ST. MARY'S, KARORI.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 91, 19 April 1911, Page 3

ST. MARY'S, KARORI.

FOUNDATION STONE LAID. The last official act of the Anglican Bishop of Wellington (the Right Rev. Dr. Wallis) was performed yesterday afternoon, when ho laid the foundation sfeone of the- now church of St. Mary, Karori, as briefly mentioned in yesterday's Post. There was a numerous gathering of parishioners and city visitors, while among the clergy were the Yon. Archdeacon Fancourt, the Bishop-Elect (Rev. T. H. Sprott), tho Vicar of Karori (Rev. A. L. Hanseil, M.A.), the Yen. Archdeacon Harper, and the Rev. W. Ballachoy, a former vicar of the parish. Before performing the ceremony, tho Vicar of Karori presented his Lordship with a silver trowel as a memento of the occasion. In the course of a brief address, his Lordship thanked tha vicar and che members of the vestry for the gift of the trowel, which he would always value as a memento of the last work which ho had been permitted to do in this diocese. It was, he added, a work that gave him peculiar happiness, for he had seen, as they had eeen, how fast that beautiful suburb was growing, and not only that suburb, but tho whole of the city and suburbs. That growth was an invitation to them as members of the Church of Christ to be ready to** on their pan give an invitation to all who should como to worship with them in the house- of God. It was one of the 6orrow6 he had in leaving the diocese that so very little had been done in the City of Wellington itself to provide further accommodation. He was thankful to see that more had been done in the suburbs, but very much indeed remained to be done. They could not havo people saying : "No one seems to expect me in the church; there is barely room for me if I go there, and therefore I shall not go." It was their work, his Lordship added, it was the special work given to them as colonists, to lay tho foundations of the work that was to come. Many of the thingß they did were small and msignifioant, but they became great and obtained their real value when they were regarded as a preparation for the life of the great nation wnich would some day fill these islands. So it was their bounden duty to be showing all men that they had churches ready to receive them, and thai they were longing for their brotherhood in the service of the Father of us all. They in Karon were intending to erect, not a church like many of our ether churches, which might last for a few years and then decay. Many of those present remembered the consecration of the first church at Karori by Bishop Abraham, and he knew that it was a sorrow to many of them that the house of God which they had loved so well was about to disappear and ulakeplace for another, and yet they felt that the house of God at Karori should be a permanent house, thai it should be a symbol of that which was referred to in the Psalm of that morning which spoke of God who endured from one generation to another, and who is to each generation a refuge. They intended to build there not a church that would pass away in a few years, but one which should endure during their lives and their children's lives and <he~ lives of (hose who should come after. He knew ihey hesitated a. little before they began tho work, and he appreciated the motives of their hesitation. They hesitated io build until they had all tho money that was needed for the purpose, but it seemed to him that they had done y/isety in making a start. Here was a plain duty eet clearly before them. They had to provide for the great numbers who were grow ing up around them, and thay might confidently expect that sufficient funds would be available to defray tho expense. A collection was then taken in aid of tho church building fund, the hymn "The Church's One Foundation" was sung, and the ceremony cod eluded by his Lordship pronouncing tho Benediction.