CHURCH REPORT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2754, 25 April 1916, Page 8

CHURCH REPORT

ST. MICHAEL AND A£L ANGELS'

The eleventh annual report of O St. Michael and All Angels' Church, lUpland Road, Kelburn, states: There has been a substantial increase in the attendances' and the offertories, though it is to be hoped that the attendance at the Sunday evening services will yet be much more satisfactory. The mortgage of £600 on the church site falls due in -October next, and towards its repayment the sinking fund has reached the sum of £436 17s. Bd. Part of the building fund moneys can lawfully, and probably must necessarily, be employed to complete repayment of the mortgage monoys, the building fund trustees receiving a mortgage over tho church property to secure the sum lent by them. The practical result will be that the- assets of the church will, after October, consist of the land and building unencumbered, together with a sum of over £60 in cash. Thus the erection of the permanent church building is now coming into view. The of the new building is becoming- an urgent necessity, and must now be regarded as the immediate objective. The°wholo of the efforts of church people in Kelbum should therefore at once be directed towards a rapid increase of the building fund. This hind now stands, at £226 2a. 3d., of which some £163 2s. 4d. will have to be employed along with the sinking fund in paying off the present mortgagee. The efforts of the Ladies' Guild this year added £36 ss. 6d. to the sinking fund, while interest added a further sum of £17 13s. 6d. The present total is, as already. mentioned, £436 17s. Btl., most or all of which has directly resulted, from the work of tho guild. Regarding the Sunday School, the report states that though many changes have taken place miring the past year, the work of the school has been well maintained. The number of children on the roll stands at 75, compared with 74 last year. The number of girls is 52, and of'boys 23. "lie infant department continues to show satisfactory results'. Proper chairs and appliances would assist materially in the infant branch, and all interested in the school look forward to the time when it will be possible to liaye more suitable accommodation, eo that the two divisions of the school may meet in separate rooms. The senior division was handicapped during a considerable part 'of the year by. lack of teachers, and this must have the effect of making children- think adulte are not interested' in the work. There has, however, been' ato .improvement lately. During the year a Bible Class for boys and girls separately was conducted bv the Rev. R. Bray, whose place in charge of the district has since been taken by the llov. A. W. Payne. Until suitable accommodation is found for fresh classes, several of the elder girls have arranged to attend Bible Classes at St, Peter's.