St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1909-05-05
Pastors Institute.
A Well-Attended and Highly Profit
able Gathering.

dUlS OdtuSlluSs
The Pastors Institute opened aus
piciously in the North church Monday
evening and continues through Thursday
afternoon. Over so ministers from this
section, representing at least six denom-
nations, are in attendance, and the
institute is the first Of its kind which the
theological seminares of New England
have arranged to bring the country min
listers into closer touch with the newer re-
ligious and social movements.
The auditorium of the church was we'll
filled Monday night to hear Rev. DR..
George Hodges, dean Of the Episcopal
Theological School at Cambridge, Mass.
The preliminary service consisted of the
invocation by Rev. Mr.. Butler of the
Universalist church, anthem by the
double quartette of the North church,
responsive reading led by Rev. J. A..
Thompson, prayer by Rev. DR.. S. G.
Barnes, greetings to the visiting brethren
by Rev. George ". c. Hill, a brief pre-
sentation of the objects of the institute
by Prof. Carver, and statement by DR..
Owen H. Gates of the working library of
200 volumes which was at the disposal
of the ministers III attendance at the
institute.
Dean Hodges took for his theme "Tell-
ing Bible Stories," and after a felicitous
introduction said that the two things
absolutely essential in telling Bible
stories were interest and instruction.
He said the first ingredient of interest
was contact, that the story must be told
~ hot 20 he o1,,lIje
and that it must be level with their
understanding. Detail was the second
qualification and he said Jacob Abbott
was still the great story teller for
children. Action was also necessary, for
it is conversation that makes the book
real Simplicity must be always followed
and no words used beyond the child's
experience. The story must also have
'contemporaneity" and it must have
candor We are just beginning to re-
cover from the old Puritan opposition to
fiction. Even our Lord used fiction to
impress the truth.
In speaking briefly of instruction, the
speaker said that many of the Bible
stories carried their own moral, and that
while the aim of the story should be to
instruct it was not necessary to draw a
moral. In closing an address bristling
with wit and flashes of humor he read
several Bible stories which he has pre-
pared along the lines of his address
Tuesday morning Dean Hodges ad-
dressed the ministers, telling them how
to preach to the people. He said to
have good sermon, both the minister
and the people should be present, and
he discussed the absence of the preacher
from the people and the absence of the
people from the preacher.
In his first division he criticised the
minister that never looked at the people
that spoke in tone of voice that was
evidently not meant for any of the
people; that dived for the period by
lowering his voice at the end of every
sentence; that adopted an unnatural
language instead of the earnest conver-
saton; that spoke in language that
the people did not understand; that had
certain vagueness and remoteness in
his preaching and never got anywhere in
his sermons.
In his second division he said many
people are honestly uninterested in re-
ligion, and the preacher should remember
that even the Lord failed to interest the
uninterested. The congregation may be
affected by physical conditions, They
are tired and the church is improperly
ventilated. More often they are absent
from the preacher because they are not
profited by the sermon. They are in the
midst of temptation and they need guild
ance and strength. They need to be
urged to meet their social opportunities.
There is a need of preaching social
righteousness. The people are in doubt
and they need positive truth.
President Kenyon l.. Butterfeld of the
Massachusetts Agricultural College at
Amherst, Mass, was the speaker at the
afternoon session and his theme 1.-THE
Relation of the Minister to the Rural
Problem" In introducing the subject he
spoke of the country pastors small field ;
the bane of country living, isolation; the
conservatism of the country people; the
temporary eclipse of the church; the
great shift of the population from the
country to the city. In solving the
country problem three things must be
conserved: First, there must be indus
trial prosperity. There must be better
chance for making money on the farm.
Second, we must secure a well-developed
community life. 1t is scant of the ideals
for the maintenance of the community.
Individualism is rank The solving of
the problem can be accomplished, but we
must have, in the first place, fuller
knowledge of the whole problem. Agri-
culture must be investigated on the
economic and social side. Again, there
is need for larger development of our
educational facilities. We need a much
more completely organized plan to reach
the people on the farm. Third, there
must be Strengthening of the voluntary
organizations. The Grange is a most
useful institution, but it has failed in
many communities to grasp the larger
problems of country life. Fourthly, we
must have the leadership of the church.
The church must assert its leadership.
1t must assert the dominance of the
Spirit by asserting the leadership of the
religious element. Finally, we need a
campaign for rural progress, and the
e III 4. 81