The Brigantine Hotel,
Dedicated to Democracy.
As the Mission of CHRIST on earth to the children of men was to rescue the perishing and care for the dying nineteen hundred years ago, even so in this Fatherhood Dispensation is GOD ALMIGHTY, FATHER DIVINE, fulfilling the Scriptures to the letter and accomplishing the MISSION for which HE CAME! This beautiful Message depicts the Love of GOD for the children of men, giving all concerned and those who do not know an insight into the Work and Activities carried on by the Peace Mission Movement, and what it stands for. This Message is also an outward expression of CHRIST'S Sermon on the Mount, for out of the bounty of GOD'S HOLY HEART are these Blessings poured on the just and the unjust.
For The Daily Demonstrations of Your Unselfish Love to And For The Children of Men, 0 Lamb of God, We Humbly Thank Thee!
(The foregoing statements are those of the transcriber, and the following is the inspirational composition sung just before FATHER arose to speak:)
The Church on Brigantine Island
Is dedicated to Democracy.
It's a blessing from our FATHER,
The Church down by the sea;
It stands as a monument
To all the critics that be;
But the Coast Guards are very comfortable
In the Church down by the sea.
(FATHER speaks as follows:)
PEACE, EVERYONE! That little composition as a message and yet, a declaration of the experience of your Humble Servant, His co-workers, members and friends, yet, it being as a composition and as a declaration of what GOD is actually doing, it is well worth considering for the lifting of the morale of the people to let them see and know, with GOD all things are possible.
This Church of which we are now speaking in the little composition is the Brigantine Hotel and Beach. It had been purchased by a number of MY followers, members of one of our churches-at least, some of our churches under the Peace Mission Movement-, and it was given to the church as a grant to establish our Church in that vicinity; for the Hotel, the Beach and all of its convenience were very appropriate and suitable for a church of our type; since we believe in the feeding of the children of men and supplying the necessary comfort and convenience for their bodies as well as their souls, it is essential for the Church under the Jurisdiction of FATHER DIVINE to have every facility for comfort and for convenience in the way of food and shelter and for convalescence and for recreation and every expression of Life for the comfort and the convenience of the members and others.
Therefore, the Brigantine Hotel was one of the most sacred expressions of our Work and our Mission, because it was a Church according to MY Plan and Purpose to care for the people physically, mentally and Personally as well as spiritually; therefore, we had every comfort there; some hundred and fifty bedrooms with all comfort and all convenience, an auditorium, and also a very large Holy Communion Hall and places where they would relax on the beach and get real health from a scientific physical point of view.
Then I say, it was appropriate for the occasion and for the purpose. Hence the Hotel was said to have cost a million dollars to build in nineteen twenty-seven. For this cause, if in good condition, it was one of the most valuable Churches of the Peace Mission Movement and most appropriate for the purpose, as I said, to serve GOD according to our manner of worship to feed them as you are fed here now, to have comfortable sleeping places for people to sleep; for when Jesus had those boys out, teaching them, He did not send them away hungry! He fed the five thousand and the four thousand as an evidence that it is essential to care for the body as well as the soul; and also when the Good Samaritan found one injured by the way, he was cared for. In the parable, Jesus illustrated the establishment of the Church among men.
We are to care for the people physically as well as mentally and spiritually; therefore, the Church on Brigantine Island was one of our most sacred honors that we were willing .according to our Constitution, to sacrifice our most sacred honor and comfort and convenience there too for the benefit of our Government according to our Constitution and its Amendments.
Then I say, the composition came by inspiration through the transmission of MY SPIRIT that inspired them, "The Church on Brigantine Island is dedicated to Democracy." By the Church being dedicated to Democracy, the Coast Guard, they were housed there, around six hundred, so I have been informed, with every comfort and every convenience. This is also a part of MY WORK as a Minister of the Gospel to carry out MY Plan and Purpose to the letter and according to our Church Doctrine-to care for those who stand in the need of help; not only those of our members alone, but as the boys, the Coast Guard, came to ME, telling ME they did not have the comfort and convenience in Brigantine Island and they had to even lug the water to drink-did not have facilities to take a bath. There, we had every comfort and every convenience and a bathroom for almost every bedroom, shower bath and everything necessary. While they were suffering there under the condition they petitioned your Humble Servant to see if they could get the use of the building.
We were willing to sacrifice our most sacred honor of having such a beautiful Church on the sea, down by the sea, whichever; because it was a humane act to do so as well as our patriotic duty to help the Government in this great emergency. Therefore, it reached ME very sympathetically considering some five hundred or more Coast Guards guarding the coast in order to protect this nation yet, suffering without comfort and convenience.
It was our duty as well as our patriotic duty to help give them the comfort and the convenience we had there and to spare because we have other places. So the agreement was made between the owners and the Church to waive our grant for the duration to give them a chance to negotiate with the government for the lease of the place for the duration, and so they did. Hence, it was leased to the Government by the owners after the Church waived the grant of the use of it. The owners leased the Government the place for the duration without any remuneration whatsoever, without the Government even paying the taxes, which amounts to a whole lot of money. But we felt as we still feel, it was a humane act and our patriotic duty to our Government and to our State and Country.
For this cause the inspiration came so vividly conscientiously expressed and declared:
'The Church on Brigantine Island
Is dedicated to Democracy,
It's a blessing of our FATHER.'
So it is a true saying, it was a Blessing of GOD to the children of men, not only to the Government, but as a humane act to the personnel of those who were to be there to have the comfort and the convenience, hence it was a Blessing to humanity generally. There, fore
'It stands as a monument
To all the critics that be;
But the Coast Guard, they are very comfortable
In the Church down by the sea'
Then I say, it is a privilege to realize, if mankind would but live our Constitution and enact the Bill of Rights and develop the Spirit and the Meaning of our Declaration of Independence within them, everyone would express an independence second to none. They would no longer make a mockery of our Declaration of Independence. If I had a whole lot of solicitors going around begging and soliciting, in MY opinion I would be making a mockery of our Declaration of Independence and say I AM representing a real citizenry of this Democracy.
To represent this Democracy, in MY opinion, we must express our Documents, and one inclusive very deeply to be considered is our Declaration of Independence a well as our Constitution and its Amendments. For this cause, we lift those who are on the relief roll, those who are in lacks, wants and limitations; if they adhere to MY Teaching, I will cause them to be independent by the Spirit of the Presence of GOD within them, hence, they will express a citizenry according to our Democracy's Documents as well as express Christianity in its fullest measure according to the New and the Old Testaments. The two great American Documents typify the New and the Old Testaments. Our religious Documents are the two Documents, the Old and the New Testaments and our political Documents are those of the Constitution and its Amendments and the Declaration of Independence.
Then I say, each of these great Documents, according to MY Conviction, should be lived and put forth into expression-to be a citizen and express a citizenry of either. If we desire to express our citizenry of Christianity, we should live our two great religious Documents and imbibe the Spirit and the Meaning of both it and them, then we will be living epistles of the Gospel of CHRIST, seen and read by men. In same like manner politically, if we live our two great political documents and imbibe the Spirit and the Meaning of them and bring the two to fruition within, we will become to be real living Epistles of a real Democracy, seen and read by men.
Men can read our citizenry as we live it and express it, but if we go around begging and stealing and doing everything in violation to our two great political Documents, it is evidently known we are not showing our citizenry of this Democracy within. Can you not see the Mystery! Can you not see the significance of the imbibation of the Spirit and .the Meaning of the two political Documents to be real American citizens, even as it is essential to imbibe the Spirit and the Meaning of our two religious documents to be real Christians?
Someone may say, "Well, you need not imbibe the Spirit and the Meaning of the Old Testament to be a Christian." The Spirit and the Meaning of the Old Testament is the Foundation and the beginning of the New Testament, for the Old Testament predicted in its predictions in the prophetic age, of the Birth of CHRIST and His Reign on earth among men. Therefore, the two are in Unity, in a way of speaking., just as Christianity and Democracy are synonymous when we bring them together and live them and express them scientifically and accurately; then Christianity is no longer a stranger in our land and Democracy is no longer a stranger to a Christian.
We hive those two great expressions of Life in its fullest measure; we express Christianity accurately and we express our citizenry accurately and you find in a Democracy, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. You find where you are representing a Democracy, you have the freedom of Speech. You have the freedoms that our religious Documents call for. Then, in Christianity, 'Where the Spirit of GOD is, there is Liberty!' You can see the two are equivalent, in a way of speaking.
So it is a privilege to live in such a recognition and realize GOD HIMSELF is with you in all of your dealings if you live our Constitution and Enact our Bill of Rights; not only legally, but enact it in every activity; GOD HIMSELF will be with you and the Spirit of this Democracy will be seen and read by men within you. I thank you.
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