USA > New York > The gospel messenger, Diocese of Central New York > Part 4
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oldest son, passed away the same day about four hours after his father ; and from that time on, along through the autumn and winter and spring, one after another his friends and fellow-workers have followed after him, as if he had been beckoning to them to go where he was, viz .: Judge Sawyer, of Watertown. the Rev. William B. Coleman, of Utica, Mr. Robert J. Hubbard, of Cazenovia, Mrs. Brandegee, of Utica, Mrs. C. H. Doolittle and Miss Savage, of the same place, the Rev. Dr. Babcock, of Syracuse, and Mr. Henry W. Millar, of Utica. All of these were deeply interested in the Diocese, and most of them actively engaged in its temporal or spiritual affairs. Judge Sawyer was Chancellor, member of Standing Commit- ter. and deputy to General Convention. Mr. Ilubbard was deputy to General Con- vention, trustee of St. John's School, and of the Parochial Fund. Mr. Millar was a trustee of the Episcopate Fund ; and they were all vestrymen or wardens in their respective parishes. The Rev. Mr. Cole- man had been Rector of St. George's Church, Utica, for twenty-two years. He was a faithful and earnest worker, a sin-
cere and devout man. The Rev. Dr. Babcock was one of the oldest Presbyters of the Diocese, and among those who have been longest connected with it. He had hell several positions of honor and responsibility-was at one time Rector of Trinity Church, Watertown, then Principal of St. John's School, afterwards Rector at Jamesville, and for many years a member of the Standing Committee, one of the Examining Chaplains, and finally Dean of St. Andrew's Divinity School. He was always genial and pleasant in his manners, devoted and faithful in attention to his duties, and he has gone to his rest full of years, enjoying the esteem and affection of all his brethren. You will see. therefore, that there has been an un- usual depletion in our ranks, especially among the faithful laymen. It is hard to lose such men from our parishes and from our Diocesan Councils-it seems as if their places could not easily be supplied.
But we may remember for our comfort, that the Lord cares for His Church in one age as well as in another, and though He may permit us to suffer loss for a while. He will surely repair it in Hi- good time. and repair it, too, ont of the material which the time itself presents. While. then, we mourn for those that are gone, and pay all loving respect to their memory. we must close up the rank- and press on to that which lies before ns. developing new recruits into trained and useful leaders. It is not material that we lack, either personal or financial, so much as the hopeful and optimistie spirit to realize our own powers. One is often struck with the tone of discouragement which seems to pervade some of our parishes. The people think they cannot do this, or can- not do that, and because they think so, of course the needed thing is not done. But let a new worker come in, a man of faith and of enthuisasm, or let the people once bestir themselves to make the effort which a present worker urges upon them, and behold the thing is begun, the thing is continued, and finally what was supposed
to be impossible is accomplised. They are able because they think they are able, and they look on in wonder at themselves! We have had several illustrations of this in our Diocese recently, and I have no doubt others are simply waiting to be realized. If we believe that the Church is God's institution, worthy of our best efforts, we must put forth those efforts in the spirit of hopefulness, remembering that the Lord only helps those who help themselves. And while we cultivate this spirit, there are one or two other virtues that need to be emphasized. Our clergy are a hard-working, faithful set of men. living in many cases on very narrow mar- gins of income, and often finding it ditti- cult to meet their financial obligations. One thing it seems to me they need to make more of than they sometimes do. for their own comfort and peace of mind. and that is the constant reality of their diring location-to realize not only that they were called at the outset to do the Lord's work, but that they are called How to do
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the partielar work in which they are tenance of that character; so in the engaged. There may be obscurity-there Church, the voluntary method demands a high degree of faithfulness to Christian principle, and the exclusion of all selfish fancies and grudges of every sort. The Church can not exist and do its proper work on the factional principle; and it is a serious question whether the Church does any good to those who allow them- selves to be governed by that principle. If one set of people in a parish will not go to Church when another set does go, it is much to be doubted whether Church- going is of any value to any of them-they might better disband, be converted, and start over afresh on the Christian principles of love and forbearance towards one another, and of devotion to God and to the Church rather than to their own sweet wills. may be limitations-there may be diffi- culty of support-but no position is with- out its difficulties, and it is a great source of strength to a man to be able to rest. con- fidently in the assurance that the present difficulties are those to which he is called, the present flock, be it large or small, is the flock to which he is divinely appointed to minister, and that there is some work worth doing which the Lord would have him do in that place where he is until He shall be pleased to call him to another. And the thing which, it seems to me, the people need to add to their hopefulness, is a realizing sense of what the Church is and is intended for in any community. The Church is not a social, or literary (Inb. composed of a few select congenia! members, who agree to support a certain The subject of improving the methods and the teaching of our Sunday Schools, which has been particularly discussed in the Second District, was brought to the attention of the other Convocations, and will be spoken of probably in this Con- vention. Without at all reflecting on the good work of the past, and without intend- ing to imply that new machinery will always produce new results in spiritual work, I would say this, that the Sunday School needs more attention than it gets in some places, and that a more scientific method, and a plan for the teaching of the teachers, would undoubtedly be found helpful everywhere, unless attention has already been given to these things. No hard and fast system can be applied to every school ; the same grading and course of study will not answer for small and large schools alike; but new interest can be aronsed, more zeal can be enkindled, scholars can be increased in numbers, and teachers can be enlarged in knowledge of what to teach and how to teach it. I therefore commend it to your considera- tion as to how these results can be best attained. kind of weekly entertainment for themselves, and withdraw their sup- port when the entertainment . ceases to be satisfactory to them. On the contrary, the Church is the King- dom, or household, of God, into which men are born by the operation of the Holy Ghost in a divinely appointed Sacrament, that therein they may grow in the grace and likeness of God; and Church build- ings are erected in each community that this Family of God may assemble there on the Lord's day to worship Him, to be instructed in Ilis Word, and to be fed with the spiritual food of the Body and Blood of Christ ; and since the Lord Him- self hath ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel, and that they who minister at the Altar should be partakers with the Altar, it is an essen- tial element of the Church's constitution that the man who ministers must be assured his support. We have what is called the "Voluntary System" in the Church in this country. It is well, no doubt, and accords with our free American method in everything. But we should re- member that, as the republican form of goverment demands the highest moral character in the men who condnet it, and depends for its permanence on the main-
The General Convention of 1904 in Boston was one of the most celebrated of the triennial gatherings of the Church in this country, chiefly for its missionary
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spirit, and for the presence of the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, the first of his line to visit America. Some of the legislative acts of the Convention are worthy of note, especially the adoption of a newly revised body of Canons, among which we may spec- ify the Canon on Courts of Review, and the amendment to the Canon of Divorce and Re-marriage, which last, though not all that some of us could have wished, was certainly a step in the right direction, making re-marriage after divorce more difficult, and excusing any Clergyman from officiating at such a function if he wishes to be excused. And it is time for us to take a strong stand in this matter, brethren of the Clergy, if we would resene family life from the destruction which threatens it in so many instances in our land; time for the laity, too, to take their stand, both by resisting the temptation for themselves, and by dis- couraging others in that social way; than which nothing can be more effectual.
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But the missionary enthusiasm which characterized the Convention was espec- ially remarkable, and there was one feature of it to which I would call par- tienlar attention. You are familiar with the triennial Thank Offering of the W. A., which has grown in amount at each Convention, from $2,000 in 1889. to $150,000 in 1904. On motion of the excellent Treasurer of the Board of Missions, Mr. Geo. C. Thomas, it was resolved in Boston to raise a Thank Offer- ing from the men of the Church during the ensuing three years, to be presented in Richmond in 1907, in gratitude to God for His mercies to our country and our Church during the 300 years since the landing of the colony at Jamestown in 1607. It is quite worth while to mark that event, when the Book of Common Prayer of English speaking people began to be used on our Atlantic Coast, thirteen years before the Pilgrims landed at Ply- mouth. And while the General Convention of that vear will celebrate it by a pilgrim- age from Richmond to the site of the original Church at Jamestown, now in ruins, nothing could be more appropriate
as an expression of our appreciation of the superabundant blessings which we enjoy in this country, than a gift of some of the wealth that has been poured into our laps so lavishly, for the extension of the Church and the increased use of the Prayer Book among our own fellow citizens and throughout the nations of the world. A well developed plan for the bringing of this object to the knowledge of the people in all our parishes has been devised, and a District Committee bas been appointed in this Diocese to have charge of it here: notices have been sent to all the Clergy asking their cooperation ; and I am in hopes that both Clergy and Laity will recognize the timeliness of the proposition, and will take active steps to present a worthy offering in 1907. This is one of those things which call for the laying aside of small sums of money daily, or weekly, or monthly. as may be most convenient, from this time till the Conven- tion assembles; and when we contemplate the fact that, (as it is said ). $20.000,000 a year is spent in this country for chewing gum, and that that vast sum is collected for such an absolutely necessary article. chietiy in nickels, by the slot-machines and news-boys on the railroads, and that too very largely from poor people, it seems triding to urge that the people of this Church are already so heavily taxed for the support of its enterprises, that they cannot do much for this extraordinary purpose.
- would also take this occasion to call your attention to the fact, that it is the purpose of the Secretaries of the Board of Missions to arrange a Conference in this Missionary Department some time in the autumn, similar to those which have been held in the West. The time and place have not yet been decided upon : but I trust that both the Clergymen and laymen of this Diocese will show their interest in it and do what they can to make it effective. Let me remind you, too, that the next General Convention of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew will be held in Chicago in the autumn. when it is hoped the largest attendance ever had will
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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.
be realized, seeing that Chicago is the Brotherhood's native place, and the for- ward movement which has recently taken place will arouse an unusual enthusiasm for the work.
The Church at large has been recently much disturbed by defections from the Christian Faith a's contained in the Apostle's Creed, on the part of some of the Clergy. It has heretofore been pub- licly proclaimed that the "ethical" thing for a Clergyman to do, if he loses his faith. is to stay where he is, and let the Church put him out if it can. I believe that most men will find it impossible to . understand the state of mind which such a position discloses. We live in a free country, where men can preach what they please, provided they do not instigate rebellion, provided also they have not solemnly bound themselves to preach a certain form of truth. But when a man stands up before God and the Church and promises to conform to the doctrine of Christ as this Church hath received the same, and when he constantly repeats his adherance to that faith in the service of the Prayer Book, and then goes into his pulpit and denies the simplest, plainest, most incontrovertible statements of that doctrine, and tries to induce other people,
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the people whom the Church has com- mitted to his care, to make the same denial, and still holds on to the position which he gained by his promise of con- formity-the law of the land may not touch him -- the Church in the laxity of her discipline may let him go on-but he may rest assured that the large majority of his fellow citizens will fail to recognize the honesty of such a proceeding. And there is no need of any man putting him- self in such a compromising position, in a country where there is a sect ready-made for every intellectual vagary.
The Protestant Episcopal Church believes the Apostles' Creed in its natural sense-if any man does not believe it he can easily go where he will find those that agree with him, and need not wear a livery which proclaims him false. And if the Church herself cannot preserve the faith once for all delivered to the saints, she becomes recreant to her trust, she lose's her charac- ter, and is no longer worthy of our allegiance.
May the grace of God be with you all. Amen.
The Treasurer's Report was not received in time for insertion in this number.
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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.
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THE DIOCESAN EXPENSE FUND.
The retiring Treasurer of the Diocese, whom we are all much indebted for ithful service during several years past, ites to THE GOSPEL MESSENGER as llows : "I am longing for editorials, casionally, pointing out the injustice t least) of allowing sixty true and loyal rishes to pay their full assessments, ile eighty others do not, and then assess- g the 'good boys' more next time to make the shortcomings of the other kind of vs." It is a very good subject for editor- exhortation, no doubt, but unfortun- ely we are not hopeful of its practical lue. Parishes have their peculiar char- teristics, just as individuals have. Our ention has been called to this fact several nes recently by the Clergy who serve o or more parishes at the same time. ey find it so much more satisfactory in
one place than in another, the people are more willing to work and to give according to their means; they are less given to criticising and finding fault; they attend the services more regularly and appear to enter into them more heartily. And it is so in the matter of recognizing obligations. Some men are always in debt, and seem to be willing to let others support them if they will; their self-respect does not suffer from such a state of things. And parishes are precisely like them. They are willing to enjoy the privileges of the Diocesan organization, and would be sorry not to have them, but if other parishes will par for them, they are entirely content. This is an unfortunate human propensity, ob- taining in the Church as well as elsewhere ; and we are afraid it will continue as long as the world stands. It may be somewhat diminished under certain conditions, but probably never altogether abolished. Let the "good boys" then be relieved as much as possible, but let them not be discouraged.
We should like to call attention to the resolution offered by Dr. Reed and adopted by our recent Convention concern- ing the resort by Church people to undig- nified methods of raising money for religious purposes. The resolution was as follows :
"Resolred. That it is the sense of this Convention that the Clergy and parishes of the Diocese refrain from employing ways and means for raising money for religious uses that refleet on the dignity and character of the Church."
There is, it seems to us, a "happy mean between too much stiffness in refusing and too much easiness in admitting" any resort to other methods, besides the direct giving of money for the support of the Church and its work. We do not altogether agree with those who will not allow any kind of exchange in this matter, because there are people who can contribute work.
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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.
or material, or both, but have very little ready cash at their disposal; and it seems only right that they should be permitted to turn what they have into money for the good of the cause. And sometimes the social interests of a congregation may be benefitted by bringing people together for a sale of some sort, provided there be noth- ing of an unlawful or doubtful character about it. But having said so much for that side of the question, we cannot too strongly reprobate the excesses in the other direction which are too common in these days.
These excesses are of three kinds : First, those that are undignified and unbecoming, especially referred to in the resolution. It will be remembered by those present at the Convention that, as an illustration, a letter was read from an "Entertainment Agency" suggesting a minstrel show for the Church, to be carried on by the ladies and gentle- men of the congregation.
Now, if professional actors wish to give the proceeds of their entertainments to good objects, they have a right to do so, and what they give may be considered a part of their legitimate income. But, surely, it is not becoming in the people of the Church to asume the role of actors, least of all comic actors, or blackened minstrels, in order to get a pittance which ought to come directly from the pockets of the people. The amateurs of the religious world cannot compete with the members of the profession in etertaining the multi- tudes ; and in their attempts to do so it is next to impossible to refrain from conduct that is undignified and belittling to the cause which they represent.
Second, excesses that are unlawful. These are such as partake of the nature of gambling, and are forbidden by the law of the land. And certainly there never was a time when it was more necessary for the Church to take a stand on this point. There may have been times when gambling games were more prevalent in society ; and we are aware that one hundred years ago or
more, lotteries were resorted to and per mitted even for religious uses. But w doubt if there ever could have been a mor eager desire to get something for nothing than that which characterizes our own age and that is the very essence of gambling It runs through all the interests of life commercial, political, social. It assume every variety of manifestation. It deceive and corrupts a great many otherwise well meaning people. The Church, therefore must avoid all appearance of it. And since lotteries and raffling are now agains the law, it is especially important tha they be not resorted to in any form i: raising money for Church purposes. W know that it is sometimes a great tempta tion to get a large sum for a valuabl article by selling chances on it. But i ought not to be done.
And third, there is the excess of over doing it, and getting so into the habit of it that whenever a little money is wanted fo any purpose, straightway a supper, or sale, or a show of some sort, must be gotte up to raise it. Indeed, there are som parishes that seem to live by them almos altogether. The result of this is a dryin up of the fountain of giving, a pauperizin of the parish, and an appearance befor the world which excites its contempt. Fre will offerings are forgotten, and peopl are taught that they are always to expec something of a material or social natur for any money they bestow. And it i especially demoralizing to resort to thes methods to raise a Rector's salary. I encourages the idea that the minister functions, the services and the preachin are after all only a kind of entertainmen and that the people accordingly have th right to get their money's worth, that is t say, such services and such preaching & suits their taste; and hence to stay home and not pay anything, if they are no quite satisfied in these respects. All c these excesses "reflect on the dignity an character of the Church," and come withi the purview of the resolution adopted b the Convention and recommended to th people of the Diocese.
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