, 1886-04-25
RELIGIOUS OPINION.

The Church Standard prints portions OF a
paper by the Rev. George A. Weeks, read at
a convocation held in Lexington, KY, in
which be comments severely upon vestrymen
in general. Mr.. Weeks says: II was amused
at what | saw in a church paper not long
since A certain person inquiries of another
what was meant by a vestry in the Episcopal
church, and the reply was that 1t was a
body of men elected every year about Easter
time TO watch the women while they
do the church work. or course,
this is a caricature, but there is
enough OF verisimilitude In It to enable US
to recognize the likeness have no desire to
say anything unkind about any particular
vestry or vestryman; but | nave long felt
that there Is something wrong in our vestry
system. do not see how any bishop can
put up with 1t, for it Is a perpetual inter
ferenc with a bishops legitimate business
1t is a factor in church work unlike anything
which has been tried before 1t is peculiarly
an American institution. 1t has neither an
cient canon law nor Catholic usage TO stand
upon II is an experiment still under trial,
and, as IL seems to me, il has not yet done
much TO command our admiration"
The nev. DIR. George William Douglas, OF
Trinity church, has a paper in Tbs Church
Magazine entitled "A Lenien Thought for
the Sin iious" He says finally;
The whole question turns ON one point.
whether the student regards lent as a matter
of Obligation merely or OF privilege; as n
suppression Of our natural life or as an ex-
preston OF our Christian life, OF the liberty
wherew.th Christ hath mlde US free. What
life are we really minded to livei II the
lower, natural life only. then lent and all
that lent implies can be nothing but a sup
pression-an emphatic negative addressed to
our strongest wishes. But II we be honestly
dnsirous to rise with AMI out OF our natural
life into this higher Christian life, then lent
is but a suppression, or reprs ssion. OF the OBJ
stacles to that life; while, on the other hand,
it Is a positive expression Of our true being.
There are men and women to whom the
hurry, the worry, the supericialitY. and the
sin Of the natural life In them and around
them are recognized as obstacles to the real
life OF their aims To such the PRAYER book
rule Of lent comes as n deliverance, "a ~
~freshment, n readjustment n reasonable
service
The Rev. DR.. Rust, OF the Freedman's Aid
society, recently addressed the Newark, On. j.
NJ. E. conference on the work OF the society.
In giving some instances of the anxiety OF
young colored mon TO preach, he said that
one young man, who was considered unsuited
for preaching the gospel, SAID thar he knew
be had been called to preach because in a dream
he had seen the letters "a. p. C.,r and that
meant go preach Christi An old colored
brother arose in the conference and said:
Young man, you no doubt saw the letters
q, 7. c.. but you did not interpret them
right. They meant for you GO pick cotton
or Go pillow corn
President Potter, OF Hobart college, in a
recei II discourse, said ms follows Of ethics and
religion:
In the faith and in the power OF the Holy
Spirit may we hope to learn and to preach
and to practice a systom OF ethics which CON
sists not in empty theory, but in the living
nobility Of a r~egenerated character. Sophists
have wrangled, mcrRlists ha We disputed over
varying systems, but OF the truth OF one
proposition we may feel confident; namery,
that any, that every system OF morals, to DO
consistent, TO be logical, TO be practical, to be
transforming. must he Informed by true re-
lgion: 1t must be v~italized by that personal
power which finds It's source, its sum, its
center in Christ In theory It viii be harno-
nious with the truth as II Is In Jesus. In
practice it will conform more and more TO
the divine pattern OF His most holy life.
The Living Church saysi ut seems that at
last We ARE to have a court OF appeal. The
Church Press proposes to review n case re-
Gently decided by one Of our diocesan courts;
TO bring out the plain, un nruished truth
that perfect Justice may be done, alike to
the bishop, 10 the court, and to the accu ed
In due time, says the editor. we shall ex-
srcise the privilege OF pronounce " dennitive-
" on the whole ca-eiN