FIRST CHURCH OF OTAGO

Otago Witness, Issue 2622, 15 June 1904, Page 15

FIRST CHURCH OF OTAGO

REV. DR NISBET'S INDUCTION.

The formal induction of the Rev. Dr Nisbet as the minister of First Church congregation, and as successor to the Rev. Dr Gibb, took place in lihe church named on Wednesday afternoon, when the building ■was almost filled by members of the congregation and others. The Presbytery of Dunedin was represented by the Rev. j J. J. Cairnoy (Moderator), who presided, the Revs. Dr Watt, Dr Dunlop, W. Will, It. R. M. Sutherland, J. Christie, J. Chisholm, J. M. M'Kerrow, D. Dutton, E. C. Tennent, R. Mackie, J. Kilpatrick, J. S. Ponder, A. Don, I. K. M'lntyre, W. Hewitson, and A. Finlaysou, and Messrs D. Thomson, R. Bagrie, W. H. Adams, R. Chisholm, F. Marshall, and G. Reid (elders). Apologies for absence were received from the Revs. A. W. Kinmont and W. Scorgie. Prayer, praise, and Scripture readings concluded, tlie !V£oclera{.oi.- preaclaed a thoughtful and impressive sermon on tho text of St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter iii, verse 8, " U"nto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." The Moderator (subsequently detailed, according to usual custom, the steps that had led to the present meeting. After the' translation of Dr Gibb, Dr Watt was appointed Moderator of the Session, and a large eominiitee cf the congregation was formed to select a suitable successor to Dr Gibb. Several gentlemen came from the Australian colonies to preach, and, after Dr Nisbet had preached, it was felt that he was the suitable man to occupy the position of pastor to First Church congregation; and in due time he was called, and now appeared to be inducted into the pastoral charge of ths congregation. The usual questions were then put by the Moderator to Dr Nisbet, who, these having been duly answered, then received the right hand of fellowship from the Moderator and the representatives of the Presbytery present. ! The Rev. I. K. M'lntyre. to whom was allotted the task of addressing the newlyinducted minister, spoke briefly, but appropriately, to the occasion. He could not do better, he said, than refer him to the charge, addressed by Peter io his fellow presbyters, "Feed the flock of God which is among you." Peter had faith and hope in and love of Christ, qualification that every presbyter should possess, and which would fit him in a large measure for the work to which he was called. Doctrines and beliefs about the Bible and Christ were not at all synonymous with the Bible and Christ. He would express the hope that Dr Nisbet was entering upon a ministry in First Church that would extend over many years, and be a blessing, not only to the congregation, but to the Presbyterian cause and to the Chui'ch of Christ in this city and in fche colony, helping onward every movement that tended to the uplifting and purifying of religious and civil life. Dr Dunlop, who next addressed the congregation, was happy in his references. One of the most significant things, he said, about .an individual or a society was iheir dominant aspiration or ideal, and members should ask themselves what . was the ideai and what should be the dominant aspiration of their own Church as a whole, and of every member connected with it. _ Ho Who had called the Christian Church into existence had determined that ideal for them. The one thing that justified ihe Church's existenea was the advancement, extension, and building up of the kingdom of God, and the Church was the instrumentality by .which Christ carried forward his redemptivework in the world. What he had said implied that the most effective way m ' which they could be helpful tp their newlychosen minister was to realise th© true aim of a Christian Church. Every church, had about it that subtle thing known as an atmosphere, the product of the spiritual life of the congregation, and that atmosphere might he helpful or hurtful to the minister. They could " help their minister by the atmosphere of piety with which they surrounded him, by being earnestly responsivo to the truth, by their sympathy and prayer. Tbero were other ways also of helping their minister, such as by not being over-exacting in the matter of ministerial visitation, or .pulpit deliverance, and he must have> the benefit of their charity. Finally, as the congregation of an historic church they were expected to s-et an example to other congregations representing the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Psalm xxiii having been sung, the service thon concluded with th© pronouncing of the ■benediction by the Moderator, the members of the congregation having vn opportunity of shaking bands with their new minister as they passed out at the doer. A social and conversazione will be held in the Garrison Hall this evening to give the congregation an ojjportunity of welcoming the newly-inducted pastor.