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The following, from a provincial paper, gives a brief summary of some of the particulars published in the Minutes of their last Wesleyan Conference. It will be seen that the Conference experiences no difficulty in finding places in which to hold its annual assembly, and that the heads of the people seek to bring their religion into their social and political life:

"The annual volume of Minutes of the Wesleyan Conference is printed, and several thousands of copies will be in circulation within the next few days. It is the 136th volume, and contains a large amount of interesting and authoritative information on matters pertaining to Wesleyan Methodism. We select the following items: The next annual Conference will be held in London, and will commence on July 20, 1880, the year following in Liverpool, in 1882 in Leeds, in 1883 in Manchester, and in 1884 in Hull. One hundred and four probationers have recently been received into full connection with the Conference, 60 in Great Britain, 7 in Ireland, and 37 in foreign missions. There have been 48 deaths during the year. In connection with the English Conference are 34 districts, comprising 712 circuits. The total membership in Great Britain is 377,612, with 23,984 on trial for church membership. In Ireland there are 10 districts, 134 circuits, and a membership of 25,487, an increase of 5537. Number of new members fully received in Great Britain, so far as reported, 40,153. In the pastoral address the growing practice of raffling at bazaars in aid of religious objects is strongly condemned, and the address contains the following in reference to the approaching general election: If during the coming year the clamour of political strife should surround you, be the more careful yourselves to walk with God, doing whatsoever you do heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. So long as in this spirit you use your right as citizens there are objects which you may well endeavour to secure, and among them are the discouragement of the habits of intemperance, the diminution of the temptations thereto especially on the Lord's Day, and the purification of the statutebook of our country by the total repeal of certain iniquitous and immoral enactments, the tendency of which is to demoralize the social life of our land.'

POWER OVER OTHERS; ITS USE AND ITS ABUSE.-There are few subjects that are surrounded with so much jealousy, or guarded with so much anxiety, as the exercise of power in the Church, and especially by the priesthood. The fearful abuse of power revealed in the history of the Church forms a not unreasonable ex

cuse for the popular sentiment, but its undue exercise weakens the power of the ministers for good. The President of the American Convention of the New Church, the Rev. Chauncey Giles, has rendered good service to the Church by his discussion of this subject in his address from the chair. After a suitable introduction he says:-

"The Lord not only seeks to harmonize and equalize the interests of all, but to make every man and woman, every angel and spirit, a medium of communicating a larger, richer, fuller, and more precious good to all. It is the purpose of His love and the joy of His infinite heart to communicate His power and glory and love to every human being in the largest measures, and the richest qualities, and the most precious forms possible. He gives a perpetual message to every human being He creates to deliver to humanity.

"He gives men power, He delights to give men power, and to have them exercise it freely. He gives us all we will receive, and the more we will take and exercise the better He is pleased. He offers us power to appropriate and use for ourselves, for our own happiness, power to serve and guide and bless others.

"Man was endowed by the Lord with the love of power. He was formed by infinite wisdom to be the recipient of it, that he might use it, and that the quality of it and the measure of it might increase by use. Every organ of the body and mind is a vessel for the reception of power and an instrument for its use. Man is a series and congeries of such organs, to be the embodiment of Divine forces, which brood over us and penetrate us to imbue us with its qualities and move us to accordant activities, as the heat and light of the sun brood over the sea and land and become the mediate cause of all motion and all growth.

"In this respect we do but act in harmony with the Lord Himself and give proof that we are His children. He is in the constant exercise of power. He rejoices in its possession and exercise. It is the joy of His infinite heart to create and sustain the countless systems of worlds and orders of living creatures, from the microscopic insect through all forms and ranks and degrees to the highest angels.

"He gives power to men that they may do in a finite and derivative measure what He does in a self-existent and infinite way. We cannot create; but we can transmit it. It is our duty and privilege to accept it from Him in the largest measures possible, and to use it freely as we can find or make occasion. It is noble, it is godlike to use it. Its possession in high forms and exercise in a wise order prove our lineage; they are the mark of our birthright.

"As we are weak in the degree that we are isolated and severed from conjunction with others, and through them with the only source of power, the Lord, we unite with others that we may gain power over them, and that they may gain power over us, and that with combined energy we may accomplish what we could not do alone. Every partnership in business is formed for this purpose. This Convention of Societies was organized to gain and to exercise power which would be impossible to us as individuals or unrelated Societies. It was organized to increase and extend it over associations and Societies and isolated individuals, and with the combined power of all to reach out its arms, as far as possible, to every man and woman in the Church; to lay hold of those who are without the pale of the Church and to bring them under our influence and control. We meet to-day to perpetuate, to consolidate, and to increase our power as an organized body of the New Church; and the questions which ought to press upon us with more weight than any other, are how to get power in its largest measures and highest forms, and how to use it the most effectively to accomplish our purposes.

"Power is various in kind and distinct in degree. We are familiar with its natural forms, and we are beginning to learn something of its nature and laws. The history of the Church gives us a terrible picture of the means which have been employed to gain power and of the horrible crimes which have been committed in its exercise. It has been employed to restrain freedom, to perpetuate ignorance, to secure mental imbecility, and to prevent all spiritual progress. As New Churchmen we have no sympathy with such a purpose, or with such methods. That is not the way to gain power or preserve it. We meet as spiritual men, for the purpose of establishing a spiritual kingdom and exercising a spiritual power. "All human power is obtained and exercised by means of the truth. Truth is the form and instrument of it. It is the paths in which it moves, the vessels which contain it, and the media by which it is transmitted. Spiritual power is gained by a knowledge of spiritual truth, which is only another name for the laws of spiritual life.

"We may excommunicate a man if he does not believe as we do; but that, instead of bringing him under our influence, puts him beyond the reach of it. We may intimidate him with imaginary fears, so that he will not dare to think or act for himself, but that destroys his freedom and keeps him weak, and makes him a mere dead tool in our hands, and finally a dead

weight and a burden to our movements. If we had the physical power which the Church has possessed in some ages we could imprison those who would not assent to our doctrines, confiscate their property, and wrest a reluctant assent of the lips to our creed by physical torments. should gain no spiritual power in this way.

But we

Spiritual power can only be gained by freedom of thought and action. Truth gives freedom. There can be no freedom without the truth. If, therefore, we would gain power for ourselves as a general body of the Church we must do all in our power to preserve the freedom of every member of our body.

"The only way to gain the greatest degree of freedom and power is by associated action. This is an essential law of organic forms. As the hand or any organ or least part of an organ when severed from the body has no power, so when an individual is severed from the body of the Church, and just in the degree he is severed from it, he is deprived of spiritual power. He is prevented from helping others, and they are unable to help him. Fortunately it is impossible for any one to shut himself off entirely from all influence from others. The most lonely and isolated man or woman has some connection with the larger and smaller bodies of the Church. Their power reaches them through the press and by various other channels, and they are refreshed and invigorated by what they receive. But the more fully they are united, so that the currents of thought and affection can flow freely, and in various forms, the greater will be the measure of freedom and power. We need the influence of one another to give variety and roundness and completeness to our spiritual growth. Without influence in a variety of forms and degrees we become one-sided, narrow, and often bigoted. It is one of the great uses of general bodies of the Church to harmonize, to bring mind in contact with mind, and to give to each the life and power of all.

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"But truth alone is not power. The maxim so often quoted at the present day, Knowledge is power,' is only an apparent truth, and is liable to become a most mischievous error. No people, perhaps, are more exposed to this error than we are. The truths of the New Church are so clear and beautiful that they become satisfying; we are in danger of being content to rest in them. The change from the old to the new is like coming out of darkness into light; it is emerging from chaos into order, from vacuity into a world populous with every beautiful form of life. It is release from old perplexities; freedom from doubts and fears of going astray from

the path. We breathe a new atmosphere; we rejoice in the new paths which open in orderly ways to new and higher attainments. The great mysteries of life and death are revealed, and its problems, which have baffled the ingenuity and wisdom of the past, have been solved.

But truth itself, even the highest truth, is not power; it is simply the form of it, the instrument by which it is exercised. Truth bears the same relation to power that an engine bears to steam; that every organic form bears to the life which fills and moves it. The human hand is the most powerful material instrument the Lord has created; it is a perfect emblem of power. And yet when severed from the proximate sources of energy in the brain it has no more power than so much clay. The truths of natural sciencespiritual and Divine truths-are equally destitute of power in themselves. Like the cold and light of the polar zones, they may dazzle and blind, but they do not penetrate and move to action.

"The essential of spiritual power is love. There is no other spiritual power. All else is instrumental to it. All else in every form and degree is the machinery for its distribution and application to effect our purposes. If, therefore, we desire to gain power our whole natures must be imbued with love. We must open every door of affection to the Lord that He may come in with His Divine Love and take full possession of every faculty, soften its hardness, cleanse it from its impurities, set it free from its bondage to the love of self and the world, bring it into accord with the nature of His own glorified humanity, and so vivify our whole spiritual form that it will become the embodiment of essential power. In this way we come into the sphere of Divine influence; we get into the currents of the Divine order; we place ourselves in the power of the Lord, so that while every faculty acts of itself in perfect freedom He can use us with infinite skill to effect His purposes, which have become our purposes, as we use a perfect implement to do our work.

"In the same way, and for the same reasons, we must open our hearts to men if we desire to get power from them. No human being can give us permanent and essential help in its highest forms until we open our hearts to him. In one way every one stands more or less directly between us and the Lord. Every member of a Society is, or ought to be, a medium between every other member and the Lord. The Lord sends to each one of us a message or a gift by every other one. But it will not reach us if we will not receive it, or if it is not delivered. If we desire to be helped in our work as spiritual beings,

if we desire to be enriched with the most precious forms of good man can receive, or the Lord bestow, we must keep our hearts for their reception. We must become one with them, so that our hearts will beat in unison with their hearts. When a Society is bound together in love, and its members act in harmony with one another, the currents of life, like the blood in the material body, flow freely to every member. Each one lives the life of all; each one acts with the power of the whole; each one gives to all and receives from all. We must, therefore, love one another if we desire to help or to be helped, and so be faithful to the trust committed to us in transmitting the power of the New Heavens, and welcome the Lord in His Second Coming."

GENERAL CONVENTION. One of the features which distinguishes this assembly is the number of religious services and conferences on religious subjects which are held during its session. Appended to the printed Minutes is the following brief notice of these services and of some of the social meetings:

On Friday at noon the Rev. Chauncey Giles, President of the Convention, delivered his annual address; subject, "Power from Good."

On Friday evening a social entertainment was given at Standard Hall, on Broadway, above Forty-second Street, at which over six hundred and fifty persons were present.

On Saturday afternoon at two o'clock a conference was held at the church on "The Second Coming of the Lord," at which Rev. Jabez Fox of Washington, D. C., presided, and addresses were delivered as follows: by the Rev. William B. Hayden on "The Second Coming-not Personal, but Spiritual;" by the Rev. S. M. Warren on The Present Evidences of the Second Coming;" and by the Rev. A. O. Brickman on "The Future Results of the Second Coming.

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On Saturday evening at eight o'clock a meeting was held in the church preparatory to the Holy Supper; the Rev. S. F. Dike, D.D., presiding, and the Rev. L. P. Mercer and Joseph Pettee delivering addresses.

On Sunday morning at half-past ten o'clock religious services were conducted by the Rev. James Reed of Boston, who preached from Psalm xi. 3. The Rev. F. W. Tuerk officiated at the same time before the First German Society of New York at 141 Chrystie Street, preaching from Mark xvi. 15-18, after which Mr. Fedor Goerwitz of Brooklyn, New York, was introduced by him into the second degree of the ministry by the rite of ordination.

At three o'clock P. M. the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered at the Thirty-fifth Street by the Rev. Joseph Pettee, assisted by the Revs. T. F. Wright, Warren Goddard, jun., H. E. Goddard, and J. K. Smyth, to two hundred and ninety-three communicants. At eight o'clock the Rev. J. F. Potts of Glasgow, Scotland, preached on Exodus xx. 9; subject, "The Religious Aspects of Work." The Rev. A. F. Frost's sermon on Monday afternoon was based upon John iv. 35-38.

On Monday evening a conference on "The Religious Life" was held at eight o'clock, at which the Rev. J. R. Hibbard, D.D., presided, and addresses were delivered as follows: on "The Relation of Doctrine to the Religious Life," by Rev. J. F. Potts; on "The Relation of the Family to the Religious Life," by Rev. W. H. Mayhew; on 'The Relation of Piety to the Religious Life," by Rev. Frank Sewall; and on "The Relation of Morality to the Religious Life," by Rev. John Worcester.

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URBANA UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The Messenger of July 23rd and August 20th gives lengthened and interesting lists of the subscriptions received for the Endowment and the Sustaining Funds of this New Church University? "Seven years ago circulars were sent out for procuring subscriptions for the endowment of Urbana University asking for the sum of 50,000 dollars. At the same time a Sustaining Fund, to consist of annual contributions of 5000 dollars for seven years, was asked for to support the college while the endowment was being raised. At a meeting of the Board of Trustees held in Urbana, June 25th, the president reported that the Endowment Fund of 50,000 dollars is raised, and that a large part of it is paid into the treasury, or is now yielding an annual income to the University." Of this sum 45,465 dollars was paid in and yielding interest, and the balance was due.

The list of subscribers to the Sustaining Fund is long occupying six columns of the Messenger. The sum paid was 13,320 dollars; 3944 dollars were still due. "The above shows a total of 17,264 dollars subscribed to the Sustaining Fund during the past seven years. The statement does not include donations to the Building Fund in the year 1874, amounting to 2080 dollars, nor donations to the Laboratory Fund in the year 1875, which amounted to 850 dollars, nor does it include the payments of interest on subscriptions to the Endowment Fund, which payments also went to the Sustainment Fund."

64

EMBSAY (from the Craven Gazette).— Two services of singular interest were combined in the services of the New Jerusalem Church at this place on Sunday, August 31st. In the morning and evening the usual annual sermons were preached, and in the afternoon Mr. Edward Jones, who has for some time officiated as the leader of the Society, was admitted, by ordination, into the ministry of the New Church. The morning service was conducted by Mr. Jones, who preached an instructive sermon from Ezekiel vii. 23, Make a chain." In the afternoon the ordination took place in the presence of a large and deeply interested congregation. The ordaining minister was the Rev. Richard Storry of Heywood, a minister who is well known in the village from his frequent visits in former years. The New Church service of ordination, which is liturgical, is simple and impressive. It opens with the usual service of the Church to the end of the First Lesson. This is followed by an anthem, which, on this occasion, as is always the case at this church, was very effectively rendered by the choir. An address on the nature and duties of the Christian ministry is followed by the candidate's confession of faith and promise of fidelity in the discharge of the duties of the office into which he is about to be inaugurated. After prayer and the reading of passages from the Bible relating to the office of a minister the act of ordination follows. This is succeeded by a charge to the minister and a general thanksgiving of the congregation. A hymn was then sung, at the close of which Mr. Storry, having ascended the pulpit, gave the ordination sermon. He selected as his text Psalm cxxxii. 9, referring also to verse 16, "Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Thy saints shout for joy." After an appropriate introduction, the preacher said the Christian priesthood was the organized form of a principle which is universal in the Christian Church. This principle is the love of the souls of men and the desire to promote the salvation of mankind. The special duties of the ministry involve the conducting of public worship in an orderly, impressive, and edifying manner; the orderly administration of the sacraments, the public preaching of the Gospel, and diligent instruction of the people in spiritual things. The preaching of the Word is the special and marked duty of the Christian ministry. The Lord's instruction to those He sent forth was emphatic, "As ye go preach." The other duties which He enumerates, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers," etc., still follow the preaching of the Gospel, after a spiritual manner, and in relation to the souls of men. The ministry is, there

fore, a means to an end. The end is the establishment of righteousness in the world and the promotion of salvation. The exposition of the text was followed by an earnest address and exhortation to the pastor and the people. In the evening the anniversary services were continued, when Mr. Storry again occupied the pulpit, and preached a very effective discourse from Revelation xix. 17, 18. In the exposition of this remarkable, and to many very mysterious, passage he elucidated a number of important truths, and closed a very interesting subject by inviting all to give religion a personal and constant study, so that by the practice and assimilation of the good things that were offered we might grow in grace and true manliness after the pattern of our Lord and SaviourJesus Christ.

student, and then a preacher, in connection
with the Baptist body. All this while he
was a diligent seeker after truth, reading
all that came in his way by which he
might be assisted in his quest. His tastes
led him to choose books that explained
the Bible and sought to remove the
difficulties in theology and ethics by which
the path of every earnest thinker is beset.
It was thus not surprising that in course
of time he found himself at issue with
many in his congregation on the most
important subjects. The reading of
"Noble's Appeal" and the "True Christian
Religion," lent him by members of his
church about this time, gave a new turn to
his thoughts, and struck out a path wholly
different from that he had hitherto pur-
sued. He now began to find the light
for which he had so earnestly longed, and
saw the solution to the mysteries that had
baffled all his endeavours.
that to enjoy freedom in inculcating the
new truths he had received he must re-
linquish his connection with the religious
body with which he was associated, and
come among those who sympathized with
his views and were fellow-students at the
same fount of knowledge. The service in
which he had taken so prominent a part
that night would never be forgotten by
him, and he thanked his audience for
their presence and good wishes.

He soon felt

Mr. O'Mant has accepted an invitation to fill the pulpit at Nottingham, and we sincerely desire for him a happy and successful ministry.

REV. W. O'MANT (from a correspondent). The introduction of this esteemed minister into the ministry of the New Church took place at Blackburn on Monday evening, 1st September. Mr. O'Mant had been engaged to preach the annual Sunday-school sermons of this Society on the preceding day, and it was felt to be a desirable opportunity to give effect to the instructions of the late Conference and duly induct him into the ranks of the regular ministry. The Rev. R. Storry officiated on the occasion, assisted by the Revs. P. Ramage and H. Cameron. The Rev. G. H. Smith of Accrington and Mr. Parkinson of Preston were also present. The service, which is always impressive and interesting, was especially so in the present instance; for AUGMENTATION FUND.-The report of it was arranged that after the ordination the Conference Council shows that although sermon had been preached the candidate this fund is not so generally supported as should also briefly address the congrega- is desirable, it has yet rendered useful aid tion. The preacher took his text from to several of the Societies of the Church. Psalm cxxxii. 9, "Let Thy priests be During the coming year we trust that a clothed with righteousness; and let Thy more general effort will be made to insaints shout for joy." He showed with crease its income and render its action great clearness that the Divine culture of more efficient. A good beginning has been the Christian minister and the progress made by the churches in London, in nearly and happiness of those for whose welfare all of which collections were made for this he labours are intimately connected. A and the "Students' Aid Fund" on the saving ministry makes a joyful Church. Sunday before the Conference. The comThe meaning and beauty of the term bined committee for promoting the suc"saints was set forth and shown to be cess of the meeting of the General Conthe privilege of all who are sanctified by ference and the accommodation of the the Truth, who are set apart for holy uses members concluded to recommend to all by acknowledgment of its claims and the London Societies to have these collecfidelity to its teachings. Great attention tions morning and evening, on the 10th of was paid to Mr. O'Mant during the de- August, for the two equally important livery of his very interesting address. He objects of the "Ministers' Augmentation had been, he said, led to think of the Fund" and the "Students' Aid Fund," office of a minister from a child. This each Society deciding the proportion of office he had felt would be good for him, the collections which should be given to and good for the people to whom he might each fund; and they issued a circular be permitted to preach. He had sought, commending the funds to the attention of therefore, to qualify himself for the office the people. The effort resulted in the he desired, and in due time he became a following amounts :

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