CHURCHES OF CHRIST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11622, 9 April 1901, Page 3

CHURCHES OF CHRIST.

ANNUAL COHERENCE. The annual conference of some Churches of Christ in the Auckland province co-operat-ing for evangelistic purposes was held in the meetinghouse of the Church of Christ, Ponsonby Road. Mr. H. N. Bagnall was president of the general conference, which opened at half-past nine a.m. on Friday with a short praise and prayer service. Mr. T. J. Bull was elected secretary, after which the President, in a few well-chosen words, welcomed the members of the country churches, and expressed his pleasure at the interest taken in the work of the conference by these churches. He referred to the fact of this; being the first year of the new century. Many servants of God connected with .the conference in times past had been called to rest in the closing years of the century just gone; we should think of and emulate them. In a young country we ought to be growing and enlarging our borders. This first year of the new century opened full of promise, and the prospects were hopeful. He urged the conference to step in and take advantage of its heritage. ': - : -. ■; t It was agreed that congratulatory telegrams be sent to the South Island and Middle District Conferences, meeting respectively at Invercargill and Wellington. At the Saturday session messages of greeting were received ;by telegram from these meetings. , .

The secretary of the Evangelist Commit- ! tee, Mr. P. Evans, read the committee's report for. the year 1900-1901. The report expressed appreciation of the labours of Mr. T. J. Bull, and recommended that his services be secured for another year. Some difficulty had been experienced in securing the services of a second evangelist. v Mr. James Hay had laboured for three months in the country districts, but the committee had failed to persuade him to 'continue his labour with them until the meeting of the conference. The report recommended that a,second evangelist be engaged for as long a period as possible during the coming year. Help had been given by local brethren to churches at . Papakura,, Pukekohe, and Helensville. . The report was adopted. Mr. Bull's report as evangelist was also adopted. The following brethren were elected as Evangelist Committee: —Messrs. Davies, F. Evans, H. N. Bagnall, Murray, Morton, W. Vickery, and E. vickery. The conference adopted the recommendation of the retiring committee that Mr. Bull be engaged as evangelist for another year. The incoming committee was also recommended to engage a second evangelist for as long a period as possible. The following motion was also adopted, " That the ; conference instruct the committee 'to engage Brother Latimer as the second evangelist. The fields of labour to be occupied by the. evangelists was left in the hand's of the committee. At the Saturday session of the conference, it was agreed to recommend the committee to engage a third evangelist ii the funds at their disposal will allow. ._ The treasurer's statement showed an income of £250, with a credit balance to be<dn the new year of about £46. : An appeal was made to the conference on behalf of the .Church at Te Arai, which had the misfortune over a year ago to have its meeting-house burnt down. The Church was planning to erect a new building, and required financial assistance. Mr. Davies was appointed to receive contributions for this purpose. . , , The Maori Mission Committees report pointed to the possibility of the early engagement of a brother for work among the Maoris.' - The committee was re-elected. A brief but interesting report was read from.the secretary of the Foreign Mission Committee in Australia, showing that good work was being done in the various foreign fields. Over £1100 had been raised for the Indian famine fund, and about £1000 had been raised for foreign mission work. A balance of about £300 was soon to be used in China and South AfricaMr. Davies gave an interesting report of the United New Zealand Conference, held in Wellington. The various recommendations of this conference were referred to, the churches to act upon as they think best._ It was agreed to recommend the Foreign Mission Board, elected by the United Conference','to co-operate with the Australian Foreign Mission Committee. The tea meeting on Friday evening was well attended. At the after meeting, Mr. F. Evans presided. An excellent musical and elocutionary programme, including three addresses, was rendered by the following friends: —Mesdames F. Evans and S. Hanham, Misses J. Morton, Ford, A. Vickery, and* Messrs. J. B. Allen, R. Laing, and E. 1 Vickery, with a chorus, under the conductorship of Mr. W. H. Marson. The accompaniments were played by Mrs. Bodle and Mrs. Etching. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to those who had so well provided, at considerable labour, the excellent luncheon and tea. - .-,■■■. ' :. The principal item of Saturdays session, at which Mr. J. B. Allen presided, was the reading of the conference essay by Mr. H. N. Bagnall. His theme was "The Ideal Church of the Twentieth Century." The essayist's ideal differed chiefly from actual existing churches in the matter of organisation. He wished to see a more efficient oversight directing the labours of the whole of the membership in the various necessary channels. After an interesting discussion, a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Bagnall for his excellent paper. Thanks were also passed to the outgoing Evangelist Committee, the chairman and secretary of the conference, and all others who had gratuitously assisted in the work. The Bible School Union also held its conference in the same place on Saturday, Mr. W. Vickery presiding. The annual report and treasurer's statement were adopted, and a new Executive Committee elected, the first work of which will be to carry out the annual examination of the schools. On Sunday the meetings were well attended. At the morning service Mr. Bull spoke on " Redemption and Giving ;" at the evening service he gave a veryjorcible enunciation of the Protestant doctrine, that the Christian priesthood is co-extensive with the Christian profession; in other words, tnat all Christians are priests, there being in the Church of God no priestly class as; distinct from the great body of the faithful. After the sermon two believers were immersed on confessing their faith in Christ, and three others intimated their desire to be immersed and added to the Church. In the afternoon Mr. Andrew Kelly, of the Thames, addressed the .Bible-tchool children, with their parents and friands, from the words of Christ, "Show iroi a Penny." Yesterday annual gathering terminated with a water excursion picnic at Maraetai, the s.s.Kawau having been chartered for the purpose. __ ________