4
the sweet strains of the violin and piano
hlend in the heautiful and well-known hymn,
“Let the lower lights he hurning.” Yes,
nearly all the windows in the lighthouse are
lit, showing that nearly all the classes have
been faithful in punctuality, attendance, daily
study, and offering. And surely God takes
note of the faithful keepers of * the lights
along the shore,” and “ will keep that which
they have committed unto Him against that
ay.”
“ What have you done for Jesus?” was the
poignant question asked in a solo hy Brother
L. Fraser.
A joyful note was struck when the offering
was announced. Now are you any good at
guessing? Well, in case you are not, I will
tell you; the offering for the day was £12
13s, of which the home department con-
tributed £3 6s. 3d.,, and the Investment plan
£7 9s. 5d.
I know you would like to know the names
of the two ladies who conduct this successful
Sahhath school. They are the Misses P. Far-
rant and Edna Holmshy, As Brother Butler
closes the school with the henediction, our
hearts give thanks, too, for the Sahhath
school, ‘Sweet Sahhath school, more dear
to me than fairest palace dome, my heart
ere turns with joy to thee, my own dear Sah.
hath home.”
NELLY FAULKNER.
LE EEECEEEEE EERE EERRCEEEe,
General :
€ eR E EEE ERE EET EE EEE ene ee’
iddadisd A
N
Figures That Are Eloquent
WE need not write 2 hook to demonstrate
that a world depression is powerless to stop
the onward march of our message, By
means of a few words and a few figures
covering the ten years from the end of 1924
to the end of 1934, abundant proof may be
given that the church accomplishes ever so
much more in times of adversity than it does
during prosperous periods. }
It is five years since the depression hegan
in our Division ; the five previous years were
prosperous. Let us compare the two periods.
Five Pros- Five De-
perous Yrs, pression Yrs,
Per cent Per cent
of Increase of Increase
Churches in Homeland 17 33%
Churches in Islands 23 75
Sahbhath schools, Homeland 1515 24
Sahhath schools, Islands 53 60
Regarding our Missionary Volunteer mem-
hership, it will be sufficient to add that ten
years ago we had 4,122 enrolled in this de-
partment; now there are 11,421. Of these
ten years ago the island missions accounted
for less than five hundred, now we have 5,225
enrolled in 129 M.V, Societies dotted through
our Pacific Island territory,
When, after nearly fifty years of effort in
Australasia, almost 30 per cent of our church
membership was added during the five recent
depression years, we can but how our heads
in adoration to our Father in heaven.
H. STOCKTON,
Union Conf. Statistician.
a
gp
PRAY for the gift of not telling tales, and
the best way of getting it is by never repeat-
ing, if you can help it, what you have heard
against anyone.—/. RB. Howat.
AUSTRALASIAN RECORD
NORTH NEW ZEALAND
Office Address: 84 Jervois Rd.
Auckland, N.Z.
Telephone: 26-259
President’s Home "Phone: 27.301
SIE FELLLELLTT HHT
SHER
[TS ELTLTERR ATT ETLLIR ES [8
Reminiscences
A Reunion of Pioneer Adventists at
Ponsonby Church, Auckland
THE Apostle Paul hids us, “call to re.
memhrance the former days” (Heb. 10: 42).
This injunction was literally carried out in
the Ponsonhy church, Auckland, on the after-
noon of Sahbath, April 13, 1935, when a
reunion was held for the pioneers and charter
memhers of the Advent movement in Auck-
land. The mother church of the conference
was packed to the doors.
A large choir under the ahle leadership of
Sister W. Zillwood sang the grand old Ad-
vent hymns from the old “ Hymns and
Tunes.” How the congregation was stirred
to hear * The Coming King Is at the Door,”
“ What a Gathering That Will Be,” and
again “ The Beautiful Hills,” “ On Jordan's
Stormy Banks,” and many other fine old-time
melodies.
An Opportune Letter
After prayer and a few words of welcome
hy the chairman, Pastor H. E. Piper, a short
talk was given hy Pastor ¥. L. Sharp—a
pioneer of over forty years’ standing. He
told ahout the heginnings of various
hranches of the work in Australia, He also
told an incident of early days in New Zea-
land. Pastor Farnsworth was conducting a
mission in Dunedin, and the ministers of a
certain denomination had determined to stop
him. They came to the tent night after
night, making a disturbance and challenging
our workers to dehate. The workers won.
dered what they should do. They met
together, and prayed over it, finally deciding
to leave It until the morning and see how the
Lord would direct them. In the morning
Pastor Farnsworth met the hrethren, holding
up a letter, It was from Sister White in
Anmierica and in it was the message, “You
will meet much opposition in your work, hut
go right ahead, for your opponents will fall
to quarrelling among themselves, and their
opposition will come to naught, hut your
work will continue.” That was shown her
and the letter written hefore ever our work
started in Dunedin, hut it came to hand at
the right moment. Our opponents joined
with other denominations to stop our work.
They decided to write a tract to this end, but
one man wanted one thing written, and
another wanted something else, and among
them they could not agree what should he
written. The strife hecame so hitter that our
work was forgotten in the confusion and our
hrethren continued in peace.
Pastor Piper told of the beginning of the
work in Petone, when his mother took her
stand. The good soul is alive today and re-
joicing in the message.
After more old-time hymns hy the choir,
the meeting was given over to the pioneers to
“ call to rememhrance the former days.”
What He Heard Through the Keyhole
Half a century ago, Mr. Choyce, of the well
known Auckland firm, Milne and Choyce,
took a friend to the home of a Mr, and Mrs.
Edward Hare in Upper Queen Street. He
introduced the stranger as the “Rev.”
Haskell, saying that he wanted a quiet Chris-
tian home where he could lodge, and he
20/5/35
thought Mr, Hare's would he an ideal place
for Mr. Haskell.
A few days afterward the other lodgers at
Mr. Hare’s complained that the “ Rev.” Has.
kell was disturhing them, that he talked to
himself in his room. Mr. Hare was annoyed.
He knew Mr. Haskell was peculiar—he ate
no meat, drank no tea, and preached strange
doctrines. True, these strange doctrines did
not worry Mr. and Mrs. Hare, for they knew
all the doctrines contained in the Bihle and
the “Rev.” Haskell could teach them nothing
(so they thought), hut this talking to himself
—~douhtless the man was mad, and no mad-
man would he tolerated in Edward Hare's
well ordered household, He decided there-
fore to ask the “ reverend ” gentleman to find
other lodgings,
After retiring to rest Mr. Hare talked the
matter over with his wife, and teld her what
he intended doing; hut she, good soul, told
him not to act in haste, hut that they should
Ponsonby Church, Auckland, Opened October, 1887
find out the truth of the statement, where-
upon Mr. Hare decided that he would settle
the question there and then; he would creep
upstairs and listen outside the door and see
what the old fellow was talking ahout. Ac-
cordingly he got up, tip-toed up the stairs,
and peeped through the keyhole, He next
put his ear to the keyhole and listened, hut
he soon shrank away downstairs, feeling the
meanest man on earth. “ Wife,” he said,
“ that old gentleman is not mad, neither does
he talk to himself. He is talking to his God,
and he is praying for as, for you and for me,
and for our little ones, and for our home,
We must not turn him out of our home.”
A few days afterward Pastor Haskell gave
a study on the Sahhath question, and oh! the
wonder of it, Mr. and Mrs, Hare found they
had heen worshipping on the wrong day.
Mrs. Hare was a memher of the Church of
England, and as each commandment was
read in cburch she had responded, “ Lord,
have mercy on us, and incline our hearts to
keep this law.” Now her life-long prayer
was heing answered and the Lord was inclin-
ing her heart to keep His holy law. They
hoth took their stand, and joined the ranks of
the Advent people.
The First Church in New Zealand
Brother Hare next took Pastor Haskell up
to Kaeo, to give the message to his father’s
house, hut the family were not pleased to see
him. “ The very idea of his coming to teach
us,” they said. “ We know quite as much as
Pastor Haskell. His name should he Rascal,
not Haskell. But never mind, we’ll settle the
old rascal in a few minutes.” Instead of that
the “old rascal * settled them ; after studying
the question the family stepped out into the
message, and thus the first church in New
Zealand was estahlished at Kaeo,
This was the thrilling story told by