DEDICATORY PRAYER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 832, 28 November 1929, Page 1

DEDICATORY PRAYER

Consecrating the Cenotaph at the War Memorial Museum this afternoon, the Primate of New Zealand, Archbishop Averill, offered the following Dedicatory Prayer:— ACCEPT, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, the purpose and intention of those who have erected this Cenotaph to Thy praise and honour in loving memory of the men and women from this province who laid down their lives in the Great War. May it be a constant reminder to present and future generations of those who heard the call to service and sacrifice in defence of the sacredness of treaty obligations and who “went out not knowing whither they went,” save only that a sense of honour and duty constrained them to play their part manfully in face of the challenge to the fundamental principles of justice and righteousness in the world. May this “stone of witness” ever stand as a monument eloquent in its silence and sanctity, of our deep-rooted gratitude to those who died that others might live in peace and security, and of our duty to complete the great work for which they laid down their lives so that lasting peace may be established upon the earth. May this Cenotaph be a link between the dead and the living and a solemn appeal to present and future to remember the past and give honour to whom honour is due. May it he a constant reminder of the price paid for our freedom and an incentive to nobler living lest we lose or abuse that dearly-bought freedom. May it make its silent appeal to all men and women of goodwill to realise more fully the obligations of human brotherhood, and to labour for truer international relationships, so that wars and the causes which contribute to wars may cease on the earth and peace and friendship be consolidated on an abiding foundation. May it be a witness to the relatives and comrades of the departed that the service and sacrifice of those here commemorated will be held in everlasting remembrance and that the contribution which they have made to the conception and realisation of a new and better world will never be forgotten. May this Cenotaph stand as a shrine of holy memories—and a monument of loving gratitude to those who interpreted life in terms of loyalty, service and sacrifice and so laid hold on “the life which is life indeed”! “They live whom we call dead.” In proud thanksgiving, O Heavenly Father, we dedicate the Cenotaph and separate it from all “common and profane uses.” As we gaze upon it may we be led to “think and thank” and know that “Thou art not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all live unto Thee,” world without end. Amen.