The Greeley tribune., 1907-11-21
SERMON OF DEDICATION
of the New Congregational Sh"rcn
DELIVERED BY PROF. E. S. PARSONS

Worship as we'll as in the synagogue
and the upper room II 1t is to do the
work OF him who lived and died to
save the world. The church like
Paul, must In every age be all things
TO all men, in order that through Its
sympathy and its self-sacrihce and
its endeavor after righteousness 1t
NAV by the grace of God save some.
The environment OF the church to
which it must from age to age learn
to adapt itself has been rapidly
changing during the last few decades.
Contrast its present environments
with the times when the cathedrals
we're built. In the middle ages the
church was not only the center of the
life OF the community In which 1t
was placed, 1T was far more than
that. 1t included all the life of the
community. 1t was as II the walls
of the church building we're Identical
with the walls OF the town and with
in it every activity OF the people
went forward In 1t the child was
born and baptized. the man and the
woman were joined In wedlock. aud
to each of them at last the church
gave the viaticum, the last sacra.
ment for their comfort on their long
Journey. Within Its walls, as under
the roof OF St. Panl's In London two
centuries ago men carried on their
business. bought and sold, hired
their help, made their contracts and
fulfilled them. Under the church 3
protecting arches the child was edu-
Gated and Its walls held all the H.
brary the community knew. 1t was
the home of music and of art. 1t
was the court and the prison and the
almshouse and the hospital. There
was not all interest in the varied life
of medieval community which the
church did not mould and in the
deepest sense control. Between every
individual and the open sky we're the
beams Of the church's protecting
roof. No one felt for moment in
any well-ordered community that he
had any relationships outside its
walls.
With the declaration Of Luther
that the individual and not the
organized body is the unit Of Chris
tian society, this bond of social unity
was snapped. The gospel was seen
from = different angle. Men came
to realize that In very resi- sense
they stood alone hafore God To
him and to him alone they were,
answerable. Between them and
heaven were no longer to be seen the
arches Of a protecting church. They
stood under the sublimer arch Of
heaven. And as men thought out
what this individual relation with
the universe implied, they came to
understand the meaning Of indi-
vidual responsibility, and Puritanism
was born. God and the human soul
these were the two poles Of the life
OF the Puritan. So intense WAS the
sense of the personal relationship
between the two that there seemed
to be nothing left In the universe
but they. Men lived so absorbed in
the God whom they had not seen
that hey had little time or interest
In the brother whom they had seen.
Thus the logic Of both Luther's and
Calvin's philosophy was an intense
tndividuxlism, which fixed a mans
thought on God but made him forget
his neighbor, which expanded his
nature on one side, deepening his
sense Of Righteousness and responsi.
bility, and making him ready to fol.
low duty vith utter sslf.sacrifice,
but which dwarfed his nature on
other sides, chilling his sympathy,
making him less ready to cooperate
for the good Of all, developing In
him often times the love of his own
opinion and an intolerance for al
who differed with him. And 30
Christian unity was lost In 4 multi.
tude Of sects, and an individualized
church was the forerunner Of an in.
dividualized society. The economic
doctrine of laissez faire was born
every man for himself In the rush for
gain and woe to him who falls be.
hind. And SO the virtues and tue
defects OF the individualized Chris.
tian type have been parallel!ad In
the business and the social world of
the century that Is gone and the new
century which is nearing the close OF
tts nrst decade. Everywhere we sae
the individual magnificently de.
veloped keen, alert, highly trained,
ready for the task which meets him.
master OF his own powers, with q
vision which has known how to bend
the forces outside himself In mast.