MARSDEN CENTENARY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13394, 30 May 1914, Page 6

MARSDEN CENTENARY.

; Christmas Day will be the hundredth anniversary of the first Sunday on which divine service was held in New Zealand, and it is proposed to mark the eyerit by a special series ; pf.\commemoralsiVe, aer- , vices and gatherings. • The centenary celebrations will «ommence on Friday, December 11th, when there will be a large public meeting in the Auckland Town Hall. On Ouistmas Day there will be a celebration of the Holy Communion' at •or near the Marsden Cross, when the Bishop of Auckland, all the Maori clergy of the 'diocese, and as many of the other clergy as can b^spared from their parishes will be present. A- special feature of the celebrations 1 will be the Church Congress, to be held in Auckland on February Bth, 9th, ajj<l 10th, invitations to which have been sent to the leaders of the Anglican communion throughout? the world, and especially to the leaders in Australia. The subjects set down. |or discussion include : The Old Testament, .the New Testament in relation to thV person .of Christ, the Bible and evolution, the ministry, ire-union, modern heresies, > the. Church and the family, men's duty, missionary work and problems. After the congress, on the evening of Wednesday, February 10th (about midnight) a special steamer will leave Auckland to take any members of th'e congress or others desirous of going, to Russell and other, places of interest in connection with .the landing of Marsden and the establishment of Christianity in New Zealand. \ In order to ■ bring the celebrations within the reach of everybody in New Zealand, special services "will be held on Christinas Day in every Anglican church throughout the Dominion. In addition, it has been resolved to appeal for. a special thanksgiving fund of £20,000 for educational purposes, and a further sum of not less than £30,000 for augmenting the stipends of the clei'gy. It is! hoped that the celebrations will be of a national character, since our occupancy of New Zealand is in a large measure due to the labors of Marsden and other early missionaries. But, for these labors fy 'is -doubtful" if the Treaty of Waiiangi would ever liave been signed, and; in that case the. Dominion would Liu all probability have passed into the hands df France. And Marsden has a. peculiar claim on the gratitude of those outside; the Anglican communion, seeing that, though he was a devoted son of the Church iof England, he was, nevertheless, always ready to give liberal help to the work of other .religious bodies. He advanced £750 towards building a Presbyterian Church in Sydney, and he presented the Wesleyans with a valuable piece of land on which to erect a church ; at Windsor. ' . • ■

MJartfden and his companions laid the foundations of a great work — a work for God, and a work for England. It is for us, then" descendants, to show our gratitude by. helping to the best of our power the extension of the work so well and truly laid ,100 years ago.