Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1890-11-28
ram HAVEN NEWS.

FAIR HAVEN NEWS.
Thanksgiving servfces-Union Ser
Vices At the M. e. Church-Rev. Mr.
MitchelI,s sermon.
Union Thanksgiving services were held
in the East Pearl street M. E. church yes
terday morning. The churches partici-
pating were the Grand avenue congrega-
tiona1, Second Congregational, Grand ave-
nue. Baptist, East Side, and East Pearl
street M. E. churches. The order of scr
vices was as follows.
Organ voluntary.
Reading of the governors proclamation by
Responsive reading,
ssssin a of seTipsasss i Sy ksy D n james.
Collection for the Home of the Friendless.
Sermon b Rev. J. Lee mitchell.
Hymn 1889.
Benediction:
Rev. Mr.. Mitchell spoke in part as fol-
lows:
Holiness is an exceedingly distastefu1
word, an exceedingly fearful word, an ex-
ceedingly not understandable word. Yet
does the fact remain that We shall be holy
people or ye shall not be my people, says
God, and not being my people ye shall be
no people at all. There is that splendid
million dollar cathedral the Episoopalians
are erecting. 1t has had to take an awful
sight Of criticism, but it is all right. Let
it be erected. Let it stand there as me-
mortal, an evidence of the worship, of the
piety, the generosity, the art, the education
and the mechanical skill which we of the
latter days of this nineteenth century of
Jesus of Nazareth had attained. Let
everything be of the best. Let no money
or time be spared, for it is surely to be a
| memorial of our greatness. That cathedral
will tell more to the sharp eyes of posterity
than all the books you will ever write" Let
| it be we'll executed.
But want another memorial set up be-
| side it. A saloon. IF remember rightly,
| there are several of them on the opposite
| corners of the street. But want one of
| them made perpetual, made-a memorial,
| consecrated, SO that it will stand as long as
that cathedral stands. don't want some
future Alexander to stand meditating on
| the ruins of that, cathedral and say,
Strange that people who so worshipped
God did so go to smash" I want him to
i Willie say, strange that a people who sc
dishonored God should have lasted sc
long. That cathedral is a. lie by itself
and we don't want any lie to become per-
manent; nay, it cannot become perma
nent.
God surely will not let any souls that hi
means to set like star in the heaven be
dulled in splendor by the corruption of the
aids of sweetmeats. And after all right
eous man has got to be an extraordinary
imbecile to make a failure of his life. A
man who prays has got to be more thar
an ordinary fool not to be prosperous. Thu
conclusion of the whole matter is, "Dt
your duty like man and let fortune taxi
care of itself"
But granted, if you will, that righteous
| ness and holiness gives man no mortgage
on prosperity, What must not be granted
with regard to nations. I never heard
political speech in my life that was not on
I vast humbug in it's utter shallowness, su
perfcial, mere wind, because i
utterly ignored this great historic truth a
well as divine command eye shall be
holy people," What is the use of talking
about resources, and immigration, ant
education and protection and free trad
as though they knew the foundation o
national prosperity. Holiness is tn
keel of the whole ship Of state. Withou
it all other things shall sooner or later b
in vain. These other things are good an,
necessary and must be attended to first
You can't work in holiness afterward.
say you can't build ribs and sheathing an
decks and then lay the keel-the kee
must be laid first. What we are thankfu
for to-day is that our keel was laid in holi
ness.
What then have we this day to be thanh
full for? That life and time are still GU
own; that the keel of our state was laid i
holiness, and that there is time to preserv
it holy. AS day of thanks we than
God to-day for the piety of our fathers, fo
the prosperity which that piety has secure
to us, for the godliness we have inherited
AS day of memorial to God we propos
to lay broad and deep the foundations {
\ holiness. We propose to make this peopl
a holy people. The task is herculean, br
the forces that can be brought to bet
upon it are Titanic, too.
We thank God for the past, and sint
the best thanks are deeds we propose
i, secure continued prosperity by becomin
holy people. This is the thanksgivin
: offering we bring to God, an offering {
renewed devotion to that work of maxim
ourselves holy and the state holy, whic
we believe to be the only foundation {
national greatness and the one key tn,
unlocks the bounty of God upon us. Tn
is the thanksgiving offering we bring the
O Christ. A nation which we will NAL
. thine or stand in our places like that R
$ man sentinel at Pompeii, while the ash,
), of desolation fall about US as true to OF
!, red cross as he was to his golden eagle.