CITY MISSION WORK

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 195, 15 May 1936, Page 18

CITY MISSION WORK

Need for Relief of Distress Has Not Passed OPERATIONS REVIEWED “I hear a lot of people talking about the Labour Goverraent and that Paradise was inaugurated last November, said the city missiouer, Rev. T. Fielden Taylor, to a large attendance at the annual meeting of the City Mission last evening. “That Paradise is still in the oiling as far as I can see. Some of us are in too great a rush to ease our charitable souls. I want to say to you that you cannot ease them until the present distress has passed over, and it has not passed over yet. . . . We have had a hard time in the 17 years of the mission but the next 12 months will be harder unless we gird up our loins and get into it.” ' Mr. J. W. Henderson, chairman of the Board of Trustees, presided over the meeting. Mr. R. IV. Kemp, secretary-treasurer, stated that the encouraging position of the mission accounts was largely due to the great and noble work of Mrs. Knox Gilmer. A financial statement was presented this year of which the mission could be proud. The sum of £9500 was handled in cash receipts in the past year—the greatest amount in the history of the mission. The minimum daily cost of maintaining the mission was £7. The number of persons fed daily was 200. The sum of £7300 was owing to debenture holders. Men’s Shelters. “From present appearances the men’s shelters will be a necessity for some time,” Mr. Taylor stated iu his address. In the past year the mission supplied 88,679 meals and 23,942 beds. The present demand was great and the mission was hard put to it to reduce numbers without refusing really deserving men. To refuse was more difficult in cold and wet winter weather.

In the 17 years of the mission’s life much solid work had been accomplished, continued Mr. Taylor. Included was the purchase of the property the mission now owned, the erection of the new mission premises, and the purchase of the men’s shelter. The scope of the work had steadily grown, but from his own viewpoint it had not finished growing. During the year, 13,537 hot meals were supplied to old age pensioners. The boys’ hostel still flourished. “Personally I have more time for this branch of the work than for work for the adult,” said Mr. Taylor. “A boy of 14 to 16 with no home of his own cannot fend for himself, and it is really a constructive work to place such boys on their feet. I do not pretend our hostel boys are saints, but I do say they are as good as other boys who have not had the advantage of home influences.”

The loss on running the boys’ hostel, £287, was slightly less than last year. Daily the deficiency on the men’s shelter, old people’s meals and the boys’ hostel had to be faced. Over and above this the mission was beset daily with appeals for assistance from married people on sustenance who needed help in the shape of food, coal and clothes. At this time of the year it was difficult to refuse such requests, especially where there were children. Such relief cost the mission £4lO last year. Better Citizens. The mission had many activities over these (regular Sunday services, Sunday school, Bible classes, night school, boys’ and girls’ clubs, mothers’ club, and men's club), the object of which was to build better citizens. The Christmas activities in cheering young and old had become a big thing, made possible by the generosity of the public. The work for next year lay in two equally arduous directions. The first was the carrying on of the many activities in which the mission was now engaged. The second was the raising of a capital sum of £20,000 to repay debentures on the men’s shelter, and to provide a building fund so that the mission could replace mission houses in Taranaki Street with new buildings. The appeal was launched iu February. At date nearly £lOOO was in, £750 being surrendered debentures and the balance cash. The sum of £lOOO must be raised before March 31, 1937, if the mission were to meet the repayment of debentures falling due. “Financially, the mission at the moment is in a sound position, but this does not mean that we can rest on our oars,” Mr. Taylor proceeded. “There is a danger that the collecting of money may obscure the importance of the activities upon which we are engaged, and J want to'express my sincere appreciation of our large army of workers who so nobly carry on the work. I have now been 17 years at this work. Many of those who worked with me at first have passed away. I am painfully aware that I have acquired the reputation of begging. I cannot help it. I cannot bear to enjoy the comforts of life knowing that many are without them. I must do what I can ‘to take in the stranger, to feed the hungry, and clothe the unclothed.’ “I want you to bear with me when you feel lam asking too much. I think that you and I have got to follow the golden rule, ‘Do unto others as you would they should do unto you.’ ”