Y.M.C.A.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9637, 1 November 1909, Page 5

Y.M.C.A.

LADIES' AUXILIARY AT STRANGERS' TEA.

The unusual sight of a crowd of ladies in and around the premise i.f the Y.M.C.A. was witnessed yesterday afternoon. The rooms were txed to the uttermost, and then rii 1 not include the whole of the ladies who came to be present at the 5 o'clock meeting:, over eighty ladies and n.en being in attendance. Mr P. L, Hollings presided. Mrs G. Falla and Mr C. Ibbetson sang a duet. The speaker for the afternoon was the Rev. A. T. Thompson, and his remarks were directed to a close study of the tone and spirit that characterised the life of the present day Christian. Christians in these days, said the speaker, tu,ve grown too modest by half, and live in an atmosphere of toleration and liberalism, being far too much inclined to become concessional. As a consequence of this laxity our Christ : an blood was losing its iron. We certainly did not form a part cf the Church Triumphant, nor did we belong to a church militant. We belonged to a churcK that was noncommittal. We were not decided enough, and the tHndency was to apologise for our religious belief. We lacked the note of challenge, as found in the instance of St. Faul, and ever since the wave criticism had set in, from the publication of Darwin's origin of species. Christians had been too weak kneed, and this criticism had been allowed to have too much of its own way

\At thg,tea, Mr Hollinga gave an, earnest addreas on the need and »>ork of the Y.M.C.A. The talk of closing down was entirely out of place, He said it wou.d be a calamity to close down, and would be admitting defeat. He welcomed the ladies present, who were the majority of ladiea known aa the Ladies' Auxiliary. The greatest [friend the Y.M.C.A. had in Masterton was the Ladies' Auxiliary. Brief reference was made oi the work of the churhes, touching the life of young men, and lof the part the Y,M.C.A M alone played in this particular work. The I spiritual work of the Y.M.C.A., good I though it was, was only one thing out of a thousand, and one thing in a man's life to which the Y.M.C.A. bent its efforts. He thanked the ladies for their splendid work Sunday by Sunday. On behalf of the ladies, Mrs Blackman, the President of the Ladies' I Auxiliary, very briefly replied.