“WAR IN THE AIR”

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 197, 9 November 1927, Page 18

“WAR IN THE AIR”

CHURCH BROADCASTING USE OF PRESENT STATION The question of wireless broadcasting of church services was introduced at a meeting of the Auckland Presbytery last evening. The Rev. W. D. Morrison Sutherland brought forward the following motion, with a view to action being taken by the Presbyterian Church: That the Presbytery is of opinion the churches should confer with the broad-

casting company and the PostmasterGeneral with a view to the organisation and control of the broadcasting of divine services from the public station, and appoints a committee with power to act.

• After lengthy discussion the motion was agreed to and a committee set up. Mr. Sutherland said that he had been asked to take the question up in view of what the Anglican Church was doing. He and a colleague had met representatives of the Anglican and other bodies and found that although the Church of England wished to have its own station it was very sympathetic toward any other church that wished to utilise broadcasting, and would cooperate in an endeavour to have, the transmission of services by the existing stations reorganised. “At present broadcasting is not carried out systematically, and in ether centres there is chaos,” said Mr. Sutherland. There should be some basis on which all the churches could work. He suggested national and local committees might be set up to co-operate with the broadcasting committee. Thus it would be possible for the.churches to work together and broadcast in turn. In seconding the motion the Ilev. W. Lawson Marsh said it must be understood that the co-operation Mr. Sutherland had spoken of referred only to the public broadcasting stations. A private Presbyterian station would be entirely a visionary thing at present. The motion proposed simply to set ap a committee to co-operate with other denominations in organising the broadcasting of divine services. The Rev. J. Pattison said the numerical strength of the various denominations should be taken into account in arranging broadcasting. - “This question should be looked at from a national standpoint,” f said the Rev. L. H. Hunt. “If one big church set up its own station others would follow and there would be something like a war in the air,” said Mr. Hunt. In a further explanation of his motion Mr. Sutherland said the idea the committee had had was that whatever the Anglican Church did with regard to its own station all the churches should co-operate regarding the use of the public station.

The Rev. T. H. Roseveare referred to the fact that some time ago the Presbytery rejected the proposals of the Life and Work Committee to take advantage of opportunities for broadcasting. The motion was carried and a committee set up consisting of the Revs. W. D. Morrison-Sutherland, W. L. Marsh, D. C. Herron and J. Lamb Harvey and Mr. J. C. Entrican.