BISHOP SEDGWICK.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13399, 5 June 1914, Page 4

BISHOP SEDGWICK.

HEARTY WELCOME TO GISBOR-NE

'Extjra seating ha.d jo be provided at che Scottish. Uall last night to accommpdate the large gathering of people wlio assembled to weltidnie tfie Kigiit Rev. Dr. Sedgwick, Bishop of AVaiapu, upon his first, official visit to Gisborne. His .Worship the Mayor (Mr ,yV. G., Shexratt), wearing- the /chain, of office^ presided, and with him on the platform m ■addition to his Lordship^ were the Veil. ;Ai-chdeacon Williams, Rev's. .L. D. Thomas, F. W/' ChUtterton, W. Grant, arijd .11, KaineY Adjutant Avernell, arid 'the. M'ardens and vestrymen, of Holy, Trinity Church. , Apologies, were . received from Revs. E. Ward, P. J. jWaimVriglit, and Father Golden. ./The . Mayor said they -Were, met to 'We^oqwSe-.-jthe, Bishop £q ,the, tqwn, and ■h^ extended, to , his Lordship <a> hearty welcome, and expressed tlie hope that lie wp'ulcl have Health and sfrehgtli to perform the very important work which he as* Bishop would be called upon to do. He could depend upon the hearty support of all sections, of the community. Hci (tho Mayor) 1 had v much - pleasure .m we|lconu4ig> his Lordßliip olli behalf of .the town -and ~ district. (Applause\) The Rev. £. Bi Thomas said lie was ; pleased as vicar* of thd" parish to join m/ tliß welcome, to ttieir newy Bishop. ,6ne. could not bui help casting, their |riiihds back five .yeara ago, when they "welcomed Bishop Averilll 'They then took liim to: their hearts, and he took them to Jus heart. Now they /were met to welcome Bishop Sedgwick. The vicar was sure he could say their < Bishop would find that'" CJisb'ortie ralig' true. It wap a way they, had. His Lordship would never have cause to say that Gisborne/did not. ring true. One cpuld not help thinking at tliis anniversary season of those who had worked for the Church hy years £orie by> They hail] gone, but their work lived, oh. - In again assuring ins; Lordship" hf a hearty welcome to the Gisbbrne parish the- vicar Said 1 : "We take him to our hearts, and I want him to take us to/, his heart a^so." (Applause)." ; 'Colonel Whiter, after addressing the chair, proceeded to add his welcome to the Bishop: "My Lord,". he said, "the parishioners; of . Holy .Trinity dfesii'e M extend to you and Mrs Sedgwick a very hearty welcome pn th's XQW fisst official visit to. Gishprne. j I tenture to hope ttia), you /will §cc, behind, the* form and dress of the few'wqr^s m which I can ;expre3s""thi^' welcome, a' 'true spirit '6l loy^lty/to yourself As our father m God, arid iof anticipation and .willingness;, to co-operate ,at alLtimes^ with ;epU:"V.y our work 'as our 'Bishop. Your 4 pordsliip will, not fail' to'oHserVe that' m tlie colcmisatiori ; of the East Coast and' the inland portions o,f the North. lsland ,by Euijopeajis, much pioneer work. ( has t,o be undertaken .by (f| our* settlers under hard and trying circuriistances which are often adverse to the highest intei*ests o3^ the men to whom' we are' all so much indebted for the advancement of the, material prosperity of New Zealand. The Maori Churchy is now . well established .upon .foundations^ well laid in' the Past.. and ; it igi ably guided .by" those cTdrgy whose work has been specialised, yet wo recognise that the supervision of the Maori Church must still require from the Bishop , constant care and watchfulness,. whi|e the complete restoration of the lapsed Maoris' to tlie Cnurcli of their fathers,' 'of; which the commencement at least -has been evidenced du"«g the i^j-ma/i-kafile mis£iona)ry-. journeys of Bishop Averili', will we- are J sure bo an. object you will alAvays have before you. We Bieg to assure you that' as members of the we feel, it, our duty and privilege t& ext'erid m all possible ways the ministrations of the Church. We;aak you as oUr.- leader to help -us to live; up to!. o.ur responsibilities and' to be of some use m ".thei Church -which has done so. much 1 for ourselves. , We as's^(B you th{(tj you wiU. ajt-^4l timers hay,e 'pur! •sympathy arid prayer^ as ,o\ir Bishop, /arid weiiope" tiiat' you will bo long spared m good health 5 and liappiiiiess^ with Mrs Sedgwick' by your side, to this iniportjint Bishopric." Tlie Yen. .Archdeacon Williams' expressed pleasure at -having the opportunity,, of;, aayiug' a,, few. words of weli come. It was. ( very appTOpriajte t^iat a \yelc'ome : frpui, the^archdeaconate I^'e extended to liini^as Gisborne was the centre' of : the 'district. The speaker hiUriorbusiy' fo'ferrefl to the unfavorable Aveaiher, conditions' experienced when he escorted Bjshop Averili i^y the Coast,, and also that experienced by Binhop Sedgwick when he visited the Coast, and m a similar siraiti He spoke of the condition m which the counti'y roads wei'o sometimes' to be found. These tlini^gs, howcypr,; were rapidly becoming of the past. "I have past 'my own' house at Patutahi," he said, "a very promising railway*— (Laughter. ) — but the' little eiigine unfortiina'tely has npjb fceeii reacliing us lately. , I am look-' irig foi^vard to its ■reappearance,: and: to ;the, tjme when i^ will tje /replaced by .9. more powerful . engine that .will rur\ down to Napier and- bring' you. up here when: we swarit" you." Althbiigli this ardffdeaconate, wais .isolated iind travel-, ling* w.as .clifficUjlt, tho..,Bishop's .visits would' always be welcome,, lie woyld find that' me pbpiilati on, scattered as : it Was, -would look forward to freeing him, arid would thoroughly appreciate his yißJits. (Applause). • ** . The Rev. W. Graiuv exlerided a wel(fomeon behalf of tlie Ministers' Association., and, the Presbyterian Church, which, he represented. His Lordship brought. .-wiipL, l»nv a, reputation erf an ajccomplislied '.'.scholar',/ Jan ablq kjf 1 jtne Lov'd» ai^ above all .that of a Clirifetiari' 'gentleriiari. It Was right they should welcome any" : Bish6p who wa&.an addition ,; to. . tho : forces that -made. f© r . rij^iteoiisness.j '. . Some, pepple , .thp.u^ght a y Bishop had' a, "koft" thing,, out those who: knew this .district knew very well' he had \* very ■',^ "hard" thing. The sxveaker ' referred to tho Rev./ J. .J| f .recent. ( experience^ and ,^aid t Bishbp SedgAvick wotilij' have jjlerifv .of; opportunity for adventures by fldod arid field; He (Mr Gi-ant) thought there was ; too much , fal^e liberalism these days' m mattei's' eccjesiastical., # Whilst their! convictions differed he Had no sympathy with, the lriari who said: he beWhged to no Church. Such a man was a.' ' 'lfbt hiiigaria;n.V. He a4P l i r ed the man whp! cheri shed, , his nijofouud convictions. "I should Jrejoice. to, find, that Bishop Sedgwick and his liiider sliephe'rds impressed' : this' -upon the' members of the" Chujjch' of England.'! added Mr Grant,, "that. ,they (shpiild become .better mem-, bersl and m i\\fii way he better qualified, to/ «ake their iiart m every aiKhterius work that is goinjr an m tlie district.' 'I believe tliat by the prosperity of the Ghurch of England m. this district other churches would not suffer, but rather, inspired by the success* of the Church of England,, they would share m . that prosperity." The '. C3mrche's ( hi these da,vs wel-e to be iudged !.by their' fruits: He hqpe'd the Bishob would . lead his people to. a, triumphant issue of, ,the r woVU, of'luoChurcti.in.thjs di.gt^ict^and ti*usted^ that during 'the B|«hop> visit the wijAgui lies expectations about the, . co.Uec : tioii 1 for the .Cliuwh would be fulfilled. HIS LORDSHIFS REPLY. * Upon rising 'to reply His ' Lordship was warmly received. "I want to thank ypu all," he said, "for the very warm and Wn'dly welcome you have? 1 given me on this' liiy 'first official visit to Gisborne. T have paid a Visit before, but it was A quiclc journey through, and T was not abfe to appreciate your beautiful town. >ty wife and J\walked, alpng this, mornihg',' and we thought what a very beaiiv tiful , town .it .is:. The whole position of it ie wonderfully beautiful. / As 1 looked acrpss to those rolling uplands they , reminded me- very mucli .of ,t)ie Surrey Downs, while y.9ur magnificently wip!e, stwots I appreciate,, very much. ;,. His Lordship expressed the hope that there would be real .fellowship between the citizens of this town arid the Bishop of Waiapu. One felt how sniiall one was compared with . tliose who went before, and Bishop Sedgwick. mentioned Bisnpj Selwyn, whose name was received witl warm applause. "I am sure," he added, "you appreciate, the splendid effort and lives of those men who were once townsmen m this place. We cannot be unmindful of the great, good men who have gone r >sfore, and who have helped to make N«.-.v Zealand what it is." When

'he -had looked across the river,' lie said, he had tried to . realise- all that those ineit went through . when" helping to lay out the foundations of this town. Then there was the development of the harbor. This reminded 'him of a story, also concerning a Bishop and a 'harbor—Rowland Hill and the Isle of Man. While money ; was being spent on .-a., harbor he was trymg to raise , money for "his diocoßer ' He was- a witty man", arid said, "What a ' pity to pour all this money into tho harbor when. , it . might be put inio the episcopal sec." . (Laughter.) "1 ait^ not, going to appeal for. money for the- episcopal see," continued' Bishop Sedgwick; "that has -already been giveii attention, but just wish ,to : say : go on pohring your money into" the harbor and thus' make Gisborne great." --' Continuing*, _*lis Lordship said' the vi(|ar, had given him a sketch of the growth, .of ,the. church m. this a . place, wJiich was mo9t interesting. Side by side with the growth of the town. had b'e^n a tremendous growth iri.- the church" It was rather unfortunate that very poor records had been kept of what was done m the eariy -days -of the. church. .'Early services m "cdnnectio.l with, their chui'ch were held m 1870, m. tlie old Courthouse, which was now used as a shop. There was no resident minister then ; they just had a service when -one passed through. In 1874 a big effort was made to raise money for a church,, and a good deal of this work was done, as. was done to-day, by the women of the 'church. Some of them' rode 40 and 50 miles to eolject money m order to build a church. The church was opened on Trinity Sunday, 1874. They did- not even know who the Bishop was who' opened it, but it must hayebeen the.Bishop'of Waiapu, William ; tVilliams; . (Applause.) • Then followed some very striking history. There .was appointed to this parish one whp, must have. been a very great and good man, and who must have left his mark on-the", place.. Hei meant Canon Fox.;. (Applause.) '> This man 'had ah enormous district, which , started at Gisborne. and .went: .everywhere. There seemed to have been no limit to it. There, was one. very touching entry m hip diary, .which said : T am distressed to-- find :,that oh my visit round the parish . I .omitted to visit : sdme few families.' This showed the hind of man be was. He was a 'scholariy man, but after, working here for a long time he withdrew because he thought Gisborne 'Should liave. an abler man. Ho went to Narjier. . but came , back to Gisborne again,- and, took oyer the outlying district, leaving .Gisborne to form a parish of its own. Then followed Canbri Webb ahd| Rev. W. Welsh. In 1904 their presen. vicar was appointed, and his Lordshin believed he preached' his first Sermon on Trinity Sunday. Now, here came some sterling history. "In 1907, the, year of the jubilee of the constitution of the Province of Auckland, you put ( your heads together, and you must have put yonr hearts .together too, and decided to build a new church. No doubt you did rightly." ' After, referring to the response made to the appeal for money, His Lordship said the church was .opened and dedicated last -year, and dedicated on Trinity Sunday. 'Tt stands there,'' he added, "as a" witness to "the people of this district, that they believe m Christianity and m the Trinity. That i_ the grand thing • about a permanent building. It means belief m God, belief m the power and reality of the son and the holy spirit. It stands as a witness to. the faith of the people: m the ' Father, Son, and holy spirit. There is a debt bh that building, I 'am told, of £3000^ and aw overdraft of £1100 m the foi'iiji. of debentures. I do hope you will make 'a tremehdbus effort to pay off this.- Is it impossible to. raise this £1100 next Sunday?'* ''.. '

Rev. W. 'Grant : No!

"I don't believe it is." rejoined His Lordship. ' I believe everything is possible when we make" up bur minds' to ' do athii%." Continuing his appeal' for a big -effort, m this direction, Bishop; Sedg^ wick said liis parish iri Christchurch had raised £1700' m orie,day. "Arid 'let it b&'dohe by direct j^ving-v" added tlie Bishop. "I. don't liice bazaars, I don't like gKbSvs of any sb'rtj^^ dbn't think that is the way to do* work "fbr God: I do hope the people of Gislibrrie will set ait example to the whole,diocese by raising the money by direct giVr ing;' by making a tremeridous 1 effort- on Sunday. T beheve Hliat this' is the way to give: }ust .give it and offer it ijtq God; in'his 6>vii chiirch'. I believe that you • not only have power to dtj it, v l believe you Mill make a tremendous effort to . remove' this debt frrih. '-the parish." ' ...•".' ''., ,* '." '■■-■•'* , ..Cdrit'inuiiig, His Lbrdsblp said \*itti tlie gi-bwth of the material c*hurcli had beeii the growth of the spiritual .church. There was . one name, lie must riieritionj ' and perhaps ho Svas the .tyst' riiniv ,iyho would, wislil. lii* ..name mentioned. He . referred f p. Col. ,_. Winter— (nppl«*lusp)~-aii^d His , Loi'dsliip'- paid a warm tribute "■' to ' the faith-ful) serv|ee t-hat gentleman Had done .irivGonriectibh with chur'c^i'""JwprlcV and church life" iii' this., place. . He hoped many more, men of '.'that, stamp woulqY be raised to work tax 'the church. He would like to thank liis brother ministers arid the Rev.? Mr Grant', for 'his kind words of welcome.' , Ho .did* riot agree w.ith Mr Grant that there was, a great . djj?erencevq_\ qpiriiori between .them. r "X ani inchiied' to think," lie ,said, "that 'we agree, with each, other a great deal .more than either" of us. iriiagine, and. if rwe could on!y,> get) , rid of technicalities aiid ; come. 1( dpwn ,to plain, "theological terms and Plftj n English, word's, , I t>elieve- we should not disagree very much o.n matters ot vital importance. I look f prward %o the time ' >vhe,ri\ tlrij Presbyterian Church', for which I have a ! profound respect, and .the Church. . of England* will .be 0ne..",, Of course, they wero foing to "be one. , The pi-ayer of ttie" lord Jesus,. Christ must bo answered. Bishop Sedgwick then iriade a' stroii^ appeal on .behalf of the Rible-in-schoqls movement. He ; believed they .were, all m, I -.favor ,of the restoration *of Bible.readmg' m- the* .Statp . schools,, anifl he urged' thfem to pray more and make, a great effort, to interest pthera ..and win .newcomers over to.. the cause.. There Avals another movement-' he. was' .deeply intei,v ested in-"-*- worn en's .social wqrk, They, ''were" trying, vsry hard:,to dq soriie rescue work m- 1 Napiqr . ( A deaconess .' was com- • ing <Jiut* fi-Qih England <iii ; August ito ..commence'this work m Napier. ..Ho hoped this ! parish— rho.. . knew they had a ;i trc-. rnendou*.., burden ... tq. bear—xvould .dq sonidthinfc if? h,elp' forward tliiis. work. He, , hoped ' the ladies ,<wo.u]fT take ' an r iii.-, teresjt.iu it^*-. They waited about £300 a yejar ih order to. start it. - s,; r y.-j •:■ His Lordship again thanked them" for the ;kin4ly jjWelconie extended to, hiriaself 'and.i Mrs .Sedgwick. "I .lioßo %l\e ;. railway, will* get,, a, ropy c- oi^that; the Archdeacon- will , see this, engine again vei'y shortly tq' link, up." the two. towns. -Then when vou!send fpr pie, I will come -—byjtraip.'^ (Laughter and applause"), His Lqrdship -tjheri nioYed' about pepplo m the, hall, {,pp-iig. :mtrod^ed ; by ' the vicar, -and ' supper v waV provhlejf tyy the. ladies^ During the evening" soil g's wero given •by Papj.. Whitely.,, Mrs, Shierlaw, and whilst ,Miss.White_y and Mr .Sid^ottqfp played "tlio accompaniments.. '..'•; ■, ... .. „;■, ', , , , ; , A GENEROUS OFFER. . It was subsequently > announced/ m connection with the effort to raise flllOO on Sunday .0 wipe out the debt covered by a bank guarantee, that a gentleman present had made an offer tthatt t if* this sum is raised on • Sunday : lie would personally extinguish the debt' on the Kaiti church, , amounting"-- to OVei { £300. : The -intimation of this generous offer was hcartil^ received,' 'rtiia it was resolved to recomniend parishioners to do _ all m their' power to se_ufe so substantial a measure of assistance to tbe suburban as well as to tho town - church' , • •