THE CHURCH AND YOUTH

Hokitika Guardian, 29 November 1929, Page 2

THE CHURCH AND YOUTH

BREAK XT-DA Y • PROBLEM

ADDRESS BY CANON JAMES

CHRISTCHURCH, Nov. 27

Problems arising from the religious training of youth were dealt with by Canon P. James, of Wellington, in an address on the Church Congress to be held in Christchurch early in 1931, to a well attended meeting of clergy and laity of the Christchurch diocese last evening; Bishop West-Watson ■ occupied the c-hair. : i ■-1 . ■t<

Canon James said that the previ-, ous Congress did,much good to the Church. As representatives of the. 1 other dioceses they were, deeply tlninkY fill to- Christchurch in conceiving the idea of another Church. Congress. “Why have a Congress at all?’’ he, asked, and answered the question by saying that it would impress upon people the fact that there was a Church of the province of New Zealand. It had been said that their weakness was parochialism, but he would say that it was “diocesanism.” The Church was in seven water-tight; compartments. An example of this “diocesanism” was the Maori mission, which has been greatly hampered jn the North Island, The Congress should be of the greatest help to the heroic pioneer working in the lonely backblock parishes. Comradeship ought to be the motto of their Church Congress, as indeed it ought to be the motto of all ’congresses.

“1 do get tired of hearing good Church people say that the Church has failed here and failed there,” he added. “Self criticism is good, but as Lord Balfour said, the Englishman is rather given to self depreciation. If we Church people cry stinking fish we can’t complain if people outside seem to detect signs of dissolution and decay.'”

Ho explained that the main purpose of the Congress was to bo the study of the subject of the Church’s care and training of its youth. Every religious body in New Zealand realised that it must put forward every effort to retain for organised Christianity the legions of boys and girls.

LIVING OX SPIRITUAL CAPITAL. New Zealand had a magnificent start with some of the finest stock from the Old Country, but there was no question that for the past generation or two they had lost ground. People were living on their spiritual capital, so to speak. There was no more secure basis on which they could build character than a spiritual basis, and they had to combat those things that were robbing their children of their religious outlook. They had to face something like a revolution of all methods and agencies in dealing with the care and training of their youth. They could no longer afford to go on in their haphazard ways. The children themselves could not lioln contrasting the poverty of sipirtual preparation for life provided Av flip Church with the lavish prodigality of the secular training provided by the State in State schools. There should he trained teachers. If they could find that money for foreign missions—£2o,ooo he thought it was—at least they ought to be able to find it for their missions among the children at home. Surely their missionary work meant first and loremost the care of those children. There was no other Church enterprise that could claim priority over the care of their younst. (Applause.) “The whole question is a Dominion question, and that has been recognised by our brethren of the other churches,” Canon James continued. “Surely the time has come to form here in New Zealand for our Church of England a Dominion Council for the Welfare of Youth.’’ He described the Anglican Bible Class Union as one of the brightest spots in tlieir

work to-day, and spoke also of the magnificent work that was being done in youth training in England. There were many who were fired with the idea of having elementary Church schools all over New Zealand, and that, he was 1 sure, was a subject that would be discussed at the conference. lie suggested that a really good kindergarten school couid he established in every parish hall. That, he thought, would be much more valuable than a string of elementary schools.

Canon James was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his address.