The record-union., 1898-06-06
CARE OF AGED CLERGYMEN.
A PLEA FOR THOSE OF LONG
MINISTERIAL WORK.
Address at the Congregational
Church by Rev. N. H. Whittle-
sey Of Connecticut.


Rev. N. II. Whittlesey of New Ha-
ven, Conn.,, Secretary of the Committee
0I the National Council of Congrega-
uonal Churches on Ministerial RELIEF,
preached yesterday morning in the
congregational Church His text was
1HlllpplanS iv., 10: But / rejoice
In the Lord greatly, that now at the
last your care of me hath fiourished
again; wherein ye were also careful,
out We lacked opportunity
from this sentence, he said, taken
from the midst of Paul's letter, we may
eather two or three important lessons.
FIRST. Christian people mean to be
klnd-when they think of it. Twelve
years earlier Paul had founded this,
the first Christian church upon the
heathen continent of Europe. During
the past five years he had been in
prison. At length these early converts
bethought themselves about their old
missionary, aged, in prison and in
want. Their former affection blossom
ed afresh. They made up a beautiful
ministerial relief contribution, and as
secretaries had not yet been invented.
nor express companies, they sent one Of
their own number Epaphroditus. hun
dreds of miles away off to Rome to
carry it. On the arrival of their mes
senger and their gift Paul wrote them
TINS beautiful letter of Acknowledge
ment. Just so to-day if the facts about
the needs of Gods aged ministers can
be made known, and a business-lke
way OF caring for them can be devised,
christian people will respond
Second, the apparent benefactors are
often the real beneficiaries, and vice
versa. Generous as these good Phil
lpplans had been. for the Gospel and its
inspiring motives and glorious hopes,
they were thousand fold more deeply
indebted to him than he could have
been to them. Isn't it always so when
We try to strike a balance between
temporal and spiritual benefits confer
red and received?
Fifty-five years ago a set Of eleven
young fellows from Andover. Mass,
went by stage, canal, lake, and farm
wagons to the Territory of Iowa That
was in 1915, three years before Iowa
was admitted to the Union. Thei,
ambition was: IF each of US by his
life-work can plant one strong church.
and if ALL joining hands, can establish
life-work well worth achieving? They
invested their lives there. OF the three
survivors to-day two are still living in
Iowa, and what have they lived to see?
Three hundred Congress ational church,
es in Iowa; two colleges and several
academies; at the crossroads every
two miles apart the little white school
house, giving Iowa the lowest percent
age of illiteracy of any State in the
land. They have been cadets in ali
battles for liberty, union, temperance,
and good morals. often at great sacri-
ficeS, pecuniary and other.
suppose these survivors, or the sur
viving widows of others. have been SD
Self-sacriiicing that they have not
made sufficient financial provision for
their own declining years, would
handsome pension from the people Of
Iowa be charity? Instantly your sense
of justice replies: No it would only
be little interest on the mere money
value of their services to Iowa; for
there is not an acre of land in her nine
ty-nine counties not a city lot, nor a
mile of railroad. nor an Iowa mort
gage owned in England, that will not
sell for more than cash tomorrow than
it would have represented had it not
been for the labors of those pioneers in
helping to transform that great. bill
lowy, untrodden prairie into the Massa-
chusetts of the West.
My first happy pastorate of twelve
years. when | went out from my Con-
necticut home and from Yale College
and seminary, was at Creston, Ia. and
l can testify. personally and affection
ately. to the work and worth of those
heroes and heroines. In a Western
city. where / spoke. | was enter
tanned in the home of a leading busi
ness man. Before / left he said: Put
one thing into your address. and never
leave ii out, namely, that you don't
ask for charity. but give a chance to
pay these honored veterans Of the
Lords army a justly earned little pen
sion" He backed up his opinion with
his check for 800: his brother added
SD, and his son SO, and his wife So
more, making $40 in support of the
idea that this is work not so much
of charity as of justice and fair deal
ing.
The third lesson from the story is
that even when Christian peorle are
disposed to be just and generous they
are sometimes so tardy about it as TO
ippians, although the joy and crown Of
Paul had been five years helping
him While the Presbyterians have
permanent ministerial relief fund of
81 .,J1 600, and the Methodists dis
Lurse annually 100000. the ConGrega
tionalists disburse only about S2o,00o
annually.
Mr.. Whittlesey gave the history
of the work of the State soci-
eties and of the National Con-
sregational Council fund. He stated
that at the present time more
thar half of the Congregational pas
tors in active service are home mis-
s'cnaries, whose salaries average less
than 500: that the work was stinu-
lated in 1856 by the bequest of S10,000
By Mrs. Helen c. Knowles, and tina. he
himself had been engaged in increasing