The Portland daily press., 1898-05-16
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AN AID TO The CHURCH.

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AN AID TO The CHURCH,. 4
Chestnut Street Methodists Celebrate An
| niversary of Epworth League.
The afternoon service at the Chestnut
street Methodist church yesterday was
devoted to celebration of the Epworth
colored bunting gave the interior of the
church patriotic aspect, while Epworth
League banners and mottoes added to
the attractiveness of the decoration. A
large congregation ATTENDED the exer-
| cises.
| Rev. H. E. Dunnack, the new pastor
of the West End church. and Rev. f. C.
Rogers Of the Pine street church, particle
pated in the preliminary exercises. There
were also present representatives of the
other local chapters. President Henry
W. Cobb Of the Chestnut street chapter
made brief address. He regarded it as
especially appropriate that the celebra-
ton of the Epworth Leagues anniversary
should take place in the Chestnut street
| church, inasmuch as that church is the
mother of Maine Methodist churches.
The organization of young people of the
Methodist churches extends throughout
the whole country, and the Is, $50 chap
tiers have total membership of ,s75 900.
not including the membership of the jul
Nor auxiliary body. He predicted for
the league future growth and power
| exceeding that of it's recent years.
The new pastor, Rev. Luther freeman,
| who holds the office of New England dis
trict secretary of the Epworth League,
| delivered an interesting discourse. He
first related the Estory of the birth of the
Epworth League, in Cleveland. Ohio,
| nine years ago, and said that the organi-
cation has come to be recognized as one
OF the most important branches of the
Methodist denomination.
"What is it's work. he asked. ssWhere
is it's place and what does it stand for?'
These questions he proceeded to answer.
There are three great principles it
stand for: First, that it is the duty of
man to love himself; second, that he
should love his neighbor; third, he should
love his God.
1t is right that we should first love our
selves, because we are worth loving; every
individual! has a real value that ought to
be recognized and cherished. If men
loved themselves better, the world would
be better. Till you love yourself your
love for anybody else is not good for
much.
In this connection the pastor empha-
sized the need of caring for the human
body and the cultivation Of the mind.
Our bodies are intricate machines given
us by our Creator, and they should be
treated as such. Saturating them with
tobacco or poisoning them with alcoholic
beverages is not creating them as the
Creator intended.
The valne of good reading and individ-
He discoursed the modern tendency of
keeping young people everlastingly doing
something, allowing them no time to
store up energy, knowledge and strength
for the future. The boys and girls of tia
rural towns, whose lot is usually regard
ed by city people as tame and uninterest-
ing, have more time to do thinking on
their own accord, and as a result a larger
per centage of brainy men come from the
country than are produced by the cities.
He advised that every boy and girl
should devote at least onesevening week
to the reading of good books at home.
In his advocacy of the loving of our
neighborsss the r pastor made reference to
The war with Spain. He declared that our
country was driven to it. We did not
rush into it for vengeance, in the hope
of territorial enlargement, or because
we remembered the Maine''-an emblem
that never ought to have been published.
Right at our very door is nation that
for centuries has been held in submits
sion, ill-treated and crushed. The United
States stood it till forbearance ceased to
be a virtue. The present war is the holt
est ever carried on in the world, because
it is war for humanity's sake, because
we love our Deighbors as ourselves
The maintenance of hospitals and free
institutions, the bestowal of private be- |
nevolences, the care of the insane, the en-
leavor to reform criminals, and the con-
slant contri buting of money to help |
spread the Gospel in heather lands, were
mentioned as showing that the tendency
of the time is in keeping with the obliga-
The loving of God was briefly dwelt
upon in conclusion. The service of the
Master is coming to be more practical |
every day; it is not a mere theory. The
Christian carries his Christianity into his
business and every day life. The barrier
between the sacred and the secular is be.
ing eliminated. 1t is just as much the
Christians place at the ballot box and
in the caucus as saying s.ameno in ra
prayer meeting. If man is NOT nions
when he is engaged in business. he IS not |
pious when he is praying, and his nraver
is an hypocrisy. If Jesus Christ is made
the fking over mems lives. there will be
ciety. politioss or business. - ~