The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-10-12
OPENING
SERMON BY
BISHOP FUTILE
SENIOR BISHOP DELIVERS THE
OPENING SERMON OF TIE 44TH
TRlENNlAL CONVENTION OF
EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

, temple today by bishop Daniel S.
/ Tuttle. senior bishop. Taking as his
text, Acts 27, 81, Paul said TO the
| Centurion and to the soldiers, Except
T these abide in the snip ye cannot be
saved" the bishop discussed the con
| tribution the Episcopal church could
make to unity, and enumerated Rev
erence, Truth, Catholicity and Amer
lean flavor, and of the latter said:
Il do not want to presume Cana
dian brethren are here and they are
Americans as well as we. Represent.
Iatiyes Of the mother church of Eng
land are here. We revere her and
We love them. She fostered our youth
in long continuance OF nursing care
4 heaped up fulness of gratitude in
our hearts and we are humbly proud
of our kinship with the Church of
England and the Church in Canada.
But under Gods providence adde's
cent years have sent us out from un-
der our mothers roof. We are house
keeping now in home OF one. Ask
ing permission to use the word Amer.
lean for short, we want to have an
American flavor in our church. Amer
ican precedents will leave them alone
unpracticed, if American spirit and
American taste and American habit do
not take to them.
"Then in that good time when an
approaching unity seems somewhat
to materialize we want to offer our
fellow Christians of other names
round about us an American religion
with an American flavor as our con
tribution.
Are we presuming too much? We |
grant to the layman with freedom of
thought and opinion, only tying him |
down to the bond or faith in the |
simple verities of the apostles creed |
rs that not American?
I'VE rive to the layman full par
ticipation in the deliberations of the
church and ? voice and a vote in de-
termining the results OF such deliber-
ations
rs that not American?
I'VE have dioceses corresponding to
the states with their state sovereign
ties, and the general convention cor
responding to the federal govern.
ment. |
is that not American?
I'VE have a church penetrating into
all parts of the United States and its
There is not a road of
ground over which the Stars and
Stripes wave in sovereignty but that
is under the care ana guidance of a
bishop of our own.
rs that not American?
we are united church. We have
no north, no south, no east, no west.
There is no cleavage of separation on
sectional lines Of latitude or longi-
tude, or for differences of race or
color or class or taste.
"Is that not American?
And, with quick beating of the
heart and a firm treading of the feet
we are catching up-we have not yet
caught up--but we are catching up
with the Congregationlists and Pres
byterians and BaptIsts and Metho-
dists and others in the blessed work
Of missions. expending one million and
a half dollars per year upon them, and
300 missionary workers
on our payroll--besides all that is
given and all that is done in the do
ceses and cities in their home work.
els that not American?
Il get enthusiastic as | record-will
YOU not be enthusiastic as you hear
about the $1,000 given for the emer-
gency fund for missions last year
about the constantly swelling s1S7,0O0
given by the children of Sunday
schools and the 100000 and more
given by the Woman's Auxiliary
about the S3,OOO,OOO given to the splen-
did clergy fund. to swell itself, 'tis
hoped. to $5,OOO,OOO; and over the
facts that we have 12O bishops now
where we had Il fifty years ago; and
a million Of communIcants instead OF
l5O. 600; and l out OF 80 of the whole
population a communicant now against
l out Of 175 then?
"Ay. when the coming day Of unity
draws near. waited by the precedent
forces of love and allowance making
and brotherly kindness and sympathy
and by the appreciation that we have
tried TO play the game fairly, we will
lift up our heads and from the warmth
Of our hearts and through the tears
Ia our eyes will reverently say What
hath God wrought? And praise be
His Holy name for ever and ever.
Amen