ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14375, 21 May 1910, Page 8

ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL.

THE NEW IDEAL OF A KINO. There was a. crowded congregation at St. Mary's Cathedral, Parnell, the building being packed to the doors. Owing to the indisposition of the Bishop of Auckland (Dr. Neligan), .Bishop Williams, of Hawke's Bay, had agreed to preach the sermon, but as the steamer Tarawera was late in arriving, he was unable to reach the church in time. The Rev. Canon Mac Murray, vicar of the 'parish, who conducted the service, therefore also delivered the sermon. The sanctuary and pulpit were draped in black. Amongst those present were the Mayor of Parnell (Mr. 11. S. Briggs), the town cleric (Mr. B. Gilmer), the members of the Borough Council and fire -brigade. The Parnell" school cadets, under Captain Darrow, also attended. Dr. W. E. Thomas presided at the organ, and played the "Dead March" as the choir proceeded t& their seats. Then followed the hymn, "When our Heads are Bowed in Woe," after which the three verses from the burial service, beginning, " I am the Resurre< lion and the Life, were sung. The lesson was read by the Rev. A. Colvile. The other hymns were : " Days and Moments Swiftly Fly," " Now the Labourer's Task is O'er," "0 God, our Help in Ages Past," and "On the Resurrection Mom," , The choir also sang. " I Heard a Voice from Heaven." The service was carried out in a very impressive manner, and was followed with breathless attention throughout. A collection was taken up in aid of the Veterans' Home. Canon Mac Murray referred to the old and new ideals of kings. The old idoal was that- a kingdom existed for the king. The new ideal, which was taught by our Lord, was. that the king should be the greatest servant in the State. It had taken Christendom a long time to grasp the truth of this teaching. but thanks

to God, the last two British Sovereigns at least had aimed at the realisation of 'this kingly ideal. Edward VII sympathised with the poor and suffering; ho rendered service to the Empire and to the world ; he laboured to bind the Empire more closely together with ties of mutual understanding, respect, and responsibility; he came to the throne in a time of war, but he gave the Empire peace, and maintained it in. perilous days. In winning the title of " Edward the Peacemaker," he extended his service beyond the bounds of the world-wide Empire to the other civilised nations of the earth. From pulpit and press; in representative assemblies from the Imperial Parliament, in the metropolis of the Empire, down to the humblest municipality in the back blocks of the smallest of the Dominions beyond the seas—from Bench and Bar fa Courts of justice, and wherever men were gathered together to do the nation's business in all parts of the Empire—had been expressed with marvellous unanimity, since Edward the Peacemaker had laid down his sceptre, tributes of appreciation and affection for the departed Sovereign. What meaneth this? he asked, after referring to the continuous 24 hours' funeral service that was' following the sun throughout the Empire. It meant, he said, that the nation was witnessing before God that King Edward had done his duty. He referred to the poem just. written by Rudyard Kipling, with the refrain, ""Do as the King Has Done." The poet, no doubt, meant that as the King had a duty to perform, so had nations, individuals, and churches a duty to perform to God and mankind. In New Zealand it was gratifying to notice growing evidences of a sense of duty, obligation, and responsibility. He particularly referred to the fact that men were giving up their leisure time in order to bo trained for the defence of the Empire. Let our Dominion endeavour to follow the example of the dead King by doing hoc duty to God, to the Empire, and to her citizens.