50 YEARS OF METHODISM

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 781, 30 September 1929, Page 14

50 YEARS OF METHODISM

RECORD OF SERVICE

ADVANCE IN TRAINING Fifty years of Methodism were outlined by the Rev. S. Griffith at the Epsom Methodist Church last evening. Mr. Griffith has spent 50 years in the service of the church in New Zealand. On September 28, 1579, in company with a feliow student, Mr. Griffith bade farewell to the Wesleyan Chapel, Bromley, Kent, and a few days later sailed for New Zealand in the ship Western Monarch, arriving at Wellington on January 2, 1880. For a short time he was a student at the Three Kings College, under the late Rev. Thomas Buddie, and then came six months of student work in Wellington, followed by his first charge at Palmerston North in ISB2, the place being a mere township with only 2,000 inhabitants.

Then commenced a ministry which, in various circuits of both the North and South Islands, extended over 38 years. Becoming a supernumerary in 1920, Mr. Griffith came to live in Auckland, and during the last nine years he has continued to take an active part in pulpit and departmental work. For five years he has been treasurer of the Auckland Methodist Orphanages. Comparing the Methodism of 50 years ago with that of today, Mr. Griffith said there were several losses, such as the class meeting, but there were also many signs of progress. A higher standard of training for the ministry was now required, and there was Trinity College with its fine staff to give an excellent groundwork of theology to young ministers. There had been a great advance in foreign mission work and in the work of the home mission department. An advance in the social activities of the church was marked by Central Missions and deatonness and orphanage work. The Church was thoroughly alive and there was no reason to fear the future.

SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION

ANNUAL TOWN HALL RALLY More than 1,000 children and as many parents assembled in the Town Hall on Saturday evening for the annual rally of the Auckland Sunday School Union. Nearly 60 Sunday schools were represented, children coming from all parts of the city and suburbs. Prizes won in the recent Scripture examinations were presented to about 300 scholars. In addition a number of shields were presented by the president of the union, the Rev. F. A. Thompson, to schools whose pupils had done exceptionally The book prizes were presented by Mrs, Thompson. Drill exhibitions and other interesting items were given by children from the. manurewa Home and the Grange Salvation Army Orphanage. Sunday schools contributing to the varied programme were the Devonport Congregational, St. John’s Methodist, Ponsonby and Waterview Methodist.

AFTER-CHURCH RALLY

OVERFLOW MEETING HELD Under the auspices of the Mount Eden Ministers’ Fraternal, a united after-church rally was held in the Church of Christ, Dominion Road, last evening. The attendance was so large that an overflow meeting had to be held in the Grange Road Baptist Church. The service at the latter church was conducted by the Rev. A. S. Wilson, and the speaker was the Rev. R. C. Roberts. In the Church of Christ the service was conducted by the Rev. H. A. G. Clark, and the address was given by the Rev. W. Gilmour, president of the Fraternal. The Revs. W. Rowe and H. H. Jeffreys were also on the platform. In introducing Mr. Gilmour, Mr. Clark extended the congratulations of the church to the Presbyterian Church on the union in Scotland. Replying, Mr. Gilmour spoke of the union of the Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian Churches of Canada, and expressed the hope that in the future the churches of Christ would all be one church.

REBUKING ROYALTY

ATTITUDE OF FREE CHURCH The rebuke recently administered to the Duke and Duchess of York by the Free Church of Scotland was an instance of the fearlessness that had marked the Church upon what it considered to be matters of vital Importance, said the Rev. D. C. Herron, during an address at St. David’s Presbyterian Church last evening. The Duke and Duchess had been rebuked for allegedly desecrating the Sabbath by attending an ambulance display and presenting prizes. Since English companies had taken over the Scottish railways, they had played havoc with the Sabbath, said Mr. Herron. Trains ran all over the country, and very low fares were charged. On one occasion it was proposed to run a boat excursion to the island of Skye, off the coast of Scotland. It did not eventuate, however, as the minister on the island stated he would organise a band of young men to resist forcibly the landing of the picnickers.

It might seem ludicrous that a minister should do such a thing, but it was this determination to resist evil that made the Presbyterian Church a force to be reckoned with.

NEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

At Ardmore, a new Presbyterian church is being built on a site about three miles from Papakura. The land has been fenced off and a contract let for the erection of the building'.