ARMISTICE DAY.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10741, 12 November 1928, Page 6

ARMISTICE DAY.

COMMEMORATION IN GISBORNE

The commemoration of the signing of the'Armistice a decade ago in the Great War, was observed in Gisborne yesterday in common . with all parts of the Empire. Services were> held in' the churches throughout the district, and . a public meeting was held, in the City Hall in the afternoon. - / .HOLY TRINITY CHURCH. SERMON BY BISHOP SEDGWICK , Every seat- in the capacious Holy Trinity Church was filled yesterday morning, the preacher being Dr Sedgwick, Bishop of Waiapu. Included amongst . the congregation were 60 Girl Guides, representing tho Gisborne No. 1 and No. 2 companies, Te Hapara and Manutuke troops, and the Gisborne Rangers, the Divisional Commissioner, Mrs Jamieson being in charge. •'. The service opened with the hymn ‘.'O God Our Help in Ages Past,” special hymns were sung, and special; prayers offered for peace. The first, lesson-was read by Canon Packe, and the second by the Rev. A. Barham. At the conclusion of the service the congregation sang the National Anthem, which was followed by KipJing’s Recessional. The two minutes’ silence at eleven o’clock wU's an impressive scene, the huge congregation standing with bowed heads. The Bishop commenced liis sermon with a condemnation of the lack of religious observance on Good Friday. The. spirit of Christ, he said, was manifest on Anzac Day, and r’ght'v so, but liow could one respect the. act of Christians who spent Good Friday as. §o many did, that day of supreme sacrifice when He was pouring out His blood. The Bishop referred to Stanley Jones’ welt-known books, "Christ on the Indian Road” and "Christ of the Round Table,” in which it was made clear that Moslems and Buddhists . are hungering after Christ. They said they did not want the Western Christianity, but they did want Christ. The world was waiting for a more _ glorious manifestation of the Christ in us. One’s thoughts that dav turned} naturally to those- men who responded to,the call of King and country. One thought of the men who. fell and of those -who returned after victory. A large number of those men did not want to go, but they went from a keen' sense of duty, went that England might be England still. As one’s thoughts turn backward they remembered the magnificent self-sa-crifice of those men. their . splendid manifestation of valor, their indomitable will, which could not be overcome in the face of the enemy. But one of the greatest things that would be remembered was the magnificent fellowship that was. developed by those men—a fellowshio above all class, all race and alf color. They formed a fellowship in _ the heat of war that should be carried on in the days of peace, a fellowship of sympathy, of universal brotherhood. The Church is here to . manifest that glorious fellowship in Christ. In the time of the Great War they were told that men had lost their faith in God. Men asked "Why did God allow the war to continue? Why didn’t He stop it?” But if they turned to Christ they would see that His . life was summed up _ by His sacrifice. The speaker’s faith had grown stronger as the war went on. Coming out of church one Sunday he was asked ’by a working man what was the attitude of the Church towards war. What would be the attitude of the Church if another war broke out?' It was a rather difficult question to answer on the spur of the moment. The attitude of the Church towards war should be the attitude of Christ. He did not believe that Christ thought war was ever justified. All the evidence was oh the other side. Christ used no force. The Church should put all her weight against war and on the side of peace. Christ redeemed the world without the use of physical force. There was nothing in the life of Christ to. make,one believe, war was ever justifiable, aiid the attitude of the Church was the attitude of Christ. He paid a tribute to the great work of the League of Nations. "But we,” he said, "should not.be content with talking mere heroics. In davs of peace we, should manifest the spine -courage, the same indomitable will, in trying to. maintain peace, as the men did m time of war. We had to get down to. the root causes of war—selfishness, greed and avarice among nations and among men, and be peacemakers. "When I say ‘we’,” said the Bishop, "1 mean’ yob and I. The League as a bodv cannot do it. We must do it.” People have got to show their hatred of war, to cultivate a better understanding '.between man . and man and-prove that Christ is the Prince of Peace.

BRIGHT STREET METHODIST CHURCH

ADDRrESS BY REV. GEO. FROST

The spirit of solemn remembrance of‘Armistice Day formed the theme of an address delivered by Rev. xxeo. Frost before a large congregation in the Bright street Methodist Church yesterday morning to commemorate the anniversary of the cessation of hostilities in the. Great War ten years ago. The two minutes’, silence was reverently observed at 11 o’clock, the minister appealing to the congregation' to compose their thoughts in order that in the of their hearts and minds they might draw near to God. The sermon was based on two texts Deuteronomy viii. 18th verse, “Thou shalt remember” and Isaiah XlilV 15th verse, “They may forget yet will I not forget thee.” This year the tenth anniversary of Armistice Day, fell oii. a Sunday, said the. preacher, ■ and whilst "it should always be a day of solemn remembrance, the commemoration that day was naturally expected to be even more impressive. No doubt during the honoring of the two minutes’ silence their thoughts- had taken long pilgrimages to England, where so many of; the wounded found their last resting, place, to the fields of Flanders, where; the red ' poppies grow,- and the silent .white crosses tell , their tale, and to the sea itself a. grave; where so many brave lads lay. The thoughts of others went back to those of their own kith and kin .who 1 had 1 died in the war and they prayed .that they might;.never forget' their sacrifice and their service. Almost every town city and church, had its- memorial, be it a tablet -window or cenotaph,- but ■ to his -mind’ there was none .so beautififl. as Scotland’s national memorial in Edinburgh at the , highest point in-the’. city : built' on * the summit of 'old. rock. It .was- a wonderful work beautifully designed and, wrought on which every sort of service was honored. eyen. to carvings of beasts of biirdep. who drew the ordinances, . and ;■ the mice .and' 'the .canaries, those invaluable friends of the men in/the trenches and" in the submarines. On entering -the portals of the hall, one; saw that each* regiment' of 'Scotland had its panel in/the memorial, each .with- its book of i honor of the names of those-who had fallen. Elvery day people were; to bo t seed cthere. reverently scrutinising ' these rolls of honor. Passing into the inner Shrine, which was wonderful t tn‘' j conception' and - ftrchitecture and beautiful in its l skill of' craftsmanship, one saw large figures of the defence services. The figures of,-fours JtlfeeliDfi: angels; were at the paso. of

a block of marble sot on the summit of the rock on Which was set a steel casket containing the names of . all the men of Scotland who had given their .lives. It was a:reminder to the nation and an inspiration to all. Some had seen the Arc do Triomplie in Paris, with its lamp of perpetual flam© guarded by. two soldiers; others had bared their heads in passing the Cenotaph in London; some had stood in Westminster Abbey where the Unknown. Warrior lay, but the speaker believed that nowhere was thero a better memorial of commemoration than at Edinburgh. As this memorial was founded on a rock, so our faith stood upon a rock. He appealed to them not to think of the death of these men who had made the supreme sacrifice as an episode but aa having opened the door to a fuller . and richer experiesce bringing them into His presence. Remembrance was one of the great things of life, and this was-reflected in His words: "They may forget, yet I will not forget thee.” The ispjeaker appealed to them therefore, to remember the boys who ‘want west”, the girls, left behind who made, a great. sacrifice, without wearing it on their sleeve, and the parents who had lost their sons, until the day. of great uniting. The service was opened with the singing of the National Anthem and appropriate hymns and devotional prayers were offered up. ABOLISHING WAR HOW INDIVIDUALS MAY HELP INSPIRING ADDRESS BY REV. J, AITKEN

St. Andiew’s Presbyterian Church was crowded yesterday morning when tho service commenced at 10.45 o’clock. The Rev. ,J. bines Alike n, M.A., was the presiding minister. At 11 o’clock, the two minutes’ silence was observed and was followed by the singing of Psalm 90, • Talcing as his text, Matthew 8. verses s—10, which chronicle tho wonderful faith of tho centurion when he approaches Christ with tho request that his servant be healed of palsy, the Rev. Mr Aitken delivered a most impressive sermon appropriate to the day being honored. Pointing out that the anniversary was one which fully deserved continued observance, he went on to remark that provision for those injured in the war was an obligation which, under no circumstances and beyond all else, we should never forget. The past history of the church showed that justified war was not banned; man had too many responsibilities and owed too much to the remainder of the race to say that he would not defend, them. Each man derived benefits from his fellows and, in return, should accept a trusteeship for their safety. Pacifists took tha word of God literally, but it was not intended to be so taken. History jshowed thaVb many nations had been forced to war and it appeared now that Britain coulc: not have done other than participate in the late great conflict which had its roots in jealousy and greed fostered through generations to an evil end. At best, war is a crude way of settling a dispute—it- does not mean that justice is done, for . a better combination of allies will win as happened in the last war and nobody now feels very proud of the Versailles Treaty. All wars are crude, cruel and fearfully expensive. We should aim at abolishing war and the individual could play his or her part towards that end. To do so, each much cherish in his heart the desire that war must end. Support the League of ‘Nations and other similar institutions and see that the country, if a dispute arises, accepts the judgment of the League as the individual does of the court of law. Extend your knowledge of other peoples by reading books which deal with foreign lands in a sympathetic way. Keep yourself aloof from jealousy of others; Hliis is hard, especially when your prosperity is threatened by a rival., but it is necessary for, if the individual displays that spirit, then it is much easier for the nation. to do likewise. "Wars can be and will be abolished”, concluded Mr Aitken, ‘and it is for you and for me to work and pray for the coming of that great day.” The hymn, "God Save our Native Land” .was. a very fitting conclusion to .an inspiring service.

ST MARY’S CHURCH.

ADDRESS BY FATHER MUR-PffY,

References Jo Armistice Day, with appropriate addresses on peace, were made at all Masses celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church yesterday. Preaching at the 10 o’clock Mass in the morning, Father Murphy drew inspiration from the occasion for a stirring address on the subject. God came. to earth, he said, to bestow on His people th© blessings of peace and it waN fitting that they sWuld especially honor that day, the tenth anniversary of.. its return to the world, after years of terrible warfare wherein God’s gift to us had appeared forgotten. Millions in money was spent in preparing for war and, when it did come, many more millions were wasted in prosecuting it. How much good could be done and how many burning troubles of the world could be removed, if all that money were diverted to peaceful purposes ?

BAPTIST CHURCH

REV. 0. ALLWRIGHT’S SERMON,

Basing his sermon on "Our Citizenship,” the Rev. Oscar Allwriglit delivered an Armistice Day address to a ■ large gathering at the Baptist Tabernacte yesterday morning. The speaker chose his texts from Acts XXI., verse 39, "But Paul said, T am a man. which am. a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and, I beseech thee, suffer mo to speak unto the people’,” and Ephesians 11., verse 19, ‘‘Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” Enlarging on these, he drew lessons from the ideals in England after the war and thence went on point out the great opportunities for New Zealand to realise the true spirit of citizenship. THE SALVATION ARMY. Reverence for the solemnity of the occasion and the realisation of the importance of the. day was shown by the impressive servioe conducted at the Salvation Army Citadel -yesterday morning. The two minutes’ silence was earnestly observed, and appropriate hymns and Scriptural passages were chosen. Mrs. (Adjutant) Tong gave the ’’‘principal address, basing this on. "The Word of God,” wherdin she pointed out the necessity of sacrifice in. following the ways of the Lord. ;