BIBLE SOCIETY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22744, 3 December 1935, Page 12

BIBLE SOCIETY

OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND ACTIVITIES The seventy-first annual meeting of the Bible Society of Otago and Southland was held last evening, the president (Mr J. Farquharson) presiding over a large attendance. The proceedings were opened with a prayer by the Eev. C. M. Sullivan, followed by a Bible reading by the Rev. W. A. Hamblett. REPORT AND BALANCE SHEET. The annual report read as follows: — “ The board has met regularly each month, and has exercised a careful supervision of the society’s work. We regret that through his retirement from the active ministry and his removal to Christchurch, we have lost the valued help of the Rev. H. E. Bellhouse, who has for 12 years been a member of the board. We also regret that Mr J. A. Wilkinson, one of our most interested members, upon his recovery from “a serious illness, found 'it necessary under medical advice to make, his home in the North Island. At the invitation of the board, the Rev. T. A. Pvbus, of Port Chalmers, has filled the vacancy created by the resignation of Mr Bellhouse. By the constitution of our society one-third of the members of the board retired annually, and are eligible for re-election. Those whose turn it is to retire this year are Bishop Fitchett, Mr S, C. Hercus, and the Rev. W. Allan Stevely. We record with pleasure our high sense of the value of Miss Margaret Ramsay’s work. Whether in visiting churches, addressing meetings, securing new collectors to take the place of those who drop out, or in her clerical work. Miss Ramsay is all we could desire. All churches are deeply impressed with the large number of people with whom they have no contact, and in this respect our cities are no exception. To meet in some measure this urgent need our society has engaged temporarily the services of four students of the Presbyterian Women’s Training Institute to sell inexpensive Bibles, New Testaments, and Gospels throughout Dunedin city and suburbs. They may not be able to give the whole of the summer vacation to this work, but already they have met with a gratifying response. During the year it was a great pleasure to have with us the Rev. David Calder, general secretary for New Zealand of the British and Foreign Bible Society, who displayed for a week in Dunedin the valuable Clemas collection of ancient Scriptures. Reference to the statement of income and expenditure will show that the donations and contributions for the year to October 31 amount to £923 15s sd, as compared with £824 6s 6d a year ago. In addition, the sum of £IOO was received as a legacy from the estate of R. S. Cree Brown. Special donations received for credit of the British and ‘ Foreign Bible Society amount to £ll 19s 6d and for the National Bible Society £l9 ss, and there were direct contributions to the British and Foreign Bible Society of £lO 18s 6d. Summarised, the total income from Otago and Southland for the year amounts to £1065 18s sd. The board is gratified at the amount received this year. The number of subscriptions has increased and the interest in the work has been widened. The board desires to express its thanks for the continued good efforts of the large band of collectors and district officers to whom and to Miss Ramsay the fine results are substantial evidence of enthusiastic work. It is hoped next year to make further additions to the list of branches throughout Otago and Southing and to enlist additional members to help in the work of the society. _ The amount we have in hand ns shown in the financial statement is £986 7,s lOd, and it is proposed to retain £250 of this, and, after providing for the amounts specifically given to the two societies, divide the balance equally between the British and'" Foreign Bible Society and the National Bible Society of Scotland. This will make the respective amounts paid as follows;—British and Foreign Bible Society, £364 11s 2d: National Bible Society of Scotland, £371 16s Bd;—total, £736 7s lOd.” ORGANISING SECRETARY’S REPORT. The annual report of the organising secretary (Miss Margaret Ramsay) read as follows:—“ We have lost through death or removal several generous contributors, yet the returns for Otago show an increase over last year’s amounts. Southland returns are incomplete and thus show a decrease. Some time was spent in Dunedin preparing literature, organis-

ing needy districts and securing new collectors. A meeting with the committees and collectors was held at Milton, when the work was strengthened by an additional collector. Lawrence • and Waitahuna branches held a combined meeting at Lawrence. Balclutha branch was reorganised with the Rev. A. L. Miller as president. Mr A. R. Dreaver as secretary, and six additional .collectors. New ; collectors have, taken up work at Hampden, Maheno, Livingstone, and Lovell’s Flat, and the results show in the balance sheet. Visits have also been paid to Mosgiel, Green Island, Port Chalmers, St. Leonards Ravensbourne, Palmerston, Oamaru, Lovell’s Flat, Clinton, Riversdale, Puke rau. Waipahi, Gore, and Invercargill. The Clemas Collection Exhibition held during Show Week provided many opportunities of making contacts and arousing interest in the work of the society. During the year 95 public addresses have been given, and 45 at Sunday services, 30 to women’s meetings and the remainder to Bible classes, Sunday schools, and week night services.

Moving the adoption of the annual reports and balance sheet, the chairman briefly traversed the matter they contained before going on to speak of the two societies that body represented—the British and Foreign Bible Society and the National Bible Society of Scotland. He mentioned that the former society had an income of £366,000 and the latter one of £35,000, while his society had an income of only about £2 per day. Thus, for each £ contributed to these bodies, the local society contributed only one halfpenny, so that there was plenty of room for further effort. The need was still great' a* 1,000,000,000 people had not yet heard the Christian message. Mr Farquharson gave a brief resume of the history of the Bible, and added that a revised version had been presented to the Dunedin Public Library. When first started, the society had for its aim the increasing of the circulation of the Bible in Otago and Southland, and he thought it time that that interest was revived. With that idea in view tfle circulation had been increased during the last year. The motion was seconded by the Rev. A. Morton and carried. ELECJION OF OFFICERS, The retiring members of the board (Bishop Fitchett, the Rev. W. A. Stavely and Mr S. C. Hercus) were re-elected, and the Rev, T. A. Pybue and Adjutant Mehaffie were elected additional members of the board. Mention was made by the Rev. Thomas Miller of the great work done by Mr John Wilkinson, who was that year giving up active service. For 41 years he had been treasurer, and for 38 years secretary of the South Island branch of the China Inland Mission, and during the whole of that term he had done his work loyally and efficiently. MISSIONARIES’ ADDRESSES. A short talk on her work was given by Miss Annie James, of the New Zealand Presbyterian Canton Mission, who is at present in Dunedin. When she first went to Canton 23 years ago Miss James said she had lived close to the British concession. Numerous Bibles were sold in both English and Chinese, while prayer cards were much appreciated, inland owing to their simplicity. For the illiterate the widely-used posters were very useful, as just to see the picture from the Bible story was a great help. It w r as the practice to sell testaments to the children round the compound for the equivalent of about one penny, and on the afternoon of market dav sometimes over -100 Bibles and testaments were sold. Here; however, • there was not enough. follow-up work, for, although the harvest-was great, the labourers were few. The Chinese New Year was a great evangelistic opportunity of which full use was made. Miss Bessie Webster, of the China Inland Mission, also spoke, confining her remarks mainly to stories concerning the distribution of the Bible and the results that had been obtained. One native who bad witnessed the execution last year of Mr and Mrs Stam, had walked over 100 miles to find out what had enabled them to meet death with such strict cheerfulness. There had never been such sales of the Bible in China as during the last decade, and she hoped they would continue to increase, for the word of God was not bound. HOME SOCIETIES, The following motion, moved by Mis* Webster, and seconded by Miss James, was carried:—‘ “ This annual meeting desires to place, on record its profound sense of thankfulness to God for the great work which has been carried on through another year by the British and Foreign Bible Society anil the National Bible Society of Scotland. Amid a world of unrest, of wars and rumours of wars, it has gone on its beneficieut way, a very river of God proceeding from His throne and making the wastes of earth to blossom.”