CHURCH AND WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2618, 13 November 1915, Page 14

CHURCH AND WAR

A VISIT TO THE FLEET 1 "THE NAILED HAND AND THE MAILED FIST." , Tha Rev. Noi-man Maclean, of St. Giles', Edinburgh, recontly risited tie British Fleet, and in the "Scotsman" (September 18) gives a very striking and touching account of what ho saw. "From every funnel of Dreadnought, cruiser, and destroyer there rises into the warm, still autumn air the smoke lazily ourliug. For in every ship" tho fires are burning ceaselessly, and at a moment's notice the fleet can sweep out to sea. But that smoke rising up incessantly from Dreadnought and cruiser is the security of tho Empire.

"It is the power to smite instantly, mid that power has saved us. When we read of thousands of square miles in the East overwhelmed by the enemy, and of the rush of the torrent of de-

vastation over plains and villages and cities, the heart is apt to be 'discouraged. But there can' be no discouragement for him who sees tliis. For this power has captured the seas of all the world; through it tho. ends of tho earth pour their riches into the midst of our streets; by the might of it a whole continent has been delivered from tho withering blights of Germanic culture, and save for a force shut in and imprisoned by the sea in Bast Africa -the might of Germany is crushed in Africa. From the groat North-West to the long wash of Australasian seas not on inch of territory is,left to that culture which trod the Cross underfoot that it might dominate the world with the mailed fist. . And the heart of tihati power which 'has wrought the deliverance of tho world is here. . _ Mr. Maclean gives this description of a sermon by tho sea:— 1

"On tho shore of a green isle on the Sunday morning a representative congregation of sailors assembled to worship God. The sunshino played in the wavelets under their feet. Above them tho scanty fields of corn on the slopes were yellowing for tho harvest. And there they sang as their fathers have ever sling in days'of stress:—

'I to the hills will lift mine, ejes, . From whence doth come mino aid. My safety cometh from the Lord., Who heaven and earth hath made.'

The lapping of the wavelets and the breeze from the hills mingled with the song of eternal faith. And to them' Dr. Wallace Williamson declared the gospel of the soul's peace. . "Ho talked to them of that _ God Whoso power casts down the mighty from the seats of their iniquity, and Who ever oxaltcth. tho righteous and the meek, Thore was but the one choice for the world to make —tho choice between tlio nailed hand and the mailed (ist. It was because of tho overwhelming passion in t'lieir hearts urging them to make the ideal of the nailed hand of tho Crucified operative throughout the world that they were there facing perils and death. And he told t'hem of the soldiors in' Flanders going forth to light with illumined eyes, having sunij,

'Yea, though I walk in. death's dark vale, Yet will I fear none ill.?

And as thoy listened the laces of theso roen shone also. In the sailors and soldiers who to-day .fight our' battles there is the spirit of tho Covenanters of old. The sword that they wield is gripped in God's hand. The hearts of these men are endued with the might of God. -

"After the service was over the admiral sent a message to a brother admiral that he had heard the greatest sermon since tlho war began. A captain, to whom this appreciation was repoatcd, commented , thus: "That's good; yet we have had great dignitaries up here before; but the Scotsman carries off the palm, as usual)'

"Among tho memories of that pilgrimage \through lonely seas oiie memory stands out distinct. It is the memoi 7 of a service of dedication in a graveyard on the slope, above the sea. Among the many thousands of men assembled now in the northern seas.there must inevitably be casualties, and death over claims its toll. A burying-ground was set apart for the men of the. Fleet. The central part of that ground ■ was consecrated by an archbishop for the burial of the members of tho Anglican Church; a portion on ono side was reserved for the Roman Catholics, and 'still awaits consecration ;> and the portion on the opposite side was for the Church'of Scotland and other churches. A desire was. expressed on the part of the local ministers that,tho portion assigned to the Scottish Church should bo dedicated, and the) deputation from the General Assembly's Committee on Army and Navy chaplains were requested to conduct a service.' There is no record of such a service being conducted by the Church of Scotland since the Reformation.

"In the centre of tlie ground assigned to them five presbyters of. the Scottish Church stood, and beside the the carotaker of the burying-ground, with bare and bowed head. A long string of laden carts came rumbling along tho road, but when the drivers saw a servico of prayer there at the roadside the horses were stopped and tihet men stood with bared head.

"Verse by verso the great psalm was read alternately: 'Lord,-Thou hast.been our dwelling-place in all generations . . . make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us.

. . .' Tho words wherewith faith has confronted the last shadow unflinchingly for nineteen hundred years rangout its triumphant challenge, '0 death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory?'

"And the Dean of the Thistle in solemn prayer set apart the ground, as a places of Christian biyial. It was a prayer of thankfulness for tho self-sac-rifice and heroism that defy death on sea and land for country and kindred, for God and the King; a prayer vibrant with tho consciousness of the .great Communion of saints that transcends all churches and includes all churches', knitting the living and the dead for ever together in one... "There were many other services along the coastline from Dornoch to Aberdeen —services at which many thousands of soldiers and sailors sat hushed and thrilled as-Dr. Wallace Williamson spoke of God and eternity. Until at last the pilgrimage ended at a service in tho quadrangle of Marischal College, Aberdeen. There, while the light was fading, and the sky was glowing purple overhead, and tiinnacle and tower stood silhouetted agaiust tho radiancy, Dr. Williamson made his last appeal to a hushed throng that they should not only dedicate their lives to their country, but to their God. . . .

"Those wlio took part in that mission will never forgot the kindness and ccurtosy which they received from the sailors and soldiers. Officers and men did everything possiblo to make thoir work easy. And the eagerness with which tho men received the mossaca brought {o them in tho name of the Church is tho assurance that behind t'lio Fleet and Army there is a. power before which the mijlht of empires shrivels— oven tho power of the living God garrisoning the heart." MASS IN THE TRENCHES. OBJECT-LESSON IN AMITY AND TOLERANCE. 'fho following striking description of , ''Mass iu tho trenches'' jwww ,in.Jius.

Loudon "Tablet," over the signature "P. 8.8."

It is not always—as most soldiers "out hero" know—tlio actual front line trenches that aro the most dangerous portions of the Vattlefield: often there is less real danger there tnan amid tjio risky shelter ol support trench and "demi-repos" bifies. Thus it is that the expression "Mass in the trenches" has often been loosely applied to Mass celebrated anywhere near the firing line, within reach of the devastating shells; and the expression' has gone unquestioned. But to-day, on this lovely July morning, I and a hundred and fifty other Irish Catholic soldiers have heard Mass, and received Holy Communion, in the actual fire trench, with only tho thin parapet between us and a watchful enemy. The occasion must havo been unique; and, indeed, tho men thought it so, for I read as much in their letters homo to Ireland, written while the fervour was still strong upon them.

Tho short July night had given place to day. It was very early morning, ! and the skylarks—those unfailing littlo optimists of lie war—weTe climbing to their places in the sun. I could discern a star shining palely amidst tho glow in the east, and the dew was still cold and heavy upon sand-bags, arms, and greatcoats. Slowly long tiles of men, led by their officers, made their way from neighbouring portions of the line, and assembled in their little chosen place. The altar had already bean erected there—an unpretentious sideboard, rescued from some burnt-out farm. The priest, dressed like the rest in khaki, was already vestingj and for a little while Ms figure, all in white,, stood out pathetically distinct in the midst of all that cunning "protective" drabness. Then, just as the sun rose, he donned the brave white-and-gold of the chasublo, and at the sight of it all the pride and confidence and chivalry of Catholicism settled upon one. It was as though a fine,' flaunting banner had been unfurled. ' That little trenohspaco, there in a torn up cornfield of France, was Saiint Peter's at Rome on a day of high festival; ono heard the music and could smell tho incense.

Very few bullets, and no sheila, disturbed tlio Mass. But had they come in scores, 'ono felt that never could one bo more easily imperturbable. Death, if it is to be one's portion in this war, could surely never come more aptly! Certainly there are distractions during Mass heard under such circumstances. But they are distractions concerned with the Mass—reveries that it inspires; and they were due in this caso neither to shells nor bullets, nor to the wliite-wlinged aeroplanes that floated high above us. In a varied life it is the Mass that combines, that threads, that collates, that gives a clear, unmistakable meaning. ' I remember feeling this often in the past, and on one particular occasion testifying to it in these pages. It was in Kashmir, and I was leaving the Enchanted Valley, that spot that of all on earth is the fairest and most peaceful. I heard Mass in the dawn of a Juno day, before I took the road that was to lead to the cataclysm of a European war.

And now as this Mass of the Front Trenches proceeded, one saw an objectlesson in what that war has done on our side for amity and toleration. The sentries who crouched below the parapet, giving now a cautious glancs towards the German lines, now a curious, wistful one to our kneeling throng, wore drawn from the Protestant minority of the regiment. What food for thought, and for thanksgiving 1 FREE CHURCH SOLDIERS. A, MILLION IN THE ARMY. An institute, jointly provided and supported by Baptists and Congregationallsts, has been opened for the soldiers at North Gamp, Ripon, Yorks. Mr. J. j. Hayhurst, of Roundhay Church, Leeds, and Rev. T. J. Johnson, of Rawdon Collego, are in charge. The building is 116 feet by thirty, and includes a buffet and billiard room. A similar instituto is being erected at Richmond. At the opening Rev. E. J. Saxton, secretary of the Yorkshire Union, stated that £1700 of the £2000 expended had been raised. The balance would soon be made up. He had been connected with many schemes of money raising, hut he bad never known money come in so freely before. He though people were captivated by tb.e idea of a union of Baptists and Congregatipnalists. They felt that a step had been taken towards the larger co-operation for-which they had all been praying for such a long time. The Lord Mayor of Leeds, who is a Congregationalist, opened the building.

Professor Grieve, of Yorkshire Collego, made an interesting calculation as to the Free Church representation in the new armies. It wild, he thought, be rather an wider-estimate than otherwise if they said, that out of the 3,000,000 in the field 1,000,000 were Free Churchmen. or had been brought up in the Free Churches or their SnndayKchools. Of that million he thought the Baptists and Congregationalists might very well claim from one-fifth to onefourth. "BE JUST ALL ROUND." DR. CHARLES BROWN AT BISHOPSGATE. At a recent midday service at Bishops'gate Chapel, London, Dr. .Charles Brown preached a heartening sermon on • the words, "He shalt not fail." Ho waa asked by some people, he said, if he did not think these were "the last days." He would give his opinion for what it was worth. His answer was emphatically No. He did not believe that this planet which God had called into being was going down in fire and sword and red ruin and breaking up of laws. He believed that at eventide it would be light. Jesus Christ would come to His own. He hoped we were in tho last days of some things—some some dynasties, some systems and customs. He believed we were in iile dark hour befiire the dawn, and a. Better day. was coming in which war would be a crime and the war-mak'ers would be banished beyond the confines of decent society. It was very difficult to-day to bo just, but we must be just to tho good in the German nation. "Yes," continued Dr. Brown, "with emphasis, "but we must be just to their crimes, we„ must be just to those who' have seen their loved ones lavished dnd murdered,' just to those whose homes have beendestroyed, just to those whose land is l:eing bled to the last drop of its blood. Be just—but be just all round." •

REQUIESCANT. (By Canon F. G. Scott, of tho Canadian Expeditionary Force.) In'lonely watches, night by night, Great visions burst upon my sight, Tor down the stretches of the shy ■ The hosts of dead go marching by--Strange ghostly banners o'er them float, Strange bugles sound an awful note, And all tlioir faces and their eyes Are lit.with starlight from the skie3.

The anguish and the pain have passed And peace hath come to thorn at last; But in Hie stern loots linger still The iron purpose and the will.

Dear Christ, who reign'st above the flood Of human tears and human blood. A weary road these men have trod: 0 house them in the homo of God. Near Yprcs, May, 1915.