AN ANGLICAN MISSION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 823, 23 May 1910, Page 5

AN ANGLICAN MISSION.

CHURCH LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND. IMPRESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH VISITOR. ADVICE AND SUGGESTIONS. No. I The Rev. H. A. Kennedy,' an Anglican clergyman, is just concluding a tour of Neiv Zealand as one of the forerunners of the General Mission, which is to be held towards the end of the year by some fifteen clergymen from England. At the request of a Dominion representative, he has written a very interesting account of his impressions of tho country, and Church life in this part of the world; also his ideas as to the methods and scopo of the mission, and makas some valuable suggestions as to Church work and organisation. He writes: It was, of course, a great venture to start for New Zealand, and to face nearly four months' work of preparation, for the general mission, involving about seven months' absence from England; and tho time has been so fully occupied that the mind is rather confused with the succession of events of people, and of places which followed one another so qujckly. But if one of the "fore-run-ners" may speak for both as .regards matters connected with tho work, and for himself alone as regards things outside, tliere are some things which emerge more clearly than others out of the confused heap of impressions. And first it is neoessary to express a heartfelt appreciation of the personal courtesy and kindness shown to ns by bishops, and clergy, and by such lay-people_ as we came across. It is pleasant to think that we were not merely well treated' as "guests," by all who entertained us, but made thoroughly at home with friends. Ono of the sad things is to feel_ that probably we may never, meet again in this world some of those whom in - a short time we learned to Tegard with so much affection and respect, as friends in the fullest sense of the word. Obviously Delightful. There are many things obviously delightful about 1 New Zealand. There iB the beautiful country, so full of features to charm the eye; some _ aspects of Auckland, Wellington, Napier, Dunedin, and other towns. will never fade from memory; there is the climate, with all its sunshine and brightness, even if the variableness is sometimes a little trying; there is the pleasure of being in a community where at least an attempt has been made to secure an average prosperity for the many, rather than great luxury and great possessions forttie few; at the expense of the many. It is a wonderful thing, again, to see what has been done for the development of New Zealand in so short a time, and by such a comparatively limited number of people. It is not because, as we are told, people hero "like to hear" 6uch things that they are said, but because they are true; and if there is another side to the question, if there are equally obvious criticisms which ought to be made on New Zealand life, the wise New Zealander will try to find them for himself, and that will be much more wholesome than if they come from the casual visitor! A Suggestion. Our work was, of course, directly concerned with tho life of the Anglican Church; and here again our first and abiding impression was that of the earnest and self-denying work being done by the clergy and lay readers in carrying the services of the Church over such wide areas as many of them have to minister , in. Tho question often occurred to us as to whether too much was not sometimes being attempted, whether real effectiveness was not being sacrificed in the effort to cover a great deal of ground; but in regard to snch general policy it is not' possible to offer any opinion, even-though the doubt was suggested by some of the most zealous and thoughtful of the clergy. One great thought which forced itself upon us was that of, the need of a body, of clergy, not tied to any parish, nor at the disposal of any particular bishop; but whose primary work would be that of encouragement and spiritual help "to the clergy nnd people in the more isolated districts as well i.s in the cities and towns. If such a body were diocesan, the almost unavoidable necessity would be for (he bishop to use them to fill temporary vacancies, and meet emergencies, and so to cut them .off from their true work, which would not be to fill the place of absent priests, but to stimulate and help those who were at work under trying conditions,, by visits, missions, retreats, quiet days, and so on. There are many to whom the opportunities of counsel from a brother who understood their difficulties, but yet; lived outside them, would bo of inestimable value. Of course, to say that such a body would be "extra diocesan" would not mean that any work would ever ha done in a diocese without the approval and permission of the bishop,, as this would always be necessary for whatever was undertaken. Organisation. . In regard to the organisation of the Church, two things appeared to us very strange—first, that the bishop should have 110 place as such among, the nominators to the incumbency of a parish,' and secondly, that in several dioceses the clergy should receive their stipends directly from the vestries. .It seemed to us that in the latter matter the Church had much to leavn either from the methods of the disestablished Church of Ireland, or. from those of the Wesleyan body as we know it in England. It cannot be to the highest interests of the Church, or of religion, that the process of "starving out" a priest should have been mentioned to us as often as it was. But here also we only speak as tho'se who propound questions to thoughtful church people in New Zealand—not as those who presume to lay down an opinioh. Scope of the Mission. j When we came to New Zealand, wo found that there was a widespread ex- [ pectation (of which neither we nor the ' English committee had ever heard) lhat " there would be a visit paid by the mis- > sioners to every parish and district in J the Dominion; but this was.obviously im- » possible, if leal missions, properly prepared for, and lasting a sufficient time to 1 produce any permanent effect, were to ' be held! And so, much as we regretted I the disappointment which would neces- . surily come to many parishes, and keenly . as we felt for our brother clergy in the I matter, we had to choose between two alternatives—either to contemplate the , entire postponement of the mission, or to [ arrange as many real missions as we i could with the thirteen missioners avail--1 able (the number' has since been increased to sixteen). The former would have been a. disastrous proceeding for the Church; and so, after consultation with the bishops and their adrisers we have arranged for missions, some last-ing-ten days, others six'days, in ninetytwo centres, nearly all of which were visited by one or . other of the "forerunners." This was on the supposition that there were only thirteen missioners, twelve directly from England, and Mr. Colville, late Diocesan Missioner of Hereford, and now working in the Diocese of Auckland, who has been set free by the Bishop for the whole time of the mission. In two or three parishes also, missions are being taken by New Zealand clergy. • Three additional missioners. however, are now coining from England, so that it will be possible for the bishops to arrange for some more missions in anv diocese where they may think it desirable. H. A. KENNEDY.