OVERSEAS PRESBYTERIANS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19966, 7 December 1926, Page 10

OVERSEAS PRESBYTERIANS.

THE LAND OE THEIR FATHERS. A LINKING-UP SCHEME. (Special to Uaili Times.) AUCKLAND, December 6. “Our ideal is that not one of our people will fail to bo linked up with the land of their fathers,” said the Rev. E, S. Porter, convener o£ the Colonial Board of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, who arrived by the Niagara this afternoon. Mr Porter aaid the object of his visit was to endeavour to bring together all overseas Presbyterian churches, and his work was_ puiely voluntary. Ho had left Home in September last and had visited Canada, seeing all the churches working from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts, and from the international boundary to the northern territory. „ . , “During the last seven years, said Mr Porter, “the board has sent 42 ministers and missionaries overseas. My visit is to gain further information so that wo might “a,-. v on the work. The board has set up machinery to appoint port chaplains who will interview all outgoing Presbyterians, giving them letters to correspondents who will meet them on arrival at their destinations in new lands. Last year w-c sent 3000 Presbyterian immigrants from Belfast alone, and this year 4000 will leave our city for tho dominions.” After a month spent in New Zealand Mr Porter will go to Australia and South ■Africa, and he hopes to get back Homo on March 31 of next year. Mr Porter is minister at Albert Street Church in Belfast, and prior to that was stationed in Armagh. . Touching on church matters in Canada, the visitor observed that they were somewhat complicated. The union of tho churches took place on Juno 10, 1925, and Methodists and Congregationalists went into (hat union unanimously. A strong minority showed early opposition among the Presbyterian churches,_ and it was anticipated that TO congregations would refuse to join. “As a matter of fact there are now 1340 continuing Presbyterian churches, representing 44 per cent, of tho original membership of” the Presbyterian Church,” said Mr Porter. Tho present, communicant membership of those churelies amounted to about 174,000 members. Those in the union wore very hopeful about the future and were convinced that unionism was tho only solution of the situation.