Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-01
UacatioIl8.

1t friend whose association we are
glad to renew. But blessings never come
unmixed. Every visitor brings his shad-
ow and vacations have perpleXities Pc
culiar to themselves. In ordinary life
one gets accustomed to things. The
days live themselves. There is the old
treadmill grind from month to month.
But vacations are an innovation. The
currents stop and new channels must
be provided. The custom is by no means
modern. 1t came in with Adam and will
go out with the last of the race. Our
far-off churchly ancestors. the Jews, were
given to many vacations. Their pass
overs. new moons and feasts were more
than mere religious gatherings. says
writer in the Westminster. They went
up to worship, and also to meet their
friends and hear the news. 1t Is always
fortunate where one can be religious and
enjoy himself at the same time.
The Methodfsts as we first knew them
were equally happy in their camp meet
ings. No country fair was ever more
popular. The people came from many
miles about. They brought their stoves,
beds, pots and kettles and. pitching
their tents in the wood began two
week campaign against the devil. The
leaders were old campaigners to whom
the scent of battle was an inspiration
They knew the magic of earnestness ana
opened every window toward the east.
How far those men felt all that they
appeared We do not know. 1t was for
only two weeks, and almost any one can
be John the Baptist for that length
of time. Such prayer meetings We have
seen nowhere else. The leader only be-
gan things. Very soon the meeting took
the bit in its own teeth and bore down
all before 1t. The psychological phenom-
enon Of being slain we have seen more
than once. The worshiper would fall
to the earth as IL in an epileptic mt.
This was called the power and was
regarded as a special evidence of grace.
Sinners were converted without mercy.
When an offender was brought into camp
he came on his knees. There was no
Oil on the turbulent waters of that Jor-
dan. 20. Lord have mercy on this old
sinner. He is a liar, and always will be
II Thou dost not convert him. Drive
the devil out of his heart and keep him
out Open his eyes that he may see
God and man." Prayers like that were
test OF sincerity No one after such
a reception was likely to go forward
the second time unless he meant It,
Those times are gone not to return. Ihey
belong to an age that cannot be repro
duced. We have seen it attempted In
revivals. but 1t was the faintest slim-
mering of sun far sunk in the west.
The camp meeting was wonderful In
stitution, but those who attended often
mistook vacation for religion.
The same thing is true of the summer
school and religious conference. They
combine both vacation and service. But
in this every one must follow his own
preference Vacation is reaction, and
what is pleasure to one is torture to
another. The association, however, OF
the religious. intellectual and restful has
proved a wonderful success. Apart from
hAa x1n
through 1t. 1t has transformed the
wilderness into a garden and compelled
the desert to bloom as the rose. The
laws of vacation parallel each other ike
the tracks of railroad. The COM
mand OF work is no more obligatory than
that of rest. In the Mosaic record OF
creation God himself is represented as
resting. He took vacation from his
work. Jesus worked and rested. He
used to cross the little Sea of Galilee for
no purpose save the voyage. The noun
tains knew him and Bethany was his
country home. There is alweys rest
between the beatings of the heart, and
without it life's machinery would soon
cease to turn.
An ancient philosopher made it rule
never to do one thing long. Rest came
through variety. The great preachers
never tire their audiences Here and
there little pleasantly flashes out just
to rest the attention. We wish that it
were possible to give every man work
and rest in their rightful proportions. An
excess of either is a sin against God. But
circumstances have no mercy.
For men must work and women must weep
There is much TO get and little to keep.
,, This phase of life we cannot under
stand Some must hold the pillow con-
scious all the while that it is turning
the SOC above their graves. And yet
God rules When one gets thinking too
much along those lines he is in need of
a vacation. Monotony is morbidness. and
change under the proper conditions
is always for the better.
Church to Be Improved.
The North Capitol NJ. L. .nurch is to
be renovated and improvements made
at cost in the neighborhood of $1,000
The auditorium, Sunday school and class
rooms. and the pastors library and study
will be handsomely decorated. Lights
will be placed at each entrance. and the
| church put in frst-class condition
Laurel Church Being Remodeled.
| Work has been begun remodeling the
building of the First Baptist Church at
| Laurel, Md. The pastor. Rev. George W.
| Alexander, has been on the field for more
| than one and half years and conditions
| have greatly improved. The Baptist
Church Extension Society of Baltimore,
| of which Eugene lowering is president. is
assisting financially. The advisory COM
mittee of the society-Messrs. II. B. Wei
| shampeI. Charles NJ. Ness and c. W.
| woolford-has approved the preparations
| of the Laurel committee and the work has
been started. The services of the church
during alterations will be held in the Ma
sonic Hall adjoining.