The Washington times., 1902-05-05
Solemn and Impressive
Ritual of Protestant
Episcopal Faith.
TEE SEVENFY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
Week of Praise and Thanks
giving Comes to a
Fitting Close.
SUNDAY SCHOOL CELEBRATION
SUNDAY SCHOOL CELEBRATION
Steady Growth Of Church Gives Impetus
to Larger Work in the Future-"This
Is Eone Other but the House of God"
Keynote of Conservation Sermon.

Historic Trinity Church was consecrat.
ed yesterday to the service of Almight.
God by the Right Rev. Henry Yates Sat
terlee. d. D., Ii. D.. bishop of thu
Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Wash
ington, and Tire communicants and theil
friends who were present at the service!
were brought 10 realize that this Il
none other but the house Of God, and
this is the gate of heaven
The services incident to the commem.
oration of the seventyfifth anniversary
of the organization of the parish, which
were brought to close last evening, after
extending over a period Of a week, are
now a matter of history, and will be
handed down to future generations as TIE
greatest epoch in the annals of the his
toiie church-great in that the consecra-
tion of the church was the most prom
inent feature of the three-quarter GEN.
tennial celebration.
Holy Communion Celebrations.
Five services were held throughout the
day. At 1880 a. m. the holy communion
was celebrated by Rev. DR.. Frank NJ.
second celebration was held by the rec
tor. Rev. DIR. Richard p. Williams, and
at 1890 a. m. the church was consecrated,
aud the holy communion celebrated for
the third time. Right Rev. Henry Yates
Satterlee. bishop of the Protestant Epis-
copal Diocese of Washington, being the
consecrator. celebrant. and preacher.
he t,, ~
bishop the morning prayer was read by
DIR. Gibson, fhe assistant rector. The
lessons for lie day were read by Mr
Henry C. Amos. the lay reader Of the
church. and the creed and prayers by the
rector. DR.. Williams. Bishop Satterlee
then celebrated the holy communion, as
sisted by DR.. Williams, the rector; DR..
Gibson. the assistant rector; Rev. DR.. r.
J. Keeling. the only surviving former rec
tor: Archdeacon E. H. Ingle, of Balti-
more. and Rev. William Howard Falkner,
q grandson of Rev. Dr.. Butler, an early
rector of Old Trinity.
Bishop Satterlee's Sermon.
Bishop Satterlee's sermon was a mas
terpiece. based on Jacobs proclamation
as chronicled in Genesis xxviii:l7, This
is none other but the house of God, and
this is the gate OF heaven" He said in
part:
"A lonely traveller, far from home and
his fathers house, was vending his soli-
ta.y way eastward as the sun was sink
ing. AS the shadow of night was coming
or he paused and sat down to rest, with
that feeling Of deep loneliness and desc
lation. which all can understand who have
been through the same experience.
I'm the midst Of his midnight slumbers,
as 1t were. In answer to that very feel
fng of utter helplessness which he had
Just experienced he had dream in which
a staircase stretched up and stretched
from the very stone on which his head
was pillowed to the highest heavens. On
It were the guardian angels Of God.
which he dreamed were sent TO protect
him on his way.
Called the Place Bethel
"when he awoke at dawn and gazed
about, the scene was. indeed. sacred
one Hard by was tie crumbling ruins
of the altar built by his father Abraham
Perhaps his head had been resting upon
one OF its stones. As he awoke his first
thoughts were of Gcd. His first words
were: This is none other but the house
Of God. and this is the gate of heaven
And then building up a pillar of these
stones he called the place Bethel. or the
house of God.
"In this rude cairn or cromlach we be-
hold the precursor OF every sanctuary and
chapel of every church and cathedral
which from that day has been erected in
the name of God in Jewish or Christian
lands. Henceforth Bethel became a sac
red spot in the eyes of all Jacobs de-
scendants. Hundreds of years afterward.
when the children of Israel came out OF
Egypt, they carried with them throughout
their wanderings for forty years the tab
crnacle or tent church. in which. week by
week the congregation went together and
warshiped God.
Site of Solomon's Temple.
And after forty years. when they en-
tered the Holy Land, it was at Bethel that
this tent church, or ark OF God, found
resting place. Centuries after. when
David captured the neighboring heights of
. Mount Zion, IL was there that Solomon
and his son built the temple OF Jerusalem.
This was rebuilt again and again as
house of God and gate OF heaven for
Jacobs children. until at last IL was con-
fecrateu Dy lne pTtbtuCt vi hhc ooh vi oou
himself, who, in driving the buyers and
sellers out OF its courts, proclaimed: My
house shall be called the house of prayer
for all nations.
"Thcse words produced so marked an
impression On his disciples that after
Jerusalem was destroyed and its temple
razcd to the ground with not one stone
left upon another they erected Chris
lion churches and sanctuaries in every
land wheresCever they went as mission
aries.
Longing for Spiritual Home.
The strong desire and love which in
epired evcsr Jew as he went out o, the
house OF God has been still stronger
desire In every Christian heart, and so
from that day TO this. one OF the chief
characteristics Of the Christian religion
IS this longing for spiritual home. The
church or chapel. however rude or simple
81 may be, In which Gods people may
gather TO worship him. is none other but
the house of God and the gateway to
heaven But Il Is 10 Jacobs thought rather
than 10 the outward influences of his act to
which would direct your attention today.
This is none other but the house of
God IL was tho thought OF God. and the
desire to commune with and worship him,
which inspired his FIRST rude attempt at
church. and In the evolution OF the ages,