INDUCTION OF VICAR.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4596, 3 September 1923, Page 2

INDUCTION OF VICAR.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, TURUA. Saturday was another red letter day for the Church of England folk of Turua. The Venerable Archdeacon Cowie came from Hamilton to induct the Rev. J. M. Beaufort ito the charge of the parochial district of Hauraki Plains. He was assisted by the Revs. A. Kempthorne, vicar of Morrinsville, R. Connolly, of Te Aroha, A. E. Beck, of Thames, F. B. Dobson, of Paeroa, and Mr N. Hedges, layreader, of Waitakaruru. The clergy were met at the door of the church by the churchwardens and other member,s of the vestry, and proceeded to the altar, around which they all stood for the induction service. The vicar elect made his declaration of assent to the B< ok of Common Prayer and the Thirty-nine Articles,, of his obedience to the General Synod of the Church of New Zealand, commonly called ths Church of England ; and of his sub-_ mission to the authority of the bishop of the diocese.

On behalf of the bishop the archdeacon read and handed to the newly appointed vicar the Articles of Institution, saying: ‘‘Be thou a faithful minister of God’s Holy Word and Sacraments, and a faitjiful pastor under the great Shephard of Souls.” Mr G. H. White, the people’s church warden, received the ne.w vicar on behalf of the parish and handed to him the key of the church, which he received as a pledge of his induction. Immediately after the' induction the vicar said the evening prayer, Mr N. Hodges reading the sixty-fir,st chapter of the Prophet Isaiah for the first lesson, the Rev. F. B. Dobson reading for the second lesson the fourth chapter the second Epistle to the Corinthians.

The archdeacon in his sermon pointed out that ajn induction is a different thing from an ordination ; that Mr Beaufort had been ordained some years ago,, and that being once a priest he was already a priest,, but that, for efficiency and to prevent overlapping certain clergy were appointed to certain particular portions of the diocese, and no other clergy had the right to minister in that portion, commonly called a parish, without the consent of the vicar. He went on t,o say that the reason for appointing clergy at all was that the coming of the Kingdom of God miglu be hastened and that men may learn to live for and with and in the Saviour Jesus Christ.

After the service the archdeacon met the members of the veStjry and explained to them the things that are expected from a vestry. An adjournment was then made to the Turua Buildings, where afternoon tea was dispensed by the members of the Ladies’ Guild and speeches of welcome made. Mr G. H. White, on behalf of the parishioners, said that, he was glad indeed to welcome a resident vicar to Turua, and specially glad that he had come at the beginning of the fine weather rather than a few weeks ago, when the roads were so bad that it would have required a very brave man to travel over them. Mr J. C. Miller, county chairman, made a. very happy speech of welcome, saying t,hat it was comparatively easy to build a church, but it was a very much more difficult thing to keep it filled when it was built, and he hoped that the people would see that they kept it filled, a/nd so give their new vicar, tp whom he wished every success and prosperity, an opportunity of doing his work successfully. The Rev. Stewart, Presbyterian parson, said that he was glad to welcome another worker in the Kingdom of Christ on the Hauraki Plains, and extended to him the right hand of fellowship.

The archdeacon also spoke, wishing all success to the newly equipped parish and congratulating the people of Turua on. having so beautiful a litjtle church and a vicar with such a fine record behind him.

A telegram was read from Mr R. W. Bagnall wishing all success tp the new vicar and parish. Mr Beaufort, in reply, said that he had come fully prepared to do the best he could for the parish ; that so far he had been cheered by the appearance of the church and the splendid welcome the Church fold had given him, and he asked for their continued sympathy and prayers t(hat the blessing of God should rest upon them all. The welcome to Mi’ Beaufort being over, Mr White, turning to the vicar of Paeroa, who had charge of the district for the past seven years, said that they could not let Mr Dobson go without, some appreciation of the splendid lead he had given to the people of Turua in suggesting first of all that they should purchase threequarters of an acre for a church site, and then, a little later, saying that it would be well before land became too expensive to purchase anpther threequarters of an acre as a site for a vicarage, and tjien, later again, that it was time to build a church. He thanked him most, heartily on behalf of the parishioners for the way he had plodded along their roads when they were not even as good as they are now, under all sorts of weather conditions, and as a token of their appreciation handed to him a substantial roll of notes.

On rising tp reply Mr Dobson was received with a demonstration of appreciation that lasted for some time. He spoke feelingly of his connection with Turua, telling of tfie very happy year he spent there thirty-seven years ago, when working at the old sawmill, and of the many kindnesses he received then, specially of a Bible that was given to him by one of tjie members of the Bagnall family yrhich had made a distinct impression on his life, so that when, years afterwards, he was placed in charge of the Paeroa district he was very glad to find that it included Turua, and said that ft had been a very real privilege to be associated with the people of Turua in the building of their church. Ho was proud indeed that on that day one of the members of his family had the honour of reading the first les,son at the induction service. He was glo.d, top, of the co-operation of other parts of the district in providing sites

for churches at, Ngatea, Pipiroa, and Kerepeehi, and said that he would miss very much indeed the very kind ly genial hospitality that had been shown to him in all parts of the district. The work had now grown altogether beyond any one man, and he welcomed with all his heart their new vicar, Mr Beaufort, and felt quite sure that t,hey would extend to him the same warmhearted co-operation they had shown in the past. After handshakings and farewells the archdeacon and his party returned to Kopu by the launch, and another milestone in the history of the Hauraki Plains was past,