GREEN ISLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 11

GREEN ISLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

ANNUAL MEETING. \ The annual meeting of the Green Island ] Presbyterian Church, which was held on the i Ist inst., took the form of A soiree. The Key. J. Kilpatrick occupl-J the chair, and i theja were aesociated with him on the- i platform the Revs. J. Chishoim (Moderator i of the General Assembly) and A. W. Kin- I mont (East Taieri). There was a very t large attendance. j < The following is the substance of the < Kirk Session's rcnort, as submitted by Mr < John Blair. < The Kirk Session remains intact. The i Deacons' , Court bas received four new mem- s bers— Messrs H. Christje, T. Dav«y, M. \ Holmes, and A. Biemner. The church mem- j bership is 1§&, tber© having been 20 addi- < lions, 11 removals, and four deaths during ( the yieax. The attendances continue satis- t factory. The communion was dispensed four times, the nigbest numbar of communicants , being 12&. Details were given of satisfactory progress in connection with prayer meetings (Green Island, Fairfield, and Cattle Yards) ; s the Bib!« classes, in which conneotion it ' was mentioned that the minister continued -' to attend the day school Bible class; the 1 young women's class, the young men's < classes, tba P.W.M.U., and the choir. Refer- t ence wtbs made to tho monthly service at I Cattle Yards, where Mr John Sidey had •? given a piece of land, on which it is hoped \ soon to erect a building. The report con- ] eluded in the foilow^ng terms: — "In look- 6 ing back on the past 47 yeais — the period in t which Gre«n Island bscame a separate i charge — we hav.e great reason to raise our . Ebenezer «nd say, " Hitherto hath the Lord * helped us." It is a subject of oongratula- c tion that th« E«v. Mr Will, who ministered * faithfully to us before we became a separate charge, is now c-n our roll of membership, < and worships with us from Sabbath to i Sabbath j that Dr Watt, who served this t congregation for nearly 40 years, is still c doing the Church good service by his pro- r feasorship, and occasionally occupying cur t pulpit; and now.. in having another faithful t pastor in Mr Kilpafcrick, and a zealous band of workers, we kok forward to the iuture < wrth confid«n<;e. Again we desire to express t our tha-nks to one and all who by their ; labours of love are helping to extend t,h<? G-ospel of the Kingdom." » Ihe Deacons' Court renort (presented by c Mr Thomas Thomson) showed a. credit bal- "■ anos of £53 13s 4d. l The reports were adopted unanimously c amid anplause. 3 The Green Island Sunday School report showed a total on the roll of 197, with an average attendance of 124. The collections c for the year amounted to £l 7 16s 6d. The report w-ant on : '• The library is now an im- , portant part of the school. The boys' and J girls' Bible classes arc still displaying ° marked prosperity under the direction of .. Mr Holmes and Mns Mirams." • ll The Sunday school balance sheet showed n a credit balance of £1 11s. Tho following wae included in the report r of the Walton branch: '"During the year c services have been held on alternate .Sun- r days and on Thursday evenings, and thoee F have, on the whole, bccti fairly well at-tend-ed. However, a largo fajority of tho residents do not attend cliuich ai all, und v we feel that an efl'oi! ought to be made c : to reach such. Our thanks are again due to the Rev. J. Kilnatnck, and al-^j to Mr James Howorth, who have for so many yeais served the district well a/nd faith- sr fully. The) Sabbath school continues to fulfil its useful mi^hion, the average attend- a anee for the year being 24 boys and 24 v girls, and at the Bible class 14— a total «' of 62.; the total number on the roll being v 75. The prevalence of sickncus has greatly b affosted the average of attendance." tl The balance she«t forf the branch showed 'I a credit of 3s O^d. a The Upper Green Island Sunday School, s whioh has just been started, was reported a to have an attendance of over 20 o Tho Cattle Yards Sunday School showed t the total number on the roll to be 34, with t! a hig-h average of attendance. it The Rev. Mr Chishoim and the Rev. Mr ( Kinmont briefly addressed tho meeting, fl congratulating the congregation upon a 1 successful year. Ji During the evening the choir, under Mr Ii G. F. Mirams. rendered one or two items p very acceptably. Miss Clifford gave a reci- t tation, " The Monk's Vision." tl Refreshments were handed round by the w ladies during en interval in the proceedings. Votes of tha-Tiks were accorded by accla- h mation to the following: — Rev. Mr Chi6- ti holm, Rev. Mr Kinmont, Mr Mirams and the choir, the ladies, Miss Clifford, the S Sunday 6chool teachers, the doorkeepers, a and the chairman. t<