El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-16
PAGES 9 TO IL.

as Jesus would do. Sunday, the ami
versary of that one year ago, was In
many ways the most remarkable day
the First church ever knew 1t was
more important than the disciples in
the First church realized. The year had
made history SO fast and so serious that
the people were not yet able to grasp
its significance, and the day itself,
which marked the mpletion of
whole year of such dlscipleship, was
characterized by such revelations and
confessions that the immediate actors
in the events themselves could not I'M
derstand the value of what had been
done or the relation of their trial to the
rest of the churches and cities in the
country.
1t happened that the week before
that anniversary Sunday the Rev. Cal
vim Bruce, D. D., of the Nazareth Az
enue church. Chicago, was in Ray
mond, where he had come on a visit to
some old friends and incidentally to see
his old seminary clsssmate, Henry Max
well. He was present at the First
church and was an exceedingly atten-
tive and interested spectator. His &C
count of ev nts in Raymond, and espe-
cially of that Sunday, may throw more
light on the entire situation than any
description rrecord from other sources
DIR. Bruce's statement is therefore here
given.
Letter from Rev. Calvin Bruce, d.
D., of the Nazareth Avenue church,
Chicago to Rev. Philip S. Caxton, d.
D., New Yo-k city]:
''MY DEA CAXTON-It is late Sun
day night, Dut I am so intensely awake
and so overlooking with what I have
seen and heard that 1 feel driven to
write you now some account of the
situation in Raymond as ] have been
studying it and as it has apparently
come to climax today So this is my
only excuse for writing so extended :.
letter at this time.
tfYou remember Henry Maxwell in
the seminary. think you said the lat
time I visited you in New York that
you had not seen him since we graCu-
ated. He was refined, scholarly fellow.
you remember, and when he was called
to the First church of Raymond within
q year after leaving the seminary said
to my wife: Raymond has made a
good choice. Maxwell will satisfy them
as sermonizer.' He has been here II q.
years, and I understand that up to a
year ago he had gone on in the regular
course of the ministry, giving good sat
and drawing good congrega-
eion to his morning preaching service.
His church was counted the largest,
most wealthy church in Raymond. All
the best people attended it, and most
Of them belonged The quartet choir
was famous for it's music especially for
it's soprano. Miss Winslow, of whom 1
shall have more to say. and. on the
whole, as / understand the fact, Max
well was in comforta BILE berth, with
very good salary, pleasant surround
ngs, not very exacting parish of re-
ined, rich, respectable people, such
church and parish as nearly all the
7oung men in the seminary in our time
ooked forward to as very desira BILE.
''But a year ago today Maxwell came
INTO his church on Sunday morning and
It the close of his service made the
proposition that the mem
,ers Of his church volunteer for a year
lot to do anything without first asking
he question, What would Jesus dol?
nd, after answering it. to do what in
heir honest judgment he would do. re-
,ardless of what the result might be to
hem.
1.-The effect of this proposition as it
las been met and obeyed by a number
f the members of the First church of
raymond has been so remarkable that.
s you know the attention of the whole
ountry has been directed to the move
nent. I call it movement because
rom the action taken today it seems
robable that what has been tried here
OH in
each out into the other churches and
ause revolution in church methods.
ut more especially in new definition
Christian discipleship.
''In the first place, Maxwell tells me
70 was astonished at the response made
D his proposition Some of the most
rominent memb ers in the church made
be promise to do as Jesus would
Among them were Edward Norman,
be editor of The Daily News, which
aper world; Milton Wright, one of
ne leading merchants in Raymond;
lexander Powers, whose action in the
natter of the railroads against the in
erstate commerce laws made such
;ir about year ago; Miss Page, one
Raymond's leading society heiresses,
tho has lately dedicated her entire for
Inc, as I understand. to the Christian
ally paper and the work of reform in
,e slum district known as the Rec
lngle. and Miss Winslow. whose repu-
.tion as a singer is now national. but
no. in obedience to what she has de-
ded to be Jesus probable action, has
,voted her talent to volunteer work
mong the girls and women who make
p large part of the city's worst and
ost abandoned population.