St. PATER'S PARISH.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 7912, 31 July 1917, Page 2

St. PATER'S PARISH.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of parishioner? >f the above parish as held last evenng, the vicar, Rev. T. C. Cull wick, presiding. The vicar read his annual report a? follows \—

VICAR’S REPORT. Although in taking a survey of the oast year’s work in this parish ther< ;S much cause for encouragement fo: the future, yet there is still the neces sity for again sounding the recurring lote of disappointment which ha: L'haracterised the present vicar’s an liial reports in the past, viz., th» nadequate number of services pro vided for the parish Church. It is j state of affairs which to the man re sponsible for the spiritual ministrn tions of an important centre lik< Waipawa must eventually become in tolerable; and although at the presen time, when the shortage of clergy i? so pronounced and so many insisten calls on the liberality of Churcl people are being made, it may be con sidered inopportune for raising tin necessary funds for supporting ai assistant priest, yet it is a questioi which must be kept alive as it is on that demands the earliest possible at tention if the spiritual needs of tiltparish are to be met and an appro 3iable advance in Church life is to b* made.

I wish to congratulate the parish most, warmly on what I consider th« redeeming feature of the annual financial statement to be submitted to thi? meeting. I allude to the increase*, contributions to missionary work am »ther worthy objects, which has takes us outside the narrow sphere of out parochial existence. Charity that he 'ins at home generally stops there, and so this saying is often one wit I which selfishness tries to mask it? iwn deformity. A charity that is at tracted by the needs and necessities of others outside its own immediate sphere of duty can certainly be count ed on to meet the demands of homi requirements, and this fact is an encouragement for hoping that an) appeal made in the not very distant future to supply these requirement." will meet-with a liberal response. A comparison of the statement of accounts for the past year with that of the year before reveals the financial position to be about the same. The collections have somewhat decreased —probably owing to the prevalence of wet Sundays—but the contributions t< the stipend fund have considerably increased. In one way the present financial position may be regarded as satis factory when it is borne in mind that no special efforts have been made t» raise money for local requirements. These were given up in deference t< the general feeling that during war time such efforts were out of place In view of the unexpected prolongation of the war I think that this policy is now generally acknowledged to hav** been a .mistake. In any case thi? attitude seems now to demand some qualification if some urgent requirements are to be met.

My very grateful acknowledgments are due fo Mr Edward Bibby, the superintendent of the Sunday School, and the Sunday School staff of teachers for their labor of love in carrying on a work so vital to the Church’s welfare, and to Mr Swain for the help that he has given on various occasions. I have to record my appreciation of the services of the choir, of Mr TVedde as choirmaster, and Mrs Swain as organist, and also of the past membership of Mrs Taylor and Mr and Mrs Wotton, who no longer reside in the parish. The warmest acknowledgments are due to Mr Bryce, who so generously undertakes to come from Waipukurau to take the monthly evening service which otherwise would have to be given up. I have also to acknowledge the help of Mr Bowen in this respect for responding in times of emergency. I wish to express my gratitude for the help and services which have been given by many lady parishioners, more especially to Mrs McLean, Miss Johnson and other members of the Ladies’ Committee, to our lady organists at Onga Onga. Tikokino and Tamumu, at Gwavas and Argyll, and to Mrs and Miss Wheeler for the attention that they give to the Tamumu Church. It is with regret that I have to announce the retirement of Mr C. Grenside, who for many years has been sacristan at St. Peter’s. His long and valued service entitles him to an expression of warm appreciation. I desire to acknowledge the great kindness and practical sympathy shown by so many friends at the time of my illness and to heartily thank Dr. Raymond for his skill and attention.

I wish to express my sincere thanks to my own warden, the people’s warden and vestry for their services, and also my numerous friends in the parish for the many tokens of regard and appreciation towards my wife and myself, especially in the matter of Easter offerings, which on the last occasion helped me to tide over a time of exacting calls. I have now to make an announcement which I am sure most of you will understand is made with the deepest regret. For spine time past 1 have felt unequal to meet what I consider to he the demands of a parish with an important centre like Waipawa as well as a large country district, and accordingly I have handed in my resignation to the Bishop with a request for lighter and less exacting work, which has been duly accepted by him. In making this announcement I trust you will allow me to say something concerning a matter which I feel vitally affects the work of my successor and the welfare of the parish. Fortunately I have been able to provide a motor car of my own, but • in providing it and to a large extent in maintaining its upkeep, it has been a serious drain on my private resources, which are by no means large enough to justify such an outlay. My experience in this direction makes me feel entitled to urge upon the vestry and parishioners the necessity of providing a motor car for their vicar if the needs of the parish are to be adequately met and the vicar relieved of an unjust burden. It is with many feelings of sincere regret that both my wife and myself contemplate leaving Waipawa, hut we feel that our work amongst you has, by God’s help, attained sorfle measure of success, that we have mqde many friends and gained the confidence and goodwill of most of the parisjiioners.

BALANCE-SHEET. The treasurer, Mr H. L. ‘lien read a statement of accounts the year. After- discussion both port and balance-sheet were atl-im The balance-sheet showed the t receipts as £555 5s 6d—general tories £lll 3s, offertories and d tions for special purposes £135 subscriptions to stipend fund £pj 3d. The expenditure included stin £240, paid for special purposes I The dr. balance was £232 16s Sd against £265 16s 7d last year. ELECTION OF OFFICERS, The following officers were elec] —Minister’s warden, Mr E. gjj people’s warden, Mr H. T. An vestry, Messrs T. A. Hogg p Wedde, L. Pratley, T. William Carson, Waipawa; Mr W. Tamumu; Messrs. G. Coles and Buchanan, Onga Onga; Mr Carl Gwavas; Mr Moorehead, TikoV treasurer, Mr H. T. Arrow; and Mr T. A. Hogg; representative to I cesan Synod, Mr J. A. McLean Votes of thanks were passed organists at the various chim Sunday school superintendents, all church helpers.