The record-union., 1897-10-14
MISSI0NARIESAT ST. PAUL'S.
THOSE WHO PREACH IN THE
HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS.
They Told Under What Difficulties
Church Extension Is
Carried On.

ST Paurs Church was well filled last
night to listen to the missionary SER
vices held by those in the diocese who
are engaged in missionary work in this
State and who have been in attendance
on the convocation for the past two
days. Some of them have a large and
difficult field to cover and their eX-
periences are interesting to listen TO,
and show with what devotion they have
given themselves to the work of ex-
tending the church.
Bishop Graves said that in long
/ line of missionary work he found the
most effective way to bring 1t home
to the people was to bring forth the
missionary himself, and let him tell
his experiences and needs to carry on
the work. So he would do this to-
night and the people would have
| chance to gain an idea of the ditfl-
culties that have to be surmounted by
those who carry the Gospel to the peo-
pie.
| Mr. Cope said that a year ago he
was working in a field about sixty
miles long by one hundred and TWEEN
! ty broad. Some would probably like
| to know how missionary work is done.
The people of this coast are in
primal state as regards religion. There
are people within ten miles of Santa
Rosa who have never seen a surplice
on a clergyman's back. The Minis
terial Union Of Santa Rosa came to
| him and said they supposed that, be-
| ing an Episcopalian, he would not JOIN
/ them. He said they We're mistaken,
and that he would, but would stipulate
that he should do it in his own way,
so they all decided that each would
work in his own way For himself, he
went for the first time out to a little
schoolhouse, where the people had new
er seen a church service. AS he stood
| by the stove, in his cassock one of the
! people asked him what his stole was,
| having never seen anything like it He
answered that it was part OF his uni
! form as a soldier of the cross. The
| soldiers of the nation wear a uniform
to show what they are, and if a man
should see them marching along in
black coats he would naturally say,
Those are not soldiers" Why should
not Christ's soldiers wear a uniform
| that will show what they are?
| If the church people would only study
the doctrines and customs of the church
more and not be afraid to talk about
them, they would soon remove much OF
the prejudice against the Episcopal
church that exists in the minds of peo-
pie simply because they know nothing
about it or it's tenets on the reasons
for it's customs and forms
Rev. Edwin Johnson of Woodland
said the former speaker had spoken of
the army. He had recently seen in
Woodland two tents with army Off
GERS and soldiers occupying them. They
were small and did not need large cords
or stakes. The circus tent needs it's
big ropes and stakes. The work in
Northern California is being stretched
out till it needs a long cord and big
stakes and big tent to cover it. He
gave an instance of how the church
had been planted in a new community
by the efforts Of a woman. There is.
he said, in Woodland, enough of guam
tity, but lack of quality. There is
a lack of sense of responsibility; of
feeling that there is a duty which each
communicate is bound by his vows to
perform for the common good of the
church. If it is to grow it must be by
the efforts of it's members to promote
| it's growth as much as possible.
Rev. John Partridge of Petaluma said
| that whenever we are asked to con-
tribute to the cause of the church we
should bear in mind the text: Bear
We one another's burdens For the first
ten years of his missionary life he
worked on the bleak coast of Nova
Scotia. He found the people there
were mostly Episcopalians who had
| drifted into other denominations.
| When he asked them why they had left
their own church they told him that
there was no church of their own there.
and that they could not bear to live
without going to church, and so had
| Joined with others. If the people have
| no church it must be taken to them.
But Gods ministers cannot go unless
| they are sent, and if the are sent they
| must be supported. 1t is a high and
blessed privilege for Christians to aid
in spreading the Masters work among
the people, and they should realize that
/ it is so. Several Of the Apostles were
rich, but they gave up all to follow
Christ. God wants us not to let our
| lights be hidden, but to set them on
| an eninence; to let them so shine be-
followers of God. Every time we go to
church. he said, we pray that His ways
may be known to all men and His name
to all nations. We are not asked to do
much. The poor widow put in her
mite. We should do what we can, be
it ever so little and if we use our
prayers in Gods cause our purses will
soon open If we lay aside each week
IF
with willing heart we will feel the
reward that comes from doing what
We can. Giving on principle to God
will not go unrewarded.
The next speaker was w. L. Clark OF
Benicia, who was introduced by the
Bishop as a general missionary, whose
| field was from Napa to Amadon. Mr.
Clark said that for eight years he had
been engaged in the work. and had been
| instrumental in consecrating five
| churches. 1t was of the new missions
| that he proposed to speak, in Amador
| County. When he went to Jackson he
! found the road so rough that he
| thought he would never want to try to
get away. He found there some church
| people who were glad of the opportu-
nifty to attend church service. and the
only Protestant Church there is the
| Methodist Church. At Sutter Greek.
four miles away, there is another prom
isng field, with no Protestant church.
He had a country a hundred miles wide
to travel over from his home, and it
made it expensive, but he thought that
if the work is aided churches can be
established at both these places. Sub
| sfantial aid is needed and he honed