Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-10-08
A . . r e 8 8
]. c. cHILcorr. PRESIDENT
HANCOCK COUNTY CONFERENCE Oh
UNITARIAN AND OTHER CHRIS
TIAN CHURCHES,
AZ The AEaHGl Session held at he
tnitaridn Church, E2ls,rorA,
4UGUNT ~, 1891.


Published by request
Since the highly interesting and profita
| BILE session of this conference was held s,
| West Gouldsboro, last August, year has
| gone by and we find ourselves assembled
here to-day engaged in holding our third
annual session, which we most profoundly
| hope may prove as interesting and profit
able as have our previous meetings.
! Not all who met with US year ago are
here to-day. At least two who were pres
! ent at the meeting at West Gouldsboro
have since then passed over the river
Both Of them We're pioneers in liberia
! thought in the county Of Hancock re-.
! fer 10 Samuel W. Cieaves of West Gonlds
boro and Hiram 5. Bartlett of Lamoine
! Both were men Of thought aud deep relig.
| ious convictions. Both were possessed in
marked degree of that charity which
! suifereth long and is kind" Both wer.
| christian gentlemen whose example was
every way consistent with their profession
| Strictly honest in all they had To do, pure
in thought and word and deed. liberal in
their sentiments and true u their con
victions. the seed they have sown in every
! field in which they have labored Will mani
fest Itself in the harvest fields of noble
manhood and womanhood. and that pure
and uudet1led religion which blesses the
world.
Ladies and gentlemen, | welcome you to
this conference to-day You have come
from the various parts Of the county TO
engage in no unimportant work The
object which calls you together to-day il,
indeed a noble one. worthy of your best
and most earnest endeavor> For its sue
cess you viii do well to pledge your best
Efforts
The irst Unitarian society In this county
was established at Castue before the
close Of the last century, aud, with the
exception Of comparatively short period
Of inactivity, it has continued with great
success down 10 the present time. Already
that church has greatly outgrown the
boundaries Of its early home Already
lowings are to be found at lamo.ne Bar
Harbor. Northeast I1arbor. sullivan West
Gould>boro. Winter Harbor, Prospect
Harbor and Ellsworth. In the county are
at least four Unitarian church edinces one
Universalist church editice, and at least
five Union churches in which there Is to be
found growing liberal element The
good work we trust has only just begun,
and that at no distant day every town in
the county will be leavened with tie
liberal sentiment.
| have not come here TO rehearse the
virtues Of liberal ideas and sentiments and
especially liberal belief 50 far as doctrines
are concerned The whole trend of reIg-
ious growth and progress is in that direc.
ton and the world will be sure, sooner or
later, to accept those ideas and sentiments
but | do wish to say u word in favor of
liberal christianity a> a social force
wish 10 plead, briefly, but earnestly. that
be done for the Improvement OF society
everywhere, more to refine and exalt
human life. | greatly desire to see our
religious societies take the right side OF
every great question of the day and make
their influence felt in the noble work Of
furtherng every noble cause would
like 10 see the church become the cham
pion of every verify in human life and
the enemy Of every moral wrong | would
Ike TO sec II lighting with all its ght
the pernlciOus literature which is now
flooding the country and poisoning the
morals of our young men and young wom-
en-; | would like to see it lighting tobacco
and the terrible drink evil; | would like
to see 1t recognize one code Of morals
alike for men and women and in favor of
giving women equal rights with men at
the ballot box and elsewhere, most ear
ne>tly desire that the time shall come, and
that speedily, when the church, without
condescen>on, shall recognize its best
work in trying to elevate man whether his
lot be humble or otherwise In fact |
know of nothing so far from Christ, His
examples, His methods and His constant
every day endeavors as what the world
calls to-day a fashionable or aristocratic
church. All these reforms or improve
mine, but if you and | are true to the age
in which we live, they will come all the
sooner because we have lived in it.
In the years gone by the people of
this country fought most successfully
against great wrongs and terrible evils.
Slavery has gone and its baleful influences
are fast passing away; but other evils of
terrible magnitude still remain, and
among them we may name, as one of the
worst the world ever saw, the drink evil,
by the side of which American slavery in
its worst days, sinks into utter insignfi-
canoe. Relative to all the great wrongs
and evils against which we should labor,
confidently expecting that sooner or later
they will be uprooted and overcome, the
watcher on the Tower" has said in thrill
ing words
1--WE thank thee, watcher on the lonely tower,
For all thou tellest Sings ne of an hour
When Error shall decay, and Truth grow
strong.
And Right shall rule supreme, and vanquish
Wrong?
He sings of brotherhood, and joy. and peace,
or days when jeaIouses and hate shall cease;
When war shall die, and mans progressive
Soar as unfettered as its God designed
Well done! thou watcher on the lonely tower.
Is the day breaking? dawns the happy hour!
We pine TO see it:-tell us. vet again,
Ii the broad daylight breaks upon the plain?
1t breaks--it comes-the misty shadows fiy =
A rosy radiance CLEANS upon the sky;
The mountain-tOps reflect it calm and clear;
THE PLAIN IS YET IN SHADE, But DAY is
NEAR"
And now can we not all agree in adopt
ing the following as word painting of
what the future, near or remote, by virtue
of mans best endeavors, will bring to the
worli?-
II see our country filed with happy
homes, with firesides of content-the
foremost land of all the earth. see