Omaha daily bee., 1906-05-28
NEW CHURCH is DEDICATED
Kountge Memorials Imposing Bdi6oe Con-
seorated as House Of God.
SERVICES WILL LAST ALL WEEK
sunday NorninE. Afternoon and
Evening the building Resounds
with Praises 90 God and
HOLY worship.

Holy Worship.
Tho new Kountze Memorial church at
Twcnty-sixth avenue and Farnam street
was dedicated SUNDAY free Of debt with i'm
pressive ceremonies by Rev. David II. Baus-
in. D D.. president OF the general synod
of the Lutheran Church Of America and
professor in Wcttenberg Theological semi
nary at Springfield, o. The dedication
services began with the regular morning
service and will end Friday evening with
a public reception. Congregations that conf
pletcly filled the large interior Of the new
edi1cc attended the three services Sunday
The church building cost $4,000 and the
ground on which IL stands $4,000. The his
tory Of the parish dates back to 1855, maxi
ing it one of the oldest church organiza-
lions in the state. The new structure re-
places the building at the northeast corner
Of sixteenth and Harvey streets, which
was sold and torn down early in 1904 to
make room for business block. As was
tho case with the former building, the
Kountze family contributed heavily towards
the erection of the present temple, Herman
Charles and Luther ISountze having sub
scribed S2SOoO Augustus Kountze paid half
the expenses Of the church torn down.
German Gothic Architecture.
The architectural style of the new edifice
is German Gothic. Il is built principally of
white limestone. The exterior dimensions
are l2OSll0 feet. making roominess one Of
the, main features Construction. which
was in the hands of John H. Harte, general
contractor, required more than a year The
plans were made by Turnbull & Jones Of
Elgin, III. ''"
aNfn ~ fbn bn he
admired. but few had seen the finished. in
terror until Sunday morning. Praise of the
most cxtravagant kind on the beauty and
taste Of the ensemble was the rule of COM
mendation. Few II any Omaha churches
surpass it in richness. general harmony and
exquisite lighting effects. The art glass
window over the altar is triumph OF its
kind its coloring being almost marvel
Gus example Of illumination The altar,
furniture and fittings are entirely of dark
oak. finely modelled and carved.
several Ministers OmcInte.
The services in the morning were of a
predatory character. Rev. j. E. Hummon,
the pastor, was assisted by DR.. Bausin,
Dr. Frank d. Altman. president of the
Western Theological seminary at AtcEison,
Kan; DR.. Alonzo j. Turkle, pastor of Trim
ity Lutheran church at Allegheny, Pa, and
pastor OF the Kountze church 1S9O-99 and
Rev. Luther NJ. Kuhns. general secretary
of the Luther League of America and a
former Omaha clergyman.
All these ministers participated I'm the
dedication services proper in the afternoon
and at the vesper service in the evening
The full robed choir in charge Of Prof e.
ID. Keck, and with d. Clair Bennett as or
ganist, rendered special music at all three
of the services.
So large were the throngs attending that
II was necessary to reserve the seats and
handle the arrangements similar to those
common in a theater. Palms and flowers
were the only ornaments used and even
these sparingly as the beauty of the walls
and windows required no further adorn-
ment
Scripture reading. the dedieatory prayer
and the dedication. in these words fol-
lowed;
And now this Kountze Memorial Evangel-
ical church, being dedicated by the word of
God and prayer To be a sanctuary, Is hence
forth set apart with its pulpit. its altar
and font, and all its vessels and furniture
TO the service of God. In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost.
sermon by DIR. DausIin.
After the recitation of the Nicene creed
DR., Bauslin delivered an impressive sermon
dealing with the vitality OF the church and
written about the words of the Savior
regarding the imperlshability of His church
Two of his thoughts were these:
believe that the limits of the true
church do not coincide with the limits OF
any ecclesiastical organization or all &c.
clesiastical organizations that the history
OF these organizations which are called
churches cannot. he separated from human
Influences, political. geogra phcal, contro.
versal, emotional or hereditary; that nc
one of these could by any possibility es-
tablish claim TO be organically the body
cessive claims is shown by the very act OF
making them; that the true body Of Christ
Is composed of all in whom truly lives
that divine life of Gods spirit which Is
the life of the body of Christ breathed into
II I'm the day of PentecOst and that this
multitude, which literally no man can mum
Der, for man can know all i'm whom the life
is' ana all whose profession Of that lif'
is false, this ,innumerable multitude. thi;
congregation OF the saints" only this /.
the true church of Christ on this earth
The center OF the church is no Longer
Jerusalem, not even Palestine, for Il hai
sent its lines out into all the earth Hindu
ism is confined 20 its Indian peninsula
buddhism isl Asiatic only; the religions o.
and the Yellow sea. A few eXiled Parseei
feebly keep the sacred fires of the ono,
powerful Persian faith alight on a for
eign shore. The green turban of Moham
mechanism Is no longer a symbol of do
minion, but its blind and falling strength
lies stretched In mortal sickness along tn.
Bosphorus. Every one Of these the church
been more than conqueror and even from