Church of England Men's Society.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume III, Issue 10, 1 April 1913, Page 135

Church of England Men's Society.

Why Men do not Go to Church. (A Paper read at a Meeting of tie Hastings Branch.) This much discussed and vexed question, alike" the bugbear oi the Llergy and the despair oi Lhurch workers among the jUaity, is being brought up m this I'aper m the hope that a reasonable and searching discussion m-ay ensue, and give some light on " Why Men do not go to Cliurch," and help us to find a remedy. We have before us the effect, and we need to probe for the cause or causes. This question has been asked scores ot times, and generally it is answered m some flippant or careless manner, but I propose to leave the inconsequent answer out, and to try and put myself m the place oi a non-Churchgoer, and endeavour to nnd some real reason for the non-Churchgoing habits of the larger portion of our present generation. There is no doubt that this is an age of materialism and seeking alter pleasure, and this restless spirit of the age manifests itself most m tryingi to find something which will occupy the mind and time of its votaries, to the exclusion of all influences emanating from a religious source. The world says : — " You are only here for a short time, and therefore you must get as much pleasure as possible out of life, because you don't know what is going to come alter, so you may as well make sure of enjoying, the present and leave the future to take care of itself." So m the mad pursuit of pleasure, men begrudge the Day of Rest its proper position, and use it for their own ends. This restless spirit is a serious hindrance to the right recognition of Sunday, but there must be some reason behind it all ; or, rather, .there must be something wanting)

the lack of which, gives us the result we find to-day. The average man will make plenty oi excuses lor his non-attendance at church, and I snau perhaps toucn on some oi these later. But ii you press him for a reason, he will tell you that he has no interest m going to Church, that he doesn't see the use ol it. i\ow this answer is more (than an excuse, and discloses a laCK ol ideals, and it is these ideals that are wanting m this materialistic age. Now what should be the ideal to set before ourselves and others *so as to educate us all to a higher conception oi our duty m attendance at Church and participation m Divine worship i We need a higher ideal of God, a higher ideal oi worship, prayer, and praise. I think the ideal of God, the Creator of the world and of mankind, is dimmed through lack of sufficient meditation and spiritual insight. We forget that far beyond the confines of our little planet there exists a universe which is so vast, so illimitable, that the finite mind cannot grasp or comprehend its immensity, and yet for all this there was a First Cause. And that First Cause we call God. God moves m a mysterious way to perform His wonders. Nature lies around us as an open booK. for aIL who. wish to read, and yet we find that a great (teal of it cannot be understood. If, then, we cannot comprehend that which we see around us, how can we understand :the Infinite, the mysterious universe, of which our world is but a speck, but which moves m perfect order and obedient to the laws which govern it ? Who made these laws ? Who set the bounds which nothing can pass ? Who formed the path from which there is no deviation without His knowledge ? Surely it is something more than i.Chance ! Yes, this perfectly formted and perfectly ordered universe was the creation of God, the Almighty, the Omnipotent, and it is i obedient to His laws^

What an inspiration it is to t'hinx of the grand old. watchword ox Kiizabetuan times, when auventurous mariners were sailing over unKnown seas, and exposed to unknown perils and dangtrs, the watchword that rang out from ship to ship to distinguish friend from loe, "before the world was— • GOD." If a man would pause and let that saying, with ail its richest and deepest meaning, smK into his mind, it would help him to retain m greater measure the true ideal of God. This ideal would then find expression m his more frequent attendance at Church. He would feel that it was an inestimable privilege to be allowed to approach his Creator, and his appreciation of that privilege would manifest itself m his greater attention to worship,, his deeper devotion m prayer, and his heartier co-operation m praise. Another ideal of God that is missed is His Fatherhood. The opening words of that pattern of all prayer, the prayer given us by Christ Himseii, is intended to make us realise how closely God is united to us, and we to Him, OUR FATHER. What an upward soaring of the soul is experienced when the meaning of those two words is fully realised. They mean that there is One who watches over us, jcares lor us, even as an earthly father pitieth his own children, Who sees m us more value than m many sparrows, of which not one falls to earth without His knowledge, Who loves us with a love exceeding that of any earhtly Father, Who m His loving-kindness will wipe all tears away from eyes that weep. And when we remember that the Omnipotent, Almighty God is also our Heavenly Father, it surely should help us to realise more fully our sonship, and to show onr love and filial obedience by making a practice of regular attendance at His House of Prayer. The lack of these ideals, I thinx, goes a long way towards explaining why the average man does not care to go to Church,. , ; i

Are there any other reasons? Practically none of any real value. Then let us look now at some of the excuses advanced. One will say he has no time. Anotner will say that he has only bunday as leisure time, and he can spend it better by having- a rest quietly at home ; or, better still, by taking a drive or waiK. A third, will say that he doesn't care lor the parson) or that the service doesn't appeal to him. A fourth will say that the men who do go to Church are a stuck-up lot, and no better than those who never go to >Church or make a profession of the Christian religion. JNow, why all these excuses ? Simply because a man knows that it is his duty to attend Church, but he wishes to shir*, that duty, and so makes excuses. They do not absolve him from his duty, they only condemn him m his actions. No man is so busy that he cannot find time to do that which he wants to do, and so if he wanted to go to Church, he could easiiy find the time. Regarding, leisure time on Sunday, it is no part of our Church's teaching that a man must spend Sunday rather as a day of mourning than ol rest and gladness, but she does say that no man has the right to neglect the worship of God on the day that has been specially set apart for that purpose. I^et him take his walks or his drives if he wishes, but let him* show his appreciation of the Day of Rest by his attendance and worship m God s house at least once a day. Next let us consider — Are there any hindrances from the Church's side which beset a man when he has an inclination to attend Church ? Briefly, we may say that to a certain degree there are three— the World, the Clergy, and the I/ay Churchman. I am speaking now m broad, general terms. First— the World. There is first the spirit of the age, which we considered m the earlier part of the Paper. There is also a tendency on the part of many men to jeer and scoff at anything pertaining to religion, and they take a delight m chaffing a man who shows any desire to attend Church. It takes a great deal of moral courage to stand up for one's own opinions m such a case, and many a man has been deterred from carrying out what he knew to be his duty through nothing «lse than a dread

of what his acquaintances might say. Second — the Clergy. The clergy have been set up on a pedestal (and quite rightly, too), and the average man is quite content to> let them stop there, and he never thinics of approaching the clergyman, except when there is a christening, a wedding, or a funeral. And I am bound to say that I think many of the clergymen take advantage of their pedestal, and do not show much inclination to mix up ,with their men parishioners. A clergyman should remember the humility of Christ, and let that be his example. A man likes to feel that the parson takes an interest m him 'and his work, and is willing to meet him as man with man. 1 don't mean to say that he should be hail-fellow-well-met with everybody, because that would mean the loss of a certain amount of the dignity attaching to his office. But he ought not to show a lack of interest m his parishioners. I^et me illustrate. A parson of an ' up-country town took very little interest m his men parishioners, and on occasions when he chanced to meet them he always seemed anxious to get aw a}'. One day he met a parishioner m a bike shop (the parson, by the way, owned a motor bicycle), and the man asked a question or two about parish work, as he was a member of the Vestry, and therefore interested. Vague replies m general terms were all that he got, and so he thought he would try another tack, and get him interested about his beloved motor c) T ele. He asked about his speed and petrol consumption, expecting to rouse some enthusiasm, but no ! while he was asking, the question the parson was edging out of the shop, and during the process was saying something about " she could do up to forty miles an hour and use about ' ' and then he vanished out of the door. And may there not be some hindrance m sermions ? I think it will be freely admitted that the parson is always ready to do his duty, as he sees it, but many people think that he is more concerned m preaching to other people about their duty than m carrying out his own. And . when sermons are based upon 1 this foundation, the, constant relleration of a person's duty m doing this or that, they are apt to get a misty, dry-as-dust

flavour, and such sermons have no appeal and no message to the average man. We want more about what Christianity means to us. We want more about the Man Christ Jesus. We need to have His Iyife and teachings more fully explained. We need to be made to feel the inspiration of the example of His life. We need the more earnest recapitualtion ot the old, old story of His love. We need to have forced home upon us the magnitude of our sins measured by the awful expiation necessary which involved His sufferings and death. We need to be led to the dawning, of the brighter hope of everlasting, life which is given us m His Resurrection and Ascension. Yes. Mankind to-dajy neeas the grand old Gospel story told m all its richness and beauty, and wants less of dogmatical preaching, less of the high-flown and high-sounding verbosity which characterise so many sermons. We want more sympathy from our Clergy. We want to feel that they are interested m their parishioners. We want more talits to us and less preachings at us. We want to feel that they get down to the heart of things, that they, too, have been perplexed by the things that perplex and puzzle us, and that they have fought their way through darkness to the light, and so are able to give a helping hand to those who are m the night of doubt, or perhaps m the depths of despair. It is for want of all this that many men find no pleasure, no profit, m going to Church. Third — the Ivay Churchman. I think the I/ay Churchman is very largely responsible for the non-at-tendance of many men at our Church services. He fails to realise the ideal of the brotherhood of all men, m Christ Jesus, and this failure begets m him a spirit of stand-offishness which is most, repelling. He often forgets that a hearty grip of the hand or a cheery word, or even a welcoming smile, will do more to help a man to come to Church than all the psalm singing and preaching, m the world. He is often apt to overlook the fact that many a man drifts away from Church and gives up the practice of Churchgoing just because he feels that no one— even those m his own station of life, takes any interest m him, no one apparently cares whether he comes or stops away.

I know of an instance of a young man who attended a Church for six or eight months regularly every Sunday morning, and not a soul spoke to him, or asked where he came from, or evinced the slightest interest m him. He was a stranger m a strange town, and he felt, after a few weeks, that going to service at that particular Church was like going into the refrigerating chambers of one of our big, meat works. Had it not been that his parents were God-fearing folk, and had put it to him as a matter of honour that he should always regularly attend his Church, it is most probable that the young ,man would have drifted away to swell the number of the great nonChurchgoing portion of our population. Sympathy, my brothers, is the grand bond of union, God-given, which helps us to win and hold those whom we desire to help. Let it overflow towards those who need our help to make them better Church attenders. Be sincere, be honest, tell the man you are glad t<y have had him at Church, and that you hope he will come again, and so long as you don't exaggerate and overdo things, you may be sure he will appreciate to the full every word you say. There is, too, the danger of the Pharisaical spirit creeping m, the spirit that shows plainly by look or action, "I am better than thou," without a word ever being spoken. It has been said that the Church of England is all starchstiff, formal, and unbending. Or that it is like ice, all cold and unmelting. For God's sake, for humanity's sake, my brothers, let us get rid of the starchiness and stiffness ! Let the warmth of the Christ love thaw the ice which 1 encases us like armour, and let the warm sunshine of the Christ life be reflected from us, as the sunbeams are reflected by the dancing, sea. Let us indeed let our light shine before men, but only so that they may glorify God our Father, and be led by our example to walk m His laws which he has set before us. Is there any remedy, anything that will help a man to be a better Churchgoer ? I believe there is— our example and influence. The remedy lies, first, m the hands of the Lay Churchman. Let him show an interest m all men who attend Church, give them a welcome, a^d

make them feel that their Chiirchgoing is of interest to some one. Above all, let his life be a reflection, however faint (but the stronger the better) of that of his Lord and Master, for who can measure . the influence which he may, all unconsciously, exert over the lives and actions of his neighbours ? He is often m a position to talk to a man, to reason with him, to persuade him. He is often given opportunities of saying a word m season which seldom! falls m the way of a clergyman. Let us see to it, my brothers, that we fail not to take hold of all opportunities to do what we can to bring those at present outside our Churches within the fold of Christ's kingdom on earthl Second, the remedy is m the hands of the clergy. Let them remember that a man m the outside world is often exposed to temptations and trials which do not come their way, that the exercise of sympathy will do more for such a man than heaps of preaching-, that God's love and the story of what it has done for him is infinitely more interesting than oceans of dog-ma, and that an interest shown m his life and work will do more to win his allegiance to the Church than years of prating upon his duties and privileges will ever do. Finally, earnest prayer is the mighty Weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which under God will do as much for our fellow men as all our work can do, because if we pray really and earnestly for them, we cannot help but take a deen interest m those whom we desire to assist.