THE LONDON PULPIT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1599, 16 November 1912, Page 9

THE LONDON PULPIT.

NO GROUND FOR PESSIMISM. Tho "Nation" recently wroto of "thecadence of tlw pulpit," and said that "the London pulpit is a sheer dreariness; tho Edinburgh pulpit, to take no higher point of view, is aii intellectual treat," A representative of tho "AVestminster Gazette has mado inquiries on the subject from laymen who possess full opportunities of knowing the personalities in tho London pulpits, to-day, as the)- did those of a former generation. Their reply to the criticism of the "Nation" is iiL a sentence that the writer must have ■been a Scot who had a national prefer* ence for Edinburgh, and had not heard the preachers in tho london pulpits. Tho first authority pointed out that in the Church of England to-day there are preachers, who draw larjje congregations because of their quality in tlie pulpit. St. Paul's Cathedral has unfortunately lost Canon Seott' Holland, but it has gained Canons Alexander and Simpson, and still retains Canon Newbolt. Dean Inge has been' Called the "gloouiy Deaii," but most peoplii who know him are aware that this is a misnomer, and that he is an original preacher who dares to say straight things in an unconventional way.. .You could not fairly call him "dreary." It is true that,we have not a Liddon at St. Paul's to-day, but at least we have three or four pTcachers of distinction .'whose sermons are worth leading. / . Westminster Ahbey has lost the. scholar-' ly. Dean» Dr. Armitage Robinson, but it .has gained Bishop Boyd-Cai'pentcr. whoso /term at the Abbey is marked by a seTies of eloquent sermons. .He is,a. preacherof'high order. ,Canon Hensjey, Benson, possesses a different quality iitr tho pu!-' pit. He is more .controversial, b'iit even. those "wlio disagre'e;"ivith 'his 'conclusions are -arrested bjv.lijs clever generalisations and arguments.' . "In the -London diocese," went on this informant, "you have men of tho type oi . father Stanton, who has preached itfc" St, Alban's.for fifty years., and still attracts a crowded congregation. He is asovangelical in utterance as a. Methodist and frequently numbers Nonconformists in his congregation. Then, too, there isFather AVaggett, a High ~ Ghurchmnut whose sermons are scholarly arid yet per--meated with the firo •of - enthusiasm and . reality. Apart from High Churchmeii, you ean refer, amongst the-evangelicals,'-to tho Rev. Stuart Holden, M.A:, or to tho Rev. F. AVebster, '31.A. '- These 'are: only, types of many more in both parties in the Church." _;■■■■ Turning to tho Nonconformists, the, "AA r «stminster Gazette" representative was immediately referred to the effect of the preaching of Dr. Campbell Morgan at AVest-minster Chapel. • He went there when church had descended .from : the palmy days of tho Rev. Samuel Martin to a mere handful of people. To-day this largo auditorium is filled by Dr. Morgan. 'He also secures on tho week- , night a big congregation of between pne to two thousand persons for his Biblical lectures. Wherever Dr. Morgan goes.to' preach now'he is sure of an audience, and may easily be placed in the front .rank of English preachers. Of quite u different Order there is .Di. John Clifford, who has been preaching iii. one church for over fifty years, and the church is crowded. And the .remarkable thing about his congregation is the factthat he reaches a large number of men—especially young men. "The Rev. It. J. Campbell, continued this' Free Church authority, :"tolflme3iced his ministry at the City Temple in 1303, and to-day he is preaching, with an intellectual freshness and vigour that -attracts as large, if not larger, congregations than'his illustrious predecessor, Dr. Parker. On Sundays, including his two services, he preaches to 7000 people. Mr. Campbell has passed through the fire of criticism, but. Mr>'li>tcaing to his sermon? oue is assured that ho possesses a inspiring message to the age! Not' only are people eager to hear him, but . his printed sermons , sell in all parts of the country, aad.also in th^solonies." Another authority on the quality of sermons in the London, pulpit, who was seen by thc"AA : «stmiiister Gazette" representative, pointed out that a few years ago threo ■ great Nonconformist centres— lllodmsbury, AVhitefields, and AVestainster {to the latter of which referem» has already been made) —were empty, To-day they are tho centres of vigorous Church life'. I'he Rev. J. E, Rattenbury, M.A., of the West London Mission, is preaching on Sunday evenings to a congregation of 3000 at the Lyceum Theatre. In the old days the Rev. Hugh Prico Htighia and tho Rev. Mark Guy Pearse did not have such large numbers at the old St. James's Hall, Piccadilly. Moreover, the AVcsleyau Central Missions in different parts "of tho metropolis are attracting large numbers of people. AYesleyan Methodism still has the services of tho Rev, W. L. Watkinson, one of its ex-presidcnts, even though he has retired. Be ranks with the really great and - illuminating preachers, and possesses something of that ' prophetic speech held by Dr.. Maclaieti, lof Manchester. The Baptist* have also many excellent ministers. There is Dr. ! Charles Brown, of Forms Park, whoso church is always full. In tho.South of London Dr. Ewing, the president of thoBaptist Union, has another largo and prosperous church. Again, in Ilamp* stead, among the Congrega'tionalists, Dr. Horton is maintaining a Wide and influential ministry, and eviSn in August,, when Hampstead is empty, gets his largo church nearly full. Tho inquiries mado by tho representa" tive of the "AVestininster Gazette" -seetu to show that there is no ground, either iimongst tho Anglicans or Nonconformists, for pessimism with respect to the London preachers. As to younger men, the- Rev. J. D. Jones, M.A., 8.D., of Bournemouth, has informed the writer that there is no dearth of good men when a choice has tobe mado" to important spheres.