FOUNDERS DAY SERVICE

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21727, 9 March 1936, Page 8

FOUNDERS DAY SERVICE

GIRL GUIDES AND BROWNIES

CEREMONY AT CATHEDRAL

A colourful service was held in the Cathedral yesterday afternoon, when more than 600 girl guides and brownies attended the annual Founder’s Day Service. This service is held once a year to commemorate the anniversary of the birthdays of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell, the Chief Scout and Chief Guide, which fall, on the same day. The attendance was an excellent one for a cold wet day, and besides guides and brownies from local troops, there were members present from the Rakaia, Methven, Kaiapoi, and Rangiora troops. The service was opened oy a colour ceremony, the ensign of each troop being carried up the centre aisle and placed beside the altar. The first verse of the National Anthem was then sung. The Rev. J. T. McWilliam conducted a short service. In his address Mr McWilliam said that he considered it a great honour to be called on to take the service. The day was a real test to discover which of them wore true guides and brownies. Those who were conscientious, had faced a wet day to attend the service, but those who were soft and not keen had probably stayed at home by the fire. He referred to the many useful things the guides and brownies were acquiring. They were being taught to cook, nurse, keep physically fit, and numberless other useful subjects. Second, they were being taught to work as a team, and third, they were being instructed in the value of discipline. But by far the most important they were also being instructed in the value of Christianity. It was a well-known fact that every human being had an influence on his or her friends and fellow beings, either good or evil. He urged the guides and brownies to do their utmost to see that this influence was a good one. During the service the guides’ and brownies’ promises were repeated, the girls standing at half salute.