Ordinations.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume I, Issue 11, 1 May 1911, Page 170

Ordinations.

On Sunday, April 23, the Bishop ordained to the Diaconate, Mr C. L. Wilson, L. Th. of Durham, England, Mr P. C. Davis, of St. John's College, Auckland, and Mr C. E. Nicholas, who for many years has done most useful work as lay-reader. The men were the guests of the Bishop during the week preceding their ordination. The daily services, which included an early celebration of the Holy Communion, were held m the Bishop's Chapel, and on Friday he gave the ordinands three addresses — taking as the subject of his discourses our Lord's claim to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The service m the Cathedral Church on the Sunday morningwas well attended, and many came from St. Augustine's Parish to join m it. The special preacher nominated by the Bishop was the Rev. J. B. Brocklehurst, vicar of Hastings, who preached from Matthew iv., 19, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.' 5 The preacher referred to the calling of St. Peter and St. Andrew, and asked : Why did these humble men respond to the call? Probably because of two reasons : (.1) They felt a mysterious attraction towards Jesus Christ; (2) something stirred within them. If they considered the calls of St. Peter and St. Andrew they would notice three things : (a) The strangeness of the call; (b) Christ's faith m man; (c) God's wisdom. With regard to the first, Christ did not go m among the religious men of the day to find followers. He sought out ordinary men, most unlikely men, daily toilers. God's call always came m a strange. way, as m the cases of Abraham, Moses, St. Augustine, and m hundreds of other notable instances. The call proved Jesus Christ's faith m man. Jesus believed m man. He saw the raw material rich m possibilities. He saw men, not as outcasts, but as children missing from the Father's home. Jesus did not look primarily for orators, organisers, etc., but chose men of toil, devoid of imagination, and of homely speech. He saw this was the best type to get as witnesses to tell the life-story m a simple way. That His choice was wise has been proved by the change that had come over the world. The preacher concluded by addressing words to the ordinands, reminding them that they were to be "witnesses," and that they, like Christ, were to concern themselves primarily with the souls of men. After the sermon, the ordinands were presented by the Archdeacon of Hawke's Bay, and the litany was sung by the Rev. G. Coates. The Bishop then proceeded with the first part of the service of Holy Communion, which was followed by the ordinations. The Gospel was read by the Rev. C. L. Wilson. Then

followed the concluding part of the communion office. Canon Tuke acted as Bishop's chaplain. The Rev. C. L. Wilson has been licensed to the curacy of St. Augustine's parish, the Rev P. C. Davis to that of Rotorua, and the Rev. C. E. Nicholas to Dannevirke.