Norwich bulletin., 1920-09-20
CIVIC SUNDAY SERMONS IN CITY PULPITS

never to himself has said, This is my own, my native land.
 And this might we'll be said of a man in respect to the city in which he first saw the light of day. or in which for va rious reasons has pitched his tent If he isn't proud of his city there is some thing wrong somewhere. It may be the city or it may be the man. But our city is made up of men and women and if we are to have a beautiful city, we must have men and women of charac- ter. Citizens who will not sell out and who will spurn evil for some temporary advantage. Men and women of lofty ideals whose philosophy is permeated with the conviction that Honesty is the best policy and that right will win in Gods beautiful world In our desire for city where civic righteousness will find a large place, the individual must be recognized and made conscious of his worth.
 If therefore we are to realize our de- sire for a more beautiful Norwich the following are necessary:
 l. We must have law-abiding citi- zenA
 ?. Our social. political and ind N rial life must be pt-.neated with justice or the square deal"
 3. We must all be willing to serve as well as be served.
 1. God must be feared His church respected; The Lords day honored. First Congregational Church. At the First Congregational church, | Norwich Town, the pastor, Rev Gurdon F. Bailey, preached on Civic Betterment His text was Acts Is: 10". When he (St. PauD had seen the vision We immedi- ately endeavored to go into Macedonia" | Visions are seen by a few, but they are realized by the cooperation of many 1 people, said Rev. MT. Bailey. One man dreams dream projects a plan, makes 1 a blue print and then hundreds of men set to work to put the dream into wood or iron or growing crop, or an in
 stitution of philanthropy. The blue print maker is often forgotten because
 his work is not in the public gaze. But | there is no forward movement until the vision is seen and the blueprint drawn l The story of the Hebrew pioneer, Abra- 1 ham, and of the world discoVerer Colum-
 bus, and nation builders like the Pil- 1 grinls is the story of vision haunted men
 who could not be satisfied with their in heritance. They tried to improve upon
 their grandfathers and leave the world better than they found it.
 Visions do not grow on bushes to be plucked by any casual traveIer They
 come to those who prepare themselves tl
 receive them. St Paul stood with oth-
 CTS on the shores of the Aegean sea, but
 he alone saw the opportunity to make
 better Europe. Ideas are thesmost ex
 pensive commodities in the worlds mar
 ket.
 Yet ideas are impotent to make tht
 world better until they are given +an gible form and put to work St. Paul.
 vision alone could not Christianize Flu rope But when St. Paul's companion!
 stepped forward and hired Q boat t(
 convey the apostle across the sea ant
 land him on the shores of Europe, anC
 then stood by him as he went from cit.
 to city the vision became real and tn
 classic land took on new life. Is it tru
 that We have no men of vision now, a some maintaig, Or is the lack of prog ress due to the reluctance on the par of the multitude to follow up the fore
 gleams our leaders? Suppose St. Paul f companions had gone on strike and re
 fused to follow out the blueprint of tn , l apostles vision how soon would EuroD
 have been evangelical? We should tTus our men of vision and cooperate wit 2 our leaders. It will not be given us | 7 see the end from the beginning. That , 1 the prerogative of the seer The pat may look as dark to us as the tracl1les
 | : ing with CCs mbus yet the only way | realize the vision of our leaders is | sail on, and on, and on." We are nc asked to go for our leaders, but wit
 | them. When the vision involves tn l leaders all, We may be pretty sure (
 it's genuineness. In the movement [
 make a better city for us to live in will require not only the vision of = better city, which experts are helping U y to see but it will call for multitud s of men and women to come forward an n immediately cooperate to put the visio e into practical effect.
 n Federated Church. = The City, the Center of the Civic Prot l. lem. was the topic of the special addres e at the morning service of the Federate
 church in Greeneville. Rev. R. Dani
 Trick pastor who delivered the sermon
 said in part:
 ll We come to the conclusion that Il v city is the center of the civic problel ',' for five reasons:
 " The cities are becoming the centers r population and hence a decided factor ,o the problem.
 e The civic question is financial ma V ter and money is accommodating in u , cities.
 Politics enter the civic arrangemen " and the cities are political centers. ' The cities are the sites of education h centers which have a large influence ( h the civic life.
 m The influences for veal and for wc
 find their field in the city life.
 Since the city plays such large pa
 in the civic life, the problem of civil le is problem of the city How can V st make our city the Rose of New En, y, land?" By every person making himse ,u the best possible citizen. By makir every other person the best possib citizen. By all working together fc u the development of the Rose" 1r Central Baptist Church. e. special sermon in recognition ly Civic Sunday was delivered at the ev
 ming service at the Central Bapti IS church by the pastor, Rev. Arthur ] ty Purkiss A Fighting Church was u ts topic of Rev. MT. Purkiss' sermon. le part he spoke as follows: al Can We have a nobled Norwich? C.
 this new movement make good? w Id the people of Norwich respond? Sor of say it is impossible It is imDossib Id said the black man as Livingstona wi ul his little family was about to attem
 the crossing of the Kalahari desel es Even we black men can't do it. Livin 10 stone smiled for he knew that the II
 possible belonged to the same realm
 ghosts and witches. He did it. Tt 1g impossible said priests to Colurnbr st We can prove from the Bible that t u- earth is fiat. The discovery of Amer ve ca was Columbus answer to the wo no impossible.
 he Tt is inpossfbIe said ,,reo cba