UNITED MISSION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14361, 6 February 1911, Page 6

UNITED MISSION.

SUCCESSFULLY OPENED.

CIVIC WELCOME TO DH. HENRY.

The united-churches mission or 14 dav= for the success of which so many people are striving, has commenced. Tho miisioner, Dr Henry, and the soloist, Mr J. Carnegie-Farqubar, arrived in Timaru from the north on Saturdav morning, and were given a civic wek-ome in the evening in the Drill Hall. Tlie tall was filled with a large gathering of townspeople, and on the stage. b:rides a strong choir under Mr J "V. Hofdgate, and the missioneis. were the Mayor, Mr Craigie, several councillors, ministers from various churches, and members of tlie executive committee. After a brief devotional opening, the Rev. T. Stinson, on behalf of the executive committee, welcomed the mif.sioncr=, and informed them tbat the people of Timaru had been looking forward to theirco ming, and praying, working and preparing for it, in the spirit of faith, and in expectation that it would have great results. Mr St:nson mentioned that he knew of Dr Henry's work in the Old Land before ho (Mr Stinson) left it, and he specially referred to the great enthusiasm aronsed b->- Dr Henry's address*? in Belfast. Dr HenTy'K utterances he said. nm=t commraid themrelvfs io nil intelligent people Tn cnelnding Mr Stinson regretted that they ware not extending a welcome

to Mrs Henry also; because urgent circumstances had made it necessary fc-r her to leave the Dominion. On behalf o'i the citizens of Timaru, the Mavor extended a hearty welcome to Dr Henrv and Mr J. CarnegieFarquahar. "He expressed. Ins pleasure at the splendid attendance, and a; meeting Dr Honry. The Alrraghtv had given him great gifts, and he was using them for the good of his fellow men. He had had charge of large churches, but having the enthusiasm of the missionary he wanted.larger scope, and now he had tiie English-speaking world as his dominion. It had interested him to hear that Dr. Henry had done practical work in Chicago in connection with civic matters. In America they had some great institutions, and some good laws, but somehow they had not the knack of enforcing these laws. ''l don't' know how it is," said Mr Craigie, "but you don't manage things in Chicago and Xew York as we do in Timaru'. We always enforce the bylaws here." In conclusion, Mr Craigie expressed the wish that the mußioners' stay in" Timaru would be a pleasant one, and that by their great eloquence and fervour they would'make Timaru people true Christians and" better men and women.

Tlie Rev. A. E. Hunt, secretary of tie Ministers' Association, on behalf of that organisation, promised the missionfirs their hearty co-operation and help. Mr Hunt proceeded to make some apt remarks on the presence of tho Mayor and Councillors on tho platform. It was the right place for them, he said, for the Mission, in teaching men and women to be bettor Christians was also teaching them to bs better citizens. • Mr Hunt concluded his remarks -bv soeaking of the amount of prayer that "had be3n offered up beforehand on belialf of the mission. DR HENRY'S REPLY.

Dr Henry "was loud}- applauded on rising. to leply, and, thougu suffering irom a bad throat, his address was delivered in an extremely forcible manner. He first expressed bis appreciation of the words of welcome spoken that' night; they afforded a good sample of the receptions they had met with all over the Dominion. This was their .twenty-second mission, in as many different cities in New Zealand, and wherever they bad gone., the people bad received them with open arms, and assured them of their sympathy, prayers, and practical co-operation. They were glad to be in Tiniaru, for since they had been in the Dominion, they : bad beard delightful things about the community here, the churches and thu spirit -of enthusiasm in church work. They had come with, great expectations, aJid they rejoiced at the testimony which bad been given that night. They witnessed On every band uninistakeaole signs of the work put forth for this mission, and they hoped the expectations would be realised. The mission would stand for everything for which the churches stood. Its purpose was to help the' churches io' increase the numbers taking an active part, in church work, and to g*ve every chiid of God in Timaru new inspiration, so that the mission would not close when the missioners left. The mission, said Dr Henry, was to be a-'; aggressive, soul-winning, and spiritual campaign, and if this immediate cbiect were achieved another should follow "as a matter of course—awakening of the s?nse of civic responsibility, and toning up of public sentiment—as was implied in tlie words "Love of country is twin-born with love of God." The speaker referred in an interesting strain to the work he hnd carried on in Chicngo, alluded to by Sfr_ Craigie, and then concluded by saying. "The success of tlie mission depends on two thinsrs: fO the numbers of men and wonten who will pray fo>- it. -and (2) the numbers cf men and women who will work for it, in determined effort to answer their own prayers. T have little faith in men's unless they are' prepared to help God to answer them. 'Prav andWork," '"Work and Pray.' That was +i'-> watchword of the mission." (Applause). Tlie meeting noiwliajecl witK a hvmn «i.tinr T,y. Mr Farquhar and the Denediction..

YESTERDAY'S SERVICE*.

At U.atl vebtenliiy morning the mission proper opened in 'I imam, '.vlicn a fellowship meeting was held iu Trinity Hall.

At 3 o'clock there was a monster meeting in the Drill Hall, people of all denominations being present. Dr Ileurv spoko from a platform erected in the centre of the hall ou tho eastern bide, and behiud him VOTO seated the members of tho special choir which under the leadership of Mr Carnegie Farquhar, lod tho singing- v>° spacious platform was decorated with pot plants (ilowering and foliage) effectively disposed about it. 'X'ho singing was a special feature of tho service, the missioner choirmaster who lod it having :v vigorous and novel style which is all his own. The mission hymns wore printed in both leaflet i'ud book form, the latter having also the music. Alexander's Gospel Hymas were used, and besides being most appriato they were sot to such tunes as enabled all to join heartily in the singing, after hearing the first verse. Very enthusiastically Air Farquhar enters into his work of leading the singing, and by his quaint gesticulations and crisp exclamations of encouragement thrown in as it were in parentheses, ho " lifts " the music along in a wonderful way. Dr Henry explained that Mr Farquhar (who by "the way is quite a young man) sings for the same reason that he (tho speaker) preached; and this was not difficult to oelieve when lie was heard interpreting the two solos which he gave. He has an excellent voice of great range and power, and he uses it in a very pleasing and at the same time most effective way.

The singing of several hymns by tho congregation and choir was followed by a prayer offered by the Rev. T. Stinsbn, and the lesson from Psalm 68 was read by tho Rev. A. E. Hunt. THE FIRST ADDRESS. Dr Henry's address was entitled "The Tied Hands of Jesus," and in forceful terms ho pointed out how the hands of Jesus wero tied by people every day, thereby preventing Bim from working on their behalf as He otherwise would do. Every.thoughtful Man, ho said, must have asked himself the question: Why does not God, being all-powerful, save tho Human race in tho twinkling of an eye, instead of individuals here and there? The answer was: Because His holds have been tied. The missioner went on to describe some of tho cords with which the hands of Jesus were tied. There first that he named was unbelief. It was impossible for Christ to do anything for those who wero without faith; and the infidelity winch crippled Him most was that which was found within the church. So far as ho had been able to read history, tho infidelity without the church had not materially checked His work. The trouble was that many people thought they could devise a better scheme of salvatio.'i than God himself; but Christ said: According to thy faith so shall it be. Where faith was lacking He could do nothing—His hands were tied. Secondly the hands of Jesus were tied through prayerlessness. The rev. Dr went on to show how great is the power of prayer in faith, and urged a daily communion with God through prayer. Then he spoko of our penuriousness—our meanness in giving to the cause of God, giving Him only the dregs when He should have the firstfruits; satisfying ourselves first and giving in a iJggardly spirit to God last. So long as that continued we could not expect the fullness of God's blessing, for we could not be in a position to receive .t. In other words, we tied His hands ond prevented Him giving to us as He otherwise would give. There should be a constant giving to God on our part—a generous, loyal giving, and in return wo would get more than we ever gave. Life should be looked upon as a kind of trusteeship for God. People asked God to open the windows of heaven, and yet kept the key in their own pockets. Had they not all been guilty of neglecting God, and failing to do Kis service, by wasting time, and making no sacrifice on His behalf? How then could they expect a blessing from Him? There could be no such thing as a triumphant Christian life except we,gave ourselves and all that we possessed over to God without hesitation. He knew very few people who gaye to God except out of their Bupnrfluity. Yet Jesiis was rich and becarao poor that in his poverty we might become rich. The missioner said the hands of Jesus were also tied with the cord of inaction; and he emphasised the point that failing to do something which we ought to have done was quite as bad as doing something we ought not to have done. The .greatest heresy that ever crept into the church was the heresy of doing nothing. Be a help, he urged, not a hindrance. Lastly he referred to personal sins as a means by which the hands of Jesus were tied, and in a fervent peroration he pleaded with all to let the hands of Christ be freed, so that He might work His will for our good in this life as well as in the life to come.

THE SINGER'S WAY.

' There was another monster gathering at the after-church meeting iu the evening. A great feature of tlie opening portion of the service was the hearty singing. "Everybody sing" exhorted Mr Farquhar, and then "Count your Blessings, Count them one by 'one," Alexander's famous rally hymn, was forcibly rendered by the large congregation, which filled all the seating provided.. When the people were singing another hymn, Dr Henry stood up after the first "verso. "Throw out the life-line" he said, "that is the spirit and purpose of this mission. Surely a big crowd of you Timaru people can sing more enthusiastically and vigorously. Conio on, show that you mean it" "Yes," said Mr Farquhar, "now then you folks on the gallery there, sing." And when they liad finished the hymn, tlie . gifted Scotch soloist smiled and said "Now that was all right. I'll reward yon by asking you to sing the chorus again."—"All, that was better, thank you very much."

Dr Henry too is just as appealing when giving the announcements. "Wo want to stir Timaru people i:p for tins soul-winning, the best and biggest business on earth. Don't forget that men's meeting on Tuesday " Dr Henry's title for his address was "The Eternal Challenge," and he took as his text; Isaiah iii, 18. He spoke eloquently of his reasons for li2.nu- a Christian, -and of the fact of life" in tne thereafter. _ Man was a sinner, and the Christian religion provided atonement-the Book brought to them the preaous truth that, thsv were redeemed through the blood of Jesus U,r:st. There was the eternal atonement which eame to Wot out their !)..*t, and make thorn right with God. Jlc u.i s a Christian because he desire, t,, emulate the most p ,nVct model «'at cpuW he lound on the f ilP .. of th e s,r,-J t ft the E ™ngelists, the Chnst of history and the Christ of ocs.red to he associated with! the best people m the world, not with moral and spiritual vagabonds. ft IV a S Jesus CWt who lifted nations, and the best people on earth were the best d.sciples of Jes,,,, people in Tinrarn were the godhost people, the Christian TttopTe. The K*ptics and the infidels, wJiia6 had tbev done? The answer was, motMn-r. Mr Farqualiar rendered a. solo at the ooncWfl of th*. address, And the tneetms M-,=-l with a prajer offered tiD bv Dr Heny

There will he mi evangelistic nfeotii.a m-night nl 7.30 o'clock, and tho programmes for Tuesday an:l Wednesday are also announced in tlio mission advertisement.