The Washington times., 1902-12-22
Ceremonies at St. Marks
Evangelical Church.
SERMON BY DR.. ALBERT
Large Congregations at Morning and
Evening Services Despite In
clement Weather.

J the installation services occupying the
attention Of the congregation at both
tho morning and evening services.
/ The ceremonies by which the new
pastor was inducted into his position
were simple and impressive The Rev.
/ Charles S Albert. D. D.. OF Philadelphia.
/ literary editor Of the Lutheran Publl-
cation Society. was delegated by the
/ head Of the Lutheran church in the
East to perform the ceremony. He de-
voted the morning to a sermon IN which
/ he charged the new pastor with his
/ duties. In the evening he charged tho
/ congregation with its duties toward the
pastor. and then formally installed the
Rev. Mr.. Frantz in his office.
! In spite OF the exceedingly inclement
weather the church was well filed at
both services and cordial and kindly
| greetings were expressed by the mem
/ bers Of the congregation 20 their new
! leader. In his sermon last evening Dr.
! Albert urged upon his hearers the I'M
portance OF the part played by the con-
gregation Of any church in its rela-
/ tion to the minister. The purposes OF
( the congregatiCa ne outlined as follows:
I To build up the faith in Christ; to train
the young to Christian life; to carry the
gospel to others and to make a Chris
tian home for strangers in the city.
Part of Congregation.
1T Is not the province OF the minister
20 do this alone" said Dr. Albert.
Negligence Of the members may pre-
vent or retard a minister more than is
( generally known. All must help. not
one" Dr. Albert then cited the signal
victory gained by Admiral Dewey in Mas
Mia Bay as an instance In which every
/ one from tho commander down to the
/ humblest stoker in the FIRE hole had
helped win the fight. Back Of these men.
too. he said, were the men who delved
/ in the mines. who smelted the iron. who
made the steel. who laid the keels. and
/ constructed the battleships Credit for
the victory was due to them as we'll as
TO the men who actually took part in
the conflict So every congregation, by
| united effort Of the minister and all the
members. will win It's fight against sin.
! Obedience to the pastor on the part
Of the congregation. he said. was also
/ essential On the other hand. II the
minister does not bring out the teach
/ ings OF Christ. then Dr. Albert said this
/ factor fell to the ground. He expressed
| 70 as his belief that when a pastor fail
ed TO longer teach Christianity It was
/ time for the congregation 20 part com
I pany with him. Fault-fnding on the
part Of members was also a detracting
element to success One member alone
could prove a continual thorn in the side
OF the pastor and eventually might ruin
| his best efforts.
Worship BY Proxy.
DR.. Albert scored what he termed tho
modern methods OF worshiDing by
proxy He said he was glad 10 see in St.
Marks the good old-fashloned way OF
worshiping God together. the pastor
and congregation both taking part in the
service. He said Re did not like the new
quartet choir. which sang entirely alone
leaving the congregation TO merely
listen. One OF the strongest factors IN
church worship he held was cOngrega-
tional singing OF the old hymns which
have made the church famous. and have
touched hearts the world over. lie said
he believed that Christ stin pla ,ed an
important part in the assemblages Of
Congress and he felt sure that he enter
ed into the home OF the President. as
he did that Of his martyred predecessor.
Dr. Albert also pleaded for full attend
ance. 1T is difficult for any pastor TO
be eloquent In the presence Of empty
pews," was the epigrammatic manuer In
which he put It. In conclusion DR.. Albert
asked that the congregation let the min
lister feel that II was with him in his
work and that It was glad to give him
aid whenever possible.
Comes From Virginia.
The Rev. Mr.. Fran.z is about thirty
years old. He Is a native Of Virginia and
was born at Salem. He Is descendant
O.: the famous Marshall family. He re-
coived his early education in the schools
at Salem and was graduated from Roa-
noke College. He then entered the Luth-
cran Theological Seminary at Gettys-
burg. from which he was graduated in
1885. Hi5 first pastorate was at ST. I.uke's
Church in Baltimore. He stayed there
several years. largely building up the
church and getting it out Of debt. and
then resigned 10 take a course Of study
abroad but was prevented from going
by circumstances over which he had no
control Mr.. Frantz was chosen pastor
OF ST. Marks on October I3 last. the
same day on which the Rev. John c.
Bowers resigned to 90 to Calvary Luth-
ern Church in Baltimore. He accepted
the following week and has been serving
In the pulpit each Sunday since.
ST. Marks Church is entering upon
one OF the most promising decades I'm its
career. IL was organized about twelve
years ago and was reorganized I'm 1896
The present active membership is 125.
The edihce has been entirely reftted and
the total Indebtedness has been reduced
from $4,000 TO $1,000.
ITALY AT THE Sc B0gfS FAIR.
ROME. Dec. 22.-Premier saracco has
convoked the council OF ministers to dis
]. 9. l..