The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-03-07
Centenary Answers the
Challenge of Millions
Sleeping Dead

Earlier in his address DIR. Blak,
reviewed the systematic method by
! which the Centenary surveys were
made and the program mapped out.
He explained that this is the cele-
bration of the organization of the
Missionary Society Of the Methodist
Episcopal Church in New York City
just one hundred years ago, but
added:
cit is not our purpose to spend our
time and our strength in clarifying
the past. Rather it is our purpose
to gather inspiration from our past
to undertake a program that shall
be worthy of that which has gone
before.
"No matter how intelligent a peo-
pie may be, there is no furture for a
democracy not based on moral foun-
dations.
"Our present giving is a measure
OF our present interest-not of our
present ability to give. After one
hundred years of missionary work,
we are raising II cents year per
member for work outside the local
church, IL cents a week per mem
Der!
"Out of $4,000 charges, only 20
per cent. give as much as two cents
week a member. Only seventy
three give one cent a day per mem
Der.
eve are fat with prosperity. It
was said few months ago, This is
no time to seek pleasure; the war
is on and our first business is to win
God, but we still have a great task
before u.s."
DR.. Edgar Blake, Associate Execu-
tive Secretary of the Centenary, pre-
sented the world program of the
Methodist Church in rousing fashion
at a special one O'Clock service in
Old John Street Church, New York,
February 49, This church is now
in the financial district and many
prominent business men left their
desks to be present.
'Seven million men have laid down
their lives and today sleep beneath
the soil to make the world safe for
democracy" said DR.. Blake. "Seven
million men have made the last great
sacrifice.
"This is the challenge that comes
to US from our sleeping dead. They
ask the Church of Christ to make
democracy safe for the world.
"God make perpetual the things
for which they died! My dear breth-
rem and sisters, in the sight of these
men who have given their all to free
a world, how can the Church of
Christ do less than to give her all
to save that for which these men
have died?
"The Centenary of the Methodist
Episcopal Church is our answer to
this challenge which comes from our
heroic dead, to make a world worthy
of them.
"The gift of dollar looks mighty
small beside the gift of human life.
The time is coming when the Church
of Christ must match the sacrifices
and heroism of our sons Or prove
unworthy of them. Do it? God
knows we have got to do it! And
God knows we are going to do it,"
A third feature of our local plans
is the result of a conviction which
laid fast hold upon me, that | ought
to be bold enough to make large re-
quests of my people in the interests
of the Centenary Knowing the sur
passing advantage of visualizlng the
world conditions before the eyes OF
our people; recognizing the added
value of a message which is SEEN
as well as HEARD, determined to
ask a certain member Of my church
to give the church a stereoptlcon!
She was delighted to be asked! Inc
check was placed in my hand at
oncei AS a result we are to have
the opportunity of learning the needs
of our wide-fung fields both home
and Foreign as we could not have
learned them without this machine.
This one instance has served to en-
courage me in asking largely. When
I let my people know that l have
high expectations of them they feei
the compliment, and make a heroic
effort to measure up! ;.
A fourth element in the success OF
the work thus far is this: | make
it a point to have all my pastoral
visitation count for the Centenary.
There is no painful lack of subjects
to talk about when I get into home
IN make a call. The Centenary with
all its mighty bigness, its tremen-
dous challenge, its call to spiritual
awakening, its appeal for a dedlca-
ton of life and a re-alignnent OF