BIBLE CLASS ACTIVITIES

Taranaki Daily News, 28 May 1929, Page 9

BIBLE CLASS ACTIVITIES

NEW PLYMOUTH’WORK REVIEWED

ADDRESS BY THE REV. D. CALDER.

An interesting address upon the international missionary conference at Jerusalem and the environs of the famous city was given by the Rev. David Calder, Dominion secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, to a large audience at the annual meeting of the New Plymouth branch held in St. Mary’s hall last evening. Mr. Calder proved a splendid raconteur. He said the decision to hold the conference at Jerusalem in 1928 was prompted by the fact that the members of the early churches of the living God turned to the disciples at Jerusalem to solve their difficulties. The younger churches of the world desired to confer with the older division of churches, and so 240 specially chosen delegates went to Jerusalem to deliberate in council. It was, as it were, a board of directors for Christian missions.

The amount of money collected throughout the world annually totalled about £11,500,000, of which New Zealand contributed £96,000 and gave 360 overseas missionaries. At the conference there were 57 nations represented and peculiarly enough all but one spoke English, the exception being a German professor. The English language had now become the standard international tongue and was the test for ability to attend conferences.

Air. Calder gave a very interesting description of the life - and aspects of the city itself and was warmly accorded a vote of thanks for his lecture. The annual report stated the collections for the year by branches were: Central, 34 collectors, £4B 4s 9d; Fitzroy, 16 collectors, £l7 Is 6d; Vogeltown, 5 collectors, £lO 4s 3d; Moturoa, 7 collectors, £7 0s Gd; Westown, 6 collectors, £6 18s Gd; Bell Block, 4 collectors, £4 IGb 9d; . total, 72 collectors, £94 6s 3d. Other amounts received were: Assembly hall, per Mr. J. Logie, £9; collection, last annual meeting, £2 5s 3d; donation, Mr. T. Lancaster, £1; Girls’ High School, 14s sd: Roy Cottam’s box, ss; collected by Mrs. Ccssum, 12s 6d; grand total, £lOB 3s sd. From this sum expenses amounting to £2 2s 6d were deducted, leaving £lO6 0s lid, which was remitted to Bible House, Wellington, being an increase of £l7 0s 7d on the previous year. The hearty thanks of the auxiliary were tendered to the collectors for the work done by them during the year. A pleasing feature in the contributions for last year was the fact of there being no lees than 22 subscribers of £1 and over, as against 18 for the previous year. To those giving £1 and over the society’s monthly magazine, “The Bible in the World,” was sent post free for a year. The society’s organising secretary (Miss Agnes Young) had met the various groups of collectors in town, suburbs and outlying districts of New Plymouth. and had handed in the names of those ladies who this year had signified their willingness to collect for the society. The officers for the ensuing year are: President, Mr. W. 11. Skinner; vice-pre-sidents, Messrs. N, K. Mac Diarmid and Miss G. A. Drew; secretary, Mr. N. K. Mac Diarmid (pro tern); treasurer, Mr. T. G. Hirst; church representatives, Miss A. Evans (Anglican), Mrs. W. L. Thompson (Presbyterian), Miss H. Rawson (Methodist), Mr. H. Blackmore (Assembly Hall), Field-Major Wyatt (Salvation Army), Mr. T. Lancaster (Pentecostals). Mr. Mac Diarmid was pressed to accept the position of secretary, but he could not see his way to continue in the position for a full term’. He was prepared to carry on until the end of June, when all the collections would have been received. He stated he had been connected with the movement for 30 years and he had attained an age at which, he considered, he could not do full justice to hie work. During the evening the combined choirs organised by Mr. Hay gave a rendition of “Send Out Thy Light” (Gounod), Mr. Hay being the accompanist. The meeting concluded with votes of thanks being accorded to the lady collectors, the Press, the executive and the trustees of the St. Mary’s Hall for the use of the building.