St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-01-04
DEDICATION SERVICES.
Westminster Presbyterian Church,
West 81. Paul. Consented.

West So. Paul. COnsecrated.
The Westminster Presbyterian church in
West st. Paul was dedicated at 8 o'clock
yesterday afternoon with appropriate and
interesting services. The church has just
been completed at an expense of about
IS, 600, and was opened for worship for the
first time yesterday afternoon. The edifce is
a neat and substantial frame structure of
gothic architecture, and was designed,
and its construction superintended by Mr.. II.
X. 7. Hamilton. The interior OF the church
is neatly arranged in very comfortable
manner. It is furnished entirely with
Georgia pine, oil finished, and will accom-
modate about275 worshippers. In the rear
is lecture room that can be opened and
connected with the main auditorium. This
room will seat $50, making the total capac-
ity Of the church over 400.
The Westminster church was organized
less than year ago by the present pastor.
DR.. C. c. Herriott, and now embraces a
membership of seventy, and congregation
of worshippers of nearly double that num-
Der. The services were opened with the
singing of a hymn by the congregation,
standing, at the conclusion of which the
divine blessing was invoked by DR.. Rice.
The pastor, DR.. HeITiOtt, then read the
scripture lesson for that day, and called
upon the congregation TO join in singing
Crock Of Ages"
THE SERMON.
The dedicatory sermon was delivered by
DR.. Robert Christie, pastor of the House of
Hope, who spoke eloquently of Gods tenn
pies and the churches erected for his wor-
ship. He said: From patriarchaI times
down to the present we find man, either by
the express commands of Jehovah or by
His own spirit operating within them,
erecting temples in which to worship God
Jacob picked up the stones from the ground
and erecting an altar called it Bethel, or a
place of worship, a place 10 glorify God. The
interest of these sacred structures, unlike
those Of the heather, was not to localize
God or limit Him to any particular place,
for as Solomon said, The heaven of heav-
ems cannot contain Thee God said, Il
have hall0wed thine house and will make it
mine dwelling place This is the Christian
acceptation of Gods wishes, and when
these services shall have been concluded
this will be house of God in the strictest
Interpretation of the term. People hold
dear the house of God, and IL has been hal
lowed and reverenced from the beginning
down to the present"
@tNAN thO AOhNASnh
his remarks by wildly drawn word pictures
descriptive of the wonderful manifestations
of Gods presence TO his apostles and the
patriarchs in days of old, and showed that
the church had always been held as the
dearest and most sacred spot by those who
loved God. Continuing, he said: "The
same influence which, in the past, bound
David, Jacob and others to the house of
God, will bind many here, now and in the
future, to this beautiful temple. Here, as
the years roll on, many will come within its
fold and will stand here TO make their cor
fession of faith and pledge their vows TO do
the Masters work Here little children will
be brought to receive baptism; here loved
ones will be brought cold in death and the
last sad rites performed, while the suryi-
vors shall receive the comfort of the Lord.
HERE WILL COME COUPLES
and stand and pledge their vows to comfort
each other and make each others life
happy. Such hearts will have received
comfort within the walls of this sanctuary,
and such heart will be lost to a sense of
honor and love if it fail to say, Lord, /
love Thee and the habitatiOn where Thou
dOst DWELL Speaking Of Gods dwelling
place L would again say we do not intend
to be local. While God is everywhere. His
ordinances are established in the church.
and it becomes His dwelling place. If
there are any who cannot comprehend the
presence of God everywhere, / would call
their attention to electricity, Which, abounds
everywhere. 1t fills the air and vibrates
through the system, but makes no mani
festation of its presence. Should a person
be found so ignorant of electricity as to
have never heard of it, take him to the tele-
graph Office, where he can hear the clicking
of the instruments; or to the electric light,
where he can see it shine out in all its bril-
liancy. why is it." if this electricity is
everywhere, it does not manifest itself?'
1t is because the machinery is not
there. If you ask why God does
not manifest himself to those who spend
their summer days in the woods, or on the
sea shore. or to those who go upon the ice
IN the winter, or those who go TO the polit-
ical meeting or social parties of an evening.
or eveR to those who remain at home and
read their Bibles, l would say that the
machinery is not there. By this we mean
that in this and similar places the orlin-
ances of God are established, and God
promises to make it resting place and His
place Of habtatiOn, Unless we have
form the spirit will die. Church-going and
Bible-reading are not religion. but religion
can not exist without them. You can't
absent yourself from Gods tabernacle year
after year and not associate with His peo-
pie, or listen to His teachings and be true
believer and truthful follower of the
Lord. You must not be satisfied to
worship Him in private, you must honor
Him by worshiping in public. Why should
we not love Gods house?
THE CHILDREN OF GEN. GRANT
should always hold dear and have the
greatest respect for beautiful Riverside
park. Not alone because it is the resting
place OF their fathers remains, but because
1t is forever dedicated for the purpose of
honoring his memory. HencefOrth it will
be sacred spot to them. No more will
the pleasure-seekers revel on its beautiful
lawns. 1t is TO be forever sacred to him
who rests beneath its sod. Likewise this
church is dedicated to the glory and honor
OF God. Here we shall hear his praises
from day TO day. How shall we fail TO
love and revere the place? A day spent
here will be worth a thousand spent Ia the
resorts of the world"
AT the conclusion of the sermon DIR. Neal
made short address to the congregation
and delivered the dedicatory prayer. A
financial statement was made of the con-
dltion OF the society, showing that there
was still debt of about 50. 900 upon the
church. Without particularly soliciting
funds, DR.. Herriott stated that there were
present some who had expressed desire to
contribute aid, and TO give them an oppor-
tunlty OF doing so collection would be
taken. About $500 was raised. a number
OF gentlemen subscribing $50 each toward