ST. PAUL’S CHURCH.

Grey River Argus, 15 September 1927, Page 3

ST. PAUL’S CHURCH.

Diamond Jubilee. ..YESTE&DAY >S CELEBRATIONS. The Diamond Jubilee celebrations ii connection with St Paul’s j\lcthodis: Church were advanced a further stage yesterday afternoon, when social tes took place in the Sunday School H.ill while in the evening an organ recita Avas held in the Church, this being fol lowed by a public meeting in the Hall All three functions were well attend ed. At the public meeting, His Worshij the Mayor (Mr J. W. Grecnslade) pre sided; among those associated Avitl him on the platform being the Rev G E. Brown. There were also presonl ministers from various other denomina tions. During the course of the even ing several speeches were delivered and musical and elocutionary iteim were contributed.

The Rev BroAvn announced apologies from the Rev W. Grcenslade (regret ting that he had been suddenly called away on business), Mr P. N. Knight (Nelson), Mr J. A. Flesher (Vice-Pre-sident of Conference) and Cr J. B. Kent. The speaker said that they had hoped that Mr J. Taylor, the oldest member of their Church, would have been present, but unfortunately he was like many others suffering from an attack of influenza.

The Mayor, in the course of his remarks, said he was indeed pleased to be associated with them in celebrating the 60th anniversary and Diamond Jubilee of the Methodist Church. Th< Methodist Church of Greyi.?ourh had a great deal to be proud of in regard to the part it had played in the his tory of the Town. He was talking as a townsman and from the point of view of civic life. He considered that ! the Methodist Church had played : wonderful part in moulding the minds of citizens, and in flitting men to carry out their civic duties. It Avas truly said that the Church was the moral university of the world. They all Avent to school, but. they had to learn something more than arithmetic and spelling. The various local bodies did a lot of good, but it Avas loft to the ministers of religion to mould their minds so that they would be able t< do the right thing at the right mo ment. Enough was not said of ITi< self-sacrificing Avork of ministers ,ot religion, and they did not hear enough of what they were doing to make peo-

pie worthy citizens and to fit then/ for the hereafter. That hall bro ugh i buck to him memories of his boyhood and of the fine old workers who had done so much to help them in later life. As Mayor, he appreciated thwork of the Church, its Minister and workers in the interests of the Town. , fie hoped the time would not be far distant when they would have their Jubilee Hall; and was sure that the i townspeople as a whole would help them in this matter, in recognition ot ’ the good work the Methodist people ' had done in the past. (Applause.). Ur. R. J-t Williams, in a brief speech, ’ said he too regretted that Mr Taylor was unable to be present. He under- , stood that he (the speaker) was the next oldest member of the Church, lie hajj been connected with i't for 41 years, and during that time had listened to some very able men. They were very often asked where they got all the good men from. He believed that a man must be extra good to be a Methodist Minister, as they only received barely sufficient to live on, and must be imbued with higher motives than monetary ones. He hoped that they would keep the Methodist Hag Hying long in Greymouth, and that all would help to enable them to build the new hall. (Applause.). The Rev T. N. Cuttie said he had been called upon to represent the Min-

isters’ Association, in the absence of Archdeacon Carr. He congratulated the Methodist Church upon reaching its Diamond Jubilee, and hoped that the next sixty years would be just as prosperous. Hu was interested in the Mayor’s speech, particularly with his reference to the influence of Unchurch upon the Town. He did not think that the Minister or Church should advertise their work, as there was a danger in that case of them neglecting work they ought to do. Some Were inclined to ask what was the Church doing. They might just as well ask what was the Church building doing—it carried the foundations. I The Church did not essentially enter into the social life of the people, but into their daily life. He referred to a eulogism of the Methodist Church he had read. It stressed the fact that Methodism was for all classes. It had broken down the old traditions of ministry, and called to men of average ability, and not merely those who were educated. lie referred to the persecution of Wesley, and his work. His hymns had the spirit of joy in them, and his teachings had resuited in a great revival in England, not only in regard to morals, but in regard to everything else. lie (the speaker) wished that they could get back to the Methodism of the old -days. What they needed to-day was to tell the o’d

story of the Gospel in the old way; to revive the open air meetings and tell the people of the Gospel of Love. He hoped for a revival of that Methodism which had meant so much to England and to the new countries to which it came. (Applause.) Mr C. N. Gunn, in submitting his re-p-tit on behalf of the Trust Board, stated the new Church had been mooted in 1910, and had been opened on Ot to’.er sth. 1911 at a cost of £2OOO. He explained that the Trust Board only reel ived one collection a year and relied mostly upon its “net sister” the Ladies’ Guild, for financial support. In 1917, they had secured a pipe organ at a cost of £450. They had raised £3OO, the balance, £lso,’being the gift of the Carnegie Trustees. In 1923 it was decided to secure a parsonage instead of payi n<*rent, and the present building was bought at the cost of £lOOO, £5OO being raised at a bazaar. In 1925. they had expended £l4O on electric bellows for the organ. To-day their only liability was under £5OO. including a. mortgage on the Parsonage, -urif.it expenses and a small overdraft. Mr J. MrL. an, at the request of the Chairman, also briefly addressed the gathering. He had. he said, been closely associated with the Methodist Churcvh for a long time. His mother tad taught in the Methodirt Church

here mug before the Presbyterian Church was built; the Rev. Shaw being then in charge. They should be promt of the fact that their Mayor was a member of their Church, and also I hat the majority of members of the Borough Council were Methodists. De snoke of the work of the Church in the building up of character, and expressed his best wishes for the future of St. Paul’s. The Rev. Brown, ; n outlining the history of the Greymouth Methodist Church, mentioned that he wai the twenty-third -minister. He explained that the number of changes were due to the circuit system, whereby Ministers were transferred after so many years. Prior to the building of the first Methodist Church here, Greymouth formed part of the Hokitika

circuit, and Mr Harker used to visit “here every five or six months. When the Church was built here in 186 S, the first Minister was the Rev. Shaw. He went on to speak of the work of the Sunday School. He was proud of tee fact that he came from Gloucester, where Robert Rates had founded the first Methodist Sunday School. No other church had so many candidates for the Ministry, and he attributed this to the Bible Class training they received. In this connection he stressed the necessity of securing a new building, as an aid to efficiency in training. The old building was of historic value and had done good work but it ’would have to be replaced. They aimed to secure £lOOO. The fund had been started with the Jubilee and so far they had received promises of £l7O. The fund would close on February 26, 1925, when the Town Jubilee celebrations were taking place. He hoped that all members of the Church and others would assist them in their aim as thev had on previous occasions. He concluded by thanking all who had assisted in making the Jubilee celebrations so eminently successful. During the evening, songs were contributed by Miss E. Ellison, Mr I. Nelso and Rev. Brown; recitations by -Miss Amy Ell and Mr I. Nelson and pianoforte solo by Mr T. F. Savage and duet by Miss Airey and Mr A. Baty. The organ recital (prior to the meeting) was given by Air T. F. Savage and included the “War March of the Priests” (Mendelsohn), “Berceiuse” (Webster) and “Meditation” (Faulkes). The Choir rendered “Hark, Hark My Soul” ami solos were sung by Messrs W. Kitchingham and I. Nelson.