Evening star., 1942-04-06
Churches Of Capital
Filled TO Capacity
For Easter Services
Many Congregations
Forced to Duplicate
Morning Meetings

.
A serious, wartime Washington
population yesterday gathered by
the thousands in its churches and
other places Of worship to reafirm
faith in life after death as confirmed
by Christs resurrection.
Led by ranking Government off,
cials. diplomats, members of Con-
gress and high church members,
the city emphasized religion to the
fullest during this time of emer-
gencs.
Most pastors used as their theme
variations of faith as means toward
carrying the Nation through the
war to victory. Nearly all recalled
the trials of Jesus and His flock as
illustrations of the tribulations
which must be endured in the
struggle of life.
AS Anacostia churches held their
annual sunrise program in the An
acostia Methodist Church, the Rev.
DR.. Worth M. Tippy told the COM
bined congregations during the
union service that faith in the
resurrection was never more neces-
sary than today. DR.. Tippy is ex-
ecutive secretary of the Washing
ton Federation of Churches.
Many Duplicated Services.
"If we can see life in its coSmic
aspects, we shall be comforted and
we shall be stronger" he declared.
Because of the large gatherings
of worshipers, a number of local
pastors reported holding two morn
ing services.
The Rev. Angus Dun, dean of the
Episcopal Theological School at
Cambridge, Mass, was guest speaker
during services in historic St. John S
Episcopal Church.
The gospel always ties together
what now is and what shall be-" he
he told the large congregation, and
to separate them is like trying to
deal with tomorrow, out of all rela-
tions with today.
The theme of Easter is the sover-
eighty of Christ. To confess that
Christ is Gods King of Men means
that when our existence is torn out
of our hands by death we stand,
not before Hitler's new order, or
Stalin's order, or our so imperfect
democratic order. but before the
order in which Christ reigns," he
declared.
Starting Point of Faith.
Msgr. Lawrence J. Shehan, pastor
of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, in
his sermon declared that Ito the
eyes of Christian faith nothing is
more firmly founded than the truth
Of Christ's resurrection"
"It is the starting point-the only
possible starting point of all our
Christian faith. Nothing else could
have given the great movement OF
Christianity its impetus Without 1t
the very gospels themselves could
not have been written, could hardly
have been imagined" he added.
1T is SO much the reason for their
having been written, it fits in so
closely with the whole gospel story
it is so much a part of what is
evidently a simple narrative of what
Christ did and taught, it is so much
the basis of all that follows in the
Acts of the, Apostles in the glorious
history of the early church, it Is Sc
much the seed from which has
grown our whole Christian civiliza-
ton, that we can only conclude that
nothing in all history is more GER
tain to those who will but open theiI
eyes to truth" he declared
ITO the acceptance of the resur-
rection there is but one objection
which can ultimately stand, and
that is the refusal to believe that
God is so good as to have done so
much and to have worked such
wonders for the human race" he
said.
Cathedral Services.
At the Washington Cathedral sew
eral communion services were held.
Music was by the Cathedral choir of
boys and men, under the direction
of Paul Galloway, Cathedral organist
and choirmaster.
Last night the Right Rev. James
E. Freeman, Bishop of Washington,
declared the present war is battle
between forces of evil and the
forces which are none too good"
Il can not believe the forces
which have come to Smite the forces
of Righteousness represent the peo-
pie of the countries from which
they ISSUE" he said during dedica-
tion ceremonies at the John Bennett
Memorial, recently completed annex
to the Central Union Mission. Bishop
Freeman said more missions ARE
needed to touch every class of men
and women in the community"
Dark Period of History"
The Rev. DR.. Robin Gould, preach
Ing in the Francis Asbury Methodist
Church, said, I'VE come to Easter
today in one of the dark periods of
human history. The purpose of God
is life and light and love and peace
for all his human children. But
again and again men have tried to
blackout those glories of divine in
tention.
Always there have been those
who have loved darkness rather
than light and their own selfish de-
sires rather than the benign fulfill
ments of our Heavenly Father.
This day Is peculiarly sinister be-
cause vast organizations of military
might are behind those men who
would create a universal blackout.
Should the Axis powers win this war
we know that liberty of the home, of
the church, of the press, Of the con-
science, of individual initiative-all
would be destroyed" he declared.
Narvik Reported Rdided