GERALDINE ST. MARY'S ANGLICAN CHURCH.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2644, 10 April 1894, Page 3

GERALDINE ST. MARY'S ANGLICAN CHURCH.

Anm;.u. Mketixu. Tli;; annual im.etiuir of parishioners of St Anyiiean Cuureh, Ccraliiue. was hcl.t'vcst-r’aiy ui tercoon, the Rev. James Preston, iu umbent, presidim;. i:- cr.viiii.NTA uui'uiiT. Tli a lu-urnbeut read his report as follow.-) Gentlemen, —Wheu I look back <«u past years ..n • 1 s -c what has been achieve i in - spit, of dr . w b --ks and impediments J I eel we love reason to congratulate ours-. Ivor- on the the Church has mule.; hut tliero is one thinp laekinir. and that is more unity and a better uadirstandiuie amonifst us. that we .are m-L many little p.irisae:wit’adlvi A-l iiucvvAhutuac. Too parish

po-isc-'s five churches, besides other places where worship is held. Each centre of population is too much disconnected from t. i: Mother Church; although, thank Go!, the best of feeling exists everywhere, there is little to bind all the parish together but the clergyman. We have home rule in each centre of population, and it has a tendency to engender narrow min '.ed selfishness As Caristians and church men we ought to guard against this. Every parish must have a central Church called the Parish Church, with its governing body of clergyman, churchwardens, and vestrymen. The other officers elected for other places are sanctioned by the Bishop for the purpose of transacting local business only. The prosperity of a parish depends greatly upon all church people in it being loyal to the vestry proper, and striving to work together for the general good of the Church. If in your deliberations to-day you can devise some means of making us more of a united parish you will be doing good, and the incoming vestry I feel sure will endeavor to carry out your suggestions. I have seen many changes since I came to this part of the country 23 years ago. At first my charge included all the country which now comprises the parishes of Geraldine, Temuka, and Pleasant Point. My boundaries then were Timaru Parish on the south, Mesopotamia on the north, the sea and Rangitata on the east, and Mount Cook range on the west. In those days I was to all intents and purposes a cavalry parson, for I was very seldom out of the saddle. At present my work is more confined, but I have still a large parish, bounded on the east by the old south road or old road board boundary and the Rangitata river, on the west by the Opuha river, on the north by a line drawn from the head waters of the Rangitata to the head waters of the Opuha river, and on the south by the Temuka parish. This comprises a large area of country, and I am still obliged to be constantly riding about in order to fulfil my duties. Thank God, I have good health and can do the work of one man, although I must admit that if the parish were worked as it ought to be in reference to visiting, etc., it would require two men to keep up with the increasing population, etc. I myself can only do what I can, and I try to have a good conscience before God. Without lay readers I would be lost as far Sunday duty goes. By lay help services have been kept up during the year in eleven different churches and buildings. I am very sorry to state that Mr Lovegrove, who has acted as lay reader in Gapes’s Valley for some time, is very ill, and unable to officiate, but I trust that it is only temporary, and that God will shortly restore to him his health and strength, and enable him to resume his duties again. I regret also to inform you that we are about to loose the services of Mr H. W. Moore for a time. Mr Moore has rendered most valuable services to the Church and to myself personally for many years as choirmaster, lay reader, and in other ways, and we shall feel his absence greatly, but I trust it will please God to bring him back to us in due time to again take up Church work in this parish. We are deeply indebted to all lay readers, Sunday School inspectors and teachers, conductors and members of choirs and all church workers. I myself cannot find words to thank them sufficiently for the valuable help they have given. A layreader’s work in this country is often very discouraging. I have known them to frequently travel many miles to hold service, and on arrival at the church or schoolhouse to ouly find a very small number of people assembled for worship. This is very disheartening, when it is well known that there are people in the neighborhood who could attend easily. Thank God, we have men amongst us who are not easily discouraged when engaged iu work for Jesus Christ. The number of baptism during the year is 40, the number of marriages 5. the number of burials 9, the number confirmed 46. The are 150 communicmts in the parish. The Sunday Schools established at Geraldine, Woodbury, Peel Forest, Kakahu Bush, Gapes’s Valley, Mr Thatcher’s house, and Ora i Gorge are flourishing. I have much pleasure in stating that Mr Inwood, of Winchester, has started a morning Sunday School at irari, aad is ably supported by teachers residing in the township. As a number of Onurcii of England children reside in Vie neighborhood, the school is well attended, and is calculated to do a great deal of good. Mrs Musgrave, I have also much pleasure iu stating, has started a Sunday School in h.-r own house at Belfield, and is teaching children who are unable to attend any other place where religious instruction is given. Mr Musgrave has kindly consented to hold service once a month in the schoolhouse at Rangitata Station and also to officiate on the third Sunday of every alternate month at 3.30 p.m. in the Orari schoolhouse. Sunday School work is a work of love for Christ, and it stands in the front rauk in the present day as a means of spreading the Christian faith. All who are engaged in duties of the kind ought to be assisted and encouraged by all Christian people. The books of the Sunday School library are kept now in the old church, and all Sunday-School scholars requiring books assemble there once a week, when Miss Preston, the librarian, is present to attend to their wants. The gi:t last year of a box of books from Mrs Clougstoun, which I received through the Hon. L. Walker, of Four Peaks, and those obtained from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge have been a great addition to the library. The Sunday School account for the year stands thus: — Received from subscriptions and treat for Sunday School prizes and treat, £l3 2s 6d ; expended on books for prizes for SundaySchool scholars and on treat, £ll 0s 2d; balance, £2 2s 4d. This is carried to general Sunday School account. Received for general expenses of school, in all, £0 0s 9d; working expenses, £2 Iss7d; balance in hand, £6 3s 2d. These accounts have been duly audited by Mr Webster. James Preston, Incumbent. April Oth, 1894. Mr M. C. Orbell moved a hearty vote of thanks to the Rev. Mr Preston, which was seconded by Mr C. G. Tripp. The mover and seconder both spoke highly of Mr Preston I’qr the careful attention he paid to his duties, CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT. Me A. White read the churchwardens’ report and the church balance-sheet as under: — Gentlemen, —We have the honor to lay before you our annual report. The balancesheet shows a balance in baik of £lO 1* s, but against this we have to place two items which we accidentally omitted t) pay before the balance--hcet was made out. namely, the salary of W. Berry, organblower, and an offertory to St. Mary s Homo, amounting altogether to £1 Os 10d, which has now been paid, thus leaving an actual balance in bank of , :6 Os ud up to Waster. But the bulance would have been much larger if we had not had to pay so much towards the deficiency in tbest pend fund account. Wc paid five offertories, amounting in all to £lfv With this wo should have been able to pay off sonic of ous outst Hiding debt, ys.O, which we have n t been able to reduce this year. Our average attendance at the morning service is -0. and the evoidig 67, which, wc are Lapp: to s■ l y is an uv.Tease ou former rears, a i't our offertories have Itkcwis .i iuereaxid, our ho. k- s’.iox jn { an average of £2 per duudav. This Is a largo increase on last war. which was hardy £2. Though this ,-oiui'ls very satisfactory, still wo arc of opiciou that limmciul matters iu connoctma with this Church should bo put on a ii; mar fooling, orpceia'ly as regards the .-tiuend land. We think it would tend gw tly to strengthen and unite the Church ! in this pariah if representatives ot thp j vwri'.v were elected from all parts of the ;»trish, an 1 a rcsolu-ion to this effect will prwutly bo brought before you. Wo hope ; tunt a meeting of the parishioners will -hortly ho called to discuss matters iu connection with the stipend fund, so as to ph.ee that account on a firmer footing. Bvl'wt '.'vpeUvling we beg to teubn our

sincere thanks to Miss Alice Fish for her valuable ass'stance at the organ. We also thank Mr and Mrs Tripp for contributions of £3 18b 5d to the stipend fund, being proceeds of a sale of work ; also the ladies who assisted m making the banners for the church decorations, and especially Miss Ella Tripp for the beautiful panels she worked for the reredos. —We have, etc,, Henry W Moore 1 Churchwardenß . Alfred White j It was resolved that the report and balance-sheet be adopted. STIPEND REPORT. Mr W. E. Barker, stipend treasurer, was not able to be present but sent a letter of apology for non-attendance. Mr H. W. Moore said that as near as he could guess the stipend fund would be about £2O or £3O short of the required amount. Mr Moore also moved a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Barker for his past services as stipend collector, and that the churchwardens, on behalf of the parishioners, send a letter of thanks to Mr Barker. Seconded by Mr G. Hammond and carried. ELECTION OP OPPICESS. Major Moore consented to act as churchwarden during the absence of his brother, Mr H. W. Moore; Mr M. C. Orbell was appointed as people’s churchwarden ; auditor, Mr A. E. Hawkins. The following vestrymen were elected: —Messrs C. Johnstone, Kakahu; Blackmore, Gapes’s Valley ; Dennistoun and McFarlane, Peel Forest; Greaves and G. Hammond, Woodbury : W. Shiers and Winstone, Geraldine. Collectors were suggested for appointment as under : Messrs C. G, Tripp, A. White, and E. Hawke, Geraldine; Brown, Woodbury; Johnstone, Kakahu; Hill, Orari; Acland and Thompson, Mount Peel; Blackmore, Gapes’s Valley; McFarlane, Peel Forest; Bartrum, Pangitata. VOTES OP THANK.iI, Mr H. W, Moore moved a special vote of thanks to Miss Alice Fish for the great assistance she had rendered the choir in all weathers ; also to the choir, especiallymentioning the boys. Mr Winstone proposed a vote of thanks to Mr A. White, retiring churchwarden, and to Mr fl. W. Moore, church, warden in office. Votes of thanks were also passed to the vestry, and also to Mr H. B. Webster, auditor. The meeting then terminated.