Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1903-11-28

s CONGREGATIONS UNITE IN HOLD.
ING FITTING THANKSGIVING
SERVICES.
cer9ree atoms in South ottumwa Hold
Union services at South Side Baptist
cnurch-Rsv. A. E. Craig Addresses
Union Mee,lng.

Thanksgiving day was appropriately
observed in the various churches OF
the city yesterday with fitting services.
The First Methodist Episcopal, First
Presbyterian, First Congregational,
First BAPTIST and Main Street Metho-
dist Episcopal congregations joined
in union service at the First Presby-
terrain church and listened to an elo-
quent Thanksgiving sermon by DR.. A.
E. Craig. A TANK ss;ying sermon
was delivered at the dining room of
the packing house by DR.. F. F. Stoltz
thanksgiving were held at the other
churches on the North Side.
In South Ottumwa the Willard
Street Methodist Episcopal, the Davis
Street Christian, South SIDE Baptist
and the Second Congregational
churches held union service in the
Baptist church. Rev. A. L. Patterson
delivered the sermon.
At ST. Mary's church, Very Rev. F.
w. Hoppman offered the special
Thanksgiving prayer after the regular
daily mass. On account of funeral SER
vices at st. Patrick's and Sacred Heart
churches the regular Thanksgiving SER
vices were omitted.
Dr.. craie's Sermon.
AT the union service at the First
Presbyterian church large congrega-
ton from the five central churches
Joined in Thanksgiving service. DR..
Cra e was the speaker and he spoke as
follows:
81 ! were to take my text from
mo = classies | would take Emer-
son lss a.; er'ca is OILY another
4 Wcr r aTr@r'n' it,. II IS Gods fi7al
eff t il be.slf Of the human race
No o ell TIE wit y but irreyerent
Frnnc'ia,an rrornul- the question.
'Wfly zero TIE Jews the chosen poo
pla9' a~a ags@ers Because they
WrSta tar bis. orv tNa~selyes.' L IS
quite in EeeFiag with human boast'rl
ness far e-tary mon to make lcftv
clo;1~r FIR to sacrH5raes of his @
land md hirtrry. Galarmith say:
Ta ering tenant of the frig-
Be- i7ims that hop. Is Il
IT, negro painting on TIC.
lis golden sands anl
Gi1e.'
believe that we as Amari-
CT mai. tain the assumption
wiz 3 OF and sufficient evidence that
cur con try shows indications of the
hand Oh Providence in, peculiar and
inspiring manner
MISUNDERSTANDING Day.
This Thanksgiving occasion has de-
veloped into what we may call our re
Lgious- patriotic day. While the
Fourth OF July has deteriorated into
very much of a gala day this occasion
has not wholly been degraded from
its primary, lofty purpose; it's mis-
sion OF calling the people to consider
Gods peculiar blessings and to review
the traclngs of his gracious Providence
IN the events of the year. shall not
ask you to- finger long upon these mat
tiers which have become the common
places of our history. Yet we can new
er cease to wonder at that Providence
which concealed this contentment in
the folds of mystery till the fullness
OF time had come, till the printing
press was invented, and the rise Of
the new order of ideas, religious, SO.
cial and intellectual made it possible
for this virgin soil to be dedicated to
a nobler cause than that of the old
world, cursed by institutions handed
down from the dim twilight of intelli.
gence.
Cradle of Liberty.
We can never become sufficiently
thankful that the pillars of our nation
al life were laid in RELIGIOUS enthusi-
assn and by men who held high ideals
of character and destiny. 1t seems to
have been divinely arranged that lie
cradle of our liberties should have
been in the unresponsive soil of the At
lantic coast rather than on the rich
pralrfes. demanding a condition that
produced men with granitein the back
bone and with iron in the blood. In
due time the passes of the Alleghanies
were opened and the American was in
trodnced to the outlook and broader
thinking of the free west. All this
time Providence had been cnncealing
in the sands of gold and of silver what
lay under her western mountains. To
have discovered this wealth too soon
would have meant social and political
disaster. Surely our radiant history
holds sufficient in It's glorious records
to insrire the fallh of even the
liffTPf'fiNSS.t IL Tue TeNtTPnC II seems
overwhelming and compe1s to the be-
lief that God las some great duty for
this continent to perform in the work
Of social deliverance.
a Rising or Setting Sun.
But / am not oblivious to the fact
that there are many portentous eIe-
nlents projected into our recent ma
tional End social life and the pessi-
mist. whose voice is ever heard in the
land has much food for his morbid re-
Election. AS BENJAMIN Franklin at the
constitutional convention remarked re-
ferring to picture that hing over the
chair of the presiding officer Il have
great trouble to determine whether
that was meant to represent rising
or setting sun but now see it was
meant for rising SUM- So MANY
may be pardoned if they are In confu-
sion amidst the cross lights of our
present day conditions as to whether
we are beholding the rising or the set
ting sun on our greatness. For my
part am disposed to believe that II is
the rising sun and while by no means
oyor1xa1y fc,,. o1- a