"Friendships New" by Rev. T. L. Drury (1915)

Friendships New.

BY (REV.) T.L. DRURY.

(The new pastor of the First Universalist Church of Troy.)

The old acquaintance for the new

We leave, however good or true,

But this is called the preacher's lot,

Whether he wills it so or not.

Though there is sadness in the change

From old to new, yet not so strange

Are ties that we may newly form,

They too, may have for us a charm.

For friendship is a soul divine

That doth in nobler natures shine,

And love, her great companion sweet,

Doth make that soul in us complete.

So friendships old or friendships new

Do nobly mold our lives anew,

And give us each a larger scope

To exercise our faith and hope.

And this, I trust, doth here apply

To tie we form, for you and I

Whose pathway should be always bright,

Must walk together in the light.

Then let our friendship new be true,

Believe in me and I in you,

So serve the cause we love so well,

Thus make for good our service tell.

For Christian love it changeth not,

No matter where we cast our lot;

The truth is one in you and me,

To make us one as well as free.

Then, friends, for such indeed we are,

Together let us do and dare,

And nobly rise to ever meet

The task we wish to see complete.

Troy Times. January 9, 1915