ST. GEORGE’S CHURCH.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 449, 2 August 1879, Page 2

ST. GEORGE’S CHURCH.

The general annual meeting of the members of the above Church, was held at the Land Office, on Tuesday last. Present— Rev A.. Dascnt (in the chair), Messrs Wray, Tennent, Dyer, Baddeley, R. Homer, and Baggett. Minutes of last annual meeting were read and continued. The following report was then read and adopted :—• “ The Churchwardens, in presenting t^ e annual repoit for the past year to t^ ie members of the congregation, would ca'l their attention to the unsatisfactory stat e of the finances of the Church, and their consequent inability to meet the current expenditure, which is absolutely necessary for the continued maintenance of the services of the Church in this district. “ In the early part of the year a sum of £B6 was raised by the efforts of certain members of the congregation to pa}’ off the outstanding interest due on the parsonage loan, which freed the Church, by the liberality of the Standing Committee, from £250 of the original loan, and the interest on that amount, reducing the interest now payable by the Church to £l6.

“ At the end of March last, the Bishop paid his annual, visit to the district, accompanied by the Rev T. L. Tudor (as the delegate from the Synod), and held well attended meetings in Waverley, Carlyle, and Hawera, for the purpose of advocating the establishment of a General Diocesan Fund, into which all subscriptions would be paid, and by which all Church expenditure would be defrayed, except the ordinary weekly expenses—such as cleaning, lighting, &c.—which would be borne by the offertory. The proposed scheme met with general approval, and papers were distributed to bo filled in bj r the recipients,, with amount of subscription and mode of payment, and returned on a fixed day. But the Churchwardens have to report that only two or three papers have as yet been returned. “ Though the funds at the disposal of the Vestry have increased in the item of offertories, and to some considerable extent in the item of pew rents, the Churchwardens would state that in consequence of some additional expenditure in insuring the Church and parsonage, and in reerecting the east side of the church-yard fence (necessitated by the lowering of the footpath on that side),’and the deficiency in country subscriptions, the amount paid towards the Curate’s stipend has been much diminished from what was paid last year-; and the Churchwardens would urge upon the congregation the pressing necessity of making an effort to obviate this very discreditable state of things ; and to show how easily such an effort might be made, and fhe stipend of the Curate raised to a more adequate remuneration for the services rendered, the Churchwardens would lay before the members of the congregation the following statistics taken from the returns of the two years last past;—ln the year ending June, 1878, the aggregate number of adults attending the weekly services amounted to 4219, or 78 adul;s per week ; the total offertory from these was £6l 2s 3d, or 3£d per head per week. In the year -just ended, the number, of adults was 4567, or 84 per week, showing an increase of 348 on the total number,

and of 6 per week ; the total offertory front these was £7l 14s 7dj or SJd'p'er head per week, showing - an increase of £lO 12s on the total amount, and per head per week. As this calculation is by the week, in which there are two vices, the possible araoilnt given by each individual, supposing "the total-number to represent so many persons, and not merely so many attendances, and that each person gave something each time, would be l£d per week. That such a state of things might very easily be altered, and, in common "justice to those who now give nearly the whole of the offertory, ought to be altered at once, does not require much argument to prove. “ The Churchwardens would, in conclusion, again urge upon the merabeia of the congregation the absolute necessity of a more generally liberal contribution to the offertories of the Church.”

The Churchwardens and Vestry, who received a hearty vote of thanks fer their past services, were re-elected for the ensuing year, A vote of thanks to the chair brought the meeting to a close.