The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-28
SERMONS WITH PICTURES.
TIE REF. urn. NEEDHAM MAKES
oRIToN SKETCHES as HE TALKS

he Draws HAPPILY nnd the Plctures RrinE Out
the Salient Points OF ITS Discourse-Ho
Once Used This Method or illustration In
Connection with Nr. snnkeI's songs.
From time to tlmehercaftor the congregation
OF Calvary Baptist Church Of Brooklyn will
have their religion mingled with art. Their
new pastor, tho Rev. W. Z. Needham, who
was educated as an artist and whose hand has
not forgotten its cunning, has ineugurated n
series of illustrated sermons, the first of which
no preached last Sunday evening as a sort OF
experiment. So prompt was tho success OF tho
venture that in response TO many requests
from the church people Mr.. Necdha'n will fol-
low this sermon with others of a similar nature.
His general plan is to select n text and then
with crayons to mako several rapid sketches Of
the salient points of his subject upon largo
sheets OF paper suitably displayed.
For instance, last Sunday evening his sub
ject was ''The Refuge CITY," While speaking
he made a sketch first of the cider in charge of
the city gate, n strong, rather Hobraic face, full
Of character and kindlincss. There followed n
picture Of the road leading TO tho city, a broad,
even pathway leading the eye away to distant
mountains. This road, the preacher said. wasal
always kept free Of obstacles and clearly defined
30 that f~ugitivcs from tho powers of evil should
have u free path to tho refuge place. Next,
while the congregation sang a hymn, the
prea ,her.artist, with a few strokes Of his
crayons, brought out upon another sheet the
figure of one Of these unhappy fugitives, Wild
eyed and with hair streaming in the wind,
s~training every muscle to reach tho gates Of tho
city. Last in the series was the open gateway
with the pillars on either side. The entire ser
mon and the wi took up about half an
hour.
is decorated. with many specimens OF his work.
last night by \ Sun reporter, to whom he
talked freely about his application Of art to the
Originally l studied to be an artist" he said.
1T had always been my desire since early child
hood, and j remember that In my home In tho
spent 1t for a pencil or a bit of chalk, instead Of
became a student in tho Philadclp6ia Art
School. whence 1 intended to go to Paris to
H Mise. ny Ny sSs 1S'Rsf;, S %so i Is wa" sr 9sSei anS a 1' eisF.
gyman associated with Mr.. Moody. the cyan;
Felist,. enlisted me in religious work. That
to consider how ! might turn my art to the
use Of saving souls. was naturally 9 rapid
particular line, so that I was about equally
well equipped for landscape character or
I'm preaching it occurred to me that the
main thing was to impress foroibly the main
points of the discourse upon ones hearers.
and though at first the difficulties were great,
in time / became accustomed to it and found
UDaU inc pictures were u RTtdU blu. L Y IL CdSy
to see how a great impression might be made
by a timely picture. Once before a large audi
cnce at Ocean Grove, where Ira ID. Sankey was
conducting q song service. l drew q large pic
ture or a sinking wreck at sea, and Mr.. Sankey
sang Throw Out the Life Line Tho effect
was tremendous. The picture and the music
together, appealing directly to the emotions
through the senses of sight and sound, taught
the lesson with a different force from any ser
mon.
"Of course, it is not possible to illustrate
| every text. To pick out themes suitable for this
kind of a sermon IL far more difficult than you
might suppose. Usually in "a sermon l try to
have four or five pictures, each illustrating
some special point. 1t takes me about three
minutes to completc II goOd-siZed crayon sketch.
In my illustrated Sermons / keep two things
constantly before me. rapidity and effect.
What 1 want to do is TO impress my hearers
my words. 1t is difficult to draw and speak at
the same time, because the brain has to do dou-
BILE work, but constant practice has rendered
1t comparatively easy for me. Now l have not
yet decided on my theme for next Sunday
nights illustrated sermon, but suppose l
should preach on Paul. First l should draw n
sketch OF Pau al as / imagine him as n prosecutor.
jail. Next would be the s~hipwreck of Paul.
Finally l should draw Paul as a martyr before
Nero. Possibly. there would be ono or two
other pictures but four are about enough for
most sermons
The Calvary Church people are greatly pleas
ed with the illustrated sermon idea, and 1t will
be q feature Of tho evening services this win
ter. Mr.. Needham has been pastor OF the
church for about q month. He was at one time
a member OF the Sketch Club of Philadelphia.
but says that he has no longer any time to do
! careful and finished artistic work.