VICAR’S INDUCTION

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 129, 25 February 1938, Page 12

VICAR’S INDUCTION

Impressive Service At St. Paul’s NEED FOR LEADERSHIP “This service is the solemn beginning of a new chapter in the life of this Church, when the parish will step out on a new road of Christian service,” said the Bishop of Wellington, Kt. Rev. 11. St. Barbe Holland, last night when he conducted the induction ceremony of the Rev. Canon David Jones Davies, B.Sc., the new vicar of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Wellington.

Among the officers participating in the ceremony were representatives of the clergy of the Anglican Church in Wellington, members of other churches, the lay canons, the chancellor and the registrar of St. Paul’s, the priest canons, the archdeacons of Wellington and Wairarapa, Bishop Sprott and his chaplain, and the churchwardens. The service was attended by a large congregation. “If ever there was a time when God needed leaders among men it is to-day,” said the bishop, in stressing the responsibilities of the new vicar and his need for sympathy and loyalty from every member of the parish of the mother church.

“There are many men practising philosophies to-day in which God has no place, and it is the prophetic note that God is looking for among leaders to-day. We are beginning to realise what the cost of leadership means. Christians are being challenged, and if ever there was a time when priesthood among the laity was needed it is today.” The bishop referred to the spiritual poverty so prevalent among men and women in every walk of life and for the necessity for the mother church to radiate inspiration and vision among the other churches and their parishes. For this ideal to be attained he emphasised the imperative need for every member of the church to assist the vicar in his holy cause. St. Paul’s, he said, was entering on an era which should see many important and fine changes, among which the outstanding one was the building of a new cathedral in the course of a few years. The objective to be aimed at in this respect was a building which did not, provoke the question, Was it beautiful? but which drove those who entered it to their knees.

“The presence of representatives of other churches here to-night is a wonderful symbol that there is a general appreciation of the fact that all who help the Lord cannot help coming together. It means much to us that you should join us in this great service.”