The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-04-25
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

| can remember the time when the
 various denominations would have felt
 using the secular papers as advertising
 mediums.
 I mean provided they had to pay for it, for from time immemorial, they have
 been willing to get in as much free
 matter as the papers would handle either AS standing notices or special write ups, but the mere thought of using display space and paying for it would have produced shake up in any board
 of stewards, deacons or elders. But only a short while back some of the more adventurous and progress sive churches caught onto the fact that this was reading age and if they wanted to reach the people effectively and quickly they must resort to papers outside of those denomnatonally owned and controlled, for at best their circula- ton was limited.
 Individual churches took up the mat ter long before any of the denominations caught the vision and the pioneers even among the boldest of the city churches had to stand the fire of criticism from the more timid and conservative ones of their own household; but even the church could not stand against. era of publicity and now many of them throughout the country are regularly using the secular press for paid adver- tising.
 I am sure that many of you who are
 under fifty years of age can recall how when you visited some large city and started out on the Sabbath to find church of your faith and order that fre- quently you would pass church house after church house without any sign whatever to tell whether it was Metho dist, Baptist, Presbyterian or even an evangelical one. l tried it out once in some studies 1 was making on the sub
 iect.
 I have always sympathized with the stranger within the gates of one of our i great cities who, after vainly trying to identify a church of his preference, in despair stopped resident who was pass 1 ing by, and politely asked, Can you please tell me where the Second Presby- terian church is?' to be courteously told, "I am sorry but I do not even know where the First Presbyterian is located.' | Now this old story is no exaggeration, l and it came about because people built magnifcentN edifces of worship and failed to even put a name plate on them. st
 l I happened to be at the home of Dr. 1 J. E.. Dllard recently looking through 1 his splendid library, and picking up a l history of architecture, beautifully illus | trated, he was reminded that in express 1 ing a wish to put the name of the LSouthsde Baptist church across the l front of the handsome building, one of | his friends demurred on the ground that | such a thing was not customary and ] would spoil the classic design. But, said 1 he, 1 remembered an example shown in
 this volume and opened it and there
 stood famous church in Paris with the
 name carved in stone across the frieze | in front,
 
 At last the churches woke to the fact
 that while it's own members might be
 able to find their way to their church 1 home without trouble that visitors might ! be put to some trouble, and so some
 of them simply put the name. Later
 the hour of services were added. Then
 came the name of the pastor and that |
 Of both. Now. this was progressing
 some, but not enough
 1 l have to pass the First Christian church of this city scores of times daily, and on the corner is a bulletin board which is changed weekly and some times
 oftener. It gives the name of the pas
 tor, foretels the subject of the sermons i for the following Sunday calls attention 1 to any special services during the week, | etc. but better than this all through the various war drives made mention of 1 them. think Dr. Simpsons way an im-
 provement over the regular religious
 sign board,
 | The First Presbyterian church for
 years has had sign in corner of the
 yard in front of the building stating
 that pr. J. H. Philpus was the teacher
 of the mems class and that all men were
 cordially invited to attend. Now this in l itself is step in the right direction, 1 for any stranger on seeing it who is used to attending Sunday school when at home will feel that he will find a welcome on the inside. It is also mo- tice to our own citizens that the schol- arly superintendent of our public schools | is glad to be known as a teacher in one
 of our Sunday schools.
 l
 | Now, there may be other signs in and
 around Birmingham, but I am merely Lmentioning those which have come un- l der my notice in the last day or two 1 for I have not canvassed the district 1 to get data for this story. Tuesday 1 afternoon on my way out to Howard 1 college as I passed the Woodlawn Bap- tist church I saw big black board in ! front of the church, under tree, near | the street telling that Dr. J. R. Hobbs, ! !ings with Pastor C.NRoss Baker read
 the notice from a passing street car. 1 I think it good thing for the churches l to have bulletin boards which can be ] changed think churches ought to send