HASTINGS SERVICE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 68, 13 December 1937, Page 8

HASTINGS SERVICE

Tributes to work of Bishop Williaips A CHRISTIAN' LIFE A gervice to the memory of the late Bish ip oi Waiapu, t e lu. j..i . ,.ubert Williams, was held iu St. Matthew's Church, Hastings-, yest urdr.y morning. There was a large congregation, inc.luding Mrs Herbert Williams and her daughter, Miss Williams^ and a number of visitors to the parish. After the singing of the Easter hymn, "Jesus lives, for us He died," the opening sentences from the burial service 'were read by the Rev. K. Liggett antl' the 90th Psalrn was read. The special lessons were takeu from rhe prophet Isaiah and the Book oi Revelations, while the words of the anthem sung by the choir were "I hearo a voice from Heaven sayingt 'Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours.' " Before the Blessing the choir sang softly the concluding prayer — "0 I.ord support us all the day long o; he troublous life, uutil the 4 shades lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over and our work uone; "Then, Lord, in Thy mercy, grant us safe lodging, a holy rest, aud peace at the last; Through Jesus Christ our Lord." The after hymns were — "God of the Living in Whose Eyes IJnveiled Thy Whole Cr&ation Lies" and 'Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven." The Vlcar^ Canon 0. Mortimer-Jones, M.A., took his text from the Epistte appointed for the third Sunday in Advent, "Let a man so account of us, as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysterios of God; moreover it is Tequired in stewards that a man. be found faithful." Scholar and Churchman. "Much has already been said and written about Herbert Williams as a Maori scholar, as an authority on

church. law and as a man gifted with the exeeptional abilities of chairmanship," said Canon Mortimer-Jones. "I want to stress that side of his charaeter known to many of us, which can bc described as that of a good Christian mau. Herbert Williams was a man of God. He inherited and was trained in the traditions and Christian ideals of the Williams family, so long associated with this province and tho North Island. This inherited gift was that of a simple faith in God and the Bible and an implieit belief in the revelation of God through that iuterpretation of the Bible associated with the Church of England. Added to this inherited early training were the strong convictions of an exeeptional intelleet. "The Bishop 's life was the witness of the convinced opinions of mind and heart. His mind was never weary of a process of investigation. He knew his Bible as a scholar of Greek and Hebrew and brought the whole of the scholar 's learning to show light upon hidden meanings and disputed readings and varied translations. "Such studies increased his convictions. He knew what he believed and why he believed it and was not the kind of Christian who took tliings for granted. But to accept the Christian. Faith with the intelleet and mind only was not true of the character of the man who tried to spend his whole ministerial life in the service of others and to the glory of his God. Christian Qualities. "To Herbert Williams, religion was very much a thing of the heart — an emotional experience. The Christiau qualities of love and fellowship were very obvious to those who knew him. He was a man of natural affection. It was essential to him to love and be loved. In his home life love was supreme. I may be forgiven if I tell those who did not have the privilege of often seeing the Bishop in his home, that the happiness of his family life was the natural outeome of unselfish love. All love must be self-saeri-ficing for love is of God and this man of God w,as a man full of the love of God, in his home life and in all relations to liis wife and his children. We thank God for the example of simplicitv, humility and purity. "Every man has his faults and fail,ings and I am not attempting to paint

the picture of .a perfect man, but I am quite sincere in saying that, from my short but intimate knowledge, it would be difiicult to find a more Christiau home or a more Christiau gentleman. So this morning we are met to pay honour to his memory, to forget and fofgive any failures, and to thank God for many Christian virtues, and pray that we may have gr.ace to follow his good example. "These same conditions of faith, and love, arising from convictions of mind and heart, wliich were seen in tne man, the husband and the father, were equally the ruling motives of his life as priest and later as bishop. Perhaps I might say ti.ey were developed, the older he grew and. the. greater his responsibilities. . Herbert Williams was truly a father in God to his clergy and his people, loving them all in Christian fellowship — guiding, -consoling and exhorting, and, if. necessary, rebuking in Christian charity. Control of Diocese. "He was always fair and just, kindly nd considerate, painstakingly exact and business like. in. his governing of those under his .charge, eyer ready to listen with sympatlxy, to redress a grievance or yomfort a sensitive uature and gifted in a marked degree Avith the saving grace of humour "He did not attempt the oloquence of a great preacher or assume the role of a popular cleric, but his words earried weight both in the pulpit and ou the platform, because of the respect "for them earned by sincerity and knoAVledge. His advicp at confirmations both to the candidates and the adults was valued not so much for the manner in Avhich it was given as for the simple convietion with which he spoke. It came from the heart of a personality full of love. It was tlie courageous adviee of a sympathetic father who loved his children. "These are the qualities wliich made the Maoris love him, trust him and say ♦Hireinu has spolceu.' These are the qualities of character we look for in a strong personality. It was easy to see them in Herbert Williams. We thank God for his life and work in this diocese anJ pray that God has called him to some higher service for which his life here has been but a preparation, and t' at his soul may rest in peace and light everlasting shine upon him. "In this time of sorrow and bereavement we will think with loving sympathy of his wife and family and pray that God will give them the comfort and grace of His Holy Spirit."