CONGREGATIONAL UNION.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16160, 14 March 1918, Page 4

CONGREGATIONAL UNION.

j CONCLUDING SESSIONS. The final sessions of the Congregational TJnion were held yesterday, Rev. A. Hodge presiding. The Rev. J. Reed Glasson (Wellington), who will next year complete 25 years' service with the Congregational Union of New Ze-iland, and as minister of the Terrace Congregational Church, Wellington, was unanimously elected chairman for the year 1919. Other officers elected were :[.Secretary, Rev. A. -E. Hunt; treasurer, Mr i'. Meadowcroft; registrar, Rev. A. H. Wallace; auditor, Mr H. Miller; preachcr, l!e ,: . S. Griffiths ■- (Waipu). Union and Finance and Legal Committees were also elected.

The treasurer (Mr F. Meadowcroft) presented the financial report and bal-ance-sheet for 1917. The Union received from 150 young Congregationalists (adherents of the London Missionary Society), who are in training-at Narrow Keek camp, the following interesting greeting: "To you our friends, the people of Clod in this assembly, greetings. 31 ay you live in the great love of our Lord Jesus Christ. A men. We are your children who have coine I'rom Rarotonga to learn the work of soldiers, and to go forth to help t. h e root of our life, that is our great earthly kingdom, Britain. These are the verses we address to you: I. Thessa-_ lonian? v , lio-28. Rui and Rere.'-

The Council sent the following reply: "To you our children and brothers in the faith or the Gospel, greetings to you in the love of the true God, our heavenly Father, and of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. We, the ministers and delegates of the Congregational Churches of .New Zealand, met in our assembly, at Christchurch, have received the friendly message which you have sent us through your chaplain, the Rev. E. A,. Bridges, and your missionary, the /Rev. G. H. Eastman. We thsnk you for your affectionate greeting. We ,do prav for you, y and shall pray for you, that you, with us, may grow in the faith, and in the love of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. We have heard with rejoicing of tho courage and good conduct of tho men of the Ist and 2nd Rarotongan Contingents. We hope that you all, like them, both while in .camp and when you go to tho front, will be good soldiers of Jesus Christ, and will seek in all things to do the will of God. We wish that all tho soldiers of the Empire whom >ou will meet were servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if it be that you meet some who may try to lead you astray, or to, tempt you to drink intoxicatiug liquors, we strongly .urge upon you to resist those temptations, and to' have nothing to do with strong drink while you are in camp, when you go to the front, and when you return home, that you bp blameless and keep our honourable name. This is the message we send to you from God's Word: 'Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ,' —2 Tim., ii., 3. We commend you to God and to the word of His grace. May God keep you and bless you all now and always. From your teachers and. friends, the Council of the Congregational Union of New Zealand."

The Council received a visit from the Hon. J G. W. Aitken,. Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, who conveyed the fraternal greetings of his denomination to the Congregational Union. The following resolution was carried after discussion: — "That this Council of the Congretional Union of New Zealand, having considered the motions submitted by the Christchurch delegates to the Council, resolves as follows: — (1) That this terrible war was forced upon a reluctant world by Germany in pursuance of its lust for world dominance. (2) That our Empire" entered the war, and remains in the war, in defence of the principles of liberty and justice, and for the protection of the rights of the smaller nations. (3) That in this great struggle tor the maintenance of Christian principles, it is the duty of every citizen to render the }«est and fullest service to the nation of which he or she is capable.

(4) That the present test of conscience be replaced by evidence as to the appellant's character and the genuineness of his claims. r ~ , (5\ That all honest conscientious objectors be offered national service of a non-military character. (6) That every punishment tor breaches of the law, or. for attempted defiance of the law, should be reasonable in character, and should be inflicted within th<j bounds of New Zealand. (T) That copies of the foregoing resolutions be sent to the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister of Defence, and the Press. The business sessions of the Council terminated 4 p.m. In the evening, in Trinity Congregational Church, a sermon—"The Creed of Creeds" —was preached by the Rev. Frederic Warner (Auckland). The meetings -vjere brought to a Hose with a united Communion service, conducted bv the Rev. Harry Johnson.