SYNOD SERVICE

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 108, 10 May 1933, Page 15

SYNOD SERVICE

PRESENT-DAY PROBLEMS

A service in connection with the diocesan synod was held in St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral last evening at 8 o'clock. A large congregation took part in the service. The Synod preacher was the Yen. Archdeacon J. R. Young, the precentor was the Rev. W. Tye, and the lesons from Isaiah 35 and Romans 12 were read by the Revs. G. V. Kendrick and N. F. E. Robertshawe respectively. Mr. F. W. Rowley was at the organ. &{. Paul's choir sang the anthem "I was glad when they said unto me." Taking his text from St. Matthew 22, 37-39, Archdeacon Young dealt with pre-sent-day problems and their remedies. "We have gathered together with minds full of the present-day distress, minds filled with the hunger and worklessness and fear amongst, the great mass of our people," he said. "Probably the greatest difficulty to be overcome was the widespread feeling that somehow things had got hopelessly out of human control; a hopelessness aggravated by the fact that there never was such plenty of the necessities of life and of work that was just crying out to be done. People had been for long trying to put things right, but were slowly seeing with increasing and undesirable clearness that they had only been applying palliatives. "It is as though the body politic has chicken-pox, and we've been putting ointment on the spots to allay the irritation," the preacher remarked. But there was growing a widespread feeling that men must go much deeper if they would find the fundamental cause of the failure to live in happiness and usefulness together. The great need was to free our minds from pre-conceived ideas, and to try to see clearly what were Christ's principles. "Ruefully we imist admit," said Archdeacon Young, "that we have been trying to run life in neglect of God and in keen competition with our neighbour. Increasingly we are becoming convinced that human intercourse will not stand upon a competitive basis." The preacher challenged the slogan, "Competition is the lite of trade." In actual practice, as a result of competition, nations, business concerns, private individuals, were "cutting one another's throats." Competition had resulted in mass production until the world had become so full of products that no one was able to buy them. He emphasised that competition was the death of trade; there was no such thing as fair competition. By making competition fair we eliminate it. The only basis, on which human society would stand was a contributive basis where a man's greatness consisted in the contribution of service which he made to the life of the community. Christ gave us the attitude of God when He said, "I am among you as he that serves." If man couid but adopt this attitude, what a liberation would result! He would be freed from the fear of being crushed in the economic machinery. It was important that we should readjust our sense of the values ot the various occupations. In God's sight, all honest and useful service was equally great. Such a change was not> impracticable, for we were doing it now in some of the most effective services to the community, such systems as drainage, water, lighting, milk, postal and medical, being run on a contributive basis. "SERVICE WELL DONE." "And the reward ,of all this," said the Archdeacon, "is the immense satisfaction of service well done." Many might consider this ' a mere dream: on . the ground that life on a contributive basis demanded more : altruism than man's constitution holds. This objection was open' to challenge because, the acquisitive instinct was neither the greatest nor the most import-, ant of man's primitive instincts. Tin' trouble was that'the acquisitive instinct had run riot. The time was rapidljr approaching when man Would take the next step towards putting life on a contributive basis. Certain conditions must be fulfilled if we would reach this stage. First we must believe that a satisfying human society could not be built on a competitive basis. Secondly, we must believe that the only basis upon which the Kingdom of Right Relations could be built was a contributive one. Thirdly, we must recognise that such a basis was fundamentally in accord with true human nature. Fourthly, there was no real reason to prevent such a change coming quickly. "And finally," he said, "I call you to.believe that this is the mind of Christ for; vs —the contributive life of many members of the one body."