NEW CATHEDRAL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 235, 4 October 1937, Page 10

NEW CATHEDRAL.

START TO BE MADE. CENTENARY OBJECTIVE. i BISHOP SELWYN'S DREAM. i A decision to press forward with the new Anglican Cathedral scheme and, if possible, to associate the construction of the first portion of it with New Zealand's centenary in 1940 and the centenary of the arrival of Bishop Selwyn in 1842 was announced by Archbishop Averill at St. Mary's Cathedral last evening. Thus will materialise the dream of Bishop Selwyn, who 100 years ago, in his first year in New Zealand, purchased a block of land in Parnell for the site of a cathedral.

The legacy of £fcO,ooo left to the church two years ago had enabled a start to be made with the long-cherished plan, but at least another £250,000 would be needed, said the Archbishop, for the building of the first part of the cathedral, and it would also need to be substantially endowed if it was to function properly. The drawing up of plans for a competition for a design had involved an enormous amount of work, but the committee hoped that the accepted design would be available before 1040.

The text for the Archbishop's address was chosen from the words of David in chapter xxil. of the First Book of Chronicles: "The house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnificat, of fame and glory throughout all countries. I will therefore now make preparation for it." Missionary Inspiration. "We can never forget," the archbishop said, "that the real spade work in laying the foundation of civilisation ae well as religion in this land was done by men who hasarded their lives to bring the knowledge of God and the light of the Gospel to this land. The Treaty of Waitangi would never have been signed in 1840 had it not been for the work and influence and inspiration of the early missionaries. The centenary will be bereft of its most important featurs if we minimise what God has dona in our desire to emphasise what man has done."

The first and most important thing about a cathedral was its witness to

Almighty God, and he could not think of anything more important in these days than such witness. The world was drifting into disintegration and chaos just because it was seeking to overemphasise the importance of the material as compared with the spiritual. To set out to build a cathedral was to bear witness to the things which really mattered in life. People would do more to help the world in thia time of crisis by stability and loyalty to God than in any other way.

They needed to remember that they were building for eternity and so emphasising the fact that, amid all the chances and changes of this mortal life, God stood Arm and nnshakeable.

A cathedral stood for something infinitely greater than .utilitarianism, infinitely more than a convenient centre for diocesan and national services, infinitely mora than a noble and valuable asset to the buildings which helped to adorn a city. It stood for elevation of thought and consequently of character. It stood for the great principle that we could only offer to Ood our best. Not one penny waa wasted in the erection of buildings which inspired, stimulated and purified thought.

The services yesterday marked the 177 th anniversary of the present St. Mury'a Cathedral, and special offerings were received for the renovation of the building and grounds. The appeal was for £260, and by evening £234 14/6 had been contributed.