ANGLICAN CHURCH SERVICES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 306, 23 December 1912, Page 7

ANGLICAN CHURCH SERVICES.

DEDICATION AT ST. ATDAN'S. St. Aldan's Church, Remuera, was tiled on Saturday evening, the occasion j being the dedication by the bishop of the I diocese Dr Crossley, of a chancel and organ chamber. Seated in the sanctuary with the Bwhop of Auckland were the Lishop of Melanesia (Dr. Cecil Wood), the Revs. Arthur Fowler (vicar of the i parish,, W. E. GUlam (vicar of St, Mat- | thews., E. C. Budd, C. A. B. Watson i (vicar ot St. Paul's). i The service of dedication having been I performed by Dr. Crosslev. Dr. Wood | gave an address, taking as his theme the I story or the woman who anointed the' ' Vl ° Urs tePt w ' th precious ointment. the preacher said that the mere bricks j and mortar in the building were nothing ; except as they stood as a symbol of the I parishioners' willingness to sacrifice the: best they had to God. Speaking of | | churches in a general way, the Bishop! , said that each should be tie most beauti- | j ful house in every parish, an example of > I comeliness. He criticised the attitude of mind which maintain? that mere expen-1 diture in church buildings and their de-' coration is no part of Christianity. "The ; social trouble is an abiding problem," | said Dr. Wood. " 'The poor ye have always with you." but the beaut'ification of | God's house doas not mean that anything! is subtracted from the social problem. By helping in either cause you are mak- ! ing an offering to the same Lord, Who is in the social problem as He is in every ! problem of life. Those who follow you will take example from your piety, and you are setting up some little bulwark for those who follow against the sum of human misery." I The service concluded with the benedic-! tion. j On Sunday morning the Bishop of j Melanesia was again the preacher. He! gave an interesting account of work in \ his diocese, and made an appeal for the j assistance of two laymen, in the capacity of a schoolmaster and carpenter respect-1 ively, to work in his diocese in a missionary spirit. ' Mr. Ernest Lilly presided at the organ, on Sunday morning. CONFIRMATION AT ST. COLUMBA'S. The first confirmation held in St. Columba's Home Mission district took place i in St. Columba's Hall, on Sunday night, when Dr. Crossley confirmed 10 male and 12 female candidates. There was a large congregation, and the service was characterised by a simple dignity that was most | impressive, the choir and people assisting i with heartiness and reverence. The can-11 didates were presented to the Bishop by i the Rev. E. Forrester. Dr. Crossley gave two very interesting and helpful ' addresses explaining the origin and mean- : ing of the rite. He gave words of en- ' couragement and advice to the candi- • dates. Addressing the congregation as a, whole, the Bishop expressed his thanks ] for the excellent manner in which the ' interior of the building had been fur- * lisbed for tbe occasion, and said he hoped that tbe people would help their clergy- ' man by regular attendance at the services and in other ways, and that by a spirit of unity and enthusiasm they would | j soon build up a large and flourishing * ;hurch in the district.