The Newtown bee., 1893-07-28

On behalf of the ladies' society we re- port as follows:
 Expended tor carpet $l62.35 Expended for settees, chairs, etc., 1905
 Total $235.4 Received from subscriptions, $175I1
 $6o29 Due on unpaid subscriptions, $120 Leaving a balance to their credit of $591
 As this is very nearly the price of re- Hector, l suppose not many moons will wax and wane before we shall be able to open the church evenings. I will also say that inscriptions will be placed on all the remaining windows, soon.
 REV A. F. PIERCE OF DANBURY
 gave an able, eloquent and studied dis course, taking for his text St Matthew 23 :42, "What Think ye of Christ" The sermon will be printed in full, next week. After the preacher was done, Rev MT Park, the pastor, announced the anthem ''I was Clad" and said: "Sixty years ago, over these same foundations, was gathered congregation very like this, fathers and mothers of those now pres ent, to dedicate the church edifice burn ed one year ago. The choir on that day sang the same anthem to which we are now to listen. The major part of that congregation of 50 years ago have pass ed over to the other side, and the voices of all who swelled the anthem then are 1 hushed, save one, Mrs Sarah Smith, who is with us in her feebleness to-day"
 At the close of the anthem the dedica- tion prayer was offered by Rev Joel $. Ives of Stratford. Both choir and con- gregation then joined in the grand old hymn, "I love Thy Kingdom, Lord" and were dismissed with
 BENEDICTION BY THE PASTOR.
 Luncheon followed at l o'clock.
 The aged people, clergy and invited guests were banqueted at tables in the hall above Edward J. Buckingham s store. Those who could not be accom- modated in the hall gathered in the beau tiful village park and all were bountiful- ly supplied with choice refreshments for which the good housewives of Hunting ton are justly famous.
 The afternoon session, called at 2.30 o'clock, was opened by an organ volun- tary and anthem by the choir, "Sing, o Heavens, and be Glad, o Earth"
 Rev W. P. Arbuckle of the Shelton l ;ct oh iptr to speak on the subject of temper ance. MT Arbuckle's predecessor in Shelton, Rev MT Lathbury, was the last to preach in the Congregational church burned last July, he being there in ex- change with Rev MT Park the Sunday preceding the fire. Mir Arbuckle said in substance: 'sIt seems to me that after your experience with Methodist minis ter, last year, you would not like to TAKE SUCH A RISK AGAIN.
 But I am here at your bidding and can- not be held responsible if the church does burn. First of all I congratulate you on the lovely day which the Lord has given you for the dedication of this church; for am of those who believe that every gooI and perfect gift is from above. l congratulate you upon your financial success, as shown by the report of the building committee, read this morning. And congratulate you, too, upon this splendid audience which is al- most as good looking as Shelton audi r r. I 20, if good, but better 15,-upon the sub ject of temperance. want you to under stand that 1 am requested to speak on this theme and that I am perfectly at home on it. If we know what the Chris tian church is and what the evil of intem- perance is we shall be able to discover what is the relation between them. The best organized force in the world to-day is the Christian church, the organized body of Christian workers of all denomi- nations throughout this land. It repre- sents the best thought, the noblest pur- pose, the
 DIvINEST SPIRIT OF THE AGE.
 Take away the power of the church and where would stand the cause of morality, of charity, of purity? The grand object of the Christian church is to glorify God and bless mankind. Though we are all aware that there are protesting Christians, ministers and laymen, too, who do not live up to their professions, yet the fact remains that the church ex- ists and has right to exist only as a means to the end before mentioned We shall best understand the temperance cause if we first settle with ourselves what the intemperance cause is. It is the cause of the brewer and of the rum brewer and of the rum seller. More than that, it is the cause of the man who be- comes intoxicated and lies in the gutter; who, through drink, destroys those God given faculties and powers by which he might move the world heavenward. The cause of the church and intemperance cannot stand together. The church must put her foot on the neck Of this curse, or it will strangle the church. You and F, who are ready to do and to die when yell low fever or cholera are invading the