The San Francisco call., 1896-06-15
1.-THE TRUE RELIGION. y
Pastor Birch's First Sermon in
Calvary Presbyterian
Church.

It was children's day ct Calvary Presby.
cerian Church yesterday, and the occasion
of the first appearance in the pulpit of
Rev. w. L. Birch Ph.D., late of Manches-
ter, England, who is temporarily taking
the place of the Rev. John Hemphill, DID.
The pulpit was beautiful with flowers,
and the children, who crowded the church
at the morning service, looked bright and
happy.
Pastor Birch assured the children that it
was unnecessary for them to give up fun
and play in order to be consistent Chris
tians, and said that every robust boy
should be able to skin the cat a horizon
tai bar feat), to run mile and to swim in
the sea. Girls should be both beautiful
and strong. When Christ took little child
rem in his arms to bless them he laid the
foundation of e beneficent evolution,
which has taught the civilized world to
reverence the lambs as specially dear to
God.
"True Religion" was the topic of the
evening discourse. THE religion taught
by Christ said the preacher, ''is unques-
tionably the truth. 1t is not garment to
put on and off to suit ones likes and dis
likes, but training in righteous habits.
Religion is not fenced in innocence, but it
implies a mixture with the world, trial
and temptation. True religion is not
based upon the ecclesiastical authority,
but upon reason. To feed the hungry
with barley bread was great, but daily to
inspire despairing souls to trust IN God and
men and to try to do as they would be
done by is greater. Every man who honestly
endeavors to act up to the light God has
given him is truly religious. The death
OF Christ showed thatinstead OF blaming
men for sin be had laid their lnlquity
upon himself and died that every penitent
| sinner might be saved
Concerning the professional labors of
| Pastor Birch in England, the late Rev. @.
! H. Spurgeon said: 'Souls have been
| saved under his earnest ministry in great
numbers. He has done as much in the
ministry and in orphanage work as the
| foremost man in England, and all upon
the most self-denying terms"
The pastor preached his first sermon,
when he was u years of age, for the bene-
| fit of two of his orphaned companions,
and since then, almost without intermis-
sion, has preached every Sunday.
| Though Baptist, he gives freedom to
every Christian to act according to con-
| science, and advocates the union of all
| evangelical denominations. He desires to
mission the Solomon Islands, where saw
agery and cannIbalism abound, and hopes
to induce the various sects to agree 10
| bury the Ratchet OF uneSsential details
and send all-round Christian men and
women to uplift the barbarous people Of
| those islands.
| He regards lockouts and strikes, even
when lawfully conducted, as modern acts
of unbrotherly antagonism, to which,
| however, unless arbitration be arranged,
outsiders must bow. At such times he
| has stood with the men 10 urge them 10
| try to do as they would be done by. and as
| a member of the Federated Trades Council
and minister of religion to Try to bring
the EMPLOYERS to act justly and in the
! spirit of kindness. The result has been
that in cities where he has been located
| during big strikes rot stone has been
thrown or shot fired. He has more than
once saved a town from riot and blood
she'd.