The Pulpit.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 423, 20 March 1880, Page 6

The Pulpit.

WESLEY AN CHURCH, TARANAKI-

STRKET

The members of the Wesleyan communion in this city are to be congratulated upon the energy they have displayed in so soon replacing their church, which was destroyed by the fire in Manners-street in June last year. Numerous difficulties have been encountered by this body, and the losses they have sustained from time te time have been very great. The first Wesleyan Church in Wellington was built on the Manners-street site in 1843, the Rev. G. Aldred being the minister at the time. The size of this gentleman's flock may be judged from the fact that the new church measured 16ft. by 22ft. Ihis building was superseded by a brick one, which was destroyed by the earthquake of October 16, 1848, and a lath and plaster church was next erected, which was also so damaged by earthquakes as to make it necessary to build again in wood. During the pastorate of the Rev. J. Buller, the wooden church was enlarged to meet the needs of the growing congregation, and in 1867 the last church was built in Manners-street. The Rev. W. Kirk, who was the superintendent minister when the latter church was built, happens to ocrupy the same position with regard to the church just completed.

Prior to the Manners-street Church being destroyed, new building regulations had come into force, which precluded building in that locality in any other material than brick and cement. This was a formidable obstacle to the rebuilding of the "church, for while the cost of a brick building was beyond the means of the congregation, there were some who had a lively recollection of the fate of their last brick church, and openly stated that they would not worship in the new edifice if it was of brick. To meet these two objections, the present site in Tara-naki-street, consisting of one acre, was pur chased from the Hon. John Johnston for about £4IOO, and permission has since been obtained from the Conference to dispose of the Mannersstreet ground. The Taranaki-street edifice is equally as commodious as its predecessor, while it is certainly a more comfortable building in which to worship. The style of architecture is Gothic, and the church presents a very massive appearance. Its dimensions are: Length, 100 ft.; width of front, 60ft.; and height to centre finial, 62ft. The principal entrance is by means of a large porch, approached by a broad flight of steps, while there is also a smaller entrance on each side of the main one. Over the latter entrances are two towers 70ft. high, the towers being square, with high-pitched roof, surmounted with ornamental finials. The building is of kauri and totara, and the roof of corrugated iron. The interior arrangements of the church are excellent, the seats being semi-circular, by which means the congregation can all face the preacher, and as the floor is a sloping one the minister and his hearers will be in full view of each other. There is a large gallery on each side of the church capable of holding 350 people, while 650 can be comfortablv seated down stairs, making 1000 in all. A. 'much greater number can, however, be seated upon emergency. The organ gallery is immediately behind the rostrum, and is very commodious, while in the rear of the church is a vestry 22ft. by 14ft., besides a minister's vestry Bft. square, a choir vestry of the same size, and two lavatories. The roof is elliptical, and is divided into panels by heavily moulded ribs of varnished kauri, which form a striking contrast to the light tinted roof. The fronts of the rostrum and organ gallery are composed of turned balustrades, and the spaces between them will be filled in with crimson damask. All the inside fittings are of varnished kauri. The walls are painted grey, and the ceilings white, with the exception of the roof, which has a blue tint in it. The painting and varnishing has been entrusted to Mr. Tustin, and, it is needless to say, has been faithfully performed. The lighting arrangements are very good, there being a large four-light mullicn window over the main entrance, flanked by one-light windows, while the main portion of the church has six windows on each side. The windows are glazed with ground glass. At night the building will be lighted by means of six stars of ten jets each, and forty side brackets. These have been turned out from the establishment of Mr. Danks, and have been painted blue and gold by Mr. Tustin, to match the organ pipes. The building is ventilated by means of valves, which are placed in the floors, walls, and at the junction of the walls with the ceiling, outlets being provided by galvanised iron pipes leading to the outer air. There are no less than six means of exit, so that in case of fire the building can be emptied in two minutes. The contract price of the new church has been £4300, but fencing and other expenses will bring the total cost up to £SOOO, and of this sum £2OOO has been already subscribed or promised. Mr. Thomas Turnbull is the architect of the building, and Mr. Wilson, the oldest builder in the city, the contractor, and his work, which has been about six months in hand, has been most conscientiously performed. The Wesleyans once more have a substantial "place and habitation" in this city, which it is hoped will escape the dangers to which its predecessors have succumbed, and will long remain in our midst as the principal worshipping place of one of the most useful of the many divisions of the Christian Church. The new organ, which was ordered from England prior to the destruction of the old church, has been built in the organ gallery by Mr Farrell, of Christchurch. The instrument is a two-manual organ, by Conacher and Co., Huddersfield, and is contained in a pitch pine casework, French polished, the front pipes being illuminated in blue and gold. It has 30

notes of radiating concave pedals, and there are three continuation pedals on the great, and three on the swell organ. The stop? are as follows :—Great Organ—Open diapason (metal), Bft. tone ; dulciana (metal), Bft.; flauto traverso (wood), Bft.; viol de iraniba (metal), Bft.; principal (metal), 4ft.; wald fldte (wood), 4ft.; fifteenth (metal), 2ft. Pedal—Open diapason (wood), 16ft.; bourdon (wood), 16ft.; octave coupler. Swell Organ—Bourdon (wood), 16ft.; viola diapason (metal and wood), Bft.; rohr flote (wood and metal), Bft.; salcional (metal), Bft. ; voix celeste (metal), Bft. ; harmonic flute (metal), 4ft.; octave salcional (metal), 4ft.; barmonic piccolo (metal), 2ft. ; horn (metal), Bft.; oboe (metal), Bft. Accessories—Swell to great coupler ; swell to great, swell to pedals and great to pedals. The swell is a balanced pedal, so arranged that the performer can open it with his foot to any distance he pleases, and it will remain in that position until altered. The instrument is a powerful one, and those who have tried it recently have been very much pleased with it The solo stops are very fine in tone, the voix celeste being particularly so. The choir may well be pleased with their new instrument. The total cost of the organ is about £SOO. It will be blown by hydraulic bellows, which have been prepared by Mr. Farrell, and the engine is being supplied by Mr. Seager, Yictoria Foundry.

The opening of the new Wesleyan Church was celebrated on March 14 by special services 5 the Rev. W. Kirk officiating in the morning, the Rev. H. B. Redstone in the afternoon, and the Rev. W. J. Williams in the evening. There were large congregations upon each occasion. In the morning Mr. Kirk took his text from the Bth verse of the 3rd chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Phillipians, "Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord." The discourse was directed to showing the excellency of an experimental knowledge of Christ as compared with all other knowledge, it being the only knowledge which can point to Heaven, and being alike suitable for rich or poor, learned or illiterate. Mr. Redstone's discourse was founded upon the words, " The bright light which is in the clouds," taken from the 37th chapter of the Book of Job. In the evening Mr. Williams preached from the text;, " What think ye of Christ ?"—(Matthew 22-41). The subject was dealt with under three aspects—Christ in the past, Christ in the future, and Christ in the present, each portion of the discourse being treated most eloquently. The choir, which, by the way, is a very good one, rendered valuable service during each service, and the fine tones of the new organ were displayed to their best advantage. Jackson's Te Deum in F was performed in the morning, and also Handel's Hallelujah chorus, both of which splendid compositions were done ample justice to by the choristers, under Mr. Carty's leadership. The collections taken up during the day amounted to nearly £6O. The organ recital and sacred re-union at the Taranaki-street Wesleyan Church on March 15 was very successful, about 1200 people assembling to hear the performances of Mr. Angelo Forrest upon the new organ. Mr. Forrest amply repaid his large audience, and at the conclusion of the recital but one opinion, and that a most complimentary one to the instrumentalist, prevailed. The performances consisted of an by Batiste ; selections from Wagner's opera "Lohengrin," a march by C. Collins, Chorus, " The Horse and his rider," from HaudeFs, " Israel in Egypt," A.ve Maria (16th century; and offertoire in G. by Welly. These selections .had been made with the view of fully displaying the varied capabilities of the new instrument, while they also served to exemplify Mr. Forrest's great powers as a player, and his execution, particularly in the more lively passages, was very good. The organ appears to be well adapted for congregation The church choir rendered several anthems, singing them remarkably well, although a want of precision was noticeable at times. The anthem " How lovely are the messengers" was certainly the best performed of the concerted music. Several solos were included in the programme, and a young lady, well-known in musical circles, ably sustained her reputation by her delicious singing of " There is a green hill far away," although we fancy she was very nervous in "On mighty pens," and consequently did not do full justice to that charming piece of harmony, although it was not by any means badly sung. " Resignation," a bass solo, was very creditably sung by one of the members of the choir. Haydn's fine aria, "In native worth," was, however, simply caricatured by the young man who attempted it. We never heard a worse performance, the notes being literally " jerked" out, and hurled at the heads of an unoffending audience. This singer possesses a good voice, but it sadly lacks cultivation, and until a sufficiently judicious training has been bestowed upon it, its owner should not attempt to sing compositions that require such careful attention to light and shade as the solo under notice. During an interval in the concert, the Rev. W. J. Williams gave a short address, in which he dealt in a humorous manner with the history of the old and new organs. The " Hallelujah Chorus " concluded the concert, the audience standing during its performance.