The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1920-02-17
SUNDAY SERVICES
At ST. MARK CHURCH
BEAUTIFUL DAY BRINGS OUT
BIG CONGREGATION FOR
SUNDAY MEETING

! The sky-blue weather, assisted by
the quieter habit of mind which the
| flu ban imposes, brought out large
congrebation. More people are get
ting into the habit of singing the
Episcopal service; the whole congre-
cation on Sunday seemed to get right
into it. The rector announced the
first visitation of the new Bishop of
Idaho, sometime in March and said
he hoped to have a large class for
confirmation this year. Rev. w. H.
Bridge spoke about keeping Lent (the
day, February 18) and said he hoped
everybody would make use of this an
nual effort to clean up the spiritual
side of life. "It is not a season of
gloom but of spring joy and new life.
Just as nature during the coming two
months will be throwing her abund-
ant life into new and tender forms, so
should men and women be thrusting
out from the depths of their person
alities finer qualities and nobler
spiritual aspirations. In speaking of
things to do in Lent, Mr.. Bridge sad
"Give up something, just as an evid-
ence of will; give up talking cattishly
about your neighbors; put sympathy
and kindness in the place of criticism
and coldness. To men, l suggest you
give up swearing and smoking; to
girls, give up candies; good Episco-
palians give up dancing in Lent. The
church makes no laws in these things.
1t strongly urges the practict of any
thing that makes for greater self-con-
troll and a keener sense of spiritual
values"
In his sermon on the church of the
future, Mr.. Bridge said: eve in this
church belitve in the continued guild
ance of the spirit of God and are not
bound in our intellectual or religious
life to any particular theories of
Bible, church councils, creeds or
forms. We appreciate and reverence
all these; they are guides and means
of dicipline; they are not religion. |
You may believe everything the Bible
says, if you can, and go to church |
twice a Sunday, and work in all the |
church activities and yet not have an |
ounce of religion in your make up. |
Religion is emphatically not the thing
which the man in the street and half !
the folks in the churches believe it to
be. If | thought that religion laid !
upon me an obligation to believe the |
world was made in six days or that
God drowned his creatures in a flood I
Or punished you and me because two
people made fools of themselves in
a garden four thousand years ago, |
would reject it. If l thought religion
meant the acceptance Of the theories
Of Calvin or Luther Or Core aho11t
God and the universe, again. I would
reject it. No. | believe that religion,
The Christian religion means trying to
i've as Jesus Christ lived and so dis
covering in my own consciousness the
great truths which Jesus Christ dis
covered concerning. the Heavenly
Father and His will for man. Hence
believe that just as at this present
lime our notions of society. of eco
ionic order and industrial organiza-
ion are undergoing complete revo-
ution, SO in the churches there is
coming revolution in the present
nent of truth anda in methods of re-
igious development. Befort we can
lave the sympathy, and be able to
'sslst the man of~.science, the artist
md even the man in the street. we
hall be obliged to throw overheard
whole chunks of theological theory
md present life and a system of
eligious education in; terms of our
wn day and generation. | look for
complete re-statement of religious
ruth and experience before the
hurch can win the leadership which
Us essential message merits