S. ANDREWS CHURCH CAMAnnual Meeting.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1648, 27 January 1883, Page 3

S. ANDREWS CHURCH CAMAnnual Meeting.

The annual meeting of the parishioners of the above church was held in the schopl-jftom, on /Tuesday night laat. Notwithstanding the unpleasant nature of .•the weather there was a fair attendance, find'the chair was filled' 1 by the Yen. Archdeacon Willis, The proceedings Having opened with 1 prayer, the' minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed.

Annual Report.—The following report was read by the chairman :—: —

"''Report of tiik Vestry of S. Andrew's ," •' Church, Cambridge, for the Year •!-" ending ■ December 31st, 1882. "With much thankfulness to Almighty God for a continuation of His blessing on the church iv the district, the Vestry subnet the following report. They depart somewhat at the outset from their usual custom, by asking the incumbent to speak of the spiritual work of the year as inorc particularly that which is his special province. Archdeacon Willis remarks as follows :— Spiritual Work. — He wishes he could say that the spiritual state of the district generally was quite such as might be desired, or even that all the progress was made during the year that ought to have been made, fle is conscious that neither is the case, and that he has not himself done all in this respect that he might have done. Additional Minuter.—The district, howover, has advanced so rapidly, and the work so correspondingly increased that it becomes yearly more difficult for one clergyman to do, even fairly well, all that should fall to him. Increase of Population and Work.—The population ol Cambridge alone is three times as great as when it was first created a separate district five years ago, and along with this the outlying districts have correspondingly increased in population. Extent of District.—Besides conducting the services and visiting in the town, the minister of this district lias to hold services and visit in the outlying stations of Ohaupo, Hautapu, Taotaoroa, Matamata, and the Richmond division of Waitoa; and during the oarly part of last year it devolved upon him, in connection with the Home Mission, to hold services at the constabulary camp on the JRotonia road. Archdeaconry Visitations.—lfc will henceforward also be part of the duty of the present incumbent, in fulfilment of his office as Archdeacon of Waikato, as nearly as possible once in each year, to visit at least the chief centres of population throughout the archdeaconry. Hautapu and Tamaitcic Church.—As an instance of the increasing demands which even the church close to Cambridge is making on tiie time and attention of the clergyman, the incumbent would refer to the case of the growing township of Taniahere, in which a church is being built at the present time. The site of the building is an acre at the corner of the Cambridge-Hamilton, and Narrows Bridge roads, kindly given for that purpose by Mr John Martyn, junior. The design of the church ib more than ordinarily pretty, and the residents are taking a warm interest in its erection. The building will probably be finished about Easter. Lay Reader*.—Without the assistance of lay-readers it would be impossible to carry on e\ en the services which are at present arranged for in the town and district, and the church is fortunate in having men fitted for the work, and willing to do it. It would be difficult to iind in any parish a laymatMvlio fills the ofh'oo of lay-roader in the church with greater satisfaction to minister and people than does Mr Chitty. In response to a memorial of the parishioners to that effect the bishop's license was formally presented to him last year, Mr R. W. Dyer has also recently been assisting in the same work, and witli equal efficiency and acceptance. Sunday Si/itwf.—The Sunday School work in the district is not what it should be, and the incumbent longs for a great change, and loses no opportunity of urging its necessity upon the parishioners. He thankfully acknowledges real help from Messrs Dyer and .Sanders, and a few others at S. Andrew's, and from Mr and Miss Hyatt at Cambridge West. He would again here urge those who can do so to come promptly to their assistance. Ohoir. — The choir has maintained its efficiency during the year, notwithstanding the loss sustained in the departure of Mr jHeale. Mrs Chitty is devoted to her work as organist, and Mr Moore has tilled the offices of choir-master and secretary with zeal and efficiency. In regularity of attendance the organist and choir-master set an excellent example, which, if followed by all other members of the choir, would give great encourageiitciit to their le.idei'3, and result in increased satisfaction to themselves as well as the choir generally. Veal of Bells. — The Vestry turn now to remark as a body upon the material work done in the past, and the material requirements of the current year. They refer in the first place to the peal of bells now in the church tower, the obtaining of which iit.iy be considered the great material effort of the year. The bells arrived from England in June last, and were without any delay carefully and securely hung in ringing order in the tower. In August they were formally and solemnly dedicated to the honor and glory of God, and the use of S. Andrew's Church, at a special service at which the bishop with his usual readiness to rejoice with those that rejoice, attended and officiated. Through the marked liberality and enenry of Mr Hewitt (the principal donor) and the co-operation of the other members of the Vestry, the bells were dedicated free of any debt. Guild of /tint/en.—When the bells were ready for ringing, a guild of ringers were duly formed under the conductorshiu of Messrs v Owen Garland and James Webber (old rinqer^. The members of the guild have since been making steady progress in the art of ringing, and have voluntarily done the work of chiming for the •Sunday services since the dedication. FauUbwss of the Bells.—Coming to remark upon the tone of the bells, the harmony of the peal is far from satisfactory, and the Vestry think that there must have been some great mistake made to allow of their being sent from Hagland in this condition. They think also that when proper representations have been made to the manufacturers, they will supply their place with others, or, at least, make such amends as are necessary. Mr Wells, organist of Christchurch Cathedral, who lately was in the district, was kind enough to report fully on their defects,' and his report, together with a demand to make good the peal, lias been forwarded to the ( manufacturers through Messrs Morrin j and Co., the importers. Vibration of JBiutdHiff.— The Vestry feel concerned about the increasing vibration of the the tower during the process of singing. Unless some satisfactory means can be taken to obviate this, they much fear that the scientific work of ringing will have • to give place to that of modest chiming. There is no danger of the tower suffering materially in itself, but the chafing throughout the building caused by the vibration, is doing such damage as will eventually result in serious leakage. This is the opinion recently expressed by Mr Mahoney, the architect of the church. Statistic* Exhibiting Pro\f/resi.— Referring to statistics, the steady increase of the several years past in the number attending divine service^ and in the general offertories has been main'tainpa also thus year. Comparing with la«t year, while during 1881 the attendance at the services averaged £00, 'it leveraged '121 during 1882] showing an fSijcr'ease of 10 per cent/ But for a falling fiijff' [fctcfytly in the,, morning 5,-an'ce'l'the 1 'average'-'fdr, l&ai', y.eai 1, would . Imve been much higher. * s-lM general '£' sb'oif v! Jafa - ''increase 'of P>^a¥ds "|r df<- IJ 20b, W|j|jji fyshe f y$he

the future the Vestry remark as follows : The parsonage "'rtqiiires attention; the gutters are leaky and want renewing, and the verandah 3hould be re»floored. Some enlargement is also much required, The schooL-builf'.ing requires painting, and When; funds are forthcoming should, be lined and a bell provided. The building of a stable, in the church grounds is a, desirable work, which should he carried out when there are means available. Reduction of debt. Referring to the question of reduction ot the church debt, the Vestry would remind parishoners that goods unsold from last bazaar, value for about £70 are yet on baud. These with a few additions, if realised at a gift auction or otherwise, would probably provide for the first payment (£100) of sinking fund on the loan, which foils due this year. They invite discussiou on this subject. General Financial Condition. — From'the balance-sheet accompanying this report, the parishoners will see that the church finances are in what may be termed a fairly satisfactory state. The old system, however, of collecting church fund they do not consider works well at the present time, the total of subscriptions towards the general fund getting smaller every year. They would now suggest a new point of departure ; and with this end in view they submit an estimate of the probable receipts and expenditute for the current year, and invite the meeting to suggest some systematic mode of raising the sum required. In their estimate the Vestry have suggested a considerable addition to the remuneration at present given to the organist, which they consider very inadequate, and they hope means will be forthcoming to enable the new vestry to make the addition. The estimated expenditure is as follows :— Balance of liabilities to 31st December, 1882, £137 19s Id ; clergyman, £220 ; organist, £30 ; verier and gardener, £30 ; sundries, £50 ; interest and sinking fund on loan, £156 ; parsonage repairs, £20 : painting school-house, £10 ; total, £(553 19s Id. The estimated receipts to meet this are as follows :— Casli in hand, £20 0a 3d ; subscriptions paid since December, £29 3s ; general offertories, £220 ; scat rents, £40 ; sale of fancy work, &c, £100; subscriptions N.CiB.F, £16; leaving the sum to be raised indirect subscriptions or otherwise as follows— £22B 15s 10c! ; total, £653 19s Id. Subscriptions to General Fund. — During 1879 the sum collected as direct subscriptions to the (Jencial Fund was £163, and as the number of church members is now nearly double what it then was, it would appear that a properly concerted action is all that is necessary to raise thp sum of £228 15s 10d required to meet the necessities of the current year.— T/utids to ojficcn, §c.—ln conclusion the Vestry would remind the parishioners that their thanks are specially due to the lay-readers and Sundayschool teachers ; to the members of the choir, and to the guild of ringers. —(Signed, on behalf of the Vestry), W. N. dk L. Willis, chairman. Mr Wells then read the following balance-sheet : — Ordinary Account. — Receipts : To cash on hand, £514 Is ; subscriptions, £77 'is ; seat rents, £26 ; unexplained surplus, £1 9s ; offertoriesgeneral £184 3s 9d, special £53 2s Id; Hautapu offertories, £2 15s 7d ; overdraft at Bank of New Zealand, £38 4s 10(1 — total, £388 Us 4d. Expenditure: By clergyman's stipend, £209 3s 4d ; organist (fifteen months), £18 15s ; verger, £24 8s id ; parish contributions— school, £5 5s 9d ; choir, £2 17s; standing committee, £1 ; boll fund, £16 Is 3d ; Homo Mission, £10 Is 6(1 1; Melanesian Mission, £3 3s 7d ; insurance, £9 Us 3d ; interest, £2 9s 6d ; sundries, £38 9s 2d ; refund to New Church Building Fund, £19 ISs 4d ; cash on hand, £27 7s 4d— Total, £388 Us 4d. New Church liuildimj Fund Account.— Receipts : To cash on hand, £62 15s Ll ; o\ti draft, general fund, £34 16s 3d. subscriptions and donations, £53 Is 5d ; bazaar, £98 2s 2d : Bells Fund, £356 19s 2d ; conversazione, £7 10s —Total, £613 4s Id. Expcditure : By architect, £91 15s 6d ; builder, £48 10 ; interest, £o(i ; bazaar, £27 93 9d ; sundries, £13 18s 10d ; insurance, £10 2s 6d ; bells, £350 9s 7d ; overdraft, general fund, £14 17s lid— Total, £613 4s Id. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. VoTKh of Thanks. — On the motion ot Mr O'Halloran, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr Chitty and Mr Dyer, lay readers ; also to the Sunday-school teachers for their valuable services during the year. A vote ot thanks was also passed to Mrs Chitty, organist, and Mill. W. Moore, choirmaster. In proposing the motion, Mr Hosking referred to the creditable manner in which the organist and choirmaster had discharged the duties attached to the respective offices during the past year. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded, on the motion of Mr Hewitt, to the bell-ringers Thk Arohukacoxship.— Mr Wells referred to the honour which had been bestowed, not only on their worthy minister, but on the church generally, by the conferring of the Archdeaconship on their incumbent. A hearty vote of acknowledgement of the honour conferred was carried by acclamation. Financial. — On the motion of Mr Wells, it was unanimously agreed that a sale of work ho held in aid of the sinking fund as soon as possible. It was also ugieed, ou the motion of MrT. Hicks, that the incoming vestry be requested to inaugurate a system of raising and collecting subscriptions and the general church fund lequired to meet the estimated annual expenditure, the sum of £224 to be raised for the cut rent year. Thk Bulls.— On the motion of Mr Wells, it was agreed, " That in the opinion of this meeting the bells should be for the present chimed, only excepting special occasions, to avoid damage to the church." — Another vote of thanks was accorded to the churchwarden and vestry, and also to the secretary and auditors. MiNi.vTKtt's iStipi:xu. — It was agreed that the minister's stipend be increased from £210 to £220. Election' of Ofkiokk*.— The following gentlemen were elected churchwardens, it being agreed that the number be seven instead of ten as formerly : — F. Hicks, T. Hicks, Chitty, Dyer Sanders, Masters, and Moore. Messrs Hawley and Scott was appointed auditors. Mr T. Wells was appointed clergyman's warden, and Mr E. Hewitt parishioner's warden. The singing of the Doxology terminated the proceedings.