REV. COLVILLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 179, 27 January 1912, Page 4

REV. COLVILLE.

INSTITUTED AT ST. MARY'S. ADDRESS BY THE BISHOP. Nearly every seat was occupied at St.. Mary's Church last evening on the occasion of the institution of the new' minister, the l'ev. Mr. Algernon Holland Colville, who has succeeded' the Rev. J?.. G. Evans as yicar of the New Plymouth, parish. The ceremony, which was a deeply impressive one, was performed by Dr. Crossley, Bishop of the Auckland Diocese, assisted by the Revs. A. Colville (diocesan missioner). Rev. J. Wilkinson (senior curate), Bev. J. A. Kempthorhe, Rev. Robinson, Rev. W. Butler, M.A. (of Stratford), Rev. C. W. R. Harrison (of Waitara), Rev. C. Addenbrooke, M.A. (of Okato), Rev. C. Houchen (Taranaki Home Missioner), and the Rev. Haiopo. After the formal declaration by the Rev. Colville, in which lie assented to the articles of the church and signified his submission to the (leneral Synpd, the order of nomination was read by Rev. C. W. R. "Harrison, and the Bishop afterwards lead the congregation in prayer. The oath of allegiance to the Bishop of Auckland was then taken by the Rev. Colville, after which the Bishop called upon the churchwardens (Messrs. C. E. Baker rfnd J. Paton) to conduct the new vicar and present him with the keys of the church. This they did. with all due ceremony, afterwards conducting the Rev. Colville "upto the place where the bell hangs that lie may toll the sanje," in witness that he has duly entered upon his cure. Seven solemn tolls were made by the vicar, and the ceremony concluded with the Bishop charging the churchwardens, the vestry and the congregation to pray for the' Rev. Colville and help him forward to fulfil the laws of Christ, and the singing of' hymn 353,

THE BISHOP'S ADDRESS. In an eloquent address the Bishop took for his text three things which, for New Plymouth, had peculiar significance. He urged the people first to 'look up," next to "look far,'' and thirdly to ''"look deep." Each exhortation, he said, ought to influence the parish for good, as each had its special characteristic. The noble mountain (Mt. Egmont) inspired the people to look Up, the widespread ocean to look far, and the oil fields to look deep. Continuing His Lordship paid a deep tribute to the' retiring vicar, the Rev. Evans. Sometimes, he said, the voidance of the benefice spelt either death or reparation, but in his case neither applied. His had been a record of exceedingly faithful service, and it was his (the speaker's) privilege to recognise it by such means a.s were at his disposal. The bishop then made an announcement of the nature of the future work upon which the Rev. would be- engaged, which : is reported in another column.

The Rev. Wilkinson, who has fcee* acting-vicar of St. Mary's, and the Rev. Kempthorne, curate of Fitzroy, for his co-operation, were also praised by His Lordship. He rejoiced that the new vicar would enter upon his charge in a parish with such a loyal and enthusiastic body of officers. "ONE PARISH, ONE TOWN."

To his mind New Plymouth was one of the most happily situated parishes possible, because it was "one parish, one town." Many clergymen had the privilege to work in the great towns of England, but few were vicars of one town, such as obtained in the Rev. Colville's case. New Plymouth's advantage and joy in this respect lay in the 'fact that its position made for Catholicism, fur r nishing a tremendous object-lesson in this connection. St.. Mary's, he declared, had given l the best exposition of common hope and common. duty, all the parishioners being able to work hand-in-hand together. Touching on another point the Bishop emphasised that the church existed not only to give a message to the world but to "live a life amongst you." We must be able to give reason for our faith. "Look deep,"* tie continued; "God is unfolding day by day new mysteries of the spiritual as well as the economical life." Finally he earnestly appealed to the people of N«w Plymouth not to forget the message of their three great and glorious: natural assets in a symbolical sense, in the shape of the mountain, the ocean,''- and the oil fields. The Bishop also dealt with the importance of securing an adequate supply ,of clergy, and the necessity of supplying, funds to meet the demands. These matters are referred to elsewhere in: this issue.