Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1892-11-25
TIL ANKSGIVING DAY.
Union Services at Wesley Chapel
sermon By the Rev j w Me
Twain.

The Lord is Good to all: and His Tender
Mercies are over all His works.-Psaim clxv, ~
The Union THANKSGIVING service was
held this year in Wesley Chapel Church,
the two Methodists and Presbyterian
Churches, uniting, and the Rev. j. W.
Ncllyain. pastor of the Presbyterian
Church preached the sermon. he gave 9
general resume of the manifold blessings
that Lad been bestowed upon us as ma
ton. lie said ito day is our day of ma
tional Thanksgiving Ordinarily We
meet In church 10 worship because the
church has consecraied the day 10 special
services. But to-day we are here for q
reason. The state has adopted the pious,
old Puritan custom of Thanksgiving day
and today has been set apart by the
proclamation of the President of the
United States as a day In which the peo-
pie shall assemble in their various places
of worship and render public thanks to
God for all their many public and private
blessings received during the last wear.
And IL is very well that we should have
such a day of national thanksgiving.
We have day which celebrates the birth
day of our national liberty, the Declare.
ton of Independence We have day
set apart as the birthday of him whom
the people desire to honor. because he
was in such an eminent degree the faith
er of his country. 1t Is surely well then
that we should remember Him who gave
US our country, our liberty, the God of
nations, without whose aid w ashington,
Adams and Hamilton, and Jefferson
would have planned and fought and suf-
fered in vain, the God who is still with
US and has given US such marvellous
prosperity that we may well boast. tie
hath not dealt so with any other people.
| In referring TO the Christian tone Ii
| gives the government. he said: Even II
the observance of the day be mere
| form with many-even If Ii be mere
| holiday In the secular, instead OF holy
day In a religious sense, 1t Is we'll that
| we keep IT, 1t gives to our government
a Christian tone to see it thus appoint
ing special days Of religious observance
1--WE don't believe" he said In the union
between Church and State. II has always
been an unequal yoke, and many of our
fathers have suffered from 1t. We do not
believe that ii Is the duty of the state
| to teach religion or to enforce by legal
| penalties the observance of any religious
duties Yet for all that, our country
need not be religious-entirelY without
God. The great debt that we owe to
the Christian religion, the fact that so
many of US are the descendants OF those
who fled TO this country, to obtain re-
| ligious liberty, make 1t slngularly appro-
pirate that we should make some recog-
milton of God as the God of our nation :"
He thought 1t was we'll that the day
should be held up conspicuiously before
the American people. He referred to the
Columbus Worlds Fair, as an evidence
OF Gods goodness to this nation. He al.
so alluded to the late campaign as one
OF the cleanest at least for many years,
there being none of the usual mudsling-
ing or personal abuse of the candidates,
80 common and so painful to the feelings
of everyone, and there was also an ao-
sence of that sectionals feeling that has
heretofore demoralized our presidential
elections ALI of which he said was great
cause 10 be thankful for.