AN ANGLICAN MISSION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 827, 27 May 1910, Page 4

AN ANGLICAN MISSION.

•ALL SCHOOLS REPRESENTED. - A PARTISAN t,ABEL REPUDIATED. / HOPES AND EXPECTATIONS. ■ We gjve below the concluding' scptioii, - of the article written for The DqiusioN ".by the Jiev. H. A. Kennedy, one'of the > "forcruijners" of the coming Anglican :\ General Mission, who has just con eluded : a preparatory tour of New Zealand., It will be noticed that Sir. Kennedy ■era- < phatically denies the allegations mode m ■ certain quarters that the mission was to '~-■ be used. ' for the purpose of, spreading ■ "High Church"' views! Jle points out :-'■ that the party of fifteen clergymen who ; are to commence work .in Ne.\\- feland '■- in October next include,pronounced Evan- ■' gelicals on the one hand, and two meals' bers of the Community of the Resurrcc- ;■ tion on the other, besides all shades, of opinion between—in other worijs, it is, ho says, "as broad as ,th.e CqiircU pt - England." The Community of the lie-. -. :surrcction referred to is b Eociejy of .clergymen with headquarters. nt.Hinielil, ■ ■'' lorkshire, with whom aw..associated lay ■ brothers, all living under rnlo with a i.--''common purse and a common religious lifo. The community is engaged in hter- ' ary, mission, and educational work, and also in training candidates for holy ord"•■■.;ers. The Superior of thp Community is the B«v. W. H". 'Frere, a distinguished authority iii Church history aiid liturgj- . :cal questions, and the members include ■ the Kev. J. N. Figgis, an eminent historian (it contributor to the. Cambridge . Modern History), and the Rev. Paul ''. Bull," one ot tho best-known ■ An--1 glican Mission preachers ; v'lio .' is i also an advanced social reformer. -The community • was recently-- ao-' ■ ■''■, cusod of propagating. Socialism, but the ■ Superior, iii reply, slated t)iat as: a corns'; munify they had no ■ political views, .'bul • each member, as an individual, was at i liberty to hold whatever ■ political-views-■y commended themselves to him. luo so- ; ciety was founded by the Bishop of Bir- : tningham (Dr. Gore). •■■; "As Brgad as the Church of England;" 1 - Mr. Kennedy writes a? follows rr- :■:.'.. ; There has been a foolish, effort on tho. part of some people to prejudice -others- '•' against the mission as a whole by labeli ling it "High Church." Now it is indeed ; as broad, in regard, tp the opinions of : those who are coming out, as the Church- ■■' of England is, and,will continue to be. in : Bpito of tlie. efforts' of those who would ' like to thrust out all who do, not'happen -'" to tako their own narrow'.view; the mis- : eionaries fairly equally represent, all, schools of thought, including on the '... ; one hand representative evangelicals like , .. Canon E. A. Stuart and Mr. Lillingstone ;'.: (the vicar of Hull), and on the other two members of the Community of ■ the . Resurrection at hut ail those men : are able to work 'together in the 'common cau.se, for they kliow that if in some i, details their methods or their-language : might differ, yet that they are at one in loyalty to their Mister, »n<l in-the end they Eet. before themselves the conversion : of sinners, the building up of the faith- ;:■ ful in the love of God, the revival of ; ' the life, of' the Church, JThey .do.; not ■ come to spread any particular "opinions," : but "to preach Jesus Christ and iUtn cru- ' cified." . . ... ..'..'.";. ■• The Result Hoped For.: ..-. ;.,. .._:;__ What is it then that we may hope for as the result of the mi6sion. This depends entirely on, the preparation made . ' beforehand. When the mission is thought of as in. the first plaoo an eifort of preaching, very little is to be expected but a temporary "flare-up" .which will soon, pass away. Where it is-thought of. as an effort of prayer and-expectation, and faith on the part of even, a few who are dissatisfied, with themselves, dissatisfied with their church life, then-there will be a great and abiding blessing not only to ■': themselves,- but to many others inside tnu church and, at present, putside. it. There will not be much excitement or emotion ■j, in the preaching as a (rule.. It. will be primarily an appeal to tho conscience and to th.o-will, and that appeal will go -. . home to many if there has been this ' real preparation. We have been, much :-.- encouraged by our visits to the great bulk of the parishes where missions arc-, to.be held, and we believe that in the majority •; •.' of them there will 'be a real answer 'to :.'■' the prayer which thousands, have been . offering in England that God would give "conversion and strength to many 6ouls, and a great revival and uplifting to His. . Church." ■■■';, Far-Reaching Effects. : This, wo hope, will be the immediate ;. ■ result of the work, but there are pro- . .Bpectivo ones which will be far-reaching ".- in their effects upon tho lifo of the Church. One great need which we saw ■:. everywhere, as-we often see'it in; Enui" land, is that of tho development of tha ■-. mission spirit and methods aa elements in the ordinary lifo of tho Church, not p ? r J? a P? Wfays'to be in uso, but always at Jiand, and providing a back-ground and stimulus t<. the settled routine of our general church lifo; providing also an antidote to the mental and spiritual danger of supposing that all is well so long ,as we are carrying on a venerable and beautiful,• system, and just offering it-to men. The danger is still greater when we are tempted to content ourselves with the mere superficialities of that-system, without getting at its spiritual heart; and ■ S 1 * ?" '°f these reflections believes ' n '£ Tμ' 1 - b *., a Messing tu the Church of Aew Zealand (as well as that of England) • if it would make a «elfdenying ordinance that for five years, thereshould be an abandonment of coloured' stoles, the Ely Confession," Tallis's Fes- ™\ f E° ns f' .}¥ "Cathedral Psalter," and elaborate-. "Anions" sung by choirs it would give congregations a chance! which in many .places they have not now of 'joining in k service 0 of . "common' 5 prayer and praise, and it would do something at least to save them from the danger of renting in tho "prettynesscs" 1^' 0 "'instead of seeking its essential Parochial Missions. eon wiU leave jts m*rk jn rejnrd to laity in their own p»r| S hw, and those who are able to oonie 111 froi.) other pur, isnes fo the mission arvloes, entoh some, thug pf..the. eplrit of the work, but also U will gin „„ onportu'nily to rnpjiy I the ?1? T V ? f "J* Dominion, who have the aptiturle for bwoming "mffrionwf," to Icyrn its methods, end eo to render possible a great inerense jn (he num. j«r of paroohinl inissinns to lie hoi In the future, A certain number-of the ~ euegeeteil by the bishops m caflh dioop f «, } vl| l e<l, to other diaceM* ns awislants to t,hp English nuMioneie in one or mnre parlshM, «ud it Is to bo hoped Umt this will dq (ioniething to holp many of them to owinip nilf.6JoiK.rs f!iein»e|v«a, oud ?o to add tp the resouw-s of the church. It ehpiUcJ have another elTept, also, in bringina tne vprioufs diaems into cohesion aw co-operation with one another; for while there j.i <v considerable trmi.?; icrem'c— perhaps ponwtlines too I'mniont —of men from one diocese to another, it seemed, to n> that there was a sad lack of real unity between the djoeesca in the provin«e; and nothing would do more to produce that "unity of the spirit in tho bond of p«ice," which would give euoh an inoreaso of collective- force to tho Church pf New Zealand,' than a. constant spiritual inierchniifje -hotween HlO beat men in the (|ifi'oren( diw-eses, briniimg messages of inspiration and help from north to south, and vice versa, and so binding all together- in a -union "that no ni-sre temporary or local differences could ever weaken. The mission iMf will do much towards this end; and none will pray more earnestly for a blessing ou the filmroh of lii'W Zealand, nor, 'indeed, hopo more eurely Unit a 'great work in going to be eooonipllshed, than thoio who, whatever their mistakes and fai!in>;?, have tried to gwe such sfrvices ,ns thsv could' in the n-ork of orgauisntioii and preparation. The trust was laid upon them alike by tho committee in England which sent them out and by the Church of New Zealand whicli gave authority lo tli< oommittet'i mid that Clmrcli is m.w sending away the "fore-rtiturors" with heart* happy in the consciausiiojj of fellowship awl confidence fully given to tlioin, and fall of gratitude to God for nil Hi; mercies throughout their work, and tc their Fathers and Brethren for so mueJi kindness aiid affection. E. A. KENNEDY.