The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1902-01-13
PREACHERS TELL OF
NEED OFY, N. {. A.
BUILDING HERE
The Day Was Devoted to This
Cause in All the
Churches
SERMON OF REV. DR.. CURRY
Says 80 Per Cent of Boys Drop Out of
Church After Reaching the
Age of Fifteen
Years.
SERMON OF REV. DR.. CURRY

Yesterday was Y. NJ. C. A. Sunday in
many of the Protestant churches. Ser
mons were preached showing the need
which any city has for Y. M. C. A.,
the evils which It combats and the temp
tations which 1t seeks to remove from
young men.
The need Of Y. NJ C. A. building has
long been felt In Birmingham and efforts
are being made to arouse interest in the
subject. 1t is thought the various SER
mons preached yesterday cannot fail to
have a good effect in this direction.
There is perhaps not a city in the United
States the size of Birmingham which
does not possess a Y. NJ C. A. building.
Impetus was recently given to the
movement by the offer of Mr.. r. s. Mum
ger to give $4,000 for the purpose Of erect
Ing a building in Birmingham. This Of
fer greatly encouraged the officers of the
association, and they, as one means to
bring the matter to the attention of the
public, asked the various ministers in the
city to call attention to this pressing need
of Birmingham in their sermons yester-
day.
Ut. Currys sermon.
One of the ablest of these sermons de-
livered yesterday was by the Rev, A. B,
Curry of the First Presbyterian Church.
DIR. Curry preached from the text II
looked upon my right hand and beheld,
but no man would know me; refuge
failed me; no man cared for my SOUL"
142 Psalm, 4th verse.
He called attention to the fact that
those were the words of David which he
uttered while fleeing from Saul, who
sought his life. and that they might be
truthfully uttered by hundreds of young
our great cities, exiles from home and
beset by foes as cruel and relentless as
those which pursued David,
Christian people should give these
young men their help for the following
reasons:
Because of their Importance in the near
future. These young men will soon be
the influential men of the day, and they
should be reared well.
Because of their great needs we should
be profoundly interested in our young
men.
Sort Of Help Needed.
What kind of help do they need?"
inquired DIR. Curry. First, they need
sympathy and friends. mo man would
know me-" This utterance of David is a
cry of friendlessness There are some who
ought to know these young men. They
should not be left solely to their enemies.
On the contrary. one of their greatest
needs is a refuge from their enemies.
Refuge failed me- says David. They
need some place where they can go and
be safe. 1t is awful to be always con-
fronted with temptations and have no
place Of refuge. 1t is like David being
continuously hunted by Saul.
Our young men need soul care, mo
man cared for my soul" says David. This
is the very highest need of our young
men and the greatest service which can
be rendered to them.
'"Who Is to meet these needs of the
young mem" asked DR.. Curry, The Chris
tan home, you will say. But there are
two difficulties here. Many homes are
not christian; and SO many young men
have no home-that is. so many are
away from home.
The church should be expected to meet
these needs. The church is the great d.
vine agency, the spiritual mother Of our
young men. But how is the church to
do it? Ordinary methods fail.
Drop Out After FIFTEEN.
DR.. Curry then proceeded to show that
30 per cent Of the boys of the church
drop out after 10 years of age. and that
70 per cent of the men did not attend
church. What, then, shall the church
do? The Y. M C. A. Is the answer to this
question. 1t gives a friend and a refuge
to the young man.
DR.. Curry concluded his remarks by
showing that no one church could do the
work of helping or rescuing young men.
as it reached such a limited number, but
that If all the churches would combine
and work together the Y. M. c. A. would
be assured and a strong refuge afforded
for the youth of the city.