranoa-'ifor every -practical 'Cathoho of the 'days Bf-'tho Consulate, there' arc' hundreds to-day ."<}■;■ , -■•.-. •• .-■; •'-.;. A. METHODIST Ajpleasant foregathering'tookplaciiu-Auck-land recently, when, at the inVitatioh'of'Mr:' . .? rd ;r H S° b , s - Ebnie'- half-hundred -'members' of -the. Methodist clergy: nfad laity :iri - Auckland the opportunity of meeting'the Kov. Dr. W. Morley. , The host, and' chairnia'n'.-'iri referring to', his; old- • acquaintance'' w'ithV- the guest of the afteraobni voiced the general 1 recognition' of.,some of the- great : wbrk'he'had' done, m,the parly days of ■ the-Methodist Church in Auokland, and, of,, the Splendid ■ sferviee he was now;:.performing'as speak, for tho widows: and' children: ofUhcministry,in.Australasia',: '-The Revs.-.Bbhd'.a'nd Dewsbury and Mr.'.Th'oS.' -Allen: : also spike' in : high'terms of the:part:Dr. Morley had'taten' in jne Progress-of, the Churoh-in New Zealand..,' The, guest,, in- reply,"referred : to' the work of his old • colleagues in -the • Churchwork that' had often: been'achieved' against l heartbreaking: odds;;■ •■Touching', oh'the Subject of the ministry, ho said 'that, thev,-must take a, strong: effort'- to .'occupy the' cities.' • It was J? 7 rH I0p< ? '?5° out into ' th * oountiv, but the Church of. the' future -must" be strong'in the cities. 'They musfget the right 1 men: for the ministry.' He did not'believe in scholarship simply. They wanted men; whether pollsho'd'or rugged, :to. be full of grit and'earnest' ness for their.work. Another matter he urged .was.'the' neeessityto' feet the .'evangelistic note more .prominent. again 'in the Methodist Church; 1 Speaking of the work being'done by the Methodist ministers in the' South Sea Islands,'ho', declared that few realised the wonderful results' that had been achieved, Wr the efforts 'put- forth tp-'achieve them.', ;There'waß one ■' thing whioh had impressed him while hi the Islands—and that-was the necessity, of in- ; culbating into the native mind the dignity of labour, -tho: value-'of money, : and ' for', the' women ~'tha'.;duiios.-of motherhood. 'Por when the Panama- Canal oamo those islands .'would .become of immensely increased importance, andfor' thoVsake' of the: natives effort should be mode to instil in them' some of; those- principles of 'industry and, thrift' by which so largely the white races covered the cartk. ~' '?£ ;DR;;CLIF FO RD'S CH IiRCH. S '-.. On a: recent-Sunday Wostbburne Park. Chapelwas -'reopened', after :' hiving [ been' olosod fpr ; nearly,three..months to enable 1 certain work .connected ' with the "jubilee:' scheme" -to be carried;oht. ...The.interior has been.redeccratbd and "a'new: organ has been installed at; a'.wit of-'- over ■•'aiOOO.'.- DrV"Clifford reminded- hi*