St. MATTHEW'S CHURCH.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 293, 18 October 1879, Page 2

St. MATTHEW'S CHURCH.

To the Editor of the WaikarAPA Dahy. Sib,—l did not, until to-day notice th e letter of ''Another Churchman" in your issue of the 14th inst. Allow me to reply to it. Your correspondent is_ oracular, but not necessarily, therefore, right in his argument. He at once .knocks down Churchman No 1 and Mr Teakle, whosutl ■correspondence on the subject .matter in : question, was, I consider, ligible and conclusive, and ter might properly haveqijm, hfi Churchman No 2 has to give us his opinion upon p&p/™ts and free seats, but to attack the clergyman and services of St Matthew's Church. That the parson and churchwardens here should have taken the lead in the free seat system in the Wairarapa District is, in my opinion greatly to their credit. It is, I think, a great pity that your correspondent should not haye confined his attention to giving his opinions upon pew rents and free seats, but he must also take the occasion to sneer at the incumbent and the services of the church, attributing the falling off in funds to the want of " confidence, sympathy and affection," which the members oi a church should feel towards their clergyman, and of " attraction" in the services. Speaking personally, I am very thankful to have the opportunity ef attending a weekly service of the Church of England, conducted by v an ordained clergyman (a rare thing in the Wairarapa district), and I cannot understand the feelings of your co-re-spondent and his fellow-thinkers, who prefer private" worship" at home to public worship in the chuich. Ido not wish to open an argument about church services but I do say this, that in these times of " religious differences" it is, in my opinion; the duty of all earnest Christians to avoid controversy as much as possible and to be tolerant to each other, and especially to their spiritual teachers while acting conscientiously in the discharge of their high duties. There may be, and no doubt are many among the congregation of St. Matthew's church, who, like myself, do believe in their parson as an earnest Christian teacher, and that being the case are content to leave the mode of worship to him. However this may be, the true , cause of the small congregation and consequent diminution in the funds of St. Matthew's Church is undoubtedly not any want of sympathy or respect for Mr Teakle, or unattractiveness in the services, , but the gross neglect of public worship i shewn here as elsewhere in the Wairarapa District by nominal members of the English Church, in the opinion of both clergymen and laymen, as I can testify, I lam, &c, 1 A Parishioner.