PAROCHIAL NOTES.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 25, Issue 10, 1 October 1935, Page 5

PAROCHIAL NOTES.

WAIROA. Our Annual Meeting was held at the end of July. Mr. #.' de B. Hill was appointed Vicar's . Warden, and Mr, Pinel people's warden. Mrs. Moles, Mrs. F. Fletcher, Mr. W. T. Mist, Mr. W. Taylor, Mr. F. Cooper were elected as Wairoa members of the Vestry, and Mr. R. Steed and . Mr. Wpodley wer>e accepted ag representatives of Nuhaka. Vestry meetiiigs are held on the first IMtonday evening m psich month. A f _flpr.al ,f ete. is to be hejdpn the 31st of Octpber!: m ..the Gatety Theatre. A large number of workers

have the function m hand. Mr. Bannister and Mr! Gover are joint secretaries. ' For various reasons it lias been decided not to hold the musical and elocutionary competitions this year. As several members of the congregation have expressed a desire to join the Guild of AH Souls, it is intended to form a centre m the parish. The New Zealand Church Union has invited us to join m the observance of September 20th, m memory of the martyrdom of Bishop John Coleridge Patterson. Holy Communion will be celebrated on that day m many churches: throughout New Zealand with special intercession for the N.Z. Church. A celebration will be held at St. Paul's, Wairoa, with this intention, and all who wish are invited to make it the occasion for prayers for Bishop Patteson and all other faithful departed members of the New Zealand Church with special reference to the faithful of our own parish. A Confirmation is to be held shortly when a date convenient to the Bishop has been fixed. Classes have been started but bad weather, school holidays and so on have hindered us so far; we hope that now spring is coming we shall have fewer interruptions and a larger attendance. Parishioners deeply sympathise with Mrs. Grout and her daughters, and with Mrs. S. J. Davys and her daughters on the death of Mr. Grout and of Mr. Daveys, both of them members of our congregation. May the merciful God grant them m His Kingdom a place of perpetual rest and peace. GISBORNE'S ANNUAL MEETING. VICAR'S REPORT. In the course of his Annual Report, Canon Hall stated: — "The last year has seen some changes. The Rev. F. I. Parsons has gone on to a post of sole responsibility at Tolaga Bay, where his energy and zeal can. have full play. The advent of Mr. JGres and Mr. Moresby has been a most welcome one and: I am more than happy to have them working with me. I hope you appreciate them as much as I do. I only wish I could have a third assistant of equal calibre, but perhaps I am too ambitious.

"The work amongst the young folk has grown and is showing results m a most marvellous way. We shall have to think of extra accommodation for the Sunday work before long m the shape of a new annexe to the present building. In the suburbs, the Mangapapa Sunday School is nearly bursting the church walls for lack of accommodation. Te Hapara has a children's church and its offertories have been doubled! Kaiti Church is full of children and here again it is a marvel what capable teachers can do m a small space. So you see that speaking generally the work amongst the young folk is very bright and full of promise. Now this promise can only be fulfilled by the personal example of the parents. "It is the church-going parent of today who makes the church-going parents of to-morrow. The cause of the leakage from church membership of the adolescent is almost always the lack of example by those at home. Parents often come to me and ask me to get m touch with a child of theirs who does not go to church, when they themselves are not churchgoers. "This m itself is mainly due to two causes: Firstly, the fact that m their day they were forced to go to dull services unsuited to their needs. This cannot be said now — the Church is more awake tfian she has ever been — and provision is made for all types of churchmanship, and I venture to say that sermons are shorter and services brighter. The second — and I am speaking as a shepherd — is due to sheer laziness. Spiritually lazy parents are most infectious and a source of intense danger to the children of to-day. "In spite of a wave of laziness which is sweeping over the parish, especially during these winter months, I am happy to say that the Mothers' Union has a membership of 100 and new members are constantly coming. I could wish we had a Fathers' Union with the same objects and the same keenness. The Men's Club, however, is a live body, with an attendance of 60 per cent, of its members every week, whereas the Mothers' Union meets only monthly. This Men's Club sponsors St. Francis House, the good work of which is. known by certain people as the 'best

doss house m New Zealand' and has,, m fact, put the 'is' into Gisborne! Some six or seven men turn up to a weekly Bible class before club meetings and I feel that this should increase and is a beginning of still better things. "May I say here that the continual evening work is a great strain on the clergy, arid ask you not to expect the impossible, or you will have breakdowns. No man can work 15 hours a day as a regular thing, which has. been tfie case here for some time. "I am deliberately not going to thank anybody personally to-night for their work for the church during the past year. I should probably forget someone's name, which would never do, but speaking seriously, there is no parish which has a more generoushearted or loyal body of workers than Gisborne has. I know you enjoy your church work. I assure you that I appreciate your help to the full Let us go on developing the friendly family spirit which is becoming such a marked feature of our life FROM THE CHURCHWARDENS' REPORT. "Finance is always a difficult subject to reconcile with church work, but we. do offer thanks for a wonderful year. "We commenced with an overdraft of just on £300, and a further liability of £88 m unpaid accounts. We end with a small credit balance. This greatly improved position is mainly due to two wonderful contributions: (1) We received a communication from a firm of solicitors enclosing a cheque for £287 9s 2d, which we were to use to wipe out our entire overdraft. No inquiry was, to be made as to who had sent this wonderful gift. (2) A parishioner who also wished to remain anonymous then sent us a cheque for £50, which was 1 to go towards reducing the unpaid accounts. "We could only express our and your gratitude for such munificent gifts." WOODVILLE. (Rev. G. W. Davidson.) The annual effort of Holy Trinitjr Ladies' Guild was surprisingly successful, the secretary Miss Swedebanking £102 — far more than anyone expected. One feels that the corporate Communion on the Sunday before*

was a great help, when the Vicar urged that the spiritual side of the parish really ought to be more fully developed, and prayers were ottered lor God's fullest blessing on the Church and all Church workers. Wardens, vestrymen and choir members assisted to make the number of •Communicants m that particular Sunday number sixty-four. Mrs. Dunford and Miss Tattersfield, who from the opening of St. Andrew's ■Church, Kumeroa, have attended to the altar flowers and church arrangements, felt it time to resign. They have been a wonderful comfort to the Vicar, who lives nearly ten miles away, and our thanks are extended to them both. We were very fortunate that Mrs. Ramsden was willing to take over this work for our little •church, and she does' it very well. Mrs. Ramsden has given a glass inset for the font, for which we are grateful. The Bishop's visit was very happy, the Vicar presenting 19 candidates for ■Confirmation. The congregations were very good, and our Bishop's instructive sermons surely helped all who heard them. The parochial district has much to be thankful for, m -spite of the financial depression, and \signs are not wanting that we are turning the corner and may do more for the Board of Mission this coming ;year.