Morning Calm v.37 no.186(1926 Jan.)

The Corean Mission.

The Mission to Corea was set on foot in 1889 by the direct action of the then Archbishop of Canterbury., in response to the urgent and repeated request of those best fitted to judge of its necessity, viz, the bishops in the neighbouring countries of China and Japan. From the out it has been worked, in Corea itself, on the most economical lines possible, by a small staff of cellbate clergy, assisted by Sisters (of the Community of St. Peter, Kilburn), a few other lady workers, and one or two doctors—none of them paid more than the barest living wage. In 1922 the American Congregation of the S.S.J.E. (Cowley Father) accepted the invitation of Bishop Trollope to open Branch House of the Society in the Diocese of Corea.

Ill-equipped with men and means from the start, constantly embarrassed by political disturbances in Corea, and, of course, especially hampered since 1914 by the war, the Mission has nevertheless succeeded by its patient labours in building up in Corea a compact little Christian community of some 6,000 souls, about nine-tenths of whom are of Corean birth and speech, and the remaining tenth Japanese. The English, or English-speaking, community is small, but the Mission has always regarded the care of their souls also as a first change on its time and energies.

The “objective” of the Mission—which since its foundation has always been worked on distinctively Catholic lines—is, and always has been, not the mere conversion of individuals, but the setting up in Corea of a fully equipped and synodically governed province of the Catholic Church, self-supporting and capable of managing its own affairs, with an indigenous ministry and a vernacular liturgy carefully formed on the best Catholic models. Upon the native Church thus formed will ultimately rest the task of winning their myriads of non-Christian brothers and sisters to the Faith. With the object in view no pains have been spared in impressing on the members of the infant Church the necessity for self-support. Not only are they learning to take a keen Interest in the affairs of the Church, through their local and diocesan conferences (with the Bishop and Presbyters in Synod the supreme authority within the Diocese), but as Christian congregations are formed, they relieve the Mission of the entire burden of local Church express and the maintenance of the native ministry.

Two things are urgently needed (a) A yearly income of ₤12,000 (towards which S.P.G. at present contributes about ₤5,000) to replace the present wholly inadequate sum of about ₤8,000 a year. (b) A capital of ₤2,500 to enable us to decorate the first part of the great Central Church in Seoul. The Bishop is convinced that, if once an adequate measure of support is secured, we may look forward to seeing in the not distant future the infant Church in Corea capable of standing on its own feet with only a minimum of support and supervision from the Church in England. ——————— The Leage of St. Nicolas (with which is incorporated the Association of Prayer and Work for Corea) is a League of Churches, or Parishes, whose priests and people are pledged to support the Mission by their sympathy, prayer, and alms. Full particulars to be had from the General Secretary (see page iv.).The full list of Churches is printed in July and January Magazines.

Children's Pages.

THE CHILDREN'S PRAYER. (Please try to pray it every day.) Bless, O Lord, all Missions, and bring the people of Corea to know and love Thee, for Jesus' sake. Amen. ————— LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY FOR JUNIOR WORK. DEAR BOYS AND GIRLS OF ST. NICOLAS, In future you are going to have two letters, one from me and one from Fr. Hunt. I have seen a great many of you already and I hope before long that you will all know what I look like because that will make my letters much more interesting to you. As St. Nicolas is our Patron Saint we must all learn about him, so will you ask your teachers to tell you about him, or if you write to me and send 2d. I will send you a little book of his life. There is going to be a competition every quarter and I think the first one must be about St. Nicolas as he is the Patron Saint of Corea as well as of children and sailors. We shall send a prize to whoever writes the best account of his life and print it in the children's pages in the next magazine, but you must be careful to follow the rules. I wonder if all the boys and girls who read this letter are praying and working for Corea. If not, will you begin at once to use the prayer at the head of this letter and write and ask me what you can do to help? Yours affectionately, DOROTHY GMONCETON 30 BRAMHAM GARDENS, SOUTH KURSINGTON, COMPETITION. Write a short life of St. Nicolas. Send it to the above address before February 16th. Name, age last birthday, and address to be written at the top of the first page. Every paper to be signed by a parent or teacher to certify that it is the unaided work of the competitor. —————

LETTER FROM FR. HUNT.

MY DEAR CHILDREN, In these days when the young Coreans enjoy tennis, football, and baseball it is good to see that they have not altogether forgotten how to use the bow and arrow. It is quite a common thing still to see a large canvas target on the hill, side generally set up near a charming pavilion in which are gathered a number of Corean elderly gentlemen and youths who are enjoying a game of archery. From time to time I have come across delightful stories of famous archers in Corean history. I read the other day of King Tai-Cho, who lived in the fourteenth century: how that he and a friend named Yi-Chi-Nam were playing at archery when they saw a woman passing along the road carrying a pitcher of water on her head. The king said to his friend, "I will shoot at the water pot and I wager that you cannot stop the hole with an arrow before the water pours out." The king shot an arrow, and Yi-Chi-Nam followed with his and stopped the hole with it, much to the admiration of the people around and to the consternation of the woman.

A Favourite Game—Kite Flying

This same king had a wicked son who usurped the throne so that the king left Seoul and went to live in the wilds of North Corea. The son sent his friends to the north to persuade the king to return ; but whenever the king saw them coming he shot them with his arrow so that they never returned to Seoul. Even till this day the people remember this and if their friends are absent or long in returning they say, "Ham kung Cha Sa Ko go na?" ("Has he gone to Ham Kung and been shot with arrows?). The king did return to Seoul, and his son wearing the royal crown and kingly robes went out to meet his father, and waited to receive him in a large tent inside the East Gate. The son had been warned that his father would try to shoot him and that when he saw the king raise his bow to hide behind one of the massive tent poles. No sooner bad the king entered than he shot an arrow at his son, who immediately dived behind a pole and was saved. The king laughed and said, "cannot kill you since heaven is on your side, take the royal seal and do your own will."

To come down to later times : before our first Corean was baptized he was known throughout the Island of Kanghwa as “Kim the Archer." He is known still as such to-day, but we know him also as Fr. Mark Kim, the priest. A Seoul Christian who died the other day was a splendid howman and he was known as the Keeper of the Archery Pavilion near Seoul. He was one of the old styled Coreans and had no use for baseball. In his grounds were many evergreen trees from which he sent yearly decorations for the church at Christmas. He was often to be seen with the Seoul gentlemen at the target, sometimes I fear when he should have been at Mass; but just before he died, when he was in good health, he made his confession and received the Blessed Sacrament. A few days afterwards he was practising with his bow and shot a bull's-eye; but returning home in high glee he fell with his bow and arrows in his hands and never spoke again ; and when they got him to his house he was dead. He had made his peace with God and the Church, had shot his bull's eye, and what more was there to do? I have just said Compline with our students, and we have been singing in the psalm Thou shalt not be afraid of any terror by night nor for the arrow that flieth by day,” but I fear that the arrows of the Evil One stick fast into many poor Coreans. It is our work to pull them out and with the arrow of the Lord which is sharper than a two-edged sword, defeat the Devil in his own citadel. Yours affectionately, CHARLES HUNT. —————

THE ORIGIN OF TOP-KNOTS AND HIGH HATS.

Long, long ago in China, even centuries before the great Confucius was born, there lived a wise and learned man, named Ki-ja. He was the chief counsellor at court and all honoured him for his justice and goodness. When a great war broke out and a new line of rulers came into power, Ki-ja declined to serve the king of the country and resolve to emigrate to Corea and set up a kingdom of his own. The new king was very Sorry for him to go, but he allowed five thousand skilled workmen to go with him. Over the plains of Manchuria Ki-ja and his army of people marched ever towards the rising sun until they crossed the Yalu river. After another three days’ travelling the country became very beautiful and Ki-ja resolved to settle and build a city. Each day the sunrise was more beautiful than the day before, the little clouds were tinted with every shade of rosy red and gold, and so he named the country Cho-sen, which means "Land of morning radiance." Having laid out for his colony a city which was to be the capital of his kingdom he called it Ping-Yang and he built a wall all round it and laid out roads. He taught the people how to build good houses with thatched or tiled roofs and how to warm them with flues under the floors with a fire at one end and a chimney at the other. The people of the land were very rough and savage in these early times, and being constantly given to hard fighting, murder was common. So Ki-ja found that he must devise some way to make them peaceable. He saw that these rough people were their hair long and never combed it, so he ordered that every married man should twist his hair into a knot on his head and the younger fellows must plait their hair and wear it in a pigtail down their backs. But these, rough people used the top-knot as a handle to catch hold of when fighting one another in the streets and what is more they cracked one another's skulls with club so that many dead men were found in the streets. To stop these quarrels and murders Ki-ja invented a hat that would keep brawlers at least a yard apart. "I'll settle their quarrels for them, once and for ever,” said Ki-ja. "I'll make their fun cost each man a pretty rope of cash. Every time two bullies fight they shall have a lot of crockery to pay for." So Ki-ja caused big heavy hats to be made of clay. These measured four feet across and were two feet high, weighing many pounds. These he had baked in ovens until they were as hard as stone. The men were compelled to wear these hats and looked like moving mushrooms. When men fought their hats broke against one another and they had to go to the potters and buy new hats, so that it was easy to find out who had broken the law and to punish them. Besides, the hats cost a lot of money and they soon had to give up fighting and let off their band temper by glaring frightfully and calling names. In time a gentleness like a great calm settled over the land and the crockery hats became all the fashion. They were very popular with the women who borrowed their husband's second best hat to do the family washing in. They were also useful for feed troughs and drinking basins for the horses and cattle and for donkeys to eat their beans. Ki-ja took the clubs of the rough men which they no longer needed and handed them over to the women to pound the clothes on washing days and for ironing the men's starched coats by beating them. By and by, as manners improved, the men gave up their crockery hats and wore tall horse-hair hats to cover their top-knots.

Please Note Office bours. MONDAY TO FRIDAY MORNING 10-15 TO 12.15. SATURDAY MORNING 10.15 to 11.15. TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOON 2.30 TO 4. OTHER THIS HY APPOINTMENT.

The Bishop's Letter.

SEOUL. November 25th, 1925, MY DEAR FRIENDS,

As I have now added to my other duties those of Principal and Lecturer of our Clergy Training School, I have less leisure than ever for letter-writing. I had more than enough to do before this additional burden fell on my shoulders. But the loss of Fr. Hodges and absence of Fr. Drake (though we hope that the latter is now well on his way back), made it necessary for me, with the aid of others on the spot, to fill the gap, at least for a time, as we could not possibly continue postponing the recall for a further period of study, of the four sub-deacons, Im Joseph, Cho Timothy, Choi Basil, and Han Noah, who were ordained and sent out for a preliminary period of practical work after Easter, 1923. To them we have added Youn Moses, a man slightly older (thirty-five), one of Fr. Hillary's converts in the early On Su Tong days, who had won for himself a very good position in the civil service, under the Government-General, but who has long been waiting to leave this and throw himself into Church work. At last I acquiesced last autumn (1924) in his doing so and undertaking temporarily the work of catechist in Kanghwa City for a year, in order to gain a little practical experience before entering the Clergy Training School or Theological College on its reopening. When therefore we reopened on October 1st this year, he joined the four sub-deacons above mentioned, forming with them our present theological class. You might imagine that a class of five would not take up much of the instructor's time. That, however, would only show how little you know about it! For the same range of subjects has to be covered for five as for fifty, and it takes as long to prepare a lecture for the smaller number as for the larger. Without the willing help of Frs. Arnold and Hunt, I should have found the task quite impossible, especially as I have had no recent experience of this kind of teaching work, and have no stock of lectures to fall back upon. As arranged at present, the course consists of two lectures a week from me on Dogmatic Theology and two more on the Old Testament (chiefly the Psalter ; Fr. Arnold has two lectures a week on the New Testament (chiefly the Acts of the Apostles), and two more on Liturgies (chiefly the Mass) ; Fr. Hunt contributes two lectures a week on Church History and two more on Parochialia (including Church music, in which he has the valued help of Sister Helen Constance). Sister Helen Constance is also helping the students with their English, with which they have already a bowing acquaintance, and which is under existing circumstances the most practicable substitute for “the Latin tongue." Over and above this they have two hours a week at classical Chinese, in which my own teacher is their instructor and in which I join them as a pupil. Apart from the cultural and practical value of a knowledge of Chinese, which in all these Eastem countries (Japan, Corea, and China) holds the place occupied by Greek and Latin in the West, the ability to read Chinese provides the key to a vast amount of literature which would otherwise be inaccessible to them ; the total output of really good books in En Moun (the vernacular Corean script) being pitiably small. (There is, for instance, it first-rate commentary on the Psalms in Chinese, based on Kirkpatrick, which was produced by Bishop Graves of Shanghai some years ago.) We have not yet succeeded in fitting any Japanese lessons into the time table, but this is of the less importance, as they already have a sufficient command of Japanese for Fr. Arnold to be able to lecture to them profitably in that language. They are housed in the Sister's old residence on the south side of the Pro-Cathedral in Seoul—their proximity to which is a great asset. For help in their devotional life, they have, of course, the daily Mass and such help as I am able to give them in the practice of meditation. Moreover, we have at last succeeded in translating the 119th Psalm, arranged for recitation the Canonical hours of Prime, Terce, Sext, and None, so that with these and Compline (which we had already) and the two daily choir offices of Lauds and Vespers in the Pro-Cathedral, they are able to aspire to the Psalmists' standard, "Seven times a day will I praise thee, O Lord." For exercise Fr. Arnold is getting them to work with him in reducing the grounds found the Cathedral into something like order, and I had intended to go on expeditions with them on Saints' Days, if all the Saints' Days had not most perversely fallen on Sundays this autumn. However, as I had had no summer holiday, I took one of a week's duration towards the end of October, when the autumn fruits were at their best, and carried all five of them off with me for a six days' scramble on the beautiful mountains behind Songdo, the old capital of Corea, about fifty miles from Seoul. It is all very delightful, but, as I began by saying, this trifling

The Cathedral, Seoul, and Mission Building.

addition to my other duties does not leave me much time for letter-writing. September, too, was, as usual, a very busy month. Sister Isabel had her three weeks' class for the catechist women at Su-Won during that month, while I gave up just one week to taking a retreat for our Corean priests, and then another to holding a semi-retreat (or something more in the nature of a summer school) for our twenty-four catechists or lay readers.

In September also on Holy Cross Day we blessed the Novice House* recently erected for Corean novices in the Sisters' compound, and Yi Phaebe is definitely installed there as a postulant, while we have every hope of others joining her in the near future. Sister Edith Helena is at present the Novice Mistress—her place to be taken, when she goes home on furlough next year, by Sister Mary Clare, who has now quite found her tongue. One very sad piece of news I have for you, and that is that we are to lose the services of the Cowley Fathers. I told you when I was in England and in my last letter that there was some fear that they might have to withdraw, and the visit of Fr. Williams, the Assistant Superior, last summer made it plain to me that they had "bitten off more than they could chew," in undertaking work here—especially in view of the new Superior's earnest desire to strengthen and stabilize the work of the community in the United States. It is, of course, a great disappointment not only to us, but to the two Fathers who are with us and who are supremely happy here. The community has kindly left me to fix the date of departure, so as to cause us as little inconvenience as possible. And my proposal is to let them go next spring, when we shall have had nearly four years of their valued society and help. That will, I hope, enable them to be present at the consecration of the Cathedral as a farewell treat, as they were present at the laying of the Foundation Stone just after their arrival in 1992. What we shall do to fill their places I can't think. The younger clergy in England certainly evince no great keenness, as far as one can judge, to come to the rescue of the Church's missions here or in Japan or elsewhere ! Pray God that He put it into the hearts of some of them to do so. The papers are full of rumours that the Bishop of London is after all coming out to be present at the consecration of the Cathedral. It seems almost too good to be true—especially as he gave me quite clearly to understand that it could not be managed. However, let us hope that it may be so. It would give us all a great lift up if he did. Perhaps the consecration of yet another of his clergy, Fr. Simpson, to be Bishop of Kobe has provided an additional reason for making the effort to come. Certainly Bishop Simpson deserves, and will need, all the support he can get. I cannot say how grateful we were to hear of his nomination and consecration. It will mean a very great deal to us, having him (so to speak) just next door—though there will be about 1,000 miles between us. I said so much in my last letter about the Cathedral and its needs that I

• By anistake the gift of the Navice ~

need say the less now. But in the April number we shall “let ourselves go" on the subject, in preparation for the Dedication, which I still hope may take place on Holy Cross Day in May. I must just record the blessing of our new Chapel of Our Lady at Yo-Ju which took place at the end of August. Dr. Borrow is busily at work there and we have already quite a respectable nucleus of Corean Christians to keep her company. In your prayers please remember especially (a) her work and that of the other two doctors, (b) the novitiate for Corean sisters, and (c) the sub-deacons and others who are now being trained for the ministry and on whom so much must depend. Yours very truly in our Lord, +MARK, Bishop in Corea. The Cathedral and its Decorations.

MR. ARTHUR DIXON has now chosen the two large standard candlesticks, the crucifix and candles for High Altar, the censer and incense boat to match, the crucifix and hanging lamp, and tabernacle for Crypt. The donors will be notified when and where the gifts can be seen before they are despatched. We have no candles as yet offered for the Crypt Altar. They have been provisionally selected to match at £12 each, but So far there are no donors. The estimate for the Bishop's Throne which Bishop Trollope hoped to have been the memorial to Bishop Corfe reached £140 to £150. So far the special contributions either in England or in Corea have only reached about £75, so the whole matter is under consideration. Many of Bishop Corfe's old friends subscribed, of course, to the Memorial Fund raised after his death to support a medical student in Corea. But can anyone put us in touch with a younger generation in the navy who might care to honour the memory of the only naval chaplain, who, we believe, has become a missionary bishop. Especially is the appeal made to those connected with the China station. The unallotted money in England available for general decorations amount to about £500, and we believe more money is also available in Corea. Three beautiful chasubles, white, green, and purple, have been given and will be used for Low Mass sets. So far there have been no offering of gold and red High Mass sets (£75), nor for the frontals, linens, &c., suggested for the High Altar by Bishop Trollope in the October Magazine. Particulars can be given to any who are considering such gifts.

The Corean Martyrs.

WE are glad to be able to print two pictures of extraordinary interest. Our readers will remember the account Bishop Trollope gave in the October number of the Magazine of the Beatification at Rome of the Corean Martyrs. Mgr. Mutel, who was present, very kindly sent to Bishop Trollope photographs of the large pictures hung up at St. Peter's, in which an artist had tried to depict the scenes. In No. 1 we have the Martyrdom of Bishop Imbert and the French priests, Peres Maubant and Chastan. All around stand the Coreans in the well-known hats. On the left is the NO. 2 magistrate in his carrying chair, while other authorities wearing the embroidered square with tiger and stork, and with hat fastened with amber beads, may be seen. At the back are the well-known mountains of Seoul and the River Han. In No. 2 we have the Corean Martyrs, Kim Colomb and his companions fastened to crosses on ox-carts, being brought out to their death outside the great gates of Seoul. Truly such memories of the courage of the missionaries and the faithfulness to death of the Corean Christians ought to stimulate us to even greater desire to help bring the country of Corea to Christ.

Organizing Secretary's Letter.

CHRISTMAS will have passed by the time these words are in print, and I hope it was a very merry and blessed one for you all. But this is not too late to wish you a happy New Year. When the New Year of Holy Church began this Advent (in which I am writing) I was conscious that it was one deep with significance for the Church in Corea. It will see, please God, the consecration of the new Cathedral with the enormous possibilities inherent therein. Here in England we shall try to do our share. The Annual Festival will be of a very ambitious sort; I am hoping to observe it on Sunday, May 2nd, when I hope the great central service, at which the Bishop of London has promised to preach, may be in Westminster Abbey. It is not, however, quite settled about the Abbey as the new Dean has not yet taken over the reins. In other parts of the land I am hoping it will be observed as a "Corea Day" with special services in the Cathedrals and the Churches of the League of St. Nicolas and others. Our plans are still being made, and we need your prayers and assistance that the occasion may be a great success, and bring our Mission an influx of enthusiasm and vision. It is a vision with a divine assurance behind. We are out for the Catholic Faith, and that is bound to succeed, come what may. We must try to be more and more worthy of the faith that is in us. Will all our readers please be thinking of Churches where we may ask for remembrance at the Altar next May, even if we cannot expect alms? We appeal especially to Churches dedicated to St. Mary or St. Nicolas, the patron saints of the Cathedral.

I was impressed by something Fr. Paul Stacy wrote to me from St. Peter's, Coventry, the other day. He said: "By all accounts there is to be a great demand upon the Church in the New Year's budget. It is to be wished that there were a still greater response to the call from Catholics. In spite of all that has been said at Anglo-Catholic Congresses, there are still many Catholic parishes which are doing next to nothing for the spread of the Faith. Meanwhile, non-Catholic Missions are going ahead with tremendous zeal, and, though one thanks God for their work, it makes the question of reunion very difficult. Just fancy China almost Protestant! However can we even hope to make a claim that even moderately Catholic Anglican work in China is a ground for standing out against non-sacramental religion when the question of reunion of bodies within a Chinese church becomes necessary?"

This is sound thinking, and in Corea we have the comfort that our work is directed by the teaching of the full Faith; but this makes our special position all the more valuable as a witness, as something solid, moulded in the one fashion, standing like a beacon amidst many varying presentations in not only neighbouring China, but also in Japan, where the range of diversity is a serious obstacle to progress in evangelization. We cannot impress too much on ourselves—and most of us have been brought up to think differently—that Foreign Mission work is the first thing to be prayed for and worked for; after this we may turn to our own more favoured and well-owered inheritance. The Bishop of London hopes to be in Corea in the autumn of 1926 and I know the Bishop in Corea is looking forward cagerly to his visit. Fr. Lee proposes to leave for his post at the end of February. Fr. Hunt is due in England some time in June. Our Winter Festival took place at St. John's Institute on December 3rd last, at which Fr. Lee spoke, and we all leamed much from his talk. It was unfortunate the weather was so bad—thick fog and a withering cold ; under the circumstances the attendance was as good as could be expected I suppose. Mr. West, of the Missionary Literature Supply, kindly came und manipulated the lantern, and I want to take this opportunity of saying how grateful we are to him for the enormous amount of trouble he is always ready to take for us, and how much I enjoy the breezy optimism he brings into everything he touches. I have had a very busy season. Since I last wrote I have preached at the following places: Ardeley: Poplar, All Saints: Clapton, All Souls; Birmingham, St. Albans and St. Gregory : Cogan (Glamorganshire), Holy Nativity. St. Dochwy, and Old Cog ; Westminster, St. Matthew; Poplar, St. Gabriel; Kennington Park, St. Agnes; Sunderland; Castletown, St. Margaret; Poplar, St. Frideswide; St. Michael's Home, Axbridge: Burnham-on-Sea ; Highbridge ; Chard School ; Oxford, St. Paul and St. Barnabas; Putney, St. John ; Bournemouth, St. Peter ; and Leeds, All Souls and St. Hilda. Also a few lectures here and there. It will be a help to us in the Office it, when the incumbent of a church leaves, our local secretaries or others interested, would write to us here, and tell us the name of the new church, and also who is the new parson. In this way we can keep in touch. Our present system of following movements in The Times and Church Times is not infallible. I commend you to God that He will inspire us with His Holy Spirit, and to the prayers of the Corean Martyrs, whose sufferings are brought to our mind in the pictures on pages 6 and 7. Where they are now they are in a fuller light, and we believe they will not deny us their prayers, which they offer as well for the Church of which they were children in their lifetime. GRAHAM MARTYR. Suggested Resolutions for the New Year. FOR AN ASSOCIATE. I will enlist one new pray-er for the Mission during 1926. (Report any such names to Miss Hewlett, Oldfield House, Harrow.) I will enlist one new Church for the League this year. (Report to Head-quarters.) I will lend my Magazine every quarter to some one who does not yet see it. I will enlist one new subscriber to the Magazine this year. (Report names to Mrs. Winterton, 30 Russell Gardens, Golders' Green, N.W. 11.) I will not let this year pass without helping some children or young people to learn about Corea. (Consult Miss Monckton, 30 Bramham Gardens, S.W. 5, as to methods.) I will plan some way to get increased financial support for the Mission this year. (It is sometimes much less trouble to increase one's own contribution than to make a plan by which others will contribute either in money or in service, but that is really the most sound.) I will do something as well as pray. (The Association is for "Work" as well as for "Prayer," and "Work" can be used in a very wide sense.) I will tell others about the Corean Mission. (The Corean Christians always tell others what they have learnt to believe in.) FOR A PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCILLOR. I will see the Corean Mission has a place in the Missionary Budget this year. (Guaranteed annual contributions from Parishes are a great source of help.) FOR A CHURCHWARDEN. I will pay over my missionary contributions received without delay. (How would you like it if you only received your financial support mostly in December of each year and had to carry on during the earlier months all the same?) FOR A PAROCHIAL. SECRETARY. I will try to find out how other Mission secretaries make their Branches so much more live than mine. (Headquarters can sometimes pass on the experience of others.) I will arrange with my associates some definite time and place for corporate intercession, and will help them with objects for prayer. (Head-quarters can often give current needs of the Mission for prayer. Some Branches with few associates arrange to make their Communion on certain days with special intention, even if there is no definite day set apart in the parish.) FOR DIOCESAN SECRETARY. I will make it my business to increase the number of Churches in the diocese which are enrolled in the League. (Why have some dioceses apparently such little knowledge of the claims of the Corean Mission and so little interest in meeting those claims?) FOR ANY SUBSCRIBER. I will pay my subscription earlier this year. (The Mission has to carry on all the year on the quarterly cheques sent out, and of present the bulk of the income comes in the last few months.) I will follow the good example of those who always send a stamped envelope for a receipt. FOR OWNERS OF JEWELLERY AND SILVER. I will send something to be sold for the Cathedral decoration. (So far £230 has been received by sale of jewellery and silver for this purpose. But more will be needed to carry on the mosaics.) FOR ANY FRIEND OF THE MISSION, I will read the reports of the Missionary Council when they they are published in January, and specially the section on Corea. I will see that Corea takes its rightful place in any advance for the missionary cause. FOR A TEACHER I will try to arrange that any scholars who are under my care shall have some definite consecutive teaching on Corea during this year. (We hope to publish some lessons early in the year. Particulars will be sent later to any teachers who care to register their names now with Miss Monckton, 30 Branham Gardens, S.W. 5.) FOR ANYONE ARRANGING A MEETING. I will try to arrange with other parishes in the district to co-operate so that the Mission may be saved expense, and the speaker visit several places at the same time. I will make careful preparations for the meeting. I will never have a meeting without a bookstall. I will have some definite plans to follow up the meetings. (Head-quarters can make suggestions so that the meetings may be not merely commonplace affairs, can supply ideas how to run bookstalls, and can suggest definite challenges to a parish after the meeting.) FOR A PRIEST. I will find one priest for Corca or Kobe this year if unable to go myself. (The letter of the Bishop shows the dire need for priests to relieve him of the work of the Theological College, to replace the Cowley Fathers by the spring, and to strengthen the neighbouring Diocese of Kobe whose fortunes are now so nearly allied to those of Corea.) To the Associates of St. Nicolas.

DEAR FELLOW ASSOCIATES OF ST. NICOLAS, At the beginning of a new year I have the opportunity of writing you all just a few words. The majority of you I do not know personally, but I am glad to think that with many of the secretaries I have been able to come into personal contact. One great bond of union we all have, and that is our daily prayer for the Corean Mission. In receiving from the local secretaries revised lists of their associates it has been rather sad to find how many have dropped out from one cause or another, and in most cases how few new names have taken the places of the old ones. In some instances there has been a certain amount of vagueness as to what an associate really is. May I make it quite clear that an associate of St. Nicolas is one who undertakes (1) to pray each day for foreign Missions, and especially for the Corean Mission, and also (2) to work in some way (this includes giving money) for it. An associate is not someone who only takes in The Morning Calm, or even who subscribes regularly to the funds, but, first of all and the greatest essential of all, one who pray's day by day for God's blessing on the overseas work of His Church. There is a card of membership, and also a form of admission, if it is wanted. Belonging to the League of St. Nicolas are many churches which as yet have no associates. Are there not even one or two in such parishes who could undertake this twofold obligation and become associates? If there are any such I should be only too glad to hear from them, and to keep their names on the list of “Unattached Members." There are many claims on time and prayers in these days, but surely the cause of the spread of God's Kingdom has a first claim on us all. There is very much to be thankful for in the way in which so many long established Branches continue to flourish under keen secretaries, and for the knowledge that in so many centres faithful associates are offering up their daily prayer for the Mission, but it would be cheering to add new Branches to those already existing. I sometimes feel that I have not enough to do as the Secretary of the Associates of St. Nicolas, Yours sincerely, MARGARET R. HEWLETT, General Secretary of the Associates. OLDFIELD HOUSE, HARROW.

The Junior Work.

IN the last issue of The Morning Calm you heard that we were reorganizing the junior work. This was because we found that there were scarcely any children in any part of England working for Corea, and the money received from children was almost entirely the result of money boxes in Sunday schools where they were not being taught about Corea or having their interest aroused. We are trying to do one of two things in the parishes which have at present no children's missionary guild. Either (1) to start the Guild of St. Nicolas with a rule of prayer and work for Corea and having regular weekly meetings, or (2) to get the missionary spirit into the communicants' guilds, guides, scouts, Sunday school, &c., and to persuade them to make it one of their rules to pray for the Church Abroad and once a year to raise some money for Corea. I should like to thank all who have been praying for a blessing on our efforts. Please go on praying, because as soon as you started we began to make headway, and a result seven London parishes have already promised to adopt one of the two courses mentioned, and I hope soon that provincial parishes will see their way to follow suit.

The failure in the past has been largely due to the lack of materials provided for the teachers. Corea is not a land about which the ordinary teacher knows anything at all and very few have time or opportunity to study it sufficiently to make interesting lessons for children, and then their interest must be kept up with games, plays, and stories. We are endeavouring to meet these needs and we hope that lessons on Corea for children under twelve will be in the teachers' hands by the end of January, but, alas! the response to our appeal was disappointing and comparatively few sent 3d. To those who did we tender our most grateful thanks, and the one or two who sent far more than we asked have enabled us to carry out at least one of our plans for interesting the children.

Are there none of our readers who would spare one evening a week from October till May to hold a meeting for children, to teach them about the work the Church is doing abroad and to train them to act missionary plays, &c., either in their own parish or in one of the many parishes where helpers are wanted? Do write and ask for particulars if you think you could help, and please send 3d. if you have not already done so. DOROTHY G. MONCKTON. 30 BRAMHAM GARDENS, S.W. 5. The New Missionary Bores of the Corean Mission. WE hope many of our readers will send for the new missionary box which replaces our old friend, the Corean hat. It is in the shape of a Corean book, with red cover and label in the proper place. On the label will be found the following inscription : —

朝鮮聖公會 Read from top to bottom. CHO SEN SUNG KONG KWAI (—Corea Holy Catholic Church)

The boxes may be had, price one shilling, from the Corean Mission Office, Mary Sumner House, Tufton Street, Westminster, S.W. 1. Please see they are emptied quarterly, and the contents sent either to the local authorities or to Head-quarters. Three Little farms.

I HAVE sometimes been asked about the “village" work among the Japanese in Corea. There is practically nothing of that sort. I do not mean that villages do not exist in Corea, but the Japanese do not collect in them as much as in the small towns. Sometimes also they build up what we might call suburbs to the larger Corean towns. Here there are little groups of Japanese, two or three families, or ten or twelve even, living at first in Corean houses more or less adapted, till they put up their own dwelling places. These are small officials, small shopkeepers, Japanese teachers in the Government schools of Corea, and occasionally a farmer or two who has land in the neighbourhood. But circumstances are quite different from the village life they have left in their own country, and if there are any Christians in these places they are very lonely as to their Church life and need our prayers very much. It is a pleasure to be able to turn in remembrance to three little farms on the outskirts of one of the towns. I knew them from the start; perhaps we shall have later on information as to their present condition.

The first farm of my story is that of Mr. M—, who has quite a good acreage of apples and the round pears so much liked out there, though less appreciated by us who know what a pear can be! He had a great friend in the town, a chemist. This man was an carnest Christian, and had tried for years to bring his farmer friend into the fold of the Catholic Church. For long the latter held out, most politely of course, but kept entirely aloof from all Christian gatherings. Then came a time of great trouble and anxiety in the family, so much so that the farmer felt that what he had heard about Christianity could alone help him in his time of need. He told me himself afterwards, "I felt that I must become a Christian." He sought instruction, was baptized and confirmed, and became a regular communicant. Then the wife was willing to hear, and it became my privilege to go every week along the path through the rice fields and orchards to teach her at her house. She had a good many small children, and much responsibility for her husband's business, but she tried hard to make time for her lessons, and as faith gradually dawned it was indeed a happy task to go to her house,

The children came to Sunday school and then were baptized, and last of all Mr. M— taught his old mother himself. She was unable to read, like most country women of her generation, but had a simple childlike desire to learn what had made all the others so happy. After her baptism and confirmation she often came to make her communion, and seemed to understand in a wonderful way. I heard that the old lady died very peacefolly last October. Please pray for the soul of Elizabeth M—.

Hers was really a wonderful conversion, for she was about sixty-eight when she was baptized and sometimes these old ladies are absolute "obstructionists" in their families when any member contemplates a change of faith. As yet another family is added to the Church, it is as the lighting of another “candle," as at Candlemas. This time the farm was for silkworms. A Japanese sericulture farm is a wonderful sight, but how laborious while the silkworm season lasts! There is no rest, day or night, from feeding the silkworms ranged in trays on tiers of shelves, as in an apple room in our country. There are about two periods of silkworm rearing, in the spring and another in the late summer. During these times study is impossible, lessons to enquirers and catechumens must stop, and I fear, too, that church-going becomes very difficult. But faith is real, for back to church comes these people as soon as the season of heavy toil is over. Labour is not yet organized with a view to Sunday observance. "Go on till you have finished," seems to be the idea. But I know that these people do pray and read at home even at these times, when they cannot get to church.

The “candle" at the silkworm farm was lighted in this way. The wife of the owner had been in a nervous and depressed state for some time, the reason being that she had no child, which according to Japanese law and custom is a sufficient reason for divorce, and this weighed on her mind till it made her quite ill. It was the change in her friend and neighbour, Mrs. M— that made Mrs. S— think that she too would like to hear, and she and her husband were taught and then baptized together as Andrew and Helena. With the thought that her husband could not now divorce her, she rapidly recovered health and strength. The change was thus marvellous.

The third farm was another big apple orchard. It adjoined Mr. M—'s farm, just as did Andrew and Helena's place on the other side. This farm belonged to a young man of twenty-eight, a widower, living with his old parents and two small boys. His wife had died about a year before we got to know them. He was brought to church by Mr. M—, and we heard that he badly wanted to get married again, as his mother was rather too old to manage without help in the house.

In the East these matters are "arranged." The great point was that as the young man was a catechumen, a Christian young woman should be found, and she must be a Church Christian. Fortunately, a suitable bride was found among the congregation, who on being approached by the "nakadachi," or "go-between" (an indispensable person in all Eastern matrimonial arrangements) was willing to undertake the job. So as soon as the young man could be baptized, the marriage took place, and has, I believe, been a great success. The old parents were brought to the Faith, and the elder of the two little boys later became a most devout little server.

So, on that big plain teaming with industries of all sorts, among the rice fields, and the apple orchards, and the mulberry trees, with the big hills rising all round in the distance like the rim of a tray, and the river, a mere trickle of water in winter, and a rushing torrent in summer, there are the three little farmsteads where the Kingdom of God has come. Most people are agreed that as far as the Japanese are concerned evangelization by means of "preaching to the masses" has had its day. But the influence of individuals counts, and especially when they have come to realize that all Christians must be missionaries in one way or another, and that the Catholic Church has its rules, as in the case of respect Andrew and Helena for the law of Christian marriage. R. ELRINGTON.

The "Mothers' barmony" Society in Corea. UNDER this pleasing title the first Branch of the Mothers' Union was founded in the Corean Mission last autumn. In a letter to the Head-quarters of the Mothers' Union in London, from which we are kindly allowed to quote, Sister Helen Constance tells of the beginning :— "I think we have made a fairly good beginning as long as we can keep the women up to it. That is the fault of the Coreans, they are like children, take up anything new con amore, and do not persevere. However, those who have heard of it so far are very keen, so I am hopeful. “I had a splendid opportunity of speaking to the women catechists all together when they were up for their annual training course. They are sixteen in number and, of course, the work in the villages depends on them between the Sister’s visits, so it was a good thing to explain to them first.

"The meeting here in Seoul was much liked, thirty-one came and were put on probation. We met in front of our Lady's picture in the Cathedral. Fr. Hunt translated for me and we explained the objects, showed them the card, and read the prayer. We then adjourned to their room, had tea and biscuits, and spoke further. They all agreed it was 'Chama Manso,' that is their expression for 'very interesting.' "On St. Michael's Day we started the Mothers' Union in our station at Chemulpo, the first place where Bishop Corfe built a church in 1891. The Christians there are very faithful. We had the same programme and curiously enough about the same number, so altogether seventy-eight women know about it, and once it is settled in the large stations, the smaller ones will hear of it and want it there." Here is a fresh call on our prayers, that these women may persevere. The finances of the mission.

PLEASE note money for 1925 can be received up to the first post of January 12th, 1926. So far we have sent to Corea this year £1,750. The Treasurer has available to date (December 28th) £1,025. We must receive £500 before January 11th if we are not to fall behind last year's total, and £1,225 if we are to reach the Bishop's ideal of £4,000. Please cut off here for Private use.

Suggestions for Thanksgivings and Intercessions.

THANKSGIVINGS. For the life and work of the Cowley Father during their few years in Corea. For the beginning of the Corean Sisterhood of the Holy Cross. For the beginning of the Mothers' Union in Corea. For the evidence of missionary spirit among some Japanese Christian. For many gifts for the Cathedral. SUPPLICATIONS. That the way may be made clear for the appointment of a second Bishop. That a priest may be found for the training of the Corea Sacred Ministry. That guidance may be given to those to whom trusted the training of Corean women for the Religious Life.