WESLEYAN CHURCH, TEMUKA

Temuka Leader, Issue 1805, 20 October 1888, Page 2

WESLEYAN CHURCH, TEMUKA

Latins of the Foundation, Stone of the New Church.

On Thursday afternoon, at tha si'o of the new Wesleyan Church, lemuka, ” large number of people assembled to witness the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the building. Shortly after 4 o’clock the Rev. R. S. Bunn ascended a temporary platform, and mad'* aefew preliminary remarks. Hymn 989 Wesleyan' Hymn Book, “ Thou, Who bast laid the true foundation stone,” was sung by the choir, under the leadership ef Mr W. Harrison, after, which the Re,v. W. G. Thomas engaged in prayer. An appropriate passage of Scripture was then i read. , The Rev. Mr Bunn then said that he had much : pleasure on behalf of the'trustdoes of the church and building committee, in asking Mr Johas'Jackaon to lay the !founds.tion stone. Mr Jackson was no ikin, ! being ’on'e' b‘f ‘ the’* trustees ’of' the old [church. ,He fell- sure that they would ■welcome - hicb, and that the present gatherling would be an instructive and profitable lone. | Mr John Jackson ( then came forward Und deposited in a cavity ‘ beneath the igtpne a sealed bottle containing plans of : ithe Temnka, !l Timaruj . and ' - Ashburton icircuils, list of the 'trustees : of the’new jchuroh, na,mo olJsuperihteoditfg 'minister, |aod copies of the New Zealand Methodist lof Qotober‘6,lßßß,' of the Temuka Leader ;of August.,2s, -and iTitnaru iHerald of jOctober 18. The stpne.was then lowered jinto its place, adjusted, and declared well land truly laid amidst applause. Mr I Jackson then ascended the platform, and expressed his appreciation .of the honor the trustees had done him by inviting i bins to; XAke so. 'prominent a' part in'the ceremony that..day. He felt himself inI capable of doing justice to the occasion, I but his presence there would be sufficient to assure them of"hia sympathy. The ■ history of Methodism in Temuka was a 'somewhal’ 'cfuHoua - 'one. I This • W&s the : third, upon which n istahe - had been laid. Speaking from [memory, it was ,in 1868; that the first ; Wesleyan Church was erected in Temuka. The Rev. Mr Bavin was then superintendent. People were generally proud of their foundation. Tiraaru wasl ithe parent chorcb, and they felt proud of ■ Temuka, the first of their offspring, as it ; w*re. The first church, however, was burned down, and In 1870 the foundation stone of another was laid. Their second effort was a more ambitious one, but still i lie was pleased that they were not yet satisfied, and that feeling the room scanty they had the courage to undertake the erection of another. Everyone took pride in their own horn-s, , and they should take more than ordinary pride in the house devoted to Cod.;; His had : only had a glimpse of the plans of the new building, but thought it would be substantial aud commodious, with a seating capacity of about 250. The contract pi ice was about £6OO. Ho knew nothing about their finances, but trusted that when the opening; services were performed there would be very little debt. He c mgrutulated them heartily upon their churbh. ; Whether they were rich or poor, in God’s house .all were equal. He did not look at the church as the only place which pointed the way to heaven. God’s gifts on ali sides reminded them of His bounty, and they should in enjoying them learn how to live and to die. He was not an advocate for extravagance in building, but their church would be an 'ornament of which they might all be proud. It would improve the township and the Value of the (property in the neighborhood. He would not delay them longer, bu t he must sry that ha thought the people of Temuka should be grateful to Mr Job Brown for the valuable site he had given them. The Methodist community throughout New Zealand wou'd be grateful to him. He thanked them again for the honor they conferred on him. It would be remembered throughout his life, (Applause.) The Rev, R. S. Bunn said that they were engaged that dajr in a great work. Not only were they preparing a place for the 'accommodation of worshippers and their instruction, but they were laying the foundation of a great future kingdom. Thus far they*were doing well, and God expected them to do well. He had given them the best of the earth, and it was meet that they should give, their daily lives, to Him in the upholding of society from profligacy .and crime. As Wesleyans they were not one of the small tribes. They numbered in all some 20 millions, and in America a new church was built for each day of the year. Their doctrine was widely known. They held certain doctrines in •ommon with the Anglican, Presbyterian and Independent bodies. They preached faith in Christ for fallen sinners. They were clear io justification by faith, .and in regeneration and adoption. They believed in the two sacraments as ordained by Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.: They were believers also in sanctification and in the resurrection to eternal life. - Mr Sunn then laid stress on the necessity for Sabbath school work. If true to their, conception it was but right that they; should give their children Biblical teaching. Some people claimed that the earth: was in an advanced condition of decay, others that it,was yet iu its juvenility, and again others that it was only now developing into maturity. No matter what the condition of the material world the church of God would remain, He was ' sorry that he could not trace the career of the Methodist church. In Temuka they had a very nice building, but they did not go out of their way to show it to people, it was now to be relegated for institute purposes etc., and they would m the building of their new church thus laise the people of Temuka intellectually. With regard to their funds they were of course not sufficient, but they bad hope that they would not be heavily burdened with debt. A few kindly and humourous remarks brought Mr Sunn’s address to u close. Hymn 992 was then snug, after which the Rev. W, G. Thomas was invited to address the assembly. The Rev. W. G. Thomas was pleased to meet so many of his friends aud former congregation. He congratulated them upon the progress they were making. They had secured the first thing needful, a suitable site. With the money in hand and a little assistance from the loan committee they would soon be independent. He hoped they would make the best use possible of the privileges they were about to enjoy. It was a red letter day for Temuka. Not only were they laying. the foundation stone of a Ohriatian|churob, whiclt would be a benefit

to Mathodiat* bul the whole community would be proud of it. The house of God when rightly,used always brought a blessing with it. Many persons did not care for these things, but a time would come when they would understand better. This new departure of theirs formed a new page of record in the history of New Zealand. Our national history was richly saturated with religion. It might be asked what sort of church this was going to be. Well, : it war a decent sort ift \buildiogof composite structure, well a rural population. There was sufficient ornamentation, anditwaßCenlral‘and"commodipus. With so good a minister ,as his friend Mr Bunn they sheiila Have all they required., ..But ~it.—was ■ appearance of r the eharpb /that .■ t?ss • the vital matter. There iwas a bhurchi within I a church, and it was .the church spiritual ; that they wanted to establish within the i natural church. Some of; their principles : they held in common with other i (ions, and some not, but they were thq friends of all and enemies, .of none.,: He would urge them to do all in their power to bring their undertaking successful issue. - If they pat- iheirljmogeyi-iato; Heaven s bank it would be sure to.-bring Ihem a good return; ; v ; The Rev. Mr Bunn then moved a hearty i vote of thenki to Mr John Jeoksoo, which was carried by acclamation. Mr. Maokson i having returned thanks, the National - Anthem ; was sung, and the ceremonial terminated, 1 A collection made upon the, stone realised i£lo, : :V .-.’h'wti

The New Building,. The plans of the new church have been . prepared by Mr D. West, of Tlmarn. They show a building of wood Sl feet long, 32 feet wideband 27 feet high to the apex the toot. The porch extends along the whole frant of the building,, and thin is supported-; by Corinthian columns, with ohaetely carved capitals! The church wills be lighted by 12 windows—s on either sideband 2in the front, > They ate of casement pattern, with circular ; ; topi. At the rear of the building is an additional: feet zl2 feet, which is divided, into; two rooms—a veitry anda lumber room. Accese to these rooms can he gained either from the exterior of from the''church. The general exterior appearance of the building will be extremely next. Speoial attention has been paid to the interior. The floor will be an inclined one of the , most modern ’• principles. The seats, which are substantial, will be arranged in three : rowe the; whole length; of the church. ■ The centre, ones are 12 feet. long, and those at the,side are each 6 feet, and placed diagonally. -The;*rostrum is roomy and of good elemsion, and oh either side of it are the seats OT the choir. , The lining will be dado and piaster. r Bpeoiil arrangements have been made to eecare good ventilation. The eeating accommodation will be for about 300 parsons. The designing of the building reflects credit upon its architect) and when finished it will undoabtedlj. be an : ornament to the town. The contractors are Messrs Clinch and Lloyd, which is a sufficient guarantee that the workmanship will be excellent. ■’ ' '] -

OoNMiGATioNAL Muting. In the evening a social gathering waa held, at which a large number were, present. ■, Mesdames Bunn, Barrett, and Williams, and , the Miisee F. and B. Brown diepensed A bounteous tea to aboat'lso perionii.; ' After' tea the Bev. Bunn took the chair. The meeting opened with prayer, after which the Bev. W. G. Thomai delivered an addnns,' at once humorous and instructive, the' course of which he urged, them to continue to build up the spiritual church.He brief description of the generatarrangenmutr 'of the new church, and, congratulated them upon its many conveniences. He confidently expected that the necessary funds would - bo forthcoming, but earnestly entreated them to help forward the cause, not : only financially, but with their pray ef si ! A hymn followed, after which:* ■ Mr J, W. Miles, at the invitation of-the Chairman, and amidst applause, proceeded to address the congregation. After a, few.preliminary remarks, he Said that* thslir position was a peculiar and interesting one,' They were about to say good-bye to the building in which many had worshipped for years, and doubtless it would be left with regret by some. They could not, however, at the pro* sent time fail to turn with hopeful eye to the future. With reference to the funds, he might say that they had a guarantee,of £2OO from the loan fund. With the subscriptions promised he felt tfaftt they-were commencing under favourable circumstances. From an original estimate of £3OO they had gradually risen to £600.' He was inclined to take a hopeful view of the matter,although they were committed to an amount more than he would have sanctioned. ■ The speaker then dwelt briefly upon the financial arrangements of ths Church as a body and expressed his opinion that more concentration was needed,: He urged the importance of united action and .• combined effort. They had reason to congratulate themselves upon the possession of a good minister, and under his guidance he felt sure (hey would continue in the right wey. "■ I Mr St. George, of Timaru, in the eourse'ol a brief jbat practical and earnest address, said that Methodists were nothing if hot aggressive. They were bound individually to go forth and bring in the outsiders. They had • commission from the Saviour in the command, "Go ye forth into ail nations,” etc. This certainly did not apply to the clergy, alone. They were about to toke a new departure, which he felt sure would largely increase the strength of their community. He spoke of the success attending the erection of the Waimate church, which was not nearly largo enough, and said that it was a stigma upon the country that there was not churches to accommodate one half of .congregation!. He proceeded in earnest an manner to impress upon them the necessity for realising; their present responsibility os Obristiaas. They were responsible for the right use of example. As Obristiaas they should be the pink of honour in their dealing*,:pareia speech, and thought. They were ■ responsible for their infl aence, in support of ; which it might bo mentioned that the crusade of Martin Luther, the revival under Wesley, the temperance movement of Father Matthew, were all originally due to influ enoe exerted by others. Then there was the responsibility of their prayers, which were efficacious if used in a proper spirit. They were also responsible for their personal efforts, and for their worldly means. Mr St. George was listened to most attentively, and his address received applause. Hymn 857, “ Go labor on,” was cheq iaag by the choir, after which Mr Bunn delivered a feeling and eloquent address upon “ Why should the work cease ?” At the conclusion of the address, Mr Brown proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the Bev. Mr and Mrs Bunn, who had' supplied the tea, to the Bev. W. G. Thomas, to the ladies who presided at the tea, and to ths choir and church workers. The vote was carried by acclamation. J Id returning thanks Mr Buna said that the gift of the tea was really a thank offering to God for their recent escape from a serious accident. He also returned thanks to the choir and. those who had assisted at day’s ceremonial. The gathering then broke up, -\f