RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1503, 27 July 1912, Page 9

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

■ e CHURCH AND PEOPLE, POSITION IN KXGLAND TO-DAY. Continuing its inquiry on the condition of tho ChuHios in England and Wales, the "Westminster Gazelle" slates: (July a slight decrease of 381 is observable in the membership of the C'ongrcga-l-ionnl churches in England and Wales, but the most: serious matter is the shrinkage■ air.nu manifest in the Sunday School Matistics ol the denomination. The.-c aro j.down to the extent of 12,5-17, and are but a continual ion of a. similar movement which commenced in ISIII7. Jn livo years lliero lias occurred a shrinkage or 'i2,!)17 scholars. On the other hand, the number of teachers over those of tho pre- , nous year has been augmented as a result probably of the ' institution of primary methods of teaching, which necessitate a larger number of teachers Congresationalists aro at present engaged in a great effort to complete their central fund for tlie-sustentatioii of the minister, and to secure the ,£250,000 have yet to raise .£55,000. A belter-paid ministry should mean a more, eflicisnt pastorate, and therefore the. improvement of tho ■machinery may be expected to promote the life and activity of tho churches. At (ho present time, however, there is lacking any marked indication that the well-to-do laymen in the denomination aro assisting their soils to enter the ministry'of the' Church.' When-the fund is completed this condition of things may be changed, and is one of the aspirations of its promoters.

Baptists. Tho Baptist? are recovering some of the leeway of the past live years. Unlike tlie Congregatijiuilists, they set themselves scridusly to face the situation, and appointed a committee of which the Key. J. J{. Wood, one of their ex-presidents, was chairman. JSy this .means some of the lessons of the loan' years have been brought home tu 'ministers and churches. Taking the whole of the denomination, the . decline of members last year vras only 72, and that of Sunday scholars only 018. So far as England, and Wales a.Ve concerned the figures show a decrease of 101 in th'e membership and 020 .Sunday scholars. The Baptists have lost ground in the agricultural districts, duo largely to the removal of tho young people to the large towns and also to emigration, which has attracted many Englishmen in recent years. Wales has also disappointed liaptist hopes by ( a declino of 1175 in the membership. On the whole, however, the Baptists aro niA'e united and vigorous than nt any period of their history- Tho development of a spirit of Baptist world-rela-tionship promises to create a great movement which is already being illustrated in liussia, where a Europeaai College, supported by British and American Baptists, is to be established for the training of Baptist pastors. On this side, too, a promising beginning has been mado with the provision of a living wago for Baptist ministers. Methodist Churches, The Primitive. Methodists, the Ccdvinistic Methodists, and (lie United Methodists show decreases of membership respectively of 53, 720, and IG7O. Still larger is tho shrinkago of Sunday scholars, viz.: 3845, 228-1; and MM. Tiio Eov. Henry Garden, of Peterborough, in: forwarding the statistics of the Primitive Methodist Connexion says: "As a Church we liuve suffered very considerably through emigration during the last few years—that moro 'than: accounts 'for this'decrease " Ho further states: "We added 76 new chapels in 1910, at a cost of .£91,000." The debt on Church property is .t1,172,000. With respect to tho Calvinistic , Methodists tho /Rev. I'. .T. Morgan, of Bowstrcet, 5.0., Cardiganshire, writes: "If you could wait another fortnight or three weeks I could give you later statistics* They have come in from-many of tho counties, and so far as I can. seo we shall be able to report a far better state of things this year than-wo'-have 'done for five years." Unfortunately th« returns could not "bo delayed as rep/tiesteil, but this year's statistics will be given separately .when ready. . ' '

No official explanation of tlie-: United Methodist figures, accompanied the statement, but probably emigration will:also account for sonic of the decline that is' here, shown. •. [The Wosleyan Methodist Church was dealt with in a previous article.! Other Churches. Concerning tho remainder of the other Churches or societies, it will be seen that tho Presbyterians, Society of Friends, and tho Churches of Christ report small increases, in membership, whilst five others show decline. Turning to the Sunday School: department, both the Presby-terians'n:.id'the-Society of Friends have suffered loss-" ■ especially the former Church. Mr. Isaac Sharp, the secretary of tho Society of Friends, states that comparatively few of tlio scholars in tlieso schools are the children of members of the Society of Friends. The Churches of Christ again point to an increase.

Organisations for Men. Occasionally the argument is made that .men.,-are now so organised into separate societies, classes, or brotherhoods that the need for the Church does not exist now as ■ formerly. Without discussing this point, the statistics of these movements mav bo given. In each case the figures are from official sources. The Brotherhood movement has no complete available statistics. Mr. William Ward, the lion..general secretary, writes: 'There has never ljerm a serious attempt to" take a census. I. am arranging for this to be done shortly. A large number of societies do not register their membership. The enclosed gives you the closest information I have on the subject." According to tin's estimate, there are nearly tliroe-quni ters of. a inillTon■'. men anil women in association with the Brotherhoods and. Sisterhoods in Great Britain. For eomnnrafive purposes, the statement is of little service, but mn'y be taken as an indication of the growth of the movement. . ■ •

Figures are available for the Church of Knglniul 'lien's Poripty. whieh is I)n w exerting n' great inflnenrfi iinon the men more or le=s allied with the Church. The nrosent venr its membership is m.fino, or nnno in excess of the previous 'The meiiihershii)'of fjir<'Y.MC V'" for list year ivns 113,259. The. statistics of lli» present year are in process of compilation. The Adult. Schools, started orisinallv by the Poci»tr of Fri-nds. owT nflWsHiiij wUh'nut doi'lit tho iiidusrrin.l life in the MidInnds, but also tiiw established nil nver Hie ronntiv. include a' membership e=timMe.d at 113,000. . . : Smrmiinf-up the facts revealed br Ihe statistics, it is seentliat com."iunicint.s mid member* of "n'.l tl"> ProtcsKnt Church"* in Enslnnd xml Wales number about five millions. The Sunday scholars -and .t<vacbi>Ts. totol, roughly, seven millions. On , this basis the churches named are in actual touch with one person out of every three in the counfrv.