HAMILTON ANGLICAN MISSION.

Waikato Times, Volume LVII, Issue 7003, 7 May 1906, Page 2

HAMILTON ANGLICAN MISSION.

THE BISHOP'S OPENING SERMON

The mission at St. Peter's Anglicap Church, Hamilton, began in Saturday niwjht, with a eervice for the leception uf the missioners. The prayers were read by the Rev. Ncrman Radcliffe (vic:»r) and the lessons by the Rev. T. Eisher ('-'urate). The three missionei'3—Dr. Neligan, Lord Bishop of the diocese, and the Revs. H. R. Jecks and Harold Favell—were addressed by the viear in the impressive words provided for the occasion, and the Hiahop, before any further reply, directed the singing of the Lituny of the Holy Ghost. Bishop Neligan, who showed signs of det-p euiotiun, preached from Acts V., 20: "Go staud and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life." Ho asked his hearers to study the gospels, epistles, and collects provided in the Prayer Book for that day and the next, saying that the words would cieate a God-given atmosphere wonderfully fitted to the purpose of the mission. In the services uf the coming week there were two objects—the building up of the faithful and the evangelisation of thjse who did nut know Jesus Christ. Every priest was a missioner, and was ordained as such, but there should be special times and a special manner in which the message should be given by speci-l messengers. The missioned vere not to teach a message diffVrf-nt from that which was taught in that church at other times, but, because they were different men, they would put it in different words and possibly open up fresh avenues whereby it might reach different souls. The tnis-

-i uers were here to minister, in the first piace, not to tin people, but to the sacred yearning of the heart of Christ, that be might s j e of the travail of his soul and be comforted. In the second place their ministiy was to the people, because, and only because, it was in the first place to Jesus Christ. They had two things to combat to-day,just as the church had in the days when the command which formed his text was given. Those things were the tremendous success of Christianity and its phenomenal failure. There was great nominal success, people were flocking to the Church, and there was real vigorous hostility and virulent opposition. Here in Hamilton the success had been wonderful. Not long ago they had no clergyman, aiid now they had three. The attendance had increased, there were more communicants and a much greater number of communications, while they were finding that the Church was not large enough for the people who cime to the services on Sunday nights. But there was the opposition. It was, not of the! open kind described in the Acts. 'I he devil was too subtle now for that. He had become civilised. The opposition to day was much harder to combat. It was called indifference. It was shown in financial difficulties. Five or six hundied people in Hamilton and Frankton had put themselves down on the census pipers as members of the Church of England, but how many of them really cared, and prayed, went to Church and knelt at the altar ? And so the missioners came to speak in a special way ' all the words of this life." They would not speak a word of philosophy, nor apologetics. They were not going to deal with modern objections to Christianity, but they would speak, as the apostles did, of the living Jesus Christ, who is Christianity. He would never try to compiss the whole of the gospel at one time, but each night a different word would be taken; and it would be so with the instructions to be given at other times of the day—only a word at a time. He earnestly asked his hearers to use the intercession services by putting in the box provided for the purpose, slips of paper on which they had written the object for which they wished prayer to be offered. There would be in the mission nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing emotional, but they would try to do the two things he had already spoken of. They would try to strengthen tho-se who were consciously in the faith, and to win those who were not yet won. The Bishop concluded his sermon by asking the congregation to bow in silent prayer for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.