Presbyterian Church To Consider Union With Methodists

Lake County Mail, Issue 25, 12 November 1947, Page 5

Presbyterian Church To Consider Union With Methodists

General Assembly Discussion

Whether the Presbyterian Church should unite with the Methodist and Congregational Churches in New Zealand was considered at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand at its meeting in Christchurch. It was agreed to take a vote next June as to whether church members wanted reunion. The Rev. J. M. Bates, presenting the report stated that if the vote was favourable there would still be much negotiation and planning before union could be effected. The church was taking a live interest in the work of the National Council of Churches, it was stated, and in co-operation with other churches in this country had taken part in the recent Faith and Order Conference fn Wellington and was preparing for the World Council of Church Conference in Amsterdam next year. Reports presented by the various committees of the church were considered and plans for the next year’s work were made.

Membership of the church has increased steadily since 1939 and is expected to reach 60,000, 37,000 children are attending Sunday Schools and 11,666 are attending Bible Classes. A Youth Rally was held in St. Paul’s Church on Sunday afternoon when the Rev.' J. K. Watson spoke of his experiences at the World Christian Youth Conference at Oslo in July of this year. “Jesus Christ 2000 years ago challenged people to go into all the world preaching the Gospel; Oslo was concrete evidence that that has been and is being done,** said Mr Watson. Church in Action Exceptional opportunities for service were open to the church in the huge new housing areas developing throughout New Zealand. The church received a report from a special commission under the convenership of Dr J. D. Salmond which gave a statistical survey of population trends. Sites for new buildings were being* secured and churches and church halls were being erected. There was need for recruitment of men for training for the ministry, A shortage of man-power had developed through the war years and according to the Rev. L. G. Geering, convener of statistics, the church could now do with 80 more ministers than it had. Developments are taking place in Social Service work. Tn several areas new children’s and old people’s homes are planned or in the course of construction. Reports were received from the church’s mission fields in India, China and the New Hebrides, all indicating post-war difficulties and disturbances. In China the church was faced with a vast reconstruction problem, while in India the church’s mission was situated near the border between Indig and Pakistan and was in the centre of the present fighting. An increase in the Maori population has, meant an increase of opportunity in the church’s mission among the Maoris. The Very Rev. J. G. Laughton, superintendent of the Maori Mission Field will be going to England in the coming year to supervise the printing of the new Maori Bible. The work of the Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union was the subject of congratulation by the Assembly for its keen and able interest and support of the church’s mission work, Mrs P. Gladstone Hughes was elected Dominion President of the P.W.M.U. at its annual conference.