THE CATHEDRAL MISSION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXXXII, Issue 10512, 24 November 1894, Page 3

THE CATHEDRAL MISSION.

The mission was brought to a close yesterday morning with an early celebration of Holy Communion at tho Cathedral, when about two hundred persona were present. < At 11 a.m. a meeting of clergy, presided over by the Right Rev the Bishop, waa held »fc hia Lordship’s House, for the purpose of discussing the question of following up the work done by the miasioners. Gratitude was expressed for the signs of earnestness in those who had attended the mission services, and it was agreed that every effort should be made to carry on the work, as it was .felt that the permanence of the results of the mission largely depended upon the afterwork in the various parishes from which people have attended the special services. It has been pointed out that the mission shows, in a way, how the central church of the diocese may be utilised to great general advantage; each night many of the clergy from the various parishes have been present with their people. The mission of the Reve Canon Carter and A. W. Robinson to the colonies was undertaken at the invitation of the Bishop of Tasmania. It was planned that the miasioners should visit four dioceses— Tasmania, Melbourne, Adelaide. and Christchurch. They left England in March last, and paid a short visit to Palestine. Through missing their steamer at Port Said, they were compelled to stay for about a fortnight at Colombo, where they turned the delay to advantage by holding services and other gatherings. Their plans have been considerably disarranged by sickness, Mr Robinson having bean taken ill at the outset of the work in Tasmania, and Canon Carter having had a long illness, typhoid fever, in Melbourne. Still, a considerable amount has been done in each of the four dioceses, not only in the form of missions, hut also in that' of gatherings of clergy and church workers in “Quiet Days.” They have also occasionally preached and held services outside the regular work of the mission. Csnon Carter, after recovering from hia illness at Melbourne, spent a week in Sydney, where he was the guest of the Primate, Dr Saumarez Smith, and where he addressed gatherings of clergy and other church-workers. In the course of a conversation with a representative of this journal. Canon Carter said that the chief aim of the missioners is to strengthen church life. They have, he said, deliberately avoided anything like excitement or sensationalism, and in their services the element of instruction has been given a very prominent place. Tneir appeals have been directed rather to the intellect and the will than to the emotions. It is on these linos that mission work at Home has been carried on with the most abiding results. Their work has also been marked by outspoken loyalty to the claims and doctrines of tho Anglican Church, and yet their services have been largely attended by members of different religious denominations.