RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Evening Star, Issue 11451, 19 January 1901, Page 7

RELIGIOUS WORLD.

PtJLPi'r experiences. .In thfc ‘Tetoplo Magazine’ for June the Rev. H. Rv Hawcis recalls his pulpit experiences. He says that at Href he wrote his sermons. . They were rhetorical and grandiloquent, pompous and windy, and he doesn’t think anybody listened to them. ‘One week-night 1 made a bold plunge. I discarded MS. I took up into the pulpit a few notes, which 1 could not read when I got there, and plunged into thin air. I gave out my text: • Abide with me.’ Nothing abided with toe. ( in good sooth, I had no words. Disheartened and discouraged, after floundering about for Ton minutes, the text dodging me with irritating and irrelevant frequency round unexpected corners, X came down to receive the sympathy of the honest Bethnul Green churchwarden, who at once assumed that I was unwell. “ Unwcin Indeed, not it bit of it! I was never better, Worse luck! I tried again. Ndthing would induce me to return to MS., and I had not even the consolation of learning my sermon by heart. . I have a treat memory for the association of ideas, but a wretched verbal memory, and at school If could never learn anything hr heart. But I Persevered with speaking, and suddenly, in nn fifth or sixth extempore effort, on the text out of Corinthians ‘ This know, brethren, the time is short; it remaineth,’ etc., I got away,’ they say at a boat race. Mv spasmodic incoherency forsook toe ; I was out on the deep waters for about five minutes. People really listened, and some were in tears I could not keep it up, and be.orc the end of the sermon bad descended to such grovelling platitudes that the effect of my one burst of spontaneous fluency was quite lost. But for the first time I came down from my Bethnal Green pulpit, in the second month of my first curacy, confident and happy. Now, there used to be at first a tumbler of water in the pulpit. My worthy incumbent, who suffered from clergymens sore throat, was wont to ‘nut kf* 1 ? 5 whenever he felt so disposed.’ At first I used to do likewise, and at last got into the habit of sipping it frequently. V aero ' s no ';Orse pulpit or platform trick „ aD , k . s ',. M .V style being a little more Uinuted than was at that time customary, it came to my ears that people attributed tins over-spontaneity to something ‘ grateful and comiortmg ’ mixed with the water, -u rom that moment I abjured a "lass of water m the pulpit, except once at Westminster Abbey, when I upset it on to an old gent eman crouching beneath the pulpit. o ili-luck would hare it, he received the contents of the tumbler on his new hat, which he was carefully holding on his knees. He was hemmed in and could not get out. x was his ancient mariner that nteht. I tear the sermon did him no good. °On the platform a tumbler of water is useful, but only as a stage property. An empty one to dally With occasionally would do just as well. J

THE POPE AND THE END OF THE CENTURY.

~ La . r ' iln al Vaughan has authorised the pub.ication oi an important encyclical letter on Jesus Cimsf, Our Redeemer.’ issued from p' C T e ”\ R ,r? lc ’ on the lst November, by lops Le6 XIII to tho Roman Catholic Churcn. His Holiness at the outset remarks that the close of the century seems in God s mercy to afford some degree of consolidation and hope, for there were very clear indications at the present day of a verT general revival of Christian faith'and piety, the most important duty of the church he continues, is to defend and to propagate throughout the world the Kingdom of the bon of God, and to bring all men to salvation by communicating to them the Divine benefits, so much so that her power and authority are chiefly exercised in this one work. Towards this end (savs His Honnsss) we are conscious of having devoted our energies throughout - our difficult and anxious Pontificate, even to the present day ; and the church, too. was wont constanllv'to give its chief thoughts and endeavors to*the selfsame task. His Holiness then proceeds to show bow Christ is the War, the Truth ■and the Life. * church andlitage. Recently Sir Henry Irving was entertained at. supper by the Glasgow Pen and Bench Uub. Iho Principal of Glasgow University (Dr Stoiy) presided. In the course of his speech Sir Henry said: “ I feel lam enjoying a sense of unwontea security, due mainly to the circumstance that the chair is occupied by a man whom I greatly honor—tho Principal of vour gieat University, which University did me the honor of inscribing my name on the roll ox its archives. I sincerely hope that your great University will have no qualms of conscience that before conferring a great honor upon an actor it did nob consult the vicar of a, place not a hundred miles from Blackhcath—a gentleman who is quite sure that ‘tho actors vocation is not according to the mind of God.’ Well, if this be true—which Heaven forbid (that is, if a mere actor may venture to appeal to Heaven) —I am sorry to say that some of my friends (who are also friends of all in the world who love light and leading, and who value the teachings of the heart which conic through imagination) are left in a rather awkward'position. The worthy vicar says that every play turns upon such sins as anger, theft, false witness, covetousness, and so forth, an dthat it cannot bp, right for ‘ any man calling himself Christian to live by personating and making ns it were his own sins, which God has distinctly forbidden.’ This is a purely theological issue, upon which I do not presume to offer an opinion. We mav feel a little surprise at the confidence with which the people who ban the theatre, and put it outside the pale of morals, claim to be your only Christians. I have been pursued by another gentleman—or rather by his sermon —an enterprising Wesleyan minister, who argues that playgoing to bo safe needs a strong head; and there are so many weak heads that the real titistian must shun the theatre, if nob for his own sake, for the

sake of his weaker brethren—though it may seem strange to you that this solicitude is confined solely to the perils of the drama. There arc weak heads, I fear, which dabble in speculations and arc drawn into hazards that arc good neither for the soul nor the pocket. 1 have oven heard with regret of Wesleyan ministers being landed in such a net. Why are we not told that the strong bead ought to abandon its safe and legitimate investments, so us not to set a dangerous example to the weaker brother'.' What would become of the world if a man were to undertake no business or pleasure until he had first assured himself that under no condition could the same enterprise, perfectly wise and prudent for himself, upset the moral balance of seme follow-creature not so well endowed with stability and sense'.' In that singular situation I fancy the world would put up its shutters, many pulpits would bo vacant, and the business of continuing the human race would suffer a disastrous check. I tm inclined to think that these misfortunes will be averted, and that even the theatres will not close their doors.” THE DIFFICULTIES OP THE CENTURY. Bishop Wallis, preaching before the Wellington Naval Brigade at St. Paul’s Proculties presented themselves at the opening of the new century. Three, which he enumerated as outstanding, were:—The unrest in China, the growth of Japan’s power, and the continuation by Russia, of the railway connecting-the Baltic Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. Referring to the war in South Africa, he said_the situation might have been more serious had the Boers resorted to guerrilla, tactics earlier. The assistance rendered by the colonies in the war had completely answered the British statesmen, who, at the time of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, openly expressed doubts Aether the Mother Country could depend on her self-governing dependencies to help her in time of need. The colonies, by making the sacrifices entailed by their participation in the war. had made their lore for the Mother Country more real and enduring. HOLY COMMUNION. ‘ The Times ” publishes a notice of a report of the Conference held at Fulham Palace last month on the doctrijie of Holy Communion and its expression' in ritual. The introduced was written by the Bishop of London, and is regarded as an important document. The bishop quotes himM.l^

iflf copies of thb- invitation letters sent out by. him. Then ufe gives the following planation “My desire was to bring together various phases of theological opinion as represented by theologians 'whose training enabled them : to talk a common language. The object Of the Conference was that it should record opinions, not that it should attempt to elaborate new formulae. The form of the Conference was that it Was a committee appointed to report!to me. It presented its report by submitting a copy of its minutes. It will be noticed that I was responsible for asking for the statements of opinions which were sent in previously by the various members. These statements approach the question from various points of view. If anyone feel* disappointed at this he must lay the blame on the language of my request* not on the writers. I took no personal part in the proceedings, for I felt that any appearance of official intervention would have destroyed their usefulness. One thing ohly I would add—that all the members of the Conference expressed to toe their appreciation of the tact' and skill of Dr Wace Us chairman. It is to -.a that the minutes in their present form are due. It would be out of place for ine to make ally comment upon the cotitentaof the following pages. They will be most- useful to the reader who is his own commentator/’ The report contains the statements of belief seht in to the bishop and the minutes of the proceedings of each session. ‘ The Times ’ considers that oh the whole the different views in the Church of England were very fairly represented by such a collection of churchmen, who “ embodied the learning, the traditions, and the current modes of thought in the church ; and.the bishop may be congratulated oh having succeeded in bringing them together.” GLEANINGS. At the last meeting of the Mat aura Presbytery intimation was received (says the ‘Ensign’) from the Rev. Messrs Collie, J. G. M'Leod, and Findlay of their acceptance of calls from the Crockston, Pukerau, and Waikaka congregations respectively. Mr Bertram, divinity student at the Otago University, was duly licensed by the Wanganui Presbytery on the Bth inst. The clerk reported on the trials, commending them very highly, and the Revs. J. Chisholm and R. Si. Ryburn spoke of his worth and work. The Presbytery sustained the exercises with high approbation. The Rev. J. Ross, Moderator, put the. usual questions and duly licensed Mr Bertram. Hawcra has been granted leave to moderate in a Call to Mr Bertram, and the ordination is fixed, for February 7. The cannibal islanders of Erromango, where the mission? ry John Williams was murdered, have contributed a hundred and fifty pounds towards printing the New Testament in their language. The first woman medical missionary in Porto Rico has just been commissioned by the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. >S!ie is Dr Nellie S. Sheehan, of Minneapolis, and a graduate of. the University of Minnesota.

There are eighty-one Nonconformists iu the new British House of Commons, of whom twenty-one ate Congregatiohalisls, twenty-two Presbyterians, • twenty-live Methodists, four Friends, seven Unitarians, and two Baptists. Canon Mason, preaching in Westminster Abbey, said the conscience of England was not half aroused in the matter of the drink evil.. If more proofs of this were needed, one might be found in the way the Government treated the request from the leading men of English Christianity that they should bring forward legislation on the basis of the reports of the Licensing Commission. If only England were not apathetic about sucli things, no Government, even though it might ha.ve a majority of 200, would dare to trifle with the demand for a remedy.

An old ecclesiastical dignity, that of mitred abbot, will soon be revived in England. Mitres will be conferred upon the abbots in the new Roman. Catholic Westminster Cathedral shortly oftcr the opening, and the ceremonial is expected to be Of the most impressive kind. Dr Gasquet will be among the recipients. There is already one mitred abbot in England—the Right key. Wilfrid Hipwood, of the Cistercian Abbey at Coalville, near Leicester. The jurisdiction of these dignitaries is purely monastic, as is indicated symbolically by the fact that the crook of the crosier, which is made of carved wood, is turned inward. They have the right to confer the tonsure and minor orders on their Own monks. In the United States there are about 10,000 Covenanters, known as Reformed Presbyterians. General Booth is going over to the United States this year to take charge for a. time of the work of the Salvation Army in that country. Under a Government scheme of educational reform, the Bible has been introduced as a book of instruction into the public national schools of Argentina, South America. Dr Oncken, professor of history in the University of Giesiicn, says that the lastwords of Bismarck were: “ Dear Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief, and receive me into Thine heavenly kingdom.” Women preachers are common enough in America, though wc do not know’ that they take up the occupation as a. profession. But they are somewhat of a rarity in England. One has just been appointed pastor of a mission church at Stockton-on-Tees. She is bliss Alice Augusta Gore, daughter of Dr George Gore, F.R.S.. the eminent electrician. Miss Gore has had a good deal of experience as a preacher and public speaker, and she had the advantage of the leadership of another lady preacher, the late Mrs Goddard, by whom the church was founded and successfully carried on for nearly twenty years. By tho death of the Rev. G. W. Adam, which occurred on January 1, at East Melbourne (says the ‘Argus’) the Presbyterian Church lost one of its oldest ministers. The rev. gentleman arrived in Victoria forty years ago, and was first stationed at Brighton. Subsequently he filled several country charges, including Kornit and Horsham, and finally was called to Urana, in New South Wales. He retired from active work ten years ago in superannuation. It is noteworthy that he attended every sitting of tho Presbyterian General Assembly held during his residence in Australia excepting the last.' His long life—seventy-three years—was spent in devoted service to the church. Dr M'Larcn, of Manchester, remarked recently that ono of the trials, very grave and real, of men iu his position was to sec, year by year, and month by month, so much of the* strength of their congregation ebbing away. As soon as a man got able to help in Christian work he found that his wife's health required him to go and live at Chnrl-ton-cunf-Hardy. Tho suburbs caught the sparks that flew from the centre; let the suburbs sec that they gathered the sparks, and made a tire of them. He was afraid that many people that left the town population became religious vagrants and religious epicureans, and lost their interest in church work and church life. Two of the Adrians who wore the ring of St. Peter have made it patent that (he majority of the Sovereigns Pontiffs attained their lofty position mainly by merit, and of these two Adrian IV., otherwise Nicholas Breakspere, was probably the greater man. Both sprang from the poorest and humblest of their respective lands. Breakspearc was the son of a swineherd, and amply deserved the fame he commanded from his contemporaries. A movement has now been set on foot in England to erect a memorial to him, the only Englishman who has occupied the Papal chair. If Lady Bute's arrival at the Mount of Olives with her husband's heart is an episode with medieval associations, nothing could bo more modern than Lord Bute’s other wishes in regard to his obsequies. His own great wish was that when his heart went to the Holy Land the rest of his body should be cremated in Scotland. The Roman decree which excommunicates all Roman Catholics who take part in carrying out cremations barred the way to the fulfilment of his desires. The nearest canonical shortcut to the fulfilment of bis wish was to fill his coffin with quick-lime ; and this accordingly was done. Archdeacon Walker, of Uganda, in a recent sermon at Westminster Abbey, showed . how marvellous a work had been accomplished in that part of Africa. He had been twelve years in Uganda, where there were to-day more than 25,0X5 baptised Protestant Christians. ■ Twenty-tljrcc vears ago tisss ttm jdot one. The missionaries had

insisted that all the people should be taught to read, and almost all of the 25,000 could read the Bible. The sale of the Scriptures was very great in Uganda. The Book was only given under exceptional circumstances, and the price of a cony of the New Testa* ment was equivalent to a fortnight's hard work. As the Natives read the Bible their intellect was opened up. They had thought that their country was all the world; that the world had existed but a Short time; that Oven* night the sun Sank into a hole a very little distance away, and crept back in the darkness. They had thought that death was the end of all; btit now they loooked forward to a glorious inheritance of the saints in light. A curious confession Was made by the new Canon of Westminster in a recent lecture given at the Working-Men's College. Canon Henson, who was lecturing on the history of preaching, declared most einphaticiilly that pulpit utterances could never,have the political and national importance they had in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Preachers must now recognise that the people arc nob dependent on the pulpit to the extent that they were two centuries ago. Admittedly, the best and most intellectual work qf thinkers and teachers was not now to be found in records of pulpit deliverances, but in books and newspapers. all that, the living voice could not be dispensed with in the Christian Chprch ; and so long as that voice Was one Of conviction and of truth, so long would it win its way to the human Conscience and lie a great force in the religious life of the Church of England. Curious and remarkable new sects arc continually making their appearance among the ignorant and Superstitious Russian peasantry. The latest novelty in, this way is a new sect in Lithuania/ which docs not acknowledges the pastors, churches, nor marnage, baptism, nor any of the sacraments, ail of which it considers superfluous. The followers of the new religion will not build anv more houses, as they think the Day of Judgment is soon approaching. If a nv of the believers have too much money it is taken by the preachers for “safety. - '' One of these fanatics has already endeavored to raise the dead Another sect that has also appeared—the “ Benefactors ” —also prophesies the end of the world. As there is tittle time left to live, the nreachers (one can scarcely credit the report) advise their cmgregations to enjoy themselves while they may. At one of the last meetings held Ly the “Benefactors” the congregation drank up six and a-half barrels of beer. The Bishop of Winchester, in the course of a speech at a luncheon at Bournemouth, propounded the question : Why did a bishop wear gaiters and a shovel hat? Did the question suggest itself to them when tl;ev indulged in a .feeling of merriment ss he passed down the street? Did they.think that it nus because he liked the garments, that they were becoming vr comfortable ? Not in the least. It was because he was preserving that which was common to a very large portion of their countrvmen not so very long ago—he was trying to induce reverence for the past. Ho hoped, therefore, they would look with somewhat dinerctat ey&t> upon the garments iu question when they considered what they were intended to convoy. In a presidential letter Dr Clark outlines a programme of work for 1901, and proposes that “Endeavor Day” (February 2) should be kept us a “decision day,” and made an occasion for inducing associate members to join the active list, and that it should he further signalised by a thank-offerirv from every society to the missionary funds" of its own church. Some of the Highlanders in .Scotland arc raising difficulties over the union of Free and United Presbyterian Churches The objections chiefly come from Free Kirkcvs. Ihe heads of that body are to be taken into court, in order that a decision mav be secured as to the legality of the step which they Lave adopted. Disturbances have taken place over this subject in some of the remote country villages. At Whiting Bar, Arran, the unli-unionists took possession ‘of the local Free Church, and withstood a twodays’siege. At one time there was a verv spmted free fight. One of the anti-union-ists shouted; “It was by blood our fathers won thci t freedom, and it is bv blood wc will get it now.” Ihe late Archbishop Magee, when Bishop of Peterborough, once humorously observed to an uncle of mine (writes a correspondent of M.A.P.’) that if he wore asked what two things he was most tired of in his official capacity he would unhesitatingly reply * “The hymn ‘ The Church’s One Foundation.’’ u.nd cold chicken for lunch—the two inevitable accompaniments of church consecrations !" To Send Away.—“ Well, thaTcaps the climax.” “What’s that?” “Cook says those folks in that little house on the corner came over while wc were gone and had their photographs taken sitting on our verandah.”