Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-10-03
PASTORAL v1srrAT1ONs.

circles. as well as among the lay
men. An "Old Pastor" has pointed
out in of the city papers, very vigor-
ously and forcibly, some of the
temptations attending these vista
tions and the evils arising from
them. His communications and the
counter communications growing
out of them seem to have stirred
up the Methodist ministers at their
Association meeting on Monday
evening last, and the discussion he
tween members, although a very
ope-sided one, was gratifying from
the spirit of innocence which perva-
ded it. All of them were agreed
that they must come to the rescue of
their time honored privilege OF look
ing after the spiritual condition OF
their focks and enjoying the social
amenities and little table comforts
which are concomitants OF the spirit
ual duty, and which make it agreea-
BILE as well as imperative They
were all agreed that they would con-
time the practice, Notwithstanding
adverse comment. The amusing
feature of the discussion lies in the
fact that there was conflict of opin-
ion as to the temptations of pastor
al visits. Some of them could not
understand what was meant by it.
Some had never been tempted, and
others, knowing what the risks were,
were willing to incur them and
leave the results in the hands of the
Lord.
Drs. Jutkins and Peck seemed to
= Inc only ones vino had a realiz-
g view of those temptations, am
utioned the brethren against BE-
ing too strong on the social side
and too weak on the religious. This
hits very near the centre, of the
mark. If the brethren had read at
tentively the details of certain pas
toral visits made in Brooklyn, and
the very remarkable correspondence
which grew out of these visits, there
would have been no doubt in their
minds as to the real nature and ex-
tent of these temptations. Then, by
putting these temptations in the
one scale and the fact that they
themselves are only human in the
other, they might have gauged
themselves and ascertained their
comparative ability to withstand
temptation when it confronts them.
As to the bare fact of the pastoral
visits made the family as shepherd
of souls, to minister to spiritual
wants, and to perform certain sa-
cred offices like those of marriage OF
of conducting funerals, there certain.
| ly is no objection. And yet, there
can be no doubt that these vista.
| tions should be made with caution
and that it would be far better foi
the minister to receive a hint that
the visitation was necessary than to
make it without invitation. The fac
that Christ visited the house of Mar
tha and Mary without reproach, as
| DR.. M'Kown says, doesnot furnish 9
precedent for the moderen minister
because Christ was divine and the
minister is human; because Christ
could always put temptation behin6
him and the minister cannot always
as has been many times shown. Il
should all be borne in mind thai
pastoral visitation, like sermons, is {
very old custom, growing out-of ne
cessities, many of which do moi
now exist. There was a time wher
the minister was the only source Of
information and consolation. These
sources, however, have greatly mul
tiplied, and are now so numerou;
that it is hardly necessary for min
ister to make the conventional visit
except upon express invitation. Ii
fact, those of our clergymen who
are in charge of large metropolitan
churches have almost entirely aban
doned the practice, or at least make
only an annual visit, and others, il
would seem, are so prudent as to
take their wives with them.
As, however, the Methodist cler.
| gymen seem determined to con-
tinue the practice, and as many Of
them do not seem to. understand the
temptations which attach to these
visits, it may be as we'll to remind
them what they are The pastoral
visit should not be OTIS such charac-
teras to necessitate and intimate and
almost daily correspondence with
but one woman of the flock; and
that correspondence should not be
of such nature as to make it un-
safe to write when the minister's
wife is at home. The pastoral visit
should not induce desire to step
down and out. 1t should not pro-
duce hypoehondria or caves of
gloom. 1t should not be so destruct-
i've that the minister sighs in vain to
rebuild what has been shattered. 1t
should not be so frequent or pro-
longed that the woman's husband
would have been a; better man than
the minister if he had been in his
place. 1t should not consign the
minister to the ragged edge of
remorse or any other ragged edge.
1t shonld not make him humble
himself before the woman's husband
as before his God. 1t should not
necessitate mutual friend. It
should not have any appearances
that will give rise to a lawsuit
These are some of the Temptations
which have been shown to grow out
Of pastoral visitations, and if the
Methodist ministers have decided to
continue them and do not really
know, and they say, what the
temptations are, we suggest the
above as rocks they would do well
to avoid.
Dean stanley on Religious Tolerance.