The Henson Journals

[119]

5th Sunday after Trinity, July 20th, 1924.

I preached in St Agnes, on the Shortage of Clergy, and remained for the Choral Celebration. Again I was impressed by the legality of the service. The celebrant did not even wear the vestments.

In the afternoon, I attended a meeting of the "League of Nations Union" held in the Toxteth Congregational Church, and made a speech of 35 minutes duration. In spite of the rain there was a considerable attendance. I had tea with the city clerk (!) and then returned to the church, where I preached to a large congregation on "The League of Nations". The minister was a young, rather delicate–looking man, who had taken his B.Sc. and B.D. in Edinburgh, and spent two years in Germany under Deissman and Hermann. He was certainly better trained than the most part of the Liverpool clergy.

I returned to Mere Bank for supper. The Vicar of the Parish, Elcum, the Bishop of Whalley, & an Australian Archdeacon came in for an hour's talk, before going to bed.

Mr Douglas Horsfall is 68 years old, is obsessed with his Bible class for boys, & wearies his guests with rather hackneyed jokes & stories mainly ecclesiastical. He affects an extreme spiritual simplicity, but is evidently a keen proselytiser. I was surprised to find him less of an Anglo–Catholic than I had been led to suppose. He is rather a bigoted 'back–number' of a Tractarian!

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