SOCIAL WORK OF CHURCH

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27795, 21 October 1955, Page 3

SOCIAL WORK OF CHURCH

Presbyterian Service Reviews Year

ANNUAL REPORT TO ASSOCIATION

Much progress had been made during the last year in the work of the Christchurch Presbyterian Social Service Association, said the chairman (the Rev. S. C. Francis) presenting his annual report to the annual meeting of the association. Referring to the need for social service, he said that although New Zealand was very fortunate compared with some other countries there was still much to be done. The main work of the association, said Mr Francis, was among children. A commission appointed to make a survey into the work of the association had been impressed by the conditions of the homes. Improvements were being planned for the Girls’ Home as the old home was badly in need of renovations. Extensions to the “Woodchester” Eventide Home were also planned, said the report. Land has been purchased and the final plans were well under way. Of £15,000 received in legacies during the year £lO,OOO would be spent on this home. The rest would be devoted to the children’s homes. The chairman paid tributes to the work of the Rev. R. Blair and the Rev. A. G. Davidson, both of whom had been prominent in the social work of the association before their recent deaths. Members stood in silence as a mark of respect. The Rev. I. B. Wilson, chaplain of the Christchurch Public Hospital and Sunnyside Hospital, gave an address on the work of hospital chaplains. Speaking of the need for full-time chaplains, he said that hospitalisation in New Zealand was one of the country’s main undertakings. Hospital Spending “There are 27,000 beds in New Zealand hospitals and the cost of maintaining them in 1954 was £21,000,000. Of this amount, the hospital boards spent £17,000,000,” he said. In the general hospitals about £l2OO was spent on each bed. Only £3OO a bed was spent in the mental hospitals. “We must be prepared to pay more in taxes if the mental hospitals are to be maintained on the same standard as the general hospitals,” said Mr Wilson. He gave reasons for the need for full-time chaplains. There was the human need. A sick person was not just an ailing body but a human being in need. It was a tragic day when the church and the medical profession went their separate ways. Chaplains could bring about a greater goodwill between the church and the profession. The nurses and other staffs were in close touch with life and like a soldier at the front line were in need of the help of a chaplain. The following committee was elected:— Miss J. Erwin, Dr. A. L. Sutherland, Messrs P. Russell and N. F. Every (all re-elected). Ministerial members, the Rev. R. M. Rogers, the Rev. F. Slattery, the Rev. J. L. Wilson, and the Rev. S. M. Smith.