PURITANIC SUNDAYS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 811, 4 November 1929, Page 14

PURITANIC SUNDAYS

MINISTER REPLIES TO BOROUGH COUNCIL DEVONPORT CONTROVERSY The policy recently announced by the Mayor of Devonport and supported l>y th e borough councillors that Sunday j in the marine suburb should not be made a day of puritanical restrictions in the way of prohibiting the playing •if tennis and use of the Domain by boys who play “scratch” cricket was criticised last evening at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, by the minister, the Rev. W. Lawson Marsh. Mr. Lawson Marsh said that the due observance of Sunday as a day of rest from ordinary employment and primarily devoted to religious purposes, had been well described In the words of Disraeli as “the most valuable blessing conceded to man and the corner stone of civilisation.” Like other great blessings and privileges, the ordinance of marriage, personal freedom, civil liberties, etc., Ihe w'eekly day of rest is continually • hreatened by those who ought to be Its staunchest defenders. Apart altogether from its religious sanctions the institution of Sunday observance 5s a physical, economic, social and moral necessity. "No one questions the physical ! necessity; the economic law that effective work and productivity depend on regular periods of rest is • very where recognised,” said the speaker, “but the social necessity is not less urgent. Family and per- : onal relationships, on which the J tppiness of life primarily depends, • vmand time for cultivation and expression. The breadwinner has little or no opportunity, apart from Sunday, of being a companion to his wife or n father to his children. As for the moral necessity, it is sufficient to point out that unless a special period is net apart and unchallenged by the daily interests of work and sport, a man cannot rise above the level of being a mere cog in the wheel.” Sunda.y, in short, stood for all that made life worth living. It was a day when selfish and individual interests were merged in a larger whole. This great blessing was not to be found apart from Christianity. It was the gift of the risen Christ to the world, but only the valiant defence of the Christian Church had preserved It entire for the benefit, material and Spiritual, of all mankind. WEEKLY BANK HOLIDAY To turn Sunday into a. weekly bank holiday, to exploit its privileges for the sake of making money, to destroy its rest and peace, or even to encourage or acquiesce in its desecration, was the mark of an unthinking, selfish, ■vandalism. It was not only a religious offence; it was equally a social wrong. “In all her long fight to preserve Sunday as a day for rest and worship, the Church has had but one object; to serve the highest welfare of the people,” Mr. Lawson Marsh said. "She claims therefore the right to protest against the many organised and unorganised efforts which are being made to secularise Sunday. Sunday is the only day when the church can reach the vast majority of the people. It provides the only opportunity for public worship and the religious instruction of the young. Good citizenship demands that selfish and anti-social interests should not be allowed to make the heroic task of the church yet more difficult. "The church does not dictate how Individuals shall spend the day,” the preacher concluded. "But we point to the Sacrifice on Calvary as the only valid standard to determine the day’s character.” After the address the subject was discussed by five or six speakers, including two borough councillors. The social aspect of Sunday observance ■was dealt with, the economic phase being ignored. It was contended that the problem was too big for only one church to deal with.