MEMORIAL WINDOW

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18537, 24 April 1922, Page 4

MEMORIAL WINDOW

UN VEILING AT KAIKORAI PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. A FITTING SERVICE. The congregation of Kaikorai Presbyterian Church has honoured the memory of those of its number who gave their lives in the Great War In- the erection in the church of a beautiful and fitly designed stained glass window. This window was unveiled and dedicated at a special memorial service yesterday morning. The church was crowded in every part, and front, seals were occupied by the Roslyn Girl Scouts and Roslyn Boy Scouts. Colonel T. W. M‘Donald was present. representing the executive of the Returned Soldiers’ Association. The pulpit was draped with a Union Jack, and in front of it was placed a wreath of poppies and corn. A somewhat similar wreath was hung besid e the memorial window. The window, which is the work of Mr Brock, of Messrs_ Smith and Smith, is a large double one in the east transoept. On ihe left appears the symbolical figure of a knight in armour whose shield bears the stars of the Southern Cross. In his right hand he holds a wreath of remembrance. Placed on the “In Memoriam” stone at his feet is the service hat of a New Zealand soldier. On the right, the figure is that of a Red Cross knight holding aloft his sword with point reversed, while on his shield is emblazoned the Scottish lion raml»nt. The ground work on the left shows the red poppies of France, and on the right the ferns of New Zealand. In the small window filling the topmost space appears the Crown of -Life shot through with the rays of the Star of Hope. A scroll bearing the words “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” is placed above the names of the fallen soldiers, in number 27, who belonged to the church. Underneath is the inscription: “To,the glory of God and in loving memory of the soldiers of this church who .fell in the war, 1914-1918.” The minister o 4 the church, the Rev. W. B. Hutchison, was accompanied in the pulpit by the Rev. R. R. M. Sutherland, a former minister of Kaikorai, the Rev. Hector Maclean, and Lieutenant-colonel, Colquhouiv. D.S.O. The hymns in the opening part of a brief, well-planned, and effective service W©. “Oh. God of Bethel”" and the 124th Psalm. The Scripture readings ■ were Hob. xi, 32-40, and Rev. vii, 9-17. The Rev. H. Maclean based his address on the words of Ex. xii, 26: “What mean ye by this service? On answering the question he said that the service was first of all the expression of a desire to give lasting honour to certain men connected with that church, who went to the war and died. They were sons of thjtf!' congregation, and they had inserted their names on a memorial window, thus individualising them as long as that banding stood. But this was perhaps the least part of the meaning of that service. And (ho reasons he gave for such a statement were two. In the first place, for that congregation as now comprised there was no need for stained glass, or smoothed stone, or polished brass in order that the memories of these men might be kept green. They had other memorials. Their names were written on the fleshly tablets of the hearts of the men and women there present. But m days to come, others who did not know these men would read their names—artd to them they would be only names. A name in itself meant very little. If that, service meant nothing more than the putting on record a list of names it was not of very great importance. For those who knew the men who died it was unnecessary; for those who did not know them it was well nigh useless. So they must pass on to seek a. deeper significance in that, service. They could find it in the words of the poet: , Great deeds arc deathless things! The doer dies, but not the deed. And of those: fallen ebldiSrswe can say They lit n beacon light Imperishable, bright, .. That CT’ermore...the..nation-’s soul-shall heed. But -what did they do? As members of a great company who left these shores, they fought bravely and died. J3y their'actions they gave to their country a name which would live in. British history as long as the British Empire survives. Wa« that their def.thlcss dead? Partly. And surely from that point of view what they did was .worthy of lasting remembrance. But that was not a . There, was something higher than .^~ sor more imperishable than military fame. He could state it best in the words of the text inscribed above their names: “Greater love hath no man, than this, that a man Jay down his life for . his friends.” r lhero they Had written the motive which sent them away to their death. They died that we might life. By this service they were exalting the ideal of selfsacrifice.. which. they reoignised was exemplified in the life and death of their sons and brothers. They were placing on record for those of a later day to road their conviction that self-sacrifice gives the key to life’s meaning—that ■it is something Sufficiently supreme to have made the men 1 and women of this generation willingly and gladly die for it. Where did these dead soldiers get such an idea? And where did you? From Jesus Christ, concerning Whom wo read: “The Son of Maw cai'ne not to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give Hia life a ransom for many He saved others. Himself Ho cannot save.”. That was tile faith, in which they were reared. And so it was most fitting and most natural that, they should raise their memorial in that buildng, the church where Christ was worshipped as the Saviour and Redeemer of mankind. In that service they were standing true .(o the utmost meaning 'of the Christian faith. They were connect-, ing the death of the fallen with the death of Christ, who left them, an exaihple that; they might follow in His steps. It was ,He who first said and He who proved that “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” “But,” concluded Mr Maclean, “self-sacri-fice does not always mean death. It meant death for your sins. It means life .fpr us. They died to serve. They have left us perhaps a harder part. They have left us to live to serve.”

After all had joined in singing “For All The Saints,” Ljeutenant-colonel Colquhonn spoke to the congregation. He expressed his great pleasure as a returned soldier to know that they as a cqngrejgation had decided in such a 'beautiful manner to honour arid perpetuate the memory of tho 'young men of the congregation who had made the supreme sacrifice on behalf of their native land and our great Empire. He wished he could let them know how splendid these men of theirs were in face of, danger,' discomfort, and death. , With vivid ' descriptive touches ho took their thoughts back to those, days when our men were'holding back the Turks on Gallipoli in spite of dreadful privations. He. illustrated also the unfailing enthusiasm and endurance of our men in Flanders. There was among them not only a fine spirit of courage and_ determination to make good, but the spirit of comradeship was excellent. They would do anything for a mate, for a fellow Digger, as he proceeded to show by describing the raid of the Otago Battalion on the night of July 13-14, 1916, when?; in two hours' 170 men were killed or wounded. Every man looked to what he could do * for his comrades, and many lost their lives by returning to help a mate in “No Man's Land.” Our men showed also tho spirit of tenderness and love. On© scene he could not, forget was witeseed as the battalion passed forward to Messines. The civilians for miles around had left their homes ami farms, the • country was given over to the instruments of destruction. But, in a village a little child was seen standing at the entrance to a cellar. A couple, who would not leave (he ruins,, were bringing up ihe child amidst death and destruction. He thought, that every man who passed that child went towards Messiucs with a turner step, thinking and thanking (tod that they at any rate were saving their brothers and sisters and children from such awful surroundings and upbringing. But what did w© find now I bet ihe war was over. They had to admit that they were disappointed. That was. Iho soldiers’ great disappointment. They looked out over ihe world knd saw unrest everywhere. Did we realise the great burden this Empire of ours was bearing? Did wo realise that our statesmen in the Home Laud, more than tho statesmen of any other nation were bearing the greatest burden of the world’s unrest? VVe needed io-day the spirit of the men who died for us. the spirit of courage and determination to make good, the spirit of comradeship, the spirit to help one another. We needed the spirit of tenderness and love. VVe needed to lift our eyes and make as our motto not only (tod' and New Zealand, not only God and the Empire, but God and the world. The world's great need was tho spirit of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. • At the close of this address the Rev. R. R. M. Sutherland, who lost two send in the war. unveiled the window, and Sergeant-bugler Napier sounded the thrilling strains of the “Last Post,” Tho Rev. w! R. Hutchison said that the window was the. sacred symbol of their gratitude to th© mon who had died for them and for truth, honour, righteousness, and freedom. He offered prayej; of dedication, and the