St. Johns Church Feilding

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 22, 31 July 1884, Page 2

St. Johns Church Feilding

REPeBT OF THE VBBTBT FOB THE TKAB ENDING JONB 30TH, 1884.

The vestry present tliwr report to the annual meeting in' full confidence that the parishioners are sufficiently aware of the circumstances which i have rendered it impossible to chronicle any very distinct progress during the year. The commercial depression which has affected the whole colony has made no exception of Feilding, and the church financial account shows a considerable deficit, which some special causes have contributed to increase. But as no diminution has taken place in the attendance at worship, the average of which is now larger than ever ™ before, the vestry believe that with returning commercial prospeiity the church's finance will obtain a sound position. They record with much sorrow the death of Mr Alfred Dawson, late parishioner's churchwarden, to whose memory a tablet will shortly be erected in the Church be served so well. The -vacancy thus created was supplied at a general meeting called for the purpose, when Mr C. Bray was elected parishioner's churchwarden, and Messrs Kirtnn and Downes were added to the yestry to fill the vacancies produced by Mr Bray's change of office, and Mr Hammond's retirement. The offertories doring the year show a slight diminution as compared with those of the previous year, attributable partly to the l»ng series of wet Sundays experienced in the early part of the year. The subscriptions to the general fund have shown a considerable increase during the hist quarter, which will probably be maintained. The proceeds of the special efforts made during the year have been devoted to the Sunday school building fund; but as there seemed no prospect of the erection of this very necessary building for some months, this fund was, by order of the vestry, temporarily utilized to reduce the liability to the bank, and thus save interest. This was done with an express stipulation that the funds shall be repaid by the vestry to the' building fund as soon as circumstances admit of the erection of the building. The Church building fund, hitherto kept as a separate account, is now closed, no further income accruing to it, and the only expenditure on that account being the interest on the building loan, which is now met out of the churchwarden's general account, into which all the Church accounts are now consolidated. A hand* some font of Oaraaru stone has been presented to the church by Mr A. £. T. Haultain, formerly churchwarden, thns completing the necessary appointments of the Church, which will now compare favorably with those of any country church in the colony. The Sunday school and choir continue in anefficient condition. Mr Sherwill continues his serrices as reader at Feilding, and Mr Fry at Makino. .Regular services have also been established at Taonui, where Mr Slipper acts as reader, and the curate has been enabled to arrange for a monthly service at Awahuri instead of the quarterly service as formerly. Weeknight serrices have been held at Beaconsfield. J. Jeans, Curate. The balance-sheet of the churchwarden's account shows receipts and expenditure of the year to be £119 12s 3d and £110 19s 9d respectively. Building fund account— Receipts, £75 15s 3d ; expenditure, £44 12s 2d. Diocesan fund—Balance from .Tune, 1883, £9 2s lid ; sub» scription, £161 4s; general account; £60 18s Id; total remitted, £331 ss. The liabilities are £157, and the assets £63 10s 3d. The actual revenue of the church from all sources for the year was £356 11s sd.