THE METHODIST CHURCH.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 July 1922, Page 4

THE METHODIST CHURCH.

yiSIT OF THE PRESIDENT. DR. LAWS IN NEW PLYMOUTH. < ■ I, The officials of the Whiteley Memorial Church, New Plymouth, took Dr. C. H. Laws, the president of the Methodist Conference, who is at present on a visit to New Plymouth in connection with the Methodist centenary, to Mount Egmont on Saturday morning. The day was an ideal one for an enjoyable outing, and the mountain was viewed under most favorable conditions. The pleasure of the party was enhanced by the explanatory remarks of Mr. C. G. Bottrill, whose knowledge concerning the geological and historic associations of the mountain very accurate. In the evening Dr. Laws, was the guest of the New Plymouth congregations at a welcome social in Whiteley Hall. The room was gracefully festooned with ferns and flowers by Mr. and Mrs. J. Gibson, the general effect being very pleasing. The Bev. W. J. Elliott presided, and the proceedings were opened with a brief prayer by the Rev. J, M. Martin The chairman extended a cordial welcome to Dr. Laws, and expressed the hope that his mission would be very successful. Brief speeches of welcome were also delivered by Messrs. C. Carter (circuit), P. J. H. White (trust), W. Ambury (choirs), G. H. White (local preachers) and R. L. Cooper (Sunday Schools). During the evening solos were contributed by Mrs. A. B. Macdonald, Miss Cooper and Mr. Baden Bellringer. The Rev. Dr. Laws appropriately replied and on the motion of Mr. V. Griffiths and Mr. C. G. Bottrill a hearty vote of thanks wae accorded to all who had contributed to the entertainment. SERVICE AT WHITELEY CHURCH. Yesterday morning Dr. Laws conducted the service at Waitara and last night he occupied the pulpit at the Whiteley Memorial Church. The lesson was taken from the 3rd chapter of the Ist Epistle to the Corinthians, while Dr. Laws took as the text for his sermon versee 24 to 27 of the 7th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the concluding words of the Sermon on the Mount. In the course of an eloquent and appealing address the speaker likened the action of the Saviour in descending among the multitudes and talking to them after the conclusion of his sermon to the ministers of the present day who, he eaid, in like manner, wondered whether the congregation really had the truth. Many listened with attention and with respect. The words got in, but did the truth? It was the foundations that mattered, the things that were hidden in darkness and out*-of sight sfhen the building was completed, but to which the greatest attention was paid at the beginning. In a forceful interpretation of his text, Dr. Laws said that there were many who would not spend a few pounds to buy a cottage without IL st inspecting the foundation, but they would strive to build character on nothing. The Master had told them that the true foundations of life lay in hearing and obeying; the foundations were in the Sermon on the Mount. Most people read their Bible in sippets and thereby missed the glory and force of it.

The Sermon on the Mount would take only a quarter of an hour to read and he exhorted his hearers to read it. They should build their life on the conception that Christ was right. He urged that they should empty their minds of all their previous conceptions of religion and find out what it really, was from the Sermon on the Mount. In it they would find no mention of ceremonies, of sacrifice, or of robes, and ornate temples. The Master had stated all he wanted to say about religion without any mention of the church of his days. Dr. Laws then went on to speak of the judgments. There were daily judgments about them. Illness and misfortune came to them and sometimes the Death Angel took away someone they thought should be left. There were the trials of the foundation of their lives, feared by those who had built the foundations of their characters on sand, but welcomed by those who had built them on a rook. In a final exhortation he urged them to build on God, on Christ, and on the Sermon bn the Mount.

During the service the choir, under the baton of Mr. Cooler, rendered Sullivan's “0, Gladsome Light” and “Incline Thine Far.” Mr. Bellringer taking the aolo, While Mrs. A. M. Mowlem sang “There i« a Green Hill.” At the conclusion of the service Dr. Law.? appealed for one of the old-time after-service meetings, the majority of the congregation staying behind. TO-DAY’S ITINERARY. This morning Dr. Laws will address the North Taranaki Methodist Ministers’ Association, and to-night he will conduct a monster inspiration rally in connection with the Methodist cetenary celebrations. The rally will be held in the Whiteley Memorial Church at 7.30 p.m., and a Special combined choir from the Methodist churches in New Plymouth will assist with the singing. Dr. Laws and Mr. C. E. Bellringer will be the speakers, Dr. Laws dealing especially with the preparation for the celebrations of the