Morning journal and courier., 1881-10-10
Church Notes.


 Earnest Effort Toward BuIlding B New
 Church Edifce-InterestinGS Services at
 the George Street Church-At North
 Church.
 A large congregation at the East Congre- gational church. Humphrey street, yesterday morning listened to very powerful dis course from their pastor, Rev. S. H. Bray. Following, the pastor made statement re- garding the project to build new church edifee, commenting it to the hearts and thoughts of the membership as a matter of great importance to the future of the church. The church owns fine lot on Humphrey street near Orange, the gift of William At water, Esq, and owns also, it is said, it's present building, which is only good sized chapel, and the lot on which it stands. They have an offer from MT. William Atwater, the donor of the lot, of $5,0OO cash conditioned on the raising of $1O, ,OOO by the church and it's friends by certain time. Pledges were received yesterday for considerable amount toward the object. If the desired result is attained the work of erecting a new edifce will be begun this fall, with the prospect of completing the structure in time for worship ing in f next summer. That section of the city is ! large and growing one, and larger place of public worship than the present one is t9ieved to be actually required. The gro sth of this section has been very rapid .a the last ten years, hav- ing more than doubled in population above Humphrey street in that time.
 The very generous proposition of MT. Atwater acts as 8 stimulus to the new move
 ment, and if a few wealthy gentlemen in the
 city would give the society lift the work of
 building the new church would be compara-
 lively easy, and an ornament to the city and
 to this section would be obtained as well as 8 larger place of divine worship and moral and spiritual benefit.
 The usual effect of clouds and rain marked the afternoon attendance at the North church, but the morning service was well attended. Dr. Hawes' text in the fore noon was the twenty-seventh verse of the fourth chapter of Johns gospel. The sub ! ject was the surprise of Christ's disciples to ] find him speaking to the Samaritan woman at the we'll After quoting from the Jewish
 Talmud passages showing the prohibition of public intercourse with women and strict | rules as to conduct and enforced social in- l feriority, he spoke of the higher and truer
 relations the gospel had brought to woman, and to all our race. In Christ's ministry on earth his word and his acts were constant ! surprises. He came not to keep on the old way | of doing things by human rules of conduct, ! but to show us a new and better way of life. According to a notice in the morning, the 1 first of a series of sermons on Bunyan's Pilgrem's Progress was given to a smaller audience, as the afternoon was so very rainy. This, as usual with Dr. H., did not lessen the I interest of his discourse. That old, but ever
 new, allegory of Christian life still holds it's high place, perhaps the highest in that style
 of writing. The prisoner of Bedford jail, as
 some prisoners before and since, has Jeff | writings which, in. many languages and to | every generation, repeat the story of the | new birth and life in and by the gospel. s'Songs in the Night'' was the subject of a | very able discourse preached yesterday morn. ing by the Rev. William F. Corbit, of the George street NJ. E. church. A large audi. ence gathered there and listened with inter- | est and profit to the earnest remarks of the l gifted speaker. The leading thought was
 that it is God only that giveth songs in the | night. In the day of prosperity when the | skies are bright and all outward circum. stances are pleasant it is easy and natural tc I sing, but when the dark clouds of diversity ! cover the sky and untoward circumstances prevail then it is hard to sing. But to the
 child of God Whose hopes are centered in one | who is omnipotent-whose arm moves the
 world-nothing can keep back the notes oi rejoicing and triumph that he utters. He
 can rejoice in tribulation, knowing that that
 condition IS but temporal, while a little way 1 beyond is the crown and the palm.
 Rev. Newman Smyth, of Quincy, III.
 preached twice at Center church yesterday Both discourses were heard with much pleas | ure. In the morning there was a large at | tendance.