Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 128, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 May 1916 — Memorial Day Services Held At Presbyterian Church Sunday. [ARTICLE]

Memorial Day Services Held At Presbyterian Church Sunday.

■i T** Memorial Day was observed by a union service in the Presbyterian church Sunday, wiiich was crowded to its utmost seating capacity. The day was fine, which made it possible for most of the G. A. R’s. and the Women’s auxiliaries to be present and as they came marching in bearing the beautiful American flag while the organ played the patriotic songs that were associated with the struggle of 1861-65, the onlooker whose heart was not touched and whose eye did not dim would be unpatriotic indeed. The entire service "Was a well planned unit of patriotic expression from the appropriate and artistic decorations of the church to the benediction, which expressed a petition for divine guidanee~in tire-duties of Christian 1 ctizenship. The invocation was given by Dr. Curnick, scripture by Rev. Beard, and offertory by Misses Wood nnd Brown. The “New Hail Columbia” was sung by the choir and after an inspiring and comprehensive prayer by Rev. Asa McDaniel, they rendered Kipling’s “Recessional,” that stateliest of all patriotic poems, r.o the music of DeKoven. So well was it given that the large and attentive audience was in a mental attitude to be impressed by the splendid sermon on Christian Citizenhsip by Rev. J. Budman Fleming, who introduced his sermon by remarking that the large audience present led him to think like Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, that it would be fine if a tabernacle could be built Lhat would hold all the congregations >n our little city with the pastoral duties to be performed by the various pastors but the public worship be conducted together. As an illustration of his statement that God's hand was evident in the history of nations, he called attention to the fact that whether we take the telescope and observe those things that are not within the sight of the unaided vision or whether we take toe

microscope and watch the smallest organisms that are too minute to be Visible otherwise, we find each one conforming to a fixed law. A careful observance of the history of mankind proves that humanity is no exception to this rule. The conflict that is wagged in defense of a right principle will win. Napoleon with the finest army and devoted to its .eader, could not win, for they were fighting to place all Europe under the heel of a tyrant. Other well known incidents in, the world’s history were viven to show that whatever other winning qualities an army may have, it can not win when upholding a wrong principle and in this connection it was noted that although the confederacy was just as loyal to. its cause and as sincere in its convictions and, thought they had splendid generals, their cause was doomed, as they were fighting to maintain the practice of human oppression and because of the magnitude of the sin of the nation it

must needs shed its blood for the lemission of its sin. Great honor, .s clue to the men who were thus willing to offer their services at this great crisis of the country’s need, but the mothers, fathers, wives and sweethearts who encouraged this sacrifice were not forgotten by the speaker, but to them as well was given a touching tribute of w r orthy praise for their less spectacular but no less worthy contribution to the success of the great conflict. The present duty was not forgotten in commending the victor.es. of the past, but these citizen soldiers were called upon to spend ‘their remaining years in using their influence to right the present day wrongs by counteracting the influences of predatory politics —improving health conditions and in every case living up to the ideal of Christian citizenship.

Taken altogether the sermon was not only a fine tribute to the soldier to whom it was addressed, but .the rest of the audience was made to feel a deeper appreciation of the hcrocS of our great civil war, as wall as a deepening of their own sense of duty as Christian citizens and a glimpse of the ideal that is embodied in the Decoration Day service when: “Hark! Our nation hears once more the throb of muffled drum, The doleful dirge, the martial legions’ measured tread; ‘ Sees the feeble, broken ranks of ageing heroes come To strew love’s sweetest tokens o’er their comrades dead.” .