Church Service.

CHURCH SERVICE .

ON Sunday afternoon there was a special Masonic Service at the Moravian Chapel , Dukinfield , under the auspices of Endeavour Lodge , No . 830 , Dukinfield , and Waverley Lodge , No . 1322 , Ashton-under-Lyne . There was a large and representative assembly of the Craft , and the sacred

edifice was well filled by Brethren and members of the congregation and friends , many being doubtless attracted by the special musical service which had been arranged . The organists were Bros . H . Blocksage and A . Chapman .

The Masonic Brethren , by special dispensation , assembled in the schoolroom , Old Road , and there clothed , and formed a procession to the chapel . The Volume of the Sacred Law

was borne in front of the procession by four Lewises , Masters Charles Grundy , Herbert Lawton , Sam Bennison , and Harry Drury ; and four others , W . L . Lawton , Arthur Grundy , Fred Lawton , and F . B . Jones , carried the Deacons wands .

As the Brethren entered the church "The glorious universe around " was sung , followed by the opening organ voluntary , "Dead march , " as a tribute of respect tothe memory of Colonel Le Gendre N . Starkie the late Provincial

Grand Master for East Lancashire . The voluntary was finely played by Bro . Chapman , the congregation upstanding . Mr . Walter Scholes sang Mendelssohn ' s solo "It is enough , " in a powerful voice .

The Scripture lessons were taken from I Kings vu , 13-22 and I Corinthians xiii . Clarke Wakefield ' s anthem " Behold how good " was sung by the choir , and Miss Thorpe rendered the solo " There is a green hill far away , " with tuneful voice

and clearness of enunciation . Mr . Charles Saunders sang Owen Wynne ' s sacred composition , " Hosanna , " in splendid voice . This was followed by the sermon , taken from St , Mark ii 3 . The preacher said :

The miracle of which our text contains a graphic picture was wrought on a public occasion . The house where Jesus was , was crammed with people . It seems to have been somewhat more than a casual gathering , for there were Pharisees and doctors ofthe law present out of every town of

Galilee and Judea , and Jerusalem . It was , therefore , like the present , a representative assembly . It is not , however , my intention this afternoon to deal with the substance of the miracle , but simply with the introductory action which is recorded in the words before us . The first three Evangelists

speak of the fact that the man had to be carried into the presence of Jesus , but St . Mark , with his eye for detail , adds , that he was borne of four . This touch brings the scene vividly before our imagination . Four neighbours or friends , or acquaintances , carried the palsied sufferer through the

streets of Capernaum , and , not to be baffled or thwarted in their purposes by the presence of an unsympathetic crowdfor crowds as a rule are intensely selfish—they took their charge up the outer steps that led to the roof , and then , removing the flimsy covering , let him down into the midst , to the feet of the Divine Healer . After careful consideration

this subject seemed to me an exceedingly appropriate one as the basis of our thought and words on the present occasion . Permit me to express , my sense of the honour you have conferred upon me in agreeing to my wish to hold this Service . I cordially thank all those who are giving their valuable and

highly appreciated help in the musical part of our worship , and also , all those , my Brethren , who have laboured with heart and hand to ensure the success of our unique gathering . I believe it is without precedent in the history of local Freemasonry for a Service such as this to he held in a

Nonconformist place of worship . j The main purpose of our assembly this afternoon seems to me parallel with the action of the four men mentioned in our text . They performed a kindly act of brotherly help and charity for one who was not able to help himself . And

our object is to do something similar . The two charities which we have promoted this Service to benefit , seek to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and afflicted in our town , in the first instance ; and to help those who through old age or misfortune or bereavement are no longer able to work for

their living . And objects so worthy appeal not only to the generous public , but also with peculiar force to the members of that ancient and honourable Fraternity so largely represented here , whose distinguishing ornaments have ever been Benevolence and Charity .

In seeking to further such objects as these I think we shall discover-the secret of true greatness . To be really great is an aim , an ambition of which every man who is worthy of the name , is at least sometimes conscious . Our ideas as to what we should make for may be very wide of the mark , in

Church Service.

fact , quite wrong , but every morally healthy man has some ideal to which he would attain , and which , he thinks , would bring him happiness and contentment—ideals of wealth , of strength , of honour , of knowledge , of fame . Now our great examplar—The Son of Man—did not find His ideal of true

greatness in any of these . Where , then , did he find it ? He found it in the " service of man , in helping those who were without strength to help themselves . " He came not to be served , but to serve . " He revealed a new ideal , of which He was Himself the model—the example—that of loving service

of others . Sorrow , sickness , bereavement , death , were opportunities of service of which He readily and willingly availed Himself . And no man can read the fragmentary biography of Christ contained in the four Gospels without admiring His matchless unselfishness , and being fascinated

by His pure and perfect example . The laborious physical service which these four men performed for the man who was palsied , to say nothing of the inward virtue which prompted it , was a service which had the stamp of true greatness impressed upon it . For works of mercy are

corporal as well as spiritual , and corporal works of mercy appear , according to the description of Christ Himself , to occupy a leading position in the account of the last judgment ; and care for the sick is one of these . "I was sick and ye visited me . " " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of

these , my brethren , ye have done it unto Me . The principle which actuated these four men in taking so much trouble for the man sick of the palsy is the same

which has led to the erection and endowment of hospitals , and to the founding of institutions and associations for the relief of suffering , and care of the aged and infirm . There can be no true love for God where there is no true love for our fellow man . " If a man love not his brother whom he

hath seen , how can he love God whom he hath not seen . Love for God and love for man are but two tongues of flame out of the same fire . "The first and great commandment is — ' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and

soul and mind and strength . ' " "And the second is like unto it , namely this—* Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself . ' " And He who spake as never man spake has told us , in His incomparable parable of the Good Samaritan , who our neighbour is . Tribal and racial distinctions are not to enter into

our thoughts when distress calls for help . I must crave the indulgence of my Brethren while I state for the sake of the uninitiated that the whole tenets and system of our ancient Fraternity are in harmony with the principles illustrated by the four men in our text . Amongst

other good things Freemasonry is the greatest charitable institution in the world . And when I speak of charity I do not mean alms-giving alone . It is not a Benefit Society . No man ought to become a Freemason at the solicitation of his friends , or for any mercenary motive . A desire to be more

extensively useful to our brethren is declared to be the supreme motive which makes a man seek to be admitted to its ancient rights and privileges . We insist upon a belief in God as the Creator of all things visible and invisible , in whom we live and move and have our being , as also in the

immortality of the soul , and a future state of rewards and punishments according to the deeds done in the body . It is evident , therefore , that an Atheist cannot be a Freemason . We base our principles and teaching on the Volume of the Sacred Law , and we hold that by regulating our lives according to the

Divine precepts it contains we are thereby taught the important duties we owe to God , to our neighbour and to ourselves . We recognise the Supreme Ruler and Great Architect of the Universe in all our proceedings , and His blessing is invoked in every ceremony . Our principles inculcate the duties of

brotherly Jove , relief , and truth . They teach the Brotherhood of Man , and the Fatherhood of God . They remind us that it is written— "One is your Master , and all ye nre brethren . " And now let me ask—How are these sublime principles , these noble sentiments , carried out into practice ?

I have just said that the basis of Freemasonry is the teaching of the Bible , and what says the Bible on this point ? "If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue , but deceiveth his own heart , this man ' s religion is vain . Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is—To visit the fatherless and widows in their

affliction , and to keep himself unspotted from the world . " Do the lofty principles of Freemasonry to which I have alluded produce such fruits ? I answer unhesitatingly , yes , they do . Witness those princely charities the Boys and Girls Schools ,

for the education and maintenance 01 the children of deceased members , to say nothing of purely Provincial charities . Last year 280 boys , and 267 girls were being trained and educated in these Institutions , and thereby fitted to occupy honourable