OF THE UNITED BRETHREN'S CONGREGATION IN CAMDEN Valley, East SALEM, WASHINGTON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

December 31st, 1850.

A few hours will bring to its close, the present year 1850.Calling to mind the merciful dealings of God with us during the past twelve months, every heart must feel deeply sensible of the obligations of gratitude which we owe to the Lord. As regards temporal and spiritual things-as regards civil and religious privileges, we have been greatly favored, and the windows of heaven seem to have been daily opened, and to have showered the most abundant and valuable benefits upon us. Dwelling peaceably within our beautiful valley,-remote from the noisy world,--it appears as if we were screened by the surrounding mountains from those afflictions and calamities, which so frequently befall a community during the course of a year. Sickness did not invade our dwellings, and so remarkably have we been spared in this respect, that we were led almost to forget what poor and helpless mortals we are, and the one solitary death in our midst, was a warning voice sent to us in love, that we should give heed to the things belonging to our peace, that we should consider our latter end,and not forget that the days are approaching when we also must die.-

The former and the latter rain were sent us by the heavenly Father, who careth and provideth for all his children, and a rich harvest and full garners testify to the goodness of God, and call loudly for the thanks of man.

Spiritual blessings also were shed upon our hearts, and some souls, no doubt, were plentifully watered by the refreshing showers of grace, and made to take firmer root downward and to bear richer fruit upward, to the glory of God. And as a part of the church of Christ,-as a congregation of the Lord, we, my brethren, have also, in the midst of the trials of our faith, seen the loving-kindness of our merciful God, and felt assured of His care for us, and been made to rejoice at His readiness to receive the humble penitent, and to speak peace and give comfort to the troubled and the failing heart.

May the infinite love of our Lord and Master prove to every believing soul a never-failing source of the purest joy, and of the most lasting consolation; and may it impress and win the impenitent, and make them the happy recipients of every christian grace.

The great civil advantages of our highly favored country, have been continued to us, and they appear to have become more endeared to every christian and true patriot by the impending storms, which threatened to bring ruin and dissolution upon our favored republic. As a nation, we were called to mourn the loss of our President, who, having been preserved through an eventful life in the military character, and then been placed at the head of our Government--fell beneath the stroke of death in that war which knows no discharge.

The religious privileges of the land God has in mercy continued to us, and He has blessed to a great degree, the various efforts made by His church and people for the wide diffusion, and the firmer establishment of pure gospel truth. We also have been permitted and enabled to take a small share in this noble work of extending Christ's kingdom on earth-and, while giving a lending hand and a praying heart for the enlargement of our church missionary operations in heathen lands, the cause of Home Missions has continued to find much favor, and by aiding this object, we assist in promoting the continuance of true christianity, and of those social and civil blessings, which it diffuses throughout the length and breadth of the land. And in this wise, also, may we hope to hasten the day when all error and ignorance shall be driven from our borders, and we be, what we are evidently designed to be, if we frustrate not the providence and grace of God, the happiest people upon earth--because a Godfearing, and a God-loving people.

The forming of a Sunday School among us, which was regularly attended to since the month of May, has proved of benefit to many children and youth; and, with the divine blessing, rich fruit may be brought forth from the seeds of Gospel truth that have been implanted in the hearts of the young. And may God grant this in His good time!—A Sunday School Library, con

taining about one hundred and fifty volumes (the gift of kind friends here and elsewhere,) has afforded good and useful matter for the perusal of our scholars, and we hope will continue to attract attention, and, in a measure at least, counteract among ourselves the reading of that pernicious literature, which is so widely diffused by an ungodly press.

The Public Services of the sanctuary have been kept regularly on every Lord's day, excepting three, on which, owing to the sickness of the minister, and also to inclement weather, the church was closed. Besides we had service on the Wednesday evenings during the season of Lent, and held the evening meetings peculiar to our church in the Passion-week.--We observed Thanksgiving Day in accordance with the civil recommendations, and on several other occasions met in the house of God to hear His word preached by ministers sojourning in our midst. The whole number of public services during the year, amounted to one hundred and ten, including the five sacramental seasons, at which the congregation met around the table of the Lord to be refreshed and strengthened by that holy ordinance. Those were solemn seasons, and especially one, which in particular brought with it the cheering assurance of prayer answered in the happy return of several souls to the public enjoyment of Christian fellowship and communion.

My friends and brethren, various have been the subjects to which your attention has been called here in the sanctuary; but all were of a sacred nature, and such as are presented to us in the word of God for our serious consideration. Believers have been encouraged to hold fast the profession of their faith in Jesus Christ. The impenitent have been urged to repentance-sinners have been warned to flee from the wrath to come,--all have been told of God's love and mercy-all have been told of their duty to love and to serve the Lord.--And what has been the result of the oft-repeated exhortations which have been addressed to you from the pulpit? What impression has been made upon the heart? What influence has been produced upon the life? Let every one examine himself and acknowledge his individual responsibility to God, and at the same time seek to possess that quiet conscience and peace of mind, which the Spirit of God imparts to the truly penitent soul. Great is the goodness of God;--great is His mercy great is His love. May you, my brethren, be greatly constrained by the love of the Savior, to be more entirely His peculiar people.

May you, my friends, who are still without the ranks of professing christians, be brought by the goodness of God to repentance, and the only safe state of being a member of the church, of which Christ is the living head.-May all daily seek and experience the mercy of God--in prosperity and in adversity--in health and in

sickness-throughout life and in the hour of death. And the Lord grant, that none of you, whom I have so frequently addressed as an ambassador for Christ, and in His stead besought to be reconciled to God-may none of you be hardened in your hearts, and so live an impenitent life and die in your sins. But this is our prayer, and heart's desire, that, for the sake of Jesus our adorable Savior, you all may come unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; and, in union and communion with the church of believers on earth, enjoy the precious foretastes of the joys of the church triumphant ;--and we all once meet around the throne of our Lord and God, and then with the saints and angels ascribe eternal praise and glory to the Father, and the Son,and the Spirit.

EDWARD H. REICHEL,

Minister of the United Brethren's Church in Camden Valley, N. Y..

II.

THE YEAR 1850.-BETHLEHEM.

"It is of the Lord's mercies, that we are not consumed, becausehis compassions fail not. They are new every morning great is thy faithfulness." Lam. 3, 22. 23. This humble and grateful confession of the prophet Jeremiah, which he uttered in reference to the ancient covenant people in his day, and which we selected as the subject of our thankful and devout meditation on the last anniversary of this congregation, will, we trust, at the close of the year, on reviewing this period of our short, earthly pilgrimage, which has so rapidly glided away, still prove to be the language of our hearts before the Lord. So great has been our demerit, soobvious on all hands our deficiency, that, should the Lord have dealt with us according to our unworthiness and ill-deserts, the history of the past year must have presented a very different aspect from that which now meets our view, and which, to the glory of his grace and long-suffering, we are privileged to record in the annals of the church, and would fain engrave on the tablets of a sanctified memory. Must not every one, who knows himself aright, and examines with searching eye the inmost recesses of his bosom, unite with the patriarch Jacob in exclaiming: "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant!" Gen. 32, 10. Happy, who, while thus conscious of his unworthiness, may yet, in childlike assurance of faith, proceed to testify: "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is.

REVIEW OF BETHLEHEM CONGREGATION.

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good unto them, that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him." Lain. 3, 24. 25. Such has been our experience, richly and abundantly, during the period of time, now passed away. But, where shall we begin, in recounting what the Lord hath done in the course of this year? Let us dwell, in the first place, upon those events, which concerned us in common with our fellow-inhabitants of this highly favored land. An impressive and mysterious dispensation of Divine Providence was the unexpected demise of the Chief Magistrate of our widely extended Republic, the esteemed President of the United States, General Zachary Taylor; whose memory was honored here by an appropriate celebration, consisting of suitable services in the church, and a solemn procession to our graveyard, in the silent hour of evening, accompanied with sacred music; the whole reminding us of our own mortality, and prompting us to commend our beloved country and the government of these States to the continued protection of the Most High. The last mentioned duty was the more imperatively enjoined upon us, while, during an unusually protracted and trying session of Congress, the danger apparently threatening our happy Union filled the minds of all, who truly love their country, with the most painful apprehensions. However, the Lord was intreated; and fear gave way to hope. We were permitted to live through another year in peace, while other parts of the world were not exempt from commotions; and our land enjoyed an eminent degree of national prosperity, which, on the day of thanksgiving, Dec. 12th, recommended by the Governor of this state, justly called forth our warmest offerings of praise. Among the mercies, so undeservedly bestowed upon us, were the blessings of the harvest, which claimed our grateful acknowledgment. If not in every respect equal to the sanguine wishes entertained, or to the abundance of still more favored seasons, there was nevertheless no failure or scarcity, but a bountiful supply both of the necessaries and comforts of life. The winter had been less distinguished by the rigor than by the changeableness of the weather, and was followed by a late spring. The first part of the summer was rather dry; but subsequently there were very heavy rains, insomuch that twice in succession, in July and September, the water courses rose to an unusual height, both the Lehigh and Manakosy overflowing their banks, and inundating the adjacent low lands. The flood poured into the lower stories of the buildings in Water street, and the communication with South Bethlehem, by means of the bridge, was cut off. Some of our citizens suffered considerably by these freshets; others had for a short time to leave their dwellings. But the Lord mercifully preserved us from more serious calamities, and graciously protected the inhabitants of this town and its vicinity, so that human life was not endangered; while along the banks of other rivers, the inundation

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