HANOVER STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.

Evening Star, Issue 11607, 18 June 1902, Page 8

HANOVER STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.

The annual tea and public meeting of the Hanover street Baptist Church was keld last evening, the Rev. J. R. Ward presiding. Mr H. H. Driver (hon. secretary) read the annual report, from which we select the following passages:— The year began with 413 membersi on the roll." During the year four were added by bapt sm, nine by transfer, and 1 by vote, making an increase of 14. The losses huve been: By transfer 9, by death 4, and by var.ous causes 13; a total of 26. We Lave had great anxiety with respect to the permanent pastorate. The Rev. Geo. Wiinwiight, who presided at our last annual meeting, was elected pastor in September, after serving the church very acceptably for five months. Unhappily, his health "failed from the time of his appointment, and br ke down completely while he wa- rcpie eut.ng the church at the Baptist Union Conference in Nelson. Mr Wainwright, acting on med.cal advice, resigned early in December, and the church regretfully accepted his resignation. He had won the t-tcem of the people by the un-ajfv-cted goodness of his chasacter, hj s deep rpiriti:a"i,y. .ind his zeal. We bade Mr ami Mrs Waiiiwiight and their daughters fatewei: early, in February, a* they set out on tli.'ii voyaue Homo. We are glad to ieam now that they reached Hume sate'y. and that Mr Wainwright was able to i; ke M.Tvices t-very Sunday after his arrival. After this second futile enceavoi in till the vacant pastorate other attempt-■ made to secure a pastor, but they ;i!mi pioved fruitless While we were debating the matter and arranging week by week for the supply of the pulpit, the Rev,-. John R. Ward appeared on the scene, and pre ented credentials from ministerial ass c:ations to which he belonged in Amer'ea, and from college professors which secured our hearty confidence, while his exceptional eloquence as a preacher fascinated the ever-growing audiences which met to hear him. After serving us for several months, the church invited Mr Ward to the acting-pastorate for a year, and we are glad to say that the invitation has been accepted. We are hoping for the largest and best results from his ministry among us. His preaching is, we think, well calculated to confirm the faith of those who already believe, and to win to the fa th of Chr st those who are still tronbhd by doubt regarding the Christian verities It ha< seldom happened that we have been embarrassed by the numbers who have thronged to our services, but the church h"s proved utterly inadequate to accommodate the crowds which have met to hear Mr Ward's forth-setting of Cbrstian truth. We regret that the walls are ; not cxpmsive, and are feeling that our own fi Ik have prior cla'm to the accommodation which the church affords, and that arrangements mu-:t be made for their adm's-ion bpfore the general public are admitted. Excellent work is still done in the Sunday school, which has a roll number of 33ft scholars, and an average attendance of 244. Mr MacLaren is still super ntendent. with Mr Browning as assistant and Mr W. R. Smith as secretary. We resjret that we cannot report greater progress at the branch >tatons. The workers at Maori Hill have plodded on pat entlv and industriously, but with scant encouragement. The attendance at the evening service in the Council Chambers has averaged only twenty-eight. The scho'ars on. the roll of the Sunday school number s : xty. with an average attendance of frtv-five. The scho'ar* acquitted themselve well in the last Sunday School Union oxami-'itio-!, and have given libendly (ova/d< the m ssionary enterprise. Band of Hope ineetincs have been held bv the T"iP.t>'.T.iiice Committee of onr Yonnsr CVHiins' Band, and were well attended. The hope exp-essed >n our last report that a rew bui'd m; nrght soon be erected nt this branch hn« not been fulfilled, and the promi p of £2O m'de on condition that £2OO he nv-ed n six months could not be claimed. The total amount received and promised so far is a little short of £SO. The Committee hope soon to secure a better s'te. and to prepare definite plan* for the erection of a new building. Unless we r-Nir- on th> wo'k at our oldest station wirh vi"nr and enterprise we shall lo<e ou ))"'d upon it altogether. At the O: olio bia'ch the work in the Sunday t-chuol hvs stiff red much through numerous cba- l'cs in the st ff. Mr Baroett reHired the superinterdency, through removal from the di=tr'et, and Mr J. S. Gilbert was appointed in h's stead. Seventynine eho'ar-.' are enrolled, w ; th an average attendance of fiftv-two. The school co'lections yielded £ls 16s a sale of work yie'ded £l4 10s, and other sources brought the revenue up to £36 12s Bd. £5 was spent on 1 br rv books, and £3 15s devoted to fore'gn m'ssions. The Su r dny evening service has been but poorlv attended, and the contributor (£8 14s 8d) show a decrease en the previous year. The debentures on the buildng have all been paid off. and a nameless friend who gave £6 for this purpose is spec : ally th-mked for his generositv. Both these branch causes are feeing the need for more systematic visitation, and the deacons are endeavoring to secure it for them. The work at the Albany street School has been carried on by a faithful band of young men and women, and although the vis'ble fruit has been but scanty, it is believed that real good has been effected. A brief bright service i« held everv Sabbath night, at wh ch about twenty-five children and a few adults attend. Occas'onal visits from officers or sen or members of the church would be appreciated. The Chinese class has kept'up well throughout the year. Twentynine scholars are enrolled, and there is an average attendance of twenty. Twenty teachers are employed in this work, and the pupils are highly appreciative of their efforts. Teachers who have left the class during the year have carried away with them substantial tokens of the gratitude of these members of an alien race. Several entertainments have been held during the year in connecton with the class, and all have proved successful. The church contrbited £l4B last year to the Foreign Mis ioiary Society, but as this is £ll2 less than the amount contributed in the previous year, the amount cannot be regrded as satisfactory. We tru t the decrease does not ind'rate that our zeal for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom i'> India is abating. We have, won renown by our 1 beial'ty towards this d'vine enterprise o' iriis-s r oas. and are morally pledged to co-riiiuo our support to it by the fact tlct foui of our members are on the st-ff of the '-nci-tv. and that our former pastor is the !• dian secretary. The church was represented nt the Jubilee Conference nf the B'mtst Un'on, hold at Nelson, hv the Jtevs ("!. W'inwrght and J. T. Hirton ard Mcsrs MacLaren and Driver. The church contributed to the funds of the Union £l3 2' 6d in perxmal subscrntions. ard £8 1s lOd by collections. Tt a!-n gave" £5 3s Id to the annuity fund. Tn connecton with the recent vis't of the Rev. B. S. Gny. the churrh gave £2O towards the liqnidat'on of the deficit on the Unio"'s and promised £3O per annum f or five vears m aid of the work the Unio- pre doing ; n the est* b!i hmert of new and tV- encouragement of ex-siting can'-e". We rejoice in this practical re of the sob'daritv of the denomination. After lam"T>tiii2 for manv years the i"adeouacv of the present organ, the ch'Tch has at la«t author'sed the purchase of ;> larger and better imtTment. An exce T l"-t orc-r. ha? be°n secured at a cost of 7 0. *rd the proceeds of this anniversarv are to be ar<n I Vd to the fund. The trea«nr°r's -united b Ivce- heet h»s been printed and di tr bu f en*, so that litt'e need b° aid about the finances of the chnrch. Th» rpvenue of the central church was £P22 5s od, of which £6B Is lid was in aid of the new church fu"d. The ptexceeded the rece'nts bv £4O 13s ]d. «n amount which has heen wined out «-'nce the balance was strnck At the tr& of 1901 the building fund rtood at A2?B 4» sd. an amonnt which ha« been augmented 'luce bv ?ome £3O. The total income of the chnrch and its branches was £1.103 6s sd. which «< £320 less than the grand total for the previous year; but the ' «!i/£<ur*»nee is larsrelv •accounted for bv the

withdrawal of the North-eart Valley brancn and the decreased contributions towards the bui ding fund. The most serious fact disclosed by the balance-sheet is the decrease in the envelope offerings, which are the main source of the church's revenue. Within two years these offerings hare fallen by £43, and it is earnestly sugge ted that those who give regularly to the maintenance of the church should adopt the envelope system, which serves to ensure systematic and consc entions giving. The Chairman said that he was pleased to see so many present at the meeting. He wished to offer his deepest thanks to the congregation for the way they had treated him. He had come to them as a minister of the Congregational denomination, and thev had accepted him as their preacher without requiring him to modify his religious views in the least. He wished also to say that although he had preached to larger congregations,'he bad never had one more enthusiastic or more loyally responsive than the Hanover street Baptist Church. He hoped that the church workers would go on in enthusiastic working for the cause, and that they would see l a year of great prosperity. Mr Ward's remarks were followed by hi'.ppy speeches by the Revs. W. Saunders i president of the "Council of Churches), t. W. Uoreham (president of the Baptist Union, and W. Scorpie (Mornington Presbyterian Church). Their addresses were listened to with attention. Solos were sung by 'Messi-s M'Donald and S. G. Gilbert, a duet was rendered by Misses Knowles and Romeril, and an anthem was sung by the choir. The meeting was opened with a prayer by Mr A. Broad, and closed with a vote of thanks to all who had assisted (moved by Mr J. H. Maclaren) and the doxology. Mention should also be made of the decoration of the platform by Mesdames Hendry and. Williams. j Prior to the public meeting a tea meeting was held, to which a very large number sat down. Their wants were attended to by Mesdames Dick, Driver, Tucker, Buchanan, Broad, M'Leod, Lumm, Johnston, •Herons, Hendry, Williams, Maitland, Gilmore, Bales, Pullen, White, M'Laren, Megtret, Thomas, Findlay, and Smith, and Misses Sligo and Harrop.