Evening star., 1932-09-29

ness to Christ in the Capital of the Ma
ton. With far-seeing wisdom they have
aided me in presenting to the people of
our country the urgent need Of this great
Christian enterprise. We have felt that
nothing was more indispensable to the
stabilizing and strengthening of our
life, nothing more essential to the
maintenance of our highest ideals than
the lifting up before men of this ma
iestic witness to the faith that is fun
damental to our peace and security. II
for this reason alone. we are justified
in proceeding without let or hindrance
with the prosecution Of so momentous
en- under a'sing. Nothing stays us when
we have the mind to build our material
fabric as the witness to our growth and
prosperity Warrington challenges the
admiration of men everywhere for what
1t expresses of beauty aAd grace in its
noble architecture and esthetic charm.
We have not been slow to affirm to the
world our growing power and our in
creasing wealth. The Is years that
have passed since the foundation stone
was laid have made evident the far
seeing vision, faith and wisdom of those
who undertook to build here this glow
ing and glorious house Of God. Beau
tiful as is its architecture. noble as Is
its position on its uplifted hill, there is
an eloquence and prevailing strength
in what it stands for that is irresistible
in appeal and influence. 1t would be
difficult to measure the contribution 1t
has already made in terms of spiritual
enrichment to the life of our people
We are able to measure our material
growth by standards that are common
to our daily practice. 1t is difficult to
register in like manner our spiritual
growth and development. What influ-
ence proceeds from this partially COM
p,eted fabric to the hundreds of thou
sands who visit it yearly we may not
venture to say, but certainly its per-
suasive and compelling power is felt
over wide areas of our life and touches
with an indescribable potency both our
thought and action.
Recent Tragic Happenings.
Nothing SO strikingly illustrates the
need of prosecuting without delay this
work as the recent tragic happenings
in the world in which We live Our
golden treasure house has been shat
tered, our values that we thought secure
have suddenly suffered impairment. our
conceited ingenuity has failed US in the
hour of our greatest need and the folly
of our course has been made clear to
us. 1t has been further demonstration
of the unwisdom Of building our house
llpon shifting sands rather than upon
the enduring rock. Before us lies the
task Of rehabiltating our shattered
household Upon what foundation shall
we build it? With what sense of Sc
curity shall We guarantee to ourselves.
our children and children'S children
those things that promote happiness,
prosperity and peace? 1t will be of lit
tie worth that we restore confidence
aud the uninterrupted practices Of in
dustrv and commerce unless We sustain
and buttress them by the enduring val
ueS of character.
As we stand at this momentouS period
In our history to mark the twentyflfth
of this work for God and
We reaffirm our determination
to carry on" in spite of all hindranceS.
To paraphrase the words Of Martin
Luther, Here We stand. We can do no
other" There ccme times in the life
Of great causes when they cannot be
governed by precedent or tradition. The
world is at the crossroads; it is entering
upon a new stage 1t is compelled to
freshly affirm its faith in God and in
Christian institutions or go the way Of
those who believe that human inge-