CHURCH AND RADIO.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18890, 4 January 1927, Page 8

CHURCH AND RADIO.

VALUE OF BROADCASTING SERVICES. AUCKLAND EXPERIMENTS. j [THE PEESS Special Service.] AUCKLAND, January 3. Wireless and its possibilities for religion appeal strongly to a number of Anglican clergy, in Auckland. Experiments are being carried on with a" view to installing receiving sots and loud speakers in the churches, especially the small country ones, and tho objective of ultimately having an Anglican broadcasting station in Auckland is being kept steadily in view. The clergy in conference at the last session ot the Diocesan Synod discussed the subject, and appointed a committee of enquiry. The committee recently presented a report to the Standing Committee of the Diocese, dealing with the general question and also with the use of wireless for disseminating addresses to bo delivered by the Bishop of London when ho visits Auckland tins year in tho interests of Empire settlement. After mentioning that the radio audience in America numbers some 30,000,000, and that about ™ universities and colleges there are making use of broadcasting, the committee says:--"Here is a possible contribution to the Church School problem, also to the vexed Bible-in-Schools question. A half-hour Bible bedtime story three times a week would bo listened to by thousands of children. Country Sunday Schools, even in the very small centres Sd be taught by an expert teacher speaking from Auckland. The value of service to the residents of remote country districts, to a large extent cut off from the ministrations of their church, can hardly be overhmated. >he aged, mfirm, and sick people have installed wireless sets in order that in their isolation they may still worship in spirit, if not by their actual presence in church. "It is not, of course, contended that wireless can ever take the place of chSattendance, which, will always be necessary for the maintenance of public worship and the reception of the Knits. It is possible that some People may absent themselves from Sc worship to 'listen in,' but we are sopinionthat it is at least as possible That many who have previously drifted out of touch with the church mayX reclaimed by messages received y The re committee recommended: (1) That timely arrangements be made with tho Radio Broadcasting Company to broadcast from station IYA tfte Bishop of London's addresses, and (I) that all churches be strongly urged to install, wherever practicable, the necessary apparatus so that as far as possible, every member of the Church in the diocese might have an opportunity of hearing the addresses. The committee added that it intended to continue experiments to ascertain tho best and cheapest apparatus for loud speaker reception, and also to investigate the possibility of establishing an Anglican broadcasting station, an objective which it wished to keep steadily in view. . , . , The Standing Committee deferred consideration of the matters contained in the report, but granted the committee in the meantime £lO toward the cost of its experiments.