ST. MARY'S

Horowhenua Chronicle, 3 May 1916, Page 3

ST. MARY'S

[ANNUAL MJiE'iTNG OF I'AltltinlONlißS. Tho annual meeting of paiishionei for t l ho pmoehiaJ district of Levii (Oiiau sub-district not included) wi? held in tho churchroom, Levin, d Friday last at 8 p.m.. The Rev. il I". Stealey occupied the cnair. Affce prayers tihe ballance-sheet ivas preten ted by Mr T. Brown. The follow jig officers were appointed lor the en suing year Vicar's warden, Mr 1 Brown; people's warden, Mr _N. (. Holda-way; vestrymen, Messrs Cutfieid Easther, Gapper, Sail, Hendra, Hos kins, Lester, i'yko, tStockwell, We) ler. • Tho following "resolution was propos i ed by Mr T. Brown and seconded b, Mr Hohlaway : "That a vote of thank be passed to Archdeacon Comins. Rev C. Palmer and Rev. v\. Raine fo their assistance during tho illness o teh vicar." It was carried unani ' motisJy. Mi' Reading brought forward 'hi & fol/i. wing resolution which wan seconded by .Mr Lester: "That this meet ing strong'y recommends the Synod tc .V 4jive the ladies a vote in purish matters." —Carried ' uVlr T. Brown then spoke ut sonic length of the necessity of more direct giving towards the upkeep of 'he Church. The following program iollowed the business part o! tlio meeting:—Pianoforte duet, "Russian Dances," Mrs Matthews and Miss I'iiiK; vocal duet, "Farewell to Summer,". Miss Maloolm and Miss Nicholas; 6ong, "Angels Guard Theo," Mw Gapper; song, Mr Tt ell r ; piano soJo, Miss Flo. Gardener; song, "Cabbage Roses," Mrs Remington; song, -Ur George Gardsn- •• er; piano solo, "The Tailor and the Bear," Miss Pink; song, "Coming Homo," 'Mrs Matthews; trio, Mes-daniei-i Remington and Matthews and Mr Weller; songs (a) "Marjory Sunbeam" (b) "Good-night," Miss Mabel Edwards. At a break in tho musical items regret was expressed at the approaching departure of Mr and Mrs J. Howell from this district. ill' Howell r has heen connected with the work of the church from it siiueption. Many years ago he brought tho Yen. Archdeacon Fnncourt 011 horseback partly through the bu6h from Manakau to hold one of the first services in Levin. One speaker referred to the fact vliat a few years ago Mr and Mrs Howell left this district to settle in IreJ.r.id; they were back here in about two years afterwards, now they were only going to Feikling he. trusted they would return in much less than two years. For many years past Mr Howell had been a member of the vestry and always anxious to help forward in any way the work of rhe church. He was also a member of i ' the committee for the erection of the churchroom at Weraroa. Mrs Howell has always taken an active interest in church work in the Weraroa •id of the parish. Both Mr and Mrs Howell expressed their thanks for She kind words which had: been said about tliein, and wish- ' ed the church in this district every snc- . cess. Possibly in a few years they would rrvtuni to this district where th-y had m mony triende. Hot rrph mo -ufa wore handed round, after which iho mating closed with tiin Miifci-ng <>»' the National Anthem. THE V[OA ICS REPORT. The Rev. H. T. iSteaicy read the foflowing report:— My dear people.—l wish to thank you for the kind sympathy which I received from you during my receut illness. While lying in Nurse !.i:i j ton's Home, Palmerston North, ilmost every mail brought a number of | letters from all parte of the parish. ! It wa6 fortunate that I was a married | man, and had a wife willing to act as t my secretary, otherwise much of the i correspondence would have remain"*! 1 unanswered. As regards m.v ; T am thankful t>> say that I am gradu- j ally regaining my strength andi in a . few weeks hop. 1 to tie ijui'e Tiefl again. | My thanks jire nl-o due to yon tor ! yonr generous Easter offerings. As j most of you are probably aware, the 'Easter collections are hnnded by tho churchwardens uncounted to the vicar" i of each parish. They are a personal gife trom the people to him. This year thov amount to £19 15s. being £10 more thin 1 received tlio pr°v- "* ious Easter. On Sunday morning* ' when tho boys from the Government Training Farm are at church the seating capacity of the building is tried to its utmost. I sincerely hope that, before long, sufficient funds will be i plaxed at the disposal of the vestry mi tliat the proposed enlargement of fit. Mary's Churoh, Levin, maiy bo carried | out. More then £50 is now lying in the Post Office Savings Bank towards <■* tbis object. During tlfe year ending M'arch 31st fit'ty-th rer infant® ind adults were baptized, forty-five persons were confirmed) and twelve marriages were solemnized in the parish. As regards tho Levin Sunday school, I am told that the number of names on the roll is much the same as previous years. Several new teachers have been added to our staff. This is probably tho most hopeful sign to which I can call attention. I nm pleased to say that there has "Been an increase of children attending the *" Weraroa Sunday school since the new Churchroom was opened. Tho efficiency of the school would be greaol.y increased if wo had a few more ieacli ~ ' I

a ers in, Weraroa. 1 should like to take this opportunity oi thanking all who have ill any way helped xorward the work for Ohrist and ills Church in this parish. My special thanks are due to the lay-readers, Sunday soliool l teachers, churchwardens and vestry s men, members of the Levin and WeraQ roa Guilds, members ot the Girls' Friendly Society, those responsible tor the altar flowers, the collectors dH*the assessment and the Weraroa Church Building Commit/tee. 1 ihave not mentioned names lest J. should omit any. Ail explanation 01 the financial condition (.1 the parish is due from the churchwardens, but as Mr T. ' Brown, who has been busy with the accounts, has not had sufficient lime to prepare one, you may probably be interested in the folU'owing parthu- — Levin end of the parish (Oliau being a sub-district is excluded) began the financial year with a balance of £7 " r Os 2d and ClfiO (is 2dl in the I'oet ( Office f?-.rings Bank towards the Weraroa During the financial year there was raised in differ rat ways the sum of .£!)93 7s 2d. ,p he balance in hand at the end cf ihe I year was as follows: Levin parisTi' account Til l!ts 9d ; Leriu church en- '' largnientv fund £Sl Is 8d; Weraroa i church room building fund £42 8s Od; • Koputoroa church building fund £15 !In 3d. Set against this we owe for a loan of £50 which was raised by tlu; Weraroa building 'committee. lull details of the above may be seen m the summary of parochial accounts and the balance-sheet (kindly audited by Mr E. D. Wallace) laid on the table. They will he placed in the porch of the churoli after this meeting where you may examine them. During he year land has been purchased and a church room erected in Weraroa at a cost of between £300 and £400. I am thankful to say that at the time of writing this report only £50 debt remains on the building. I wish to congratulate the people of Weraroa oil tlie success which has attended their efforts. When we look back upon the year that is past, we are led . to exclaim. in the words of the psalm- ' ist "The Lord hath done great things for us already whereof we rejoice." But, believe mo, what has been accomplished in the past is as nothing compared with the blessings which God has in store for His Church in this parish in the future if only we are true , and loyal to Him. If more faith and prayer accompanied all we attempt in God's name, I am sure results would be more in evidence. Go:! wants each individual soul in this parish brought to acknowledge and worship Him - "He wouldst not the death of a sinner but rother that he may be converted and live." If we uemember this 1 we shall realize how little has been ; done in the past, and how much there is to do in the future. That God's •' richest blessing may rest- upon i-ou < and all who live in this parish is my earnest prayer l .—H. V. STEA'LE i,