THE PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2937, 24 November 1916, Page 3

THE PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY

YESTERDAY'S SESSION

WARAND THE CHURCH The Presbyterian. General Assembly resumed business yesterday at 10 a.m. under the presidency of the Moderator (Rev. E. Ji. Eybui-n). Foreign Mission Resolutions. On the motion of Professor Hewitson the following resolutions were passed:— '"fhe Assembly puts on record its gratitude to God for the long and faithful service of the ltev. P. Alilne, of Nguna, who has made application to be placed on the Aged and Infirm. Ministers' JiHmd, while still remaining at work on his station. Mr. Milne is now in the eighty-third year of his age, and tho forty-eighth year of his service in the Islands. During that long period of very successful and often difficult work, in which ho was sustained by. the devoted and larg6-hearted co-operation of his late wife, tne ruling spirit of his life has ever been 'This one thing I do.' The Assembly resolves that Mr. Milne be given a seat in the Presbytery of Dunedin." . "That the Assembly approves of the following matters referred to in the committee's report:—(a) The extension, of Dr. Bowie's furlough, (b) Co-operation with the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in appointing Mr. and Mrs. Bailey to ;assist Mr. Prater -in connection with the work on Ambrim." "That the Assembly joins heartily in the committee's appreciation of the devoted and very effective service of the i Rev. A. Don as Foreign Missions Secretary, and approves of the committee's recommendation that, as the period for which Mr. Don was appointed will expire oh March 31, 1917, he be reappointed upon the same conditions as formerly —namely, that the appointment be for three, years, terminable by six months* notice on either side, at a salary of dE3flo per annum, with a house and travelling expenses, with a seat on the committee, and a seat, in- the Presbytery of JJunedin." "That <5e Assembly approves co-oper-ation with the Union 'Theological College in Canton, and instructs the Foreign Missions Committee to arrange either for the appointment of a man or make a grant of J2IOO annually to the fund." "That the Assembly, having heard the report of the committee based iipon the recommendations of the cpuncils on the fields as to the necessary additions to the staffs, authorises the committee to supply the most urgent needs as the number of volunteers and the state of finances will permit." "That the Assembly accepts with regret as from.December 31, 1915, the resignation of the l?ov. P. Milne, junior, as a missionary, and expresses its appreciation of his efficient and faithful services. The Assembly also thanks the congregation of Sterling for its generous support of Mr. Virtue as its representative on the foreign field." Church Life and Work. The report of the committee on Church Life and Work, presented by the Rev. J. H. Asher, 6aid:— "The extraordinary hopes of thoso who saw in. the war the prospect of some farreaching and almost immediate spiritual revival have not been realised. There is no evidence of awakening, and the tone of spiritual life has not been raised; there has been' no. general rovival in the prayer life of our congregations. On .the other hand,, tfie catastrophe has plunged many into real perplexity. Some months ago a'symposium was held in the columns, of the 'Westminster Gazette' under the general title of 'What is Wrong with the Churches?' Hundreds of people contributed- to the debate, and the great majority went straight to the foundations of belief—to the difficulty of that a God who -was both omnipotent and benevolent could have ordained or'could tolerate such a world as we see, to the' difficulty of adjusting the old idea of God to the immensely enlarged universe of modern thought, and other problems as old as the Book of Job. What really affected these writers—and they were representative people—was not the credibility of miracles, .but the apparent' gulf between the theory of a benevolent God and the facts of the world as they seo them. Thousands of men and women are now for the first time in their lives seething with problems,'and 'a Church which is to minister to these people, and to give them the spirited religion for which they crave,, must have among its teachers philosophers, • thinkers, men of Insight, and daring, with a mission to the Gentiles;:who are'in difficulty about the presuppositions of religion.? The Church as well as the .nation is being put to the supreme test. "Our. ministers have had their souls greatly.; burdenod in ministering to anxiety and bereavement. Many of our sons lie cold and still in' unknown places on the field of battle.- We sigh, we pray, we hope for the day of victory, and ws believe that we shall come forth from this baptism of blood a purified and nobler people. It is not inopportune to recall the significant words of Admiral Sir David Beatty: 'When the nation can look on the future with humbler eyes and a prayer on her lips, then we can begin to count the days towards the end of the war.' '■' The "Gad-about" Sunday. Tho report also referred to the proposed publication of a lectionary and selection, of prayers for use in tho home, and the guidance of tho people generally. Referring to encroachment on the sanctity of the Sabbath, the report said: "During the year your committee have noticed with interest the various protests that have been made against the encroachment on the sanctity of the Lord's Day. , The ;Christchurch Presbytery has a particularly active committee, under the convenership of Rev. John Dickson, which has been instrumental in establishing a number of branches of the Lord's Day Alliance. A number of these protests were successful in their immediate, object, and all have served to keep before the public tho claims of the Christian Church upon Sunday. It must-be remembered, however, that protests of themselves are of little value. The protest that leaves an opponent smarting under a sense of defeat is often more fruitful of harm than good. . It is for this reason that your committee would urge the conducting of a positive campaign by means of our own literature, prominence given to' tho subject in preaching, and in Sunday schools and Bible- Classes. This, we are convinced, is, tho most effective . way to counteract 'week-ending' and the 'gad-about' Sunday. Sending services after the 'weekenders' is like maintaining an ambulance at the foot of the precipice. We want to put a fence at the top." The committee's recommendations, which were passed, were as follow:—(1) That the booklet issued by tho Presbytery of Dunedin receive the imprimatur of tho Assembly. (2) That be enjoined to explain from time to time the significance of the Sacrament of Baptism. (3) That iu wise and useful ways the subject of impurity should bo discussed, (i) That the present arrangement with Mr. Gumming be continued for a further 12 months. (5) That the first Sabbath in July bo appointed Sabbath Observance Sunday, when (a) ministers will bring before their people the claims of the Lord's Day; (b) Bible classes and Sunday schools will give particular attention to the need of preserving the Lord's Day as a day of worship. (6) That the Lord's Day Alliance be again commended to ministers and congregations. (7) That the committee be empowered to publish suitable literature on religious and moral questions. An addition was made, on the motion of the Rev. S. F. Hunter, who made a very eloquent and broad-minded speech, that baptismal cards should be issued by the Assombly, and that a booklet dealing with the year's work be issued. "The Lord's Day," The Rev. I. Jolly sought leave to nda to the first recommendation that the Assembly also give its imprimatur to tho book of family prayers issued by the United Free Church of Scotland, a

scholarly, spiritual, and devotional work of the Highest quality. Tho when, asked for his leave to make the addition, said he could not agreo to it, as it. might bo prejudicial to tho book tho Dunedin Presbytery proposed to publish. The Rev. Mr. Miller (Auckland), referring to the paragraph on Sabbath observance, said that a committee of tho Auckland Presbytery had been greatly exercised over tlio encroachment uii tho sanctity of the Lord' 6 Day iu tho district. He referred to the nuisance caused by Sunday shooting parties, and those who fired off guus from motorcars as they sped past the church. This apparently malicious interference with worship the committee proposed to deal with by asking the Assembly to urge that the Tasmanian Act be introduced iulo New Zealand, which provided that no firearms should be discharged on Sunday within three miles of a town or one mile of a place of worship. His committee also advocated an amendment to the Police Offences Act regarding work on the Sabbath. Work was permissible if out of view of a public place. He argued that the six-day working week was all that man required, and m that they would have the labour organisations with them. His proposals also included the desirability of allowing automatic machines to be used on the Sabbath. (Presumably the speaker referred to the penny-in-the-slot machines, though he did not say so.) The debate on the Teport was etili in progress when the Assembly adjourned for luncheon. , Visit to Trentham Camp, During tho afternoon the members of the General Assembly visited U,e military training camp 'at Trentham. New Ministerial Members. A very hearty welcome was given to new ministerial members of the Assembly:—Revs. J. W. Yarnall, E. Bandy, G. W. Blair, J. P. Boyle, D. J. Albeit, J. V. Jacobson, L. H. Hunt, E. J. Tipler, D. C. Herron (at the front), J. W. Smyth, A. G. Irvine, R. A. Chisholm, R. Morgan, HO. M'LeanM. H. Robertson, G. D. Falconer, J. H. Bredin, C J. Tocker, and S. F. Hunter. Home Missionary Training. Dr. Robert Erwin (convener) presented the' report of the Home Missionary Training Committee, which stated, inter alia, that after examining different books on theology the committee decided to recommend 'that the following should bo substituted for the course prescribed in Steam-.—First year, "Sidelights on Christian Doctrine,'" Professor Orr, pages 1-89 j second year, "Sidelights on Christian Doctrine," Professor Orr, pages 90-180; third year, "Outlines of Christian Doctrine," Mouli, pages 202-267. That in church history the course be in the old syllabus of studies-viz.:'Second year, "The Reformation," Professor ' Lindsay (Bible Class Handbooks), parts 1 and 2; third year, "The Reformation," Professor Lindsay, parts 3 and 4. The committee also considered the matter referred to it jointly with tho Church Extension, and Theological Committees, but as tho lastnamed committee is reporting on that I matter it is not necessary to refer to it in this report. Dr. Erwin said the scheme of training was not a full course, but, yoar after year it was being substituted for an undergraduate coruse in tho University, and from that pass straight to the Divinity Hall. They must take one of two courses, either re-cast the whole course, or shut down the door altogether, and only admit those specially qualified. Ho maintained that there was no defined standard of education in the Presbyterian ministry, a stato of things that must be remedied. The Rev. Mr. Cox seconded tho adoption of the report, which was carried without discussion. Home Missions. The report of the Home Mission Committee presented by the convener (Rev. Jas. Gibb) (which occupies thirteen pages of the "White Book") stated initially:— "The work of tho year has been carried on in the face of a great and steadily growing difficulty—the lack of men. At the moment of writing the vacancies number eight, but the Assombly must face the fact that when the students now filling vacancies return to collogo next March, the vacancies will leap up to at least twenty or twenty-one. The financial statement set out tho position of tho various funds to the credit of the the Home Mission Committee as follows:—Balance of working account, .£1763; capital fund, .£903; augmentation fund capital, £127; 6ustentatioh fund capital, £1000; sustentation fund capital (Otago), ,£188; making a total of The only addition to tho capital fund during the year was the sum of .£2OO from the estate of tho late Mr. R. Wallace. Mr. Climie (who figured in khaki), a vigorous, fervent young man, with ■ a strong sense of humour and a pronounced Doric, spoke most entertainingly on the country people's distaste of tho afternoon service. In ono place he used, on occasions, to get a congregation of five, sometimes of two, and on occasions no ono turned up; yet when ho changed the service to an evening one, the attendance went up to over forty. In moving the adoption of the report, Dr. Gibb dwelt on the. depletion of the ranks of their Home Missionaries on account of tho war. If the war went on he could not see how they could prevent further depletion. They could not look to retired ministers', as war was, as General Haig said, "a young man's game," and they could no more send out old men into the back-blocks than they could send, them into the trenches. In this situation he could only suggest that, as women were doing all sorts of things in England which they never imagined they could do, they should look to the women to help them. He also asked elders to help ministers and home missionaries to the fullest extent of their powers. Dr. Gibb also referred to tho effect of the ballot on their home missionaries. Were they to appeal to exemptions or not? After serious thought he had decided that they should not do so, for what they would probably gain, theysmlght lose in respect, for the average man in tho street regarded the minister as little more than a drone. If, however, there was a missionary, with serious scruples on the. matter, he thought his church or Presbytery should make a proper appeal on his behalf to the Board concerned. The Rev. Mr. Aitkon seconded the motion, which was carried. On the motion of the Rev. Dr. Gibb, the following resolutions were passed:— "That it be recognised that a stipend of £170 with a manse as the emolument to be arrived at for a married and £150 for unmarried,agents, and this not only for tho greater comfort and security of our worker, but with a view to "discouraging agents from seeking entranco to tho Hall and University, save in Markedly exceptional cases." "That the cost of bringing ministers from 'the Homeland shall no longer bo derived from the home mission fund." "That the Assembly approve of tho action of the committee in defraying a larger part of the cost of the transfer of agents than is provided by the regulations." "That the Assembly agree to a fourth year of service for Mr. F., J. Usher at Upper Huttj Mr. F. S. Laughton at Piu Piu; Mr. E. Bishop at Morrinsville; Mr. G. M'Donald at Takapuna; Mr. W. Mill at Scargill; but decline the request of tho Takaka Station* to retain the services of Mr. Z._ D. Macfarlano for a sixth year." "That the Assembly enjoins Presbyeries, ministers, and office-bearers to take all necessary steps to ensure a response to the Home Mission appeal for adequate funds wherewith to carry on the work, thank the P.W.M.U. for their past efforts, and ask them kindly to do their utmost for the work during the present year." "That the Assembly approves the proposal to employ deaconesses as far as possible in tho work, and impress on office-bear»Wi and other members wno have some gift of preaching the need of doing all thev can to keep tho services of the Church going in this critical time."