The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-01-31
BY REV. 6. W. Bull D. n.
Pastor of the First Presbyterian
Ithnrl.Il SL.ra ntnn. Ia.

Church. Scranton, Ia.
Looking back over the year since
the campaign OF E,vangelist sunday
closed, II IS fair to ask what mas
Scranton TO show for ~ me ta6er-
nacte has gone the sawdust trail has
gone. the thrnnrs which crowded the
ereat shed have scattered--wh IL
eft?
Everything worth while Is left We
have lost nothing. but have been hfted
(o,Eyyard by "A century In advance OF
the ordinary church methods. There
has been an awakening of the civic
conscience and consciousness winch
has made Scranton distinctly dif-
fcrcnt city tn i've I'm.
Calamity hoWlera raised the protest
that lot of money would he taken
ont OF the community which would
feed = multitude of the poor. On tho
c0rtrar we find Increased sobriety,
efficiency. reliability of men and
women reclaimed from thrirsicssncss
and on-productlve shiftleSsness, that
not only has every dollar invested
been justified, but the poor have de-
posted in the local banks an amount
many times I'm excess the cost of TN"
campaign. Today the revival could
be run by men who had not dollar
before they hit the trail. The loss TO
the saloons could finance the revival
and have enough left over FOR
substantial charity.
False prophets arose and said the
outer man with his slanGy messages
would dscredEt the churches and the
clergy, and cultivate the taste Tor
continuous circus, They said, AS
soon as the show stops interest VIII
be lost and the people will be harder
to reach than before. The message OF
the local ministry will seem stale and
fiat compared with the spectacular
performance OF this actor and artist.
On the contrary. the sawdust trail
led straight Ia the churches. Never
has Scranton had such CONGREGATIONS.
Churches today are filled tn their
capacity at morning and evening aud
mid-week services, and those who
came in under the inspiration OF the
great meeting are among the most
enthusiastic and devoted supporters
of pastors and churches. Instead OF
there being an unfortunate compar-
ison between pastors and this tower
ing evangelist, there has been an un-
compromising loyalty to local pastors
which has added wings to their work.
II was feared that the hysterical
would be followed by religious re-
furwe.-aFd- that churches would be
kent SO buay with the backsliders
that no ItfIc Wtitu btf ltlA LII "N
Sresstye work. To begin with there
was no hysteria. Men and women
walked down the aisles with eyes dry
and laws set, determined to fight he'll
They not only determined to stick,
but to start something themselves
There IL today 100 per cent more ag-
gressiye church work done than when
the campaign closed.
was In business office with q
group of men last week. business
was talked until lunch time. Just
before the men, adjourned the head
Of the concern said: Gentlemen. we
have the habit here Of brief prayer
before going out to luncheon, we
would be glad to have you join us"
1t was said and done with the utmost
simplicity and sincerely. as II IT were
the most natural thing In the world.
We adjourned to the hotel. and,
whereas cocktails used to he first
called for they were consplcuously
absent, This could be duplicated in
dozen Offices.
The First Presbyterian Church OF
Scranton Ia Il fair type by which to
Judge results. 1t is composed largely
of cultivated. college-bred mon and
women. with a membership of about
one thousand. This church was not
swept of It's feet. but worked in the
campaign with earnestness and dig
nity. on one Sabbath the church re-
ceived l76 members, and the growth
has been steady ever since.
The Sunday night service. which Ia
usually N drag. and heart breaking
one to the pastor, Is now one OF the
most inspirational meetings OF the
week The same can he said for the
mid-wcek mcctins. The Mems Bible
Class n little over a pear ago num-
bered about fifteen; today that en-
roiiment Is about seven hundred, and
stu growing.
The class fairly fills the auditorium
OF the church AS 10 Its activities /