ORDINATION OF THE REV. John DEWE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 339, 18 March 1874, Page 2

ORDINATION OF THE REV. John DEWE.

The admission of the Rqv. J. ,Dewe into full orders as priest of the Church of England took place, in Trinity Church, Lawrence, on Sunday mpjuing last, in.jthe presence of a large congregation, ." TjW ceremony was conducted hy,;Bishop • Neville, assisted by -the Her. 8.. Coffey and the Bey. ; Gr. P.TJeaume-nfc. The prayer's and lessons' were read by Mr. Beaumont 1 and Mi\ Coffey, after which the Bishop preached tra eloquent: and impressive sermon" bearing: on; the cere.mo.ny in which they were about to engage. He. selected ,as hia text the following ■yvor.Ja,' contained in the 28th chapter of ,Matthew >; 18tti/l9th, and 20th verses :—": — " All power is given unto me in heaven a,nd on earthy Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and the Son. and the Holy G;host. c Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever. I have commanded you, and 10- 1 .am with you always, even unto the end of the world." The most evident cir--cunistances'iu the- words of! the text} remarked the Bishop, was that our Lord himself, as the great Head of the Church, and having all power given unto, him, immediately before he ascended to heaven sent forth others, to.; .continue- th© work of. bqildiiig up His Church* A like commission w.a& given in other passages of holy Scripture. He thought, while it would- be -admitted, by aIL that Chust w.hen on earth did .commission men to propagate His Church, it might be questioned by some whether men were still sent forth by Him, jseeitig he was" no' longer'' present with them in- the flesh. In answer'to that question the Bishop said if ifc was-granted that such was the intention, then- the necessity followed of having men sent forth to i minister to. the . people.- But, without going into anj argument, iheaver/e^ ■ that Christ's- words - oni "tihis point were conclusive. — " Lo, lam with you always, eyen unto, the end ,&f the world." After all this, however, some might -'say, although it was, the intention thatiheph'uroh then founded should exist' through all ages, some accident might intervene which would overthrow it. .But, he would ask; could any indication of the cessation of the Christian ministry be found ip history — any stoppage of thi3 sending forth of men tQ. preach tSe Gospel? The contrary was found feo be tlie'" case. The first, care of the apostles r'aftir Christ left them was to gather -themselves together;, and .fill ,np vacancies that had op-* curred amongst" them, and to increase their numbers to meet tbe requirements- of the Church's growtb. The rsv. prelate, then i directed the attention- of his hearers to St. Paul's instructions as to the character of . those, wiro should be sent' out to. minister, quoting a passage from t'^e .apostle's Epistle to , Titus in 'illustration oj* his _ remarks- The. greatest care, he continued," 'was, taken 'by the apbitles'for the perpetuation of 'the ministry,, and the conclusion to be ' derive! from that fact," he considered, was that Christ still sends men t6 preach' his blessed Gokpel, if not by his own voice, yet by 'the/ voice- of-thos; who have received commissiou to^do so. If therefore' they 'beloved; ..these; things they would still find Christ amongst thorn to comfort, instruct, and strengthen ,tji em. >The Bisbop_ then asked what were 'the objects of the Christian ministry ? and" in reply said that their object was to preaoh repentance and forgiveness ' of ;svne by fai<|h in Jesus Christ., -They had to take up the position of watchmen over' men's souls ; b^fc they were not only, to, watch, but to reprove, to rebuke, and to convince iien. "The charge resting on the "Chriß,t'ain' ministry was therefore one of a, very serf6us character. The?r duty was to call upon men to repent while they were themselves conscious of their own «jn-

fulness, -watch tybhoueheg&&£ v (}}j& ik Tioi known the ftgjroi of thSnjgh^roi^^dur&ion of their watj«sf To reprove ftfe&fcti^of t imes receive the *5» rt of their ffiU/?wt£, AH these" were cUitiesa^ volving trpon > -}the < '-,6hristiaTi rniniatry^j'&fc ;er day. jTo feed the.jflqck of i Chriafr-.Wds'SbO' their duty, fad, to pro^e the IfoodLtHfSmselvls' before pteseroing it toothers: fsey exclaiifi, W-lii^ i& •ttfflciept for t^^e thipis? Sat tibe conscjwiMKiM that that Sp is^^bears ift- the dJßcMirge of his duty^^SeKnowi thiifc he is se^, and that the sender will not allow him, to bif overwhelmed among his fellow men, The "rev. prelate then addressed a few telling words to the congregation. To those to whom Christian ministers are sent, he would say the ■reawm'tjbey shoiddiwej^tb^m TfaSr^beoaTlßß they were sent by Ipm who is the Head of the Chnrph; to the upper room in Jerusalem Ghrist breathed upon His desciples and said, ■"Receive. ye the»Holy Ghost," and so he still confers, the game spirit upon his ministers, who were Btill in need of the .same gift to console, , to. cheer, and to strengthen. Addressing Mr. Dewe, he conjured Mm as a servant of 6-od'iQ Remember these things: The treasure was put iff an earthen vessel; let hint therefore takecdre'it was ndir-brbken, so that both, sender and" "sent may be built up together' a h r bly temple in the Lord. ' ' ' When .the sermon was finished, the^ impressive ceremony of ordination was dulyjSer^ formed by the Bishop and the officiating clergymen before referred to, according to the rites of the .Church. In the evening^ the Bishop' again preached to a' crowded congregation, sitting accommodation being at a premium, after which a confirmation ceremony took place, when? males and H females were confirmed.