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LIFE AND LIBERTY. -+-

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LIFE AND LIBERTY. -+- MESSAGE TO THE FELLOWSHIP. AT the Council meeting held on Thurs-, day, December 4, it was resolved that the following message from the Council be published to all members of the Life and ( Liberty Fellowship. The Council of the Life and Liberty Movement is of opinion that the division on the Second Reading of the Enabling BilL, in the House of Commons should be looked upon as no- jthing less than a vote of confidence in the Church, passed by the nation's repre- sentatives in Parliament. The Act will almost certainly be on the Statute Book within a very short time; and we wish to place on record our conviction that the primary duty of the Church is to afford iproof, without delay, that this confidence is not misplaced, and that the Church is worthy of the trust thus imposed upon jit." We' believe that, in this task, our i Movement has a part to play and it is our strong hope that throughout the country the Church may be quickened with the spirit of Life, and Liberty so that the councils^—parochial, diocesan ■and central—shall be truly effective in ;the life of Church and nation. f Active Co-operation. ,Altho,ugh wise reform can be directed j by the leaders of the Church, it can only ^b^effected by the active endeavour and ^cooperation of every member. The chief icefttres of our general propaganda must [therefore be the Parochial Church Coun- cils. The Life and Liberty Council ac- tcordingly wislie& (i.) To be ready to help those incum- bents and members of P,aroehial. Church Councils who may desire to consult us on the powers of the Coun- cils, on methods and details of organi- sation, administration and policy. We hope to be in a, position to do this— (a) By the circulation of litera- ture, explanatory and descriptive. (b) By providing speakers and lec- turers, to address Parochial Church Councils and Ruridecanal Confer- ences. (ii.) To urge upon the members of our Fellowship that they shall imme- diately enrol themselves as parochial electors, and thereafter do all that is possible to make the Church Councils in their own parishes true centres of fellowship and life. (iii.) To plead that this spirit of fellowship iand life be manifested on the part of Parochial Church Councils, not only by effective participation in II: and administration of the affairs of the .Church in the parish and diocese, but also by a practical, vigilant and con- tinued injterest in all departments of life which affect the social, ethical and spiritual welfare of the parish and of the community and by losing no ctp- portunity of co-operation, wherever it may be possible, with other Christian communions, and with all organisa- tions which are working for the same ends. Urgent Church Reforms. We must not,' however, forget that there are also certain specific Church re- forms which have been pressed by many within the Church for years past. We believe that the time has come when un- necessary delay in carrying them out would be intolerable; inasmuch as the fellowship of the Church is broken and its true life is thwarted, wherever and in so far as the Church, in the ordering of its own affairs, is not true to the Spirit of Christ. We shall therefore em- phasize, and plead that as soon as the National Assembly of the Church is set up it shall pay immediate attention to, the urgent need of such reforms, so that the Church may be able to give more honest and effective witness to the mes- sage of our Master and the teaching of His Spirit. We consider such questions as the following to be of urgent import- ance— (i.) A more equitable distribution of our resources, both in men and money. (ii.) The abolition of the sale of advowsons, and of the ecclesiastical freehold". (iii.) The reform of Church patron- age. (iv.) The immediate subdivision of large dioceses. It was decided at the Council meeting that as many members as possible of the Council shall go into Retreat and Con- ference in January, 1920, in order to consider and to recommend for the ac- ceptance of the full Council a detailed policy on these last matters, which will be published as early as possible in the New Year. With gratitude to Almighty God for anything which we have been allowed to .achieve in the past, and to members of our Fellowship for their loyalty and their work, we ask for the contmued prayers of the Fellowship; that we may have a right judgment, a true faith and a living hope in what- ever future service we may be called to perform, for our Church and nation.

[No title]

MELANESIAN MISSION.

HARMONY IN INDUSTRY. 1

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