MINISTER'S JUBILEE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20603, 30 June 1930, Page 6

MINISTER'S JUBILEE

FHTY YEARS ORDAINED, LONG SERVICE RECOGNISED* EARLY DAYS IN OTAGO. The Rev. G. B. Inglis, of Eden Vale Road, Mount Eden, will to-day reach the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. A resolution of congratulation to him on tho occasion was passed by the Auckland Presbytery, and was conveyed to him by the moderator, the Rev. F. A. : Thompson. The resolution is in the following terms:— " The members of Auckland Presbytery desire to express their felicitations to the Rev. G. B. Inglis, who this month completes 50 years' service in the ministry. In (he charges held by him hi 3 name is still mentioned with affectionate regard. There has not been one feature in the work for the Kingdom of God tftat did not command his constant and careful interest. In his retirement he has carried on a gracious ministry with the one aim of helping-his brethren, of promoting the peace of the Church, and, above all, of serving his Lord. The members of presbytery rejoice that he and Mrs. Inglis, who has been his accomplished and devoted supporter, have been enabled to give such life service to the Church in this Dominion; and it is the hope of the presbytery that good days for further activity yet remain." Wide Field of Studies. Mr. Inglis is a son of the Rev. Robert' Inglis, of Lochlee and Edzell, one of the leaders in the Disruption of 1843, who gave up all his worldly possessions and prospects for the sake of conscience and assisted, in the foundation of the Free Church of Scotland. Mr. Inglis studied, at Edinburgh Higli School, Edinburgh University, and New College, Edinburgh, and he recalls that among his classmates were Lord Shaw, of Dunfermline, and Professor George Adam Smith.His university professors included the distinguished names of Professor John Stuart Blackie, Professor Masson, Professor Calderwood and Professor Sellar.i From 1876 to 1878 Mr. Inglis continued his theological studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey. Shortly after his arrival in America he witnessed the elaborate and impressive celebrations of the centenary of the Declaration of Independence. In those days tho most distinguished preachers and orators in the country were regularly, invited to Princeton, and-in that way Mr. Inglis had opportunity of hearing such masters of assemblies as Bishop Phillips Brooks, T. De Witt Talmage, Henry Ward Beeeher and John B. Cough. ' , . r .• After spending some months in India, where some of his older brothers were engaged in business, Mr. Inglis came to New Zealand in April, 1880, landing at Dunedin. On June 30 of that year he was ordained and inducted to his first charge, that of Warepa-Kaihiku, in the Presbytery of Clutha. Balclutha at that time was still showing the marks of the terrible devastation wrought by the Clutha River in the great flood of 1878, and the wreck of the Tararua, when many lives were lost, profoundly shocked the community shortly after his arrival. The people of the parish were for the most part the original Scottish settlers, who had taken up their holdings when the land was absolutely uncultivated and practically uninhabited. They were mostly from Ayrshire, with some from the Highlands. A Scottish Community. " They were an extraordinarily fine people, said Mr. Inglis as he recalled his first parishioners with affectionate pleasure. "They showed all the characteristic Scottish eagerness for education, lovalty to their Church, knowledge of the Bible, and sometimes a fondness for theology. The great majority of them would never dream of engaging in farm work on the Sunday, however strong the inducement might seem; and the few who did venture to do so were looked at rather askance by the com* munity as a whole. It was a hard, selfdenying life, and I never knew a more agreeable, happy, united community. Cottage prayer meetings were held from house to house, and these_ in a measure as centres of social life. i\lr. Inglis was early initiated into the rigours of colonial lile, for during his first winter he was called on to conduct monthly services some 30 miles away in the Catlins district, where the roads even to-day are notorious for their boggy clay. The journey had to be done on horseback and three services were taken. One weekend that he specially remembers Mr. Inglis covered 100 miles in this way before returning to Warepa. These journeys were made, of course, quite irrespective of the weather. No Music in Church. Fifty years ago musical instruments were still excluded from some Presbyterian Churches on principle. No " human hymns," as they were disparagingly called, were admitted to a place in Divine worship, and it was the metrical Psalms and the Scottish Paraphrases only that were used for many years of Mr. Inglis' ministry. The singing was led by a precentor, who, armed with a tuning fork, stood in front of the pulpit to direct the congregation. The Waitaki River then divided the Presbyterian _ Church into two separate sections. The union controversy and a curious controversy about marriage with a deceased wife's sister were two of the matters that profoundly agitated church politics of the day. Among the prominent church leaders then—men who are still remembered among the makers of Otago—were Dr. D. M. Stuart, of Knox Church; Dr. Bannerman, Dr. Copeland and Rev. W. Will. Mr. Inglis married in 1883 and 10 years later he transferred with his family to Asliburton. During a 20 years' i minis* try there he built up a large and; flourishing congregation, and with his neighbouring minister, the Rev. James Skinner, of Flemington, organised a widespread church extension service, which ministered to the scattered districts of mid-Canterbury. In Jdnuary, 1914, Mr. . Inglis took charge of the Home Mission station at. Mount Albert, and in 12 months it had sufficiently advanced to be raised to the status of sanctioned charge. He continued in charge of the' parish there until he resigned in April, 1920, and retired from the active ministry.

Use of a Motor-car. Mr. Inglis has always been an advocate of the abolition of the licensed liquor traffic, and was a leader in tho campaigns that resulted in the introduction of No License -first in the Clutha electorate and later in Ashburton. His interest in education lie showed, among other ways, by serving on the Ashburton High School Board of Governors as member and as chairman. After a visit to tho Old Country in 1909 Mr. Inglis returned, bringing with liim a motor-car for the widespread work of his parish. He is believed to have been the first minister in New Zealand, or at any rate in the Presbyterian Church, to have acquired a car for such a purpose. Mr. Inglis was one of the pioneers of the Scout Movement in Auckland, and formed the Mount Albert troop soonafter he went there. For a brief time during a vacancy lie held the position of district commander. Since his retirement Mr. Inglis has continued to take a very active part in the work of St. David's congregation, as well ns in the wider work of the churchy Its Home and Foreign Mission activities have always enlisted his earnest support, and particularly in later years he has found many ways of bringing help and encouragement to' the large number of lonely men who serve the Church in th& backblocks as home missionaries,