MR. JOHN KENSIT, the leader of the crusade against Ritualism in the Church of England, addressed two meetings in the Christian Institute, Bothwell Street, Glasgow, on the 6th September. The arrangements for Mr. Kensit’s visit were made by the Rev. Dr. Kerr of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, who was assisted by a committee. The first meeting took place in the afternoon at three o’clock. The chairman was Mr. James M’Michael, an elderly gentleman who has been associated with Protestant work for many years. He introduced Mr. Kensit in a brief speech. The latter then rose and addressed the meeting. Mr. Kensit is a short, dark, smart looking man, and his manner is full of animation. He possesses a clear, powerful, resonant voice, and a ready command of language. He expresses himself with fire and energy, and his pointed, vigorous sentences are fitted to tell with marked effect upon a popular audience.
The subject of lecture was “Idolatry in the Church of England,” but as the time allotted for the afternoon was only an hour, he said his remarks would constitute simply a preface to the evening lecture. He began by saying that no minister of the gospel was a priest in the sacerdotal sense. He had not spoken many words when a man, who proclaimed himself a member of the Church of England, interrupted him, and continued at intervals to do so. This man said that there were priests in the prayer-book. Mr. Kensit then showed that the word priest was there defined as presbyter, elder, or minister, and not in the Romish sense. But he added, lifting the Bible, “Though it were in the prayer-book, to the word and the testimony,” and he then went on to prove that there was no such thing in the New Testament from beginning to end. “Sham priests, sham priests,” he declared, with great emphasis, were the modern ritualists.
He proceeded to show how Romanising practices began in the English Church; by putting the reading desk with the Bible to one side, covering the communion table with an embroidered cloth, and calling it an altar. In speaking of the change in the reading desk, he made allusion to a visit which he had paid to the Barony Church, Glasgow, that day. He said there were changes there being made which he did not like to see. At this stage, an interruption occurred from another and unexpected quarter. Rev. Mr. Paton, of St. Paul’s Established Church, who was seated on the platform not far from Mr. Kensit, rose. He stated that he came to hear a lecture on “Idolatry in the Church of England,” that he would not listen to any aspersions cast on one of his brethren, the minister of the Barony (Dr. Marshall Lang), whom he knew to be a faithful gospel minister, and that he begged leave to withdraw from the meeting. Mr. Paton, who is a brother of Dr. Paton, the well-known missionary, is an occasional lecturer on Protestantism, and secretary to one of our Scottish Protestant Societies. It was very bad taste on his part to make such an unseemly and unkindly interruption. We think it said very little for Mr. Paton’s Protestant sympathies. The Established Church is invaded by a flood of Ritualism, and though Mr. Kensit should lift his voice against it when lecturing on “Idolatry in the Church of England,” he was only making a suitable application of his discourse to the circumstances of his Scottish audience. Indeed, we felt that we would not have been surprised though many more had gone out under Mr. Kensit’s lecture, the zeal and thoroughness with which it was animated being so contrary to the lukewarm, compromising spirit that is so prevalent in our country. In fact, before Mr. Kensit was done, many more did go out, not a few of whom were ministers, and some, to all appearance, priests, who had come to listen. In the scene with Mr. Paton, we were delighted to hear the voice of Mr. Kensit shouting amid the din, “Though all should leave, I must speak the truth.” During the lecture, he spoke of the abominable Confessional now in use in the Church of England, and described a scene in connection with it he had personally witnessed. At one point he touched on the absurdity of bowing to the table, which was falsely denominated an altar, and two young ladies in the audience spoke out and said, “I bow to it.” It is quite manifest there was a large unsympathetic element in the audience, but the greater number enthusiastically applauded the address throughout.
In the evening Mr. Kensit had a very large audience, every part of the building being filled. Rev. Dr. Kerr presided. In his opening remarks he spoke highly of Mr. Kensit’s work, instancing in favour of what was called his violent methods, memorable scenes in Reformation history. Mr. Kensit then rose, and received a most enthusiastic reception. A few obstructionists began to shew themselves, but they were speedily ejected from the hall. Mr. Kensit delivered a powerful address, in the course of which he gave an account of his own work and the various scenes in which he had recently taken part in connection with his crusade. The interest of the audience was sustained throughout, and great heartiness prevailed. He exhorted them to take their stand upon the Bible, and not be led astray by ministers or Church leaders. He warned them against traitors in the Scottish Churches, who were doing their best to lead the people astray with corrupt worship. The only improvement on the address which we would have desired was the omission of some jocularities, the use of which in our opinion weakened the effect; but we make some allowance for an Englishman. We sincerely wish Mr. Kensit all success in his work, and trust that the divine blessing may rest upon it. He has no doubt been the means of causing a considerable stir at present in the Church of England, and we earnestly hope that the tide of Romanism may receive a powerful check.
Mr. Kensit has arranged for a thousand protests to be publicly lifted up in an orderly manner in Ritualistic Churches on the first Sabbath of November.