DEDICATION OF CHURCH.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4890, 14 October 1925, Page 3

DEDICATION OF CHURCH.

ST. PETERS. KEREPEEHI. AN IMPRESSIVE SERVICE; The new Anglican Church at Kerepeehi was dedicated to the honour and glory of God and to the memory of His servant Six Peter by the Venerable the Archdeacon of Hamilton on Friday evening. The service was a very impressive one,;and was attended by about 15G people, the building being filled to capacity. With’the Archdeacon were the Revs. Robertshaw, Thames ; Connelly, Te Aroha; Kempthorne, Morrihsville ; Averill, vicar-elect of Hauraki Plains; Riiwhi, Parawai; and Beaufort, vicar of the parish of Hauraki Plains. The service opened with the singing of the hymn, “The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord, after which the churchwarden, Mr J. M. Thompson, standing at -the door, called upon the? Archdeacon in the name of the people to enter and dedicate 'the church. The Archdeacon and his party entered while the congregation sang the 122nd psalm—“l was glad when they said unto me • We will, go into the House, of the Lord”—and, standing near the Altar, said, that as men had been moved .to erect houses for the public worship of God, which pious works had been approved and accepted by our Heavenly Father, let us not .doubt that He will also graciously approve, the Godly purpose of setting apart .this placebo the performance of the several offices of religious .woijship. • Following a prayer by the people asking that the church be accepted and sanctified for praise and worship and for the ministry of His Word and Sacraments, the Archdeacon prayed for all those who may be baptized, confirmed, married, or receive instruction and. the Sacraments in the Church, and asked that it be dedicated in the name bf St. Peter, to the Name and Glory of God. The hymn “We love .the place, iO God, wherein Thine Honour dwells,” was then sung, followed by the usual form cf evening service. The first lesson, which was read by the Rev. Connolly, was that part of the eighth chapter of the First Book 'of Kings concerning the dedication of King Solomon’s temple, and ,the second lesson, which was read by the Rev. Kempthorne from the third epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, showed that while the Church was the foundation stone of character, man, and man alone, was responsible for the superstructure he raised thereon. Prior to commencing his sermon the Archdeacon apologised- for the absence of the Bishop of the Diocese who, being Archbishop and Primate Of New Zealand, was very busy in con-nection-with synod matters. In his name he wished to- congratulate the people for having built such ,a fine church. He .also wished to congratulate the vicar, for without his leadership it would not have, been built. The builder was to be congratulated on his good work, for it could. be seen that there were many places where money could have been saved if desired. He was glad to see that the people had considered nothing was too good for God’s. house.,. It was gratifying to learn that -there had been so much free labour, not only on > the numerous articles of furniture which had been made and given but also on the building itself.. It must give a sense of happiness to feel, that the church was their very own, built with their own hands. ' Taking as his text portion of the 17th verse of the eighth chapter of Genesis, “This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven,” . the Archdeacon said that this statement of Jacob’s was true of the new church, as the people having given it to God it became as a ladder connecting earth and heaven. The furniture could be likened to the steps. First the font near .the door, then on,, till at Last there was the altar with its two lights denoting God’s two-fold nature —perfect God - and perfect man—and its cross to re- ’ mind of the crucifixion. The cross was empty to show .that Christ had risen from the grave. Whether the church proved to be the gate of heaven depended on the individual: the ladder was there to be used, but an effort was necessary to climb it. CONVERSAZIONE. After the service the people proceeded to the Kerepeehi Hall and mixed with the clergy. In addition to those already mentioned there were also present .the Rev. A., Ashcroft, chairman of the South Auckland Methodist -Conference, and the Rev. e' H. Brooker, Methodist minister in charge of the Haurkki Plains. Speaking at the function, the Rev. Beaufort said he was very sorry that the Rev. F. B. Dobson, of Paeroa, was unable through illness to .be present, as he was the father of the church on the Plains. The building which had just been dedicated would be used by all Protestant denominations, just as the Methodist Church at Ngatea and the one at Waitakaruru were used by the Anglicans. The day,had been a wonderful one for him, as he had never before had anything to do with the building of a. church. The work had been a revelation of what could be done when it was .attempted. Eighteen months ago there was no idea of a church, and now there was the building with not more than £2OO of a debt The builder, Mr Bridge, had done wonderful work, and a tremendous amount of it had been free. On behalf of the people he wished Mr Bridge to accept a small memento with their thanks. The thanks of the people were .als’o due to -Messrs Innes and Herkt, who had always made their hall available free for the -use of. all, the churches. The Rev. Ashcroft expressed his pleasure at being asked to be present ■ at the opening of such a beautiful church. It must be one of the prettiest in the district, and the people were to. be congratulated. On behalf of his own Church he was glad to accept the offer of the use of ■ the building, and he was sure the Rev. Brpok-

er would esteem it a great privilege to conduct Holy worship therein. There was but little between the Church of England and the Methodist Church, as they both came from the same base, and though there was little chance of them uniting .again they should work together to the common end. There was the danger of people taking their Church too Lightly. The vicar-elect, the Rev. Averill, added his congratulations, and said that he would have a hard job to follow in the Rev .Beaufort's footsteps. The Rev. Riiwhi expressed regret that the Maoris had not assisted very much, but hoped that the .time would come when they could use the building for their own services. Archdeacon Cowie said, that for many years efforts had been made to fuse the Maori and whi.te races, but the Maori national spirit had proved strong and now they were to have a Maori bishop of their c-wn.