CHURCH HALL DEDICATED

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28263, 29 April 1957, Page 10

CHURCH HALL DEDICATED

St. Peter’s, Upper Riccarton

The new St. Peter’s Church Hall at Upper Riccarton was dedicated yesterday by the Bishop of Christchurch (the Rt. Rev. Al K. Warren). “It is not the number of clubs which hold their meetings here but the effect of activities held in this hall upon young men and women in the district which will give this place real value,” Bishop Warren said. He congratulated parishioners on the contribution they had made in helping build the hall.

St. Peter’s parish was in the centre of a fast-growing area and as its young people went .out into life he felt they would benefit from what they had learned in the hall, he said.

Mr M. A. Connelly, M.P., whose electorate includes part of the parish, said that new districts needed centres for its young people. He felt that it was right for the churches to provide them. It gave young people moral guidance against the worldly materialism they would later meet. Thanking those who had helped with construction at various stages, the vicar’s warden, Mr N. P. Humm, outlined the history of the building’s construction. The total cost of the 3500 square feet hall was £B5OO, with an estimated saving of £2OOO by using volunteer labour where possible. Furnishings in the building were bought from a bequest of £935 from Miss Anderson, a former parishioner of St. Peter’s Church. At yesterday afternoon’s dedication other speakers were the people’s warden, Mr D. J. Williams, the vicar, the Rev. H. G. Norris, and a representative of the Paparua County Council.