Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1865-09-20
Fine Donation.


A number of the brethren and sisters
of the Lutheran Church in this town call
ed at the parsonage ca last Saturday after
noon, carrying to their pastor quite a va
riety of the necessaries Of life. Mr.. A. II.
Weid,nan made the presentation 10 be-
half Of the party in the following remarks:
REV. r. II. FLErcmER.-Dear Sir
and Brother-ln behalf Of the mem bers
OF the Lutheran congregation, both in
town aud country, and others who bear a
friendly feeling toward you, l am author
ized by the soliciting committee to present
you these substantial tokens Of respect
for you aud the sacred office which you
hold You, sir, are Minister of Christ
standing between us and eternity, to en-
treat us all to be ieccnciled to God. No
Office is higher than yours, none more
noble ; none more responsible. We be-
lieve your mind ought to be concerned
about worldly things only enough to make
you a good citizen, humble, social and a
gentleman but not to be harrassed by
anxiety as to how you shall live and meet
your financial obligations. and we be-
lievs there is no sphere of labor in which
man is conscious of making so many
sacrifices, aud Of laboring SO zealously
for the good of others, aud yet in which
ne 50 oftea feels as if his labors Of love
were ir vain and enappreciated. In or
der therefore, to choer your heart, the
brethren and sisters have this day brought
to your door whatever gift is seemed good
to them and, in addition, now hand
you this purse containing l22 dollars in
money, accompanied with lis. Of the
contributions, and | am sorry that the
amount is not many times greater but
such as i, is, we give it in the name Of
Christ. Since you began your labors
in our midst, you have had many things
to contend with. From the common
trials and family atfiietiots of l:fe you
have not been exempt Again has the
conquercr of our race eutcred yoar fami-
| Iy. aud taken from its parent stem little
/ bud ,-pluckcd BY Fathers hand ana
planted in the purcdise of God to blooiii
forever. You have lived asid troubles
times; passions and prejudices often ran
higlf; bat cheer your heart within you,
the future looks brighter. We have
peace again throughout our borders.-
Go now to--labor ferventy, rreach the
whole cotnsel Of God, exhort niei, every
where to repentance aud faithfulness, aud
may our Heavenly Father bless Us all
this company, this donation; our church.
yourself and family, and finally bring us
with all the redeemed iu Jusus to His
everlasting rest.
| The Pastor replied as follows:
Ny .BREil.ERN ASD SisrEks: Your
friendly greeting to-day is calculated to
cheer the heart Of your Pastor aud inspire
t him with fresh hope aud zeal in the cause
of our common Lord and Master. Your
spresencc in the parsonage-always vel
come, is dcuhly SO to day, coming as you
do by appointment and with the view Of
presenting him a testimonial Of some re-
gard and affection, and thereby CITING a
beautiful cxeln, liication Of the apostle, s
injunction. "And we beseech you breth-
ern to know them which labor among you,
and are over you in the Lord, and admou
ish you. and TO esteem them very highly
/ in love for their works sake" Allow me
% say that whilst we gratefully acknowl-
| edge your hindHcss ii this munifccnt do
! nation, comprising as it does many articles
which are of prime Importance iii fam
lily, the conviction that these various gifts
have been the spontaneous offering oc
williHg, loving and sympathizing hearts,
adds greatly to their value and intensity
/ to the pleasure aud satisfaction of their
reception. The relation sub.istinc be-
tween Us as pastor and people has been,
Upon the whcle, Of a frierdiy character /;
this c:rcums tance, considering the pecu-
liar troublesome times through which we
have recently passed, is to ME source
Of much satisfaction. During the last
four years of my ministry utnoug you,
events have rapidly trarspifed which has
caused much alienation OF feeling. not
only in families and in the social circle,
but even in the Church Of Christ, and
anong those who are members of the CON-
mon household OF faith. Let us be
thankful brethren that the demcn of dis
cord and strife has not to any considera-
bic extent marred the peace and harmony
of our congregations, but on the contrary
there sscms 10 be spirit love which
prompts US to cast the mantle Of charity
over each others frailties and imperfec-
'igns, and to labor for each others spirit
ual and temporal welfare. In conclusion,
brelhern, we thank you for your kindness,
and also for the sympathy you have been
plea sed to express for myself and family
in those Affections which .au an-wise PROV
idence has sect fl: to send Upon us, and
we humblt hope that the remainder Of
the period Of our sojourn in your midst
may prove blessing to yourselves and