S. ANDREWS, CAMBRIDGE.

Waikato Times, Volume XI, Issue 3209, 19 January 1893, Page 3

S. ANDREWS, CAMBRIDGE.

AXXUAIj MIiKTIXO Or VAItISJIIONKKSTub nnnti.il meeting whs lii'W in tho Sun-day-school, adj >ioio» the church, on Monday ovening, at tS p.m. Owing to the wrotcbedly wet weather, tlio attendance was eery limited; and indeed no one could blami) those who stayed away, for during tlio day it lu.d rained almost without ceasing, and those who did attend ivuro treated to a small deluge as they returned homo, Thcre.weru presont,:'Tho incumbent (Veil. Archdiacon' Willis); in (he. chair, and Mossre HvO. Dyer, J, W. Glonny, T, Hoster, - E.-- Hewitt, T. W. Hicks, H. I'rooce, J. ; Young,-T.-Ai' Hicks and T. Hartiy. Mr R; G. Dyer kindly acted as secretary, and read the minutes of the previous annual meeting, ivhich'weroduly confirmed. The treasurer (Mr T. Wells) wrote apologising for his absence, through indisposition, Tub KBiwr.-This was read by the chairman, and was as followsTho year just past hitf not been marked by any event to call .for, special mention. It lias, however, we trust, been ono of great progress of the best kind; and a review'of it is oncouraging in' many respects.—Church ; services: The"regular church services have been'continued as heretofore, with the. help :tif tHp lay rfeader.H, and tho increase in the numbers ottonding bwth'iritirning and ovening, which was noticed a year ago, has continued to grow. Tho date of observing tlio anniversary of the church was changod during the year, by resolution Of Hie parishioners, from August 31st to November SiOtll (S,' Andrew's Day), and that day was kept as tho anniversary last year for the ■ first time.—Suudiiy-schiiola: Tlio Sundayschools, both at Cambridgo East and West, have, held, their ground, and have had an attendance of scholars. ; Thefew regular teachers who have conducted tliein are deserving of high commendation. The schools, however, could do a better and a larger work if more teachers would qualify and offer themselves/ The recent appeal of ! tho minister of the district for a new tea- < ichor (or the Cambridge West school has had ""noresponse; consequently, tho good work which has been done by Mrs 0. Garland in the past, but which she is u'nablo to continue this year,'.will have to coase. The 1 want of good teachers and a sufficient number of them is one of the greatest needs of thfl'jchurch, in' all its branches, at tho present' time. Tlib call-,for. such is the-more '"pressing*amongst'ourselves until the Biblo and religious teaching shall have boon restored to tho primary day schools of the colony.' : There are signs that this restoration will soon bo mado, but in tho mean- ' time, at least, it is incumbent upon the religious laity to do more for their Sundayschool? than they are doing. Tho call is all j the more!urgeiit iti the country districts, as' the,country clergy, owing to their many : services, cannot take any part, in the teaching'themselvesi. The Sunday-school library has been' replenished : by ; having 100 new books added to it. These are all from amongst the latest publications of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and are partly a gift from tho society and partly a purchase out of the school funds. •A free distribution of nearly 1000 illustrated magazines has been made to the children who attended most regularly.— Choir: Mr Hartiy ably acted as organist during the year. Mrs Ross-Watts also did good service in organising and training a class of boys. "She, moreover, worked under exceptional difficulties, as tho choir forVa long time wai without a conductor, and had no meetings for practice. In tho beginning of December Mr F. Pilcher undertook the duties of choirmaster,, and he has begun well. Mr Pilclier will do a good work for . the church if his health permits him to continue to hold the office.—Parish Evenings: Five parish evenings were held in the school-room during tho winter months, and •the interest in them, if tlio attendance is an indication of it, was greater than in any other previous year.. These evenings are ' really valuable as bringing together tho members. of tho church. regularly and frequently. in a friendly social way. Besides the' parish evenings, two out-door socials were held in the Parsonage grounds, in tho autumn and in the spring, which were also largely attended. Three evenings were also given to lantern lectures on " The Life of Christ," "New Zealand Church History/' and "Enoch Arden," by the Eev, Jolm Haselden in tho parish school-room,-Sta-tistics: The average attendance at the ordinary services were as follows: Morning. 112; evening, 74; holy communion, 18, The number of parishioners who communicated was 77; tho number nf celebrations of holy communion, 26. There weie 2ti baptism's, two marriages, and nine burials. Ten males and twelve females were confirmed. Ihe average attendance of Sundayschool teachers at Cambridge East was eight; <f scho'ars, 01. The number of :; scholars on tho roll on December,3lst was 114. The number of. families visited by the minister was 203 ; the - number of visits; 537. —Finance; The financial position continues encouraging. For two years now the church ! has kept fiee from using any Bocondavy menus of raising revenue; and yet, as-may be seen by comparing the accounts with tlioso of previous years, not only is there no debit balance, but there is a larger, credit balance to carry forward than there has been' un any occasion hitherto,Property and insurance: Tho parishoners are again reminded that tho church and schoolroom nro much in need of a fresh coating of paint, The last painting was done/just seven years ago, and tho buildiiigs'are Buffering from want of a new coat. A matter still more urgently needing atten- •' tion is the school roof, The shingles nro the siiuia that were put on tho building when it was erected just twenty years ago, '• and in .the north side at least they have been quite perished, There is consequently serious leakage in ■ all the north side, and the roof should forthwith bo recovered, The parsonage is in good order with the exception of tho roof of the verandah and tho roof of the stable both of which require covering with iron. The church and furniture are insured for £IOOO, the schoolroom for £250, and the parsonage for £350,-Thanks: Tlio thanks of the parishioners arc due to the lay-readers and Sunday-school teachers, to the members of the'ehoir, to the ringers, and to" the ladies and others who helped at the parish evenings. The highest thanksgivings of all am duo to Almighty God who gives his people the will and the power to do his work, May our merciful and loving Father pardon bis people for their faults and failings in the past, and' continue to guide and help them in tho future through Jesus Christ our Lord.-Win. N, de L, Willis, Chairman of Vestry. ,

ji.vi.AKOE SiiKCT,-In the absence of the Treasurer, the balance sheet was read by Mr Glenny, and was ns folluws: —Receipts, To cash in hand, 31st December, 1891, £29 16s f.'d; subscriptions, £BS 2s; offertories (general), £l3O 16s 2d; offertories (special), £ll 13s 19d; parish evenings and out-door soci«l8, £l9 2s M; rent, £3; Church Gazette, £5 4s; pension fund, £1 Ss fid. Total, £315 3s Od —Expenditure, by salaries, Rev, Willis, £173; verger, £l2 4s M; organist, £7 10s; parish contributions, Melanesian mission, £3 17 lid; Home mission, : ;£2lßs 8d: native pastorate, £l' 3s; pension' fund, £5; country clerey fund,, £2 Os 8(1; Russian famine, 13s; Newfoundland distress, £2 10s; synod expenses, £1; insurance, £l7 Is; interest, £l7:3s lod fparsonage ; improvements, £2 g? j : choir, £1 2s (id: borough rate?; £2 8s; Church Gazette, £'7 Oa 7(1; out-drior social, £1 Si; sundries, £1!) 13s. cash in hand, £ll3 15a 2d. Total "JL'3-15 3s Od. Examined and found correct; J. W, Merrick, Auditor, Insurance.—Attention was called to the large amount paid for fire insurances, and it was resolved to call for tetider.j for the insurances us the premiums become due this year,-The report and bnlnnco sheet were then adopted, Sunday School.-Tho report and balance sheet relating to the Sunday-schojl wero then read. The latter'showed a credit balance af £lslss.—Both were unanimously adopted. ; ,Thanks. —Hearty votes of thanks were accorded thelay-readearj, the Sunday-school teachers, the guild of ringers, the auditors, the members of the choir, and the ladies and others who had helped at the parish evenings.—The Chairman said thoy had netted a nice little sum by the parish evenings thanks to the ladies who had provided viands etc,, and he should like to see the money devoted to renovating the school. Clkugyman's Srimi) -This was fixed at £11)0 for the year, an advance ot £ls upon last year; but in previous years it had been reduced £ho. Chubohwabdbn9.-Tlio incumbent apappointed Mr T. Wells minister s warden and the parishioners unanimously elected Mr E. Hewitt as their wardon. 1 Vestrv.—The number of the vestry was fixed at seven, the following being elected fnthe ollico: —Messrs J. W. Glenny, W, (! Park, S. Seddon, T. Hester, R. W. ltyeiy J. Young and T. W« llicks. AUDITORS. -Messrs J. W. Merrick and A G McUrae were re-appointed auditors, Pabisk Evenings,-It was decided to hold a series of live parish evenings during " Habvesx Thanksgiving,-A committee

consisting of Messrs Wells, Hewitt, Glcnity, and l)yor, to appointed to arrange wlion tlm customary harvest thanksgiving service# siniiild be held.

Tlio meeting then closed with prayer, and those present partook of supper, kindly provided by tho Archdeacon, previous to turning out into the rain.