Te Kopara 9
[1] Te Kopara, Number 9, Gisborne, June 1914.
‘Iti te Kopara, kai takirikiri ana i runga i te Kahikatea.’
Although the Bellbird is small, he plucks at the Kahikatea. [cf Nga Pepeha 908]
THE TOWN OF GISBORNE WELCOMES THE BISHOP OF WAIAPU.
On Thursday, 4th June, the Bishop came here to Gisborne. That day at 8 o’clock in the evening the greetings and the speeches took place. Although he had been in Gisborne recently he was not on that visit thinking to see this part of his flock but stayed here prior to going to the East Coast areas and did not go to other parts of the Gisborne district. Therefore there was no welcome given to him and no speeches marking his coming, but now at last had come the time arranged by the people of Gisborne for him to come and be seen by them.
Those who welcomed him were the Town Mayor, spokesman for the town and for the Province of Poverty Bay, the Rev Dawson Thomas, spokesman for the Parish of Holy Trinity, Gisborne, Archdeacon Herbert Williams, Archdeacon of Waiapu, the Rev Grant, spokesman for the Presbyterian Church and all the other Gisborne Churches, and Colonel Winter, spokesman for the congregation of Holy Trinity Church. After the speeches to the Bishop he stood to respond to the welcome given him by the people of Gisborne, by the town and the province, by his own flock and by his friends of other Churches. After his greetings the Bishop went on to speak about the indebtedness of Holy Trinity Church. Holy Trinity is a beautiful church. It is made of brick. Inside it is lit by electric lights. It is still a new church having been completed last years and opened by Bishop Averill. The money owed on this church is £1,100. The Bishop congratulated the people of Gisborne on their diligence and commitment in erecting their beautiful new building which is so
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much larger than the old one. But, the Bishop also said, our gratitude should go back to those who have entered the long rest who laid the foundations of the work in this parish, those people who built the old church, and those groups of women who helped in all ways with that building. Now it is up to you who stand in their place. Now my heart is enlivened at seeing you, their descendants continuing their work, following in their footsteps and seeking to elaborate on the glory of their achievements. Now I have seen your beautiful church, a permanent building of stone, a building that will be left to your children as evidence of your strong and faithful keeping of the faith. After these words the Bishop spoke of the debt on the church. He said to remember that this building is God’s house and that God’s house should not be left standing in debt. That debt should be quickly paid off so that his temple could stand proud and so that the parish is not encumbered by that debt and cannot direct its help outwards to places near and far which it could help had it not that debt. So, Parish of Gisborne, pay back that debt quickly. This should not be a burden to a faithful and prayerful heart. Pray earnestly that the debt may be wiped out this Sunday. Do not look to shows or bazaars to pay this debt. I don’t like such things. I think it is better for a person to take what is in his bag and give it to God in his house. Looking to the profits of bazaars, my friends, to pay off this debt is not the right way of giving to God. Just think how God has given us our standing and let us rightly give him praise. If we grasp this we will give even if it is only a farthing so long as it is given in the spirit of thankfulness and to the extent of our ability. So make every effort in the coming week. There is nothing God cannot achieve if we ask him with a faithful heart. Here the Bishop ended his address and the minister of the Parish underlined it to all the people in the hall.
The Bishop is a very humble man but a man with the Spirit of God. In response to the welcoming remarks to him he said that he was thinking of the great men who had preceded him – Bishop Selwyn, Bishop William Williams, and his elder also, [me hauarea] Bishop Leonard Williams, and looking at himself he felt totally inadequate to stand in their place. Such is his humility.
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On the Sunday he preached at all the services at Holy Trinity in the morning and the evening. The Bishop’s sermons were powerful and sweet to the ear and one could see how his words touched the hearts of the congregation. It was very obvious that he was filled with the Spirit of God and that his words did not just drop from his lips but sprang from within his heart. Indeed it was obvious that those words of his touched people [kei runga] as the money contributed at the two service climbed towards £1,500 so that the debt on the church was covered and the new church was completed and it was a remarkable things that this money was put together in, as it were, a single hour. How? Through prayer and a believing heart. In the morning £400 was contributed. In the evening a further £300 was given, leaving £400 to be found. The congregation remained in their seats waiting to see whether or not the amount would increase to £1100. When one of the Churchwardens saw that they were £400 short he said to his friends – my friends, we have been greatly blessed by God, therefore here is a cheque which I have signed with my name, it is for you to fill in the amount of money required. His friends looked at him and said. It is not for you alone to do this. It is not only you who’ve experienced the blessings of God – we have too. They all contributed to increase that money, one giving one hundred, another fifty, and in this fashion they increased the money. This was announced to the congregation. They were informed that the money contributed was £1,500. At this the congregation stood and sang a hymn of praise to God. There was just one remarkable example. If Maori are burdened with a large debt for food for a hui then they quickly set about collecting money which they instead use to pay the food bill [for the collecting hui]. It is not so with the Pakeha, No food was consumed, no time was wasted, and it was nothing to raise the £1,500. Follow and adopt this beautiful practice. And recognise that this remarkable outcome was the result of believing prayer. The strength of our new Bishop is that he puts his trust in prayer and so provides a really good example for us and our children to follow.
A CHIEF’S COMMAND.
At the session of the Meeting of the New Zealand Temperance Society held in Wellington on 25th June many important people stood to speak. Amongst these chosen people was just one Maori, Te Moerua, a chief from Te Kuiti, Waikato, a descendant of Wakanui, a man well known in all parts. These were the words spoken by Te Moerua when he stood to speak:
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‘I am someone who was chosen by the people of Waikato together with the Government in 1900 as Chairman of a large committee set up in that year. All the members of that committee supported the idea that liquor should not be allowed in the Waikato. From the setting up of that committee right up to this day not a single Maori has asked for that objective to be overthrown. I have heard that the Pakeha have a strong desire to allow liquor into the Waikato, but you should know that amongst the 2,000 Maori resident in the Waikato there are not more than 10 who want such a thing to happen, who want to permit the sale of alcohol. We do not want hotels there.’ In his closing words Te Moerua said, ‘You Ministers, you leaders of our faith, be courageous in fighting against this “food”, alcohol. Make every effort to do away with it so that our children may escape from disaster into the established world.’
After he had spoken, the meeting passed a motion thanking him for his excellent speech and for this strong plea for help from their Pakeha friends.
HUI TOPU OF THE DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND, 1914.
The Bishop’s Speech.
My brothers of the Maori part of the Church, my heart weeps with you and greets you who have gathered here. We have met in this new year to seek ways of advancing the work amongst us, and I am hopeful that some good will emerge from our meeting. You know that I have come from that Maori group of ours, the Diocese of Waiapu. It is good that you appreciate that my love is not for the Pakeha section only but that I am concerned greatly for both Maori and Pakeha. Maori were very good friends to me in the Diocese of Waiapu. They were very sad when I left them. My friends I am aware of the burdens you carry and the difficulties you have, amongst which there is despair about sending young men to Te Rau College. I greatly want the tribes to support well their ministers because you must remember that, although the Pakeha section is still helping you, the time is coming when the Maori People must support their own ministers.
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I have a word for you ministers. You have been called to this office. Therefore the places where you stand are holy places, and you are to be examples to the people living under you. You have all been set apart to be holy people within the Church of God. Therefore ‘be holy as he is holy.’ Remember that your churches are temples of God. Clean and keep your buildings in good condition because, if our buildings are not clean, there will be nothing to give people a sense of awe. Remember to visit the sick in your districts. You are the shepherds of the people to lead and instruct them. Secondly, as to the preparing of our children for confirmation, this is an important thing that must always been in our thoughts. Be diligent in teaching them the Catechism and other things that they should learn about confirmation. One matter I have been considering is setting up an organization amongst you like the Pakeha groups. Those groups would be like the Pakeha group known as the CEMS [Church of England Men’s Society}. These groups are similar to the Temperance Groups. In these days there are a few Maori in some of the Pakeha groups, but my plan is to increase the number of such groups amongst ourselves. There could also be groups like those of the Pakeha women amongst our Maori women.
I want to speak now of those who lead worship [Lay-readers]. I am happy at the situation with regard to Lay-readers in this Diocese. My great desire is to strengthen and help you in the tasks that fall to you so that you can be fruitful in teaching others and, furthermore, I would remind you that you are under the authority of the ministers of your districts. So like them you are to be in awe of the things of the faith. I am looking forward to the time when I shall visit your areas and then we can discuss the sad things that are on your hearts. I am happy that I have come amongst you at this time, the time when we are remembering the arrival of the faith in New Zealand. And the time is coming when we will come together at that place to give thanks to God for the light he has given us.
As for the church which is to be erected here as a memorial to Mr Marsden. Let us pray over the good things brought here to us by Mr Marsden. I am aware that the time has come for the holding of a session of the General Synod of the New Zealand Dioceses. There is one meeting every three years. There is not one Church in Wellington and a different one in Waiapu, say, but we are all one. This state of things was very much valued by the Diocese of Waiapu including the Maori. During the coming Eastertide a Hui Topu will be held in Rotorua where I shall speak to them of this matter.
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As a last word to you, I say make every effort to follow the footsteps of your parents and ancestors too who held to the faith for it is up to you now to fulfill their command, ‘Now hold to the faith.’ There are many difficulties but you have been given the Holy Spirit to strengthen you. May God strengthen you at this time to do what is right in his sight until the time you arrive where you belong.
Some of the Motions.
Rev M Kapa and Rev M T Taurere: ‘That the records of the Hui not be filled with insignificant things so that money is not wasted.’
Archdeacon Hawkins and Rev M T Taurere: ‘That ministers end the services of those Lay-readers in their districts who get drunk.’
J Maka and Rev Wiki Te Paa: ‘That some of the Christian organizations of the Church be established amongst the Maori.’
Rev M T Taurere and Rev Heke Rika: ‘This Hui is strongly urged to support the paper, Te Kopara, there being no other Maori Church of England newspaper.’
J Maka and Rev Wiki Te Paa: ‘That the Maori Minister should not live in the Pakeha towns.’
Response: The decision lies with the Bishop.
Wi Hoete and J Maka: ‘That the men sent to Te Rau College should not speak only English but should be fluent in Maori too.’
ODD ITEMS.
This statement was made by a wise elder from Port Jackson called Professor David. He was one of the men who travelled to the end of the earth, the land of ice. Some men say that alcohol warms a person; listen to what Professor David says: ‘During the four months of our journey we did not touch alcohol. One day there was a birthday party for one of us and we did drink wine – only a little, and the ability of our bodies to fight the cold was reduced. We did not resort to alcohol after that.’
The total population of Auckland its surrounding areas is 113,334; Wellington, 73,448; Christchurch, 70,940; Dunedin, 66,101.
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THE MORMON RELIGION.
(By D H C Bartlett, BA)
An Accommodating Angel.
Joseph Smith knew that he would be asked by people the whereabouts of the gold plates, and so he said that the angel reappeared and carried the gold plates to heaven. But he forgot to say that the spectacles and the stone box were also taken, and those things too have gone missing!
The True Source of the Mormon Stories.
Rigdon and the Mormons called their book, ‘The Everlasting Gospel.’ Those who read the accounts of the ancient Church will remember the words of the monk called Cyril. That monk said that the angel of God gave him some copper plates on which were written some stories of God. Joachim of Hora called these plates ‘the everlasting gospel.’ From around 1200 this deception led away part of the Church. These stories are the same as those used by the Mormons in their ‘everlasting gospel.’ Rigdon saw the stories of Joachim and his stories were printed by Moshiem from the year 1765 until 1826.
It is clear that there are three sources of the Book of Mormon. They are the history stories in Spaulding’s book, religious stories from the Bible, and the accounts of its being given from the stories of [Hirera] and Joachim.
The Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
In the year 1830 the Book of Mormon was printed. In the first pages of that book appeared the names of Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris. These men said that they had seen the angel and the gold plates. Eight people said that Joseph Smith had shown them the plates ‘which appeared to be of gold.’ Eight years after the printing of the Book of Mormon Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris left the Mormon Church – or it may have been that they were expelled by the Mormons – this is not clear. More than 80 Mormons signed a statement about these three: ‘These men were companions of thieves, liars, perpetrators of evil, of deceit, of vice, who stole the possessions of the saints using the devices of the devil.’
These men were cut off from the Church by Joseph Smith and consigned to be
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beaten by the devil. Martin Harris was a farmer whose money helped set up the Mormon religion. The Mormons said of him and his friends: ‘They were blacks though their skins were white and because of their evil deeds it is better that upright people do not look at them.’
Of these eleven people who testified to the truth of the Book of Mormon, five were from the Whitmer family, one was a relation of theirs, three were Smiths, and the other two were Cowdery and Harris. The three were called ‘very wicked men’ by the Mormons even though they were witnesses to the the Mormon bible.
In the book he wrote about the Mormons, Stenhouse, a man who spent 25 years in the Mormon religion, says: ‘God chose these very wicked men – thieves and liars – to vouch for that book according to the accounts given by some members of the Mormon religion. But the Mormon Church was unable to give them new hearts.’
(To be continued.)
THE NAME OF THE BISHOP OF WAIAPU.
To the Editor of Te Kopara.
I have seen your Maori version of the name of our new Bishop – Hetewiki. The Bishop is an important man and his name will endure for generations after us and therefore I think that there should be a good and accurate Maori version of his name. Maori are people who know how to construct names that sound right to the ear, and so we have Te Herewini [Selwyn], Te Wiremu [Williams] and Te Harawira [Hadfield] (not Hatawhiira], and most others. I am saying that Hetewiki does not sound sweet to the ear – and it does not reach the Bible standard of rendering Pakeha names into Maori. I think that Te Herewiki is the good and right rendition. This name is close to Te Herewini which is a name that sounds sweet and conforms to the Maori way of rendering names into Maori. Sedgwick – Herewiki. It is the case that in English T is the letter closest to D – the problem is that it is a sound that one stumbles over, it is hard, while R is easy and good. So we have David = Rawiri (not Tawiti), Daniel = Raniera (not Taniera), Judea = Huria (not Hutia), Damascus = Ramahiku (not Tamahiku). I saw that during Te Arawa’s welcome our Bishop was called Te Hetewiki. I request that the name of our Bishop be Te Herewiki, the good name, and it follows Biblical practice.
Reweti T Kohere.
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RULES OF THE PAPER.
1. Te Kopara is published monthly.
2. The subscription for the paper is five shillings (5/-) a year paid by postal note or stamps.
3. Anyone wishing to take Te Kopara should send the money with the covering letter.
4. Articles are welcome from all parts of the country, but the Editor reserves the right to decide on what to print. Write clearly.
5. Address all letters to:
Te Kopara,
Te Rau,
Gisborne.
A NOTICE
To those wanting a Prayer Book or Hymn Book. I now have plenty of books. The prices are:
Large, soft cover 2/6
Large, red cover 3/-
Large, hard cover 4/-
Large, superior cover 5/6
Small, soft cover 1/-
Small, red cover 1/6
Small, hard cover 2/6
Small, superior cover 3/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, soft cover 1/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, red cover 1/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, hard cover 3/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, superior cover 4/-
Prayer Book, New Testament and Hymns, red cover, 3/6
Prayer Book, New Testament and Hymns, superior cover, 5/6
Hymns 6d
Words for the Prayerful Heart 3d
I will pay the postage to send the books to you
H W Williams,
Naurea, Gisborne
People wanting a Bible or a New Testament should apply to the Bible Depository Sunday School Union, Auckland.
Bible, 2/6, 3/6, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 1/-.
New Testament with explanatory headings. 2/6, 3/-, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.
Small New Testament with the Psalms. 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 3/6, 4/-. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.
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