ST. MATTHEWS; SERVICE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18519, 2 October 1923, Page 9

ST. MATTHEWS; SERVICE

QUIET AND REVERENT.

A • FRATERNITY OF HELP.

IMPRESSIVE SCENES.

I Within the church, at first sight, are i but Iho ordinary features of a public services well attended. Almost every seat already taken, and ushers directing worshippers to the few allotted ,places still vacant. Along the aisle •• arc some of (he clergy—sidesmen to-day, not even churchwardens in dignity. Among them, on duty, is a Presbyterian minister, another and another, and there a, wellknown Methodist clergyman and others of his communion also. All these assisting to marshal the great crowd. Has St. Matthew's seen it on this wise before? Ah ! but this is a mission of healing, and maybe in its service to human need the body of Christ—Hlis suffering church may find a cure for it's own wounds. Perhaps St. Matthew's and other churches, may see it on this wise again. It is in tho chancel that the pathos of the public service makes its first appeal ; there, near fhc steps and along the < communion rail, stand nurses, their familiar white garb and headdress conjuring up subduing thoughts of what their tender ministry means. In the Morning Chapel.

There are more of them in the morning chapel of the northern transept, and already they have work to do. As thepreceding hour went slowly on, a pitiful procession had wended its wav to that morning chapel. Sick folk, many of them aged and all too infirm to walk, were _ brought gently in at tho church door and taken in their wheel-chairs up the aisle. Pom souls! It is years since some of them were able, under any other circumstances, to get to church. At intervals a perambulator, holding a burden of suffering young life went slowly up that lane of hope. Most piteous of all, there were some men and women carried with obvious care on stretchers, borne by men whose uniform tells that they are skilled in this good office. Now, seated, reclining, lying prone, they wait. What thoughts are theirs? Do hopes and fears chase each other down the hidden corridors of their ' minds? They give scarcely a sign. Some almost too spent with years of pain to think, seem quite inert, but even they speak with their eyes acknowledgment of tho nurses' attentions— little tillnesses that in illness aro thrico welcome.

*' Suffer the Little Children."

In the choir seats of the chancel a strange assemblage sits. No palpable evidence of mission-suppliants here, some women in street garb, a Salvation Army bonnet conspicuous among fhen\, a few men, and the rest children of various ages, sitting between the adults or on Cheir knees. The grown-up?folk look for the most part hale enough and the children not abnormal. But you misjudge. Beneath even healthy looks are terrible ills. Some of those boys and girls are smitten; with incipient" diseasej despite their looks. Others are deaf-mute. When by-and-by they go to the altar-rail, you will see in the woefully mishapen limbs of many of them more than enough to makea parent's heart ache with eagerness to win them, strength at any cost. Looked at from the chancel, that congregation filling nave and aisle and southern transept and the galleries takes on a new meaning. It is no ordinary gathering of worshippers. Save ■ for those in the galleries and a few in the body of the church, these are the folk seeking the physical help of the mission. Betrayed by the pallor of their cheeks, the unwonted brightness of their eyes, a' nervous restlessness, an occasional mutinous cough, or other sign not hard toread,_ theynumbering more than,7oo —are" this day's quota of the mission suppliants. They too await with eagerness the service's beginning. The Service Begun. Into the stillness x creeps Mendelssohn's oratorio air, "But the Lord Is Mindful of His Own —how sympathetically ap-. propriate is Mr. Phillpot's organ music all through the service!and a look of peace comes into many a face. Air follows air, until the familiar tune to " At Even hen the Sun Was Set" brings into vivid recollection the days of old when He wncse touch has still its ancient power went about, doing good. Enter Che Bishop and some of his clergy, wiCh Mr. Hickson, and the service begins. Naturally, many eyes are' on the missioner as he • stands a picture of health himself stalwart amid the. clergy near the altar. But there are some whose furtive tears, welling up at some suggestion in Che "Lord, I hear of Showers of Blessing," make sight for the nonce and even singing, .impossible. Stirred by some thought apparently awakened by the hymn, Mr. Hickson pencils a line on his written notes. As he quietly shares the singing he glances slowly a.bout, his gaze resting at last upon Che pathetic group in the morning chapel. Masterful, but unspeakably pitiful he looks. i * But soon he dispels the idea that in '■ him resides the power that is to make the mission effective. After the Bishjop's prefatory call Co prayer and earnest invocation and the Lord's Prayer repeated in solemn unison by all that' company' of believers in it* wherever they customarily worship, Mr. ' Hickson is. in the pulpit pleading that the healing Christ alone is the source of any good accomplished by His. servants and explaining Che purpose and methods of the mission with its hopes and limits. Kneeling then at the communion-rail he receives from the Bishop his authority to exercise his ministry in the diocese and commended to God in solemn prayer goes at once with His Lordship to the sufferers'in Che morning, chapel. The Laying-on of Hands.

From the card on which the sufferer's ailment* is stated he is told by an attendant clergyman. the nature of the need. Placing his hands upon the head of the nearest on the left— iC is an aged face and wrinkled that bends beneath that touch—he prays aloud in . simple words asking of the healing Lord that the infirmity may be removed and that in soul and body'the sufferer may be blessed. i He passes quietly to the and the I Bishop, with his hands upon that aged head, bends low and speaks with affecting fervour the church's blessing. Who would not have him for a Father in God this day?—so full of breathing solicitude and loving-kindness his words—" The blessing of the Almighty Father, Sou and Holy Ghost, be upon you, perfect and complete Che good work which He hath begun in you." How that "hath" rings with loving faith! The Faith of Others. Mr. Hickson passes on, taking each sufferer in turn, now standing over a poor boy huddled in a perambulator, now kneeling beside a man stretched helpless upon the floor. None but a hearC of stone, could be untouched by the neod in those companions of pain's sorrowful way'. Nor is their need all. There, too, are those who have brought them with infinite difficulty in some cases, and their eagerness looks out of eyes whose yearning no mist of. tears, can blind. The* rnissioner's words take a course suited to each individual case; Chere is no set formula, but always a prayer for spiritual quickening as well as "bodily ' relief, with a deeply-breathed " Amen in which Che. colloquial, pronunciation is dignified by a solemn fervour. As each case is dealt with,, attenddants convey, the suppliants from the church to the transport facilities waiting outside. Next, the children in the choir seals are brought to the .communion-rail. The nurses superintend in pre-arranged ways, so that there is neither delay nor crowding. Parents kneel with their children. Mr.' Hickson seems to understand what in in a father's heart, even in a mother's; and often bis hands rest lovingly upon the parent's head as he utters his prayer. And how those parents pray too, in silence ! Many of the 1 itrie heads, bowed beneath Mr. Hickson's touch, arc wet with a mother's tears, and often an impulsive —surely with healing virtut in it also! — is imprinted upon them by a mother's lips. And always the Bishop

follows ; with his ardent blessing. \ Hera a little head slips away from beneath His Lordship's hands and wondering eyes look up at him there a boy seeks to rise as Mr. Hickson '. passes on, but is gently restrained by a nurse until that blessing is given. Little wonder that even the grown-ups need guidance from the sacred spot, and sometimes cannot see tho outstretched hands of the everattentivo stewards aC tho side chancelsteps. Even summer-rain can blind ; but the sun shines through.

Bo they go out, and then in order' tho adults are led up. Row upon row of them kneel in quiet orderliness as their turns come. There is nothing spectacular or bizarre. All goes on decently and in order. Tho . women's hats are in their hands, and spectacles are removed: for Mr. Hickson's practice is to touch 'affected eyes and ears and throats, as well as to lay hands upon the heads of all who come. Disorders of all kinds, as indicated upon, the card each carries, are given appropriate mention in his prayer. To facilitate proceedings, hands aro laid upon two at a time.; and some of the clergy share with the Bishop the conferring of the blessing, Tho effect'upon "the suppliants cannot bo gauged from their looks as they" leave the chancel. Uplift mingles with a sense of-deep solemnity. As the missionor has earlier phrased the fact, here is a communion without visible tokens of a Saviour's love, yet there are unmistakeablo signs of a Real Presence for all that, and tho, mission 'as one of primarily spiritual healing is amply evidenced. One watcher softly says "Wo may not havo seen wonders, but it has albbeen wonderful ! "

Slowly the church is emptied of suppliants, until none remain but the nurses, the clergy, and the lay helpers. Then comes a last memorable scene. First the nurses, next the. clergy, and afterwards the lay helpers, come forward to the rail, and kneel for tho spiritual blessing invoked by the missioncr and the Bishop. What, a union of orders and creeds and classes is here ! Surely, even for this, if for nothing else, the occasion is one never to be The doxology is sung, and the Bishop's benediction given. The mission's first service ends as it began, in a sense of glad and reverent hope.

; 'THE HEALING CHRIST."

LIMITS SET BY UNBELIEF.

ADDRESS BY MR. HICKSON.

" God is not on trial—your faith' is on trial" —such was the kernel of the address delivered by Mr. Hickson before he ministered to the sick. He spoke in the spirit of a hymn that had just been sung, one verse of which was: —

Pass me not, O mighty Spirit! Thou can'st make the blind to see: Witnesses of Jesu's merit, Speak tho word of power to mo— even me.

The only way Christians could look upon spiritual healing, sand Mr. Hickson, was that it was the healing of Jesus Christ. Many would bring in crosscut talk about the power of suggestion, the power of mind over matter, and so forth.. But what really mattered was that of these methods it could be said: " I was blind, and now I see ; I was deaf, and novv l hear." Science, without belief, was not dependence upon God and religion, but the first essential of spiritual healing was faith in God. That lifted healing at. once to a higher plane. , Mr. Hickson spoke of the woman who touched the hem of Christ's garment in faith. The moment she touched Him our Lord perceived that virtue had gone out of Him. It was not her faitli that healed her. but it was through her faith that Christ healed her. It was the, same touay as of old. He had not withdrawn His promise. Proceeding, Mr. Hickson spoke of the belief held by some people that Christ might not want to heal them ; that their trouble had been sent for their spiritual good. But Christ, said the speaker, always healed when there was faith. What they wanted was the simple, trusting faith of little children. Some people confused intellectual belief with faith, but one was of the head and the other of the heart. All the tests in the world would not give a man faith,, for faith came to man in his soul. It was the gift of God. Mr. Hickson spoke of sceptics and the impossibility of convincing , them.' Given proof, they immediately ; asked another' question. The testimony- of those who experienced the healing was more valuablo than scientific testimony, because it was a fact in their lives. Thus they were not there to try to give tests for sceptics. The promise was to those who believed not to those who did not.

Continuing, Mr. Hickson said that they must not be discouraged if thev did not get immediate physical benefit. They must let the mission be the sowing of- the seed of a great work in their souls. They should nourish the seed, water it with their prayers, faith, hope, and right living, and then, in due season, it would bea-n fruit. Christ • Himself could not heal everyone. In His own country He could not do mighty ' works, because of the unbelief of the 'people. The wonder to him was that so many Were- heated, not so few. Healing would come if they continued in faith..

In a reference to the doctors Mr. Hickson said that they thanked God for doctors, because God had created them as He did the remedies they used. But doctors had their limitations. Was there any limitation to Christ? He related instances where doctors had asked him to pray with them over a patient, and declared that the day was coming when all doctors would have faith in God and realise that thero was not only a body to be healed, but also a soul. There was no limitation to what God could do, except the limitations imposed by men themselves.

THE INFIRM AND OLD.

VISITS TO INSTITUTIONS.

On the opening day of the mission the gift'of healing was carried into two of the city's institutions which shelter some of the most pathetic ».cases of human weakness and suffering. These institutions; were the Knox Home, at Tamaki West, and the Costley Home and shelters at One Tree Hill. "

I Mr. Hickson and l>*ie supporting clergy arrived at the Knox Home by motor-car at 4 p.m. One of the wards had been temporarily furnished for the service, with 4an altar and an. organ, and about 14 afflicted persons, together with an equal number of other inmates, and several nurses, as intercessors, prepared for the arrival, of the missioners by taking part in a short service. The majority of the: cases presented to Mr. Hickson were permanent bed or chair patients, several of whom had not walked for years. The majority were women. of advanced age, but one or two were youthful, and pitifully hopeful, and two of the patients were young men permanently confined to bed. '* To-day we aro going to touch the hem of His garment' in faith," Mr. Hickson told 'them. He spoke of their sufferings and the feeling of depression that comes with long confinement. " This life is not a whole thing, however," he said "-'it is but a day in eternity. Use every moment of .your life here,' as a time of pre paration. Let your home here be a homo of prayer." It was a great life, that was only beginning', he added, free from the limitations of the human structure.

The laying on of hands then followed, each patient being attended in turn, first by Mr. Hickson, and then by the Pvev. E. Lionel Harvie.

At the Costley Home Mr. Hickson was met by Bishop Avcrill, and a healing visit was paid to the sick wards and the outshelters of the Auckland Hospital. Tho party finally repaired to the little chapel situated in the grounds of the home, where about 35 old people had gathered in reverent prayer. There were blind old men. and others completely deaf. paralysed men and women, and several suffering from deficiencies and weaknesses of various orders. To each was given a few words of hope and comfort,. Mr. Hickson and Bishop Averill performing the ceremony of laying on hands.' v In his address to t those assembled, Mr. Hickson again urged those who were" inclined to despondency to look upon their life as.a day of preparation for the risen holy life of Christ. ~