Church Service.

CHURCH SERVICE .

I JJ St . Andrew s Halls , Glasgow , under the auspices of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Glasgow , the Rev . W . Brownlie , jj . D ., of Lenzie , delivered the annual sermon on Freemasonry . The large hall was crowded . The Brethren , who marched in nrn- 'ession to the hall , were accommodated with seats in the area ,

while the Office bearers took up a prominent position on the p latform . After prayer and praise , the rev . gentleman chose his text from I- Peter iii ., 8 , " Love as brethren , be pitiful , be courteous . " At the outset Mr . Brownlie said , before calling their attention to

the more direct meaning of these words , some preliminary exp lanation seemed necessary . They were met there that night to emp hasise one great and important fact , namely , that Freemasonry did not seek , and did not pretend , to be independent of the sanction and support of the Christian religion . In olden

times it was a strong ally of the Christian Church , and in those latter days it had , he knew , no desire to be free from Christian claims , far less to place itself in the slightest antagonism to the Christian spirit . The facts were , indeed , all the other way , as any one would see who had taken the trouble to read some of its

teaching and find out the purposes and aim by which it was , and had , always been animated . For , first and chiefest of all , the one thing to be placed in the foreground and constantly kept there , was the fact- that Masonry was a guild , a corporation—a great Brotherhood—binding men together and animating them with a common purpose and a common aim .

Any initiation that taught this spirit aud put into operation this practice of the Brotherhood , even in an imperfect way , was , and must be in the nature of things , essentially religious . And Masonry was essentially religious , so much so that he was aware that in the course of the world ' s strange and chequered career

there had been so-called Brotherhoods that had been anything but religious in their origin , and nothing but evil in their practice . Aud he was also aware that even the history of religion itself had sometimes been disgraced by guilds or associations that , far from helping men to better ways , were the association of oppression

and persecution . But Masonry had never oppressed and never persecuted . It had , so far as he had been able to find out , never been the handmaid of bigotry , nor the companion of tyrants . No one could look back over the records of its long past without seeing and knowing that in days when mutual help was more

sorely needed than in many respects it was now , when means of communication were few , and human life in itself less honoured and revered than it was amongst ourselves , how it was in those days a bond of union and a source of help to many who otherwise would have been the victims of very cruel and very unfortunate

circumstances . Masonry was religious in the highest sense of the word . To the uninitiated , its ceremonies and symbols seemed either meaningless or fantastic . But those ceremonies and symbols had all fcheir distinct purpose and office , and were very far from being the empty nothingness that was so often

supposed . They all started , as Masonry itself did , with the enthusiastic and unquestioning recognition of the great Supreme Being , the Architect and Maker of the Universe . That was the article of its creed , and he might well add , the first and the last

demand of its practice . With that splendid fact to start with , and with the other splendid thought of Brotherhood as its constant aim and purpose , it based all its proceedings , all its forms and ceremonies , on the great principles of order , loyalty , and obedience .

For this , if for no other reason , it was entitled to study , consideration , and respect . For , as he need scarcely tell them , order , loyalty , and obedience were virtues so full of moral significance and so necessary to the very well-being of society that no one ever dreamed of contesting what ought to be their

supremacy , however much and deeply they had often to deplore their absence or neglect . Any agency , therefore , by which these could be inculcated , and by which men could be brought even in a dim imperfect way to see their beauty and their worth , was entitled to deference and honour . Continuing , Mr . Brownlie

denied that Masonry was antagonistic to Christianity , but was , on the other hand , one of its handmaids . The Brotherhood of all men was not a thing to which Masonry was or could be opposed , and it could therefore be no other than a subordinate and an ally to the great kingdom of God and Christ . Masonry had

been often abused , its vows broken , and its best teaching dishonoured , as had been the case , alas , with Christianity itself . But in neither case was that to be taken as an argument against the thing itself . There it stood , hoary with age , and with a splendid record , an unbroken and quite unique testimony , to the need that men have for union and true co-operation , a pledge

ana proof of the fact , so slowly learnt , and often so cruelly misunderstood , that human life and society , to be of any worth j * meaning , must be based on the close , personal relations of love and sympathy for that true Godlike forbearance which they translated by the beautiful word " courtesy . " Proceeding , the

Church Service.

preacher said it was with wonder , if not also with downright pride and deep respect , that they could point to the long , the very long and unbroken records of Freemasonry , as one of the oldest , and next to Christianity one of the greatest Brotherhoods the world has ever seen . Touching on the alleged liking for

conviviality imputed to Masons , the preacher said many men , who would scorn to become Masons , were as guilty of convival excess as any member of a Masonic Brotherhood , and that wifch far less excuse or justification . He held that the poor appearance

and helpless condition of the Church was due to her lack of sympathy . Masonic sympathy was worthy of respect , and he asked them to give their alms thafc night to a noble and splendid Charity .

Masonry knew no ecclesiastical controversies , no religious bitterness , and no political party . That God-given instinct pity had moved them to words and deeds of mercy , it had built infirmaries , organised our Charities , and done for them in actual

practice what ecclesiastical themes , and ecclesiastical quarrels had sadly aud criminally hindered . Masonry would be utterly untrue to itself if it did not appeal to them on the ground of a gentle and noble pity . It asked nothing for itself , but it did ask whatever they could give for the sake of others .

At the close of an able and eloquent discourse the choir rendered Handel's " Hallelujah Chorus . " A collection in silver in aid of the Provincial Grand Lodge Benevolent Fund was made and largely contributed fco , — " Glasgow Echo . "

The son and heir of the Provincial Grand Master of Buckinghamshire was christened afc Wycombe Parish Church on Wednesday morning amid a scene of great rejoicing . The town was decorated with bunting , and the Lord Chamberlain , Lady Carrington , and the infant were loudly cheered as they rode to

church in an open carriage . The child was christened Albert Edward Charles Robert , the Dean of Lichfield performing the ceremony . The sponsors were fche Prince of Wales , by proxy , Captain Harbord , Mr . S . D . Smith , and Lady Hastings . Lord

Carrington attended the luncheon given by the Mayor of Wycombe , when the health of the heir and Lord and Lady Carrington was drunk . Nearly 5 , 000 school children were entertained by Lord Carrington to tea in Wycombe Abbey Park during the afternoon .

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GAIETYEESTAUEANT, ST : R ,. A .: r > r : D . LUNCHEONS ( HOT and COLD)—At Popular Prices , in BUFFET and RESTAURANT ( on 1 st floor ) . Also Chops , Steaks , Joints , Entrees , & c , in the GRILL ROOM . AFTERNOON TEAConsisting of Tea or Coffee , Cut Bread and Butter , Jam , Cake , Pastry , ad lib , at 1 / - per head ; served from 4 till 6 in RESTAURANT ( 1 st floor ) . DINNERS IN RESTAURANTFrom 5-30 till 9 at Fixed Prices ( 3 / 6 and 5 / - ) and a la Carte . In this room the VIENNESE BAND performs from 6 till 8 . Smoking after 7 * 45 . AMERICAN BAR . THE GRILL ROOM is open till Midnight . FE 1 VATE DIMG EOOMS TOE LAEGE AMD SMALL PASTIES .