CHURCH REUNION

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 672, 25 May 1929, Page 26

CHURCH REUNION

BISHOP CHERRINGTON’S SUPPORT BROUGHT ABOUT BY PRAYER (From Oar Own Correspondent) TB KTJITI, Friday. A session of the Rural Deanery Board was held at Te Kuiti on Thursday, when about twenty clergy and lay representatives of parishes from Taumarunui to Otorohanga attended. Bishop Cherrington . presided. In the evening a well-attended public meeting was held in the Parish Hall, when addresses on the subject of church reunion were given. The Rev. Canon Kempthorne presided. Archdeacon Cowie related a few reminiscences in connection with church work in the early days, contrasting the difficulties of transport at that period with present-day facilities. He recalled his visits to Te Kuiti in 1895, when in charge of the Te Awamutu diocese. The Rev. C. J. Bush-King also spoke of the hardships contended with in the early days, stating that even at the present time the task of carrying on church work in the backblocks was not unlike that referred to by Archdeacon Cowie. Quite recently he had spent four hours trying to extricate his car from the mud on the road at Te Rau-a-moa. Church work in the back districts usually suffered from lack of financial assistance from headquarters. The bishop was endeavouring to bring about a state of affairs so that this assistance would be forthcoming, and he deserved every support from those making contributions to church funds. Bishop Cherrington was received with applause. He said the thing that appealed to him most in the work of the church was to teach, but the question that should be concerning every true Christian today was the disunion of Christendom. He regarded such a diversion as utterly foolish. “We can work together and we can live together; but it seems that we cannot worship together,” said the bishop. However, he was glad to say that there were evidences of reunion taking place in various parts of the world. The chief Methodist bodies had now become united, and in Canada two great factions had joined forces, while in Scotland there had been a uniting of two great Presbyterian bodies. Reunion was in the air, and if we prayed earnestly enough, he was sure the much desired reunion would take place. For some years, continued the spea.ker; there had been a movement in Southern India for a reunion of the creeds. “Now it was said the other day,” said the bishop, “that reunion would begin in the mission field and then spread back home. I would be sorry to see this happen, but it looks very much like it.” Concluding, the bishop said that it was a question of desiring this reunion to take place. If it was desired, then they must work for it and endeavour to understand the other religions’ viewpoint to the end that a unity of thought and establishment might be achieved which, by the grace of God, he hoped would come.