THE EVENING MEETING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 932, 27 September 1910, Page 6

THE EVENING MEETING.

BIG GATHERING AT TOWN HALL

ADDRESS BY; CANON; STUART.

' /There was a..very.ilorg^,'assembly;at Town Hall last >• nigiit" in connection , with the Anglican.;:GeneralMission,.:some. people ( being', present. • .•••• . :CMTO :; ~,missioher,, based his ''reiriarksvon tho_ 1 sixty-fourth chapter o£ thebook of, Isaiah,the sixth ■ to.: the eighth. -verses, : .; and. drew particular attention 'to ,the ; words, "But,we' are. all as' . an , unclean thing, and all ' our righteousness;, is;'as ■' filthy.': rags.'' '.He wanted to ; bring before them,: he' said, that sevenfold: confession of: the children of Israel, and ■ lie' wanted; everyone to■! ask' himself,' ;"Must.l, not'pleadguiltyto .this terrible. indictment."::. ;He'i said, that; there may. b'e sbme. men in .WeUington who-were once the fondlings of ; tiieir parents,; and yet, to-day other fathers point to them'-and; say to their.children;, don't have anything to do with ' that man!"; If James had . said that, "We were going to .be judged by' a law which will:show ,per- : fectly -what the 'man is." St. James .called it "the perfect law of liberty.'' Oiie. 'could ' not ', really . judge the man when there.were.restraints on him, but just;let. !him' have'his fling,. and that would show /exactly': what 'he was. It was; not. enough, to have..a- ticket to a;concert,.you-'must; also have ataste for . the .music. What would . men! do in' Ileaven—no newspapers! - ho novels!' : nd..gambling!-.no'horsesj j Ah, tliey must liavo. love, purity, and righteousness to enjoy i■ Heaven. • ;' .If many,. of the worldly restraints were' removed— if we could .lift the restraint of 'keeping ' our positions—Ave' would find - our hearts saying, "We-are::unclean things"; and'; saying further, "if men know my life as it is they { would shun' me as they shun a leper, for I am an unclean! They had • stood up at their - confirmation and had;said, 'I,do!" ' Aid they had meant: it.; :;But: in the morning the 1 flower was. fresh and .green, yet by evening it had faded. 'How often l had;: they said I WILL; give up that' evil. companion?,; 'And- they had; meaht .it/ 1 .; But; .again, : the'will had: faded, .-like -the. , flower. , V And yet, they only - had. to cry for help, but hadr not called. : . ..They;' had . "not' called: in God's name.. They, must; guard I that they., did; hot leave the < cry : 'f ot'assistance ' until; too late.- Before' he left Auckland he had received a note in' a'box' asking himito pray for the writer;. "but,". said : the writer, . "I J fear ' it- is too" late.'' They must .' guard .. against;,;: that.y' -IJharabh's heart was hardened seven times, ■ and :the eighth -time : God;' hardened ' it. '. When men .'allowed -their , hearts' to' bo' hardened time after' tiiiip, God at' length - said, : "Well, let itbe hardened." .The.-preacher, appealed; to. them to ."come; baclv come' back.; to God God was the glorious potter who could take them and mould them. They were not the vessels the Almighty-.Potter designed, them to be; they-had. drifted on a way of then: own'. No one knew what God could do with a man who 'was; consecrated- to His '.service. "Come,":,the missioher; concluded, : "Come to . the Great Potter, andi He will mould you." ;'; --V- ■[: - : ?i> ! The mission';will be.;continued: to-day; when midday meetings will be hold for men. at the - Town 'Hall,'; and .for women at the Seamen's Mission- Hall." : 'There will, be a Bible preparation! service' at' .St: Paul's Church, Mulgrave Street, at 3 p.m., and .another; mass meeting., at- the Town Hall at 8/ p.m. - A service of dedication of the work of the' mission and publicly commissioning' the parochial missiohers by the Bishop, of '-Wellingtonwill be held at St. Paul's Church on Friday afternoon at 5 o'clock. ' "A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING." : REV. J. C. FITZGERALD•ON OPENAIR MEETINGS. - (E) Telegraph—Special Correspondent.) Napier, September; 26. The Anglican General Mission in Napier is drawing to a close, and by Wednesday all the missioners will have completed their work in this! diocese, and will then pass on to the diocese of Wellington. i . Speaking -to- a. reporter to-day. the Rev. J.' C. Fitzgerald made some interesting remarks concerning' the ' results of the mission. "The chief thing I hnvo noticed as to-the effects of tne ; mission," he said, "is . the power of prayer... Its - re-, cognition by. the people lias been most ;wonderful. .'The greatest interest has been taken in the mission all through, and the congregations have been large. I am convinced that a spiritual awakening of tho people has beer, effected. I i tlnnk that .there has been a great hunger j for teaohing. -The coming of the missionlem. therefore.. has; been fully justified.

We have had. no opposition. ' The only thing was that one or two letters have been 1 written' to the paper on the subject of future punishment. The' Church has no definite teaching on that point. Every-, ono must have his own opinion." ■ ■ The reporter remarked that comments had been made as to the advisableness of holding open-air meetings. "It .is the practice at Home every--where," replied the missioned " and no : exception is taken to it. In:a mission especially the clergy do it in England. Moreover, our' Blessed . Lord preached more -in- the streets than anywhere else. We only followed him." THE. WORK .OF THE LAITY. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Napier, September 26. . The attendance at the services of the Anglican General Mission have been daily increasing at all : churches, and a notable feature has .teen. the large congregations at the' meetings for men", and the\fact, that many renewed their vows after years 'of . neglect and indifference to the claims of the Church. Open-ail meetings have been''successfully.'held, jthere :have been sliort..services. .daily:, in ..the 1 Railway. Workshops, , and " special ' addresses .'have been''given'to'children.'. Speaking to a reporter' to-day, Canon H. V.'Stuart said the. general response had been very good, and the. mission-, was heartily welcomed." ,One - thing, that : . had impressed..him, during his . stay in' New Zealand had "been the keen interest taken in the' church and its 'welfare by tho lay members. This.; interest -was shown, not only in looking after, the business connected with the chuTch, financial matters, etc,, but also .' in ' the -' desire ' and effort • to. extend: its spiritual influence. ■