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24 TH]
AN EVANGELISTIC TRIP TO GILMER
COUNTY, W. VA.
It is the excellent custom of Lexington
Presbytery to assign to each of the
ministers in her older and more settled
churches, an Evangelistic field in its
great Home Mission Territory in West
Virginia. This field he is expected to visit
at some time during the year, and conduct
such services as may be feasible.
Sometimes these fields are already
?ui>i>ut;u wnn preacning ay some faithful
Home Missionary. Often they are
vacant and greatly in need of the ministrations
of the visitor.
It was the writer's privilege recently
to fill such an appointment at the Coal
Valley Church in Gilmer County, W. Va.
This little church is situated on the Little
Kanawha River about five miles from
Glenville, the County Seat. It was organized
several years ago and has enjoyed
the ministry of Dr. Brooke, Rev.
C. S. Lingamfelter, Frank L. McCue, H.
McC. Moffett, W. J. Tidball, and others.
It is not very Btrong numerically, but
rich in the character of its officers, and
in loyalty to Christ and His Church.
Like most West Virginia communities,
it is over-churched. In its immediate
neighborhood there are four or five other
denominations at work.
Yet so high is the character of its
members and so pure its influence in
the community, that all the denominations
joined with us in our meeting and
made it a feast of spiritual things for
us all.
I was the guest of Ruling Elder John
R. Lynch, on the bank of the river. He
is a man of large family. Three of his
fine boys bear the names of honored
iuimsiers ui me gospel. n>acn one or
them, toys and girls, is either already
well-educated or rapidly becoming so.
Several are teachers in the public
schools. Mr. Lynch has eleven children
in all.
I reached Gilmer County late on Saturday
evening after a journey from Lexington,
Va? which began on Thursday
noon, and took me around by Harper's
Ferry, through Cumberland and Clarksburg.
An enthusiastic welcome made
me at once at home In Brother Lynch's
home On the Sabbath mnrniner a
goodly attendance at Church and Sabbath-school
gave evidence of the permanence
of the work done there in days
gone by. Darwin says that "Forgotten
yesterdays have made possible the full
blown flowers of today." How much
prayer and effort, how much faith and
patience; how much discouraging labor
and toil, have been crowded into the
forgotten yesterdays in that field;
Could the men of God who once labored
here return, they would rejoice. for their
memory is still verdant, and their
"works do follow them."
Every night for a week in the heart
of the busy harvest season, with the
pressure of unfinished work in the cornfields,
also to hinder, the comfortable
and commodious church was crowded by
eager listeners. It was noticeable that
y
y
C PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOUT1
a very large proportion of these was of
the male sex.
The toys and young men came regularly
to every service, listened attentively
to every appeal, and showed great
interest. Yet only one of them joined
tne t'hurch. We found that our beloved
fellow worker. Brother W. J. Tidball,
had just returned to this field, and was
entering again upon the labors interrupted
two years ago by his removal to
North Carolina. He has a warm place
in the hearts of this people and every
prospect of success. He was not able
to be present at the opening of the meeting
but soon we saw his pleasant face
in the congregation and felt the thrill
of his sympathetic presence. What
West Virginia needs today is more men
of the Tidball type. Unselfish, patient,
gentle, and withal powerful in the pulpit,
he is exercising an influence which
can be felt all through that country.
Together we visited the people in
their homes, finding always a welcome
from the heart. The only trouble was
that we could not find time for all the
invitations which came to us. The people
are not poor, for God has blessed
this favored section with oil and gas and
coal in fabulous quantities. Every farmer
has his own private "Coal Banks,"
and if so disposed, can lease or sell his
oil or( mineral rights for large sums in
ready cash. There is a great work to
be done here by our church. And under
the efficient leadership of Rev.
Hnlmho Pnlo#rtn n""-u?* * '
..w.^vd ..uioiuu, mr n?ujieri&n v_^nairman
of Home Missions, it is being done
most faithfully.
A flying visit to Sand Fork Church in
the heart of the oil field, and also to
my old field, the Sutton group in Braxton
County completed a tour long to be
treasured among the pleasant things of
memory. Sutton has a splendid man in
charge of its churches and outstations,
in the Rev. J. M. Sedgewick. Brother
Sedgewick, with his wife and newly-born
infant, live in the charming little manse
at Sutton and his field extends to Flatwoods,
Gassaway, Corley, Newville, and
other points in the county. His work
is greatly appreciated and he is personally
much beloved by his people. For
the summer he is assisted by our can
dictate, orotner Klrebaugh, of Rockbridge
County, Va.
One point which greatly impressed it
self upon my mind was the great influx
of foreigners in the mining sections
about Clarksburg. Something must be
done for these people in the near future.
And our Church ought to do it. We
have a fine location and plant at Clarksburg,
with a congregation deeply imbued
with the Missionary spirit. This point
.is however vacant, and our opportunty
is slipping away from us. God send us
tbe man and the money to do this great
work at our very doors.
R. E. SteeJe.
New Monmouth, Va.
I have a great ambition higher and
deeper than you can think to be a great
deal better than myself.?Anna Warner,
in Old Helmet.
H. August i8, 1909.
STORM OF LETTERS AT DR. JACOBS.
Absurd stories have been published in
some newspapers in Texas that Dr. W.
S. Jacobs, of Houston, has preached a
sermon advocating or apologizing for
Sunday basebati. As a result warm letters
have come from many quarters to
Dr. Jacobs asking him about the matter.
and some few even denouncing him without
taking the trouble to inquire iuto the
correctness of the reports. As a matter
of fact, the very opposite is true. In a
sermon on baseball preached at the
First Presbyterian church Sunday night
Dr. Jacobs vigorously condemned Sunday
baseball and started a movement in favor
of a half holiday on Saturday for
employes that would do away with the
necessity for Sunday ball playing, destroy
the excuse for it and put it out of business.
Dr. Jacobs, however, did not make
his condemnation of Sunday baseball dependent
upon the adoption of this suggestion,
but condemned it anyhow, and said
that any Sabbath breaking nation would
find baseball too tame and go in for
uun ngnung and Dear Daiting.
Dr. Jacobs is indignant that a mistaken
report should have been given such wide
circulation, and begs through the columns
of "The Chronicle" to assure Presbyterians
and Christian people all over
the state that he is as hearty an advocate
of Sabbath observance as can be
found and holds the strict Presbyterian
views In regard to its sanctity.
"BUNCOMBE."
It Dont Always Pay to be Skeptical.
When a newspaper writer and proofreader
that works nights can feed himself
out of dyspepsia, which most all
that class suffer with, it is worth white
to know the kind of food used.
The man says:
"Being a newspaper writer and proofreader,
also a graduate in medicine as
ncu, iiiuuga not practicing, makes a
combination that would produce a skeptic
on the subject if anything would.
"Day after day I read the proof on
the Grape-Nuts advertisements with the
feeling that they were all 'buncombe.'
All this time I was suffering from dyspepsia
from the improper food I was
eating at the restaurant.
"One day I saw a package of GrapeNuts
at the restaurant and tried some
with good, rich cream. The food took my
fancy at once. After a few lunches at
midnight I noted an improvement in my
feelings, and was able to work with less
fatigue.
"I have used Grape-Nuts as a regular
diet since then, and have improved greatly.
The old dyspepsia and bad feelings
that I thought were necessary adjuncts
to nljfht work all 1
?. aiiu 1 mil
able to do mnc.. more and oetter work
with less effort than ever before.
"I was nearly ready to give up night
work and seek health in some other walk
in life, bat thanks to my change in diet
1 am now an right." "There's a Reus . " *
Read "The Road to Wellville" in pkgs.
Evar read the above letter? A new one
appears from time to time. They are
genuine, true, and full of human interest.