TEMUKA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Temuka Leader, Issue 7474, 11 October 1913, Page 2

TEMUKA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

ANNUAL SOCIAL.

Alien the Rev. G. Macdonald rose to address the gathering at the social hold by the Presbyterian Church at the Teniuka Drill Hall on Thursday evening, ho remarked that whatever might be said of the waning power of the pulpit, ho was quite satisfied that church socials Were losing none of their power in Teniuka. Mr -Macdonald had before him an audience which filled every seat in the Hi-Jll, and was one of the largest, if not the largest, gatherings that had been seen on any similar occasion at Tomuka. The social is an. annual event, and ’ its main object is to bring the members of the church closer, together and to give all an opportunity to. meet on common ground, ns one people, at least once a year, and for this, if for no other reason, its continuance has been more than justified. Tea was or. l the tallies at (5.30, and notwithstanding the mimber that sat down, such ample provision had been made that large quantities of food remained to bo disposed of at the close. The well-laden tables wore prettily decorated, and those who presided were most attentive to th wants of all who sat down to tea After the lea the building was quickly transformed into a concert hall, and when the programme opened there was not a vacant scat. The 1 Rev. C. Macdonald presided, and made an ideal chairman. Ill’s opening remarks were very brief, and he enjoined those who were to follow, him not io occupy too much time, so that the whole pro gramme would bo finished by If o’clock, an hour he thought sufficiently late. It would be bettor, he said, for the people to go away wishing there liar) been more than regretting that the programme had been too long. The first speaker was the Rev. J. Guy, who offered his congratulations on the large audience. Ho. brought greetings from, the King Street Methodist Church to the Presbyterian Church. One pleasant feature of life in Tenv.ika was the good understanding between the churches, and the, friendly spirit they showed towards each other. He congratulated the church upon the sixeess met with last year, and hoped that the next yea 1 would bn marked with very great'sne cess and blessing. , The success • o.E e church- was not contributed to by onor two only, but depended on ail taking their share in the work. It was .astonishing how mudr the prosperity of a church depended on those who worked for the most part unseen. There were three things he would like to mention. What- was the churches’ mission : The church existed firstly for th 3 Christianisation of the world," and so that it might bring men and women into fellowship with Jesus Christ. What was its message? It Was of n glorified Saviour. Thirdly, what was the church’s power ? The church’s power was felt in many ways—through the ministrations of the pulpit and song —but its real power was the Holy Spirit. It was this that enabled them to carry out their Work.

The I'fnv. Craig (Fairlle) commenced by saving that one thought had been floating through his mind. lie had .been wondering how many of the ai> dcnco were '‘socialists.” lie would define his meaning. At a social like that there were a largo number o' people who, while seldom or never seen at church, always attended church socials. ■ These were the people he called "socialists.” (Laughter.) But a real “socialist” was not a hopeless case, and was sometimes easily converted, and ho hoped those in the audience entitled to the name ho had given would redeem their characters by attending church every Sunday. Hir Craig compared the character of the man who did not go to ’ church with that of the man who did, to tin; great disadvantage of the former, lie drew a picture of the man who indolently lies in bed till a late hour or,Sunday morning,' spends a portion of the day reading the newspaper, sits down to a dinner (the preparation of which has> meant much trouble in tin household), saunters round his farm in the afternoon, and in the evening hears the sound of the church bells, which to him have no meaning. _ To a certain extent this man enjoyed himself, but no one could say that 9ve had improved one bit by the way hr had spent his Sunday, h rom a material point of view, all that could br said of such a man when he went t< his grave was : Tie lies in his grave to rot like an animal. The man whr neglected his soul was a vain and empty thing. The people who wont io church did not always do their duty when they came away. • Ho had read of a man who professed so much affection for his wife' that he would lav in bod dreaming about her while she went to, got breakfast. A young man and a young woman wore one day walking in a paddock when presently they saw a bull coming towards them. The girl cried out "What shall I do,” and the man said : “Don’t bn a big booby. (<ive •me a log up this tree !” Using these stories to illustrate ids point, Mr Craig said that ' in the Christian church there was a great divergence between theory and practice. H was a real love for .1 esus Christ, it would be revealed in their everyday life, and'there was plenty of room in every community for Christian work. The first work'of the church was to save individual me.;;. In every community there were open sores foi those who had the eyes to sec, hearts to fed, and the energy to work for the alleviation _ of evil. There were certain, social evils in every church. Then it was their duty to spread (lie Cospcl throughout the whole world. Concluding, Mr Craig spoke of (he high respect felt by 1 resbytery for the minister of (hoTemuka Presbyterian t'liurch. The, liev, A. 11. C o uch said lie liked being among Scots for (wo reasons. Firsll v , i.lu*y wero solid folk, and secondly there was always a chance oi bearing a good yarn. He recalled a story of two Scotsmen, one of whom was named McLean and the <illuj (fampbeli, who Mere having a dispute over the origin of the families to which they belonged. McLean elaiined that he could trace his descent io (be beginning of theworld, whereupon Campbell, who had an advantage in Biblical knowledge, asked him if bis family had existed before the Hood. If so, he had never heard of a McLean noing into the ark. Io (his Mel.e,-in responded : "Who ever heard of a McLean who did not have a boat, of his own.” (Laughter.) 'MV Conch (ben went- on Io say that Hie ebureli to-day had to justify its existence (

afresh. They heard a great; deal about the deifty <Bt the aide while he ..did., not want to be ‘ pesbitherp, u/as . enough in , what they, hoard to Cause reflection. /They, were told that the church’s place aa ' a teacher and socially had bycn taken from her, and that the unseen hand was writing her death warrant upon the wall. In every age there had been a period of decline and decay, and yet the dead periods had shown themselves strangely capable of new life. At such times great institutions had been born and great influences had been set going which had transformed peoples. He believed that the pessimistic notes of to-day would be silenced by a new life. The church was not dead or dying. During the last few months the Presbyterian Church had raised over £II,OOO for Chinese missions, and that did not. look like doadness. It Would bo unwise for the church to shut its ears to what was said outside j but they lived in an age not of dissolution but evolution, and he believed that the church would emerge from- this age with a lirmor grip .of Christ than ev c r. •Meanwhile, what should they do? They should go on with their work. The best answer to the. doubts and 'ears that were being raised was in action. The church must prove herself in ihe future, as in the past, in.disponsiblo to the needs .of man. The nresent bristled with opportunities, and the church that, seised; these op- . lortunities would live to fight , another day. But they must not rest upon their laurels.. The opportunities of to-day might become the regrets of to-morrow. Mr Couch dealt with 'hroc aspects of the church, speaking of Ihe church’s work as a teacher, the tart she took in Securing social justice, ami in sotting before the world ■icrsonal salvation through Jesus 'lhrist. THE CONCERT. Between the addresses a number of musical items (vocal mid instrumental) were given. The programme opened with a pianoforte duct, “Prc■r.ior Valse,” by Misses Twomey and Roberts, which proved most acceptable, the audience warmly applauding he performers as they left the stage, ■‘hip Van 'Winkle” was sung by the Rev. A.. 11. Couch, and Mrs Scritnihaw gave “Lovetide.”- Miss Andermn’s name appeared twice on tile programme, and she alone was honoured ■villi an encore. Her first was “Sing i Sweet Bird.” Possessed of a charmhg and cultivated voice, Miss Anderson also has the greater gift of being able to give the breath of life tpTfche, words and music of the song she sings. The song was suiig withotf; .'li'ort, and Miss Anderson glided through the difficult parts with perfect ease. “Home, Sweet Home” was sung by the same, lady with equal success. The duet by Mrs Cameron and Miss Guy was one of the best items given. They, sang “O went thou ! n Cauld Blast,” and were loudly applauded at the conclusion. Au instrumental trio was played by Mrs Bilton (piano). Miss Swap (violin), and Mr 0.. J. Bilton (flU'o). The choir sang i sumber of anthems. The best were “Soft Winds Blow” and “What is Love,” but generally the time was motive, and the male vdices : wera- ' weak right through. The Hall is not .at all suitable for a concert, 1 ahd none of the performers CouM-bb- f ‘hcatd at their best. The ■ accompaniments were played by Misses Twonley and Anderson and Mr J. Proudlock. At the conclusion a hearty vote of thanks was passed to -all who had assisted, especially those who had come from a distance, on the motion if ,tlie Rev, 0. Macdonald. A vote of l thanks to the chair terminated the gathering shortly after 10 o’clock. ’.