Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-24
WESTERN PREsByTERIANs
Rev NJ. Ennis Talks About the Fall Work
Of TIP Church.
Di.pe.'.ry, a leading Room and .
City missions.

City Missions.
The Rev. HowatH Wilbur Ennis of the
Western Presby terrain Church, on H street
between 10Th and 10Th streets northwest,
has returned to tIisseity from an extensive
and beneficial vacation and resumed his
| ministerial duties. Mr.. Ennis presides over
| large and influential congregation, and
| from this time forward expects to have
his time completely occupied attending to
his duties as pastor Of his flock
THIS pleasant apprehension is largely
| magnified by the fact that the Western
| Presbyterian Church proposes during the
coming year to increase its usefulness
| among the people of the section of the city
| where it is located. and to enlarge its field
of operations in the line of fulfilling Chris
tar duty. The church will extend its char
table functions, add to its facilities for
| missionary work and will reach out in
many directions the hand Of the Christian
brother to both the erring and the un-
fortunate.
Free Dispensary.
Zone of the features of our enlarged
charitable work." said Mr.. Ennis to a Star
| reporter today, will be the establishment
Of a free dispensary. which we expect to
have in operation within couple of weeks.
This, while under the auspices of the West
ern Presbyterian Church. will not confine
! Its benefits to any creed or. color, but will
extend to all needy and deserving persons
the help which their own peculiar cases
may require Everybody knows Of the
It. is one Of the finest institutions of its
character in the country, and the work
which it does among the poor of that city
is phenomenal We have no such hospital
in this city. but it is hoped that the pres
ent movement although feeble at the out
set, may grow and extend with the aid
given 1t, and become the nucleus of a great
gathering Of Presbyterian medical interests
which will In time extend beyond even the
hopes Of its present projectors. The dis
pepsary will be under the direction of Dr.
J. Thomas Kelly, jr, who for two years
was house surgeon at Columbia Hospital.
and is one of the most prominent special
lists in this city. He will have associated
with him another specialist on the eye, ear
disease and ailment will be treated and
prescribed for.
Not a Practicing School,
''The dispensary. therefore, will not be a
practicing school for medical students but
will be under the direction of skillful and
experienced men. We have no dispensary
in this section Of the city. while in certain
portions of our bailiwick lying along the
extreme southwestern edge there is a large
population deserving treatment of this
KIND: Our dispensary will be of pre-
ventive rather than reformative character
AS 1t Is now. If o man should become sick
and cannot afford to call in a practicing
physician. he will try to get along in the
best way possible.and will do So probably.
until the disease becomes acute, when one
OF the physicians OF. the poor is called in.
By this time 1t is often too late to do any
good. Now. it is our idea to have it well
understood that whenever a poor person
feels the need Of medical attention he
should come to,us-sat cnce and receive
treatment. The dspensary for the present
will be located in the rear of the church,
but as soon as financial assistance is forth
coming better quarters will be obtained
The Brotherhood's Reading Room.
I'VE also propose TO establish a reading
room for the young men connected with
our church and their, friends This will be
under the auspices Of the Brotherhood of
Andrew and Philip, Now. let me say a
word about this organization. It is abso-
lutely INSTRUMENTATION, and, in rhe
membership of 5000, thirteen denomina-
tions are represented. Being non-sectarian
in character 1t has spread rapidly among
young men, and is doing a world of good.
The reading room Is to be established for
the benefit of young men to whom time
hangs heavy on their hands in the even
inGs. We do not want them to stray off
down town, stand around on the street
corners, like Micawber. waiting for some
thing to turn Up, for sooner or later some
thirg will turn up, and it will be nothing
good
I'm our reading room We will provide
them with magazines, with the daily pa
pers and with games. so that they can
amuse and enjoy themselves. We will
also put in a good gymnasium adjoining,
where the young men can train their mus
cles in the evening, and the young ladies
of the church can use the room for the
same purpose in the afternoon. Any
Young man of p0O5 charat.tar no matter
what his creed, may join the Brotherhood
of Andrew and Philip, and he Is sure to
be benefited by the act. The brother
hood performs many duties in our church.
We have a hotel committee that visits
the principal hotels of the city every Sat
urday night, learns the names of the
guests and leaves written invitation for
them to attend divine services Sunday
morning. The visitors are met in the YES
tibule by the brotherhood, cordially greeted
and escorted upstairs where other men,
bers of the order seat them.
Our church has already established
mission at the corner of Virginia avenue
and oath street, whose services are at
tended Dy four to five hundred people on
every occasion. 1t is in charge of Elder
w. I. Simpson, and at present is located
In tent but we must get the mission
from under canvas and house 1t comforta-
bly, for the winter. That mission Is doing
people. who frankly say that they cannot,
with their families, attend services in a
church, but that If we will send some
body down to them who will talk upon re-
ligious topics amid surroundings of an
informal nature suitable to them they will
gladly attend and contribute their nickels
and dimes to it's, support.
This mission is a great training for our
young men. We find that they can do
better work among strangers than with
their own friends and associates. 1t is
good experience for them, and have al
ways said that mission work is the best
kind of theological seminary in which
to receive practical training and eXpe
lectures at our church during the winter,
and on the evening of October Rev. c.
J. Latham, missionary to Africa, will
deliver an illustrated lecture on the work
In that country of the Presbyterian Chris
tan Endeavor Missionary Union
AN EPISCOPAL GATHERING.