ECHOES FROM THE CONFERENCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18393, 20 February 1928, Page 11

ECHOES FROM THE CONFERENCE.

STATIONING COMMITTEE BEGINS ITS LABOURS. (Written for the “Star”) While on the active list a Methodist minister has no opportunity of settling down in a congenial charge and remaining there for the rest of his life, lie is bound by the laws of the church to “move on” to another circuit every few years whether he wants to do so or not. At one time there was a hard and fast rule that a minister must not remain in a circuit for more than three years unless for very exceptional reasons. Latterly there has been a tendency to relax this rule and in a few cases ministers have spent as long as seven years in one circuit. As a result of the operation of this law in the church a minister does not know where he is likely to be stationed until the whole thing is arranged for him. Personal considerations may have a bearing on the matter sometimes, but as a general rule the individual simply has to go where he is sent. To those not of Methodist persuasion the system appears to be somewhat harsh, but it certainly has its advantages as well as its drawbacks. The transferring of ministers from one circuit to another is the principal business of the Conference; it overshadows everything else and usually leads to a good deal of heart-burning on the part of those who are disappointed. For there are some who *are graded backwards and it is always a difficult problem to find suitable stations for them. The allocation of the “plums” also excites keen competition, and not a little “lobbying.” Dream of the Conference. The committee that performs the duty of deciding who are to be moved on and where tney are to go is known as the Stationing Committee. It is the all-important body of the Conference, and comprises the cream of the delegates—an equal number of ministers and laymen. Until this committee is constituted and gets to work there is a certain amount of ,restlessness, and when it is engaged in its duties there is more uncertainty and more restlessness.

On Saturday morning the Stationing Committee was absent during, most of the session and among those remaining to deal with the ordinary business of the conference there was a certain listlessness. The business brought forward was of a very formal and uninteresting character—mostly reports and statistics —and there was very little discussion on any of the items. Possibly owing to the absence of so many of the leading lights of the conference the brighter items on the agenda were kept until a more favourable time.

Many of those in the “house” were more concerned with what the Static ing Committee was going to do with them than with the business under discussion, and they were awaiting with keen anticipation the netum of the committee. Some of them were probably eager to move forward, but there was a deadly uncertainty as to where they would next be stationed. Not all the preaching stations in the gift of the conference are eagerly sought after.

jj ♦.* Auckland to the Bluff. When at length the Stationing Committee concluded its deliberations and returned to the “house,” there was tense expectation on the part of those due for removal. The members took their seats and then followed the reading of the first draft of stations, which, of course, wa«s subject to revision before final adoption. Before this was done, however, the Conference went into private session, and accordinglv what happened during that period cannot be recorded here. Suffice it to say that the first draft did not meet with unanimous approval. In one or two cases a man who had become popular was in great demand and all sorts of suggestions were put forward in order to secure him for a particular circuit. In other cases the circuit representatives did not want the minisiter proposed to be transferred to them.

When all the suggestions were duly noted, the committee retired to consider them, returning in about half an hour’s time with an amended list of stations. The list was released for publication and it will form the basis for negotiations during this week until such time as the final draft is presented. Over sixty changes were proposed in the first draft of stations and in one case a minister will be transferred from Auckland to the Bluff. Luckily for him the Conference bears all his travelling expenses. » « X Many Telegrams. The announcement of the first draft of stations is usually followed by a “boost” in the telegraphic revenue. All the circuits concerned are advised who their new minister is to be and if the committee’s selection does not meet with approval a fairly large number of telegrams may be exchanged. At the conference held in Christchurch four years ago the Post and Telegraph Office, with an eye to business, opened a branch office at the Conference, and the rush of telegrams on one day was so great that the attendant ran short of both forms and stamps. This } r ear a post and telegraph office has not yet been opened at the Conference, but as the business is there to be picked up, something may yet be done in the matter. Our Government Departments do not let much business slip through their hands in these days of keen trading.