Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-10-03
HOME. MISSIONS
BOARD HELD RURAL
CONFERENCE HERE
Vaious Subjects Discussed At
Series Of Meetings In First
NJ. E. Church
CHURCHES NEEDS URGED

| A rural conference was held in First
Methodist Episcopal Church yester-
day The program was under the SUI
pervision of the Board of Home Mis-
sions of the Methodist Episcopal
Church Five such rallies have been
held throughout Maryland within the
/ last few days. namely, at Cumberland.
Hagerstown, Mount Airy, Cockeysville
and Annapolis. The purpose of thse
gatherings is to reach every rural pas
tor and church with the new Centen-
airy program for the counties of the
state. The one in Annapolis yester-
/ day embraced the counties of Anne
Arundel Calvert, Prince George, Cal
vert and ST Mary's. Rev. Charles f.
Ely. of Mount Airy, representative of
/ the Rural Department of the Board OF
i Home Missions and Church Extension
presided at all the sessions. IN the
morning, discussions were held con-
corning the work of the Sunday
| Schools in the counties In the after
noon after devotional exercises an adj
dress was given by DR.. Ely on rural
conditions He emphasized the chang
| ing conditions and the urgent needs
of the churches. Following DR.. Ely.
| Rev. Charles f. Bess, of Laytonsville,
| Md, addressed the assemblage on THE
Community Survey" MIR. Bess for
many years was employed with the
/ government at Washington in the
Geological Survey Department He il
Illustrated his address with numerous
community charts showing various
phases of neighborhood conditions,
| The chief address of the afternoon was
by Rev. DR.. William II. Morgan, of
Calvary Church, New York City. His
topic was: THE One Theme of the
Pulpit"
He said: "The one theme of the
pulpit is the Cross of Jesus Christ.
It is the thing that makes revivals
| break out And revivals of religion
break out they never are gotten up;
! they cannot come that way. Evangel-
ism is not a campaign for membership
/ in the church. 1t is the bringing of
souls into vital communion with the
Lord Jesus Christ And the only way
to get men to know God is the preach
| ing OF the 'old-fashioned gospel ex-
pressing the supreme theme which
| itsel fis expressed in God was in
| Christ Jesus, reconciling the world to
| himself Therefore the two greatest
words of the Bible are Incarnation
and reconciliation The incarnation
1 of God in Jesus, his Son; and the rec
oncliation of man to God. never God
I to man, tina twas never necessary, and
+ the reconcii.ati of man to man Be
cause Christianity is pre-eminently
: the religion OF redemption. It's es-
sential gospel is something that God
| has done for man in and thru Christ
| Jesus.
THE central and crucial question
in the time of Jesus was: Who is He?
And the question was answered. He
! i sthe manifestation of Cod The cru
cial question in the time Of Paul be-
came: Why did He come" And this
query was answered, He came to rec
oncile man to God
But tho questions have changed
and other things have changed, the
really fundamental things have never
changed. Fundamental human nature
has always been the same. There has
always been the same fundamental
need; the same human failure; the
same fundamental hunger. Christ hat
never changed. And the nature of sin
and of Satan has always been the same
since the world was founded. There
fore We must conclude that changes
are largely external. Nor has the for
gfiveness' of God changed. And when
God forgives, he never throws the old
! mistakes UP to man. But He restores
him absolutely to the old and former
| conditions of fellowship"
That fine old motto, Live and Lei
| Live" has been changed TO Liver &C