THE following most seasonable remarks occur in the Annual Pastoral Letter recently issued by the Rev. Dr. Hessey to his parishioners of St. Barnabas, Kensington:—
“Since I last addressed you in this form our Bishop has delivered his primary charge, the very watchword of which is the PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. Convinced as I am of the value of that system to our country, I rejoice in having my own views on the subject confirmed by so high an authority. It is in virtue of that system, still by law established among us, that I have written to you, from year to year, not merely as the minister of a particular place of worship to which a certain number of Christians habitually resort, but as one to whom the care of a certain number of souls spread over a certain area is actually committed; as one who is expected to care for rich and poor alike, and to form as it were a link between them; as one who is responsible ecclesiastically to the Bishop of the Diocese, but in a far higher sense to the Divine Head and Pastor of the Church.
“Some distinguished men have thought that the parochial system has had its day, and ought now to be forgotten. Every day’s experience, however, tends to prove that such is not the case; for never has that system shown more vitality and efficiency than during the last thirty years. To take a single instance which is familiar to us all: I know not how, without the parochial system, provision could have been made for the pastoral care of what is technically called the suburban village of Kensington. It now contains upwards of 121,000 souls; and yet rapidly as its population has been increased, fresh churches have been built for the use of that population, to which parochial rights and duties have been successively attached; and each new parish has again been subdivided, as soon as the necessity has occurred. Such repeated subdivision is still going forward; and, as you are aware, a Temporary Church, within the Parish of S. Barnabas, has already a conventional district attached to it, and waits only to be replaced by a permanent building in order to have its district legally assigned. When Mr. Booker commenced the temporary building, the site selected was part of an open field. It now is surrounded by houses, which appear to find tenants as fast as they are built.
