Christmas Day Church Services Well Attended

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28160, 26 December 1956, Page 8

Christmas Day Church Services Well Attended

Christmas Day church services were better attended than usual in Christchurch yesterday and on Christmas Eve. Midnight celebrations of Holy Communion and later services >to which families were specially invited almost all had large congregations. Many ministers, speaking on the message of Christmas, referred to the apparent paradox of the tensions and threats to peace in the world. Others spoke on the reality of the Christmas story in history and its present importance. Congregations of many denominations attended jointly - organised services, and generous offerings were noted at those churches which supported the Christmas appeal by the National Council of Churches for the extension of Christian work in Asian countries. Following a tradition of their homeland. about 150 Dutch migrants went tc a Watchnight service at Trinity Congregational Church on Monday evening. The service was conducted by the Rev. W. van Wyngen and the Rev. B. Boelens. Holy Communion was celebrated in the Christchurch Cathedral at 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. yesterday and the Dean of Christchurch (the Very Rev. Martin Sullivan) preached at choral eucharist at 11 a.m. Choral evensong was held in the Cathedral and the Bishop of Christchurch (the Rt. Rev. A. K. Warren) preached. He made special reference to the centenary of the Diocese of Christchurch and the arrival of Bishop Harper on Christmas Day 100 years ago. “Christmas is the act of God in history and in time to show His eternal activity,” said Dean Sullivan al the morning service. "The Babe is born to gladden the hearts of the faithful, but He lies also brokenhearted in some drunkard s home this morning, or sharing the* bitter sufferings of European refugees. “To discern the message and tne import of Christmas is not just to try to show fruits, but to tend and care for roots. . . . The season tells us that all life is clothed in

the garment of the living God, and to make this festival real we should enjoy all its gaiety, and joy and music. But we ought to let the smell of the straw in the stable enter our nostrils.” said Dean Sullivan. A congregation of more than 300 attended a midnight celebration of Holy Communion in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels. This service was broadcast. Other early morning celebrations of Holy Communion were held in St. Luke s, St. John’s (Latimer square), St. Mary s (Merivale), Holy Trinity (Avonside), St. Chad’s (Buckley’s road), and St. Paul’s (Papanui). Solemn Pontifical Mass was celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve in the Cathedral of the Blessed -Sacrament The Roman Catholic Bishop of Christchurch (the Most Rev. E. M. Joyce) preached to a congregation that filled the Cathedral. At midnight, the Christmas crib was opened F»om 6 a.m.. Mass was celebrated hourly, and a Christmas carol service was held last evening. Similar services were held in Roman Catholic churches throughout Christchurch. Members of Trinity Congregational Church, the Opawa Baptist Church, and the Linwood Methodist Church joined the congregation of the Linwood Congregational Church in a short service conducted by the Rev. L. E. Loving. The Rev. P. A. Stead gave the address at a service in the Thames Street Baptist Church, which was attended by members of the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches, the Churches of Christ and the Salvation Army. Mr Stead said that although the worship of the Prince of Peace appeared an anomaly because in the land where the events of the first Christmas took place there was strife, tension, and the threat of war, there was in fact no anomaly. “He is not accepted or enthroned in the hearts of men. When he is enthroned in the hearts of men. His peace will prevail.” said Mr Stead. Another service attended by members of several communions was held in the Moorhouse Avenue Church of Christ. This broadcast service was led by the minister of that church (the Rev. A. W. Grundy) and the Rev. Roland Hart, of the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church. Presbyterian Services

Ministers of Christchurch Presbyterian churches reported that congregations at services yesterday morning were larger than usual on a Christmas Day. Family services and Communion services were well attended in all parishes. In St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, the Rev. S. C. Francis spoke on the first visitors to the Bethlehem manger—the shepherds, poor and unlearned, and the wise men, rich and learned. “This reminds us that all classes and individuals have some gifts to offer Christ,” he said. “The Gospel is for all because all a Saviour, before whom all differences of rank, colour and social standing count for nought.” The Christian faith was rooted in historical fact, not in legend, said the Rev. A. K. Petch, to a Methodist congregation in the Durham Street Church. Christ’s birth was a fact of history: what happened at Christmas time was an act of God. In Christ, He entered human life to renew and redeem, and Christmas marked a new day of hope for the world and individuals. As at the St. Albans Methodist Church and Wesley Church (Fitzgerald avenue) there was a bigger congregation than usual at the Durham Street service.