Across the Prairie in a Motor Caravan: A 3,000 Mile Tour by Two Englishwomen on Behalf of Religious EducationHasell, Frances Hatton Eva
Religion
Across the Prairie in a Motor Caravan: A 3,000 Mile Tour by Two Englishwomen on Behalf of Religious Education
Hasell, Frances Hatton Eva
Missions -- Canada
For the most part the men out here are the pick of the junior clergy
from Oxford and Cambridge, men who have sacrificed much in leaving
England. The clergy depend upon voluntary contributions, there being no
endowments, of course. It is reckoned that in the diocese of Qu'Appelle
the average contribution for each man, woman, and child is 15s. per
head. They use the envelope system, so that if prevented from attending
church the money is set aside just the same. Besides this, the farmers
give generously in kind. But, as a clergyman's wife remarked to me,
butter and eggs, though very welcome, do not supply clothes for the
children. The drawback to the voluntary system is that the clergyman's
income is as uncertain as that of his parishioners; for when the harvest
fails there is no money for anyone. The Railway Mission clergy received
monetary support from the Fund, but this Mission was only a temporary
arrangement until the various districts became self-supporting. There
is, however, a diocesan fund to help the poorer parishes. Though the
parishioners do their best it is obvious that they can never provide
more than a scanty support for a clergyman who has a wife and family,
and hence the great difficulty in filling the Canadian theological
colleges.
The Rosetown Sunday School was in a flourishing condition, for the vicar
was very keen. The children were taught to sing by a lady who had been
accompanist to Clara Butt. On the Monday it had been arranged that I
should take a Bible-class of elder girls, but when Mr. M. took me down
to the house where it was to be held, we found that none of the girls
had come (owing to school examinations), so we went to the movies
instead!
There is a splendid picture palace in every little prairie town, and
some of the films shown are really good. The cinema provides the sole
recreation for the entire populace. On Saturday evenings there are long
lines of cars all down the street, when the farmers and their wives come
into town to shop and go to the pictures and meet each other.
I was asked to give a missionary address next day to the junior branch
of the Women's Auxiliary.[6] This particular branch proposed to call
itself "The Busy Bees," because the members intended to work so hard. I
talked to the children about the "Hope of the World" picture, which
seemed suitable to this country of many nationalities. Winifred remarked
that it was a splendid country from the missionary point of view as
"they _see_ black and white and brown." Where this junior branch had
been started the children were keen to join, just as every Canadian
churchwoman seemed to belong to the Women's Auxiliary. From many years'
experience as a secretary for S.P.G. one longed to see the Church of
England follow Canada's example by directing all her missionary effort
into one channel, and one wished that missionary fervour were as
universal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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