DUNEDIN PRESBYTERY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3239, 12 April 1916, Page 3

DUNEDIN PRESBYTERY.

The meeting of the Dunedin Presbytery held on the 4th insfc. was presided over by the Moderator (the Rev. A. Gray). FINANCE COMMITTEE. On the motion of the Rev. A. Cameron the Presbytery agreed to purchase a house and site at Brighton offered by Mrs Miller for £6OO, and to recommend the Synod to make the grants for site and manse in accordance with the regulations. The Presbytery agreed to a request from the committee of the P.S.S.A. for the usual grants lor manse and site, and resolved to grant £75 for a site and £4OO for a manse, and approved of the purchase in George street already made by the committee. ECCLESIASTICAL COMMITTEE. The Rev. R. Scott Allan, on behalf of the Ecclesiastical Committee, stated that the committee had agreed to appoint a home missionary for a year at Brighton, that place in the meantime to retain the status of a Church Extension charge. With regard to the status of home missionaries and minister's assistants the committee held there was no power to grant full privileges to an agent coming from another Presbytery except by specific resolution of the Presbytery under Which he had been working.—The report was adopted. HOME MISSIONS. A circular on the subject of Home Missions was received from Dr Gibb (convener of the Home Missions Committee). The Rev. J. Kilpatriek said it was a matter for great gratitude that the response to the appeal for Home Missions had been so liberal, but the burden of the circular was that, though having done so well, the church required to take steps to clo better. Instead of the ordinary collection at the church door, he suggested that congregations ought to organise a home mission collection as they did the foreign mission collection. He moved that it be a recommendation to congregations that the collection for home missions be taken up in the manner generally adopted for foreign missions. The Rev. A. Cameron seconded the motion, and suggested that congregations be requested to follow this practice this year, and that the appreciation of the Presbytery be expressed to Dr Gibb for his exceedingly successful work for home missions.—The motion was adopted, with the suggested additions. OUTWAHD UNION AND I WARD STRENGTH.

The Rev. A. Cameron moved the following resolution :—" That the Presbytery agrees to appoint a committee to inquire and report (a) as to the practical steps which may be taken with a view to secure; the closer co-operation of our own church with sister churches, (b) as to what means may be used for the deepening of the religious life of the church and for tho increase of her power of service, full power to be given to the committee to confer with representatives of other churches." The thought had been growing in his mind for a long time, lie said, that something ought to be done in regard to other churches. There had been a great deal of talk up in the clouds about union, but was there nothing practical that could be done? Possibly there might be a mutual eligibility act as a beginning. It was no use talking about co-operation unless they were to inquire how they could 00-operate. The first thing was to go on an exploring expedition, and then let them overture after they had discovered what could be done. !No doubt many of them had thoughts how the spiritual life of the church might be deepened and its fruitfulness in service increased, but for want of conversation and discussion nothing came of these ideas. The Rev. J. Chisholm seconded the motion, and said that they all felt the very great need of doing something, because the church did not occupy the position in society that it ought to occupy. It had in some measure lost its evangelical power to permeate society in every department of human life. There was a possibility that the old methods might require .readjustment.

The Rev. R. E. Davios, referring to the influence of the war, said he was confident that there would be a deeper union of the churches in tho future than there had been in the past. It would be a very critical time for the churches after the war, when thousands of men were returning from new experiences and with vision clarified, it was time they faced the task of preparing for the return of these young men by deepening tho spiritual lite of the church at home so that they would find in it the sense of reality that their hearts undoubtedly craved. The motion was adopted, and the following were appointed as the committee to give effect to it :—Revs. J. Chisholru, Q. H. Balfour, R. E. Davies, W. Gray Dixon, W. Trotter, A. Cameron, H. B. Gray, Professors Hewitson and .Dickie, and Messrs W. T. Glasgow, W. Gow, and YY. H. Adams. GENERAL. > The Rev. Mr Kilpatrick, on behalf of the Chaplaincy Fund Committee, asked for instructions from the Presbytery as to its further procedure, and as to how tho congregations that had so far failed to

contribute to the fund were to be dealt with.—lt was decided to appeal to tha congregations that had not already contributed to send their contributions to some other camp or chaplains' fund, and to instruct the committee to devote any; balance it might have to a similar fund.