TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CAMBRIDGE.

Waikato Times, Volume XLII, Issue 3390, 22 March 1894, Page 6

TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CAMBRIDGE.

ANNUAL 1 MEETING. The annual meeting of'the members and adherents of the above church was held on Friday, evening last. The Rev; W. •Evans presided., The | attendance at the commencement, of, the meeting was decidedly meagre, but,,it increased as time went,on.and by;', half-past eight,.a ; fair number"were r gathered,together,'^The chairman apologised for the absence of the secretary {Mr : .BL I: W: Sargent)', who was" attending the Supreme Court over the burglary case; find asked the treasurer (Mr F. J. Brooks) to undertake the duties of the office, to which that gentleman consented.,; After [devotional cises bad been indulged in, the minutes of the last annual, meeting,and also of a meetieg held ? on]the 21st September last were readandiconfirmed.,, ~ ~ ; ;. :i :

Sessional Report.-rThisiwasread by s ,anrt.jwas,as fqllows ; :-Th,is day. t we ( arejcalledjon tprtakea reviewot the year nowgone by, to thank God,.and take j courage. .j.'As'' in ; our Jndivjdujil lives ,'we are led .day by/day to recognise th : ql)ivine goodnessarid'to rcnder'toGbr praise' and' 'gratitude^ ! so are'' we '' 'as a church 'constrained to thahkthe Giver of all Good.forthe favours bestowed upon 1 us during thiypast'year. * The "design of a Christian. Church,, according,to .the teaching iol^Holy,Scripture; is|to *f hold forth the word of $ life,", like a lamp burning brightly,and,sheddingjjks rays on the surropding'dark'ness.'' Tliis mission' we ! believe we have accomplished.,, We'' thank' God that \ye have the tr'uthf and cleave; to it : as set ? forth iri' the, standards ; of onr church; which we^bs- 1 lieye are founded on:the Word of pod,'! and we: trust; that our. labour .has not. been in vain.. s We.have reason to thank GbdJorthcipeace:and;;harmony that; havejContinued to prevail in : our church,, and we pray God that this may always, distinguish the, people.of, this./charge. We ! have been enabled to supply gospel, ordinances to this township, to Puke-. rimu"ah'd'to Hautap'u, arid by the effi-. cierit heljp' of/Mr Brooks ser- 1 vice l has'be'on supplied to Tauwhare. This t-er'vice appears'to be much appreciated' by the people: of that-disfcrict. The attendance at tlie services generally' continues to! be encouraging,* and in some instances .there.^are,evident slgos of im-,, provement. The.weekly,prayer meeting, in this, chircli shews iSigns.jof ne>y.;life : and yigoW This;we regard, as a happy, omen. The number received jntbchuroh; fellowship By'examination 1 tiificat'e i; ''' rfcriioval 1 ,3.; 'The Sabbath 1 School' under' the able ; management ! 'of' Mr Brooks .'continues' to prosper/'' We' feel that to'Mr Brooks for his incessant 1

labour in so many departments.of our

church work, and to!'Mr Sargent .for his'l kindness and diligence' as /secretary; we; owe ; a lasting-jdebtof, gratitude.j;;May; the,,lord accept labour of/love; in • Hiscause. thankful to say .that, during the year 'the Session, has/not. been, called tp at tend! to any v cas ? e ( of. discipline, ~ and' we n ope. aii d pi'-ay' tharj.in' t,h e' n^ ; ut re Christian consistency ;'may ! continue'/to; adorn trie character of'all■ the 1 people'of God." Let uslearrt'iriore/ and- more 1 to : value 'the' ; things "'of' 'the' Kingdom : of Christ; keeping holyithe Sabbath, reading.the Scriptures,'s'ettingaipianaltar to' God in the farhily, letting before : ,men that jtheymay see,our,good' works; and 'glorify■■ our jfather who, is -hi; Heaven;,. apd,.when,;'.in auswer,„to,,our. jorayera, we'jSJiall rVceive.-an' effiisipn, J ,pf; tha infliieiices' of the' Holy Spirit/ theu; "shall Aye prosper indeed./ ! For"',' Paul' may planfc'aria"'!A.^oirds; J m'ay water, but God giyeth'tlie,increase;" ;l! "' , ;' j /"' ( ii '-^ u 'The 'jf aWsr's 1 Repor^.—Tli's,' 'was read.by' Mr' Brooks', arid wals : as, 'follows': —Tlio 'principal- 1 evehf'of the 1 year|hais: beeiitiie ! e'ffort to'-'jiay bff i; tlie l old 'stand; 1 ing mortgage on the manse; ■■ !A ! meeting' of the members bt t'he'church wusihcld in

September; !when;;it7was, reported.that six members ot* ; .the church;'hadikiiully. ' lent £25 each iof a : time,;free, of interest, on the condition, .that; th ( e. ( church take, steps the-, amount;during. 1.89.4.,; Itwas'decided"to,obtain, direct,subscriptions, and .also to 'hold a OHristmas'treti and eiffcjaiiotipn. .The effort rriefc' with■' very'general 'support' and has resulted in raising '£9 l 'l6s;' enabling the nVauagerato return'to the lenders one half of the mduey ; advanced-and; leave' a surplus* in the Savings Bink. .There are'

some: amounts yet' to come an and a few

articles;,remain..unsold,msomthat* ifc;'is ! estimated that,w.heu all efforts up'to date are realised about £IOO will be the, result; jj.Th.e/ mortgage on the Manse has.been transferred.to Alessrs Rpbt. Fisb/er ,dnd J Brooks, jri trust for/the, friends' who advanced tlie money, Np time' should be lost/in obtaining tlie direct 'subscriptions' determined,'on,' so that ; tlie'Mariae mortga'ge'iiiay.soon be-' come a thing of the. past. /'The thanks of the •'congregation >are dueito all who so successfully;!assisted".a't the Christmas tree!;— Repairs iFund.,::- The ! balance brought forward frpm.the previous yeari w_a^; pjeared,.off ; by,,ailecture delivered, by, and/,by,..a .social held f injj.thej/churq|{/; |- buV 'some other Bmall/;necessary. ! ,experi?es haye ; left./a balance of lis'9.l still'at' debit of this

fiiud/'/A ! '\fo)fking : ;bee/was .held o'u/the' ; Manse'grbiuids' during' July to remove thefeinkipder'of the'fallen*timber.';' The/ annual soiree in November' last passed 6ff successfully, i»otwitWst>n r ding^the' other calls on our a friends. K and T 'helpers : . The

catering was,,en,trnsted u tQ a lpcalj con. fectioner; -the np t t.,pr i oceeda,f)f 1 ;t he' soiree ,werei£2o,s3.;, It is^witli)regretthatiwehave to report that the church.building. is showing 'Signs of'"decay, though! it 'is Jiop.e'd'iha't without^Tery^great''expeiise. -tfie I, sf6ed'fftl' /I wpairs'"'J i fniiy ; holf?tfdly l! Be.' efre&dMfci'fhe 1 ' tef greatly' ihv' prov.jd.-iTle^weak,part is,the steeple. A sub-committee has been appoiDtecl to examine aud report to this meeting, and

they will lay before*you the true state of affairs and,the;remedy suggested; ■.,) Balance-sheet,-The balance-sheet, which ,had.>een ; ctuly, audited by.Messrs Howard\aud' Kincaid, 'showed the re• ceipts for the.year #51315 a 7d, auti the expenditure' (which inoluded all liabilities for the month) ,£3ll ,5s .2d, leaving a balance in 1 haridof £2 10s sdi "Psalmody' Committee's/ Report; - This was also 1 read'by Mr Brooks. ;It is to be regretted that ! the' absence of' many musical'friencl9■ who formerly rendered good service: m own choir,' * has i caused the niusical part of- the services ? to beless ( efficient >than: ■ could be desired. The lack has \, however in, a great! measure been supplied by the, faithful and able service rendered by the Misses Anderson, Archer, Evans,' and Young, who have presided,at the organ in turn during the year. 11 The" committee, regret' the con: gregationhave'lost'the valuable services of 'Miss! Archer tiiroufifh her rehioval from, the district;/ Thei best thanks of all'are; diie to the ladiesn'amed, for their efficient' and cheerful assistance,-Oil the tobtion' of Elder .Fisher; seconded'; by Elder Watty, the above reports and • balance, sheets were unanimously!approved and,adopted./ ...-{ , THANKSit-Hearty.votes unanimously .accorded the putgojng,com-, mittee^ the the:Treasurer,,the. ladies who 'had, presided at the , organ, ( also''those' wjio had aa'aiated at the Christ - mas Tree and soirfe, and numerous others whose names' we did not catch, ' ' report by'Mr 'John'Ferguson :'4Mr Chairman' and Christian friends,—Ybiir 1 managing committee having asked Mr Anderson" and'myself io inspect th'a steeple of our churchi' we beg'to submit the following report. After fa careful inspection Jwe found ithe timbers very much decayed, especially the, part just, where. the spire begins, This is,caused by the zinc, covering outside being worn out allowing the rain to rot the timber.,, We have no .hesitation in\adyißing you, to dq,something at once before an accident happens. Our opinion is that tjie spire should r be re-" moved 1 ' arid 1 ' the 1 f rbrit T of' the : church 1 be finished ! plainlyV ! admethirig l after-the Btyle'of the Wesley anchurch.; To do wbuldi entail the«cbveririg in of the two corners in front, so that the.end' would show square Is far Is'the present front door.j /This; in iour opinion jwould be better than talcing down aridVebiiilding the present spire, would be easier kept in repairV arid ; cost less; also gains a'iviluablev addition to the room inside; the ;chiirch. The painting of the i church after these N alterations would cost, less than at present as the outside.surface, would be no larger and be easier, got. at when, the, spire, is gone. , estimate itfie cost "of these .alterations at M\, and painting the outside , ! of : the' cliiirch,'butb'uirdings, fence and gate, at ! £l4. We, have much' pleasurelh; bring-' ing this L important subject under your notice and trust this meeting will ways and : meansoto; iput the church in! goodi!repair%The 'Chairman! then >-M nounced an interval,in> ; the proceedings', ;, during,whichi refreshments were handeicl round. These were j ipioyided,,by,, the, Pukerimu ; ladies—a ; sufficient .guarantee as "to" quality ( was suggested s / that; duringthe inter.val.tKe" spire question" should'be discussed. . . . , e-j freshments' hatV received due' attention,' Mr l Jqhri 'Fustier said' he'; Had"* a ! , pleasing dutyl' to 'perform; on behalf 'of .th'e congre-' ; gation of Trinity Ghti'rchV namely, "to' present' their pa'stor, 1 arid his esteemed': wife, with a marfcle elocli' ; in commemo- '■■ ration of their having' celebrated their golden j ' wedH ing.) t Theifact of Mnarid Mrs'fivans hayihgjcompleted the fiftieth. year of married life leaked outsat; the,; titne.thejChristnias ; tree-,was; being held. A. committee was formed, and made,jiiinitell: to M peundividual,, ; and with tlie'proceeds the'clock hadbejh., | purchased. flflr .Fisher then'.'presented' the clock to'Mr'Evans,, at'the same time expressing' tile>,regret of all 'that. Mrs Evans was prevented fr'om atten'dirjg ■' by sickness, arid'.trustinj; be restored to healthi and' strength, and that they niight bothfbe spared, to (celebrate many ariniveraaries of their goldini wedding.—Mr" Evaus, who .was; .quite, taken by >surprise,-~and» was affected, saii.l he,was exceedingly,pleased and grateful and he only regretted that his wife was unable to;be present through;.serious 'illness,;/He believed the jpre3ent one was the first annual church meeting she :had/ tailed to;attend'siiice-itheirweddirig day,' over fifty'years'ago; The first presentation he ever received, was a watch',; when; he was quite a' young! minister, and the' d6nors_ J sajd f they; , 'hpped / it''wonld : ; eria6le' Now,at the.end.iOf, nis/miriist'ryj' he Md-anptliier presentation that reminded ..him, of,,time, .and , warned, him .-.thatliit, was ebbing fast. (.He again' thanked :the subscribers and then :pro-:' ceeded ; with 1 the business: ; ' vi '■■•*' .:■> ■■■■ / -Officers.—The'following officers appointed r :—General committee,of 1 man- 1 agement ':V Cambridge:';-Messrs'; 1 J., AudeWo'ni G. 'Campbell, 'J/ Ferguson- and sell!,'' and; .'Lewis, JSpkspn^j„,Pukerimu" : j: ( Messrs J., Scott ;aud. W.; nCam:/ bridge West: Mr,/W.. ; iPwkins.wf,;Tai,Vi whare;: Mr .T. I Sh'aiv.f'' Secret vry); Mr R."W. Sargent,-;with 'Mr-;Shiner'as assistant. Treasurer: Mr'D.; J.''Brdoki! l l I'siUih'ddy / committee ;'•''M^ssrS i; '''FJ' -ST'. ! '! Biooks, R. 'W- v 1 ' and r . J,.,Fergusop. Lilies to , collect'for, nii,Bs,ib ( n/'f uud/:' hisses Sargent,.

: The Steeeleis Again.—The; mutter; of removing "the steeple was then' dis-: eußsed' i; at ;> considerable'length.' 1 l; S6ine'' favoured ca Vf>JSg entirety at oncg, while others wished the' steeple' /j p f iilled J * : down' .an'd 1 ':t t he'"tawer. covered m temporally till the necessary funds had been raised, The former car'-

ried the day, and en the motion of Mr Kincaid, seconded, by Elder Watt,.the incoming committee was instructed to proceed with the work as speedily as possible. A collection list was started, and a considerable sum of money was promised in the church. ; THANKS, -Special Votes of thank 3 were accorded to Mr Colin Munro. (assistant secretary: hst year, now removed .from the district) andthel-Pukerimu ladies for having provided refreshments, and the meeting terminated. !; :. ;: ~...- ,;.,;.