ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1238, 21 September 1911, Page 6

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.

4 THE ANNUAL REPORT. Tho annual meeting of St. John's Church, Willis Street, will be held this ovoning, at 7.30 o'clock, in the Church Hall, Dixon Street, as advertised in another column. Tho annual report for the year ending June 30, 1911, states:— Tho year now ended has been one of hopeful, successful work in the face of difficulties that do not tend to diminish. The hindrance referred to at length ill last report as occasioned by the movement suburbwards of many of our people is still in evidence; it is even more evident. As far as numbers are concerned we have made good the losses we have in this way sustained. But our gains have mostly come to us in the shape of units; onr lasses have been families. At tho closo of another year wo desire to express our gratitude to God that, notwithstanding unceasing and strenuous labours, our beloved minister has been preserved in health and vigour. Tho influence of Dr. Gibb's heart-soarching sermons goes deep, and cannot fail to bear fruit in tho lives of those who are privileged to listen to them. The work of the extensive pastorate has _ been faithfully performed, and the visits of our minister to the sick and dying, and the bereaved, have brought consolation and gladness to many hearts. With tho numerous organisations of the congregation Dr. Gibb maintains the closest contact, iind his sympathy, counsel, and assistance are freely given to all. _ The Minister's manifold labours outside the congregation ought also bo borne m mind and acknowledged here; and especially his untiring efforts by speech, and pen to promote tli« cause of the home missions of the Presbyterian Church, and the services he lias rendered to the orphanage now securely established in tins citv, and which owes much to his wisdom anil foresight. He is always ready to help 011 a.ny public cause which makes for righteousness, and to strike, when occasion demands it. any public evil. It would be difficult to. enumerate the manifold calls oil his time and talents.. His work receives o\ir warmest appreciation and thaaks, and we pray that he may be granted' long years of continued service in the vineyard of the Lord. The Communion Koll. Tho roll now contains the names of making a net increase of 31 in the numbers reported last year. Tho particulars are as follow:— Total roll in June, 1010 — 707 New members, added by examination 53 New members, bv certificate ... 58 — 11l 818. Removed by death 5 By certificate 00 Otherwise 15 - SO . .738 The Quarterly Communions.—Tho attendances were: September, 110; December, 378; March, 438; June, 335. The June, attendance, though smaller than the others, was perhaps the most gratifying of all—the day was one of heavy rain and tempest. Attendance at Public Worship and the Prayer Meeting.—ln spite of the drawback due to tho topographical position of the church, the attendance at public worship has been steadily maintained. Tiio church is always well filled' in the morning when the weather is good, and the evening congregation continues to fill tho whole building. The attendance at the prayer meeting has been exceedingly satisfactory. Every Wednesday evening almost without exception the place of meeting has been full. ' It has always been recognised that ours is a congregation that sings well, but it may bo without fear of contradiction affirmed that during the past year the singing has been better than ever. The new hymn book has contributed to this, for it contains many hymns of rare excellence both as to words and music. But it is to the fine work done by the choir that the credit is chiefly due. The members attend tho services well both morning and evening. Thanks to Mr. Maughan Barnett's handling of them and the organ tliey have become, a very effective instrument, both in leading praises of the congregation and in their rendering of the anthems.

The Woman's Missionary Association, assisted by a number of collectors, continues to collect the dircct contribution of the congregation to missions, amounting, together with the of a lecture by Mr. Maw.son («t8 155.), to ,£14!); further congregational contributions, .£22; total, JJI7I.

Young Women's Missionary Guild.—Tho guild. meets during the greater part of the year on alternate Monday evenings. Tho average attendance, has been 12. The primary object of the guild is to prepare articles for a sale of work, the proceeds being usually devoted to the Turakina Residential School for Maori Gills, and to foreign missions. The last sale. in September, 1909, realised close on .£9O.

St. John's Branch Layman's Missionary Movement.—At tho conclusion of a sermon delivered by tho minister on March 19, on the subject of missions, tho men of tho congregation were invited to remain with a -view to the formation of a branch of a movement which is spreading through all English-speaking lands, and which, especially in America and Canada, is revolutionising the missionary work of tho churches. A considerable number stayed behind, and, after discussion, it was resolved to form a St. John's branch.

Total Contribution to Foreign and Maori Missions.—Collected chiefly by tho Women's Missionary Association, ,6171; contributed by tho Bible classes, JSC; by Sabbath s.chools, <£10; total ~£2G7.

Homo Missions, etc.—Tho Home Missions' fund has established a record, the giving by very much exceeding any previous contribution, the congregational amount being close on .£llß, the while' tho amount received from the Bible classes is close on .£3O. Without stretching imagination, the contributions o£ tho church and its agencies to the Orphanage, the Boys' Institute, and the Youth Fund may bo regarded as made in aid of Home Missions. These amounted to <£112. (Orphanage ,£'sl, Boys' Institute £26, Youth Fund .£32), total J290. At this point attention may be called to various other contributions, namely the poor of. tho congregation, ,£72; to Knox College, ,£3O; British and Foreign Bible Society, ,£33.

Adding all these contributions together (Foreign and Homo Missions, etc.), a total of close on JE7OO is reached. But the altruistic giving of the congregation exceeds this by a considerable sum. No account, for example, has been taken in the above figures of the contributions in aid of tho Biblo Class Camp—upwards of ,£50 —nor of many other contributions to other philanthropic objects. It may safely be asserted that t'he benificenco of the congregation this year to outside objects other than the maintenance of ordinances, properlv, etc., has gone well beyond the sum of" .£BOO, by much, tho largest figure yet reached. It will bo seen by glancing at the statement of accounts that tho sum spent on repairs, etc., has exceeded tha contribution to tho. debt reduction and repairs fund by some .£7O. Of the .£ISOO promised to this fund ,£IO3B has been paid up, leaving a balancc of about. .£SOO wherewith to meet the total indebtedness of tho church—.£l6s2. It is highly desirable, and indeed necessary, in the interests of our finance, that this debt should bo liquidated, and wo trust that some method of dealing with it may presently be devissd. The ordinary collections total JC1035, as against ,£IO2O the previous year—an increase of .£75. The average ordinary collection thus works out at over .£2l per Sunday. Seat rents show a decrease of ,£2B (JC'l77 against ,£505). The attention of tho regular worshippers is drawn to this means of supporting the revonuo of the church, and wherever possible they are urged to avail themselves of the same. The total revenue of the church amounts to upwards of .£3OOO. Of this sum <£GO2 has been derived from the debt reduction fund. It lias already been stated that the contributions to outside objectsmissions, philanthropy, etc.—amounts to JEBOO. Tho report deals with many other interesting matters. References to the good work done by the Sabbath schools and tho many other societies and agencies connected with the church will appear in tomorrow's issue.