The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-10-23
OLD FOLKS SERVICE.

Rev. Mr.. Gates Urges the Old Folk to
DO Gods Work.
An "Old Folks" service wal held ir
G ace NJ. E. Church last night. The
church was decorated for the occasion.
The decorations consisted Of red and
white streamers, which draped the organ
loft and platform, and large branches of
autume leaves. The service began with
singing and prayer. Rock Of Ages
was sung. and then the Rev. Mr.. Gates
read the lesson for the evening and
preached a sermon to the old people. The
lesson he took from the Book of Jos hua,
reading the account of how Caleb. at the
age of eighty five years, was as eager
and ready for war as he was when forty
i've years old.
He said that Caleb comes from two
words. meaning dos and heart As a dog
Will follow his master. even to death, so
Caleb followed him with his whole heart.
This ts one OF the Rrandest thoughts in
the Bible to me. How often when a man
gets old he will take a back seat IN
church work. Old men complain that
the young men take charge of the meet =.
ings. This is because the work must be
done and the old men won's do IL. I
believe the old people should do the
work. They should never be supsran-
uated. Old men should say to the
preacher: Give me the hardest
work there Is to do. Don't take a back
Take the front rank In working for the
Lord aud you will be able TO say with
Caleb:-.l am as / was forty-five years
ago. When our children are sick or
when we nave a weighty point in law to
be decided do we go to the young phys ii
clan or the young lawyer? No. we 60 TO
the aged. In chutch work we go to the
young. I'M never going to get old. l.
| was eighty>ive years old I would
preach as hard and jump as hard in the
pulpit as I do now. I don't believe in
experimentation. We old men and we
old women should stand at our posts and
Eight the hardest 10 our lives. If there IS
work to be done in the church let us do
1t. II there are trtals-God knows we
have enough of them In Grace NJ. E.-ls1
us fight them. Many old people stay
away frota church on accouut
OF the rheumatism or the neuralgia. IL
they should take the walk TO the church
aud back their rheumatism would leave
them. Physicians will tell you that.
the young men how they started as
Christians and tell them what their
determination is"
Brother Carpenter was the first to
speak. He said thai he Is seventy-one
years old, but that he feels younger than
he did fifteen years g and that he
believes the Lord is with him as much as
he ever was.
Mr.. Alsop. the oldest man ~presens-he
was born In 1S15-next said a few words,
He with his wife, who is now dead, came
to this country from Germany, and In
1857 Joined the Methodist church.
Brother Fowkes said that he esteemed IL
a privilege TO be counted among ths old
folk. He was converted at u great re-
vival at which 1888 souls were saved. His
was the 486th. He has been q Christian
just one%half of his life. He has given
just as many years to the service of the
Lord AZ he has to the service Of the
Devil. He spoke of his career as a
Christian. and said that whatever he has
done In the church he considers as the
portion which he shall possess in eternity.
Several other brothers gave their testl-
mony. There was more singing and the
meeting closed. i