Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

eward."absence,"stone."able,"to this beautiful house which you builtin myhe said. Why did thecarpenter turn pale? Why was he afraidto live in the house when the stormscame and the wind blew?Each one of us must give acount ofour stewardship if we would build foreternity with God.Read once more the "Foreward"which our Synodical President, Mrs. A.J. McFarland, has given us"Therefore we his servants will ariseand build" (Neh. 2:20).WE ARE BUILDERSIsn't it strangeThat princes and kings,And clowns that caperIn sawdust rings,And common peopleLike you and meAre BUILDERS for eternity?Each is given a bag of tools,A shapeless mass,A book of rules;And each must make'Ere life has flownA STUMBLING blockOr a STEPPINGRemember our lives are to be livingtemples of God, everlasting, beautiful,and useful, and we are stewards of whatGod in His abounding love has providedfor us, to use in buildingHis honor and glory.our lives forn John, verse 8 "Look to yourselves,that we lose not those things which wehave wrought, but that we receive a fullW. M. S. DEPARTMENTSynodicalTheme: Arise and build.A Request!PLEASE BE DEFINITE in signingthe name of your society. At all timeswhen mentioning your society, and especially when sending money and giftsof any kind, please state whether it isW.M.S. or Y.W.M.S. and give the nameof the congregation.It is not enough to say: e.g. LillianMcCracken W.M.S. for it is unknownto most womenariesat home and missionwhether this organization be inFlorida or California. Furthermore fewknow whether it is Y.W.M.S. or W.M.S.In sending packageswill the senderplease sign her own name if she expectsthe receiver to acknowledge the gift.124THANK YOU.OFFICIAL BOARDMrs. J. M. Robb, SecretaryChurch NewsTo commemorate a century of Christian service is an experience not yet accorded to many of our mid-westem congregations. Therefore the Clarindachurch considered it a high privilege toobserveits Centennial the afternoonand evening of July 28. In spite of avery hot and uncomfortable day a largenumber of friends and former membersgathered to join in the celebration.The Sharon congregation may be regarded as the parent church, for it wasfrom Sharon that the first Covenantersettlers came in 1854 Wm. Whitehill,Thomas Toner, Aaron Wilson, and Wm.McClelland. They were followed soon byJohn and Robert Stevenson, and they inturn by Covenanters from other places.In 1855 a commission of Illinois Presbytery organized the Clarinda congregation with thirty-four members fromthirteen families signing the roll.The first church services were held inprivate dwellings until a permanent location could be found. The presenthouse of worship is the fifth building tobe used. It was dedicated December 1,1918, and is a well-arranged and attractive rural church. The large manse waserected in 1911 and stands on the samelot as the church.Nine pastors have served the congregation. The first, the Rev. Joseph McCracken, served less than two years,1857-58. He was succeeded by the Rev.David McKee, who was a real pioneerminister. His long pastorate covered theyears 1861-1893, and not only did heminister to his own congregation butestablished churches at Blanchard, Iowaand Wahoo and Superior, Nebraska. TheRev. J. W. Dill came in 1893 and remained until 1908.A CENTURY OF SERVICEThis was his lastpastorate, as he retired for reasons ofhealth and lived in Sterling, Kansas,until his death in 1933. Following camethe Rev. H. G. McConaughy, 1910-1915,the Rev. S. J. Johnson, 1916-20, Dr. M.S. McMillan, 1920-31, Dr. Remo I. Robb,1932-39, Dr. E. G. Russell, 1940-48, andthe present pastor, Dr. C. T. Carson,who came in 1949. Drs. McMillan andRussell have served their denominationas Moderator, and Dr. Robb has beenHome Mission Secretarysince 1946.Among those who have gone out toserve the church at large are the Rev.Wylie Caskey, a son of the congregation,now the pastor at Winchester, Kansas,and Mrs. Lois Huggins Mouradian, whotaught a term in the Girls' School inCyprus. Others who received a part oftheir early training here include theRev. W. A. Pinkerton, the Rev. John Edgar, Dr. Cloyd Caskey, the three ministerial sons of Dr. McMillan Robert,John, and Willard and the Rev. Donald Robb. The Rev. Norman Carson wasa member here during his Seminarydays. Two ministers of revered memory,Dr. J. R. W. Stevenson and Dr. J.Boyd Tweed,spent a part of their youthin the bounds of this congregation.The members of the general committee, Mrs. Homer Woods, Chairman, Mrs.Guy Black, Miss Mildred Blair, LeslieMcCalla,and John Cabeen deserve highpraise for their efficient service. Thelong hours of planning every detail inadvance paid big dividends when theday came. They were assisted in carrying out the plans by several committees who also were "ready, willing andwith the result that everythingwent smoothly throughout.The observance began with a programat two o'clock. Dr. C. T. Carson led devotionalsand acted as Master of Ceremonies. Two numbers were sung by theBlack quartette. A splendid history ofthe congregation was prepared and readby Miss Gertrude Lee, granddaughter ofthe Rev. David McKee. Following thiswas a pageant by the Juniors under thedirection of Mrs. Knox McCalla, depicting a congregational meeting of the early days. Authentic old-time costumesand the fact that the items of businesswere taken from the actual minutesmade this quite realistic and entertaining. Along somewhat similar lines was askit given by Glola Caskey, dressed as amodern miss, and Susie Perry,in a costume of the "Nineties." They discussedthe modes of livingof the present andformer times. This was quite amusingbut no doubt the majority of the audience would agree with the Wise Man,"Say not that the former days were better than these." This skit was coachedby Miss Mildred Blair.Greetings were given in one-minutetalks by Wylie and Cloyd Caskey, JohnEdgar, and Norman Carson. Lettersfrom former members were read byMrs. Raymond Moore and Mrs. ClaudeBlair. These included messages from Dr.and Mrs. McMillan and Dr. and Mrs.COVENANTER WITNESS