THE CHURCHES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 275, 13 August 1908, Page 8

THE CHURCHES.

A YEAR'S COOD WORK. .I'. JAMES'S PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The communicant membership of St. James's Presbyterian Church, South Wellington, on Juno 30, was 328, a net addition of ".three members for the year. This, is very ' satisfactory, since the annual report states that changes in the communion roll ! havo been exceptionally numerous, 71 disjunctions having been caused by removals to other districts. Tho average attendance at, tho quarterly communion services was 195, an increase of 26. Baptism was administered to 63 children, and three adults, and the "cradlo roll" contains 128 names. Several of the children have now. joined the Sunday school. Comforting attention has been given by tho min-, ister ,(the Rev. W. Shirer) to many, inmates of the hospital,, and 35 burials were conducted. The senior .division of the Christian Endeavour Society has increased to 21 members,; and the, junior division to 106. Tho sum of £10 2s. was raised by the young people for foreign missions. The young mens Bible class have lost their former - leader, Mr. R. G. Dagger, who becomes Superintendent,; of the Sunday school, Mr. A. J. Rand succeeding him in charge of the class. The young women's Bible class ■ has had among its aims assistance! to the Maori Girls' School at Turakina. The junior boys'. Bible class has raised £5 towards support of a Chinese missionary student at Canton. Mr. A. Grant conducted the class during the indisposition of Mr. Rand, and Mr.- D. Macdonald now takes the leadership. , The Sunday school has 278 scholars, as against 268 last year, and the average at-, tendance is much improved. The school contributed £8 Bs. 4d. to missions and £6 to library: accessions.'The sessioner accepted with regret Mr. : H. Davidson's resignation of the superintendenceship, which he had held for 25 years. The St. James's branch of. the P.W.M.TJ. has'raised £10 for foreign missions'' and.. £8 for New . Zealand . Church, extension. A missionary tea realised £11 for the New Hebrides mission. ,'The Maori Mission , Birthday League, of 134 members, raised "'£6 6s. for its special object. Tho Literary and Debating Society flourishes, , and thanks, are accorded to the church choirs. -

The total church ■ revenue (£563.85. lOd.) included • donations totalling £13 15s. 4d.,, also '£24 6s. raised by the P:W.M.TJ. for, church extension and foreign missions. The ordinary expenditure was £510 17s. Id. The church debt has been reduced, by the Ladies' Sewing Bee and' Guild, from £700 to £332 , 12s. lid. The total revenue from' church ( from: Sunday school, for debt cxtinction ( arid from the Island Bay Church (£6O 3s. 9d.) is £774 35.-4 d; The Island Bay school meeting is attended by 61 childron. An appeal is being made to the congregation for contributions towards the. erection, of,a new Sunday school; Plans have been, prepared, • and at. a r recent meeting of the congregation, were formally adopted. These propose.the erection on the'available ground, fronting,' Adelaide Road ,of a commodious meeting hall in brick, to be joined to the existing woodenbuilding, which, although many years old, can still be utilised to advantage by dividing it into. ten very serviceable class rooms of varying sizes.; . .The mated-cost'.of 'the new brick -building' and the partitioning of the/present, school room is £900, andif tho.plan: of ".the new building is enlarged'to give- sis ;more. class rooms in 'brick .on the western side, - £1100.' In either case the new-hall would be so conitructed as to permit extension on either side at any future time. The officer-bearers have promised £150. The report specially acknowledges: "the unwearied and self-sacrificing labours of our pastor) the Rev. W. jShirer, and Mrs. Sliiror, particularly in their constant and systematic visitation of those directly and indirectly connected with the congregations of • St. James's and Island Bay. Their work," on account- of the shifting character of the population; is at all times exceptionally arduous, and; never-more so than in the year just past; For 20 years Mr. Shirer has, laboured in this field, and has never: slack- ' cned, 'and in all his efforts he has .for the greater part ,of this time been most ably and enthusiastically assisted by Mrs. Shirer,; • who, besides . occupying several definito offices, has actively interested herself in all the branches of Church ..work."..

Tho report will bo presented at the annual jongregational meeting next Wednesday.

KENT TERRACE PRESBYTERIAN. The annual congregational meeting of the Kent Terrace: Presbyterian Church was largely attended last evening. ,The Rev.,"J. Kennedy Elliott presided. ; The annual report, a summary' of which was published yesterday, 1 , was "read by. Mr;. 0. Faulkner, session clerk, and adopted. ' / Messrs. W. Miller and -R. Johnson presented the balance-sheet, which was approved. A plan for a, new schoolroom was submitted by Mr. Malcolm Eraser, who moved that the' congregation be empowered to; have a nfiw' building erected at an estimated cost of £3000, work to begin as soon as half the money is in hand. Mr. Faulkner seconded the-motion; and Mr. W. M. Hannay, superintendent of the Sunday' School, spoke in support, urging tho' need of up-to-date facilities for teaching. Messrs. David Robertson and" Horace Baker also supported the'proposal, which was agreed to heartily. CHURCH EXPANSION AT LOWER HUTT. Owing to the large increase in the congreeftion, overcrowding, the Lower Hutt Wes,leyan .'Church, a move has been made'to .the Town Hall. . Tho first service was held on Sunday evening, when the spacious hall was . quite full, more than one hundred above what .the church would seat being present. The llev. B. F. Rothwell preached, a. racy and practical sermon on " Daniel, the Water-drinking Prime Minister." ' The-ch'oir, under .Mr. F. G. Cray,' rendered the musical portion of ■ the service with much acceptance, and Miss J. Knight sang a solo with good clfcct. A u6w church n tho. near future is proposed. The new nail proved most suitable. Mr. Wood's' orchestra provided the music. CHURCH ATTENDANCE. 1 Tho Rev. Robert Woods's articles in The Dominion on Presbyterian Church attendance, liavo caused much interest among ministers of that Church, and, in some cases, a slight feeling l of injustice. Ono minister' expressed ;his opjnion yesterday to a representative of this paper that the method of collecting tho statistics is not so complete as could bo wished. He added that though there is an immense amount of non-church-going, and this is fully recognised, efforts are being made to remedy tho troublo, and though many peoplo may not -be regular attendants at church, the Church is doing all in its power to interest them by visitation. These people, therefore, 'can hardly b-.! hold to bo completely churchless.

FiVE CHURCHES AT ISLAND BAY. Island Bay, whero a new Methodist' Church has recently been erected, must surely, now hold the record among places of its size for competition among denominations to supply its. spiritual needs. There aro five .churches ;in Island Bay—Anglican, Methodist, Primitive Methodist,. -Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic—rand, in addition ihero are a strong Baptist Church at . Berbainpore, and an Anglican ■ Church in Palm Grove, close upon its boundaries. The five ahurclics in the suburb, which has largely a summer population,- provide among ; them eight services"each Sunday, .and there are Svi- Sunday Schools. While four churches, ft-icli their.soparato machinery and expenses,, ■li.tiie work of Protestantism,, the largest ■Lh.ent in the population is. said to bo '.oman Catholic. ■ ■ •