The Lincoln Memorial Congregational Church of Washington, D. C., was dedicated Sunday, January 2, with appropriate services. Secretary Beard preached an able and practical dedicatory sermon on “The Struggles of Life,” from the text, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things.” The dedicatory prayer was offered by the pastor.
In the afternoon another large audience gathered at the Young People’s Service, which was addressed by Rev. S. M. Newman, pastor of the First Congregational Church, and others. In the evening Rev. T. G. Steward, D. D., pastor of the Metropolitan A. M. E. Church, preached an able sermon on “The Strongholds of Faith.”
The church was organized a few years ago with only eleven members, including the first pastor, Rev. S. P. Smith. It now has an enrollment of over eighty and a flourishing Sunday-school. This was the second Congregational church organized at the National Capital in the midst of a large, needy and growing population; four other churches have been since organized, so that our polity is now represented by six churches.
The building, which is large and commodious and centrally located, has been altered and renovated, and now presents a very attractive appearance. The repairs which were begun ten weeks ago have cost to date $1,300. Over eleven hundred dollars of this amount have been raised and expended. The lower floor consists of the audience room, which serves as chapel, with a seating capacity of six hundred and fifty, with spacious Sunday-school rooms adjoining, which will seat three hundred and fifty. The upper floor has been neatly fitted up for a parsonage and school-rooms.
In addition to the religious services, a sewing-school for girls, a night school and a kindergarten are carried on in the building.
The Women’s Missionary Society, music and the industrial work, are under the direction of Mrs. G. W. Moore. The dedicatory services were reported in all the Washington daily papers and several weeklies. The church has a large field of usefulness and a bright outlook.
GEORGE W. MOORE.
EVIDENCES OF PROGRESS.
The A. M. A. workers in the South have many discouragements. Our work is generally ignored by the whites, and often unappreciated by the blacks, but such letters as the following show that many fully appreciate the efforts that are made to purify and elevate the race. We have recently organized a “Social Purity Society,” and have already the names of over sixty women and girls on our “White Shield” pledge. After one of our meetings, at which earnest words of warning and advice were given by several of the teachers, the following letters were received from two of the mothers: