The Newtown bee., 1891-05-15

the home church needs the benefit of giv- ing this money even more than the strug- gling, brave~hearted Christians abroad need their help. Do you know that to- day more people bow the knee to devils
 and idols of wood aud stone and brass
 than pay homage to our Jehovah? Is it
 then right to neglect or even half obey
 the call from the mission field abroad
 l have worshipped in splendid houses
 and I have worshipped in bare huts
 where, for want of communion table,
 the elements were spread upon the bare
 mud floor; in each case, the place repre-
 sented the best the people could give and
 the worship was acceptable. But what
 matter few additional refinements in a
 grand church? The money for these
 would make glad the hearts of many mis-
 sionaries who can provide hardly the
 barest necessities.
 At the close of the address, which was
 without notes, the sacrament of the holy
 communion was administered and new
 members received into the church.
 There was another large audience in
 the evening, when the program consisted
 of praise service conducted by the pas
 tor and an address by Rev Dr Charles
 Ray Palmer of the North church. Here,
 as at the morning service, the choir rem
 dered admirable service and the congre-
 gation joined heartily in singing the
 hymns and reading the responsive ser
 vices from "Laudes Domini," the new
 book issued by the Century company
 Dr Palmer had the close attention of his
 audience to the end of his discourse,
 throughout which ran evidences of the
 deep feeling with which he regarded this
 young church. Taking for his text the
 parable of the supper and the guests who
 refused the invitation, as recorded in
 Luke XIV, ''And the Lord said unto his
 servants, Go out into the highways and
 hedges and cOnstrain them to come in',"
 Dr Palmer first explained the meaning of
 the parable, the great supper being the
 feast of the kingdom of Heaven, to which
 Gods chosen people had first been invit-
 ed; on their failure to accept, on their repudiaton of the invitation, others were
 bidden; then, as the cry went up, "Still there is room,' he said, in the words of the text, "Go ye out into the highways and hedges Chat is, from the city, their home, to the less known and compara- lively untravelled roads of the country at large) and cOnStrain them to come in, that my house may be furnished with guests; for l say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper" The church must sustain in the community the appointed means x the cause of education. Some had said that a church was as nothing if not evan gelistic; but this was the view of an ex- tremist. The spirit, the heart, the very might of a man must be fully enlisted in the work of the church; then could re- suits beneficent be expected. Not money alone could sustain a church and build it up; the. heart of a man must be in the work, ere he could sustain it properly. The church is the witness of and for the presence of Christ in the community. By the voice of the church, upliftcd in stern protest against wrong-doing in State and Nation, the majesty of the law is upheld, it's mandates are fulfilled. The true church, community of faithful souls within itself, stands firm as a barrier against injustice, crime, corruption. No church is worthy the name unless pro- testing against evil and at the same time upholding what is good. The church, Christians as whole, must aid aggres- sively in spreading the Gospel; in bear ing witness to the infinite truth of God. The church must organize and perpetu- ate evangelistic services which shall go to the root of the evils of society, eradi- cate and cure them. Foreign missionary work has simply given an increased inn petus and livelier interest to home mis- sionary work. To relieve human misery, it is necessary to reach the springs of the character of men. The people constant ly talking about the necessity of church union were not, always, open to sug- gestions; they wished for total union or nothing. With not a few, he feared, it was like the prophet who, when called, replied, ''Lord, here am but send him or some one else." Heartily believing in practical church union, the best way ap- peared to combine first in individual churches, or even with individual people. Home churches do not as well, in pro- portion to their means and opportunities, as do the struggling foreign missions. Only a sanctitied church can evangelize a community and more home missionar- ies are needed. Not for ourselves, but for all men and for all time, even eter- nity, are we working. Large measures of faith, loyalty to Jesus, the special blessings of God are invoked upon this West End church; it's pastor and his wife, and all the men, women and child ren who now, or during the past six years, or during the unlinoWable future, are or have been or may be doing their work here, to build up a Christian home, a school of purity, charity, usefulness, faithful witness unto Christ.
 Again was the church well filled, Tues day night, when the last of the dedicato- ry services was held. A large floral an- chor fastened to the partition doors be- tween the church and the chapel was mo- ticeable. The service was opened by singing "I love thy kingdom, Lord,'' which was followed by the reading of the Scriptures and prayer by Rev Dr Hovey. A free will offering was then taken, after which ''Oh worship the Lord, all glorious above," was sung and Rev W. V. Garner of the First Baptist church was introduced as the first speak CT. He preferred, he said, to speak upon ''Dversity in Unity,' rather than "Uni- ty in Diversity" He congratulated peo- pie and pastor upon the completion of the beautiful church, handsome and unique in it's appointments. Nature is full of diversity in unity, but far beyond all other examples was the social union of Christian denominations, on such oc- casions as this. The world, he believed, had passed the Petric and the Paulic ag- es and was now in the Johannic age, the age of love. Some of his ecclesiastical brethren sang, ''I'm glad I'm in the army of the Lord,'' but he sung it, 'I'm glad Tn in the navy" All the differing de- nominations of the church, inspired by the true spirit of God, were doing, each in it's own way, grand work for the Lord. He would utter no Jeremiads against those whose thoughts ran in different than his own. Perfect unanimi- yy was thing impossible. Rev H. A. Davenport, bearing cordial congratula- ions and kindliest greeting from the First Preshytarian church smoke upou