The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-02-13
opening or rescue mission on Avenue

II
Of tho Avenue A OF those days had no
| desire for religious administrations. The
4 rector had hardly entered the room for
| the first service when lie was knocked
| flat on his back by a. crowd of young
4 Eoodlums. He and the one lHynian who
/ had ventured to accompany him had
a pretty rough time until they had
driven out twenty OF the most aggres-
| sive opponents OF any religious innova-
| tions. Then they went ahead and did
| the best they could with those who re:
! maincd.
| A little later. n big, strong fellow who
had made some insulting remark to
one of the lady workers was ordered
out by the rector. He refused to go
| and squared for battle. The rector
| promptly Knocked him down, lie admitted
he had enough and had beat re.
treat. Three weeks later another scrim-
mage was on and to his horror the rec
tor saw this game birly fellow pushing
his way through the crowd. He saw no
chance of escape, when to his nstonish-
ment the man took his stand beside the
parson and announced to the gang, "the
doctor ana me cnn clean out this saloon;
YOU get out
This incident is related as showing
acter of the people with whom he was
dealing, but DR.. Rninsford was not the
man to be deterred.s Indeed, he was
rather stimulated bw such outbreaks, he
cause they proved the need of the
work. He continued on this line ant. the
work prospered. He was n great or
snnizer and he enlisted number OF
iuen for voluntary service, so that to-
dred unpaid leaders and workers who
fill about five hundred different posts.
But in order that so large a number OF
volunteers should be efficiently directed,
DR. Rainsford introduced the plan Of
gathering about him four or five curates,
chiefly young men from the seminaries
For two years he trained them with his
methods inspired them with his Ideals
and then sent them out to be leaders OF
parishes all over the coutry In this
way, says Mr.. wood. he has contributed
to the Episcopal Church some of the
most promising OF her younger clergy
'ner. In addition to these he has his
staff Of deaconesses. devout women who
a:n the guardian angels of the neigh
borhood. and whose work for their un-
fortunate sisters has been and continues
to be as a blessing from heaven. In 1888
lie opened the Tracy memorial parish
house, the forrunner of a modern parish
building, and Mr.. Wood says that few
investments of $4,000 for church pur-
poses have ever yielded so large re-
turns. The building is used seven times
in the week for a multitude of enter
prises.
The rector's motto is that at is easier
to train a twig than trunk and,
therefore, much of the work centers in
the Sunday school room which has
staff of $50 teachers and / 800 scholars.
There are also mems clubs which are
largely ATTENDED, and incidentally Dr.
Ruinsford was pioneer in establishing the
seaside home of the parish, to which
during the summer months are sent
about 1900 mothers and children. There
are trade schools and kindergartens and
other benevolences. all of them flourish
ing and doing great service for hui
mainly.
During DR.. Rainsford's rec,orship of
twenty-three years. fully s2.5OO,0o0 has
been given for parish support and outside
charities. The money from year to year
;,., l., 4,
are about 1000 subscribers who give
weekly sums ranging from cents to
$50 Many give less than a dollar a year,
and the total runs from $4,000 to $4,000
There are gifts from the outside of about
$4,000 for the work of the parish, for
missions ana charities.
The subject is so interesting that we
have already overstepped the limits of
allotted space. hut we must add soine-
| thing in conclusion about the personality
| of the man. Mr.. Wood snys:
Or. Ransford is not pulpit orator
| in the accepted sense. He is primarily a
| pulpit teacher. This by no means implies
| that he is lacking in the power OF stirring
eloquence. but 1t Is not the eloquence
| OF polished periods and smooth sentences.
| His sermons, rather, bear the marks Of
! ruggedness and are plainly the result
| of his own experience and his own con-
| tact with his people. He frequently said
| that his best sermons he got from inter-
| views with and letters from his parisli-
toner's. In the pulpit he endeavored to
restate the old truths OF the gospel IN
terms understood by present day men
of affairs. In doing this, sometimes
through carelessness sometimes in tho
warmth of his own passionate earnest
ness. lie laid himself open to misundcr-
standing and even to the suggestion OF
herctical teaching. His own people who
knew him knew with what loyalty he
held to the historic creeds. even though
he urged that "thc church must treat
her creeds as symbols of divine truths,
not as impossible definitions He was
outspoken in condemnation of social in
justice and in demanding the application
of the gospel of social righteousness tn