Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1898-02-14
EPWORTH LEAGUE CONVENTION.

district convened at LyndOnvllle Feb. End
and Sd. After praise service, led by Rev.
T. lyric, the first topic on the, program,
| s"The Duty of a Methodist Pastora and bis
Predecessor" was discussed. by. .Rey.1Ley p.
Chase in a brief, pointed, we'll woEded
speech. The speaker emphasized the ne7
cessity of brotherly love, of speaking of
| the virtues and never of the defects of the
predecessor.
The next topic, ssThe Duty of Metho-
dist Pastor and his Successor" was dis
cussed by Revs. Todd and Dixon. Both of
! these speeches contained many valuable
and helpful suggestions. Rev. S. G. John
son, Dist President of the EpWorth League,
was called to the chair. George E. Cole, Of
Barton Landing chapter, read very fine
paper on Influence Of Associates" He
divides all associates into two classes:
those leading us toward God, and those
leading US from God. He spoke of the in
fuence of self, devil and Holy Ghost. He
showed the necessity of making the most
out of self, of guarding well the snares of
the devil, and of keeping constantly in the
company of the Holy Ghost. He criticised
pastors and christian workers for the too
frequent practice of condemning evil with
out providing cure. It was very prac
ticaI and interesting paper.
Mr.. f. J. Kinney of Hardwick chapter
responded to the topic Of 'Failure of the
Past; How avoided in the Future in a
well written paper. He spoke of the rela-
ton of League to Gods church and King
dom, of church literature in the League as
essential for active work, of the spiritual
life of each member, the secret of success,
of the necessity of laying all upon thSsac-
rificial altar, that stands at the beginning
of the christian life, of being filled with
love, improving opportunities and conse-
Grating energies. ''The characteristics of
a Live President" were presented by j. c.
Dawson of Newport chapter. These were
church membership, religious experience,
adaptability persistence, punctuality, lib
crafty and an acquaintance with Metho-
dist literature. These points were all
clearly and forcibly presented. The paper
was good one and was enjoyed by all
who heard it. 1.-THE Epworth League in
a RevivaP' by Bernice Hall of the Sheffield
chapter was very interesting paper, and
showed much careful thought in its prep
aration. The paper dealt with the import
ant relation of the League to the church
and the preparation needed to make it an
effective ally in revival work. 1t empha-
sized the necessity of having good, live,
spiritual singing and of the League being
organized into working force. 1t con-
tanned many excellent suggestions. "Our
weakness and our strength" a paper writ
ten by Mrs. NIB. Parounagian, was consid-
cred by many one among the best pa
pers of the convention. The writer spoke
of the principles and strength of the or
ganization and the wide extent of the
work; declared the organization not per-
feet in power but thought the weakness
was not in the organization but in the in
dividuals composing the organization.
Some of the sources of weakness pointed
out by the writer were discouragement,
failure to work all departments, causing
abnormal growth, lack of practical knowI-
edge of League work, too much reliance
upon our own strength and not enough
upon the power of God. She thinks the
League is doing grand work in bringing
the young people into harmony with sur
rounding circumstances and playing
important part in bringing about civic
righteousness. She takes a very hopeful
Wow VI CuO luUuIC dAo OAhOI young
people to take courage, reminding them Of
the great army of recruits from the Jun
iors that will soon join their ranks, and
above all to remember that the Lord is
their strength.
The afternoon session opened with sing
ing and prayer. Rev. j. o. Sherburne read
a paper on ssThe Qualities of Effective
Preaching" We expected a very clear,
well written and forcible paper. We were
not disappointed. He said there were two
objects in all effective preaching: to make
Christ known; to advance his kingdom.
The preaching that will produce these re-
suits must be scriptural, spirit aided, have
realizing sense of the Importance of the
task, filled with love, adapted to eongrega
ton, thoroughly studied, and have back
of it pious, devout man. "What are the
least adequate Manifestations of a Con-
verted Life?'' was discussed by Rev A. E
Austin. The speaker defined very clearly
a converted life, and insisted that the least
adequate Manifestations of Converted
Life must harmonic with the New Tesla
ment standard. s'Tests of Ministerial Sue
cess" by Rev. Smithers, was full of in
struction and interest. The speaker has
very unique, forcible way of putting
things. He mentioned some things fire.
quently mistaken for success such as pop
ularity, filling churches, etc. He said
successful preacher obeys God, has faith,
possesses converting power, is wide awake,
up to date, and is filled with the Holy
Ghost. The next part of the program was
the reading of scripture lessons and hymns
that had been assigned to some of the
younger men Of the Conference. This was
a very helpful exercise and many good