Evening star., 1952-04-14


Church. The new building, rel
Lincoln wOrshipped, was dedic
coin pew were five youthful Amer
ican soldiers in a row, reminding
one of a little story passed down
by members of the church:
One Sunday morning when the
President was alone in his pew
he heard the quick and certain
step of a soldier coming down the
aisle behind him. Promptly the
President arose and invited the
unknown soldier to sit with him.
No doubt astonished and elated
the soldier did so. And no doubt
too, he carried away with him an
unforgettable memory. stirring
inspiration, who knows but that
today that unknown soldiers son
may be telling his grandchildren
of the time when his own. father
sat side by side in church with
the great Lincoln?
Today again, the choir beau
tifully sang those old familiar
words:
| God so loved the world that
He gave His only-begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish but have ever
lasting life.
For God sent not His Son into
the world to condemn the world,
but that the world through Him
might be- saved"
Sermon Based on st. Mark.
The pastor, the Rev. George M.
Docherty. used for his text St.
Mark 11:11, And Jesus entered
into Jerusalem. and unto the tenn
Iple; and when He had looked
round about upon all things, and
now the eventide was come. He
went out unto Bethany with the
twelve" The theme of the pas
tors sermon. "The Great En-
trance" symbolized the coming
into the presence of Christ the
King. ne said. Build again that
temple of the Holy Spirit, he
prayed.
How truly striking it seemed
that 81 years ago this April, an
other pastor of this same church
used verse from that same
Chapter II of St. Mark, as the
text for the funeral service of
Abraham Lincoln. That pastor
was the Rev. Phineas Gurley; the
verse was the twenty second,
which reads:
"And Jesus answering saith unto
them, Have faith in God"
It was on April 10, 1865, that
DR.. Gurley, standing in the east
room of the White House, at the
bier of President Lincoln, so
spoke:
IS. ). But more sublime than any
or all of these, more holy. and in
fluential, more beautiful, and
strong, and sustaining, was his
abiding confidence in God and in
the final triumph of truth and
Righteousness through Him and
for His sake. This was his noblest
virtue, his grandest principle, the
secret alike of his strength, his
patience, and his success. And
tbjc II Soo,oc IN mo &c +J,o
principle by which more than by
any other, he, being dead. yet
speaketh.'
"And by this he will speak
through the ages and to all rulers
and peoples in every land, and his
message to them will be, Cling to
liberty and right; battle for them:
bleed for them; die for them, if
need be; and have confidence in
God"
Yes, Abraham Lincoln still
speaks-"Cling to liberty and
right; {. and have confidence in
God"
New Church Building.
The present beautiful edifice-
the New York Avenue Presby-
terian Church was dedicated
December 20. 1851. The corner
stone was laid on April 3 of that
year by President Truman.
The new structure, accommo-
dating around 300 more people
than the old, has the lines of CO.
lonial architecture. and closely
duplicates the former building
which served the congregation for
81 years.
Many treasures of the old
church. including the Lincoln pew,
have been preserved: and the pew
is located comparatively in the
same place in this building as it
was in the building where Lincoln
worshiped.
The New York Avenue Presby-
tel ian Church was formed in 1859
by the uniting of the Second
Presbyterian Church with the F
Street Church under the ministry
|of Dr.. Gurley, who had formerly
served the F Street Church and
who had also served as chaplain
of the United States Senate.
Years later another distin-
|guished minister of this church,
THE late DR.. Peter Marshall, also
served as Senate chaplain. The
pl eSent minister, DR.. Docherty,