CHANGING TIMES

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 135, 10 June 1933, Page 24

CHANGING TIMES

EFFECT ON CHURCH

"ENGLISH SUNDAY PASSING"

' -The necessity for the Church to accommodate itself to the changing times ■and the recognition that the Church must face the present position, as far as the observation of Sunday is concerned were features of the opinions expressed at the annual meeting of the .Taranaki Archdeaconry Board, states a New Plymouth correspondent. A motion moved by Mr. A. Hi Martin disapproving of the violation of the sacredness of Sunday by the organisation of pastimes for pleasure, money reward, or charity, was withdrawn after a fulldiscussion. ' ' Mr. Martin, in support of his motion, Said he looked upon Sunday competition in sport as a desecration of Sunday. The Railway Department,- a publicowned service, even contributed to tin? desecration of the day. by organising picnics and tramping tours. ■ Canon G. T. Beale (Stratford) said he thought a mistake was made in hitting, so much at. the many people who began their worship " early and then spent. ■ the remainder of - the day in amusement. There were just as many •who did not begin their Sunday worship .until laic in the day. People Should' be prepared to "agree to differ." " ' , 'Archdeacon G. H. Gavin' (New Plymouth) thought the motion should be Withdrawn. •If: it were passed the Church wouid.be called' a '"kill-joy." Ji; wouia. only alienate sympathy from the ideals'the Church was.trying to inculcate.' He was himself a lover of ■£he old .English Sunday, but he thought: it. was passing, and the Church had,to face that fact. ■ Mr. G." Gibson (Okato .parish) said they were not now. in the old days of the English. Church, and the Church today had to live up to the people. Every association had to-justify its existence, the Church, as well as any. other. In Taranaki especially/with the dairy industry, Sunday, was a very different thing from,what it was in England. The Bishop of Waikato (the Rt. Rev. C. A. Cherrington) said he could see a difficulty in the motion; Many people had been brought.up in certain ways on Sundays, and nothing would make them, depart from them. ..But he. was certain that the Church had to .accommodate' itself to' circumstance!". When a ■ clergyman could hold a. service only once a weekj or perhaps only, once a month, .what- were religiously-inclined people to'do? . ' ,'■':, "I/think, it is perfectly right for young people, to .organise some activity, for'themselves,"; the bishop added. "We,'must-face the,different "times."