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may be delivered by Christmas. Urge
the Calendar as a Christmas gift. A
beautiful Christmas greeting card
comes with each Calendar. See how
many Calendars you can place and
urge that they be used.
Secretaries of Spiritual Life should
promote family altars. An enrollment
card for families having family altars
is being issued. The Committee will
send a beautiful certificate, ready for
framing, to all whose names they re
ceive, and will enroll them as mem
bers of the Family Altar League. Send
these names in promptly.
You can do no greater service to
the cause of Christ in our Church than
to secure a general daily use of the
Prayer Calendar. May God bless your
efforts in this great work.
PRINCETON, W. VA.
Miss Carrie Lee Campbell, a noted
speaker on missionary topics and mis
sion fields, gave a fine address at the
Presbyterian Church Tuesday evening.
The house was full of interested
listeners, and the meeting was in
charge of the Teen Age Circle, their
president, Miss Virginia Roney, con
ducting the exercises with much dig
nity and efficiency.
Miss Campbell told of her itinerary
through China, describing modes of
travel, customs and manners of the
Chinese in their own country, and
explaining the hardships missionaries
have to encounter and overcome.
Greater interest was aroused by her
description of modes of travel because
she had miniatures of all the vehicles
used in that country, and displayed
them as she talked, which made her
audience realize better what she was
telling them.
The only fault the crowd found
with the address was it was too short,
which bespeaks their keen interest in
her subject matter and her way of
presenting it. ? 'Princeton Paper.
MISS ATKINSON'8 HOUSE.
The ladies of the Church ^111 be
glad to learn that a good lot has been
secured for Miss Atkinson's house.
The land is located in the heart of the
school district. There are seven dif
ferent schools around it. The con
crete foundation has been finished and
the frame was put up a few days ago.
We had a sweet prayer meeting in
the dusk of the evening under the new
roof. We thought of the generosity
of the ladies of the home church that
made possible this home for Miss Gar
dener and Miss Atkinson, and were
grateful. The house will be about
finished when this appears in the
paper.
BETHEL PRESBYTERIAL INSTI
TUTES.
Yes, it can be done; it was TJone.
Bethel Presbyterial Auxiliary held
four institutes at four well-chosen
points within her bounds, on four suc
cessive days, and each day was a suc
cess. On October 17th an Institute
was held at Tirzah church, in Lan
caster County; on October 18th, at
Rlchburg, Chester County; on Octo
ber 19th, at Beth Shiloh, York Coun
ty, and on October 20th, at Wood
lawn, Sharon, York Cftunty. Churches
nearent these points or moet conve
nient from a standpoint of distance
were grouped together and their aux
iliaries asked to attend and to co
operate. The response was line.
The program was both inspirational
and practical. Special consideration
was given the devotionals and Bible
Methods, the latter being conducted
by Miss Wilcox, assistant to Dr. Gregg,
of First church, Rock Hill. These
served to strengthen the spiritual life
of our women according to their own
testimony.
The meetings were to be in charge
of the county visitors, but owing to
the fact that Lancaster's and Yprfc'i
visitors were not able to serve, the
Lancaster meeting was in charge of
Mrs. I. R. Hayes, Kershaw, and Mrs.
E. E. Gillespie, York, was responsible
for the York meetings. Mrs. A. M.
Aiken, visitor for Chester County, was
in charge of the Chester County meet
ing.
Our indefatigable president, Mrs. J..
R. Hayes, was with us, and with her
consecration, tact, information and
enthusiasm was most helpful. Of the
Synodical officers Mrs. T. C. Peden,
Secretary of Young People's Work,
was with us three days. Mrs. A. L.
Blake, Secretary of Spiritual Life, one
day. Of the Presbyterial officers, the
Vice-President and the Secretary of
Literature were present at each meet
ing, the President at three, Secretary
of Foreign Missions at two, Secretary
A. H. M. at one, Secretary S. P. C. at
two.
Dr. Kellersberger gave us each day
soul-stirring messages from our far
flung battle line in Africa. Mrs. J.
B. Townsend, Anderson, S. C., report
ed Mrs. Morrow's talks on Mexico and
our Foreign Mission Study book, "Out
from Peonage," which she heard at
Montreat this summer.
Mrs. T. C. Peden presented our
"Unfinished Tasks." Her thorough fa
miliarity with the book is evidenced
by the pageant she has prepared for
use in connection with the study of
the book.
Miss Mabel Hall presented the
needs of our mountain neighbors, and
told that one Presbyterial had given
her a pony "to carry the message";
another Presbyterial had pledged to
"clothe" the pony with saddle and
bridle; so Mrs. S. M. McNeel, York
First, pledged to feed the pony.
Mrs. Hayes each day held a Confer
ence on Village and County Church
Auxiliaries. These conferences proved
helpful and most interesting. Full
opportunity was given each local
woman to present her problems and
to discuss and solve them. The Stand
ard of Excellence was presented and
explained in detail.
A full display of charts, maps, post
ers, pictures of missionaries was
made each day. And literature on
every phase of every department of
the Church work was presented. Es
pecially stressed also were the Church
papers, The Survey, The Church in
Action, Presbyterianism, a Heritage
and a Challenge, Presbyterianism ?
Its Principles and Practice. Mission
Study books and helps were on sale.
This work was handled by the Pres
byterial Secretary of Literature al
each meeting.
Local pastors were asked to take
charge of the opening devotionals, and
responded where the meeting of Pres
bytery did not conflict. Each pastor
was in accord with the work and co
operated beautifully.
Opportunity for all to become ac
quainted was given at the noon hour,
when most bountiful lunches were
served by the hostess auxiliaries. All
visiting auxiliaries were asked to bring
baskets, and they responded. The
hostess churches were certainly most
cordial.
Special music was rendered at some
of the institutes, and it added a great
deal to the pleasure and profit of the
meetings. A free-will offering was
taken to defray the expenses of the
institutes.
In all. Bethel's four institutes were
wonderfully worth while from the
standpoint of attendance, interest, in
formation received, enthusiasm and
the deepening of spiritual life. Nor
would we forget the beautiful spirit
of fellowship that played so impor
tant a part during this week of priv
ilege and pleasure.
Yes, it can be done; it was done!
And Bethel Is grateful to have hfcd
this opportunity of serving and being,
served.
Laymen and Their Work
FIRST CHURCH, MERIDAN, MISS.
On Friday evening. November 17,
a very delightful evening was spent
by the men of the First Church, the
occasion being a banquet given to
these men by the Men's Bible Class.
This class, under its able leader, Mr.
R. E. Wilbourn, is doing great things,
working to get those interested who
are not already in line for church
work. Many were invited, and one
hundred men were served supper at
seven o'clock, this meal having been
prepared and served by Circle 3 of the
Woman'B Auxiliary. A genial spirit
oZ cordial fellowship prevailed and
many gave expression to their pleas
ure at being there.
A musical program added to the
delights of the occasion. Plans were
discussed for further work, and all
seemed ready to do his part to make
this class bigger and better than ever.
BUILDING ON OLD FOUNDATIONS.
More than two centuries an-J a Iralf
ago the city of London, England, suf
fered the greatest catastrophe in its
history. The whole central part of
the city was destroyed by fire. The
homeless population suffered terribly
from exposure and want. But one
hope pointed to a compensation for
all the suffering and loss. The de
struction of the old city, which had
grown up in a haphazard and irregu
lar way, without a definite plan or
regard to beauty, now offered an op
portunity for the rebuilding of a new
and a better London. The man for
the occasion was in their midst. Sir
Christopher Wren, the architect of St.
Paul's Cathedral, had a vision of a
beautiful city built on new lines re
lated to its crowning edifice ? a cathe
dral which would symbolize the as
pirations and ideals of the nation and
whichr would be a glory in all the
earth. He drew up the plan of the
new city of which St. Paul's was to
be the centre. The city officials sanc
tioned the enterprise and the citizens
were eager to achieve it. But when
the practical details came to be con
sidered so many of the people were
set on having their houses placed on
tire old foundations that the plan be
came impracticable. Gradually the
vision of Sir Christopher Wren faded
from the people's minds and the new
and better London was never built.
The city was reared again on its old
foundations.
We are facing a similar situation
to-day in the moral as well as in the
political world. An unparalleled ca
tastrophe has swept away much that
had been reared upon the old foun
dations, and out of the wreck and
the midst of the desolation and suf
fering, the unrest and haunting fears
which constitute the aftermath of the
great war, one hope has kept our
hearts from despair and given us
courage to face the future. The ruin
of the old world has created the op
portunity for rebuilding, on new foun
dations, and out of the wreck and
desolation of old Institutions the hope
Iras beat strong in many breasts that
there might arise a new and redeemed
world. How far this hope is being
realized is becoming too apparent in
the councils of nations and in world
events to-day. We are finding out to
our disappointment and grief that,
"the war overpassed, we fall into
more baffling problems still, bewilder
ing to our hopes. Instead of a new
earth, "we are rebuilding the old
world upon old bases, and disillusion
ment Is rampart everywhere." In the
political world, from the open confer
ence, the international court, the
league of nations for securing peace
and the rights of all peoples, the
weak, as well as the strong, the trend
is back again to secret diplomacy,
separate treaties, racial and interna
tional jealousies, commercial rivalries
and the fostering of old and festering
hatreds. In the industrial and social
life of our own, as well as other na
tions, the old order is being re-estab
lished. Industrial war is even more
extensive and better than it was be
fore the great conflict by which so
much of the world was laid in ruins.
Class is still arrayed against class.
Men are uniting on a larger scale to
oppose each other in interests on
which the welfare and progress of
our people generally depend. The
ideals by which for a time we were
comforted and upheld when our civi
lization seemed ready to crash and
crumble before the shock of the
World War, have not been grasped
and held fast by the masses, and dis
appointment and dismay have filled
the hearts of many. Selfishness and
greed, the love of pleasure and in
difference to the things of enduring
worth, are as apparent and seemingly
as general as in the days before the
war. No great change in interna
tional relations, except perhaps the
English-speaking peoples, or in the
general temper of the classes which
constitute society, is as yet apparent.
So far we seem to be rebuilding on
the old foundations, and the vision
of a new and better world seems to
be ever receding.
In spite, however, of this dark and
disappointing picture of present
world conditions, we have to confess
to an incurable optimism. The hope
of the world is in the Church, and in
the guiding hand of the great Head
of the Church, by whom all the great
movements of history are Anally
shaped. And the more critical or
even desperate world conditions be
come, the greater and more insistent
becomes the challenge to the Church.
Our concern, therefore, is to know
how the Church will face the great
opportunity which the challenge ot
world conditions presents and respond
to the world-wide cry for guidance
and help. Will the Church, like the
world, continue along its old lines
of cleavage, and rivalry, and petty
antagonisms; or will it, as did the
Allies, in the face of a common foe
and an overshadowing peril, forget its
sectional interests and jealousies and
cooperate in all its branches for the
accomplishment of a supreme task?
We believe the signs in this direc
tion are encouraging. The spirit of
unity is undoubtedly spreading in all
branches of the Church and taking
possession of the minds of men as
never before since the Reformation.
A reunited Christendom, not neces
sarily organically one body, but one
in things more vital, and a Spirit
Oiled Church can save the world.
This, so far as we know, is Ood's
way of redeeming mankind and bring
ing in the day of peace on earth and
good will among men. And this can
only come about by a rededication of
ourselves as members of the Church
of Christ and pledged to His service,
to our great Leader. It is to this wo
are summoned in the call of our
Church to a great forward spiritual
movement in the closing months of
this year; and in all the months and
years to follow. What response shall
we make to this call? ? Presbyterian
Witness, Toronto* Can.