Our Heritage

OUR HERITAGE

St. ANDREW’S PAROCHIAL DISTRICT

Combined Funds Canvass

1956

DEDICATION….

TO ALL MEMBERS of the Anglican Communion of this Parish who have by sacrifice and devotion served His Church in this place and to those who by the Grace of God will follow to carry on their work in this Service.

A Family Affair

The Vicar, Mrs. Fagg, Stephen, Jacqueline, Michael and Prudence.

This Canvass is indeed a family affair.  I write to you as a family man to the Family of God – the Church in this Parish.

In a scattered Parish like ours, it is so easy to see only the little faithful band in our own particular district.  Now this new venture of ours will, I am sure, enable us to see the potential power of the whole Parish, and when you have God’s power linked to dedicate lives, there is no end to what may be accomplished.

May we go forward in this venture together in loyal sacrifice and faithful service in the Name of Him who made the Supreme Sacrifice in order that we might live our life more abundantly.

Your affectionate Vicar,

T.F. Fagg

The Church’s Work

I.D. McKenzie
General Chairman

THE CHURCH is this place has a task of challenging magnitude, the Parish including as it does AHURIRI, WESTSHORE, BAY VIEW, ESKDALE, KAIWAKA, TUTIRA, PUTORINO, TE POHUE, TE HAROTO, TARAWERA, OHURAKURA, WAIKOAU.

It is the high calling of the Vicar to minister to some 525 families within these areas in addition to provide assistance with the spiritual work at the Hospital, in the Schools and with visiting Seamen.

There are organisations in the Parish for men, women, girls and boys, all of which receive the active support and encouragement of the Church as well as the generous and loyal support of many faithful members of the Church family.

The Church has reached the uttermost sections of the Parish, and services are held at regular intervals in every district where it is practicable.  In spite of the tortuous, winding roads and in some instances very poor surface, the Church still keeps its contact with its members, and as time goes on more and more of the families living considerable distances from St. Andrew’s have been made to feel that they are members of the one large family.

OUR NEEDS

The Canvass Goal

Many of us have never had the privilege of sharing in the building of Church halls or buildings. Mainly through the generosity and hard work of past generations, we have had reasonably adequate Church facilities, but unfortunately we have given little thought to the needs of the future. Had our predecessors looked at things in the same light, today we would have had very little in the way of Church buildings, and these undoubtedly would be inadequate for our needs.

With the rapid growth of this Parish, our material needs are now reaching the stage where action is imperative. At Westshore, to cope with the needs of the congregation, we must build a new Church. At Bay View our most urgent requirement is for a section to be available for a church in the near future. St. Andrew’s Church in Ahuriri requires many urgent repairs. Time has played havoc with the building and very little money has been available for maintenance.

The above are our material needs. However, most of us should be aware that our greatest need is not “How much our Church needs,” but “What is the need of the giver to give.” Giving by the individual has a very definite spiritual impact on the giver.

Throughout the ages, even before Christianity came to the world, the need of the giver to give has been recognised. However, today such realisation has been to a great extent clouded by modern self-interest. There can, however, be no questioning the fact that the greatest benefit derived from a gift is that derived by the giver.

Mr Frank Smith,
Special Gifts Chairman.

The Church has been living in penury in the midst of what may be called paddocks of pounds.  Throughout its history the Church has depended upon a few faithful workers and generous givers, with the result that today we are enjoying facilities which we owe to their far-sighted charity.  We should not in this age be required to depend upon charity.  The Church could have access to adequate funds to meet all its needs if only we were as generous as our predecessors, and the time has now come for us to review our giving to the Church.

We are all apt to think the Church is there when we need comfort or service, but how much are we prepared to reimburse the Church, not only for the fact that it is there awaiting us, but for its continued service and comfort throughout the ages.

Increased giving by the individual, as well as by the Church, automatically develops increased interest in our Church and in benevolences by the Church.  Token-giving can bring only token-interest with token pleasure following in its logical place.

We all enjoy doing what we do well.  Therefore, we should improve our giving habits to a stage where we can be said to give well and enjoy the obvious benefits.

This canvass is a challenge to us all.  Not only is it a challenge to our stewardship with our conscience dictating whether or not we will prove worthy of the stewardship entrusted to us.

OUR LINK ….
WITH THE PAST

We in this parish have reason to be humbly thankful for the devotion, faith and vision of those who have gone before us.  The Parish is blessed with a beautiful Church, steeped in the history of this district.  The outlying Church buildings are tributes to the faith of those who have settled in these areas, and have laboured to erect places of worship.

The first Church in this district was a temporary building in Waghorne Street.  It was used until St. Andrew’s was consecrated in 1883 by Bishop Edward Craig Stuart, the Parish having been created in 1880. The disastrous earthquake in 1931 fortunately left the Church buildings intact although they were considerably weakened in structure.  This same earthquake so altered the formation of the land that where previously was a few week-end residences we now have thriving areas.  This Parish is rich in historical memories and has stood the trials and tribulations of disasters since it was first created as a Parish.  From the beginning our Parish has grown in stature until it covers an area in the vicinity of 1,500 square miles.

How to make a Pledge

Mr PETER CLARK
Canvass Committee Chairman:

The word “Pledge” to many of us means a fixed and unchangeable decision. The pledge you will be asked to sign is not a pledge of any amount. It is not a pledge of money. It is purely a pledge to try to contribute. When you sign your pledge you are not signing a legal document. You are signing a document which binds you to try to contribute, and the amount set out on the pledge is your goal. The value of that goal will depend upon several points:-

1.     YOUR CHRISTIAN FAITH.
2.     YOUR FAITH IN YOUR CHURCH PROGRAMME.
3.     YOUR RECOGNITION OF THE CHURCH’S NEEDS.
4.     YOUR RECOGNITION OF YOUR NEED TO GIVE
5.     YOUR DESIRE FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE CHURCH’S ACTIVITIES.
6.     YOUR DESIRE TO MAKE A SACRIFICE.
7.     YOUR FINANCIAL ABILITY.
8.     YOUR FAITH IN GOD.
9.     YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF STEWARDSHIP.

No one can tell you how much you should pledge. No one can tell you how much you can pledge. Therefore, no assessment of your pledging can or will be made. The amount of your pledge depends entirely on one thing: –

THE DICTATES OF YOUR CONSCIENCE

and remember when pledging that the greatest benefit in giving comes to the giver himself.

The question of stewardship is one which can and does exercise our minds. When we come to this earth we have nothing. What we gain in goods and substance is for our use, for our life here. It is not ours to keep. It is ours to guard and enjoy. The earth is still the Lord’s. Therefore, we are merely His stewards making use of His substance, and will, when we leave this earth, answer for our stewardship. May we all so do that when we answer for this stewardship we will not be ashamed.

The VOLUNTARY CANVASSER

Very soon now one of our team of voluntary canvassers will be calling on you to discuss with you and your family your pledge for the future.

The canvasser who calls upon you will have spent many hours fitting himself for his task. In addition he will have made his own generous pledge.

Having made his pledge, the canvasser will have experienced the difficult questioning which is exercising your mind in your endeavour to find a basis on which you can pledge. The canvasser is a friend and is there to help you. Make use of his help to the full.

He believes in this project and is well aware that his task is not an easy one, but you can help him by extending a welcome when he comes.

The responsibility of the Church and the opportunity to sacrifice for it are ours, so let us face the challenge with determination and give of our best.

The Canvass Plan

To raise £15,000, which is our goal, it has been agreed to conduct between now and the 12th December, 1956,

an Intensive
Organized
Individual
Face-to-face
Solicitation

in the homes, for pledges payable weekly over a 150- week period beginning on Sunday, January 20th, 1957.

There is nothing complicated or high-pressure about our Canvass Plan nor about our Financial Objective. It will be a canvass carried out by the men of this Parish of all Church families. We need the sum of £15,000 if the Church is to develop as it should.

We are asking every member and friend of this Church to set aside a generous portion of their income each week for a period of 150 weeks.

We are not trying to sell you an idea. We are trying to show that to continue our Church life to its maximum fulfilment we need to give. We must plan our actions in every way, as well as plan what we will do for our Church.

Visits will be made to the Church families, who will be asked to decide whether they desire to become a part of the Church’s plan and whether they think sufficient of the Church’s plan for their Christianity to assist the Church in budgeting for the future.

The Canvass is designed not only to increase the giving to the Church, but to bring home to Church families the fact that they are necessary to the Church to as great an extent as the Church is necessary to them. Without planned and generous giving the Church families cannot have full and complete interest in their Church, and without planned and generous receiving the Church cannot give the full measure of its service not only to its own members but to Missions and Benevolences.

THEY LOOK TO US!

for their Heritage

In the Home

Mrs G.E. Clark,
Hostess Chairman.

EVERY WOMAN is very much aware of the character-building influence of the Church in the lives of her children, and does not need to be persuaded of the necessity for adequate facilities to meet the requirements of a rapidly developing parish.

The influence of women in this Canvass will be exceedingly important in bringing all our Church families together, and as the Canvass proceeds their influence will be greater still for, in no small way they will be the deciding factors in many homes as to what the Church means to them.

and in the Mission Field

MORE THAN EVER TODAY THE WORLD NEEDS CHRIST. Therefore our duty as Christians makes paramount the spreading of Gospel in other lands.

It should be clearly understood, however, that your pledge covers every need of the Parish and that you will not be asked for any other contribution for anything else at all. This means that your pledge will include your contribution for the work of the Church both at home and abroad.

Many men and women are today serving abroad at very real cost to themselves to bring the Gospel to all mankind. They are the frontline troops of the Church, and their example should inspire us all to work, to pray and to pledge together to forward the work of God in this Parish and throughout the world.

We must not and will not let them down.

Canvass Prayer

O Heavenly Father, through whose help nothing is impossible, bless our Parish Canvass and grant to each one of us willing hands and generous hearts, that, through worthy offerings of time and substance we may help to extend Thy Kingdom in this Parish, to the glory of Thy Holy Name; through Jesus Christ Our Lord.  Amen.

ESK VALLEY

CANVASS ORGANISATION

General Chairman:
Mr I.D. McKENZIE

Initial Gifts Chairman:
Mr F. HOLT

Special Gifts Chairman:
Mr FRANK SMITH

Canvass Committee Chairman:
Mr PETER CLARK

Team’s Chairman:
Mr F. HAMMOND

Hostess Chairman:
Mrs G. CLARK

Arrangements Chairman:
Mr J. BURN

Publications Chairman:
Mr RUSSELL BLEWDEN

E.G.R. Chairman:
Mr I.D. McKENZIE

LIST OF VICARS

The Rev. W. WELSH   1880-1886
The Rev. Mr FREELAND   1886-1887
The Rev. A. D’ARCY IRVINE   1887-1888
The Rev. G.H. PRESTON   1888-1889
The Rev. O. DEAN   1890-1917
The Rev. F.B. REDGRAVE   1918-1922
The Rev. W.T. DRAKE   1922-1930
The Rev. B.R. BRIERLEY   1930-1937
The Rev. W.S.G. CAMERON   1937-1952
The Rev. W.G. BIRD   1952-1953
The Rev. T.F. FAGG   1954-

NEWMARKET PRINTING HOUSE LTD.