Church of England Sunday School

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XIX, Issue 3232, 23 September 1892, Page 2

Church of England Sunday School

The annual distribution of prizes to children attending the above school took place on Thursday evening. The room was well filled, tbe larger portion being children. Rev. W. H. Kay presided, and distributed a number of appropriate and handsomely-bound books to those children who had qualified, the recipients evincing pleasure and satisfaction. Mr Kay remarked that the Sunday school was one of the most important branches of church work, and he trusted that the teachers would continue their noble work and be encouraged. The, attendance at Sunday sohool had been fairy good. The teaching staff was weak, and he would like to see three young men come forward to undertake the work. Tbe Rev. Melville Jonea then gave a very interesting address on Africa, mainly dealing with religious and missionary matters. A couple of charts on the wall assisted the lecturer in his explanations. He had not yet been in Africa, but he hoped before long to be assisting in spreading tbe Gospel on that continent. He would, however, give his hearew the benefit of what he bad heard and read. True missionary work had died very many years ago t and had only revived at the beginning of the present century. As to the natives of Africa, the idea was to educate them in the Christian faith, and give them some usefnl trade. There were two kinds of slavery—the slave to a hard master and the slave to Satan. It had been said that missionaries had done little or no good, but parliamentary retards amply proved the contrary. Ha related the instance of Orowther, a Blave boy, who was educated at the mission school at Islington, and afterwards became first bishop of tbe Niger. In densely populated parts there were only black preachers, who were not very particular, and millions of the natives lived in gross heathenism. But there were some converted who would sacrifice their lives in the cause of religion. A temple had been made of the skulls of people, cemented together with blood. Mission work in that land had been a success, but not a perfect success. In the Soudan, whiob was about 3000 by 1000 miles in area, it was estimated there were between sixty and eighty million Mahometans. This was the olasß of people Gordon wished to reach. The worse contingency African missionaries bad to contend with was the climate, and many bad died at their post through climatic influence, but " the blood of tbe martyr was often the seed of the church." Three-quarters of the world, or eight hundred and seventy-four million people had never heard the Qospel, against only 135 millions who bad. The rev. gentle* man spoke for about an hour, and was attentively listened to. Sacred songs were sung at intervals by the choir and. audience.