Norwich bulletin., 1921-05-30

. heard an inspiring sermon from the pas tor, Rev. George H. Welch, in which he declared that the greatest memorial which may live in the hearts of people today IS the consciousness that the boys of '6l were acting directly for the prolonged life of their country and were making history in the local phase of a worldwide evolution. The latest phase in the eVolu- ton of world affairs is the recent great world war. Now it is time to reiterate with new emphasis that the gospel mes sage of Jesus, the sharing and serving spirit of Christ, may be applied to the so- lution of the solving of the problems of democracy.
 Comrade Goss Speaks.
 Comrade Warren Lee Goss of Ruther- ford, N. J., who annually spends Memo rial day in this city. attended the service with the other 25 members of Sedgwicll post, No. L G. A. R., who were present. and was invited 10 the platform by the pastor to speak He related several inter- esting incidents of his Civil war experi- ences, referring especially to his imprisoh- ment in Andersonville, and speaking of the heroism of the Union men there. One of the incidents to which he referred was the attempt of the prison keepers to bribe the half starved men by offering them food into digging rife pits which the rebel army wanted to use against the approaching Union army. But not man shouldered spade in exchange for bread. k Accompanying the Sedgwck post men tQ the church service were delegations of i the Woman's Relief corps. Sons of Veter- ans, Daughters of Veterans and Citizens corps. The body of about 100 had seats in the center of the church.
 Sermon on "The vision" Pastor Welch spoke upon The Vision" from the text Wherefore, o King Agrip- pam, I was not disobedient to the heaven i ly vision, as follows:
 ! apprehend that your purpose here f today is a spiritual one; that you come | to worship God not only because it has l been your privilege to engage in the af- fairs of our nation to such an extent ! that they have been raised in their mor- | al tone and an arrested progress once | more set in motion, but also because you l recognize the Great and Holy Spirit that 1 watches near, and to which along you may attribute the motive that gave you part in the great struggle.
 Tomorrow you pay homage to your 1 comrades in service.
 l We are conscious as we stop to con- | cider everything. that as those boys of |. seventeen or eighteen. left their homes l in '61, few of them realized the enorm- | ity of their undertaking. With light l hearts they felt they were going on a ! lark of a few months, see the south and then come home again to settle down i after work after settling the case of l the rebels.
 IL was not until the disorder and dis i aster of the first battle of Bull Run, 1 that a real shudder came over the peo- pie of the north, and they felt the strength of the rganized and strongly 1 equipped force with which they had to I struggle.
 However, back of it all there was a grim determination to strike at what they had beforehand been convinced they must strike.
 And in this you may find the central l thought of my sermon this morning. First, let us deal somewhat with the 1 abstract side of the issues which were
 faced then, but which had been grow ing in the consciousness of America as g B; nation.
 Il is true of course, that great strug- I gles do not precipitate themselves out ot clear and sunny atmosphere The clouds begin to gather, distant rumbung: are heard, grave forebodings begin to bt
 felt and finally the storm breaks The results are but simple expressions. ever | though deadly, Of subtle and intrica te forces that are a nart of the funda- | mental truth of this universe a universe | fashioner according to the mind of God i They are forces that reside in the very
 nature of the best in this universe. They reside in the breasts of men. The particular force to which I have
 reference this morning is Democrac cy ,| Democracy is 9 subtle thing Yet it is
 very. particular thing. Men came to thi,
 
 ] government that should be an expression
 of this thing which they felt. It is un- likely that they had any very defnit conception of what they shouId estab fish, However. the longing was there 4 sought a free expression which wa! not afforded in any other cline. Thu a republic grew out of it. The difference
 between the two has been very abl. ! pointed out by one author. which I fee
 is worth our thought for a moment
 'Democracy," said he, lis the inner life l., The republic is the outward expression l Democracy is the heart, The Republic
 the language in which it speaks. De
 mocracy is the soul, the spirit, the re ! public is the tangible shape in whic tha spirit is identiied.' Thus we fin . the reason for great cataclysms z which the democratic soul of man ha : taken part.
 We cannot look back over the htstor 3 without believing thoroughly that tn f youth of our land was prepared throug many years of experience and traditio
 to take a hand in deciding once for a . for America, just what the nature II her future should be. Tn spite of the fat u that so many went happily and blithel
 to the front in the great Civil war, LII conscious of what they would be calle l 1-z+ 7ir1cr 4p hn ~ homes we are impressed with the for V os which had been gathering in the y bosoms. handed down from their fathe ' and mothers, and the generations
 other lands, that prepared them for u '. real thing which they found and q ,i cided successfully. 2 'l Now friends, permit me to lay befo o you the reasons why this statement made.
 Above all things, it behooves us . thank God today for the foundation ~ which our government was laid.
 As those men and women from Il 7 M2yflower, stepped upon these shore
 conscious that they were making hI :. tory, and founding a new country. tn - brought with them an instrument whi '7 had been drawn up and signed wi o prayer upon their lips in the presence ~ Almighty God which instrument W ' made dOubly secure and safe from vi 'I, lations by the character of the people -s They knew their Bible They read
 often They were acquainted with
 it held. Upon that very quality in the
 do we own all that we have today
 the foundation upon which good stru Y ture could be built. We have often hea O. criticism, rather unkindly too, of u ld Puritan. New England is supposed D. contain something of. it yet but it