The Henson Journals

[11]

Advent Sunday, December 2nd, 1928.

Freemasons' Service at South Shields:

The country is covered with white, the sun shining on a winter–vested landscape. I celebrated the Holy Communion at 8 a.m. We numbered 10 communicants including Elland & his wife, and John.

At 1.30 p.m. I left the Castle, & motored to South Shields. There, at 2.45 p.m., I preached at a service of Freemasons in S. Hilda's. The brethren were in many cases accompanied by their wives & sweethearts, an innovation which is very undesirable, and destroys the character of the service. I told some of the officers, & they undertook to make my opinion known. I had tea with Shaddick & his wife, taking the opportunity to consult him about his curate, Woods, whom I ordained 6 years ago, & would like now to appoint to a living. Then I went to S. Mary's, Tynedock, & preached at Evensong. Save that the congregation was to largely composed of women, I was pleased with the service. After this, I returned to Auckland. It took 1 hour 10 minutes to come from Tynedock.

[12]

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The argument for acquiescence in an "intolerable" situation based on the fact that both sides in the Prayer Book controversy prayed for Divine guidance does not seem very effective. Our new Archbishop finds it irresistible:

"I am driven to the conclusion that it was not God's will that that measure should then pass. If so, we have to ask, in all humility, what is the Divine purpose in regard to it. And to me it seems that we are called by these events to a fuller realisation of what is meant by our fellow–membership in the Church as the living Body of Christ before we shall be ready finally to frame & to re–establish our law of public worship."

This can only mean that we are to postpone any attempt to remedy alter the "intolerable" position of subjection to the House of Commons which the rejection of the P.B. Measure has disclosed until we have reached such a measure of solidarity that we can present to Parliament an agreed Revision i.e. the Greek Calends!

[13]

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If corporate action is to be suspended until it can be unanimous, then corporate action can hardly ever be taken, & no corporate action in the past was taken rightly, for it has never been unanimous. In this matter of the Prayer Book, the corporate action was defeated, not by the successful resistance of opponents within the Church, but by the non–Anglican authority shamelessly invoked by the minority, & able to intervene under colour of the national theory of the Church of England, a theory which was eximplicitly repudiated in the Enabling Act. In the parishes the old vestry representing the totality of the parishioners has been replaced for ecclesiastical purposes by the parochial church Council representing only the Church people, and similarly Parliament was for ecclesiastical purposes replaced by the Church Assembly, save that the veto was retained as a security against action by the Anglican body which would conflict with civic rights & national interests.

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