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24 THE P
devoted a great deal of time to the
? work of organizing the men and boys
of the congregation for definite Christian
service. He has shown exceptional
gifts in getting hold of boys and enlisting
their permanent interest and he commands
the respect of men by his sound
judgment and manly type of Christianity.
His pastor, Dr. Egbert W. Smith, says of
him: "I believe Mr. Davis is admirablv
\
A notable feature of the development
of the life of the Church of the present
day is the attention being given by all
denominations to the training of the
young people in Christian activity.
Our Assembly adopted in 1894 a definite
plan for the encouragement and
direction of the work of our young people,
and outlined principles for the government
of societies, and adopted the name
Westminster League as the official
GROUP OF MOUNTAIN BO\
At a Sabbath'
designation for our young peopled organizations.
In the development of the work it was
found desirable in many cases to have
separate organizations for the boys and
girls,.and the boys' organizations were
called "Convenanter Companies" and the
girls' divisions were called "Miriam
Chapters."
Trt monw r\t All* oHnwoVinn ftisv nlm. r- 9
IM UiUtiJ Wl UU1 UUU1UUCO I/UC ^laii Ui
the Assembly has not been followed, and
there are hundreds of societies which
have their own form of organization and
a local name. Many of these societies
are doing a fine work, but until the. Assembly
plan is adopted, there will be
lacking that unity of purpose and deflniteness
of aim which grows out of unified
organization.
The chief lines of work suggested are,
Bible Study, Prayer, Christian Culture
and Christian Activity. Under Bible Study
distinct and sustained efforts are being
y
RESBYTERIAN OF THE SOUTH.
suited for Covenanter and Brotherhood
work, in the former of which, especially,
he has had remarkable success in our
chur<;h. He is a man of character and
consecration, a diligent Bible student, of
affable manners, gifted with common
sense and an attractiveness for boys,
and certain, I think, to develop into a
VPrv ofPnptlvn cnoolror "
The Committee feels that the Church
^oung People's Societu
made to induce the young folks to
form the habit of reading and studying
the Word of God daily. They are stimulated
to better work in the Sunday
schools. Here and there they undertake
special studies as societies. In the
matter of prayer, much is being done
to encourage the practice of daily prayer,
and to encourage the young to lead in
prayer in their own meetings. In the
leading denominations more or less
'S IN MITCHELL COUNTY, N. C.
School Institute
elaborate Christian Culture Courses have
been prepared, and introduced with
vigor and wisdom. These courses cover
such subjects as denominational doctrine.
government and history and kindred
themes, and are advertised .and explained
through well-edited papers. Under Christian
Activity, or, as the Scotch say,
"Works of Christian Usefulness," are
Included the careful study of missions
along lines never attempted until recently;
social work, such as social evenings
and outings arranged for pleasure and
recreation of the nobler sort; the visitation
of the sick and strangers, and in
general, such use of the social instinct
as will draw the young to the Church and
help to hold them; extension, including
plans for extending the general work and
for bringing all the young people ot
proper age in the local church into the
societies; personal work for the salvation
of others, and various forms of local and
temporary work.
February 17, 1909.
is to be congratulated upon securing a
man of such promise for this important
department, and it is encouraging to find
consecrated laymen who are willing to
turn aside from business life and give
themselves to definite Christian work.
Requests for visits from Mr. Davis
should be sent to Rev. A. L. Phillips,
Superintendent of Sunday schools. Richmond,
Va.
iS
The direction of the work of our
Young People's Societies was placed in
the hands of the Executive Committee of
Publication and the Assembly in May,
1906, directed that the Constitution and
By-Laws be revised to meet the enlarged
and changing scope of the work.
Following this order, publications have
been issued, in which full directions are
given for the conduct of Young People's
Societies.
The publications are as follows:
The Westminster'League Constitution
for societies of both sexes,
' Price, .02
Covenanter .Constitution for boys
Price, .02
The Miriam's Constitution for girls
and young women Price, .02
Free samples will be sent to pastors
or any one desiring to organize a societv.
Order from Presbyterian Committee of
Publication, Richmond. Va., or Texarkana.
Ark-Texas.
LITERATURE.
"The Sunday School in the Country,"
by Rev. John T. Faris, published in
Philadelphia by the Westminster' Press,
is a monograph on the country Sunday
School and shows what has been done
oy those superintendents who have refused
to be balked by the special obstacles
which confront the schools which
have no fine buildings, cement walks,
rooms for primary classes, and other adjuncts
nowadays deemed needful tr> the
successful conduct of a school. The
pamphlet is practically a collection of
experiences, and therefore represents
actual work and results.
The various religions represented by
the children in our public schools, notably
the Roman Catholic ,and the Hebrew,
render difficult of solution the
problem of ethical or moral instruction
in the schools. On this question the discussion
is becoming .more and more acute
with the increase of the Jewish
population and the insistence on the part '
of Roman Catholics that the religious instruction
of their children shall be left
entirely to themselves. Oh the other
hand, Protestant America as strenuously
iUDiBiB mtiL me Dioie snaii nave a piace
In the schools, not for the inculcation
of sectarian tenets, hut to read, without
note and comment, if so decided, as the
Divine standard text hook in ethics] and
moral instruction. >
rnv- n?A ? *** ... -
ma v^ouiury company puDllsh the
autobiography of Helen Keller, given under
the title "The World I Live In."