Opotiki.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume VIII, Issue 11, 1 May 1918, Page 88

Opotiki.

Vicar /Rev/T. Fisher/ ... Our notes, this month are written during much strain and anxiety, for tlie flood which .'fell/upon the town : on Wednesday/April 10th, has absorbed all pur attention. -The loss and suffering have been very great, and we must ineAritably feel the consequences for a long time. The church did not suffer so much as we feared it would ; the whole of the nave floor was covered with a layer of silt which taxed our energies to clear off sufficiently to enable ,us to use part of it for Sunday. : serr vices at 8 and 11 a.m. Miss Phoebe Torrens, ! Mrs Roland and Messrs R*. arid LV Torrens and Mr Vernon Hblr loway are to be thanked for making this possible. . Fortunately the chancel and sanctuary were above the flood line, which -was the highest on record by far. Evening service was impossible for lack of light, both m the church and m the town, with the piles of mud everywhere. Mr and Mrs Dickinson have been very unsparing m their efforts to clean the rooms of the Parish Hall, which were much more seriously affected by the flood than was the church. The Harvest Festival, announced for April 21st, with a social and sale on April 23rd, cannot be held, lo our disappointment and loss. The effort to help the Church Army Huts Fund resulted m a total of £34, from which a charge for advertising has to ?be deducted. Good Friday was reverently observed by still a larger congregation at the noon service, and the Easter Communions showed a slight increase, m spite of the many called away; yet it was notable how many should have been there whose absence was felt.. The Bishop preached at both services, besides addressing the childreri m the afternoon. On Easter Tuesday evening the Vestrymen met the Bishop at the Vicarage, when the Bishop gave an interesting account of his plans for ministering to the surrounding dis*tricts; earnest wishes were expressed that he would soon find it possible to put them into active operation. The Vicar thanks the Easter congregations for their thbughtfulness.