ST. MARY'S CHURCH.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 December 1917, Page 8

ST. MARY'S CHURCH.

ANNUAL DEDICATION FESTIVAL. VISIT OF BJSIIOr AVERILL. The annual dedication festival which ttiic, year marked the 7-nd anniversarv of the church was made the occasion of special services at St. Marv's Churcli yesterday.

At the morning celebrations of Holv Communion there were about 200 communicants and throughout the day the the services were'erood. The Rev. C.'H. Orant-Cowon, vicar of Ha\vera, was the preacher for the morning service and delivered a sermon appropriate to the occasion. In the afternoon a special service for children wa« held.

At night thei\! was a large congregation, the church being filled in "every part. Tlie preacher for the occasion was his Lordship the Bishop of the Diocese. Arho delivered a telling and impressive sermon based on Matt. -24, verses 27 and 2S: "For as tho lightning Cometh out of the east and shincth even unto the west; .so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcase is there will the eagles be fathered together." His Lordship tlie'latter part of the text had become proverbial. Jts use by Christ gave tho passage a spiritual as well as a natural interpretation. It was natural, said the bishop, that the apostles should be impressed with tlie 'beauty of the earthly temple at Jerusalem, but it was another vision that had filled the soul of the rejected Christ. Tlie day on which He uttered those words marked the beginning of the decline of Jerusalem. day of grace had passed, and the dav of its .judgment kid already dawned, and Christ saw the approach of the vultures .that would devour the carcase of the doomed city. In passing Dishop Averill referred to the fact that many Zealand soldiers in Palestine and Kgypt had no doubt se en such scenes as that suggested in the words of the latter part of the text. As Jesus gaz"d at Jerusalem Tie no doubt realised what had been its great opportunity, and how tliat, opportunity had been let slin. He realised also that, the religion of laconic _ a sham, and (hat tlie Srcafc city was fast losing its pkce. His Lordship referred to the present interest in the city of Jerusalem on account of tho fact that the Xew ZealandM'S were now Hearing its borders. He 'aid the city fascinated Jesus and its personality appealed to Him. But He looked on it as a dearly-loved' child who hnd rejected evervthinar and had flung its hopes and opportunities to the winds And as He thus contemplated the city He wept over it—a thing which even the prospect of Calvary had failed to cause Him to do. He saw the city as lis child, the moral carcase of which Hie vultures were already beginning to devour. '

Inference wiis then made to the., destruction of Jerusalem. ITjo Lordship Inolc nolo of tlip motaplior of tlip IHit,- ? !n S 1,1 the words of the text. spending'of it as the flashing into visibility of force? in naflire that were over present not alwavs manifest. Tt represents" a force which was the adhesive element in l ' nature. Tim preacher tlien applied ttie law of nature to tlie revelation of Od bod ivji in everything and was everywhere lint' Was not manifest until the incarnation. He then declared that as llie lightning compelled attention so did the great, world crisis compel attention, -lis Lordship (lien traversed a, wide range of liistorv in order to show how tlie downfall of nations fad been compassed by tlieir own faithlessness to the lushest ideals, Ife dealt with tlie decline of Rome, wTt.li all her (renins for oraanisntion and showed that her neglect of religion had led to an excess of luxnrv and to,arrogance. Tlio Colosseum had become the centre of interest and men scrambled for hrond which they had nht. earned.., And finally the vultures in the siw« of the fiotlis and vandals and the Huns swooped down unon the eitv ind wrested from the Emnire its proud iiosition. , The same experience liefel Prance in tlm latter tiart of the l.Slh "ent.nyy. Paris was brilliant, iovoii* and Wdless, Honor was a matter of etiquette, truth a iest, and chastity a bye"■ord. until vultures, lired in licr own hosom, devoured the city and brought ihout, the downfall- of the empire. A few months a similar fate liad nnme to Russia, God's indgmcnt liad fallen •mon those who had been traitors to tlw Fatherland and they had been cast from their high olaces. Turkey, too, was at l-lie present time <?um>rin<r dismemberment. and would soou lie utterly destroyed. Continuing, iiis Lord shin said that Hod's law tnew no distinctions'. There was 110 divine right of kings. There ivas a. divine law, though, and princes 'mist rule in riffhteousneis or suffer the of, their kingdoms. God was not willing'.that natioas should lie destroyed! hilt His law of judgment and cleansing was irrevocable Palestine therefore could not much longer remain the trodden down of tlie Gentiles.

The Bislion then referred to the position of the German Empire at the present time. She had arrogantly set hermit aeainst God's law, but the dav of cleansing was coming, and a new Germany would be built upon the ashes' of the old, and her present mis-rulers would become.a prev to the vultures. 'His Lordship turned the searchlight upon the British! nation. He said God know no favorites and the decavine •imbs of tho British Empire would, if necessary, have to be amputated for the general good. The future of the Empire depended not upon the prowess of arms but upon the depth of the spiritual awakening produced hv tlfc war. Bishop Averill then nskerf: What, are our ideals? FTe replied that largely tho people 'were siven up to the pursuit of material tilings and pleasure. At the outset of the war the nation nearly faileiV because it feared to control the drink traffic. Gambling 'and impurity were denounced hv his Lordship, who said also that a standard of amusement was tolerated in some places which was an insult to God. The extension of. God's kingdom and the establishment of a Christian commonwealth based on the teaching of Christ had scarcely ret. "begun to dawn a* an ideal in the mind of men. Tint the present crisis in the nation's life was a warning to save the Empire before the day of opportunity passed. "TCiobtooiisness, and righteousness njone," so id the hi«hop, "exaltcth a nat.jon. and onlv risrhteousnesß could save from decay and ultimate destruction." Tt : was the dutv of every Christian natriot. to strengthen the bond of religion and to develon the !Christian conscience. There could be ro inch thin" as neutrality toward vhe kingdom of God. Neutrality meant selfinterest and a neutral was God's nnwny. There never was a time when God called men to His side.inore than He was dohig at the present.: and his lordship urced that the New Year's Dav of the Church, Advent Sunday, presented,, a. great ; onDortunitv for men to rally to the side

themselves with God and come to His belli against the might}'. In conclusion, the Bishop expressed his thanks for ;what the parishioners of St. Mary's had done last year an* what they had contributed at tho morning offertory that 'day towards the fund for the extinction of the debt upon their church, and he urged them to a very liberal offering as a witness to their belief in arid sympathy with God. A very impressive service was concluded with the sifiging of the National Anthem. In connection with the annual festival an appeal had been made for a generous offering in, order to extinguish," if possible, the debt remaining on St, Mary's Church, and the collections yesterday amounted approximately to £205. ami it is anticipated that some further contributions will yet be received.