UNPAYABLE DEBT

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 644, 22 April 1929, Page 14

UNPAYABLE DEBT

ANZAC DAY’S RINGING j MESSAGE SPECIAL METHODIST SERVICE ‘•We remember our unpayable debt to the men who died, to their indomitable spirit, which nothing could destroy, not even death itself, to their gallantry and courage, their suffering and sacrifice. As we remember these we feel our lives touched." T X these words the Rev. W. Walker epitomised the spirit of Anzac, preaching at the special service held ! in the Pitt Street Methodist Church last evening: The service was attended by the Governor-General, Sir Charles Fergusson, and the Lady Alice Fergusson. Also present were the Postmaster-General, the Hon. J. B. Donald, Colonel J. Hardie Neil, president of the Auckland Officers’ Club, and Lieutenant R. S. Judson, V.C., representing Brigadier-General H. R. Potter, officer commanding the Northern Command, who is ill and could not be present. The church was filled to overcrowding and many people listened in to the broadcast of the service by IYA. "This is the season of the year when we recall the memorable landing on the bleak and rugged shores of Gallipoli—when we may say that the soul of the nation came to its birth,” said Mr. Walker. Taking as his text the verse, “What mean ye by this service?" the preacher dealt with the significance and meaning of Anzac Day. “Surely first of all it is a day of grateful remembrance,” he said. We remember the indomitable spirit which moved them under the most trying conditions, the spirit which nought could destroy, not even death. Then we remember their fortitude, and their courage, and their faithfulness and their suffering and their sacrifice, and as we remember them our spirits mingle with their spirits, and we feel that our lives have been touched with a finer issue. This is not a service for gloom, nor for mourning, but for reverence, and for thanksgiving. Life is not to bo judged by the number of its years, but by its accomplished tasks. AVe live in deeds not years, in thoughts not dreams. In feelings not in figures on a dial.* “Christ died an ignominious death at the early age of 33, but he turned the stream ot time into new channels. It is when we measure the fallen by this standard that we come to realise how great is our debt to them. “Not each for himself, each for all. That was the spirit of the men. It was the honour of the platoon, the company, the regiment, the one great cause which welded the Avhole of the forces into an irrevocable bond of unity, and Avould to God. that we the living could carry Into life that Avonderful spirit of the men. “Secondly we mean by this service the time of inspiration. It should quicken the noblest impulses, it should inspire us to carry into their lives something of their courage, and their service, and their sacrifices. The selfsame hand v.hich called our lads to sacrificial de \ 1 is calling you and me to sacrificial life. It is not sufficient to think of them with pride once a year. The least that we ought to do is to carry on what they began and try to make this world a better and happier place to live in. “The third message of Anzac is dedication. The clarion call is still ringing out in the Avorld that we should carry on the unfinished task and make more secure the place for which they died. No person can look out upon the world to-ciay without realising that there are great difficulties in the way of abiding peace. Armaments are still being made, new discoveries for the destruction of life and property are being made, which fill us with a measure of fear fearful to contemplate. “[ want to express my gratitude to God that the League of Nations is still growing in numbers, and in power. Now this League is realising the great Christian ideal. It Is something Avhich is worthy of our best support. At present it is the one bulwark against another world war, and all should give themselves to this work. There is one thing that our dead desire, and one thing that you could give. Die to the old ignoble self, to the cleavage of sect and creed, and attain new heights. Build us a better Avorld. That caunot be done by sword or pen or tongue. There is but one Avay, will you pray with me to-night, and those of you in your homes, ‘God make us better men. - ” “There Comes a Time of Stillness Avas the anthem sung by the choir. Aliss Doris Messer recited “The March of the Anzac Men” and solos were sung by Mrs. Leather, “Crossing the Bar” and Mr. Leather “Be Thou Faithful Unto Death.” At the conclusion of the last hymn the congregation remained standing while the Rev. Walker read out the names of the IS members of the church who paid the supreme sacrifice The Last Post and Reveille Avere then played by two trumpeters from the Auckland Grammar School, and the “Hallelujah Chorus” by the choir. CHURCH OR GAOL Why do w« find more men than women in gaol?” was a question put not long ago by a newspaper to its readers. La Croix," of Paris, says that the winning answer was: "Be-

cause we find more women than men in church." The retort should be laid to heart by those persons (including Roman Catholics) who are accustomed to say with disdain that “the congregation was mostly women.” —“The Tablet.”