THE PRESBYTERY

Southland Times, Issue 20147, 6 April 1927, Page 10

THE PRESBYTERY

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Presbytery of Southland was held in First Church, Invercargill, yesterday morning, the Moderator, the Rev. J. H. Thompson, presiding over a good attendance of ministers and elders. A commission was received from the Awarua charge in favour of Mr W. H. Fortune in respect to both Presbytery and Synod, and this was sustained. The Rev. J. Fordyce '(Riverton) forwarded his resignation as Moderator of the Orawia charge, stating that a similar position in connection with the Tuatapere charge fully occupied his time.—Received and accepted. The Rev. W. F. Evans was appointed to the moderatorship of the Orawia charge. The Home Mission Committee asked for the Presbytery’s judgment as to the suitability for the ministry of several men who were at work within the Presbytery’s bounds.—Referred to the Trails for License and Home Missions Committees.

An application for the quinquennial grant for repairs from the Colac Bay charge was approved. The Stewart Island charge applied for the usual £ for £ grant in respect of essential repairs to the church. The Revs. J. W. Robertson and C. J. Tocker endorsed the claim that the repairs asked for were absolutely necessary.—Presbytery agreed to approve of the application.

The matter of Presbytery assessments was considered, and on the motion of the Rev. W. J. Robertson it was agreed that the assessments be issued on a similar basis to those of last year. DUPLICATED ENDEAVOUR. The Superintendent of the Home Mission Committee (Mr George Budd) wrote in connection with the position of the Church in Ohai, mentioning that the Methodists had already a building under construction and that the Salvation Army had now bought a site and might be setting up a building. It was really a very serious thing to think that in a comparatively little place such competition should beset them and so much public money be thrown away in the erection of unnecessary buildings. It was a matter for the Presbytery to ventilate, though he did not know whether any thing should be done in the matter. On the face of it it was worth more than a second thought. Surely something could be done to prevent disgraceful overlapping of the kind.

The Rev. J. Chisholm expressed the opinion that the time had come when the Presbytery should endeavour to do something in the matter and commented on the very friendly relationship which existed between the Presbyterian and Methodist factions in the province generally. He thought that if the governing bodies of the two churches were to confer, good progress would be made towards a workable understanding between them, for he admitted that it was a great pity that the two sister churches should be overlapping in their work, thus wasting considerable money. The Rev. J. B. Bickerstaff (Otautau) contended that it was really a matter for the Methodist Conference and the Presbyterian Assembly to come to some definite understanding on the question of the spheres of their respective or combined effort. He referred to a working arrangement which he entered into with a Methodist minister in the north. It had been agreed that they would not overlap each others districts, which were mutually agreed upon, but while this worked admirably while they were both stationed together their successors would not hear of carrying on the arrangement. It would therefore seem that the only way to come to a satisfactory conclusion was to bring the supreme bodies of both churches to work for a binding arrangement. A general discussion followed, in which it was mentioned that although nothing could be done in cases where the Methodist denomination was desirous of carrying on their endeavours, it was nevertheless desirable that a mutual understanding should be arrived at.

The Rev. J. Lawson Robinson moved, and Mr McKenzie seconded that as the Methodist Church has already erected a building in Ohai and has been holding services there for some time, the superintendent of the Home Mission Committee be so informed with the suggestion that so far as Ohai is concerned nothing should be done.

This was duly carried, and in addition the ■following motion, moved by the Rev. Bickerstaff and seconded by the Rev. Tocker was also minuted: “That the clerk be instructed to write to the superintendent of the Home Mission Committee asking him to bring before the committee the question of overlapping, not only in Ohai but in the whole Dominion, and that his committee endeavour to arrange a conference with the Methodist Home Mission Committee to discuss the question with a view to arriving at some mutual understanding, whereby this unsatisfactory feature of Christian endeavour will be avoided in the future. Further, if necessary, that the committee bring the question before the General Assembly which meets in Christchurch on November 11.”—Carried. BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

Speaking as a representative of the recently formed Southland branch of the Bible-in-Schools League, the Rev. J. Lawson Robinson commended the aims of the League to the favourable consideration of the Presbytery. The matter was one of extreme importance, as instanced by the fact that on the last occasion on which the Religious Instruction in Schools Bill was presented to Parliament it was defeated by only two votes. Reviewing the provisions of the Bill Mr Robinson said that they did not ask for a great deal, and were approved by all Christian churches in New Zealand with the exception of the Roman Catholic, the Unitarian and Mormon denominations. Dealing with the proposals of the League, the speaker explained that it was the immediate intention to arrange for a plebiscite on the Bill of all parents of children attending State schools, and it was the task of the Southland branch to conduct the plebiscite in the home province as it was hoped to show Parliament that there was a majority of the parents of the Dominion in favour of the introduction of religious instruction in schools. The way had been made easy for the taking of the plebiscite by the Education Board granting the necessary authority in respect to the examination of school rolls. Apart from the ballot, however, there was the matter of general publicity in the interests of increasing the League’s membership, and Mr Robinson appealed for the earnest support of all ministers in the Presbytery. He then moved the following resolution which was seconded by the Rev. Tanner and carried unanimously :

“That the Presbytery expresses its deep conviction that the time is fully ripe for the introduction of religious exercises in State schools, approves the provisions of the Bill sponsored by the Hon. L. M. Isitt for that purpose, and records its determination to use every legitimate influence in instructing and organising public opinion in support of the measure.”