Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1883-07-09
The DeacOn'S Week.

The communion service OF Janu- |
ary was just over in the church at
Sugar Hollow, and the people were
waiting for Mr.. Parkes to give out
the hymn, but he did not give it out;
he laid his book down on the table,
and looked about on his church.
He was a man of simplicity and
sincerity, fully in earnest to do the
Lords work and do it with all his
might, but he did sometimes feel
discouraged. His congregation was
a mixture of farmers and mechanics,
for Sugar Hollow was cut in two by
Sugar Brook, a brawley, noisy stream
that turned the wheel of many a mill
and mandatory, yet on the hills
around it there was still scattered
population, eating their bread in the
full perception of the primeval curse.
So he had to contend with the keen
brain and skeptical comment of the
men who piqued themselves on pow
er to hammer on theological prob
lens as we'll as hot iron, with the
jealousy and repulsion and bitter
feeling that has bred the communistic
hordes abroad and at home; while
perhaps he had still harder task to
awaken the sluggish souls of those
who used their days to struggle with
barren hillside and rocky pasture for
mere food and clothing, and their
nights to sleep the full sleep of phys
ical fatigue and mental vacuity.
1t seemed sometimes to Mr.. Parkes
that nothing but the trump of Gabri-
ell could arouse his people from their
sins and make them believe on the
Lord and follow his footsteps. To-
day-no-a long time before to-day,
he had mused and prayed till an idea
took shape in his thought, and now
he was to put it in practice; yet he
felt peculiarly responsible and sol
emnized as he looked about him and
foreboded the success of his expert
ment. Then there flashed across
him, as words of Scripture will come
back to the habitual Bible reader,
the noble utterance of Gamaliel con-
cerning Peter and his brethren when
they stood before the council: eff
this council or this work be of men,
it will come to nought; but if it be
of God, ye connot overthrow it..
So with a sense of strength, the
minister spoke: "My dear friends, "
he said, "you all know, though [ did
not give any notice to that effect,
that this week is the week of prayer.
l have mind to ask you to make it
a week of practice instead. | think
we may discover some things. some
of the things of God, in this manner
that a succession of prayer-meetings
would not perhaps so thoroughly re-
veal to us. Now, when l say this, |
don't mean to have you go home and
vaguely endeavor to walk straight in
the old way; want you to take
topics, as they are called, for the
prayer-meetings. For instance, Mon
day is prayer for the temperance
work. Try all that day to be tenn
perate in speech, in act, in indulg-
ence of any kind that is hurtful to
you. The next day is for Sunday
schools; go and visit your scholars,
such of you as are teachers, and try
to feel that they have living souls to
save. Wednesday is day for fell
lowship meeting; we are cordially
invited to attend union meeting of
this sort at Bantam. Few of us can
go twenty-five miles to be with our
brethren there; let us spend that
day in cultivating our brethren here
let us go and see those who have
| been cold to us for some reason, heal
up our breaches of friendship, con-
fess our shortcomings one to another,
and act as if, in our Masters words,
sall ye are brethren
Thursday is the day to pray for
the family relations /; let us each try
to be to our families on that day, in
our measure, what the Lord is to his
family, the church, remembering the
words, Fathers, provoke not your
children to anger Husbands, love
your wives, and be not bitter against
them These are texts rarely COM
mented upon, / have noticed, in our
conference meetings; we are more
apt to speak of the obedience due
from children, and the submission
and meekness our wives owe us, for
getting that duties are always re-
ciprocal.
FRIDAY the church is to be pray
ed for. Let us then each for him
self try to act that day as we
think Christ, our great Exemplar,
would have acted in our places. Let
us try to prove to ourselves and to
the world about us that we have not
taken upon us his name lightly in
) vain. Saturday is prayer day fol
the heather and foreign missions
Brethren, you know and l know that
. there are heather at our doors here
let every one of you who will take
that day to preach the gospel to some
one who does not hear it anywhere
else. Perhaps you will find worl
: that you know not of, lying in you
g midst. And let us all on Saturda,
evening meet here again and choos'
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