Yesterday afternoon the Cathedral Church of St. Philip was crowded with Scout contingents, when a special service, at which the Bishop (Dr. Wakefield) delivered an address, was held. During the service the Scouts' hymn ("Father of all, we come to Thee") was sung, and at the close the National Anthem.
The Bishop said the first object of the service was to give the Scouts a welcome on behalf of the religious bodies of the city. "You have had a welcome from the civic authorities," said his lordship. "We give you welcome believing that your movement is making for the true moral greatness of this land. We welcome you, and all connected with your movement, because we are certain that, if it is carried on in the right spirit, it makes for a fit, a disciplined, and a self-sacrificing British and Imperial manhood." The movement, so far, had succeeded so well that it had secured an amount of criticism which came only to the successful. Those things which were unsuccessful were left alone by critics. To him their first attraction lay in their keenness; he had a horror of indifference. The world cried out for interested people, people who were determined to use the fullness of their activity in the cause of righteousness. We needed interested people in our civic life, so that the good government of the town might be ensured. We needed interest and keenness in our religious life, so that each religious body might labour not only for it own advancement, but for the general well-being. We wanted people who felt they were ready to work for God and mankind. The next thing which attracted him was
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The Scouts from Poland
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The Genial Camp Commandant.Lord Glanusk, Commissioner for Wales.
their discipline. Having to do certain things at a given moment, and in a particular way, was an immense help for life. It gave the habit of discipline. "I cannot imagine you fellows," said the Bishop, "becoming, in the days that lie before you, men who slouch and prop up public-house walls, or who smoke and spit about the streets. We have too many of that kind in England, and I am only too thankful to feel that you are being so trained that. God grant it, that will never happen to you." Another thing which attracted him was their helpfulness. A refined and disciplined nature must be helpful. Politeness, after all, was only the helping of a fellow creature; it must come from desire to show respect, to be of use. A respectful bearing and the proper treatment of age were things which, he was perfectly certain, they were qualifying for. Then there was their spirit of comradeship. In doing their own jobs, and developing their own gifts, they came to see that there was something in the other fellow, and so comradeship grew. Again, there was their law of self-sacrifice. It was the law of Christ; let them study Him, and they would understand what true self-sacrifice meant. Through Him they could help the world. Let them look up, not down; forward, not backwards; out, not in. Let them "lend a hand." He felt they were under God in all they did. Might the great rally help them to make progress, and might each one of them be the stronger for the time they spent in Birmingham.
The lesson was read by the Rev. S. M. Berry, of Carr's Lane Chapel.
