The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-10-21
4 CHURCH WORK
One Considered in Sight
Here for Episcopalians.
Summary of Report BY the Bishop
His Labors Criticised-ResuIt
Unsatisfactory.

unsatisfactory.
Rev. Henderson Judd of the Epis-
copaI Church in Southern California,
wnO visited these Islands recently has
supplied some information 10 the
fchurch press in the United States re-
garding the true status OF the Anglican
Church in Hawaii in general and the
diocese Of Honolulu in particular. \
recent issue of The Living Church, the
leading paper of the Episcopal Church
OF the United States, published in Chi
cagO contains some pertinent sugges-
lions as TO what the church viii do
in regard to things ecclesiastical in
Hawaii. Evidently a rod is in pickle
for the present representative of the
episcopacy here and the result OF his
labOrs in the past are considered open
to criticism.
We do not discover in the Bishops
sketch, says The Living Church (epis-
copal publication in commenting on
an article furnished by Bishop Willis
| to The Church Eclectic for September
and containing his side of the argu-
ment evidently, any statistics of the
! present condition of the church, the
number of the clergy now working in
the diocese, the whole number of
church edifices, the communicates or
persons attached to the worship of the
church, and the present value of church
property and invested funds. These
omissions are partly supplied by Mr..
Judd who states that there are in the
Islands five priests and two deacons
The parishes number seven, all told,
with two missions. The number of
communicates is $40. and the whole
number of adherents is estimated at
800. The only congregation of native
Hawaiians numbers barely fifteen
souls.
Passing over the internal troubles TO
which we have already referred, and
which are dwelt upon at some length
by Mr.. Judd, we come to certain facts
contained in the Bishops historical
sketch which are of radical Importance
in Connection with any future assump-
ton of this work by our own church.
By the first census, made in 1882, the
native population was 10000. In 1872
these numbers had shrunk TO $1,000.
This terrible falling off of the old Ha-
waiian stock has not been repaired.
Ia
but Al. 019. 1t is thus sadly evident
that this element is gradually ap-
preaching extinction. The Christian
statistics show about $4,000 Roman
Catholics and 10000 Congregational
lists, to which are to be added the
800 churchmen, small number of
Lutherans, and sprinkling of other
Thus we gain an idea of the field,
and can form some conclusions as 20
the ends the American church should
have in view if she is led TO take ii
upon her hands. At present the An
glican Church ministers TO the small
body of English and Americans al
doubt, there as elsewhere, receives oc-
casional accessions from the discon-
tented of other religious bodies. She
cannot be said to have any following
among the old native stock. They ale
either Romanist or Congregationalists
The Anglican Church has been too
late, so far as these people are con-
cerned.
What, then, is our true mission, if
we are to assume that we have any in
those Islands? Surely it is to preach
Christianity TO the $4,000 heather,
Chinese, Japanese, and Polynesians,
who have crowded into Hawaii of late
years. Here is a work which is wait
important work. If the American
church undertakes this field, it should
be to organize it as a mission TO non
Christian people, on the same footing
as our missions in Japan and China |
The English and American churchmen |
ought to need but little financial aid. |
We are told that every other religious |
body is self-supporting 1t apears that |
the ). 2. G. has paid to the church a |
total OF $4,000 up to the present time, |
with the beggarly results which have |
been indicated. We do not think our |
Board of Missions would be justified in |
paying out $4,000 year. or anything |
like that sum, for work carried on
upon the present lines.
FOR HAWAIIAN WATERS.