VALUE OF FAITH

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30065, 25 February 1963, Page 12

VALUE OF FAITH

Bishop Speaks To “Dinks”

Faith is a necessary equipment for the life of each and every one of us," said the Bishop of Christchurch (the Rt. Rev. A K. Warren) when he preached at the Christchurch Cathedral yesterday as part of the reunion celebrations of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. Bishop Warren quoted from St. John: “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

“We are not asked to believe in creeds, we are asked to believe in God, and all His goodness that has been' revealed to us. You, who are soldiers, know the value of a map; where would we have been without them in the war? And so the Church has her maps, which are the creeds.

“If we are to face the difficult and maybe dangerous days that lie ahead, we cannot do so adequately without faith. St. John, in his letter, goes on to say: ‘Who is he that, overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God’. “In this letter he shows how our faith can give us a victory of joy over unhappiness, of fellowship over loneliness, of honesty over deception, of right living over evil living, of truth over err, of. confidence over fear, or love over hatred, and eternal life over death.

“You have won your victories in war, so may it be that through your faith in God and in Jesus Christ, you may go forward with vision and vigour, with wisdom and strength to share in the victory that overcomes the world,” said Bishop Warren. The "Dinks" assembled outside the Southern Military District headquarters and marched through the Bridge of Remembrance, and along Oxford terrace and Worcester street to the Cathedral. The banner was carried by Sir Herbert Hart Before the service. Colonel R. St. J. Beere laid a wreath at the war memorial. The lessons at the service were read by the Chief Justice (Sir Harold Barrowclough) and Dr. L. C. L Averill.