The Portland daily press., 1899-06-15
CUMBERLAND CONFERENCE.
Aunual Meeting Held With Fall
mouth Church.
Discussion of subjeets- Pertaining TO
Church Life.

The 77lh annual and the l7ist meeting
Of the Cumberland Conference OF Congre.
gational churches was held at the First
Congregational church OF Falmouth yes
tsrday. This gathering was very veil at
tended and proved to be one Of the most
interesting In the history OF the organiza-
tion.
The visiting delegates and their friends
went ont on the early morning trains and
the electric cars.
At nine O'Clock the conference was
opened, q devotional meeting being con-
Quoted BY kev. Francis Southworth of
Portland. s.
Then followed the real business of the
conference. Rev. w. g. Mann of West
brook was chosen moderator and r ev, S,
N. Adams of Westbrook scribe. The roll
call of delegates showed that nearly all
Of the churches in the county were repre-.
sented
Rev. !. A. Flint, the pastor of the
church at Falmouth as chairman OF the
COMMITTEES which had been chosen to visit
the Bangor Theological seminary, re-
ported that the work of that institution
was being well done.
A motion that Rev. ]. e. Aiken Of
windham be reelected scribe was carried.
ozman G. Adams Of Portland was also
reelected treasurer.
A committee to nominate q list of
officers consisting of Rev. Rollin L.
Hack, Rev. G. G. Wilson and Horatio
Staples was appointed.
Rev. g. q. Wilson the agent of the
Maine Bible society, was introduced to
speak on .How Can More Effectual Bible
Study be Induoedf' Mr.. Wilson advo-
Gated that clubs be formed for the study
OF the Bible.
Rev. Theodore A. Smythe of Portland
discussed the question, "How May the
Sunday School be Made a Greater Power
sihie the giCharchs" There should be a
weekly con ference Of the teachers for
mutual study and interest.
After singing Of hymn, MIR. Horatio
Staples of Portland spoke from the sub
ject what May tie Church Reasonably
Expect of the Pastorf"
"There's no Objection said Mr..
Staples. Ito the pastor being a great
preacher II he can. But eloquent SER
mons are incidental only. He may be a
gifted theologtan, famous literary lion
II he's got 1t In him, but these things are
side Issues, not his work, nor much of
percentage of his work. Let him be-
clever after dinner speaker II that amuses
HIM. and II nature has given him the
gift. Not everybody will kick against
him being nimble ecclesiastical grass
hopper. leaping with the agility of b.
Fay Mills from theological theories flying
east, to counter systems speeding as
swiftly west with a cheerful contempt for
Consistency all in the space of couple of
sunrisings-if he's built that way. The
church may reasonably demand Of the
pastor that he subordinate everything TO
the work Of pasturing the flock.
'sThe church may reasonably expect the
minister not 60 use the pulpit as bat
terry from which to shoot small
secular jokes; Jokes which If they are on
a level with the man who utters them
are beneath the dignity OF the sacred
place and occasion. What more melan-
choly spectacle can there be then a pull.
pit-funny man-o1e whose out-of place
witticisms have besn giggled at by shall
low people until the man imagine he is u
Beecher 1almage. Jeremy Taylorp
''In that high place the Christian pull
pit, levity is blaspbemy, lightness of
speech is sacrilege, fippancy is pro-
family"
A'sq 10 WHIST degree is the layman fespon-
sible4or the success of the church, was
the subject discussed by Rev. MIR. Adams.
The laymen are almost entirely respon-
sible for the success of the church. 1t Is
usually the church that swings the min
lister and makes his reputation for either
good or evil
Rev. A. H. Wright of Portland spoke
on the question, "What constitutes live
church," There should be real. regener-
ate membership for when this dies out
you cease to have church.
What is the duty of the clergy and
the churches in training for Christian