MAORI HILL PRESBYTERIANS

Evening Star, Issue 18741, 17 September 1924, Page 2

MAORI HILL PRESBYTERIANS

ANNUAL REPORT,, The annual report of the Maori Hill Presbyterian Church sets out the following features: —The roll of membership is now 309, fifty-two haying been added during tho year, eighteen by profession of faith and thirty-four by certificate. Ten members have removed by disjunction certificate and three by death —viz., Mrs Shaw, Mis Fletcher, and Mrs E. A. Omand. Tho quarterly communion services have been attended by 194, 213, 216, and 195, and at Wakari communion service seventeen attended.. There have.been ten baptisms and three marriages. There are now nineteen elders and fourteen deacons. ( Tho past year is the first complete year of the pastorate of Ilev. A. C. W. Standage, and the session is rejoiced to report a year of steady • progress, and appreciates Mr Standage’s zeal and earnestness in his work in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in all tho work of the congregation. Tho attendances at public worship are very encouraging at the morning services, although not quite so satisfactory in tho evenings. Special features in connection with the morning services are tho attendance of the pupils of John M'Glashan College and a large band of Young Worshippers’ League. The weekly prayer meetings are fairly well attended, ana during the year the method of making a one night in the week “church, night” hae been successfully inaugurated. Every organisation of the church shows healthy vigor. Special thanks must be accorded the choir under the leadership of Mr G. J. Scott. The choir renders valuable service in the leading of the service of praise and particularly by the monthly choral services. The valued help of those who have so willingly assisted in solo singing at these special sc it ices is deeply appreciated. The choir also inaugurated a new feature during the year by organising a flower show. This proved very successful, and, it is anticipated, will become an annual function, and bo more generally patronised. The Sunday schools continue to progress—Maori Hill, 236, comprised of beginners 46, primary 60, junior 86, Intermediate 44, with a staff of twenty-five teachers and officers ; Wakari, twenty-two scholars and a staff of five teachers and officer. Yery encouraging work is done among the young in all the departments, and the scholars take a keen interest in the welfare of the schools. Bible class work is well maintained, with three sections in each of the young women’s and young men’s classes. Young women’s classes have a total membership of thirtynine and young men’s classes a membership of forty-one. A notable feature of the Bible classes is that several of the members have drafted off into the teaching staff of the Sunday school. Other young people’s organisations are the Young Men’s Club and Senior and Junior Busy Bees, which each carries on its particular useful functions. The Busy Bees have a total membership of forty-five, and they give special care to missionary and orphanage work. The ladies’ section of the congregation carries out particularly useful functions. The Women's Missionary Union specialises on furthering the mission schemes of the church by keeping in close touch with the wider work of the church in ‘Fields Afar,’ and also the home and Maori mission work so important to the interests of our church generally. The Ladies’ Guild maintains its faithful services to all the interests of tho congregation, and particularly helped during the past year m carrying out a successful sale of work, the proceeds from which went to tho heating of the new church.

Tho Deacons’ Conrt, which has the management of financial affairs of the congregation, has been strengthened considerably. Satisfactory results of the year’s finances are recorded. The total revenue was £1,939 4s 3d, made up as follows: Congregation for ordinary funds and debt reduction, £1,127 Is lOcl; sale of work, concerts, and flower show, £179 6s 6d ; Synod grant on account new church, £355 6s 8d; church organisations, £549 9s 3d; a total of £1,989 4s 3d, which has been applied as follows: —lnternal expenses, £1,067 4s 7d; building fund and property account, £487 5s 3d ; external funds (missions, etc.), £349 9s 3d; a total of £1,903 19s Id, leaving a balance on all accounts of £BS 5s 2d, and thus reducing the bank overdraft from £290 14e lOd at June 30, 1923, to £205 9s 8d at June 30 last.' The debt on tho new church has been reduced ■by £529 during the year, and' when the balance of tho Synod grant is received the total debt on the church will bo £3,425. During the year the envelope system was extended by making it a budget, system. This has been taken up by 60 per cnt. of the congregation, and the Deacons’ Court is norv enabled to frame its budget with a greater degree of confidence, and although there fa an estimated deficiency on the budget for the ensuing year it fa confidently

hoped that this will be fully met before tiie end of next financial year._ Tho court expresses Jjts deep appreciation of the efforts of all the organisations to further the financial interests of the church, and also of the very liberal response of the congregation to the thanksgiving offering. The church still maintains its interest m mission and philanthropic work. Our own missionary fund is well maintained, and all the organisations contribute liberally to the various schemes of the church in New Zealand and other parts of the world, seeking in a practical way to carry out the Masters command to make disciples of all tho nations and to minister to the needy.