NOMINAL CHURCH-GOERS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19721, 11 December 1926, Page 6

NOMINAL CHURCH-GOERS

I “WEAK ENDS” OF TO-DAY 1 GIPSY SMITH AND THE SABBATH IMPRESSIONS AT ST. PAUL’S > It wtas made evident at St. Paul’s ' Church last night that the fame of Mr Gipsy Smith had spread in Wanganui, for when the evangihst began his mis- , sion service the building was exceedingly well filled. There were long lines of upturned faces, some alight with evident reverence, the changing shades of varying emotions flitting across their features, and more than a hint of the everyday in the pose, colour, and raiment of the gathering. The Dominating Figure. Presiding—there was no other word for it —as tho introductory volley of hymns swelled forth, was the massive figure of the Gipsy—a large complacent man. Then there was Mr E. E. Young ’s piano, from which the immaculate musician extracted notes that charmed the ear. None could but recognise his obvious ability. Sweet notes dripped frim the keys aa an accompaniment tj pehling anthems, and the congregation ; revelled in the art of his solo work. Here was a musician of polished technique, and his “Celeste de Gluck” (Saint Suens) was applauded with fervour. In his casual/ companionable manner Mr Gipsy Smith got on terms with his hearers. “Lord, if there is in this! church any heart without light, cuter it ! tonight.” le i.skcd in prayer. And the me.in.ur of appioval that followed ; th;* in vocal ion broken by •; naas 1 :x.g baud. Sale of Hymnbooks. The Rev. E.,T. Cox referred to the itnssioners’ locial programme before the I mission address began. He appealed [ to worshippers and listeners to buy ; hymnbooks. They would all be willing , to pay for theatrical programmes,, yet i ! some grudged Is 6d for a hymnbook. He went on to outline next week’s ‘programme—at St. Paul’s on Monday,. Opera House on Tuesday and Wednes- l day. Tuesday, .he story of Mr Gipsy Smith’s activities in the French war zone—a great lecture. Wednesday—l the collection to be the only remuneration given to the missioner and his I party. Thank offering envelopes were 1 to be had in the meantime, said Mr Cox, and cheques and other contributions could thus be forwarded. “The thank offering is the only gift we give to the Gipsy and his party. The collections from the other sessions will defray incidental expenses incurred by the local organisers. There will be a charge of Is 6d for the last lecture, the story of the Gipsy ’» life, on Thursday next.” Contrary to general practice, the j offertory at Mr Gipsy Smith’s missions is taken in the early stages of each meeting. Last night he asked for those who had been present the night before. Up went a number of hands. “And now, who were not present last night? You pc )fJe have last night tu make up,’’ said the Gipsy. Ex-Service Men as Guests. The preliminaries were not quite oxer. The missiomr himself relcrre 1 ?o the rest of his Wanganui engagements. “Ex-servicemen arc to be my guests on Tuesday,” he announced. 1 “I won’t let you forget them. There is a danger of our forgetting them Isn’t that true?"’ he oeuianued, and the crowd murmured “Y’es. ” “I’m only a man, with a man’s limit- ; ations, but I’ve got my eyes open to certain things, V he said, in opening his address, in the course of which he strongly denounced those whom he • termed nominal church-goers. Quickly he gripped his audience. There was magnetic force in his persuasive utterances, and as he spoke and gestured, extending emphatic lingers, he rivet ted the attention of h.j hosiers. “Instead of going to church, do you plead a cold, or asthma?” he asked, simulating an asthmatic cough to no? nt th? query. “But if tbe Mayor asked ■ these people to a swell social funceion, : they’d go half-dressed.” (Laughter;., “Am 1 exaggerating? Please tell me. Am I exagger xting? ” “No, No!” endorsed the crowd. Not a “Oncer’’ “Jesus wasn’♦■ a oncer,’’ went .»w the missioner, u r g;r.g more sincerity in church-going. He criticised business men who would not go to (t’.'-.jch, because they wanted {Sunday free. They wautid to week-end, and new they wp r u nothing but weak-end.:. (Laughter). The Gipsy’s icferences to wrr hc.'icrs were not pleasant; they were j analytical iu descriptive force. “It was the spirit of Calvary,” he said, i “that impelled battlefield saciflces.’ i And in the fervour of further re- 1 spo isos, the signing of decision cards, and more urgent exhortations, the meeting drew tc u close.

IMPRESSIONS THE GIPSY’S APPEAL. A MAN APART. (By G.F.G.) Religious Wanganui has awaited with utmost expectancy tho advent of Gipsy Rodney Smith. They have read his life, perused his printed sermons, and followed his career for over thirty years —and some even longer. It is too early to pass a matured judgment on tho Gipsy, but on the first night’s showing, I venture to predict that not one will bo disappointed. The man who has for years been the accredited evangelist of the United Free Church Council of Britain, who had his first preaching engagement in the Christian Association before Mr Booth merged it into the Salvation Army, who has preached the Gospel on six continents, and led multitudes to the Saviour, did not disappoint us.

There are other great evangelists of other lands, but Gipsy Smith stands pre-eminent among the evangelists of the Empire to-day. His intense earn cstness, simplicity and naturalness; his wonderfully apt and accurate quoting of Scripture; his utter loyalty to Jesus Christ, the Gospel and the Christian Church, stamp him as a man apart. No one we have met has the same appeal as Gipsy Smith. He speaks a few words of plain, sincere response to an address of welcome, and without suspecting it, without knowing why, every eye is wet. But when the Gipsy does appeal, then everybody feels they must respond. I suppose that, judged by every known standard, there were more saints than sinners stood in St. Paul’s on Thursday night. From my commanding position in the gallery 1. should say fully three-fourths of all those in the building rose either to mark a new decision to seVve Christ or to register a vow to reconsecrate the life to Him. It was a heart-searching, humbling time. Christ was truly glorified by His servant in that hour.

I feel that Gipsy Smith’s visit to Wanganui is going to bo one of the best things that ever happened to this beau tiful city on New Zealand’s Rhine.