Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-27

The Lesson.
We spend a good deal of time studying
| about the missions that are situated in far
| lands, or those which carry the gospel to
| isolated peoples. Very different, yet of the
| same absorbing nature, requiring the same
| self-sacrifce. the same patience and love
| that characterizes any mission work, is
! that in our great cities teeming with their
thousands of unwashed, unkempt. Nor Is
tne work alone confined to the unwashed.
More alone one be in a great city,
shoulder to shoulder with those who see
one daily, yet do not know one, than in
the wilderness, where at least one feels the
| nsarness of God and the stars. And the
cities are filled with respectable moral,
| hard-working people, who know as little
about the real Jesus who came to save
| them as If they lived in a Jungle of At
RIGA. 1t is worth our while TO know
little about the great work that the child
rem of the King are doing among all these;
for II the pity of Jesus for the multitudes
in the cities moved Him to tears we ought
also 10 let our hearts be touched with COM
passion.
Livery large city has its own particular
needs and its ways of working. 1t is well
to glance at all If we have the time and
chance. For instance in PHILADELPHIA Tor
seven years now there has been going on
unoer the Presbyterian evangelfstic com
rnlttee a series of evangelstic services IN
tents, parks the open air and the covered
piers They began in 1899 with three tents
ana now are using ten tents The services
have come to be appreciated and out OF
them have already grown several churches,
notably the Italian Tabernacle. where a
great work is being done among the ItaI-
ians. Other cities have taken up this work
along the same lines. Especially conspicu-
Gus among the cities following this plan OF
work is that of Greater New York
This kind of work reaches a class of peo-
pie who would not otherwise perhaps be
reached as II catches them upon the way,
walking through the city, and curiosity
often will prompt them to stop q few min
utes until they are 1nterested-people who
would not go to a church or to a mission.
In this work are employed students from
the theological seminaries. who often give
up their vacations to going about among
the unsaved of the cities and putting into
practice what they have studied during
the winter.
There are crowded childrens meetings.
where the little ones are interested by
pictures, song and story; and many OF
them eagerly give their hearts to Jesus
and go home to tell the story to their par
ents and plead with them to come to the
meetings and SO the little ones lead the
older ones and the work grows greater.
The policemen, even who are detailed to
look after the districts around these tent
meetings and to keep in order the large
crowds that gather at the sound of the
singing. are reached. They give most
respectful attention to the speakers and CO.
operate in every way to make the meetings
a success, and in many ways show that
they are personally interested in the serv-
ices as well as in the performance of
their duty. A policeman says: The people
are very much taken up with the sermons
preached for the past two weeks, for
have heard them speak of the preacher
after the meetings | must also say that
the meetings have been the means of teach
ing the children that which will never be
forgotten. They sing songs they never
would have known, and they have often
them during q all 10
Glory Song Many question me about
the pictures thrown upon the canvass at
the meetings"
The leaders of these meetings have pro-
vided themselves with stereopticons. and
many slides showing Bible pictures, as
well as those containing Gospel hymns.
There is good music and the people all
sing. They cannot help it. The stories
that come from all over our land in our
swarming cities are more interesting than
the strangest novel that ever was written.
A lady found several boys holding
prayer meeting in a cellar. She says 1t is
one of the blessed results of the tent work
A father was converted at one of the
evening meetings The next day his four
children came to the children's meeting.
One of them told one of the workers:
Teacher. it is different at our house now
''How?" she asked, We'll, you know what
everything is like after it has been rain
ing. and the sun comes out bright and
everything Is clear and the world just
shines. That is what l mean"
One man converted last year in a city
tent meeting has been conducting meetings
on the street Independently
At Independence Square one day last
summer hundred men stood in the rain
to listen to sermon.
A man from the neghborhood of the
wharves in one of our large cities testifies
to the good the tent meetings have done.
He says: Tent No. has done good work.
1t has improved the neighborhood. The
sailors stop in the tent, and there are
AL, -l7rn scr. nTn1 hao
the singing and preaching that never went
to church before The mothers can go with
their babies in their arms, with calico
dresses on, and they all seem to enjoy the
services 1 cannot tell you all the good
that tent has done because Ii Will take eter-
nifty to describe that. One young man came
to the tent from one of the steamships. He
came several times and converted
When the ship sailed. he went back to his
home in Liverpool a Christian. This sailor
may be the means of doing a great deal of
good among the sailors. Another sailors
vessel will return in about a week and
when he comes back he will have no tent
to go to. 1t would be a blessing TO keep
1t up the rest of the time and possibly make
it a permanent work.
One of the workers among the Italians
says:
IF you could look into one of these homes
when the death angel has entered and see
the little body of the departed child, COW
cred with Sugar-Coated almonds, white and
pink, to take with him to the land of the
departed spirits, you would not feel as
though you were in Christian America but
in the heather countries where this is the
general practice. During the quarter l have
had in attendance total of 2, 792 children Or
an average of ~ children at each meeting
have held 80 childreu's meetings. Twenty
eight have stepped out to follow Jesus in
their simple, child-lke way. After a les
son on David and Goliath one little girl came
running to me and exclaimed L have killed
a giant! Why. Annie L said, is that so?
and what was the giant?' Why, [ was
going to say a swear word and I quickly
asked Jesus to help me kin the giant Swear
ing, and He did, and l didn't say it Then
she added, You know they swear so much
at our house that / almost forgot
Another teacher tells how on a picnic in
the park one little boy who was known to
have drunken parents met with an accident
to his blouse. The worker tried to mend IL
for him, and in so doing saw his poor little
back all black and blue from blows received
at home. Not wishing TO notice she asked
him. Jim. can you sing?' Yep" What
can you sing?" "Oh, teacher, | can sing
Jesus knows all about our troubles
ANYTHING else?" Yep. l can sing Keep
on the sunny side of life -
And such stories are more than there is
room to print. They even touch the world
| of euchre parties, and a number of CAV peo-
nj sypin he ,rI-s