Waiapu Church Gazette. Monday, November 1st, 1926. The Duplex System.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XVII, Issue 5, 1 November 1926, Page 4

Waiapu Church Gazette. Monday, November Ist, 1926. The Duplex System.

Captain "Watson, inventor of the Duplex System, gave a most interesting address to Synod on October 13th. The "Gazette" reporter was so carried away by his eloquence and rapid concise sentences that he failed to get down even a sketchy report of the splendid appeal for a different attitude towards "giving." The Synod was greatly moved and stirred by the way Captain Watson brushed aside as unworthy of Christian love the popular methods of "getting money" for Church purposes. We should not think of almsgiving as a necessary expedient for providing Church expenses, stipends, and so on. Almsgiving is "giving to God" — it is the equivalent of personal service. It is the privilege of every Christian to help m God's work either by personal service, or by giving an equivalent, or by both: .God's work includes not only public worship but evangelisation both at home m our own parish and diocese and also abroad. If we cannot "go and teach all nations" ourselves, which is the first duty of every Christian, it is our privilege to provide the means to' enable others to go. Similarly m social and charitable work, we must either do it ourselves or provide the means for others to do it. The provision of lighting, cleaning', furnishing and the general upkeep of a parish is provision for our own comfort and convenience just i '4s is the provision of food, etc., for '. our own homes. "Giving to God" is i something beyond thjs; its objects i

are (1) to express our love to God for what He has done for us, (2) to pass oh God 's gifts to others. Captain Watson gave valuable practical hints as to how to establish the Duplex System m a parish, and showed, by many instances m the experience of Duplex, how the new Bystem raised Church finance on to a higher plane and resulted m a wonderful increase m funds available not only for parish expenses but also for the extension of God 's Kingdom. Duplex is not a man-made system for extracting more money from the few who give already, but. is a practical application of the divine principle, "On the first day of the week let everyone of you layby him m store, as God hath prospered him." It enables a Christian to give every week even though he may be unable to attend divine service. The weekly offering is put into the envelope on Sunday morning "m store"; it is presented to God at the first service which the giver is able to attend. Captain Watson deprecated the unseemly collection of coins during service, the envelope containing the offering should be placed m a box at the Church door; the churchwardens collect it from the box and bring it up at the time of almsgiving to be presented at the altar. All offerings should be solemnly presented. People should not be discouraged from attending public worship by the thought that a contribution would be asked of them and that they would have to "pass the plate" m shame if they had nothing to give. Casual visitors to a church who have no envelopes would put their "coins" m the box at the door. Captain Watson advocated the issue by the churchwardens, at the beginning of the year, of a budget of the estimated needs of the parish, (1) for general expenses, (2) for missionary quota, (3) for diocesan dues, (4) for special purposes such as social work, repairs and incidentals, etc., etc. The Duplex office supplies suggested forms for such a budget. Every man, woman and child m the parish should be invited to do his share to provide the Church's needs, whether he or she attends church services regularly or not. As soon as sufficient promises are obtained to satisfy the budget, all extraneous means of raising money should be scrapped. The main object of Duplex is to get every Christian to do his share of service. Parish visitors (not "collectors ' ' should be appointed to go m twos, each pair haying a district of say 15 houses. They "should visit the houses, explain the system and leave a printed leaflet. Later they call again and obtain the house-

holder a form, m a clowd envelope, addressed to the • tZtiurch J 'treasurer, stating what the person or persons m the house will promise to give each week. . ' The speaker compared the adoption of God's own method to the action of the servants at the marriage feast m Cana: "Fill the water pots with water' 7 ; it must have seemed a waste of time! Yet God will be responsible for the results if we adopt the method He commands. The Duplex System does work miracles, because it is the practical adoption of God's own method. Duplex, carried out as directed, never fails. It is a method which "lifts giving out of the mean and niggardly and secures the co-operation of the Holy Spirit," it co-operates the human and the divine wills. Money raised by bazaars at which the people who supply it get a quid pro quo is not given, the only ones who give are the workers] such money is not "the equivalent of personal love." People who give threepence or sixpence m church will spend as many shillings m personal amusement during the week. During the past three years there has been an increase of parishes using Duplex of 400 each year. During this year the parishes adopting Duplex have increased m England alone by forty each month. Captain Watson showed a diagram comparing items of expenditure m England. In 1922, 468 million pounds was spent m England on alcohol. The average expenditure m England is: Alcohol, 166 millions; amusements, 110 millions; sugar, 60 millions; tobacco, 40 millions; tea, 28 millions; Christianity (local needs), 16 millions ; missions, 2 millions. The colored races are increasing m the world m comparison with the white races m the proportion of 9:4. They are competing most successfully m the world markets. They are rapidly awakening to a sense of their power, and must soon predominate not only m numbers but m influence. Is the future of the world to be governed by heathen principles or by Christian methods? The only hope of civilisation is the conversion of the colored, races to Christianity. This is only an. argumentum ad hominem addressed to men of patriotism and commerce who value civilisation. The true Christian will seek to evangelise the world simply because He values God's gift of Salvation to Himself, ancj, for love of God, seeks to pass on this gift to others. ............