CENTRAL MISSION,

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1522, 19 August 1912, Page 8

CENTRAL MISSION,

FOUNDATION DAY SERVICES. lington Central Mission-was celebrated 3-«tf day by "Foundation Day" serrices St K? ct U > morning, and at the Now Theatre, Manners •Street, ,n the afternoon and evening! when services appropriate to the occasion wore conducted by 'tho Rev. W S president of tho New Zealand Ale hod st Conference It ffa? in connect*, t the biker .Mission Band, organised by tl, ";'}? !S sli " bandmaster), on«l th °f««trol Mi SSlon movement deve 1 h?l,l'„f, r H lO fiVSt misdfm nlcetin ? ™s "ni J7 lda /,, cvc ?" n S. August 18, 1901, and on the following Sundav a sWvico a" S fh« C l ? Voiding ft™ SS !vi n W v nl ,£ all > no "' « lto(! d and jices are still;held.; Open-air. sorvices hnvo been regularly held, and for many years , the regular stand has been at turner of Ghuznee and Cuba Streets, whero on Sunday evenings people gather to hoar the music and tho addresses of the missionor and bandsmen. The first missbner, the Kev. A. lurner, at snnen'n tondent of tho Newton MetUdist Sral Mission, Auckland, remained hero for 5w „ l f f* arS and (h,r , i , ,l ° his *wm and that of his successor, Mr. L. 0. Stanton the mission carried on its work in Hertnf'L Hall ;, as anunsectarian institution. Since them, while the v.r.socarinn nature of the work continues as befoie, the mission has become ossociated witb the Methodist Conference, which .appoints tho missiorier and has rendered considerable financial help through its homo mission fund in developmgthe work. The Rev. A. P. Bureheil was tho first Methodist missioncr. appointed. He was succeeded by the present nnssiouer tho Rev: E. 0. Blatnires, who has been the superintendent for over twoyears and continues as such until April next. An important step forward was taken when lirst tho King's Theatre and later the New Theatre wero taken for Sunday evening services for tho people "ni'in an " lcreaso d expenditure of over ii-tOO per annum incurred. The movernent known as the Wellington City 1 Mens Brotherhood was started two years ago from the Central Mission, witli the object of presenting tho practical sido of' religion in its moral and social aspect". Associated with the mission organisation are tho Brotherhood Book Club and Social and Debating Society. The deaconess of tho mission and brotherhood is-almost entirely supported in her. work amongst the sick and needy by tho brotherhood. In the Sunday School, which meets in the Herbert Street Hall, a special feature is the kindergarten department for primary scholars, under the leadership c f Jlr. W. E. Howe. Tho most recent development of tho mission is the Boys' Band, which has a membership of forty strong. In his address at tho morning l servieo in the Herbort Street Hall, tho Rev. W, lieadj' discussed the "Practical Religion of Nchcmiah," taking for his text the words, "Should such a man as I flee; where is there a man such as'l am that would go into the Temple to save his life? I will not go in" (Nehemiah, vi, ii). In the course of his remarks, tho speaker referred to the lopsidedness of present-day religion in practice—to give so much to God that there was nothing left for man was as lopsided in praetico as to give so much to man that there was nothing for God. Mr. Ready also addressed tho Boys' Band on the subject of "Thoroughness." i At the New Theatre in tho afternoon j Mr. Ready spoko to a very largo Gathering about his experiences, giving some interesting reminiscences, and a few brief sketches of the philanthropic works of such men as Mr. George Muller, who built the new orphanage at Ashley Down, Bristol, paying for tho land and buildings JiIID.OOO, while the feoding and clothing of the inmates cost ,£25,000. This Was an oxemple of Christianity giving its best blood and deeds—it was deeds, not words, which they wanted. In the evening, preaching at tho New Theatre to a very- large congregation, Mr. Ready based a very interesting and i-rac-tical address on Pilate's appeal to the mob on the occasion of the trial of Christ: "What shall we do with Jesus who is called tho Christ?" Hero was a Judge of (he Supreme Court referring the final settlement of a prisoner's fareto (he decision of the mob, instead of deciding himself the question wliiih it was hist duty to decide. Pilate was not a Judge, but a lime-server, and there were plenty of Pilntos abroad to-day, in politics, business and religion. At the evening servieo solo items were contributed by Mks Muriel Bennett, and Mr. T. C. Newton, Hie accompanists being Misses White and Biird. On Thursday next a young people's celebration, at.'which the Boys' Band will assist, will be held in the Wcsiey Hail in Taranaki Street.