PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2177, 22 December 1885, Page 2

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The re-opening of the Presbyterian Church after the additions that have been made to it was celebrated yesterday evenjiig by a tea meeting. The various' trays prf:flrovj4e<} by tho following lady members of the Onurcli, sjfc jijjeir own expense I—Mrs Scott,' Miss Macara, Mrs Rayner, Mrs R, Cockburii, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Lowes, Mrs Cole, and Mrs Adams, They .wore presided over by Miss Feist, Mrs p. MoGfegor, Miss Sage, Miss Sandijandp, Mrs Scott, Miss Raynor, Miss Oolway, and Mjss Macara. A table was also provided by a number of bachelors, All the < tables were very liberally patronised, and the company, which was very large, did ample justice to the good things provided. A public meeting was held in the evening in tho church. The.Rev, D. Fulton presided, and there were also on the platform, the Revs. Ogg, Thompson, Buttle,'' Cecil and Paterson. ; - 'j% QJwirgjM). said the occassion was one on Ytych liq could express his feelings, or even'to realize them to himself! But he felt that tliey had eveiy occassion to be thankful that they had met again in their church after it had been enlarged. Ho trusted that whenever they met in it the external ai}d internal improvements of the building would tend them to consider it their home, where they could always meet as brothers and sisters, and with Jesus Qhrjst as their elder brother, Before proceeding with the alterations of the building they had' seriously considered their position. The thought of building ; a new church' had been suggested, and it had been a very pleasing one to them ; but they had .concluded that it was more to their interest to abandon it; because they would have got into debt to the extent of about £IOOO or £I2OO, . and that would have fettered them. There was such strong faith'in

the growth and progress of the place that it was hoped they would be able to proceed with the erection of a new churoh in a very few: years, and, if so, the present' ■church would Btill serve for the purpose of'a Sabbath School. As they would have seen by circulars, about £250 was required to make the additions. About £l6O had been promised, and of that amount £64 Is Bd, had been received. The collections yesterday amounted to, £8 7s 4d, and the proceeds of the tea Jneeting would be about £2O. They would see that they still had a considerable sum to make up. The Rev J. Paterson said he had great pleasure at being present on that occasion. It liad been at a little inconvenionce to himself that he had come up, Ip own new church having only just been opened. He had,, however, Tvatohed the growth of the place for a number of years past, and had beori present>when the original church was opened. He then remembered seeing • their pastor, the Rev J. Ross, on his knees assisting to lay the floor. He had formed a very, strong friendship with him, and through him he had come to take a more than ordinary interest in the congregation He was pleased to see that under the very able direction of the Rev Mr Fulton, the congregation was growing with the place, Ho was glad to see that they had enlarged the present building, and that they had. done so in preference to going heavily in debt for a new dfturch. The only thing that remained for thein to do was to pay for the work done, and he must' say that he had expected that they would not only havo, raised the £250, but also paid off the jpj) that were previously owing. The church' was the metropolitan church of the Wairarapa, and they should see that the £I3Q, at any rate, wa? collected, Tlwy should not kyoit penny of debt on ife. To give for $e cause of good was a Christian duty, They should not look upon collecting money for church purposes as bogging. It was as much part of their worship to pay towards the support of their church as' singing a hymn, because it was a necessity, He related how they had got deeply in debt on a new church in Liverpool, and that there was a captain of a steamer who was a member, with a large faintly,'and who only paid for one seat, He, lpweyer, grijiflbloi} Ujijt ftey liad so much to pay every year. He showed liim that he really paid less a yearthan for a pair of boots, He should ask thein to consider the tear and 'wear their Minister nut himself to, awl they would then Una that they did not make a sufficient return. Ho referred to different modes of giving, and asked them to give with cheerfulness, for then only would their gifts be acceptable. They should rally together, and when they had thrown off their debt they would feel thankful for it. He referred to the subi ject" What has the Bible done fof the world" being lectured upon at the Froq* thought Society's ii)eetjng. They should ratlipi: liavo aslced 'iwhatliaa it'noMoiio," The Jsibje. Kail given fhem''the noblest theology, arid the purest religion,' He related an instance in which a freethinker , taught his sonto read the New Testament, on the ground that it taught the purest morals.' Reargued that the Bible had ptyiftei] fanjity life, tW jj fifj fe of sciencp, aiicj qf the noblest 'of English' liteiatjiro. They 'Verb mdobted to it because it had ' taught them' to' worship, God, Ho asked'them so hole] firm and fast to their Bible,

Tho Hov llj. p. Ooojl (Wesleyjin) sa,id he had the ljonor that (jay of dining with three Presbyterian Ministers, and it was an awful thought (Laughter), and he folt quite oppressed, There was a reference made before the meeting of falling back upon one another, and he thought it .would be rathar awkward for the last who would speak. They should feel very much gratified for the success which had attended their efforts to 'enlarge the church, and lie was glad to see such a large and entlnisistic attendance to celebrate the re-opening, He believed the tea tpetjng had beer} entirety' and camel} out by of la|es, and h'e ' Oil ''their succoss, They wire' nbt of tliat section of Christianity whiclr believed in consecrated ground and consecrated bricks; but they UQniieprajied' themselves by tlieir worship, no mattm whether it wag ft lonely and desolate spot or in a fine house,' A record would be kept in heaven of the spot where a man had been re-born. The Rev Mr Thompson said thoy had just heard a very practical speech from theßevlfr Paterson. They should all feel tlfat flip welfare qftjje Cljiircl} de'd as "much 'lippn tliemselve? its upon their minister!'' It would'' be as well jf ■ everyone of them would"take.'up tlieir burdens and do their share of the work There was only one way in which tlje Church could be truly a ; n<j that was by extending their membership, and by assisting their minister, It was not only the infidels whom they had against thesi, but thoy also had those who had fallen away for various reasons, and whom they should endeavor to bring back. They knew what a miserable thing life would be if it wero' not for the influence of religion. He never felt more pity for anyone than for the man who looked him honestly in tho face and said ''There is no God. 1 ' They sliqulddo their utmost to bring baok those who bad gone so far off the path as to believe that, like the beast; man had no soul. Tho Rev J. N, Buttle said lie did .not think that thoy had yet reached the climax of Church life, and .it was .for that reason that' hd .was always glad to see gatherings of the'kind, lie gladly supported flvqiy wois t'hat had been uttered by tlii Rev'Mr Jtfatei'SoijV but theyshould not lower Christian giving'to the level'of begging.' They asked for contributions, but did not beg for tlieiii.' 0e did riot believe that the number of' Christian i'secttons a clrawbagk,' TJiejr pre' a benefit,' fpr there was more work cfotiq. In Masterton, by li'aving several 0 liurclios, they had a wider range, and' did miorq work. If they had the 'same' spirit t]iey would be doing right, whether thoy were Wflsjey&i).s or j?r§s])yterians, Thpy were gradually attaining a ononegs in tlieir churches which should proyp'tji great help to them in thefu'ture. "' The Rey C. S. Ogg said the truth I' abput them, paid ji) {|,'"ygry'f§w would bo about thisMasterton Church enlarged, poireo to pelebrate it; public meeting j some people could not get in ; Fulton excellent preacher, Small debt on Church j only £l3O-subscribed, and only half of that paid; pqoplo hard nails '(laughter). H 6 advised them not to be so hard,; and to pay the money. With reference to the attacks that iWI maae Ujlfiil t!l? Blbls, lie very thankful that he lived in this age, for they had more charity, more truth, and less dogmatism til? present time, than previously. Ho preferred 'this age ici any that 'hslcj preceded it,' and they would' probably be still better in the 'future. They were, no doubt, a great deal better thai) their fathers-(Laughter). Soirie qf the attacks oii the Bible were, no doubt, made beoause it was talsen in the earlier ages that it taught people to make war upon each other,', That wa?, however, difierent now, for the Bible had then been misread. He paid no attention to these attacks, It gave him great pleasure to be present that night, and that they had a so inuoh larger church, He again, alluded to their debt, and felt sure thatwith a little effort they could pay it. ' The Chairman thought that they would have no difficulty in paying off their debt by the end of another year He was glad that the question of giving had been put in its true light. By giving they were

giving for-Ohrlat's Bake, arid enriched and beautified their

Mr R. Scott moved a .vote of thanks to the ladies who, /with commendable generosity, had provided the tea, to those who had provided them with mental food that evening, and also to the choir. The meeting < terminated with the Doxology, -