Mexborough and Swinton Times, January 7, 1938

New Vicar of Kilnhurst

Institution of Rev. E. J. Cheverton

Crowded Church

The Parish Church Kilnhurst was crowded on Wednesday night with parishioners and visitors who had come to witness the institution and induction of the new Vicar of Kilnhurst, the Rev Ernest James Cheverton, B.A. by the Bishop of Sheffield.

Assisting the Bishop were the Archdeacon F. G. Sandford, Canon J. St. Leger Blakeney, Rector of Wombwell, and Rural Dean of Wath; Canon F. G. Scovell and the Rev. G. W. Woodford of Rawmarsh.

When the Bishop came to the passage from the First Epistle to the Thessalonians in which he charges and exhorts the people to pray continually for their minister and help him in the duties of his calling, the Bishop, stopped for a moment and said to the congregation that he had never before in his 23 years as Bishop of Sheffield had to ask a Kilnhurst congregation to do this, for the late Rev. F. W. Shepherd had been at Kilnhurst for more than 25 years.

Bishop’s Address.

In his address the Bishop stressed the duties of a Parish Priest. He said that a priest’s duties were so numerous that it was not easy to say which was the most important; indeed he thought that they were all of equal importance. He wished to say something, however, about a vicar as a leader of public worship. God liked everything in his house to be done with diligence, truth, and even with beauty if possible.

Some of the most beautiful things in the world were old English country churches. It was not always easy  for a Church to be beautiful when it was new, but still, any Church should be made to look as beautiful as possible—as a house of God’s worship should be. He knew nothing so repulsive as a Church which was not fit for public worship.

The worship of God had to be marked by holiness, a word which originally meant ‘whole-ness’ and therefore covering whole ground’. That worship had to be expressed in prayer in which the congregation took full part. He always judged choirs by the extent to which they made the public join in the singing, and so he judged the value of ordinary public worship by the extent to which the public joined in. From his many visits to Kilnhurst he knew that their choir was doing its duty and that the public joined in heartily. He wanted such a spirit of earnestness and holiness to exist in their Church that it should be apparent even to an unbeliever.

They had had the late Vicar, the Rev. F. W. Shepherd, for a great number of years. It had been very sad to watch his failing health during the last few years. Ordinarily he had been full of energy, but latterly there had been illness in the house and the burden had been more than he could bear. But there was no doubt that all the people in the Parish would agree that the late Vicar had left them many things that they could remember; many earnest and good examples of good preaching, which he was sure, they had taken to heart.

Selected By Crown

Fairly often it happened that a new vicar was selected by the Crown as in the present instance, and in those cases he did not see the Vicar elect until he was presented to him by the Crown. He wanted to say that the Crown, by their officers—the Lord Chancellor and the Prime Minister took immense pains to find the right man for the right parish.

They asked a great many questions and desired many references. The duty of the Bishop was then to find out before the institution if the Vicar elect was suitable. He had taken great pains to find out all he could about their new vicar, and he could tell them that Mr. Cheverton had a wonderful reputation at Taunton, whence he had come.

The Bishop then outlined the duty of the parishioners towards their new Vicar, and paid tribute to the way in which the officials and parishioners had carried on the work of the Church since the death of the former Vicar. The Rev. H. R. Heritage, who had recently been in charge of the Parish was ] leaving to become a missionary in North China, one of the most dangerous places to which any Englishman could go at present. He was president of the North China Missionary Association and he knew their troubles.

Mr. Heritage, he knew, had learnt a good deal during his very happy time at Kilnhurst. He was quite sure that all people would remember him in their prayers, and would perhaps take a greater interest in missionary work since they had known him. With regard to the new Vicar he said he knew that Kilnhurst would welcome him, as a good welcome was always certain for everyone coming to Yorkshire, but he also wanted them to back him up in the duties of his sacred calling. They must support, they must pray for him, they must teach their children to pray for him, and the blessing of God would be upon them.

In Kilnhurst there was a great deal of work to be done, and there was also the difficult question of their Schools.

They had fought well for their schools, and two most distinguished men had been educated in the village, both of whom in later life spoke well of the teaching they had received. A former Vicar of Kilnhurst, whom .he had met recently, described Kilnhurst people to him as ‘a good solid steadfast lot’, and he was prepared to believe it.