MR W. MACKAY

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21449, 15 April 1935, Page 18

MR W. MACKAY

MEMORIAL SERVICE AT j ST. PAUL'S lIKiH TRIBUTE TO HIS "WORK A memorial service to the late Mr William Mackay was held yesterday morning at SI. Paul's Presbyterian Church. The service was attended by members of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce and other bodies with which Mr Mackay was connected. The Rev. A. C. Watson, at the close of his sermon, spoke as follows concerning Mr Mackay: "Within the last few days this congregation has suti'ercd a most grievous loss in the passing of Mr William Mackay. Over a long period of years, interrupted by war service, our late member had been very closely associated with the work of " St. Paul's Church. Before the war he was a valuable member of the Bible class, in which were laid the foundations of a character of unusual strength and beauty. Throughout the period of his war service, lis I am told by those who knew him, Mr Mackay maintained .his loyalty to the principles of honour and religion to which he had early devoted himself. After his return from abroad he gave himself with enthusiasm to the work of the church, first becoming a manager and then treasurer of this congregation. "it was in the capacity o£ treasurer that he revealed his line ability, his zeal, and his' true spirituality, for if ever there was a spiritual man it was William Mackay. To this important office he brought a mind that was not; satisfied with anything but the exact and" the true, he brought out a will which, because it had learned to obey, knew how to lead, and above all he brought a heart full of kindness and sympathy for others and a deep trust in God. To-day we join in making this tribute to the memory of one we loved so well. We join with the members of the Canterbury (N.Z.) Seed Company and assure them that we share the loss of one who gave himself unremittingly to his various tasks, a man careful' and painstaking. We join with the members of the Chamber of Commerce, and remember with gratitude a man whose mind did not move in a narrow place, but who was concerned about the grave problems that face our country and the world today, and whose judgment was sound, whose desire was to do the right. We join with his old comrades of the New Zealand Division and thank God for a man who, under trying conditions, played the game. "To the relatives, and especially to Mrs Mackay, we olTer our deepest sympathy, and commend them to the love and care of the one God and Father of us all. To us who remain there is given the duty of carrying on the work and living by the faith of our friend. A few days ago a man entered the • office of Mr French, the superintendent of our social service work and handed him a donation for the orphanages. With the donation went these words, 'A tribute to William Mackay.'"