LOCAL PULPIT REFERENCES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 384, 9 May 1910, Page 8

LOCAL PULPIT REFERENCES

ST. MARY'S CMURCII. The altar at St. Mary's Church was draped in mourning. At the morning service the Rev. J. Wilkinson touched' ■briefly oil the greatness of character) displayed by His late Majesty, and his popularity with his subjects and among' nations. The Vicar, the Rev. F. Cr. Evans, at the evening service preacned; from the text "In the year that lung Hosiah died I saw the Lord." The; preacher drew from the text and eni-j pbasised the fact that the end of the! earthly position and greatness must in-j crease our vision of the Divine. The' accentuation of. the human virtues, produced by death enabled us* to discover so much of the .Divine in the human. The day of disaster always opened the heart to-a sense of the Divine. The death of His Majesty the King was one of those happenings which showed the pwwerlessness of all human ett'ort against the dictates of the Almighty. The sermon was a touching and worthy tribute to a great man. At the conclusion of the morning service a portion of tropin's "Funeral March" and the "Dead March in Saul" were played. The "Funeral March" was played prior to tin evening service, and the "Dead March" at the end, Mr. Renatul officiating at the organ.

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHUJ&CH. I Both at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Waitara, and St. Joseph's, New Plymouth, Dean McKenna made feeling reference to the sudden and unexpected! death of King Edward VII., in whom the world had lost otic of its greatest and wisest rulers. From the day o! his accession to the Throne of England to, the hour of his death he worked strenuously, not only for the welfare of his own subjects, lmt for the betterment of humanity. He used his immense influer.ee and consummate tact to promote peace and harmony amongst the nations of Europe, lie always showed a broad spirit of conciliation and toleration in ! liis relations with all the great European 'Powers. "Suaviter hi modo forti-

ter in re" would seem to have been the motto of his brilliant and beneficent reign, llow often had not his prudence helped to smoothc over international complications, which, but for his timely intervention, might have developed i;ito disastrous wars' lie was respects, outside his own dominions, and cherished and beloved by his own subjects, lie preferred to rule by love, and hence the hold he had upon the hearts and all'ections of his people. "May God grant him rest after his labors." added tl't Dean, "and give us a successor ivho will walk in his footsteps." PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

At the Presbyterian Church the Rev. S. S. Osborne made feeling -reference to the national loss. It was but nine years ago, he said, since they nad learned of the death of Queen "Victoria the Good," and now we were face to face with another national calamity in the death of King Edward "the Peacemaker." People, he said, did not realise the usefulness of the late Kings life, or the great work that he had done since he ascended the throne. Before, of course, although actively engaged In the affairs of the nation, lie was injtlie shade, so to speak—the shade of*<Wris mother. Since his accession, however, lie had proved himself to be a great and righteous and peace-loving King, and his death was nothing s,hort of a national calamity.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH. At the Primitive Methodist Church in Queen street the Rev. John Nixon delivered eloquent discourses lriorning and evening, touching upon the event, and the hymns and prayers were all appropriate to the occasion. At the morning service he based his remarks on the death of Moses, and the verse in Deuteronomy, "Moses, the servant of tile Lord, died in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord." Three things, he said, the late King had taught us. The first was the sanctity of power—he had looked upon nis power as a sacred gift from God; secondly, the greatness of service; and the brotherhood of man. Religion made a nation great. It gave stability to a throne, permanence, to an Empire, and added glery to a crown. The Rev. gentleman concluded all impressive tribute in the following lines from Tennyson's "In Memoriam " But talk no more of his renown.

Lay your idle fancies down; And in the quiet churchyard leave him. God accept him, Christ receive him." In the evening the discourse was •based on the death of Stephen. At the conclusion of each service Mr. Golding played the " Dead March in Saul."

WHITELEY MEMORIAL CHURCH.

At the Whiteley Memorial Church the R«v. J. Gr. Chapman made reference at 'both services to the death of the King. He said (inter alia): "T cannot tlose my sermon without referring to an event which has .plunged the whole ol our Empire into gloom —the death of our ibeloved King. The blow is the heavier because it was so unexpected. Fr.w of us dreamed that the recent illness of the King would terminate fatalty, and the greatness of our loss lias scarcely dawned upon our minds yet. That we have lost a good King—perhijps the best and greatest that ever governed the destinies of our vast Empire, few, if anv, will deny. Few of us realise, perhaps, how difficult was the position he was called upon to fill, and in the fierce light that beats upon a 'throne, little indiscretions and 'mistakes art magnified and thrown into prominence before the .public gaze. The life of a king is beset with peculiar temptations from which we private individuals are exempt. When King Edward was called to the Throne, he slipped into a position that demanded both carriage and character becoming the dignity of his'exalted station. And it is cause for profound gratitude that he has fulfilled the utmost, expectations of his people. He was more than a mere figurehead of the nation. Many have been the occasions when his ripe wisdom, his inrate sagacity and ,proverbial tactfulness have done much to assist in the administration of the Empire's affairs. His influence wa.s great—so great, in fact, that no living monarch has impressed his personalitv upon the world to such a degree. wp all know the splendid efforts lie put forth in maintaining the world's peace, and b" has well earned .the title. 'King of Pen"". T'l his .private life lie wa = as nme!' beloved as in his public life he was respected. Mnnv are the stories told of hi? affection for his children, grandchildren and other relatives. As ''Defender of the i''aith" he showed -more than nn official interest in religion. A kimr h-imself, he acknowledged the rights and claims of the Kins of Kings. ,»nd by his regular attendance at Sunday •rimming service he showed his concern for the sanctitv of tjie Lord's Day. . .

For our beloved widowed Queen we all ,feel the deepest sympathy. Arid'it -rill b.-> no snia.ll comfort to her in her great 'bereavement.■ to k"iow that she has the love of all the- British subjects. For Edward's successor we prav that God will give bini a wise and understanding heart that be may rule his people in the same wise and gracious manner as did his lamented father before him."