“DOING OUR SHARE”

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 204, 12 August 1932, Page 6

“DOING OUR SHARE”

THE CHURCHES DEFENDED REPLY TO MR ARCHER. PRACTISING REAL CHRISTIANITY “I cannot see that it is in any way helpful to the unemployed, or to those who are distressed by the times, to inculcate a feeling of distrust and sus* Sicion of the churches,” said the Rev. I J. A. Shaw when speaking at the conclusion of the address given by the Rev. J. K. Archer, the well-known Baptist minister and Labour Party member, to a gathering in the Hastings Trades Hall last evening Mr Archer’s address is reported elsewhere in to-day’s “Tribune.” “What is needed ’’ Mr Shaw added, “is not criticism of the churches ana the spreading of suspicion, but a getting together in a spirit of mutual helpfulness.” When asked by the “Tribune” this morning to amplify his remarks in answer to Mr Archer. Mr Shaw strongly upheld the attitude of the Christian churches to-day. “In every part of the country,” he said, “the clergy of all churches, and church-going laymen, are taking a foremost part in attempting to apply to our present social and economic troubles the principles of practice! Christianity. The churches have ee> tablished rood depots and shelters for the distressed, they maintain homes for the aged and the sick and orphanages for children, and they have taken a leading part in finding work for the unemployed and in assisting in schemes for relief. ACTIVE CHRISTIAN SERVICE.

“I can assure you that the practical sido of religion is not being neglected by the churches to-day. Indeed it would be true to say that never before have the churches taken so helpful a part in active Christian service to mankind. It is certainly not true to insinuate that the churches are more concerned with theology and hymnsinging than with the establishing of the Kingdom of God. All of us are doing our share in our own way and to the best of our ability. In Welling, ton, for example, as well as elsewhere, the churches nave combined in organising establishments for the provision of clothing and other forms of relief, and you will find a Presbyterian minister in charge of one place, an Anglican in charge of another, a Roman Catholic at another, and so on. That sort of work is being carried out in some form by the churches throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand. In Hastings itself the Good Cheer Food Depot was begun by the clergy and leading Christian workers, and locally as well as in. other towns, the churches are getting together in an earnest attempt to help those who are in distress.

“We all know,” Mr Shaw added, “that in the past the churches were too much concerned with theology and hymn-singing, but surely to go back to Whitfield and Luther, as Mr Archer did, is hardly fajr to the churches of modern times.

“The churches to-day are very vitally and actively concerned with the application of Christian principles to everyday life. For my own individual part I can say sincerely that my church stands for what Jesus Christ taught—the teaching that tells us we are to go about doing good, and to help our fel-low-men. We stand for the practical application of the Golden Rule, and imperfect though the churches may be, like all human institutions subject to human they are earnestly attempting to carry out Christ’s teach, ing. If I may be allowed to give a personal instance, I may say that to my own congregation I have repeatedly preached, and very strongly preached, the hypocrisy of pretending to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and a believer in His faith, and at the same time employing a man for less than he is worth.” BRINGING HEAVEN TO EARTH. Mr Shaw, expressing himself as not by any means wishing to uphold his own church against others, but merely as wishing to give instances of what all the churches were doing in attempting to relieve distress, said that the branch of the Presbyterian Church at Mahora had been built by labour paid at full rates, although before the earthquake it had been definitely arranged that it would be built by voluntary labour. His church’s attitude after the earthquake however, was that there were two hundred carpen. ters out of work, and that therefore it would be an unchristian act to accept the offer of voluntary labour while men were seeking employment. With regard to the laying out of the grounds at Mahora, and to the repair of dwellings owned by the church, a similar principle of employing fully-paid labour had been practised. “I dissociate myself,” said Mr Shaw, from any inference that the churches to-day are not teaching and practising the principles of the Christian Gospels as represented in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Like Him, we are attempting to go about doing good, to teach the principles that He taught, and to practise a religion that will appeal to the weary, the worn, the poor, and the downcast. For my own part, I am not concerned about the Heaven yonder, but I am concerned about trying to bring about a heaven on earth.”