PARISHIONERS' MEETING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17151, 3 May 1919, Page 11

PARISHIONERS' MEETING.

ST. BARNABAS' CHURCH.

The annual meeting of parishioners of 9t. Barnabas's Church was held in the parish hall last evening, the vicar, Canon McFarland, presiding. The annual report of the vestry stated that incj past year had been a very satisfactory j marred only by the strain of the war a»I the death of many church people in <ho recent epidemic There had been 87 i celebrations of the Holy Communion, with ' 2803 receptions, 41 baptisms, 19 marrin-cs, and 35 con firm at ions. The Sunday congrecations had been good. A welcome was extended to the Rev. G. T. Bealo, who had Joined tho vieir as assistant-minister. Reference was made to the good work of the organist and choir, but it was stated there was a great need for more voices, especially male. Regret was expressed at the death on active service of three members of the Messrs. Arthur White. Boy White, and Keith Bownng. Reference was made to tie work of the Ladies' and Girls' Guilds, the. church branch of the Girls' Friendly Society, the Gleaners' Union and the Bible Class, in most of which the interruption caused by the epidemic was severely felt. i There had been a lack of interest in the Church of England Men's Society, but it was expected that with the arrival of the Jew organising secretary from England, new interest would be aroused. The Boy Scouts of the parish had been quietly carrying- on their work during the year, but the membership needed increasing. Regret was expressed at the death during the epidemio r>f Mr. W. G. Clowes, assistant-superintendent of the Sunday School, and Mrs. Niall, superintendent of the Girls' Guild. Tie balance-sheet showed that the y*ar opened titit » credit balance of £25 lis sd, and closed with one of £3S 8s 9d The receipts totalled £834 14s sd, of which £451 103 6d was for general purposes, £224 for > special purposes, such as Maori, Melancsian ] and Home Missions, and £182 was contri- i buted by the Sustentation Fund. During , the year £75 has been paid off the church [ debt, leaving tho indebtedness to the Trust Board only £150. The mortgage on the vicarage stood at £550. A benefaction, amounting to £1579. left to the Building Fund by the late Mr. Webb-Johnston, & former parishioner, was now payable, and would soon be received. This woulc. form the nucleus of the hind for the completion of the permanent church. Referring to the benefaction, the treasurer, Mr. C. Hudson, said the bulk of the money was on mortgage, and as it was not proposed to proceed with any building in the meantime, the interest would be banked, and the fund allowed to accumulate. It was stated that the sum of £500 had been collected for the Army Huts Fund as the result of church efforts, but as money bad been subscribed by people other than parishioners, the amount could not be fhown in the church accounts. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. Mr. C. Hudson was reappointed vicar's •warden and Mr. T. H. Wright parishioners' warden. The following vestrymen were elected: Messrs. E. Yates, J. Hutchinson, H. Aickin, A. J. Fielder, — Kallender. A. Bowrtng, J. H. Gregory. A. Poole, and F. W. Harrison. Sidesmen were elected as follown: Mosars R. Clark, A. Martin, J. Evans, E. Yates, and J. C. Burrow. Auditor, Mr. W. Stencker (re-elected). . The vicar urged parishioners to give their full support to the Diocesan Central Fund, which would come into operation on June 1. Reference was made to the work of the St. Barnabas Sconts during the epidemic period. It was stated that they attended regularly at the depots and did a great deal of valuable work in carrying comforts and assisting the epidemic workers.