The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-01-02
BISHOP WILLIS APPEALS
ASKS FLOCK TO RALLY ABOUT
HIM.
Says II They VIII stand BY The Bishop
and Work, Great Things May BE
Accomplished.

Bishop Willis has addressed the fol-
lowing letter to his flock:
My Dear People: 1t is under no or
binary circumstances that / write my
New Years greetings to all members of
the Anglican Church in Hawaii wish
ing every one all earthly happiness and
prosperity, and, above all, that you
may be filled with that peace and JOY in
believing, which comes from fellowship
with God the Father through His Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
The occasion is one which none of us
have seen before of will see again--the
beginning of a century. At midnight on
December 31st, the nineteenth century
ended, and we passed, not only into
New Year but a New Century. This
New Years Day marks an epoch which
no thoughtful person will lightly dis
regard. What hopes and anticipations
it inspiresl Compare the condition of
the world in 1901 with its condition now.
What progress and advancement has
been made! What discoveries have
been recorded What triumphs have
been won of mind over matter that is,
of man over nature! We cannot sup
pose that the future will be less fruit
full than the past. But who can say
what the new century has in store what
changes it will bring, what discoveries
it will witness, what further advances
it will be given to man to make in sub
DUNG" the forces of nature and in ex-
ercising that lordship over the earth,
which was given him at the creation
when God made him to have dominion
over the works of His hands, and put
all things in subsection under his feet?
The thought of this sovereignty of
man over the natural world ought to
fill all hearts with humble gratitude
and praise to the Creator of the world,
who has bestowed on man, created
after His own image, the power to
penetrate into mysteries that sur
round him, and make them subserVient
to his needs.
And let us not fail to recognize in all
that is going on around us, in political
changes, in wars and rumors of wars,
not less than in the conquests of sci
ence, the hand of Almighty )d carry
ing out His own eternal counsels of pre-
pairing the world for the secor1 advent
of His incarnate Son, when lie shall
come to Judge mankind for whose sal
walton He was born in Bethleh I'm nine
teen centuries ago.
And then again the circumstances
under which the century begins with Us
as a Church are of no ordinary kind.
The Anglican Church of Hawaii, as an
offshoot of the Anglican branch of the
holy Catholic Church, whose mission it
coming of the Lord, occupies the
unique position of being the first mis-
sionary diocese established by the
Church of England beyond the limits of
the British Empire. AS the one diocese
of the Anglican Communion in the
Western Pacific it has furnished a con-
Meeting link between the dioceses on
the west coast of America, and those
in Japan and China to the East, and
those in the British Colonies to the
South
Shall this Ink now be broken and
this diocese be extinguished in conse-
quence of the political changes which
have made those Islands a ter itory of
the United States? This change, as
you are aware, has been made the &C.
casion for the withdrawal of the en-
tire subsidy which the diocese has hith-
eCto received from the mother church,
through the Society for the Propaga-
ton of the Gospel, and no correspond
ing aid is offered by the American
branch of the Anglican Communion.
AS diocese, we, therefore, find our
selves thrown upon our own resources,
supplemented by such assistance as we
may receive from fellow churchmen in
other dioceses who realize and sympa-
thize with our position. If, on the one
hand, it appears a hardship that all
external aid should cease in an un-
hand, what a glorious opportunity is
given you. If only you can rise to 1t, to
show to the rest of Christendom that
you do not intend that the See of Ho-
nolulu shall be extinguished, nor that
the staff of clergy shall be reduced
The future of the diocese now, in a
great measure rests with you, the Lai-
ty-the People of God According to
ancient custom the Bishop should be
supported by the faithful of his own
diocese. If steps were at once taken
for the endowment of the See, we
should not be so far removed, as is
generally supposed, from obtaining rec
ognition by the American Church as a
Diocese, rather than as a Missionary
Jurisdiction. But to reach this point
there must be a united effort on the
part of all the members of the church
throughout the Islands. All must work
together for the glory of God and the
advancement of His church. All indi-
vidual and sectional aims must be laid
aside. 1t was inevitable under the
conditions that had to be met in the
early stage of our organization that
anomalies should have arisen. The
time has now come when nothing out of
line should any longer be tolerated. AL
ready an exaggerated view of an
anomalous state of things, as seen from
distance, has caused our reputation
to suffer, attention being thereby drawn
away from the quiet, earnest work that
has all the while been going on.
If. forgetting those things that are
behind, and pressing forward to the flu
ture, all unite in common aim to es-
tabllsh the church, whose privileges
they enjoy, upon a permanent founda-
ton in these Islands the first decade of
the new century may see the Bishopric
endowed, the cathedral completed. and
the staff of clergy doubled. Only let
there be unity of spirit and a tenacious
grasp of purpose. and who can say
what may not be achieved with the
blessing of God upon our efforts.
Praying that the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ may be with you all, re-
main,
Affectionately yours,
ALFRED WILLIS,