RECOGNITION TEA MEETING AT THE BAPTIST CHURCH.

Press, Volume XVIII, Issue 2551, 5 July 1871, Page 2

RECOGNITION TEA MEETING AT THE BAPTIST CHURCH.

A tfea and IpUblic meefcug- for the purpose of affording" &^ J welcome |to the Rev. Mr, Norton, who has recently assumed the pastorate of theTßaptist -Tabernacle in Hereford street, took ...place last evening in the building. The tea was provided partly by the ladies'fof r§ie| cqngregaioni and amongst tho^e'.giving tables ifera Mesdames G. Haward, Abho%;Smalli(Dod, : Simmons, Spicer,' Hulme, Sttples, &c. In addition, several others gate contributions in money towards this: objfct.. About 250 sat down to tea. Thq char of,. St. Andrews' Presbyterian Church, unfer the leadefship r of Mr p. L6ng, : J/ 0. Shippard : presiding at the (harmonium, were U6o : present. The good things having been done ample justice to,- a-public; meetingjwaß [held in the church, which was Ordw<fed to excess.

The jproceedings havitg been opened with devotional "exercises,

His Worship the -Major was requested to take the-chair: -• - -

. His WofcSHIP,. in tafcng the chair, said that he had to thank then for their kindness in asking *Eim to take th| chair that evening. lt;had"'b'setf saidthit a Christian man should not be a Mayor, but he&eld that a Mayor should tela Ghriatian jian- i [Hear, hear.} The event of a shepherd taking charge of a flock was always" a deejly interesting one, andjlookingTorind on th» very large ass.emb>. lage before him, h« thought that there were' .bright days sta-e for the Baptist Church. £Ap£lapse.3 He might fcay that they,_ as- outsiders, felt greatly pleased at seeing that the- Baptists of Christchurch were uniting as one mat to extend the kingdom, of God.' They felt that being engaged as it were imthe one go6l it was merely a right thing that on some occasions they should stretch forth {heir hands to greet each otherin all iindlbess and love. £Ap-, more unityi would wrist in tie Clriatiaa Church than]

had hitherto been the case, and it would be the means of bringing in many who now stood aloof, but then be able to see the various branches church living in amity and love togettigr* He would not detain them longer, as there were many-.speakers to address theml but would call upon the choir to-sing an anthem, " Holiness to the Lord."

The choir, then sang very excellently the anthem referred to. -

The Q.HATOHAN then called upon Mr Simmons, an "elder of- the church, to meeting. '"-v > Mr Simmons said he'felt very thankful to God for the very large attendance he saw before them. He would desire to congratulate them on the vastly improved spiritual position in which the church was now as compared to that of five or six years ago. "They "now"saw the two churches united as the heart.of one man. They had prayed many times and oft for the Lord to send them one tojpreach unto them the truth, and that night they found that their prayers had been answered. He had much pleasure in giving the right hand of followship to'the'.Rev.. Mr Morton as their pastor, and he would venture to express a hope that his ministry in the church would be the means of" saving many souls, and leading them into the way of salvation. He hoped that this would be the case, and he again prayed that the blessing of God would rest upon him and his efforts. [Applause.] •The ChaOrmak then called upon Mr Cricks to address the meeting. Mr CRICKS, said that he fully reciprocated the heartfelt wishes of the preceding speaker ithat the spiritual efforts of their newlyj recognised pastor should-receive the blessing of God,"and that by his preaching aud (teaching many souls would be saved. ;He: ;could recollect that some fifteen years ago OHly stx~p~eTsons met" for'the" purpose of worship and supplication in a small cottage at ; St. Albans. Little by little they persevered, until "the building in which they Were now ; met, arose. What tv contrast was the aspect of the preseht meeting ; when he looked round him he saw nearly as many hundreds :as there were at the time he had spoken of, single.. individuals. He trusted that the hew minister would be held up and sustained by . the prayers of the congregation. [Applause].

Mr Abbott was -the next speaker. He said that he hoped that the efforts of Mr Morton would be productive of good, and lead to many souls being converted. The Rev. Mr Morton had labored for five years in the ministry in New South Wales, and had also occupied the position of chairman of the Baptist Union. [Applause.] Mr Abbott then read a certificate, signed by the chairman and secretary- of the Baptist Union, certifying that Mr Morton was "an- accredited minister, and that' he had been elected chairman of the , Baptist -Union in Sydney.

The Rev. Mr Mort'ok was the next speaker. He expressed his thanks for the kindly manner in which lie had been received in Christchurch. Hr Morton then detailed the circumstances which led him to come to Christchurch to take up the ministry there. He thph said that he thought the steps taken by the.two churches to amalgamate and form one united body was a .wise one, and one which would tend to the success of the Baptist congregation in Christchurch. After an eloquent address, Mr Morton concluded by expressing a hope that his ministry among the people would be one of much success in the work of the Lord. He had; come amongst them to build up the church, and he looked 'confidently.-for the blessing of the Lord on his wprk. [Applause.]' . i ; The choir then sang an anthem, " The Earth is.the Lord's,-" very nicely. • - ;Mr Saul was the next speaker. He expressed the great .gratification he felt at seeing so numerous an assemblage present on the Occasion of "the recognition of Mr Morton as the pastor of the church. They liad given Mr Morton the right hand of fellowship that evening and he wishedto express d hope that his ministrations amongst them •might be abundantly blessed to him. He wished, however, to express a hope that Mr Morton might be allowed to come but sometimes into the country, aud that his labors shouldnot be wholly confinedto that church. In conclusion, he would venture to express a hope that pastor and people would work in harmony together. [Applause.] The Chairman said that he had received letters of apology from the Revs. As R, Fitchett and W. Kirk, who had been unable to attend. He would now call upon the Rev. M. Baxter to address them. . i."....

; The Rev. M. Baxteb then gave anearnest address, in the course of which ha wished Mr Morton "God speed" iv the work:of the ministry upon, which he.had enteidftaat night.

' The Rev. W. DoLAMOBE then spoke, congratulating—the Rev. Mr Morton on his assuming the. pastoral office in connection with the Baptist body.

The choir then sang an anthem, " fllory to God." ."■■.";■■. i

The Rev. W. J. Habens "next. addressed the meeting. .He'- said .that Mr Norton's arrival would give him the of seeing the inside of their chapel, asj it had not been his wish that he should be a stranger.to them. He heartily coincided with the-warm expressions of welcome to Mr Morton on the occasion of his recognition as the pastor of that church.; From enquiries he had made he felt, sure that Mr Morton would be an instrument -the saving of souls to God. He.had heard a portion of Mr Morton's address, 'and le had been much pleased at it, but h* had not .heard anything about .'.whatthey,' the Baptists were going to do for their minister ; he had not heard-anything of this. Si was vtheir bo.undeh duty as having brought Mr Morton there, to do all m their porer to place.him in a comfortable and assureqposifcion as regarded pecuniary matters. T|j rev. gentleman then proceeded to dilate afsome length on theduty of the people to their pastor ; concluding ah affectionate address by Wging upon them the.necessity of christian|inity and love among them, and also of forbearance and mutual, concessions in the church, trusting that, the Baptist Church entering upon" a hew era of pfbsperi|r en- j tirely. He hoped that God would bless Mr Morton and the church. '[Applause.] .; The-GHAiBMAN said that the Rers C. ,F ( raser, and A. JJ. Douglas wereofco havfe ad-r dressed .the meeting, but. those gentlemen •were not present, and he had therefore to apologise for their absence. <;

The ehoirtheij Come unto M|." v Mr W. Pole laving briefly addressed the meeting, the benediction was .prouotgiced, and the meeting dispersed. > | We must .not omit.to mention that the" efforts of S. Andrew's Church choir, aid|d by Mr J. O. Sheppird at the contributed greatly to the success of the'evening. .:■,