Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1904-02-13
alexandria Gazettr.
EVENING, FEB. 70, 100.
BISHOP GIBsON's LETTERTOTHE
CHILDREN.
Richmond, Feb. 8, 19t

Richmond, Feb 3, 1904.
To Children of the Diocese Of Virginia.
Nv Dear Children: With Lent come
thoughts of you. Not that your Bishop
does not think of you at other times. No
ore can cultivate flower garden and not
think of rose slips nor can one reap
field and fail to think of seed wheat.
Your Bishop thinks of you often and
never does he ask a blessing on the do
cese without including the diocese of the
future. in which you will have to bear
the burdens, as well as the diocese OF the
present, whose burdens You so gladly
tighten. But with Lent come thoughts
of the children's help.
A diocese is a part of the Church, and
the Church is the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The blessed Saviour is the Head
the invisible Head of visible Body.
Now it is the business of the body, the
hands, for instance, to do what the head
plans. What, then, does the Lord Jesus
Christ plan? What did He come into
this word TO do, and what does He wish
rs to do? In one word, it is TO make the
world better. If you ask what | mean
by "making the world better, l an
swer making it place where there Is
more justice and more true kindness
more liberty to do right and more love.
As the world improves in these respects,
| life becomes sweeter, more interesting
| and more satisfactory. Work becomes
more attractive, and the result is the re-
ward of work which is progress. But
how are we to improve the worldY
That is great searching question; but
it has a simple answer. We are to I'M
prove the world by showing Jesus
Christ our Saviour to all the people!
Is that wonderful? Certainly it is. 1t
has taken me nearly all my life, thus
tar. to find it out But that is the an
swer. To make the world better we
must show Christ 10 the people, and
therefore to show Christ to the people is
the business of His church and every
part of it. Hence, to show Christ to
the people is the business of this do
cese, and that is only another name for
missions. Everywhere an opportunity
to do so is opened to us we must try to
get the people to know our Lord Jesus
Christ better. God will take care OF the
rest. He has made men after such a
pattern that to know Christ is to love
Him; to love Him is to worship Him,
and to worship Him is to initiate Him.
Children can teach people about their
Saviour as we'll as grown people, often
better. Good children are good mission
aries wherever they are.
hope the people of our diocese are
going to be missionaries in the full
meaning of what | have said. If they
give themselves unto the Lord they will
do His work, whether in this State or
apv other State OF country. And giving
themselves to the blessed Saviou-'s SER
vice they will gladly give what belongs
to them, or what they can make by SELL
sacrifice and labor.
am glad to ask this year, as l asked
last wear, that one-fourth of the offering
of the children go TO gospel missions and
the other three fourths to missions in the
diocese.
Hoping for results of this Lenten sea-
son at least equal to any We have seen
since the diocese was divided, | am,
Yours faithfully and afiectionately,
ROBERT A. GIBSON.