OPENING OF NEW CHURCH

Taranaki Daily News, 20 August 1927, Page 14

OPENING OF NEW CHURCH

DEDICATION CEREMONY ANGLICAN PROGRESS AT MOTONUI. BISHOP OF WAIKATO OFFICIATES. At Waihi (Motonui) yesterday, a crowded congregation witnessed a very im- ■ pressive ceremony, when His Lordship the 'Bishop of Waikato (the Rt. Rev. C. A.< Cherrington, 8.D.) dedicated to the! apostle St. Stenhen the new Anglican} churchThe building, which may claim the dis-! tinction of being the smallest of its kind: in Taranaki, if not in New Zealand, is made of concrete, and with bright red roof I and grey walls, presents a very picturesque .scene. Inside everything is neatness personified and is truly a credit to the | district. So large was the attendance: that seats had to be borrowed from the! hall nearby -and perhaps, if the weather: had not been at its worst, the -numbers would have been swelled still further. • As it was, visitors were present from Mew I Plymouth, Waitarg, Tikorangi and Ureti. Assisting the bishop throughout the ceremony were Archdeacon F. G. Evans (New Plymouth) and the Revs. G. Gavin (Waitara), G. T. Beale (Fitzroy), and K. Hadfield (Maori mission priest). Evensong was conductor! by the Rev. .Gavin, while the Rev. Beale read the first lesson (I Kings, VIII., 22 to 32) and Archdeacon Evans, the .second (I Cor. HI,, 11 to 18). ADDRESS BY THE BISHOP. Addressing the aesembly. His Lordship said that it was a matter of great pleasure and gratification to witness the result of one’s labours. It was not always bo, for -often the one generation toiled in the construction of, say, a building, but it was for their children to reap the glory. In Europe, it could easily be seen that many churches had taken yeans t® build and the result only benefited those to come. However, in such -a sacred enterprise they should think themselves privileged to do such construction work. The church had been dedicated to God, but, according to the custom of the coun. try, it could not be consecrated until all: debts had been paid. It had been set aside for -divine worship and nothing else, the font and altar had been blessed, therefore ail should see that they attended every service. If possible, -suggested the bishop, the door should be kept open so that passers-by might come in to ask God to, help and keep them »n their way. The bishop then touched on the beauti-

fying of the building. There was no reason why a House of God should be without beauty; it should be a friendly place, not bare and harsh in aspect. Our forefathers had thought that this was not right and some even went as far as to obliterate these beauties. We did not do this now. Speaking of the particular altar in the church ha showed that it was not without ornament, not bare and harsh. ST. STEPHEN THE MARTYR.’ Continuing the bishop requested the congregation to think of God and of St. Stephen to whom this church had been dedicated. St. Stephen had been the first to shed his blood for the Lord—he was the first martyr. When the church was growing the apostles had found it difficult to attend to all the matters, and therefore, as they were being neglected, a oertain number complained. As a result seven of the dissatisfied were selected, led at that time by no other than St. Stephen, and these men were presented to the apostles, ordained and set to work. St. Stephen, a Greek-speaking Jew, soon showed that he was a great man and at ■once began to teach the Jews that they had a right to be with the Lord. This wonderful man was the first to deride that the Church was not to be a small sect but a Catholic one, including all. For this liis only reward was that he brought the animosity of the Jews upon himself. He was charged with blaspheming God, the Temple and the laws of Moses. To the Jewish way of thinking, this was correct. He had blasphemed God, because he said that Jesus Christ was the son of God. The Jews thought that he had sinned because they believed that no one could lie compared or could be on a level with God. St. Stephen had blasphemed the temple, for the Jews argued that one could not worship in anything but a temple. St. Stephen taught otherwise. Again he had caused blasphemy to fall on Moses. The Jews had believed that Moses wrote the first five books in the Old Testament and considered then to be the truth. Certainly these books had many wonderful ideas in them, but St. Stephen pre-ched that Jesus was greater than Moses and was doing better work. So the Jews stoned St. Stephen and, standing by at liis execution, holding his clothes, was Saul, afterwards, St. Paul. This great apostle did more good work than any other man except Christ. After the service, all present assembled ::i the district hall where a number of ladies provided afternoon tea. FUNDS IN GOOD POSITION. At the conclusion of this the Rev. Gavin congratulated Mrs- Stockman on the opening of the church. She had worked for so many years for it, and collected most of the funds, he said. He had intended that she should open the door with the key, but this could not be done as it was not in the service. The Rev.. Gavin said the church building, seats and font had been paid for in full and the only expense outstanding was that of the architect, a sum of £24. They had almost a similar account in the bank, however, and though they had had to call upon the church trustees for £7O, it was hoped that this would soon be paid off. The offering taken at the service, which was to go to this fund, had amounted to £5 16b. Therefore a balance of £64 4s was required to square accounts. Called upon to address the gathering once more the bishop congratulated the people of the district upon the result of their efforts. They had a debt to pay, but this money had not been borrowed from a public bank bat from the church trustees, and was ..herefore a different debt altogether. He was also certain that the money would be soon paid and then, when this was done, he suggested that he might be asked to consecrate the church. Touching on the welfare of the Maoris he said they should be given a warm welcome if they attended the .services. The diocese of Waikato had a difficult task, quite different from Auckland and Wellington, for the Maoris in this district were not all with the pakeha in matters of religion. They had discussed this question at a conference with natives and he was of the opinion that they would g adually succeed in their aim. If the pakeha treated his brother Maori as a neighbour, the latter would soon understand that the white man did not wirix to turn the cold shoulder on him, and so he would come forward and help. When this was accomplished both races would use each other’s clergy. At the conclusion a hearty vote of thanks was accorded the ladies for providing such an enjoyable afternoon tea.

After the service at Waihi the bishow returned to Waitara, and in the evening confirmed 21 candidates from Waiters, Lepperton and Tikorangi in St. J bn's Church. This afternoon he will meet n, Lhers of the parish of Waitara in St. John’s Hall. He will return to New Plymouth in the evening to preside at a boundaries commission. To-m. -~w morning he will celebrate Holy Comm-Il-ion at St. John’s, Waitara, and give the first communion to those confirmed. At 11 a.m. the bishop will institute the Rev. C. Luker as vicar of All Saints, Uruti, and will later proceed to Pakearuhe to conduct an afternoon sen-ice. At night he will once more be in Waitara, conducting the evening service nt St. John a, while on Monday morning, His Ixirdship wit! leavr by service car for Hamilton.