The Washington herald., 1915-02-21

tional. One hundred and seventeen
stated explicitly that they had no re-
ligious affiliations. There were sixty
four Unitarians and thirty-eight Uni
versalists. one Confucianist. six Hin
docs and forty-seven Jews. Eight
leading denominations represented
were as follows: Methodist. 907: Pres
byterian. 617: Congregational. 264;
Disciples. 239; Baptist. e2s: Roman
Catholic. 214: Episcopalian. 1876: Lu-
theran, 105.
St. Thomas Episcopal Church, New
York. famous as the most Fashionable
of Fifth avenues churches. announces
a program for civic service work that
is to depend upon volunteer laymen
for its success. according to the Boston
Transcript. These laymen are among
the busiest professional men of Amer
lea, able to worship in n structure that
has cost. with site. $4,000. O0O-and will
take 100000 more in enrichments and
furnishings. Yet the rector. Rev. Err
nest NJ. Stires. who came from the
South fourteen years ago. announces
a campaign for S2.000.000 more for en-
dowment. and declares his faith in his
laymen to take up social service work
for others. besides.
The proposition is that men OF the
parish be formed into working COM
mittees, one to look after public health.
another police: crime. civic progress:
moral welfare: missions: poverty and
so on through a list of nine or ten
committees. The rector declares many
women in the parish stand ready to
take up such extension service. The
causes. besides spending $4,000 on it
self. and within ten years has erected
its new church without debt and main
tanned it's record Of helping others five
times more than themselves. The old
St. Thomas was burned in 1905.
This community service plan. now
championed by this foremost parish. Is
being taken up by many smaller
churches in the Episcopal and in other
Protestant bodies. Societies of laymen
are forming in many cities to further
it. and to train men to put it into eff
feet. Clergy report greater interest on
the part of men since the war, extend
ing to personal work as well as none!
giving.
DIR. Martin G. Brumbaugh, the new
governor of Pennsylvania. in an ad-
dress made to one OF Philadelphia j
large Sunday schools. paid the follow
ing tribute to the Holy Scripture:
1T matters little how many or how
few of other books you have read. if
you have not read your Bible you are
grossly ignorant. For the Bible. more
than all the other books of the world.
has the accumulation of the thought
and the actions of men; and not to
know the Bible is to be ignorant Of
the greatest Book of all books in the
world.
Il want to plead with the young
people to make 1t the rule Of their
lives to read some portion Of the Bible
every day that they live. For. after
all. my friends. we live here only a
few years, but we hope to live with
God forever: and unless We know His
Book and understand His message. We
shall hardly be able to find the path
that leads to him.
Now in His Book there are great
many people spoken of. good and bad.
great and small. and don't you know
that il you will read it all thought
fully. you will find that from the time
Garden of Eden until the time when
old St. John on an island OF the sea
dreamed OF the New Jerusalem coming
down out OF Heaven from God. all
through that wonderful Book, every
great writer in 1t points his finger to
the one person in II who is above all
other persons. who is the hope Of all
who live in this world. Jesus Christ,
the Savior Of the world. And on one
occasion he said very remarkable
thing that I want you to understand.
At the very end of that great sermon
on the Mount. he said that a wise man
was a man who built his house upon
the rocks. and that foolish man was