Norwich bulletin., 1910-05-18

1 hearts tonight, Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow Blending | the memories and uniting the genera tions of two centuries sweeps away the calendar, and as we have seen vis- ualized here eternity itself. Jesus Christ has been brought to men here and to the uttermost parts of the earth. The things for which you have struggled you have counted dear as life itself and you have striven to pro- else you have striven for Jesus Christ actual in the lives of men.
 Religion to you has been with you the presence of God living in the
 nor state had any authority to bind
 the hearts and conscience of men. The
 Christian love of the mothers heart
 has not been confined to it's own
 world everywhere. Instead of digni- flying the meeting house you have come to dignify every individual in the house. You have made the church not alone a place for worship, but for work. Missionaries have here heard the Macedonian cry. We congratulate ourselves that such has been your life and we felicitate you. and your five daughters have carried the impress of the mother church as they went from you We bring to you our gratitude and assert again our pride in you and bespeak tightening of the bonds be- 
 joice in our mothers strength and that the power that wrought in the past is neither spent nor dying. Looking across the years we see that many of the prophecies of 250 years ago have now become history. Shall not we reach out to the remote future with greater faith to bring in a new heaven and a new earth, with the same spirit that animated our forbears both to serve the present and shape the fu- ture?
 The violin solo, Traumerei was ex- pressively rendered by Rev. D. B. MacLane of TaftviIIe accompanied by Organist Warrington.
 pr. Howe for Congrega ationaI
 Churches.
 The Greeting from the Congrega- tionaI Churches of Norwich was giv- ing by Rev. Dr. s. H. Howe of Park church, who said that he was glad to be the bearer of greetings to this, the mother church in this community. We are here with this church, which was earliest on the ground, at the fountainhead, and I confess that we may well be arrested and stand with awe before the fact that for 250 years God has kept his light burning on this spot. The persistence of that rather fragile organism which we call a Christian church is an astounding fact and that church exists. most of all a Congregational church persists, is the standing wonder to many of us- Other branches of the Christian church are more thoroughly organized They are held as by clamps of steel by the vast and compact organism. But Congregational churches are indepen- dent. All the powers of self-govern- ment are resident in the individual church, there is no compact ecce1esi- astical organism to make them stable. They have represented on a large scale that dangerous experiment of freedom,
  the Master called some non experts, fishermen and tax gatherers. and lay ing the constraint of a certain inspira- tion upon them, sent them forth in freedom to plant churches almost working plan or orders. It was a great risk in that age and in ours a costly experiment, but the re- suits have justified that experiment. The hazards are great, the chances of miscarriage many. the possibility of departure from the faith always present, but however far has been the swing and sweep along tangential lines the Congreg gational churches have nev- CT gone to the precipice. And after 300 years of experimentation it is re- assuring to have that redoubtabIe 1 knight of orthodoxy. Sir Robert Mich | churches of England at least were new CT sounder at heart or more loyal to l Jesus Christ than at present.
 Charity. patience tolerance, with the l >dNliS SIdCG OI d 1lItle nuInOf, are l shining virtues for churches, as for | In spite of the fluctua- 1 Lions of population and in spite of the | influences of modern | fife these Congregational churches in | this city and county and common l wealth have persisted and prospered. | To some of us at least the most awe l some and reverence inspiring specta- | eles in the world are these little white | meeting houses on the hiI1tops of New | England that have refused to pull | Town their flags for all these 300 years | behind us.
 Accounting for the persistency of | churches,~ Dr. Howe | mentioned three things:
 l. The Congregationalists' creed, believing in a regenerated individual | regenerated earth and a regenerated | ,hurch. erecting the soul into free | place of dignity and worth 2. It's in | grained and instinetive idealism. the | 7uritans being born ideahsts and op- | imists. The Puritan planted Chris ian schools and churches to do work nore for future generations than for | heir own. We have inherited these treat benefciences which are their I Because we are by tra- iition mortgaged to this idealism, we