The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-05-19
Poor Pay, Poor Prcach-A Strike
Among the Laborers In the Vine-

Poor Pay, Poor Prcach-A Strike
Among the Laborers In the Vine-
yard.
The attention of the members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Conference, now in session in
Brooklyn, was diverted q few days ago from
the contemplation of the delightful subjects of
the book swindle, the duties and exact power
of bishops, and the most feasible means of
curing the Fijis of their fondness for cooked
missionary, to very timely and sensible
memorial on ministerial support sent from
the Old Dominion. This document sets forth
that some ministers receive their thousands of
dollars in the year, and others scarcely enough
to support themselves and their families. The
petitioners want the magnates in council as
sembled to hit upon some plan to equalize
pecuniary matters among the pastors of the
fold, and to induce the incumbent of q wealthy,
liberal, fashionable parish in the city to extend
helping hand towards the poor, hard worked,
i'll paid and much harassed country parson.
The laborers in the vineyard are by no means
placed upon the same footing in a pecuniary
point Of view, and we fear very much that the
drones in the ecclesiastical hive constitute a
large body and fatten on the toll of the work.
ing bees. The sleek, contented, luxurious
pastor, who weaves together pretty sentences
and mildly refers to the possible existence of
such n naughty thing as sin before congrega-
ton of elegant toilets and immaculate bank
| accounts, cannot be considered as an energetic
follower Of Him who cast the money changers
out Of the Temple. How strangely the
voice of the auctioneer, knocking down
pews to the highest bidders contrasts
with the words of the Gospel so
blandly and trippingly spoken by the portly
gentleman who employs the auctioneer and
pockets the proceeds If one wishes to meet
the true faithful, conscientious shepherd, the
country is the proper place to look for him.
Here is the real worker, disregarding the
political pantomimes, the condition Of stocks,
the changes in the value Of real estate and the
latest fashionable intelligence, and only intent
upon the great work before him in his capacity
as preacher of the Gospel. His coat may be
threadbare his table frugal in the extreme,
and his family compelled to labor in every
possible way to earn a bare subsistence, but he
has more Of the zeal of an apostle, and is q
more successful sower Of good seed than q
dozen of his pampered city brethren. Yet
there are times when one of those poor parsons
finds the hard circumstances of his lot too
many for him, and nature succumbs to
poverty, neglect and overwork The Methodist
Episcopal Conference should act with judg-
ment and promptness upon the Virginia
memorial, and compel the rich parsons to con-
tribute to the support of their mendicant
brethren. To change places, for instance,
would be self-sacrifcing act and would, no
doubt, be calculated to bring out many hidden
treasures of goodness and charity. Of course
the wealthy pastors of city churches would be
only delighted at the opportunity of testifying
their zeal and disinterested love for their voca-
| tion Their delight will DO all the greater at