Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-02-01

D, Of the Nazareth Avenue church.
| Chicago. 10 Rev Philip s. Caxton. D.
D., New York city
My DEAR CAXToN-It Is late sun
| day night but | am so intensely awake
| ana so overiowing with what | have
seen and heard that | feel driven to
/ write you now some account of the
| situation in Raymond as | have been
| studving it and as it has apparently
| come TO climax today So this Is my
| only excuse for writing 50 extended a
letter at this time
lyon remember Henry Maxwell in
| the seminary ! think you said the last
! time l visited you in New York that
| vou had not seen him since we gradu-
! 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 l said
10 my wife; Raymond has made
| good choice. Maxwell viii satisfy them
! as a ser1nonizer. He has been nee II
| years. and ! understand that up To
! year ago he had gone on in the regular
! course OF the ministry, giving good sat
| isfaction and drawing a good congrega-
tion TO his morning preaching service
| His church was coEnted the largest,
most wealthy church in Raymond All
| the best people attended it. and most
| Of them belonged The quartet choir
| was famous for its music, especially for
| its soprano. Miss Winslow. Of whom |
shall have more to say, and on the
] whole. as / understand the fact. Max
well was in comfortable berth, with
very good salary. pleasant surround
| ings. not "A very exacting parish of re-
| fined. rich. respectable people, such a
church and parish as nearly all the
Young men in the seminary in our time
looked forward to as very desirable.
But a year ago today Maxwell came
into his church on Sunday morning and
at the close of his service made the
astounding proposition that the mem
bers of his church volunteer for year
not to do anything without first asking
the question. What would Jesus doT
and. after answering it, to do what in
their honest Judgment he would do, re
| gardless of what the result might be to
them.
| THE effect of this proposition as it
has been met and obeyed by number
of the members of the First church of
| Raymond has been so remarkable that
as you know, the attention Of the whole
| country has been directed to the move
ment | call it movement because
| from the action taken today it seems
probable that what has been tried here
| in the First church in Raymond will
reach out into the other churches and
cause a revolution in church methods,
| but more especially in a new definition
] of Christian discipleship.
''In the first place, Maxwell tells me
| he was astonished at the response made
to his proposition. Some Of the most
prominent members in the church made
| the promise to do as Jesus would.
| Among them were Edward Norman,
| the editor Of The Daily News, which
| has made such a sensation in the news
paper world; Milton Wright, one of
| the leading merchants in Raymond;
| Alexander Powers whose action in the
matter of the railroads against the in
| terstate commerce laws made such
stir about year ago; Miss Page, one
Of Raymond 9 leading society heiresses,
who has lately dedicated her entire for
| tune, as / understand. to the Christian
| daily paper and the work of reform in
the slum district known as the Rec
| tangle and Miss Winslow, whose rcpu-
tation as n singer is now national, but
who, in obedience to what she has de
| cided to be Jesus probable action, has
devoted her talent to volunteer work
| among the girls and women who make
mp a large part of the city's worst and
most abandoned population.
"In addition to these well known
people has been gradually increasing
number Of Christians from the First
| church and lately from other churches
in Raymond A large proportion of
these volunteers who pledge themselves
to do as Jesus would comes from the
EndeavOr societies. The young people
say that they have already embodied in
their society pledge the same principle
in the words. 4 promise him that | will
strive TO do whatever he would have
me do. This is not exactly what is in
cluded in Maxwell's proposition, which
is that the disciples shall try TO do what
Jt5llb WOuli IIIoDdBly iy III iilt hIo'i7
pies place, but the result of an honest
obedience to either pledge, he claims,
will be practically the same, and he is
not surprised that the largest numbers
have joined the new discipleship from
the Endeavor society.
81 am sure the first question you will
ask is, What has been the result Of
this attempt, what has it accomplished,
or how has it changed in any way the
regular course Of tho church or the com
munityf'
"You already know something from
reports Of Raymond that have gone over
the country what the results have been,
but one needs to come here and learn
something Of the changes in individual
lives. and especially the change in the
church life. to realize all that is meant
by this following Of jesus steps 30 lit
orally. To tell all that would bc TO
write long story or series Of stories.
| am not in n position to do that but !
can give You some idea perhaps Of what
has happened here from what has been
told mo by my friends and Henry Max
well himself
"The result of the pledge upon the
First church has been twofold-it has
brought about II spirit Of Christian fell
lowship which Maxwell tells me never
before existed and which now impresses
him as being very nearly what the
Christian fellowship Of the apostolic
churches must have been, and 1T has
divided tho church into two distinct
groups Of members Those who have
not taken the pledge regard the others
ns foolishly literal in their attempts TO
initiate the example Of Jesus
"Somo Of them have drawn out Of
the church and no longer attend, or
they have removed their membership
entirely To- other churches. Some are
an internal element Of strife. and !
heard rumorg Of an attempt on their
part TO force Maxwcll's resignation. !
do not know that this element IL very
strong in the church. II has been held
in check by n wonderful continuance Of
spiritual power which dates from the
first Sunday the pledge was taken
year ago. and alHD by the fact that 80
many Of the most prominent members
have been identified with the move
ment.
"Thc effect on Henry Maxwell IL
very marked. ! heard him preach at
our state association four years ago. He
impressed me at the time aa having
considerable power in dramatic drliv-