ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH

Southland Times, Issue 22041, 14 June 1933, Page 9

ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH

PARISHIONERS’ ANNUAL MEETING. REPORTS FOR THE YEAR. The annual meeting of parishioners of All Saints’ Church was held last evening, the vicar, the Rev. K. D, Andrews-Baxter, presiding over a fairly large attendance. The vicar presented the following reP “For three years we have been living in the midst of one of the most severe depressions the world haS ever seen. The conditions under which our unemployed live, make such an appea to us that it cannot be ignored, and during the present winter those conditions will be aggravated by the severe weather through which we must live. Unfortunately the poverty of the church’s finances does not allow us of any help being given and apart from two or three pounds which come from the week-day Lent collections, the vicar of the parish has to bear the brunt of the calls made by those in need in this parish. Seeing the conditions tor himself, these calls cannot in Christian charity be ignored. lam grateful for gifts in kind which have been sent in on occasions and also for the sec-ond-hand clothes. This depression naturally spreads to the church ana to meet our responsibilities has been most difficult at times. Many means have we resorted to to obtain money but not nearly enough has come along to make the working of the parish an easy matter from a financial point of view. It is quite plain that many of our people are shirking their financial responsibilities, to the church, some are giving splendidly—others are not doing their bit. The world depression is only an excuse in some cases for not giving, and without wishing to offend but to speak honestly ana plainly, I must say that our people on the whole, if they wish to keep open the church doors, must come forward and give honestly and liberally to the support of the church in this parish. “There is one of three things we can do;—(1) Support the. church well and keep going as a parish. (2) Close the church altogether. (3) Become attached to St. John’s. Personally I think the latter a good idea. Then Invercargill would have one vicar and one parish. However, it is with great thankfulness that I am able to say that we have finished the year with a small , credit balance, but this has only been accomplished by practising severe economy, an economy which, to my mind, has not been beneficial to the work of the church. “To those who have supported the financial side of the parish I am grateful. Next, may I thank those who have helped in the work of the parish. The church wardens and vestry have been unsparing in their efforts to keep things going; their task very often a thankless one. We were sorry to lose Mr McKenzie from the vestry and later Mr Rowe, who as treasurer did good work. We were most fortunate in obtaining, the services of Mr Date (Mr Rowe's successor at the bank), who kindly came forward and consented to act as treasurer. To the lay readers I have much for which to say ‘thank you’; this parish could not be carried on without their help. May I also thank the members of the choir, the Sunday School teachers, the servers, the guilds and all who have helped the church during the past year. “I should like to make an explanation about the duplex boxes and missions. The duplex boxes have been issued and will take the place of the ordinary mission box and will be opened once a month. It is hoped by this means to collect small sums ,of money each month —after all every little helps. That we are not taking our full share of the missionary work of the church cannot be denied and we should really try to do more. - “May I now comment on each part of the parish. When I came here three years ago there was only the Parish Church to be considered, but during the last three years the work has extended considerably and now services and Sunday schools are conducted at five places and in some places people are receiving the ministrations of the church who have had no opportunity of doing so for many years. “All Saint’s—Last November 75 adults and young people were confirmed, but the attendance at Holy Communion has not been encouraging nor at the services generally, particularly the II o’clock. It may be a good thing to follow tho line of several parishes and make the 11 o’clock service purely and simply a children’s service at which adults will be welcome if they care to come. In these days it seems difficult to get people to join the choir, We have about twenty boys, but not many adults. However, those who do attend do splendid service. It is time our choir was robed. This is about the only city parish church in New Zealand without a robed choir. A fund has been started and the boys will be robed first of all. As a church All Saints’ has never been completed, there is the chancel and sanctuary to be added and I cannot help thinking that in spite of the depression if we had faced the sacrifice and finished the work of completing the church our support would have been blessed and the services better attended. God never fails His church, but His church often fails Him. The Sunday School needs two or three more teachers —is it to go on needing? The Altar Guild has looked after the flowers and altar most nobly and the altar always looks very beautiful. The curtains have not yet been paid for, there being nearly £4 owing to the vicar. I owe much to Mr Myers for his help with the Boys’ Clubs during the year.

“Holy Trinity, North Invercargill.— Last June a beautiful Church Hall was opened by the Bishop. It is furnished and on the whole the services are attended in fair numbers. Our boys in the choir are robed. Our balance-sheet may not appear to be that of the best, but when we consider that the furnishings of the Church Hall have been paid for and a new piano nearly paid for, we must say that the people have been generous in their work and money. I am very grateful to the committee for its work during the year, to the Women’s Guild and to the Altar Guild. The altar and vestments have been most beautifully cared for and the flowers tastefully and carefully arranged. The social committee has done great work. The Sunday School has been fairly well attended and the teachers have done their work well, On the whole we can report an encouraging year’s work and a work carried on harmoniously. “All Saint’s, Ryal Bush.—Here we have a beautiful church, but the services have not been well attended, although regularly held. We hope for a more encouraging response during the coming year. “Makarewa.—Some months ago the vestry appointed Mr G. A. Day as stipendiary lay-reader on the staff. Mr Day’s work has been chiefly at Makarewa and Wallacetown and a most encouraging response has been made to his efforts. There is now a Sunday School and morning service regularly held, the vicar going out once a month to celebrate the Holy Communion. The last time he went to Makarewa there was a congregation of 63, at which about eight were baptized. “Wallacetown.—Here, too, Mr Day works and is being met with much success. A site for building purposes has been given. At both these places we aim to build a Church Hall as soon as possible. At Underwood a Sunday School is being held each Sunday. “To take the parish as a whole the discouraging things have been well counterbalanced by those which are encouraging. I conclude by asking for

your loyal support during the coming year and with my sincere thanks for your help during the past year.” Vestry’s Report. The vestry’s annual report stated: “We commenced the year with a credit balance of £59 6/-, and ended it with a small credit of £4 11/5, but there is an amount of £2O due by Holy Trinity, and with this taken into account, we have overspent our income by £34 14/7. The offertories fell from £267 to £lB3, a drop of £B4, while there was a small gain of £5 in the subscriptions. Holy Trinity contributed £BO, Ryal Bush £l5, and the Ladies’ Guild £4O. “During December the Church’s financial position caused the vestry considerable concern and a meeting of parishioners was held and the position placed before them. The result was that special donations amounting to £3l were made, and this has enabled the vestry to carry on up to the present. Thanks are due and are hereby accorded to those who came forward at this crisis with their aid. Another un-

usual source of income during the year was an art union which provided £74 15/-. Without these two efforts, it would not have been possible to carry on, and it is necessary at the present time to take a very serious view of the position, and the annual meeting will be asked for suggestions as to the best means of augmenting the income for the present year. Collection boxes are being distributed throughout the homes of the parishioners, and it is hoped that these will become the receptacles for small change and that they will be the means of providing in the aggregate quite a considerable sum towards the Church’s income. The boxes will be cleared monthly. Mr G. A. Day has been appointed organizing secretary for the envelope system, and an improvement in this channel is confidently anticipated. “During the year we were unfortunate in losing the services of our treasurer, Mr L, B, Rowe, who was moved to Nelson on promotion. The vestry wishes to place on record its appreciation of the splendid work carried out on behalf of the church by Mr Rowe

over a long period. We have been fortunate in that his successor, Mr H. C. Date, has kindly agreed to carry on the work of treasurer. In conclusion, the vestry wishes to extend its cordial thanks to the Ladies’ Guild and to all those who have assisted in the work of the Church during the year,” The report was adopted. Mr D. Cuthbertson v.-as appointed vicar’s churchwarden and Mr E. Myers the people’s churchwarden. A committee was appointed to organize an antique exhibition to be held in the city in the near future.