Young Anglican Movemenf in Porangahau

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 35, Issue 5, 1 July 1944, Page 10

Young Anglican Movemenf in Porangahau

♦At the last meeting of the Diocesan Youth Council it was decided to postpone the launching of the Young Anglican Movement until its hand--books are published. However, before this decision was taken arrange-? ments had been made to start m Porangahau, and for some months Mr. Hodgson had been running a group experimentally at Takapau. I decided hot to cancel our plans here, but to go ahead and m an experimental way. form a Young Anglican group m an even more rural area than Takapau. < A public meeting was held m Porangahau on the evening of Ascension Day, May 18th; A personal invitation was sent to all m the age group of 14 to 35 who lived within a radius of fifteen miles. Over fifty came m to the meeting, and they were all obviously keen and eager. Mrs. J. T. Holland, co-editor of the "Young Anglican," spoke about the aims and^ objects of the movement arid briefly explained the Charter and Precepts. The Rev. J. D. Hodgson then spoke about what the Takapau i group were doing, and described the programme of one of their regular meetings. I then concluded the meeting with a brief summing up and an outline of the plans I had m view for a Young Anglican group m this district. Much informal 'and profitable discussion then took place over cups of tea. Copies of the new magazine, the "Young Anglican," were on sale at the meeting, arid fifteen of those present paid the annual subscription. „: >]' • A Clear Field. In this district no other church holds services, apart from an occasional visit by the Roman Catholic Maori Mission. ; So we have a clear

field, and no competition from any other organisation. This in' itself raises problems,. for example m a coriimunity like this what is the. position of a member of the Ifree Churches who wants to join? We. are experimenting here, but I feel that m a rural community it is not possible to exclude members of other churches, especially when so many of them regularily attend the services of our church. So at present lam making them "Associate Members," provided that they are willing to re--cognise that it is an Anglican organisation, arid, that therefore all religious teaching given will be that of ihe Anglican Church. Following the public meeting the first formal opening meeting has since been held, iand already over thirty have given m their names, and we expect Nat least another fifteen will do so. Mr. Kaa is co-operating to make it a combined Maori-Pakeha group, and already many of the younger members of his congregation have joined and are represented on the committee. A committee of seven has been elected, and these include two members specially elected to be responsible for«recreations, two for social and one for cultural activities. - ■' ■; ,■ ■;. '■■ ' ' '. . . Meetings will be held once every three weeks, and the programme will be arranged by the committee. It will include 1 a period of religious instruction, probably by the study group method, and a variety of activities such as folk dancing, playreadings, games and dances. In addition to these meetings the committee is already engaged m makingplans to form a library, and to organise football,' hockey and badmintion for those who desire them. In a. rural area like this the Young Anglican Movement has a clear field, and we hope to make it the means of centring all the activities of the community round the Church as : the source of inspiration. We are still m the experimental stage, but we hope that what is being done here and at Takapau may be a help and guide to others when a general start is made m the diocese. L. OS. BEERE.