PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Taranaki Daily News, 6 February 1931, Page 11

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

REVIEW OF YEAR’S ACTIVITIES. ERECTION OF NEW BUILDING. Reviewing the St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church year at the annual meeting New Plymouth on Wednesday night the Rev. J. D. McL. Wilson reported that never had there been so much sickness in the congregation, and never had so many been lost by death and removal from the district. Of these a large number were old and devoted members iof the Church.

The year had been one of much personal satisfaction, he continued. Interest in the church appeared to have grown, and the prospects for the future were brighter than ever. He expected before the end of the year to see the building schemes completed, and with a beautiful place of worship, and a .well equipped Sunday school much more efficient work would be done.

The session report stated the Sunday services had been well maintained. Th«s ■Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was dispensed quarterly. The attendances were 240, 301, 254 and 245. The attendance of 301 on March 30 constituted high water mark in the history of the congregation. The year opened with a membership of 413 and closed with 412. During the year 16 were received by profession of faith, 17 by certificate, 29 were transferred te other congregations and there were five deaths. There had been 35 baptisms, of which ten were in the church, 35 marriages and 33 funerals. During the year Messrs. Newton, Stewart and McFarlane. worked in the outfields, but before the close of the year the Presbytery, at the suggestion of the Home Mission Commitee superintendent, determined .to sub-divide the New Plymouth charge. This was considered a premature and unwarranted course by the office bearers and congregation, but the forming of a new charge had been gone on with and from December 1, 1930, a separate Home Mission in New Plymouth commenced, the boundary being east of the To Henui stream.

The total contributions for the year amounted to £126 12s lid. There were 60 subscribers to the harvest field, 133 members of the M.M.B.L. and 80 mission boxes in circulation, these branches showing an increase on the previous year. The revenue for the year ended October 31, 1930, amounted to £875 18s, stated the manager’s report. The revenue for the period of 16 months ended October 31, 1929, amounted to £1157 12s 4d, an average monthly earning of £72. The income was £875 18s, a gain of £ll 18s on the year’s working. Unfortunately, however, it dd not compare, favourably with the income: (£9OO lls-9d) for the year ended August 8, 1928. The year commenced with a credit balance of £7O 14s lid and closed with, a credit balance •of £39 Is 2d. This credit balance, with rates and interest amounting to £l5O about due, made tire position very difficult.

One hundred and forty-seven subscribers to the church by means of the envelope contributed £424 6s 2d for ordinary purposes and £ll2 10s 2d for missions, the total offerings by envelope being £536 16s 4d. The remaining 260 communicants, including adherents and visitors, contributed £451 Ils lOd. The contributions to missions for the year were: By envelopes £ll2 10s 2d, P.W.M.U. £O6 6s, Bible classes £8 13s; a total of £217 9s 2d. These figures did not compare favourably with the figures of the last period (16 months) when the average contribution amounted to £2l 8s per month. Thanks to an effort made by Mr. J McNeill and Mr. AV. L. Hay, the fund benefited to the extent of £6 15s. The total fund now stood at £ll7 7s lOd. During the year Mrs. G. A. Gorney gave an “at home” at Kawaroa Park, and as a result the building fund benefited by a donation of £2l 4s 6d. The fund stood at £2163 15s 2d.

As there seemed to he a very general and urgent desire on the part of the congregation that the managers push forward with the building of the new church the managers had been in communication with the architects and had instructed them to forward the completed plans and specifications. The architects advised that these would be forwarded at an early date. The managers purposed as soon as plans came to hand, getting prices from some of the local builders. The time was considered very opportune for building so that the managers anticipated getting a satisfactory price, in which case they purposed submitting a proposal to the annual congregational meeting asking for the authority to proceed with the. building and its concurrence in the proposed financing. The financial position was as follows: In hand, £2163; it was thought possible to finalise sufficient of the promises to .the fund .id raise Thi_s,

further £7OO in view would give in the vicinity of £4OOO in cash. There seemed to be no possibility of selling or leasing the Devon Street Church property at present. It would be necessary to provide for a further £4060. If the amount could be arranged at 6 per cent., provision would have to. be made to provide interest, say, £240 per annum. The managers proposed to provide for this b organising a special interest fund, this to hold good for five years. The ladies of the sewing circle had already promised to contribute £l6O per annum to this fund. Other members of the congregation to whom the scheme had been mentioned had promised their support, and several amounts of £lO and £5 per year had been promised. With the enthusiasm already shown the managers anticipated having the financial arrangements well in hand in time for the congregational meeting.