CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES

Southland Times, Issue 18822, 15 May 1920, Page 2

CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES

FROM PULPIT AND PEW.

A conference of the minister and all the office-bearers of the Invercargill Central Methodist Circuit was recently held in St. Paul’s Methodist Church, Leet street, when some important business was done. The result of that conference will be seen in a series of special services to be held in the near future. It is proposed to make an effort to hold a great assembly Sunday with the object of mobilising allforces and laying before the people the great work there is to do in connection with the erection of a new church for the central congregation of the city and worthy of the Methodist connexion. It is believed that there are resources adequate for any task, and if all the members and adherents of the Don street and the Leet street churches were to be brought together on one Sunday, such an nthusiasm would be born as would never die out. Members and officials are asked to join in a visitation campaign so that not one of the people shall be missed. The male choir, which is at present practising the items to be given at the evening function in connection with the visit of H.R.H the Prince of Wales, is representative of all denominations in Invercargill. Close on 50 voices will respond to the conductor’s baton. The mention of the male choir brings to mind a paragraph which appeared in an issue of the Musical Times. In referring to memorable musical events the Times states:—"A memorable demonstration took place in the Manchester Royal Exchange the services on May 10, 1910, in connection with the death of King Edward VII, when the 7000 men present united in singing the National Anthem. Such a fervent, fullvoiced male choir has probably never before been heard.” The Rev. Jaspar Smythe. well known to tourists to the Island, will occupy the pulpit at St. John’s Church to-morrow. The Rev. Hector Maclean, of Knox Church, and the Rev. H. G. Gilbert, of St. Paul’s Church, will exchange pulpits to-mor-row piorning but will occupy their own palpits at the evening services. The Moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly, the Right Rev. J. A. Asher, is at present on an official visit to Southland and will visit as many congregations as possible. To-morrow he will take services in the Arrowtown and Queenstown charges. Week-night meetings are being arranged for Monday evening at Athol, Wednesday at Lumsden, and Friday in the Forest Hill charge. On Sunday next Mr Asher will be in the Winton and Centre Bush charges. When speaking at North Invercargill on Wednesday evening Mr Asher mentioned that his first address after being licensed was delivered in the old North Invercargill meeting house. Much to his own surprise a well-known minister of those days had beguiled him up to the bush sequestered suburb on the plea of company for the walk and then suddenly called on him to give an address. No doubt the older man scented a coming Moderator and perhaps credited him with a little of his own ready resourcefulness. The Bible classes of New Zealand have been doing their share towards helping forward the special foreign mission funds. The week ending May 9 was set apart by most Bible classes as a self-denial week with Sunday as mission Sunday. Many novel ways of making money for the fund were found and some real self-denial was shown. To date the girls of the First Church Intermediate Bible Class have collected £1 8s 9d for the fund. The retirement of the Rev. D. Dutton from the Caversham Presbyterian Church is of more than passing interest to Southlanders. Mr Dutton was at one time minister at the Don street Methodist Church but afterwards joined the Presbyterians and was inducted to the Woodlands charge in 1887. After a short ministry there he was called 1 io Caversham, where he was minister for I thirty-one and a half years. Mr Dutton served as Presbyterian Chaplain to the 4th N.Z. Contingent in the South African War and later was a popular chaplain in the late war. Knox Church bazaar, which was brought to a successful close on Thursday night, proved conclusively that the spirit of competition is not only healthy for church life but that, by its means, results can be achieved. Sime six months ago the idea was voiced that a bazaar run on right lines would be the best way of reducing the church debt. Mr W. D. Burns eventually put forward a scheme whereby the congregation would realise a definite sum. His idea, which was adopted, was to ask each organisation of the church to be responsible for a stated amount. He was entrusted with the task of setting and keeping the machinery in motion and it was largely due to his enthusiasm and ability that the large sum of £457 17s lid was raised. The choir and the Young Women’s Bible Classes reached a figure far in advance of their quota and most of the other organisations raised the greater portion of what was asked of them. It is hoped that with several donations still to come in and with the proceeds from the orders booked at the stalls the grand total will be considerably augmented. The Rev. J. S. Ponder, Clerk of the Southland Presbytery, is at present in the Southland Hospital suffering from a serious throat trouble. Temporary arrangements are being made for the supply of his pulpit. The Rev. Dr Dickie, of Knox College, will conduct the services to-morrow and the Rev. R. Morgan, of Centre Bush, the Sunday following. Mr Ponder has been granted three months’ leave of absence. Sunday, May 16, will be observed as Young People’s Day throughout the Methodist Church of New Zealand. Special addresses will be given, and the needs of the young people of the Church will be emphasised. The Rev. Harold Sharp will deliver an address to young men and women in the Leet street Church on Sunday evening, taking as his subject “Counting the Cost.” There will also be a special service for young men and women in St. Peter’s Methodist Church, Elies road, conducted by the Rev. Percy Cossum. At the meeting of the Southland Presbytery the following resolution anent ‘the coming of the Prince of Wales was carried unanimously:—"The Presbytery of Southland records its gratification that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is about to visit Invercargill. It gives thanks to God for the influence of the Royal Family, which, touching popular loyalty with the warmth of personal affection, has made the British Throne the most stable in the world. It recognises that nowhere does genuine and ordered freedom find fuller expression than under our system of limited monarchy, and joins cordially in the welcome that is being extended. by all loyal subjects of the King to one who commands such devoted loyalty on personal grounds and who at the same time stands for our most cherished ideals of government and freedom.” Many of the so-called ‘hearty’ sendees in which popular hymns are drawled or shouted by thoughtless congregations accompanied by an organ played at uniform power throughout in order to drown the atrocity of the vocal effect, are, to the true musician, indecent. On the other hand, services of the Laodicean type, in which congregations mutter or murmur responses and whisper hymns supported by an absolutely expressionless choir and an apologetic organ accompaniment are nauseating. Equally undevotional are services in which choirs, inadequately constituted and controlled, attempt music far beyond their reach, and in that attempt outrage almost every rule of correct musical performance. Such sendees are but a particular type of “presumptuous sins.” Other offences against decency and devotion are the singing of hymns during collections, random selection of hymns or omission of verses, announcements of anthems and services without their composers names and sometimes without their titles (the latter offence being almost equivalent to reading a lesson without stating the particular Biblical book in which it is to be founds wordy conferences, or “manual signs” between organist and choir members during service, unnecessary movements in the choir stalls, fluttering of music, smirking and giggling, the irregular instead of processional entry of the choir, organists (unworthy of the name) who exhibit ungainly movements of the person and play “fantastic tricks” with the stops, conversation during the introduc-

Tory or concluding voluntary, and other irreverent or thoughtless acts, all showing that those committing them have not yet learned to regard music as the mere bondservant of religion to say nothing about her being the handmaiden thereof. —The Choir. Those who were present at the Booth Mission will recall Mr and Mrs Robert Harkness who led the singing at all meetings. By the latest Australian mail there came to hand copies of a book of hymns composed and arranged by Mr Harkness. The book contains some pleasing numbers suitable for solo, duet and small choir work.