Welsh Journals

* ffln[iffliA mjmw 'ipspnjE. + No. 54. Vol. V. JUNE, 1897. Price One Penny. The following Pastoral from the Bishop is published liere as being likely to reach a wider circle than if read from the pulpit. MY DEAR BRETHREN OF THE CLERGY AND THE LAITY OE THE DIOCESE OP BANGOR. You have observed, I doubt not, how there has been a strong tendency for several years for the incomes of the Clergy to depreciate in value ; and the subject has been an anxious concern to me since I first nnder- iook the Episcopal office amongst yon. At last, the question has forced itself upon our attention, and after due consultation with the Clergy and the leading Laity of the Diocese, we have determined to appeal to our Churchmen at largo to come and help us; and to stretch forth the right hand of their bounty. We have established a Clerical Augmentation Fund far the Diocese, the main object of which is to raise the permanent endowment of every benefice up to £200 a year net value. There are at least 60 benefices under £200 a year; of these many vary from £150 to £180, and many are under £150, and several even tinder £100. A benefice which appears to be worth £200 is really worth a Tittle more than £100, and that which appears worth £300 is worth a little more than £150, etc. To accomplish this object a sum of at least £14,000 will be required, and we appeal to the churchmen of the Diocese to come forward and help us to wipe away this dark spot from off our Church. There is no layman who does not feel that " <he labourer is worthyof his hire,"and we are sure that there is no one who imagines that the external machinery of the Church can be adequately worked, when the external means necessary to put it in motion are want¬ ing. Nor is it reasonable to suppose that any Parish Priest can devote himself wifh that singleness of pur¬ pose and aim to his spiritual duties and respon¬ sibilities, who is ever hampered and crippled by anxious and harassing thoughts of the morrow and its needs. With the view, therefore, of putting the financial position of the poorer Clergy on a sounder permanent footing we make this appeal to all who love the Church *tt the Diocese. We hope to give each person in the Diocese an opportunity of giving what he can ; but as «ns is difficult in all cases, we have fixed Sunday, June 20«h, the day appointed for the Public Thanks¬ giving in Commemoration of the long and happy and prosperous reign of Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, as a Diocesan Sunday on which all the Churchmen of the Diocese, poor as well as rich, shall have an opportunity of giving to this object, accord¬ ing as God has blessed them. We ask your offerings in grateful recognition of the marvellous mercies showered on Great Britain during the reign of Her Majesty—mercies which have been the inheritance of every man and woman in the land; of a contentedness, of a prosperity and happiness which have no parallel in the annals of civilization ; and of the foundation of a progress which will go on from year to year. On the other hand, on an occasion of this kind we should call to remembrance with deep thankfulness the spiritual privileges which we as a Church have enjoyed. Owing to the provision made in times past by our ancestors, for placing the worship of God on a permanent footing in this country, we inherit gifts or endowments handed down from remote generations, and it is our duty as well as our privilege to take care 'that the provision thus made is not diminished but improved, and we have a Church historically con¬ nected with the fountain Head, with its undoubted Sacraments and other privileges—with a long file of •centuries reposing behind it, and the pure Word of God preached and taught in it. This ought to be sufficient reason to call forth to-day the warm support and the boundless gratitude of all Welsh Churchmen. For these and all mercies all praise be given to the Father; and above all things for his in estimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace and for the hope of glory. And, let us beseech Him to give us that due sense of all His mercies, that our hearts, may be unfeignedly thankful and that we shew forth His praise not only with our lips, but in our lives ; by giving up ourselves to His service, and by walking before Him in holiness and righteousness all our days, through Jesus Christ* our Lord, to whom, with Him and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen. Your faithful Brother and Pastor, D. L. 2ANG0R.