MISSION WORK

Hokitika Guardian, 9 June 1925, Page 3

MISSION WORK

*-J THE .MELANESIAN FIELD. AC( K I.A XI). J line y. Twin: a year the natives of the romote islands ol the Solomon and New i- 1 ; H.-hril.s grottjs arc brought intd 111 touch with European civilisation "■ llirough the visits of the .Melanesian ! ' s Mission steamer. .S.uthern Cross. Twice a year the white missionaries 10 living among the natives at isolated s " mission posts are visited by their i'ell,J Ic,v and twice a year the Anglican Church of New Zealand sends ' supplies. relief and eiici tiragemetu to ' the little hand of white people who hove forsaken the society of their race and country, to .-pc-ad the C'-cv; e-’l among the heathen it the Western 1 Pacific. The Southern Cross returned yesterday morning from the first vovte . - , • • ag.- . i'. -! Mane to mission stations j ibis year. She found the work of the tin- iid-Mcn in the Nidi moiis, and lie mission proceeding steadily, and without untoward incident. 'I he Bishop id .Melanesia. Dr. J. M. Steward who ae(ompanied the vessel from Auckland I was left at Siofa. the headquarter' i f tic- mis-ion in the Sclomoi.s. i.nd he will remain in t It- group for -tu,. 111 c 111 h-s. ~ A high tribute to the faithful work ~ of the mis-im,aides in the .Melanesian _ field was paid by the Rev. E. B. RetiI grave, general secretary oi ihe New s Zi aland Angli an I! av.l cl Missions, l wlt i ret iirned by the -leainer id ler . visiting praetieallv all the slalioits in ( i :ic I'n-ld. -‘What struck in-- most.” hr | said, "was the fact that tin- native clergy are a very earnest and eft'e lent lot- of men. bast year Pi natives weordained, live being ordained priests, and eight deacons. S: me of these men are working under the superin-lemlen'-e id while missionaries, and some are working entirely on their owe initiative. To shew how encouraging ha- been Mieir work. I may mention that in the island of Y.-nlirl. the most northerly of the Solomons, the mission touche; no fewer tlc-n !2HO natives wlc; have been confirmed during Lite past two years, and all these have lie two years’ instruction.’’ Mr Redgrave piloted, as an example of the pracfiial value, which the natives place on religion, the fact ilia' offertories on the island of Ysabol 1 :don-‘ amounted in 12 months to C.’lot). an ast.onishing figur*. oensidering the small a.motinf. of ciirreney in eircuhttioii in tlie villages. Two fine native churches have ln-eii erected in the island during the past year. One is a memorial to the late Rev. Rudolph Sprat l. nephew of the present Bishop of Wellington. Mr Sorott died last year on the island of Ysabol, and the Namiers have exhibited great devotion in erecting a lilting monument to his menu ry. It is a partioularlv handsome edifice, vviib walls of coral, a typical native roof, ami boa lit ifally inlaid reivdos and altar. No fewer than ll(*d natives. v drawn from the 2d villages on the island. participated in the work of construction. while dwellers from other islands voyaged 120 miles in canoes. 1o lend tlu-ir sen ices in the vv ork. The results achieved in the native s Imols throughout the mi-sum field | gn-atly impressed Mr Redgrave. There , are lvv o schools for hoys under the age of Id years, after which many pass on to the higher or secondary .schools. The object wherever possible is to train a j number ol hoys as teachers in the mi-- ( sion field. Their salaries range from C2 to £d per annum, and one of the duties of the Southern Cross each trip is to larrv tie- p-iv-roM i > the Island,-. > Th-- iii.ii-iriiv of tlm tvacln-is a-k for { paync-u: in bind, -noli as calico and tohaii-o. 1 To be the sole w idle man in the Reef Islands i, tlm hit - i the Rev. George s West. who was last year a stmlenl at Si. John’s College, ami who was or- y daitn-d by the Bishop of Melanesia dm- S ing tlie mission steamer's voyage. The v , Reefs Group is situated to the north of llie Santa Cruz Islands, and lhe ntiss:.)U fj made veiy little progti.-s hen- owing to * the hostility of tin- nntivs. until ihe . j rescue hv the Southern Cross oi a inline e mlaining two men, tliree women and || thro.- i-hildren who had been blown out _ to sc:i and were , n the verge ol starvation. S'lioe then the Islanders have la-on rctuarkablv I riel'.illy. ;nd the / principal island. Ecmdoa, is a regular V port of mill for the mission steamer. D la addition to the ordination of the U I!,-., (teor-xe Wist. lie IJistiop perfurmed the ordination of the Rev. Cyril Mountfort. who was also a --.lndent at St. .I.din's College last year. ' ami who has now been ordaiiteil doa--11 :i to work under Dr. l-’ox in the In,vs’ s bool at Ugi. on the island ol Saa Christohal. The Rev. A. Steele D was ordaitn I priest to v.ork in the n College at Siota. while another ordination was that of a native deacon. T!m | ending enustnud inn of a complete cathedral was mentioned by Mr Redgrave as one of the more important p (■•.■ tiling events. It is likely to he a particularly lilt,' edifice, embodying, native :n i-ral'tsmaii-.-hip.