Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-02-01

Christian association" means young
mon for Christ" That is the first and
chief reason for which honor this be-
neiiccnt movement.
Work For Young Men.
But the Young Mems Christian as.
ISOLATION work does not end here. 1t
Ia important to get young man TO
confess Jesus Christ, but It Is also nee
essary during the years OF his Chris
tian infancy or formative period. to
keep the young man by Christ's side
and 70 surround him with the protect
ing influences Of a Christian home.
That to me is the greatest work on
earth to be done for young men in our
large or smaller cities. next to getting
young man to publicly confess his
love for the Saviour. Indeed. I may
70 farther. Perhaps the second work
Is even more important than the first.
for il young man who has once con-
| fcssed his love for Christ does not con-
tnue to live very close to Christ he Is
very apt to be drawn aside by tempta-
tons and his last condition be worse
than the FIRST Let me sketch the story
of a young man coming into a large
city. use this illustration because
! the work Of the Young Mems Christian
association always has been and al
ways will be chiefly among the young
fellows who, like George Williams,
come to live in a large city with no
home but boarding house, and no
friends but those they are compelled to
make among strangers.
This average young man is the son Of
Christian parents. All his past life has
beer surrounded by Christian influ-
ences; but. like most young men living
in the sinai Her towns or Oh the farm, he
wants to get into the center of things.
He goes to New York, Chicago, Phila-
delphia, San Francisco or Los Angeles.
At first he is dazed or dazzled by the
noise and the hustle. The houses look
TO him as though they were reaching
to the sky. The streets are so crowd
ed with electric cars and tramways
and automobiles and shooting auto
cycles that he is afraid to cross them.
Then the crowds. The people seem to
be everywhere. They push him. they
Jolt him, they growl at him. they do
everything but speak kindly to him.
Every body seems to be in such n hur-
~. The people are running for the
ferry boats, and they are running for
the elevated trains, and they are run.
ming for the bridge cars. They are run
ming everywhere.
The Sense Of Loneliness.
At first the young mans time Is TAX
en- up with watching the different
sights. He acts Just as he did when his
father first took him to county fair
Then there comes over him an awful
sense Of loneliness. Like David, he
seems to cry out. mo man careth fol
my soul" lie goes to church the first
Sunday. He says to himself, Nov, II
l 90 TO church l will meet some nice
people" But he finds the average city
church Just as different from the coun
try church as the tall, stiff, unbendins
and inhospitable city home is different
from his fathers genial, open dool
farmhouse No one speaks to him a
church. Then the lonely Monday nigh
and the lonely Tuesday night and th'
,, lonely Wednesday night and the lionel,
Thursday night and the lonely Frid;
night and the lonely Saturday night
He wants to be good. but what is lie t,
do? Yet all this time sin Is every wher,
reckoning: Come, brother, como an(
drink with me. Come and laugh will
me. Come and make merry with II e.
Plenty Of church services on the Sab
bath day, but what is he to do during
all the rest Of the week: Mark this
The young men of the city will not b,
saved for Christ by two sermons
: preached on the Sabbath day. The,
, must have n Christian home. The,
; must have a place Where they can e
and meet Christian people. If tn,
Christian churches in the past had beef
: run on the line Of the institutional
church, there would have been no nee,
of Young Mems Christian associa
} ton. But as they have not been SO rul
D there have been thousands and tens o
thousands of young men saved 70
Christ through the influence of tn
: Young Mems Christian associations
2 Now, how does the Young Mems Chris
Q tan association offer to the young mel
D I Christian home?
: Work for the day is done. Monda
Z night is here. The young man is eatin
l his dinner at the boarding house. Th
e bOarders are about to separate. "Wher
l are you going tonight" asks one O
. the boys of another boarder. "Dow
: to the Young Mems Christian assoca
q ton" is the answer. what" says tn
f questioner. do you go there? VIVA
a do you do there?" oh" says thi
friend, that depends. Some nights
sit and read in the library. Sometime
h bowl and play games with the boys
:. Sometimes I work in the gymnasium
= Sometimes we have lectures. There
Y always something to do. BY the wa!
. Mr.. So-andso. won't you come an
e be my guest tonight" he turns an
: says to the new boarder. II want 70
Il to meet some of the boys. Then,
S you like, I wish you would join us.
l. Then the young mans eyes take on
- look OF great anxiety ms he says: "Yo
l. must spend your evenings somewher
b and in doing something You canno
u spend them better than down at tn
: association with u.s." What is the us
: of my carrying the illustration any fu
q Their? DO you not see that where ii
IL, IL hn