The Portland daily press., 1883-02-19

stream pouring through this church, carrying,
as we trust, Christian life and influence to
other communities and churches.
| We donot live for ourselves alone. Let us
accept our mission, and do our work with I'M
abated zeal, aspiring to be a living church /;
both in the eyes of our great Taskmaster, and
in the face of humanity, maintaining vital
union with Christ onr Living Head and put
ting forth the holy energy which is begotten
by His indweling presence. May our past
| history be prophetic of our future. May this
church continue to care for, to train the young
in the way of life and through its work and i'm
huence immortal souls be born, into the light
and gladness of Christ's kingdom. We cele-
brate to-day our silver wedding, and may the
lessons drawn out by it incite us on to increased
fidelity in the work of Christ.
AFTERNOON.
The church was crowded in the afternoon
Rev. Elijah Kellogg after reading the 4th
chapter of john made an earnest, powerful
prayer applying the lesson inculcated in this
portion of Holy Writ. Rev. j. J. Carruthers
then delivered sermon that held the close at
tention of the congregation, of which the fol-
lowing is an abstract:
DR.. CARRUTHERs' REMARKS.
Rev. DIR. Carruthers selected as the basis of
| his remarks the words of Christ as recorded
in the gospel by John iv:37: Herein is that
/ saying true some soweth, another reapeth; !"
| ana IN substance spoke as follows.
| This saying is of the nature of a proverb
| found probably in some form, in all languages,
| among all nations, and originating in the
| common experience and observation of man
| kind. Few enterprises of any importance are
| begun and finished by the same persons The
| inventor of some useful art or implement sell
dom. if ever, brings it to perfection. In scien-
tific discoveries and efforts, in the affairs of
| nations, IL is uniformly and universally true
| that some SOW and others reap. Nor is il 9TH
| in fPau Numerically
| momentous than any relating to the objects OF
/ sense or the interests of time. 1t is the good
| pleasure of Him who worketh all things after
| the counsel of His will, to employ successive
instruments and agencies in the execution of
! His high DESIGNS. Thus, anciently, He gave
| some Apostles, and some prophets, and some
| evangeiStS and some pastors and teachers for
| the perfecting of the saints, for the work of
| the ministry, for the edifying of the BODY of
Christ. Thus, still, He assigns to each OF His
servants his appropriate work, giving him OPP
| portunity and appliances for its proper execu-
| ton, and then transferring that work to
another, and another still, and still another
until His design is successfully accomplished.
Individual souls are thus brought forward in
knowledge, holiness and relative usefulness,
by agencies widely separated from each other
as to time and place; each leaving its impress
on the individual mind, and furthering the
progress and completion of the woIks of
grace. This, dear friends, is the lesson of the
text. The Samaritans now hocking to the
Saviour presented the aspect OF field now
ripe and ready for the Sickle-other men had
thus labored and these his disciples were
about to enter on their ]abors and reap what
other hands had Sown.
Our retrospective and prospective views
take in, at the best, but part, and very
small part of all that is seen and foreseen by
Him who knows the end from the beginning.
Imagination, guided by historic fact can
readily people the whole of portland Neck
with mixed population of native Indians
md IN hpr docN do nfc IF pnr
tors. forming themselves into SMALL compact
body of believing Christian men and women
building at first small church, and then a
commodions sauctuary-trom which eventu-
ally there sprung a colony which chung to the
cherished traditions of their fathers and
erected another temple where the venerated
Kellogg and Payson unitedly and successfully
proclaimed the truth of the everlasting gospel.
Provision of like kind was then made for
their AbysSinian neighbors by the Second
Parish and in due time an eligible site was
found for another sanctuary on Munjoy Hill
where it has been and will often yet be said
that this man and that man were born here
In view of all this, are we not constrained to
say, What hath God wrought" Yes, it is
Gods work and marvellous in our eyes. The
preacher then rapidly traced the influence of
mothers, Sabbath school teachers, Christian
friends and faithful ministers and spoke of all
on earth and in heaven exulting in the ingath-
ering of an ever increasing and abundant har-
vest of souls saved, sanctified, and glorifed by
divine grace and power.
The sermon following by Rev. Mr.. Kellogg
was fine effort. The following is an abstract
REV, ELIJAH KELLoGG's SERMON.
He first contrasted the two opp osite types of
young men-one content to remain on the old
homestead aud avail himself of the fruits of
the labor of others; and the other not content
to enter into possession of that which he had
had no part in producing, ventures into fresh
Hai09 and after hard Dl0naar work the
prairies of the west succeeds in creating a
home which ne may truly call his own. OF
the latter class come those who are pioneers
in religion as well as agriculture. They are
members not of the church quiescent but of
the church militant. A dead church does not
colonize; it can only petIify. An agriculturist
will tell you that shoot is sure 10 sent out
suckers. So the church founded by religious |
-emiQranss miIl-sent forth Trash nalanias---Mr
Kellogg gave an interesting account of the |
first Congregational meeting in Portland con-
Quoted by a young man who had taken a
heroic part in the war for national indepen-
dsnce, held in a Schoolhouse, and from which
the Second Parish church descended, and be-
came in 1858, the parent in turn of the present
ST. Lawrence Street Society. He gave vivid
picture of the effect of the French upon the
social and religious thought of that time. The
revolutionary war had just closed, French
arms and generalship having contributed
LARGELY to our success, and the people were in
the humor TO accept any and all French ideas.
Tom Paine was more read than the Bible. But
this young man, whose naked feet had left
bloody footprints upon the snow at Valley
Forge, was selected the leader of this then
seemingly forlorn hope, and from this un-
promising beginning we have the Copgrega-
tional church of this city in its vigor Of to-day
He expressed the hope of further expansion,
necesstating enlarged quarters, for tine St.
Lawrence Street Society in the immediate
future.
There was fine singing in the afternoon by
the choir with excellent accompaniment
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Sunday
school was celebrated last evening, at which
the following programme was carried OUT
Responsive reading of the l. 9th psalm.
Prayer by Rev. Elijah Kellogg.
Singing by the congregation.
Ext acIs from letters Of two of the founders of
the school.
Singing by the school.
Singing by the infant class, " IT'S not far to
Jesus"
Anniversary poem by member of the school,
Singing by quartette.
Hist icai address by the Vice Superintendent
and Secretary, S. H. Thomps n.
Singing by The congregation.
Brief addresses were then made by Rev. Eli.
iah Kellogg, Rev. Mr.. Wright and Hon. II. H.
Burgess upon matters of the past history of the
school, &C., and proved very interesting.
From the historical address we notice that
the first session of the school was held on Sun
day. Jan. 81, 1858, having been previously Or
ganized and received fourteen signatures to its
constitution. At the end of the first year there
was a membership of 172. The largest number
ever in attendance was during the revival of
1894, when there were 271 present on Feb.
Is, 1874 But two of the original fourteen
founders are still engaged in active service in
the school. Eleven persons have served as su-
perintendent since its organization, and one
only has died since leaving the office. From
time to time scholars of the school have been
added to the church; the largest number,
twenty-seven, Joined it in the year 1874, and
the next larger number, twenty-five, last year.
At present there are 275 persons connected
with the school, as follows:-A class for adult
students of the Bible, numbering 81; depart
ment for children under eight years of age,
which has membership of 48; and twenty-one
classes in the main room, numbering over 200;
and five officers. There is a library liz the
| school containing nearly 300 volumes and un-