METHODIST CHURCH ANNIVERSARY

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 217, 11 June 1935, Page 5

METHODIST CHURCH ANNIVERSARY

Address By Rev. P. Paris

The annual meeting of the Lower Hutt Methodist Church last night was addressed by the Rev. P. Paris, who, in his preliminary remarks, conveyed to the members of the church, as the new minister in the Taranaki Street Church, the best wisues of the "old Wesley Church, ’ ami said that he trusted that this both year that they were entering would be tueir best and that they would see the work ot the Lord prospering as never betore. Mr. Paris said lip had been asked to answer the question, "is the church concerned only with the soul!” He would answer by asking in turn, * Would it be wrong if she were I” The answer to the question lay in what one regarded as the soul. He considered the soul was uot some ethereal thing inside one which at death was glad to lie released and flitted away to wiiat was called ‘‘the hereatter, but the personality of the individual the all-round man or woman. In the revised version of the Bible the word “soul’ was efianged to "life.” The church, through the years, in serving men’s souls, had been serving every part of human life. Recalling to his hearers what the previous day had meant to them, Mr. Paris pointed out that, but for the church, there would have been no Sabbath, which was such a tremendous boon -to toilers. In the Middle Ages even a slave bad been able to call hie soul his own on oue day in seven, and the church had gradually brought in more holy days so that, about a thousand years ago, there had been more holidays than there were now. Sport was possible because of holi'days, and there one saw how the work of the church affected men’s bodies. The age of leisure was approaching very quickly and he did not know that the gift of leisure would not be traced back to the church. One of the priceless gifts of the church to the world was the Bible. Regarded only as literature, scholars in translating it had opened men’s minds and had given a new trend to literature. The church made a great gift to men’s minds by putting the 66 books into their hands. In education the church had served man. The first schools and colleges in this land had been opened by the church. To-day three chairs at Otago University were supported by the Presbyterian Church, while the only schools in some parts of the world we're church schools. He doubted whether there would have been any hospitals but for the work of the church in the past. The church had been a great inspiration iu music, and the beginnings of the theatre had been mystery plays in churches. It was St. Francis of Assisi who had brought colour into art, previously mostly black and white, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, and throughout Europe the church was an architectural inspiration. The man behind the desk in the churen was the symbol of one of the greatest things which people enjoyed, freedom of speech. The church was the only institution in Germany which was standing up against Hitler and a hundred of its pastors languished in prison. Dr. Kagawa had recently told of the work of the Christian church iu clearing slums in Japan, and that was work for the soul, because the speaker included the body iu the soul. The work of the inter-church committees in Wellington in the relief of distress before the Government had moved, he said, was typical of what the church had done throughout her. history. “Do not say the church is wasting time on the souls of men,” said Mr. Paris. Mr. C. Russell, chairman of the men s fellowship of the church, presided and introduced the speaker, and at the conclusiou of the address Mr. T. W. Attwood, whom the chairman introduced as the “father of the congregation,” expressed the meeting’s thanks. Annual reports were submitted by the secretary, Mr. F. Jennese, and the retiring treasurer, Mr. C. Crawford. The meeting opened with a half-hour song service led by Mr. R. Y. Shearer.