The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat., 1920-03-29
The Right Rev. Theodore N. Morn.
son OF the Diocese Of Iowa Sends
Message 70 the Episeo-
palians.
HOLY WEEK OBSERVANCE
Members Of the Church All Over Iowa
viii Have Special Services This
Week and on Easter
Sunday.

week which commenced yesterda
Tith Palm Sunday are urged IN u
PASTORAL letter from the Right Re
.rend Theodore n. Morrison, bisho
# Iowa, OF the Episcopal churcl
Bishop Morrison's letter follows:
To the Reverend Clergy and
Faithful Laymen Of the Diocese
of Iowa:
Dear Brethren-What, could ye
not watch with me one hour!
This was the surprised and
grieved exclamation Of Jesus our
Lord, when coming to Peter and
James and John he found them
sleeping. But our Lord knew the
devotion and loyalty OF His dis
ciples. He made excuse for them.
The spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak, yet He warned
them, watch and pray. lest ye
enter into temptation. The weak
ness Of the flesh might easily
make them slackers and COW
ards, easily reconcile them to sell
fshness and soon they would be
Indifferent to Him, His agony
and His kingdom.
Lent is almost over. Holy
week is here. During this week
the holy church throughout the
world watches and prays about
the cross, keeps in solemn
memory the fact that Jesus was
rejected and despised by men like
ourselves. that by wicked hands
Jesus was crucified and slain
During these days we watch
and pray lest selfshness, love of
ease, the desire for pleasures,
the absorbing character Of bust
ness, lead US at last to grow alto
gether Indifferent to Jesus and
His teaching; puts us out OF
sympathy with Him; leaves our
profession OF being His disciples
a mere profession and nothing
more.
They cruelty the Son Of God
afresh." Age after age, in the
life of humanity and in the sad
: experience of individual chris
tians. the tragedy Of the passion
is reenacted.
Watch and pray lest ye enter
into temptation. Is it too Iauch
to ask that Jesus should be in
your thoughts this week? that
you should watch one hour? that
you should spend Good Friday in
penitence and make an act Of
still at work in humanity, lead
men to reject and cruelty Jesus.
the preacher of the Kingdom Of
God among men?
Too often. l fear, no provision
is made for Holy week services
which busy people can attend.
We forget that numbers do not
count, that il there are two
gathered in Jesus name, there
are three present, for Jesus is
one of the group.
They all forsook Him and
fed" But John and His mother
and Mary, the penitent woman,
} followed Him to the cross, and
wept and comforted Him by her
presence.
Why not have a service every
ngiht during Holy week?
Above all on Good Friday let
us have what the church pro-
yides, possibly at half past seven
or eight in the morning. Some
business men and teachers in
schools and children might go
keep Good Friday.
The three hours service gives
women and few men who can
command their own time an op-
portunity to spend an hour or
more before the altar. 1t is a
wrong to the laity not to have a
service Good Friday evening.
Men, in particular, ought to be
urged to attend the evening serv-
Ice, and Jesus ought to be lifted
up, crucified by selfish worldly
mindedness, and the Indifference
Of men living after the flesh, and
the fear of men who knew in
stinctively that il Jesus the
Christ, the Messiah, continues to
preach His kingdom the world
will ultimately go after Him and
take His teachings about the
kingdom seriously and work them
out in human relationships
Numbers do not count, but that
is a sad and heart-breaking cry:
What, could We not watch with
me one hour?
Faithfully yours.
THEODORE N. MORRISON.