THE CHURCH

Southland Times, Issue 22345, 9 June 1934, Page 10

THE CHURCH

NEWS AND NOTES FROM PULPIT AND PEW. Ensign Thome has returned from a trip north and will conduct the Salvation Army services in the Citadel on Sunday. The evening subject will be “The Mighty Barrier—the Unlocked Door.” Last Sunday’s after church rally was the most successful yet held. The speaker, Mr Norman Christie, took for his subject “Bethesda and the Impotent Man” and showed how everyone at one stage of his life was in this position. Mr Andrew Johnston commences a special mission in th< North Invercargill Baptist Church to-morrow at 11 a.m. Services will be held each night during the week except Saturday at 7.30 p.m. Mr Johnston will also preach at East road at 3 p.m. The speaker at the fellowship meeting next Monday will be the Rev. Thomas Miller, M.A., of Dunedin. In view of the controversy in connection with Dr Angus, of Australia, the subject of his address, “The Witness of Christ to the Old Testament,” is rather opportune. Hugh Redwood has written a little book of “Lay Sermons and Parables” (Hodder and Stoughton). These sermonettes are helpful, and, between each of them, Mr Redwood has a page of equally helpful aphorisms. Here is one of them: “Evil thoughts are housebreakers, watching for minds unoccupied, and souls which show no light.” At St. Peter’s Methodist Church tomorrow special services in connection with the day of prayer will be held. In the morning the theme will be “Christ and Prayer” and in the evening the seventh study in the Sermon on the Mount will be “The Beatitude of Desire.” The choir will sing Elvey's “I will lift up Mine Eyes” and Mrs Mercier and Miss Jordan the duet, “The Sea of Glass” (Glover). The great day in the Presbyterian Church is the Sunday on which the season of Holy Communion is observed. Through the centuries it has always been solemnly and faithfully observed by all true members of the kirk. Sunday will be the quarterly observance at First Church. At 6.30 p.m. the subject at the eventide diet will be, “He shall be crowned Lord of all.” The anthem will be, “Lord I have loved the Habitation of Thy House.” Esk street Baptist Church services will be conducted to-morrow by the Rev. W. E. Lambert at 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. In the morning the pastor of the church will speak on William Carey, the founder of foreign missions. At the evening service the ordinance of Believers’ Baptism will be observed. The preachers at the Georgetown services will be: 11 am., Mr H. Schroeder; 6.30 p.m., Mr W. J. Ward. The West Plains service at 2.30 p.m. will be conducted by the Rev. W. E. Lambert. The writer of an article in “The War Cry” (N.Z.) refers to a remark that made a great impression on her in hei young days. It was made by one of the first General’s daughters about a woman officer. “There is one thing about her,” she heard her remark—“l never traced her’tongue!” “Those few words,” says the writer, “made a lasting impression on my mind, and I registered a mental vow, ‘And you shall never trace mine.’ I had never really seriously considered how far people’s sayings can be traced, nor what infinite harm they may do. But I have

seen it scores of times since, and we all need to be on our guard constantly. ’ The name “Islam” applied to Mohammedanism means submission, that is to say, Islamism, or Mohammedanism is a religion based on “submission” to the will of God. It attaches no special importance to the Sabbath, but on Friday afternoons the faithful attend prayers in the mosques. Instead of priests, there are prayer leaders, chosen from the scholarly and the pious. There are no statues or images in the mosques, and no seats. The pulpits are shaped like a flight of steps. The Koran (their sacred book) is carefully studied, not only in the mosques, but in the schools, and is widely read and pondered. Some people think it is the most widely read book in the world. It is certainly taken very seriously by Mohammedans.

Dr. F. W. Norwood, of the City Temple, London, recently visited South Africa, Japan, China and India and conversed with many political and religious leaders. He is expected to arrive in Wellington from Australia, where, before going to England, he occupied several pastorates, on the 11th of nex' month. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, he referred to the times of great difficulty through which the world is passing, and expressed himself as amazed at the way in which the people at Home were “standing up to it.” He was not at all pessimistic about them. Spook.ng of Sunday, he touched on the changes that had come about and their causes, and did not think it should be a day of gloom. The churches should endeavour “to make religion impelling and attractive.” “To the people who really love the Bible,” he continued, “it is a greater book than ever it was. As for it not having the grip it used to have, I think it is mainly due to want of attention on the part of those who read it. The man who reads it thoughtfully is as deeply stirred by it to-day as before. And the unrest we folk of is not peculiar to religion. We are living in an age that has temporarily lost its way.”