The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-10-12
Mr.. scHIvE2EA'S OPINION.


EDITOR OF THE TRIBUNEi
DEAR SIR: thank you for the excellent
editorial in your paper Of Tuesday upon
that important and absorbing topic OF
reaching the masses. This Is the great
question Of the hour, and is agitating
many minds in our land. but it is prob
lem that must be solved, and the sooner
the better. The masses are going from
under the influence Of the Gospel, and
leaving them to themselves Is the cause of
most of the troubles of today, and one
cause Of the many riots and strikes and
the loss Of life and property, as instanced
in the late Chicago trouble. Having an
experience of laboring in the masses for
over fourteen years, l have some little
idea how the problem should be solved,
and / venture to think that the meetings
in Scranton have demonstrated this.
Christ said, "Go out quickly into the
streets and lanes Of the city.n II the
masses are to be reached we must 60 to
them, but some Of our churches unfor-
tunately have left the masses alone and
instead therefore Of going to the masses
they so from the masses. We must 60 to
them in sympathy and love and also in q
practical way. We should go with energy;
it Is Of no use to tell them what they are
or what they already know, but tell them
of something better and show them how
they may have this something better by
the power of the grace Of God. We must
90 to them with desire to help them and
the sure way to help them is to bring
them in connection with the churches,
and in order to do this we must use every
means which can be found near at hand.
For instance, make use of the play houses,
dancing halls, music halls, and thousands
Of people become, after conversion, men,
bers OF the church and self-supporting
citizens.
The "masses" will not come into the
church directly, and to accomplish this,
the means briefly referred to must be re-
sorted to.
You may ask me, how are you to get
them from the hall and tent meetings into
the churches. At all my meetings take
down the names and addresses of those
who claim conversion and also their church
preference and this list is sent to the min
isters OF the churches preferred, and the
result Of my meetings consequently de-
pend upon the pastors and their energetic,
persevering and systematic visitation.
With regard to those who have attended
and are concerned about their souls but
have not given their names, what then !?
The salvation OF those souls and the way
to heaven as | have found it, is by
the churches organizing district visiting
committee and have every house visited
and the question put to every father and
mother, (which church do You attend, and
do your children attend the Sabbath
school ~ Heartily commend the sugges-
tion referred to in THE TRIBUNE, which is
quite worthy of adoption, but unfortu-
nately have in many cities found that
the churches hare become so wealthy and
self-respected that they have deemed it
best not to lower themselves enough to
enter into this work
came to Wyoming valley at the invita-
tion of the ministers in the valley, aud,
with Mr.. Weeden, have proved, think.
that the masses can be reached, and it is
my PRAYER that the pastors who invited me
here will now 20 on with the blessed work
where we have left off and show to the
world how this great problem may be
solved. FERD. SCHIvEREA.
Scranton, Oct. 10.