METHODIST CHURCH.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19161, 18 November 1927, Page 8

METHODIST CHURCH.

NORTH CANTERBURY

SYNOD.

Fie annual Synod of the North Canterbury D-atrict of ths Methodist Church was continued yeeterday, the Ecv. W. Grecnslade presiding- Tfaeological college.

Ihe reports on the Theological Coile s e were before the Synod. The principal's report mated that the College opened this uu men in training. Details ot Tt ot- s"dy pursued were given. The Vnts hSd given considerable assistance • T>ip lerort adopted. Cl The report on the new- College showed •hat eocd progress was being nu-de w.th it erection. It would be completed m time lor opening at the 1909 conference. Foreign Missions. The Board of Missions presented » report A deputation from New Zealand vWted the Solomon Islands mission field in connexion with the senn-jubilee of work in that field. The outstanding event of the had been the outgoing of Dr. It. Savers the Church's first doctor to the held. I)i" Clifford James had gained the diploma of 'tropical medicine at London and would bo to the seld next year. Nurse Edna White feft for the field this year. Two Solomon Island boys had entered Wesley Church, Paewta during the year.-The report « adopted, and appreciation of the work done was expressed. . , Appreciation wa« expressed oi the woric of the district secretary, Bev. S. J. Werren, and it was recommended tna« be ba re--8 C. Bowron introduced the report of the Women's Missionary Union. The repor!, wlvch was adopted, showed that excellent work had been done during the year. There were now 41 auxiliaries affiliated with tea mion, with a membership of 2522, an increase of 151. The literature department had di snatched 1037 sisters' letters during the year. The box department had aiaD&tched goods to ths value of £252 10s 6d and medicine to the value of £IOO. Receipts for the year totalled £2057 16e.—The report was enthusiastically received and adopted. Home Missions. The district secretary for home missions, the Rev. L. B. Neale, reported the district income for the year to be £1361 8s 9d, which was £l5O more than last year. It was decided to recommend that the grant from the home mission department to the Hawarden Home Mission station )>e £9O and to Waddington £ls. The grant to Riccarton circuit was recommended to ba £45, Greendale £lO. Tai Tapu £55, Lyttelton £4O, Deaconess House £TO. The Home Mission Department submitted its annual report for discussion. The staff had been considerably strengthened. There were no important vacancies at. present. The Spiritual Advance Committee in connexion with the department had carried on effective work durine the year. Evangelistic missions had been held in very many places. Tho literature and colporteur work was progressing satisfactorily. The colporteurs bad touch, ed most of tho North Island districts. The Maori work was steadily progressing. The deaconesses amongst the Maoris were _ deserving of the highest appreciation. Two promising young men were being trained with a view to becoming candidates for the ministry. Building and Loan Funds. At the evening session on Wednesday, the Rev. S. Lawry presented the district report on the church building and loan fund for 1927. The total assets were shown as £21,700, During the year £207 10a had been Paid as grants for the purchase .of sites. The total amount of loans repaid was £3252. The report was adopted, and tho following committee for next year was recommended : The chairman of the district, the superintendents of Durham strpet, Christchurch Ecst, Cambridge terrace, Sydenham, and Addington circuits. Rev. S. Lawry, Messrs J. A. Flesher, T. T. Robson, H. Harrison, S. H. Maddren, H. J. S. Harrington, C. W. Barrell, W. Simpson, T. W. West, and R. W. Brighting. Deaconess WorkMr C. A. Newman preßentod the annual report of the Deaconess Institute. At the last conference four deaconeEses were dedic&tfd?: -"Two were now employed in home ■work and two in the foreign mission field. At present six students were in training, and it was' expected that four new students would enter next year. The work of the house as a training institute had been conducted in a most pleasing and highly efficient manner under the superintendent, Mrs W. J. Williams, and the Revs. "W. A. Hav, A. Liversedge, S. Werren, L. B. Neale, W. H. Speer, and H. A. Sharp, Jecturers, and Sister Winifred, lecturer in nursing. During the year extensions to the house at a cost of £2350 had been effected. The building now contained 21 bedrooms, dining-room, commit tee-room, superintendent's office, and every modern convenience. The Rev. E. P. moved: "That the Deaconess Training Institution Committee consider during tho year, as a matter of policy, the reception of young women for training in religious education, whether joining the order of Deaconesses or not." The motion was carried. South Island Orphanage. The annual report on the South Island Orphanage at Pa.panui was warmly received. Veiy appreciative references were made to the work of Mr and Mrs Haynes as superintendents.- The Board had under its care 63 children. The building of the boys' heme had been deferred for financial reasons. The report was adopted. Thanks were expressed to the secretary, the Rev. J. Harris, and to Dr. A. J. Orchard for his gratuitous sen-ices. Tho Rev. H. J. Odsll was nominated as secretary for .1923. Temperance and Morals Committee. The report of the Temperance and Public Morals Committee of the Conference was considered by the Synod. Reference was made- by the Rev. H. L. Blamir.es to the Bible-in-Schools Bill, recently turned down by Parliament. Mr Blamires said that, after fifteen years' experience of the working of the' Kelson system of Bible in schools, while recognising the valuable work which that system had accomplished, he wished to state emphatically that he had no confidence in the professions of members of Parliament, who suddenly posed, as the champiovm of the Nelson system at a time when the larger and better system was likely, to be accepted hy' Parliament. He could only regard such belated advocacy , of the Nelson system as intended to block the way to the securing of Bible-reading for the whole of the schools of the Dominion. No action was taken on this matter. Temperance. Rev. W. J. Williams moved the following: "The Synod is pleased to learn of the growing interest in the Band of Hope movement throughout the . Dominion. Coupled with this is the youth movement against alcoholism that has been inaugurated by the New Zealand Alliance. It regards it of the first importance in relation to what may be gained by legislation that young people should be instructed concerning the questions at issue, so that they maygrow 'up with an intelligent interest in one of the greatest of social reforms. The Synod expresses its appreciation of the endeavour of the New Zealand Alliance to sustain its educational activities in the interval between the polls, and hones that success will attend the of! art to meet the increased financial outlay thereby incurred. The Bill introduced by tho Prinie Minister contained the recognition of a claim long pressed—that of eliminating *the State Control issue from the ballot-paper. This, however, was largely nullified by making. a 55 per cent, majority necessary to camProhibition end by extending the interval between the polls from three to six years. The fate of the Bill is left undecided at toe rising of the Synod, and it is vain to attempt to conjecture what that fate may be. Whatever may be the is9ue, the obligation becomes more and more urgent that the Church should bestir itself f 0 an increasing warfare on the traffic that is one of the greatest of all hindrances to the spread of the Kingdom of God." The motion was adopjed. Gambling. J-be W. J. Williams alsa moved the following: This Synod views with alarm the rapid growth of the gambling habit in New Zealand. The passing of the second Bill. Ihe proposed introduction of tm-hare racing, the growing popularity of euchre parties, and the large increase in totalisator investments at tnc recenw Christchurch races, betoken all «"i % stranglehold on wi, °i 0 com munity. The Synod further regards as creditable neither to the ctelligence nor moral standing of New Zeaii° 1 v nS " m * *uch increasing space rKL ♦i*"? 11 l n new "PM>«s to racing J' f T fa °ning more fiercelv the t °L ™ st subtle and dangersirW. Iw The Synod conJ!l I 8!™ 1 th , la ris ' n:r ti<je *<>^l and national demoralisation it is a matter « urgency that the Chrieti»n ClnwV-houM