THE CHURCH SYNOD & THE GOOD TEMPLARS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 36, 10 February 1877, Page 2

THE CHURCH SYNOD & THE GOOD TEMPLARS.

To thb Editor op thb 'Evening Mail.' Sir— l have read with considerable interest the debate in the General Synod on the Temperance question, aa reported in yoar columns yesterday. lam glad to find that the clergy of the Church of England in New Zealand are at last awakening to the gravity of the evils resulting from intemperance, and that they are anxious to do something to abate these evils. I sincerely hope that they will be successful in establishing, if not a Total Abstinence Society, then a Temperance Society in every parish. I, for one, rejoice in any and every effort that is being made to remove the curse of intemperance. My object in writing to you now is to correct an error into which some of the members of the Synod have fallen— namely, that the name of oar Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is omitted from our Ritual and prayers. That such is not the case will be seen from the following prayer : — "Closing Prayer.— Our Father, who art in heaven, we thank Thee for the privilege of the present meeting, and for whatever good we may have been enabled to accomplish. Pardon, we entreat Thee, whatever in our present intercourse may have been displeasing to Thee, in thought, word, or deed. Deepen every conviction of duty, and strengthen every earnest resolution of amendment. Accompany us to our several homes, and keep us and all our loved ones there ever under the shadow of Thy wing. Guide ua by Thy counsels while we live, and finally receive us, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, into that temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever. Amen." The Good Templar movement is a social orgauization of total abstainers from all intoxicating liquors. Their object is to save the unfortunate drunkard, and prevent others from becoming drunkards. On their banner, which is unfurled in all parts of the world, is this inscription:— "Total abstinence for the individual, and prohibition for the State." In prosecuting this great work many Christian ministers and laymen have felt the need of Divine help and direction, and hence have recognised such need in the prayers as printed in the Rituals, and used throughout the Order. The Rev Mr Penny and Mr Hunter Brown cannot have heard or seen the prayers, for if they had they would never have given utterance to such statements as they are reported to have made. It is very much to be regretted that a minister of the Gospel of Christ and a Christian Layman should thus for want of information do an injury to a body of men who are striving to promote the moral and social well-being of their fellow men. I beg to assure the Rev Mr Penny and Mr Hunter Brown that all the prayers in our Ritual are offered in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and if they will favor me with a visit 1 shall he glad to show them the Ritual. It is acknowledged by all classes in our community that the Templars of Nelson have done much good, and no doubt the absence of drunkenness as remarked by the Rev Mr' Dudley is attributable in a great measure to the efforts and labors of the Good Templars. I cannot believe for one moment that either the Rev Mr Penny or Mr Hunter Brown would deliberately make the statements attributed to them for the purpose of injuring the local society of Good Templars or of throwing discredit on the characters of many Christian men who take an interest in promoting Good Templarism. And I have no doubt they will— after being convinced that their statements are untrue and that they have unintentionally acted unjustly towards a large body of their feilow-colonists-stand up in their place in the Synod and withdraw the statements so far as they apply to Good iemplars. * I am, &c, J. T. Smith, Nelson, February io. ? i9tricfc »«• ,