THE FIRST CHURCH CONGREGATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 5948, 4 March 1881, Page 3

THE FIRST CHURCH CONGREGATION.

The annual meeting of the First Church congregation was. held laßt evening. About 500 ladies and gentlemen were present at the ; tea, and the meeting was attended by about 300 more. . ~

The Key. Lindsay Mackie presided, and as the evening had somewhat advanced before the meeting ommenced, lie did not deliver a speech, but merely expressed hiß sense of thankfulness to the officebearers for their assistance to him.

The annual report of theScssion and Deacons' Court was accepted as read and adopted. It was as follows:—

In presenting their report for the year, the Session and Deacons' Court desire in the first place to put on record an expression of thanksgiving to God for all : His benefits both in providence and grace so liberally bestowed upon us as families and as a congregation of His professing people. "It is a good thing 10 give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High: to show forth Thy lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night." Session and Deacons' Court.—ln the course of the past year Mr R. Blackadder and Mr A. Crawford retired from the Deacons' Court, the latter in consequence of his removal from Dunedin. It was felt that the time had come when the congregation should be asked to elect additional: elders and deacons. The Session was accordingly strengthened by the addition to its number of Messrs Knox, Niven, Poison, and Wood; and the Deacons' Court by the addition of Messrs Arthur, Dunran, Morrison, Scorgie, Sinclair, Tomlinson, and Turnbull. The stated meetings of the Court have been regularly held, and have been well attended by all the members. : The monthly prayer-meeting of the officebearers, which has been held for many years on the lastMondaysveningof every month, is an opportunity much valued by those who use it of mutual edification, and of laying all the interests of the congregation before the Lord. " The Lord is good to them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him "

In His wise and holy Providence God has laid His hand in-affliction on our esteemed elder, Mr George Matthews. His fellow office-bearers take this opportunity of placing on record an expression of their high appreciation of his services to the congregation during the many years he has been an elder, and of their brotherly sympathy for him in his continued bodily affliction, and they earnestly pray that the comforts of the Gospel may abound towards him and his family.

Membership.—There have been added to the membership of the congregation during the 12 months 76— 28 as young communicants, and 48 by certificate; while 21 have been removed by certificate or death. Tho duty of parents seeing to it that their children are found making an early profession of their faith in Christ by joining the membership of the Church cannot be too often or too urgently pressed on a Christian congregation. There can be no doubt that the secret of power in this matter is a careful attention to family religion. Where there is a family altar there will be a sanctified household. "The children of thy servants shall continue, and their sons shall be established before thee."

The Sabbath schools and Bible Classes.—These essential departments of the Church's work continue to increase in number and interest every year. Messrs Moore and Couston, with their large staffs of excellent fellow workers, lay the Church under a load of obligation greater than can be expressed. In last year's report the minister complained of a slackened interest in the Bible Class for youn«- men and young women. This year he has to express his satisfaction that the old interest has quite revived, and. that during the last 12 months he had on the roll 85 young women and. 33 young men, with a good average attendance of both.

It is hoped that much interest will be taken by our congregation in the scheme adopted at the late meeting of the Synod for the higher instruction of the youth oi our Church in the knowledge of the Bible and of Church history. This Bcheme will be found explained and kept before the Church from month to month in the "New Zealand Presbyterian," edited by Professor Salmond. It is greatly to be desired that all cir families should be subscribers to this periodic al both for its own sake, and, in connection with this scheme,? for the benefit it may bring to their children. ■

Ladies' Association.—Last winter this Association found that it was necessary to hold fortnightly instead of monthly meetings. The meetings have been well sustained, and a large amount of benevolent work has been attended to.

The collecting of the contributions of the con"regation for foreign missions falls to be done by the ladies of the Association. The congregation must be reminded that the claims of the missions of the Church on the liberality of the members are yearly increasing. It is not necessary to ask a courteous recuption for the lady collectors when ;■ they make their half-yearly visits ; but it is well that all of us should be reminded that the Lord has given it in trust to His Church to evangelise the whole world.

Sustentation Fund. - Last year a very considerable falling off in the contributions to this fund was reported. This year improvement, but of the slightest kind, has to be reported. The Deacons' Court, sensible "of our failure of duty as a congregation in this matter, makes a special appeal to us this year and it is much to be desired that it may be responded to. Finance.—lt will be seen from the statement of accounts that there is a considerable inertase in the amount of ordinary collections and seat-rents this year. On the ordinary revenue and expenditure of the Deacons' Court a gain of £58 7a 9d is shown after allowing for interest on debt. In the matter of church-door collections there 13' still room for improvement. The average collections .'.during the year were £13 11s 2d. There should' be ho difficulty in making this up to a minimum of £15. : It is to be regretted that the Mission and Church Extension Funds show a decrease, and it is to be hoped that during the current year these funds will be more liberally supported. . There is still a considerable amount of the subscriptions promised for the gallery, church debt, &c: unpaid. If these subscriptions were all got in the position of our finances would be very favourable Young Men's Literary Association.—This excellent Association has been well supported during the past year. Young men are affectionately invited to enroll themselves m its membership. Besides affording them admirable opportunity of Christian culture, it will intr u-lli C« them -i,i« to, ? circle of companionahip with which they will find it good to be united. The Choir.—lt is with much satisfaction that the service-) of Mr Francis and the young ladiea and gentlemen who lead in the praises of the sanctuary are acknowledged.

_ Mission i. Mormngton.—By the consent of the Session, Mr Wood, the congregational missionary, during the greater part of the past year has been directing his attention chiefly to the district of Mormngton, with a view to the formation of a new charge there. A service has been conducted every Sabbath evening in the hall, and has been well attended. A church building has been erected and will be ready for use immediately, and it is expected that an ordained minister will shortly be Eettled in the district. In addition to the work in Mornington, Mr Wood has carried on with diligence work in connection with the Mission-house in Kussell street and has assisted the minister in pastoral visitation "Beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable. always abounding in the work of the Lord/forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."—R. S. Nicolson, Clerk cf Session ; E PaterSON, Clerk of Deacons' Court.

The balance-sheet Bhowort the receipts for the year to have been L 2597 18j Id, expenditure L 2824 Is 4d, and the liabilities LB7B

The Rev. Mr Watt, after t-xpressing himself aa personally thankful for the example the F.rat Churcjb and Knox'Church congregations act to the country chargo<<, addressed himself to the subject which he had selected to speak upon—"The Resurrection of Christ." He referred to the fact that a lecture htd recently been delivered on the subject, in which it had been contended that the statements concerning the resurrection were contradictory, and that it was not credible. The variations in the statements of the evangelists had, he was bound lo say, been represented as far greater acd more numerous than th*y were in reality. The Rev. Mr Watt pointed out that the theory once put forward to acount for the belief in the resurrection—viz., that the apoetks were deceivers—w«s abandoned; and as evidence that the belief was not the result of hallucination, he relied upon the fact of its rapid spread, as the fundamental Gospel truth, at the earliest period of Christianity. Had it been the result of hallucination, it

would have won its way more Blowly. The speaker then commented upon the fact that in the epistles of St. Paul, the authenticity of which was admitted by the moßt destructive critics, there was an entire absence of any reftr^nce to the resurrection of Christ being controverted ; though the general resurrection was doubted by some. Indeed lh& fact of Christ's resurrec tion wasappealed to as something which was beyond dispute, and was rej-arded as n earnest of the general resumction of the deal. In t'.e Epistles, the malleiß which at that f-arlr venod in the history of the Clristian Church were disputed were referred to, but there was no suggestion that the resurrection oi Christ was questioned, and the assertion was made by Paul that Chrißt was seen after the resurrection by many who were then living witnesses.

The Key. Mr Waddell in an eloquent speech commended to the congregation the scheme recently brought before the Synod for the establishment of a system of Bible and Ckurch history classes, the object of which was to retain the young people after they left the SabbatL-3cbool, and to secure their connection with tha Chui eh.

The R^v. Dr Copland and the Ray. Dr Stuakt also ad iressad the meeting. Doling the evening a number of selections of sacred music wero rendered by the choir, under the direction of Mr Francis. Mr Macfarlane presided at the harmonium. On the motion of Mr Lawson a vote of thanks was presented to the ladies wh-> assisted to distribute the tea, to Metsrs Francis and Macfarlane, and to the speakers ; and the proceedings closed with the benediction.