The Express.
London, England, 1864-12-21 00:00:00

THE BEBOP OF LONDON ON CHURCH

EXTENSION.

The annual meeting of the Islington Church
Extender' Society took place last evening in Bishop Wil-
son's Memorial Hail, Islington. The Bishop of LONDON
presided, and these were present the Rev. D. Wilson, Rev.
D. Mecee, Rev. J. Patience:, Rev. W. B. Mackenzie, Bev.
G. Oaltbsrp, &a The attendance of parishioners was
Prayer having been offered up by the Rev. D. WIMION,
vicar et the pariah,
The Rev. Geonie Attu, bosomy clerical secretary,
read the eighth annual report of the society, which, after
speaking of the increased sympathy of the parishioners in
favour of church extension, states that the object of the
committee is, by grants (according to the rums entrusted to
them) to stimulate and supplement local effort, in the
gradual sub-division of larger and unmanageable, into
smaller and manageable districts, each with its own clergy,
and separate system of parochial machinery, Then follows
a brief review of the past work of the society :—During
the oast year, besides grants for temporary purposes, of •
small amount, by which the labours of at least two miuisters
have been in part secured, assistance to the amount of
6,14501. has been given towards theerection of five permanent
cherishes. Four of these are open, viz., St. Philip's, St.
Luke's, St. Thomas's, St. Mary's, llornsey Rise, and the
last, St. Bartholomew's, will be consecrated before
the end of the year. Thus, additional sittings for
between 5,000 and 6,000 persons have been pro-
vided. The first stones.have been laid of St. Clement's, to
be erected and endowed through the munificence of G.
Cabin, Esq., ILP., and St. Sumba, to be built by pub-
lic liberality. These churches will accommodate about
2.200 persons. The temporary church in Highbury New
Park, which has been opened by the generosity of Henry
Rydou, Esq., will accommodate shove 1,000 persons. The
two permanent churches consecrated during the past year
are St. Miami's, built in a considerable degree by the
family of, and endowed altogether by the liberal gifts of the
late John Randall, Esq. and St. Bartholomew's, to be
opened this month, erected by the aid of your society,
other societies, and the public generally. These two last
churches together will give scats for about 1,900 persons.
Thu the year will have seen, either in temporary or per-
manent buildings, an addition of about 3,100 Fittings to our
church accommodation, and the promise of 2,200 more in
the two churches, the foundations of which have been laid.
Beyond this, your committee have made • promise of
1,100/. to the Church of St. Barnabas', Hollo-
way, the first stone of which has been recently laid.
For the probable population of Islington altogether—say
180,000 persons—there are, or shortly will be, 32,000 sit-
tings in oar churches ; or in the whole, one for between
every five and six. In presence of these statistics, the com-
mittee whilst fully admitting that much, very much re-
mains to be does—to the replacing temporary by permanent
churches, in overtaking the lack of church accommodation
which still exists in some quarters, even at the low esti-
mate of one in five, and in supplying the new wants of •
rapidly increasing population—yet venture to assert that
there is also very much to prove that the work is steadily
advancing ; that the design of providing, in the course of •
few i ears, sufficie ot church accommodation for the inhabitants
of the whets parish, even when it shall be altogether built
over, is quite a feasible undertaking, and that, -depending
upon the display of brotherly sympathy and liberality be-
fitticg such a cause, they may feel there is good and suffi•
dent ground for them to thank God, mad take courage.
The Right Rev. CliatioLtS said they would no doubt
agree with him that the most valuable part of such •
cunning was to be found in the report. The use of such
an institution must be tested by the actual amount of pear.
tiral work done, and it was satisfactory to know that in
this, the ninth year of its establishment, they hail reason
to thank God for the amount of good which, wader His
blueing, the society had effected, and to take courage for
the future. It was impossible to estimate the results of
such an institution by
stlidie)= that passed through the
treasurer's hands. It cep that, besides grants for
temporary purposes, 6, - . bad been given towards the
erection of five permanent churches. _ -Now, the cost of
those churches taken at the most moderate estimate could
not be less than 50,000/., which sniouot somehow or
other this 6,8501. bad produced. It was an import.
ant feature in the operations of all these societies
that their usefulness was rather in the zeal and practical
sympathy which they aroused than in the amount of money
which pureed through their hands, or which they them•
pelves contributed towards the objects they had in view.
The report referred to the Church of St. Clements, which
was being erected by Mr. Cubitt, the cost of which he ex-
pected could not be less than 20,0001., • sum of money con-
tributed to the work by • private individual, and which in
some degree at least might be attributed to the sympathy
which the society bad excited and fostered is the perish.
Theo there was St. Michael's bails in • coasiderable degree
by the family of, and endowed and supported altogether by
the liberality of the late Mr. Randall. This also might be
to a certain extent attributed to the influence of the society ;
and the committee in the report stated that if the friends of
the institution did not relax in their efforts, there was every
reason to hope that the work of providing for the spiritual
destitution of that vast parish would be accom-
plished. Besides its other claims the Islington
Church Extension Society had this important one
' —that it represented more or less the great work
' in which throughout the whole diocese of Loudon they
' were now engaged, and, if allowed, he would state the pro-
gress which that greater movement, the Bishop of London's
fund, bad made during the comparatively short time it had
been in existence. (Hear, hear.) Little more than • year
' ago, as they were aware, he (the bishop) appealed to the
whole diocese to assist in the great work which was re-
' nuns' to he dose to put the diocese of London in a satis-
factory condition, so far, at least, u the outward means of
grace were concerned. At that time he stated that 100
' clergymen, and 100 Scripture readers to moist them, ought to
be provided as speedily as 'possible. At the meeting of
clergy and laity held at Loudou-house, he proposed that in
the first instance they shmild raise 100,000/. for carrying
out the object. His friends urged that the appeal should
be for a million, and the buis of the appeal that
was made was that 1,010.0 W/. should be raised is
ten years at the rate of 100,000/. a year—that 100 addi-
tional clergymen and KO Scripture readers should be pro-
vided as soon as possible during the ten years. i.e the work
thickened upon them, however, they determined to have
more accurate statistics Ulm, and they found that sot 100,
but WO additional clergy were required to place the diocese
in • satisfactory coodition„ estimatiag one clergyman for
every 2,000 of the people. Other calculations were made.
showing that of the 3,000,000 comprisiog the population of
the metropolis, 2,100,11) only could be taken as being sup-
plied with the means of grace, either by the church of
England, or any 'other denomination and that every third
person you fist might he considered as without these spi-
ritual benefits which every one residing in a Christian mushy
bad a right to expect would be provided for him ;
that was to say there were 1.000,000 people in London tin-
, provided either with church accommodation. schools for
their children, or ministrations on the Lord's-day or in their
' families. Little more than a year had passed since this
matter was taken in hand, and much time had been neces-
sarily occupied in making the necessary arrangements, and
now that they hada full year doting which the Bishopof Lau.
don's fund bad been io operation, he would state the result.
The total amount of money given rod promised was
171,010/. (Hear, bear.) Of this 99,900/. had been
actually paid, and 71,(D)131. more proinised—(clieses)—
and considerable sums were continuing to come in,
even st this dead season of the year. This 100.000/.,
111 re which they might roll it, presented an infinite amount of
Christian sympathy and liberality by no means to be mea-
sured by tits money which had passed through the trea-
surer's hands, any more than in the cue of the Islingtoa
Society. But as to the practical results of this mosey. It
appeared that during the period he hail mentioned they
had provided the means of adding tel additional clergymen,
of providiug stipends, and making all the necessary ariaoge.
meats for them. (Hear.) They wanted WO is ten years,
but they had exceeded the proportion, for they had provided
SO in one year, and of the 1,000,0001. they had hoped to
i raise in the ten years. 160.000/. was already su'oeribed—
considerably more than the tenth part. (Hese hear.)
He had suggested that 100 additional bl:ripture
i readers should he provided, but it was pouted
out by others that UM male and female lay
I readers would be necessary. The number provided
duriog the year was :0.1, which was also rather NOM) than
they hail expected, even upon the largest calculatmo of the
want. Thus they had provided the moans for 27 additional
, mission stttions, implyiog in each case • place of worship
I of some kind, and very often the purchase of a freehold
I
We, and always the purchase of leasehold property, and
I involving • cousiderahl expenditure. Theo they had made
i grants to 24 permanent churches. Putting the cost of each
I chore), at 10.0001., thus 24 churches would represent
' 240,0001., eo that their small grants had man ed from some
mourns cr other considerably over 2110,400/ . and whether
this had come either from the Eeclesiastical Commissioners,
• privatemunifioeocc. or societies like the present, it mattered
not. Then he said the value of the exertions of such societies
I was sot to be measured by the work they did, but by the seal
and sympathy, and public liberality which they called forth.
Thus it would he seen that the operations of the Bishop of
London's fund bore • very sear resemblance in its propor-
tionate results to rhos.` of the two Islington societies— the
' Isliegton Church Extension and the Islington Home Mis-
aMns—and were so encouraging that they might venture to
, hope that at the end of the tea years that would be true of
the whole of Loudon, which the committee of this society
said would be true of the parish of Islington. (Hear.) lie
saw no difficulty whatever in getting clergymen, scripture
readers, schools and mission station., and he saw DO fINIIOO
to despair of making London et the end of the ten
' years what it ought to he, ie regard to the out-
, ward appliances and means of religious worship. But there
was a more difficult matter remaining. It was easy to make
ecclesiastical machinery ; but difficult to make bemuse
nature different from what it was It was easy to send out
.
missionaries to foreigo lands ; but it was difficult to make
Sc. heathen Wen to them, od it might situ all turn ovs