DIOCESAN SYNOD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17657, 21 June 1919, Page 6

DIOCESAN SYNOD

mm CLOSING SESSION. j, ' Yesterday iraa tho fifth and final day J-«f the second session of tho eighteenth f Bynod of the Ddoccse of Dunedin. Tho j Ihrfmato (Bishop Novill) presided, and tho ~/ '£3ynod resumed at 4- pjca. 1 ■ .The Primate stated that he had received ; from tho Presbytery of Dunedin a letter of : «very kindly.-expressod congratulations - and j ,©xxl wishes to himself, and bo had had tho ~' pleasure of acknowledging that letter that .-morning. Ho appreciated very highly tho [ kind words that had been used, , '-■ CLEBGYMEN'a STIPENDS. Mr G. Featherstone moved as follows: — "That tho lay members of the Standing , Committee bo requested to form themselves ..into a special committee, with power to add to thoir number, to carry into offect . the resolution of -General Synod with reforenoo to the increase of clergy stipends; and L , that this Synod suggests tho advisability of i. visitation to the various parishes, to bring , homo to the laity their obligations." Tho mover said he felt that, as laymen, they were not doing their duty. Ho referred to a mooting of laymen held at tho General Synod to deal with the matter of clergy •stipends. They felt that the clergymen themselves would do nothing in the.matter, and that the laymen were bound in honour to take it up. Some of the evidence given by arehdoacong to a ooanmitteo set up by .the laymen was appalling. Stipends of £140 and even £100 were given, and some clcrgy-;-xnon had not sufficient to live on, and had ■to ■■'. augment their incomes by taking up farming and in othrar ways. Something in -, the nature of tho Presbyterian Sustcntation iiFund had been, suggested, but that did not 'ineet tho caso of certain clergymen in tho ■ cities. ;; Mt L. D. Ritchie seconded tho motion, /Xand suggested that if laymen were to pro- ' jside over tho councila of the Church for a ••time it might lead to more being done for ;#ie clergy. The matter of stipends was )• essentially one for laymen, and ho trusted jithat some definite action would come / /promptly from this motion. -■'. Dean Fitcltofci said that tho movement re■iferred to at tho General Synod at Napier ;.3was exclusively a laymen's movement. Ho 'suggested that tho archdeacons should tnko Vin hand to visit tho various parishes and . "put it before tho vestries that the present ■•conditions were a scandal. Tlioy should . fay to get the vestries to vote the necessary . .sum at all hazards. . Mr Hellyer said the was equivalent to a vote of no-confidenoe in tho vestry,;men and churchwardens, and lie opposed 4it accordiiigly. ■i'The -tiev. Mr do Lambert expressed his '•jconfidoncc that the laymen of tho diocese 'were only waiting for an opportunity to bring about an increase in the stipends of ( the clergy. He believed there was a readitness on all hands to do something, and ho suggested that if an agent were sent round ' Ho; could raise at least £1000 for bonuses to oler'gy. Canon Curzon-Siggera said that in 23 years' experience of all the clergy of the diocese he had on only one occasion heard •a clergyman volunteering the statement that i his stipend was insufficient. He wanted it f to go forth that the clergy had been_ most ' heroically bearing this insufficiency without complaining. Mr R. A. Bulkeley advocated the ostab--7 lishment of an system of collect- "* ing subscriptions, and said that the experience of this system in Oamaru had been most successful. Mr J. Ash supported the motion, but suggested s the advisability of deleting the last clause, so as to leavo the special committee free. • Other laymen spoke of the necessity for increasing stipends, and expressed tho ' opinion that this could easily be done. Archdeaoon Fitchetb said tho archdeacons s had already visited parishes, and to some extent succeeded in raising stipends, but archdeacons had their own parishes, and could devote only a limited time to such ,- extra work. iMr W. R. Smyth suggested the alteration of the - motion so as to provide for the appointment of a financial organiser to visit each part* After other speakers had expressed determination to see more adequate salaries paid, tho motion was carried. eepoet" on missions. The report of the Sessional Committoo on missions, presented by Archdeacon Russell, was "as follows:—The missionary contributions from the diocese this year have docreased from £780 to £519. 'This is partly accounted for by the receipt last year of a • legacy of £100 and the special contribution of £85 through Mr Broome-Smith's visit. This means that the ordinary missionary

income for the year has decreased by £76.' The' contributions for Maori work in the diocese last year -were only £20 5s sd, and for Maori work outside the diocese, £20. The Synod indicated that £ICO was the minimum* required j or Maori -work in the diocese, at Moeraki, Puketeraki, The Kaik (Otago Heads), and Orepuki, apart from any provision for work at Stewart Island and Ruapuke. The amount of £500 aimed at . for Melanesia is £72 short of realisation, ~ and in -view of the greater needs at this particular time, a more" earnest effort should bo made this year. The contributions for the New Guinea mission have increased from £3 to £10, and the committee again commends the suggestion that the offertories on St.. James's Day he allocated to this massiprL The diocese did very little towards the appeal made by the Provincial Board of Missions towards raising the £1000 for the Jerusalem and ttie East mission. The committee trust 3 that the whole diocese will rememberthat Holy "Week, and especially Good Friday, is_ the season observed throughout the .Anglican Communion for the colleafcian of contributions for this important mission. Tho committee regrets to find that _ some parishes have failed to comply with the resolutions of Svnod that , ', at least one offertory be given annually to missions, \or „to contribute in any way to the foreign mission work of tho Church. The following resolutions were appended ■ . to the report.-—(1) That the week in which St. Andrew's Day falk be observed throughout the diocese as the special period of intercession for missions; (2) that the offertories on Good Friday be given to the Jerusalem and the East mission; (3) that an eyening be set apart during thesession of Synod foe a public meeting i n support of missionary work. a Archdeacon Russell expressed regret at the small attendance at the missionary meeting tli© previous evening, and at the fact :■•. that so many left before the meeting was over. He drew attention to the fact that ' m_ tins diocese the decrease this year m missionary effort was as much as £161 It was sad to see that so many parishes had not given at all, or had given such paltry sums that they "ought to have been ashamed.' .Every parish would be healthy in its finances m so far as it was missionaryhearted. The Church this year ought to dn at least twice as much as it had done in the past year for missions. Canon Curzon-Siggers seconded the • motion, and the three resolutions were cart ried. I THE PRIMATE'S EETIEE3[«NT. Tho Primate submitted the following statement with reference to his retirement mchcating that it would bo. spoken to b-? a r.i Br * n:t OT behalf of the laitv. and \ Archdeacon Rwhards, on behalf of the clergy. "The members of .the Synod clergy, and laity, would express their "grate ful appreciation of your Lordship's conduct •of business as president at many siiccessivt sessions, your wise counsels, your- uniforrr patience, and kindly consideration for al members alike. _ Reserving until a late: occasion their estimate of yowr administra tion of the dicrxse during well nigh lml a century, thsy would unite at the close'o this, their annual session, in the prayei that God may grant you yet .many years o health and happiness." i Mr Brent referred to what the Prima t< had done sa the father of the diocese. Hi; courtesy was tmfaounded, and his treatmen of -the children was very much appreciate* indeed. On many occasions he* had re moved the murky miasma of doubt and un belief, and had shown his people the clea cerulean of faith and tope. He trusted h* Lordship would enjoy many years of well earned leisure with tho recollection that U <he best of has asbilitv he had done every thing to help his fellow creatures. Arohcteaccn Richards said there would b n_ further opportunity of expressing apprecia tion.'of the really wonderful period of offio of tho Primate. Hoj>aidj a tribute to fh< Primate's great skill in- presiding over ses sjons of Synod and eondiopfcing tho businos of the diocese generally. TBoth in times o and in times of dullness thehad always experiencea fcom his Lordshij a fairness, patience, an<J courtesy that wa totv areatly ffir/prsciaied. Ho would carr with him into has retirement tho best wishc , of the clergy for his peace and happiness. Tho motion was carried with contimiei applause. The Primate, frrrospoßdMg, said ho founi i't rmiie impofwnb'e to express Just then a he would wi?h to cto hig feelings on tha owarion. He did not deny that the sever anon was in some ways m painful one. 1 had b»csn hznfrvJ that fJisre wero Synod ■fhat hod - on.unod him some litHe pain, bu there _had also been Synods that had causa him infinite fatisfiction and the greates thankfulness to God. He locked back witl the greatest pleasure and satisfaction on fh Inridnwa that lie had 1 at al! tirr.rp receive, from the members of the Synod, wliethc flwy hod agreed with him or no*. Th

Clmrch must braco horself for still greater efforts thou sho had ever made in tiie past. It musk bo quite evidunt to every member, Juy or clerical, that the opportunities for doing the work of God were opening out in overy direction around thorn so as almost to dismay and sfciggor them. Ho prayvd that God would raise up pooplo fitted to occupy the nations of the earth which weip opening for their rw->ption ojkl tiwit Kingdom of Christ) might bo rapidly ad•vancwl for God and all mankind. PKNSION BOOED. Tlio report of the Pension Board, submitted by tho Rev. C. H. Statham, whs as follows:—The accounts for tho your ended .Tune 30, 1918, show a surplns of £544 Os Bd. which Juts boon transferred to capital account, making that account £6137 lis. Since then a legacy of £250 Ims lveen received from tho estate of tho lato Mr E. K. 0. Quick, bringing tho total up to £6387 lis. During tho war 1917-1918 tlireo clergymen withdrew £62 2s 6d, and pensions woro paid amounting to £51 13s 4<l. For tho vear ondinpt Jimo 30, 1919. Iho board estimated tho surplus iucomo at £450. Thcro are now four persona drawing pensions, and there will bo at least four withdrawals before the end of the year, amounting in idl to about £100. The board desires to draw tho attention of Synod and of tho dioccso at largo to tho necessity of incrensino-, tho capital of tho fund to" at least £IO,COO. : Only £3000 is required to effect this, which does not seem a largo sum spread over the diocese In moving ttio adoption of tho report, Mr Statham urged tho necessity of increasing tho fund by £3000 up to a total of £10,000. Canon Gurzon-Siggers, in seconding the motion, said that Mr Statham, by his wise management, had brought it about that the clergy would receive full bonuses t.hreo years oarlior than the speaker u.id estimated. Tho report waa adopted. PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. Archdeacon Fitohstt presented tho report of tho Sessional Committee on l'ublio Institutions. Referring to Sr,. Mary's Orphanage tho report stated that the orphanage had lost tho services of Sistor Ernestine, who for many years had devoted hersolt in a most whole-hearted manner to tho care and management of the institution. Miss Taylor, the acting matron, was now carrying on tho work satisfactorily. Several large benefactions had been made to the institution duriug tho past year, including an anonymous sum of £203, and a new playroom, costing £130, given by Mrs J. N. Ritchie in memory ot her late husband. Referring to the Memorial Homo for Boys, tho report stated that almost the lirst use made of it was as a refuge for the children of parents attacked by influenza, and the inchest praise was duo to tho Rev. 11. de. Lambert (organiser and general manager) for the devoted manner ih which ho caied for the children. As an outcomo of this first work another institution had been established, which provided for children whoso parents woro temporarily incapacitated. There was no doubt of the need of this work "or of its supremo value to tho church. Finally tho report mentioned the remarkably successful work which the Rev. V. G. B. King continued to do in charge of tl» Men's Mission and as chaplain of public institutions. A capital fund had now been established through a generous bequest by the late Mrs Herbert, of Kelso. It would be necessary to provide Mr King with some assistance in tho near future. Tho report was adopted. GBNEIIAL. On the motion of Canon Small, it- ■ was decided to send fraternal greetings to Revs. T. W. Kewley, H. J. Davis, and E. J. Neale, with the prayer that they may be granted restored health after their long timo of sickness. On the motion of tho Rev. S. Stephens the Synod decided to x^la oo on record its appreciation of the labours of the- lato Mr Joseph Edward Stevens, for many years churchwarden and lav reador at Clyde. Tho Rev. R. G. Coats moved—"That this Synod places on record its appreciation of tho faithful services to the Church: in the parish of "Wakatipu rendered by the late Graham Dick Baird, in hia capacity of churchwarden and vestryman and parochial nominator, and extends its deepest sympathy to his widow and family in the irreparable loss they have sustained; that the purport of this resolution be forwarded to Mrs .Baird and family."—The motion was carried, members standing. The editor, manager, and Advisory Board of the Envoy were reappointed, and the amount of subscription Was left to'the Advisory Board to fix. The following billa were re-ad a third time and passed:—A bill to alter the boundary of tho parish of Gore. A bill to provide for the election of members of Standing Committee of General Synod.' A bill to raise the parochial district of Milton to t-hp status of a parish. A bill to amend Statute I; and a bill to amend Statute 111.