Page 4 Advertisements Column 2

Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 50, 1 March 1883, Page 4

ho apparent to tho morest child. And what Hhould I do in oithcr of th« ca^es I havo tried to pioturo? I should either turn my back upon thorn, or burst out langhing in the supplicant's faco, and very properly so. During tho recent period of depression through which -we have passed, I, in common uith many othera in Wellington, have had frequent applications made to me for help and aßsistiince. I have had peoplo como to mo, who did not know where to get a meal or a bod, and havo beon asked to provide the means of obtaining these. In each caso tho applicants felt their need of what they asked for, but never in any single instance did any ono, with tho least hope of thoir request being granted, daro to come to me, a fellow creature, with a song in their months, and intone their requests. No, thoy would have seen tho absurdity of it, and not attempted such a thing. And, to go fnrther, I will mention ono caso, for it very much strengthens what I have already said, where a person to whom I gave tho relief askod for, so far from tinging his request, could not sing, or ovon speak his thanks, after having trot what ho wanted, but made thorn known, by seizing my hand, and shaking it with tears in hi* oyes-re«J thanks, like real prayers, [could nover bo sung. And thus a mannor and stylo we would not daro to adopt, in asking tho merest favour from a fellow croaturo, wo aro told by some it is right to assume, whon we go into God s Houso, to pray for tho forgivonoss of our sins, and tho salvation of our souls. I cannot, and do not think I over could admit, that such practiVa are right. Would any man with a dying wife or ohild in his houso have recourse to snoh a Btylo of pra\ ing ? If he did, ho would sco the utter emptiness of it. Speaking as I have boon, I may bo asked again, as I have been already, what, then, is my opinion of Cathedral servicos? and I havo no hesitation in stating that I do not believe in Cathedral services. They may be vory grand and imposing, and peoplo are apt to be carried away by them, but I say they are not genuine ; they will not bear bpmg anylisod and brought to tho tost that I have now applied to them ; thoy requiro too much praotico and rehearsing to be real, and I do not boliovo that one half of the prayors of such services over get .through the roof. And besides if it wero othorwise, is that any reason why we in our little village churches, for they aro nothing more, and with our very indifferent choirs, should attompt to imitate' suoh services ? I say it is a porfect farco ; it is a wrotohed attempt, resulting m a miserable failure, and besides bringing the wholo Church Bervioo into ridioulp and contempt, it is to sensitively. musical people perfoct torturo. And what do we hoar of in my own parish? A number of sonsiblo grown-up men and women, mooting in tho church on Wodnesday ovening, to practice how thoy aro going to say their prayers on Sunday. Fancy that, having' a rohearsal during tho weok of tho prayorslthey are going to offor in God's nouse on Sunday, and what is more, complaining, as I have heard, of the troublo it is to do so. Could anything be more ridiculous or unreal? And what^ia the result of all theso changes and innovations into our boantif nlly simple Church service? Do thoy tend to oreate any deeper feelings of rovorence and respect for our Churoh and her services than used to be evinced? Is it not just the othor way? But a few years ago no one would have heard tile . ohuroh sorvice spokon of but with the greatest reapeot possible. Now we hoar it absolutely toughed at. We hear it spoken of as tho Sunday evening concerts, and wo sco it made the subjeot oflettors in the newspapers, suoh as that whioh appeared in the Evening: Post of tho 4th of September last, bringing it into thorough contempt. What would havo boen thought of such a letter ten, or oven five years ago? Now it is Bpoken of and langhod at as good joke. Is this as it ought to bo ? I say it is not. And further, as' I beforo remarked, does all this tend in' any way to a better obsor'vanoe of the Sabbath Day ? Are onr Sundays spent as they ought to be, or even asthey used to bo? Again let us rpfor to the newspapers for information, and we read on the Monday previons to the opening ofithe boating season, although the weather on' the day before (Sunday) was not vory favourable, yet a number of 'boats might bo soen out practising for tho occasion, and some very creditable exhibitions of rowing were -witnessed in tbe harbour. And a few days later we road again, that arrangements were being for the Naval Brigade's Band to play various selections of music on the Basin Reserve on Sunday afternoonsduringthesummer— excluding dancemusic, as if that made the thing perf ootly right. I say tho way our Churoh sorvices are now oonduoted has moro to do with all this than some people may think, for if our ohurohes open and oloso on Sundays with a servioo that is only a musical performance, one may feol oertain there are many who wili not oonoern themselvos muoh as to how tho interval botwoon those services may be spent. When arguing sometimes on this subjeot, I have hoard that it has been said of me that I havo not boon muoh out of Wellington; and do not know how these things are done in other places. Well, I admit that I have not boen muoh out of Wellington, bnt is that necessary to know how the Ohuroh of England Service should be conduoted ? Is the Bible, is the New Testament, on which our Chnroh and her services are founded, different in other places from what it is in Wellington ? I havo yet to learn that this is the cose. It may be my misfortune more than my fault that I have not seen more of the world, but the thought does not trouble mo much. I like to think that Wellington was one of tho first placos in New Zealand where tho Church of England Sorvico was road in its original simplioitVt and I, with very many others, would like to hear it read now on Sundays as it was 20 or 30 years ago. Some might look upon it as a retrograde step, but I should hail it as a step in the right direction for tho good of the' Church in this diocese. ' " I havo, from tho first, rosistod tho introdnotion of all these changes and innovations into onr beautifully simplo and impressive Churoh sorvice, because I saw at tho beginning what thoy would grow to. Ihavo opposed them in tho veßtry ,of my own parish, of whioh I 'was a mombor for 23 years. I havo appoalod against thorn*' in what I doom to bo tho propor quartor — to tho incumbont of my parish, to whom I have novor hesitated to oxprcss my thoughts freoly and openly, and betweon whom and mysolf , until Jho last two years, thore oxißtod tho most porfect conformity of opinion on all these points. Bnt in the vestry of the parish there was of # course a difference of opinion, and it was decidod some timo ago that moro musio should be introduqod into the service, and a compromise was made that was to he binding on both hides ; but this was niost dishonourably broken through, promises and pledges were disregarded, and a number of further objectionable praoticos were introdnood into the service, without any -reference whatever being made to those who had already, for peace sake, yielded and given way, to an extent that made the service very distasteful to them. For my own part, tho whole thing became unbearable, ana I was forced to take a step whioh I oan truly say it was pain and grief to mo to take. I resigned my spat in tho vestry, and for my Sunday services I have for the last few months attended the Presbyterian. Churoh, where the service is simple, genuine, and earnest, to a degree that is quite refreshing after what I nave lately been acoustomed to. It is really a service of prayer and praise. If I am driven out of my own Churoh I oannot help it. I oan truly say that there are many others who fool very muoh as I do on'this aubjeot, bnt do not like to tako the decided Step I have taken. And what do they do instead ? They think as I think, they speak as I speak, and yet they remain whero they aro, and go to Churoh overy Sunday under protest. * But it must not be thought that the step I havo been driven to take has, in tha loast degree, made me alter tho opinions I hold, ondalways havo held, inrogard to the Church of England and her servicos. Far from it ; on the contrary, it has only made me grasp and hold the tighter all that I contend goes to make a churchman. But Ido protest against tho little paltry pieces of affectation witb-which our servico is now intorsporsed. We cannot ovon hear the littlo word Amen pronounced as we find it written in tho Bible. Clergymen who havo sq pronounced it all thoir lives, all at once find that they aro quite wrong, and discover that it ought to be Ahmen. I suppose thoy havo suddenly discoverod some new rendering of the Greek word ; this is generally what they fall back upon. Others again, in ono part of tho congrogation, prefor calling it Auhmen. And then again, grown up men and women, who aU their livea long have always read of, and thought of, and spoken of, Abraham," are now told that they ought to call it Ahbraham. It is those wretched little pieces of fantastic nonsense that help to bring the Church servioe into contempt and ridicule, and also disgust people who think soberly and soriously of the matter. And with all these instances and examples I have given to bear me ont, I say again that our Churoh and her Bervioes are drifting into a most deplorable state. And tho objeot I have in writing what I am writing is partly, that when this becomes apparent to Churchmen, as I am sure it will before long, it may not be said that suoh a state of things was arrived at withont an effort, however feeble it may prove r having been made on my part to chock it, if only in tho form of a* protest. And who is to blame and will be to blame for this ? I answer no one but the. Church of England members themselves, for though so many agree with the remarks I have made, still thoy will not make a stand against the evils complained of, thoy allow themselves to bo oarned along with tho tide', and go on countenancing and sanctioning practices which in thoir hearts thoy feol to be utterly wrong. Our Church SBrvicos will soon bo nothing bnt musical performances, musio is to tako the place of everything else. Iv our parishos wo profess to be working under an