Morning journal and courier., 1889-11-16
EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE,

An Able Discourse In the United
Church BY Rev. DR.. L. r. Chamber
Naturalization OF Families Recon-
mended.
The attendance was not large at the meet
ing held in the United church last evening
under the auspices of the Evangelical ALI
anoe, but the eloquent address by Rev. DR..
Leander T. Chamberlain, now of Brooklyn,
but formerly the popular pastor of the Tab
ernscle church in Norwich, Conn.,, was
worthy of crowded house. Few extempor-
aneous public speakers possess such a re-
markable memory with such q wonderful
command of language. President Dwight
presided and introduced the speaker. DIR.
Chamberlain spoke without notes and in
part as follows: The Impression deepens
with me that We are living under the final
dispensstion. This il shown, not alone in
physical, but also in spiritual realms.
We have more reason to expect now than
ever before the opening Of the windows of
the leadership, for Christianity never
wrought more effectually than 1t is working
now. The membership of the church has
more than kept pace with the wonderful
growth of the population, for during period
when the population has increased Vtwelvs-
fold the church has multiplied twesfy- Eve
fold. Our practical Christianity is not de-
cadence, has not lowered its standard. The
best that 10 anywhere attempted is
best that is anywhere being &C.
complished is by his followers,
and yet how much more remains to be\at-
tempted and accomplished. I own thatWn
such an hour crave for the unifying of all
forces on the side of Christ. In the presence
of possible victory 1t does seem past endurN
ance to omit anything that may help forward
of the apocalypse the spirit wrote: II shall
set before thee an open door," The idea en-
bodied ia an outgoing and seeking church, it
presents a picture Of hospitality and COM
passion, going out into the highways and
byways in its work of love. The idea is not
simply that of the shepherd standing at
the door and bidding the sheep
to enter, but rather searching
among the 1as snd bearing sh hon ,. the lost
fore the churohi Yes. Every human heart
il such door and if the messengers 60 forth
in the beauty of holiness they certainly will
not be repulssd. Believe it, there Is abso-
lutely nothing that can resist obedience to
the teaching of that heavenly vision, and so
it comes to pass that the door Is the test of
the church itself. She claims to be the radi-
ance of the world. Let her prove it. Christ's
teaching for the church is that that is the
true light that seeks to tighten every man
that comes into the world.
In that Christian seeking the friends of
Christ are to seek the power and glory of co.
operation, oneness Of aim and purpose should
bind them into close alliance, wearing, if
you please, their separate colors, but united
In alliance to one divine commander.
The problems of New England are the
problems of the whole republic. You reoog-
aixe the dangers of immigration. All evils are
not attributable to an alien population.
Hormonism for instance came from New
England. Intempsranee and political cor
| ruption are only in part chargeable again Ut
eur foreign population, and YET. the vast
for them to ssgrsgate themselves and have
| made the evil of immigrating one of the
| greatest questions of the hour. Illiteracy is
| another great danger to the stability of our
| government and not the least of the perils to
| which our country is exposed is the statistics
showing that the population of towns have
increased but twelvefold, while that of the
cities has increased sightyfold.
Social instincts and our system Of manu-
featuring renders this unfortunate tendency
1 inevitable, 10 that modern civilization may
| well be said to be city civilization. Wise
then We are if we act in concert in creating
and applying remedy. Still the presence
of danger is not the highest motive. Let III
turn rather to the still small voice Of tn
spirit, GAS have washed your feet ye shal
wash one another's feet" That essentia
unity in Jesus Christ furnishes the true In
spiration and higher motive than the fsa
of q common eneAy.
The method by which this unity can b
secured in New Haven and these New Eng
land States is one adapted to every spot Q
| Gods earth. It has no peculiar organize
ton. It begins in the church and finds II
constant power in her. It is to let all th
friends of Christ unite in an alliance fe
practical work. Let one be chosen as
leader, divide the whole number into group
of ten persons and let one out of ten person
7 without regard to denomination, be sort {
> supervisor over the others Of the circle, al
signing ten families of the COZ
!, munity for purposes of visitation
each person, the design being
Q get non-church goers to go to church, but
a avoid making any unfortunate distinction
!, not combining the visitation to non-churt
: going families, but rather making 1t embra
. all the community. In eighteen large tow
Q and cities in the State of New York su,
a | work is being successfully carried on and Il
| pastors testify that there 10 q constant rev
! val. While this is but one of the metho
:. urged by the Evangelical Alliance, this 10 q
J. ono 1t regards the most Important and whit
it is now emphasizing above all others as t
most simple and practicable ISOLATION of t
|. problem. To this movement pray you
y rive patriotic and Christian heed. Since NJ
England is the seed-plant and thought.cent
Of this land, this work, carried on suceessfl
u " here, will help the whole republic, Nor
and south and east and west.