THURSDAY CHURCH LIFE

Hokitika Guardian, 8 July 1937, Page 2

THURSDAY

CHURCH LIFE

AS GOOD AS EVERA BISHOP’S OPTIMISM. • NEW PLYMOUTH, July 6. Much has been said and written cently about the decay of religion and the lack of decency and morality amongst the general public, but the Rt Rev C. A. Cherrington, Bishop of Waikato, does not share these views. At the Diocesan Synod of the Anglican Church at New Plymouth he said he was confident that church life was as good and as efficient as ever on all sides. He added that they had been told of late years that there was a decay of religion among their fellow citizens, and tliat the old codes of ordinary goodness were being put .on one side. There was too much pessimistic complaint of tlia 1 sort, he said. He did not think the evidence pointed that. way. In England last .year his experience was that on the one hand, vas* sums were being asked for for church work and extension, and that vast sum were being contributed and, on the other, that there the clergyman of a parish and those working with him were pulling their weight Church life was a good and efficient as ever it was. “I would certainly. say the same of the state of things in our own in this country,” he added. The Arch bishop of Canterbury was making r call, and a very efficient call, to reli o-ion. This call was echoing right through the country and the response was truly wonderful. Pooling of Stipends A complaint that stipends were toe iow and expenses too great was mad. oy the Bishop, who said tliat if clergy men lived within their means their onlj mode of transport would be a bicycle while the Bisliop could not aspire t« anything more than a motor-iye.e. Hi hoped the day would come when a stipends would be pooled and paid ac cording to the age, experience, size o families, and so on. On every side complaints were heari about the secularisation of Sunday. Was the Church sure that in this fn common sense of the people was not as serting itself? In this direction, the. were realising that they were not Jews As far as lie knew, there was not s 1 slired of evidence that the Sabbath da was ever ordained by God. For cen turies, the observance of the Lord’ Day was a voluntary matter entirely and grew up gradually to be an “ec clesiastioal ordinance,” a rule for tli better promotion of Christian life.

There was a time when many Christ ian people felt that in some way o other the regulation of the old Jewis Sabbath imposed duties on the Lord’ Day, but both common sense and BiMi cal study had removed that obsession

It might be that the New- Zealan Government was teaching the true us of Saturday, for the present 40-liou week stopped many people from work ing on Saturday, and that vvas exactl how the Jews were taught to use th day. -

Anzac Day Observance .AVTiat, then was the object of Sun days and holy days, and what religioobservances were expected in New Zea land ? It was found in most parishes a whatever hour and.of whatever sort th service was, that in the morning or a! ternoon there was. only a handful her and there, but in the evening hot the vicar and wardens expected sorm thing that might be called a congiegu tion. - •

All would agree that the observant* of Anzac Day had been very beneficir in this country, he continued. It help ocl to inspire those who survived th Great War with a deep spirit of thank fulness for their preservation, and wit a determination to do all they could t help the community at large in all pos sible ways, but could anyone imagin tliat it would he fitting when, affe either a “lie-in” in the morning or th day’s work or play should be over tha the day should -be observed whe: there was. nothing else to do, by a gath bring in the evening for its celebration • The observance of the Christian com memoration of the Resurrection halargely degenerated into an evenin' gathering of this sort. AVas that right * It was entirely a modern custom an had become possible by the use of arti ficial light, he added.