PONSONBY BAPTIST SUNDAYSCHOOL CHRISTMAS-TREE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5633, 5 December 1879, Page 3

PONSONBY BAPTIST SUNDAYSCHOOL CHRISTMAS-TREE.

The first Christmas festival of the season came off yesterday evening at the Ponsonby Kaptist Sunday-school, which is a branch school of the Wellesley-street Baptist Church. The neat little building was crowded, and it was a very pleasant sight to see the many pleasant little faces all eagerly scanning the Christmas tree which filled one corner of the room, and from which were suspended no fewer than 404 different articles, all the handiwork of the teachers aud scholars, who had worked very energetically in getting them up. All the articles were numbered, the numbers corresponding with those on the tickets which had bc"ii sold, so that every one present received at least one and some more, according to the number that had been bought. The entertainment was opened with a prayer by Mr. Gaze, one of the Sunday-school teachers, (Mr. G. W. Owen being in the chair), after which the distribution of the articles from the tree commenced. When about one - third had been called ofl. Miss Hist, a young lady from Mount Albert, sang " Won't you buy my pretty llowers?" with much taste, and was warmly applauded. The tickets were agaiu called out, and, when about 100 or so had been distributed, Mr. Eaton auctioned off a number of very pretty, fancy, and usefull articles from off a table in charge of Miss Bigelow, which weut off very well. Miss Mabel Farquliar then gave a song entitled "Mother's Kiss," after which the remainder of the articles on the tablo were called off. Miss Hirst the favoured the audience with another song, "Yesterday," a.nd the benediction closed a very successful aud pleasant entertainment. The school numbers 70 scholars, the average attendance being GO, and it is a proof of the interest and zeal with which both teachers and scholars work together, that out of their number at the late Sunday-school exhibition fully one-half exhibited articles of their own handiwork. Mr. J. S. Bigelow is superintendent of the school. There is no regular pastor of the church—service being held in the building only on Sunday evening, conducted by a student of the Baptist Church. The entertainment which we have above noticed was for the benefit of the festival and vestry fund, and it was expected that about £14 or £15 would be realised by the sale of tickets.