Thoughtful Moments

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 26, 23 November 1945, Page 2

Thoughtful Moments

(Supplied by the Whakatn

THE ARMY AND PUBLIC

WORSHIP

One of the most profitable depart lures from routine battle training in the Army has. been the Padre's Hour when "free for all" discussions are held 011 religious topics. From them the Padre has gained as much as the men. His knowledge of men has been increased and his own faith strengthened by their challenge. At times men have been brutally frank about the parsons and the church members they have known often without fairness nor knowledge in their judgments, yet also with hurtful truth. Many have revealed a woeful ignorance of the Christian faith and institutions, but lew have derided the Church. Most men regret the Church has lost her attraction for them. Now some of us are back in our churches we can profit by our Army experience and our knowledge of the non-church-going public. 1 hope we may persuade our congregations into new ways of diseipleship, for the real problem i$ not the soldier returning from the wars, but the churches. Can we attract hold, and '9 ' use these men who have travelled far suffered much and thought ? 3 more deeply than many think? I believe we can f and without stunts. So frequently did 1 hear the general condemnation of church services being dull, that recently ■ I held a "Padre's Poll*' on worship, asking men in various units what kind of service they wanted. How long should a service last ? Fifteen, thirty forty-live minutes, or the hour? Out of one group of forty-seven men only ten wanted three-quarters of an and 110 one wanted a shorter service. Most men thought a full hour was the right length f but no longer. All' wanted good congregationa! singing and 110 anthems. They liked the "good old hymns," though some wanted better words j and others more social hymns. By the last suggestion they meant hymns more expressive of brotherhood and social aspirations. A few expressed a desire for San key hymns because they liked the tunes, yet loud assent followed the man who said that he disloked sloppy sentiment in hymns.

they argued t should be

it Miriist ers' Association)

OUR SUNDAY MESSAGE

short and simple. Whether prayers are said or read did not matter to them. What they wanted was brevity variety and intelligibility in the natural voice. They liked to say Amen for the making of a response helped them to concentrate in prayer. Foi th«. -Scripture, they liked story lessons best and thought reading from a modern translation ol' the. Bible often helped. Sometimes, they said } the lesson meant nothing to them because they knew neither the author nor the context. They thought the Padre might usefully explain the background to the passage lie intended reading. The most surprising agreement was on the sermon. All were very delinite that the address is a most important part of a church service and it was noteworthy that Anglicans agreed with Free Churchmen 011 this. Fifteen minutes was considered the right length. They wanted simple direct preaching. The sermon should be related to every-day life. The objective in preaching was ''better mindedness." The Padre should try and change the thinking of his congregation for the better. They held no strong views on extempore preacting. They were not against read sermons but views on extempore preaching. They liked a frank, manly style and loathed the. parsonic voice. On the allegation that the pulpit is the coward's castle there was a divergence of thought. Most agreed the pulpit is not a political platform but all thought the Padre should be open to challenge. A few wanted questions after the sermon. This it was agreed, would destroy the atmosphere of worship. But the demand "for discussion was claimant and it was .suggested that the. Padre's Hour might usefully be taken over by the Civvy Church. Presenting the same questions to A.T.S. provoked keen discussion. The girls endorsed most of the men's views being even more definite about the length and order of service. The girls agreed with the men on the importance and character of the sermon but differed about'its length. Half wanted twenty minutes and half thought ten minutes long enough. The divergent views are probably accounted for by their differing Church traditions. L. Alun Page.