THE EVENING SERVICE.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 12029, 2 November 1904, Page 8

THE EVENING SERVICE.

Another very congregation assembled for the Evensong Service, at which it was announced the.Bishop of Wellington would pre.lib. As at the morning fervice, tlu* choir, clergy, and bishop* entered in procession through the west door, and proceeded slowly along the main aisle to the chancel, where they took up their appointed positions. Stainer's beautiful service in B flat was the one followed, the anthem being "O how amiable are Thy dwellings,' composed hy Dr. Bradshaw, the Cathedral organist. The anthem, which opens very melodiously, contains passages of some intricacy and difficulty, and the smooth and easy manner in which it was rendered indicated tho amount of sjweial preparation involved. Archdeacon Harper road the first lesson, and De*n Harper the second. "* BISHOP WALLIS'S SERMON. Bishop Waliis preached bis sermon from the text, "Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary." (Psalm 96 6.) That utterance of tbe Psalmist, he Mid, disclosed the secret of their rejoicing that day. It explained the meaning "and jus-

titled the intensity of their triumphant thanksgiving," for tlie m.vsiye walls and the loveliness of pulpit and arch and spire spoke to the eyes, as the joyous peal- of bells and the jubilant melody of that day's ceremonial spoke to the ears, and they spoke through them both to the heart, and their message was the strength and beauty of flu* God to whom they bad consecrated tbe Cathedral. It was His house and His witness, speaking to the busy city, with its crowds passing by every day, telling them of the faith of the men w~ho had built that house, and that there was a thirst among them which nothing could satisfy but the vision of Cod Him.««!f in all His transcendent beauty and incxliaustable strength.

It would be. idle to ignore the other subordinate uses of that great building. In tho la.-t years of tint mtcoikl century teachers had arisen proclaiming truths unknown to the universal Church, and saving that they bad learned those truths from tho Apostles themselves by traditions handed down to mem. To that claim the answer of the Church was that it was in a better position to know wluit the Apostles taught, for it could trace the succession of bishops right up unbroken to the Apostles themselves, anil to those- who kept, company with tin.* Apostles. There went side by .side with the unchanging tradition the unchanging succession of bishops, and' the Cathedral, as its name implied, was the building which contniued the cathedra, a sent of the bishop. It witnessed to that unbroken succession right from the days of th» Apostles to our own times, and stood also as a witness that the Gospel the Church preached and the faith it professed were the Gospel and faith which belonged to the Church in the- first, days. And once again, where the Bishop was, there, was th' Church. He joyfully recognised the presence' of ihe Spirit of God in those bodies which remained outside' of the Church, and he knew that, God had blessed their work. There was evidence of it in their /.oal for social reform, in their zeal for preaching the Gospel to the heathen, which had put the Church again and again to timine. The Cathedral was a symbol of tho unity of the Diocese in which it was situated.

"Where the Bishop is. there is the Church,'' and yet the man who .'poke thosy words also *aid that the.Jsisho;i inu-t do nothing without his clergy and laity. Ho must be no autocrat, no despot, no tyrant, and so it was good that thi very great service that would lake, in the Cathedral after the owning day's ceremonial was -the service tint inaugurated the new session of tbe Diocesan Synod. The members worked togi'th.-r, prayed together, and strove tog'ther for Christ's cause, and the following day they would learn what it wa* to gather together the isolated parts of the large diocese into one great whole. Not that the diooese had remained an isolated unit, for he had been told that when the help given by ihe Church Missionary Society iv England for work among the Maoris was withdrawn it was the Christchurch diocese which came forward and agreed to bear the greatest share of the burden, rather than suffer the woik to lap.se. In conclusion, his Lorrh-'lihi f-aid that the Cathedral spoke of the transcesdent beauty of God, and told that God was there to be know'Ji.

The 'IV Ileum was sung at the close of the service.

The collection taken up at the evensong service amounted to £23 5s sd.