ST. MATTHEWS CHURCH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21297, 26 September 1932, Page 10

ST. MATTHEWS CHURCH

ANNIVERSARY SERVICES SERMON BY ARCHBISHOP "It is a miserable conception of religion to try to put our religious side in a little water-tight compartment and separate it from the rest of our lives," said Archbishop Averill in the course of bis sermon at St. Matthew's Church last evening.

Special services in connection with tho 79th anniversary patronal festival of tho church, and the Girls' Friendly Society festival, were held at, St. Matthew's yesterday. Thero were large congregations at all services, and various local branches of the Girls' Friendly Society wero represented, last evening's leaders carrying their banners.

Whenever there was an idea of offering God the poorest just to satisfy convention there was something radically wrong with tho nature and spirit of the offerer, the archbishop said. Religion was not a mere moral code, or a set of rules or duties, but was the response of tho whole life to love of God. The trouble to-day was that to many God was not a reality but merely a name.

R, was useless to think of God as an abstraction, a Being who must bo appeased and kept as favourable as possible by some kind of recognition, or as a Being who created tho world and then left it to chance. When peoplo realised what Jesus did for the world by His life, death and resurrection, they must bo drawn to Him and through Him to God. The archbishop roferred to tho valuable work of the Girls' Friendly Society Lodge on behalf of lonely and friendless girls, and lie also congratulated the parish on celebrating its 79th anniversary.

Special items were sung by tho choir at both morning and evening services.