METHODIST CHURCH.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 442, 26 February 1909, Page 3

METHODIST CHURCH.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE. ;■'■ REVIEW OF THE YEAR'S "WORK. The thirty-sixth annual New Zealand Con-, ferenco of tho-Methodist Church of Austra-' lasia was opened in tho Wesley Church, ; Taranaki Street, .last night. ■".There : was a largo attendance of ministers and lay representatives from all parts of the Dominion. The members of the conference numbered 91 ministers and probationers, 11 candidates for tho ministry, 79. laymen,. and 8 representatives of connoxional funds; total, 189. In addition to the. members of the. conference, there was. au exceedingly good general attendance. '~ -. ... •',-. \,.i '.■ . RETIRINC; PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS.- . A PLEA FOR SPIRITUALITY. The-retiring president (tho Rev. C. E. Beeoroft) then gave his address. He expressed his gratitude that though the strain of the past twelve months had been sufficiently severe (and lie was probably the oldost man who had sustained this offico during the history .of the New Zealand Oonferenco), his strength had been graciously proportioned to Ms day, and he had come to the end of the year in as good health as he began: ■ No ono besides himself could estimate ..the under which' he was placed to his more immediate associates. Particular, and honourable mention must be .-made, of tho secretary of the conference, the ex-president and tho ex-chairman of the Wa-ngaiiui-Synod—the Rev. T. G. Brooke., The brethren" had rendered him unsparing ' arid unfailing assistance. . The kindness: of Bros. Lewis, and Carr in 'relieving him from local services' was also acknowledged. The generous consideration ajid forbearance of his own. people in Feilding, to whose homes.he had had to be' i comparative stranger throughout the year, could only be .characterised as. beyond all praise. . : ■No fewer than'three times during the sessions 'of the conference of. 1908 the shadow of bereavement had rested upon the Church. By'the removal' ,, :of-.- Mrs. Parnell, of ■ One-' hunga, and, of. Mrs...Reed,-of '.Whangarei,' two :p'f its parsonage'.households were oy.er r whelmed'with sorrow, whilst in* tho. passing" of Mr.,'. C. ;.W.) Benbow,. of this city,', a severe' connexional loss was "sustained. Tho conference was sensibly' impoverished by the withdrawal .of so. notable- a presence'and so gracious, a .personality. . : ■■■..'- ; ■'Mfi Beecroft then referred to the loss, during'theyear, of the Rev. J. A. Taylor, Rov. J W. Worboys, Rev. John Law, and a number.of laymen and lay women.;/, '■ . v Causes for Hohe. Those things in'which they had cause for enheartenment—as,; for "example, the measure of .divine discontent with themselves ■which''Xros taking: possession of the successful outworking of the new legislation for. fuller representation at their quarterly meetings; the deepened , practical interest, in the cause of foreign missions resulting frdm : the splendid! deputation work of demoted visitors; the: cheering news reported by the .Revs., T. G. Hammond and R. Haddon respecting-the Taranaki, Natives returning: to. the'.faith'-.of :the. Gospel ;'and ■to the Onurch : of 'their fathers; 'the; hopeful commencement made by Sisters. Nellie and Julia as • deaconesses amongst; Maori 'women; the. ingatherings of adult and yquthful-'converts at : the; missions bonducte'd'by'Mr. Stephens,.ahct'ibther; evangelists;' the courageous undertakings 'of the ex-presldpnt and,the : Rev.. James Wil- . son in building halls adequate'; to.' the rdquirements of city missions; the successful liimiation: of'.the Wellington Church' Extension project;, the steady ■ and 'solid- advancement .of the. Bible Class moyemeni,attendant upon.tho. khours of the'orgkriisin'g secre-. tary ::the- establishment;of a .Suuday School Teachers!; Conference, together, /with, wholesome, acts of the,-Advis6ry';Board and all tb'at "it/.did,-, were written , in- tho manuscript of the Pastoral.. , - -His address, would not. be likely .to' -provoke' , -much' controversy.' iHe;-cijuld ■ not claim to - be. an , ;' ecclesiastic, 'and■■since (,: he 1 shared no•'speciapgifjJrb'f'-/adr' be 'unwise' in h'im'.lo'at'te'mptVtb,;o,titlinp.;'a.ny policy; V.\yitliT.them'Hβ'^ >vas ; 'c6nsci6us';that' 'some:-.decision i mustt be•/ arrived!;at .ini;thisi conference. upon ; I one i or' two' ;urgont: -matters.' ■

'-■]■■ '- '■'■■■ >■ Trhming:of Ministers. -;■;; ~'■;TheV-subieci.;''demanding- their, most earnest : consideration would. undoubtedly:, be . that 'of 'more adequate: provision for the theological training- of-accepted candidates for the. 'ministry.* l The continuity 'and -well-being -of the. Church depends very largely and cj necessity upon tho supply-of devoted ' arid qualified teachers, and no 'subject called formore serious, attention at the, .present time, than', that of such .supply. The renewal and upkeep of the' ministry in the,Domtmon demanded that at least ten or twelvo-men should continuously :be in. training, whereas it had onlvbeeri ■ possible in , recent-years4o make proyleion'for six.'' It was the Church s solemn duty to furnish.,the best;';possible: equipment ,, within her.'power ;to-.. thqse ;l , whom she sent out as her teachers,.and this should be regarded as a -fundamental part .of Church, finance.:' :■! :.'.-'-■'■ \ ■■;/. -

Furtherance of Home Mission Work. Second only in importances to this great question was''that'or-securing'Vmore enthusiastic and practical interest.in the maintenance and furtherance of Home Mission work. ■ The long-continued, - unwearied, , and, unrecompensod devotion of-the v venerable connexional treasurer,' Mr. F. L. Prime, to the financial administration, or this fund, could have been: rarely equalled even in the annals of Methodism.. He has been-.loyally, assisted by the'strong executive : who_ had .-rendered valued services as a consultative committee.: But their 'title to' the sympathy and eupport of the Church as a whole had not been,ade-, quately recognised. Hence the question was arising in many minds as to ■ whether any readjustment of method could be devised by means of which their hands could be strengthened and the'work which they had .at heart:more effectually furthered.;.-.. The. growing proportions of that' work were making necessary an .oversight .which, could' hardly bo given ■ by; a central committee,, and. local , interests had to'be considered which: could be but imperfectly, realised: from afar. ; Tho ; existence : of these "difficulties-.had _,led. some, to turn their thoughts in .the direction of an organising secretary, and to ask. if'haply there was to bo found in their midst some John W. Greaves.or Henry J., Pope by ■whose administrative gifts and inspiring personality: this great.department of; their work could-be, materially, developed. ..-.-, . ~.. . . \ Laxity and Shortcomings.. ■ -"'Whilst-recognising, the occasions' for thanksgiving and for hope which 'are mani-: ife'st on a review of the year," continued Mr. Beecroft, "we may not blind ourselves to the existence of much that calls for, searchings 'oij hearts. 'There have, been : conversions, thank God, but they have been few in comparison 'with the agencies employed and tho opportunities withim our reach. ..Though wo have'been united, and fairly diligent in accessory enterprise,' there has been , all too little' of that passion for bringing men to Christ which.should be tho primary characteristic of' a Church. . Nor- can wo honestly ; claim, that there has been any marked, strengthening-of the bonds of Christian fellowship within our borders. Have ■' wo not, rather, to deplore a gonoral laxity with respect to Church membership,' and a readiness to sever.tho ties of communion, on the slightest pretext? The tokens', privileges', and duties of- union with the visible Church are held-in light esteem, .which contrasts painfully; with the value placed on theso things: in a former day. .All this leads to the conclusion that something is amiss with us.- Wo may.not, as a Church, be singular inthis experience. But that reflection, if it is warranted, supplies neither consolation • nor justification nor rectification; :'■ . '. A Trivial and Secular Age. "It would.bo sheer disloyalty to God were we to bo content with platitudes about holding our own,'or doing fairly well, all thinge considered. If it be truo,:and.it is, that our sanctuaries are 'rarely filled, that with an increasing population.- our Sunday school rolls aro little better., than stationary, and that we aro failing to add to our Church niombership: in anything like proportion to the numerical growth of the nation—these «n----welcomo facts should jgiva us deep and pray--orful concern,, We owe it alike to our Divine Lord, to our generation, and to ourselvoß as

bearing the great Methodist name, to seek both cause and cure.' ■' Our duty in.this respect is rendered the.more urgent by the prevailing conditions of our time. Wβ are made daily. conscious, of a freezing indifference, if not. of actual hostility, to true religion on ■ the part of multitudes around us. The dew of youthful devotion which is tho blood-bought right of our Redeemer is almost boastingly withheld: from Him. The energy and l enthusiasm of tho young life of our day are engrossed in the pursuit of an immediate gratification. Our sunny climate and our financial prosperity are, perhaps, largely accountable for a lessened i sense of dependency upon God; but from_ whatever cause arising that lessened sense is painfully evident.:' Everywhere the seen and temporal are slratting out unseen and eternal realities. Altogether, the.outlook is sufficiently serious, yot we must not allow our convic- : tions to weaken or.our courage to fail.' Our Gospel is the Gospel of hope. Pessimism may rhyme with Methodism, but the phonetic resemblance is. the only thing thoy have in: common." Like their fore-elders, they. must. show that tho true synonym ■of Methodist was optimism. It was incumbent however, upon the Christian optimist to justify the splendour of his hope by the strenuousness or his endeavour. The richest asset of a Church was foiyid in the Christlikeness of its members.. No argument.'for.Christian-ity'was,-so convincing as thab of a. consecrated life, and the very.reason of a.Church's, existence was to produce such lives. .So, if they would truly fulfil their. mission in an age—of which, as Mr. Jowett. had said— "the prevailing characteristics are triviality, and secularity," they must see to it.that their own souls were charged with intensity and devotion by living fellowship .with Christ. That same whole-hearted personal consecration which distinguished the early'' Methodists must characterise their descendants, if they were to accomplish God's purpose in the salvation of those around them. •, ■. ■•' ■

' v Intake comes before Oiitnut, They had, perhaps, been in'danger of finding in their activities tho grave of our spirituality. Busy here and there, they have suffered their most sacred trust., to eludo their grasp; They had been endeavouring, to increase the output, without a.corresponding increase at the intake.. Yet, after.all, it was .the. intake that must be their first care. ■' As was, said by Sir George Smith at the English Conference, many, of them could hardly do more than they were doing, but they could and must seek to be more than they' were, and they could qnly.be more by coming into deliberate, conscious, transforming fellowship with their Lord. ■■ ■ '.. They sometimes heard the cry of narking back to some great leader's method, or to some past type of devotion. But surely their business was rather to'hark forward—not backward to their dead founder, Wesley, but onward with their living. Leader, Christ. A slavish: reproduction of bygone usages,. or the mere •■ repetition of traditional 'phraseology, would be akin to recrudescence, whereas their need was re-creation. .'. - ...

Family Life and tho Class Meeting. , "Do we realise as' wo should," the retiring president asked, "the.intimate.relationship between: 'the cultivation of this worshipful spirit-, and the- furtherance :of all that,is mosi precious in family life? The ■neglect or the banishment of the household altar is always to be regarded as an ominous sign. -..Whether or- not the declared Christian parent recognises the disastrous and far-reaching etfeots of abandoning' this Observance;'those who look on from without are aware of* thorn." .-■■-..' ... *.

They had ; - cause to desiderate a .deeper reverence in relation to all'that bore upon their spiritual .life and its manifestations; There was a call for plain speaking on these matters. "New Zealand. Christians have much cause for repehtanoe and reformation with respect to their misemployment of the sacred hours of the Lord's Day. Many New Zealand -Church members, are setting a deplorable example.'by their neglect of the ordinances .of God's house and by their superficial 'acquaintance, with tho Book of ■books/ Then,. , to come: right home to qur■'selves, the majority of New Zealand Meth"o'dista, are dofrauding , themselves of privilege, and deprisirig their Church of what was onqe. pne., l of, Jts/.,chief;idistinctions in ; allowing ; .tne > fellowship io'f-'-isaiiits 1 hsiirepW-i Rented.by the class meeting, to fall into disuse.' 1 }am far from advocating, a stereo'-', typed reproduction 0f,.; ancient. formulae or* cusfcoms.' Some things that were possible and profitable 'in-- the 1 eighteenth century would be utterly out of place in the twentieth. . In those simple days, when science had :jiot revealed the .presence and malignant influence of'. bacteria, our fathers passed, the love-feast cup'from lip: to lip ,in blissful ignorance- of the microbes. that might -be'-mantling its brim. But the institution that was'in those days a means of grace would be in our time an ordinance of terror. So, too, the exact form of the class meeting: with which/soine: of us were familiar 50 years ago might ..be unsuited .to the'age of the telephone and the motorcar. It is not for a galvanised institution,, ■however,'-but for. a living cornmunion that 1".; plead. ...Wβ want,. and we must have, a revival of that precious thing for which the class meeting stood, such a grip of the doctrine .of assurance, and such a vital personal experience that we shall' delight in hearing and tolling, in the household of faith, what God hath done for;,<mr souls. Such, antimate' , talk of 'all '.the tilings that I happened for our sakes at the Cross and at the Sepulcbro, as .that the Lord Himself shall draw near -and cause the hearts of His: followers to burn with holy affection and.fervent zeal. ■■>■' *•'■'■■■ . ■■'•■■. ; : Thei Need for Reverence. : "As-suggested.-by. this .aspiration for a deepen reverence,, I am led toi put. in a plea for a more devout: observance of the ordinances of the sanctuary.. There is assuredly room in too many, instances; for amendment, both. in the: conduct of the worship and in the bearing of the worshipper. 'Our poril to-day,' .says one; who speaks with, authority, !is. that we rarely remove our shoes.' In the desire to popularise the services ■of the church • there is very- grave danger lest we should 'empty those services :of their ■ great purpose—that of bringing men into tbe conscious presence of. God.',.-Hjsiown rubric of worship , stands for eve? unchanged. 'God' is greatly-to bo feared in tho assembly of the saints, and to be bad in reverence of all them, that are about Him.' The question is often brought home to the mind as to whether we as a people sufficiently recognise the solemnity, of that claim." ■.: ■~ .

. Iα referring to the duty of caring for the material fabric of tlie church, Mr. Beecroft ■ said: In going through ; the country it comes with a kind of stab to my heart, if even 'occasionally on entering a township I find that the ono : structure whose grounds aro unkempt, whose fences are broken down, and whose walls are'streaked with the overflow of, neglected.guttering, is ; the Methodist Church. . If withiii the building there are sinoke-blackened lamp glasses, tattered h'ymn-bqoks and ragged 'matting; a great pang of shame seizes-me for the dishonour done to the Lord of the House, and the stigma thus needlessly attaching to the Methodist name/ If I'thought for a. moment that; such neglect 'was unavoidable, if there were , any inherent defect in our Church's ideals, .or, any inherited strain ' of slovenliness in our Methodist blood, then filial affection for tlie church of my nativity would impose silence- upon my lips. But it is not so. Ono of the bost-romembored sayings of John, Wesley is that "Cleanliness h next to . Godliness," and in tlie maintenance of. lib preaching '-'houses,"however homely they might be, he always insisted upon the observance of the strictest order. Thero ca,n be no affinity between dirt and devotion. Disorder must ever be regarded as unfriendly to reverence. - .■ - Tunes labelled "Copyright." The worship, of .their churches must be that of. the whole ..'congregation, ; arid not of a few .only.. :"I would not offend against the generation of the Sons of Asaph by questioning the aesthetic beauty of many of the tunes introduced into our new hymnal, yet at the. same.'time I confess to. a fear lest our service-of praise should lose its attraction for the masses'by the substitution of unfamiliar, times for those, endeared.' by long association- with some of <iur grandest. hymns. Unless the- choirleader is willing to forego tho music set to "Now i have found tho ground - wherein," and many another. priceless. treasure, I have

to forego their use. It- is perhaps an evidence of a defective musical taste, but personally I am always disposed , to look askance at tiines marked "Copyright," and, to hanker for the simplicity and fervour of those old "birthright"' strains which are loved and "understanded of the people.-'! For the expression of that praise, it is right to provide the choicest , instrumentality. When other Scriptural claims upon the financial resources of the church have been duly recognised and met,: nothing, pan be too beautiful or too good for the place where God is- worshipped. The best and sweetest minstrelsy within our power should find employment in His service, provided always that we do not substitute the acessory for the fundamental. Not. the glory of the singer, of the organist, . or- of the preacher, but the glory of God is the object and' end of all triie ' sanctuary service.. Nothing but confusion awaits the Church if she'resorts to Carnegie rather than , to' Calvary for her magnet. .Shameful and bitter failure must ensue if reliance.is placed upon the breath of organ pipes instead of upon the breath of God. For that breath let minister and people plead, and' 'wait, expecting to receive.' Under its inspiration let the pulpit, bear clear, unfaltering witness to the Lamb of God slain for our offences, enthroned for our deliverence, and" onoe more God shall'make, the..place of His feet glorious." ' . The address was listened to with keen attention, and there were frequent manifestations of approval. At its conclusion, a vote of.thanks was passed to the Rev. Mr. Bee-; croft for his address. ': ;■ ''.'" HOURS OF SESSION. ; K was resolved that'the hours of the session of the conference be: 10 a.m. to 12.45 p.m., 2.15 to 5 p.m., and 7.30 to 9.30 p.m. The conference will meet this morning at 9.30 instead of 10 o'clock. WRECK OF. THE. PENGUIN. On the motion of the Rev. W. J. Williams, a motion of sympathy was unanimously passed to the relatives and .friends'-'.of' those who lost.their liyes at the wreck of the Penguin. ■■•'..•■( . '.-'• ■'. : ■■ ■■■■■ ■' '.'■■.■" '■■'■': . ;,;;presidentelect;;\- ;'v .. The Rev. Thomas Fee (Auckland) 'was , elected president for the '. .year..-by a large majority. : •■•',. i'. The president-elect was heartily congratulated by the retiring president. •■ The newljyelected president briefly returned thanks ior the honour conferred upon'him. -~'.'• V - On the motion of the Rev. H. Bull, seconded by Mr. E. Dixon (Hawera), a hearty vote, of thanks was accorded to the retiring' president. ... ,' '.".. SECRETARY. ,' /: );'■, : : : \ /' - The Rev. S. Lawry was re-elected secretary. On the motion of the Rev. C. croft, seconded by Mr. G. H. Blackwell,- a -vote of.thanks was passed to the Rev. IK Lawry for. his past services. Mr. Lawry was also congratulated ion his, re-election.., Mr .' Lawry suitably acknowledged, the votes. ; - : '.' '.'■'. ; ■■.■'.. OFFICERS.;,;; ■ \--" The following appointments were made, on the' motion of the R«v. S. Lawry:—assist-"; ant secretaries, Rev. W., -A..., Sinclair '^'and ; Rev. A, B. Chappell, M.A.; Journal .'sedreri tary; Rev. A... Ashcroft j. corresponding -sec--' retary, llev. X. F. Jones. , v . -;;■ '"..■ :. ■■';■•; The eonfererice moots this morning at 9.30;, o'clock..■'':'. v ; "" ; ■ ■■•-' ;■■.' ■>,'• - ; ; '; ,, : ? ;\'J- -'". In:the evening there : will be a"great Meth-' odist.gathering, at the:-.Wesley .Hall, -Taranaki.' Street. A short address will be delivered:!)} , the Rev. H. E. Bellhouso. Representatives from all parts of the' Dominion will be present. An excellent musical programme will be provided. ■■■•/.. '■'■:■ • ' .'.;;■: '('■■ ■•