RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 13, 23 December 1911, Page 15

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

I LONDON CONGREGATIONAL UNION. AUTUMNAL MEETINGS. .A new spirit is breathing through the London Congregational Union—a spirit of optimism and -resolution (says the "Christian World"). It was very manifest at the autumnal meetings on November 7, especially at tho business session in tho aitcrnoon. For the first time in the union's history tho largo Memorial Hall was engaged for the meeting, and tho audienco completely filled it. Tho gathering compared in sizo and spirit with even the May business meeting of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, Mr. Murray llyslop presided. After some business Rev. If. J. Wells explained a new schemo of joint Congregational and Baptist Committees in association with all tho county unions to avoid overlapping and to conserve energy bv obviating tho lamentable waste. ' Mr. Wells indicated that this is the beginning of a much greater movement. The London Union by resolution welcomed th© scheme and promised its co-operation. Ihe league has increased its membership by 300 in sis months and now has 1500 members, but Mrs. Herbert, the secretary, thought they ought to have 15,000 members. A statement on the Central tund was made by Rev. W. L. Lee, of Wandsworth, the secretary for London, who said that the fund has now reached «£1"8,473 in promises, of which .£45,486 is for the London area. A thousand pounds a week lor the next year and a half is a necessity if the ,£250,000 is to be raised by May, 1913. •Mt er ,, a ' )n 'ef devotional interval, Rev. O. E. Darlaston, M.A. (Dr. Rowland's successor at Park Chapel, Crouch End), read a powerful paper on "Christianity and the Challenge oi Modern Life." Mr. . rlaston probed the modern problems with the sure touch oi a skilled surgeon and mado a lasting impression upon his nepers by his address. All the old institutions, ho said, arc under fire. With tho name of Jesus Christ on our lips wo cannot deny or oscape our responsibility tor social conditions created often by tho greed and selfishness of those who havo proved themselves stronger in tho battle. It docs matter how we buy and sell and receive dividends; it is of consequence elsewhere. Iho social question is tlia byproduct of such things. It is tho rubbish Jioap at tho hack door of oommerce. A fine audience at tho City Temple in tho evening sat through a longish programme with ever-growing enthusiasm. A serious note, admitting the critical nature of the outlook for the Church in iho modern worldi was struck at tho outset by Mr. R. .Murray llyslop, tho chairman. Mr. llyslop proffered advice to pulpit and pew as to how to win back tho peoplo to chureligoiiig. To ministers he suggested that what tho people wanted was not a restatement of doctrine, but u practical demonstration with their flocks would help them in this matter. For la.i men Mr. llyslop had some sound advicc as to over-organisation. Jlo aroused much interest by an aside concerning the Sunday evening service. Ho did not sug. gest that that service should be abolished, but they ; should prepare their minds to realise that there might be quite wholcsomo forces at work towards th-a alteration of the tiino and nature of it. ISew conditions Tccfuired now methods nirVf Inward Nicholas, an East End minister, gavo a singularly interesting address on Congregational 'work in that great district. Eleven Congregational churches still remain amid that population of aliens and slum-dwollers, and, taid Mr. Nicholas, they are likely to remain. Ho described the way in which all Arc changing their methods to meet the new needs. Rev. C. Silvester iJorne, M.1., pointed out how tho great humanitarian movements of the day are solely duo to the presenco of tho ChrisJ oun ? meu alul lro ™cn could not do better than stand bv tho the'front Pt that cousdc "M to .Rev. Richard Roberts, a Presbyterian Msitor, gave an earnest address on "The Call to-a New Crusade." Sketching a sombre picture of modern social and industrial conditions, Mr. Roberts said that uliat tho Churches needed was "a new order of life. At present it seemed tn rnif el /' Christianity was not adequate to meet and overcome the forces against ■£ cy must llnvo a new k 'nd of Christianity, a. new quality of faith a Snnlv SC thr *1 S J c . rificc - t i T hc - v wanM ' tnWcK, •f° fh ' mo of , th .° "Superman" to Christianity as much inferior to the Sand m effT ity of , s ß irit "al experience and effort as apostolic Christianity bo do S niT m ' to , J " dnism - It could only bo done by a return to systematic prayer and a banding together of men and women pledged to complete sacrifice. MUSICIANS AND MINISTERS, MR. HORNE ON CO-ORDINATION. Jll C V ni, - I,sters au ' J musicians dine together tho improvement of chureh music Unio S f, Ur h d ' f' 10 Church Lmon has dono much to foster cordial relationships with ministers a.nd church workers by holding joint meeting' in various centres throughout the Its annual dinner was held in London on November 4, when Rev. C. Si vester M.P., was tho guest of tho union! Mr. Home said the fact that so many musicians had banded themselves together in tho interests of tho music in f !f„™ if ?' ILS a ,, la I ) I ) f v augury for the future. If Ireo Church ministers could realise that the church musicians wero just as much ordained as the minister-!, there was going to be a. better day for tho churches. A fine spirit of spontaneity camo into our worship through music. It was the vehicle of great hiiman emotions. Many people in our congregations were open to impressions from tho higlinmfUsl« /J tlu ! bcs , t , musi<! wos su'tablo for the Church; all good music was sacred. Mr. Home believed in tho groat solidarity of sacred song. Ho hoped the time would como when wo should havo a more liberal and more extensivo repertoire of music in connection with the churches. In America, Mr. Homo heard services exquisitely rendered by quartets who received fabulous sums, but ho did not hear congregational singing. It was a lost opportunity uuless tho spirit of worship became so contagious that every, body wanted to tako part in if. Congregational Ringing, when it was hoard as a great volume of sound, was the most impressive thing under God's sky. There must bo more co-ordination between ministers and choir, so that the congregation were led to take part in the music of the service. The president of the union, Dr. Keiehlev, of Manchester,, was in tho choir. The Mayor of Hackney, who spoke, said that he vras twitted with being a church-going Mayor; if that was « sin he was a great sinner, and ho was proud of it. SOCIAL QUESTIONS. CONFERENCE AT EDINBURGH. Tho Great Conference on Social Questions, held in Edinhureh under tho auspicos of the United Frco Church, was generally acknowledged to have been nil unqualified- success (snys the "Christian World"). Over 800 members wero enrolled. On the first day Iho subject of 'Unemployment" was well ventilated. Mr. 11. M. Cadrjll, J.P.. D.L., gave the opening paper, and Mr. W. Adamson, M.P., spoke on the cause and cure of unemployment. Practically all the speakers pointed lo drink as the root pause of tho problem. "Housing," "The Care of the Poor," and ''Rural Depopulation" were also intimately discussed. ' On both days public meetings were held in the evening, and among tlinso who spoke were Sir Samuel Cliisholm, the Lord Provost, Mr. John Hodge, M.l 5 ., Onion Rawnslev, aud Mr. F. Herhert Stead, M.A. The conference was followed by a "Labour Week" in Glasgow under United Free Church auspices, all the speakers in this case being laymen, most of them M.P.'s. BRISTOL BAPTIST COLLEGE, ; At tho unveiling of the brass tablets placed in the lobby of Broadmead i Church, Bristol, to commemorate the - close union which has existed between ] the church and Bristol Baptist College i for upwards of 200 years, the ceremony ; was performed by Mr. G. B. Leechman, i formerly of Ceylon and now of London, j 111 his address ho referred to (ho great men, such as Dr. Rylaud, Robert Hall, and John Foster, who wero connected both with tl)o college and Broadmead e Cliurch. He pointed out tlio share which tho collegu had taken in the gi-eat reli- f gious movements of the last two ccnturics. Dr. Marshman, of Seramporc, was •one of its students 1 , whose monument re- 1 mains in tho Bengali Bible now in ns«. ,

which was revised by another Bristol studont, Dr. Yates. He noticed also tho debt which nil evangelical Christendom owfii I o another studont and tutor of the college, Joseph Hughes, tho founder of the .Religious Tract Society and of tho British and foreign Bible Society. Tho proceedings closed with an address' from Principal Henderson, who dwelt upon t.lio sagacity and generosity of Edward Terell, Iho writer of Iho Broadmcad Records, who in a time of fierce persecution provided funds for the education of ministers. During the proceedings it transpired that the college comraitteo still needs about £6500 to complete tho fund required for tho erection of the nonbuilding near to the British University, which is much used by tho students. As a considerable amount of tho promises to the fund are on the strict condition that there shall bo no debt when tho work is completed, it is imperative that a strenuous effort be made to raise this amount.

- METHODIST OECUMENICAL CON- ! FERENCE. : DR. LIDGETTS IMPRESSIONS. 9 j Dr. Scott Lidgett, addressing tho Lon- , don Ministers' Meeting on tne impresj sions made by the Oecumenioal Conferj) ence in Toronto, admitted that'it was . not easy to realise the great importance 3 of a Conference which possessed no legis--1 lative authority and met simply for conf sultation. But he claimed tlrnt the re- , suits of the Toronto Conference would be 1 of immense value throughout the world. 5 The dolegatc-s from the Eastern section s had oome home impressed by the loyalty i of the Methodist Churches in Canada, 1 and they had had their standards of hospitality uplifted and enlarged. The . programme was bewildering in its vasts floss, but the proceedings were never , wearisome or uninteresting, and tho ; standard reached by the papers and . speeches was astonishingly high. In the 5 judgment of all present tho Conference i surpassed all previous ones in the spirit 3 and perfect frankness which characterised - tho discussions. Ho pointed out as one i outstanding fact that no deep cleavage i exists between the Methodism of tho Wo6t ' and of the East. Moreover, tho agree- ) liient between tho different seotions of ) Methodists from Great Britain was such . as to mako it difficult to toll to which 1 branch tho speaker belonged. World-wide s Methodism, in fact, manifested an ainaz- • ing solidarity, characterised bv libernli ity of mind and outlook. Touching upon the theological discussion, in which feoli nig ran high, Dr. Lidgett declared that ■ underlying it all thcro was o generally • diffused anxiety to acccpt scientific mellil ods, to trust tho voice of reasou, and to i believe that the progress of civilisation ■ contained nothing that Evangelical Christianity need four. Tho discussion on • Mothodist Union was the climaj; of the i Conference. Tlio United Mothodist drlcI gates carried off (lie honours in tho dis--1 cussion, and many of tho British delcgates had returned pledged to support the ; cause ot Methodist reunion, not by premature agitation, but by wise advocacy and methods. SONS OF THE CHINESE MANSE, ! LEADER OP THE REFORM MOYE- ' 31 EXT. : Reference was made in a paragraph last week to Mr. Wong Kwoag, who 1 was described as manager of the Hankow Stec-1 Works. Mr. Wong Kwong, a member of perhaps tho most able and distinguished Christian family in China, is (writes nn authoritative correspondent) manager vof the Yanktse Engineering Works, a semiofficial commercial enterprise, which owes its success to tho ability and character of its Christian manager. Mr. Wong Kwong's elder brother, Tuotai Wong lvokshan, is secretary of the Manyang Stool Works. Both these men are, like all educated Christians in China, strong progressives, and recognised members Of tho Reforming party. It is doing them an injustice, however, to speak of them as revolutionaries, though circumstances liavo forced revolutionaries and reformers into common action. Mr. Wong Kwong's dockyard is a well-known centre of Christian influence, and his employees, chiefly Cantonoso, are largely Christian, many of them having conio from tho independent Chineso L.M.S. church, of which Mr. Wong's father was for many, years pastor. Mr. Tnotai Wong Kok-shaii has been u vice-president of the Chinese Y.M.C.A., and is a man of very considerable literary ability. There arc other sons of this Chinese manse, equally distinguished in their sphere. One of the younger Wong brothers is a mining engineer, who has studied in America, Gcrmuny, and England, nnd holds an official appointment in the province of Hunan. Two other brothers have just completed a medical course in Edinburgh with distinction. Ono of these took part in tho proceedings of the Edinburgh Missionary Conference. It is doubtful whether any maiise in Christian Britain can show a better record for character and attainment than that of the lato Chineso Pastor Wong, of Hong Kong. PROPOSED LONDON ARCHBISHOPRIC A SENTIMENTAL OBJECTION. Tho "Church Times" (Anglican) states: The creation of two now Roman Catholio Archbishops in Liverpool and Birmingham, suggests to us that we might well lake a leaf out of our neighbours' book. Our own diocoso of London, small though it is in area, is administered by ono diocesan and four suffragan Bishops, a little province in itself. But the district of London proper is covered by other dioceses, St. Albans and Souihwark, and these, too, have suffragan a.s well as diocesan Bishops. Wo bolicvo that it would tend RTBatly to tho consolidation of tho Church's work of larger London if tho Bishop of London wcro raised to provincial rank, and tho adjoining dioceses wcro subdivided, tho new diocescs to bo created corresponding to tho areas now assigned for cortain administrative purposes to tho caro of suffragans. Thcro is, perhaps, a sentimental objection, to tho idea of it London Archbishopric. It is felt by some that tho Primacy of Canterbury would bo somewhat; overshadowed by a Primacy ccntred in tho capital city of tho Empire. The fear appears to us to Jms .groundless. So long as tho historical sense exists among us, a senso that, in some way, is oven developing, so long will Canterbury remain for English Catholics throughout tho world tho Mother Church of lingland. While wo'aro referring to this matter, we may take the opportunity of expressing our satisfaction over tho nomination of the Vicar of St. Mary Rodcliffe, Canon Maud, to bo Bishop Suffragan of Kensington. GIPSY SMITH ON THE PACIFIC, Tho overwhelming success which at. tended tho firsU meetings in connection with Gipsy Smith's great Pacific Coast campaign has extended to tho mission at Seattle. Writing homo on October, 23, ho says:—"Wc began hero yesterday with every prospect of a big time. Thousands wero turned away from both meetings, and at night the inquiry rooms wero filled with adults who wcro seeking Christ. We confidently look for a big victory in Seattle. Tlio Acting-Mayor gave me a civic welcome with tho ministers on Saturday night. I send under separate cover this morning's paper, that you may see how sympathetic tlio press is; indeed, tho wholo city is standing in | line with the mission." -NORWICH'S NEW LORD MAYOR. The Lord Mayoralty of Norwich for tho ensuing year has been accepted by J[r, H. J. Coperaan, J.P., ono of the most pro--mincnt public men in his native eitv, As a staunch Congregationalist he is we'll known in city and county, and Ims filled important otiicss in tho Norfolk Union. He is actively associated with Chapel-in-the-Field Church, of which he is a deacon. When the city of Norwich received tho dignity of a lord mayoralty somo two vnnrs Dr. E. E. Blyth (a leading Baptist) was in the civic chair, and had Uic distinction of being tho first Lord Mayor, and now, after a year's interval, ho is succeeded by another Nonconformist i in Mr. Copeman, "It. is right to want to be beautiful," 1 says a New York clergyman, "but re- ! rant tight skirts, big hats, and painted 1 faces do not add to tho beauty of wo- * man." • t Wools' Great -Peppermint Curo for t : Couehs and Colds, never fails. In. Gd.« 1