PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18563, 22 November 1923, Page 10

PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY.

IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER.

NEED FOR SERVICE * BOOK. [by telegraph.-—press ; ' association.] i ;j CT.EISTCHURCH. Wednesday. '; 5 At the sitting- of • the Presbyterian General Assembly to-day the report arid; recommendations of the Life and Work Committee were presented. ; ';••'. Dealing with the • subject of 'prayer, meetings the report' stated that statistics might be, and often were," very misleading, but whatever 'might be . the value ( of blue book statistics, t^era, was a very general v feeling that! all was not well ;in the prayer life of the church. The committee ;= proposed to issue a questionnaire on the subject ■'• to < ministers • and I elders in 'the' hear future in ; the hope vof f eliciting information that would 'i make possible the formulation of some * constructive policy. The Report' states that the absence ?of tine Bible from the pews had been brought to the ;•• attention of \ the ■'■ committee more than once. ; It would be a gain if worshippers could be persuaded to furnish themselves with Bibles, or if sessions and deacon's * courts ; : were to •"*: see that pews were.so , furnished. At present ; there was no 1 service book in general use in the church, v with the;; result that there wis nothing \r-"- resembling uniformity la the conduct u the more occasional v services. The committee recommended that ; the Life and Work '.Committee be authorisel to investigate the matter with aview to the adoption of a service book for voluntary use. ;.;.■ ■',' 'HM-H The assembly resolved that the proposal to observe a church "rally" ; month be approved, and \ that ' ministers arid : sessions be exhorted to give prominence to the subject of personal evangelism throughout the year;' that the second Sunday of May be observed as "Mother's Day," arid that, a. committee be appointed to compile a manual for the guidance of ministers "and laymen. " *C;' ' -The Home Mission's report; stated that [ ,rom time to time the, committee had received inquiries from nUn overseas . concerning conditions in New Zealand. "The number inquiring this year had been ; fairly large. The present supply of" home missinr".ries was nearly adequate to the need and applications within New Zealand had been coming in fairly freely. v The committee was disinclined, unless in very special cases, to ~l accept any more men from abroad, but ' there was still a serious dearth of ministers. a few ministers of excellent gifts and standing in- the Old Country / had aproached the New -Zealand Church; within the last few: months. The committee would welcome . some ■ guidance from the Assembly as to what,was to be done with these applicants. Recently one or two very desirable men were lost to the church through delays' thfct "would have beerf avoided had some guiding rules been laid down. " *

• (.:The following recommendation of .the committee was v referred back for ' further consideration :-—"That f, the Home \Mission Comn/' »e be authorised to : assist; in > the travelling expenses ; of : l ministers coming from the Old Country to the extent of not more. than £50, provided (a) that not more than fine men be ; brought out In any ; one year; ,;, (b) that the applicants have a com* mission i from ijthe Colonial Committee of ■ their church ; ; (c). that those assisted i give an , undertaking to remain in the service of the New Zealand / Church ", : . ; for- at least three yearn; (d) that when a congregation calls a minister towards whose : passage money the Home Mission s Committee -has contributed, it . shall i refund /to the 1 Home Mission Committeei-the whole or part of, the ; amount contributed." , • / .