MISSIONARY VALEDICTORY

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6551, 7 March 1928, Page 8

MISSIONARY VALEDICTORY

To Rev. and Mrs A, H. Scrivian Although Rev. A. H. Scrivin, the well known missionary of Papua, is working in the field controlled by tho Australian Methodist Church, he is always looked upon as a New Zealander because he received his ministerial training here and left for the scene oi his life work as a New Zealander. More particularly is he looked upon with a sense of ownership by Palmcrstonians because his children reside hero and ho spends most of his furlough in their company. For nearly three months now Mr. and Mrs. Scrivin have made this city their headquarters, and in view of their departure for Australia at the end of the month, a farewell social was tendered to them at the Cuba Street Methodist hall last evening. The funo tion was arranged by the New Zealand Methodist Women’s Missionary Union whose headquarters are in Palmerston North, and there was a large attendance of the members of both churches. Mrs. T. E. Hodder, Dominion secretary of the Union, presided and felicitously extended warm welcome to the guests of the evening, at tho same time taking opportunity to impress on those present the claims of the organization.

Rev. J. Ernest Parsons also extended a hearty welcome on behalf of both churches, Rev. H. T. Peat being unable to be present till later in the evening, j Mrs. Scrivin told a very interesting story of the work among the boys in the school at Kiriwini, where she had between fifty and sixty most promising and intelligent youths under instruction in three languages—their own Kiriwinian, Dobrian (the literary language of Papua) and English. Rev. A. H. Scrivin gave a powerful address, the keynote of which was optimism. He said no missionary could be a pessimist. The spirit of optimism pervaded mission enterprise—not a spurious optimism born of a superficial knowledge of tho problems of the work which really amounted to living in S “fool's paradise,” but the truer optimism which was based upon a proper understanding of tho conditions under which the work was carried on. Enumerating the difficulties, Mr. Scrivin said one of tho greatest was in tho workers themselves, and was born of failure to get the native’s point of view. He gave a number of illustrations of the ludicrous mistakes made by people who attempted to judge these child races by European standards, and then in a powerful manner depicted tho great change that bad come over the habits and thoughts of these people, showing the triumphs of tho Gospel among men who were among the most savage and degraded in the islands ol tho Pacific. Mrs. H. E. Pacey, Dominion president of tho M.W.M.U., expressed the thankf of those present to the guests of the evening. Musical items were renderel by Mrs. R. H. Billons and Miss Jean Pacey, while Miss Teale gave two monologues. Miss Lorna Hodder acted as accompanist. Light refreshments concluded a most pleasant and inspirinf gathering.