Our Stratford Page

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 200, 3 May 1912, Page 3

Our Stratford Page

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.

Stratford, Thursday.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the parishioners [ of the Holy Trinity Church was held in the Parish Hall on Tuesday evening, and was attended by about eighty parishioners. The vicar, the Rev. W. A. Butler, presided. The annual report and blanec-sheet were adopted. A TALK FROM THE VICAR. The vicar delivered an interesting address on what he termed the non-finan-cial, or spiritual, aspect of the parish in the last twelve months. During that period considerable progress had been made. To begin with, the number of Sunday School children had increased by about sixty. He expressed his appreciation of the devoted work of the late and the present superint : idcnt and teachers. The number of children attending morning service was about four times the number attending during the previous year. A Children's GuilS had been formed with a view of building up the morning service, and th-.."-e were J4 members, each of whom undertook to at-' tend the 11 o'clock se ; yicc u?l,,ss reasonably hindered. Since the last annual meeting 65 candidates had been confirmed. The average number of regular communicants on Sundays was too low, many of the older members of the congregation being unduly irregular. All things considered, however, \;hey had much cause to be thankful, as the Easter Day communicants this year numbered 175. against 124 in the previous year, 104 in 1910, and 54 in 1900.

.; |nadequa,te Accommodation.—For some time past the church had been well filled on Sunday evenings, and the parishioners might well consider the advisability of taking steps to provide tor larger congregations. It was a well-known fact that people were staying away from church because they felt that they were too late to get a seat, "Considering the size of the town," said the vicar, "it is no credit to us that the church is so small and so inadequate. And i may add that Father Treacv told me so. I had been to him to obtain some information concerning the size of his . church, and the Father said to me, 'Your people are richer than mine, but they don't give so well.'"

Sunday Observance. Taking the church as a whole the members of the Church of England were setting.-the town a bad example, and he condemned this taxity in Sunday observance in the strongest terms. His sermon a few weeks ago had made some impression, but there was not the slightest necessity for golf, tennis, riding, motoring and gardening during service hours, especially at the time of morning .service. if these things must be, there was time for them in the afternoon. At the least the service hours belonged to God, and it was the duty of every Christian to give them to God.

The Young People.—The Church was doing very little beyond the services' to keep the young people together. Fifteen months ago he had offered the use, free of charge, of a portion of the vicarage land for the use of a church tennis club. No one, apparently, had had sufficient j energy to take the matter up and see j it thrpugh'. lie had himself levelled and laid down a court at the vicarage in the past twelve months, using his spare time and those days—sucli as race days, he explained, to the accompaniment of smiles —when he could not go visiting. He believed that one man could lay out two good courts in three weeks on this level ground. He saw no reason, why there should not be a church bowling green as well.

Workers Dropping Out.—The vicar deeply regretted that many of the older church workers had given up their work, and he felt that it would have been an act of courtesy on the part of some to have stated their intention of discontinu-' ing, instead of letting their work go and not advising the vicar of their desira to give it up. At the present moment he did not know whether those who had undertaken, to attend to the grass, hedges and beds in.t'he churchyard and the altar linen in the church had given up this part of their work for God, or whether they intended to go on. He had certainly had no notices of- resignation, but no complimentary been passed because he had allowed such disgraceful neglect to exist. The church grounds especially had been disgraceful until recently, when some of the men cut the grass, and he himself, with the assistance of some of the boys, had trimmed the hedges instead of doing his proper work in the parish. .That would ex- ! plain why some of his visits had not been i made. . The vicar appealed to every i parishioner who could possibly manage it to take some definite branch of work in hand so that the church might respond, readily to all the demands which were laid upon her. The Temperance Question. —Touching on the temeprance qw ' : on, the vicar said that no one had tits 'nteTests of temperance more at heart than he himself. But some of the church people resented the fact that he did not openly advocate prohibition and no-lieense. The time had come for him to make a stateI mcnt. "Ladies and gentlemen, personally, but only personally, T do not think that prohibition and no-license are the true remedy for the existing evils, and, rightly or wrongly, my conscience prohibits my advocating and supporting these measures publicly. Acting as F do, I obey my own conscience, and I claim that T have a right to my conscience; therefore. I object to and resent the uncharitable attitude of those who in the past have acted unjustly and dishonorably towards me, because I will not violate the dictates of my conscience. Again, our church people are divided in opinion 011 this matter, and am I, as your parish priest, by taking one side or another, to hinder the work of Christ in many branches, by allowing myself to be looked upon as a party man? God forbid! I may be right, or I may be -wrong, but I am prepared to entrust the ' judgment to Almighty God." 1 Assistance Xeeded.— I The 'Rev. Butler referred to the necessity for the appointment of an assistant priest. As vicar of the parish, he said, he was faced with an important task. At every turn / there was more work to do than lie was \ capable of, or had time for. Singlej handed, he had to let opportunities pass. J He had to do just the best _he could, and leave the rest. The time i had come when he must have help for the ' services and visiting. The last few • months had shown him that he could nol ' continue at the pace he had adoptee

From Our Resident Reporter. Broadway North., next Loan & Mercantile Agency Co.

when he first came, and lately he had been forced to do legs work and take more leisure. Mr. W. V. Wilson had kindly relieved him of a great deal of the responsibility of the choir. He appealed to the parishioners tq authorise him to take steps to obtain an assistant clergyman, so that the parish might he better worked.

The vicar referred to the C.E.M.S., which he hoped would be more aggressive in the coming year, and to the Boy Scouts, explaining that his duties as scoutmaster did not interfere witii his church work, and, moreover, were to him recreation. The movement was one worthy of support by all churchpeople. A CURATE REQUIRED.

The vicar re-introduced the matter of the appointment of an assistant clergyman. As a result of a meeting of representatives of the country districts recently, the church people in the country had been approached, and Toko had undertaken to provide £4O a year towards his stipend, and Cardiff £l2 10s, in each case apart from offertories. Midhirst could be depended upon, he was assured, for £ls a year. Mr. Young had written to the Standing Committee of the diocese, and had found that £25 a year would be granted towards the curate's stipend. In a lengthy discussion, in which the matter of finance predominated, the vicar stated that they might be able to .get a man in New Zealand. He would prefer this, for a "new chum" often made remarkable mistakes. If a man had to be brought from Home he could not arrive within six months.

The meeting approved of the engagement of a second clergyman, and the vicar was authorised to go forward in the matter. The question of enlarging the church building was also discussed. The Rev. Butler said lie had conversed with a ■Wellington Architect on the matter, and that gentleman had suggested increasing the width of the building by erecting side walls of brick outside the present walls, with a row of pillars about four feet inside to form the aisles. This plan would invoke the minimum of masonry, and also leave the whole of the seating portion open without obstructing pillars. For a start'they might carry these walls as far as the west door, and afterwards, as occasion required, extend to Juliet .street, leaving the present chancel and transept alone. The vestry will go into the whole matter and report to a meeting of parishioners to be held shortly. THANKS. On the motion of Messrs Fookes and Crawshaw, hearty votes of thanks were accorded the lay readers, vestrymen, gleaners, choir, Sunday School teachers, the honorary auditor, and all who had assisted in the work of the church during the year.

i WESLEY CHURCH i WELCOME TO THE NEW MINISTER. 1 The social to welcome the Rev. A. j Reader, the newly appointed minister in charge of Wesley Church, was moderately attended, the weather being against a large gathering. Mr. J., Masters. | senior circuit steward, presided. The chairman, in his opening remarks, told a little of the work that he had had to do to persuade the conference to give Stratford a man suitable for the work of the church here, and of his satisfaction when they appointed the Rev. Reader to this station, for the result of his inquiries was to convince him that in Mr. Reader they had a man of great preaching ability and great tact. | Mr. Laurenson spoke a welcome on behalf of the congregation, and outlined | some of the Stratford Methodists' hopes i and ideals, The new minister came to | Wesley Church not as to a dying con--1 cern, but at a time when things were | well with its affairs. He had not to look j forward to a period 'of building up or retrieving lost ground, 'but rather would he have to do consolidating work, so to speak. Nor was the church, burdened with debt, for its financial position was sound. ITe came just on the eve of the consummation of the union of the Methodist and Primitive Methodist churches, out of which union they hoped great things. After a time they would find 'that the fact that there was but one board of management would draw the congregations to worship in one build- ! ing. Touching on other aspirations of Methodist Church workers, Mr. Laurenson referred to Stratford's proud boast of its centrality,' and to the fact that it owed its progress to its splendid back country, with its enormous population in an area over 50 mik'S. long by. 30 miles broad. He entered a plea for the -people who were living in the. backblocks, banished from church and Christian services, often after a life lived in the atmosphere of God-fearing people and church work. He warmly advocated a policy of unselfishness on the part of local Methodists, and that they should release their minister for at least a month during summer, so that he might travel through the back country.

The Rev. B. Metson, Primitive Methodist, welcomed the Rev. Reader heartily. They welcomed him because lie was a Christian and a Christian worker, for Stratford needed Christian men and women. ITe believed that the Christian ministry was the noblest work man could do. He welcomed his fellow-minister as a strong unionist, and from the conversations they had already had together he could assure the people that no barrier? would rise between Mr. Reader and himself in settling local matters. Captain Nicholson, of tlw> Salvation Army, also tendered a welcome. The Rev. Mr. Reader's reply disclosed him as a fluent and -successful speaker. His thanks for the hearty reception woro couched in modest terms. One of the trials of a Methodist minister's wife, he said, was 'this system of being periodically torn up bv the roots and transplanted into fresh ground. At the recent '■onfprence he was down in the first reading to go to Westpor-t, the second to Kingsland, and the third to Stratford, so his hearers would readily understand that transition time was ail anxious time for the minister and his family. But Ive had received warm-hearted welcomes from the officials and the congregation. of the Stratford church. ITe was glad to hare been permitted to see, through Mr. Lauronson's eyes, the greatvision" of 'extended usefulness. He appreciated the people's ambitions, and added that in no sphere of life was ambition more justified than in the Christian ministry. He would do his utmost for the church lie represented, and for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. He wanted people, and particularly the young people, to feel that lie was lie re to help them. He wanted the

young men to feel that the church was not a place to shun, and that the life that the church offered was not "cribbed, cabined, and confined." He had been much struck with the fact that in Stratford the younger men dominated affairs. The time must come when men would be coming back to the source whence their fathers and mothers derived their inspiration, and made them the men and women that they had known them to be. COMMERCIAL. Mr. T. Lamason reports:— Last Saturday I held my usual weekly sale, when a very good entry of different classes was submitted to auction, especially in poultry, which was one of the largest I have had. The tendency just now is to quit rather than to buy, and taking this into consideration prices were very satisfactory. I quote as follows:—Roosters, Is to 2s; liens, Is to Is 6d; pullets, 2s 6d to 3s;. ducks, Is Cd to 2s; cabbages, Is 4d to 2s per doz.; eschalots, 5d per lb; onions, 2s 9d 241b bag; potatoes, 2s 241b bag; marrows,-fid to Is each; carrots, 3d bundle. Furniture, etc., at usual auction rates.

GENERAL NEWS Mr. T. F. Martin, solicitor to the Municipal Association, lias forwarded his opinion on the powers of the borough council to make by-laws for the prevention of the nuisance caused by stockowners leaving cattle in the salcyarrts all night, the rMeyards being not far removed from the town centre. Mr. Martin is 'of opinion that if the nuisance can be proved, that is, if the cattle'are unreasonably niosy, the council can do something, but hints pretty broadly that to prove such a matter is more easily said than done.

The stoves are going in the school, and the. children are glad. Why could not such a matter have been attended to before? Will the Education Board "carpet" somebody, and locate the blame?

The Opunake Railway Commission is to sit in Stratford on May 14. Messrs. J. Masters and N. .T, King were passengers by the express train for Wellington yesterday. The borough council is going to worry through the provisions of the new "Local Government Bill, or as much of it as possible, at a special meeting next Mond;w evening. The borough estimates will probably be ready for the May meeting of the council. Delay in their preparation has taken place owing to the delay of the Valuation Department in notifying the council of the amount of the new valuation of the borough. In response to a letter from the. town clerk, the Department" now writes that the approximate valuations are: Capital value, £467,002; I unimproved, £210,017.. These figures are 1 not likely to be altered much by objec- [ tions, as these have mostly been settled amicably.

A boy and a cigarette, and two girls had a corner of the reading room to j themselves on Wednesday evening. They | monopolised a file of newspapers for some time, altlipugh they were not reading. A lady who was anxious to read that particular paper was not thanked for interfering with the little gam<\ Another argument for the appointment of a librarian. "That fast--moving train that runs from Wellington ' to Stratford."—o en tie sarcasm from the Rev. Reader at Wednesday night's gathering.