THE BISHOP OF NELSON

Grey River Argus, 26 August 1912, Page 5

THE BISHOP OF NELSON

his fJrst oeficial visit. The Rigiht Rev. Dr. Sadlier, Bishop of Nelson, is paying his : first visit to' this poition of his diocese. He arnved by the Rcefton train on Saturday morning, and is the guest of the Yen. Archdeacon: York, at the V lcarage! Yesterday morning he was tne celebrant at the S a.m. celebration of Holy Communion in Holy Trinity Church , 1 At 11 a.m., he confirmea eight male a«d twenty-eight female candidates, and afterwards addressed them on the meaning and significance of the rite of confirmation v its duties *and responsibilities. The Lessons were lead by the Rev. Mr. Venable, and the service was conducted by the Vcn, Archdeacon York. ' The Psalm was- No. 1 19 (verses 33---72), and the processional hymn was "Soldiers of Christ Arise." The otner hymns were, "My God, Accept my Heart this day," "Come, Holy Ghost, our Souls Inspire.". The Bishop gave another short nddress, the main heading of which was, ""Will I be able to keep my promise? 1 ' and the service then concluded with the .hymn, "0", Jesus, I Have Promised." Mrs. = York, who presided at the organ., played as a voluntary Mason's "Andante in E." In the afternoon Dr. Sadlier proceeded to Rurianga, where he held a cofirmation service at St. Thomas's Church, six female candidates receiviiio- the rite. EVENING SERVICE. At the evening' service last night. the 1 church was not large enough to hold -the vast congregation that assembled to hear Bishop Sadlier speak; and several extra seats had to be brought in. The Bishop, who is an eloquent and impressive speaker, took for his text the 13th chapter 2nd verse Acts of the Apostles. He said that, the Christian Church was rich. By being rich he did not mean rich in money or possessions, but rich in the names on the role of history. The leaders in the great drama of the church were such as Peter, James, John and Paul. These men were no longer leaders, and tihe church had need of strong men at the present time. When travelling round civilised countries, we heard all sorts of statements about the Christian Church. ' It was said that the success of the church' depended largely upon the money in its possession ; or again, its buildings were said to 'be the marks' of its success. That was not the case, and in eloquent language his 1 lordship- went on to point out the •real tests^ of the success of the work of the ciiurch. Continuing, he contrasted, the: church of the present day with' the church in 'the days of Antioch, when Peter and the -other 1 Aposr ties preached the Word of -God, and he pointed out that these men \vere "rich m quality if few in numbers. The i.church . must be successful if ■■■ jit could raise ' men and women of the same quality as these. We had need of such men and women now, .and he urged upon them the necessity for strict obedience to the 1 Gospel. In the:, course of the service, Mr. St. John Waite sang the anthem "Rock of, Ages," and .the "Andante in E. flat" (Dubois) was played by Mrs. York.