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MEMORIAL
SERVICE
At Kiama
There was a large attendance at
Christ Chui;ch, Kiama, on Sunday
'night, last, on the occasion of. a
Memorial Service to the late Pte.
Maurice Raymon'd Perry, A.I.F., and
to the victims .of the sinking of the
hospital ship "Centaur."
The , congregation included. the
Mayor (Ald. C: S. Boyd) and repre
seiitatives of the Council, Returned
Soldiers.League, Rifle and Surf Clubs
Boy. Scouts and Cubs. An apology for
iunavoidable absence was sent by the
Gerringong Returned Soldiers League
Taking for his text, Cor. 1.13 "Love
never faileth," the Rector (Rev. S.
A. Mainstone) said that they were
met together that evening under. a
great cloud of sorrow, in that another
'of the young men of our district had
paid the fill price' of 'service to his
country. Maurice Raymond' Perry,
a youthi of particularly fine physique
and daring, had beenl doing a inan
size job.: He had been carefree and
,almost' reckless, and the news of his
death came 'as a great shock. 'They
all paid honour to his meimory and
to his tioble sacrifice. It was indeed
a sad occasion,. and they offered, their
sincere sympathy' to his father 'and
mother and sister. But it: Wva also
an occasion for pride; as 'they thought
of the readiness and courage of our
minen to give their lives for .the cause
they believe in. "Joe" as he "was
popularly known, had died that we
might live to build a better .world,
a, world free fromi the awful .curse
of war.
'"Tonight we also, remember the
victims of 'the brutal attack, on the'
lospital ship, "Centaur." We are
deeply shocked to think. that an
enemy could be so ruthless and cruel
as to fire.; on the symbol of love and
mercy, and. to biutally attack and
murder, men and womqn who were
defenceless. , That is not war; it is
murder. If death meant extinction,
'the end of everything, then would
our sorrow on this occasion be' very
great, but as believers in Christ and
the Christian message of Resurrec
,tion, we do not mourn for those who
have gone. We" leave them' in the
tender care and keeping 'of an Al
mighty and All-loving .Father, who
shall: raise them up 'in 'tha't day
when, in the fulness of time the pur
iPoses of God in' creation shall have'
been fulfilled.
"Love never faileth, says the mes
sage of our text. Love is not lost';
it is not desti'oyed by death. " Love
responds to .love; deep answereth
deep. The good deeds `that men do,
live on; their sacrifices are not in
vain.
"If because of our losses and sor
row we allowed ourselves to become
embjittered, and lost our faith in the
ultimate triumph of' good over evil,
then would we il a very real sense
have lost the battle,' and will never
know the true peace that' these pre
clous .lives are being sacrificed for.,
The appeal! of the Cross of Sacrifice
and LoVre'is that which awakens men
to a' new life and fires them with
enthusiasm :for' worthwihile things,
As the Cros 'of Jesu is is raised, so
does, it move the hearts of mell;. "
- "What an inspiring message 'it
was that General Macarthur'.. gave
us on the occasion of this latest out
rage against the "Centaui"-'The
enemy .does not understand, he ap..
parently cannot undelrstand, that our.
invincible .strength is not so imuclh of
the body as it is of the soul, and
rises with adveoisity, . The Red C1;oss
wlI not faltor 'under tliis foul blow.
'Its light of mercy will but shin Ille
brightr"o' n our way to/ luevitable
victory,
Lov6 remainls' 1ilyal to 'tile path
of' duity,"' Ldve beareth and' endureth
all: things. We milust not stool) to
the level'of .those who' cdmmit such
cri'nies : W'hatever 'the . Cuoss that
idvb ddmaniids, we must lpaity it.'
"We :..u11e engulfed in war, inot of
on nrinkling, 0 h1'.chos nolhoghW
there is much in our national life
that has helped to create this war.
Our path of duty is to fight on brave
ly and cleanly until the battle is
over., At 'the same time, we should
see to it that' the best brains of the
world are' concentrated 'on making
the world safe ,from a repetition of
this baibarism and Wivr, which des
trays the flower of :our' manhood,
,ausiing such needless, sori'ow and
suffering, and releasing as ;it does
such' a hellish spirit, by educating
our people in the ways of peaice.
""Many of the root causes of war,
as we aire well aware, ale' found to
be in' the social and economic sphere
Therefore we, should brilig to the
study. of this problemn a' mind and
hieatrt,truly steeped '.n *the splirt and
outlook of "our Lord' Jesus, ii: whose'
t;eachings and examiiple' a?e to bet
foinid:', :th'e remedy" and: ceritalln cure'
of 'all the i'orld's n'ilnents. Tihe
Inore we' are called upoen to suffer
and endure pain .and sorrilowv,. the
nmore tle challelige shouild, cime to
us to take up the torcli wlifch others.
have had to lay clown; that wen may
blaze a ,trail fori, thiose. who follow
after, a trail that will lead tie wo'rld
to real peace and brithe'rhod, as
the agelong message of 'our Saviour
and Redeemer Is i iterplmeted affi'esh
to iieet ftle needs of obu day,
"Let us on this occasion dedicate
cur lives t6 the buldling f: thait bet
ter world. .Let us siot be Ibeaten by
the forces of adversity and' sorrowv,
but i'ather let us iise alidOe the' bit-.
teiness, the " gledi and. tlie awful
i'ickedness of- men,; by having omur
heniatsl purifled by the. love of Christ;,
that love which neve;':faileth; that
love which will :one day oirei'coiie
the. strongholds of evil. .
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