Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-10

DoN-How THE WORK Is NASAoRp-rHr Syn
PATTY OF THE PEOPLE
Ciean-shaven face-a face that mirrors q
sympathetic soul; brue gray eyes the horizon
OF whose vision seems to be far beyond the
hmits OF this existence; gray hair. finishing its
waviness over the ears and the white and ele-
waited clerical collar; q well-rounded figure and
voice OF the smoothest ecclesiastical fullness
That is the Rev. w. d. Walters, secretary OF
the London Wesleyan mission, and one of the
members Of the conference. For twenty-six
years ne has been preaching the gospel, but
MS connection with the mission only COM
penced two years ago. Now he has no regular
charge, but moves as the necessities Of the work
require. Last year he travelled over a. 600
miles In Great Britain. actively engaged in
iurthering the cause which means SO much to
so many people.
The London mission" said he TO a STAR re-
pI..er. rs great power for good, and if its
phenomenal development continues no one
Iares prophesy the probabilities some Of us
long Tor. Aside from the results among the
heretofore unsaved the mission has done much
70 open the eyes Of the church; it recalls Meth
ouism &c the work of Wesley and to the first
principles OF Christianity. It seemed as though
we mad forgotten that Christ recognized the
existence OF mems bodies well as their souls.
put the mission brought with il a realizing sense
Oh mans earthly necessities, and with that
reahzatlon came success. The hungry, so far
as he possible. are fed and then their spiritual
wants are attended to; the sick receive medical
treatment and the care of trained nurses and
until suffering has been alleviated there is but
iittie endeavor to offer the consolation Of re-
nSlon- No work has in it so much Of interest
as THIS mission work, which has gathered
| around II SO many remarkable men The
London mission IL six years old and il came
inio existence In response to a pamphlet en-
Titled. The Bitter Cry of Outcast London
HOW THE WORK Is ORGANIZED.
There are four principal branches now in
operation-east. central. west and south. Peter
thompson is in charge Of the east, ]. L. Wax
eriy has the central, Hugh Price Hughes is the
western giant, and ]. H. Hopkins superinteuds
matters in the south. Ten ministers, includ-
ing the Rev. Mark Guy Pearse. are constantly
engaged and among the twenty lay agents are
such men AS Josiah Nix and John Jameson the
lockers friend Then there are sixty sisters
ana sisters Of the People Mrs. Hugh Price
nughes being principal Of the latter. len large
Haas ana SIX chapels are barely sufficient
LOT our neutrality-suspicious. necessities. Four
thousand people rejoice in church fellowship
and do all they can to help the cause and then
there are 5000 young men--the Mission Band
onlon-scaftered all over the city looking after
the young men who need looking after. With
covers the greater part of the metropolis
social work on Il large scale is carried on. Two
chlef medical officers. with assistants minister
10 the wants OF the poor, and many OF the
SISTERS are nurses.
FAR-REAcHING INFLUENCE.
The influence Of the mission is considerable
Scarcely town or village in England that has
not felt the pulsations of its new life and the
lnvigorating effects of its methods - now
adopted in many of the colonies Just as
Methodlsm in the last century awakened shirt
ual life In the churches SO this movement Of
the present century is .exerting more or less of
an influence over the customs of Christendom
This mission work has been denominated the
forward movement, and it is guided by two
cardinal principles. The first OF these princi-
pies Is that If voc want to reach the masses YOU
must go after Them and the second one provides
that If you want to reach the masses your serv-
ices must be adapted to the masses. We use
every proper means to get close TO the people.
Our medical and relief work? Well, We
nave dlspensary and then We have a medical
director In the east and another in the west
But the work of the mission does not cease as
soon as the patients are cured and converted
We see them through. Relief of such char
acter that 1t Is permanently beneficial is
gwen. There is no doing out Of that
charity which aids pauperism. When a
man is down we try to lif: him and
secure for him suitable employment; FRIEND
less women are furnished with such things as
they need to assist them in earning an honest
living. Such cases are almost beyond enumer-
alton and their number is not perceptiblv
lessened. for the great feature Of the mission
is the vast system of personal visitation from
house to house and room to room. and in this
way new or long-hidden suffering is constantly
being discovered.
Total abstinence? Every one who is in any
way connected with the mission is pronounced
teetotaler. We find it practically impossible to
keep people right unless they sign the pledge.
Temptations are many and powerful in a great
city like London.
LOOKING AFTER THE CHILDREN.
Then there is a creche-where children are
| looked after during The day while their moth
ers are out at work. The mothers leave the
| little ones at the creche in the morning. go
away to their daily toll satisfied that the babies
will receive every attention and in the evening
call for them and take them home for the
night. One OF the mission houses is set apart
| for the sheltering of servants who are put into
the street without moments notice. There
are many who are so treated, and the home has
saved not few Of them from ruin. They are
| kept and cared for until new situations have
| been procured for them
Are your public meetings numerously at
tended?'
Wonderfully SO" replied Mr.. Walters, land
| the interest increases continually. Do YOU
know, he went on. and the smile vanished ell
tirely. that there are in London three millions
| of people who never 20 to a place of worship:
| that prior to the establishment of the west
| branch there was a population in that section
OF 400. 600 that had not in its midst a single
church nor a single church member? Yet that
was the case Now, the result of three years
| work. there are l. 400 members and about 5000
hearers. Each Sunday morning service is
conducted by the Rev. Mark Guy Pearse; the
afternoon seryice-which is termed a confer
ence-is in the Rev. Hugh Price Hughes hands:
the evening service is also Mr.. Hughes and it is
entirely and wonderfully evangelistic. Music is
a great feature in these services and so it is.
but perhaps in a lesser degree. in other
branches. One of the largest bands in London
is at ST. James and in its membership are
some of London's leading instrumentalists
The afternoon services / mentioned are at
tended by men only and the average attend
ance is !, 200 Social matters are discussed.
, and crime. whether it be in high or low places
receives no mercy from Mr.. Hughes. On
every occasion. since st. James Hall was first
opened by the mission, there have been con-
verts made.
N THE EAST END.
''Much is being accomplished in the east
end. The testimony of the police is to the ef-
iect that the mission efforts are completely
changing the character Of the ncighborhood.
although the poverty there is something be-
yond description. Nearly 100000 people
irhabit that section of the city, and 1
can give you no more truthful or painful sum-
mary Of their condition than is contained in