The Newtown bee., 1903-03-20
LOCAL AFFAIRS.
TRINITY CHURCH.
BISHOP BREWSTER ADMINISTERS TIL
RITE OF CONFIRMATION.

AoA>s
Bishop Brewster administered the
rite Of confirmation in Trinity church.
Wednesday afternoon, Mrs Flansburgh,
Miss Florence Glover and Miss Helen
Hawley being the recipients. After
the confirmation service Bishop Brew
ster preached sermon from the text
found in Psalm "a: 5, BLESSED is the
man whose strength is in thee; in
whose heart are the ways of them. "
He first spoke of the beauty of the
Psalm, and of the Psalmist who calls
to mind his former visits to Gods
house. One of our great privileges is
to worship in Gods house. The high
est privilege of Gods house is the
Sacramento. Another privilege is
that of confirmation. 1t is the Scrip
tural and Apostolic way of completing
baptism and partaking of the sacra-
ment. 1t is an outward sign of an
inward change; as the shaking of a
friends hand is the outward sign of
our feelings. AS baptism is the out
ward sign of a cleansing from sin, so
confirmation is the outward sign for
the next great want, that Of strength.
1t is easier to yield to temptation than
to say mo-" even as it is easier to
slide down than to climb up. We need
nothing in living SO much as stout
heart and brave courage. st Paul
said: "Be strong in the Lord and in
the power of His might" Do not 60
away from here and expect to be fully
equipped. The change is not magic.
God does not work any differently in
this than in other things. He makes
the seasons change slowly, from spring
to summer and then to fall. Our
growth in body is gradual, and so must
our spiritual growth be gradual. How
can we attain to this growth: First,
by prayer. The Father gives His Holy
Spirit to them that ask it. Christ
went often to his Father in prayer.
The way to strength is in utter self
surrender, that God may work in us
and through us. Paul says: "When l
am weak, then am strong. I can do
all things through Christ that
strengtheneth me-" We must ad-
vance in our Christian life or we shall
20 backward. None of us are standing
still. 1t is not in the moment of
temptation that we 60 down. God
permits us to be tempted that we may
gain strength, which we can obtain by
leaning on Him and coming to Him
often in prayer. We must not let
trouble bear us down but let it bring
us closer to God and we will be sweet
ened and ennobled by it, becoming
stronger and more courageous. But.
only he can attain to this whose
strength is in God. And with this
your life will be one of prog
ress, whether you have joy or sorrow,
adversely or prosperity. We must
have patience. "They that wait upon
the Lord shall renew their strength.
Have patient courage and courageous
patience. "Wait, say, on the Lord"
NEXT WEEK Thursday SERVICE.
The preacher In the series of Lenten
services next Thursday night is Rev
George w. Griffith of Bethel.
THE HAwLEYvILLE CHAPEL.
The Hawleyville service will be held
next week Tuesday night, the oath, at
7.3O o'clock. This week Friday night,
the Goth, at the chapel the service is
held at 7.3O as usual.
On Wednesday morning, the 25th.
there will be Holy Communion at 10
O'Clock.
On Wednesday afternoon at there
will be the usual service, litany and
reading.
The meeting for the reading of
church history will be held next week
Saturday night, the 2Sth.
There will be the administration Of
the Holy Communion on Sunday morn
ing at 10 O'Clock.
To-day friday the goth, there will
be litany and reading at p. m.
Rev J. H. George preached in St
James church, Derby, Wednesday
night. On next Wednesday evening he
will speak in St Thomas church,
Bethel, and on Friday evening at St
James church, Danbury.