The Newtown bee., 1895-12-20
In Litchfeld County.
 wooDBURY.
! RALLY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAvoRERs.

Never were December skies more favorable and never were December roads in better condition for travelling long distances than on last Saturday, when the Pomperaug Valley Christian Endeavor Union held it's winter meeting in the Congregational church here. As & consequence, there was good attend ance from the societies of the surround lehem, North Woodbury all sending ton especially being well represented. The morning session opened shortly af. ter II o'clock, and, although many of the delegates had not yet arrived, those
 who were on hand took up the program with spirit and earnest feeling. Hollls- ter Sage, of South Britain, made his maiden effort in acting as president of the Union, and he discnarged his duties
 very acceptably to all. After Gods
 blessing had been invoked upon the de-
 Alterations of the day by Rev Joseph A.
 Freeman, pastor of the Woodbury
 church, and spirited Endeavor hymn
 had been sung, Rev J. l.. R. Wyckoff,
 pastor of the church in North Wood- bury, read the stirring words of Paul
 from the 9th chaper of Ephesians and
 offered prayer. E. B. Field, of the
 South Britain society, then read an ex. cellent paper on the deeper Christian life. "Back of all the forms of Christian Endeavor," said Mr Field, "back of all it's methods, is the life. The power and usefulness of the society depend upon the life that energies 1t. In every thing else men are digging deep; we
 
 and an honest Christianity. Our name implies deeper life, for it recognizes Christ as the source. Our pledge im- plies the means of securing the deeper fife, for it emphasizes the reading of the Bible and daily prayer. Deepen the life of even a single member and you enlarge the influence of the whole society. Prof Drummond has wisely said; We need not more of us but a better band of us.' A Christian has been called the world's Bible, and the world estimates Chris. | tianity by him. What the world sees of Christ is what it sees of you and me-
 Miss Beth Whittlesey, of the Morris so- ciety, well brought out some methods new and old in the e-conduct of meetings. These were some of the points made
 "Have many earnest sentence prayers : you will make good prayer if your heart Is running over. Be prompt in opening and closing the meeting. Look ahead on the topic card God may send you an experience that will throw much light on some topic that will soon come up. Cut out articles from the pa pers and give them to some of the younger ones to read. Have variety in the meetings; the reason why some leave is because they never expect any variation the ordinary routine. If we come into the prayer meeting looking | for the presence of the Holy Spirit, we shall find it. If each member is living each day as faithfully as he knows how, | there will be no trouble about the meet ings.'' Earl Booth, of the Washington society, spoke of the Model Constitution ! as being too rigorous in some of it's re- quirements, and said although he had voted in favor of it's adoption by his so- ciety, if it were submitted again he would hardly be prepared to do so. Some good ideas were brought out in the
 discussionfollowing, notably the thought that it is we'll to have high standard of right that we are to live towards, even if we do not actually attain to it. A bountiful collation. was served by the
 ladies of the Woodbury church, in the chapel at 1,o'clOck, and the delegates found much enjoyment in the pleasant social intercourse of the hour.
 At the opening of the afternoon ses- sion three minute reports were given from the different societies, which, in the main, showed the societies to be in a prosperous cond tion, their meetings to be well attended and full of interest. Some account was given of good mission ary work that the societies are doing, as
 in the sending of bags containing 8 Bible, needles and thread among sailors going from the port of Philadelphia. Rev Otis w. Barker, pastor of the New town Congregational church, then gave thoughtful and instructive address on the subject, "Giving with some method
 in it." The address was filled with tell ing points, but only a summary of them
 can here be given. ssThere are many
 things to which the perfect number
 seven applies, and giving is one of them.
 There are, seven ways of giving;
 way, the lazy way, the self-denying way,
 the systematic way, the equal way, the heroic way. John Wesley followed the the heroic way. When his income was 30 pounds year, he spent 2S and gave the remaining two pounds into the treas- ury of the Lord, when his income was 60 pounds years, he still spent only 28 pounds for his own living and gave the remaining B pounds to God; when his income was 120 pounds year, he still spent only 28 pounds for himself and gave the remaining 92 pounds to God. But few of us are John Wesleys, we are limits us to one of the seven ways-the systematic way. This is the way that is now coming to the front, this is the way which churches generally are taking for collecting their money. The pew rent system 10 fast being driven to the rear. A pew rent seems to me device for get ting out of men sum of money which you think you could get in no other way. The advantages of the systematic way are, first, that 1t is Scriptura1. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath groepered him. Paul said that, and From the earliest times giving has been regarded as part of worship. Worship consists not merely in praying and sing ing and shouting sHallelujahl' We are coming, I think, more and more to see that we can truly worship God with our substance. But to have any enthusiasm about giving we must enlarge our idea of what the church is to do. If we give only in proportion to the value that we place upon the sermon a . platform pro- duction and the singing of tho choir as an artistie performance, we are apt to G.ive very little. The second advantage C1 systematic giving is that by means of 1t all can give, the rich and the poor, the young and the old. The rich have no vested rights in the house of God; they have no right to absorb the privilege of giving. The poor are not too poor to give; remember the poor widow of whom our Lord said, sShe hath given more than they all,' remember the widow of Sarep-