Christianity, worthy of being promulgated, not in a spirit of arrogant
denominationalism, but in a spirit of toleration and catholicity. Yet
few in this city, outside of our own kith and kin, understand the
meaning of our system. We have made but little progress in commending it
to others or in extending our denominational lines.

We do not even hold the ground that belongs to us. The descendants of
the Lutherans of the first two centuries are not enrolled in our church
books. Although of late years we have increased a hundredfold (literally
a hundredfold within the memory of men still living), we are far from
caring effectively for our flocks. The number of lapsed Lutherans is
larger than that of the enrolled members of our churches. In the
language of our Palatine forefathers: _Doh is ebbes letz_.

While therefore recent progress affords ground for encouragement, it is
not a time for boastfulness. It is rather a time for self-examination,
for an inquiry into our preparedness for new tasks and impending
opportunities.

We are living in an imperial city. What we plan and what we do here in
New York projects itself far beyond the walls of our city. Nowhere are
the questions of the community more complicated and the needs of the
time more urgent than here. We should therefore ask ourselves whether
the disjointed sections of our church, arrayed during the
Quadricentennial as one, for the purposes of a spectacular celebration,
but each exalting some particularism of secondary value, adequately
represent the religious ideas which four centuries ago gave a new
impulse to the life of the world. If not, where does the trouble lie?
Is it a question of doctrine, of language, of organization or of spirit?