Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

in this way, and the help of all is wel- Wisdom itself, so far as can be done in comed.

NEW CHURCH BIBLE SOCIETY.-Some of your readers in looking over the New Church College Reports have probably noticed that a considerable sum of money belonging to the New Church Bible Society had been lent to the College and finally repaid. Now the questions may have occurred to their minds, What is the New Church Bible Society? and what are its objects?

In answering these questions I may as well "begin at the beginning," and state that in the year 1845 the present Mrs. Watson and I, each of us, subscribed fifty pounds towards laying the pecuniary foundations of a Society for the purpose of obtaining and publishing a faithful translation of the Holy Word, and that we received countenance and aid from other members of the New Church towards the attainment of this object. One work, however, only was published, the translation of the prophet Nahum, and so much adverse criticism was offered to its presentment of Divine truth that no second translation was printed.

the English language. It is not therefore designed to provide an elegant paraphrastic translation, written according to English idioms, but, on the contrary, to give the very correspondential images themselves as dictated by the Holy Spirit.

Such a Bible cannot be expected ever to become popular. But it appears to some of our brethren both in England and America to be absolutely essential for the purpose of correctly understanding the spiritual sense of Holy Scripture.

H. BATEMAN.

I find, on looking over the list of members of this Society, that the majority of them are now in the spiritual world. The Society has been sleeping, but the time is evidently approaching when it must be awakened out of its sleep. The necessity of its action-the performance of its use-is seen by our Transatlantic brethren, as well as by some of ourselves, to be called for. The College being now actively at work, and with the Conference heartily at one, I may perhaps be permitted by our Heavenly Father to see the New Church Bible Society also in energetic operation before I quit my earthly tabernacle. The money which had been subscribed But whether that be so or not, I feel it was, however, carefully husbanded. It right now thus publicly to make known was first invested in debentures in that the property spoken of above is Argyle Square. Afterwards, when those held by Mrs. Watson and myself in trust debentures were paid off, in Government for the New Church Bible Society. securities. Subsequently, when money was required to assist in the building of the New Church College, it was sold out of the funds and lent to the College. And lastly, since it has been returned by the College, it has been invested in the London and North-Western Railway Preference Stock, and the two dividends received from this placed in Government security, in the names of Mrs. Watson and myself. The present amount of the property is about £527, and this is devoted to the purpose of providing the English reader with such an accurate version of the Holy Scriptures as will at once lay before him the very images employed in the Word of God, as dictated to the inspired penmen. This kind of version is peculiarly adapted to the wants of New Churchmen, and especially of New Church preachers who are unable to understand the Hebrew and Greek originals. It is intended to furnish the very expressions which correspond in ultimates to the Divine

NATIONAL MISSIONARY INSTITUTION. Our readers will learn with regret that Mr. Gunton, the zealous and indefatigable agent of this Society, has been compelled to suspend his labours by severe indisposition. He is happily recovering, but is strongly urged by his medical advisers to abstain for a time from all public speaking. Before he was compelled to relinquish his work, he had preached at Lowestoft on the 3rd and 10th of December, on which occasions the attendance was good. On the afternoon of the 10th he visited the Sundayschool, and wrote in as many Testaments the names of seventeen of the Sunday scholars, the books being a little present to those who had committed to memory the 23rd Psalm. On the day previous, on this day, and up to the 13th, he was unequal to his duties, but on the 13th proceeded to Lynn, where a company of fifty or sixty assembled to

hear the first lecture on "The Divinity of the Lord Jesus." At the close, one gentleman, a Wesleyan minister, came on to the platform and said that he could indorse every word that had been said. He purchased one of each of the "Silent Missionaries," and called at Mr. Barton's twice with the hope of seeing Mr. Gunton. About thirty of the

Silent Missionaries" were sold, and many-sermons and magazines distributed. Some useful work was therefore doubtless accomplished, though not all we had hoped for. Mr. Barton conducts a regular Sabbath evening service in his house, and Mr. Gunton reports that on the Sunday he was there in bed, two services, one in the morning and the other in the evening, were most efficiently conducted by Mr. Barton in the bedroom, and which all present greatly enjoyed. This practice of a New Church service at home, once every Sabbath day, should be adopted by all isolated receivers. From Wincanton Mr. Gunton has received several interesting communications, to some of which we hope to refer in a future number.

SCANDINAVIAN MISSION.-To the Editor,-I have great pleasure in forwarding to you the enclosed satisfactory account of a missionary tour the Rev. A. Boyesen has lately made in Sweden. It shows not only that he is working in good earnest for the cause of the New Church, but also that the seed he scatters falls on good ground. By the request of the brethren in Stockholm, he is going to remove during the coming spring to the capital of Sweden, to take charge of the Society there. They are doing all in their power in order to enable him to live in Stockholm, where rent and the cost of living are very high; but they will still need the help of the brethren in England for the coming year.

"As usual, I have also this fall made a missionary visit to our friends in Stockholm, where I was about five weeks, and delivered two lectures weekly. During my stay there we had also public worship every Sunday, and the attendance was this time considerably larger than the last time I was there.

The Committee of the Foreign and Colonial Missions therefore earnestly hope that the friends of the New Church in England will enable them, as heretofore, to give to the brethren in Scandinavia a tangible evidence of their sympathy, by sending their contributions in money to the Treasurer of Conference, Mr. Gunton, 19 Oseney Crescent, for the Committee on Foreign and Colonial Missions.

R. L. TAFEL, Secretary.

"One Sunday after the sermon I was invited to tea with a prominent family, where several intelligent gentlemen and ladies were gathered. The host, who was a very learned and earnestly-searching man, had, through the lectures, become interested in the doctrines of the New Church, and asked me to state the teaching of Swedenborg about creation, the Holy Supper, the Trinity, and the state of hell. This I did with great pleasure, and after having answered some questions on these topics, I was requested to repeat summarily a lecture which some days before I had delivered concerning the atonement. Several questions were put forth and answered also on this important doctrine, and all seemed to be very much pleased. After the close of the conversation, the venerable host expressed in kind words his 'thankfulness and satisfaction for the highly interesting entertainment,' adding, that he believed that the doctrines of the New Church were destined to become the universal religion.

"This time about twenty persons celebrated the Holy Supper, and some new members increased our little Society.

"At the present time a great religious movement is going on in Sweden; a young and talented minister of the old Church is trying to show that the common doctrine of the atonement is false. Although the Rev. Mr. Waldenström is himself standing on the old platform as to the doctrine of three persons in the Godhead, he has, notwithstanding, seen that the teaching of the Church that God in Christ has reconciled Himself unto the world, instead of, as the apostle says, 'God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself,' is false.

"After the last lecture I delivered in Stockholm, a young man, who had just commenced his ministerial duties, came to me, and having expressed in obliging words his satisfaction with the lectures, he added, 'I have followed the movement of Mr. Waldenström with great interest, but I have not got sufficient light to see clearly some important and

difficult questions. I have therefore also attended your interesting lectures, and I am glad to say that now I have got light in the matter, and have been enabled to make my determination.' "From Stockholm I went, as usual, to our friends in Tärna Socken, in Westmanland, where the lectures were attended with the same interest as formerly.

"When from Tärna I came to Gottenburg, it was very pleasant to see that one of the principal newspapers (Göteborgoposten) says: A New Church lecture will, as advertisement shows, be delivered this evening in the Workmen's Association's large hall, by the eloquent preacher of the Scandinavian New Church community, Pastor Boyesen, who recently has arrived in this city from Stockholm.'

"The auditory was quite good, and before I left Gottenburg it had increased to about 200 hearers.

"Because of serious sickness at home, I was obliged to return to Copenhagen without visiting Christianstadt and Carlskrona, whither I hope to go after New Year.

A. BOYESEN."

MANCHESTER AND SALFORD MISSIONARY SOCIETY.-During the winter lectures have been given by the ministers connected with this Society in several places in Lancashire. Of some of these we are able to give the following brief reports :

Leigh.-On Wednesday, November 15th, the Rev. Wm. Westall delivered a lecture in this town on the subject of "Heaven: Where is it, and what are its joys?" The lecture, which occupied over an hour in its delivery, was listened to with marked attention. The audience numbered from 80 to 100, and was composed mainly of the same people as attended last year. They were evidently not drawn there from idle curiosity, but had some appreciation of the doctrines. Indeed, many of them are known to read and to look with favour upon New Church teachings. A report of the lecture appeared the Saturday following in the Leigh Journal, under the title of "A Swedenborgian View of Heaven." The report occupied about three-fourths of a column, and was a most faithful one, and very creditable to both the reporter and publisher. The cause in this town has a very warm friend in

Mr. Hamblet Ackers, of West Leigh, who spares neither money nor time to promote its interest, and if it could be fostered by some central institution, a Society might be formed with fair prospects of steady growth.

Lancaster.-On Tuesday, November 21st, Mr. Westall lectured at Lancaster on the same subject as at Leigh. The attendance numbered from 150 to 200, and was rather better than he had twelve months before. Here also the audience was appreciative. At the close the lecturer gave an opportunity for questions to be asked in further elucidation of the subject. None were publicly asked, but two or three knots of persons waited upon the lecturer after he left the platform, and asked him several. One was, whether he did not believe that in heaven there would be unceasing song and prayer and praise before the throne of God, which he corrected. The other was, whether within the natural world there was a spiritual world invisible to the natural eye, same as within the natural body, there is the soul, which is invisible to the bodily eye, which he further affirmed and explained to them. The lecturer was then asked if he and Mr. Ramage, who was to lecture the week following, would be willing to lecture at Caton, a village about four miles away, if an invitation were sent to them for that purpose, which the lecturer very readily consented to do. It is remarkable that four lectures should have been delivered in this old town, which have drawn nearly 200 people to each of them, and yet it is not known that there is one avowed receiver of the New Church doctrines in it. The thanks of the Missionary Committee are greatly due to Mr. C. R. Compston, whose only connection with the New Church is, that he married the daughter of the late Mr. Brooks, a well-known friend of our cause. Mr. Compston has been indefatigable in arranging and looking after the delivery of the last two lectures.

Rawtenstall.-Two lectures were given in this place-the first by Rev. G. H. Smith, the second by Rev. R. Storry. The attendance at these lectures was small, notwithstanding the presence of friends from Haslingden and Newchurch. From what cause we are unable to state, but a very small interest seemed to be excited.

CHORLEY.-Four lectures were delivered in this town, on the evenings of December 11th, 12th, 18th, and 19th, by the Revs. W. Westall and P. Ramage. The first two were by Mr. Westall, on the subjects of the "Resurrection With what Body will Man rise?" and "The Judgment, Where, When, and How?" The two last were by Mr. Ramage, on "Heaven: Our Friends there, shall we know them?" and "Jesus Christ: Is He Myth, Man, or the Supreme God?" On the first evening the attendance was small, there being only between twenty and thirty present, all men. This thin attendance was attributed to the bills appearing on the walls only the day but one before. Mr. Westall, however, received a very cordial vote of thanks by those who were there for his lecture. On the second night the audience numbered about fifty, and when the lecture was over the colporteur sold several books, and distributed a number of tracts. At the two following lectures by Mr. Ramage there was a similar attendance, and the last lecture was attended by the Unitarian minister. Mr. Ramage, however, had no opportunity of talking over the subject with the rev. gentleman, as he had to hurry off to the station, to return home by train. Two or three New Church families were found to be residing in the town, and it is hoped that the bread cast upon the waters in other minds will be seen again after many days.

BLACK POOL. The same gentlemen also delivered the same lectures at Blackpool on the same evenings, Mr. Ramage delivering the two first, and Mr. Westall the two last. The audience in this town would average about fifty for each lecture. It was calculated that from seventy to eighty persons attended one or other of the lectures, and that near upon forty attended each lecture, which was good for Blackpool in midwinter. At these lectures, besides reading the Word and offering up prayer, two hymns were sung, which was felt to help the good feeling of the people assembled. Three New Church families are residents in Blackpool. They felt encouraged by the attendance at the lectures, and would be very glad to assist in the establishment of Sabbath services during

summer months. When we consider the great number of New Church people who visit Blackpool every year, and remember how many of them go to church on principle, how many more do not go, but would if there were a church of our own to attend, and how many of the general public go first to one place and then another in the hope of hearing something new, it is certainly most desirable to try to establish a new Church Society there. It is also probable that Sabbath services during the summer months might be made wellnigh self-supporting, as collections are made at all the churches, and at every service on the Sunday, in Blackpool, and if New Church visitors felt at the same time that they were helping to plant a New Church Society there, they would have greater pleasure both in attending and supporting it. Could not, then, the Manchester and Salford Missionary Society try to initiate such a movement, and might we not reasonably conclude that they would be liberally supported by New Church friends in the wide extent of country from which Blackpool draws its visitors.

AUXILIARY NEW CHURCH MISSIONARY AND TRACT SOCIETY.-We have received the following communication from the Secretary of this Society. We need scarcely remind our readers that the legal title of the Church, and the one therefore to be employed in legal registrations, is "The New Church signified by the New Jerusalem in the Revelation":-"I have been requested to bring under your notice a subject, by no means new, but nevertheless one which our denomination has not yet satisfactorily solved. Our Society, when dealing with the matter of Whitaker's Almanack,' noticed that our body appeared in the list of religious denominations given by that excellent periodical, under the four names, New Church,' 'New Jerusalem Church,' 'New Christian Church,' and 'Swedenborgian,' and has ascertained that this variety of expression for one and the same Church arose from our various places of worship having been registered for the solemnisation of marriage at the office of the Registrar-General under these different names. The list is copied in the Pall Mall Gazette of

the 16th December, and, of course, with a similar result as regards our denomination.

of the Society. A beautiful and finetoned organ has been presented to the Society by Thomas Downes, Esq., of "There can be no doubt that this Glasgow, and several anthems were exdivergence of opinion, or rather of quisitely performed by Mr. J. M'Lachpractice, in this matter is not advisable, lan, jun. The services were continued and may even be prejudicial. And it over the Sabbath following, when the also seems certain that the remedy can pulpit was occupied morning and evenonly be supplied by the individual ing by Mr. Potts, and in the afternoon action of Societies in the matter. But by Mr. Barlow. Reports of the services the Society I represent is desirous of appear in two of the local papers, but calling attention to the subject, through they have reached us too late for our the medium of the Intellectual Re- present number. We are compelled, pository, in the hope that Societies therefore, to defer further notice until may see well to sink individual dif- our next. erence of opinion as to the name most applicable to the Church, and, at any BATH.-On Wednesday evening, Dec. rate, adopt one only for official purposes. 21, at the close of the usual theological "A notification of the alteration in class in connection with the above name sent to the Registrar-General Society, the Rev. T. Child was presented would probably be sufficient to rectify by the members and friends of this the matter, and our Society would Church with a Christmas gift, consisting suggest that, pending a settlement of of a purse containing twenty guineas. the question by some better qualified The gift was meant as an expression of body, the term New Jerusalem Church, the Society's appreciation of Mr. Child's (Swedenborgian) is the best that can worth and personal character. be employed."

DR. SEXTON, who has recently occupied several of the pulpits of the New Church with acceptance to the congregations, has, we now learn, publicly entered the Independent body. His most recent services with us have been at Salford and Heywood, in both of which places his services were warmly appreciated. Members of the New Church, we are sure, will heartily wish Dr. Sexton success in his new association. He will only accept a pastorate where opportunity is permitted him to give lectures on the infidel controversy in different parts of the country.

ALLOA.-The neat church erected by the Society at this town was opened for public worship on Saturday, January 6th. The dedication service took place at 2 P. M., and was attended by a moderate congregation. The officiating ministers were Revs. J. F. Potts and W. C. Barlow. In the evening of the same day a tea and fruit soiree was held in the church, which was quite full. The decorations, consisting chiefly of flowers in pots, had a very pleasing effect. Addresses were delivered by the Chairman, Mr. W. M'Leod, Revs. J. F. Potts and W. C. Barlow, and by Mr. Paterson of Paisley, and Mr. M'Lachlan, the leader

The first quarterly tea meeting of the Society was held in the library on Wednesday, Jan. 10th. Though the night was a drenching one, an unusually large and cheerful company sat down to tea, after which a general meeting was held, the Rev. T. Child in the chair. When the routine business had been discussed, the chairman followed with a short address on the New Church as the world's tried friend. Various other addresses from Mr. Pitman, Mr. Hill, and other gentlemen, were interspersed with music and singing by the choir and friends, to the satisfaction of the goodly company. The tables were tastefully

decorated with vases filled with flowers. We have every reason to look upon the meeting as a good augury for the coming year.

BIRMINGHAM.-The Manual of thi Society for January gives the following notice of the conclusion of the opening services of their new Church:-" On Sunday, Dec. 10th, Dr. Bayley officiated, his morning text being Matt. vi. 33:'Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. In the evening he preached from Zech. viii. 23:-On ‘Taking hold of the skirts of Him that is a Jew.' Very large congregations were present, and in the evening all the pews being filled, seats had to be placed in

« AnteriorContinuar »