The Alaska daily empire., 1919-11-12


 House of Bishops, to a large and in terested congregation, and, also to the congregation at St. Luke's church. Douglas, in tho evening, which in part is:
 The history of the war is not all a horrid memory. Its red glare has re- vealed to us the comforting fact that there is that which we Americans do hold more precious than peace. pros peri:y and happiness-ye than life itself; that we arc capable still of putting ideals of fairness, honor and freedom above everything; that We are still ready to die cheerfully for a real cause, as our fathers were.
 This spirit is not a passing mood. Let our settled convictions be threat, ened, and it's flame will leap to heaven. And it helps us to new self respect, new confidence and new hope to be assured that we love ideals better than safety, and the benefit of the commonwealth better than ourselves or our belongings.
 Old Order Has Passed, But
 Side by side with this comforting bit of self knowledge, there is some. thing disquieting. It may be that we are courageous only when our con victions are the convictions of the crowd, and are inclined to timidity when our idealsm forces us into lone- Illness or minority group. It is a chief faul of America. The inclina- tion of democracy is to worship majorities It is important to recog- nize this frankly. The old order which we glbly say has passed away represents the majority of yesterday. There is a real danger of its regain ing International and national con trol. We. who are true to our ideals, must forbid this calamity at any cost. We cannot do other than fight it. We declared war on the old order on April 6. 1917, when we exalted the unseen above the seen and made tho greatest adventure of faith in our national history Neither in America nor in the world at large may the vicious features of the old order ever again receive the hand of welcome from honest men.
 Realize this. Your young men who died on the battle line were fighting the evil character of the old order as their bitterest enemy. Shall you and again stretch out friendly hand to that which they died to slay?
 Vicious Features of Old Order
 What, then, were some of the vi cious features of the old order? Soft surrender of ideals to material things, ascendency of wealth over moral and spiritual considerations, Interpreting every department of life in terms of money, absolutism in business, indus trial and social unfairness, amiablo compromise of principle with expel- iency, contempt for or fear of min- critics involving radical change, who ther in state or church, as disturb ing comfort, and consequently count. ed dangerous-all a plain cOntradic, tion in many respects of the example and teaching of the Christians God who died Gil the cross to combat these very things.
 If the nation dare not in common decency settle back into the old or der, much less can the church. Why: Because the church is tho depository and guardian of ideals, and the spe- cia. abode On earth of the liging Christ who hates the glaring defects of the old order The church is not religious attachment or arpendage to society. It is not system of re- ward for the well behaved It is not an insurance society against outer misfortune and inner discomfort. It is not a soul-saving apparatus that enables us to have an easy time in this life and then floats us to another easy time on the farther shore of the river of death. It is not fetich or charm to win us favor with God.
 What the Church Is
 No! The church is the society of men in which God has convenanted with us to dwell It is a social or ganism charged with the performance of a social task. The spirit of Jesus the Holy Spirit, is present and at work in and through His church. The church is the instrument through which He continues. Its chief func- tion is to bring men into vital rela tionship with Him-His wisdom, His strength until His life is theirs; to make His interest their first concern; to be positive and clear in it's preaching of Him that no one may doubt who He is, where He is and what is His mission. This is im- portant, for His mission is ours. It Is to save men by giving to them common impulse, common purpose and a common life.
 The church is not society depend- ent upon Is for favor. It is a society upon which we are dependent for favor with God And it demands our undivided loyalty.
 If hitherto we have given it the second or third place in our lives, 3~k us pow ha hold enouph to give if