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VOLUME THKEE
HUMSEH THIRTY-SIX
A GEE A T LITE-SA VING ST A TION
Laying Comer Stone of Wesley Memorial Church, Atlanta, Ga.
Marks Epoch In Southern Methodism.
OHN WESLEY still lives and resigns.
The great evailgel of that “vital reli
gion” which he sought and found not in
the “Established Church,” has a monu
inent, of coursfe, in every Methodist
fehurch in all tile world; But if he
looked down “as a shadowy Witness’*
of what took place in Atlanta on Wed
nesday, October 14, the 173 d anniver-
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sary of the great apostle’s departure for Georgia,
he must have experienced even a heightening ol the
joys—if that were possible—amid the courts of the
redeemed I The corner
stone of Wesley Memo
rial, the first great institu
tional church in Southern
Methodism, was laid amid
dramatic and impressive
ceremonies in the presence
of a thousand jubilant and
rejoicing friends. From
3 o’clock to 4:30 in the
afternoon, every moment
was packed with stirring
interest. The distant
reader can imagine .tue
pulsing, thrilling, spiritual
delight of the - occasion
which held within its com
pass this program:
Hymn “Glorious
Things of Thee are Spok
en.”
Hymn—“ Come Ye that
Love the Lord.”
Scripture Readi n g
Rev. R. F. Fakes, Pastor
Wesley Memorial Church.
Prayer Rev. J. T.
Daves, D.D., Presiding El
der Atlanta District.
Hymn —“How Firm a
Foundation. ”
Introductory Remarks —Bishop Warren A. Cand
ler.
Address —Bishop E. R. Hendrix.
Hymn —“On This Stone Xow Laid with Prayer.”
Laying of Corner Stone—Bishop AV. A. Candler.
Hymn —“Children of the Heavenly King.”
Hymn —“I love Thy Kingdom, Lord.”
Benediction.
The Atlanta Constitution gives the following
summary of the speeches of Bishop Warren A,
(Candler, who presided and Bishop E, R. Hendrix,
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WESLEY MEMORIAL CHURCH, ATLANTA, GA.
ATLANTA, GA., OCTOBER 22. 1908.
who made the special address on this historic occa
sion :
Bishop Candler Speaks.
“How Firm a Foundation” preceded the intro
ductory remarks of Bishop Warren A. Candler.
He referred to the corner stone laying as an
epochal incident, and called to mind that on Octo
ber 14, 1735, John Wesley, for whom the church
was named, set sail from England for Georgia. He
found, upon arriving at Savannah, only seven hun
dred people living in Georgia, and promptly took
them all into his parish.
Bishop Candler stated that now Georgia has
over two million people, and that of this number
one hundred and eighty-five thousand are white
southern Methodists.
“If we add the northern Methodists and our
good friends, the African Methodists, whose seed,
like those of Abraham, are beyond number, and
reckoning only with the male adults, it would be
safe to say every other man you meet is a Meth
odist.
“There is no Wesley county named for this man
who did so much for Georgia, but every Methodist
church is a monument to him.”
He recounted the greatness of Wesley, declared
that it was he who frightened Napoleon into sell
ing the Louisiana purchase, from which Missouri
was carved, and traced this down to show that Wes
ley was responsible for the home- and birthplace of
Bishop Hendrix, whom he introduced as the speaker
of the occasion.
Address by Bishop Hendrix.
Bishop Hendrix compared the proposed church
to a life-saving station and light house, and drew
many beautiful similes. He told of the fight to be
stands for the Church.
What the world wants and needs is more of the
spirit of Christ in the Church.
“The separation of the ministers and the laity
has done much toward causing this condition. It
has taken the tongue away from the body.”
Following this, Bishop Hendrix paid a high trib
ute to John Wesley by declaring: “Georgia once
claimed one of the six greatest men in the world:
Moses, of the Egyptian period; Isaiah, of the As
syrian ; John the Baptist, of the Jewish; the Apos
tle Paul, of the Roman; Martin Luther, of the Ger
(Continued on Page 4.)
TWO DOLLARS A YEAR.
JIVE CENTS A COPY.
made for men’s souls,
there.
“It is peculiarly appro
priate that this church is
to be built upon a battle
field, for across the street
(Ivy and Auburn avenue)
during the Civil War, a
woman was standing there
with her babe in her
arms, and while there a
cannon ball -tore her
child’s head from its
shoulders. Here is a can
non ball that has been ex
cavated from this spot,”
and with this he held up
a rusty cannon ball that
weighed probably six or
eight pounds, found there
during the day.
He declared the great
trouble with the Church
today is that the body is
deformed and out of pro
portion to the head.
“The skepticism of to
day is not with the Church
itself, but that which
