Organized almsgiving, or, A constitutional organization for promoting the maintenance and increase of the home pastorate, and for the promotion of foreign missions : a proposal concerning the Church of England : a second paper

LI E) RARY

OF THE

U N IVERSITY

or ILLINOIS

ORGANIZED ALMSGIVING;

OR,

A Constitutional Organization for Promoting the

Maintenance and Inc7^ease of the Home Pastorate ;

and for the Promotion of Foreign Missions.

A PROPOSAL CONCERNING THE CHURCH

OF ENGLAND.

SECOND PAPER

WRITTfiN BY THE

REV. JOSEPH B. FERRY,

VICAR OF MARTIN, LINCOLN,
UNDER THE ABOVE TITLE.

PRICE THREEPENCE.

LONDON :

SIMPKIN, MAKSHALLjj KENT AND CO., LIMITED.

LINCOLN :

CLIFFORD THOMAS, LINCOLN DIOCESAN MAGAZINE OFFICE,
202, IIKtH STREET,

Preface to Second P \per. —This second imper was originally designed to
be read at a pnblic meeting Avhicli was to have been hekl at the Chnrcli
House and Institute at Lincoln on the Fifteentli of December last, but
owing to the indisposition of its author at that time the meeting did not
take place. It is now published, together with the third edition of the
first paper, in the hope that the two together may render the scheme
proposed sufticientlj' intelligible for initiative purposes, and supply a
more em]thatic and complete argument in its favour.

Easter, 1894. J. ij. F.

FAPim IL

TTlHIS scheme is put forward in the simple hope that it may, in
J- some measure, assist the councils of those numerous friends
and authorities of the Churcli of England who are increasingly
desiring and looking for a more united, a more responsible, and a
more effective way of carrying on tlie great work of the Churcli
than at present exists.

In advocating such an all-embracing organization as this, it may
seem to some that due regard is not given to the agencies of the
Church which are now in the field. It may seem that the Societies
are deprecated beyond wdiat they deserve. All honour to the
Societies for the great things they have done ! But for the good
endeavours of the Societies the Church must have slumbered on in
indifference as to missionary work far longer than she did. We
cannot tell the debt which the Church owes to the Societies. But it
must be remembered that the Societies are but the handmaids of the
Church, and that they are voluntary liandmaids ; for though they
serve the Church they are not subject to her, except by inference.
Xor need we think that, because the Societies have done great things,
the Church cannot, by acting in all the fulness of her corporate
vigour, do even greater things.

If it be asked — " What is the Church for this purpose ?" may
it not be answered that, for the purpose of aufhoiizlng a constitu-
tional endeavour to promote her missionary enterprise the Synod is
the Church ; and for the purpose of carrying out that constitutional

endeavour the Board appointed by the Synod, associated with the
diocese and the parish, would be the Church ? Anyway, it is by the
combined action of all these forces that we hope to see created,
authorized, and worked some such system as is here proposed for
gathering and employing the alms of church people in the interest
of the causes specified.

It is lamentable to think of the great number of parishes which
do nothing, or, comparatively speaking, shamefully little, for the
general work of the Church ; and of the thousands, if not millions,
of church people who are never at all directly or responsibly ap-
proached in the interest of the Church's greater needs. This state
of things plainly shows that all the Societies put together are in-
capable of covering the land with the means of solicitation. And
where a society does work the want of status attaching to the very
name of " Society " robs its appeal of much of its power. And the
fact that the name of the Church Societies is " legion " is a further
reason for the weakness of their individual voices, and for the in-
adequacy of their united voice.

As the chief responsibility in all pastoral matters constitutionally
rests with the chief pastors, we look to our Bishops of to-day
to lead us into safer and surer ways. We look to them to bring
order out of our present chaos, courage out of our present timidity,
efficiency out of our present insufficiency. We look to them to
give us an authorized and comprehensive system of missionary
enterprise. We look to them to give us the opportunity of such
combination for practical purposes as will enable us to think less
of our differences, if not to forget them, and to realize that, after all,
" Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together ^

And shall we not ask the Bishops for some such corporate
system as the one now under our consideration ?

THE PASTORAL BOARD.

A Pastoral Board, fully authorized to deal with the whole matter
of providing and maintaining bishops and clergy according to neces-
sity, is certainly what is wanted in England and Wales to lift such

t*"/

matters into their proper position of urgency and importance, and, as
it were, to compel a due attention to them on the part of the Church
at large. This Board need not in the least cripple diocesan
endeavours ; rather it would aim at enforcing the principle of diocesan
responsibility, and make its own duty towards the diocese a matter
of initiatory and concurrent assistance. And this great central
power, charged with a general responsibility, would be necessary,
not only for the purpose of giving a general stimulus to the pastoral
cause, but also to hold the balance in the interest of the poorer
dioceses and so to secure equalization.

And such a board as this is what is wanted to take up such
matters as clergy training, and clergy pensions, and perhaps to
ameliorate the pressure of the dilapidation acts. In fact this Board
might give its responsible attention to the due care of the clergy
from the time that they first declare their desire to prepare for Holy
Orders to the day of their death.

It is surely most impolitic for the Church to say, as she says at
present, to all who desire to enter her ministry — " But you must get
yourselves taught first." The Church should herself so supervise
the whole matter of clergy training as to see that all candidates for
her Orders have the opportunity of acipiiring a really adequate
education.

How many candidates, for economical reasons, have to be con-
tent with an incomplete training ! And how many have to spend the
best years of their lives in business in order to save up enough money
with which to meet the costs of the minimum education required !
And how many whose hearts are for the ministry have to give up
the idea of Holy Orders altogether because they are not well enough
off to ''get themselves taught !" Let the Church but be prepared to
receive good and true men to train for the ministry, when necessary
at her own charges (and also to assure them of a reasonable main-
tenance after ordination), and the present heart-breaking cry for more
clergy, which comes from the mission-field, both at home and abroad,
would receive something like an adequate response. Theie are
plenty of men who have the " vocation," and who only want the

Ways and means necessary for the preparation. The serions decline
in the nnmher of candidates admitted to Holy Orders only last year
is a fact which clearly proves how greatly the Church is suffering
for want of doing things properly. According to the llev. H. T.
Armfield's returns there were fifty-six fewer candidates in 1893 than
in the year before ; and the total, one thousand four hundred and
seventeen, is the smallest since the year 1880. And judging from
Mr. Armfield's returns of the recent Lent Ordinations it appears that
matters are still going from bad to worse.

The cruel necessity of begging and praying before society after
society, and committee after committee, with his grievance list in hand,
as it befalls the poor and afflicted priest of to-day, and the curate
who is past work, is a scandal and a disgrace to the Church. The
clergy who entrust themselves to the keeping of the Church have a
right to be looked after by the Church : and surely it is of the
nature of a breach of confidence that, in their hour of need, they
are left to seek what they want among the hundred and forty-
eight societies, nearly all of them very little societies, which
happen to exist in their interest, or else to go to the wall.

And, whilst poverty is a wholesome njeans of personal discipline,
what an immense amount of energy is suppressed, and power wasted
among the clergy by depression of circumstances ! Put into respon-
sible positions how can they do well on the pay of an artisan ?
The average net income of the whole of the beneficed clergy is
now a little over £240 ; but fully four thousand of these receive
from their benefices less than £150 a year. And the average income
of the unbeneficed clergy, of whom there are seven thousand, is about
£129 ;■ and towards their stipends, the Incumbents contribute no less
than £276,000.

Does not the present-day state of things, as regards the clergy,
prove beyond doubt that the haphazard society system, though it has
done much, is conspicuously unequal to the occasion ? Alas ! it is
the news of to-day that our leading Home Missionary Society finds
it necessary to discontinue more than one hundred and seventy
grants out of the eleven hundred and sixty-two on its books, and to

considerably reduce the remainder. There is no gainsaying the need
of a far more thorough-going and responsible method of dealing
with so enormous a dithculty as that of providing a sufficient
pastorate with a sufficient maintenance in all parts of England and
Wales.

And surely the struggle which we are now making t(i hold our
own in our elementary schools rerjuires to be supplemented by an
earnest endeavour everywhere to bring the homes of the children as
well under direct pastoral influence. For how often the paramount
inliuence of the home has effaced in the child the religious influence
of the school I

When these responsible Boards are in working order, then we
shall find the wealthy laity giving their thousands and their tens
of thousands for the clergy of the Church, in the same generous
spirit as we see them giving now for the fabrics of the Church.
Let the Church do her own work, and that in a business-like and
permanent way, and she will not lack the support which she reiiuires.
({reat things will be done for the clergy when the CGurch as a whole
realizes her obligations towards them, and when their interests are
constitutionally dealt with.

THE BOARD OF MISSIONS.

The dual Board of Missions which already exists, and which
is designed to act as a Board of Reference, and to consider the
necessities of the mission-field, and to make reports, will, beyond
doubt, render a very great service to the cause of missions. It must
create additional, and a more intelligent, interest in the mission-
field. And the hope is that the Church, having put her own hand to
the missionary plough by appointing this Board of missionary inqury,
will not turn back, but, having surveyed the field, go on to see the
necessity of occupying it herself in her corporate right. It is indeed
to be hoped that this Board of inquiry will involve the creation of an
Administrative Board of Missions ; and that the desire for united
action which seems to be already prevalent among the missionaries
themselves, and amongst tlieir friends at home, will be found suf-

8

ficiently developed to secure a general appreciation of this conclusion.
And such a result would close the door for ever against the
probability, if not the possibility, of such a split in the Church as
might happen under the present condition of things if a sufficiently
untoward event were to occur to provoke it.

And is it not in due sequence that the reformed Church of
England should now arrive at this stage of corporate action ? During
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there were not a few personal
efforts made to minister to the emigrant, and to Christianise the
heathen. And as those personal efforts multiplied, and the vastness
of the work was realized, the need of combination for missionary
purposes became apparent, and that led to the formation of missionary
societies. And Missionary Societies have now been at work for nearly
two hundred years ; and whilst they have quickened the missionary
sympathies of the Church at home, and met with really astonishing
success abroad, they have also shown that the work is yet too vast,
and that it is also too responsible, even for their efforts. And now,
owing to the good offices of the Societies, it is an increasing convic-
tion amongst church people that the time is at hand when the
Church mast apply her whole corporate self to the work — a consum-
mation over which surely all churchmen would rejoice, and which
would be the crowning glory of the work of the Societies.

It is a significant fact, notwithstanding the abortive response
that was first proposed, that the present Boards of Missions are the
outcome of the action of S.P.Gr., who, in 1869, petitioned the Convo-
cations of the Provinces of Canterbury and York " to take such steps
as may seem expedient to them for the better support and advance-
ment of Missionary work."

All honour to those persons who prepared the way for the
Missionary Societies ! All honour to those Societies which have
prepared the way for the Missionary Church of England !

The Bishop of Tasmania, when presiding at the Australian
Church Congress, held at Hobart last January, said : '' It will be
the undying glory of this century that it saw the English Church as
a whole become a Missionary Church."

9

There are some friends of Special Missions who seem donbtfnl
of the advantage of the amalgamation of missionary managements.
But the hand of the Special Mission must be left as free as possible.
Such is the amount of interest created at the present day by the
raising of special funds for Special Missions that it would not only
be unwise bnt surely v\^rong to suppress such special enthusiasm.
Let the Board of Missions do all it can for the Missions of the
Churcli of England in general, and then if particular Missions find
it necessary to seek additional interest and help from their own
particular friends at home by all means let them do so. And what
is more, let that additional help, being earmarked, be transmitted
from the parish to the Missions Board through this general organiza-
tion, and let the Board transmit it to the Mission for which it is
intended. So long as the Board, acting with all due regard for the
personal and local interests concerned in each particular case, actually
directs the sending forth of the missionaries, and does what it can
to support them out of its own resources, the missionaries them-
selves may well be free to seek additional assistance i'rom where they
will and how they will. The earmarked money which the Board
transmitted would practically be so much money already allocated for
them ; and this special offering would, perhaps, correspondingly
minimise the claim of the Mission to which it is sent upon the
general funds of the Board.

It certainly seems advisable that if a person desires to expend
his charity upon a particular spot in the mission field he should not
only be free to do so, but that the Board should actually encourage
him to do so ; just as at home people are encouraged to do special
things for special places.

Of course the missions' quarter of the four-fold box would
everywhere be rigidly confined to collecting alms for the general
fund of the Missions Board ; and in this way the friends of Special
Missions would be induced also to contribute to tlie general fund, as
they certainly ought to do.

It is more than probable that if the Board were created and at
work, and if, under its auspices, all the special interests of clnu-ch

10

people at home in the mission-field abroad were directly indulged,
the Board, by working the whole country cogently and systematically,
would still have a far larger general fund to deal w^ith than all the
Societies put together can accumulate now. And with this general
fund the Board would be well able to equalize the distribution of the
contributions of church people to the mission-field.

Anyway, the door of special friendship must be left open to
begin with. And particular Missions might, if necessary, continue to
circulate their own periodicals among their own particular friends.
And when, if ever, this double system of special and general help
really does prove disadvantageous in its working, then would be the
time for the Board to readjust matters according to the necessities
of that time. But why should not the Board seek to be the agent
of the individual sympathizer as well as be the Executive of the
whole Church ?

There is no other chance of securing unity of action, or of re-
straining the present tendency to subdivision, excepting by means of
an authorized Board of Missions, • The Societies have grown up side
-by side, each with its own distinctive aim, and, as it were, in spite of
each other ; and therefore it is not to be expected that any one of
them, not even the most venerable of them all, can ever hope to bring
the others into unity with itself. But a Board of Missions, acting
through a well qualified Executive Council ; representative not of
subscribers but of the Church ; designed to deal with every phase of
foreign Missions ; learning many a good lesson from the Societies ;
carefally avoiding harsh measures on all sides, and as carefully
fostering all consistent sympathies, whether of individuals, parishes,
or dioceses ; and appealing to the fidelity of the churchman rather than
to the genius of the Englishman ; — a Board acting thus would in all
probability so gain the confidence of churchpeople, that the great
majority of them at least, would individually prefer to entrust their
missionary alms to the dispensation of so proper and wise an authority,
and they would gladly look to it for their missionary tuition. And
thus the whole matter would gradually adjust itself to the needs and
desires of the time ; and constitutional order would be obtained
without any undue sacrifice of personal freedom.

11

It cannot be supposed that the Church of England, the greatest
society of Englishmen that England knows, is incapable of construct-
ing a thoroughly efficient and satisfactory Executive of its own. It
cannot be thought that a limited number of churchpeople, acting in-
dependently and on their own initiative, can do better things than
the whole collective wisdom, energy and charity of the Church can do.

There aie 13,562 parishes in England and Wales. Of these
about 3,350 do not parochially support either S.P.G. or C.M.S. ; but
perhaps the 350 contribute to Special Missions instead. So there are
about 10,212 parishes which contribute to the two principal Societies,
of these about 9,000 contribute to S.P.G. and about 4,000 to C.M.S.
Therefore it appears that about 6,212 contribute to S.P.G. only,
about 2,788 contribute to both S.P.G. and C.M.S., and about 1,212
contribute to C.M.S. only.

It is evident that something must be done both to create
missionary interest in the 3,000 parishes which, from these figures,
appear to be indifferent to the cause at present, and to greatly in-
crease the interest in that majority of those other parishes which
support missions only to a poor extent.

It is not every clergyman who has the aptitude for being the
missionary enthusiast of the parish. And how many of the clergy
are so engrossed in their many-sided parochial duties that they are
unable to give to the missionary cause that devotion which it deserves.
But surely there is some one in every parish who, given the opportunity,
would do good things, if not great things, for the cause of missions
in the capacity of " Parochial Secretary," and whose help in that
capacity would be most valuable to the parish priest.

If this parochial secretary did no more than direct the circula-
tion of the boxes and magazines he would do much ; but, acting in
conjunction with his clergymen, he could do more by promoting
interest in missions by other means as well.

Let this Administrative Board of Missions be created; let it cul-
tivate missionary intelligence and sympathy throughout the land ; let it
collect special offerings as well as general offerings ; let it work with
an even and impartial hand both at home and abroad ; and, at the

12

same time, let the Societies that now exist live on as long as their sup-
porters and clients prefer them ; let all this be done, and a movement
will have been started giving every promise of bringing about, as
regards our responsibilities abroad, a gradual and agreeable change
from ignorance to knowledge, from chaos to order, from lassitude to
vigour, from niggardliness to generosity, from disintegration to unity,
from a state of corporate impotence to a position of catholic power.

THE DIOCESAN BOARD.

The principal idea as regards this Diocesan Board of Trust and
Administration is that there may be in each Diocese a Board
thoroughly qualified to co-operate with the Pastoral Board in wdiat-
ever it may require to do, or be required to do, in the Diocese ; and
also to co-operate with the Missions Board in working the Diocese in
the missionary interest. And yet this Diocesan Board would require
to be in a position to stand alone, and, in some way, to hold and
administer trusts belonging to the Diocese. It would especially set
itself to work to make the supply and the financial condition of the
clergy in the Diocese really satisfactory. And it should be qualified
to take the initiative in such matters. The holder, for instance, of a
poor benefice is the very last person who ought to be required to beg
about for funds for the necessary improvement of that benefice. And
yet at the present time if he does not move in the matter no one
else will. It is not right that priests should have to beg their own
hire, as so many have to do now, unless, from their sense of honour,
they prefer to starve in silence. And the poor benefice might be im-
proved conditionally, the Diocesan Board holding the additional
funds, directly or indirectly, and exercising such discretion in the
matter as donors may wish and discipline may require.

And each Diocese would determine for itself how far this Board
should absorb other organizations already existing in the Diocese, or
take up other responsibilities than those which have been specified.
It would really be necessary that these Boards should be of a uni-
form character, as to their main construction and purpose, or at least
as to their responsibilities, throughout the Dioceses.

13

IN THE RURAL DEANERY.

The office of Decanal Secretary would be a position of real
responsibility ; and in consequence it would be all the more valued,
and the more carefully discharged.

IN THE PARISH.

The gain to the parisli of such an organization as is here pro-
posed can hardly be estimated. Uncertainty is, perhaps, the greatest
bug-bear of the parish of to-day. Everything is left to depend upon
the ideas and enthusiasm of the parish priest : and behind him the
whole parisli must either stand still or go ahead. And as such
different men succeed each other in the incumbency a perfect see-
saw of methods and interests is the result ; and all this effectually
prevents that permanency of purpose and endeavour which is so
essential to the steady development of the resources of the Church.
It surely is not right tliat the Church should leave everything in the
parish to the independent initiation of the priest in charge. Indeed, it is
a distinct hardship that the responsibility a,s to what the parish, does
in support of the general ways and means of the Church should fall
upon the shoulders of one who has quite enough to do to comply
with his ordination vows and with the terms of his institution. And
how often this hardship is bitterly increased by the depressing
insufficiency of the maintenance provided for this mainspring of the
parish himself !

If every parish could have its authorized secretary and treasurer;
and if it could have a continuous circulation of the four-fold box
and of the official Church Magazine, as is suggested in this scheme,
and if this could go on from generation to generation, by the will of
the Church at large, certainly immense benefits would accrue in con-
sequence. Not only would the bug-bear of uncertainty be greatly
minimised, but the people would learn that the work of the Church
is their work, and they would rise to the responsibility with increasing
faithfulness.

It is the parish which has to supply the means for the carrying
on of the general work of the Church, and yet it is the parish whicli
so urgently requires to be organized for that purpose. But how can

u

the parishes . of England and Wales be adequately and uniformly
organized in the interest of that general work of the Church unless
that work is brought into constitutional order ? The parish that
works for the Church must be free from the bewilderment of societies,
and have things brought into authorized order, before its sympathies
can be soundly drawn out and constantly maintained.

The power for good of this Parochial Secretary could not fail to
be very great. Think of him, in every part of the land, going the
round of his parish under the united authority of the Bishops, the
Pastoral Board, the Missions Board, the Diocesan Board, his own
parish Priest, and his fellow Churchmen in the parish — verily the
messenger of the whole Church ; think of him knocking at the door
of, at least, every churchman in the parish, and putting it directly to
the householder himself — whether or no he will accept the use of the
church box, and of the magazine that follows it, and^use them both
as his conscience may direct him ? Surely it would not be an easy
matter for any churchman who is worth his salt to say " No " to such
a request so brought home to him.

Of course this secretary would see that every communicant in
the parish had the opportunity of using one of these boxes. Properly
speaking each communicant ought to have a box to himself, as his
own instrument of monition, calling him constantly to the practice
of self-denial, and exhorting him to give devoutly.

It is not supposed that this four-fold box would collect all the
money that would be wanted. By no means. All the usual methods
of gathering ahns for pious purposes would, in all probability, be still
required. But this box would be the key to the whole organization ;
for it would definitely and individually enlist the sympathies of the
people in support cf the Church, and it would hold them continually
in touch with the four specified branches of her work. Once get a
person to accept the use of the box, and you have him on the lists ;
and when he is once on the lists you can see that he has every
opportunity of doing his duty towards the support of the Church's
work.

15

And there are two otlier great points of advantage in this plan
of sending the box and magazine to all alike — its convenience to the
poor, and its suitability as a means of reaching the rich. For it
would provide the poor with a constant opportunity of contributing
their small offerings in a most convenient way ; and it would' tend
to unlock the sympathies of that great body of wealthy church people
who do so little for the Church now. For these w'ealthy people do
little for the Church now, not so much because they refuse to do
more, but because the Church has not yet plainly told them what is
wanted. No doubt whole crowds of societies have worried these
people for alms, and extracted pacifying guineas from them ; but the
Church herself has never confronted them in a direct and responsible
way, and therefore they are not alive to the claims of duty upon
them. People have been more or less irregularly asked if they will
be pleased to give, rather than responsibly taught that it is their
duty to give, and an unwholesome sense of patronage rather than the
more healthy sense of duty is, generally speaking, the practical result.

This parochial part of the organization would .practically form
a missionary association in every parish ; and it would form an
excellent ground-work upon which the parish priest might build in
many ways.

For reasons of quietness the boxes might be issued in the
the parish with numbers only upon them, the secretary keeping to
himself the names of the holders with their box numbers. These
boxes should be rigidly confined to the limits of the parishes within
which they are respectively issued. This rule would prevent infinitely
more inconvenience than it could cause. The parochial secretary
would always be at hand to open a box if required.

The parochial section of the box would be of use, in the first
instance, for gathering the contribution of the parish towards the
cost of the magazine. It could then be used to collect for some need
of the parish church or schools, or for some other parochial object ;
or it might be used in behalf of some object outside the parish —
some particular home or foreign mission ; some particular diocesan
institution; or some charitable institution, such as. the Waifs and
Strays Society.

16

In order that those ahns which are put into these boxes, and
those ^hich are given in any other way than through a church offer-
tory, may be given in accordance with those true principles of
ahusgiving which are implied by the words of David " All things come
of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee," all such alms
should be solemnly offered to God before they are applied to their
respective uses. The alms designed for use according to parochial
intention would be offered in the parish church ; but those designed
for the use of the Pastoral, Missions and Diocesan Boards should be
offered in the Cathedrals of the Dioceses in which they are respective-
ly accumulated. All the offerings should be presented at the time
of divine service, preferably at the time of the Offertory in the Holy
Communion. And there should be stated Sundays for the purpose ; —
say the First Sunday after Epiphany, Whit Sunday, and the First
Sunday in October. Three times a year would be more practicable
than four ; but less than three times would involve the detention of
the alms for an inconveniently long time.

THE MAGAZINE.

What an enormous power for good the Editor of the Monthly
Magazine would have in his hands ! What opportunities of impart-
ing information, of enkindling sympathies, and of inculcating self-
sacrifice he would have ? And how this Magazine, going into every
church home in the land, would get behind the present indifference
of the press to Church interests ! And it would do a great deal
towards creating such a demand for Church intelligence as would
break up that indifference. And what an opportunity this Magazine
would offer for the thorough circulation of pastoral letters ; — letters
from the whole Bench of Bishops to the whole body of church people ;
or, the diocesan supplement being added, letters from the Diocesan
to all in his diocese ; or the parochial supplement being added letters
from the parish priest to all in his parish ! Under existing circum-
stances pastoral letters come before but a fraction of those for whom
they are intended, whether they are circulated in Diocesan
Magazines or in newspapers, or whether they are read in the churches.
But this Magazine would carry them into every home, and would give
the people the opportunity of pondering them and of treasuring them.

17

At the present time we are too^dependent upon crying into the
air, whether from the pulpit or from the platform, for what we want ;
whereas this official Magazine, being officially supplied to the indiv-
idual churchman, would carry the re((uired information as to what
is done, or to be done, and the appeals of authority for the necess-
ary support, direct to the individual himself ; and under those
circumstances, if he is one who is inclined to ignore just obligations,
he would not find it so easy to turn the deaf ear, or to leave it to
everybody else to make the required response, as he does now when
he sees the appeal merely floating about, as it were, in the air or in
the press ; lis would not be able to plead either ignorance or uncon-
cern. But most church people would be very thankful to have their
ignorance and their unconcern broken uj) in this way ; they would
prefer to be properly informed, and to have the opportunity of
helping accordingly.

It is such a development of lier Ecclesiastical Organization as
this which the Church of England now requires, so that she may
hush her political foes by the mere aspect of her corporate strength
and determination for good ; so that she may belie the calumnies of
her traduceis, both as to her catholic basis and as to her charitable
intentions ; and so thai she may in truth do her utmost, both at
home and abroad, against all that is inimical to peace and purity,

By the system of recurrent election throughout this organization
the able and the enthusiastic would always be brought, and kept, to
the front all along the line; and in their hands there need be no fear
of the organization ftiiling in its purposes for want of "go." And
that spirit of fellowship which has been such a power with the
voluntary Societies will surely not be wanting when we are
acting as the Society of Christ. Who can attend one of our Church
Congresses without realizing how warm is the heart of the Church of
England, and how church people really love to find themselves on
common ground ? And a Church with a warm heart, and the great
majority, at least, of whose members do individually prefer and
desire common action for good, may well be trusted to harmonize
and direct that action.

18

And surely the increasing relish of our people for English Church
History suggests that as that history does its work the Church should
be all the more careful to demonstrate by her outward organization
and life, as well as by her books, that it is she of whom history
speaks, that it is she whom history traces, in this land, from to-day
to the earliest centuries.

And if grace is to join with history in giving to the Anghcan
Church a world-wide attractiveness, and surely it is beginning to do
so already, what need there is for tlie Church of England to be so
equipped as to be prepared to take up the work, whether at home or
abroad, of sucli English-speaking Christian bodies as, under that
double influence of grace and history, may become absorbed within
her own pale, or perhaps the work of bodies who become otherwise
dispersed ; for Canon Scott-Robertson's last summary of British
contributions to Foreign Missions seems to show that some of those
bodies are already beginning to lose their power in the mission field.
And what need there is for the Church of England to be able to offer,
in her corporate capacity, a truly catholic home, or sympathy, to
any who may tire of the excessive demands of Rome ; and to be able

to succour Churches that require an apostolic friendship.

«

It may be demurred that the scheme here advocated is too big
and comprehensive to be practical. Surely such a thought is incon-
sistent with the idea of resolute progress. A big need requires a big
remedy. It certainly is impossible to exactly measure and time the
movements which would be required to perfect so wide-spread an
organization, but that is no argument against working towards that
end. It is as you go along that the way opens up before you.

Let us but be agreed as to the ideal to be aimed at, and the
way to the attainment of that ideal will open up in due course ; and
we shall be much more likely to secure a general concurrence in the
endeavour to reach that ideal if we aim steadily at the whole thing at
once. The completeness of the project would gain sympathy and
attention where but a partial scheme would fail in its appeal.

19

A PLAN OF INAUGUllATION.

Now if such an Organization as this proves to be the desire of
tlie (ylmrcli at large, a long-drawn, and merely drifting, transition
from the old state of things to the new, would probably prove
very injurious to the work of the Church during the time of such
transition ; as the present unsatisfactory state of things would be
left as free as ever to continue, and that indefinitely, its depressing-
influence ; and the supplying of the crying needs of to-day would be
as indefinitely postponed.

Therefore, a definite plan of action, approximately set to time,
and resolutely and generally carried out from the first, would not
ouly maintain, but also increase, the devotion of to-day, at the same
time that it would carry us on, during the time of organizing, along
an ascending path of energy and hope, until it brings us up to the
great day of the Inauguration of the proper state of things.

Jjet us but be agreed, not only as to the ideal to be aimed at,
but, approximately speaking, as to the "how ? " and fo the ''when ?"
— and then we shall all kiiow how to go to work and get the thing
done.

Such are the opportunities for expedition which the present time
affords us, and such is our readiness, tliat we may reasonably expect
that such a movement as this can be more expeditiously developed
in our own day than could have been possible at any previous time
in the history of our Church. So might it not be possible for the
course of events to be shaped somewhat after the following plan ?

I. In the first place let the ground be prepared by appealing to
the sympathies of the dioceses and the parishes ; and by getting
them, as the constituencies of the Church, to evince their desire for
corporate organization. This might be done by promoting the con-
sideration of the matter at Diocesan Conferences ; and at Vestry
meetings, where tlie baptized Christian, the unit of the parish, could
take his individual place in the movement ; and discussions might be
held at Uural-Diocesal Chapter meetings or Conferences. From

20

now to June 1895 would possibly afford sufficient time for this
purpose ; especially as the subject is one which is quite worthy of
special meetings, to say nothing of the urgency of the whole matter.

II. About June 1895 let the Convocations of both Provinces,
together with the Houses of Laymen, take the matter up from the
Diocesan Conferences, and approve the ideal ; and then let them
appoint two committees, one to prepare a form of constitution for
the Pastoral Board, the other to make a similar preparation for the
Missions Board. And by November 1896, these two great Boards,
with their Councils, might be fully constituted.

And during this time, from June 1895 to November 1896, each
Diocese would, in a similar way, be forming its own Board.

As soon as the Convocations have approved the ideal, the two
Archbishops might appoint a small " Organizing Committee," con-
sisting of seven, or at the most of twelve members. This Committee
would act as a central and neutral means of inter-communication
and adjustment, between the various branches of the Organization
during the course of their development ; and it would guide the
development of the Organization in so far as it might require
guidance ; in fact, it would be a sort of building committee. And
this Committee would raise a Preliminary Expenses Fund for
distribution amongst the various sections of the Organization in aid of
their initial expenses. And w^hen the Organization is fully in-
augurated and at work this Committee would cease to exist.

III. From November 1896 to June 1897 the Pastoral and
Missions Boards, and the Diocesan Boards, would prepare for business,
determining their respective methods of work, etc. And during
this time the Diocesan Boards would direct the formation of their
Decanal and Parochial branches of the Organization.

And during the setting up of the parochial part of the machinery
the intentions of the parishes, as to their support of the Societies,
would be so ascertained as to enable the Committees of the Societies
concerned to make all necessary preparations for the inevitable
transfer to the Boards, after the day of Inauguration, of so much of

21

their responsibilities as tliey appear likely to be unable to discharge
under the altered condition of things.

IV. On June 10th, 1897, let the whole organization be solemnly
inagurated by a great Service at St. Paul's Cathedral, followed by a
joint meeting, for congratulatory purposes only, of tlie two great
Boards. The impressiveness and auspiciousness of this occasion would
be greatly enchanced by the presence of the great number of Anglican
Bishops from abroad who will be in England at the time for the
Lambeth Conference,

And on this same day the boxes, and the first issue of the
Magazine, might be distributed in the parishes. And perhaps
appropriate services might beheld throughout the land in celebration
of the event, either on this day or within the Octave of St. Barnabas'
Day.

V. From the day of Inauguration, June 10th, ^o July 12th, let
a Thanksgiving P^und be gathered ; the whole Organization being
employed for the piu'pose. And this Fund, being equally divided
between the Pastoral and Missions Boards, may well be calculated,
taking into consideration the exhilarating circumstances under which
it would be gathered, to supply each of their exchequers with a good
substantial commencement fund.

If some such programme of effort as this were adopted by tacit
consent, the mere prospect of so near an approach of such an im-
proved order of things would put people into such good heart that
the present Agencies of the Church would reap the advantage of
their growing interest, and that the work of those Agencies would be
increased rather than lessened during the interval.

Anyway, the whole matter should now be taken definitely in
hand by some means or other ; for it is plain to see how that whilst
we are all promiscuously groping about for what we want, the game,
in some of its most important respects at least, is going heavily
against us.

«>9

AN APPEAL FOR ACTION.

In England we liave the immense advantage of insular
compactness, with its consequent convenience for spontaneous action
and prompt intercommunication : the stage of the Church is nOw prac-
tically cleared, and is ready for this work of organization : there is a
wide-spread desire amongst church people to see the Church pull
herself together and do things as they ought to be done ; all seems
ready and prepared ; and we ran succeed if we n'/'ll, — Why need we
faint ? Why need we hesitate ?

Let this movement, which has really been gathering body for
some time, now take definite shape. And to that end might not
this scheme serve the useful purpose of being something definite to
talk about ? For the assurance of the Bishops let the clergy and
churchwardens of the parish, and, where practicable, the church
people of the parish with them, consider this proposal, and if they
are in favour of its general principle let them formulate a resolution
to that effect, and send that resolution to their Bishop. Let the
Rural Deanery hold its Chapter Meeting and do likewise. And let
the Diocesan Conference plead in the same strain. And let the cry
for more order and thoroughness at home come in from all parts of
the mission-field as well. And if all this is done there need be no
doubt that our Synods would gladly take up the whole idea, shape
it aright, and carry it into reality.

And let the Church but resolve in her entirety tliat she will try
to be free from such sloth and disintegration within as cripple her
power for good ; that she will struggle to be free from such impedi-
ments so that she may prosecute her sacred duty, both at home and
in the outer world, with greater efficiency ; let this resolution everj^-
where pervade her, and, observing her good will and her good works,
the wise will say to the unwise, with increasing emphasis and effect,
" Touch her not, for a blessing is in her." And thus the way will
be cleared, through Province and through Parliament, for her progress
in management and in work.

As she proceeds to set her house in order, the Church of
England will, of course, look to her daughter Churches in America

23

and in the Britisli Dependencies for example and for warning. And
enconraged by the compacting and invigorating effects wliich com-
bined action has bad upon the Chnrcli of America ; touched by
seeing the Church of Canada, notwithstanding her great drawbacks
of poverty and expansiveness of region, forging ahead in the direction
of ecclesiastical completeness ; and learning lessons from Africa,
Australia, India, Japan, and elsewhere abroad ; and with desire for
practical missionary association with Ireland and Scotland nearer
home, — shall not the Mother rouse herself, and so employ her wisdom
in the matters of synodical enterprise and missionary organization,
that she may the more fully justify that veneration which the
daughters love to give her, and that she may the more fittingly
preside as the Mother of Many Churches ?

SUGGESTED RESOLUTIONS.

I. — It is the opinion of that it would greatly help

church-people in general to take a due interest in Home and
Foreign Missions, and also in tlie work of their respective
Dioceses, if the whole of these interests could be promoted by
an authorized and comprehensive system, based upon, and co-
extensive with, the entire Ecclesiastical Organization of the
Church of England.

II. — The missionary work of the Church of England, both at home
and abroad, urgently needs combined action, under the cor-
porate direction of the Church herself : and in order that that
work may be adequately supported, an authorized system of
cultivating missionary intelligence, and of collecting alms, ex-
tending to all Dioceses and Parishes alike, is required.