THANKSGIVING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 22 July 1929, Page 9

THANKSGIVING

SERVICES AT THE CATHEDRAL Till: WOHK (>!’ (SISfIOP Yesterday, inspiring services were held al the- Cathedral in commemoration of I Bishop Sadlier's I.7th anniversary of consecration. A large congregation as- | sombled at the 8 o’clock celebration of Holy Communion, and there was a full church at the 11 o'clock choral communion. The. preacher was the Rev. J. G. _!L Bartlett, who. took for his text 2 Corinthians xi, 28: 'Beside those tilings that are without, that which cometli upon me daily', the care of all the ('liuitlkls.” When St. Raul wrote this Epistle, said the preacher, the Church of Corinth was sorely troubled by false, teachers —there were false teachers then as there were now —who were leading many astray, and actively engaged in discrediting the Apostle both with regard to his apostleship and his sincerity. St. Paul, therefore, wrote this Epistle to vindicate his Apoelleship, not for his own sake, hut for theirs, lie also recited to them the things lie had done, and suffered tor Christ, not for his own glory hut for the sake of those souls for whom Clmst died. What other motive than the love of Christ could give a man strength to endure hoggings, shipwrecks, perils and every side, toils and privations. Ilis was indeed a ministry of sulterii:g; it was also a ministry of sympathy. Beside all this, he said ."I am assailed every day by anxiety for all the churches; for the, weak in faith, for the persecuted, for the trials and difficulties ol the congregations” established hv him : and St. Paul seemed to imply that ns sufferings for these converts were hurdei to hear than all the privations and hardships that come from without. What a life his was ! lie allowed himself no rest; lie indulged in no relaxation; journeying from place to place; from morning till -night full of the cine of all the churches. And they saw that he was proud not of what lie had done hut of what- he had suffered. “God forbid that 1 should glory save m the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The preacher then went on to speak of the ministry of God’s church, perhaps not such as St. Paul’s in intensity ot suffering, but involving great spiritual and mental effort and constant anxiety for the spiritual and material welfare ot the Hock. “We are celebrating to-day our Bishop’s anniversary of consecration, and we are doing so _ not because we want to praise our Bishop, but because \vo desire to help and support him in his labours'. The office of a Bishop y is always and everywhere one of incessant labour and constant anxiety', and especially does this apply to our New Zealand Bishops. Take a man of New Zealand and trace out the diocesan boundaries and you will then realise, something of the work it involves. “And our Nelson diocese is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, owing to-the nature and extent- of its- territory, the scattered and thin population, and its comparative poverty. And over this difficult portion of God’s vineyard our Bishop lias presided for 17 years; yeais of hard work and constant anxiety. And when we begin to examine, we soon discover how little we really know about (his, and how much wo have to he thankful foi-.” ' , . . Mr Bartlett then gave a brief summary of some of the more important branches of the spiritual and financial side of diocesan work; not by yvay of comparison, for at all times of its history the Diocese of Nelson had been guided and shepherded bv great, self-sacrificing Bishops, hut in order to make known the progress and advance that Had come during these latter years. , On the spiritual side no mail could iudgo or estimate; but the splendid work of Sunday schools, Bible classes, ( and the ever-increasing numbers of confirmation candidates and communicants, and the splendid missionary zeal of the parishes, revealed what efforts were being made to- build their people up in the true faith. . “Oil the financial side we have ample facts which testily' to the wisdom and care of our leader and the devoted response of our people. The Clergy Pension Fund, which lias a canital of £20,260, in 1912 stood at £9,500, and although the. benefits—£s for every year of service, with a maximum of £l5O per annum—are not very great, there is every likelihood of this being raised to £2OO per annum —and it is pleasing to know that our fund is one of the soundest diocesan pension funds in New Zealand. “The Trust Funds in. 1912 had a total capital of £70.000; it now stands at £IBO,OOO. These funds, of course, are not- pooled, hut are used for their specific objects. “Previous to 1912 our missionary efforts realised about £l5O per annum. At the present time our quota stands at £1620 for this year.

“In regard to stipends of the clergy, in the early days the remuneration of the country clergy was very small and very precarious; the minimum now is £250 per annum, assured, and there are hopes of an increase in the near future. “The, Home Mission Fund, which was started by our Bishop during his second year of office, lias done a great work in helping the poorer country districts, the total received and distributed over Hie whole period being £20,486. “This is just a brief survey of only a few of the many activities of the diocese; and although on the spiritual side our Bishop has the loyal co-operation, of liis clergy, layreaders and Sunday school workers; and on the financial side the help and assistance of a splendid body' of laymen, yet the twofold responsibility is on one man’s shoulders—the Bishop's—and with the the anxiety, too-.

‘‘Well, then, when we get down to hard facts, a- Bishop’s life is not an easy one; and although no Bishop would lay claim to such experiences as fell to the iot of St. Paul, yet there is a great similarity—‘in journeyings often, in perils on every side, in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, beside those things that are without, that which eometh upon one daily, the care of all the churches.’ “Over and above all this comes the earthquake disaster which has so shattered a great part of the country and Iclt many of our parishes in sore need ; and we little know what sleepless nights and daily anxieties all this means. •So while we thank God for our Bishop s labours anti guidance, and pray that- he may receive strength and grace in every time of need. Jet us remember that our prayers and our thanks are best realised and fulfilled in our loyalty I')' Christ and His church. Let us stand In in this time of need and help to reestablish those parishes whit'll have so suffered. It is (heir erv wo are answering to-day.” IN THE EVENING Again at Ihe evening service there was a large congregation. The service was

intoned by the Lev. .7. 0. >S. bfu’tlett, ami the lessons were read by Messrs G. Edmonds and E. It- Matin, lavreadurs. The. choir gave a beautiful rendering of the ridbein, ‘Tn Thee, 0 Lord, do I put my trust." The preacher was Professor T. 11. Easterfield. who look lor his text, 1 hilippiaiis iii. 12-14. After a brief description of St. Paul’s life and character the preacher went on to speak of the wonderful growth of the. church in this diocese, beginning with Bishop Selwyn s tent on Church Hill, Uie first- Cathedral, the present beautiful old building, and now the now Cathedral in course of erection, and the dedication and consecration of the 63 churches throughout the diocese. Again, much could he said with regard to the various activities, the great missionary efforts, the home mission fund, the'stipend and clergy pension funds, and the wonderful increase in the Diocesan Trust Funds, which had increased in value during this period of 17 years from £70,000 to £IBO,OOO. The preacher said ho would like to disabuse some people’s minds wjth regard to these funds. It might be, thought hv some if the diocese possessed such alarge trust fund why was it the clergy were not better paid? And the answer was that these trust.funds were for certain specific objects and could not be diverted by trustees. With regard to all this progress they could not be too thankful, and let them not think lhat because of all this they had already attained. but let them xvitli St. Paul, forgetting those things which were behind, a,ml reaching forth unto those things which were before, pass toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ- Jesus. The congregation was reminded of the thankolTeriiig in aid of the parishes which suffered through earthquake and flood, and their great duty to them and to their .Bishop in this time of need. At tile close of the service the thankofferings for the day were presented at. the altar, the sidesmen grouped at the altar rails while the Prayer of Offering was said and tile whole congregation joined in the general thanksgiving. After the blessing the service closed with the recessional hymn, “Our day of praise is done.” A very fitting ending of tile day was a beautiful rendering of the “Hallelujah Chorus" l>v the organist .Mill. S. Ciaught-on. The thankoiTering amounted to £74 8s 6d, and the c-rdinarv offering to £l9 4s 9d.