Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1881-11-17

, tory of her progress in the past, or speak Q
other lands beside our own. Let us cOnfn
our attention to the work lying at our yer,
doors of which we all have some knowledg
and experience. Here is widely extendin,
territory soon to be filled with q large popu
lation. The people who are in it have COM
out here to make money. That is their frs
object Churches and schools, moral pur
poses and spiritual aims are but secondaril,
in their thoughts. The commandments ar,
not obeyed, the Lords day is not observed
the Bible is not regarded as Gods Holy Word
the services Of Gods house are neglected fo
worldly pursuits. Can you name the toW1
the half of whose inhabitants are attendents
upon any place of religious worship, or wher,
the half of the children are growing up i'll
structed in the knowledge and culture of the
Christian faith? Go through the rural dis
tricts stretching out their fair proportions il
all our borders and see how deficient they
are in spiritual ministration. Count the
number of families that are brought I'D un
der Christian influence and are church goers
on the Lords day, and estimate the work
that ought to be done The country con.
tlnually enlarges its resources and increases
its population, but the religious element
does not increase in a corresponding ratio
! The Church grows, of course, but she is faI
behind all material growth. There is need
/ ed everywhere more WOrkmen, more mis-
slons, more churches, more services more
visiting from house to house, more Sunday
schools, more machinery OF every kind in
order that the Gospel may be carried to every
hamlet and to every person in the land
With nothing short of this can we afford to
rest satisfied. Must we not have ,c0rkiag
40 oil I, N,o4
are not Gospel aims nor our principles Gospel
principles except they reach to the full
height of this representation.
And how shall we have a working Church ?
We must have, in the first place, a working
Clergy working bishops, working priests,
working deacons And under this head |
must deal first of all with myself When
read of what missionary apostles and mar
tyrs of every age have done for the faith
how they have preached the Gospel and
planted the faith in the face Of every imagin-
able obstacle; how they have disdained the
awards and honors and pleasures of this
world, seeking only to serve their fellow-men
and do their Masters will, and then consider
how little | have done or suffered in the
same cause, my heart faints and my con-
science smites, and can only pray that He
whose servants we all are will, through His
grace, enable me to serve Him better for t!la
future and make my services more pr0motife
of the glory of His kingdom and the honor
of His name. | do believe that our little
band of Clergy are faithful servants of the
Cross of Christ | am thankful to have such
devoted helpers in the work that is given me
to do. | trust that we shall always work
together as brothers in the cause of our COM
mon Lord and Master. But ! think [ see
one danger which is common to all such
work as ours. The work is difficult and the
results not always discernible. And in con-
there is q liability to faint-hearted-
ness, discouragement, and the danger of fall
ing into machine-like way of doing your
work. which will never tell upon your peO- /
pie, but which will tell disastrously upon
yourselves. | have nothing to say at this
time about canOnS, Or Tubrlcs, or doctrine. /
You have had your instruction in Theological
schools. The Church is the Church OF all the /
Christian ages. The faith is unchanged and
The laws of the Church are
written on your hearts. But this [ say Be
earnest in your calling. Have faith in God"
and men will believe in your ministry. Show ,
the same industry and perseverance and zeal I
in your work that business men show in I
theirs and there will be no fear for your sue
cess. Make all your services as bright and
as possible Read and preach as
if you had q message of vital Importance to
deliver Is there weekday service to be
held where ears are open to hear, within CT
without the bounds of your field hold it and
De thankful for the opportunity. Is there q
amily unvisited, visit them at once, and do
t again and again. Is there a scholar to be
gained for your Sunday school, seek him out
without delay In Short seek to win the
souls of men as worldly men seek for wealth
" honor or place, only doing it with pure
leart and single aim, and true success and
ch blessings will be yours. i
4 working Church must have working
atty. All are not apostles, nor pastors, nor
eachers, any more III our day than in the.
ime of St. Paul. The Clergy must be first
md foremost in the struggle, but they cannot
work. alone and work successfully. Livery
Christian must be workman in the vine !
ard of the Lord. 1t is too much the case
hat Christians in general act as II there
we're nothing for them to do but look to the
Aviation of their own souls and no responsl-
,ility attaching to them for the souls OF 9th !
rs. But this is not true. We are all SOL
iers of Christ, and as such have some part '
. take in the Lords great battle with the {
UNGIS vi NSt1hACoS. lhC SoiitSoU NfAh AAStCI
e won without the help of the laity. Ibe- l
eve one principal reason why the Church t
as not made better progress in the past is G
hat this element in the work has been Wo- c
ully neglected. | know that in the church '
f this land, during the last ten or fifteen t
ears, lay agencies for Christian, philanthropic a
fort have been largely called into successful b
peration But we are not utilizing them to f
nv great extent in Montana. | am ready a
nd glad to be able to say that almost every n
here | have been have found a devoted "
and of Christian women earnestly engaged /
i work for the Church and in holding upthe Il
ands of their rector God bless the women il
{ the Church in Montana! If we of the b
ergy accomplish but little aided by their a
forts, it is manifest that without such help Il
e could do nothing But where are the IL
lrnest Christian men who ought to be help Il
s in the same cause? For the most bart W
lgaged with tll-ir oxen and lands, their al
ills and mines, their farms and merchan- el
se, to the sad neglect of every spiritual or sc
lurchly interest. They are quite willing NJ
lat their Bishop should give the most of &C
IS time to collecting money and circulating OF
description papers. In three places where tt
have been the rector is his own sexton W
nd no matter how many services he has in
Id during the day, no matter if he hasjust h,
,iven twenty miles, reaching home ahaif til