The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-10-31

Quall0catl0n, IL is USELESS dhu "SAA
nigh exasperating. Reduce the num-
! bers one-haif. Thirty-five thousand
church members are now excused for
all causes-the worst and the best. Re
duce also our constituency one-half.
Now we can hold up our heads with
becoming self-respect. We, the live
and well and resourceful people are
giving one penny apiece Snce in three
weeks for state missions. The exact
truth has not yet been told. A rev
out of this whole number are doing all
, they can and the rest have not yet
made report.
Permit me to suggest that public re-
Duke of the dear pastor who does not in
every community proceed at once to
work the miracle of transforming self
lishness into unselhshness and small
lmfndedness into large mindedness, will
not provide the remedy for this state
| of things. Public rebuke at state meet
lings win have imperceptible effect on
thousands whose presence has not been
perceived at these meetings. A cease
less iteration Of appeals from all the
worthy causes that can be named, will
also continue to paralyze the spirit of
true stewardship. 1t Is observable
what has been accomplished by present
methods through long series of years.
Our constituency as whole has been
confused benumbed and rendered tenn
porarily immune to these appeals.
We are surely coming to larger,
saner view of these profound questions,
and the day is not far distant when
keen business ability and consecrated
Christian stewardship will pronounce a
united Judgment. Wisdom has never
yet failed to be justified of her children.
She has sometimes grown hoary wait
II ing for her children to justify her, but
after patient waiting they have always
yielded to the inevitable and have
gracefully performed the act Long
ago wisdom lifted up her voice and
declared to all the people who on
earth do dwell that in union there is
strength. 1t is an ancient truth, older
than the Continental Congress, older
than the 10 colonies; it is an eternal
truth, grounded and revealed in the
very nature Of the Godhead. When, as
fellow helpers to the truth, we come
to a clear and vivid perception Of this
fact, we shall have entered upon an
epochmaking period in our history.
Already the day dawn Is visible and it
Is bright with promise and with JOY.
| In the second place emphasis needs
to be put upon the teaching that, how
ever great the demand for money in
prosecuting the work Of God. the per-
sonal element can never be omitted
without distinct and seldom without
fatal loss. The severest strain that is
Iput upon Christianity today, believe,
is at this point God is not less real to
the minds of men than he has been at
any period of the worlds history.
Witness the unprecedented stiffness Of
mems hearts before God in the hour
of the nations recent bewilderment
and sorrow.
Faith in God does not seem less de-
sirable than formerly. But the in
tense development of material inter.
ests has withdrawn from fields of &C
tive personal service multitudes of no
BILE, Godfearing men.
1t is question how we'll Christianity
can endure this test. 1t Is true, thu
treasures of all our missionary organ
izations must have, If they are to BIZ
made equal to the demands upon them
the systematic and generous offerings
of Gods stewards They must also
have Gods stewards themselves.
Human souls are not saved except
through the passion of human souls. II
the administrators of Christian bounty
are to be denied the vital touch, the
inspiring counsel, the personal sympa-
| thy of those who give the money, the
money win fall far short of its high
function. Let me not be misrepresent-
ed. More gifts and larger gifts are
needed for our work, but men are need
ed not less than money The noble
gift of the Ford fund to our treasury
| only accentuates what / am saying
Such a gift from such a source, from 8
man who knew and loved the common
people, cannot be properly and fruit
fully administered except as it comes
from the hands of Christian men, warm
| with the hearts blood of human feeling
The foreign born, crowding into our
towns and cities and occupying our de-
serted farms will be foreign bred as
/ well, If left to themselves. Whole sec
| lions of our larger cities are solidly
| foreign today. Money hurled at them
! will not Christianize them. 1t will not
/ even Americanize them, unless 1t be In
| the corrupt school of municipal poll
tics They will simply take our money
| and heat it into shields and weapons
| behind which to guard themselves in
! their provncialisms and paganisms.
! Little second-story mission halls out of
their sight and reach will not melt their
! hearts and. make them Christian with
any amazing Alaerity. The suggestions
of our socratic and truly Christian SUI
perintendant of missions are in point
here. l trust they may be heartily
adopted.
In a word only as we succeed in de-
veloping a generation of Gods stew
| ards who shall first of all give them
selves and with their redeemed selves
their generous free will offerings to
I their Lord and Master-shall we be
| able to do our part in redeeming this
noble Commonwealth unto God
Brethrens: Let us learn the meaning
of Christian Stewardship-our all ac-
countable to Jesus Christ. Let us yield
ourselves to Christ as genuine stew
ards. Let us close ranks and keep step
that we may break the titanic forces
that oppose. In the name of our God
let us set up a single banner.
Judge John Hildreth of Holyoke pre-
scented the problem of the hill towns,
where the population is growing larger
and the church membership smaller
The conditions of the foreign popula-
tion is worse, he said, in these towns
than in the countries they came from,
because in the latter they did have
some religious teaching, while here they
have none. He urged practical. hui
manitarian Christianity as the kind
which the people Of the hill towns
need.
It have a word for you" he said,
(which 1 think God has given me to
tell you Christ's answer to the ques-
ton What shall l do to inherit eter-
nal life was, Sell all that thou hast
and follow me- Does He ask too much ?
Will you likewise go away sorrowfui?'
Let me ask you in the coming year to
at least suffer something for Christs
sake Remember in my city there are
less than 5000 nominally native eiti-
zens, while the total population is over
10000"
These committees were announced
by President Farnham: On arrange
ments for 1902. chairman. the pastor Of
the church where the convention is
held. Rev. o. ]. White OF Taunton:
Rev. A. L. Smell Of Fitchburg. Rev. W.
H Eaton of Boston. L. H. Cole, c. T.
Stevens and John Hildreth on place
and preachers. Rev. L. B. Thomas Of