DEPARTURE OF THE REV. C.H GARLAND.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, 5 April 1909, Page 3

DEPARTURE OF THE RE V. C.H GARLAND.

-. . , VALEDICTORY, SERVICES. ' To large congregations • yesterday at ;St. John's Methodist Church the "Rev. C. H. Garland conducted his valedic-tory-services. ■ ■ -

-. ln the morning he - preached from Hebrew xii., * 2: "The Author Finisher of Our Faith."

V The evening sermon had for its foundation "The Sum of all Prophecy," and the speaker dealt with perhaps the fundamental principles and teachings, of the Bible. The address was -marked by its logicality and clearness of Sequence, which are prominent features of My, Garland's discourses. It was putting heaven into men rather than men into heaved: that was written between the lines of his' sermon. In the world .there were great sorrow and sadness and the shedding of many tears. Tho rawona wiiicii were found to Oe the causes were three: Firstly, man was found to be out of harmony with his environment as characterised by

devastating earthquake and distressing shipwreck and innumerable other laws and consequences over which man had no control. In thSfcecond place man was out of harmony with himself The true definition of the human being — that incomprehensible machinery which they called man — was given. It was seen how the various feelings were generally antagonistic to one another, causing an everlasting war painful to the individual. The third reason for the tears was that man was out of harmony with his God. And this was , the great cause of the tears, for once a man was in harmony with his Makei those feelings and influences that tended for goodness were strengthened, whilst the inclinations for evil were weakened, thus producing a harmonization which naturally brought peace and happiness in its- turn. There was one great fact that they should particularly bear in mind, -and that was that every good life decreased the sum total of misery and tears in the world. They could see' this fact strikingly crit phasised in the lives of such men as Samuel Plimsoli, Lord Shaftesbury. Dr Barnardo and others, but it was even so in the quiet unassuming life in the home. The world was a great deal' better to-day than it was 2000 years ago. He did not mean in the lives of individual people here and there, but he was referring to the heart of man generally. It was their aim to do their share in bringing men into harmony with their Maker, and thus into harmony with themselves, which process would dry up rivers of tears, but there would still be tears. Earthquakes would occur and man's stern environment would stiii on occasions crush him, but the volume of tears would be greatly reduced But they had the bright hope of a better world where there would be no tears. During the service the choir rendered selections from Stainer's "Crucifixion."

A farewell social will be held on \V«I nesday evening..