Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

5 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

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=-NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

! THE BISHOP AND THE LAWYER.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

NOTES OF THE WEEK. The would-be levellers of the Church have sneeringly pooh-poohed the misgivings Churchmen have expressed as to the ultimate intentions of the Burials Bill agitators. It has been pointed out that the concession to Nonconformists of the free use of churchyards would be succeeded by other agitations for access to the fabric itself. To this view the Dissenters have demurred, though their rejoinder has always been considered as more use- ful to blind the eyes of the supporters of the Establishment rather than to represent the real intentions of the intruders. The Libtrator has just let the cat out of the bag. Even the concession of the churchyards would not satisfy the "religious equality fraternity. They must have its prin- ciples applied to marriages as well as to deaths. The organ of the "liberators" declares this a necessity. "If," it remarks, "the civil registrar is compelled to perform the ceremony of marriage in some churches, he should be compelled to per- form it in all. The proper application of this principle would be the supercession of the ministers of the Establishment, and their being placed in exactly the same position as the ministers of the free churches." This, of course, is the exact object of Mr Osborne Morgan's party. They desire to strip the clergy of all advantages time has endowed their Church with, and to reduce them to the level of the ordinary Dissenting minister. Having effected that they imagine their supercession but a work of time, as the paper, to which we have alluded, says, many questions such as this-out- growths of the State Church system—need but energy and time for their settlement." We would ask those faint-hearted Churchmen, who are pre- pared for peace-at-any-price, to ponder these matters, before they are parties to the seal which shall consign the churchyards to the scrambling of the various sects. Denbigh is to be congratulated on the result of the efforts the Local Committee made for the Show of the Denbighshire and Flintshire Agricultural Society to be a complete success. The exhibi- tion seems to have been held under the mot favourable auspices, and not a single hitch occurred to mar the day's proceedings. From a pecuniary point of view the results are extremely gratifying the receipts for admission into the show-yard amounted to £ 310 4s, as compared with £ 187 at Wrexham last year, and £ 256 in Mold at the previous exhibition. The work of church restoration and extension in North Wales proceeds with unabated vigour. Next week two ancient churches in lintshire will be re-opened after thorough renovation—Llanasa and Northop. In the case of Llanasa there was much necessity for restoration, as the sacred edifice was in a very dilapidated condition. To accomplish this object the energetic Vicar, the Rev. J. Parry Morgan, set to work to provide.,a fund of .£2,800. The poverty of the parish, and other circumstances, rendered it impossible to raise the required amount amongst the parishioners, and the Vicar very wisely determined to, make an urgent appeal to Church- men in other more favoured localities—an appeal, we are glad to fiud, that was not altogether in vain. Probably the excellently-arranged series of services may be the means of calling forth that generosity so often exhibited at re-opening services, and thus provide the Vicar with the amount still required to make his church in all respects free and open." In the case of Northop Church the mone- tary question has not presented any difficulty, as the munificence of the Vicar has provided the ways and means, and there the offertories will be de- voted to the formation of a fund for an organist's salary. It is most gratifying to Churchmen to find the clergy so assiduously devoting themselves to the improvement of the churches ot our forefathers; where this excellent spirit is exhibited, they are sure to find a counterpart in the loyalty and generosity of the laity. Though at one time there were signs of a falling off in the enthusiasm which greeted the formation of a Church Choral Union in the Deanery of Wrexham, we are glad jo observe from the suc- cessful manner in which the festival passed off this week that the clergy and laity have made up their minds to support so useful an institution. Good psalmody is indispensable in every church. There is no reason why the services should be allowed to be drawled out in the style of former years, or the congregations left entirely to their own resources. We are not despising what is called congregational singing," nor do we believe it to be the object of the Choral Union Committee that to the choirs should the choral part of the services be allotted. But if there are to be choirs in churches, their proficiency is certain to conduce to the heartiness of divine worship. The simplicity of the musical selections rendered at the festival is indicative of the purpose for which the choirs are trained, and those few who are opposed to the Union might with advantage 'study that fact. One of the best results of these festivals is that they tend to promote something like uniformity in the character of our Church services, and enable worshippers to follow and join in the choral parts without difficulty. We hope the successful festival of this year will enoourage future efforts, and help to ally all the clergy to the scheme.

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