CHURCH UNION

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 27, 1 February 1913, Page 12

CHURCH UNION

METHODIST ORGANISATIONS JOIN FORCES. | A unique event in the ecclesiastical history of this Dominion will take place in Wellington on Thursday next, when the two Methodist . Churches will unite to form a new church, to be known as "Tho Methodist Church of New Zealand." As by this union a large number of people will be affected, it will not be out of place to give our readers a brief statement concerning the movement. The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the first Methodist Church to plant its flag upon New Zealand soil. Ninetyfive years ago the Rev. Samuel Leigh, a contemporary of the Rev. Samuel Marsden, of the Anglican Church, was working among the Maoris and settlers of the far North. Wesleyan Methodism in Wellington dates back to 1840, when the first services were held on Petone beech. The first conference was held in Christchurch in 1874. Old colonists still recall with pleasure the names of some of the early ministers, as the Rev. Messrs. Hobbs, Ironsides, Aldred, Buddie. Buller, Reid, and others, who gavo their very best to the then infant colony. The returns of the Methodist Church, as presented to the "Union Committee, were as follow: — Churches, 359; other preaching places. 611 ; parsonages, 119 ; ministers, 146 ; home missionaries, 56 : local preachers, 727 ; members, 18.550 ; juniors, 3451 ; Sunday schools, 382 ; scholars, 25,915; adherents, 82,743; cost of properties, £426,637 ; debt on same, £72,145 ; capital of loan fund, £11,781 ; fire insurance fund, £3550; annual home mission income, £5000 ; annual Foreign mission income, £2842. Missionary enterprise in the Old Land resulted in the .appointment of the Rev. R. Ward, of the Primitive Methodist Church, to New Zealand. He arrived in New Plymouth in 1884, and at once established a Primitive Methodist Church. He was a man of many parts, and being an enterprising character, and a strenuous worker, he succeeded in establishing churches in Taranaki, Auckland, and Wellington in 1876, full of honours, and universally beloved. The section of Methodism he established has made considerable progress, especially of recent years, and now reports 46 ministers, 5 homo misF.iona-ries, 203 lay preachers, 3362 members, 96 Sunday Schools, 82 churches, 50 parsonages and houses. The connexional property is valued at £85,--376, and the liabilities amount to £23,581. The denomination has ever been democratic in its polity, evangelistic in its teaching, and deeply interested in the welfare of the masses, open-air services being quite a feature of its work. The United Methodist Free Church was commenced in this country in the year 1860, and the Bible Christian Church in 1877. For many years these sections, of the Methodist Church did good work and established themselves in many parts of the land. In 1896 tha first union of Methodists in this colony was consummated, when the Wesleyan Church, the United Methodist Free Church, and the Bible Christian Church were united into one body, since known as "The Methodist Church of Australasia in New Zealand." Wellington was honoured with the first united conference which was held in 1897. Although a large and powerful body, the United Church has not enjoyed perfect freedom of action, being under the control of the triennial conference, of which the churches of the Australian Commonwealth formed part. For many years a number of New Zealand Methodists have not approved of federation with Australia, and as far back as 1884 they applied for separation, but the application was refused. s Of recent yeai's the desire for independence has grown rapidly, and, the application being renewed, it was granted by the last general conference in 1910, to take effect in 1913. Shortly after this communications passed between the Methodist a?id Primitive Methodist Churches in regard to union, with the result that a joint-com-mittee of ministers and laymen of the two qhurches met in Wellington during the month of June, 1911, for the_ purpose, of ascertaining whether a satisfactory basis of union could be arranged. While in some respects the polity of tho two churches was found to be more similar than had been supposed, there were several very real difficulties. These, however, were faced in a frank, manly, but brotherly way, mutual concessions were made, and a basis was formed which, when submitted to the respective conferences of 1912. was agreed to without alteration. The question of union was then relegated to the churches concerned for their decision, when the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of union. The Primitive Methodist Church then petitioned the English Conference, with which until now it has been linked, for separation, with a view to the formation of a new Methodist Church for this Britain of the South. The petition having been granted, arrangements have now been made for the final separate conferences to meet in Wellington on sth February. During that day legal and other business will be transacted, and the retiring presidents, the Revs. W. Ready and G. Knowles Smith, will deliver addresses. On the following day (Thursday) tho members of the two conferences _ will meet in Wesley Church, Taranaki-street, where the R«v. H. Youngman, D.D., of Australia, will open the proceedings and install the newlyelected 'president. In the evening a monster tea meeting will be held in the Town Hall, to be followed by a public meeting, presided over by His Excellency the Governor, Lord Liverpool. The meeting will be addressed by the Revs. H. Youngman, v.D., W. Morley, D.D., and the president and vice-president of conference. At that historic meeting the deed of union will be signed. One has only to look at the booklet, which contains the names and addresses of conference representatives and a. plan of the religious services and conference functions, to see that the new Church will represent a strong force. Of the 193 ministers 129 will attend the conference, besides three candidates for ordination, five candidates for the ministry, and 139 laymen. The conference functions are numerous, and include, beside the gathering in the Town Hall, already referred to, a Sunday school rally, a harbour excursion, a musical festival, a conversazione, an ordination service, a missionary demonstration, and a great camp meeting in the Basin Reserve on Sunday afternoon. The union of these churches will not only be celebrated by the conference about to be held in our central city, 'but also by a great evangelistic campaign to bo conducted during the year by the lev. Vallance and Mrs. Cook, and the' Eovs. A. E. Walker and V. AY. Trigge, who will A'isit all the large centres and most, if not all, of the small towns in New Zealand. It is believed that tho union will have the hearty approval of the general public, and can result in nothing but good.

Sergeant Woelferling, of the Thorm Military District, Germany, was sentenced last month by a court martial to fifteen years' penal servitude and £750 fine, oi a further eight months' imprisonment in default, tor espionage in the interests of Russia. A sum of £3750 in-vpst-rd by the prisoner Iwb been connsSfttojlj,