Evening journal., 1922-08-02
OLD PREACHING
FORP.E. Church
Committee Favors Return to
Preaching Methods of the
Earlier Days
HOPE TO GET IN
PERSONAL TOUCH

NEW YORK. Aug. 2.-The Epis-
i. copal Church of the United States
plans a return to the old methods
of preaching which will get more
of the human. personal touch into
the teaching of the Word Of God"
according to the Rev. W. II. Milton.
executive secretary of the campaign
department who makes the an
nouncement. The National Council
OF the church has appointed the Rev.
w. j. Loaring Clark ID. D., of Chat
(, tanooga. Tennessee, and the Rev. DR..
J. A. Schaad OF Bay City. Michigan,
general missoners of the Nation wide
y Campaign who will be charged. DR..
Milton says, with the task ''of sounl-
ing a clear note in response to the
. felt need for evangelism in tne
church and the training o. IL men in
the existing ministry TO do this
work"
The report of the Commission on
Home and Family Life. deploring the
lack Of religion in the average Amer
ican home. which will be submitted
TO the forthcoming Episcopal Con
vention at Portland. Ore, It is de-
clared. brings out clearly the neces-
sity Of preaching methods which Will
reawaken parents TO their RESPONSE
bilitlee.
The Rt Rev. Irving P. Johnson.
D. D., Bishop OF Colorado. who has
- H. oh
ing methods within the church. and
whose ideas on the work proposed
have now largely been adopted by the
church. in a report which preceded
the action taken vigorously summons
the church to its duties.
THE Episcopal Church." says the
Bishop. "has entrenched itself in the
United States by virtue OF it's intrin-
sic merits rather than by any agrees
sive or forceful presentation OF its
claims to the American people" He
calls for "a campaign of creating hu-
man interest in the problems Of our
national church," and declares that
D. "the time has arrived when the hui
man voice. speaking in the larger
. centers OF population may carry on
a campaign Of education through the
instrumentality of parochial missions
which will help to dlesipate our
petty parochial and diocesan con
sciousness and produce something
bigger and more generous. In short"
he says. IF we are ever going TO
make an impression on the disin- I
tegrating religious forces OF America, B
we must first strengthen our stakes
in order to lengthen our cords.
There is an insuperable barrier OF
distrust suspicion and indifference
10 what we are and 10 what we
teach-due partly to our own con-
servative timidity and partly to the
fact that the great bulk of our popu-
lation. although they are breaking
away from any serious obligations
to the ecclesiastical authorities un-
der which they serve. are still bound
by the bondage OF phrases. preju- /
dices. and lifelong affiliations and
trust US not. Convenience is replac-
ing conviction in the religious zones
about US.
You have first to convert the
clergy to a bigger conception of
their ministry than one of preserv-
ing the fine traditions of an ancient
diocese or keeping 'up the morale OF
fine parish. our people have to
be taught that they belong to the
Hoy Catholic Church rather than to
the parish of the Good Samaritan.
The church. says Bishop johnson
finally, lis not merely a business
and merely business methods will be
as disastrous to its morals as merely
ecclesiastical methods would surely
wreck a bank. There is and must be
human touch in Christ's busi-
ness"
The Importance which is attached
10 the work which the two mission
ers will undertake is illustrated in
the fact that, to accept. both will. at
a financial sacrifice, sever their con-
nection with large and fiourishing
parishes to give their undivided at
tention to the new task. DR.. Clark
is one of the most eloquent and ex-
perienced missioners in the Episco-
pal Church and DR.. Shaad holds
equally high rank. Their work will
be of a pioneer character in the re-
spect that there is a growing feel
ing throughout the church that Wig
orous preaching OF the kind which
brought new blood into the church is
on the decline; and they will be es-
pecially charged with conducting
missions and leading schools of the
prophets" which will train clergy
men in the method by which it is
hoped to restore the expounding of
the Scriptures.