Parochial Notes.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XIII, Issue 7, 1 January 1923, Page 431

Parochial Notes.

Cathedral Parish. (Vicar : The Very Rev. the Dean). -■*-"* '■■ The Mothers' Union. held their annual festival m the Cathedral on December 6th. There was ; a. large attendance of mothers from aIU parts of the diocese. A most practical .sermon; the subject of which X was "Josiah, who repaired the House of God;" was preached 'by the Rey. J.B. Brocklehurst. The offertory ', was- m aid/ of the Waiapu "gift"; tp" the .Mary Suiriner memorial, m," London, which gift is to take the, form: "of .an alriis dish for a memorial .chapel,'- tp be carved from' New Zealand wood and to be emblematic of NNcrw r Zealand. Mr 1-ombs presided at the Morgan, and the-; hearty singing, pf. all present was-a notable feature -pf the service.- After the benediction a short organ recital yyas given by the,organist, which." was much; appreciated! by the - visitors, who Were alLlatef entertained m the Deanery grounds (kindly lent; by the Dean and Mrs- Mayne) where d light luncheon was pipv^ded. The thanks of the council are^duev to those ladies who were responsible for the luncheon arrangements* rjand to all other willing helpers; TheGathedraL'choir, with the- Deari and. ; IVIr Tombs, journeyed' put to Clive. on December Ist, and" assisted at the. induction of the new Vicar, of Clive.;, Waipiro Bayi (Vicar: Rev. J. • Pigottyy ■ y . ■;:■:.-;: :' /; -. '.' , A very. successful sale" .of . work -.•was-, 'held iri the Te, Puka, Hall; Tokomaru, :Bay, during; the closing;;: we^C»f .'Npvember.i Iri tki eVeni^gf o -.: Mr

Hogg's orchestra contributed items of music which, with various competitions under Mr Thompson, helped to conclude a very pleasant day. As a result the Parish Fund benefited to the extent of £82. The various committees m the parish are trying . to pay off their quota to the Waipiro Vestry by the end of March and to build up a . strong reserve fund. The St. Andrew's congregation are organising a Garden Fete to be held on Saturday, December 16th, m Mr Tho- : mas' garden. The Tuparoa and Ruatprea people . are having ' a social evening towards the middle of January m the Ruatorea Hall. Tokomaru Bay is losing Mrs Mead and family. They have been loyal members of the Church and we shall find their places very hard to fill. Otane. (Vicar: Rev. G. W. Davidson). The last meeting of the Mothers' • Union was taken by Mrs Henley who m the absence of the Vicar read the Litany gave an address, and then again talked to the members at the Vicarage. The members are full of thankfulness to the help that these union meetings bring both spiritually and m matters of daily routine m the home. The united one m October at Te Aute was a great treat also and thanks are due tp seven car owners who took the Otane members to that reunion which after the Litany and hymn resolved itself into a social gathering m the garden of Canon Williams. A few members from each branch attended the Festival m Napier. Elsthorpe rejoices m a very keen Sunday school teacher who lone-handed takes a class of 37 children and tries to teach them all she can. The Church Catechism to church children and Presbyterian teaching to others. A social arranged by her was held when the children sang songs and recited pieces and presented an enjoyable programme assisted by a few adults. A sale of gifts was also held and Miss McAulay the chief announces that she has £20 m hand for Sunday school prizes, annual treat and annual expenses of Sunday school for next year. The parents made her a pleasant surprise arid presentation during the evening. We shall miss Mr and Mrs Phillips, the local schoolmaster and his wife who leave after the holidays for Napier — they always backed up the Vicar quietly and Mr Phillips was always ready to take Sunday school when Miss McAulay was away on holiday or for other reasons. We wish them Gpd speed tp Napier. The sewing meetings m preparation for the sale of work m April are started and good work . done already— arrangements are going on for a shop and sale of work m Otane m February — Elsthorpe will probably make an effort on its own.

St. Mark's, Clive. . (Vicar: Rev. T. Fisher). On December ,Ist the Venerable Archdeacon Simkin, acting ' for the Bishop, . inducted the new Vicar at special Evensong. The Dean,, the organist and the choir of the Cathedral motored from Napier and attested at the service, and were entertained to light supper before returning. On Monday, December Ist, by the invitation of the Clive parishioners, the organist, Mr P. Tombs, and the choir again came out to help at the social to welcome the Rev. T. and Mrs .Fisher, the Rev. F. W. Bennett, his daughter and two - sons were also present; the' evening was a very merry one, Mr Alister McLean, the Presbyterian missioner, joined m the welcome. Opportunity was taken to present to Mr Bennett a leather suit case, and a prayer book as a token of the parishioners' good will, and. their appreciation for his very valuable help from time to time. Mr Baker, the Vicar's warden, presided. Waipawa. (Rev. Canon Butterfield, 8.D., Vicar). So many other functions have been arranged for Christmas time that it has been impossible to. arrange for the shop m aid of missions that was to have ben opened during the week ' before Christmas. Our church workr ere are .amongst the busiest helpers m local causes, benevolent and otherwise';:and there is a danger of the Church's interests being side-tracked. Ready cash m the shape of straightout'subscriptions is not yet easily obtainable, we hope that with the rise m the price of wool and mutton our ' farmer friends will be able soon to make up the serious deficiency m Church funds which we have suffered during bad times, and to put them m a much more satisfactory position. Our choir at St. Peter's has lately been making rapid progress; the regular attendance of the majority of the members at two practices a week is commendable. We are greatly indebted to Mr C. H. Naylor (our organist) for his energy and enthusiasm. On Monday> December 18th, St. Peter's Girls' Club concluded its meetings for this year by holding a very pleasant gathering m the schoolroom at which Miss Lee (the vice-president), on behalf of the ' girls, presented a pair of solid silver serviette rings to Miss >Melva Rathboiie on the eve of her marriage. We had a great wedding at St. Peter's on December 19th, when Miss Melva Rathbone, elder daughter - of Mr and Mrs H. M. Rathbone, was united to Mr C..E. T. Woods. Members of the Girls' Club had very tastefully decorated the church m preparation for the event and many of them were present at the w;edding. Several members pf the choir were there and, with their help m joining

m the people's part, we were more than usually successful m, impressing upon the congregation the fact that marriage is a solemn religious ands.acrairiental act arid not a mere spectacle. The two chief bridesmaids Miss Lee and Miss Jessie Rathboiie, as well as the bride, are members of our Girls ' Club. Mr and Mrs H. M. Rathbone most hospitably entertained about a hundred guests at Abbotsford after the ceremony. Rotorua. (Vicar: Yen. Archdeacon Chatterton, B.D. Assistant Curate : Rev. W. S. G. Cameron) . On Friday, December Ist, a highly successful bazaar, organised by the members of St. Luke's Women's Guild, m and of the general funds of the church, was held m the Parish Hall and m the adjoining grounds. There was an excellent display of plain and fancy articles on tastefully decorated stalls. Though the weather was unpropitious, the attendance was good, and .the results highly satis-' factory, the receipts amounting to £100. Porangah.au. (Vicar: Rev. D. . R.Malcolm) . We have not inserted ariy parish notes for some time, readers will r pardon us if we insert some back history. The Bishop paid us a visit on October 29th and confirmed six carididates, during the service, giving a most inspiring and helpful address. On the evening of November 12th Mr A. E. Turner Williams preached m St. Michael's Church, Monday and Tuesday he did some collecting for the General Diocesan Fund,, with marked success, securing, we believe, about £70 m subscriptions. The.Sunday School picnic was held at the vicarage on Saturday, November 18th. Teachers and scholars enjoyed them* selves to the full. A Christmas shop took place m the Public Hall on December Ist, when the sum of. £45 was netted, £5 being donated to the Sunday School funds, and £40 paid to the credit of the parish. The members of the Ladies! Guild are to be congratulated. This was a very creditable performance, considering the very wet weather, and that the back country roads were impassable, had the weather been, fine, we believe this amount would have been doubled. A special Children's Service was held iri St. Michael 's Church, Porangahau, on Sunday, December 17th, when the • Sunday School prizes were presented. ' The thanks -of the parish are due' to our three teachers, Miss Sargisson (superintendent), Miss Forrest and Miss Drower, for the splendid service . they have rendered, during the past year. As these are the last notes to be contributed by the writer, he would like to thank all those who m any way, have helped on the work of the church, during his term of office as Vicar of the Porangahau

parish, arid trusts that .'parishioners ' will accord the same support to his successor. St. Matthew's, Hastings. (Vicar: % Rev. R., T. Hall. Assistant Curate: Rev. 0. Gibson). . The closing meeting for the year of the Gleaners' Union was held on November 23rd. In view of the poor attendance at the meetings it was decided to discontinue the holding of Gleaners' meetings m the future. A branch of the Diocesan Missionary Association has been formed, and we hdpe that this will be a real live centre of missionary work m the parish. A half-crown fund has been started to raise the necessary money for the completion of the quota due from the parish to the Board of Missions. The Mothers' Union met on December sth, and had a good meeting to finish off a quite successful year. On December 12th the Sunday School prize-giving took place. There was a large gathering of parents and children who enjoyed thoroughly a Christmas tableau presented by some of the scholars, and also an address by the Rev. F. Bennett, who presented the prizes. The C.EIM.S. held a social rally on December 13th, when, despite a. small attendance a very pleasant evening was spent. A meeting of the Communicants ' Guild will be held at 7.30 p.m. on the Thursday before the 3rd Sunday m each month. The collection from .the missionary boxes for this last half-year amounted to £69.