THE C.M.S.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 6 August 1931, Page 9

THE C.M.S.

WORK IN MANY LANDS

CHRISTIANITY GAINING GROUND IN THE EAST

VISIT TO NELSON OF GENERAL SECRETARY

I'hero whs a large attendance at the I Mursden Church House last ovening to | welcome (o Nelson the Rev. W. Wilson I Cash, D. 5.0., U.8.E., general secretary of the Church Missionary Society. I (n well chosen words, the Mayor (Mr I W. J. Moffatt) welcomed the visitor on j lichalf of the City. Ho had read of ' Mr Cash’s sermon in Jerusalem during the war, in the first service held in Hie Holy City after the entry of the British soldiers. The Bishop of Nolson (L)r. W. Sadlicr) who presided, made reference to the illness of Archdeacon Dart, who was keenly interested in the work oT tho C.M.S. and had looked forward to Mr Cash’s visit for a long time. A motion was carried expressing regret and sorrow at the Archdeacon's illness and wishing him a speedy recovery. In welcoming the Rev. Air Cash His Worship mentioned the work the Church Missionary Society had done m New Zealand. The evangelisation of the colony was first undertaken by tne clergy of the Society ; four of New Zealand's great Bishops had worked under the same control and even Nolson had debt as a minister of the C.M.S. was tho first resident- clergy in Nelson. When the Socioty handed over the Maori work to tho Church of New Zealand it handed over all its property, which to-day produced a large sum for work among the native race. His Worship considered tho inspiration which had come to New Zealand church workers had tome from the system of the Society, and he extended a hearty welcomo to Mr Cash on behalf of tho Nelson diocese. Canon W. Smith extended a welcome to tho visitor on behalf of the local executive of the Society, stating that Lhc visit would stimulate interest in the work. After returning (hanks for the warn* Welcome ho had been given the Rev. Cash said lie wished to give some idea fj[ tho great work being done by the 1 Church Missionary Society, and for that purpose he wished the members of the audience to imagine they were in a very lasi aeroplane quickly flying round me world over tho areas m wnnii C.A1... missioners were at work. He took Ins listeners to Malta, where the Society first started its work in 1915 and then went on to Egypt, to Cairo, where boys and girls schools, a school for the blind, a hospital to accommodate 1000 patients, ! child welfare and dispensary departi merits were all maintained by the Society. South to Khartoum and on to the Sudan the work continued and in the midst of the drab houses was a large mission hospital. From the southorn Sudan through the home of tho lion and the leopard to the 'great swamplands of the Nile, there were small clearings where the men who had gone out from England were working to establish Church stations iri the heart of ; pagan Africa, In the Uganda there was another hospital, 2000 schools, and a church, all paying their own wav, in a place which 5U years ago was inhabited only by savages. All Tanganyika was dotted'with a chain of stations which mark tho work of tho Society. In Nigeria was another virile church with its schools and clergy. Throughout Africa the work of tho society was applauded and in that country in many parts it is the sole missionary agent. The speaker then took his audicnco across the Mediterranean Sea to Palestine and Jerusalem where a large secondary school on Mount Zion itself tesli lied to the work being done there. In Palestine a great work was being doiu among the Arabs, and across in 1 cim'i the same C.M.S. was at work with im i schools, colleges and hospitals. In all . tho stations in that land the Arabs were being turned to Christianity. Across on j the north-western frontier of India was j to be found a chain of mission stations. Among tho workers in Karachi were two New Zealanders. All the way down to the southern states of India could bo seen the work of tho organisation. Ta.i- i

i ing a long hop eastwards the work was ! found to be going on in China’s six great provinces where the society was | building up its bulwarks against Com- | munism. Great work was also homg | done in tiie six dioceses in Japan. Avrw.j the Pacific, Australia and Now Zealand j | also saw the work of the great organ)- | sation. ' . ! Mr Cash considered the present time j one of great opportunity for the extension of the work for Christ. When tlx j Society’s workers first went to Japan placards were put up warning that Christians would bo killed, but to-day public leaders encouraged and welcomed the C.M.S. In the early days of the 19th century Henry Martin went out to Tndia to start the work, and now Christianity was the third largest religion in that country, with 5,009,01)0 followers. The great masses of India I were turning to Christianity, lie said, t and thousands were being baptised yearly. In 1050 the African T'ganda was a blank on the map, an unexplored, un- j discovered country, hut now a great work was being carried on among the natives. To-day the Moslem world was opon to Christianity. Tho speaker traced

the growth of the strength of Christianity m’ Western Uganda where in IJIO I thero wore a little over 300 Christians and now there wero 60,000 with 1200 ! churches. Tho C.M.S., ho said, saw all i the stages of change, from pagamism to I tho establishment of strong Christian j churches and communities which themi solves carried on the work by sending j out missioners to set up new stations. Ho also traced God’s work in Donegal, where thousands of outcast Indians, previously regarded as lowest of tho low, wero being swept to Christianity, the effect being seen in the lives of the people, in the homes and in the villages. The communal strifo in many places was being solved by tho work of

Christianity. Thero was sweeping ovor tho eastern world, continued the speaker, a tide of Communism from the west. Chinese students wero being taken to Mosrow and taught Bolshevism and even now tho whole of China was permeated by the Bolshevist anti-God movement. Millions were under Bolshevist rulo to-day. At the present time in China Confucianism is relegated to the • museum and no one was looking for it in the country’s crisis. The speaker also quoted tho great chango which had taken placo in the stronghold of Mohammedanism —Turkey—where Cliristianitv now looked for. “Benin.” motioned M Cash, “in his biography said there w—not room in the world for Christianity and Bolshevism, and at the present time Bolshevism is one of the greatest sinister movements, against which the only bulwark being set up is Christianity through its missions. ’ Nevertheless, in tho eastern world a great revival was going on and the spirit of God was being poured over the wide spaces. He believed tho world was going to see a great struggle between God and tho anti-God movements, and that God was calling his people to givo their lives in Mis cause.