The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-04-03
WAYS AND MEANS.
BY REV. V. E. ToMLINsoN.

IL HAS Dc0u SdlQ budb CluO III tuc
hands of hero is more powerful
weapon than the finest Damascus
blade with nerveless arm" Certain
it is that determined purpose with
the poorest method, will accomplish
more for our missionary work than
the best of ways and means with no
heart back of them. It is idle to
equip some of our pastors and
churches with the most improved
machinery until we get them convert
ed; until they are led to see the
need of action on their part and feel
keen shame at the Sinking role
which they are playing. Given an
earnest resolve and we stand some
chance of getting mems attention
while we talk of methods, but with
this lacking, all discussion of ways
and means is simply wasting our
pearls.
Easter is perhaps the best time to
raise the missionary quotas. 1t marks
full tide in the church year. The
services of the day call out our larg
est congregations. The hearts of the
people are touched with the spirit of
the glad festival. More can be raised
then for any good cause than at any
other time. Let the pastor take adj
vantage of this fact and plan accord
ingly. If he holds special services
through Lsnt,--an excellent custom,
with the Lenten notices which he
mails to all his parishioners, let him
enclose an envelope marked easter
Offering" and in his Lenten pastoral
let him call attention to the offering
and urge the practice of self-denial
that it may be generous one. Ii
the pastor has done his duty in set
ting before his people the missionary
enterprises of the church. and they
are at all responsive, the Easter Of
fering will meet the quotas.
In some churches missionary box
is given out some weeks before Eas-
ter, and through this means the Eas-
ter Offering is swelled. OF course
the matter must be referred to fire.
quently and enthusiasm aroused in
its behalf. Let the plan be thorough
ly worked and the habit once estab-
lished in the parish, and the quotas
instead of being a nightmare to the
pastor are as easily raised as any
other expenses of the church.
As for the Japan Mission, it would
seem that All Souls Sunday is the
time to raise funds for that. Then
the ministers are urging the brother
hood of man and the Gospels adap-
liability to world wide needs. 1t would
seem that such sermon and such
service would be an offense without
an opportunity for an offering to
make practical the faith declared.
Let All Souls Sunday be dedicated
to foreign missions; let it become
fixed habit with our people to make
their offering for this cause then, and
l believe the problem of supporting
the church in japan will be in good
measure solved. Church activities
are we'll resumed by the first Sunday
in November, and Easter is far
enough away not to cause the two
offerings to conflict. Thus both
home and foreign fields receive at
tention.
Let our church cease experiment
ing; spare us the confusing task of
trying something new every twelve
months, and enable the churches TO
fall in line on the All Souls and
Easter Offerings for missions, and we
will witness better results. Any habit
of giving is better than a confusion of
methods. 1t is time our church at
large got its bearings and settled
down to some Gxed plan. In connec-
ton with the two offerings advocated
it would be we'll for our church
papers to publish the results, that we
may know which churches are doing
their part in forwarding our mission
airy work, AMI which are refusing to
bear their share of the burden. The
Cent-a- Day for missions is an excell-
-ent means and can be used in connec-
ton with the plan outlined. Let
those who thus contribute make their
offerings in their own churches on the
Sundays named. This would mean
that the pastor or some officer in the
local church should attend to the
matter of the Cent a Day pledges
rather than the Financial Secretary,
as at present but it is a question
whether this system would not be
more effective if locally administered,
at least in the matter Of collections,
than through the Office o. the Finan-
cial Secretary A missionary offering
in the Sunday schools as has been
we'll illustrated in New York and