NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
CHURCH ATTENDANCE LARGE 
Go-To-Church Sunday Movement Doubles Local 
Congregations 
Manchester people responded in no 
small measure to the Go-To-Church 
appeal, both the Congregational and 
Baptist churches more than doubling 
their usual congregations. At the 
Congregational church, where there 
is a usual attendance of from 100 to 
125, there were 300 present; more 
than 700 peopie attended the two ser- 
vices at the Baptist church during 
the day. At the Congregational 
church in the evening, the High 
school orchestra assisted the girl’s 
choir in the musical program. Rev. 
Charles A. Hatch took for his text 
in the morning, “Hold fast that 
which is good.” 
“Hold fast that which is good.” 1 
Thess. 5:21. “The heroes of the 
New Testament were men of great 
convictions, In fact, the atmosphere 
of early Christian life was charged 
with’ the unshakable conviction that 
Jesus was the Christ, Persecution 
could not shake it. Death could not 
destroy it. Records come down to us 
from those early days which testify 
to the fidelity and zeal with which 
the followers of Christ held to their 
religious convictions. Stephen trans- 
figured by a revelation, Peter set 
ablaze by the spirit of the Master, 
Paul gripped by a mighty will, faced 
death unflinchingly, true to their con- 
victions. ‘This same steadfastness lit 
up their immediate followers. Cle- 
ment of Alexandria said, ‘Martyrs 
are daily burned, crucified, and be- 
headed before our eyes.’ At Carth- 
age two young women won the high- 
est admiration by refusing to deny 
their faith, So this morning, with 
the pictures of dying Saints, with the 
roar of maddened beasts in our ears, 
with the sight of blood flowing before 
our eyes, let us understand the earn- 
estness and conviction of John, when 
he writes: ‘Already hold fast till 
JT come,’ and of Peter, ‘Hold fast our 
profession; Hold fast that which is 
good.’ 
 “T trust that days of religious per- 
secution are gone forever. But for 
the most part the great convictions 
are gone with them, It is true that 
this is not the age of altrusim; at its 
best it is the age of inquiry, Churches 
are not filled, though prophets speak. 
But my purpose in echoing the words 
of the apostle is this: ‘There must be 
some revelation that is well worth 
holding fast. Some of you are 
frankly agnostic and you are looking 
for further light. Well, then, pui- 
ting aside your doubt for a time, can 
you not find in the teaching of your 
youth, in the prayer you lisped at 
your mother’s knees, something you 
still cherish as dear and true? I be- 
lieve it so. 
“Many years ago a young lad— 
a weaver of dreams—was stolen from 
his father’s home and care. In his 
new home he met a terrible tempta- 
tion, ‘How can I do this great wick- 
edness and sin against God?,’ was the 
cy of this righteous youth. In a 
foreign land, among strange Gods, 
this young boy found in the teachings 
and training of his youth, a help that 
saved him from sin, Young men 
and young women, every day brings 
you to a choice between good and evil, 
Temptation often assails you. Per- 
haps you are not religious by nature. 
Perhaps you do not attend church. 
Then, for the love of your own soul, 
hold fast to the teachings of your 
youth. In the hour of temptation, 
repeat a prayer of childhood. Keep 
what principles you already have. 
Hold fast that which is good. 
“Perhaps there is no field in which 
religious convictions play such a small 
part as in business. Asa rule religion 
and action are completely divorced. 
‘A’ opens a store on the corner. ‘B,’ 
who is a more skillful buyer, attempts 
to undersell ‘A.’ In the sharp com- 
petition that follows, ‘A’ sells inferior 
goods at the same price as for better 
goods. ‘To be honest here, spells ruin. 
This is but one feature where busi- 
ness may be dishonestly conducted. 
In larger fields of business, there are 
correspondingly greater oportunities 
for polite stealing.” 
The speaker here told of a young 
clerk who told a customer the truth 
concerning some goods which he was 
trying to sell. He lost the sale and 
was discharged by his employers. Af- 
ter a few weeks the young man was 
asked to enter the firm. The firm 
knew they could trust him. “Honesty 
in business, then, is what the business 
world needs most, When religion 
and business are wedded, there will 
be no need of legislation to prevent 
unfair competition and monopoly. 
Business men, keep your principles! 
‘Hold fast to that which is good.’ 
“But perhaps you find -it difficult 
to keep your religious convictions. 
Perhaps the more you studied science 
the more barren religion became. 
9 
Now, this attitude is more or less to 
be expected. This is an age of dis- 
covery. Science has made great 
strides, A few months ago the eyes 
of the scientific world were turned 
toward Sir Oliver Lodge, one of the 
foremost scientists of the age. He 
was about to deliver his address to a 
large gathering of scientists. His 
message came and it contained clear- 
est vindication of religion in modern 
times. He said that science assumes 
to know too much, There are laws 
in the spiritual world that science can 
never explain away. ‘This is a great 
step in advance. Science cannot ex- 
plain away faith. Science cannot rea- 
son away God, Hold fast, then, your 
religious convictions. They have a 
legitimate place in your life. Live 
in them. Be grounded upon them. 
‘Hold fast that which is good.’ 
“Let me barely mention another 
field in which you can keep your con- 
victions. I am referring to the moral 
life of our community, The voters 
of Manchester will soon face the 
question of license or _ no-license. 
Next year many foreign laborers will 
be tearing up the streets preparatory 
to laying sewers. For a time they 
will live among us, The voter must 
ask himself whether he wants license 
under such conditions, Let him also 
consider carefully the following 
facts: The year preceding, under no- 
license, when the laws were not so 
well enforced, there were thirty-six 
arrests on the charge of intoxication. 
This year, under strict police sur- 
veillance there have been but twenty 
such arrests. On the Fourth of July 
last there was not one conviction. 
‘Hold fast that which is good.’ 
“Now, if keeping barely one or two 
convictions were all, life would be 
barren indeed. ‘There would be stag- 
nation. If one teaching of the church 
is dear to you, hold to it. Perhaps 
you believe in the love of God; then 
live in it. Towards evening we see 
the shadows steal across the sky. We 
turn our eyes to the heavens, Per- 
haps we see but one star faintly glim- 
mering, But as the darkness grows 
deeper we see another and yet an- 
other star, until the heavens are 
ablaze with stars, all clad in the 
beauty of the evening air. So with 
us. The deep gloom of doubt steals 
upon us. We raise our eyes to the 
heavens and we see but one star; per- 
haps it is the beautiful star of the 
atonement. But as the darkness 
deepens and we still watch, we now 
see new stars, the Love of God, and 
immortality. Cherish then your rel- 
igious convictions. Hold to them; 
live in them, It will repay you in 
the end. Your convictions will grow 
