THANKSGIVING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 234, 26 June 1908, Page 7

THANKSGIVING.

THE CLOSE OF THE ANGLICAN CONGRESS

PROCESSION OF BISHOPS. THE OFFERING OF THE DIOCESES. BY TELEGRAPn—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPTMGHT. London, Juno 24. Tho Pan-Anglican Congress closed with a thanksgiving service in St. Paul's. A procossion of 250 bishops laid collections from tho different dioceses on the altar. Tho Archbishop of Canterbury preached. Tho Cathedral and adjoining streets were crowded. . ' THE THANK OFFERING. ; All tho; dioceses of tho Anglican Church throughout the world were consulted before it was agreed that a thank offering should be presented. The idea of tho thank offering is that it should "be offered to Almighty God in return for all His blessings granted to the Anglican Communion in its growth and spiritual development at Homo and throughout the world." The plan of the .thank offoring may be summed up as follows:—(1) That all offerings shall be used for tho extension of the Kingdom of Christ in tho colonies or abroad. (2) That some offerings will bo appropriated or ear-marked by the donor for some special object, (a) a, colonial or missionary diocese; (b) a recognised Missionary Society; (c) ,fhe training of men and women at Home _or abroad for service in tho colonics or tho mission field. (3) Some offerings will bo unappropriated, and in this way an opportunity will be given for the Church as a whole to attempt somo new and urgent piece of'work on a largo scale. The following are some reasons given for tho thank offering in one of the preliminary papers:— V " Because' of the increased activity of the Church at Home. Moro than w£GB,OOO,OOO of voluntary offerings have been spent on Church building and restoration alone during the last G7 years. The Church Army, Public Schools' Missions, Missions to Seamon and Emigrants, the Temperance Society, the Men's Society, Mothers' Union,. Girls' Friendly Society, Deaconessos' Homes, Penitentiaries, Rescuo Work, Waifs' and Strays' Society/ and very many moro kindred works are all the growth of recent years. Churchmen. have also given moro than M 1,000,0000 in voluntary gifts to eloriientary education during tho last 95 years. ' Because of the great growth of the Church during the last 123 years.', Sinco 1784 the dioceses h'avo increased from'.'46 t0'249.' The S.P.G. has doubled its income during the last 57 years. In 1850 the Church's missions,'in connection with tho C.M.S. counted 127 missionaries. 1300 .native teachors, 13,000 communicants, and ;100,000 under instruction. In 190G there wore 1397 missionaries, 9608 nativo teachers, 90,107 communicants, 311,902 under instruction. .

Because of the unexampled openings which now; lie before the Church : Within the British Empire King Edward. VII rules, over more Mohnmmedans than does tlie Sultan of Tnrkey. We have 1 290,000,000 in India who as yet know not the Gospel. Large tracts of 'Africa are under the British flag, but not yet under: the .Cross of, Christ. Sons of: England aro pouring into' the colonies, and the means of grace must be sent to them. Outsidothe Empire there'is scarcely a country into , which missionaries may not now go.