Twing--John I. Thompson--Golden Gate of
Paradise.
As we turn away from Chinatown, with its Oriental customs and its
peculiar life and its religion, we naturally give ourselves up to
reflection on the mission and character of the Christian Church.
While we recognise the good that is done by "all who profess and call
themselves Christians," and thank God for every good work done in the
name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, we may more especially consider
the development of the Episcopal Church, pure and Apostolic in its
origin, on the Pacific coast. We must ever keep in mind the services
held in this region as far back as the year 1579, by Chaplain Francis
Fletcher, under Admiral Drake, when the old Prayer Book of the
Church of England was used on the shores of the Golden Gate, a fact
commemorated, as we have already noted in a previous chapter, by
the Prayer Book Cross erected by the late George W. Childs, of
Philadelphia, in Golden Gate Park. This was prophetic of bright days
to come. Time would roll on and bring its marvellous changes, but
the truth of God would remain the same, and the Church would still
flourish and the liturgy of our forefathers would hold its place in
the affections of the people of all ranks, as at this day.
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