The Washington herald., 1911-01-09

In the presence Of congregation that
filled every seat in the. edifice, dedicatory
services were held yesterday afternoon
at the new Chevy Chase Presbyterian
Church. Prominent ministers OF the
Presbyterian faith assisted in the cere-
monies.
services were none the less impressive.
showing. as they did, the enterprise and
faith of the small congregation who yes
terday gathered to see the crowning event
Of three years labor and sacrifice.
Those taking part in the ceremonies
were Rev. DR.. Hubert Rex johnson. pas
tor Of the church: Rev. DR.. Charles L.
Neibel. pastor Of the Eastern Presby-
terian Church; Rev. Donald c. Macleod.
Of the First Presbyterian Church: Lieut..
Col. George B. Robinson. chaplain. u.
S. A, retired: Rev. DR.. Bradford, chap
lain. U. S. A., retired: Rev. DR.. Henry
Runner, of the Kensington, Nd, church.
and Rev. DR.. Brundage, OF the Ecking-
ton Church.
Following the invocation and reading
Of the Scriptures by Rev. DR.. Neibel, the
dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev.
DR.. Macleod. Taking as his text,
Jerusalem and the church." Rev. DR..
Macleod broughtaput. during the course
conditions on which a desire to visit
the house Of God. rest. These four
points, beauty. association, fellowship
and Divine Presence, he took separately,
defining their relation to Jerusalem. and
their application to the church.
Urges Beauty in Churches.
From these points Rev. DR.. Macleod
drew the fact that the modern church
should be beautiful in all its details, in
it's architecture. its services, and its
music. He explained. under 'associa-
tion." that church and home should be
linked as closely as possible. The rela-
tion that "fellowhip'' bore to the church
necessitated warmer brotherhood be-
tween pastor and congregation. Finally,
he urged that the Divine Presence be
always foremost in the hearts Of the
congregation and the work which lies
before them
The transfer of the keys of the church
was made by John Simpson. represent
ing the building committee, to John A.
Fleming. representing the board Of trus-
tees. This impressive part Of the service
was followed by greetings from the va
rious pastors present, each one Of whom
brought tidings and messages Of support
from their own charges. and congratu-
lated the new congregation upon this
turning point in its career
The Presbytery Of Washington sent its
hearty wishes to the new church, and
Rev. DR.. johnson read letters Of greet
ing from pastors formerly connected with
the congregation who are now out of
town.
They were Rev. c. w. Tenney, Of
Helena. Mont, who was first associated
with the congregation, though not its pas
tor; Rev. DR.. George Bailey. Of Erie, Pa.
one Of the first members of the Washing
ton Presbytery to become interested In
the enterprise Of the little congregation.
Greetings from Clergy.
Greetings were also read by Rev. DR..
Wallace Radcliffe. Pastor of the New
York Avenue Presbyterian Church, and
Mr.. Justice John Marshall Harlan. of the
United States Supreme Court. long iden-
titled with that church,
The dedication of the church, which
was participated in by the entire congre-
cation, was by Rev. DR.. johnson. The
ceremony was extremely simple, the con-
gregation repeating after the minister:
ITO Thee we dedicate this house."
Rev. DIR. George Robinson offered the
dedicatory prayer, and the services closed
with the hymn. Lord. Dismiss Us with
Thy Blessing The services throughout
were marked by the excellence of the
music. which was especially prepared by
the choir. One of the remarkable fea-
lures Of the new church is the fact that
over one-half OF the congregation is COM
posed Of men, and II has doubled its
numbers within the last year.