Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

of disposing of all things in it, that we fail in our humility towards him, and in the exercise of Christian duties towards all men; and it is from not enough remembering the ingratitude and rebellion of our forefathers, and the grievous punishments they underwent for the same, the forcing God to reverse his own purpose, and compelling him not to let them see the blessing he intended to them, that we are still so much inclined to murmur at his providence, and undervalue his power. Lord

Clarendon.

[blocks in formation]

Present, the Right Rev. ALEXANDER V. GRISWOLD, D. D. Bishop of the Eastern Diocess, Rector of St. Michael's Church, Bristol, President exofficio; and the following Clergy appeared and took their seats, viz.

Rev. Nathan Bourne Crocker, Rector of St. John's Church, Providence; Rev. Salmon Wheaton, Rector of Trinity Church, Newport; Rev. John Laurens Blake, Rector of St. Paul's Church, North-Providence. The fol. lowing named Lay Delegates, pro

ducing the requisite testimonials, ap

peared and took their seats, viz.

From St. John's Church, Providence, Messrs. Thomas L. Halsey, Alexander Jones, Abner Daggett, Jeremiah Lippitt.

From Trinity Church, Newport, Messrs. John P. Mann, Samuel Whiteham, Stephen T. Northam.

From St. Michael's Church, Bristol, Messrs. Charles Collins, William Pearce, Jolin Harve, Lemuel C. Rich

mond.

From St. Paul's Church, NorthProvidence, Messrs. Niles Manchester, Ebenezer Tiffany, Apollos Cushman, John B. Braid.

From Christ Church, Gloucester, Messrs. Thomas Owen, and Joseph Bowen.

The Rev. George Taft, Deacon, residing in Providence, and officiating occasionally in Gloucester; and the Rev. Mr. Falker, Deacon, officiating at St. Paul's Churches, North and South-Kingston, were admitted to honorary seats.

The Convention proceeded to election, and appointed Jeremiah Lippitt, Secretary; Rev. Salmon Wheaton, Rev. Nathan B. Crocker, Rev. John L. Blake, Standing Committee. The same gentlemen were also appointed Clerical, and Messrs. Benjamin Gardner, Thomas L. Halsey, Alexander Jones, and Stephen T. Northam, Lay Delegates to the General Convention. The three above named Reverend Gentlemen were also appointed Clerical, and Messrs. Benj. Gardner, Alex. Jones, David Wilkinson, and Henry Dwolf, Lay Delegates to the Diocesan

Convention.

[blocks in formation]

A female Prayer Book and Tract Society is formed in St. Paul's Church, North-Providence; which, besides

tracts, has distributed about a hundred and fifty Prayer Books.

the Secretary to Resolutions were passed, directing report to the Convention of the Eastern Diocess, an abstract of the Parochial Reports made to this Convention, and that the Diocesan Convention may be informed of the state of the individual Churches in the Diocess. The Conventions of the other states in the Diocess are requested to pass a similar resolu

tion.

The following resolutions were passed:

Resolved unanimously, That this Convention do entertain for the "Auxiliary New-York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society," the most affectionate regard; and view, with lively gratitude to the Supreme Being, the benevolent exertions of said society for the more free and extensive disse. mination of our excellent Liturgy, by procuring the first set of stereotype plates for the Book of Common Prayer, whereby the price of that valuable formulary of worship has been so reduced, that the poor can now be provided

therewith.

Resolved unanimously, That the Secretary of this Convention communicate to the Corresponding Secretary of that society, the above public expression of our sincere and Christian friendship.

Resolved, That this Convention continue to feel a lively interest in the success and prosperity of the Church Missionary Society of this state; and that it be recommended to the Clergy to preach, at some suitable time in the course of the year, a discourse on the subject of said society, and that they have a contribution in aid of its funds. The Clergy, and one Layman from each Church, were appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions in aid of the said society.

The Missionaries employed under the ecclesiastical authority of this state, were required, by a resolution of the Convention, to make an annual report to the Bishop of their labours, and the state of the parishes in which they may officiate.

A resolution was passed for supplying the destitute children in Sunday Schools, with Bibles.

A proposition for an amendment of the Constitution was offered, providing, that Ministers employed as instructors in incorporated seminaries of learning in the state, and Missionaries officiating therein, under the ecclesiastical authority thereof, shall be members of the Convention.

After votes of thanks to the officers of the Convention, and the officiating Clergyman, the Convention adjourned

to the last Tuesday in April next, then to convene in St. Michael's Church, Bristol.

Providence, June 14, 1819.

In the evening of the day on which the Convention was holden, the Rev. Mr. WHEATON delivered a discourse before the Church Missionary Society; in which were displayed the urgent necessity of exertion on the part of the friends of the Church, and the bounden duty of all who " seek her good, and ever wish her well," to be liberal and active. It was much regretted that the unpleasantness of the weather prevented many from hearing this interesting and instructive discourse, and from contributing to its support. We hope, on future occasions which may offer, all will remember, that what they may give, is " for Zion and the temple's sake."

Sharpsburg (Md.) Sunday School

MONDAY the 31st May was a proud day for Sharpsburg. At an early hour in the day the town was crowded with persons who assembled to witness the examination of the children attached to the Sunday School, and also the laying of the corner stone of a Protestant Episcopal Church about to be erected in that place. The school consists of 198 children, of whona about 150 were present. It was truly gratifying to see so large an assemblage of children, some of whom were not above six or eight years of age, tuning their infantile voices to the praises of God, and repeating from memory considerable portions of the Holy Scriptures.

It is only to look at the Sunday School of Sharpsburg, and the many beneficial effects that have resulted from it, to have an entire conviction of the utility and excellence of such institutions. The same children, to whom the return of the Lord's Day now brings joy, in the religious exercises to which it is to be consecrated, but a few months since contemplated Sunday as little more than a day for play and merriment. To say that the children of Sharpsburg once spent the Lord's Day in idleness and noise, is only putting them on a level with many children of neighbouring towns: to say that they now spend that day in a very different manner, and that the only noise you hear from them is, the joyful sound of praise and thanksgiving to God, is to raise them above that level, and to exhibit the institution which has produced these results, as admirably adapted to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

After the examination, premiums of Bibles, Prayer Books, &c. were conferred upon the children, according to their improvement and attention to studies. An affectionate and impressive address to the children, teachers, and parents, was then delivered by the Rev. B. ALLEN; and the exercises closed by singing, and a prayer from the Rev. J. C. CLAY.

From the place of examination the Sunday School children, with their teachers, and others, marched in procession to the ground where the corner stone of the Church was to be laid, singing, as they went, the 42d hymn"Life is the time," &c. When arrived upon the spot, and while the corner stone was laying, the same children struck up the 67th Psalm. After which an address was delivered by the Rev Mr. CLAY, and the solemnities concluded by a prayer from the Rev. Mr. ALLEN.

The address of Mr. CLAY, having been requested for publication, is herewith given.

ADDRESS,

Delivered by the Rev. Mr. CLAY, at the laying of the corner stone of St. Paul's Church, Sharpsburg.

We are assembled upon an occasion that must excite a lively interest in the breast of every one who has at heart the welfare of religion. The celebration of the anniversary of a school such as that which has been, for some time, existing in this place, is itself an event calculated to inspire into every spectator feelings of no ordinary satisfaction. But this is not the only interesting sight we are this day called upon to contemplate. Is it no cause

of congratulation and joy, that we here lay the corner stone of a building whose walls are to reverberate the praises of God, and within whose sacred courts the glad tidings of salvation are to be sounded in the ears of perishing mortals? What is the house, the incipient erection of which is marked by the solemnities in which we are now engaged? Is it intended for the exhibition of worldly grandeur, and in which shall be displayed the pomp of power, and the trappings of earthly glory? Far different, and infinitely more noble are the purposes to which this house is to be appropriated. Were worldly grandeur, indeed, and earthly glory presented by Scripture to the mind, as objects in the possession of which we could find happiness in this world, and a passport to the happiness of the world to come, the erection of a building to those objects would be to us highly interesting. But forasmuch as this is not the case; forasmuch as the service of Mammon is as opposite to that of God, as darkness is to light, we proclaim a glorious truth when we declare, that every temple of the Lord is a temple for the demolition of the pomp and pageantry of this world, and for the inculcating of those principles of humility and self-denial, which are the foundation of all true happiness. Is this house intended for the enforcing of those political maxims, by which the blessings of civil liberty are secured, and man's temporal enjoyments increased and strengthened? If it were, it would be designed for a noble object. But, how much more noble that for which

it is really intended! Instead of having reference to man's civil enjoyments-enjoyments held altogether by the uncertain tenure of life, and to which death puts an eternal end, the erection of this house, while it is intended to promote man's present happiness, is designed, especially, in the services to which it is to be consecrated, to render him the heir of an inheritance, eternal in the heavens.

No person will deny that every object, which has in view the promotion of man's happiness, is more or less noble and excellent in exact proportion with the degree in which that end is accomplished. When we cast our eyes abroad into the world, and contemplate the numerous institutions which every where abound, by what criterion do we estimate their value and importance? Does not such criterion consist in the influence they have in diminishing the extent of human misery, and promoting the incrsase of human happiness? Wherefore do we look with veneration and regard upon those by whose influence and exertions hospitals, for the reception of maniacs, have been founded and supported? Is it not because such institutions contribute to alleviate the miseries of a most unfortunate class of fellow creatures, and afford a multiplied variety of means for their recovery to reason and to happiness? Wherefore do we contemplate as the most illustrious of mankind, and the most truly noble, those who have contributed their fortunes and their efforts to the establishment of asylums for the reception of the poor and destitute orphan? Is it not because such institutions afford protection, and communicate temporal and religious bless ings to that interesting and pity-inspiring portion of our race. Wherefore do we consider, as entitled to praise and gratitude, the exertions of those through whose instrumentality the Deaf and Dumb are made partakers of many of the numerous blessings of speech and hearing-blessings thought, till lately, to be within the reach of those only who are possessed of these inestimable faculties? Is it not that such efforts contribute to mitigate the evils and afflictions endured by a most pitiable portion of the human family? Wherefore is it that the praise of the British and Foreign Bible Society is in all the world, and that others have been led in almost every civilized part of our earth, to follow her steps in the circulation of the Holy Scriptures? Is it not that Bible Societies are powerful agents, in the hands of God, for the extending of that spiritual kingdom, whose triumphs are marked, not by the blood and misery of the human race, but by their life and happiness? And, to come to an VOL. III.

i

institution, the beneficial effects of which you have more particularly seen in the reforming influences it has had upon the tower in which we are now assembled-Wherefore is it that the name of Raikes has extended far and wide, as deserving and receiving the highest commendations, in its being identified with the origin of schools for the instruction of children on the Lord's Day? Is it not that the interests of morality and religion have thus been promoted? Is it not that Sunday Schools operate to the prevention of those violations of the Sabbath, so frequent in our land, and to which can be generally traced, as their first origin, those heinous crimes which bring their subjects to the gallows, or the penitentiary? Is it not that by means of this institution those virtuous and noble principles are implanted in the youthful breast, which afford a sure pledge of future usefulness, and future happiness? Yes, brethren, we contemplate such institutions as those just mentioned, with satisfaction and delight; because, before their influence, the moral darkness which envelopes the world, is, in some degree, dissipated, and the effulgence of primeval joy again made to gladden our earth gladden it, not indeed, as to the present life, with that full blaze of bliss, which, in the days of primitive innocence, shone with so unclouded a glory, but gladden it, as in the natural world the mind is gladdened, when, being deprived of the full light of the sun, it rejoices to have only his partial and reflected light from the moon.

But if, for the reasons we have mentioned, such institutions as those just referred to, receive the favour and approbation of mankind, and have the names of their authors and patrons placed in the catalogue of the benefactors of the human race, what shall we say of that institution to the promotion of whose objects the edifice, the corner stone of which we this day lay, is to be consecrated? Valuable as are many societies of human origin, we must place none of them upon a level with those which have emanated from a divine source. While we re

28

joice in the many excellent and noble institutions, for the alleviation of human misery, and the promotion of human happiness, to which the piety and philanthropy of man have given existence, we are called upon to consider the institution of public worship as more noble than them all-more noble in having originated from God, and more noble in the extent of its influence and the importance of its results. It is, indeed, to the sanctuary of the Lord to which we must, in general, trace the possession of those feelings of benevolence which have exhibited themselves in the many charitable and excellent institutions which abound in the civilized world. Where is it that we behold Hospitals, and Orphan Asylums, and Asylums for the Deaf and Dumb, and Bible Societies, and Sunday Schools, springing into existence, and scattering around them their cheering and glorious influences? Is it in places where temples to the Lord have never been erected, or his worship seldom or never solemnized? Or, is it not rather there where his temples most abound; there, where from his altars arises the incense of supplication; there, where from the lips of his Ministers are received instruction and exhortation; which, while they control the vicious feelings of the heart, tend, under the Divine influences, to impel man to virtue and to piety? Where was it that the philanthropic Howard received those noble impulses of his heart, under the guidance and direction of which he relinquished the pleasures of domestic life, and, travelling from place to place, spent his fortune and his time in relieving the pains, and assuaging the griefs of suffering humanity? Was it not in a land of Churches; in a land where his mind, at an early age, was properly diseiplined by the devotions and precepts of the sanctuary? Where was it that he, whose name we have already mentioned as the founder of Sunday Schools, imbibed those noble sentiments which so ardently led him to consult the temporal and eternal welfare of the rising generation-led him to the formation of an institution un

der the benign operations of which many an immortal soul has been reclaimed from the paths of destruction, and made partaker of the promises and hopes of the Gospel? I need not tell you, it was a land of Churchesa land of Gospel light and liberty, that gave birth to this benefactor of mankind. And, in no other but a land of Churches can you find such characters-among no others but the frequenters of those Churches, can you find them.-Philanthropy, to a limited extent, may be sometimes exhibited in a few who neglect God's sanctuaries; but, if you trace it to its source, it will be generally found to proceed, either from ostentation, or some other principle equally spurious, and illegitimate.

But, have we enumerated all the important results of the worship of God, when we speak of it as inspiring those philanthropic feelings whence have originated the many institutions, and the many charities which have so powerfully mitigated the evils of suffering humanity? No; we have taken but a glance at the subject. To go into a detail of the many beneficial and glorious results of public worship, would be extending this address to a length greater than would be at present expedient. Not to mention the influence it has upon national prosperity, and its intimate connexion with the growth and decay of empires, as this worship is attended to, or neglected; we would merely add, as its chief glory and excellence, the relation it bears to the possession of eternal life in the world to come.. It will be denied by none who reflect with any justness at all upon the subject, that the brevity and uncertainty of the present life, and the eternally happy, or everlastingly miserable condition in which we are placed in the life to come, render it important that we should act here with a view to that life; and, while we shun the misery of the latter condition, should lay hold of the happiness of the former. But, who are they, that, in the world of spirits, shall be pronounced worthy to escape the misery of the one, and enjoy the happiness of the other? Will

« AnteriorContinua »