A NATIONAL CHURCH JOURNAL

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 30, Issue 4, 1 June 1939, Page 3

A NATIONAL CHURCH JOURNAL

The Wellington Church Gazette raises again the question of the desirability of a Provincial Churchpaper, and urges quite rightly that it would be a very good thing to have. It is a pity, by the way, that twice over the writer ' asserts that there are six dioceses m New Zealand. He had better count again, and then I think he will find there are seven, each with its own little monthly paper. They have necessarily a limited circulation and ap-

peal, though they have their uses. Perhaps the most important is that each bishop has an organ through which he can speak to his own flock. But surely it is obvious that, a journal (weekly for choice) speaking to the whole Anglican population, to say nothing of others, would be a great boon. Perhaps it would be wise to recall the attempts that have been made m the past to see what we can learn from them.

About thirty years ago there existed for some time a very interesting and well-written monthly paper, dealing with all matters of importance to churchmen. It was entirely unofficial and was owned and edited by Mr Forwood of Christchurch, who called it the Layman. If I remember rightly, it was distributed free and must have cost him a good deal of money. But it did look at one time as if it might become the established organ of Anglican opinion. Then it came to an end, as I suppose was bound to happen sooner or later, though I cannot remember whether the owner died or got tired of spending his money m that way. Next, m 1919, General Synod affirmed the desirability of having a provincial paper and the present Bishop of Dunedin, Mr. J. W. Henderson and Mr. Lord were appointed a commission to bring it into existence. For financial and other reasons it seemed best to give the New Zealand churchman the form of an inset for the Diocesan papers and the Rev. L. G. Whitehead (now archdeacon) was made editor. The paper made a good start and the circulation at one time reached nearly 15,000. This soon dropped. The paper, strange to say, did not please everybody, but the fatal blow was the fact that the Dioceses of Auckland and Wellington soon refused to take it any longer. Nevertheless, the paper was continued at a loss till it was finally stopped by the Standing Committee of General Synod m 1926. The record is not an encouraging one. The "inset" idea was not a good one, though it may have seemed unavoidable. Perhaps it would have done better under the management of a professional journalist, but I doubt if the way to success lies through making the church paper an official one. It is worth noting that though there are several flourishing Church papers m England, The Guardian,

The Church Times, The Record, The Church Family Newspaper, all published weekly, not one of them is official. They are all private ventures like any other paper. I think they pay their way, though I am not sure, but they are not subsidised. New Zealand is a very small place compared to England. Is there any possibility that any men can be found m this country to risk losing money m establishing a National Church Journal? If not, I fear we must stay as we are.