ANGLICANS FORGATHER

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 999, 16 June 1930, Page 14

ANGLICANS FORGATHER

CROWDED RALLY HELD IN TOWN HALL WHAT CHURCH IS DOING. Headed by a. young man carrying a Cross, the battle symbol o£ the Christian faith, a procession moved slowly through a crowded Town Hall last evening. Following the Cross came more men displaying banners setting forth the numerous social works of the Church of England in the Diocese of Auckland, and later marched members of the Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary, a world wide organisation of j’oung men. Bringing up the rear ■was a detachment of clergy in robes. The service was the second annual rally of the Anglicans arranged by the Auckland Clergy Association. A massed choir drawn from many churches occupied the stage, and music was provided by an orchestra under the baton of the Rev. Jasper Calder. Before the service an organ recital was given by Mr. Ewart Lyne, late of the Brighton Royal Pavilion, England. The vicar-general of the diocese, Archdeacon G. Mac Murray, was the central figure. The Revs. G. C. Cruickshank, W. Averill and Jasper Calder preached. NOT A POLICEMAN Mr. Cruickshank said that the Church ought not to be regarded as a moral policeman waiting to catch people in the wrong. He was not greatly interested in a man's past, but rather was seeking his co-operation for the future. Mr. Averill based his remarks upon the story of an art gallery keeper’s retort to a disparaging critic, who said: "I don’t think much of your pictures.’* The caretaker replied quietly: “It is not the pictures which are on trial, but the beholder.” “Let those who say the Christian faith is no good remember that it is not the faith, but themselves, who are on trial,” said Mr. Averill. “Men and women today are in many cases satisfied with a mere caricature of religion, and it is this caricature that is being criticised. Religion itself is not on its trial. It has proved itself by doing more than anything else in the world to revolutionise society, and we who are living today are all the better for it. Let those who want to criticise the faith first take the trouble to study it fully for themselves.” Mr. Calder stressed the need of warmth and fellowship in the Christian Church. The corporate life of the Church would be very much improved if the congregation, as well as the clergy, could only overcome a fault which was commonly described as "Anglican stodginess.” Much that could be done rested with the congregations themselves, who were to blame as much as, if not more than, the clergy, for the painful good behaviour which characterised the Church. The dignity and the ritual and the traditions of the Church should be preserved by all means, but it would be more in keeping with the spirit of Christianity and the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit,” if a little more warmth could bo infused into the ordinary occasions of religious activity. The Rev. Kenneth MacFarland led the congregation in prayer. Miss Laura Walker and Mr. lan Devereux gave vocal solos. The combined choirs sang the anthem, “In Humble Faith,” and the “Hallelujah Chorus.”