St Mary's Parish.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7811, 2 May 1905, Page 2

St Mary's Parish.

PARISHIONERS' MEETING. The unnual meeting at parishioncis oi fat. Mary's Cliuicft wus held on Monday evening, in tho parish hall. There . was a good allcndunCi.*, picsided o\er by the viair, the itcv. i'\ l>. Evans.

—Vicar's Report.— The vicar's report slated tliut lliey hud caube (or grulitude lor Hie •siejdy income o( the pust yeur. Not withstanding the lurye income, however, they hud u considerable deficit, which lie trusted would be gradually rcJuced. They had to (uco lor some time u large cxjieudi ture in providing purl of thu (.Upends ot the assistant clergy, who ministered to the members oi the church in thu out districts, but every year this umouut

...i uuerease u» the suburban districts learned to (eel thvir responsibility. The following was, the list o( promises towards Hie* assistant clergy stijiend fund No. 1 District Fitzroy, £BS; Hell lllock, £;iu ;*l |>- luild Koud, £l3 ; No. 2 District Moturou, £liti ; Westown, £2O ; Omutu. £2O ; Koru, £l2 ; Barrett ltoud, £0; llurford ltoud, £0 10s ; total, £223 10s.

| In St. Mary's there were 500 more receptions o( the Xloly Communion than in the precoding twelve months. The choir, under ilr Fletcher, maintained its excellency, uiid the spluidid new organ would add new beuuty to the services. Tile Sunday Schools continued their important work with more or less success. The congregation would learn with regret that Mr W. H. Skinner had resigned after sixteen years' faithful service as superintendent of St. Mary's Sunduy School. The work o( the church would be very much cripplod were it not (or the self-denying work o( their lay readers. The Sewing Guild, which hud done splendid service, lia<l just celebrated its 21st anniversary. The vicar expressed his indebtedness to Archdeacon Colo for the assistance he had given him during the past year, especially in the Fit'/roy. district. In conclusion the vicar thanked the olUccrs of the church and all church workers (or their valuable assistance during the year.

—Wardens' and Vestry Report.— This report showed that for the year church matters generally bad progressed fairly satisfactorily, tho parishioners' interest in the various branches of work being wcU sustained. With rcgurd to the GovottUrown memorial, the amount standing to the credit of euch branch at the end of Murch was : Building fund, cash in hand £SOO, and promises bringing the amount up to £OBI ; buck blocks, cash in lmnd, £79 i, and prom'ses bringing the nmount up to £052. The committee had consulted Mr. Mountfort, architect, of Ohristchurch, as to the best plun for enlarging the church, to-

gether with the approximate cost, etc. During the i>ast year a building had been erected in Moturoa district on a Wh'teloy leasehold held by St. Mary's. It was ho[jcd at some futuro time to acquire a suitable freehold and to build a church. In November a system ot collecting Mnull sums towards l the reduction of the parish debt had been initiated. The amounts so collected were ineluded in the day's offertories, which with a few donations coming in subsequently amounted to close on £IOO. In furtherance of the same object— I hat of reducing, and, it was hoped, within a reasonable time altogether clearing oil this debt—various ladies of the parish were organising a bazaar and sale of work to be held during the second week in September. The wardens regretted that in spite of the strictest economy there was still a debit balance between assets and liabilit'es of £lB5 19s 3d. It was, however, a matter for thankfulness that on the pufct year's work there was an improvement on the financial position, and it was lielievcd that this would show a still further improvement during the current year owing to the increased contributions from the out disti lets. 'l'he offertories nt St.' Mary's, excluding special objects, averaged for the year £ll 17s lid. The parish and vestry had suffered a .severe loss by the death on November 27 of Mr W. J. Shaw, for many yours secretary to the vostry. In conclusion the vestry thanked all church workert.

—Sunday School.— The number of scholars attending at the close of the year was 2Uf>, with 23 teachers, as against 258 scholars and 23 teachers at the snmt date last year. A school was opsned in tho church roam at Moturoa during the year, under the able direction of Mrs Dabb. und the attendance had been most encouraging. Mr Bennett continued his good work [at Bell BloicK, ns also did Mr Standish at Wallace Place, Mr Kingdon at Wcstown, and Miss Crompton at Omata. Tho Band of lio|>e was enthusiastically continued during tho winter month* by Miss Ahier, nnd the school library under Mrs Dockrill filled on important place in the round of school organisation. —Country Districts.—

The report of the Hev. A. Fowler showed that at Bell Block, Junction Itoad and Mangorui, portion of Fitsroy, and Upland Itoad the prospect seamed very good.

The Rov. A. M. Itradbury reported that hia district had been regularly visited, and Sunday services held at each centre. —St. Mary's Choir.— The report showed that Ui* choir consisted of 50 members, represented by iJ2 adults' and 18 chorihtoi' boys. Of the £IOO due to the organ fund in twelve months' time the choir had already £97 in view. The treasurer (Mr E. VI. Garner) put in a deta'led statement of the various funds. The expenditure on current account amounted to £IBB4 iS lOd. The liul.iilitira amounted to £1422 19s 9d, and the assets to £1237 (Is fld, showing a deficit of £lB5 19s :W. The liabilities included St. Mary's Vicarage, £OOO ; new m \'T n " fund, £2OO ; 'IV* llenui Sunday chool. £SH>, JCrfi lllock Church. £.10; St. Mary's Church fund £SO ; now vestry fund, £4O ; unpaid accounts, £OS 9& Od ; bank overdraft, £172 5s ; sjiecial funds, £lO5 5s 3d. The expenditure on the Taranaki Maori Mission wan £ll3 9s, and the receipts £Ol JB* lod, showing a debit of £sl 10s 2d. —Adoption of Heports,~

On the motion «C Mr S. J. Smith, seconded by Mr Woodard, the report a and balance-sheet were adopted. In discussion, Mr Shaw considers the bulunccvs'hoet showed no cotxl advance on last year. Thejl would have an extra expenditure of £lt«, and if the £lO9 promlsod for country districts were realised they would only bo £1 lwttcr off next year unless some spcciul effort were uiude. —Olllcers.— The vieur rc-appoint«l Mr E. 11. Klngdon as v.icar's churchwarden, ami Mr S. J. Smith was reappointed parishioners' churchwarden. 'l'll* ballot for the election of vcfctrviiMH resulted Messrs .J. S. McKellnr, W. 11. Skinner, 8, W. Shaw, 11. E. Kook'es, J. Cook, and 11. M. ■ flan»i«ter (re-elected), Y. fS. Hume, A. E. and S. IjUsh. Mr I'. C. Morton was re-elected auditor, —A Motion Disapproved.— Mr lledfnrd moved a motion aflii'ining thai miw having a .vpUinlid organ and strong- choir, on ocrusk>i,j of religious festivals full choral services, Including (hut of the Holy Ku- | churist, shoiiHl be' celebrated. The vicar refused to accept tlw. resolution, even as a reeonimeiidation, pointing out that the services were entirely under the | rovince of the vicar. —Thanks.— ' Tho vicar having warmly (hunked all church workers, the meeting concluded with the Benediction.