Edgar Percy Blamires 1878 – 1967

When did the ‘questioning Church’ emerge? This contribution doesn’t offer a final word but a claim can be made, in Aotearoa at least, that the idea of Church as a structure with centralised authority and knowledge was being questioned well before the turn of the 20th century.

Before the emergence of the Bible Class movement, there were, especially in the larger urban areas, groups like Mutual Improvement Societies, Debating Societies and Wesley Guilds. One in which this writer has been interested was at Mornington Methodist Church in Dunedin in the early 1890s. It brought together not just younger members of church families but friends and friends of friends - some of them tertiary students - but all of them wanting to know more about their world and to overcome the limitations of their knowledge by questioning. Not by asking the local minister to provide answers but by seeking for themselves through wide-ranging and intelligent interest in the way in which their society was adapting to a changing world.

It was from such groups and within such an environment that the NZ Methodist Bible Class movement emerged, alongside similar groups within the churches. The increasing growth of suburban church life was matched by the appearance of a host of Bible Classes, for young women as much as for young men, aware of each other and calling themselves Unions. The idea quickly spread and within a few years these Unions contained memberships from all over the various provinces (Methodist Districts). In 1905 one encompassed Napier, New Plymouth, Nelson and Marlborough, along with Wellington. Conference was not slow to move, with all this energy finding expression, and a Connexional minister was appointed to organise ‘youth work’ that same year. Charles Porter was the first, followed by H.L. Blamires and then A.B. Chappell. When WW1 came and so much that the Christian Church stood for was called into question, it was the younger generation especially who answered the call to serve.

A century ago, at this very time in 1924, the ‘Young People’s Department’ of the Methodist Church of NZ came into being. The first in a series of resolutions spoke of “the present-day youth problem”. Conference agreed that it could “afford no lethargy in the face of the opposing forces of today”. Although the language referred principally to concern about Church membership, those “opposing forces” encompassed a much larger world view.

The shape of NZ society changed out of recognition during the inter-war years, 1919-1939. Firstly, that younger generation had experienced the trauma of war, had travelled far beyond the shores of Aotearoa, and had had their worldview inexorably shaken. They had experienced those “opposing forces” at first hand. And their children, growing up during that period were given a freedom to think for themselves that was beyond the imagining of the rigid patriarchalism of the Victorian years. As significant was the slow descent into economic depression and with it the recognition of the incongruity of regarding this country as ‘God’s own’.

What emerged from the Connexional reflection and discussion was what became generally known as the ‘Youth Movement.’ The last of the former travelling Bible Class secretaries, C.H. Olds was replaced by Edgar Percy (always known simply as ‘E.P.’ to distinguish him from his brother E.O.) Blamires. For 17 years he was at the helm of NZ Methodist youth and their local, district and national activities. The Blamires family of Methodist ministers included W.L. their father and another brother in Victoria and the three in this country. Edgar brought to his task both enthusiasm and determination but within the ethos of Te Haahi Weteriana o Aotearoa he was both adaptable and understanding. He felt deeply about the significance of his work – even that he had a ‘sense of destiny’. That what became the Youth Movement Methodist until nearly the end of the century speaks volumes about E.P.’s devotion and foresight. It was subsumed within the larger orbit of Christian Education in the 1950s - simply reflecting again the need for different structures for changing times.

From 20 – 26 May 2024, Youth Week will be celebrated. We all want Aotearoa to be a country where young people are encouraged to take up challenges. They are our future and we encourage them to think about the challenges ahead, to share ideas and to focus on the positive aspects of being young. We want to give our youth the freedom they need to do this, and to assure them of our unfailing support - especially if the going gets tough.