El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-06-11

tenn of benefcence arranged with a view to
the symmetrical Developments Of the whole
body along all the great lines or denom1na-
= To this end there should be concent-a-
old and young male aud female; who should
be actively and simultaneously interested in
ceive the approval OF the church.
Its work. as far as practicable. to the general
should be reported annual y.
4. The aim of every benevolent society
offering from a church. but also how TO con-
tribute to its full and orderly development
s. 10 this end, also. the benevolent ac-
tivit es of all these societies should be so re-
their co@Sned nuen enc 70 viii III be t6rown With
that of he churches for the mafnte nance
of an approved policy and order in their
Does not all this seem right and
reasonable? Symmetrical-not one
sided development-sll-ro broad
minded. large-hearted Christians, in
tere ted in al our great enterprises
such is the aim! AS matter OF fact
there are comparatively few such in
our churches. There are plenty of
half hearted and unequally developed
people; interested in one thing
and caring littlefor all the rest.
Every church should arrange its be :
neticsnce not simply to get so much
money for Q given object, but especial
ly for the lib oral, well-rounded edit
cation of its members. Not concentra-
rule in many churches. For instance:
simultaneously, within a single
month, the church makes its yearly Of
ferings to one object; the Sunday
school contributes to another; The
Young Peoples Society is collecting
funds for yet another; Woman's For
eign Missionary Society and Wo-
mans Home Mission Society are soil
citing contributions from the women
for their special work; while Kings
Daughters, children's bands,
and baby bands are gathering funds
according to their own fancy or the
will and way of their directors. Fur
thermore. certain groups of members
devote themselves almost exclusively
to specific things during the entire
year, without reference to the order
of benefcence in the church, if il has
any. Thus, during the periods of the
year when the church makes its prin-
cipsl stated offerings, similar cOndi-
tions exist. Much Of this benevolent
activity is without the recognition or
sanction of the church; neither do the
partic pants therein consider them
selves accountable to the church, nor
is the money collected passed through
its benevolent treasury. Their work
is in the church but not Of the church,
neither for the church. Hence we
have the spectacle of Christian
church containing separate benevolent
groups, unfavorable to unity of effort
and to the development of symmetrical
Christian benefcence of the whole
body.
The great underlying theory of the
commission on Systematic beneficence
may be thus stated: To make the
church Itself, not any group therein, ;
the unit of benefcent activity; to res
tore the church to its proper place and
functions in these things: to have all
forms of benefcence therein recog-
nized, sanctioned, and in some degree
at least directed by 1t; to increase the
sense of church responsibility for ths
symmetrical development of in
dividual liberality and converse
ly to increase the sense of in
dividual responsibility for the Ok.