The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-04-03

Power and Peril" at the First
Methodist church, Rev. DR.. John j.
Snavely said yesterday:
The first Palm Sunday and the
events that followed illustrate the
peril of enthusiasm. 1t is likely a
spring freshet that in the fall be-
comes a mere trickle of water
among the brown stones. 1t may be
momentary excitement, a feverish
activity that ceases when the fever
passes. Such are the superficial en-
thusiasms of life.
But there is deeper and more
constant enthusiasm that is like
the river that cannot be stopped,
and flows on from age to age. With
great is ever done. Without some
such enthusiasm no man need be
feared; with it no man can long be
| ignored.
Enthusiasm, in its primary mean
ing, is God within. The Christian
life requires a certain enthusiasm
if it is to have Significance. Such
an enthusiasm runs all through the
New Testament. They tried in every
way imaginable to stop these Chris
tians at the start. But there was an
invincible power working in them.
There was fire in their souls that
could not be extinguished. Chris
tianity will again be triumphant
when again it is animated by such
a steady and interchangeable en-
thusiaSm.
At this service three children
were baptized: Charlotte Cram,
Lawrence Garrett Sanderson, and
Christine Selee.
The following persons were also
received into the membership of
First Methodist church by trans
fer from other churches, and on
confession of faith: Miss VERNE
Baxter, Austin Fleming, Mrs. Herb
ert c. Graves, Miss Eta Knorr, Mr..
and Mrs. Lawrence Sanderson:
Mrs. Lawrence Marchitto, Mrs.
Dorothy Holcomb Miller, Edward E.
Palmer, Miss Grace Sears, Mr.. and
Mrs. Norman I. Israel, Miss Flea
nor Dinklocker, Mrs. Ralph E.
Cram, Mrs. George H. Jones, Ar
thur MacBurney, Mr. and Mrs
Harold Oulundsen, Mrs. Michael
Tota, Mrs. Clement Williams, Miss
Marion Baldwin, Miss Dorothy Gar.
rison, Rollin Hickcox, Robert Hoyt,
Roland Laid, Miss Lorraine Mar
chitto, Miss June Richenback, Da-
vid Sandulli, Leonard Sexton, Miss
Geraldine Witherly.
Fighting mems experiences in this
war are breaking down the barriers
both of sectiOnalism and denOm-
inationalism, Lieut.. Edgar Chand-
Ter, Navy Chaplain declared at the
Second Congregational church for
UNI last night in his talk on "a
Realist Looks at the Man in the
Service"
Our soldiers and sailors still fight
the Civil War and argue about the
respective merits of their home
town, but they are making friends
with persons of other racial groups
and other communities, 1t. Chand-
Ter declared.
The chaplain told of the Jewish
rabbi who preached his sermon for
him on Palm Sunday and the
Catholic chaplain who was ALWAYS
at my side at funerals conducted,
while I was at his side at each of
his funerals.
"All the world loves a pageant. a
parade, triumph said Rev. DR..
John c. Walker, Second Congrega-
tlonal Church pastor, yesterday
morning in his sermon, An Avenue
of Palms."
DR.. Walker said in part:
Triumph was in the air as Jesus
came up to Jerusalem. lis fame had
gone before Him and the many pill
grlms in the city had their expecta-
lions raised to fever heat. The COM
panion of the people, the Amounted
OF God, was at hand. And SO on that
first Palm Sunday morning a great
stream of people poured out of the
city. They bore in their hands the
palm leaves, the traditional symbol
OF triumph which were to give the
| day its name for future genera lions.
,, From Bethany came another stream
OF pilgrims, these people being di-
vlded as 1t seems into two groups,
one which went before Jesus throw
ing the branches of palms and even
their own garments on the road, and
another group following hard after
Jesus. Those who came out from the
city and those who marched toward
1T both acclaimed the Master. The
great and joyful city that went up
was, "HoSanna to the Son of David:
Blessed is he that cometh in the
name OF the Lord, Hosanna in the
highest"
Anyone of adult years can look
back and note where he played a
strange and unwilling role at one
time or another in his life. It gives
one an uneasy feeling on occasion.
Sometimes you realize how foolish
you were, how readily and easily
you were duped and used some ul-
terior purpose, how close you came
to serious disaster. Honor bright
now, can you recall any such exper-
fence? I confess that can, and
more than one! But there Is also a
bright side to this picture. AS you
look back across the years you can
recall other cases and experiences