The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-01-09

at Summerfield. Yes, reply, unless a
relief plan is devised to tighten the bur-
den of their debt of $23,6O0.
Do you think Epworth can pay even
the interest on it's seventeen thousand
dollar mortgage No, emphatically re-
ply.
The prayers, the energy of Crandall j..
| North, have for three years protracted
the impending crisis which to-day, this
morning, confronts us.
Il My friends, what is the inevitable re-
suit of continuous up stream struggle,
personal or what not, distress, prostla-
ton, paralysis death, you and I well
! know
Well, we admit it, but why not sell or
abandon at least one of these churches.
Where's the Methodist who will DELHI
| erately, after due reflection consent to
substitute at either Summerfield or Ep
| worth a church of another denomina-
| ton. | want to look at a man or WO-
man who desires to lower the Methodist
f)ag. Brethren, these days are not flag
lowering, but flag raising days.
Such proposal executed means SIM
ply the abandonment of a spiritual, ag
gressive Wesleyan Methodist agency in
the city Of New Haven, Conn.,
This morning / raise my right arm
and with emphasis say to you: 1T
shall not, God helping me, be done"
A brother remarks: II did not create
those debts. / believe the erection of
| Summerfield did not consist with COM
| mon sense / propose to wash my
hands of responsibility in this affair,
and so, kindly, don't annoy me-" My
dear friend, you are praying brother,
trust. Tell all this to God, won't you?
| Tell it more than once, then read from
the Bible your duty toward your God
! and your neighbor; think over the gold
en- rule and then act in accordance with
your Judgment.
Another brother remarks: my pres
ent family expenses are large and they
are to be larger I can't help" Do as
the other two and then decide.
1 do not believe cataract of preju-
dice or misapprehenson has as yet OBJ
scured our vision.
SO believe that you will consider my
remarks this morning of sufficient i'm
portance to give the matter a serious
prayerful consideration. Did I not
believe this I would not attempt to
convince you what you owe to the Meth
odist Episcopal church of this city-a
church loved by you and by your faith
ers
Well suppose the entire indebtedness
of Summerfied and Epworth is paid,
can the churches unaided pay their in
cidental expenses
Yes. l reply, emphatically. Yes and
more, too. Suppose not only the indebt
edness of these churches is Cancelled, but
also that of Grace and of Howard ave-
nue. and of st, Andrews and of West
VILE
Do you imagine the membership and
usefulness of all our churches will in
crease? Most assuredly. Yes.
Can you expect the average man to
unite with a heavily mortgaged church.
True, a comet occasionally appears.
Oftener the stars shine.
Before / announce a relief measure,
permit me to state an opinion as to the
causes of our slow growth in 1897. If
correct you will see the connection be-
tween church stagnation and church in
debtedness.
True there have been ingenious expla-
nations. They do not explain.
Now first.
The decline of the mothers spiritual life
Are the children of the home to-day at
prayer with their mothers? Do Chris
tian mothers both with boy and girl
persistently pray for and with them?
Is it the rule, my sister? How is it
with you? Is your solicitude for the ed
ucation or social elevation of your chill
dren greater than for the salvation Of
their souls, let me repeat?
Permit me to state that If you remove
from society the green eye of jealousy,
if you eliminate the sting of sensitive
ness occasoned by actual or imaginary
Sights, if you eradicate envy and
hatred, If if We're poss,ble to create So
cal conditions similar to those pictured
in Edward Bellamy's Looking Back
ward;' if A had the ability to wear as
fine a gown as B. then there would ex-
list the ever present anxiety of the
mother that the services of the phys-
clan might be necessary subsequent to
her daughters exposure at the ball or
assembly.
Endeavor, won't you, to beautify the
character of your daughter, to equip her
for large usefulness, to enlarge her men
tai and spiritual scope. Make of her, if
you can, Christian philanthropist.
Let us have other Florence Nightin-
gales Clara Bartons, Francis e. Will
lards and Helen Goulds.
I pray that your daughter is child
Of God, if early called home may her
dying eXhortation to her sister or friend
be as Mary Wizards to her sister Fran
els
Tell everybody to be good"
I'd. The decline of the family altar
Brothers, is there a family altar in your
home? Has there ever been one?
When did it go down? Will you re-
store it?
Sd. The existence of church debts. !
A part of the body affects the whole,
the hand and head are vitality connect i,
ed. We well know the rule spiritual or
physical. (The burden of Summerfield
and Epworth and Grace is ours.) If
hey suffer, we must suffer inevitably, 7
most certainly.
18th. The unpopularity of the class
meeting. A friend said to me once: II
ion't believe in class meetings. They ,,
end to spiritual PRIDE That Is an old :.
story, but I wish there was more of it.
imagine it will not exist to a harm {
ul extent q
5th. The frequent indifference to the j.,
'rayer meeting. :