Parish News.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XVI, Issue 8, 1 February 1926, Page 6

Parish News.

St. Augustine's, Napier. On Sunday, December 20th, an ordination service was held at St.

Augustine 'sr .'. Churchy when !; the Rev. W. Lea -was admitted- to Priest's Orders, and also. Wharetini Rangi ordained Deacon to serve m the Maori Mission. Clergy present were:— The Bishop of Waiapu, the Yen. Archdeacon Simkiri, the Revs. F. A. Bennett, R. F. Geddes and the Vicar. , ! . A very earnest and helpful address was given by the Rev, R. F. Geddes, on James 1., verse 4, "Let patience: have her perfect work that ye may be perfect." '„....' \ The Litany was read by, the Rey. F. A. Bennett| ( ,and the whole service, was very impressive. An Ordination; is such ah. important event, that it is _ a pity more of the parishioners did riot take the opportunity of being present and helping with their prayr ers and devotion on such an occasion. The Rev. W. Lea lias been curate at St. Augustine's for over a year, and Aye are to have the advantage of his increased helpfulness .for a while yet, his services being much appreciated ' m the parish. We believe the Rev. Wharetiia) Rangi is to wbrk with the , Maori priest at Whakatane,. We pray that God's blessing may be with them wherever their ministry will be exercised. An important event m the history of our parish is the sale of the church sections situated m Jull street. We .< are thankful to know that the land has been sold at satisfactory figures and terms, and that the net proceeds will, as soon as possible, be de- . voted to the erection of a suitable building or portion of a building, on the Napier South section, and we hope that this may be done m this present year. While we regret the parting with land taken up years ago for church purposes, all our business men agree that the step is undoubtedly m the .' best interests of the Church. . Wfterenga-a-hika. We were delighted to have the Bishop with us for a few days at the end of November. We had two Confirmations, one for nine Maori youths m the College Chapel on November 27th, and the other for twenty-three Pakeha on November 29th, when the church was f ulL and even the porch was occupied. The Bishop also took services at Waimata and Makaraka. Our annual Garden Fete was a glorious success and over £100 was paid into Church Funds. We are very grateful to each and all our many supporters who contributed to this success. The Ladies' Guild and Children's Guild worked hard and we hope they feel well satisfied with the results; also our keen and willing lady and men helpers, Our Sanctuary has been enriched with Riddels and Dossal for the Altar made of cream. Poplin for Christmas

and Jtoster Festivals. These are the gifts of our friends Rev. L. H. and Mrs Fenn, from contributions received at their school services to which parishioners m that end of the parish are welcomed. Poranf*h«i. Sunday afternoon, December 27th, saw the unveiling and dedication of the long desired Memorial Tablet, to the memory of the men from the parish who gave their lives m the Great War. The church was packedwhy not packed every Sunday? After all the Memorial is erected primarily to the Glory of God, why not, therefore, worship God every Sunday, instead of on some special occasion. Sir George Hunter unveiled the tablet and gave a very moving address, emphasising the tremendous sacrifice these men made, and our inability to repay, wholly, that sacrifice, but nevertheless our ability to repay insofar as we are able, some measure, our debt to those men. The Archdeacon of Hawke's Bay dedicated the memorial, and spoke from the words, "Yea I have a goodly heritage," showing how our present position m the world was only made possible by the sacrifice of human lives m the war. It was a service that will long be remembered; may the significance of it, too, live long m the memory of those who were present. The Holy Season of Lent begins on Ash "Wednesday, February 17th. It is hoped that parishioners will make a solemn effort to deny themselves of something, say some little luxury, and give the money usually spent on that, to Missions. We deny ourselves during Lent just because our Lord did the same; it helps us to master and control our desires, and so prevents us becoming perfect slaves to certain desires. There will be extra celebrations of the Holy Communion during Lent. Make an effort to come! It's for God and the benefit of your own soul. It is hoped to have a week night service during Lent at Herbertville, probably on Wednesday evenings. This will enable the Wimbledon portion of the parish, to come. Next year I hope to have it at Wimbledon, and so alternate; naturally one can only be at one place at a time. It has been found necessary to postpone the Bazaar until February 26th. This happens to be during Lent, which is unfortunate m a way, but it is absolutely unavoidable; we were compelled to change on account of clashing with other things, previously arranged for February sth, over which we have ho control. We hope all will endeavor to do their bit for the Bazaar. ; The Church, like «very organisation, needs finance to

keep it going, and we still have a debt of over' £200 which' needs removing. It,Jißj,i!Qiposs|ble |o make any headway m directions' desired while this nightmare hangs over our heads. Matawai. Everything m Matawai is lovely, the weather is glorious and even our water tanks are not ;too dry. We had a most successful shop day m Gisborne last month organised by . the ladies of Otoko. One kind gentleman who refuses to divulge his name, offered a £1 subsidy for every pound raised up. to £30. We soon, reached that limit and with our sale and cash subscriptions netted over £140. Our heartiest thanks are due to all who helped, especially the ladies of Otoko. and our anonymous friend, also to our Ladies' Guilds at Matawai and Motu t and the Girls' Guild at Matawai. .

The Health Inspector paid a visit to our mill houses at Motuhora, and we have every hope of getting quite a few of them scrapped and new ones m their place for our mill hands and bushwhackers to live m. Old King Mammon has been our tyrant too long, and we hope very soon to see him doing a bit of work for us for a change and the Living God of Love and fellowship reigning m the place he tries so hard to usurp. The Good Shepherd knows that His lambs when well looked after are far healthier and happier (the, Vicar thinks they' may shear better, too). Mr Summerhayes has kindly, offered to build us a font for St. Paul's, Motu, which will fill another much felt want. We also hope to get our beautiful bell there suitably hung before winter comes round again. The Gisborne Girl Guides have decided that Motu is the best place m New Zealand for their annual camp. We can assure them of a very hearty welcome, and have arranged for a church parade on Sunday, the 17th. We would like to extend our sympathy to the less fortunate people of the diocese who are suffering from the drought. If they could only climb to the heights of Matawai they would find things far less hot and arid. Waipawa. The attendance at the country centres during the holidays has been very disappointing. It is true that a great many parishioners are away at the beach and elsewhere, but there are quite enough left to provide reasonable congregations if they would only come. Abbotsford Home has been opened. The Matron and Miss Ruddock have arrived and are busy making the last preparations for the family. Miss Waller has been getting things ready for a long time. Unfortunately some

of the children who were waiting at St. Hilda's to be admitted to' Ab-; botsford have chicken pox, and it hasbeen thought advisable hot to bring them over till all chance tof infection is gone. We/w elcome-S ister Elsie Smith and Miss Ruddock both to the Home and to the parish. :In the absence- of Mrs Cumming (our or-, ganist) the matron marked her first; Sunday, amongst us by playing at the; evening,, service. . r At our, last vestry meeting it was decided to start an endowment fund for the general needs of the parish.. Five per cent. , of all proceeds from sales of /work, etc., will henceforward be put into the Endowment Fund. ; Mr Pickett, executor of the estate oJP the late Mrs Pattison, has given: /a grant from the estate amounting to £25, to start the Fund. Now that the first seed has been sown we are hop-; ing to see it grow rapidly. Mr Jas. Biddies has undertaken to collect money to give the Fund a good start; he will be glad to receive donations towards it. Donors to this fund will have the satisfaction of knowing that their gifts will not be swallowed up by the current expenses of the parish, but will be safely invested to provide a regular income for all time. The news of the sudden illness of Mrs Harris (formerly our organist at St. Peter's) came as a shock to us all. We are glad to report that, after adangerous operation, Mrs Harris is now making an excellent recovery. Wailpiro Bay. The new church at Tokomaru Bay has at last been started and should be finished within three months. The contract price is £3556 and the building is to seat about one hundred and fifty people. The foundation stone is to be laid on February 18th by the Bishop of the Diocese and m sacred memory of William Busby, Marianne Caroline Busby and William Baldwin Busby. ■ . The Maori Hui to be held at Tiki Tiki for the consecration of the soldiers ' memorial church promises to be one of the biggest things of its kind' ever held up here. Though this church! is no longer m this parish^ it has interested all the Maoris on the coast and indeed all m New Zealand.' Its importance to the Maoris generally justifies us m saying these few words about it. We expect to see at the consecration ceremony nearly all the Maori clergy m the Diocese and among the honored guests of the natives will be His Excellency the Qovernor-Gerieral of New Zealand and the Rt. Hon. the Prime Minister. ; The church itself is chiefly notable for the amount of Maori art and carving that is preserved m it. There will be probably a big korero at this

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