THE SUNDAY CIRCLE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21266, 21 February 1931, Page 5

THE SUNDAY CIRCLE.

RELIGIOUS READING FOR THE HOME. SOWING IN TEARS. In weeping, in weeping, We’ve sown, and in the reaping So many tares are tangled with the grain; Repenting, relenting. Nought have we worth presenting; With empty hands we journey home again. Returning, returning, For rest and comfort yearning, We hear the call, “Ye heavy laden, come! " A-weary, a-vveary, 1 The way is long and dreary; But 'tis the way that leads the labourer home! J. Lewis Milligan. PRAYER. Our Father in heaven, Whom no eye hath seen or can see, but in Whom we believe! We come to Thee. Thou hast made us and not we ourselves, therefore do we put our trust in Thee. We bless Thy Holy Name that we may have fellowship with Thee by the help of faculties within us more ancient and more to be relied upon than the knowledge which comes by sight or by hearing. We have known Thee in the day of our necessity; and, when all else had failed. Thy faithfulness was to us a place of refuge in which strength of purpose came back to us. Behold us now and accept us, though it is the just burden of our own neglect that we ask Thee to take from us. Forgive ns now, though we confess even as we ask this that we have often asked it of Thee and have abused Thy mercy to us. Sustain us for the tasks and decisions of the morrow, to which we may be looking forward with reluctance or anxiety. Light up the hidden chambers of our mind that we may see clearly what it is we fear, and whether our true concern is something for which we can lift up our hearts to Thee without shame. And by the daily pressure of life and duty upon us, and by Thy Good Spirit’s daily support of us, may we grow into the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord: to Whom with Thyself and the Holy Spirit be all praise and glory, world without end. Amen. A TEXT FOR EACH DAY’S MEDITATION. Sunday.—“ Let us walk in the light of the Lord.” —Isaiah ii, 5. “ Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”—lsaiah xxx, 21. Monday.—“ They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles'; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” —Isaiah xl, 31. Tuesday.—“ Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them.” —Hosea xiv, 9. Wednesday.—“ There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”— Romans viii, 1-2. Thursday, —■“ Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.”—Ephesians v, 1-2. Friday.—“ For ye were sometimes darkness but now ye are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.”—Ephesians v, 8-10. Saturday,—“ See then ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”—Ephesians v, 15-17.—H. R. Higgens in A.C.W, NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF. Don’t be afraid to talk spiritual things in secular groups! When you make speeches at noonday lunch clubs, lodges, and conventions, in God’s name “speak a gude word for Christ! ” Men expect it and hope for it, and are disappointed when they do not hear it. Listen to them talk outside after an honest minister has represented his calling well and his Christ, and you will find that they respect the man who has stood by his guns. Business men would often rather hear a poor layman make a spiritual address in a clumsy way than hear an eloquent preacher make a secular address in a crowd without mentioning his Christ or his 'spiritual mission. Never address a crowd of business men without delivering your spiritual message. They expect it! They need it! They like it! WAITING. “ Waiting for the sons of God.” The world is an unfinished symphonj', and we are awaiting the last movement, the lost or yet undiscovered chord, the reconciling note that will give meaning to the discord. There is melody—as who can doubt who hears the birds sing, looks into the eyes of a friend, or feels the heroisms and loyalties of men—but it is broken melody, and Nature slides into semi-tones, sinks to a minor, blunts into a ninth, and still we wait for the C major of this world., What are we waiting for? Not for more dexterity, but more insight; not more leisure, but more peace; not more activity, but more understanding; not more interests, but more controls; not more wealth, but more well-being; not more excitement, but more joy; not more change, but more content—aye, we are waiting for the coming of v the sons of God, those large, eternal fellows who, with all-conquering fellowship, shall bring the better day.—Joseph Fort Newton. IF YOU WISH FOR PEACE. The old adage, “If you wish for peace, prepare for war,” could now be superseded by “ When every precaution has been taken, if you wish for peace, prepare for peace.” Such scourges as epidemics had been successfully defeated in the past; why should not the greatest scourge of all war, be defeated in the future? I, for one, am prepared to struggle for peace on earth until my last breath.—M. Briand, French Foreign Minister, speaking at a banquet in Paris. WHY I GO TO CHURCH. I go to church because I want my children to go to church. I want them to know something more of life than business, sport, and selfish amusement. I

merit. It was unfortunate that this was the only misty day of conference, for those who readied the top were denied the eagerly-anticipated view. However, all enjoyed the day’s outing to the full, and arrived back full of enthusiasm and song, in time for tea. “RISE UP, 0 YOUTH OF GOD.” During the rest of the week the J3.C. members were in two sections for the morning’s work. The junior section had as the title of its series of discussions “Rise Up, 0 Youth of God.” This section was taken on Wednesday by members of the Auckland District Committee After the introduction of the theme a playette, “ My Homo and I,” was performed. This aimed at showing the duties of the individual at homo and the ideal, Christ-like attitude towards the everyday tasks in the home which are so often regarded as irksome drudgery. Opportunity was afterwards given for discussion of the subject. On Thursday Nurse Elliott, from India, took the second day’s theme, “ My Church Experts,” under the heading of “Life, Love, Prayer, Gifts, and Service.” She gave a most interesting talk on India and life among the Indian people. On Friday the theme was on “ Out Into Life,” taken by the Palmerston North District Committee. Mr E. G. Jansen, acting travelling secretary, was the chief speaker. The themes were “The Choice of One’s Vocation, Standards of Principles in Business,” and “The Use of Leisure.” Saturday’s discussion, “The Splendid Suest,” was treated by the Wellington istrict Committee, and was a fitting close to such a series of helpful studies. It treated the practical questions of “Public Amusements,” “Reading,” “ Thrift and the Wise Use of Money,” and “ The Privilege of the Vote.” (To be continued.)

know only one institution that will teach them that they are divine. The Church will interfere with their pleasures at times, but their mother and I sometimes have to do that, and we hope that they will love us none the lees because of it. The Church will mystify and puzzle them and seem irksome to them now and then. But all things worth while demand something of us in sacrifice. I believe that the Church and the things it stands for are necessary to our well-being.—Edward A. Guest. METHODIST UNION. The presidents of the three Methodist (England) Conferences—Dr H. B. Workman (Wesleyan), the Rev. W. M. Kelley (Primitive), and A. E. J. Cosson (United) —have issued a joint message in which they state that 1931 will be a year of very great importance to Methodists, as it will bring them to the threshold or Methodist Union. As presidents they have visited many places for meetings of preparation for reunion. “We have been astonished,” they say, “ with the enthusiasm displayed, and the determination so to prepare the way that when the event comes in September, 1932, nothing shall be lacking necessary for success. . . . The delay which has taken place has not been without its advantages. All parties have had more time to look round and see what reunion will involve, and to make plans for the future. The greatest need of all, however, is that there shall come upon us such a spiritual uplift and blessing which shall enable us to turn the presept times of distress into the beginning of new life for us all.” / THE THREE jSTAGES OF LIFE. Dr H. B. Workman, president of conference, in a New Year’s message entitled “ The Three Stages of Life,” speaks first to the young who have claimed a world for their own. He urges them to face boldly to-day’s problems, but not to forget that the way to truth is through life, and he hopes they will grasp truth and carry their dreams into reality. To those in middle life Dr Workman says their greatest danger is the old sin of accidie—of getting into a rut in religious duties and life. To those facing the westering sun, the president says: “We are as old as we feel and we must enter into the outlook of the young and give wise guidance that they will accept if they see that old age understands their point of view."

THE FUTURE OP THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

“The year 1931” says Lord Cecil in an appeal for disarmament “promises to be a critical one for the League of Nations, for it will depend upon the movements of public opinion during the year whether the first World Disarmament Conference, which will probably assemble at the beginning of next year, is to be a farce or a reality. Unless that conference,” he adds, “results in a treaty which will stop competition in all forms of armaments, subject them to effective limitation and bring about such substantial reductions as were clearly intended by Article VIII of the Covenant and anticipated by the defeated powers at Versailles from the promises made to them by the Allies, the wdiole edifice of international peace will be shaken to its foundations.” THE CHURCH IN 1930. Writing in The Christian Century Dr Edward Shillito reviews church life in Great Britain. He says:— “ In any review of the religious life of the country the church must be seen as a whole. It is hard and probably useless to make general observations upon the main purpose and achievement of the church. Churches might be lees attended and more effective; but that again does not follow. A church may be empty because its witness is faithful, or because it is faithless. A revival of religion might be revealed in the reduction of church members. But so far as the outward recognition of the Christian religion is concerned, the year 1930 has shown no sign of advance. There is no evidence that either in the established church or in the free churches there is any marked improvement in church attendance or in the public acknowledgment of religion. So far as the relations of the churches to each other are concerned, the year must be regarded as a time of disappointment for those who seriously look for a closer fellowship. The net result of the Lambeth conference so far has been a chilling of the atmosphere. At the same time those whose memories enable them to look back over a generation of church life must see a great improvement in the attitude of the churches one to another. In a thousand ways they are able to-day to show their good will to another, and even in a year of much controversy there has been no breach of this good will.

Christian people have learned to conduct their controversies in a more Christian manner. The close of the year finds all the churches longing for a renewal of life within their own borders, and they would not have sought for it if they had not begun to find it. CAPITALISM AND COMMUNISM. In a recent radio sermon Dr H. E. Fosdick looked at present world conditions and made the statement that “we still have a chance to build a humane, co-operative, economic life that, as Jesus said, will prove itself the greatest because it is the servant of all; but one has only to look abroad upon the world to-day to see that it is a narrow chance. Communism is rising into a prodigious world power, while all the capitalistic nations are arming themselves to fly at each other’s throats and cut themselves to pieces.” “The ultimate decision between Communism and Capitalism,” Dr Fosdick said, “depends on one point, only: Can Capitalism so adjust itself to this new world, so move out from its old individualism dominated by the profit motive into a co-operative epoch of social planning and social control that it can become the servant of the welfare of all the people? If it can, it can survive. If it cannot, our children will have some form of Communism thrust upon them.” EDUCATING THE BANTU. “ I gave my school,” writes a missionary in Central Africa, “ a talk about the war to-day, and I was surprised to find that not one of them had ever heard of it. So I told them the whole story of how it started, etc., and they got frightfully excited. The idea of white men fighting one another seemed quite ludicrous to them; but I took care to tell them that it will never happen again. . . . I think gramophone records are a most excellent idea for Christmas. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is beginning to be appreciated by the school —especially the second movement. But they still think ‘ Honey ’ and ‘ Ever so Goosey ’ is real good music.”