CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXV, Issue 10010, 28 November 1908, Page 3 (Supplement)

CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

Tift: CHURCH IX WALKS. ~U the meetings held in connection ;i ; . r.-ceiit Church Congress at Manv tlio most important and, in the t t!u.' threatened legislation of the the most topical and popu,vl. that which dealt with the Church f '\v'ihs- An enthusiastic crowd of 1 tV ' -,' ml their hi die-- were massed in ;i p r ,.. Trade Hall to listen to the discus- ' Knirlish cler-y being . leariy the fact that Welsh disestablishl?» v. a iiuestion which closely affectlie KniJish Church as well. At the m S :i. tnu nt of the procedings it was ,"1 that nest vear's congress, on Mutation of the Bishop of St. David s i, r-i-l-ieutenant of (Jlamorgan. and \[,vnr and Corporation of Swansea,. "i'i 'held at that «_'i;cat Welsh eenTlif announcement w.is received with VicM-m. Dr Knox then called upon Kilh.it) of St. David's to address the 4 - / ' Dr Owen is a typical Welsh- " to raven hair and large. poetic I;,, adds a rare, sweet smile and \ ivactty of manner. He had little xTnltv in making out a good case for nvbh Church, though, like all the iLifli;* nt speakers, he declared that evll-nce given before the Royal Common had done more to educate the public on the vitality of the l'|, n Waits than all the efforts made i"L ems of that Church. Dr Owen ~■(1 the statement of certain members • the (rovernment that where theie is iar nationaL decision that ciisestablishrt should take place, then it was only t J,, disestablish; but he pointed out, laiiL'hter. that while the Churchmen V;ihs. had repeatedly expressed a te a religious census the NonconjL t s had as often pfotested against it. t,. L i„oks." said the bishop, "very much 2 it were not afraid of the >' (as if they were." As to the vitality Ae Church in Wales, it was capable ilein" demonstrated to certainty. Aloldest institution in the cotin- • bnorant persons persisted in calling II alien Church. Yet its irrowth showed i the people were supporting it in m■asinirly large proportion. "In my own teS e of St. David s. he said, while 'rstiXL 1877 and 1905 the population has [ T increased 6 per cent., the number "communicants has increased by 120 rcent.: the Sunday attendanre has adnced 100 per cent.; and whereas in {»years beginning in 1837 the number Arsons annually conSrmeu was _ 5900, ae three years beginning in 1905 connations reached an annual average of JOO." So, too," with the money. herein, the three years commencing 1890 . voluntary offerings averaged £66,000 jilty. in "the three years commencing 5 these offerings averaged £97,000 anilf in his diocese alone. ITEMS. i Bradford Congregational minister is sinx a novel experiment to ascertain Twork-ins men are so largely estranged it the Christian churches. By leaflets My distributed he is inviting working sti v.-rite him (frankly and anonymoits■ahort letters expressing their own if of the reasons that induce them far to oppose the Christian churches or ■Beat them with indifference. Perhn.is sRiI novelty of the experiment Lies i-i [promise that in return for the fa.-o"-iminister will try to aiwwer the cri.ies fairly on the following Sund.iv at [evening service in his chnrch. k unexpected confession is made by ssiishop Bourne, in the official record ;fe Westminster Eucharist ic Congress. sJfr Asqnith's prohibition of th; carryti the Host came to him as a "r.istial relief. He says : —" To n;.iny lireaded any sort of outrage, or t vei: jj4r. during the procession ot tt:e fa Sacrament, the turn taken by faijjras a matter of profound relief. Brcrselves, we can well believe that fcJajaith foresaw that such would be sese.. . .... Had the Government riffinths ago expressed any opinion missile to the procession, I would b(c iused that we were unready foi- the Bt of such an event, and willingly have leied.it. Even at the eleventh hour ji no thought.but to comply with the itssed wishes .of the Government, and mnot help thinking that even in Mr pith's intervention yre may trace also intervention of Divine Providence.' 5 the Congress of Religions held at ird recently, Miss Ethel Rosenberg , [ the Semitic Section about Behaism. cS she is fully persuaded is destined iferrun the world. The new religion f first preached -by a young Persian it in 1819. When "twenty-four he aniced tha't he had been chosen by C4od prepare the way for a divine teacher ' I; would shortly follow. ile called fclf the Bab, meaning the gate, and ft who listened to. him were called fe. The sect-grew so rapidly -that the pils were alarmed ; • fhe prophet was Esoned, and then in 1850. executed. Rentioit only swelled the numbers of fc attracted by the new teaching, which |ded .monotheism, a high morality, I the doctrine that women are the it* of men. This, ■of course, in MaSedan countries is reckoned rank By. Among those imprisoned was a ["merchant of Teheran, who. on acit of his charitable disposition, was TO as the Father of the Poor. Xine- : wars after the Bab departed he deid himself to be the coming one whom i Bab had preached. When he died 1882 he had an enormous following, kcalled him bv the name of Beha Allah i .Glory of God). His eldest- son is Fthe head of the sect, and continues Itsach from his prison in Turkey that |&e has come for all nations to adopt Some doctrines and the same forms of (bfu'p. of the clergy in Auckland Js y? held on December Sth (savs the EEtchurch Press correspondent) for the feose of promoting greater unity among ecimrehes. In the convention circuia,fed, which is signed by Canon Macpray, Canon Haseldene, and the Rev. tW. Scott-Moncrieff, the following pasfei occur: —"Everywhere we see an Slapping of agencies stupidly wasteful . [Sith rrt'iiiey and men. and a mutual disp; the fruit of mutual ignorance. Pe-the forces of our common Lord ave l-otten waging fraticidal warfare, the Pa opposeif to Us—drink, gambling, imfey. complacent materialism, selfishness [ffldivifiuals, and of classes—are onh' to fev allied. It is not a premature atfei at corporate reiihiou—as absurd as. pfcald be dangerous without the assent pie other parts of the communions to Wh wo lx:!6ug. Its objects are common |j6r, mutual study, and fran'i dr-sca: - .- ft of our differences. We are none of If®holly in the right: none of us paspß? tht* complete»truth. Ths Catholic fech is wider than any part of it. Let frp.rik discussion bring our several fifibtttions to the common stock. Let Spani, on the other hand (to quote the W-WDrds of Newman), that half the conW'rsiej in the .world are verbal ones, wwtld they be brought to a. plain issue phi. ht brought to a- prompt terminaT(» long .have we been afraid of RPhantom looming through the fogs of Kiaicv. Let us draw near, and we gkfiirf iiita to be a man like ourselves. SB..S? but walk side by.side and we shall WSMse our\hrother-" - BL-h(,p of London at the conclusion |jwe» induction ceremony of the Rev. Fi>rrar as vicar of" Ciirbt Church, S&ir, lu.'d recently, said that the new 5* Iwl '.vine tram Hoxtoii to May fair. P it they-looked" round Lon<f3ii k would scarcely find a poorer part 3® Uokijii or a richer part than May--6 That fact presented' to them this jv^Bky: Why should there be rich and 3?sfeutd tliere be poor? Why was it gj.pod, although He".loved the child Horton as much as the child born zave such an unequal lot to r 'hiMreri "whom they were taught He -loved? What was the Gospel to KAh! At the Pan-Anglican Congress gphes were made declaring that land means of production should be not by individuals, but by the and the people. Ile askel ®ho held this view why it was tint PW American colonies- had n;ve>- suc'Q sii sii. ji lines and that it was only cacit man got something for his thtise colonies became what they jj,. ' n Russia he-found that one of the causes of poverty and misery was tillages owned land in common. impossible for there to be perfect

equality in the world because of the differences between gifts and abilities in,different people, but there ought to be equalitv oi opportunity. In the gospel for the rich there must be emphasised the supremacy of righteousness. The rich needed quite as much spiritual health as the poor, if not more. Tile five things he enjoined upon the new vicar to preach were justice, equality of opportunity, righteousness, religion, and brotherhood. One of the most marked and practical results of the Pan-Anglican Congress, and one which will produce important developments, is the attention which has been attracted to the needs of the Church in Australia. In the diocese of Xorth Queenslaud, for instance, as its bishop lias pointed out, fifteen clergy are grappling with the impossible task of ministering to the spiritual needs of 100,000 white people spread o>er an area of 130,000 square miles. A great remedial step is in contemplation. Remembering the success of thcMission-of-Help in South Africa five years ago, it has been suggested that a similar movement should be organised in 1910 in Australia and Xew. Zealand. Bishops of the latter country now in England are said to have prepared a scheme providing for the invitation of ten missioners for six months. As far as Australia is concerned, the project is only in its preliminary stages. A proposal has been made that advantage should lie taken of the Australian Church Congress which will he held next year at Perth, to hold an advance mission in Australia and Xew Zealand, conducted by one of the leading English bishops, resembling that of the late Bishop of St. Andrews in South Africa. Subsequently the bishops and synods could be consulted, and the mission could be arranged, beginning after Easter 1910, and lasting until the assembly of the General Synod in Sydney in. the following November, passing on to New Zealand. The Guardian strongly urges that the impressive strength of the, movement will be vastly weakened if there should be any resolve to keep the New Zealand Mission separate from that of Australia. We understand that the Bishop of .Stepney has received an invitation to visit Australia, but has not yet replied. This invitation, however, has no connection with either the advance mission or the Mission-of-Help.