A NEW CHURCH

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 31, 6 February 1930, Page 5

A NEW CHURCH

METHODISM IN NORTHLAND

There lias been erected upon a prominent corner site at Northland a Methodist Church, which is to be known as the Ward Memorial Church, to perpetuate the work of the Rev. Robert Ward, the first Primitive Methodist minister to cross the Equator, and of his two sons, the Rev. C. E. Ward and the Rev. Josiah Ward, who laboured in many parts of the Dominion. Landing in- New Plymouth in 1544, Robert Ward was a missionary in Wellington in 1847. He secured a site in Sydney street, which in years gone by was an influential centre of religious activity. It is the increment from this; property that has made possible the erection of this memorial church, which is the gift of the Sydney Street Methodist trustees, and which will be opened on Saturday evening nest free of debt, the total cost being £4000. The church is quite a landmark in the vicinity, being a substantial brick structure of small but pleasing, dignified proportions, its square tower being visible from many directions. But it is the interior of the building which will command the most attention. The walls above the neat brick dado are of rough tinted plaster, and there is an open-timbered roof, the curved rafters of which are supported at their feet by moulded corbels. All the joinery is of oak, including the pulpit and pews. The doors are of solid oak, and the oak panelling and communion rails, together with the table and chairs in the apse, are a feature of the interior. These have been presented by the descendants of the Rev. Robert Ward. The carved and moulded pulpit ia also a gift to the church by the family of the late Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Clark, who were for many years prominent Methodist workers in the district. The floors of the porches aid aisles are covered with cork tiling, soft to the tread, and very effective in appearance. The church is eft'ecticely lighted and heated by electricity. The building and all the furnishings, etc., were executed from designs by the architect, Mr. William Fielding, F.N.Z.1.A., and the general contractor was Mr. C. H. Downes. The dedicatory services are to be held on Saturday evening nest, when the Rev. C. E. Ward, now of Christchurch, assisted by his sister, Mrs. Humpries (who travelled to New Zealand with her father, the Rev. Robert Ward, in 1844), will open the building. The dedication address will be delivered by the Rev. J. F. Goldie, president of the Methodist Church of New Zealand.