Opening of St. Mark's Church, Riversdale.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 17, Issue 17, 30 April 1895, Page 2

Opening of St. Mark's Church, Riversdale.

. — -» — Those connected with the Knglish Church in »nd around KheTsdale and in the outlying districts had rcuton to congctituhte tbemselves upon tho very satisfactory termination of their labors for the last nine or ten month?, as shown on Sunday latt by tho neat builiing erected as a place of worship and the surrounding?. .Nothing but hearty co-operation and unanimity could have borne tu-ih frnir, as it waa not only a question of raising funds to build with, but a wilderness of a section bai to be pat into a presentable state ; walks had to be made, and a lot of gravel carted ; but many hands made light work, and tin Church and grounds looked ieally very Beat on the day of opening. Seen from the distatica • the Charub is quite a prom nent feature in the knv'acape, and on closer inspection it is found tha* the old adage, " Distance lends enchantment to the view," does not apply in this case, as both outwardly and inwardly the building will stand inspection. It is 47ft by 20ft, with a 14it stud. The Toof i afters are 18ft long, making a beautiful pitch. It is shingled like the Gq/e Cburcb, and the principals and lining ir/ita are all dreEsed timber, leaving tho roof open from the wall plate. The east end of the building is in the form of a bay with three angles. On the roof of this portion of the building small dormer windows have been introduce ito act as ventilator?. The inside as yet has to be lined, but that no doubt will eon be done : tho real; of the f urnißhiugß are in keeping with the building. The nltar is a very handsome p'ece of work by Mr E. Tomlin, given gratuitously, bb is also a very artistic reading-desk. Miss L filer bas clothed the altar with a beautifully worked crimson cloth, which seta it off to advantage, ttrs also bting a prcsßnt. Next on the list comes Miss Earle, who has provided by her own industry a beautiful baptismal font of Oarnaru stone ; it stands at the west end of the Church, and presents a very striking appearance as one enters the door, A very sweet-toned American organ has also been procured, and as manipulated by Miss L<ffl;r, who is organist, went a long way in making the service appreciated. Mr Joan Ounie was the contractor, and Bey. T. L, Stanley the. architect, Tho building is made to hold 130. In speaking of those who assisted, it is unnecessary to mention names, as all those connected with the Church worked hard nnd heartily to bring the afiair to a successful issue. The opening service consisted of Mornning Prayer and Holy Communion. Long before the time announced, the ■ people began to pour in from all quarters until toe Church was crowded, no further seating room being available. Many willing hands bad decorated the inside very prettily, the decorations being appropriate to the season, the different fruits of the earth being distiibuted throughout the building. A strong choir had been in training for some timf, and the Church praise was rendered in grand style throughout *h,9 whole service, under the leadership of Mr E, Tomlin, with Mips L'.ffler as organist, The Key, T. L, Btanley, vioar of the parisS conducted the service, and Bishop Nevill preached the opening seimon, taking his test from Ist Corinthians, 3rd chapter, verses 10 to 15. In the course of bis remarks he showed how Paul made use of such similes as the bnilding up of a material edifice and the building up of a spiritual one, and he showed how easily the illuetra/j tion used by Paul could be understood, to in the case of a material bu.Ua jag a good foundation was retired, c© also was it the case wish a, spiritual building up of the soul. Material buildings, he pointed out, required foundatio.nl according to the kind of structure that was going to be erected thereoo, whether of wood or stone, but the spiritual building only required one kind of fanoda, tion, and that was Qqd, He dwelt upon the suitability, of the materials required, and the way in which th.cv were pu,t together to pfcand the different conditions to which they would be exposed, either as a. Cathedral or such an edifice a.) they at present occupied.. He aIFQ pointed ou,t that {be. s<im,e oare wsa required in acquiring a. knowledge of how tq put together the matter far building up the spiritual life. He referred to the carelessness displayed by the spiritual boilder with regard to hia own soul, and the want of cans displayed in gaining a knowledge of spiritual truths. He deprecated the idea of a Church member coming to service just beoauae he thought it would make him look well with his fallow men. He contended that no man should suit his life to the viewa of others, m should so act that he would satisfy h\n awq soul and hit? Gfqd. Ha fytfntf jP Qut tfcat tbore was nqthin.g $°. hinder people ip, tbeafl c}b^s of' cheap, fyer,atuifo from, getting the knowledge how tq build up their lives spiritually. Spiritual truths were easily got at nowadays to what they wed t9 be, a»"i could be procured by rich and p; dot alike. Ho made reference to t-ho self-denial exoroised in the olden times, when some of the famous Cathedrals of tho Old Country were built. History recorded that some oC those handsome monuments wore th,o, WflttU oi pure self-denial on $he parjfc ol the builders, qns he x vjas glad to ip in 1 those days tho people were still willing'to exercise some self-denial in working for the Church ; and, on bobalf of the Church which hi represented, he thanked, all thosa who had helped in the good W/Wlfc as shown tb^at day. He especially th.ank.ed] thofle who had given their \imo \q su^p^ying tho furni^ifo, The work was a credit to, an.yoj>6L He also thanked thpse \yh.o, hadj qontri,buted their labor in making the oujtside so neat, and the public at large Sor support rendered to the building fu,os. In afternoojQ, there was a service for children, at which t^e Vioar gave an address, and two children were admitted into the Church in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. At 7 o'clock, 130 people assembled for evensong, the Bishop again presiding. xThe services were partly choral. There is a debt of L6O or L7O remaining on the building, which, it is hoped, the . bazaar and gift auction, which arc to bam held on the 9th and 10th of May, will go a loDg way towards clearing off. **

The boiling T dQWB worfea reeaotly started olpae to th,e Gioydon school having proved a pronounced nuisance, a deputation frem the School Committee was appointed to wait on the proprietor, and endeavor to come to an understanding aa to how the nuisance might, be abated. The deputation raafl conrteouaijr received by Mv Fletcher, and natters pat in train to e^eot |he desired result. A special meeting <k the committee is called for Wednesday evening, to receive the deputation's report.