HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2572, 5 August 1909, Page 2

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.

— MEETING OF PARISHIONERS. The annuaf meeting of parishioners of Holy Trinity ' Church was held in Holy Trinity Schoolroom last evening, the Rev. E. H. Wyatt, incumbent, during the absence of tho Vicar, the Rev. Jj. Dawson Thomas, presiding. There was only a small attendance. The following report, which oontains extracts from the balance-sheet, was 1 read and adopted:—“The parishioners , will share in our regret that the serious illness of Mrs. Thomas necessitated her removal to Australia. The Vicar in consequonce offered to resign. VVe. are sure you will concur in our action in refusing to accept the resignation, and granting, our Vicar leave of absence extending, if necessary, to twelve months. There is reason to hope that Mrs. Thomas is now better and that before long she will be able to return in restored health. In this juncture the parish was singularly fortunate in being able to secure the services of Mr. Wyatt. Mr. Wyatt’s worth here lias been much appreciated. Wo are also greatly in his debt for his able conduct of the confirmation classes and for the efficiency of tho record number of confirmation candidates presented to the Bishop. The annual report and balance-sheet of the parish financo for the past year, ' which the officers of tue Church now submit to you will, they think, bear favorable comparison with those of preceding years. It will be remembered that an amount of £l3O was set down as a liability last year as a donation to the Church Extension Fund, the result of a resolution by the Vestry to that effect after taking into consideration the apparently satisfactory state of the balance-sheet as shown on the 30tii June, 1907. It subsequently turned out, however, that the anticipations were not realised, and by direction of the last annual meeting tho then incoming Vestry were authorised to rescind the resolution above referred to. Excluding the amount of £l3O, the liabilities on the 30th Juno, 1908, wero £lsl 13s Id. This has all been met out of the. past year’s income, in addition to other indebtedness incurred _ during that period, with the exception of £4l 13s Id, which represents the liabilities on the 30th Juno, 1909, including the bank overdraft. On the 30th June, 190 S, our liabilities? exceeded the assets by £B2 os 6d, and on the 30th June, 1909, tlio assets exceeded the liabilities by £72 7s 4d. On the 30th June. 190 S, tho amount of pew rents unpaid was £l3l 2s (estimated to produce £60); on 30th June, 1909, the amount unpaid v r as £ll2 Cs 8d (estimated to produce £75 2s 8d). Coinparison table: Pew rents collected £243 11s (1908), £230 16s lOd (1909); total offertories collected £412 14s 7d (1908), £426 12s 4d (1909); totals £656 5s 7tl (1908), £657 9s 2d (1909); or an increase of £1 3s 7d. The receipts from pew rents are very unsatisfactory. Considerable sums are never paid and have to bo written off. Unless pew rents are fully and regularly paid, it is impossible for the ordinary revenue to pay the annual expenses. Special and extraordinary efforts will become necessary to nay outgoings, which will preclude such efforts being strictly limited as they ought to be to tho Church Building Fund. Extraordinary Revenue.—Under this head' an amount of £319 16s 7d was collected at the All Nations’ Fail'. Of this sum £4O was ipaid over to the Melanesian Mission, £4O to the Maori Mission, and £2O to the Church Missionary Association (donations from the Ladies’ Guild), the balance of £219 16s 7d to the Church Extension Fund. , The thanks of the parishioners generally are due to those ladies and gentlemen who devoted their exertions and time, in many cases at a great sacrifice, towards making this the unqualified success it proved. Organist and Choirmaster. —Mr. Sidebottom and his efficient) choir have given great satisfaction dqring tho past year, and the thanks of the parishioners are due to those ladies and gentlemen forming the choir .for their gratuitous services. Church Extension. —Tho consideration of this matter has now passed into its fourth year, and the outgoing Vestry has no recommendation or suggestion to make as to the disposal of the fund, which at present is on fixed deposit bearing interest. The fund now in hand is: Deposit Savings Bank £550, interest accumulated £22 12s sd, deposit Bank of New Zealand £4lB, interest accumulated £7 13s lOd; total, £998 6s 3d. Lay Reader.-—During the past year the Parish was unfortunate in losing the valuable services of Mr. W. H., Powell, who accepted a similar office in the south. ■ The Vestry are confident that the .parishioners will wisli him every success. The Vestry have taken no steps to fill the vacancy up to the present time. His Lordship the Bishop.—The parishioners as a whole will feel very keenly the severance of the ties between them and the right reverend gentleman who has passed,so many years of his life in this parish, and the officers of the Church consider this a fitting occasion to wish him. many happy" years to peacefully en- - joy his woll-earned rest. Thanks.—The thanks of the Vestry, are due to Arch- , deacon H. Williams, tho Revs. F. W. Chatterton, Hamilton, Cockerill, and Dr < Gerrard Smith; also to the ordained ministers and graduates of To Ran College for tlieir kind assistance on many , occasions. Tho parish will miss the services of the Rev. M. Cockerill, ho having been appointed vicar of Ormond- , ville.” ' ] The following officers were elected j for the ensuing year: Vicar’s Churchwarden, Captain C. W. Ferris ; People’s Clmrchwarden, Colonel G. J. Winter; - Vestry, Messrs J. C. Field, T. A. Cole- , man junr, C. A. deLautour, V. Barker, * J. E. Foster, A. H. Wallis, E. H. Mann, W. E. Akrovcl, J. C. E. Kissling and Dr. J. W. Williams; auditor, Mr. E. G. Matthews. The annual report of the Ivaiti Sunday School, as printed and circulated among the parishioners, was read and adopted. Mr. G. H. Lysnar submitted the -annual 'report on Holy Trinity Sunday School. The report showed that the attendance of scholars had materially decreased during the past year, that the number of scholars on the roll was 251; as against .321 for the previous

year, .and 'the number of teachers had i decreased from 17 to 12. As the classes numbered 12, it often happened that classes bad to bo combined. He attributed tho decreased attendance and the reduction in the teaching staff to : the introduction, against liis wish, of the now diocesan syllabus, which had not been a success. He would recommend a change in the syllabus, and if he was not permitted to make the change he would prefer that some one else occupy.:, the position of superintendent of the. scli,ool. Tlio financial position of the school was good. Substantial sums J had been contributed to various mis-' sions. and there was still £l2 in hand, and it was proposed to spend £-10 of that sum upon new books for tho Sunday School library. He wished to thank tho teachers for their assistance during the year. , The Rev. E. H. Wyatt spoke in praise of the work done by Mr. Lysnar and the teachers in the Sunday School. He agreed that the lessons in the syllabus were unsuitable, as they interested neither teachers nor scholars. Still the school was efficient and well organised and tho scholars well behaved. A unanimous vote of thanks was passed to ivir. Lysnar and the teachers of the Sunday School for their gratuitous services during the year. The introduction of the new syllabus and the method of promoting scholars were discussed, but eventually the chairman ruled the discussion out of order, stating that the details of the management of the Sunday School were not open for discussion at a meeting of parishioners. Various matters in connection with the work of the parish were also discussed, ■ and the meeting closed with the Benediction.