Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-01-30
President breaches Sermon at
Rededication of a Washing
ton Church
RELIGION AND THE STATE
While Church and State Are Separated
Former is Bound to Have Great In
fluence on the Latter, "For Right
sousness Exalteth a Nation'-Text
Of the Sermon.

Washington, Jan. 30-President
Roosevelt delivered an address yester-
day at the re-dedication of the Luther
Place Memorial church, which was
seriously damaged by fire one year ago
last night. The president said:
1.-The Lutheran church can do most
in helping upwards and EDWARDS SO
many Of the new Corners to our shores,
and it seems to me that it should be.
I am tempted to say. well nigh the
prime duty of this church to see that
the immigrant, especially the inlmi-
grant of Lutheran faith from the old
world, whether he comes from Sean
dinavia, or Germany or Whather ne
belonged to one Of the Lutheran coun-
tries Of Finland or Hungary, or Aus
tria, may not be suffered to drift OIL
with no friendly hand extended to him
out of all the church communion, away
from all the influences that tend to-
ward safeguarding and uplifting aim,
and that he finds ready at hand in this
country those eager - bring him into
Fellowship with the existing bodies.
THE Lutheran church in this coun-
try is of very great power now num-
erically, and thru the intelligence and
thrift of its members, but 1t will GROW
steadily to even greater power. 1t IS
destined to be one of the two or three
greatest and most important national
churches in the United States; one of
the two or three churches most dis
tinctly American, most distlnctNely
among the forces that are to tell for
making this great country even greater
in the future. Therefore, peculiar
load of responsibility rests upon the
members of this church. 1t is an i'm
portant thing for the people of this ma
ton to remember their rights, but it is
an even more important thing for them
to remember their duties.
TN the last analysis the work of
statesmen, and soldiers, the work of
the public man, shall go for nothing
IL it is not based upon the spirit of
Christianity working in the millions of
homes turnout the country so that
there may be that social, that spiritual,
that moral foundation, without which
no country can ever rise to permanent
greatness. For material well being,
material prosperity, success in arts,
In letters, great industrial triumphs,
all Of them and all Of the structure
raised thereon, will be as evanescent
as dream If it does not rest on the
righteousness that exalteth a nation
cit seems to me our good fortune
that men have been able to combine
fervor in doing THE Lords work with
charity toward their brethren who do
1t with certain differences in the nom
essentials. The forces Of evil are strong
and mighty in this country as they are
in other countries, MS they have been
in all the past centuries; and the peo-
pie who sincerely wish to do the Lords
work will find ample opportunity for
all their labor in fighting the common
enemy, and assuming toward their fell
lows of a different confession an atti-
tude Of generous rivalry in the effort
70 see how the most good can be done
to our people as a whole"