OPEN-AIR SERVICE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 64, 22 March 1913, Page 3

OPEN-AIR SERVICE.

j UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE j C. E. M. S. It is somewhat to be regretted that the general public did not attend in larger numbers the open-air service organised by members of the Stratford branch of the Church of England Men’s Society, and held yesterday afternoon in Victoria Park. There were probably not more than fifty adults present, but there was a largo muster of little children. •Proceedings commenced by a prcccs,. sion through the main street, starting from the Foresters’ Hall, members of the C.E.M.S., Boy Scouts, and brethren from the Oddfelhnvs, Foresters, and Druid Lodges taking part. In Victoria Park a short 1 service was conducted by the Bev.' W; A. Butler, : vicar of Holy Trinity, Stratford, tfi® : r music being ' supplied 'by Mr orchestra. ' :; THE VICAR’S ADDRESS.

In a short address, the Rev. MiButler took his text from the Acts: “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do.’’ There .was one , thing-.:wo often heard said, ille, speakercommenced, and that’was that wo. were living at a time when everything waygoing at a very high pressure; consequently, we were almost forced v to be practical at every turn of our lives. we see a thing we are' inciiued to ask ourselves What is the use of it, what’s the good of it, what’s it worth? At the same time we are convinced that everything has a certain purpose. And we realise that, the use to which it can bo put is to act upon something outside of itself. This was evident in things that were the handiwork of men, but it also appeared in the works of Nature. Even the lowest form of animal life had a purpose. Wo find that Nature has its rules, and that it admits of no exceptions, so that when wo uni to the highest work of Nature wo f.nd that man is also bound by the same

ride as other tilings. What is ihe real good of man? To exist, and to act upon something else.” The speaker found nothing in Nature to suggest that man might be an exception to this rule. Each man should die acting upon something else, and that acting he should work, for man was born to be a worker in the highest sense of the word. Whatever a man might be, he was required by Nature to benefit all those with whom he came into contact. Whatever opinions we might hold with regard to Christ, as soon as we stu lied the social progress of the world during the last twenty centuries, we came face to face with the plain historical fact that since the birth of Christ greater progress than at any other period towards benefitting the lob of humanity had been made. Higher ideals, purer morality, greater consideration for those who lived in the so-called humbler walks of life—these were the attributes of the last twenty centuries. Since Christ came into the world we saw a marked change for the better, and we saw man bound together for mutual help.

Although progress had been far from rapid, still there had been a great change for the better. The point to be observed was that reforms had always travelled along the lines that Jesus Christ himself laid down in His teachings, and the lines which his followers explained and enlarged up-

on. There had never been a n an in the world responsible for such complete and beneficient reforms as Christ—and he was speaking of Christ just as a man. Who was Jesus Christ? The speaker replied that Christ was above all things a worker.

They must remember that He was thirty years old before Ho entered upon His ministry. Christ was a carpenter, and He was not a failure in His business. He did not go into the ministry because He could not succeed at His trade, hut because He believed it was a duty laid upon Him to do all He could to lift up His fellowmen, not to drag down those whom He considered above Him. He endeav-

oured to do all in His power to see that all mankind would try and lift up their fellows, and improve the land in which they found themselves. Jesus Christ was a worker as we commonly understood that word. His interests were the interests of humanity, and if humanity at largo could .not be benefited by Himself, then He : was not satisfied to be benefited. The speaker urged his hearers to satisfy themselves that they were endeavouring to follow Christ’s teachings; they could satisfy themselves that they were doing this by asking themselves the question: “If I die to-day, how much will I be missed by my fellowmen?” Whatever a man’s position, be he either a so-called professional man, or a so-called labourer, his duty was to work, and in benefiting himself to benefit others also. The service closed with the Benediction.