SERVICE AT THE SYNAGOGUE

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21319, 12 November 1934, Page 12

SERVICE AT THE SYNAGOGUE

"ARMISTICE HAS NOT BROUGHT PEACE"

ELIMINATION OF HATRED AMONG NATIONS

Special prayers in Hebrew and in English were said during a short and impressive observance of Armistice Day at the Jewish Synagogue. The Rev? S. N. Salas declared that the Armistice was merely a breathing space between the Great War and another, and that the only way to secure peace was to eliminate the hatred which was being unconsciously instilled in the hearts of the young people of the nations. Mr Salas quoted several verses from Joshua, which, he said, gave us an understanding of the significance of Armistice Day. Joshua asked the angel who came before him, "Art thou for us or for our adversaries?" and the angel replied, "Nay, I am the, captain of the host of the Lord." When the angel bade Joshua remove his shoes because he was on holy ground, this meant removing materialism and taking on spiritual things. If we did want to fight' we should fight for the sake of God, not for materialism. Israel had in many centuries been accused of being a coward and not ready to fight; all it did when other men came upon it was to go into the House of God. Israel wanted peace, but when it had to fight it had courage. During the last war Israel had contributed more men in proportion, in the various countries, than any other nation. It had 15,000,000 members: 900,000 had fought in the Great War, and many were killed. The Jewish nation was no coward. It was very hard to know whether Armistice Day should be observed as a festival or as a day of mourning. The principal part of the day was the two minutes' silence; this was to honour the fallen soldiers, and to give us time to meditate and see what the war had done for us. Sixteen years ago Armistice Day should have been observed as a real festival, because after four years of darkness it was a light which brought brightness to all. but he doubted whether it could be regarded as a festival now. It was just a breathing space for Ihe nations to prepare for another fight. Unfortunately we could see today that the Armistice had not brought peace. Every country was more or less preparing for war. One little match might cause an explosion. It was unfortunate that children went out of school with hatred planted in them, planted there unconsciously by their teachers, and although they might study history and see thing? in their true light that hatred remained.

There was a divine power behind everything; we must realise one creator and realise that we were all one people, one brotherhood; until we realised this there would be no peace. We must try to teach the young people to have love in their hearts for others; if they grew up to love one another then there would be no more war.

SELF SACRIFICE

AN EXAMPLE FROM THE WAR

That the present generation should try to cultivate more the spirit of self-sacrifice • that had actuated the men and women who had given up their lives in the Great War, was urged by the president of the Returned Soldiers' Association, the Rev. !•'. T. Read, in his address yesterday morning at a reunion service at the Woolston Methodist Church. "These men and women gave their lives that this world might be a better piaee," said Mr Read, "and are we going to maKe it a better place? We nave been saved irom Uerman tyranny not by saver and gold but with the nlu-biouu 01. these men; they made the supreme sacnuce—'ureater love hath no man than tins, that he lay down his tile lor his lnend,' ihat we migin enjoy ireeuum. Let us not forget them."

tit. Paul was a pioneer missionary, continued Mr Head, and the last thing he tnought of was Ms own life, he was warned against going into Jerusalem because 01 the haired ol the Jews lor linn, out he went because it was his auty. Many of the men who had gone to the war did not like the liie that soiaiers led, but because the Empire needed ihera, tney went. Sometimes ic was wonuered it tneir sacrmce was worm wnile. worth wniie vvnen one tnougnt or the men and women to-day wnose one ihougnc was tnjoymem. many people excused sin by saying: "we muoi nve," out even more importune tnan lue itseu was to live true lives; to be noble, and to keep tnc laun. lie tnougnt that if oniy trie men and women or to-day would remember that enrist died lor them, that uiougiu would destroy mucn 01 the seiiiMiness that existed in their hearts. A verse of the National Anthem was sung by the congregation.

DURHAM STREET METHODIST CHURCH Special Armistice Day services were conducted in the Durham Street Methodist Church by the Rev. Clarence Eaton yesterday. The morning congregation assembled at 10.55. and the two minutes' silence was observed at 11 a.m., folowed by the singing of the hymn, "God Bless Our Native Land."

Preaching from the Old Testament incident (2 Samuel, 24th chapter), in which David vaingloriously numbers the people, forgetting that Israel was to be not a military but a holy nation, Mr Eaton referred tu it as one of those first risings of a carnal national spirit of aggression and conquest essentially false and profane, and needing to be checked at all costs. Half the strife of the world could be traced to overweening national pride, and the hope of the race lay in the dissemination of the new spirit of humility and service wlv'ch came to Israel's penitent king. rruring the services the choir sanp Mendelssohn's "But the Lord is Mindful" and "How Lovely are the Messengers," Mr C. O'Hagan sang a solo

SERVICES IN SYDNEY CEREMONIAL MUSIC PLAYED BY GUARDS BAND (UNITED PRESB ASSOCIATION—BY ELECTBIC TELEGBAriI—COPYRIGHT.) (Received November 11, 9.40 p.m.) SYDNEY, November 11. Armistice Day services were held throughout the day in the city and suburbs. The main service at ttr* Cenotaph in the morning was attended by a huge crowd, those pros-nt including the Governor, Sir Philip Game, the Premier, Mr B. S. B. Stevens, the representatives of Stat" and Federal Parliaments, denominational leaders and representatives of the naval, military, and air forces. An impressive feature of the service was the playing of ceremonial music by the bancTbf the Grenadier Guards.

OPEN-AIR SERVICE IN WELLINGTON

RETURNED SOLDIERS MARCH THROUGH STREETS (PRKSS ASSOCIATION TELEGEAM.) WELLINGTON, November 11. Armistice day was marked in Wellington by a special open-air service in the Basin Reserve. After this 500 returned soldiers marched through the city streets to the Citizens' War Memorial, where a wreath of remembrance was laid. Addressing the men, Canon Percival James said: "The day commemorates the most welcome silence that ever fell on this earth when, after four years of mechanical massacre and chemical annihilation, the Great War, which in its hideous monstrosity, had dwarfed all wars of history, as suddenly as it had begun came to an end, and there fell a great hush over the long-drawn battle line." Special armistice services were held in all city churches. Mr W, Nash, M.P., gave an address at the citizens' armistice service in the Wesley Methodist Church. The First Battalion, Wellington Regiment, paraded at St. Paul's pro-Cathedral and held a reunion last night.