ST. PAUL'S CHURCH.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XIII, Issue 546, 27 January 1868, Page 3

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH.

Ti.H fallowing a re the Reports of the office, bearers of St. Paul’s (Presbyterian) Church, Napier, read at the Congregational Teanmeting reported in our last KErOET OF EXES SESSION. (Read by Mr Stables, Session Clerk.) The Kirk Session was, as you are aware, constituted on Sunday, T3fh May, 1867, by the ordination and admission to the office of eldership of those persons who had previously been elected to that responsible trust by the voice of the cougrew c; — 1 i,„, tm, cumuifiiccmciit, me udsmes.’ t««Csession has been more or less necessarily of a routine nature. The session would take this opportunity of publicly expressing their grateful acknowledgment of the services of Mr Orr, whose long experience as an elder of the Church in the. home country rendered his advice at the outset of peculiar value ; and, although his removal to a considerable distance prevents his taking that active part in the] work of the session which it is his inclination to | do, he still remains a member of the court, and continues to take a warm interest in everything connected with the welfare of the congregation and of the Church at large. Immediately on the establishment of the session, a division was made of the parish into districts, with the view of appointing an elder, to each; and a systematic visitation of the congregation was undertaken by the Rev. Mr Morice, along with the respective elders. Although unavoidably detained from various causes, the visitation is now nearly completed. The session desire to express their thanks for the kindness and consideration with which they have everywhere been received. The weekly prayer-meeting has been resumed as formerly, and the session have great pleasure iu recording their satisfaction at the manner in which it continues to be attended. A special collection, made on Sunday, 6th Oct. last, being the day set apart for the celebration of' the communion, was kindly placed by the managers at the disposal of the session, to form a fund for the relief of any sudden and unfores *en e s w rf distress that might arise. The cougregation will learn with thankfulness that no call has, as yet, been made on the fund.

The Rev. Mr Morice hires tliis opportunity of thanking anonymous friends who have sent him several sums of money to be applied to the support of the various missionary undertakings of the Church, and for the relief of cases of distress ; and he also takes this opportunity of stating that these sums have been applied as di rooted. The session regret to announce that, through the resignation of Mr Martin, the office of conduc tor of tire psalmody is at present vacant; and would heg to express publicly, on behalf of the congregation, the thanks which are due to Mr Martin for his long and zealous discharge of the duties devolving upon him in conducting this department of the religious services. Acommithe of the “ Kirk Session ” and “ Court of Managers ” has been appointed to take steps for filling np the vaoancv. It has been under consideration to obtain a suitable Tune Book for the use of the congregation. A copy of the English Presbyterian Church Hymn and Tune Book, recommended hr the last General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, has been sent for ; and, if approved of, a sufficient supply will be procured without delay.

In conclusion, the session desire to express their thanks to the Sunday School teachers for their; earnestness and untiring zeal in the discharge ofj their arduous and responsible duties. It must he peculiarly gratifying to all to observe, from the flourishing condition of the schools, Hint the labors of the teachers are duly appreciated by the congregation. RETORT OF TREASURER AND MANAGERS. (Read by Mr Lawson, Treasurer.) The present managers of St. Paul’s Church were elected to office on the 23rd day of June last, and since that time they have held eleven meetings fur the transaction of business. The most important subject on which the managers have to report is the present financial position of the Church, and it will he necessary to go hack as far as February, 1805, up to which date the last financial statement that was made to the congregation was brought. During this period of nearly three years, the total receipts, including a loan of £2OO, and a balance in hand on the 9th February, 1805, of £9 18s 7d, have been £l7Ol 9s 1 Id, and the total expenditure lias been £1757 12s 7d.— leaving the cash in the hands of the Treasurer £3 17s 4d.

But to show the actual financial position of the Church on the 31st December last, reference must be made to the Asset and Liability Sheet, from which it appears that our liabilities amounted to £33‘l 15s 2d, and our assets to £."S 17s 4d, leaving a balance of £275 17s 10d, which of course represents the actual debt on the church at that date. It is, of course, most desirable that this debt should be cleared off as soon as possible. The only question is, whether a special effort must be made for this p .rpose, or whether the ordinary revenue of the Church is in such a satisfactory state as to afford a surplus, by means of which it may be gradually cleared off without the necessity for special effort. That it is not so will be seen at once by a glance at the estimated income and expenditure for next year;—

It will be. observed that, in the above estimate, the pew rents have been calculated at £1 a sifting, whereas hitherto the pews have all been rated at £1 10s a sitting. In explanation of this, it is necessary to state that soon after the entrance of the present managers on office, the sittings in some of' icSS auVaatageoUSiy Siuiateu prwa were reduced toi 15s per annum, and that, more recently, all the other sittings in the Church, with the exception of five pews, were reduced to £1 each per annum. Tais reduction was made in deference to a widelyexpressed opinion that the pew rents were too high —an opinion in which your committee confess they conld not bat share ; and if they be asked bow, in the view of a probable deficiency of income during the coining year, they conld make up their minds to cut off at one stroke so large a sum from the! revenue, they have to say, in reply, that they hope the revenue will not suffer to so great an extent as some-might imagine, for they have reason to be-1 lieve that many were deterred’ from taking sittings

in the church by the high rate charged for them, and that others, for the same reason, took fewer sittings than they really required. They have received many assurances that more sittings would betaken if the sum charged for them were reduced, and they earnestly trust that these assurances will be vended. 1 At the same time it must be remembered that the estimated deficiency is not entirely caused by this reduction. Even if the old rate had been continued, the income would still have fallen short of the expenditure by £O3 Bs. But if the same number of sittings now let—viz., 160—were to be let throughout the coining year at the reduced rate, of £l, and if the present average of the ordinary: jcnurcu door collections were to be maintained, Lite excess of expenditure over income would, us has already been stated, be no less than £143 Bs. It becomes a very serious question how this large deficiency is to be met. In past years it has been met by special efforts, in the shape of loans, donations, &c.; but your committee cannot recommend that such precarious sources of revenue be relied on for the future. They believe the church | cannot be regarded as in a sound state financially, 1 1 until the necessary current expenditure is covered by the ordinary income.

If this financially sound and healthy position is to be readied, either the revenue from the weekly offerings must bo largely increased, or an Auxilliary Pond must be formed. Several cases have lately been brought under the notice of your committee where the weekly offerings have been raore| than doubled by the simple plan of collecting them ; from the pews at the close of the service, instead of by means of plates placed at the church doors. This plan, to which many of us were accustomed at home, is now generally practiced throughout the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, and it Ims been suggested that it bo tried here. Your committee have endeavoured to lay before you a statement of the present financial position of the Church as full as it seemed possible to do without entering into those details which may best be gathered from the treasurer’s balance-sheet, which will he printed and circulated with as little delay as possible; and they would now desire to express their conviction that if our financial condition is not in all respects so satisfactory as might be wished, this only requires to be made known to the congregation in order to be remedied ; and they pledge themselves to administer the finances of the congregation with the strictest economy which is consistent with an honorable discharge of its obligations. In concluding this part of the report, it is pleasant to bo able to state that the published proceedings of last General Assembly show that St. Paul’s Church, Napier, has contribute a larger sum to the general schemes of the Church than any other congregation whatever in the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand.

Your committee are glad to say that the church aud school buildings are in good repair, although certain improvements are no doubt desirable. For instance, complaints are frequently made as to the ventilation, and it is believed that by a comparatively small outlay it might be considerably improved. The removal of the hell from the tower to the top of the hill behind the church has also been contemplated, as the stability of the spire is endangered by the ringing of the hell, and the bell itself is not so well heard as it would be in a higher position ; hut no allowance has been made for these improvements iu lire estimate already given of next year’s expenditure. The Congregational Library is about to he largely : increased. It was funned in 1803 with 323 volumes, and has since been much enlarged aud improved. Many of the hooks suitable for the young have been taken out to form a Sunday School Library, and their places have been supplied by others. A box containing a large number of volumes, selected aud purchased at home by the Rev. Mr Barclay on behalf of the congregation, lias arrived in Wellington, and may soon he expected here. The thanks of the congregation arc due to those ladies who have exerted themselves iu this matter, and who have attended in the school room every Monday afternoon for the last four years for the purpose of giving out books. 'When the new books arrive the Library will probably be reorganised, and your committee would take this opportunity of calling the attention of the congregation to the hitherto too much neglected Library. The 'Week-day school in the Fort Church is in a flourishing state. This building owes its existence, ns most of you are aware, to the exertions of a lady respected by all amongst us for her zeal and earnestness in every good work. It is to be regretted that as yet it has not been found possible to have Divine Service regularly conducted, but the Sunday School and Week-day School are both prosperous. The latter was opened in May last, and, under the able superintendence of' Miss Mitchell, rose from very small beginnings to an attendance of 30 on the roll at the recent examination. Miss Mitchell lias accepted an important situation in another province, but Miss M’Gowan has been appointed to the school, and from her wellknown success in teaching in Scotland, there is every hope that it will prosper under her care. Before leaving this subject, your committee desire to acknowledge with gratitude the kindness of the 1 j Bishop ofWaiapn, who, at a time when the attenI j dance at the school was very small, and its ultimate ■! success seemed doubtful, raised by subscription a ,smn of £2O, for the purpose of enabling the I I School Committee to retain Miss Mitchell’s ■ |services.

The managers avail themselves of this public! opportunity of conveying the thanks of the con-' gregation to the ladies and other friends to whose I kind and energetic exertions the success of the! recent Bazaar was owing, and of stating that, after payment of expenses, donations to the amount of £25 were mads to the New Hebrides Mission and the Sunday Schools, and the surplus was handed over to the treasurer for general Church purposes; and it must be remembered that but for the timely aid derived from the proceeds of this Bazaar, and of the concert that took place, in Pehruary last, the debt on the Church w ould have been much greater than it is. Our thanks as a congregation are also due to our former pastor, the Ilev. Peter Barclay, for his most appropriate and generous gift of Communion! nate, for the use of St. Paul’s church ; as well as | for the very handsome Pulpit Bible and Psalm ! Book which he has since presented. The man-j agers cannot forbear making some allusion here, I —although it may scarcely fall under their pro-! nince to do so—to the very warm interest which j |Mr Barclay still takes in the people amongst jVviiorn ne once labored so earnestly,—an interest winch he manifested, for example, by the trouble he has tafien in selecting, buying, cataloguing, and packing with his own hands, the new books for the library, which are now expected. And the. congregation will be glad to learn that the monument to the late Mrs Barclay (whose natural sweetness of character and truly Christian life, endeared her to all who knew her, and especially to the members of this congregation), is exacted to arcivo very shortly, and A\ill, without ! further delay, be erected in the Napier Cemetery, jit may be added, in conclusion, that this burying ! ground, under the management of the. new trustees, one of w hom will be appointed by his Honor the

c*,. j i :, oupcnuicaucm iiu;n uii» cuugicgituuu, is uaclv soon to present a more seemly and pleasing appearance than it lias hitherto done. EXPORT OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS. , (Read by S. T. Greenwell, Superintendent of ( Sunday Schools.) j The Superintendent of the Sabbath School in connection with St. Paul’s church takes this opportunity' of reporting upon the position and progress of this important branch of the Christian ]vvork. i During the two years he has held office, the : school has fully maintained the numerical strength ■that existed during the term of his oredecessor.! Mr Thompson: but. latterly, the want nf an I .adequate supply of teachers has been much felt. I The staff consists at present of the Superiuteu--1 dent, five female ami five male teachers. The number of scholars on the hooks is 109, in the ■ proportion of 59 girls and 50 boys, as against a ■ total of 97 in December, 18(55. The avenue I .attendance in 1867 has been 02, as against 551 (during the year 18G6. These furures show that a large number attend very irregularly—the disproportion between 109 and 62 being very great. To correct this evil one of the teachers was

deputed to visit the parents of absentees and ascertain the cause of the children’s absence. Doubtless this plan if continued, would have been successful ; but it was found that the services of the [teacher could not be dispensed with on Sabbath [afternoons, and that the system could not be .carried out. | The funds of the school are in a satisfactory 'state. Some time since the handsome sum of £25 ;Was contributed by Mr Edward Dickson of (rothenburgh (a brother-in-law of the Rev. Peter Barclay) to be invested at interest for the benefit jof St. Paul’s school. This amount is at present unvested in the church funds—the interest, £3 10s iper annum, being paid over for school purpose, i With this income, and £lO granted from the proceeds of the the bazaar, the school, after paying [for the children’s treat on New Year’s day and all 'other expenses, has on hand a small balance. I The school library contains over 200 volumes. It was raised by subscription at the commence’ iment of ISG6 : and, during the last year, several ;additions have been made by kind friends, which .acknowledged with gratitude. The books have a (considerable circulation, especially among the elder portion of the scholars, but great inconvenience arises from their being no stated Librarian. ! In connexion with the school there is a Juvenile ;Missionary Society, which is liberally subscribed to by the children. The sum collected last year I was £8 10s, which was agreed to he equally divided between the Melanesian mission, and the fund for extending the church in New Zealand. To stimulate the scholars to take a greater interest in the Sunday School work, a system of giving tickets as rewards has lately been introdned, upon the number of which held by any one child will depend the value of the prize to be given. But all plans of this kind, however good, will fail to some extent if parents do not cooperate with the teachers in this matter, by seeing ■ that the appointed lessons are committed to memory, and that punctuality of attendance Is observed, 1 Notwithstanding little difficulties and discou- ’ ragements, however, the Superintendent is not without confidence that, under the Divine blessing, the school Isas been instrumental in diffusing Scriptural knowledge, and in laying the foundation of 1 religions principle in the minus of the rising generation of this town.

Approximate Expenditure for 1868. Stipend . £300 0 0 Organist’s salary 30 0 0 Church officer’s salary ... , 25 0 0 Lighting and insurance... 33 0 0 Sundries 13 0 0 £4-00 0 0 Approximate Income for 18GS. Pew rents—160, at £1 £160 0 0 Ordinary collections—4-6. at £2 2s 96 12 0 Total income 1 PS (4* Ca 12 0 Balance £145 8 0