The Earnest Presbyterian: Vol. I No. 1

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THE EARNEST PRESBYTERIAN.
Vol. i.
TO EVERY MAN HIS WORK."
Denver, Colo., January, 1882.
No. 1.
SE¥£NTEtNTH STREET PRES, CHURCH,
Cor. 17th and Stout.
REV. R. D. FIELD, Pastor.
Services every Sabbath at 11 a. m. and 7:30
p. m.
Sabbath-school at 9:80 a. m.
Seats free. Strangers cordially welcomed
to all services.
OFFICERS   OF   THE   CHURCH.
Pastor—Richard E. Field.
Elders of the  Church.
P. W. Karnes, Simon Cort,
John M. Reigart,        Geo. A. Green,
Daniel Hurd, David Morse.
Clerk of Session—John M. Reigart.
Trustees of the   Church.
President—D. W. Marshall.
Treasurer—J. H. Meinhardt.
Secretary—D. T. Sanderson.
H. N. Rushmore, C.  T.  VanVliet, Andrew
W. Myers.
Officers of Sunday-School.
Superintendent—J. M. Reigart.
Assistant Superintendent—A. II. Barnes.
Treasurer—P. W. Barnes.
Secretary—Finlay McNab.
Librarians—Sanderson and Hurd.
Treasurer of Church—P. W.Barnes.
Members of Choir.
Prof. E. J. Pasmore, Organist and Director.
Miss Mamie Lester, Soprano.
Mrs. Mills, Contralto.
Mr. Castle, Basso.
Mr. G. A. Duncan, Tenor.
Ladies'  Aid Society,
President—Mrs. H. N. Rushmore.
Vice-President—Mrs. A. B. VanWagner.
Secretary—Miss Grace Brown.
Treasurer—Mrs. II. R. Green.
Ladies'  Missionary Society.
President—Mrs. Simon Cort.
Treasurer—Mrs. James A. Lowrie.
Secretary—Miss Libbie Mace.
The Earnest Presbyterian.
The above title was at first proposed as the
name for a paper intended to circulate
throughout the Presbyterian population of
the whole state. In that arrangement, Rev.
John G. Reid was to be the chief business
head and general news-gatherer. Brother
Reid is the very efficient Superintendent of
the Home Mission stations of our church in
this State. The judgment of a very large
number of the ministers of the State is that
such a paper would have a wide field and do
great good. Just at the time when the enterprise was ready to be launched, with Rev. J.
Q. Adams in charge of its missionary department, and Dr. T. C. Kirkwood, of Colorado
Springs, as its associate editor for the Southern Presbytery, the Board of Home Missions
in New York notified all hands that they had
accepted Rev. Sheldon Jackson's paper, the
"Home Mission," as the special organ of the
Board, and that they would like to have all
try to push its circulation in their churches,
and that especially Brother Reid, as the representative of their cause in this field, should
give it his undivided energies in the way of
urging its circulation and sending the news.
It was at once seen that to go" on here was to
put into the field two competing papers where
the  support  of   one was problematical.    Of  j
course   that   was  not wise, and  the   whole   j
scheme was then abandoned in that form.   It  j
is now to be distinctly stated that this is not  !
that paper, nor a substitute for it, nor a com-   j
petitor with the paper of the Beard.    We do
not propose to give much space to the news
outside of the city of Denver and the Churches
here now organized and proposed.    What is
intended is to furnish a convenient means of
interesting all our own people in the news of
our own Churches.    Church notices are now
so numerous and so take up the time of public worship as  to be a nuisance.    They only
reach those who are at the Church that day.
Besides, there are a great many little items of I
news which, if printed in such a paper as
this,   would   tend  to   inform people on the   j
work of their own Church, and interest them   j
in that work.    It is hoped that this channel   j
will open a way to secure that good result.        I
The objection which will start up in  the   j
minds of all the congregations is, that it will   j
be such an increase of work as to be unwise   I
on the parts of those who are now busy   with
their pastoral work.     There   are, however,
several things to be said on that subject.    In
the first place, it will do a very considerable
amount of work which will lighten the pastoral work.    It will tend to unify the people,
and do that much more  effectively than the
pastoral calling, which so very often amounts
to nothing more than "How do you do?" and
"Good day."    Again,  the page on the Sabbath-school lessons has now to be prepared
for the weekly meeting of the editor with the
teachers in the   rooms of the Y.   M. C.   A.   J
Furthermore, at least two of the editors find   j
they can  do  their most acceptable work in   j
their pulpits by carefully studying up their
sermons and then  preaching them from full
notes, instead of writing them out and reading   them.    Now,   no  man   can   keep  that
method   of   preparation   up   for any  great
length of time and neglect writing without his
style becoming mere diffuse repetition.    Den-   j
ver congregations will not stand that.    The   !
pulpit style may not now be what the people   j
want, and it is certainly not what the pastors   j
want, but it is by no means as bad as it would   I
be if those pastors did not keep it somewhat
in shape by a great deal of writing for the
sake of the practice in the matter of style.
Writing for the press is the very best form of  j
practice.    Editing even a small paper is con-   j
slant   study   of   good, bad   and   indifferent
forms of expression.    One of the editors  has
a stack of manuscript of a very considerable
size, which was written in the early years of j
his  ministry for   no   other reason   than  as   I
practice in the matter of composition.    Every   j
one of us ought  to write more every month
than we can put into this paper, and we are
much more likely to be careful and systematic
in it, if it is to come before the eye of the
small public we here address, than if it was to
be written and then thrown aside.
Moreover, it is a most important field of
usefulness. There is not a Church in this
city that will seat a thousand people. It is
called a large audience in any city when,
with any regularity, a congregation of eight
hundred people can be got together regularly.
Experience, however, has shown that it is
safe to count that at least three persons read
more or less of a paper, for which one of a
family subscribe. If now we can get a list of
five hundred subscribers, that will give us
twice the audience to which any of us ever
preach. Indeed, we" will preach to more of
our own congregations in the paper than we
will in the church. In any event we will
publish two thousand copies. If our people
will take hold and help to circulate these, we
will have an audience of five or six thousand,
and that will be more than we get to come to
hear us in a month. Possibly some bird shot
sent in this way may get a lodgment in some
hearts which will not now come inside of a
church.
If advertising is good in business, is it not
as good in religion ? What is wanted in
religious matters is that the subject shall be
talked in the same tone of voice in which
people talk about other things, and in the
same practical way of reasoning. Men's
minds are not reached in one way in politics
and in another way in business, and in a still
different way in morals. That which we seek
to impress upon them, we must, keep before
them. To do that, every efficient w~ay ought
to be adopted. Elsewhere a church paper,
coming once a month, has been proved a most
excellent method of doing good work. Bro.
Gage of Pueblo has for several years had " the
Presbyterian Herald" in his church, and he
confirms the presumption that what is good
in the East is good in the West. Let the
paper have a fair trial, and see whether it
does not relieve us from as much work as it
makes, and do as much good as the same
amount of effort in any other direction. If I
we are Presbyterians, let us be earnest Presbyterians, and have enterprise and practical
good sense in our work, and we will see the
fruits. A great deal of work can be done if
it is only systematised and not fretted about,
and every part is made to go as far as practicable.
A   beautiful   behavior   is   better   than   a
beautiful  form.    It  is the  finest of the fine
arts.
Only a smile! But it cheered a broken
heart, and engendered a ray of hope.
Only a word ! But it carried the poisonous breath of slander, assailing the character.
Oh, how it pierced the lonely heart!
Only one glass! And how many have
filled a drunkard's grave through its influence ! How many homes made desolate, how
many bright anticipations of a glad and
happy future blasted by its influence !