The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-09-26

| gether in this work, which I hope will be, forever, as unsectarian and undenom- national as the good 1t aims to do, the childhood 1t seeks to serve-as are all the fairest and truest and sweetest and help fullest efforts of human life.
 Du.y of the Churches.
 Not too often can we be reminded that the best spirit of our time Is in protest against that Idea of a church which would make of 1t a building simply wherein men and women congregate. from week to week, to say their prayers l and sing their hymns to God, and listen to the preaching of that particular doc Urine most agreeable. or least offensive. to the auditory nerves of their mentality. The churches are required, now to jus tify their claim to be centers of good by being centers from which good Is done. The followers of Christ can no more wor- ship God or serve humanity, as is their bounded duty. by merely getting to- gether between walls under roofs and go- ing through the rituals of reverence and devotion, than the Christ Himself could have accomplished His sacred mission by simply retiring at stated seasons to the temple or the wilderness and there lifting up Ills soul in communion with the Heavenly Father. and yearning In His heart for the salvation of the human brother The Founder of the churches laid no claim to the title Savior on the basis of any mere authority" which He failed to manifest in deeds; and He undertook to declare no good in theory save that He went about seeking to build up in actu- aity. And so if the disciple is not greater than his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. the congregations of the churches. the servants and disciples of Jesus Christ, must establish their author ity to save in His name, by actually saw ing; must prove their right to proclaim the good in His name, by going out and doing it
 As rector of ths church I want for 1t nothing so much as this: that it shall es- tablish It's right. more and more. to be called a center of good by becoming. more and more, a center from which good Is done. want this Church of the Advent. to be identified ever more closely ana helpfully with every practical movement looking to the betterment. the uplift. of the life and character of this city and state. I want that the men and women who gather here shall be more and more a Christian congregation. in the noblest possible sense of the -Christian-the sense In which 1t is synonymous with Christly. l want that they who come to- gether here for Christly worship shall be inspired to go apart from here to Chrlstly service. And because thls is what want for the Church of the Advent, be- cause l want 1t to do, more and more, the good 1t claims to stand for, I have asked your attention this morning to a work here at our doors, or just beyond them than which there Is none more Christly in It's purposes and results. be- lleve there is no good we can do which will count for so much as that we do for the childhood of our city; and 1 bellvee that through the agency of the Free Kim dergarten we can do more for the city yz childhood than through any other pos- sible means.
 Let us strengthen and widen as we can the efforts and aims of the Kinder garten association. Let us join heartily in its regenerative work remembering that there will be no Christly duty, twen- ty years hence. to help lift up men and women to the truth, the good, the salya- , ton of life, which is not also ours to- . day-ours to begin lifting up to the . truth, the good, the salvation of life, the men and women of the years ahead
 who are the boys and girls of this year = that is.