A POPULAR BISHOP.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 180, 31 July 1919, Page 7

A POPULAR BISHOP.

PRAISE FOR DR. AVERILL. SYNOD'S RESOLUTION. At the Diocesan Synod last night, Canon Haselden moved, according to notice: —''That the Synod has heard with much satisfaction that the Bishop proposes to visit England and attend the Lambeth Conference in 1920, and that the Synod hopes that the visit will afford the Bishop and Mrs. Averill some measure of well-earned rest, and much pleasure, and that they may have a speedy and Safe return to the diocese. That a Select Committee (personnel specified) be appointed to draw up and present to the Bishop a letter from the diocese, expressing the good wishes of the people of the diocese to the Bishop on the occasion of his attending the Lambeth Conference."

The mover said that he was sure that the motion would commend itself to all in the diocese who knew the Bishop and Mrs. Averill. He ajso expressed the esteem and affection in which the Bishop was held by the people of the diocese. When Dr. Averill came to Auckland five years ago the .minds of Clmrchpeople were full of doubts and troubles, but all these had since vanished. He felt sure that the Bishop and Mrs. Averill would carry with them the best wishes of clergy and laity for a pleasant trip. The motion was seconded by Mr. N. T. Williams, and carried amid loud applause. The Bishop, in reply, thanked the Synod for its resolution, and especially for the references to his wife. He knew that all that had been said of her was true. No one had worked harder for the diocese during the past -five and a-half years, and it was largely with the object of giving her a needed rest that he had decided to go to England next year. He felt that it was his duty to be at the Lambeth Conference if "possible, because many important questions would be brought up, including missionary problems of the Pacific. The Bishop added that he was most grateful to the clergy for their loyal support since his arrival in the diocese, and even more so to the laity, for their more than loyal support, and for the help of so many splendid and hard-working men.