ST. JOHN’S CHURCH

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIV, Issue 21052, 2 June 1938, Page 13

ST. JOHN’S CHURCH

Annual Meeting of Parishioners Need for Building There was a large attendance of parishioners at St. John s Church Hall on Tuesday evening when the annual meeting was held. The Rev. Nelson Wright presided. The vicar, in opening the meeting, referred to the difficult task which had confronted him and the Vestry in assuming charge of a church district with no permanent church building, and to which it was impossible for one man to do full justice. He felt he could not give the time he should to the very loyal congregation at All Saints. He expressed his sincere gratitude to those willing lay readers. Messrs W. G. Tweedy, G. A. Bridges, W. M. Sexton, P. Ruston, C. Whitehouse and H. C. Romans, without whose help many services would have had to have been curtailed. He referred to the wonderful work of the ladies of the parish, notably the district visitors who had distributed the monthly circulars and reported on any sick or newcomers in the parish. Mr Wright eulogised the work of the wardens, Messrs H. C. Romans and J. j Palliser, and the Vestry. They had ’ lost the services of Messrs F. Atkin and 1 W. Depree, who had done excellent work. He considered that the Ladies’ Guilds were the backbone of the parish. St. John's Guild had raised £l9O towards the Church Building Fund, while All Saints’ Guild had done excellent service for mission funds and in their regular sewing for St. Saviours. St. John's branch of the Mothers’ Union was a growing body and formed a useful part of the parish life. He was grateful to the superintendent of the Sunday Schools—Mr Ruston at St. John’s, Mr C. Higginson at All Saints, Mrs Wright at St. Michael's, and their band of self-sacri-ficing teachers. Life Blood of Parish Mr Wright referred to the good work done in the Bible classes—the girls at St. John’s under Misses Stubbs and Wigley, at All Saints under Mrs Stockwill and later Miss Barker, and the boys under Mr Bradley. He considered these would prove the very life blood of their young parish. The congregations had greatly improved, said the vicar, and he hoped that this would £>e maintained. There were 600 church families in the parish and he looked for their support. The number of communicants had proved most encouraging; 250 made Communion at Easter, which augured well for the future. During the year he had taken 46 baptisms, 18 marriages and prepared 46 young people for confirmation. Need For Church The vicar referred to the great need for a church building—which would prove the spiritual home of the church people in their area. The new Church Building Fund stood at £l3OO, and he hoped the incoming Vestry would devise a scheme to raise sufficient funds to proceed with the erection of a new church in the near future. The envelope system had probed the backbone of their finance and the sustentation fund had met with splendid support. He expressed his gratitude to all who had assisted the parish in its progress during the year. The vicar referred to the death of a former Mayor (Mr P. C. Vinnell), and a motion of sympathy was carried, those present standing in silence. Sound Finances The report and accounts for the year, read by Mr Romans, disclosed the finances of the parish to be very sound. Receipts had totalled over £7OO, while over £2OO had been added to the Church Building Fund, which had been further augmented by the Seward bequest. The vicar referred to the great loss to the Vestry through the inability of Mr Tweedy to act again this year as treasurer. He extended the congratulations of all present to Mr Tweedy on his elevation to the Mayoralty. Services of Curate The general feeling of parishioners was that the services of a curate were badly needed on account of the wide boundaries of the parish and a motion was carried that the incoming Vestry be asked to do what it could to secure some assistance for the vicar, very practical support being forthcoming for this in the form of a donation of £5. Considerable enthusiasm was displayed over the plan of launching a campaign for a building fund. Several practical suggestions were offered to the incoming Vestry and donations were promised. Officers Elected The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: Mr H. C. Romans | (vicar’s warden); Mr J. Palliser 'people’s w’arden); members of the Vestry: Messrs F. S. Cave, L. H. Hobbs, H. G. Carter, V. Forbes, F. Price, A. S. I Tonkin, A. G. Williamson, G. A. Mar- | tin, Le Lievre, and B. C. Wilson. Various reports dealing with the work of St. John’s Guild, All Saints’ Guild of Help and St. John’s Bible Class and Girls’ Guild were presented and adopted.