NEW ZEALAND ANGLICAN BOARD OF MISSIONS.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 31, Issue 8, 1 October 1940, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND ANGLICAN BOARD OF MISSIONS.

...':,. . ' ';,. • .•■ INDIA. ■'•;• ;■/' : Dornakal's Mission to tliie Gonds. The first Christian Mission to these people was started m 1840 ; by Mr. Donald McLead, an official who afterwards became; Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab. The Gossner (German) Mission i>rovided a full staff of minister, doctor, teacher, carpenter and farmer—but after a few months an epidemic of cholera swept them all away.-/ ';■-. '.•. . ■ ■■• :■■'.• . . ■ ;• Then m 1860 C.M.S. took up the work, with one English pastor. The first Gond convert was baptised m 1885. This man, Bhoi Baba, was. the head man of his village, seeking salvation for years. He had been advised by a Hindu ; priest to become a fakir, a sannyasi. He had learned to read and was m the habit of spending long periods m meditation. On one occasion he spent weeks on a huge rock m the middle of a river. He lived for a whole year under a pipal tree m his own village. His reputation became widespread. Hearing of his devotion, . Mr. Willamson determined to visit him. On the day of his arrival, however, he heard that ' the Bhoi was absent and would not Toe back for days. Much to his surprise and delight, however, shortly before night fell, the Bhoi walked into his village. On being asked how he returned so soon, the Bhoi told Mm "that when he had travelled about' ten miles from his village something said to him, 'Go back to your village at once.'" On meeting Mr. Williamson he concluded that God had sent him. Then began a course of instruction which led to Ms baptism on January 4th, 1885, with the name of Paulus. He became a zealous preacher, and when he died m 1896 200 Gondshad been baptised: Azariah. CHINA. Notes from Village Churches, West China. v Medical.— Mr. Tien is a student ih the National Middle School and claimed to be an atheist. He entered hospital with a swollen eye, which

increased alarmingly until the whole head and 2 nedk; were affected. His condition was dangerous and permission was sought from the school authorities to operate. Some days later, when recovering after a successful operation, he stated clearly that he was now; believing on the Lord, and has been going on well since; It is interesting to note that it was the fact of the theatre; staff gathering round him for prayer before commencing to operate that led him to make a decision. Evangelistic.— Last spring there were no Christians s ih that district, but the Lord has worked, and the local leader, Mr. Wu, says that over thirty have turned from idols to serve the living God. During a rer cent visit the workers had the joy of watching the Pu family destroy its idols, while old Mrs.. Hsie burnt her "Goddess of Mercy." The responsiveness of men, women and children to messages given revealed a hunger and thirst after. God. As the large majority of these people are illiterate, it was obvious that the Spirit Himself had been teaching them during the last few months. Pray that all who are interested may be truly born again, and kept by the power!' of God. * AFRICA. Tanganyika. — Bishop Chambers has undertaken the responsibility of providing from his staff chaplains for the African troops, as welL as Church huts. ■ ',•..' ; ,■■.'• ,•■■■■ ■-'■ .. ': ■■■;■ . . '. ■." "■'■ ■ :•' " , EGYPT. ; . ■■■' Special efforts are being made to distribute Christian literature among to make friends . t for and among all troops encamped m Egypt, to interest them m Missionary work, and them. ALready friendships have been f brmed between Indian Christian soldiers and members of the Egyptian Churches. . MELANESIA. From Dr. Thomson's Quarterly Report. .''..' ' "This quarter I also spent a "week giving injections for yaws and treating other disabilities m some of the bush villages. It was a week of almost continuous rain, and some of the flooded' rivers presented serious problems— -one was so <; bad tliJiteven, our good swimmers, did. not lUce to

cross it. jHdwever^.a tall tree^bh the bank was soon chopped down, and made a serviceable! bridge. : ;*■ :»• Dr. HetheringtonV && senior medical; officer from Tulagi, ivisted us recently; as a result of his interest m the Leper Colony I had a Melanesian medical practitioner to help me m , the bacteriological examination. ', \ We have had two visits from. Rev. A. Mason; of Fui, and His Lordship the Bishop ; has also visited- us: On this occasion he baptised our son as David McAnley. ;• - ;,'/ .;. JERUSALEM AND THE EAST. The Financial Situation—Determination to Keep Out of Debt During the financial year ending ..' with March, 1940; English receipts dropped by over nin6 per cent. This was more than offset -by additional amounts from overseas. . . But the /mortgage on St. Liike's School, Haifa, now reduced from £15,000 to £7000, is due to be fully repaid Ist June, 1941. This ne^d formed the background of the IVlission's estimates for 1940-1941. They; had to consider also that Canadian receipts had already dropped 50 per cent, and all overseas British contriT buttons were likely to decrease. On tthe other hand, grants from U.S. A; Jiad noticeably increased. It was no .exaggeration to say that it was to the Episcopal Church of U.SA. that the Mission now looked for the help needed; to carry on. ;.i With all these factors m mind, the council decided that the amount which they should budget to send to Jerusalem during the : year should be reduced by the large figure of £1500. The Bishop drew up his budget estimates on these lines, biit it would be idle to support that sacrifices have not been made or- that the work has not been, curtailed m many directions. The Bishop and his council, however, are determined that the Mission should hot run into ■debt.' "■ : ; ; :: ~'"-\ - :: 'M\'.- //' ANNUAL MEETING OF BOARD „;,. . .. . OF MISSIONS. ■•■■ . " '. ■■■; ;:,.?. ■ "■ : ,•■ This year the meeting was presided oyer by the new Archbishop, the Most Rev. Campbell' West- Watson, Who; replaced AEchibshop JAverill, who had been president since 1925. Of the Bishops, onljr three,: were

present, one of them being a new . member, viz., the Rt. Rev. W. J. Simkin, Bishop of Auckland. Bishop Holland, who ' unfortunately was ill, was represented by Archdeacon W. Bullock. Members appointed by the dioceses were as follows:— Canon C; A. B. Watson, representing Auckland; Canon C. W. Turner and Mr., D. Hay (Waikato), Canon G B^ Stephenson (Waiapu), the Rev. F. M. Kempthorne (Wellington), the Rev. C. F. Saunders (Nelson), Archdeacon .Mohaghan and Mr. G. Stening (Christchurch) and the Rev. W. A. Hamblett (Dunedin), Representatives of Missions were: The Rev. R. Godfrey (Melanesia) , the Rev, W. J. Hands (Polynesia), Mr. G. C, Edwards (N.Z.C.M.S.), and the Rev, C. W. I. Maclaverty (S.P.G., North China). Appointed by the Board were Messrs R.L. Button and C, W. Budd. ■ ' . ' .■ •■ . » '•■■■'■ . Archbishop Averill's long presidency was mentioned' m very appreciative terms m a resolution of farewell. The board felt that it owed much to his inspiring leadership, unfailing service and wise and (kindly ruling of all discussions. ■ They wished him every happiness m "his retirement. Appreciative reference was also made to the chairmanship of Bishop Hilliard, who. presided, over the executive for the last three . years. Bishop Simkin ... was elected m his place. - . i , . The general work of the board year by year is to issue a report for the preceding twelve' months and to determine the budget for the incoming year. As regards the past year, the board was able to thank God for a (Sufficient supply of money to pay all its co-ordinated Missions the full amount of their quotas. Appreciation m this respect was expressed to all the parishes, with their vicars and workers, who had supplied this most satisfactory measure of support. The board had asked for the quota of the previous year plus 12 per cent., and the following percentages were obtained and forwarded by the dioceses, viz., Nelson, 120,7; Dunedin, .117; Christchurch, 116.3; Auckland, 116; and Wellington, 113,4. Though

the other two dioceses were under the desired percentage, the total average was almost, lll per cent. , ' : -" ■ ■■ ' ■ ■ ■■.. " ■ : . ■'."'■' ,■ '.''■■'.''. s For the incoming year a. strong application was made from the Melanesiah Mission for an increase m its budget. As •is well known by now, the Melanesian Mission has been workirig under difficulties for the last two or three years. About twelve months ago the islands were visited by some hurricanes and a tidal waye, which did a great deal of damage, especially on the coasts where the Christian settlements are. Then the steady fall m the price of copra, and Just recently the diminu-, tion m the offering from England, owing to the war, have thrown the^ Mission deeply into debt. Bishop Baddeley has been heroically refraining from asking for a special appeal this last year or so, but cannot avoid requesting ah increase m our ordinary .budget for him . this year, m order to enable him to carryon even with a greatly reduced staff, and with the "Southern Cross" laid up for the duration of the war. In response, the board raised Melanesia's budget by £750, to £7500. With slight adjustments m other missions, this involved asking the dioceses this year, for an additional 15 per cent, instead of 12 per cent. This was decided on by the board m full confidence that when the circumstances are- know their action will be not only justified, but Church m New Zealand. Two new functions m connection with the annual meeting were sung Eucharist m tthe morning and a luncheon at mid-day, The Eucharist was . very well attended, St. Paul's Cathedral Church being very well filled. The sermon was preached by the Bishop of Auckland, who gave an inspiring comparison of presentday circumstances with those outlined by Dr. Mott a few years ago, and stressed the absolute importance of Missions m world affairs. The luncheon was for Churchmen and businessmen,, and was attended by 188 persons. It was addressed by . the Archbishop and Sir Harry Batterbee. The function was pronounced ;by all to be a very great

success, the addresses . especially being most valuable. In the evening a publib meeting \yas- held, addressed by the Bishop of Waikato and Archdeacon Monaghan of Timaru. Here again, though the attendance was not up to expectation, the addresses given were inspiring and helpful m the highest degree, and it can confidently be expected that all who heard them returned to their respective homes determined to do everything possible to promote the cause of Missions even m these very hard times.