GLADSTONE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Otago Witness, Issue 2896, 15 September 1909, Page 58

GLADSTONE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

SUCCESSFUL OPENING.

Hitherto ' the. Presbyterian residents of Gladstone have been compelled to walk into North-East Valley in order to attend: church service, but that will not be neces- . sary- in future, as by the exertions. «f anr enthusiastic band ot workers"* a. compactlittle church has materialised, and; thisf wast • opened on the 10th inst. The building' wa .' fairly well filled by an appreciative audience. The church is situated on a levol piece of ground near the corner of Gladstone and Piie Hill roads, and it is well fitted for present requirements. It will seat about 100 people, is well ventilated, and- commands a pleasant outlook, both to the hills and the distant sea. The building is of wood, lined inside with tohgued and' grooved red pine. In the meantime Sunday _afternoonf temoon services will be conducted by the Rev. I. K. M'lntyre. In all prob- • ability" a week-night service will also be held. The only things required to give the church and grounds a finished appearance are the erect-ion of a' fence and the ~ planting of some trees, and this work is being willingly carried out by the residents of the district.

Rev I. K. M'lntyre presided at the meeting on the 10th, arxl thero were assooiated with him on the platform Revs. H. B. Gray (North- East Valley), W. M'Donald (Moderator of Presbyrery), R. !ft. M. Sutherland (Kaikorai), and Mr J. Campbell (Mayor, North-East Valley). Apologies for absence and conveying good wishes ■were received from the Rev. Messrs Fairmaid and Kinmont.

The Rev. Mr M'lntyre, after devotions, expressed his pleasure at seeing such a very large attendance, and stated that he wished to go back a little and sketch the events which had led to the erection of a church in their midst. One Sunday, more than three years ago — May 20, 1906, to be precise — he came up to Gladstone and opened a Sabbath school for the children in the home of one of his own parishioners — a member of St. Stephen's Church. The school had kept going, and had done splendid work, under the able superintendance of Mr Norman M'Donald. Work amongst the young people was work to be encouraged and appreciated by parents and others, who, he felt sure, were very gratofill. One Sunday . afternoon in December of the same year hhre r (the speaker) commenced holding services, and ihese weris kept going, except for a time when he was laid^ aside by . illness. "The attendance, had been very discouraging, but he had. per-, severad, and now they had a -ekurch o£ their own -to' worship in. " There were a number of people connected with-the-move-ment to whom "he desired to express tes.thanks for their kindness and help, ■ and amongst these he misfht inentioti. Mrs Potter, Mr and Mrs Norman" MMWriald,* Mr J. M'Donald, '.Mr and MSs Hope, Messrs Spratt, Masterton, and Dowell, and, lastly, the office-bearers of St. Stephen's Church. He could not pass on^ without expressing a few words of appreciation of the work of Mr and Mrs W. J. Anderson. Mr Anderson had designed the building and had built it. The Rev. W M'Donald congratulated those present on having such a fine building for a church, and expressed the hope that it would be a blessing to the district. Other shakers were Mr J. Campbell, Revs. H. B. Gray and R. R. M. Sutherland, all of whom spoke at some length • in congratulatory terms".