TEA MEETING.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 17, Issue 910, 6 January 1871, Page 2

TEA MEETING.

Last evening a very successful tea meeting was given in the Oddfellows' Hall, Napier, with the object of welcoming the Rev. Mr Redstone, minister of the Methodist Free Church, to this town. Upwards of two hundred and fifty persons were present, but ample pro\ision had been made for all corners—the tables being loaded with dainties, and tastefully adorned with flowers ; in fact, we do not think we have seen any tea meeting in Napier better provided. At half-past 6 o'clock, grace having been sung, the proceedings commenced, and the ladies in charge of the tables were busily engaged until 8 p.m., when the tables were removed, and the second part of the business of the evening commenced. After a short introductory prayer by the Rev. Mr Redstone, — Joseph Rhodes, Esq, was voted to the chair, and opened the proceedings in a very interesting address. After commenting upon the admirable provision which had been made, and the general tact and good taste displayed throughout all the ai range ments, he remarked upon the unusually large number of ladies present as being a very pleasing feature of the gathering. This was not by any means the first time he had presided at a gathering of this kind, but lie did not remember on any previous occasion having ieen so large a proportion of the fair sex. He hoped that in this respect as in others the present meeting would not be the last of the kind. He then went on to give a brief account of the origin and progress of Methodism, and the work it had effected and was still effecting fh the world. John Wesley, he said, was a reformer of the Church —not a seceder. He never seceded from the Episcopal Church, of which he was an ordained minister, but the Church cast him out. The name of " methodists" was applied to himself and his brother while students, in consequence of the methodical manner in which they arranged the duties of every day and every hour. Had it not been for this methodical apportionment of his time, Wesley would not never have done the great work he did in his lifetime—a work greater than most men would have done in four times the time. The aim of Wesley's life had been to bring into the fold of the Good Shepherd the outcasts and the wanderers — to seek the iost sheep in the highways and the bye-ways, and to carry the light of the Gospel into the dark places of the earth. Not only in his life-time did his influence pervade every part ol Great Britain, but in America also his labours were crowned with great success. Through opposition and persecution, through good and evil repute, he worked on —until, at a good old age, his labours were closed by death. On earth he had been richly rewarded by t\e success of his work, as evinced by the hundreds of churches which had been built through his instrumentality, and the thousands who had been brought into the fold through his ministry—on earth his reward was great, but doubtless in heaven it was far greater. (Great applause.) Thousands attended his funeral, and the position, he occupied in the minds of his people may be gathered from the fact that in the burial service read qver his grave the term " our brother" was changed to "our father." The Methodism of John Wesley's day was the Methodism of to-day. It was still the mission of the Methodists to bring those who never attended any place of worship into the Church; and bearing in mind the large proportion of this class in Napier and the surrounding districts —the scenes that might be witnessed every Sabbath in some of the country public houses—no one could deny that was a large field of la-

bor foi Methodism in this Province In John Wesley y s day, and even within his own recollection, bigotry and intolerance were rife in the Church — there was no fellowship between those of different creeds; but a vast change had taken place in this respect—a change which he did not hesitate to attribute to the influence of Methodism. Christian churches all held the great fundamental principles of religion, though they differed on points of dogma ; and year by year they were approaching nearer and nearer to each other. The time, he believed, was not far distant when we should see on earth one great Christian Church, one united brotherhood, in which minor differences in belief would cease to be causes of separation. Tie was glad to see so large an attendance, and be felt sure that ]jjj? Eedstone would be welcomed by 03$ Napier, without distinction of creed, a| a minister of the Gospel. (The Chairman took hi 3 seat amidst great applause,) Mr Holder rose to move the first resolution, which was to the effect that the meeting heartily welcomed Mr and Mrs Redstone to their new field of labor. He said that the duty which now devolved upon him was a very pleasant one. From the intercourse he had already had with Mr Redstone —which was necessarily short—he had formed a very high opinion of him. In the great questions which agitated the religious world Mr Redstone was well-informed, having evidently devoted much patient attention to their consideration. He was not one of those people who at once make up their mind and formed decided opinions upon matters of the gravest importance, without giving them due consideration. He (Mr H.) was sorry to say that there were too many people of this class, and if there was one thing more than another which he disliked in religious matters, it was this presumptuous manner of forming hasty opinions on religious subjects. He was therefore glad to say that Mr Redstone had not this failing. Another thing he could say for him—he was quite feee from bigotry or intolerance of any kind, This was a great recommendation. While on this subject he could not forbear alluding to an absent friend-4he Rev. Mr Morice—as one of the most unpresuming men he had ever met with. There were few indeed so free from bisrotry or religious presumption as Mr Monce, and it was a matter for regret that he could not be with them to°night. He (Mr H.) had now been connected with the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr Morice was the minister, for some years, but he had never cloaked his real opinions, and he re-. joiced now that a Methodist Church 'was to be established in Napier. Personally, he should have preferred that it had been a branch of the Wesleyan Church, in which he had been brought up, but the difference between the Wesleyan body and the Free Church Methodists was a very trifling one, and was not such as to affect his welcome to Mr Redstone. The motion having been duly seconded, was carried by acclamation. The choir then sang the anthem "How beautiful upon the Mountains" in a very efficient manner. We have not space to notice the musical part of the entertainment at great length, but the sacred music with which the proceedings were interspersed, was highly appreciated, and reflected great credit upon all concerned. The Rev. Mr. Taylor, who next addressed the meeting, said he was glad to hear from Mr Holder that the minister they now welcomed to Hawke's Bay was devoid of bigotry or intoleri ance. The fact should never be lost sight of that the Church of Christ was one, and that the laborers should always work in harmony, and not in opposition. The Church appeared to him like a field containing many paddocks and subdivisions, and it was a matter of regret to him that the fences between these paddocks were oftentimes made sp close and high that the laborers could not shake hands across. Mr Redstone did not come herein the character of a " sheep-stualer "—one who would seek to draw the sheep from other folds, but he. came to minister t° those of whom the Chairman had spoken, who never attended any religious services, and who were living without God and

without hope in the world. He (Mi* T.) recognized any Christian minister as a brother, and would exchange pulpits, when the occasion required it, with any one of them. The broad principles of the Christian religion were such that ministers of different denominations could well afford in such cases to sink differences of creed and qo-ojperat& heartily with each other, j ; It Mr Redstone succeeded in forming a Church in this town he hoped it would be distinguished for what lie termed " spiritual oversight," which was a necessary element to the progress of any church. He his meaning by comparing;j||p Church to a family. In a congregation it frequently happened that there were those who might be called " backsliding brethren," who, after being for a time in the church, became careless and cold, and neglectr fulofthe services of religion. When the other members of the church were asked about the absence of these brethren, they would perhaps say that it was no concern of theirs, that they did not know, nor much care, what had caused the change. A church like this, being deficient in " spiritual oversight." must necessarily be retrogressive. How different was it in the case of a united family, where every member sought the welfare of the whole. If one of the members in such a family were to be suddenly missed from the circle, what diligent searching there would be, and whai grief and anxiety would be manifested by each one of the rest, until he was found and restored, and what joy would be felt when he was restored \ So should it be in the Church ; and if the same spirit were manifested by each member what a glorious, what a progressive church it would be, and how few would be the instances of backsliding ! Christmas Evans had compared the two great elements in a christian church to twins, and called them Purity and Strength. The first he compared to a beautiful femalej in robes of spotless white, and the second to a noble youth in the garb of a warrior. This appeared to him (Mr T.) a very beautiful idea. At first sight one might not see the necessary connection between these two qualities; but to his mind the thought seemed as true as it was beautiful —for without purity no church could excel in strength. The same preacher had said that there was one place where there was perpetual motion, —and that was the Church. It must always be moviug one way or the other—forward or backward. In this respect it resembled a river-r-if it was dammed up so that it could not flow on to the sea, its waters would extend backwards towards their source. If, however, this principle of spiritual over • sight was adhered to—if each brother sought the spiritual welfare of his neighbor as well as himself—the Church must be progressive. It might be said that this duty of watching over the Church was a portion of the duty of the minister. This was of course true, but the duty was equally incumbent upon each of the brethren. He would now refer to the appointment of Mr Bedstone to this field of labor. In this he himself had been partly instrumental* When he (Mr T.) left England his friends were greatly opposed to his coming to this Colony, fully expecting that he would be devoured by the cannibal natives ; and he had only succeeded in re-assuring them by ing that Canterbury, where he was going, was in the Middle Island, where the Maoris were very few, and had always been peaceable. While on his way out, however, some people in this Province had interested the Church in Canterbury in the state of various parts of Hawke's Bay, and immediately upon his arrival he was asked if he would object to come to this Province. He replied that he was in the hands of the Society, and accordingly was sent to Napier. While in Napier he had been urged by some to remain in the town, but he considered that the claims of Waipukurau, which had then no minister, were more pressing, and had accordingly gone to that district. He had, however, written to England about Napier, and the result was that Mv Redstone was sent out. He need hardly say how gratified he was at the welcome which had been accorded to him, to-night. [tq B£ concluded to-morrow.]