REMARKABLE SERMON.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13516, 20 October 1914, Page 7

REMARKABLE SERMON.

MINISTER CRITICISES CHURCH

METHUDS

(Special to Herald.)

AUCKLAIND, this day. A remarkable sermon was that preached by the Rev. Jasper Calder to a big congregation at St. Matthew's Church, the largest Anglican Church m Auckland, on Sunday evening. Basing his remarks on Christ's saying m the temple, "Wist ye not that I must be about my father's business," he attacked church methods and Synod doings m no uncertain language. The preacher commenced by contending that the only way m which the Church and clergy could hope to achieve any real success was to get into closer touch with the men and women of the world, to understand things from their point of view, and above all to be m a position to sympathise with them. The greatest rogue m the world had his own particular point of view, and the feature of Christ's missionary work was His love, pity, and understanding;. In comparing modern methods of preparing men for the ministry, the Rev. Mr Calder said that students were taught Latin, Greek, theology, Church history, and a smattering of actual church work. But they were not taught anything regarding human instincts, the science of sex purity, social science (at least as it applied to New Zealand), the laws of trades unionism, economics, commercial morality, physical fitness, or even how to prepare, much less deliver; sermons. To come to the point of Jhis sermon, young men were sent out to preach m a \vorld which they did not understand, and of which they knew nothing. To day there was a growing and sure cry to the Church from' the people, which the Church was slow to hear. It was the cry, "Drop your, ' narrow-minded conventions; get off your high horse; come down into the fighting line." Rightly or wrongly, the man m the street said, "If you are goin^r to preach to us only definite dogmatic teaching, spiritual satire, and churchanity, instead oi Christianity, we simply will not come." Dealing with what he termed the "extraordinary disgust" m which the Church is held by the outsider, the preacher said they were surely aware of the complaints which were being hurled m Auckland and everywhere else to-day against the Church as an institution, and against the pynods of the past. Although his remarks did not necessarily apply to the Synod which was about to settle to its business m Auckland at the present time, who had not heard such bomb shells as these ?— "Sy nod wastes time muddling through- acres of accounts which might be dealt with m committee." "Yon extol the virtues of members who, J while they lived, you flayed with the bitterness of your tongues." "You give no wel-| come to your new members." "You form snobbish cliques and partisan, groups." • "A Nonconformist minister joins your, ranks ; he is entirely and continually despised." "When your clergy meet m conference they will spend threequarters of their time discussing the marriage fee, but the subjects of juvenile carriage and divorce are left severely alone."

The preacher referred to numerous other complaint© levelled against the Church, and then made a vigorous appeal that the ministers of to-day should make a greater effort to get into the fighting line, despite the obstacles, disappointments, and uncharitable receptions they would have to encounter. He especially emphasised the need for widening the ranks of the Church of England Men's Society. The Synod men's meetings were magnificent m their way, but he grieved to -notice that the type of man who was especially wanted was never there. "Let us %o amongst the people, try to understand them, and make them understand us," added thcpreacher. "If you have bright services, with attractive music, you must surely have a better chance of bringing the outsider into the house of God. Foi ttich a standard you have as an example St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. You may be critic.sed by people who disapprove, and whose churches, -I nation are usually empty. But don't you worry ; just smile. Tf we do our best, it is for God to judge us, not men."