OPENING OF ST. MARYS PRO-CATHEDRAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9075, 8 June 1888, Page 5

OPENING OF ST. MARYS PRO-CATHEDRAL.

The formal opening of St. Mary's Church, Parnell — now the pro-cathedral of the diocese, to which extensive additions have been made, as already described in the Heraldtook place last evening. There was an abnormally large attendance, the church, with all its enlargement, being crowded to such an extent that forms had to be laid along the aisles. The ornamentation of the church was simple in the extreme. A floral cross and two vases of flowers were placed on the communion table; and the fronts and ends of the choir seats on the elevated portion of the church were festooned with evergreens and flowers, the pulpit and lectern being similarly decorated. In order to leave room for the choristers and clergy the choir seats were left, and four rows of seats in front set apart for the choir. Mr. T. Tallis Trimnell presided at the organ. The choristers marched out as the opening bars of the processional hymn, " At the Name of Jesus," were given, and marched down the side aisle from the vestry through the church, being joined at the eubreme end by the clergy from a place which had been screened off as a robing room for them, and all marched down the centre of the church to the chancel, Archdeacon Dudley bringing up the rear. There were 24 clergymen present—viz., Archdeacon Dudley (who, in the absence of the Bishop, presided), the Revs. Messrs. Burrows, Nelson, Davies, Tebbs, Davis, Hewlett (2), Mulgan, Dußieu, Smallfield, Haselden, Houchen, Alio way, Calder, Cockerton, O'Callaghan, Dr. Purchas, Richards, Bates, Beatty, and others whose names we were unable to get. The Rev. G. H. S. Walpole, incumbent of St. Mary's, conducted the evening service, the prayers and responses (Tallis) being chorally rendered. The proper psalms selected for the occasion were psalms 82, 122, and 150, and the "Magnificat" and " Nunc Dimittis" were sung to music composed by Mr. T. Tallis Trimnell. The choir had been largely augmented from the choirs of other churches, and the music throughout was excellent. The first lesson was read by the Rev. Mr. Burrows, and the second by the Rev. C. M. Nelson. A feature of the musical portion of the ceremony was an anthem composed by Mr. Trimnell, containing recitatives, choruses, and solos. It is a powerful composition, and the choral parts were admirable, but the solos were weak and somewhat marred the general effect. The anthem, "The Lord is Exalted" (John E. West) was sung with brilliant effect after the sermon.

The Ven. Archdeacon Dudley preached from Zechariah iv. 10, " For who hath despised the day of small things." The ven. preacher eloquently referred to the position of tho Jews on their return to Jerusalem after their seventy years' exile, as they stood amongst the ruins of Jerusalem, and the comfort it was to them to have Haggai and Zachariah to rebuke depression and forbid despair and encourage them in the name of the Lord. Ho proceeded graphically to refer to tho progress of the early Christian Church from small things, also that of the English Church, and to the progress of the Church of New Zealand from very small beginnings indeed. On this subject the Ven. Archdeacon Dudley said : —" Coming to this the adopted land of many, the native land of still more among us, in the visit of Samuel Marsden to these shores in 1814, in tho coming of the first band of the Church Missionary Society's missionary, in the arrival of Bishop Selwyn in 1843, in the bringing hither of Bishop Patteson in 1855, in the conference at Tararua in 1857, which issued us the constitution of the General Synodwe have small things indeed in view of that which had to be achieved; and in that which has been achieved we discern with awe and thankfulness the token of God's presence and blessing, and we take up the words of Zechariah and confess, ' Not by might, not by Eower, but by My spirit, saith the iOrd of Hosts.' That the native church should have furnished such saints as we older ones have been privileged to know, and notwithstanding the apostacy of many, should have recovered to be what it now is—that New Zealand has grown into an ecclesiastical province of six dioceses, with six bishops and near 300 clergy, having associated with it a flourishing missionary diocese with upwards of 100 native teachers already, and 10 native clergy past and present, and adult baptised converts numbering hundreds, and now even thousands, may well rebuke the gainsayer and constrain the believer to exclaim, 'What hath God wrought.' The history of this parish affords a like warning against despondency and a like encouragement. Church services in Auckland for the Europeans wore first held in the old Courthouse in Queen-street by Mr. Churton, whose memory as a house-going pastor and faithful man is still precious to many an Auckland resident. When, in 1842, old St. Paul's was opened, and deemed as it was for those days a great achievement, and spoken of as the metropolitan church, a parish for this part of Auckland had not been thought of. After a while St. Barnabas' little churcli was erected at the lower end of Parnell, principally for the Maoris, and services at unusual hours were arranged for the English families. These grew and multiplied, until the church of St. Mary, on this site, with accommodation for 250 persons, enabled full and convenient parochial services to be provided. Many of us can remember the first venerable incumbent of this parish, Archdeacon Kissling. Havo we not his children of the second generation working helpfully amongst us ? The next incumbent, Archdeacon Maunsell, under whom the parish church was again and again enlarged, the district visiting society formed, and much good work organised, is, thank God, still in health and full of activity. Not strong enough to bear the excitement of this evening, he will speak to you on Sunday morning—to you, so many of whom aro his sons and daughters in the faith. May he yet be spared many years to his family and friends to afford the clergy the benefit of hig ripe scholarship and fearless criticism, and to do such work as he may be equal for amongst that native people, for which more directly the great work of his life, the translation of the Bible into their language, has been wrought. In the building that we open this evening we have the first material instalment of the results of the work that for near five years past, refusing invitation after invitation to leave you, has been patiently and steadfastly carried on by your present devoted pastor, and truly he and you are to be congratulated upon what working together in hope and prayer you have been enabled to accomplish. It is true that whilst we recall the description which we were reading recently of the stately and most impressive service at the consecration of the Cathedral of Truro, Mr. Walpole's post of work before ho came to us, when we think of the character of that grand building, and of its costly and appropriate adornments, of the assemblage on the occasion of its dedication, including the chief men of both Church and State in England, when we read of the offerings made beforo and on the occasion, resembling distantly in their amount and voluntary character those made at the inauguration of the building of the temple at Jerusalem, and then to our own half-finished wooden building, beautiful though it is, and testifying to the genius and loving faithfulness of architect and builder; and remember the difficulty there has been in raising its small cost; although many have given with liberality and real self-denial, when we consider that we are compelled to open it in the absence alike of our venerated Primate, and our own beloved Diocesan, comparatively, speaking in a quiet way in anticipation of its formal consecration, — are tempted for the moment to give way to depression, to look upon this as indeed a day of small things. But even if it is so, let us not despise it. Many valuable and trying lessons have been learned in the preparation for it. There is much to be unspeakably thankful for in it, and if mountains of difficulty seem yet to lie in the way of the completion of the building, and the organisation of its services, we may hope, notwithstanding, that those who have brought us so far may be strengthened and enabled ere long to complete what they have so well begun : in the words of Zechariah, ' to bring on the top stone with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.' " An offertory was taken uo in aid of the building fund, after which the Ven. Archdeacon Dudley pronounced the benediction, and the choristers and clergy retired, singing as a recessional hymn No. 393 A. and M., and the large congregation dispersed.