The Church And Its Witness To The Unbeliever

Chronicle (Levin), 13 September 1948, Page 4

The Church And Its Witness To The Unbeliever

"Is the Church still a witness to the, unbeliever," asked the Rev. Manu Bennett at the patronal service of the St. Mary's Anglican Church, Levin, last night. "Is it a | challenge to each one of you here | tonight? Is it still sending out into , the world the people that God said ] of : 'Ye are the life of the world. You are my witness. You are the , salt of-the earth'?" The "speaker compared the I Church to the great Temple built Jby the Israelites. It was built, firstly, to the glory of God. Secondly, it stood as a witness to the , children of Israel's determination l to hold on to belief in God, he said. In the third place, it became a i great focal point where the family ,, pf Isra,elites met a,t least opce a jyear. "But, bec'ause of neglect, i abuse, and forgetfulness, the TemJple was destroyed and the people j scattered. Because they did not do j the things their fathers and fore1 fathers expected them to do, it was j destroyed. , "We are here today to celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of this church. I wonder how many of you remember it when it was built by your forefathers? I believe that when they built this church and consecrated it, it was done in the first place to the glory of God. In the second, as witness, and in the third, in gratitude for the great famil-y of God. "What sort of family life do we lead? - Do we feel bound together in a spirit of brotherhood? I don't think we do. When one hears the petty things people do, I don't believe we do." Mr. Bennett reminded the congregation of Jesus' words, "Love thy God with all thy heart,,.with all thy soul . . . and love "tfty neighbour as thyself." That was the great thing — to look after one's neighbour. "If you fail in this, then you are not of the family of God. The greatest thing in life is fellowship, and I believe that any method you can use in developing ,Christian fellowship is a commendable thing in the eyes of the communty — and of God. And so, let us develop the family spirit among us. "Will the people of 50 to 75 years hence be able to look back and say that the people of 1948 were the salt of the earth, wasn't it a lovely place they left us? Or will they wonder to themselves what sort of people were those between them and the pioneers? Will they ' say, "Our numbers have increased, but the attendance at our church has fallen off?" In conclusion, the speaker expressed the wish that the people should carry on and construct a family House for the future generations. He reminded them of the old nursery rhyme about the three blind mice. They had lost their tails — because they were blind. "I would like to say, beware of the fate of the three blind mice."