Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1905-02-01
A SUNDAY ADDRESS
President Roosevelt Aade a Sensible
and Interesting Talk to Lutl1erans
SPEAKS AT CHURCH DEDICATION
Mr.. Roosevelt Declares That the Luth.
eran Church in the United States
is Already of Great Power and is
Destined to be One of the TWO or
Three Greatest National Churches.

Washington, Special. - Presia ent
Roosevelt delivered ap address Sun
day at the re-dedication of the Luther
Place Memorial church, which was Sc
ri.lsly damaged by fire just one year
ago Sunday night while sociable
given in honor Of the 18th birthday
anniversary of the pastor, the Rev.
DR.. ]. G. Butler, was in progress. The
church has been entirely restored and
was occupied for the first time since
the fire Sunday. The President spoke
in part as follows:
From the standpoin. from which i
am obliged so continually to look at
matters, there is peculiar function
Ito be played by the great Lutheran
Church in the United States of Amer
1ca. This is a Church which had it's
rise to power, in, and until it emf
grated to this side of the water, had
always had it's fullest development in,
the two great races in northern and
northern middle Europe-the German
and the Scandinavian. The prime duty
Of those already in the land is to see
that their own progress and develop
ment are shared by newcomers from
across the sea. It7is serious and
dangerous thing for any man to tear
loose from the soil, in which he and
his forbears have takenrooti and to be
translated into new land. He should
receive all possible aid in that new
land; and the aid can be rendered
him most effectively by those who can
appeal to him on the ground of spiri-
tual kinship Therefore the Lutheran
Church can do most in. helping up
wards and onwards so many of the
( newcomers to our shores; and it seems
to me that it should be the duty of this
Church to see that the immigrants, and
especially the emigrants of Lutheran
faith from the old world, may be not
suferedato drift off with no friendly
hand to him out Of the Church COM
munion. The Lutheran Church in this
country is Of very great power. now,
numerically and through the intelli-
gence and thrift of its members, but it
!: Wiz grow steadily to even greater
power. 1t is destined to be one of two
or three greatest and most important
national Churches in the United
States; one OF the two or three church
es most distinctively American, most
distinctively among the forces that
are to tell for making this great
country even. greater in the future.
Therefore peculiar load Of RESPONSE.
L4.lty rests upon the members Of this
Church.
ut is an important thing for the
people Of this nation to remember their
right, but it is an even more import
ant thing for them to remember their
duties. In the last analysis, the work
of statesmen and soldiers. the work of
the public man shall go for nothing
If it is not based upon the spirit of
Christianity working in the millions Of
homes throughout this country, so
that there may be that social, that
spiritual, that moral foundation, with
out which no country can ever rise to
permanent greatness. For material
well-being, material prospe :ity, success
in arts, in letters, great industrial tri-.
umphs, 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.
Let me congratulate you, and con-
gratulate all of us, that we live in a
land and at time when we accept
it as natural that there should be an
inter.denominational service of thanks
giving, such ceremony as is to take
place this afternoon, in which the
pastors of other churches join to con.
graduate themselves and you upon the
rebuilding of this church. The forces
of evil are strong and mighty in this
century and in this country, as they
are in other countries. as they have
been in all the past centuries; and
the people who sincerely wish to do
the. Lords work will find ample op-
portunity for all their labor in fight
ing the common enemy and in assum-
ing toward their fellows of a different
confession an attitude of generous
rivalry in the effort to see how the
most good can be done to our people
as a whole.