NEW MERIVALE CHURCH.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18147, 9 August 1924, Page 15

NEW MERIVALE CHURCH.

-—« • COLLECTIONS BEING MADE. ■A. proposal is now on foot to icbuild St. Mary's "church, Merivalc, and collections arc "being made in aid of tho building fund. Tlio original Parish Church of Merivalc was consecrated by Bishop Harper on December 20th, 1566, and although tic buildin- Was add;d to at a. later date, tho major portion of tho church has been, in constant use for nearly fifty-eight years. About sixteen years ago it was realised that lb: days oi tho old building wero numbered, and a r -building fund was established. An active campaign for the collection or funds ww commenced, but was so.u interrupted by the outbreak of war, and it was not until fho years ago that tho canvass was restarted to come to another atop because of tho slump which shortly afterwards made itself felt in the .country. The timo hu now arrived, however, when tho parishioners aro compelled to replace the present bnid«s, which cannot survive many more muter*. On March 31st last, tho vestry had in hand, as a, result of tho cariicr efforts already referred to. a total of £lb»l 7b lOd towards tho building ud furnishing of a new church, and tho annual meeting of parishioners gave authority for .tho commencement of building operations as soon as sufficient ''money *as m £and to justify the letting of a. contract. Tnc vestry decided that a sum of at least £IO,OOO must be in hand the foundation etone can be laid and it is aiming at having this amoun. before the end of the present year. An energetic band of canvassers has been enrolled and commenced operations about fireo weeks ago. Mr "Walcot Wood has been aopointed as organising secretary, and at a meeting of the collectors ■ iield last week ha r-ported that since the now campaign ™s started,.£l22B-18s had been promiW of which £731 I*3 had been paid in cii«'i payment, tho balance Dcmg spread over the nest thnw years. Xhe vestry now has available in , ; ash and investments a tots! of XSCCB towards the sum, of AIO.OOJ referred to above. Sketch plans have been adopted *jr a church, with a. normal seating capacity ot 450 capable of accommodatm; a. total of 50o' adults if required, and it is estimated that tho cost of the building, with all the i,,cc SS »i» fittings, will be about £17,000 «- elusive of a tower, which, it is hoped, will be added later and will cost about i'SCOO. Some years ago a parishioner undertook to provide an organ for the new church and banded over to the vestry a, sum oi £IOOO for the purpose. That amount waa invested and on March :51st had increased, with interest earned, to ±1543. The eame doco" had since provided an-additional amount o. .nOOO fc the same purpose, and thus, when the new church of St. Mary is ccmp.cWdit -ivi'.l possess tip best possible instrument lor th'n purposes of a parish ciurch.

Ladies' Meeting. A me't.nr of ladies interested in tiic aam-r.ai-n to raiK huds to build a new cniirch m "the Uerivale parish wis held ves-erdiv afternoon, the Yen. Archdeacon P. f H&SS f pleading over a large attendance, xno cilowin* members of the eMcatWo of 111. Building Committee ™"= alsJ:a attendance : Messrs J. G. L. Vernon, E. H. S. Hamilton, W. Wood, and H. G. Li.-:c«Btone. Tho vicar «plwacd t!-x- wheme for the -ai'-in- of funds, and it was decided to "divide the pari-h into &=tnrt s eaca to be managed by a- committee- of -^~ Hr- was arrpoir, tec convener ot the Generaf Comr=itte» and m M^ SS IL li tj ' L Varoon, A. A. McKellar, T. Y. Wardrop, ar.d P. Wood toto appointed District Committee leaders.