Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-12
The sea1nen's Beth eI.

Dedication II dresses by Prominent Clergymen and Others-Interesting Exercises.
 The new Seamen's bethel on Water street, 1 at the foot of Brown street, was appropriate 1 ly dedicated to the purposes for which 1t is designed yesterday afternoon The audience room, which is in the second story, was filled to it's utmost capacity by friends of the en- | terprise, who seemed to take deep interest l in the proceedings. Many were present who had not before seen the new structure, and l they found only words of praise for the work 1 and those kind friends who had so earnestly labored for the success of the enterprise. In front of the pulpit were tastefully arranged | handsome bouquets of flowers, while on the l walls were handsome notices made up from Scripture quotations A handsome parlor 1 organ was on the platform, at which presid ed Mr. Clarence Willis A quartette of male voices. with Mr. Frank Potter, lead the sing 1 ing, and before the opening of the services proper several selections from the Gospel Hymns were sung with good effect. Among
 those seated on the platform were Rev. Dr. Adams, Rev. pr. Stifier, Rev. MT. Williams,
 Rev. Mr. Martin, Deacon George F. Smith and Deacon George filling.
 The services were opened by Rev. Dr. Adams who presided, and who gave out
 the hymn "Toiling On" from Gospel Hymns, No. ?.
 Prayer followed by Rev. MT. Williams, formerly of the Howard avenue church. He
 prayed earnestly for the success of the work
 among the seamen, and invoked the
 divine blessing on the noble men and women by whose earnest efforts the Seamen's bethel had been erected.
 Rev. Dr. Adams then read appropriate se- lections from the scripture, after which the hymn Hear the Call' was sung.
 Rev. Dr. Stifer was then introduced. He said that since he had been in the room he had been wondering what brought all these persons to this place this warm and swelter- ing afternoon. think, said the speaker, that I have caught the secret It is the interest they have in the souls of men and their par ticular interest in certain class of men. L look upon this beautiful building so clean and sweet and I am glad to be here, though it is so warm. All honor to the women Cfor must put them first) and men through whose prayers and labors this building has been erected. But with this building and it's handsome room for worship we need one thing more, and that is Gods holy spirit. Where Gods spirit is there is liberty the poor soul is released from the bondage of sin by this spirit. The time was when moun- tains were represented as boundaries, and the only way to pass these boundaries was to go over or around them. {hn1y f1nT md go through them. So it is with Gods spirit it does not go around the heart, but goes right through it. In this bethel the presence of his holy spirit will be needed continually. We often have long cold spells in the churches, even in the summer time; yet it is not necessarily fatal matter. While we ought to have Gods spirit all the time, yet we get along in some way if we do not. We cannot do this in the bethel. We shall need Gods fire burning on the altar continu- ously. The men whom the bethel seeks to benefit, who are here to-day, may be gone to- morrow. Poor Jack will come here perhaps for 0 single evening and on the morrow his vessel may be on the seas. Let Gods spirit go with him on his voyage and he will have occasion to bless God for the remainder of his days.
 = On the conclusion of Dr. Stifer's remarks the choir and congregation sang Rescue the Perishing''
 The venerable Deacon George F. Smith was the next speaker. He spokein substance as follows We cannot but all be happy to- day that God has put it into the hearts of noble women to build this bethel in which to praise God, and I can but say amen to what Dr. Sti1er has said. I have learned to look upon the sailor as a noble-hearted man, ever willing to do a kind deed for another. After relating his experience among the seamen in former years as city missionary the good deacon said that he blessed God that this class were to be better cared for than ever be- fore. When he first heard of this project he inquired of himself what he could do. He went to his congregation in the county iail and told them what was proposed, and in- formed them that on the following Sunday he would take collection for the bethel. He did so, and nearly every one of the prisoners gave something. Although the amount col lected was not large, yet it helped to build this edifice. He thought he could raise more money among the prisoners if it was needed. In conclusion, the deacon expressed the hope that the bethel would be filled from time to time with seamen anxiously inquiring the way of salvation.
 f'The Half was Never Told'' was next sung, and then Rev. MT. Martin, of the German Baptist church, was called on for remarks He said, although comparative stranger in New Haven yet he had taken deep interest in this work, and in erecting this bethel he was satisfied a good work had been accom-
 
 must go to them, and I feel that Brother Thresher is doing noble work in this regard He has noble sailors heart, and only sailors know how to effectually reach this class. We can do more by our prayers and sympathies and financial aid than in any other way When God puts 1t into the heart of Christians to do his work they will give freely to his cause. There is way to win the heart of a sailor and it is not every man that can do it. Go to him as a sailor, with sailors heart, and you can reach him. That is the kind of work we want, and Brother Thresher is the man to do it.
 MT. Thresher, superintendent of the beth el, was the next speaker. He gave brief history of his early life and his conversion which occurred little over year ago Most of the time since he had been laboring in the interest of the Ladies' Seaman's Friend Society of this city, and had been do- ing his best to induce those who Ego down to the sea in ships to become sober and Chris tian men. During his 1abors great good had been accomplished, and to God he desired to give all the glory. At some of their prayer meetings many as ten had indicated their desire to become Christians by rising, and during the past year between fifty and sixty had been hopefully converted. Beside this, between three hundred and four hundred had signed the pledge.
 Rev pr. Adams said there were two ways in which all can take part in the work. One IS Dy praying TOT It, ana the OLnef Dy S1V1nS for it. We want about five hundred dollars this afternoon, and this amount will just about round the matter up in shape. He then asked that the baskets be passed, and invited those who were not prepared to con- tribute to write the amount they were will 1 ing to give on the cards to be found in the 1 seats. The contribution baskets were then 1 passed and considerable sum was collected l
 While the collection was in progress Dea- con Attwater Treat who has taken deep i interest in this enterprise, made some appro- l priate remarks, expressing his great gratifca- tion for the successful completion of the | bethel He hoped that when the sea should 1 give up it's dead it would be found that many | souls were born here.
 Salvation" was next sung, after which | Rev. Dr. Adams made the closing address | He said: The question often comes up in | such an enterprise, Will it pay? I say that in the case of the sailor it will pay. Convert | the sailor and he will extend the gospel to the remotest parts of the earth Convert sailor and you make him 8 man and good man. When a sailor goes into barroom to get a drink he treats all hands; so when he goes into business for the Lord he does it in way When he is converted he wants to be converted all the way rTlolI-