HONOURING THE FALLEN.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 30 June 1924, Page 7

HONOURING THE FALLEN.

MEMORIAL WINDOW UNVEILED. 'J d r 1 AT ST. MARY'S GERALDINE. t t ( Yesterday morning Sc. Mary's Church, Geraldine, iiad not a vacant ; seat in it, when His Grace, Archbishop 5 Julius, unveiled a war memorial win- ; dow 111 honour of the forty-0110 mem- i bers of tlic Church m the Geraldine 1 Parish, who gave their lives in the f Great War. Extra seating aceommoda- i tion had to be provided, Dut evqn then < tliere were some, wiio had to stand 1 throughout the service. The Arch- ■ bishop was assisted in the service bv 1 Canon Staples Hamilton (Christ- - church), and the Rev EL Purchas (Vicar). The memorial window, which is of very chaste design, is situated at the western end of the Church, just inside the main entrance. In the centre light is the figure of Christ, as the King,.of Glory, and below is the figure of a soldier in armour, Kneeling and dedicating his sword, with the prayer : ; “Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the Glory.” In the background is a fortress, representing the powers of 1 evil to be overcome. The side lights 1 .show figures of the heavenly helpers, j on the left, Michael, the Archangel j leader of the angel armies, with drawn sword of ‘fire,’ and in his left hand the balances of justice; on the right, Raphael, the Divine healer and patron of travellers, with staff and gourd. His robe is ornamented with scallop shells, like that of a pilgrim to the Holy Land, and in his left baud lie carries a casket with the fish gall, as in the story in the Book of Tobit. Above is the dove of peace, and two angels in adoration. At the bottom of the window are seen the Anns of the Dominions of the British Empire, and | of her Allies in the Great War. Beneath the window is a largo brass I tablet bearing the names of forty-one men belonging to the Church of England from the Geraldine Parish, who gave their lives in the war. The tablet bears the inscription : —“To the Glory of God, and in grateful remembrance of these, our fellow churchmen, of the Geraldine Parish, who gave their lives for their country, in the Great War, 1914—1918, this window is dedicated.” P. S. Barker J. Knowles W. Bates K. O. Minster J. Bonnet. J. Morrison A. J. Bennington N. D. Muif T. S. Boughton \V. E. Paterson H. J. Bruce J. H. Patrick H. R. Bur borough H. E. Piper J. IV. EL. Bryant R. S. Priest L. T. Carver D. A. Rae C. M. Cazalet W. J. Rae ,/. R. Dennistoun A. G. Robinson D. A. Devon B. R. Smith J. Eifield F. D. Templer A. C. Hamilton H. L. Thatcher E. Harris C. K. lv. Tincher ,J. M. Hawke C. W. "Waters J. M. Howard C. Walters J. R. Howard F. C. Yates W. S. Jenkins K.Sinclair Thomson G. A. Sinclair Thomson' 'The names are tallowed by the inscription: —“He tiiou raitiuul unco ueai.ll, and i will give tiiccj a Crown ui jjiieU ) j ’ilio window having been ucveiled by I the Arcnoisiiop, tne “nasi Post," Wu.s ■ piaye-a oy Xdeuc. opeuccr 'Hemungton, j tuiu tne congregation sang a verse oi uio lMitionai Antuem. Basing ins sermon on the words : “Uou is iiove," Arciipisiiop Julius said* there wete Certain • leaders of tnougnt' at tiio present tune wiio saiu tnat mve was a prouuct’ 01 Xiuman nature, and tnat mere was no ’evidence wnatever ot its existence 111 tne’ universe apart lrom man. -As they looked but upon tlie world tney saw tnat Nature was very wondenul, and very oeauniui, but" tluit sue did not love; she was pitiless, merciless, or at the very least, mGiuerent, falling - upon the innocent as well as upon the guilty. .And it seemed to him that tnoso who had gone thorough the awiui experiences 01 me Great ivar, must have found it very dnncult to snake oif the overwnelmmg sense ot terror in the world, tracing nature step oy step tney saw that progress and advancement were ‘ liuilfc upon pain and' suhering; Nature 1 tooli her way unflinchingly, in pnmi- ' tivo religions there was a dominant fear I of evil spirits, and the world, to those in olden times, who did not know the true God, was a terrible world a world of superstition and of terror. But when they turned to the higher religion, a different picture was presented, and modern teachers told them that love was a product of human nature, and that it was man’s business to develop it, against the natural tendency of his lower nature; they were to cultivate love until it became the dominant power. How did tho writer of tho text from which he was speaking, learn that God is love? Not from the world of nature, but through his acquaintance with that unique personage Jesus Christ, whose whole life had been a life of love, who had devoted himself to Iho service of others, suffering reproach, sorrow, disappointment, and at the last, death, lor tho sake of others. However much love might have been absent from the world, it was seen in tho fulness of its healthy in the life of Christ. And they knew that Christ had been sent by the Father, and that Ele was the I image of God; those who had seen Christ know that He was the same as God, whom they could not see. If they wanted an example of God they had it in Christ, and tho unseen God was love. And the fact that God is love was the great foundation of their faith, to which they held with all their soul. It was this that had caused a revolution in the world. Before tbe time of Christ there was no .systematic effort to combat the many evils, which existed in the world, no mercy and very little pity. Love had not, up to that time, been organised for miserable. humanity, but once love had taken possession of the human soul it created a great change in the hearts and minds of men, and there followed all the public institutions and private benevolence for suffering humanity, I which they knew to-day. Sorrow and

pain and suffering were not according to God’s will : and though they could not tell why He had not suppressed them, they did know that He called His people to His side to fight against sin and unrighteousness of every kind. J hey all knew what Christianity had done for the world.

His Lordship went on to say that he conlcl not think of the horrors of the Great War without holding fast to the great fundamental truth that God is love. That day they were dedicating a memorial window to those who had perished in the great conflict, and they could scarcely trust themselves to speak of the sorrow and anguish of those days. They should realise that those who had gone forth to fight wrong for them had begun a great work, which those who were left behind wore in duty bound to carry on ; if they were to do honour to their names, they must continue their service, always striving to a higher reach of things, a better age, a peace that would endure because of its being based upon goodwill among men. The Peaco 't reaty which had been arranged at the termination of the Great War, was a most unfortunate one. It hacr been arranged by politicians who nad no doubt done their best according to their lights, but divorced, as it was, from the principles of Christianity, must fail of us purpose. He would like to see a branch of the League of Nations or some such institution, established in every town and city of New Zealand, in order to advance the cause of freedom for which their soldiers had given their lives. Not by hardness or bitterness, but by following in the steps of Christ would the world be rid of all its sin and suffering. At the last, love was the great conqueror, and it should be the aim of all to make it prevail. Jn doing -His they would be paying the best tribute that could be paid to those who liad so loyally and so gallantly given their lives for King and country, and because. God is love, they could believe that those for whom they mourned had not passed _ out of His sight, .nor beyond His reach