Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1901-05-23
A Life Well Spent.

tance. When the time came Tor Jne
services at the home there We're but a
few present. An adopted daughter,
grand son, his wife and child; half
dozen neighbors, and six ministers stood
with bowed heads while Rev. w. X.
Whitney offered prayer. Just as the
funeral procession started TO the church,
the east bound train from Sunbury
whistled down brakes and stopped in
front of the Day residence. The pro
cession was doubled by the accessions
from the train among whom were eleven
ministers. AT the church, quite CON
gregation had assembled, and, but for
the haste necessary in order that the
ministers might get back to their duties
on the Sabbath, the services would have
been worthy of the man i'll whose hon
or they were held. As it was the
beautiful music prepared by the choir
could not be rendered and the addresses
were much abbreviated. Rev. j. b.
Stein read the hymn beginning Ser
want of God well done. Rev. w. NJ.
Frysinger offered prayer. Rev. w. A.
Houck read the Goth Psalm. Rev. &.
D. Pennepacker read l. Cor. 18th chap
ter.
Rev. w. w. Evans then spoke for
twelve minutes, giving reasons for fix
ing the funeral services at the time ap-
pointed, and stating the necessity for a
brief service. He spoke of his last visit
with Brother Day, when the aged sick
one seemed almost i'll a comatose condl-
ton. He knelt by the bedside, offered
evidently having listened to the prayer,
raised his feeble hand heavenward and
said Its all right" Father Day was
born the 10Th of May, 1916. 1t had been
his desire for some weeks that he might
live to complete his S5th year. And on
May 10Th, 1901, his desire having been
granted by the Master whom he so 10y
ally served he passed from the church
militant to the church triumphant. He
was converted and joined the church in
his fifteenth year. Hsgentered the min
istry and joined the Baltimore Confer
ence in 1910. Sixty one years he belong
ed to the conference, forty three of
which he was in the effective work. But
this is only brief sketch of his history.
Attempt TO describe the sun-you fail,
you must look upon its brilliance. At
tempt to set forth the character Of Faith
er Day 1t is impossible, you must have
walked by his side to appreciate the
loveliness of his character and the zeal of
his life. 1t is easy to Overdraw a pic
ture of the qualities of most lives, it is
hard to measure up to the real in this
case.
DIR. S. c.. Swallow talked eight min
utes, saying that it is not necessary to
indulge i'll eulogy of a man so well
known. There is one time in life when
our Judgment of man is unbiased, 1t Is
when he is in his coffin. Then the in
huence of business asperity no longer
warps Judgment. Today all unite to say
a great man has gone out from among
us. DR.. Swallow said further that forty
years ago Father Day voiced the call of
God and of the church and said to him
you should preach the Gospel, and
through Brother Days instrumentality
he was inducted into the ministry.
Father Day was not graduate of col
lege, nor even of seminary, but he was
a student who burned the midnight oil,
he became learned, he was an educated
man. His method of sermon prepara-
ton was not the modern method of gen
eral and broad preparation by liberal
culture along all lines of modern learn
ing; but was that of writing writing
for the specific work in hand. Now he
has gone but his work remains. He has
gone from us, and yet he fingers i'll our
work for he lives in the churches we
serve which he planted all up and down
this country, and he will always live in
our hearts
DR.. E. j. Gray spoke ten minutes say
ing. this is not an occasion for tears.
Brother Day has recovered his hearing,
he has recovered his sight. If we were
TO present our highest petition, we could
not get more for him than he has. He
could not want more. 1t would not be
with my faith to say that
be might be here now, God could per-
NIT it. But whether here or not he is
and that place is where God
wants him to be. | have never heard
him say anything that he could not
have said direct TO his God. No one has
ever said to me that they heard him say
ANYTHING unclean or unbrOtherly. That
is great record. Servant of God well
done. What has he done He did not
accumulate wealth. 1t is not essential
in order TO achieve success to accumu-
late wealth A man has succeeded who
has erected a character which will quail
fly him for his largest and highest
if he fails i'll this he fails in
everything. Father Day achieved a
wonderful character. Think of 81 years
in the work Of the itinerant ministry
one blot. The one character
istic of his life above every other was
fidelity to duty.
Rev. d. S. Monroe spoke three min
utes, saying this is an unusual expert
ence to stand by the casket of a brother
in the ministry who has lived four score
and quarter years among men. l have
known Brother Day longer than any
other person i'll this conference has. He
visited my father house when | was
youth in Baltimore No words would
more fittingly express my estimate of
Father Day and my appreciation Of him
than the words of st Paul i'll Col. Al,
A beloved brother, and faithful min
ster, and fellow servant in the Lord. "