FOUNDING OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH, WESTPOET.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 518, 17 June 1869, Page 2

FOUNDING OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH, WESTPOET.

The ceremony of laying the foundation pile of the church which Messrs Bull and Bond, contractors, have undertaken to erect for the members of the Church of England, took place yesterday afternoon. The ceremony was originally appointed for the afternoon of Saturday last, but had been postponed in consequence of the inclemency of the weather. The site of the new church is within the enclosure in which the parsonage stands, to the northward of the parsonage ; and the building will be so placed as to front the sea, the tower-end being towards the west, and the chancel towards tho east. Built upon the same ridge as that upon which the parsonage stands, it occupies one of the very few very slightly commanding situations in West-port. The tower or, rather, the miniature spire by which the front elevation of the building will be surmounted will be forty-five feet in height from the floor. The total length of the building, including the front porch and the chancel will be sixty-three feet, while its breadth externally is iutended to be twentythree feet. These dimensions, with walls thirteen feet in height and with a roof proportionately pitched, will constitute a building sufficiently commodious for the purposes of the congregation for some time to come, while it will be, architecturally, abuilding evenly proportioned as a whole, and probably elegant in its appearance. For the plans of the building, the congregation and subscribers to the fund for its erection are indebted to Mr Lowe, formerly District Surveyor, and to Mr Dobson, who made such emendations as were, in deference to circumstances, found desirable. The cost of the structure, without furnishings, is £3SO, and it will be seen by a paragraph elsewhere that there are few churches, erected even at so small a cost, the expenses connected with which are so completely provided; the fund collected for its erection being now within a few pounds of the price at which the contractors have undertaken the work. The ceremony yesterday was more simple and humble than imposing in its character, but it attracted a considerable number of ladies and gentlemen, and was gone through with all becoming propriety. A. block of rata wood was prepared and dressed as the pile for one of the front corners, and was, by the contractors, suspended with tackle from a triaugle, preparatory to its being lowered in a mortice fitted for its reception. In this block there had been cut an aperture as the repository of a small glass case Ixx which were placed some current coin of tho realm, specimens of gold of the district, a specimen of quartz from the Lyell, and a parchment on which ■ the following record of tho event had been neatly engrossed by Mr J. Curie : —" In commemoi'ation of the laying tho corner pile of this Church of St. • John, Westport, on tho lGth day of June, ISG9, these coins and parchment arc deposited herein. Bache W. Harvey, M.A., Minister. Thomas Francis Winstanley and Caleb Whitefoord, Church - Wardens." Having placed the case in the • aperture, and having closed both with tho best substitute for a " hermetical seal," Mrs Giles gave the orthodox number of " taps" on ■ the block of wood, as it was lowered , into its situation, and the two church- , wardens assisted to complete its " setting " in the shingly soil in which the foundations are placed. Both prior to and after this sircple ceremonial, the Rev. Mr Harvey, who was present in his canonicals, read passages of scripture, prayers, and psalms appointed for, or appropriate to, such occasions. Tho rev. gentlemen delivered also a short, suitable address, from which wo arc able to make but a brief quotation. He said :

My Dear Friends, —I caunot allow this opportunity to pass without saying a few words to you, suggested by the object which lias called us together. The ceremony in which we are engaged is, to my mind, and I doubt not to yours also, of a peculiarly solemn and interesting nature. It is deeply interesting as being the first step towards the actual accomplishment of a work which has been the subject of many prayers, and towards which I and those who have labored with me, have been striving long and anxiously. For the last sis months we have been carefully collecting the funds needed for the work, and, I am thankful to say, our success has been much greater than was at first anticipated. We have now in hand nearly three-fourths of the sum required for the completion of the building itself, and I earnestly hope that, when the church is opened for the public worship of Almighty God, it may be entirely free from debt. But I must not lead you to suppose that all is done. A considerable outlay will still have to be made in order to fit up the interior, and I do not believe that you, my dear friends, will be backward in contribut' ing of your means—the means which God lias given you—even though it should involve some sacrifice on your part—for the completion of this offering which we desire to present unto the Lord. For it is that thought, brethren, that this our work is an offering to the Lord, which imparts to the ceremonyof to-day its interestingandsolemn character. From the foundation to the roof, from the pile we have just laid to the emblem of our faith which will surmount the whole, it is to be all His, dedicated to the glory of His name, holiness to the Lord. And when we look around, we see on either hand that which well may make the occasion seem still more solemn. On the one hand, the primeval forest carries our thoughts back through the countless years in which even the name of God has been unknown in these regions. On the other hand, the buildings of the town,,erected, some for family comfort, some for business, some for pleasure, some alas! it must be said, for vice, remind us that now for several years a Christian people has been living here, and, never until now, with one exception, that of our Boman Catholic brethren,

have they united to erect a huilding for the highest and nohlest of all uses—a huilding by which they may be truly distinguished from the poor heathen who went before them. Looking to the one side, our hearts must be struck with something of the solemn enthusiasm of the old explorers, when planting the banner of their King and Country on the shore of hitherto unknown land, and claiming it as the possession of their Lord for ever. Looking to the other Bid. 1 , must wo not experience a feeling of Bhame at our backwardness and coldness in our Master's service, seeing we have thought of our own profits, our own pleasure, and that for years before we set ourselves to plant the standard of the Cross, and proclaim tliis a Christian land, in the name of our King and Lord. Thank God, He has stirred us to do at least what ought to have been done long before, for I hold it, brethren, to be one of the first duties of every community of Christians to erect a house of God, a place which will be devoted exclusively to the ordinances of public worship, no matter how poor, so it be the best they can accomplish. If they be living in tents, let them have a large tent for their church; if they dwell in houses of wood, let them build of wood the best house they can, for their God; and if He has blessed them and increased their wealth so that they can build for themselves palaces of stone, let the noblest palace of them all be still the House of God—the highest work of human art—the Gotliic cathedral, — With high embowed roof, With antique pillars massy proof, And storied windows richly dight, Casting a dim religious light. There let the pealing organ blow, To the full voice-choir below, In service high and anthem dear, As may with sweetness, thro' mine ear, Dissolve me with exstacies, And bring all heaven before mine eyes." The rev. gentleman continued by impressing upon his hearers the propriety of thankfulness that they had been able to lay the foundation of even so humble a wooden church, and the necessity of seasoning their thankfulness with humility, remembering their dependence on the Great Architect and Builder, lie concluded by an eloquent application of the circumstance as a source of individual reflection as to building "on the one sure foundation the house which will last for ever."