Masonic Choral Service.

MASONIC CHORAL SERVICE .

AM A S 0 NIC choral service was recently held in the South Melbourne Town Hall , by the combined Masonic Lodges of South Melbourne . There were

present about 200 Masons , with the Most Worshipful the Grand Master Sir W . J . Clarke , Bart ., the Officers of the Grand Lodge , and a crowded congregation of the general public . The choral portion of the service was

rendered in a particularly pleasing manner . An eloquent address was given by the Eev . S . Hector Ferguson . The collection was in aid of tho local poor , and amounted to about £ 33 .

Church Services.

CHURCH SERVICES .

ON the 19 fch ult . a special Masonic service was held in fche Parish Church , Bangor , under the auspices ot the Bangor Lnion Masonic Lodge , in aid of the

Masonic Orphan Schools , Dublin . The Brethren met in the Masonic Hall afc three o ' clock , there being about three hundred present , representing the Provinces of Down and Antrim . The Very Eev . the Dean of Down ( Dr . Maguire ) preached from Zechariah , vii , 9 , 10 : " Thus speaketh the

Lord of hosts , saying , Execute true judgment , and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother : and oppress nob the widow , nor the fatherless , the stranger , nor the poor . "

He said—The public notices which have summoned us to chis house of prayer to-day have been of a somewhat comprehensive character . Ordinarily speaking , when a Brother Mason addresses his fellow-Masons tbe

proceedings are conducted , as we would say , " in Lodge , ' and on such occasions free and unrestricted refeience is usually made to some or to all of the mysteries of Freemasonry , bufc when one has to speak fco his Brethren in presence of what may be called a " mixed multitude , " invited

ana wnen among ms specially nearers mere are many who , by reason of their sex , are hopelessly excluded from the inner circle of this Brotherhood , the difficulty presents itself as to how to make one ' s words sufficiently

interesting , sulhciently instinctive , or sufficiently calculated to elicit a liberal response to the appeal with which it will be my duty and my privilege to wind up this afternoon ' s address . Now , while there are some things connected with our Craft which it is nofc lawful for the uninitiated to know , there are other things w hich it

is desirable that everyone should know . There are some things spoken of only " in Lodge , " and there are other things which may be proclaimed upon the housetops . You may not all be conversant wifch our hidden mysteries bufc you may all ( from our open and suggestive symbols )

form some conception oi wnac freemasonry really is . And here , appropriately may I quote thafc defination of Masonry as given by a high authority on the subjectviz ., Freemasonry is a " beautiiul system oi morality , founded on allegory , and illustrated by suggestive

symbols and emblems . " .... There are about 8 , 000 Masonic Lodges in the world , of which fully one-half are in America . But they are , as I just said , to be found in all lands . Tiavel wheie you will—through France , Germany , Italy , Persia , Tuikey , India , China ,

Japan—in all lands , 1 say , a Mason can recognise a friend and a Brother through the means of this wonderful bond . Masonry , ifc has been truly said , has no foreign language . Its silent speech—the same in every land—is

everywhere comprehended . It has been recognised by opponents on the field of battle ; ifc has been whispered amid the cartage of war and amid the crash of

shipwreck . Is a Brother Mason in need ? Masonry offers him relief . Is a Brother a stranger ? Masonry throws open to him the door of hospitality . Is a Brother in danger ? Masonry has a way of discovering it , and ifc provides protection . Does a Brother die ? Masonry pays its due tribute of respect over that Brother ' s grave ; and , more than this , it expresses in deeds as well as in

woids sympathy with the widow and the orphan . Isaid a- moment ago that " art and science and religion have ever been lound in the wake oi Masonry . " After referring to the building cl chuicl . ts am calhecrals b ) zctmbus

Church Services.

of the Craft throughout Europe , and to the symbols of the Craft , the Dean said—A few words more , Brethren , before we draw this special service to a close . In ancient times , as I have reminded you , fche Brotherhood of Masons applied their skill and devoted their energies

to the erection of material temples fco the glory of the greafc Architect , God . We , their posterity , gaze upon their works with admiration and astonishment ; . Bufc we _ do not in these days erect majestic cathedrals . On the contrary , we find ifc a slow and a tedious task to build

even a decent Parish Church . Bufc let no man imagine on this account that the spirit of Masonry is dead . No ; the zeal of modern Masonry runs in a different , bufc nofc less useful , current . All our Brethren may nob in these

days be of the same mind on questions of church ritual or of public religious worship , bufc all can and all do agree on the practical question of brotherly love and charity . Freemasonry rejoices with those who do rejoice ,, also

weeps with those that weep . If a Brother is in need , his Brethren relieve him ; if a Brother is sick , they visit him ; if a Brother dies , leaving a desolate widow , or leaving helpless children , fchey do their utmost to befriend them . — " Northern Whig . "

o o o ON Sunday , the first church parade of the Bootle-W'ilbraham Lodge , No . 2463 , took place afc the Church of Sfc . John the Evangelist , Knotty Ash . The turnout of Brethren was very imposing , says the " Liverpool Courier , " and their regalia as they marched

from the village hall to the church looked extremely pretty . The weather was favourable to the demonstration , and a large crowd of spectators filled the roadway in the vicinity of the hall , and' along fche thoroughfare to the church .

The Brethren came from . all quarters to assist fche object they had in view , namely , to aid by their offerings the Hamer Benevolent Institution . A special service of trams ran in the afternoon from the Pierhead fco the Old Swan , and of busses from Old Swan to Knotty Ash , for the convenience of those desirous of being present .. The Eev . Frank J . Powell , vicar of Enofcfcy Ash .

preached a sermon , which was peculiarly appropriate to the occasion , from the text— " There , waa neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard , in the house , while ifc was in building " ( I Kings , vi ., 7 ) . He said the dearest wish of King David ' s heart was never gratified . Ever since he conquered the well-nigh impregnable

stronghold of Zion he longed to build a house to God , worthy of Israel ' s invisible King . The Most High , through his prophets , commended his pious intention . He would nofc allow him to do so because he . had shed much blood , but promised that his son should succeed

him as king , and that he should then build the temple-As soon as Solomon became King he entered upon the task of building the temple , with wisdom and prudence , and Hiram , King of Tyre , wifch Brotherly love , supported

him with men and materials , and chief aid of all , sent Hiram the architect , whose architectural skill and knowledge were taxed to the utmost so as fco make the

house as magnificent as possible , as became fche dwelling place of the Most High . The work went on for seven years ; the Groves of Lebanon buzzed wifch workmen and the crash of the falling cedars . Timber and rocks were floated down to Joppa , where they were prepared , and when they were finished they were taken up to Jerusalem , and silently laid in their places in fche grand structure , and so fche text was fulfilled , for

In awful state The Temple reared its everlasting gate , No workman ' s steel , no ponderous axes rung , Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung .

What were the lessons those strange characteristics taught us ? Firstly , with regard to our spiritual life , they heard that afternoon from the text that Sfc . Paul spoke of us all as builders—builders , who by rightly using the graces of the Holy Ghost and the spiritual gifts of our Lord , to mould and fashion our hearts and lives after

the pattern of the life of Jesus Christ . For this task God has provided every necessary tool in the workshop of His Church . The preacher went on fco point out thafc while there must be toil and labour and turmoil in our lives if we are to be fit for fche heavenly temple , still

when thafc turmoil was over there would be the silent