Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-28
TRUE SPIRIT OF
CHARITY SHOWN
PASTOR BURDETTE REVIEWS
WORK OF PAST WEEK
LOS ANGELES LIVED NoBLY UP
TO HER NAME
Men and Women of All Classes and
creeds co=operated Under Inspira-i
tion of Sentiment of Uni
Versal Brotherhood

There is a little 'interlude" in the
evening service of the Temple Baptist
church which Pastor Burdette devotes
to a f1ve-minute comment upon some
current event of general interest. Last
night it was this: "A joke died in Los
Angeles last week-an ancient, and al
one time an DER true, joke. AS a
rule joke dies harder than lie, but
this one, i think, died, as the boys say,
for keeps.
1T died." said the speaker, Gust as
the comic papers were printing their
regular annual cartoon of the Sunday
school just before Christmas'-crowded
to the doors with the new scholars an
ticipating the Christmas tree and the
free dinner That joke is now num-
my. 1t win appear in the papers for
many years yet but the scarab will
show on it's signet ring and the hero
glyphs on the mummy case viii tell in
what forgotten dynasty it died.
Last week Los Angeles celebrated,
not for the first time, but in such meas
ure as never before, a Christian Christ
mas-a Christmas of giving. l can
speak confidently for the Temple Bap-
fist Sunday school that its member
ship roll did not increase just before
Christmas
'At its Christmas party the pupils
in all departments, from the tiny tots
in the elementary department up to
the Bible classes, came, as they have
always done ever since this Sunday
school was organized, with many, very
many, things to give to those who are
needy-to the poor who do not belong
to this Sunday school or this church,
and to the needy who do not belong
to either; to the poor who love the
church, and to the poor who hate 1t,
And they came, at the same time, ex-
pecting to receive little very little.
That is just what they got, and some
of them gave that little away.
Last week at cur Sunday school
Christmas party each child got just one
stick of peppermint candy: And they
were as happy as the happiest children
in Los Angeles.
"Other pastors and Sunday school
superintendent tell the same story Of
the Christmas spirit. And the spirit
of the teaching of our blessed Lord
taught by him 1000 years before the
new thought ever thought it hap
pened-that it is more blessed to give
than to receive throbbed in the heart
of the city. Free dinners, public en-
trrtainments, personal benevolences,
loving benefits cheerfully dispensed to
those who needed-and to many who
didn't: gifts given in the sweet spirit
of charity, which is love-there had
never been such a Christmas in Los
Angeles.
''She earned her name. In this beau
tiful work of the Lord Jesus came to-
gether strange yokefellows. The bar
tenders union wrought side by side
with the churches. They gave as the
churches gave. And let no man say
that the one gave from motives of
'DO1icV' the other from 'hvnocrisv'
They gave their aims to feed the hun
cry and to clothe the poor And as
the money lay in the cashiers till you
couldn't tell which came from the col
lection basket and which from the cash
register. The God of the poor blessed
the offerings to the hungry. The king
dom is coming!"