The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-03-02

| Drown ucliVcfCQ sermon suited to the
occasion, taking his text from the 18th
verse of the 10th chapter Of st. Mat
thew's Gospel: "Thou art Peter, and
upon this rock will build my church;
and the gates Of hell shall not prevail
against it," We are unable to present
the sermon in full, but must content
ourselves with brief synopsis.
The Bishop opened his discourse
with an account Of the early Christian
| Church, showing its divine origin, and
its survival of all opposition and all
persecution. He showed that from it's
very iEccption-cvcn from tho early
expectation Of Christ's coming-efforts
had been made by human power to de-
stroy its existence. The early Chris
tians were subjected to crucltics OF all
kinds, to induce them to abandon their
faith, but they swcrvcd not from the
the path OF duty and Of right. Later
on, men endured all manner of pcrsc-
cutions, even suffering death at the
stake, to prove their faith in the rclig-
ion Of Christ. This devotion to the
right has characterized Christians Of
all ages, and is not wanting at the
present day. A church thus establish
| "" tthSt IIoo tIItoO w SOulcIl,
more than Il mere human institution
The church is indeed Of divine origin.
1t is founded, not, as has been held by
some, through a captious construction
OF the text, upon Peter, but upon
| Christ-and Christ is the Son of(iod.
| From this solid foundation it is natur-
al that there should be strength and
growth in the church. 1t is indeed
strong, as has already been shown. 1t
has witl,stood every attack and is to-
day stronger than at any period since
the coming of Christ. Opposition, so
far from crash ny it, has served only to
increase the unity Of its followers.
Even If, under persecution, the church
may seem to be crushed, yet in some
far-otf corner of tho earth its organiza-
ton will be preserved, and it's holy
truths be taught. This unity of the
church exists, Notwithstanding minor
differences among the several Chris
tan denominations. However they
may differ upon matters ofchurch gov
crnmcnt, or form of worship, or any
thing else, they are all agreed upon one
grand principlc-that Christ is indeed
the Son Of God, and through Him
alone can fallen man find salvation.
The progress of the church is frequent
ly attended with difficulties, but we
should not get discouraged. We are
sowing good seed, which must, sooner
or later, bring forth abuDdantly. Our
branch of the Christian church has Of
course had its difficulties. l have been
in the South, rs u preacher, since 1852,
and though 1 have met with some
troubles, yet our church has constant
ly grown, and accomplished good re-
suits. Our friends must tolerate the
peculiaritics Of the colorcd people.
They must lave patience with us.
After aWhile these peculiaritics about
our mode ofworship and the like will
pass away, and the fruit Of our present
labOrs will be seen. Our church-thc
African Methodist Episcopal Church,
has made great progress in South Caro-
lima, and we trust is the means Of do
ing much good. We have reason to
be proud Of this new church. When
finished it will be all ornament to the
| town. We must prove ourselves Wor-
! thy of this church, and of the Kindness
that has been shown lis by all our
friends. We must see to it that this
church be well cared for in every way.
Look how our white friends take care
not only oftheir churches but of their.
houses and all else. We must follow
their good example. and try to do even
better than they. What you do, do
we'll. Strive to be independent-and
the surest way to true independence is
by morality and religion. What little
you may have, let it be your own.
Cultivate true Christianity. Attend
the services oftho church regularly and
devoutly. BY all means keep politics
out of the church. Its natural, in
/ Elyn
should have his political preferences.
But at the church door leave politics
behind! Let us strive to build up a
grand Christianity. Sec that your
children attend school. Education is
necessary to the church.
In conclusion, let mo return thanks
to those who have 50 generously assis-
ted in the rebuilding of the church
here. In the name Of the Pastor, of
the former Pastor and now Presiding
Elder-in the name Of God the Father
of the Church, we return thanks to oil
who have helped us. TO our white
brethren we feel especially grateful.
We trust that they, as we'll as we, will
reap the advantages which follow the
spread of. Christianity. The more
churches we have, the fewer criminals
tho fuller the churches, the emptier
will be- our jails and penitentiaries.
The colored people must pay especial
attention to tho morals OF their chill
dren. Sec that they are properly
brought up, and that they become
faithful and worthy followers of tho
Lord Jesus Christ.-Thus may we es-
tabiish our church upon sucha founda-
ton that 1t shall stand forever.
After the sermon, there was singing
by the choir, preparatory to tho cere-
mony oflaying the cornerstone Of tho
new church. These services were con-
Quoted in very impressive manner by
Bishop Brown, assisted by the Rev.
| David DicEnff Tho o{o,n &, ~, k1,o