WAITARA ANGLICANS

Taranaki Daily News, 23 April 1932, Page 5

WAITARA ANGLICANS

ANNUAL MEETING OF ST. JOHN’S.

WELCOME TO THE NEW VICAR.

The annual meeting of parishioners of the Waitara parochial district was held in St. John’s Hall on Thursday night. The vicar, the Rev. S. G. Fussell, presided over a good attendance.

The finances were still on a sound footing and the year had closed with a substantial credit balance, stated the report of the churchwardens. For that the vestry was indebted to ajl who assisted in making the annual rose show

a success and to alii who contributed to

the general funds of the church by means of the duplex envelope system and cash offerings. After referring to the services of Mrs. C. R, Stead as secretary of the duplex envelope system, the churchwardens said they would be pleased if a parishioner would offer his or her services for the work, as Mrs. Stead did it until a permanent appointment could be made. It had been found, that the church building was urgently in need of repairs so far as the floor and understructure were concerned, and the necessary work had been carried out, the' building was now considered good for a num-

ber of years. The hall still continued to show a debit balance in the working account, but that could be turned into a credit if the place was generally used for socials, and for such it could be obtained at a moderate cost. A successful series of socials promoted by church workers had been held, and were being continued, the hope being that such gatherings would be a means of attracting young people into church activities. After referring to the visits*’ of the bishop, the report stated that the church attendance showed an improvement, but still there were many empty pews which the vestry would like to see filled. ' They were indebted to the Rev. K. Hadfield for his services as choirmaster and to Miss Johnston for her devotion to the duties of organist. The choir would welcome more members, especially male voices. Towards the end of the year the. parochial district had suffered a heavy loss by the appointment of Archdeacon Gavin as vicar of St. Mary’s, New Plymouth, after a faithful ministry of 13 years. His popularity was thoroughly demonstrated by the large and representative gathering assembled in the Parish Hall to wish him Godspeed. While the people still felt a heavy loss they were grateful for the knowledge that he remained as the archdeacon of the district. The vestry, on behalf of the church members, had great pleasure in welcoming the Rev. 8. G. Fussell. The balance-sheet showed that £123 18s. 7d. was brought forward from last year, and ■with it the receipts this year totalled £674 Us. 10d., of which Waitara by way of offerings contributed £193 14s. I'ld.; Lepperton. gave for the vicar’s stipend £54 los., Motunui £2O, Tikorangi £66 10s., Urenui £43. The sum of £3l 17s. Bd. was subscribed for missions; the June tea produced £3 19s. Gd., the rose show £9l, the hall £26 os. 6d. The amount paid in stipends was £258 25., and for travelling allowances £47 13s. 4d. Other items were small except .borough rates £22 10s. Bd., amount paid to diocesan offices £B7 ; Ills, lid., and on halkaccount £29 7s. lid. The total expenditure was £536 Bs. 7d., and there was a credit of £l3B Bs. 3d., of which £BB Ss. 3d. was current account and £5O fixed deposit. His report could not cover the whole x year, said the vicar, but he could say that the number of receptions of Holy Communion was 830, which was splendid. He was thankfull to the choir members for the time they gave to practising the music of the church, but he would like to see more members so as to enlarge the musical services. The Mothers’ Union had 19 members —14 pakeha and five Maori —and he was keen to enrol many more, particularly the younger mothers, who .would find the association very helpful. The Sunday school had a roll of 86, but the accommodation was not all that could be desired, and they were short of teachers. He was grateful to those who now gave their time, and wished one or two more would join, so that the classes could be divided for the sake of more instruction to the children. The vicar also referred to the church repairs, and to the help given by lay readers, organists and others.

The meeting expressed sympathy with Mr. D. Jones, a former member of the vestry, in his illness, and gratification at his recovery.

The election of officers resulted as follows: Synodsman, Mr. C. R. Stead; representatives on Archdeaconry Board, Messrs. J. W. Hamlin, H. J. Wells and Acland; vicar’s warden, Mr. A. Chadwick; people’s warden, Mr. J. W. Hamlin; vestry, Messrs. H. J. Wells, E. W. Clayton, C. R. Stead, W. B. Glasgow, J. H. Paulger (Tikorangi), Aeland (Lepperton), R. H. Pigott (Urenui); auditor, Mr. Jas. Hine.

A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Hamlin for his work as secretary of the vestry. On behalf of the parishioners, Mr. Hamlin welcomed Mr. Fussell. The board of nomination had made an excel--

lent choice, for the new vicar had already won the hearts of the people, and they felt certain he would ably carry out the duties so faithfully shouldered by the archdeacon. The opportunity was taken to welcome., as church members Messrs. Bulllen, Wright and. Pickering, with their families.

After the business had been completed musical items were given by an orchestra consisting of Miss Brough, Messrs. S. D. George and H. J. Wells; recitations by Miss I. Foreman and songs by Rev. K. Hadfield.