WESLEYAN CHURCH.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1521, 23 April 1885, Page 2

WESLEYAN CHURCH.

Reception Soiree.

A highly successful soiree was held In the Cameron street Church, last evening, to welcome the Revs D. McNicoll and T. J. Wallis to the circuit. The Rev T. J. Wallis was unable to bo present, having been deputed to temporarily undertake the duties of the Nelson Church, but pleasing reference was made to the absent minister by the different speakers during the evening. The tea which preceded the public meeting, was largely attended, and the tables were bountifully supplied and tastefully decorated by the following ladies, viz —Mesdames Wheeler. H. Chapman, Meech, 0. Baker, J. (Jrr, Sparrow, id. M. Carson, G. Andrews, S. Alcorn and Gamble, and Misses Alcorn, Harvey, Pearson, Jones, Causey, Cameron and Stewart. It is superfluous to state that the wants of the visitors were assiduously attended to by the ladies and gentlemen of the congregation ; tea meetings are peculiarly a Wesleyan institution; the church thoroughly understands this form of hospitality, and the Ashburton members are evidently determined to hold fast to this agreeable tradition of Methodism. After the tea a public meeting was held, every available seat in the large church being filled, the audience comprising representatives from branch churches and other denominations. Mr H. M. Jones presided at the public meeting, and briefly referred to the object of the gathering. Ho regretted the unavoidable absence of Mr Wallis, but had no doubt that gentleman was with them in spirit Tbe Chairman having referred to the Itinerant System, recounted the history of the Church in Ashburton, and expressed the gratification he experienced in reviewing the progress they had made under Divine gui lance. The establishment of the congreg rtio.i was first proposed in 1876 ; in May, 1877, tourteen adherents to the Church met in the old Library Hall to discuss ways -*nd means, and within a few months of that date they had erec ed their present place of worship. They had additional churches now at Wakauui and Willowby, both making excellent progress and promising even increased usefulness. They had a church membership of 160, and had secured the services of two ministers. Ha had much pleasure in welcoming those ministers to their new circuit.

Mr Collins said he was neither a born orator nor one by practice, and he should, perhaps, apologise for his appearance before them ; he was not there, however, by choice, but by appointment. He appeared in Ira representative capacity of superintendent of the Sunday School, and he had very much pleasure, on behalf of the school, in bolding out the hand of welcome to their new ministers, and in assuring those gen'lemen of the reciprocal sympathy and desire to assist by the young people of the congregation. Their Church system provide! that their ministers should move from circuit to circuit that periodically they should break np local ties and associations, and under these circumstances they r.quire! all the kindly help and sympatny of their congregations. It was a common practice in their midst to criticise tha first sermons of their new minist ra. Without expressing any opinion upon (ho sermons delivered by Mr McNicoll last Sundiy, he must acknowledge with exceptional pleasure, the interest Hut gentleman had displayed in the working of their Sunday School. Mr Collins referred at some length to tho importance of school work, and the responsibility of the Church in connection with it, and concluded an interesting address by again welcoming Mr McNioolland his colleague to Ashburton.

Mr Chapman, of Willowby, said he waa much surprised when called upon to address them. He was quite unprepared for such an ordeal, but was glad of an opportunity to j »ih in the welcome to Mr McNicoll. Mr McNicoll was no stranger to him; he had eoj >yal that gentleman’s ministrations when he (Mr McNiooll) was a lay-preacher. This fact suggested to his mind the glory of Methodists —that there preachers were laymen, men who had-risen from the ranks by sheer merit and zeal. There was a great field of use fulness before their new minister ; they had a large staff of excellent workers and required a good captain. He thought Mr McNicoll would make a good captain. Mr Chapman appealed to the young men of the colony to make use of the special advantages they enjoyed, and exhorted Christians of every age and denomination to display more bold ;esi in their confession of faith.

The Rev Mr McNic ;11, who was received with loud and prolonged app'ause, said he must confess that be wished the meeting was over. The genuine heartiness of thp reception recorded to him had quite taken him aback. It was not quite so bad, or perhaps he should say quite as good, but they would understand his feelings, as a valedictory raee'i ig it which ho had been ca’le 1 upon to say farewell to the friends and d s of his late circuit. The large audi.m o before him had shown their readiness to take him on credit, hoping for the best, and he naturally felt some anxiety for the result. People were apt to think that preachers, speaking so frequently, felt no difficulty about the matter, bpt he could assure them that although engaged in the ministry for nearly 2Q years,ho still experienced on certain occasions a degree of nervousness. He referred to the fact of the Chairman of the meeting (Mr EL M. Jones) having been a member of his Sunday School class in Christchurch many years ago, and expressed the surprise and pleasure he felt on arriving in Ashburton ♦p find Mr Jones one of the circuit stewards. Mr McNiooll recounted in a very happy manner his experience as a Sunday School teacher. He had been taken from Canterbury by the Church 17 years ago, and the authorities had been very careful not to allow him to return to Canterbury pntjl no v. Const quejrly hs was a V,linger to ityost of them', but cou’d cihin to be a very visitor to Ashburton He came to the colonies like most other young men, with a determination to make his fortune, and had met with about tho same material sue cess tie the other aspirmts Twenty two years ago he waa engaged with a survey party and had a punt one evening at an accommodation house then on the banks of the Ashburton river. His hearers would understand the immense

change he noticed between the Ashburton of that day and the Ashburton of this. The progress had been almost incredible, and 1 he was glad to find here ns elsewhere that the old gospel had penetrated into the new land. Referring to the Itinerant System Mr MoNicoll said it had not been an unqualified success, but had it not possessed much that was advantageous it would have broken down before now. Some people said the preachers were anxious to interfere with the system ; it was true that some did not recognise the three years’ term as a divine rule, they contended that it might under some circumstances be extended to four, five, or even six years, as it was now occasionally curtailed, but he thought none -of their ministers sought to abolish the system. That it hid some disadvantages was generally felt and admitted. The cost of moving their 'ministers amounted to a very considerable sum; this cost was borne by the receiving circuits and if the Church members had not recognised the advantages of the system they would have declined to pay the cost. Ministers were reputed to be great mendicants, but he did not admit the accusation; he never begged but sometimes collected accounts. te regarded the relation between the Church and its minister asasimplecontrac, between man and man. Excepting himselft they would not find a finer class of men on the face of the earth than the Methodist clergy. Mr MoNicoll created J much amusement by his recital of the evergreen tale of a minister of the Church ridding himself of a ghost by the display of a subscription list. The itinerant System was a serious discomfort to many of them ; it entailed a dislocation of affections, and a severing of li>-s, which were more felt by the ministers than the people, although he was sure the former had the warmest sympathy of the congregations A greater disadvantage than parsonal inconvenience was the loss of power suffered by the ministers. On entering a circuit they were comparative strangers to their congregation, tney spent three years accumulating power, and at the end of that period were required to relinquish their position and commence the same process in an other locality, Turning to the other side of the question there were many very material advantages in the system Ministers were not infallible and moving to new districts they were able to apply the experience they had acquired and avoid the mistakes they had made in the past. The change, too, gave a minister an opportunity to juse his old sermons. They might be amused by this statement, but tho sermons were revised and improved, and more effectually preached. The strain upon even the most able man of preaching week after week to the same congregation was more severe than many of them would understand. Each time he hid moved to a new people he had found them better than the last ; he thought, although he could not yet speak with confidence, that his present change would bear this experience out. These changes, their troubles and discomforts, discipline:! their ministry, and presented forcibly to their minds the certainty of their final dissolution ; they provided the churches with new preachers. Human nature was weak not only in the pulpit, but in the pew, and listeners were apt to grow indifferent as they became familiar with the speaker—they required fresh faces and fresh pleadings. This would not be so in an ideal state of soo’ety, but they had not yet reached that ideal state, and the process was forced upon them as a means to an end. Mr MoNicoll concluded by thanking the congregation for the very kind reception they had extended to him, and expressing a hope that his labors in their midst would meet with the divine blessing. The Chairman explained the circumstances that had dstained Mr Wallis in Nelson, and said the Rev gentlemm would probably be in Ashburton the first Sunday in May. Mr William Harding pointed out the claims Methodist ministers had upon the sympathy of their congregations. He described the progress of the preachers from the ranks to the pulpit. Ho strongly supported the Itinerant System, comparingtheworkof Dra Osborne and Panshon and Drs Newton and Chalmers, in support of his argument. He - dwelt upon the difficulties of a ministers life People critici-ed who should pray, others sneered who should plead for mercy. He was glad to see the secular press of this colony adopting a much better tone towards the Church and its ministers than the press of England. Their preachers were able men, mm who had they applied their talents in a different direction would have realised groat worldly success. Mr J. E. Buchanan congratulated the circuit upon tho arrival of Mr MoNicoll in their midst. Ho feared those of their visitors, who were not Methodists, would have been somewhat mystified by the discussion of the It nerant system. Referring to Mr Harding’s allusion to Dr Osborne and Dr Punchenr he compared tho former divine t > Nestor and the latter to Ajix. Dr Osborne wai a great genius, he never preached for longer than twentyfive mmutes. Mr Buchanan referred to the evils of procrastination, pointing to theblundsrs of the British Government in tho Soudan as illustrative of his remarks. He conc'ulei by proposing a vote of thmks t) the ladies who had provided the tea and to the member of the choir.

The vote was carried by acclamation. On the motion of Mr 0. Dixon, a vote of thanks was passed to the Chairman, and the Doxology having been sung, the Rev D. McNicoll pronounced the Benediction and the proceedings closed.