The Henson Journals

[128]

Monday, October 10th, 1927.

I finished the "Open Letter" for the Bishoprick, and sent it Carter together with the report of my Congress Sermon from the "Church Family Newspaper". The MS. of the latter was sent to the Secretary of the Ipswich Church Congress for the official Report. Lomax came to see about his precious "Retreat House", and stayed to lunch. Colin Kennedy arrived in the course of the morning, and walked round the Park in the afternoon.

Cecil Ferens, Colin Kennedy, Lionel and I motored to Stillington, where I admitted the Revd J.C. Douglas to the perpetual curacy. The Church was crowded, and there was a fair muster of the local clergy. I was pleased with the service. We returned to Auckland after the service, giving Morris Young a lift so far on his way to New Shildon.

Some more newspapers comments on my Congress Sermon were sent to me. These are very polite to me personally, but express a kind of pained surprise that so normally reasonable a person could have given utterance to such monstrous opinions. They are so obviously written on the basis of a few sentences from the sermon, that they have no kind of value as criticisms of the sermon itself.