TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIV, Issue LIV, 16 June 1920, Page 5

TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

71st ANNIVERSARY SOIREE An atmosphere of joyous enthusiasm pervaded Trinity Church hall last evening when the congregation celebrated its 71st anniversary by a soiree and public gathering. The* ladies of'the congregation had spared no pains to make the tables look beautiful, and 'on© von.'icred where all the flowers came from at this midwinter season. Punctually at 5.30 p.m. the function began with the singing of grace, and for* the next hour or more a scene of bustle and enthusiasm prevailed, ns the ladies in charge were kept busy attending to the needs of their many patrons. At 8 p.m. the large Sunday School hall was filled with an expectant audience. Eor months the visit of the Right Rev, the Moderator of the General Assembly had been eagerly anticipated and few were the families o£ the congregation which were not represented on this important occasion. The Rev. G. H. Gibb occupied the chair, and associated on the platform with him wore the Right Rev. J. A. Asher, Moderator of the General Assembly, the very Rev, Dv, G. E. Weeks (Dean of Nelson). the Revs. E. D. Patchett and H. W. Austin, and Gaptain Coombs, and the lieutenant of the Bah-ation Army. 'Hie proceedings opened with the hymn, “0 God our Help iu Ages Past,” and the chairman briefly offered prayer. Apologies of absence were received from The Revs. F. PringRowe, and J. Laird, and from Mr P.

A Dickson., The first sneaker of the evening was the Rev. E. I). Patchett o f +he MethodiH Church, who was cordially greeted and introduced to .the. large audience, by thsi chairman. The Rev. Mr Patchett stated that it gave him great. pleasure .to be present on that occasion and that the pleasure was enhanced by being on the same platform .as the Moderator of the Generial Assembly, who was the representative hpad of a church which had rendered signal service in this land. He then went on to speak of “How a church member could help to make his church a success/’ He said there were three main ways in which this could be done. (I) By having an adequate conception of the mission of a church in, the community ; (2) by working for and In t-Uat church ; and (3) by having a personal devotion to the .Lord Jesus Christ. The challenge which sounded in our hearts to-day was, that by the grace of God we must unitedly seek to 1 stem the tide of worldliness by being loyal -to the living Head of the Church.The Right Rev. J. A. Asher, Moderator of the General Assembly- was then introduced by the chairman, who said that both he and the congregation to which he ministered felt that an honour had been conferred upon them by this visit of the representative head of their church. The Moderator, on rising to speak .was greeted with rounds of applause, and there was no doubt concerning the heartiness of the welcome extended to him. He said that this was the first occasion on. which he had visitoj Nftlsorn but he honed tlmt it would not be the last. _He had fallen in love with their beautiful town which was girdled w T ith hills, and lapped by the ocean. Some of them knew ‘ that he came from Napier, and Nelson ami that town;had often been compared Nielson claimed, for itself the title of Surmv Nelson- but Napier folk also spoke of their city as Sunny Napier, and he was not prepared to say which place had priority of claim to that- title. Lewd people of the baser sort sometimes spoke of Nelson as “Sleepy Hoi- - low,” .and it was said by others that ia Napier it was “all afternoon,” But these criticisms were inspired by the envy of people who came- from less happily situated places. in one thing, t however, Napier was far of Nelson, and that was in its Cathedral, which was one of the finest-churches, in the Dominion. But the Nelson Cathedral possessed a liner site, and when he again returned to this city he hoped to see a building erected on that mag- , nificont site fully worthy of it. The speaker then went on To _ congratulate the congregation on having' attained its 71st birthday, and conveyed,to them the 'heattv greetings of the General Assembly *cL the Church, of which for the time being he was the head. The General Assembly was the supreme court of the Church, and the Moderator was the chairmaifi of that court. He had heard it said that he was' the Pope ’of the Presbyterian-Church; but his Popeship would not last long, for it died in November next. But at present he was the Head of the Church, and speaking as such ho wished to say something .to them about their church. They were members of a great'church: No one who "attended the meetings* o* the General Assembly recently held ■ in Invercargill con’d fail to tie impressed with the strength, virility, sagacity, and passionate earnestness of" the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. They were great .also in the quality of the men who represented their church on the foreign field; groat in their schools and colleges,; great in tnenr social work and orphanages; great m the sums of money which were poured annually' into them coffers. why. did, he speak to them of these things 1. it was not to fill, them _ with a vain egotism and foolish pride : but to suggest to them that they should line tip to their possible selves. Su .^ ge^ strength to men, ami . they >» strong; suggest weakness, and they would be correspondingly weak. It the Presbyterian Church of New; Zeiw land would wake up to a realisation ,oi its full strength they would get oO percent. more work, service and money for the .cause of Christ m tins land. Tim final speaker of the evening was the Rev. H, 'W. Austin, M.A., of the Cathedral. Mr Austin delivered an earnest and arresting address upon “What Christ -crucified means for tur and what Christ risen means ns. The* Church was here as a- dynamic, as a stick of dynamite. It was not a " glasshouse for exhibiting OinsUaus, but a manufactory which should pioduce them. The Church should cawy out a great offensive, and one of the conditions for *■ successful offensive was nnitv. Each was proud of his regiment ; but when the whole army goes over the ton, regiments forget themsolves as entities, and think only or - their ohiective. The Church was no., an ark of safety, but a militant army. Mr Austin clinched his points with telling illustrations from his own ‘active service experiences. a ud A/ 1 ® warmly applauded when he resumed ms seat., . „„„ Hiring .the evening- solas were eontributed bv Mrs •Moynihan • and Nr. Taylor, a recitation was given by Miss S. ‘ Sowman, and a reading by Dr. "Weeks, and a quartet was rendered' by Mrs. Movhihan and Miss M. Rowe and Messrs G i eenhwni and Irwin, At the conclusion of the programme heartv votes of thanks were tendered to all who had assisted at the soiree - and nublie gathering, and when the Doxology had been suns the -Moderator pronounced the "Benediction. and thus brought to a conclusion celebrations which from every point of view wore- most .successful.