Mr. J. Blythe Moore called the assemblage to order and introduced
Rev. Dr. W. M. Dame, who, he said, would open the exercises with prayer.
Before commencing his prayer,
Dr. Dame requested the audience to join with him in reciting the Apostles' Creed, the creed of all Christian faiths; after which he offered a fervent invocation of the Divine blessing.
After imploring the help of God in our daily troubles, he said: ‘We thank Thee, O God, that at the call of duty our people were ready to do and to suffer for the cause of righteousness, freedom and truth.
We thank Thee for the deeds of sacrifice that gemmed the story of our struggle for liberty.’
The minister then alluded to the many brave comrades who had fallen in battle.
Some, he said, were blessed with the Spirit of God, who in calling them away was simply taking His own unto Himself.
But there were others to whom the grace of the
Lord had not been revealed.
For these he asked forgiveness.
Dr. Dame then referred to his comrades who had survived the great struggle of days gone by, and who, despite many vicissitudes, had been able to restore their country to the prosperity which it now enjoys.
He prayed earnestly for those who had fallen and were now degraded.
In concluding his prayer
Dr. Dame asked God to continue to show us the way of righteousness and to keep us ever ready to respond to every just and noble cause.
The audience then united with
Dr. Dame in repeating the
Lord's Prayer.
This was deeply impressive, as was the repeating of the Apostles' Creed at the opening of the prayer.
