Annual Church Meeting.

Auckland Star, Volume XVI, Issue 3807, 21 October 1882, Page 4

Annual Church Meeting.

Last night, the annual public meeting of Anglican Churchmen was held in tho Choral Hall, under the presidency of His Lordship Bishop Cowie. There was an exceedingly well-filled hall on the occasion testifying to the interest felt by the pooplo in general in the Church's v/ork. The v proceedings were opened with a collect and hymn, after which, the chairman briefly stated the scope and purpose of this annual gathering, which was to give church members, and even memhers of the Synod, an opportunity of bringing up matters which they bad not bad time to do during the sittings of tho Synod. Home Mission Wokk,—Rev. P. Walsh, who was first called upon to read a paper on thia subject, said iie had an intimate acquaintance with the woik, having been for 14 years connected with Homo Mission labours, over fully one-half of the diocese of Auckland, which embraced the two pro. vinces of Auckland and Taranaki. He pro*; ceeded to describe the nature of the work to be performed by country clergymen, or " bush parsons," the qualifications necessary for the work, and. the system by which the Home Mis* sions were maintained. He held that the annual sum of £450 raised through' out the diocese on behalf of this work ought to bo very largely ; increased, if the people wore aroused to a ' proper interest in it. The great evils against which the " bush {parson" had to contend were apathy and want of conti. nuity of effort, and he required, to be possessed of great patience and per« severance, and strong faith in the nobility of his mission. In order to obviate the defects iv the present method of working Home Missions in this diocese, ha proposed the adoption of a similar plan to that in force in the diocese ot Victoria. - dividing the diocese into two divisions—one north and one south of Auck« laud, and having the mission workers placed under regular supervision.—Mr Larking > added a few remarks upon the subject, in the course of which he detailed the steps taken by the Select Committee appointed by the Synod last year for the better organ* j isation of the Home Mission,

LAY WORK IN COUNTKY DISTRICT*,— Mr M. Kirkbride next gave a well-pro. pared and vigorously delivered paper on this subject, describing graphically tho lights and shades in a country lay reader's experience. The humorous side of the tub' jeet was well illustrated by two amusing storici. The speaker gave great praise to the ladioa for the assistance whick thoy gave so readily [and effectively; and suggested the issuing of a " Visitor's [Service Book " for the use of lay-readers in country districts who desired to take up tbo work or visiting the people and administering spiritual consolation in times of need, -

Prisoners' aid society.—Mr F. a. • l EwiDgton delivered a thort address on the work done by the Church of England Prisoners' Aid Society, presided over by the Bishop of the diocese, with Mr Larking , and himself as a managing committee, He made an appeal for funds on befcalf of this ' society, which has done much good during •■ the past year, by the comparatively small expenditure of £20. As an instance of how the society worked, he related ,the case ot " a notorious criminal, to whom they got tk situation on board a coasting vessel on his release from gaol. This man performed his duties satisfactorily, and seemed bent on reformation, but the captain having discovered that he was a ciiminal at onco gave Dim bis discharge. The poor man, ■without money or friends, would doubtless have been forced back into crime j for though he had told his case to a lawyer tha latter would not take proceedings unless his expenses wore guaranteed. In this predicament the man came to Mr Ewing. ton, who, giving the necessary guarantee, the action was raised for recovery of wages, aud£7 recoveted. In another caso a man to whom they gave pecuniary help and placed in a situation, was doing weUy-and^ad insisted oa paying back all the money cx« pended on his behalf. Women's Wurk in thb Church.-^ An able paper on this subject was next read by Mr Hugh «, Seth-Smith, M.A. He traced the history of women's labour in , connection with the Christian Church ; from the earliest times, when the office of deaconess was a universal one, down to the institution of con« ventual establishments, and Sisters of Mercy and Sisters of Charity, The rapid growth of population in Auck> land, rendering it impossion for a clergyman to know all tho people in bis parish, gave an opening for the exercise of women's work here. As an instance of this rapid growth, he mentioned that the new city pariah of ' Si Thomas's, detached from St. Matthew's, bad a population of 6000 souls-being thus four times moro populous than the entire parish of St. Matthew's was when it was formed, and when its boundtries on the west were indefinite. There was still work for women on the same lines as were adopted fot the early deaconesses, viz. : (1) The preparation of the joung for admission to the church ; (2) . the relieving and visiting of the sick and the < poor; and (3) the visiting of prisoners, . He concluded with references to the Ladies' Benevolent (society and the Young Women's Institute, of Auckland, whoaa : work he highly commended. . Thefollowing selections wenjwellrendercd. by a choir iv the course of the evening j— Anthems—" Eow Goodly are thy Tents," " If we Believe," and "Sing, U Heavens;" hymns—" Come,,ye Faithful," "My God, how Wonderful Thou Art," and " There is a Blessed Home;" and carol—"There came three Kings.1' Mr Vincent Kice conducted with much ability, and Mr Hart* well, organist of St. Maty's, Parnell, played the accompaniments. At the close * of the meetinp, hearty votes of • thanks were awarded to ail who had contributed to the evening's proceedings, and the audience dispersed after the pronouncing \" of the benediction.