CHURCH ARMY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 809, 8 July 1933, Page 12

CHURCH ARMY.

Mission Group Arrives in Christchurch. LONG TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND. A ” flying column ” from the Anglican Church Army, of England, ha l ' arrived in New Zealand on an evangelical tour that is to last two and a half or three years. The column will introduce to this country a work that has grown and expanded in England for the last fifty-one years. The party arrived in Christchurch this morning and are the guests of the Bishop of Christchurch and Mrs WestWatson at Bishopscourt. The leader of the party is Captain S. R. Banynard, of Ipswich. Suffolk, and the other members are Captains T. S. Torrens (Londonderry), E. E. Beck (Derby), E. R. Roe (Stafford'. V. Kerrick (Prescott, Liverpool), D. Kee (Winchester), and F. C. Pearce (Malvern. Worcestershire), Sisters M. K. North (Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire) and K. A. Jutson (Peterborough, Northamptonshire) . Captain Banyard explained in an interview this morning that the Anglican Church of New Zealand made the request years ago that the Church Army should send a mission to the Dominion, but owing to the shortage of men in England it had not been possible to respond till the present time. The Church Army movement, he said, was founded fifty-one years age in England by' the present Prebendary’ of St Paul’s Cathedral, the Rev Wilson Carlyle. It was founded as a workingman’s mission to the working people, and out of The mission work had grown a great social mission as well. There were now over 1100 captains and sisters in England. They were lay evangelists who worked within the Church in England. The Church Army was an incorporated society', controlled by’ a board and financed independently' of the Church. The financial statements were audited and published, so that the public might know just how the funds were handled, and that procedure would be adhered to in New Zealand. The expenditure in England was about £250,000 a year. Object of Visit. The object of the visit was not only to conduct a mission tour, but to lay' the foundations for the establishment of a New Zealand Church Army. The bishops and clergy here were anxious that the movement should be established, and that a training college should be established so that young men and women in New Zealand might have the chance to do the work. The church in New Zealand was keen that evangelistic work should be done in relief camps, the seaside parishes, th.i country districts, and the densely' populated areas of the cities. The long ex perience of social work in England would be useful, and it was possible that a New Zealand Church Army could take over a lot of the social work in this country. To-morrow morning the mission will hold a service at the St Barnabas Church, Fendalton, and in the evening at St Saviour's, Sydenham. At three o’clock in the afternoon, members of the party' will be formally received and commissioned by Bishop West-Watson at the Cathedral. On Monday they leave for the Westland Rural Deanery’, and from July 23 to August 6 they will be working in the Malvern district, adjacent to that of Halswell-Spreydon. From August 7 to 27 will be spent in mid-Canterbury, from August 2S to September 24 in South Canterbury, and from September 25 to October 15 in North Canterbury. From October 16, to November 5 will be spent in Banks Peninsula, and from November 5 to December 17 will be spent in Christchurch. During the holiday period th*» mission will visit various seaside resorts, and thereafter proceed to Nelson.