MONEY FOR CHURCH PURPOSES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9619, 12 October 1909, Page 3

MONEY FOR CHURCH PURPOSES.

A note uf warning upon the methods adopted in raising money for church purposes was sounded by Bishop Neligan in his charge to the Anglican Synod. "We cannot," he said, "be too careful in the way whereby money for Church objects is rah- J. There are things in a parish cr t;io cese in aid of which it may be perfectly legitimate to have entertsirments of various sorts; indeed, there are occasions when sucn gatherings do good for social life of a parish or diocese, but the form of entertainment requires watching. In themselves raffles, guessing corr.petitions, progressive euchre parties basket auctions, and the like may be. and possibly ar*\ quite harmless. The point for us, however, is not the harmlessness of such things in themselves, but the probability of their harmfulness in connection with directly spiritual work. We have to use every endeavour to 'abstain from | all appearance of evil.' Probably we j shall all ag»"ee on this principle - j the erection and furnishing of the j House of God ought to be, as the general rule in our Church life, accomplished through the freewill offering of the people. I know that j the clergy are sometimes placed in somewhat difficult positions in these matters, owing to ths quite well-in-tended desires of some of their parishioners. If Synod could in some way further the growth of ! the soundest church public opinicn ' in this matter, I think that not a few j both of the clergy and laity and ' different parts of the diocese would ' be encouraged."