DAY OF PRAYER

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24370, 4 September 1942, Page 4

DAY OF PRAYER

THE WAR ANNIVERSARY SERVICES IN AUCKLAND LARGE ATTENDANCES IMPRESSIVE ADDRESSES An unwonted hush stilled the normal | worldly activities of Auckland yesterday morning when the great majority of shops, offices and factories, except those whose work was too essential to bo interrupted, remained closed until 10.30 a.m., while citizens took part in various services of intercession and rededication, as requested by His Majesty the King, to mark the third anniversary of the outbreak of war. The principal morning service, in which civic authorities and the non- j episcopal churches combined, was at the Town Hall at nine o'clock. The hall, which has a seating capacity for 3500, was crowded. From 7 a.m. onward St. Matthew's Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral were almost continuously filled. Early Communion and noon intercession were arranged at the former and the nine o'clock Holy Mass and mid-day Eucharistic hour of exposition at the latter. Continuous Chain of Prayer St, Matthew's had overflow attendances of upward of 2000 in the early morning and at noon, while so many assembled in the mid-morning that an extra service was improvised. In St. Paul's Church .six services were held and a continuous chain of prayer was maintained throughout the day, parishioners and others taking quarter-hour watches.

An additional morning service was also required in St. Mary's Cathedral. The Bishop of Auckland, the Rt. Rev. W. J. Simkin, who had preached at Pjukekohe in the morning, took part in the evening cathedral service. Evening intercessory services were held in a number of churches. Under the auspices of the Auckland Presbytery ai combined service took place in St. ifavid's Churchy and four city -congregations, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian, held a gather ijig in the Beresford Street Congregational Church. The New Zealand Institute for the Blind held its own morning service, at which the chairman of the trustees, Mr. A. J. Hutchinson, gave a short address. His Majesty's Leadership At the citizens' intercessory service at the Town Ball the Mayor, Mr. J. A. C. Allum, presided. The address was given by the Rev, J. D. Smith, Moderator of the Auckland Presbytery. The nation should express gratitude, he said, for having over it a King whose leadership was expressed in repeatedly reminding his people of their dependence on God and whose manner of life confirmed the appeals ho made to his people. What did the future hold? the speaker asked. The only certain thing was that men would fight and die and that sacrifice and labour greater than they had known would be required_ of all. "We shall be beset by increasing temptations to abandon high faith and ideals, to allow the struggle to become merely sordid," the speaker continued. "We shall have to facp the reaction to the strain of the time in resort to frivolity and licence in terms of 'Let us eat, drink and be merry, for to-morrow we die.' "

They would be called on to resist the temptation to indulge in bitter hate of their enemies and to cherish vindictiveness in reprisals on them. Trust in God's Care An appeal for trust in the loving care of God amid all tho suffering entailed by war was made by Bishop Liston in an address at Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral. "If in. the. height of our anguish we ask why God does not send a sign from heaven to confound the authors of the woes that have fallen on the world and to open up the way of peace and order," said the preacher, "we turn to the light that our faith throws upon this mystery. We do not ask for signs and wonders, but we believe, and a thousand experiences of life confirm our belief, that God is good, and in His own wise and loving way has care of us." The supreme evil, the bishop concluded, was not suffering and war, but sin. Death was not the end, but the beginning, of joy and life and love. It was the duty of all at this time to rededicate themselves to duty and sacrifice. Triumph Over Tyranny Addressing a large congregation in the Synagogue, at a special service, the Rabbi, the Rev. A. Astor, declared his firm confidence that the United Nations would be victorious over Nazi and Fascist tyranny, and that the rights of man and the religious and cultural values which made life worth living would be fully vindicated. The vital need of the hour, said the preacher, was that men should lay hold of the anchor of an unshaken faith and school themselves to live under all conditions in an abiding consciousness of the presence of God.

HAMILTON OBSERVANCE (0.C.) HAMILTON, Thursday The whole of the accommodation at the Theatre Royal, Hamilton, was occupied this morning, when a united service was held at the instance of His Majesty the King. The deputy-mayor, Mr. F. Findlay, presided, and associated with him on the platform were most of the clergy of the town, representatives of the Army, Air Force and Nursing Services, and the Borough Council. St. Peter's Cathedral was _ also crowded, the congregation consisting of soldiers, airmen, women's war organisations, and parishioners. The service was conducted by the Bishop of Waikato, the Rt. Rev. C. A. Cherrington. Special services were also held in all tho Hamilton churches this evening, and at the Hamilton Home Guard battalion parade.