Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1907-09-19
He WORKS HARD AND
GETS SMALL THANKS
On SI.SOO Per Year There Is Lit
tie Chance For Him to Save
Anything Beyond Qoed'
sionai Stray Wedding
Dollars,

Every man thinks his own trade u
just - aboul as hard as any trade
can be, and the minister of the gos-
pei is no exception to this rule. When
interviewed for data concerning a
minister's cost of living a local
preacher stated: "The pastoral work
for the sick and strangers in this city
is simply enormous. Many time I
am kept busy seventeen hours out
of the twenty-four.
ministers get no pay for overtime,
unless perhaps in the shape of an
occasional marriage fee, but they are
put to an expense of living which Is
all out of proportion to the salaries
they receive. The average minister's
salary in this ciLy is far above the
average for other places of equal
size, yet that average here does not
exceed $500 a year. There seems
to be a popular prejudice against
ministers receiving high salaries, yet
there Is Just as much reason for a
preacher being well paid for his SER
vices as a doctor or a lawyer. If
a person is seriously i'll the minister
is summoned as well as the physi-
clan, but though the doctor is paid
for his medical ministrations the
minister gets nothing for his spiritual
services. Not a minister in this city
would accept pay for comforting the
when a benefit of any kind is rend-
cred 1t is worth q price according to
the standards of this day and gen.
Grafton. The person who is healed
of an uneasy mental condition by
reason of the advice and words of
cheer Of minister Is surely as much
in debt to his pastor as he is to the
doctor who cured him of a physical
ailment.
Duties are Varied.
1.-THE duties of a preacher are as
varied as the work of a newspaper
reporter" said Mr.. Local Preacher.
"The preparing and delivering of two
sermons week is but a small part
of the work of a pastor of a church.
Nowadays the pastor is not expected
to make as many calls on the mem
bers of his congregation as formerly,
but his duties in other directions
have greatly increased. He is expect
ed to be present at all sorts of public
meetings to either offer a prayer or
make an address; he is expected to
serve on numberless committees and
to take an active interest in all the
benevolent institutions and organiza-
tions of a city; he is expected to hold
himself in readipess to respond to a
call any time of the day or night.
He rushes from the act of perform
ing marriage ceremony to the bed
side OF a dying member of his
church; he officiates one moment al
the christening of an infant on the
threshold of life and the next mo-
gent performs the last rites over the
body of a departed friend. The min
lister has no regular hours; he is
pIbtfc servant and supposed to be
accessible at any hour.
Not Unpleasant After All.
II don't mean to infer that a min
ister's lot Is an unpleasant one, by
any means. No man enters the min
istry who Is not anxious to lead a
useful life and who does not expect
to make daily selt sacrifices. 1t is
much to enjoy the respect of the
community; it is nascff to feel that
ones life is productive Of good in
the world, yet best OF All II Is glorf-
Gus 10 serve as a soldier in the ranks
OF the great army of salvation. The
minister must be a fighter as well
as peacemaker; he must battle in
the front rank against political cor
ruption' the greed Of private enter
prises and common Injustice: he
must stand for the best interests Of
the people and be identified with
every great reform movement II is'
a mistaken idea that the preacher
Is concerned only for the salvation
of souls; he is also concerned for the
Government Oh lne material cOn0l-
tions Of the people
What it Costs
Il can give you approximately
what II costs a minister In this city
TO live, but | don't care 10 be quoted !
as making a statement that applies |
only 10 my own expenditures !
am well acquainted with the house, |
hold conditions Of the ministers !
families in Albuquerque and if l give |
you approximately what It would |
cost a preacher with a salary Of ST. |
SOo year to support a family of |
four In this city, you will have a fair |
IDEA OF the matter. Suppose the min |
lster has TO pay rent as most OF |
them do-parsonages are not so COM |
mon In everyday life as they are in |
novels-it would cost him al least /
s24 a month to secure a five-room |
house which would answer the pur-
pose, though he could not get a mod /
ern dwelling for that amount: for a
family OF four the grocery bill would
amount TO another $24 month;
meat would come to $3.50; yege-
tables, So; fruit, 81; washing and
cleaning, 81; laundry, 50; fee, SO;
coal and wood, IS; maintaining a
horse and buggy S11: lights. 81;
telephone, 81, and incidentals al
east So. This makes S105.50 for liV-
ng expenses OF that class.