PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 91, 18 April 1932, Page 3

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

SEATOUN FUNCTION

FOUNDATION-STONE LAID

Great satisfaction was felt by the Presbyterian community of Seatoun on Saturday afternoon when the foundation-stone o£ what will be a handsome brick church was laid during the course of a wellorganised and impressive ceremony by His Excellency the Governor-General (Lord Bledisloe). The old wooden building, used also for other purposes, has long been felt to be inadequate and unsuitable for Divine worship. Amongst the official party which received His Excellency and Lady Bledisloe were the Rev.'A, A. Armstrong, representing the parish and the Presbytery; Messrs. A. McGregor and R. Scptt, representing the session; Messrs. A. Forbes and B. Anderson, representing the managers; Messrs. C. R. Redmond, and W. Coventry, representing the Youth of the Church movement; Mesdames Armstrong and McFarlane and Miss G. McGregor, representing the ladies' organisations. Flanking the dais were the choir, and. facing it was the guard o£ honour of the_ Scots College Cadets, tinder Mr. V. Francis, which had marched up from the college under its own pipe band, and, closer up, the Seatoun. section of the Girl Guides under Miss Pinhey. In warm sunshine a gathering of several hundred people took part in the ceremony, and joined wholeheartedly in the service, particularly in the singing. Having received the salute, to the National Anthem played by the organist on the piano, His Excellency inspected the guard. Her Excellency was presented by Miss Joan" Herapath with a bouquet from the ladies of the congregation. The occasion, said the Rev. A. A. Armstrong, who presided, marked the "coming of age" of the parish, and. it was also the twenty-first year since his own ordination. He referred to the small hall first built as the decision of a meeting of fourteen people, since twice enlarged. Now. they were erecting a new - church, and the hall was to be .enlarged again, to cope with the work amongst the youth of the church. THE LASTING THINGS. "Your Excellencies' presence again indicates the deep personal and official interest you cherish towards all matters related ia the creation and care of the people," he said. "We remember how consistently and courageously you- have witnessed for those things upon which the nation depends for its true enlightenment and lasting ennoblement! . . As Presbyterians we want to take this special opportunity to thank you for ike note sounded out by you, and the calls to sound and sincere ways of living made by you. W_e trust the people may increasingly heed these influential messages, and believe to be saved from the dark alternatives that threaten to overwhelm decent society. ... Your Excellencies have won the esteem and affection of all citizens ■ standing for. righteousness, and especially of those 300,000 who belong to the Presbyterian Church."1 ■ A prayer of invocation was followed by the singing of "The Church's One Foundation," during which offerings for dedication were received. The Rev. E. J. Orange read from the Scriptures, Ist Chor. 29, 10-18, and Matt. 16, 13-18. The congregation stood to recite the Apostles' Creed. His Excellency then laid the stone, using a trowel with a greenstone handle, presented by the Office Bearers of the church. At its foot were laid the offerings for dedication, and a Bible in a sealed casket,' signifying the authority of the Presbyterian Churchpresented by the British and Foreign Bible Society. The impressive declaration and prayer of dedication followed. -.-- The Hymn, "We Love the Place O God," was sung. His Excellency delivered an address which was reported.on Saturday. Presenting the congratulations of the Wellington Presbytery, the Bey. B. Watson, M.A., spoke of the policy, history, and contributions of the Presbyterian Church to the life of the land, referring to its efforts for education, and the widening of its outlook to meet.the needs of a new day. PAITH HT FUTURE. Referring to the special import of the time to the human race, Mr. B. Anderson thanked Their Excellencies for. assisting at the ceremony. He expressed the opinion that we should eventually emerge chastened in spirit and wiser in future action. "Man begets forces that become uncontrollable; and hence he must suffer until their power be spent," he said. |'Man's scientific knowledge and his inventive power have outrun, his economic knowledge, and so we have the present undesirable conditions universally experienced." It might be asked why in such times as these this church has deemed fit to launch upon sijchan ambitious scheme. The answer lay in conviction that there exist immutable laws to whose influence man must" conform to experience to the full what life has to offer. This congregation had placed its faith in this power, and with confidence had determined to establish this church as a memorial for all to know, and knowing to take heart and meet the future with that equanimity possible only with absolute faith.

The Doxology and Benediction closed a memorable ceremony. Afternoon tea was provided by the ladies of the congregation, specially invited guests being the members of the Wellington Presbytery. and their wives, and Messrs. A. P. Smith, chairman of the Board of Governors of Scots College, and Mr. G. A. Tronp. Many ministers were nnatle io Toe present owing to the simultaneous funeral service of the Rev. A. B. Todd, reference to "whose death: was made at the ceremony.