St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-01-29

4 flying these 21S additions on confess
sion, according to age, as nearly as
could be estimated, those under TWEEN
ty number about l0l, forty-six per
cent those between twenty and thir-
ty, 40, twenty-six per cent; those
: above thirty about the same. There
is serious lesson in this appertion-
J mcnt by age, at which can only point
: in passing. A friend has dealt in this
, manner with the statistics of five rep
, resentative churches, including one in
, a large city, the FIVE aggregating a
) thousand members. About forty per
cent of these confessed Christ under
twenty years of age; tbirty-four per
, cent, between twenty and thirty fif-
teen per cent, between thirty and for
) ty; seven and a half per cent between
forty and fifty ; two and a half per
, cent between fifty and sixty and less
, than one per cent over sixty Such is
the rate at which, after the years OF
childhood are past, the probabilities
r seem to diminish of entering Christ's
service, must we not say the way OF
! salvation
, Of these FIVE churches whose aver
ages l have given, this one is almost
? at the extreme in its proportion of ad
ditions from the young, perhaps |
should say its eagerness if not willing
ness to receive children to member
! ship. This is not new policy, adopt
ed within these ten years. | find it rs
look over its history, part of it's un-
} written law. Perhaps it is because
baptism in infancy, which is more gen
} orally practiced here than in most OF
the churches that leave it optional.
, keeps parents and children expectant
!, and watching for the time of full mem
bership to which it points. May the
years be far away when either of these
customs shall loose it's hold on this
people.
1t hardly need be said that most OF
! THESE youthful additions have come
!, through the Sunday schsol. The in
structiOn there is conducted with ref
erence to this end. 1t has manifestly
deepened during these years in spirit
nal earnestness and efficiency. If any
doubt existed whether the Sunday
school is the nursery of the church this
example ought to set it at rest.
. In the ten years | have baptized, or
another for me, ninety-two adults and
seventy three infants. If my count is
correct, fifty have been removed
by death from this mem bership, and
one hundred by dismission and other
wise. | have attended eighty-six flu
nerals, in this and neighboring towns.
! have solemnized fifty-seveu mar
7 riages. 1t was early in this period that
the unsatisfactory methods of finance
into which the church had by degrees
f fallen, called for reformation. The
temperatures were managed by an or
ganization distinct from the church
called the society. The revenues fO1
i heme expenses were raised in part by
: renting the sittings. These could not
: be set high enough for the purpose
without shutting some out, and in
avoiding this there was usually a de
ficlency, which was met by an annual
subscription, the signers being cOnsti-
tuted non-voting members of the So
ciety. If the amount raised still proved
+ insufficient it was made up by an as
/ sessment on the corpOrate-the voting
members of the society, using the
t grand list as the basis. 1t was com
plicated and cumbersome plan, foI
! which nobody was to blame, which
: nobody ever invented. 1t came int,
| being as Topsy did--it grew. 1t wa.
an inheritance from the past, a result
ant of many alterations to remedy its
faults as they came to light. 1t wa.
radically faulty for a church plan il
: that it asked nothing of the majority
of the people, emphasized the les.
! worthy motives and neglected the
-. hest and as a business plan in that il
: overlooked the Titles. Besides in
Z
+ of the principles underlying this plan
. as not fifty representing the voluntary
e., generous and self-denying spirit of the
: gospel, nor helping as it should the re
b, ligious culture of the people, the re-
5 vival had opened to Christ the hearts
and purses of many who had very lit
tie acquaintance with the church,
, charitable OF other financial operations
To educate and enlist them, especially
the young, for their share of these re-
? spOnsibiiities to give expression to
) the new spirit of conservation, and to
stimulate it, through habits of regular
and frequent giving, as directly to the
, Lord Jesus, the system was adopted
/ that has proved SO successful in these
/ respects in almost all places where it
has been thoroughly tried, viz: the
weekly offering system. The church
assumed the management of it's own
J business through a business commit
tee, and made it's appeal for money for
} current expenses and for benevolence,
| to all, from oldest to youngest, male
and female, rich and pOor-rot to buy
something, valuable or less valuable
according to the price paid but to
give, give to Christ, and to the needy
for Christ's sake, according to ability,
as an acknowledgment of personal OBJ
J legation and of loyalty to him. The
appeal was not in vain. At once