TRUST IN GOD
Rev. Dr. W. G. Wallace, of the Bloor Street Presbyterian Church, made reference to the tragedy as a preface to his sermon. “Our spirits are hurt and our hearts are sore,” he said, “in the presence of the great bereavement that has come with such tragic suddenness to thousands of our fellow-Canadians.”
Rev. J. W. Aikens, of the Metropolitan Methodist Church, said: “There is a mystery in the relation of God to happenings such as this disaster. We cannot understand His relation to them, but there are some things which He permits but does not cause.”
Rev. Dr. W. F. Wilson, of the Elm Street Methodist Church, said: “Man, with all his imperial power of mind and genius, must sooner or later learn the great laws of nature. They are fixed and irrevocable.”
Rev. T. T. Shields, at Jarvis Street Baptist Church, made a touching reference to the disaster, seeking to show that such occurrences have an object. “Sometimes,” he said, “the newsboy is a better preacher than the minister.”
At St. Paul’s Church, Bloor Street, Archdeacon Cody devoted his sermon to the loss of the Empress. He made particular reference to the death of Mr. H. R. O’Hara, who was one of the sidesmen at St. Paul’s, speaking of his connection with the church and of his life in the community. Special music was rendered, including the Dead March from “Saul.”