Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1903-10-29
THE Y. N. {. A.
ANNIVERSARY

Z
ously, one in Mahoning Presbyter
and the other in St. Paul's M Z.
church Several of the other church
es of town dispensed with evening SER
vices in order to give their members
an opportunity to attend the anniver-
sary. As result there was a large
audience present at both St Pauls
and the Mahoning Presbyterian church
II. b. Schultz, President of the
Board Of Directors of the Y. M. @.
A., presided at the Mahoning church
and b. W. Musselman, Secretary, at
| St. Paul's.
At each place of worship the ser
vices began by an organ voluntary.
The opening prayer at the Mahoning
church was offered by Rev. NJ. l..
Shindel. D. D., at st. Pauls, by Rev
| George Limbert
At each place the assemblage joined
in singing the familiar hymn, " Come,
Thou Fount of Every Blessing" This
was followed by scripture reading
At each Of the anniversary meetings a
violin solo was rendered by Dr.. f.
Nice of New York 1t was a mastery
rendition much enjoyed by lovers of
music at each place Of worship.
The Presidents and General Secre-
tary's report and the report of the
Ladies Auxiliary at the Mahoning
Presbyterian church were read by Mr..
Laumaster; at st. Paul's, by S. A.
Mccoy.
The General Secretary's report was
quite voluminous yet tersely present
ing a statement of the work accom-
plished and setting forth the objects,
principles and value of the AssOcia-
tion as an organization existing for
the betterment of men.
To attract and interest and hold
young men during the formative period
Of their lives and to persuade them to
enter into right personal relations
with the Son Of God. the Savior and
Keeper Of men, is the real end in view
and this definite and continuous and
aggressive religious work carried on
| parallel with other phases is what
differentiates it from other benevolent
movements in behalf of young men.
Other organizations, the report went
on to say, may have gymnasiums; there
are other societies made up of men
| that may have more members; social.
ly the Young Mems Christian Assooia-
tion may be below the standard of
many clubs; and IN mere humanitarian
effort il may be equalled and some
times surpassed by social settlements
and institutional churches; but for
practical religious effort, by and for
men, it was held, the Association con.
stitutes combination wholly unique,
so admitted by men in every station
of life.
Therefore, to neglect or undervalue
this work for men, or to carry it on
half heartedly or in any cheap fashion
or in spirit of compromise is to sap
the vitality of the movement. Not
one of its many sided interests can be
neglected
In Danville the Y. NJ G. A. has
been advancing along social, intel
Iectual, physical and spiritual lines.
OF course in such an institution there
are always new conditions arising that
must be wisely considered and when
possible, these new conditions should
be accepted and incorporated into the
work.
The Y. NJ. c. A. has a great priv
ilege in DanviIIe. Its building and
equipment are we'll adapted to its
needs for splendid service. By no
means, therefore, should it be permit
ted, on account Of Indifference, to fall
behind. Should this occur it would
be a most disastrous thing to the town
and to young manhood
Concerning the work of the past
year gvod results were reported. In
the religious department the regular
Sunday afternoon meetings for men,
the weekly Bible Glass, the prayer
circle, and special evangelistic service
in connection with the churches were
held and through these agencies much
good was accomplished.
The physical department was never
more popular and since the coming Of
Mr.. Carpenter to take charge of the
gymnasium classes, this part of the
work has been steadily growing in
favor with business men and others.
The present season will witness the
largest classes ever seen in the gym
nasium.
The number of classes conducted i'll
the gymnasium from October l, 1902
to June /, 1903, (eight months) were
32I. Attendance 3,S5S.
The social side of the young men
has not been neglected and from time
to time social gatherings, NOTABLY the
New Years Reception and reception
to Committeeman, have been held.
The present membership of the AS
sociation is 275, which includes 80
BOYS and all others who pay the sum
of -. 90 or over.
The directors and committees and
those having in charge special meet
ings have rendered valuable service
during the past year.
Our local pastors, the press, and
many private individuals have contri-
buted in many ways to make the Y.
NJ. c. \. the popular institution it is
in our midst today. To all these the
Directors return thanks.
The report of the Ladies Auxiliary
reads as follows:
The year just ended has been a sue
cessful one to the Ladies' Auxiliary,
because we are gratifed with the
kuOyyIpdga that the yOung men of the