REOPENING OF CHURCH

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 775, 23 September 1929, Page 14

REOPENING OF CHURCH

ONEHUNGA PRESBYTERIANS AN INTERESTING HISTORY In 1854, the gift of an acre of land was made to the Onehunga Presbyterians by the Rev. Dr. Bruce, with the condition that the property should never be mortgaged or anything done by which it would be lost to the Presbyterian Church. The conditions have been rigidly observed, and the church is one of the few in the Dominion that is free of debt. It was reopened yesterday after being temporarily closed for renova- j tion. The congregation is one of the j oldest in the Dominion, having been j established by the Rev. Dr. Bruce in | 1853. j The land on which the church is j built -was a soldier pensioner allot- j ment, on which stood a typical pensioner’s cottage, wherein services were conducted until 1862. The cottage 1 is still in use as a Sunday School for | infants, and although upward of 80 years old, its kauri timbers are still sound. , The first church was built and J opened in 1862, and is now used as a l Sunday School and for social func- | tions. The bell was sent to the Rev. George Brown as a personal gift from friends in Scotland in 1863, and bears an inscription to that effect. Mr. Brown, who is still alive, although In ■ his 99th year, made the bell a jubilee gift to the church in 1910. In 1889 , j several prominent members, including the late A. Whyte, M.A. (the first elder), G. Inglis, W. Stevenson, S. Barr and others took steps toward the erection of the present church. The foundation stone was laid on May 1, 1890, and in the following November the church was opened. The inauguration of regular services . dates from 1860, when the Rev. George Brown, M.A., assumed a , charge which he held for 21 years. He i was followed by the Rev. James Bruce, , 1881-1886. Their successors were the Rev. T. Adams, 18SS-1891; Rev. R. Fer- ; guson, 1892-1896; Rev. R. Wyllie, > 1897-1902; Rev. A. C. Wedderspoon, . 1902-1905; and the present minister, . the Rev. D. D. Scott, who has oceui pied the pulpit for the past 24 years. ; During the last few weeks the i church has been undergoing renovas tion, and was reopened yesterday, i when large congregations assembled for the morning, afternoon and event ing services. The organ has been rel built and occupies an elevated posi- > tion in an alcove in the back wall, the j console being placed immediately in - front of the pulpit. Two additional i organ stops have been provided, and - an . electric motor has replaced > hydraulic power. Other minor altera- » tions have greatly improved the in- , terior of the building. A handsome r new pulpit chair and pulpit furnishj ings, as well as a valuable communl lon table and chairs are recent gifts i- by anonymous donors. The services yesterday were con-

ducted by the Revs. J. Craig, in the morning, T. Halliday, in the afternoon, and D. D. Scott, in the evening. The soloists were Mrs. J. Craig and Mx*. J. McDougail. A quartet, Dr. J. Kirkwood, and Messrs. A. Telfer, H. Wilkinson and J. McDougail, sang "The Homeland” at the evening service. Miss E. Berryman was the organist. A congregational social is to be held on Wednesday evening, when Dr. Neil McDougail will give an organ recital, and the Revs. W. J. Comrie, D. C. Heron and L. H. Hunt will give addresses.

INFLUENCE OF 75, YEARS

ST. MATTHEW'S ANNIVERSARY CHILDREN’S FLOWER SERVICE Seventy-six years of ecclesiastical endeavour In St. Matthew’s Anglican Church -were reviewed yesterday, when special anniversary services were held. The Rev. Charles Chandler, assistant-city missioner, conducted the morning service, and the evening preacher was the vicar, Canon C. H. Grant Cowen, who spoke from the pulpit for the first time since his illness. The afternoon was devoted to a children’s flower service, from which the floral gifts were taken to the Auckland Public Hospital. Speaking at the evening service, Canon Grant Cowen said the history of St. Matthew’s was the history of Auckland. Queen Street was a narrow track, and the site of Karangahape Road coir Vised fields when the church was erected. The parishioners had to maintain the high standards of the church, which was now passing through a difficult period. There was a tendency to laxity in worship and in the observance of Sunday. A high standard must be set the community. The influence of St. Matthew’s would then permeate home, business and social life. Each generation had added its quota to the progress of the world, and the 20th century was proving itself to be the most advanced.

CHURCH’S OPPORTUNITY

TOO MUCH HALF-HEARTEDNESS “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth labourers Into His harvest.” On this text from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, Pastor Reuben E. Dowle based his sermon in the Mount Roskill Congregational Church yesterday morning. “Jesus was, in the text, passing through the cornfields,” said Mr. Dowle. “Husbandmen are looking for labourers to gather the harvest. Jesug the Lord of the Harvest at once compares the harvest of the fields with the great harvest of human souls He so much wishes to gather in. He is moved with compassion and desires that labourers may come into His great spiritual harvest. The fields were then, as now, white unto the harvest. AMBASSADORS NEEDED “The highways and byways need close scouting, and methods of more energetic work must occupy the attention of those who try to get the masses to be reconciled to God,” said the preacher. “Ambassadors are much needed in this latter day of sordid wealth and pleasure seeking. Too many are seeking the Kingdom of God last instead of first. “Faithful labourers in the Lord’s vineyards are not plentiful In these degenerate days. Too much halfheartedness is apparent, even among prominent Church workers. If the world is not sought by our church organisations what is to become of so-caile4 advanced society? The application of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth is the only method of uplifting society. A narrow conception of ammeliorating the evil conditions of the masses of society is far too much in evidence. Though some good, of course, is being done, the methods are open to feriticism. When the church goes forth terrible as an army with banners, mankind will be uplifted. Christ wants His Church, therefore, to do more for the garnering of wheat into His storehouse—the Kingdom of God. “Again, the labourers must be intelligent. Many church workers are only half equipped. Instead of being diligent students of the Scriptures, when attacked by blatant unbelief they cannot prove all things, neither can they hold fast that which is good. Christian workers must be ready always to give those who ask them a reason for the hope that is within them. “Thus it would appear the love of Christ must constrain His workers in the great harvest field of this world, to be diligent and to do with their might what their hands find to do. Now is the time to redouble effort. Degenerating influences are at work; devastating scepticism is sapning the higher instincts, especially ‘of our young people,. God is with His people and if Christian people will be faithful, intelligent, diligent, and ask for the quickening powers of the Holy Spirit, the desert of this world may become beautiful as a watered garden. Emancipation, happiness, usefulness and salvation are most surely given to all who believe.”