FAMILY SERVICE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume IV, Issue 222, 31 August 1936, Page 4

FAMILY SERVICE.

Conducted At Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. "GROWING UP" SYMBOLISM. Yesterday morning, in Holy Trinity, Church, Stratford, a special familyservice was conducted by the vicar, the Rev. K. J. McFarland. There was a large attendance of parents and 1 their children. In his address, Mr McFarland point* ed out that children belonged not only to the human family but also to the Family of God. A characteristic of childhood was the fact of growing up, and that was also true of our membership in God's Family. The "growing-up" side of religion' was symbolised by the central passage which was found in mosti churches. At one end of it, near the entrance to the church, was the font, at which children were,made members of God's Family through baptism. Passing up the central passage, we came to the pews, where children received instruction when old enough, and learned to worship God. Passing further up the passage, wa come to the chancel step, which waa associated with confirmation and marked the stage when children were grown up in the Family of God. Further up the passage was the sanctuary step, on which God's children knelt to receive the Father's Heavenly Food. In conclusion, Mr. McFarland asked for a more faithful use of the privileges of membership in God's Family.