Excerpt from A Manual of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, 1751-1887 Very Christian should be in sympathy with his church, and so imbued with its spirit that he can feel at home in its work and its worship. Then, and only then, can he en joy that restful feeling which springs from confidence and love. But to obtain this he must know its history and its mission, its faith and its spirit, its work and its workers, and become so identified with it in all its parts as to enjoy the pleasures of its memories and of its hopes. The United Presbyterian Church of North America did not head at a single fountain. Several springs united their tiny rills at different times to form its stream. It is the result of several unions, and its antecedents are therefore more numer ous and fragmentary than that of most churches. This has thrown a veil of obscurity over much of its past history, for while one of its constituent parts was alien to the others, they would take but little interest in each other's history and ministry. The time as well as the occasion for such ignor ance is now happily past. Twenty-three years of peaceful union and healthful growth has so unified and consolidated the church that her sons and daughters should feel a kindly family interest in all her ancestral branches. Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.