Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-22

people. IF they are exceedingly poor peo-
pie, the call that is made will not be a call
| of charity 1t will be the call of perfect
| equality. 1t will be social visit. I
recognize the limits of congeniality of
which spoke last Sunday, and 1 recognize
also the large social duties that are laid up
on people in society, but say that far
| more important than social duties are re-
ligious duties, and this is one of them. If
we are going to have brotherhood in this
world, where we shall all be on an equality,
where we shall all look up to the Heavenly
Father, and realize that we are brothers and
sisters, where shall it begin if it does not
begin right here in the parish?
The Christian who realizes that he is not all
alone in the parish will have also the spirit
of tolerance He will recognize the fact
that it is possible for other people to be
altogether different from himself and yet be
right That is one of the hardest lessons
which we have to Learnt suppose that
none of US have altogether learned that
lesson-the lesson of the fact of difference.
God has made us different, and different in
our religious temperament a. we'll as in all
our other temperaments. God has made
some of us so that the direction in which it
seems natural to look is up, and others so
that we look in, and still other. so that We
look out.
Different Kinds of Churchman.
To some the emphatic word in religion is
worship-they look up to God. In the case
of others, the emphatic word is salvation
they look in at their own souls. While
with still others the emphatic word is
work-thev look out for their brothers.
And, accordingly, there are high churchmen,
and low churchmen, and broad churchmen,
and always have been, and always will he,
and always should be. There ought to be
room in q parish for all kinds of religious
temperaments. The Christian who sees
some things in the parish which are not
particularly helpful to him, will at once
reflect that for that reason he may be sure
that they are helpful to somebody else. He
will desire to have in the parish everything
that will help anybody.
Finally, the Christian in the parish will
be loyal to the parish. By that mean that
he will find ali possible fault in everything
that is blameworthy in the parish. But he
will always find that fault in the right way
and to the right people Suppose that Mr..
A says to Mr. B: "Don't you think that
the congregations are falling off a good deal,
that the church is not getting along verv
well?"-what good will that do to Mr.. B?
What business is it of his whether the com-
gregations are large or small, unless Mr. B
staying away from church-then there is
some sense in it. The loyal Christian in
the parish if he finds that the congregations
are getting SMALL. will try to make them
larger.
Complaining at Headquarters.
Then suppose that Mrs. G says to Mrs.
D: Don't you think the sermons have
been very long lately and rather dull, and
that the minister is not quite doing the
work that he used to do?"-what has Mrs.
D to do with that? What responsibility
has she for the length or brevity of the SER
mons? The person to go to is the preacher
himself. and the loyal Christian in the
parish does that If he has a complaint to
make, he always makes it in the presence of
the right people.
And the loyal Christian in the parish
praises everything that it is possible to
praise, and praises it at all possible times
and to all possible people, because the loyal
Christian understands that even parish
grows better in the sunshine. i suppose
that there are conditions when a parish
needs something different from sunshine,
when the only thing that is left for parish
is hailstones and Goals of fre-that is what
the parishes of Sodom and Gomorrah
needed. But the chances are that the av-
erage parish needs more sunshine, needs
more praising of everything that can be
praised, knowing that human nature is to
make that praiseworthy which is praised.
The loyal Christian makes the best of
everything. That kind of conduct, persist
emily continued in, in due course of time
makes every thing the best.
GEORGE HODGES