HOME VISITATION.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1313, 16 December 1911, Page 9

HOME VISITATION.

A GREAT CANVASS AT LIVERPOOL. | A systematic visitation of tlio homes of | the people 01 Liverpool, in the interests (h their religious n eli-ire ami as a canvassfor Sunday school scholars, lias been carried out by the Liverpool and Bootlo Free Church Council and the Sunday School Union. The main purpose of this visitation was to leavo a greeting for all Christian worshippers and an invitation to non-church-goers to attend n place of worship, and to young peoplo to become scholars in Sunday schools, at every house in Liverpool and Bootle, with the possible o.xoeption of those districts .which wore ascertained to be almost exclusively ]{oman Catholic. The secondary purpose was to secure as much statistical information'in relation to church attnidanoo and preference and Sunday school attendance as the circiunstancesof the case and the ability of the visitors would permit. A special joint committee was appointed, the city was divided into seventy-four dMriots corresponding to the municipal polling wards, a band of 2200 volunteers was enrolled, and a visitors' catechism comprising thiriv questions was arranged. The organisation' was started in November, 1!)10, and in the interval oxptanntory literature was circulated. Of I.'iO churches approached, 1,15 of eleven denominations, in addition to fourteen mis'-ions, joined in flie work of enrolling vdlors. -The visitation was fixed for Monday anil Tuesrhiy, September 2") and 2(1. but. bad "oather necessitated some expansion of tlio plan. Alxint ISOfl visitors actually carried out (lie work," and about 75 per cent", of the homes of Liverpool and Rootle were visited. Tn reporting on (he actual slat'.vtirs, the committee note that it need-- to be made perfectly clear that (he primary object was rot statistical, nor could it be so under the circumstances, if arcuracy wore required. Hie unwillingness of some ISO!) householders to supply information, combined with the fact that about 4100 expressed no denominational preference, while approximately W.fiOfl v.-oro not at home, and there were 5250 vacant houses in the districts visited, together with the inexperience of ninny of the visitors, combined to make numerical accuracy impossible. Th« records mnrkcd "Chtrrch of Kirs Lund/" too, give taly a partial Gtatanmt cf Qtsrek pr»-1

ference, for in a number of cases tlio visitors wore told to mark tho record "Church of England," with the explanation, "We don't go anywhere, hut don't want to bo looked upon as heathens." Remarkably lew expressed feelings definitely , hostilo to religion/ probably not mom than fifty cards being marked "Secularist," "Atheist," etc. Of tho !15,000 cards returned by tho visitors some thousands were useless for any purpose, and could only be thrown away. .About SG.OOO have been handed over to the Churclj of England, 10,500 are Roman Catholic, lOtffl Jews, 21,000 Free Churchmen, and miscellaneous (such as Lutherans, Unitarians, Church of Scotland), and about 2000 were received too late, to bo included in.tho final classification. Tho committee in their filial report urgo that flu churches should sot themselves seriously to the task of organising sonio scheme of systematic visitation, Whereby each home should receive —once .a year, if not oftener—a visit from the minister or other accredited representative of some church, so that tho reproach of unvisitod homes and uncaredfor peoplo may be a thing of tho pact.