ST. DAVID'S CHURCH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19620, 26 April 1927, Page 10

ST. DAVID'S CHURCH.

THE NEW BUILDING. FOUNDATION-STONE LAID, iWORK OF PRESBYTERIANISM. ' £ generous congregation. A notable ceremony in the history of the Presbyterian Church in Auckland, the laying of "the foundation-stone of the new St, David's Church in Khyber Pass Road as a memorial to those members of the Congregation who fell in the vrar, took place yesterday afternoon. Tlie attendance was such that the service in the old church had to be repeated for the benefit of those unable to find room in the building. The Rev. J. A. Thomson, moderator of the Auckland Presbytery, addressing the congregation, likened the conduct of our Jives to a relay race, in which each generation made its individual progress, taking np the running of the generation before—not finalising but assisting toward the completion of a task, the prize for which tras the realisation of God's love and salvation for all mankind. This generation entered upon its lap witnessed by those ■who had suffered and died for the highest principles in the war, and we to-day were taking up a challenge to consummate their efforts. Paying a tribute to Presbyterianism, the Rev. H. Ranstori, who spoke as the representative of the Council of Christian Congregations, said that one of the greatest forces in the world for righteousness had been the Presbyterian Church. Other churches, he said, gladly acknowledged the scholarly expositions of the Christian faith given through past years by Presbyterian ministers, of whom the Rev. D. C. Herron, 11.C., minister of St. David's, was a sterling example, a man who gave solid instruction in»the things that mattered. Dr. Ransfcon congratulated St. David's upon its achievement in building ithis magnificent new place of worship. History ol St. Bavid's. Prior to the laying of the fonndationStone Mr. Herron gave an outline of the history of St. David's from the time when, during the ministry of Mr. David Bruce, a preaching station was opened by St. Andrew's. Dr. Wallis took charge, but, owing to a difference with the presbytery, built a church of his own, although later the congregation returned and restored the old building, which had been used in the interim as a school. In 1879 Mr. T. W. Dunn took office and in 1880 a new church was built at a cost of only £lll7. The first ordained minister was the Rev. .T. McKenzie Fraser, who was in turn succeeded by the Revs. Robert Scott-West (1887), W. Gray Dixon (1900} and John Maurice Saunders (19' ?). As being indicative of the rise in building costs Mr. Herron mentioned that the Edendale Hall, seating 150, was built in 1889 for £135, and in 1908 there was built for £SO the Bible clas3 haH, which in later years cost £SOO to remove. In 1902 St. David's was moved from Symonds Street )to the section it now occupies. At a social gathering in December, 1919, two members of the congregation anonymously donated £l9oo—£9oo to pay off an existing mortgage and £IOOO as the nucleus of a fund for a new St. David's. The fund, said Mr. Herron, now stood at £20,900, with a further £I3OO promised, and having regard to removal and furnishing as well as building expenses, a little over £2OOO was needed to open the church free of debt. Mr. Herron voiced his deep sense of gratitude for the munificent generosity of the congregation in giving so freely, and said that as this was to be a Presbyterian cathedral for all Auckland, with its doors ever open to those desiring to hear the Word of God, it might be hoped that some of those outside St. David's would find pleasure in helping to make up the small balance required to cover the total outlay. I»aying of the Stone. The congregation adjourned to the new building where the foundation-stone, the gift of Messrs. McNab ahd Mason, was laid by Mr. Duncan Macpherson, only survivor of the first session of St. David's. With it was cemented a copper casket presented by Mr. Edwards, convener of the Building Committee, and containing certain church records. An interesting portion of the ceremony was the relaying by Mr. Robertson, in part of the new church, of the foundation-stone laid by his mother in old St. David's. Mr. Macpherson received a souvenir trowel at the hands of Mr. D. L. Patterson, architect. Incidental to the devotions in the old church and at the new was the singing of the hymns, " O God Our Help in Ages Past," " For All the Saints Who From Their Labours Rest," The Church's One Foundation," and others. The Revs. J. Lamb Harvey and D. D. Scott assisted at the service. The National Anthem was Bung at the conclusion of the ceremony.