By O.E. Cunningham
Waxhaw, Oct. 7—The first October Sunday in Waxhaw seemed to be freighted with more than ordinary interest. With clear skies and bracing air, the church bells, as usual, were calling to Sunday school services at the various churches at 10 o’clock a.m. After the hour for Sunday School, we answered to the call of the bell at the Presbyterian church for public worship at the 11 o’clock hour. The Rev. Mr. Kingsly was in the pulpit for the hour’s service. The church had been having a series of worship beginning on Thursday evening prior, Mr. Kingsly doing the preaching, and closing with the service Sunday morning, and the observance of the Lord’s supper.
The preacher’s discourse was encouraging and inspiring. He presented with earnestness and feeling the scene of the Master as He was robed and crowned with thorns, in mockery, as our substitute, with dishonor, shame and pain. The speaker saw in the great suffering and sacrifice of the Son of God, the divine Father’s plan for the redemption of the race.
Mr. Kingsly told of his having the honor of organizing the first Christian Endeavor society in the Mecklenburg Presbytery. Also of some of the fruitful results of Endeavor work under his pastorate and observation.
A young man, Rev. Albert Harriss of the Pineville church, is now an able and efficient minister and pastor in South Carolina.
Of the Providence church Endeavor society, Rev. Mr. Alexander, son of Dr. Alexander of Providence, has gone out an honored and able young minister representing his mother church.
And of the same church and Endeavor Society has gone, as a missionary to Japan, an intelligent and consecrated young lady, Miss Blakeney, daughter of Mr. James Blakeney and grand daughter of Rev. Roger Martin, a former pastor of Providence church.
At the evening hour for worship we had the Methodist church a program out of the ordinary and most interesting and helpful. The pastor, Rev. Mr. Crowder, to vary the exercises, invited one of Monroe’s legal fraternity, Mr. Walter B. Love, whose father, Mr. Thomas Love and family were in former years member of Mr. Crowder’s parish at Zion church of Union county, to come and deliver an address at the evening hour, and Mr. Love did so to the delight of a fairly large audience.
Mr. Love chose for his theme “The Value of Christian Religion.” He built his discourse logically and with shown ability. He reviewed the ancient civilizations, Egypt in all of her pride and glory, has passed away. Greece, with her learning and sages, is dead. And Rome, with her mighty force of laws and armies, is forgotten, and because there was a lack in their systems of strong and wonderful civilizations, they perished from the earth. He found the cause of the disease and death of these proud and powerful nations to be the lack of love.
The speaker then introduced the Peasant man of Galilee. He who gathered about him a few humble unlearned working men, about the shores of Galilee, and in three years time of teaching, without writing a book, He set in motion a philosophy and system of living for individuals and nations that has stood the test for 2,000 years, and will more and more increase in glory and its saving power as the centuries come and go, all because the Christ founded His Kingdom upon love and sacrifice.
Mr. Love made an earnest appeal for loyalty to, and support of the church, as the mightiest force in all the world for the protection of property, rights of happiness, and of life.
So, Mr. Editor, we had a refreshing day in Waxhaw, and in the afternoon at 3 o’clock, an Evangelistic club was holding forth at New Hope about two miles out. These earnest Christians represented the men of industry coming from the mills of Fort Mill without reward or glory, to work for the furtherance of the Kingdom.
The law, the mill, and the church all at work. Is the world growing worse?
From the front page of the Monroe Journal, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 1923
No comments:
Post a Comment