ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1920, 1 December 1913, Page 9

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.

DIAMOND JUBILEE. COLLECTIONS TOTAL £1227; AN IMPRESSIVE SERMON A esterday morning a very iurge congri'gai!:m assembled in St. .John's Church, the occasion being the celebration ol the Diamond Juhilee of the congregation. Thy service was divided into two parts, the first part being devotions and sermon, which had been placed in the hands of the licv. A. Cameron, U.A., Moderator of the General j Assembly; the second being thanksgiving ami. communion, whicii were conducted by J)r, Gibb, assisted by the James i'alerson and A. Cameron. All three ministers, in robes and bands, occupied seats on. the pulpit pliuform. The special circumstances of lite day were reliectcd in Mr. Cameron's prayers and sermon, but in tho 111 am the service was such as commonly loads iu churches of the Presbyterian, order up to the celebration of the communion. Tho sermon was a meditation 011 Hebrews 3.1: "AVherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly .calling consider tli/t Apostle- and High Priei.t of our profession, Christ Jesus."

Of late at the quarterly Communion ! services all the downstairs seating of the church has hec-ii required to accommodate communicants, but anticipating an even greater demand on their I spaeo the church authorities had covered a jpart nf 'the gallery seats with j the white- linen which is so beautiful and attrietivc a feature of the Eucharistic celebrations of the Presbyterian Church. Tho anticipation that the extra, seating would he necessary was justified. Tho majority of the congregation other than communicants remained to tho end of the service.' Thanksgiving. Before the Communion a thanksgiving was said by the minister and people. Dr. Gibb, speaking, said: "Holy,' blessed and glorious Trinity, Three Persons and Quo God," and the people answered: "Unto 'i'iiy name we give ginry i'or Thy mercy and Thy truth's sake." Then the minister paid: "Father ot our Lord Jesus Christ, our Father which art in heaven" ; then, "Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, Head of tho body which is tho Church; Mead over nil things in tho Clnirch; Prophet, Priest, slid King of Thy people"; and, finally, "God the Iloly Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son, given to be our abiding Tcaeher, Comforter, and Sanctificr, 1 ' the people answering after each of these invocations us after tho first "Unto Thy Name we givo glory for Thy mercy and Thy truth's sake." Thereafter the Apostles' Creed was said by the minister ,and people, and finally tho communion was dispensed after praiso and prayer, Dr. Gibb giving the sacred elements to Mr. Paterson, who occupied a seat to tho right, and Mr. Camwon t.o the left. Communion being ended, Mr, Paterson delivered a brief address, in which ho sj>oko of tho feelings and memories which the rite that day called up in his mind. He went r-u to ciiiphasi.se the truths which the Communion was meant to toach, pointing out that they had that day pledged themselves anew, to the service of their Lord, and anticipated that other day when in the Kingdom'of God in Heaven they would meet with the friends whom they had loved and lost and be forever with the Lord.

An impressive Scrviee. The singing, led by a full choir, was . excellent. Familiar hymns had been chosen, including tho hundredth psahn ("All people that 011 earth do dwell"), and that song which is always sung in Scottish churches when the hearts of the people are deeply stirred, "0 God of Bethel by Whose Hand Thy people still are fed." Before the Communion Miss E. Smith sang Gounod's''There is a green bill far away," and at the close of Mr. Paterson's address the choir rendered Stanford's "To Dcum." The service had been skilfully arranged so as to bring out the simplicity and beauty of tin: Presbyterian order of worship, and th-e result was deeply impressive. The service adequately commemorated an auspicious occasion in the history of this strong and progressive Church. In. tho afternoon Mr.. Cameron conducted a service for young people, Tho church was largely filled. Though tho members of the Young Men's and Young Women's Biblo Classes were there' In force, the service was designed for, and the sermon adjusted' to the intelligence of the Sunday school children. It proved, however, interesting, profitable, and instructive to all. Taking as his theme the bov who supplied Jesus with the five loaves and it wo fishes, which the Master supplied to feed five thousand! men, Mr. Cameron, aided by various_ obiocts—a watch,, a rose, a potato, which ho produced—taught more than one memorable lesson. Suitable hymns were smsg, the choir again leading the singing avid rendering Stainer's anthem, "I am Alpha and Omega."

The Evaning Sermon, In the evening tho church was densely crowded, some stood throughout tho service, ever available seateven to the lop of the pulpit- stops— being occupied. In the devotional service, Dr. Gibb was assisted bv Mr. Cameron. The thanksgiving of the morning was repeated, and the hymns were all well known and stirring. Dr. Gibb preached from the Words of I Samuel, 7-12, "I-litherto hath Use Lord helped us." Beginning with a re-mark on 'the Futurists who aim at breaking altogether with fho past, and refuse to bo in. any way influenced by precedent or use aiul wont, he went on to say that tlii? mood was familiar enough to them all. When Paul preached on Mars Hill be found the Athenians < ugrosseu in the last new thing. To an equal,'i? not greater degree, this was a characteristic of our time. It is the day of new theories of nolities, of new art, now theology, and, perhaps most startling of all, the now woman. Tt would ho amusing if it: were not 'so sad to note tho contempt in which a (wst so near to us as last century—the Victorian «''a —was regarded by many people. The Victorian age. with its ciauts In science and invention, with its splendid vrifers and noels. its t'ennvsoii ,I'vl Browning its C'-irlvle and Huskin and Dickens and T'hnrteray was too decorous and "slodtry" for hnirbrained chatterers .'■nil vapid voluntaries of a time which one sometimes fen roil was letting die out of its experience nil that made life a regal ti'ing.

But this momi would nsss. I! must ivss if the purpose of Cod were to be fulfilled 'Hid ih.e r.iee not to become ullerlv decadent. And as a protest, ae-ninst a slavish conservatism it uiiehi uliimalelv render some service to tlio cause or Cod and man. Life was a urggrowive thine, and everv i-iv Well I - lv regarded was a day of the Lord. Mil! they might be sore of this: it could be no d«y of the Lord to any man who failed to see that. yesterday aiso belonged fo Rod. To' the believer it, was almost an atheism to demise lb" past. Tor the believer know thai the beat .liiinsis in the life of today were connected with 111" past, as Hie fruit "f the tp" vis with the' roots deep in the .-.nil. The believer knew, 100. tint the .Spirit of Oor! who moves in the hearU of men now mrvcJ cijv.al-

iy in the hearts of men of old. "0 (.'iiil," they s:iii<r, "0 God our Jiolp in list's past'—our help us 'if the pant ages, with .111 their experiences, belonged to v,s us much ;is our own age. That was a mood found very frcquont-' ly in the .Scriptures of the' Old Testameut, whereas Dr. Denny lias it (hey saw "(he spirit of man bridging fiisiorie.'i! villi's and meeting the living God now in events and voices of a distant pant.' 1 Origin of the Church. li was in thai mood Dr. Gibb desired iiis hearers to follow him as he wont on to der.rnho the origin of the Church mill settlement. That history was ii'ieir history, theirs because the fathers were theirs, theirs yet more because their God of (lie fathers was their (iod. the same yesterday, to-day, und for ever.

From this point there followed a graphic sketch of the settlement of the early days, with a full appreciation of the qualities of the pioneers and their immediate successors. They were brave men (he said) these pioneers— they were made of sterling stulf. They set their hand to their task with a stout heart and a cheerful countenance. They never lost heart. Difficulties for them existed only to be overcome. in England's great natiiml house of prayer (St. Paul's), oil a tablet, might be read the words: "Si moimmontum rcquiris eircumspiee," "If ym seek his monument, look around." It was the epitaph of Sir Christopher ron, the architect- of that vast and noble pile. And might we not (jay, if you seek the monument of Wellington's pioneers look around? It would le hard to surpass these men in solidity, Sagacity, and purposefulness. The sketch of the beginning of the settlement was followed by a sketch of the origin of the Church. It. was an interesting thing to note that as far as the ordinances of the Christian religion were concerned, Scotsmen and thoir Church were first in the field. The fi'',st service was described, ami the fortunes Of the little church during the first tow years of its history. Then came- the founding of St. John's in 1853. Details would not bo given, for the history of the Church would l>e found set forth with some amplitude of detail in tbo booklet which had been published.

An Aggressive. Congregation. Passing on to the congregation ns it was to-day, Dr. Gibb spoke of its membership of 820 communicants, of its benevolence, and many aggressive forms of effort. But he did so only to give i iujded emphasis to the singular mcwy with which God had visited them. Tlmy knew their own shortcomings, and their fathers with a great awe of 1 uod in their hearts, had ever been reajy to confess that they were unworthy of the least of the mercies of the Lord. Human frailty had mingled with and r'.cfiled their service. But their very shortcomings served to throw into clearer relief the goodness and guiding hand of God. ■Human, very human, had that Church been, but yet not wholly human, for the most heedless must surely see the finger of God m their story. When they thought of tile children that had been baptised into the name of Christ, and taught to follow Him, of the multitude of men and women who from first to last had heard tho Gospel within these-walls, and been strengthened and disciplined fur the lives of integrity and useful service of iheir fellows; of the ministers who had occupied that pulpit, of John Moir, earnest, painstaking, devout, who laid the foundations; of James " Patcl'S.m. solid, sagacious, sound in doctrine, sve in counsel, and indefatigable in tfr; work of the pastorate; of the men who mid iillcd the offices of tho Church, taught in the Sunday schools and .Bible classes, and to whoso wise initiative and tireless steal they in no small measure owed .the iact that to-day thev were one of the mcst aggressive and generous of tho congregations of the Presbyterian Church in New "Zealand; of the great company of tho departed who wore hero guided on tho way whit'ii Drought tliessi at last to the dwellingplace of God, and are now part of 'h,r v great company of witnesses by which they were surrounded—when tiny thought of these things, tho spirit t f kmstfulnoss could find no place in their hearts, lev they were filled to overflowing with a sense of their profound Sr. debtednoss to the great King and Head of the Church, and with all their souls tucy would say: Ebenezer, hitherto hath the Lord Helped us,

The Duty of the Church. , Dr. Gibb then turned to the tasks now facing them, and dealt with tho Church's duty of proclaiming tlio cvangol in th.e light of increasing knowledge and now conceptions of duty and life. Reference was also made to Uie Church's obligation to attempt a soiiitisn of the social problems, of tho'timo. Put his task that evening was to quicken in them a mood of deep thankfulness for the mercies of the past, to inspire them with courage, and to eail them to a new consecration of themselves to tlio service pf the God of their fathers, who was also their Cod. J'hey did their work with like strong and faithful men. Our methods cannot ha the same as theirs. ICucli enr generation had now tasks to perform, new questions to answer, new dangers to encounter, new temptations to overcome. Let them pray that strength adequate ami abundant might be given to them to shrink from no sacrifices in the fulfilment of their mission; Unit they might he true to the high tradition of their forefathers, and transmit the inheritance tiiey had received. . nriched and undefiled, to their children. And this they would do if they cleaved wholly unto God. The singing throughout was of great volume and power. The choir, uiuler the'directorship of Mr. Kerry, the oiIJiinist, sang with fine success, "And flip Glory of the Lord" and the Hallelujah Chorus, both from Handel's "Messiah.'' ■lust before the close of the service a slip was handed to Dr. Gibb. announcing the amount of the colled ion for the day. It was £1227 3s. 3d.