THE SUNDAY CIRCLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22284, 9 June 1934, Page 21

THE SUNDAY CIRCLE

RELIGIOUS READING FOR THE HOME ONE SHORT NIGHT WATCH. Oh, Thou who in the Garden wept Alone those anguished tears, While near Thy weak disciples slept Worn out with griefs and fears. I thought to watch—l also fail— O'ercome with grief and shame, I see Thee standing grieved and pale, 1 hear Thee call my name. Oh, Thou 'who all our sins did bear, Thy frail disciple see— Who in his weakness could not share One short night watch with Thee. is Thy disciples' sleep did break With Thy face bent above, Oh! may my soul so blessed awake To my pardoning Grace and Love. Mary M. Curchod. PRAYER. We adore Thee, 0 Christ,, Son, of the living God, Who didst rise in great triumph from the grave, and didst : bear in Thy pierced hands the keys of hell aud death. We rejoice, 0 Lord our God, in Thy almighty power and glory. Raise Thou us up with Thee, 0 blessed Saviour, above all earthly desires. Inspire us with thoughts of joy, of hope, and love. Enter Thou within the chamber of our hearts and say unto us, "Peace be unto you." Give us the grace to see Thee, Blessed Saviour, the eyes of our understanding being enlightened, that we may kno* Thee walking by our side, in this our earthly pilgrimage, Come unto us, 0 our Lord, and dwell within us. Abide with us through our night of weeping. Make Thyself known to us in the breakiug of bread. Teach us, O Blessed Lord God Most High, to look and see Thee beyond this dark, tempestuous sea, standing on the everlasting shore of peace; and suffer ua to come unto Thee through the waters. Give tie grace, 0 Lord our God, to arise with Thee, to leave all for Thee, that we may be made like unto Thee, that we may follow Thee, 0 Thou Blessed Lamb of God, withersoever Thou goest. Amen. A TEXT FOR EACH DAY'S MEDITATION. LIVING IN THE SPIRIT. Sunday.—" Create in me a clean heart 0 God, and renew a right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. 0 Lord open Thou mv lips; and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise." —rsalm 51: 10, 12, 15. Monday.—" It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."—Matthew 10: 20. ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Heavenly Father *.'ive the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? " —Luke 11: 13. Tuesday.—" The hour cometh, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth."—John 4: 23 and 24. Wednesday.— -" It is the Spirit that quickenetb; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. We believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.—John 6. 63 and 69.

Thursday.—" Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of Bis. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. As many as are Jed by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."—Eomans 8: 9, 10, and 14. Friday.—" Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God."—Corinthians 2: 12. "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts crying Abba 4; 6. Saturday.—" Christ, in" whom ye also trusted, after that ye beard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom aiso, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance. —Epbesians 1: 13 and 14. -~H. R. Higgens, in A.C.W. THE HEART OF KAGAWA'S MESSAGE. Toyohiko Kagawa has been for three weeks in the Philippines where he delivered more than seventy addresses and lectures. It early became evident, that the heart of his message is redeeming love. In the midst of an address to 000 students at the College of Agriculture, an hour's talk in which he, explained seven different types of co-operatives, Kagawa suddenly paused and said: "The foundation of all this must be Christian character. If men are selfish, if they do not have redeeming love, none of these co-operatives can succeed/' Then he proceeded in dispassionate pro-fessor-like manner to expound other cooperatives that he had not yet discussed. In a convocation address at the University of the Philippines where more than 1000 students listened spellbound to his presentation of " The Harmony of Science and Religion," he once more made clear that at the heart of the Christian faith lies this love that redeems lost values. KAGAWA USES CONSERVATIVE EXPRESSIONS. In his Philippine addresses Ka'gawa did not hesitate to use the phrases and expressions of a conservative theology. He spoke with enthusiasm about the " blood of Christ." However, he was not content to leave that trite statement standing utterly alone. "We can get along without our ears or our eyes." he said, " but we die without blood. Many of our organs are on the surface, blood is at -the centre of our being. When a part of the body is injured, blood rushes to heal it. New tissue is grown and the wound disappears because the blood cells are sacrificed. Lost values are redeemed only through sacrifice. This is what the blood of Jesus means. It stands for redeeming love through sacrificial service." CHINESE PREACHERS STRESS SECOND COMING. The " second coming " is, it appears, being quite assiduously preached in Chinese churches. Both the .younger evangelists and older preachers participate in this. Simple-minded and distracted people respond to it readily. But some of the younger preachers and student-hearers are beginning to raise questions as to its applicability to China's needs. There may be the beginning of controversy here. It is one aspect of the wide-spread emphasis by modern Chinese revivalists on fundamentalism. The Oxford group movemeut is making itself felt somewhat in China. Rev. Gardiner Tewsbury especially, has been presenting it in many places. Here and there a group is active also. SOUTH INDIA CHURCH UNION. The joint committee on Church union in South India meeting in Madras, has made some further revisions in the scheme. To the clause accepting the historic episcopate in a constitutional form as part of the basis of union, an addition has been made to the effect that " the fact that other churches dp not follow the rule of episcopal ordination shall not in itself preclude the United .Church from holding relations of communion and fellowship with them." In the section dealing with the consecration of bishops, a clause had been added that two presbyters shall joiu hands with the bishops in the laying on of hands "provided that if a diocesan council shall specially so determine, hands shall be laid on by the bishops only." A GO-AHEAD POLICY. Canon Guy Rogers, speaking at the annual conference of the Anglican Evangelical Group Movement, pleaded for a "more go-ahead policy" of promoting inter-communion between the churches. He approached the question, he said, with a passionate concern for reunion. He thought of Christ breaking down barriers of creed and race, and he felt the shame of it as in His own Sacrament they excluded their fellow-Chris-tians. He regarded inter-communion as a natural right, and he urged the Movement to help the Church of England to break through its non-committal attitude.

WOMEN WORKERS NEEDED. "I believe there is a mighty work to be done by women for women," declared Rev. Rowntree Clifford, speaking at Dereham. " There are sides of a woman's life that only a woman can meet. I have not lived in a settlement for 30 years for nothing, and I have met the most gifted women who have laid their all upon the altar. I have seen the wonderful service the compassionate ministry of women can do. and 1 have seen some of the finest leadership amongst them, and I cannot help believing that there is a great work for the ministry of women in the future." CHURCH SERVICES OF THE FUTURE. " Our conception of churches as primarily preaching centres will probably have to be abandoned," said Mr A. W. Wills in an address from the chair of Wilts _ and East Somerset Congregational Union. " How can you expect people to be prepared to come regularly and listen for half an hour to a well-inten-tioned, good man of ordinary intelligence, when the world's best can be heard in their own homes? The character of the musical portion of our services will probably have to be changed. No longer will the efforts of ' our choir " be considered the finest possible. The 8.8. C. is dispelling that illusion, however regrettable it may be considered. Sunday services will probably develop into worship services in which singing will be much less formal j than to-day."