BISHOP'S APPEAL

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 175, 27 July 1942, Page 4

BISHOP'S APPEAL

FOR DAMAGED CHURCHES REBUILDING AND REPAIRS (0.C.) WELLINGTON, this day "The damage inflicted by the recent earthquake on the churches and property of the Church of England was so serious that the recent meeting of the Diocesan Synod authorised me to make an immediate appeal to the members and friends of our church in the Diocese, to come, to the help of the parishes which have suffered most severely," said the Bishop of Wellington, Rt. Rev. H. St. Barbe Holland. "The complete destruction of St. Matthew's Church, Masterton, and the serious damage to St. Michael and All Angels' Church, Kelburn, are blows which the parishes concerned ought not to be allowed to face unaided. It is impossible at the moment to estimate accurately the cost of replacement and repair, but it must be at least £20,000, for St. Matthew's, Masterton, one of the outstanding modern churches of the Diocese, cost £15,000 to build 25 years ago. The desire of friends outside our church and Diocese to show practical sympathy was evidenced last Sunday when the Presbyterian Church at Masterton, and all the Anglican Churches in the Diocese of Christchurch had retiring collections at their services on behalf of the rebuilding of St. Matthew's.

"Generous actions such as these must, be a stimulus to the church people of the Wellington Diocese to take their share in shouldering this heavy burden, and it Is for this reason that I am issuing this appeal on behalf of the Earthquake Damage Relief Fund, as authorised by Synod. I shall be deeply grateful for any contribution, large or small, which will help to remove the scars which the earthquake has left on the life of our church."