The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-03-18

rectorship, and the day following 107 persons were here confirmed. (It is in- teresting to note that a still larger number, 19O. were confirmed that same week in Cheshire.)
 This church has been to-day after the work of the past months rededieated. That service, however, pertains only to the interior. The church itself, the structure, was consecrated nearly a century ago. It is fitting that our thoughts, naturally dwelling upon the structure, should rise to contemplate what the structure stands for, and what it ought to mean. for us.
 For this house, that so long has stood here is a sign and a means. It is the outward and visible sign. The out ward fabric of this building is the type of a spiritual building as the temple of God. It is, further more, to be a means of that up-build- ing of manhood and of womanhood in- to a habitation of God in the spirit. We miss the very purpose of Christian ity (and the church) if we forget this spiritual process of building.
 This process of building the apostle describes. As his vision takes shape, we see that the process does not stop with the individual. It is a social pro- cess. It is a building together. Very important. is that word together Els sontial (to Christianity is the social idea. The purpose of our Lord when He came into the world was not to save men as separate individuals. The (ideaD end of Christian aims and methods is not the individual Christian by himself alone, no matter how good he may be. Nor is the ideal (of Chris tianity an association of persons in what would be a, mere aggregation of individuals. The ideals is no such "heap of stones." The stones are built up into the compact structure of a tenn pie, in fulflment of those divine words: q will build my church. Into this temple men. as living stones, are built in and, as the apostle says, "are build ed together" That building together cannot rightly be eliminated from the conception of the church, It is impos- sible to overestimate the importance of the social aspect of Christianity.
 [ The reason why 1t is impossible to overestimate the social aspect of Chris tianity lies here, The social ideal and aims of Christianity have some marked characteristic, wherein they present a contrast to certain other ideals and aims. The Christian ideal. while 1t is never individualistic, is always person. al. The material built into the struc- ture, Is conceived of as living stones" endowed, that Is, with personal life, and, as by St. Paul in our text, per- sonally address Eye also are builded to- gether'
 In this regard there is to be observed difference, when we turn from Chris tianity and look elsewhere. In treat ing of the social relations of humanity much has been made of biological unity of mankind, by those who, ap- preaching the subject from the physical side, made little or no account of per- sonality. More recently there has been sought a psychological unity through a common social consciousness, a col- 1ective mind Illustration has been found in the spirit possessing mob, dominating the multitude and making it feel and act as a single monster. Now, in the measure in which the il- lustration holds true. in such mobs as have been formerly in Paris and re- gently, alas, in our own land, certainly personality is at a discount there, it is humanity so far forth de-personallzed beastialized. But it Is not entirely true that the feelings and ideas of all who make up crowd are precisely the same Usually some cry one thing, some another. Some are swept away and borne along. But others hang back or stand out. All at length scat l ter. At all events there is not unity which annuls the distinction of person from per son. Indeed, there can be found no such common social con- seriousness, no collective mind other than that gathered from the minds, as the common or prevailing character of l the minds, of the persons concerned, be they ten or ten million. It may be sug- gested to us later whither to look for an effective bond of spiritual unity. Practically, the social movements of to- day are to large degree merely ex- ternal. They are concerned with the outward and material conditions which naturally first arrested, but which have almost exclusively engrossed, their at- tention Making slight recognition of inward character, of personal life and moral qualities, they aim at reform through external methods and by ma chineries of organization, agitation and legislation, and are almost wholly oc- cupied with the outward mechanism of society.
 Let us turn back to the Christian idea. It is social but it is social be- cause it is personal. There is here rec ognition that persons are the stuff of society and that social strength must be made up of personal tissues. There lis furthermore implicit recognition of the important truth that there is no contradiction between the social and