LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 r\ 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 aass 
 
LAY READERS 
 
 THEIR 
 
 HISTORY, ORGANIZATION AND WORK 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF 
 
 WHAT LAYMEN HAVE DONE, ARE DOING 
 
 AND CAN DO FOR THE EXTENSION 
 
 OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. H. B. RESTARICK 
 
 RECTOR OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA 
 DEAN OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
 SALIF 
 
 NEW-YORK 
 
 THOMAS WHITTAKER 
 2 AND 3 BIBLE HOUSE 
 
 it'll 
 

 Copyright, 1894, 
 By THOMAS WHITTAKER. 
 
TO THE 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE 
 BROTHERHOOD OF SAINT 
 ANDREW, MEN PLEDGED TO PRAY AND 
 WORK FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE KINGDOM OF 
 GOD, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE 
 AUTHOR, WHO OWES SO MUCH, IN THE WORK OF 
 HIS OWN READERS AND IN THE PREPARA- 
 TION OF THIS VOLUME, TO THE 
 SPIRIT AND LABORS OF THE 
 BROTHERHOOD 
 
 1 73090 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THIS book is the result of a suggestion made 
 to the writer by his Bishop, the Rt. Rev. William 
 Ford Nichols, D.D. Its object is to further the 
 great movement in the Church for the use of the 
 laity in definite, aggressive work for the exten- 
 sion of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, with especial 
 reference to Lay Readers. It is hoped that it will 
 be found useful by those who are already licensed 
 to act in that capacity, encouraging them to more 
 systematic, earnest effort, and stimulating their de- 
 sire for a larger and a better service. To devout 
 laymen into whose hands it may fall, the writer's 
 prayerful wish is, that, with the blessing of God 
 the Holy Ghost, it may arouse in their hearts some 
 sense of the work there is to be done, and that it 
 may suggest to them one way in which they may 
 have their part and lot in the doing of it. It is 
 thought also that it will be of use to the clergy, 
 who see around them in town and country the 
 work which belongs to the Church, but which 
 they cannot hope even to touch, without the aid 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 of consecrated, systematic lay effort. It is in- 
 tended to suggest to them ways in which Lay 
 Readers can do definite, aggressive missionary 
 work. 
 
 Bishops, Priests, and Lay Readers, who are most 
 interested in this subject, have been consulted, and 
 the writer himself has had experience. 
 
 It is hoped, therefore, that from the facts and 
 suggestions set forth others may be saved some 
 of the trouble and annoyance of experiment, and 
 profit by the failures and successes here recorded. 
 Many have judged the book as timely. There is 
 a growing opinion among Bishops, Priests, and 
 laymen that by an enlarged use of Readers and 
 Evangelists a new era, which seems already dawn- 
 ing, will rise in brightness upon the Church in this 
 land. 
 
 HENRY B. RESTARICK. 
 
 SAN DIEGO, CAL. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE LAYMAN AND His WORK FOR THE EXTENSION OF 
 THE KINGDOM OF GOD 3 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE LAY READER IN HISTORY 15 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 UNORGANIZED WORK OF LAY READERS IN THE UNITED 
 STATES 27 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 LEGISLATION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH CONCERNING LAY 
 
 READERS 40 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WORK FOR THE READER IN AMERICA THE NEED AND 
 THE RESPONSIBILITY 54 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK 62 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 THE WORK OF READERS FROM THE PARISH AS A CENTER 84 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE SELECTION OF MEN FOR READERS, AND OF PLACES 
 
 FOR WORK 99 
 
 vii 
 
Vlii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE PREPARATION OF THE READER 107 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 THE READER IN THE SERVICE 124 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 THE READER AND SERMONS 142 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 THE READER, His ADDRESSES AND EXHORTATIONS 159 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WHAT THE READER MAY DO, AND WHAT THE READER 
 MAY NOT DO 177 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 WORK IN THE MISSION 189 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 THE Music AT THE MISSIONS 204 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE READER, AND His ATTITUDE TOWARDS CHRISTIANS 
 OF THE VARIOUS DENOMINATIONS 208 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE READER IN His SPIRITUAL LIFE 222 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 READERS OR PERMANENT DEACONS, WHICH ? 233 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 THE READER AND THE WORK OF THE FUTURE 248 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THIS book owes its origin to needs and experi- 
 ments in lay work in the Diocese of California. 
 Because Dean Restarick has had valuable acquaint- 
 ance with these needs and experiments, he was 
 asked to write it. He has further laid under con- 
 tribution material readily and kindly furnished him 
 from fields many, and from Bishops, Priests, and 
 laymen especially interested in the subject not a 
 few. The reading of what he has written has 
 seemed to the undersigned to well justify the ask- 
 ing. Indeed, the reading of it was no less than a 
 solace in one of those periods of oppression not 
 to say depression which seem to come to one as 
 he journeys to meet the mighty responsibilities of 
 a prolonged Episcopal visitation. 
 
 Responsibilities shared in possibility and pros- 
 pect are responsibilities lightened. Thank God, the 
 American Church is rousing a slumbering army of 
 laymen to true campaigning as soldiers of Christ 
 enlisted in their Baptism. The thought is an in- 
 spiriting one, for the glory of God and the edifi- 
 cation of the Church. Books of tactics will be in 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 active demand. It is believed that this will be 
 found a good one for all concerned. It subor- 
 dinates tactics to morale. While it deals with 
 methods that have been found helpful, it assumes 
 and inculcates that animating power of any great 
 movement in a Church going forth conquering 
 and to conquer the all-constraining love of Jesus 
 
 Christ. 
 
 WILLIAM F. NICHOLS. 
 
 ST. PAUL'S RECTORY, SAN DIEGO, 
 November 26, 1893. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE LAYMAN AND HIS WORK FOR THE EX- 
 TENSION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 
 
 NOT long ago a loyal, well-instructed, lifelong 
 son, of the Church told the writer that in his 
 younger days he was accustomed to give even to 
 individuals and societies whose methods he could 
 not endorse, because they were trying to carry the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ, as they apprehended it, to 
 neglected classes and destitute places. 
 
 He believed that they taught error mixed with 
 truth, but he reasoned with himself that as the 
 Church was leaving the work wholly untouched, 
 it had better be done imperfectly than not at all. 
 He believed that the Church could do the work, if 
 she were to make use of the laity. " We always 
 heard," he said, " a good deal about the priesthood 
 of the laity, but beyond serving on the vestry, or 
 teaching in Sunday-school, little or nothing was 
 given them to do." 
 
 The writer is not arguing that the above was 
 the right or the best way, he is simply relating 
 the fact. As for the layman referred to, as an 
 
 3 
 
4 LAY READERS. 
 
 active Lay Reader, licensed to make addresses, 
 travelling often on Sunday from twenty to thirty 
 miles, and holding service where there would be 
 no gathering of people for worship, unless the 
 Church sent him or one of his co-workers, he re- 
 joices that this is what has been called " the day 
 of the laity." 
 
 Mr. Lewis Stockton, of the Buffalo Laymen's 
 League, writes that men in the Salvation Army 
 have told him that if they had been given some 
 training and set to work in the Church, they 
 would not have wandered from her. Most of the 
 clergy have known men working actively in some 
 religious society, who have told them a like story. 
 
 It is cause for great thankfulness, however, that 
 to-day not only are there large numbers of devout 
 laymen ready to labor in God's vineyard, but 
 the Bishops and other clergy are anxious to call 
 them from idleness, and give them such work as 
 they are fitted to perform. 
 
 There have been periods when conditions natu- 
 rally and necessarily placed upon the clergy almost 
 the entire work of the Church. When unlettered 
 peoples had been won from heathenism the work 
 of teaching and training them would necessarily 
 be performed by the clergy as the only men capa- 
 ble of doing it. When a National Church had 
 occupied a land, dividing it into small cures, well 
 
THE LA YMAN AND HIS WORK. 5 
 
 supplying these with clergy, the work which came 
 to the laity was far different from that which faces 
 them to-day. 
 
 There is, however, in this age, and especially in 
 this land, much that reminds one of the conditions 
 which attended the Church during the first cent- 
 uries of her existence. Now, as then, she finds 
 herself in the midst of unbelievers, surrounded by 
 schools of speculative philosophy, having opposed 
 to her sects founded upon every conceivable differ- 
 ence of individual opinion, and confronted by the 
 difficulty of having to bring into the unity of the 
 Church men of diverse race and speech. To all 
 of these, whether they hate her, treat her with in- 
 difference, or hold her in contempt, she has now, 
 as of old, to proclaim " the faith once for all de- 
 livered to the saints," the " one Lord, one faith, 
 one baptism," which is the " Gospel of the King- 
 dom." 
 
 That the laity had a great part in the spread 
 of the Church in the first centuries is evident to 
 the student. The Jewish converts, with their re- 
 ligious training in the home, the school, and the 
 synagogue, furnished excellent material not only 
 for Apostles, Elders, and Deacons, but for Lay 
 Workers, who had " gifts " as " teachers " and 
 " helps," i for the building up "of the body of 
 
 1 I Cor. xii. 28. 
 
6 LAY READERS. 
 
 Christ." 1 The multitude which at Pentecost heard 
 the Apostles and were baptized, during their so- 
 journ at Jerusalem gave steadfast attention to the 
 " teaching of the Apostles," frequented the assem- 
 blies of the Church for " the prayers," and partook 
 of the Holy Eucharist 2 
 
 In returning to their homes each one would be 
 a missionary, preparing the way in the hearts of 
 their relations and friends for the Apostle or Elder 
 who should come afterwards to bring them organ- 
 ization and the Sacraments. 
 
 After the death of St. Stephen " they that were 
 scattered abroad went everywhere preaching " (or, 
 as the original means, announcing the glad tidings) 
 " the word." 3 While it is "evident unto all men 
 diligently reading Holy Scripture and ancient 
 authors " that to those in the sacred ministry fell 
 the chief work of carrying the Gospel to men, yet 
 it is also evident that the devout laity were used 
 as their " gifts " indicated the direction of their 
 best service. 
 
 We may be sure there were everywhere men 
 and women who, like Aquila and Priscilla, took 
 some Apollos and " expounded unto him the way 
 of God more perfectly." 4 
 
 We may be sure that Jewish converts, on re- 
 
 l Eph. iv. II, 12. 2 Acts ii. 46. 
 
 3 Acts viii. 4. * Acts xviii. 26. 
 
THE LA YMAN AND HIS WORK. 7 
 
 turning to their homes after Pentecost, and enter- 
 ing the synagogue on the next Sabbath, would be 
 asked, as was customary after the reading of the 
 Law and the Prophets, if they had some " word 
 of exhortation," as St. Paul was asked at Antioch. 1 
 When thus given an opportunity, we may know 
 that, as St. Paul did at Thessalonica, they would 
 " reason with them out of the Scriptures, opening 
 and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, 
 and risen again from the dead ; and that this Jesus 
 ... is Christ." 
 
 They would also naturally follow the rule of 
 the Jew, that where ten of their nation were set- 
 tled they must meet for worship, and have one 
 of their number act as Reader in the conduct of 
 the service. The Christian layman would have 
 a " church in his house," as Nymphas had at 
 Laodicea, 2 and as Aquila had, first at Ephesus, 3 
 and afterwards at Rome. 4 Here his children and 
 servants, and such neighbors as were disciples, 
 would gather on the first day of the week, when 
 he or some one selected would read the Scriptures 
 and offer " the prayers," and give some word of 
 instruction or exhortation. The way would thus 
 be prepared for the coming of an Apostle and the 
 ordaining of an Elder, who, in " the Breaking of 
 
 1 Acts xiii. 15. 2 Col. iv. 15. 
 
 3 I Cor, xvi, 19. 4 Rom. xvi. 5. 
 
8 LAY READERS. 
 
 Bread " and in dispensing the Word, should minis- 
 ter to the young Church in holy things. 
 
 Nor was the work of the laity for the extension 
 of the Kingdom of God confined to the Christians 
 of Jewish birth, nor even to the proselytes. The 
 educated Gentile laity, at an early day, were en- 
 gaged in teaching, and even in preaching. Justin 
 Martyr was always ready to give instruction as to 
 the Christian faith to all who came to his quarters 
 near the baths of Timotheus at Rome. When a 
 learned philosopher became a Christian, he natu- 
 rally became the head of some catechetical school, 
 whose work was for those without the Church, 
 rather than for those within it. Origen was a 
 layman when he became the head of the school 
 at Alexandria in A.D. 202. Everywhere " a Chris- 
 tian man of science, whether of the clergy or laity, 
 held himself in readiness to discourse upon all sub- 
 jects connected with religion ; to remove difficul- 
 ties, to answer questions, to resolve doubts to 
 prepare the heathen mind, in short, for an intelli- 
 gent reception of the Gospel." (Mahan.) 
 
 Besides teaching, laymen, if considered able^ 
 were permitted to preach. Before Origen was 
 ordained, Alexander, the Bishop of Jerusalem, and 
 Theoctistus, Bishop of Caesarea, requested him to 
 come to their dioceses and preach in the churches, 
 citing examples of laymen preaching with per- 
 
THE LA YMAN AND HIS WORK. 9 
 
 mission of the Bishop, and even at times in his 
 presence. Eusebius relates that some Bishops, for 
 the benefit of the brethren, permitted lay persons 
 to address the people in their presence. (Hist. 
 Eccl. y lib. vi., c. 19.) 
 
 The fourth Council of Carthage, A.D. 398, or- 
 dered that no layman should preach in the pres- 
 ence of the clergy, unless at their request. We 
 see, then, that in those first centuries, when in 
 the conditions surrounding the Church there is 
 much to remind us of the present time and our 
 own country, the layman did his part in active 
 work for the spread of Christ's Kingdom among 
 men. Humanly speaking, it is not too much to 
 say that if all had been left to the clergy, three 
 hundred years would not have sufficed to have 
 seen the Cross floating on the banner which led 
 the Roman legions. 
 
 It is not necessary, in this day, to produce any 
 arguments in favor of the use of fit laymen in 
 active evangelistic and missionary work. In every 
 diocese laymen are so employed. In cities, in 
 suburban districts, and in isolated villages, laymen, 
 duly authorized by their Bishops, are leading the 
 people in public worship, making addresses to 
 them, and preparing men for the coming of the 
 Priest who shall baptize them, or the Apostle who 
 shall administer to them " the laying on of hands." 
 
10 LAY READERS. 
 
 The need is that work of this kind should be 
 made more aggressive and effective by organi- 
 zation and the use of definite plan and careful 
 method. Thousands of Churchmen are asking 
 how this can be done. If we look back at former 
 movements in the Church of England in which 
 the laity have been used, we find that many have 
 ended disastrously. Men are apt to throw all the 
 blame on the Church because the authorities did 
 not recognize the lay preachers and make their 
 work a means of strength to the Church. 
 
 But the fault has been largely with the systems 
 under which the work was carried on, which, from 
 their very nature, led to the formation of separatist 
 bodies. Take two examples : 
 
 Whether Wiclif intended it or not, laymen ap- 
 pear to have been used before his death in his 
 well-trained band of preachers, who went through- 
 out the land teaching from the Bible which their 
 leader had translated for them. 
 
 The Bishops were favorably disposed, and at 
 first recognized them. But the fact that the 
 preachers were itinerant, that they would acknowl- 
 edge no- authority but that of Wiclif, made their 
 work not a part of the machinery of the Church, 
 but something entirely outside of it. This inde- 
 pendent character of the movement resulted in the 
 preachers denouncing the Church as wholly evil, 
 
THE LA YMAN AND HIS WORK. \ \ 
 
 and so, despite their master's evident intention, 
 his followers became Separatists of the most bitter 
 kind. 1 
 
 There is much in the history of Wesley's work 
 which is similar to that of Wiclif. There was the 
 same longing for reform, and the same zeal to 
 have the Gospel preached to the neglected or the 
 indifferent people of England. His first idea was 
 to have the work done under the Bishops. 2 In 
 this case, however, the Bishops refused to aid 
 the movement, and Wesley adopted lay agency, 
 which, like Wiclif 's, consisted of itinerant preachers, 
 independent of the Church, and under the leader- 
 ship of an individual. It is true that he earnestly 
 and constantly affirmed that he was a Churchman, 
 and would live and die in the Church of England. 
 But with his death came the separation for which 
 his " method " had prepared his followers. 
 
 The lesson is plainly this : if lay agency is to be 
 used to strengthen the Church, it must be organ- 
 ized under the authority of the Episcopate, and 
 work where there is a parish in connection with it. 
 It is on these lines that lay work is now being 
 conducted in England and in the United States, 
 and this is the reason one can have confidence in 
 its usefulness. It is unprofitable to sigh over the 
 
 1 Wiclif s Place in History. 
 
 2 Southey's Life of Wesley, p. 247. 
 
 UNIVERSIT 
 
12 LAY READERS. 
 
 past, but one cannot help believing that if the 
 laity during the first half of this century in this 
 country had been trained and set to work, the 
 Church in the United States would have been 
 saved the reproach that it was the Church of the 
 " well-to-do." It would also have tended to stop 
 the deplorable leakage which resulted from Church- 
 men from England and from Eastern homes set- 
 tling in Western villages, where there was no parish 
 or mission, or in the country, many miles from the 
 church in the town, too far distant to attend. The 
 children of these men are connected with the re- 
 ligious societies which ministered to them in their 
 spiritual destitution. 
 
 The spirit among the laymen of a desire to have 
 their part in the aggressive work of the Church is 
 everywhere apparent. Its outward signs are in 
 such organizations as the Lay Helpers' Associa- 
 tions, which, beginning in London in 1865, are now 
 to be found in many Dioceses. In the United 
 States the Brotherhood of St. Andrew is one great 
 proof that laymen realize their responsibility, and 
 desire to work under the authority of the Episco- 
 pate, and also under the parochial clergy. 
 
 Bishops and other clergy have long seen the 
 necessity of utilizing lay agency, if the Church is 
 to do her work in this country. This is well voiced 
 in the words of the Bishop of Long Island, who, 
 
THE LA YMAN AND HIS WORK. \ 3 
 
 writing in 1887, says: "The urgency for Church 
 extension, and for work of every kind necessarily 
 preliminary to such extension, in view of their al- 
 ready overtasked energies it is in vain to look to 
 the clergy to perform. . . . There is one hope, the 
 diffused and latent priesthood of the baptized lay 
 members of the Church. I am persuaded that the 
 Church can have all the help she needs from her 
 laity, if she will not only ask for it, but formally 
 open the ways. The feeling, as I have found it, 
 largely prevailing among our earnest laymen, is 
 one of desire, not only for work, but as well for 
 work that can be done by method and under 
 authority." 
 
 The following chapters are written in the hope 
 that they may assist in " opening up the ways," 
 and be helpful in suggesting " work that can be 
 done by method and under authority." 
 
 The Church in this land has now her day of 
 opportunity. All Churchmen believe that. But 
 to take advantage of it, there must not be a mere 
 rest in the satisfaction of her rich heritage, nor a 
 mere pride in her apostolic lineage. Her sons 
 must go to work. Acting under Title I., Canon 12, 
 there is abundant scope for development of system 
 in the use of Lay Readers and Lay Evangelists. 
 From every parish as a centre, laymen, prepared 
 for the work, should carry the Gospel of the King- 
 
14 LAY READERS. 
 
 dom into the city, the suburbs, and the country 
 around. It can be done. It is being done in 
 places. 
 
 In the general breaking away from the narrow- 
 ness of sectism, men long, though they know it 
 not, for the breadth, the depth, the height, of the 
 Catholic and Apostolic Church in which we believe. 
 But few will ever hear of it, unless the laity are 
 used to carry the message and prepare the way. 
 
 Out of a heart burdened with a knowledge of 
 the work, and the impossibility to touch the greater 
 part of it with the clergy alone, the Bishop of 
 Western New York cries : " Without lay helpers, 
 what can an American Bishop do?" 
 
 It is a cry which will find its echo in the hearts 
 of Bishops and other clergy throughout the land. 
 May God hasten the day when Laymen's Leagues, 
 like that at Buffalo, may enable the good Bishop 
 mentioned, and others all over the land, to say : 
 " With lay helpers behold what an American 
 Bishop, by God's grace, can do." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE LAY READER IN HISTORY. 
 
 IT is proposed in the following chapters to treat 
 of the use of Lay Readers in work for the exten- 
 sion of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. It will be 
 well, then, to consider the place which this order 
 of men has occupied in the history of the Church. 
 Let it be borne in mind, however, that history is 
 not here examined for the mere purpose of deter- 
 mining the use to be made of Lay Readers in the 
 present day. What the Lambeth Conference of 
 1888 stated with regard to the " Historic Episco- 
 pate " may, with the change of one word, be taken 
 as the key in considering the minor order of Read- 
 ers : " Locally adapted in the methods of its work 
 to the varying needs of the nations and peoples 
 called of God into the unity of His Church." 
 
 In the last chapter it was said that wherever 
 there were ten Jews they were required to meet 
 for worship on the Sabbath day. If there was no 
 synagogue, they assembled by the sea or near 
 some stream, as St. Paul found Lydia and others 
 gathered " by a river-side " at Philippi, 1 " where 
 
 1 Acts xvi. 13. 
 15 
 
16 LA Y READERS. 
 
 prayer was wont to be made." From the time 
 that Ezra had established the frequent reading of 
 the Law in public, the synagogue system had de- 
 veloped, until in the time of the Maccabees the 
 synagogue was the centre of religious life wher- 
 ever there was a settlement of Jews. It filled the 
 need which devout Jews must have felt for public 
 worship and instruction. 
 
 At the synagogue service, the Reader was a 
 male member of the congregation selected for the 
 purpose. The address or exposition of the Script- 
 ure lesson was made by a Priest or Levite, if one 
 was present ; if not, by a layman invited by the 
 officers of the assembly. 1 
 
 The office of Reader in the Christian Church 
 cannot positively be found mentioned by any writer 
 earlier than Tertullian (A.D. 1 35-2 1 7). Many have 
 thought that it could be traced to the custom of 
 the synagogue, and probably existed in the Apos- 
 tolic age. 
 
 Justin Martyr, in speaking of the Sunday ser- 
 vice and the reading from the "writings of the 
 Apostles and Prophets," which preceded the cele- 
 bration of the Holy Eucharist, says : " When the 
 Reader has done, the Bishop makes a sermon." 2 
 But the " Reader " here mentioned may have been 
 
 1 Geikie's Life of Christ, chapter xiii. 
 
 2 Apol., I., Ixxxvii. 
 
THE LAY READER IN HISTORY. 17 
 
 a Presbyter or Deacon. There is nothing in the 
 text to show that he was not. However this may 
 be, Tertullian mentions the office of Reader (lector) 
 as distinct from that of Bishop, Presbyter, or Dea- 
 con. 1 His mention implies, certainly, their estab- 
 lished use, with stated duties, in his time. 
 
 The Apostolic Constitutions (the first six books 
 of which were probably compiled in the second 
 century) give the duties of the Reader as follows : 
 " The Reader is in the middle, standing upon a 
 high place, and reads the Books of Moses, of 
 Judges, of Joshua, and of Kings and Chronicles; 
 and in addition to these the Books of Job and Sol- 
 omon, and the sixteen prophetical books. The two 
 Lessons having been read aloud, some one sings 
 the Psalms of David, and the people sing softly 
 the antiphones, and afterwards our own Acts are 
 recited and the Epistles of Paul our fellow-laborer, 
 which he sent to the Churches under the guid- 
 ance of the Holy Spirit. After these things the 
 Deacon or the Presbyter reads the Gospel."' St. 
 Cyprian (martyred A.D. 258) frequently writes of 
 Readers, and of their " ordination " to that office. 
 In his time they were sometimes called "teachers 
 of the hearers" (doctores audientiuni)? This title 
 would imply that they were used as catechists, in- 
 
 l De Praecript. Haer., c. 41. 2 Const. Ap,, II., 57- 
 
 3 Eps. 24 and 33. 
 
1 8 LAY READERS. 
 
 structing those who were preparing for Holy Bap- 
 tism, for the term " andicntium " was applied to 
 one class of catechumens. St. Cyprian states that 
 the office of Reader was often an introduction to 
 the higher orders of the Church. The age which 
 it was generally considered necessary one should 
 have reached before he was permitted to exercise 
 this office was eighteen years. There are instances 
 recorded, however, when Readers were much 
 younger. This was especially the case with youths 
 of high rank, among whom it appears to have been 
 a favorite office. Socrates, the historian, tells how 
 Julian (the Apostate) became a Reader in his boy- 
 hood, that he might deceive his cousin Constantino 
 as to his belief. In the Eastern Church Readers 
 were set apart by the imposition of hands. In 
 the Western Church they were commissioned by 
 a form such as this : " Take thou this Book, be 
 thou a Reader of the Word of God, which office 
 if thou fulfil faithfully, thou shalt have part with 
 those that minister in the Word of God." They 
 were not permitted to read at the altar, but at the 
 lecturn (pulpitum). They were not to read the 
 Epistle or the Gospel when they were a part of 
 the office of Holy Communion. They were then 
 read by a Deacon. 1 
 
 The Readers rose to greater importance after 
 
 1 Bingham's Antiquities. 
 
THE LAY READER IN HISTORY. 19 
 
 the year A.D. 313. At this time the Council of 
 Neo-caesarea passed a canon which limited the 
 number of Deacons in any city to seven. Here- 
 tofore the number had varied. From this time 
 the diaconate became what it has remained ever 
 since, a mere stepping-stone to the priesthood. 
 As Deacons became scarce their places were 
 largely filled by Readers, who performed all the 
 duties belonging to the diaconate except baptizing 
 and administering the cup in the Holy Communion. 
 Later on, the ecclesiastical order of Sub- Deacon 
 was created, and this, in the Western Church, sup- 
 planted the office of Reader, although the latter 
 did not become extinct. 
 
 The Reader in the Church of England. 
 
 When the Church of England was in process of 
 reformation, provision was made to continue the 
 office of Reader. An act of Parliament was passed 
 which authorized the Bishops to prepare an Ordinal 
 for making Priests and Deacons and " other Min- 
 isters." (Act of the 3 and 4 Edward VI., c. 12.) 
 These last words referred to Readers, as is shown 
 by the Ordinal which was prepared, for in it there 
 is an office for the " Admission of Readers." At 
 a Convocation held at Lambeth early in 1559 
 there were drawn up : " Injunctions to be con- 
 
20 LAY READERS. 
 
 fessed and subscribed by those that were to be 
 admitted Readers." In this document their duties 
 are defined as, " Reading the service of the day, 
 Litany, and Homilies." They are prohibited from 
 administering Baptism or the Holy Communion, 
 and from preaching or marrying. 1 
 
 Immediate action was taken by Archbishop 
 Parker, who, on January 7th of the next year, 
 issued a Commission to the Bishop of Bangor to 
 hold an ordination at Bow Church, London. On 
 this occasion " five Readers " were " ordained," in 
 company with five Deacons. 2 
 
 In April, 1661, a Convocation was held at Lam- 
 beth, and the " Injunctions " of 1559 were ratified. 
 It was at this time determined that Readers should 
 be appointed by the Bishops, and that those who 
 were admitted to the office should receive letters 
 certifying their admission. This Convocation also 
 increased their powers, giving them permission to 
 say the services of the Burial of the Dead and the 
 Churching of Women. 3 This permission would 
 seem to be necessary, when it is learned from 
 Burn's Ecclesiastical Laiv that : " It was usual in 
 England to admit Readers to officiate in churches 
 or chapels where the endowment was small, to 
 
 1 Strype's Annals of the Reformation, vol. i., p. 275. 
 - Ibid, i p. 129, and his Life of Parker, vol. i., p. 129. 
 3 Cardwell's Annals, vol. i., pp. 264-69. 
 
THE LAY READER IN HISTORY. 21 
 
 the end that Divine Service in such places might 
 not be altogether neglected." 
 
 In order that the office of Reader should be 
 made permanent, an act of Parliament was passed 
 in 1602, which made perpetual the statute of Ed- 
 ward VI. mentioned above, (i James, c. 25.) 
 
 During the Commonwealth none were of course 
 appointed, and after the Restoration their office 
 gradually became obsolete. The last Diocese in 
 which they were licensed was in Sodor and Man, 
 under Bishop Wilson. 
 
 From his decease, in 1775, the office was un- 
 known in England until it was revived in 1866 by 
 Convocation. 
 
 For some years before the date last named in 
 the paragraph above, the need of lay help had 
 been felt. In 1864, when the Bishop of London's 
 Fund was started, it was suggested that the regu- 
 lar assistance of six hundred additional lay agents, 
 specially appointed as Readers, was required in 
 London alone, to give efficiency to the work of 
 the clergy. On May 6, 1866, the Lower House 
 of Convocation passed a resolution expressing the 
 prevailing opinion. It stated : " That the spiritual 
 wants of the Church would be most effectually met 
 by the constitution of the office of Sub-Deacon, 
 or Reader, as an auxiliary to the sacred Ministry 
 of the Church." 
 
22 LAY READERS. 
 
 On Ascension Day of the same year the Bishops 
 of both provinces met at Lambeth, and after care- 
 fully considering the matter, passed resolutions 
 sanctioning and encouraging the employment of 
 duly appointed Lay Readers. They also set forth 
 a form for their admission, which closely followed 
 that long used in the Western Church. 
 
 Archbishop Tait, writing in 1881, speaks of what 
 had been done under the action of Convocation, 
 notably in London. "What is now needed," he 
 writes, " in my opinion, is, that throughout every 
 diocese in England the resolutions of 1866 should 
 be vigorously acted on, and that laymen should 
 be set apart to assist the clergy." Efforts in this 
 direction, he urges, should be " extended, organ- 
 ized, and formally incorporated w r ith our regular 
 Church system, under the express authority of the 
 heads of the Church." 
 
 Under the resolutions of 1866 Readers were per- 
 mitted to exercise their office in " unconsecrated 
 buildings and in the open air." In consecrated 
 buildings they could only render assistance by 
 reading the Lessons for the day. In order to in- 
 crease their usefulness, the Upper House of Con- 
 vocation in 1884 agreed " that they should conduct 
 such services in consecrated buildings as should be 
 approved by the Bishop, not being the appointed 
 service for the day, and also to publicly catechise." 
 
THE LAY READER IN HISTORY. 23 
 
 The Lower House, by a majority of six, rejected 
 this, as, in their opinion, contrary to the law of 
 the land. 
 
 It has since been shown by lawyers that this 
 supposition was not correct, because no act of 
 Parliament had ever been passed repealing the 
 first Act of Uniformity (2 and 3 Edward VI., c. i), 
 which has the words : " It shall be lawful for all 
 men in churches and chapels, etc., to use openly 
 any psalm or prayer taken out of the Bible at 
 any due time, not letting or omitting thereby the 
 service or any part mentioned in the Prayer Book." 
 The legal right of the laity to use consecrated 
 buildings for devotional purposes is thus evident, 
 consequently those in minor orders can so use 
 them. 
 
 Acting on this legal right, the Readers' Board 
 of the Diocese of London, a body appointed by 
 the Bishop " to supervise all matters connected 
 with Readers in the Diocese," drew up regula- 
 tions in April, 1890, which permitted "Diocesan 
 Readers ... to conduct such extra services in 
 consecrated buildings as the Incumbent may wish, 
 and as the Bishop may approve." 
 
 In April of the next year further instructions 
 were issued, which defined what Diocesan Readers 
 could do in consecrated buildings : " The Bishop 
 approves of the use by them at such extra ser- 
 
24 LAY READERS. 
 
 vices, on Sundays or week-days, of any portions 
 of the Bible and any parts of the Prayer Book, 
 except those parts which can only be properly 
 used in church by a Priest, provided always that 
 such extra services shall not be given in place of 
 the regular services for Matins and Evensong ; the 
 Bishop further approves of Diocesan Readers giv- 
 ing addresses and expositions of Holy Scripture, 
 and catechising at the extra services." 
 
 The term used above, " Diocesan Reader," is in 
 distinction from " Parochial Reader." The former, 
 in the Diocese of London, receives a permanent 
 commission, revocable by the Bishop, with per- 
 mission to work in any parish in the Diocese at 
 the request of the Incumbent. The latter receives 
 a commission to conduct services only in the par- 
 ish to which he is licensed, which commission be- 
 comes void at the death, or on the removal, of the 
 Incumbent. 
 
 In the Official Year Book of the Church of Eng- 
 land for 1893, over 1500 Readers are reported as 
 holding commissions in 31 Dioceses. In the dis- 
 cussions in Convocation as to their training, the 
 Year Book says : " There are indications of a full 
 understanding of the importance of lay agency, 
 and a readiness to give it a permanent and official 
 status in the Church, such as it may rightly claim 
 and possess for its success." In the reports of 
 
THE LAY READER IN HISTORY. 2$ 
 
 the 78 Indian, Colonial, and Missionary Dioceses, 
 there are 19 which make no report of Readers. 
 In the 59 reporting, there are 1137 Readers who 
 are paid, 2159 whose services are voluntary, and 
 48 1 part paid and part voluntary, giving a total of 
 3777 Readers. (Year Book, 1893.) The Diocese 
 of Melbourne, Australia, has more licensed Read- 
 ers than any other in the Anglican Communion. 
 It reports for 1893, 56 paid Readers and 238 vol- 
 untary. The Diocese of London reports 233. 
 
 In addition to those who hold commissions from 
 their Bishops, there are those who exercise the 
 functions of Readers without holding licenses. 
 This fact detracts from the value and importance 
 of the office, and Readers representing fifteen Eng- 
 lish Dioceses respectfully protested against it in 
 1888, suggesting that each Bishop should enforce 
 the resolutions of Convocation. 
 
 The Reader in Scotland. 
 
 It is interesting to know that three years before 
 the action of the Convocation at Lambeth in 1 866, 
 the General Synod in Scotland had passed a Canon 
 in regard to Readers. In 1863 the Bishops were 
 empowered to appoint Lay Readers, who should 
 be permitted " to read Holy Scripture and to con- 
 duct the ordinary services of the Church." Under 
 
26 LAY READERS. 
 
 this Canon, on January 29, 1865, Lord Rollo \vas 
 made a Lay Reader by the Bishop of St. Andrew's. 
 The candidate knelt at the altar rail, and the 
 Bishop delivered the Bible into his hands, saying : 
 " Take thou authority to read the Common Prayer 
 and Holy Scripture in the congregation of God's 
 people assembled for worship, and in this and all 
 thy works, begun, continued, and ended in Him, 
 may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be upon thee and 
 remain with thee forever. Amen." 
 
 The number of Readers in Scotland is not re- 
 ported in the Year Book, and an attempt to pro- 
 cure it by correspondence failed. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 UNORGANIZED WORK OF LAY READERS IN 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 IN the last chapter there was traced the history 
 of Readers as a minor order in the Church of 
 England. But besides the order of Readers, there 
 appears always to have been the custom, which 
 might be called a part of the common law of the 
 Church, that in case of emergency or necessity fit 
 laymen could read the ordinary services of the 
 Church in the congregation. In fact, the rule of 
 the synagogue, " first a Priest, then a Levite, then 
 a layman," seems to have gone over in spirit into 
 the Christian Church. 
 
 In England, expressed in words it was as fol- 
 lows : " In churches destitute of a minister, or at 
 times when he is absent from his parish, or pre- 
 vented from officiating by sickness, etc., the War- 
 den, or a Vestryman, or other fit person from 
 among the laity, may read the public service and 
 a printed sermon in his stead." 1 
 
 The principle underlying this is the priesthood 
 
 l Bingham. 
 27 
 
28 LAY HEADERS. 
 
 of the head of a family. It is the right and the 
 duty of the head of a household to lead its mem- 
 bers in devotions when they gather for common 
 prayer. If two or more families are together, 
 then the head of one would lead the worship of 
 the families. There might be friends and neigh- 
 bors present. It would then in a way cease to be 
 the worship of a family : it would be a small con- 
 gregation of Christian people assembled for com- 
 mon prayer. If a Priest or a Deacon were pres- 
 ent, he would naturally lead the worship. If there 
 were none such present, then it would be the rec- 
 ognized right of any man, selected by the others, 
 to act as Reader, using the Book of Common 
 Prayer, omitting, of course, those portions which 
 can be said by the Priest alone. 
 
 All over this land, among scattered families 
 and in small communities, the above has been the 
 practice among Churchmen, as it is to-day. There 
 have always been laymen acting as Readers, upon 
 whom necessity has thrust the office. The head 
 of a family has had a " Church in the house," 
 beginning with his own, and gradually including 
 friends and neighbors, who followed the " old 
 paths." The work of such men has often been 
 the means of keeping alive in the hearts of scat- 
 tered Church folk love and loyalty to their Spirit- 
 ual Mother. Hundreds of parishes and missions 
 
UNORGANIZED WORK OF LA Y READERS. 29 
 
 owe their foundation to just such work, for the 
 Reader instinctively, as a Churchman, has com- 
 municated the knowledge of his efforts as soon as 
 possible to the nearest clergyman, or to the Bishop, 
 and the work has then received the tacit or ex- 
 pressed sanction of those in authority. 
 
 In the American Colonies there is abundant evi- 
 dence to show that Churchmen read service for 
 their own households or for collected families, and 
 that where there were many they chose one among 
 themselves to act as Reader. 
 
 In the earliest days of Jamestown, Va., when 
 death took away the faithful Priest, the Rev. Rob- 
 ert Hunt, the colonists selected one of their num- 
 ber, who read the daily prayers, with a sermon on 
 Sundays. This was continued until a clergyman 
 was sent from England. 
 
 When John Morton settled at Quincy, Mass., in 
 1623, he attempted to keep up the style of an 
 English squire. He gathered his family and his 
 thirty servants for daily prayers, on Sunday was 
 their Reader, and Christmas day was celebrated 
 with great festivity. But such doings could not 
 be tolerated by the Puritans, and so John Endi- 
 cott, of Boston, visited him, and the result was 
 that Morton was fined for " ungodly speech." 
 
 Refusing to pay, he was imprisoned and then 
 sent back to England, his offences being stated as 
 
30 LAY READERS. 
 
 two : being of a gay humor, and using the Book of 
 Common Prayer. Poor Morton wrote an account 
 of his treatment, stating, among other things, that 
 there were to be found in New England " two sets 
 of people, Christians and heathens, and these last 
 more friendly and full of humanity." When he 
 returned to settle his estate he was imprisoned. 
 Broken in health and spirits by such discipline, he 
 died shortly afterwards. 1 
 
 In Salem two brothers, named Brown, who de- 
 clined as far as they were concerned to deny by 
 their actions the declaration of the original com- 
 pany that they " were not Separatists from the 
 Church of England," were accustomed to gather 
 their household for the daily prayers. When they 
 ventured to read the Book of Common Prayer in 
 a company of a few friends and neighbors who 
 began to meet with them, Mr. Endicott had them 
 appear before him and the " ministers " to answer 
 for their offence. The brothers defended them- 
 selves too ably. They reminded their judges of 
 the declaration made so short a time before, that 
 they had no idea of separating from the Church 
 of England. They said that as the Prayer Book 
 was the Word of God or the words of godly men, 
 it could not be called corrupt. But the result 
 was, they were told that " New England was no 
 
 1 McConnell's History of the American Episcopal Church, p. 37. 
 
UNORGANIZED WORK OF LA Y READERS. 3 1 
 
 place for such as they," and they were ordered to 
 return to England, losing their share in the colonial 
 venture. 1 
 
 In New York, Colonel Heathcote, one of the 
 founders of Trinity parish (1697), issued orders to 
 the militia, over which he had command, requir- 
 ing the captains to read to their men his orders 
 in regard to keeping Sunday : " That in case they 
 would not agree among themselves to appoint Lay 
 Readers, and observe Sunday as best they could, 
 he would call them under arms and make them 
 spend the day in drill." He took this course to 
 correct the manner in which the Lord's Day was 
 passed in New York. 2 
 
 In Philadelphia, in 1680, George Keith, a con- 
 vert from the Society of Friends, gathered people 
 together and served them as Reader until a clergy- 
 man was sent from England who organized this 
 congregation, and founded Christ Church. 3 Keith 
 himself went to England, received Holy Orders, 
 and returned as one of the first missionaries of the 
 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. 
 
 The need of more clergy in Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia led to the employment of Lay Readers in 
 those colonies. 
 
 1 McConnell's History, p. 38. 
 
 2 Van Antwerp's Church History, vol. in., p. 328. 
 3/4/V/., p. 333. 
 
32 LAY READERS. 
 
 In 1702 there received the royal assent a law 
 passed by the Assembly of Maryland in regard to 
 this matter. It provided that " a sober and dis- 
 creet person might serve as Lay Reader, in the 
 case of there being no incumbent, who should be 
 approved by the Ordinary, and to whose use a 
 portion of the ministerial tobacco might be ap- 
 plied." The licensed Lay Reader, on taking oaths, 
 was permitted to " read Divine Service, Homilies, 
 and such other good authors of practical divinity 
 as shall be appointed." 1 
 
 It appears that this permission led to abuses in 
 the Church. This is shown by the condition of 
 Virginia in regard to. clergy. In a letter written 
 by Morgan Godwyn, of Christ Church, Oxford, 
 who had spent some years in Virginia, are the 
 words : " There being no law obliging the Vestries 
 to any more than procure a Lay Reader (to be 
 obtained at a very moderate rate), they either re- 
 solve to have no clergy at all, or reduce them to 
 their own terms, pay them what they please, and 
 discard them when they please. . . . Two thirds of 
 the preachers are made up of Readers, lay Priests 
 of the Vestries' ordination, and are both the shame 
 and the grief of the rightly ordained clergy." 
 
 1 Bishop Perry's History of the American Episcopal Church, 
 vol. i., pp. 143, 144. 
 
 2 Ibid. t p. 240. 
 
UNORGANIZED WORK OF LAY READERS. 33 
 
 This shows the necessity of the language of the 
 present Canon regulating Lay Readers : " But such 
 license shall not be granted for conducting the ser- 
 vice in a congregation without a minister, which 
 is able, and has had reasonable opportunity, to 
 secure the services of an ordained minister." 1 
 
 In 1743 the people of New Milford and New 
 Fairfield, Conn., met together on Sundays, and 
 one of their number read some parts of the Book 
 of Common Prayer and a sermon ; but " the Inde- 
 pendents, to suppress this design in its infancy, 
 prosecuted and fined them for it." 2 
 
 In the history of the Church in the United 
 States there are two general periods of Readers' 
 work. The first is what may be called the period 
 of desultory, individual action. It was the time 
 during which laymen often took the office upon 
 themselves, or when a clergyman called upon ahy 
 man he judged fit to read the service. The second 
 period is that of action under Canon law and 
 under written license from the Bishop. 
 
 The writer knows from Churchmen now living, 
 that in the first part of this century the gen- 
 eral custom was such as is outlined in a letter to 
 
 1 This clause was inserted in 1883. The employment of theo- 
 logical students by congregations able to support a clergyman led 
 to its enactment. 
 
 2 Bishop Perry's History, vol. i., p. 298. 
 
34 LA Y READERS. 
 
 him from an aged clergyman of the Diocese of 
 Maryland. He says : " Fifty years ago the clergy 
 called upon any fit man, sober-minded, with proper 
 gifts, to conduct services in places where people 
 could be gathered together to worship God accord- 
 ing to the Book of Common Prayer. Before I 
 became a candidate for Holy Orders, I frequently 
 read service at the request of different clergymen, 
 and I never was a licensed Lay Reader." 
 
 One example will illustrate the custom in regard 
 to Readers in small towns and villages. In 1811 
 William Osborn, in company with other Connect- 
 icut Churchmen, settled near Paris, in what is now 
 the Diocese of Central New York. The parish 
 organized at that point is the oldest within the 
 present Diocese. When a boy, John Osborn, the 
 son of William, often heard old men say, with 
 pride, that never since the church was built had 
 the service on Sunday been omitted. In 1844, 
 when the congregation assembled one day, there 
 arose an emergency, owing to the unexpected ab- 
 sence of the clergyman. On that Sunday there 
 was no one present in the church who had ever 
 read the service in public. The Vestrymen asked 
 one after another to act as Reader, but no one was 
 willing to undertake the office. John Osborn, our 
 informant, then sixteen years of age, heard an old 
 man say sadly, that if they went to their homes 
 
UNORGANIZED WORK OF LAY READERS. 35 
 
 without the prayers, it would be the first time it 
 had ever occurred in the parish. The thought of 
 this touched the heart of the boy so deeply that 
 he offered to read the service himself, if the rest 
 thought he could do it His seniors encouraged 
 him to try, and young Osborn read the Morning 
 Prayer and Litany. For forty years after that, as 
 occasion demanded, he performed the functions of 
 a Reader in that parish and neighborhood. 
 
 From the Atlantic to the Pacific, before the day 
 of systematic lay effort, Readers founded parishes, 
 kept churches open, and as pioneers prepared the 
 way for the coming of a Priest. Here are a few 
 illustrations. Bishop Tuttle, in a letter to the 
 writer, says : " The church of my native town, 
 Windham, N. Y., was started by Samuel Gunn, 
 a famous Lay Reader of the early part of this 
 century." One of the strongest parishes in Mis- 
 souri, Grace, at Kirkwood, " was begun and nur- 
 tured and ministered to, until its building was 
 erected, by Harry I. Bodley, a Lay Reader." 
 
 At Robin's Nest, 111., in Bishop Chase's day, a 
 Lay Reader read the service and sermons for years 
 at a time. When Bishop Tuttle was sent to the 
 Territories of the Rocky Mountains he found men 
 who had been acting as Readers. In the letter 
 from which an extract was quoted above, he gives 
 a picture of lay work, its difficulties, failures, and 
 
36 LA Y READERS. 
 
 successes, as it has been known in a measure all 
 over the West: " In the early days, in the mining 
 regions of Montana and Idaho, the men fit for Lay 
 Readers intellectually were not fit in character; 
 and those fit in character were not competent in 
 elocution and education. In Virginia City, Mont, 
 
 a clever Englishman, by name, attempted to 
 
 serve as Lay Reader before I reached the Terri- 
 tory (1867). But it was known that he drank 
 overmuch, and after holding services half a dozen 
 times, they ceased. Still, his were the first ser- 
 vices of the Prayer Book held in Montana, save 
 that here and there in every mining camp I found 
 that from the first some one had brought along a 
 Prayer Book in his gripsack, and that when a death 
 occurred he was called upon to read the Burial 
 Service. This was so much the custom as in a 
 striking way to prepare the path for the coming 
 of our regular services. 
 
 " After reaching Virginia City, I appointed the 
 teacher of the day-school, who was a Baptist, to 
 act as Lay Reader, to keep up the services until I 
 could secure a pastor for them, or return myself 
 to take charge. But after a few Sundays of trial 
 almost no one came, and he gave up. 
 
 " In two places in Utah (Plain City and Layton), 
 where a clergyman came to visit once a month, 
 two Englishmen acted as excellent and efficient 
 
UNORGANIZED WORK OF LAY READERS. 37 
 
 Lay Readers, holding services constantly. There 
 were godly men also who kept up Sunday-schools 
 in places, who, because of their timidity, I could 
 not prevail upon to hold lay services for adults. 
 In Silver City, Ida., a Mr. George Voss, a Cana- 
 dian Churchman, a carpenter, kept up a flourish- 
 ing Sunday-school, when no minister of any sort 
 lived in the place, and my yearly visit was all he 
 had to guide him." 
 
 The period of individual action began to close 
 in 1871, when the first Canon was passed in regard 
 to licensing Lay Readers other than candidates 
 for Holy Orders. The Canon was made necessary 
 by the increasing use of laymen in active work 
 for the Church, and the knowledge that this should 
 be done under proper regulations. Both the clergy 
 and laity began to have views in regard to lay 
 effort, which had previously not been held in any 
 large degree. 
 
 This can be shown in the words of a well-known 
 layman, William Cornwall, of Louisville, Ky. In 
 a letter before us he writes: " From 1858 to 1867, 
 in carrying a Bible-class at Christ Church through 
 the Lessons, Epistles, and Gospels, I came to the 
 conclusion that the destitute regions of the United 
 States could only be taught the true faith by 
 the use of Catechists, Readers, and Teachers and 
 Exhorters. To carry this into effect, I began 
 
38 LAY READERS. 
 
 work in this county eight miles by road from my 
 home." From 1867 Mr. Cornwall has continu- 
 ously for twenty-six years served that mission. 
 The population has changed, German Roman 
 Catholics have taken the place of American farm- 
 ers, but still, although seventy-nine years of age, 
 he holds service regularly in St. James's Mission 
 with its eighteen communicants. He says : " I will 
 continue my testimony to the American people, 
 that with the Prayer Book and lay work properly 
 guided, there is ample provision to teach and to 
 save this people. The clergy will be found near 
 the Lay Reader, willing and joyful to administer 
 the Holy Sacraments. The superficial ecstasies 
 of our day ought to be replaced and superseded 
 by the sublime paragraphs of the Catechism : What 
 is thy duty to God? What is thy duty towards 
 thy neighbor?" 
 
 The work done by Lay Readers, during the 
 greater part of this century, although most of it 
 was under some clergyman or had some recogni- 
 tion from the Bishop, was not always under super- 
 vision, or even expressed authority. 
 
 Since 1871 this has rapidly changed. There has 
 developed careful system in the issuing of licenses. 
 The tendency both of legislation and practice has 
 been to make the office of Reader one upon which 
 value is placed by those who hold commissions, 
 
UNORGANIZED WORK OF LAY READERS. 39 
 
 and to increase the estimation in which the congre- 
 gations hold their services. As in England, Read- 
 ers are in fact more and more looked upon as con- 
 stituting a minor order in the Church. There is 
 less disposition for a layman to take this office 
 upon himself, or for a parish Priest to set any suit- 
 able man to work, without first securing for him 
 a license from the Bishop. With this, the useful- 
 ness of the Reader and the estimation in which 
 his office is held have increased, and method and 
 organization have made his services more valu- 
 able. To understand how this has come about, it 
 will be necessary to know what the legislation of 
 the American Church has been with reference to 
 Lay Readers 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LEGISLATION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH CON- 
 CERNING LAY READERS. 
 
 THE writer is indebted to the Rev. William J. 
 Seabury, D.D., Professor of Ecclesiastical Polity 
 and Law in the General Theological Seminary, 
 New York, for much of this chapter, which relates 
 to the Canons and their changes. 
 
 In 1804 the Journal of the Church Convention 
 states that : " A proposed Canon concerning Lay 
 Readers was adopted and sent to the House of 
 Bishops, who returned it with their concurrence." 
 This Canon was as follows : 
 
 CANON X. 
 
 RESPECTING LAY READERS. 
 
 No Candidate for Holy Orders shall take upon him 
 to perform devotional service in any Church, but by 
 the permission of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority 
 of the State in which said Candidate may wish to per- 
 form such service. And it shall be the duty of the 
 Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority to limit and confine 
 4 o 
 
LEGISLATION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 41 
 
 . every such Candidate to such part or parts of the Com- 
 mon Prayer Book, to such dress, and to such stations 
 in the Church, as are appropriate only to Lay Readers ; 
 and also to point out what sermons or homilies he 
 shall or may read to his Congregation. And a noncon- 
 formity on the part of the Candidate to such restrictions 
 shall be deemed in all cases a disqualification for Holy 
 Orders. 
 
 It will be noticed that this Canon refers only to 
 candidates for Holy Orders; it was not until 1871 
 that the American Church took any official cog- 
 nizance of other Lay Readers. 
 
 In the collection of Canons " agreed on in the 
 several General Conventions of said Church, and 
 set forth with alterations and additions in General 
 Convention, 1808," is: 
 
 CANON XIX. 
 
 RESPECTING CANDIDATES FOR ORDERS WHO ARE LAY 
 READERS. 
 
 No Candidate for Holy Orders shall take upon him- 
 self to perform the service of the Church, but by the 
 license of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority of the 
 Diocese or State in which such Candidate may wish to 
 perform the service. And such Candidate shall submit 
 to all the regulations which the Bishop or Ecclesiastical 
 Authority may prescribe ; he shall not use the Absolu- 
 
42 LAY READERS. 
 
 tion nor Benediction ; he shall not assume the dress nor 
 the stations which are appropriate to Clergymen min- 
 istering in the Congregation, and shall officiate from 
 the desk only ; he shall conform to the directions of the 
 Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority, as to the sermons or 
 homilies to be read, nor shall any Lay Reader deliver 
 sermons of his own composition, nor, except in cases of 
 extraordinary emergency or very peculiar expediency, 
 perform any part of the service when a Clergyman is 
 present in the Congregation. 
 
 A nonconformity to this Canon shall be deemed in 
 all cases a disqualification for Holy Orders. 
 
 In the Journal of the House of Bishops for 1814 
 is this entry : 
 
 Friday morning, May 20, 1814, the following declara- 
 tion was proposed and agreed to : 
 
 " It having come to the knowledge of this House that 
 some doubts have arisen in certain districts in reference 
 to the sense of some of the provisions of the igth 
 Canon, they hold it expedient to make the following 
 declaration, to record it on their minutes, and to com- 
 municate it to the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies. 
 
 " So far as concerns regulations in reference to the 
 place of officiating and to ministerial dress, the Bish- 
 ops suppose that the prohibitions of this Canon were 
 grounded merely on the propriety of guarding against 
 popular mistakes, which might otherwise rank among 
 the number of the Clergy a person not ordained. 
 
- LEGISLA TION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 43 
 
 " Accordingly they conceive that the design of this 
 Canon reaches every circumstance of position and dress 
 which the customs of the Church and the habits of social 
 life may render liable to misconception in the premises. 
 On this ground the House of Bishops consider it as con- 
 trary to the design of the Canon for Candidates to read 
 sermons from the places usually considered as appro- 
 priated to ordained Ministers, or to appear in bands or 
 gowns or surplices." 
 
 This may throw some light on the Canon as it 
 now is. Dr. Seabury says, in a pamphlet prepared 
 by him as a guide to those seeking Holy Orders : 
 " The present Canon unhappily ignores the ques- 
 tion of position. The rule of interpretation as to 
 the prohibition of any particular dress is the like- 
 lihood of its being mistaken, under the custom 
 of the Church and the habits of social life, for the 
 dress of a clergyman. At the present day there 
 are other vestments which, to the custom of the 
 Church and the habits of social life, are not wholly 
 unknown, and these by parity of reasoning come 
 within the same category. But reasoning in the 
 other direction, it would seem permitted by the 
 Canon that the Lay Reader should wear any proper 
 dress which the congregation would have no diffi- 
 culty in distinguishing from those which, accord- 
 ing to the custom of the Church and the habits of 
 social life, were appropriate to the clergy." 
 
44 1 >' READERS. 
 
 In the revision of 1832, the Canon of 1804 
 amended in 1808 was submitted as Canon 22, 
 with no change proposed except the omission of 
 the last clause, beginning, " A nonconformity to 
 this Canon," etc. As finally adopted in 1832, the 
 Canon is numbered I i,and is the same as Canon 19 
 of 1808 down to the words, "license from the 
 Bishop " ; after which, for the words " or Ecclesi- 
 astical Authority " are substituted the words " or 
 if there be no Bishop, the clerical members of the 
 Standing Committee of the Diocese in which such 
 Candidates may wish to perform the service " ; and 
 the substitution of the words "or said clerical mem- 
 bers " in the two other places where the Canon of 
 1808 read "Ecclesiastical Authority." 
 
 The Canon remained the same, with one slight 
 change, to 1871. In 1868 the Canon was Title I., 
 Canon 3, Sec. 1 1 ; the words " and shall officiate 
 from the desk only " do not appear. 
 
 It is interesting to note that in the Digest of 
 Canons of the General Council of the Church in 
 the Confederate States in 1863, Canon n is en- 
 titled, " Regulations Respecting the Laity " ; and 
 Sec. 3 of this Canon reads : " Persons desiring to 
 act habitually as Lay Readers may do so with the 
 consent of the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Dio- 
 cese in which they are thus to read." 
 
 In the Digest of 1871, Title I., Canon 9, of " Lay 
 
LEGISLA TION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 45 
 
 Readers " is the basis of the present Canon. It 
 reads : 
 
 I. A Lay Communicant of this Church may receive 
 from the Bishop a written license to conduct the ser- 
 vice of the Church in a Congregation convened for pub- 
 lic worship, as a Lay Reader. 
 
 II. ( i ) Such appointment may be made by the Bishop 
 of his own motion, for service in any vacant Parish, Con- 
 gregation, or Mission. 
 
 (2) But where a Rector is in charge, his request and 
 recommendation must have been previously signified to 
 the Bishop. 
 
 III. (i) The Lay Reader so appointed shall be subject 
 to any regulations prescribed by the Bishop or Ecclesi- 
 astical Authority of the Diocese. 
 
 (2) He shall not use the Absolution nor the Benedic- 
 tion nor the Offices of the Church, except those for the 
 Burial of the Dead and the Visitation of the Sick and 
 of Prisoners, omitting in these last the Absolutions and 
 Benedictions. 
 
 (3) He shall not assume the dress appropriate to 
 Clergymen ministering in the Congregation. 
 
 (4) He shall conform to the direction of the Bishop as 
 to the Sermons or Homilies to be read ; or, in the absence 
 of such directions, if he is officiating in a Parish or Con- 
 gregation having a Rector, then of such Rector. 
 
 (5) He shall not deliver Sermons of his own compo- 
 sition. 
 
 (6) He shall not, except in case of emergency or pecul- 
 
46 LA Y READERS. 
 
 iar expediency, perform any part of the service when a 
 Clergyman is present. 
 
 IV. The license authorized by this Canon may be re- 
 voked at the discretion of the Ecclesiastical Authority. 
 
 This Canon remained unchanged until 1883. 
 At the General Convention of that year it was 
 considered necessary to amend it, so that it was 
 considerably enlarged and changed. With slight 
 amendments and one important omission, it reads 
 as at present : 
 
 I. A Lay Communicant of this Church may receive 
 from the Bishop a written license to conduct the ser- 
 vice of the Church in a Congregation convened for pub- 
 lic worship, as a Lay Reader ; but such license shall not 
 be granted for conducting the service in a Congregation 
 without a Minister, which is able, and has had reason- 
 able opportunity, -to secure the sen-ices of an ordained 
 Minister. Such license may be given by the Bishop, of 
 his own motion, for service in any vacant Parish, Con- 
 gregation, or Mission ; but where a Rector is in charge, 
 his request and recommendation must have been pre- 
 viously signified to the Bishop. Such license must be 
 given for a definite period not longer than one year from 
 its date ; but it may be renewed from time to time, by 
 the Bishop's endorsement to that effect. The license 
 of any Lay Reader may be revoked at the discretion of 
 the Ecclesiastical Authority. 
 
LEGISLA TION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 47 
 
 II. A Lay Reader so licensed shall not act as such in 
 any Diocese other than his own, unless he shall have 
 received another license from the Bishop of the Diocese 
 in which he desires to serve. If he be a student in any 
 Theological Seminary, he shall also obtain the permis- 
 sion of the presiding officer of such institution. 
 
 III. Every Lay Reader shall be subject to such regu- 
 lations as may be prescribed by the Ecclesiastical Author- 
 ity. In all matters relating to the conduct of the ser- 
 vice, and to the Sermons or Homilies to be read, he shall 
 conform to the directions of the Minister in charge of 
 the Parish, Congregation, or Mission in which he is serv- 
 ing, or, where there is no Minister in charge, to the direc- 
 tions of the Bishop. He shall not use the Absolution, 
 nor the Benediction, nor the Offices of the Church, ex- 
 cept those for the Burial of the Dead and for Visitation 
 of the Sick and of Prisoners, omitting in these last the 
 Absolutions and Benedictions. He shall not deliver 
 Sermons of his own composition, but he may deliver 
 addresses, instructions, and exhortations 1 in vacant 
 Parishes, Congregations, or Missions, if he be specially 
 licensed thereto by the Bishop. He shall not assume 
 the dress appropriate to Clergymen ministering in the 
 Congregation. 2 (He shall not without urgent reason 
 read any part of the service, except the Lessons, when 
 a Clergyman is present. This Canon shall not prevent 
 
 1 The words " as a Catechist " are in this place as the Canon 
 now stands. 
 
 2 The remainder was omitted in 1886. 
 
48 LA Y READERS. 
 
 students in any college or seminary from reading such 
 parts of the Chapel Services as may be assigned to them 
 from time to time by the Presiding Officer.) 
 
 In 1886 the Diocese of Kentucky and the Mis- 
 sionary Jurisdictions of Colorado, Oregon, and 
 Washington presented memorials to the General 
 Convention, each calling for a larger use of Read- 
 ers. That of Kentucky asks for legislation for 
 what are called in England, in the directions of 
 Bishops to Readers, " extra services," where the 
 use of the full services of the Prayer Book are not 
 possible. It calls attention to the loss the Church 
 undergoes from the fact that laymen moving to 
 country places are deprived of any care of the 
 Church. 
 
 That of Colorado points out that there was a 
 distinct order of Readers in the early Church, and 
 that it is desirable to place the office on a perma- 
 nent footing. The memorial is accompanied by a 
 suggestion for a Canon. Its main features are : 
 
 1. Bishops shall examine, license, and admit by 
 proper service fit men as Readers. If possible, 
 at least one shall be assigned to every parish, etc. 
 
 2. Qualifications : Communicants at least twenty- 
 three years of age. 3. Duties : to assist the clergy 
 and to hold services in places where there are none. 
 4. As to what parts of the Prayer Book he can 
 
LEG I SLA TION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 49 
 
 use. 5. His dress is defined as a short surplice 
 over a cassock, or a long, plain surplice, without 
 any stole, etc. 6. The Reader may be appointed 
 for life, the Bishop having power to revoke the 
 license. 
 
 It suggested that Readers might be transferred 
 from one Diocese to another, and that if a Reader 
 filled his office worthily for three years he might 
 be made a Perpetual Deacon. 
 
 The memorials from Oregon and Washington 
 called for a revival of the office of Reader. 
 
 The Committee on Canons, having considered 
 all these memorials presented, reported that its 
 members were of the opinion that the Canon as 
 it stood covered all the legislation needed in the 
 premises. 
 
 The Canon appears in the Digest of 1886 with 
 two amendments. After " addresses, instructions, 
 and exhortations " are inserted the words " as 
 a catechist." What is very important, however, 
 is the omission of the entire clause beginning, 
 " He shall not without urgent reason read any 
 part of the service, except the Lessons, when a 
 Clergyman is present," to the end. 
 
 The Canon has not been amended since 1886. 
 In the Digest of 1892 it becomes Title L, Canon 12. 
 
 It may be said that in several matters the Can- 
 on lacks definiteness. Provision is made for the 
 
50 LAY READERS. 
 
 licensing of a Lay Reader to conduct the service 
 of the Church, and then it forbids him to use the 
 Offices of the Church except certain ones named. 
 
 Dr. Seabury says that, strictly construed, the 
 Canon forbids the Lay Reader to use any service 
 in the Prayer Book except those for the Burial of 
 the Dead and for the Visitation of the Sick and 
 Prisoners. These services are no more Offices 
 than is Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer. In 
 fact, no service is called an Office in the Prayer 
 Book but that for the Institution of Ministers. 
 Common practice is on the presumption, that, ac- 
 cording to usage when the Canon was enacted, 
 the term "Service of the Church" referred to 
 Morning and Evening Prayer, the Litany, and 
 what is sometimes called the Ante-Communion 
 Service, or a combination of two or more of these. 
 A grave consideration is that under the term "Ser- 
 vice of the Church " is included the Order for Holy 
 Communion, so that, except as interpreted by usage 
 and principle, a Lay Reader would be free to use 
 all of it except the Absolution and Benediction. 
 
 Further consideration of the provisions of the 
 Canon come later on, under various headings. 
 
 The unorganized work of Readers since 1871 
 has been of the same general character as that 
 already outlined. The advance has been that the 
 
LEGISLA TION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 5 I 
 
 licensed Reader has felt himself to be a commis- 
 sioned officer of the Church, and has been given 
 enlarged opportunities for work. 
 
 There have been still, Wardens and others, who 
 have kept Church buildings from being closed, as 
 the writer's own Senior Warden did in San Diego 
 for five years between 1870 and 1880. There has 
 been still, the laying of foundations, the working 
 in isolated missions. 
 
 Perhaps the best example of individual work 
 which has come to the writer's knowledge is that 
 done by Major F. S. Earle, now residing in Cali- 
 fornia. We give it as an illustration of what a 
 layman can do. He has since 1871 acted as a 
 licensed Reader in five Dioceses, and has been in- 
 strumental in founding two parishes and in erect- 
 ing four Church edifices. In this his wife has 
 been of invaluable assistance, as is known to many 
 Bishops and Priests now living. At one time, 
 when living in Arizona, and holding a license from 
 Bishop Dunlop, he was the only man in that vast 
 Territory who was recognized by the Bishop as 
 authorized to conduct the services of the Church. 
 There was no clergyman living in the Territory. 
 
 To illustrate the emergencies arising in isolated 
 places, one Easter- day, while living at Tombstone, 
 Ariz., when the church was decorated and the 
 music prepared for as joyous a service as could be 
 
52 LAY READERS. 
 
 had without the Holy Eucharist, Major Earle was 
 taken suddenly ill. The congregation assembled, 
 but no man in the church could be persuaded or 
 coaxed to read the service. Was Easter to pass 
 without any Prayer Book Service in Tombstone ? 
 No. Miss Miller, the sister of Mrs. Earle, said that 
 rather than send the people away (the church was 
 full) she would read the service herself, as much 
 as she shrank from doing it. And read it she did. 
 
 Speaking of women acting as Lay Readers, the 
 writer once had a visit from a devout woman who 
 lived in the mountains some fifty miles distant. 
 She had gathered together a few women and 
 children in her rough, godless neighborhood, she 
 said, and could she read to them Morning Prayer? 
 "Is there no man who can do it?" was asked. 
 " No, there is not a man that even believes in God." 
 The writer told her that in the absence of the 
 father the mother should read prayers for the 
 family, and if in her little family of believers in the 
 mountains there was no man who would lead in 
 the worship of God, she should certainly do what 
 she could herself. She read the Prayers for two 
 years, and did good to herself and her neighbors. 
 
 A Western Bishop says that two of his " Lay 
 Readers are women, giving all their time to it 
 and Sunday-school work, in small places where 
 the Priest comes once a month." 
 
LEGISLA TION IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 5 3 
 
 Although of course the Canon regulating Lay 
 Readers intends that the office shall be held by 
 men only, yet as it is worded, if strictly and verb- 
 ally construed, a woman could be licensed to act 
 in that capacity. The words are : " A Lay Com- 
 municant of the Church may receive from the 
 Bishop a written license to conduct the services of 
 the Church." 
 
 The Canon should be amended with statements 
 as to sex and age, etc. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 WORK FOR THE READER IN AMERICA THE 
 NEED AND THE RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 WE have traced in the foregoing pages the 
 development of a minor order in the Church. In 
 some respects the modern office of Reader is a re- 
 vival of the ancient Ecclesiastical Order; but in 
 reality it is the living organism of the Church, 
 adapting itself to the " varying needs of nations 
 and peoples called of God into the unity of His 
 Church." 
 
 " No National Church can meet its responsibili- 
 ties by working on the lines of a mere inheritance. 
 New problems are presented as civilization pro- 
 gresses. We need not shrink from the introduc- 
 tion of agencies supplemental to those with which 
 we are familiar. Ancient ones, long disused, may 
 be revived, and new ones will be devised where 
 precedents are not available. Only let all be 
 done within the limits of Canonical permission 
 and under the Bishop." 1 
 
 1 Bishop Lay's The Church in the Nation, Paddock Lectures, 
 1885, p. 140. 
 
 54 
 
WORK FOR THE READER IN AMERICA. 55 
 
 The Reader of the first centuries exercised his 
 office chiefly in reading the Holy Scriptures in the 
 Church. The Reader of to-day has become, by 
 natural growth, of far larger usefulness. At every 
 stage of the evolution of the office of Reader the 
 Anglican Church has recognized and directed its 
 growth within the proper lines. 
 
 We prefer the term " Reader " to " Lay Reader." 
 It was the ancient name. It is the word used in 
 England in licenses and reports. We think it 
 would be well to use the term " Lay Reader" in 
 the case of a layman being called upon to read 
 in emergency, and that the layman who holds a 
 license be spoken of as a Reader. 
 
 The Lay Reader in the United States during 
 the first part of this century was a layman exer- 
 cising his right to read the service of the Prayer 
 Book in the worship of the family, whether of his 
 own household alone, or with added friends and 
 neighbors, gathering as a portion of the family of 
 God for devotions. The Reader of to-day is a 
 layman formally admitted by the Bishop, either 
 by a license and service, or by license alone, into 
 an order of men recognized by Canon Law, and 
 with functions defined. 
 
 There is nothing in the ancient Church which 
 exactly corresponds to the office as it exists now. 
 While men have been talking about restoring minor 
 
56 LAY READERS. 
 
 orders in the Church, one has naturally and health- 
 fully grown up with powers and possibilities which 
 no ancient one possessed. 
 
 And yet there has been no encroachment upon 
 the functions of the priesthood, nor is there any 
 desire nor any probability that there will be any 
 such encroachment. Readers are laymen, but 
 the diffused latent priesthood of the laity is being 
 manifested, to the glory of God and the good of 
 His Church. 
 
 The Church has suffered because this priesthood 
 has not been exercised. Moberly, in his Admin- 
 istration of the Spirit (Brampton Lectures, 1868), 
 has some fine passages on this point : " Both sides 
 have suffered, the clergy much, but the laity 
 much more. For the responsibility, which in- 
 deed belongs to all alike in their respective places 
 and degrees, is thrown, as if it were a professional 
 burden, or privilege, or interest, or craft, upon the 
 clergy ; and so the lay people are taught to think 
 themselves free outside of the sacred framework 
 of the Spirit-bearing Church, and therefore outside 
 (except so far as out of their own free bounty and 
 personal activity they volunteer to do work not 
 their own) of all the gracious and spiritual labors 
 of the Spirit-bearing Church, forgetting that, ac- 
 cording to the Apostle, ' all the body by joints 
 and bands having nourishment ministered, and 
 
WORK FOR THE READER IN AMERICA. 57 
 
 knit together, must increase with the increase of 
 God.' It is the truer doctrine of the collective 
 priesthood of the entire body of Christ, with its 
 diffused responsibility, in a multitude of ways es- 
 sential to its being and well-being, and helpful and 
 subsidiary to its exercise ; such doctrine might, by 
 the blessing of God, tend to check extravagance 
 of one-sided doctrine on either side, and fall in 
 helpfully to aid in the settlement of various im- 
 portant questions, which, as the life of the Church 
 develops itself under new and ever- varying condi- 
 tions, in one country after another, are continually 
 arising and pressing for solution." 
 
 The question which is pressing for solution in 
 this country is : How can the Church carry the 
 Gospel of the Kingdom to the indifferent and 
 wicked in the cities, and into country districts 
 either wholly neglected or under a preaching 
 whose one burden is the necessity " of getting re- 
 ligion," or becoming a Christian by undergoing a 
 certain " experience " ? The people of the United 
 States need the teaching and training and worship 
 of this branch of the Holy Catholic Church. 
 
 The late Judge Sheffey, of Virginia, who will 
 not be accused of having a too exalted idea of this, 
 once wrote : " I believe this Church is the power 
 ordained of God for the conservation of religion 
 and the stability of public virtue on this continent." 
 
58 LAY READERS. 
 
 We believe this, and more: we believe that it 
 is that portion of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic 
 Church which has mission and jurisdiction in these 
 United States of America. She has a message to 
 every baptized person as a member of the Church 
 of Jesus Christ, calling him in love into the unity 
 of the Body of Christ, that the world may know 
 that He is of God. She has a message as well to all 
 who have not been born of water and of the Spirit, 
 calling them to repentance and Holy Baptism. 
 
 If we look at the map of any State, and at the 
 same time have before us a Church almanac with 
 a list of the parishes in a Diocese, we shall see 
 that the greater part of the active work of the 
 Church is in the larger towns. It is a lamentable 
 fact that outside of a few of the older Dioceses 
 the Church is unknown in the country districts and 
 small towns and villages. 
 
 It is a fact, also, that in many portions of the 
 United States the majority of people living in the 
 country do not attend religious services of any- 
 kind. In the State of Maine a canvass by the 
 Bible Society revealed the fact that in some coun- 
 ties from sixty to seventy per cent, of the people 
 attended no religious service. 
 
 One well qualified to know 1 says of these: 
 "They have not deliberately abandoned the 
 
 1 The Rev. Walker Gwynne, in The Churchman, July 30, 1892. 
 
WORK FOR THE READER IN AMERICA. 59 
 
 Christian Faith or rejected it. They have had, 
 for the most part, no fair chance of accepting it. 
 It has come to them in vagueness and in baldness, 
 or else in much irreverence or even grotesqueness. 
 It has not come as the Apostolic Church of Christ 
 alone can bring it." 
 
 In mentioning what the Church has for these 
 people, he says : " We Churchmen hold the rem- 
 edy in our hands. God has entrusted these things 
 to us not for our own use merely, not for our 
 own selfish ends, but for the good of all who are 
 within our reach or influence." 
 
 If the Church has a work in Maine and New 
 England, where in the country there are meeting- 
 houses, even more has she a work in large portions 
 of the land, where, outside of the towns and large 
 villages, there are often no places of worship at all. 
 If, with its meeting-houses, a college president can 
 write an article upon " The Impending Paganism 
 of New England," what could be written of some 
 other parts of the country? What work lies 
 around parishes in the West and South? 
 
 There are signs everywhere that Churchmen 
 are awakening to a sense of responsibility in this 
 matter. It is also becoming clear to the minds of 
 those who have this sense of responsibility, that if 
 the Church is to be carried to desolate places, the 
 laity must be enlisted in the work. 
 
60 LA Y READERS. 
 
 No agency has been so powerful in awakening 
 a sense of individual responsibility among the laity 
 as the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. Mr. Lewis 
 Stockton, a Brotherhood man, and the secretary of 
 the Executive Committee of the Laymen's Mis- 
 sionary League of Buffalo, gives voice to this 
 sense of duty in a recent address. He says: 
 " If we speak the truth when we declare our 
 belief in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic 
 Branch of the Church in these United States, how 
 can we dare to rest until there is an organization 
 in every village? Is the financial inability of the 
 people to support services any reason for neglect? 
 Plainly not. Who is to do the work ? The Bishop, 
 acting through his lay helpers. What gives nu- 
 merical superiority to certain religious bodies in 
 this country? They use their laity. What has 
 kept back the Church? Neglecting to use faith- 
 ful laymen. They can be made efficient laborers 
 in the Vineyard, to their own souls' good, and the 
 extension of the Church. What parishes are in 
 the most healthy condition? Those in which the 
 laity are urged to work ; those in which the laity 
 recognize their responsibility and do their duty." 
 
 Parochialism, which produces practical Congre- 
 gationalism and hinders the work of the Church, 
 must die before such a spirit as this. And the 
 sooner it is dead the better for all concerned. 
 
WORK FOR THE READER IN AMERICA. 6 1 
 
 There being this sense of responsibility growing 
 in the Church, and the recognition by those in 
 authority that much of the work which belongs to 
 her, if done at all, must be done by laymen, and 
 further, there having been legislation under whose 
 provisions laymen can be used as Readers and 
 Evangelists, it remains to be seen what is being 
 done, in what ways the Church has been moved 
 to organize laymen for aggressive work. 
 
 However much has been done by individual 
 effort, as in war so in the work for the Church, 
 " conflicts are to be in the future won, and the 
 fates of campaigns and nations decided, not by 
 untrained guerrilla soldiers, however brave and 
 numerous, but by disciplined, organized men cen- 
 tred on an effort." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 
 
 As we have seen, the Lay Reader has had no 
 small part in establishing and fostering the Church 
 in the United States. But important as his service 
 has been, a vastly extended work lies before him. 
 If the Gospel of the Kingdom is to be carried to 
 the people of this land, to the wicked and neg- 
 ligent in cities, and from centres out into small 
 towns and villages in the country at large, then it 
 is recognized by Bishops and others in authority 
 that a large part of the work must be done by 
 consecrated lay effort. 
 
 If the Bishop of Western New York cries from 
 his burdened heart, " What can an American Bishop 
 do without lay helpers?" we hear from the Juris- 
 diction of Olympia in the far Northwest, " If the 
 Church is to fulfil her mission in the new and 
 rapidly developing West, she must employ lay 
 help." East and West, North and South, this is 
 not only being recognized, but steps are being 
 taken to utilize the services of our laymen, in 
 
 62 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 63 
 
 extending and building up, under proper guidance, 
 the Church of Jesus Christ. 
 
 We cannot enlarge upon this subject. We 
 must go to the question before us: "What can 
 Lay Readers do in the aggressive missionary work 
 of the Church?" 
 
 Under Title L, Canon 12, of the Digest, there is 
 abundant scope for the employment of the needed 
 lay helpers, whether they are called Readers, Cat- 
 echists, or Lay Evangelists. If lay work is to be 
 effective there must be organization, and it must 
 proceed from strong centres outward. 
 
 That lay helpers can be organized, and that they 
 will work willingly and successfully under law and 
 authority, has been abundantly proven during the 
 past twenty- five years in England, and during the 
 past ten years in the United States. 
 
 In fourteen English Dioceses, associations of 
 Readers and other lay helpers are in successful 
 operation. That in the Diocese of London, organ- 
 ized in 1865, was the first. It now has 223 Read- 
 ers, with nearly 7000 other helpers. It was the 
 result of a resolution of a Committee on Lay 
 Agency, which stated : " It is desirable to organ- 
 ize in the Diocese of London a body of laymen 
 under the Bishop, to assist the clergy gratui- 
 tously." The report suggested that an Associa- 
 tion of Lay Helpers be formed, of which the Bishop 
 
64 LAY READERS. 
 
 "shall be president." There are now 25 deaner- 
 ies and 372 parishes connected with the Associa- 
 tion. In its annual report may be found particulars 
 of its organization and methods of work. 
 
 In the Official Year Book of the Church of 
 England can be found reports full of interesting 
 information respecting these fourteen Diocesan 
 Associations, each of which has many Readers 
 connected with it. 
 
 The Church in the United States cannot wisely 
 be content to merely copy foreign Lay Helpers' 
 Associations: the conditions are widely different 
 from those existing in England. The organized 
 work of Readers has in this country taken three 
 directions of development: Convocational, under 
 the Archdeacon, Dean, or General Missionary ; 
 Diocesan, directly under the Bishop; Parochial, 
 under the Rector. 
 
 But before giving an account of what has been 
 done under each method of organization, it will be 
 well to call to mind the fact that for many years 
 before the present movement for aggressive effort 
 by organized laymen, there has been systematic 
 work done by Readers from a central point, in 
 connection with the theological seminaries in this 
 country. A consideration of this will be helpful 
 in understanding what can be done by Readers 
 under conditions prevailing in America. 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 65 
 
 In the seminaries situated in large cities the 
 work of the students consists largely in supplying 
 vacancies, and in working in parishes under Rec- 
 tors. In the seminaries situated in smaller places, 
 the work of the men is more distinctly missionary 
 in its charactef. A few examples will illustrate 
 this. 
 
 Take the Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, 
 Conn. " The students have initiated and fostered 
 the work of the Church, making new centres for 
 church buildings, and developing into strength 
 old centres. The same is true with reference to 
 points more or less remote from Middletown. It 
 is a demonstration of what Lay Readers can ac- 
 complish when they have the especial interest 
 and application of candidates for Holy Orders. 
 Laymen not candidates, I believe, can be imbued 
 with a like spirit and absorption in the work, ex- 
 tending it from a parochial centre under the direc- 
 tion of a wise Rector. With proper precautions 
 against overwork, the laymen, too, will find, as I 
 think the students find, that a reasonable amount 
 of Sunday occupation is in itself a change and a 
 recreation from the routine duties of other -work." 
 
 What has been done from Middletown, as a cen- 
 tre, has been done on the same lines from every 
 seminary in the land. 
 
 l Letter from the Rt. Rev. William Ford Nichols, D.D. 
 
66 LA Y READERS. 
 
 James Lloyd Breck, in company with a student, 
 would take a tramp of fifteen to twenty miles to 
 hold service at some village or cross-roads. Within 
 six years of the founding of Nashotah (1841), eight 
 parishes had been established from that centre \ 
 and the majority of these, and others besides them, 
 have been maintained by the reverend professors 
 and the students from that day to this. 
 
 In a letter dated 1847, Dr. Breck mentions a 
 Lay Reader who had walked to a place twelve 
 miles distant, on nearly every Sunday for three 
 years. In the same letter he says that " seven- 
 teen stations " are on his hands, ministered to by 
 four Priests, three Deacons, and fifteen students. 
 One point was thirty miles distant. Three of the 
 first seven Deacons ever ordained west of the Great 
 Lakes became the pastors of the people whom they 
 had served as Lay Readers.- 
 
 In 1859, at Faribault, Dr. Breck had what he 
 calls an " itinerancy," twenty-five miles in each 
 direction from Seabury School. He and the stu- 
 dents travelled over it largely on foot, holding ser- 
 vices in rooms and schoolhouses. 3 
 
 Many of these places are still served by Lay 
 Readers from Faribault as a centre. 
 
 From Sewanee work has been done for years 
 
 i Life of Dr. Breck, p. 65. 2 ibid., p. 79. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 348. 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 67 
 
 among the peculiar people of the mountains of 
 Tennessee. 
 
 From St. Andrew's Divinity School, Syracuse, 
 N. Y., more than twenty Lay Readers go out for 
 Sunday work to surrounding stations which would 
 otherwise be unsupplied. Work of the same char- 
 acter goes on from the other divinity schools of 
 the Church. If laymen are interested and trained, 
 what is done from the seminaries as centres can be 
 done in a degree from parishes as centres. That 
 this is not a theory only, but is in practical opera- 
 tion, will be shown further on. 
 
 Work under the Convocational System. 
 
 This work has grown up naturally from existing 
 conditions and the means at disposal, combined 
 with the revival of ancient offices in the Church. 
 It is the Living Church adapting itself to the age 
 and country. The Bishop has many small places 
 far distant from a Church centre of any strength. 
 If regular services are to be maintained, it must be 
 through the use of a Reader. If several of these 
 points spring up near together, a Priest can be 
 sent, aided by the Diocesan Board of Missions. 
 In this case a Reader at each place will hold ser- 
 vice when the Priest is not there. But frequently 
 this is impossible because of distance. The need 
 
68 LA Y READERS. 
 
 of ministering to these scattered people is seen, the 
 Sacraments must be given to them. So, as soon 
 as it can be done, all the isolated places are given 
 in charge of a General Missionary, a Dean, or 
 Archdeacon, as the case may be. The work is 
 thus systematized and the Reader is under direct 
 oversight. In Iowa, in such cases the " Lay Read- 
 ers have entire charge of the local work under the 
 Archdeacon. They have built churches, gathered 
 congregations, ministered effectually in preparing 
 classes for confirmation, and have purchased to 
 themselves a good degree." In the Diocese of 
 Milwaukee the Archdeacon visits each place in 
 charge of a Reader regularly, for the administra- 
 tion of the Holy Communion. In Western Michi- 
 gan the " Lay Readers work in missions where 
 there are no resident clergy, and are visited at 
 stated periods by the General Missionary." In 
 Kansas " twenty Lay Readers maintain services 
 at isolated points which would otherwise be un- 
 provided for except by occasional visitation by the 
 Bishop or the Archdeacon." 
 
 In Georgia there is a Brotherhood of Readers 
 working under the Archdeacon from Atlanta as a 
 centre. The organization was effected towards the 
 middle of the year 1893. The men were prepared 
 for their duties by systematic drill and a course 
 of lectures. When ready they were admitted as 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 69 
 
 Readers at a special service, the Archdeacon pre- 
 senting them, and the Bishop giving them their 
 commissions. Meetings of the Brotherhood are 
 held weekly, when Evening Prayer is said. After 
 this, time is given over to the hearing of reports, 
 discussions, as to the work, and other business. 
 All charges in the archdeaconry are provided 
 with services from Atlanta as a centre, and rural 
 churches are rarely closed. 
 
 In South Dakota, when Bishop Hare arrived in 
 his Diocese in 1873, he surveyed the field and 
 " mapped it out into divisions, these divisions be- 
 ing ordinarily the territory connected with a United 
 States Indian Agency. The special care of each 
 was entrusted to one experienced Presbyter, and 
 around him were grouped the Indian ministers 
 and catechists and others engaged in evangelistic 
 work within his division. The assistants resided 
 near their several chapels, and monthly the chief 
 missionary was to make his visitation, for the pur- 
 pose of ministering the Word and Sacraments and 
 inspecting the condition of his field. The whole 
 field was soon in this way put in manageable 
 shape." 1 The remarkable success of the work is 
 known to the Church. 
 
 If during the past fifty years some system such 
 as this had been in operation, modified by local 
 
 1 Address by Bishop Hare, 1888. 
 
70 LA Y READERS. 
 
 conditions, it could scarcely now be possible to say, 
 as was recently, of a large Diocese, that in its west- 
 ern part, outside of its two principal cities, there 
 was no work of the Church in existence; or it 
 could scarcely be possible to say, as the Bishop 
 of a Diocese reported soon after his consecration, 
 that there were thirty places of from two to three 
 thousand inhabitants within his territory in which 
 there was no service of the Church. Now, of 
 course, it is most difficult to gain a foothold. 
 
 Organized Work Directly under the Diocesan. 
 
 The first definite step to transplant the lay help- 
 er's movement to this country was made by the 
 Bishop of Long Island. Without any publicity 
 or any written constitution, a few lay helpers 
 were gathered together and admitted by a sim- 
 ple service in church. In 1886, fourteen parishes 
 having joined the movement, organization was 
 effected. The machinery was simple. Members 
 were of three kinds : Lay Readers, Lay Helpers, 
 and Associates. In 1887 seven of the missions of 
 the Diocese were wholly or in part under the care 
 of the Association. As in all such movements, 
 there was early felt the need of systematic instruc- 
 tion for the Workers, and this was undertaken. 
 
 Of course there are difficulties which arise and 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 71 
 
 confront all such work. There is the fact that 
 laymen are constantly changing their place of 
 residence. There is not the settled abode of work- 
 ers which is found in larger degree in England. 
 Then there is the difficulty that the clergy chiefly 
 interested are apt to be called to other fields. 
 Again, organization for aggressive work by lay- 
 men is a new thing in the American Church, and 
 some parishes naturally hold back or decline to 
 cooperate. 
 
 For years the Association in Long Island did 
 good work, but what is most interesting, it was 
 the parent of other organizations. 
 
 The Pittsburg Laymen's Missionary League. 
 
 In March, 1 886, a Priest who was most intimately 
 concerned in the Long Island Association wrote to 
 Bishop Whitehead in reply to his inquiries : " I am 
 earnestly anxious to see the movement for organ- 
 ized lay work extended in America. Lay help 
 is not as effectively developed in this country as 
 it might be. One main feature here is that the 
 whole thing is under the Bishop. Simplicity and 
 flexibility have been objects of our organization. 
 It is hoped more and more to raise up volunteers 
 to engage in Diocesan missionary work in starting 
 new missions, and in aiding weak missions." 
 
72 LAY READERS. 
 
 was seen that " the organization of which we now 
 speak will necessarily be confined to a See city." 
 
 In February, 1889, Bishop Whitehead organized 
 the Laymen's Missionary League of Pittsburg. 
 The Bishop saw work all around him, in the sub- 
 urbs and adjacent towns. It was impossible to 
 secure clergy to reach even a small number of the 
 places where the Church should be carried. The 
 Convocational system was impracticable. 
 
 The scheme of work adopted was something 
 like that of the Lay Evangelists' Association of 
 the Deanery of Auckland, in the Diocese of Dur- 
 ham, England. The preamble of the constitution 
 will show the motive and purpose of the League : 
 
 Whereas, our lot has been cast in a large city where 
 multitudes have need of the administration of the Gos- 
 pel, and God has put it into our hearts to endeavor to 
 do some work for the upbuilding of Christ's Kingdom, 
 we the undersigned, conscious of our privilege and duty 
 as members of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Pitts- 
 burg and vicinity, hereby associate ourselves for the pur- 
 pose of extending the knowledge of the truth as the 
 Lord hath revealed it, and as this Church accepts and 
 proclaims the same. 
 
 The development of the work of the League is 
 one of deep interest. Five missions were organ- 
 ized and one other, already established, was taken 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 73 
 
 in charge. The yearly reports beginning with 
 1889-90 have, throughout, the ring of manly effort 
 and earnest hopefulness. The last report gives six 
 missions in the care of the League, and several 
 others points where services have been held from 
 time to time. 
 
 In the six missions there are now 129 families, 
 20 1 communicants, 350 Sunday-school scholars. 
 In three years there were 120 baptisms, and 121 
 persons received Confirmation. Most of the peo- 
 ple included in the above had been rescued from 
 indifference and neglect of religion. Many were 
 the Church's own children baptized in England or 
 in our own parishes. "The work of the League 
 revived their Christian life and their Church love." 1 
 
 From the first the chaplain of the League had 
 been assisted by other clergy in administering the 
 Sacraments. 
 
 In two years the property acquired and money 
 on hand for building purposes amounted to a total 
 of $7800. The work for the year ending Febru- 
 ary, 1893, including the salary of the chaplain, 
 the travelling expenses of the Evangelists and Lay 
 Readers, and the cost of printing, was only $1800. 
 There were at that time six Evangelists and four- 
 teen Lay Readers, and the call of the president 
 was for more men for new work. From the time 
 
 l Report, February, 1893. 
 
74 LA Y HEADERS. 
 
 of organization, need was felt for the systematic 
 instruction of the workers. The provision made 
 for this will be noted in another chapter. 
 
 The Laymen's Missionary League of Buffalo, N. Y. 
 
 Correspondence with the Pittsburg organization 
 resulted in the establishment of a Laymen's League 
 in Buffalo. On October 19, 1891, some fifty lay- 
 men met the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Western New 
 York, and adopted a constitution closely modelled 
 after that of Pittsburg, and work is conducted on 
 much the same lines. 1 
 
 The first report is a remarkable one. There are, 
 it says, 84 Honorary Members, 6 Helpers, 55 Lay 
 Readers. Within the year the services rendered 
 were as follows: Morning Prayer, 275; Evening 
 Prayer, 373; Litany, 293; Visitation of Prisoners, 
 50; Baptisms: adults, 17, infants, 18; confirmed, 
 21. There were n stations regularly supplied 
 with services, and 1 7 which had been occasionally 
 supplied, besides 8 institutions regularly visited by 
 members of the League, at which the services of 
 the Book of Common Prayer were used. All this 
 work was done at the small expense of $435.13. 
 There was felt at once the need of a Priest, whose 
 time should be wholly given to the work of the 
 
 1 See Appendix A for constitution. 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 75 
 
 League, rendering at the various missions those 
 offices without which the Reader's work is in- 
 complete. 
 
 There were three principal directions of work : 
 i. The establishment of new stations; 2. The 
 maintenance of services at disabled stations, and 
 filling vacancies ; 3. Work at institutions. 
 
 Several missions had acquired funds for a Church 
 building. The report shows on every page hope- 
 ful spirit and ardent faith. 
 
 The superintendent says : " It is not without 
 hope that in the plan which we trust the Holy 
 Spirit is unfolding in the organization and work 
 of the League there is to be something of a return 
 to the methods of the Primitive Church, a reap- 
 pearance of the minor orders of the ministry, and 
 the primitive effectiveness of aggressive work." 
 
 The second annual report has the same tone. 
 It tells of a church erected at one point, of four 
 new stations established, and of a Church Building 
 Fund well begun. It records the bringing of 24 to 
 Holy Baptism, and of 2 1 to Confirmation. It calls 
 attention to the economy of the work of Readers, 
 for the expenses of the League for the year were 
 but $434. 
 
 There is the record of generous self-sacrificing 
 labors. The need is expressed for 500 Readers 
 and Helpers, to establish and carry on work in 
 
76 LA Y READERS. 
 
 250 towns and villages in the deanery, where the 
 services of the Church are never held. In reply 
 to a Bishop who wrote asking what difficulties and 
 dangers had been met, the answer was returned 
 by an officer of the League, that the danger was 
 that men would prefer an easier way of serving 
 Christ and His Church, and the difficulty was to 
 get enough men and enough money. Further in- 
 formation in regard to these Leagues can of course 
 be obtained from their presidents. 
 
 In the examples given and in those which fol- 
 low, it must be borne in mind that all these move- 
 ments are yet in their infancy. They are not cited 
 because of their visible results, as much as to show 
 that work of organized Readers is practicable. All 
 of course have their own trials, difficulties, discour- 
 agements, and the results may not seem large; 
 but it is not the apparent success we desire to 
 emphasize, but the possibilities that lie beyond 
 these beginnings and ventures of faith. 
 
 /// Colonial Dioceses of tltc Church of England. 
 
 There are some conditions which are common 
 to new countries, and therefore the fact of the ex- 
 istence and successful conduct of Readers' Asso- 
 ciations in large, sparsely settled colonial Dioceses 
 may be useful to us in America. We select ex- 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 77 
 
 amples, and briefly note their chief points of 
 interest. 
 
 Australia has taught us something about the 
 use of the ballot, and is attracting attention by her 
 system of land transfer. We may learn something 
 from her in regard to Readers. 
 
 In the Diocese of Sydney there has been a Read- 
 ers' Association for eighteen years. It consists of : 
 I. Probationers; 2. Members; 3. Honorary Mem- 
 bers. There are two kinds of Readers, Diocesan 
 and Local. The Primate of Australia kindly sent 
 us the forms he uses for: i. Recommendation for 
 Reader; 2. The Declaration of the Reader ; 3. The 
 License. The clergy who avail themselves of the 
 services of a Reader must be Honorary Members. 
 The applicant is examined in such subjects as 
 the Bishop appoints, and if all is favorable he 
 is admitted as a probationer for six months. At 
 the end of that time he is examined again, and if 
 satisfactory is licensed. The Association is man- 
 aged by the Bishop as president, and a committee 
 of six clergymen and six laymen. The regula- 
 tions for Readers are definite, and deal not only 
 with what he may not do, but they prescribe his 
 position during the service as the prayer-desk, and 
 his dress as that of a chorister. 
 
 In the Year Book of the Diocese of Adelaide 
 there is the evidence of excellent work and busi- 
 
78 LAY READERS. 
 
 ness method throughout. There are 156 Read- 
 ers in the Diocese, and 65 clergy. The Readers' 
 Association has the Bishop as president, with two 
 vice-presidents, one a Priest and one a layman. 
 Its objects are : the formation of a library, arrange- 
 ment for lectures, and bringing the Readers into 
 closer union. The regulations require the Reader 
 to work under the minister of the parish, or if not 
 within a parish, then under the Archdeacon. The 
 form set forth by the Bishop for the admission of 
 Readers is one of the simplest and best we have 
 seen. 1 
 
 In the Diocese of Melbourne, with its 1 76 cler- 
 gymen, there are 298 Readers, 56 of whom are 
 Stipendiary, and 238 Honorary. Each of these 
 is nominated on a form provided for the purpose. 
 Those named first have to pass a preliminary 
 examination, conducted by one of the chaplains. 
 The man of this class really becomes a candidate 
 for Holy Orders. He must attend the annual 
 Christmas examinations, which last a week, and, 
 if practicable, those held at Trinity. The Priest 
 under whom he works sends each year to the 
 Bishop a report as to the character of the Reader, 
 and the progress he has made. The questions 
 on the blank form include: spirituality of mind, 
 temper; practical judgment and knowledge of the 
 
 1 See Appendix B for form. 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 79 
 
 world; deportment and manners; habits of self- 
 denial ; health and energy ; influence upon others ; 
 if married, are his wife and family such as will in- 
 crease or impair his influence (see I Tim. iii. 11, 
 12); whether he has incurred debts; ability as a 
 speaker ; diligence, wisdom, and affection as a vis- 
 itor ; punctuality ; whether he apportions his time 
 to leave opportunity for study; whether he wins 
 the personal confidence of people and secures 
 their help. 
 
 The subjects for examination consist of fourteen 
 studies, including the Greek Testament. This last, 
 however, is subject to dispensation. The course 
 of study continues for three years, but this term is 
 often exceeded. A few after trial are given to 
 understand that they cannot hope for ordination, 
 but if useful, they are retained in active work. 
 
 The stipend of the Reader is from 70 to i$o, 
 included in which is a grant from the Bishops' 
 Fund. 
 
 Many of the Honorary Readers are confined by 
 circumstances to parochial work, although it is 
 understood that a license is valid for the whole 
 Diocese. It has been found in Melbourne, as else- 
 where, by those employing lay help, that in a 
 country district it is not best to use an Honorary 
 Reader where he resides, except in emergency. 
 Our informant says : " This does not always apply, 
 
80 LA Y READERS. 
 
 but it does sufficiently to make it evident that 
 unless a man is specially qualified, his constant 
 residence in a locality, perhaps as a business man, 
 places him at a disadvantage, however unreason- 
 ably. As a consequence, even in districts fifty 
 miles from Melbourne, it is customary for the 
 clergy to secure help from the metropolis. In 
 districts farther afield, Honorary Readers are use- 
 fully employed in assisting the clergyman with his 
 out duty. The clergy most needing such help are 
 such as have a wide district, containing a central 
 church and several scattered churches and school- 
 houses. An Honorary Reader will take one, two, 
 or three services during the day in different direc- 
 tions, while the clergyman is similarly occupied 
 elsewhere. His travelling expenses are met; no 
 fee is admissible. 
 
 " Generally a clergyman needing this help tries 
 to form a plan of arrangements well in advance. 
 To meet this and cases of emergency an Associa- 
 tion has been formed with an honorary secretary 
 and a committee, who endeavor to supply the 
 needed help. A devoted man of leisure would 
 find ample scope for usefulness as unpaid secretary. 
 One important aspect of the system is that an 
 outlet is afforded within the Church for Christian 
 energy of a special kind." 
 
 During the conduct of service both Stipendiary 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 8 1 
 
 and Honorary Readers wear a surplice or cassock 
 and cotta. 
 
 Readers in Canada. 
 
 Taking the Dominion of Canada as a whole, 
 there is not, in proportion, the large use of Read- 
 ers which we find in the United States. But it is 
 evident, from the reports of eight Bishops, that 
 they believe in the value of lay work, and would 
 rejoice in its extension. Several of them refer to 
 the Brotherhood of St. Andrew in terms similar 
 to those used by the Bishop of Ontario, who 
 writes : " The Brotherhood of St. Andrew seems 
 likely to become a fruitful source of lay help of 
 every kind." 
 
 There are Provincial and Diocesan Canons as to 
 Lay Readers, and some Bishops admit men to 
 the office with a special form of service. Among 
 the Dioceses which give the number of licensed 
 Readers are the following: Niagara, 30; Nova 
 Scotia, about 30; Montreal, 31 ; Huron, 52; with 
 a few in the Missionary Dioceses of the Northwest, 
 and the large number of 66 in Rupert's Land. 
 
 Attempts have been made in several Dioceses 
 to organize Lay Helpers' Associations, but the 
 only one in active operation is that in the Diocese 
 of Huron. From the reports of this Association 
 we gather much of our information as to the work 
 
82 LAY READERS. 
 
 of Readers in Canada. There are in this organi- 
 zation 52 licensed Readers, and 87 not yet licensed. 
 
 It was felt for some time that the Canons of the 
 Province and Diocese " hardly covered the needs 
 of the Church, or the ordinary practice which 
 sprang up in regard to the utilization of lay 
 help." The Diocesan Synod has now, however, 
 made it possible for a Reader to work outside of 
 his parish ; " always provided that he can act in 
 no parish without the consent of the Incumbent." 
 It is believed that " a wide opportunity for use- 
 fulness is thus opened for the Lay Reader." 
 
 After a large correspondence, the Huron report 
 says: "'Laymen to the front' is evidently the call 
 all along the line among Anglican Churchmen in 
 the mother land, and the word is echoed back 
 from her distant colonies. At the same time, 
 there is everywhere manifested the conservative 
 spirit and wise supervision which characterize the 
 Anglican system." 
 
 If it seems to the reader that the movement 
 for organized lay helpers is slow in the United 
 States, it may be well to remember that after the 
 organization of the Association in London in 1 865 
 it was fifteen years before another was started in 
 England. Already in this country other cities 
 are moving. Associations have been formed at 
 
THE READER AND ORGANIZED WORK. 83 
 
 Detroit and Rochester, and Churchmen in Fall 
 River, Toledo, St. Paul, and elsewhere are inquir- 
 ing, or preparing to organize. 
 
 But while the examples given of Readers' Asso- 
 ciations in America illustrate what can be done in 
 convocations or from large cities and directly under 
 the Bishop, the question will naturally arise, What 
 can be done in working from strong parishes in 
 country towns ? Since this has had practical illus- 
 tration in places wide apart, and because it is a 
 subject of vital importance to the spread of the 
 Gospel of the Kingdom in the country places of 
 this land, we will present it in a separate chapter. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE WORK OF READERS FROM THE PARISH 
 AS A CENTRE. 
 
 DURING the seventies the writer lived some 
 years in the country, ten miles from a large town, 
 in a State situated in the Mississippi Valley. 
 
 There was no religious service held for ten miles 
 in any direction, although the population was by 
 no means sparse. One or two Sunday-schools 
 were started, but soon died out. The only people 
 who ever went to a place of worship were some 
 Roman Catholics who drove into town to attend 
 church. Except the children of the Roman Catho- 
 lics and those of two Lutheran families, none were 
 baptized. In one public school of forty children, 
 four had been baptized. 
 
 The people would have welcomed religious ser- 
 vices of any kind, as was shown during a six- 
 months trial by a Presbyterian preacher. He did 
 not continue because he could not secure a living 
 from the people. 
 
 The parish ten miles distant had one hundred 
 8 4 
 
THE PARISH AS A CENTRE OF WORK. 85 
 
 and fifty communicants. If there had been a band 
 of Lay Readers, a half dozen could have done 
 good work in the territory of which we speak. 
 
 The Rector of the parish was a man of mission- 
 ary spirit. At that time the nearest Priest to the 
 north was a hundred and twenty miles away, to 
 the east a hundred and fifty miles, and to the 
 south a hundred. On every line of railroad there 
 were many small towns, in each of which there 
 were from four to twelve communicants. He vis- 
 ited several of these within a radius of forty miles 
 once a month on a week-night. If it had been 
 practicable to have had Readers to go out to these 
 places on Sunday, many people might have been 
 kept from wandering from the Church, and others 
 might have been won to her. As it was, he 
 worked single-handed. The Bishop once told the 
 
 writer that if it were not for Mr. W , the 
 
 Church would be dead in the southwestern part 
 of his Diocese. 
 
 Work of this kind, though not in such appalling 
 quantity, lies around parishes all over the United 
 States. What can be done to meet it? Some- 
 thing can be done by enlisting laymen in the 
 work. The idea is that in each Church centre a 
 band of Readers shall be organized, trained, and 
 set to work ; that they shall go out into the vil- 
 lages and rural centres of population, and in halls 
 
86 LAY READERS. 
 
 and schoolhouses conduct Sunday-schoois and 
 services. 
 
 Nor is this merely an idea. It is in successful 
 operation at points far apart and under widely dif- 
 ferent conditions. The chief difficulty in the way 
 of such work will be the wretchedly wrong idea 
 that the parish is an organization f<5r the mere 
 purpose of providing for its supporters the ser- 
 vices of the Church. As long as men look upon 
 a parish as a society for selfish spiritual culture (if 
 there really can be such a thing), they will not be 
 interested in aggressive missionary work. 
 
 If the parish has reason for existence, it is that 
 it may be a centre from which missionary effort 
 will radiate into the town itself, and then into the 
 country beyond. The services, sermons, and sac- 
 raments provided by means of the parish are 
 useful as they prepare men for carrying the King- 
 dom of God to others. " For their sakes I sanc- 
 tify myself." 1 This is the true spirit in which to 
 receive the blessings of the Church. 
 
 Of work done by laymen in the large cities 
 from strong parishes as centres we shall not speak. 
 It receives ample illustration in such parishes 
 as St. George's or St. Bartholomew's, New York. 
 Accounts of such work are readily obtainable in 
 papers and reports. 
 
 1 John xvii. 19. 
 
THE PARISH AS A CENTRE OF WORK. 87 
 
 The modern city parish, with its missions, its 
 parish house, and multiform agencies for minis- 
 tering to the bodies and the souls of men, has 
 called forth and utilized the services of laymen in 
 a way for which we may well thank God and take 
 courage. 
 
 We are well aware that a parish in a country 
 town is usually in a state of chronic struggle to 
 meet expenses ; but it is a mistake to think that 
 work for the extension of the Kingdom of God 
 will weaken it, and it is wrong to make poverty 
 an excuse for neglect of duty. 
 
 The writer can best illustrate work of the kind 
 of which this chapter treats by giving an account 
 of that with which he is personally connected, arid 
 therefore knows most about. 
 
 During the ten years previous to 1892, mission- 
 ary work had been done by laymen from the par- 
 ish at San Diego, Cal., as a centre. Being the only 
 Priest of the Church in a county twice as large as 
 the State of Massachusetts, the Rector early felt 
 the responsibility laid upon him of keeping up an 
 interest in the Church among her scattered chil- 
 dren. When the population began to increase, 
 owing to the completion of the railroad, definite 
 work was commenced. By means of her laity 
 the parish has become the mother of missions. In 
 1886 the first service was held at National City, 
 
88 LAY READERS. 
 
 the Church being first on the ground with the ex- 
 ception of a " Union meeting." For several years 
 Readers from St. Paul's, San Diego, held regular 
 services, until a handsome church and rectory 
 were built and a Rector called. Five missions 
 now under the Board owe their origin to the work 
 of the parish. 
 
 They all received material aid in money and 
 church furnishings long after they ceased to be 
 connected with the mother parish. 
 
 It is interesting to note that four of the Readers 
 engaged in this work became candidates for Holy 
 Orders. 
 
 In 1892 an entirely new work was entered upon. 
 In January of that year the layman referred to in 
 the first sentence of Chapter I. came to his Rector 
 and talked over the possibility of holding services 
 at several places in the country within a radius of 
 twenty miles. 
 
 The result was that after consultation with the 
 Bishop, the Lay Readers' Association of St. Paul's 
 Parish, San Diego, Cal., was formed. It was com- 
 posed of eight men, and was organized under a 
 simple constitution, 1 with the idea that it could 
 develop according to circumstances. At that time 
 it was not known by those interested that there 
 
 1 See Appendix C for constitution. 
 
THE PARISH AS A CENTRE OF WORK. 89 
 
 was another organized band of Readers in the 
 United States. 
 
 This is taken by us as an evidence that the Holy 
 Spirit is moving the Church to work of this kind, 
 for in places wide apart organized lay effort for 
 missionary work has sprung into existence. 
 
 The work now to be undertaken was entirely 
 new. It was to be in country settlements, in 
 many of which it was known that no religious 
 service was held. Points were selected in which 
 there were known to be some Church families, but 
 it was hoped that people generally would attend. 
 
 The men who had been selected and licensed as 
 Readers had experience in the work of the Brother- 
 hood of St. Andrew, but only two of them had 
 ever read the service. For some time they met 
 on two or three evenings a week in the church, 
 when one would read Evening Prayer, and another 
 a sermon, after which adjournment would be made 
 for comment and instruction by the Rector. 
 
 When all was ready, through some resident 
 Churchman the use of the schoolhouse was se- 
 cured in each place, and to him was left the mat- 
 ter of making public the time of service and other 
 preliminary arrangements, for music, etc. 
 
 For the first service, if possible, a clergyman 
 went out; if not, two Readers were sent, one of 
 
90 /- / Y READERS. 
 
 whom, if necessary, could lead in the singing. 
 The first sermon read by the Reader was usually 
 one prepared by the Rector, explaining the cus- 
 toms and position of the Church, without entering 
 into argument, but with plentiful reference to the 
 Holy Scripture. It was shown that all might meet 
 for common worship, and the blessings of the unity 
 of Christian people was dwelt upon. 
 
 The people were asked to remain at the close, 
 and then the proposition of regular services was 
 submitted to them. Arrangements were made for 
 the following Sunday. If it could be done wisely, 
 the charge of the music was given to one deemed 
 fit. It is believed that in country places worked 
 from a centre, appointments and not elections is 
 the wiser plan. There are apt to be local jealous- 
 ies in all small communities, and an appointment 
 takes away chance of blame upon any party that 
 may exist. As soon as the field was known, the 
 Rector appointed one or more fit persons to take 
 general charge of the preparation of the room for 
 worship, etc. If there arose any need for further 
 organization it was effected. 
 
 Much in regard to methods of work will ap- 
 pear in future chapters, so that there is no need of 
 enlarging upon that here. It will be well, how- 
 ever, to give a brief account of the history of the 
 missions. 
 
THE PARISH AS A CENTRE OF WORK. 91 
 
 It is with gratitude that we can say that no 
 work undertaken has been given up. At times 
 when a point seemed discouraging, and the Rector 
 proposed discontinuing services, he was invariably 
 met by a protest from the Readers for further trial. 
 At such times the Reader most interested in the 
 place would make a special effort to bring about a 
 better attendance, and always with success. Since 
 the work began, two other settlements have been 
 taken up ; in each case it had its origin from that 
 already in existence. At one place a Baptist min- 
 ister, who had preached for over fifty years, was 
 the means of getting us to start a mission in his 
 neighborhood. The result was that in less than 
 a year his daughter and her husband (a licensed 
 Baptist preacher) were confirmed, five persons 
 were baptized, and there are eight or ten desirous 
 of Confirmation. None of these had been previ- 
 ously connected with the Church. 
 
 At nearly every point the majority of those who 
 attend the services knew nothing of the Church 
 before we went to them. The idea has been to 
 gently lead such people into the Church, not by 
 compromise, but by letting the Prayer-Book ser- 
 vice work upon them, and by giving them instruc- 
 tion in the spirit of love. 
 
 The work has developed beyond all expectation, 
 and is constantly presenting new phases, demand- 
 
92 LA Y READERS. 
 
 ing sanctified common sense on the part of those 
 engaged in it. The question of the union of Chris- 
 tians, when studied in actual process of evolution, 
 is a different one from a mere discussion of the* > 
 While nothing has been done, and while nothing 
 will be done, contrary to the spirit of Church prin- 
 ciple or the letter of Church law, yet when Chris- 
 tian people accustomed to call themselves by 
 dividing names meet with us for worship and work, 
 one naturally puts back everything unessential 
 and brings a question to this: What would Christ 
 and His Apostles do under the circumstances? 
 We cannot overcome inherited opinions and prej- 
 udices by battle. If anything will do that, it is 
 the spirit of love, " which suffereth long and is 
 kind." 
 
 It was seen at an early date that there should 
 be a Priest to follow up the Readers and to com- 
 plete the work. For some time a self-sacrificing 
 man gave himself up to this service, and the mis- 
 sions received a great impetus during his ministra- 
 tion. Now the Sacraments are administered by a 
 Priest who devotes half his time to the work. 
 
 Services are held at four places outside of the 
 city on each Sunday, and on every alternate Sun- 
 day at three additional points. In three places the 
 advisability of erecting a building is discussed, and 
 in two a fund has been started. In one we have 
 
THE PARISH AS A CENTRE OF WORK. 93 
 
 a small building. At four places we are in sole 
 possession of the field ; in the others we come in 
 conflict, as to time of service, with no religious 
 society. The congregations will compare well 
 with many missions which cost much to sustain 
 them. At one, the congregation seldom numbers 
 less than forty; at another it is usually at least 
 thirty ; at another, though it numbers less, there 
 are generally as many men as women present. 
 At one place we have had as high as ninety attend, 
 and several times fifty. 
 
 The Readers have grown into the work. Their 
 self-sacrificing labors have reacted in producing 
 self-culture. They have improved in a marked 
 manner in all that makes their ministrations pleas- 
 ing and effective. While we began with men most 
 of whom were over forty years of age, men of 
 whose ability, piety, and soundness we were sure, 
 yet younger men have come into the Association 
 with zeal and strength. 
 
 At all missions, from the first, an offering has 
 been taken, which, the people are informed, goes 
 to pay travelling expenses, to purchasing necessary 
 things, and to further the work generally. 
 
 The work has been a means of blessing to the 
 men, to the whole parish, and to the Rector, as 
 well as to those who are served by the Association. 
 
 It should be known that this work is done from 
 
94 LA Y READERS. 
 
 a parish which has no large wealth. It has been 
 done in times of great depression following a 
 " boom." It has cost but little. The offerings in 
 the missions have been small ; they have no more 
 than paid the actual expenses of the Association. 
 Some of the missions are among people who can- 
 not give, and the offerings do not pay the travel- 
 ling expenses of the Reader. Others make up 
 the deficiency. The Altar Chapter provided vest- 
 ments, and the other Chapters of the Guild have 
 always been ready to respond to calls for assist- 
 ance. The only aid received from outside was a 
 gift from two friends of sums amounting to three 
 hundred dollars per annum towards the salary of 
 a Priest. This gift, the result of the work that 
 was being carried on, was supplemented by small 
 monthly subscriptions by the people of the parish 
 and missions, and by some of the Church organi- 
 zations. We speak of these things because the 
 objection may be raised, " We are too poor." We 
 do not believe any parish in the land felt poorer 
 than we did when we began the work, or during 
 its continuance. It was begun and has been car- 
 ried on in faith and on business-like principles, 
 incurring no expenses which we could not meet, 
 and we have never lacked men nor means. Both 
 have come as the work increased. 
 
 From the opposite side of the continent we give 
 
THE PARISH AS A CENTRE OF WORK. 95 
 
 another example of missionary work done by lay- 
 men from the town parish as a centre of operation. 
 It shows that though conditions are widely differ- 
 ent, yet the Church with its living organism can 
 meet those varying needs and conditions. 
 
 The story can best be told in the language of 
 the one who for years has done missionary work 
 in North Carolina, Mr. S. S. Nash, of Tarborough : 
 
 " Associated with me in carrying on the mission, 
 of which I have the regular charge, are two other 
 Brotherhood men and two ladies. Four of us are 
 pretty sure to be on hand at the place of meeting, 
 twelve miles from town, every Sunday afternoon 
 at 3.30 P.M. We are fortunate enough to own an 
 organ, and one of our lady assistants plays. Music 
 is made one of the features of our services. We 
 open with a hymn, always using the Church Hym- 
 nal, and almost everybody sings. Next, we all say 
 the Creed, then follows the Lord's Prayer, Collect 
 for the day, and some others. Then the Psalter 
 for the day, and at its conclusion all the grown 
 people go together to the back part of the hall 
 for the Bible-class, and the children are divided 
 up into classes and taught. We keep the Prayer 
 Book to the front all the time, and we find as a 
 consequence they soon begin to feel a sense of 
 proprietorship in it; and I invariably second the 
 desire to take one home on the part of any one of 
 
96 LA Y READERS. 
 
 them, only stipulating that they be brought regu- 
 larly to the services. I fully agree with Bishop 
 Thompson that the Prayer Book is the great mis- 
 sionary. 
 
 " We are always provided with cards containing 
 on one side the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the 
 Ten Commandments, all provided with appropriate 
 Bible references. This every child must learn first, 
 and from this to the Church Catechism. At the 
 same time we give them to learn the Lessons of 
 the Joint Diocesan Scheme. So you see we are 
 training them to be pretty good Churchmen. As 
 a rule, they learn with astonishing rapidity and 
 seem eagerly to ask for more. The average at- 
 tendance is good. 
 
 " At the conclusion of the lessons the children 
 are catechised in the presence of the whole congre- 
 gation, and advantage of the opportunity is taken 
 to let the instruction be as much for the elders as 
 for the children. On one Sunday in each month 
 we have regular Evening Prayer and sermon. If 
 a clergyman can be obtained, we get one ; if not, 
 I, as Lay Reader, read a sermon. The services 
 are hearty because all hands become familiar with 
 the service through the Sunday-school." 
 
 Mr. Nash refers to others who are laboring on 
 the same lines as he is. In his addresses at the 
 convention of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew at 
 
THE PARISH AS A CENTRE OF WORK. 97 
 
 Boston in 1892, Mr. Nash gave many interesting 
 particulars of his missions, which are valuable be- 
 cause they illustrate work among people generally 
 considered hard to reach. 
 
 He tells of the work to be done outside the towns, 
 and that in many places " laymen are going out 
 into little communities to carry the Gospel to men." 
 
 " My first experience in starting a mission was 
 as follows: I went into a small community and 
 had a congregation of three, and I was met with 
 this objection : ' You don't need to start a church 
 here ; our people don't know anything about your 
 Church.' Next Sunday I went, and there were 
 six present, and still the same discouragement. I 
 said : ' Next Sunday we will start a Sunday-school.' 
 Within a few weeks we I and the brothers who 
 work with me had most of the children in the 
 neighborhood. Then the parents followed the 
 children. Some came out of curiosity, but all re- 
 mained to pray." 
 
 This mission resulted in the starting of another. 
 Mr. Nash was met by the usual discouragement: 
 " Don't you go out there. The Baptists and Pres- 
 byterians have tried and failed." He did go, and 
 when he spoke at Boston the mission was a year 
 and a half old, and the children of the neighbor- 
 hood had been taught the Church Catechism from 
 beginning to end. 
 
98 LA Y READERS. 
 
 Such work as Mr. Nash is doing, in a way de- 
 pendent upon local conditions, may be done from 
 every town parish. Tarborough has but about 
 two thousand inhabitants. The parish has only 
 a few more than two hundred communicants. 
 
 But it is asked, How can I get the laymen to 
 engage in such work? How can I arouse them 
 to a sense of responsibility? How can I prepare 
 them for the work ? How shall they do the work ? 
 The following chapters are intended to be helpful 
 in answering these questions. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SELECTION OF MEN FOR READERS, AND 
 OF PLACES FOR WORK. 
 
 MANY a parish Priest who is fully alive to the 
 opportunities for missionary work which there are 
 in the suburban and country districts surrounding 
 his parish, says : " I have no men whom I could 
 get to act as Readers." The answer is best given 
 by asking the question, Have you tried ? 
 
 If there is a Chapter of the Brotherhood of 
 St. Andrew in the parish, there will be likely to be 
 some material in it which can be utilized. Bishops, 
 Priests, and Readers have, in letters to us, stated 
 that this organization has been a training-school 
 for Readers. The Bishop of Alabama says in ref- 
 erence to this : " The Brotherhood has been, with 
 us, the dawn of a new era." 
 
 There is, in most parishes, at least one man who 
 has, at times, read the services on emergency, or 
 during vacancies. He will be a good man to be- 
 gin with. It will be a mistake to wait until sev- 
 eral can be obtained. If work is started, others 
 will be found who will become interested. 
 
 99 
 
100 LAY READERS. 
 
 Dr. Breck began the School of the Prophets at 
 Nashotah with one student. At Faribault, in 1858, 
 he had but three. It is often better to begin in a 
 small way. Men who are not thought of at first 
 will make good Readers with preparation. 
 
 On a certain Saturday the writer remembers 
 one of the Readers of the parish was taken sick 
 and could not keep his appointment. A mission 
 would, it seemed, have to be disappointed, and 
 there was no way to send the people word. A 
 quiet man, over forty years of age, happening to 
 be at the rectory, was told of the situation, and 
 the remark was made to him almost in a joking 
 way, " I guess you will have to go." Immediately 
 came the unexpected reply : " If you think I could 
 do it, I'll try." In five minutes he was reading 
 Evening Prayer, his Rector acting as congregation. 
 An appointment was made for the evening, when 
 he read the service again, and the sermon which 
 had been chosen for him, and he was found to do 
 both very well. This man, of a retiring nature, 
 and one who naturally shrank from appearing in 
 public, has developed into one of the most zealous 
 and energetic Readers we ever knew. He has 
 become " bold " in the office, and has twice been 
 selected to hold the first service at new points. 
 Faithful, willing, godly, he has grown into the 
 work, surprising himself and others. 
 
THE SELECTION OF MEN FOR READERS. ioi 
 
 There are three essential qualifications which a 
 man must have to begin with godliness, willing- 
 ness, and reliability. A man selected must have 
 a good character. No risk must be taken as to 
 that. He must be willing to try the work. He 
 must be a man who can be relied upon to do what 
 he is given to do. 
 
 Any man of ordinary ability who has these 
 qualifications may become fitted for some part of 
 the work by proper training. No training can 
 compensate for their lack. Of course there are 
 other qualifications necessary for efficient work. 
 But there are few men who cannot be taught to 
 read the service acceptably if they are willing to 
 learn, and if they have a fair education to start 
 with of course the more education a man has the 
 better. But there are many who read well who 
 have not had the advantages of a college course. 
 
 As to the age of the men, most of those at 
 Buffalo " are young and busy men." It is well in 
 starting work in a parish to get men, if possible, 
 who are between thirty and fifty. One Bishop 
 says wisely, " Don't take boys." We are not dis- 
 paraging young men, but iMs well to run as little 
 risk as possible, and to let them come in after trial. 
 Let them learn first by working with and under 
 others. Of course where a young man has been 
 known in a parish during years of work in the 
 
102 LAY READERS. 
 
 choir, Sunday-school, or the Brotherhood, he is 
 already tried. We refer in the above to untried 
 young men who may offer themselves. Do not 
 discourage a man, but be sure of him before he is 
 placed in the responsible position of Reader. At 
 San Diego we began with men from thirty years 
 old and upwards. Younger ones have come in 
 since, and most efficient and zealous they are. 
 Often young men can give more time to the work 
 of preparation. Have young men in training. 
 The Church needs their strength and enthusiasm. 
 
 Selection of Places. 
 
 In large cities the movement of population to- 
 wards the country, the result of modern facilities 
 for rapid transit, provides abundant opportunity 
 for the starting of missions in suburban districts. 
 To this there will be perhaps the opposition of 
 some in the fear that missions will draw off some 
 of the congregation, and some of the support, 
 from the parish. Though a natural objection, it 
 is really a selfish one, and resolves itself into this 
 question: Are we to .work merely for the parish, 
 or is there a higher duty to work for the exten- 
 sion of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ? It is a fact 
 which any laborer in missions knows, that while 
 the well-to-do will go down-town to church, those 
 
THE SELECTION OF PLACES FOR WORK. 103 
 
 who are earning a bare living, and who have large 
 families, cannot afford to do so. These latter will 
 drift from the Church, and they do drift from her, 
 unless she goes to them. Often work of this kind 
 goes undone because the Rector cannot undertake 
 it alone, and the parish cannot afford an assistant. 
 If it is done at all laymen must do it. They will 
 do it if they are set to work. They are doing it 
 at hundreds of points. If a new suburb begins 
 to grow, be first on the ground, not last. The 
 Church can be first if a Reader and his helpers 
 are sent to occupy the territory. Select the most 
 promising point, and amid all discouragement stay 
 with it. 
 
 In smaller towns there is the surrounding coun- 
 try, which, by the way, should not be neglected 
 by parishes in larger towns with suburban mis- 
 sions. Some one objects at once : " There are 
 few, if any, Church people in these country places." 
 All we can say is, Go to work and make some. 
 The Church is not sent to Israel alone, but to all 
 men. The absence of Church folks is not a valid 
 objection. The question is, Are there any people 
 to whom the Church can minister? 
 
 In the mission- field which Breck marked out 
 around Faribault, there was a population one fifth 
 Roman Catholic and four fifths sectarian. He 
 writes in 1858; " Next Saturday I go to Owat- 
 
104 LAY READERS. 
 
 onna, where I hope to find at least one Church- 
 man." There is a parish there now of one hun- 
 dred communicants, but scores of places all over 
 the land, of like size, have no parish or mission at 
 all. Dr. Breck did not wait until he was sent for, 
 and that is the reason he was the wonderful mis- 
 sionary he was. In the same year he writes of a 
 service which he and a Reader held : " There was 
 not a Churchman present. But we had service 
 nevertheless, and the people responded, too. \Ye 
 rubricated, paged, and explained as we went on. 
 The Prayer Books, I told them, would be left at 
 one of their houses, unless any of them would like 
 to take them home to read until the next service. 
 Every book was borrowed." 
 
 If there is no place with Church people which 
 can be reached by rail or conveyance, select some 
 point which seems to offer the best opportunity 
 for work, some community which appears neg- 
 lected. Do what Mr. Nash did, as related in 
 Chapter VII. He looked for people who needed 
 the Church, not people who asked for it. At one 
 of the missions near San Diego where there is an 
 average attendance of thirty, there is sometimes 
 not a Churchman in the congregation. They are 
 greatly in the minority at every mission except 
 one. But the Church went to the people first, and 
 it holds the field except at one place, where the 
 
THE SELECTION OF PLACES FOR WORK. 105 
 
 Romanists followed us up with a monthly service, 
 because their people attended the Church. But 
 some of them attend still. 
 
 Every town parish in this land should have 
 missions in the country around it worked by 
 Readers. Why is there not such work done from 
 every Church centre? Whose fault is it? Do 
 the laity feel their responsibility ? Do the clergy 
 endeavor to arouse in them a sense of the mission 
 of the Church to the people of this land? We 
 believe that laymen can be interested if they are 
 approached in the right way. We believe, with 
 Dr. Rainsford, that no body of Christians has so 
 many laymen fitted for this work, and no body 
 of Christians has made so little use of them. The 
 talent has been folded in a napkin. It is time to 
 unfold it. It is being unfolded. 
 
 Preparation for First Service. 
 
 If a Churchman is resident in a place chosen for 
 work, he can best make arrangements for the first 
 service. He can give notice to the people of the 
 neighborhood by means of a written invitation 
 tacked up at the post-office or store, and by word 
 of mouth. 
 
 A schoolhouse can usually be obtained, but if 
 there is a hall in the neighborhood it is in many 
 
106 LAY READERS. 
 
 respects better. The seats in a schoolroom are 
 intended for children, and it is awkward to kneel, 
 unless one steps out into the passageway. But 
 still it will do very well if there is nothing better. 
 A hall is preferable because it can be made to look 
 neat and churchly in time, by articles of furniture 
 which can be put away during the week. 
 
 In some places there is opportunity to use the 
 house of worship of some religious society. It is 
 not wise to use such a building if it can be avoided. 
 It may give rise to complications as to questions of 
 reciprocity which cannot be granted without sac- 
 rifice of principle. If such a place of worship is 
 used, it will be the best way to rent it. Payment 
 will remove any sense of obligation which might 
 hinder the work. 
 
 If there is no resident Churchman, it will often 
 be better for some one to go out into the commu- 
 nity and prepare the way as far as he can. 
 
 The first service will be dealt with in another 
 chapter. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PREPARATION OF THE READER. 
 
 BEFORE a Reader is sent out to work, he should 
 be so familiar with the service which he is to read 
 that there may be no danger of his making mis- 
 takes. A man may have been used to the Prayer 
 Book as a member of the congregation for a long 
 time, and yet when he attempts to act as Reader 
 he may become confused. Taking the part of 
 leader is very different from following a leader. 
 The writer remembers his first experience as a 
 Reader. One Wednesday evening the Rector 
 was to be absent, and without any instruction or 
 drill, and no preparation but looking over the ser- 
 vice and lessons by himself, he went through with 
 it nervous and ill at ease. 
 
 The necessary preliminary preparation is, that 
 the man who is to be sent to a mission should 
 read the service several times in the presence of 
 the clergyman under whom he is to work. The 
 Sunday-school room, the chapel, or, if necessary, 
 the church, can be used, and the candidate should 
 107 
 
108 LAY READERS. 
 
 read the service which he is to take on Sunday, 
 with the sermon, the announcement of hymns, the 
 giving of notices, the taking of the offering, and 
 the closing prayer. 
 
 Nothing is small when the decency and order of 
 Divine worship is considered. It is but fair to the 
 Reader that he shall know exactly what he is to 
 do, and how he is to do it. The errors he makes 
 in preparation should be noted, and at the end full 
 criticism made, and then or at some other time he 
 should go over the whole again. 
 
 If there are several men they may meet on one 
 or two evenings a week for drill of this kind. We 
 have dwelt upon this because we have known men, 
 entirely unprepared, stumble through a service to 
 their own mortification and to the discomfort of 
 the people. 
 
 But this preliminary preparation is but the be- 
 ginning of the training which Readers should have. 
 As soon as men get into mission work, they will 
 begin to feel the need of knowing more than the 
 average layman does about the Church, the Bible, 
 and the Prayer Book. It has been the history of 
 every Readers' Association that systematic train- 
 ing has sprung up. The men feel they must be 
 able to answer the questions which are continually 
 asked them. Readers in the missions will find, 
 as of old, that they must be doctores aitdicntium. 
 
THE PREPARATION OF THE READER. 109 
 
 Questions about Baptism, Confirmation, the Creed, 
 the customs of the Church all these come to 
 them, and they must be able to answer or lose 
 their influence. If the Reader does not know, the 
 right way as well as the prudent way will be to 
 state frankly that he is not sure, but that he will 
 bring an answer next time ; that he will look the 
 matter up or ask his Rector. 
 
 As soon as Readers were licensed in London, 
 under the resolutions of 1866, methods of instruc- 
 tion and preparation began to be formulated, fol- 
 lowed by examinations. The books recommended 
 to those who are candidates for the office of Dio- 
 cesan Reader embrace the subjects of Old and 
 New Testament History, Church History, English 
 Church History, with Bishop Barry's Teachers' 
 Prayer Book, and Paley's Evidences. 
 
 In 1880 began what has been maintained each 
 year since, a four-weeks' course of instruction for 
 Readers at Keble College, Oxford. These annual 
 instructions have been well attended. In 1892 a 
 Reader from the United States was present. The 
 programme for that year, following in the line of 
 others, made every provision for the spiritual man. 
 The instructions given by able men embraced a 
 wide range of subjects. 
 
 In the Deanery of Auckland, Diocese of Dur- 
 ham, there have been for some time classes for 
 
I 10 LAY READERS. 
 
 preparing and training Readers, and quarterly ex- 
 aminations on the instruction given. Classes are 
 held at four places in the Deanery. The scheme 
 for three months' study consists of stated portions 
 of the Old and New Testaments, a portion of the 
 Church Catechism and of the Prayer Book. At 
 each examination the reading of the Bible and 
 Prayer Book is included. The annual report says : 
 " It is hoped that three or four men from each of 
 the twenty-seven parishes in the Deanery will en- 
 gage in the work." 
 
 The Laymen's League at Pittsburg has an ex- 
 cellent system for the training of its men. In- 
 structions are given and quarterly examinations 
 held after the manner of the Association in the 
 Deanery of Auckland. In both places the lectures 
 and instructions are open to all who may wish to 
 attend. The Pittsburg scheme before us, an- 
 nouncing the study for a quarter and the topics for 
 examination, is as follows : 
 
 Old Testament : The Book of Psalms, with cog- 
 nate portions of Samuel and Kings. 
 
 New Testament : Book of The Acts ; the mis- 
 sionary journeys of St. Paul. 
 
 Church Catechism : The Creed and succeeding 
 answers with Scripture proofs. 
 
 Prayer Book : The Collects and prayers histor- 
 ically considered. 
 
THE PREPARATION OF THE READER, m 
 
 Reading: Public reading of Bible and Prayer 
 Book. 
 
 " All desiring to be admitted as Lay Evangelists 
 must pass successfully one examination. 
 
 " All Lay Readers and Evangelists are ex- 
 pected to attend the instructions, and are affec- 
 tionately invited to present themselves for exam- 
 ination in order to insure progress and added 
 efficiency." 
 
 The appointments at the six missions for three 
 months are printed in connection with the above, 
 with the names of the Readers, and instructions to 
 them as to reports, etc. 
 
 In our own work systematic instructions upon 
 the Prayer Book, Church History, etc., once a 
 week have been well attended by the Readers, 
 and by the members of the Brotherhood of St. 
 Andrew. The Rector is usually the one to con- 
 duct such instruction. 
 
 It has also been found helpful to meet at stated 
 times in the evening, when one reads Evening 
 Prayer, and another a sermon. After this adjourn- 
 ment is made to the vestry-room, and after criti- 
 cisms by the Rector there is a general talk of the 
 service and the work. It is helpful to the men, 
 and brings them together. 
 
 One means of preparation for the work must 
 not be forgotten. A man cannot be an efficient 
 
112 LAY READERS. 
 
 Reader who is not interested in the Church at 
 large. A Reader who does not read Church 
 papers can have neither the understanding of the 
 work nor the interest in it which is essential to its 
 best interests. A Reader should be familiar with 
 the history of the Church, not of the past alone, 
 but of the history which she is making to-day. 
 Of course the Priest in charge of Readers will give 
 directions as to what books they should read. A 
 short list, however, may be helpful to some : 
 
 Commentary on the Holy Bible. By various 
 authors. (Published by the S. P. C. K.) This 
 cannot be commended too highly. It is excellent, 
 and very cheap. (Six vols., $1.50 each.) 
 
 Kip's Double Witness. ($1.50.) 
 
 Little's Reasons for Being a Churchman. 
 ($1.00; paper, 50 cents.) 
 
 Sadler's Church Doctrine Bible Truth. (50 
 cents.) 
 
 Prayer Book Commentary. (Published by the 
 S. P. C. K. 60 cents.) 
 
 Prayer Book Reason Why. By the Rev. Wil- 
 son R. Ross. An excellent little book, full of 
 valuable and interesting information. (Only 20 
 cents.) 
 
 Chief Things : Church Doctrine for the People. 
 By the Rev. A. W. Snyder. (Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 
 50 cents.) 
 
THE PREPARATION OF THE READER. 113 
 
 The Church Handy Dictionary. (50 cents.) 
 
 Sadler's CJiurch Teacher's Manual, being the 
 CJiurch Catechism Explained. (75 cents.) 
 
 Cutt's Turning-points of General Church His- 
 tory. ($1.50.) 
 
 Lane's Illustrated Notes on English Church 
 History. (S. P. C. K. Two vols., 40 cents each.) 
 
 A Church Almanac. (25 cents.)- 
 
 Organization. 
 
 A part of preparation for the work is organiza- 
 tion. If it is a single parish the matter is easy. 
 It is well, where there are two or three Readers, 
 to form a simple association. The organization 
 will grow out of the work, rather than the work 
 be moulded to fit the organization. 
 
 There are benefits in association which Readers 
 who are to engage ia missionary efforts cannot 
 afford to lose. If the Rector and two earnest 
 men meet at stated times to discuss the work, there 
 is an encouragement and strength that come to 
 each. The parish will soon become an associate 
 mission in which faith, patience, and perseverance 
 will bring forth fruit. 
 
 Not only will the work grow and the organiza- 
 tion grow, but there will develop between the 
 Rector and the Readers, and among the Readers 
 themselves, a sense of brotherhood unknown be- 
 
114 LAY READERS. 
 
 fore. United work, united prayer, united sympa- 
 thy, will bring them near to each other, and nearer 
 to the Great Head of the Church. 
 
 If there are two or more parishes in the city, an 
 association of laymen connected with each one, 
 formed for aggressive missionary work, will do 
 much to lessen that spirit of jealousy which un- 
 fortunately so often exists. It is indeed sad to 
 B think it possible that one parish can have any feel- 
 ing of this kind towards another, but such is our 
 human nature that it is often found. As an an- 
 tidote we prescribe the forming of a league of 
 Readers under some system which the Bishop ap- 
 proves. It will soon lead the men engaged in a 
 common work for the extension of the Kingdom 
 of Jesus Christ to lose the idea that a parish should 
 live in any way for itself or within itself. The 
 truth will dawn upon them that a "parish should 
 not merely be a centre of culture, but a centre of 
 effort, and that the true prosperity of any parish is 
 to be measured by the work which it does in carry- 
 ing the Gospel to the bodies and the souls of men. 
 
 The organization in the See city is a more diffi- 
 cult matter. 
 
 It would be seldom wise at first to call a public 
 meeting. If men came they might not be those 
 who were wanted. Men might go into a move- 
 ment without proper interest or knowledge. 
 
THE PREPARATION OF THE READER. 115 
 
 In one instance of which we know, the Bishop 
 conferred in person with each Rector likely to be 
 in sympathy with the movement. The Rectors 
 knew the men in their parishes who were fit, and 
 who might undertake such work. In due time 
 the laymen met the Bishop, and an organization 
 was effected. 
 
 It seems much better to develop on these lines 
 than to " resolve " an organization into existence 
 by deliberation and debate. The laymen came 
 to the meeting understanding the matter, each 
 had been seen personally, each was vouched for 
 by his parish Priest. 
 
 It is much safer to feel the way and grow slowly, 
 than to enter into a matter with a flourish with 
 large numbers, and soon find that there is much 
 dead wood which hinders the life and growth of 
 the work. The essential thing is for a Bishop to 
 secure the cooperation of two or three Rectors, 
 and then to make a start, even if it be a small 
 one. 
 
 Organization in Convocational work is difficult 
 in many places because of the distance which sep- 
 arates men. But if once a year the Readers of a 
 Convocation could be gotten together for a few 
 days' instruction, with a Quiet Day at the close, 
 it would be the means of giving inspiration to the 
 men and efficiency to the work. 
 
Il6 LAY HEADERS. 
 
 This is largely done in England, and steps in 
 this direction are contemplated by several Bishops 
 in America, who realize the gain it would be to 
 the Readers, in both a practical and spiritual way. 
 Such meetings could be arranged during the Bish- 
 op's visitations in a Convocation. Or in case he 
 could not attend, some one appointed by him 
 could conduct the conference, and another the 
 Quiet Day. At the conferences there should be in- 
 structions, papers, discussions, and reports. It would 
 not be necessary to have many men in attendance 
 to make these meetings a success and a blessing. 
 
 The Plan in the Missionary Jurisdiction 
 of Olympia. 
 
 In the Missionary Jurisdiction of Olympia the 
 Rev. L. W. Applegate, acting under the Bishop, 
 is gradually developing a scheme of organization 
 and training of laymen for missionary work. 1 It 
 is recognized in Washington that " the West pre- 
 sents a splendid field for lay help," and that there 
 are " within the Church a large number of intelli- 
 gent laymen, consecrated men, ready to use their 
 talents to advance the cause of Christ. These must 
 be employed if the Church is to fulfil her mission." 
 A course of study has been prepared which is to 
 
 1 Since this was written the Bishop of the Jurisdiction of 
 Olympia has tiled. 
 
THE PREPARATION OF THE READER. 117 
 
 be conducted by correspondence, followed by ex- 
 amination. It is designed for " men who for the 
 spread of the Kingdom of Christ are willing to de- 
 vote all or a part of their time to missionary work 
 as Lay Readers or Helpers." 
 
 Its purpose is : " To give them a better under- 
 standing of the Church and her ways ; a knowledge 
 of the Bible, the Prayer Book, Church History, and 
 the fundamental principles of the Gospel ; and to 
 give suggestions and training as to the effective 
 reading of the service, and in methods of mission- 
 ary work. 
 
 " The course will occupy one year, and at its 
 close its members ought to be prepared for a gen- 
 eral examination in those studies presented by the 
 Church for Deacon's Orders only. . . . The result 
 of such a course will be to give to the Church a 
 body of laymen fitted for Church work. It is 
 expected also that it will encourage some of its 
 members to offer themselves as candidates for 
 Holy Orders." 
 
 The plan of organization is this : 
 
 "The membership shall be divided into two 
 classes: I. Those who devote their full time to 
 Church work; 2. Those who do such work as 
 they may be able to undertake without abandon- 
 ing their secular occupations. 
 
 " Every member must be actively engaged in 
 some definite mission work, in connection with his 
 
I 1 8 LAY READERS. 
 
 parish, or in some town or village, or among the 
 ranches in the country. 
 
 " Every member must work under the direction 
 of some clergyman having pastoral charge, to 
 whose care he is committed by the Bishop. 
 
 '* All members devoting their full time to Church 
 work, and as many of the second class as possible, 
 shall gather at some appointed centre, on Tuesday 
 morning following the first Sunday in each month, 
 and shall remain together until the following Thurs- 
 day for examination, lectures, Holy Communion, 
 and mutual conference and encouragement. 
 
 " All absent members shall send in written an- 
 swers to examination questions furnished by in- 
 structors. The instructors will give such aid dur- 
 ing the month by correspondence as the members 
 may need. Each member shall render each month 
 a detailed written report of his work. 
 
 " Books will be furnished free. A fee of. five 
 dollars will, at the time of entrance, be charged 
 for expenses. 
 
 " Any member who is willing to devote his 
 whole time for one year to Church work, and 
 who is acceptable to the Bishop and Committee in 
 charge, will be granted a license as Reader and 
 will be assigned duty upon the mission field. 
 
 " His compensation will be as follows : Home 
 expenses, travelling expenses to and from monthly 
 
THE PREPARATION OF THE READER. 119 
 
 meetings, one hundred dollars a year in cash for 
 clothing and other personal expenses. Special ar- 
 rangements will be made with those having families 
 to support. 
 
 " Each member shall devote at least six hours a 
 day, besides the time given to study, to actual work 
 upon the field assigned to him. His general duties 
 will be to hold services, conduct Bible-classes and 
 Sunday-schools, superintend die various organiza- 
 tions in the mission, visit the people, distribute 
 Church literature, and perform such other duties 
 as an intelligent layman and earnest worker can 
 do to aid the Minister in charge to lay wise foun- 
 dations and to minister to human souls." 
 
 The License. 
 
 Unless in case of emergency, no one should act 
 as Reader unless he is duly licensed by the Bishop 
 of the Diocese. 1 
 
 It must have a tendency to add to the escimation 
 in which the office is held, when the candidate is 
 admitted as Reader by the Bishop in person accord- 
 ing to ancient usage. This is provided for in Eng- 
 land, and is practised in many Dioceses. In the 
 United States three Bishops at least have set forth 
 forms for the " Admission of Readers." 
 
 i See Appendix D for forms of license. 
 
120 LAY READERS. 
 
 But since our present Canon on Lay Readers 
 limits the duration of a license to one year, such 
 admission would lose much of its force and mean- 
 ing. In 1 886 an attempt was made to change this, 
 but the Committee on Canons reported adversely. 
 As the use made of Readers develops, a change 
 will probably be found desirable. After a careful 
 survey of facts we believe that the system followed 
 in the Diocese of London, or some modification of 
 it, will be found to be for the best interests of the 
 work of Readers in America. The points to be 
 embodied in the Canon would be as follows : there 
 shall be two classes of Readers in the Church, Dio- 
 cesan and Parochial. The license (or commission) 
 of a Diocesan Reader shall be held permanently, 
 unless revoked by the Bishop, and becomes void 
 on the removal of the Reader to another Diocese. 
 This license shall entitle the Reader to perform 
 duties in any parish or mission in the Diocese, but 
 only at the request, and under the direction, of the 
 Rector or minister in charge. Candidates shall be 
 (or may be) required to pass an examination on 
 the Bible and Book of Common Prayer. A Dio- 
 cesan Reader shall be (or may be) admitted by 
 the Bishop of the Diocese at a special service. 
 
 A Parochial Reader may be licensed by the 
 Bishop to hold services within the parish to which 
 he is licensed. The license may be delivered to 
 
THE PREPARATION OF THE READER. 121 
 
 him by the Rector or minister in charge of the 
 parish or mission, after Morning or Evening Prayer, 
 followed by such collects from the Book of Com- 
 mon Prayer as he may deem expedient; or with 
 such form as the Bishop may set forth. This 
 license may be revoked by the Bishop, and shall 
 become void on the death or on the removal of 
 the rector or minister in charge, under whom he 
 was licensed. 
 
 In the Dioceses of Sydney and Adelaide and 
 others, such regulations as are here outlined are 
 in force and work well. 
 
 Some system such as this would encourage men 
 to seek the office of Diocesan Reader, and would 
 lead to their preparation for the work. It would 
 tend to make Readers hold their office in higher 
 estimation, and would also have the tendency to 
 make their services more appreciated by those 
 whom they serve. It might also lead to the mul- 
 tiplication of lay evangelists and catechists, the 
 employment of men who are not necessarily learned, 
 and yet who would be helpful in reaching classes 
 which it is difficult for the educated parish Priest 
 to reach classes which need men of their own kind 
 to mingle with them, and talk to them in plain, 
 every- day language. The use of such men is the 
 secret ot success among the Salvationists, was the 
 secret of success with the early Methodists, and in 
 
122 LAY READERS. 
 
 the Church of Rome has much to do to-day with 
 its hold upon the masses. While Rome has its 
 highly educated men, yet it has its Priests who 
 are the sons of peasants and small farmers, who 
 are of the people. But of this we shall say more 
 later on. 
 
 In the matter of the Reader's license, some 
 Bishops have a form of application which has the 
 Canon on Lay Readers printed in full upon the 
 back. 1 The applicant declares that he has read 
 this, and is willing to obey its requirements. Many 
 licenses issued by Bishops have the Canons printed 
 upon them. Others have the Canon and, in addi- 
 .tion, the rules and regulations which the Diocesan 
 sets forth for the direction of his Readers. 
 
 The Reader with his license must understand 
 that he is an officer in the army of the Church of 
 God, whose work is to be under superior officers. 
 It is his part to carry out instructions, and to give 
 willing and cheerful obedience as to methods of 
 work and conduct of services to the one who, in 
 the Church, is set over him and is responsible for 
 him. There is no need to dwell upon this ; Church- 
 men understand the principle. 
 
 Of course there is a preparation which is beyond 
 and above all that we have mentioned. It is the 
 preparation of the spiritual side of the Reader. 
 
 1 See Appendix E. 
 
THE PREPARATION OF THE READER. 123 
 
 There must be at the start a spirit which owes 
 its state to the past life of a man in his use of the 
 privileges which the Church has given him. The 
 spiritual life will be deepened as he grows into the 
 work, and as the work reacts upon him. Of this, 
 and of means for quickening and enriching the 
 spiritual life, we shall speak hereafter. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 
 
 Preparation. 
 
 WHEN the Reader is ready for work, his first 
 service will probably find him in a more or less 
 nervous condition. When he arrives at the place 
 appointed, let him see by personal inspection that 
 everything is in order. He should see what 
 arrangement has been made as to a reading-desk, 
 whether it is the right height for him to read his 
 sermon from, and that there is a Bible in place 
 with the Lessons marked. In his Prayer Book 
 should be found and marked, so that they can be 
 readily turned to, the Psalter, the Collect for the 
 day, and any special prayers which are to be used. 
 This will avoid any disturbing break in the service 
 made by a Reader turning over pages searching 
 for the place, such as we have witnessed. 
 
 With a man not perfectly familiar with the ser- 
 vice from the standpoint of the leader in worship, 
 it is a good plan to make out a list of the order in 
 which the several parts come, so as to avoid any 
 124 
 
THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 125 
 
 possibility of losing the place or becoming momen- 
 tarily confused. Several of our men have, at first, 
 used such a list upon a card or a slip of paper, 
 which could be laid on the prayer desk or held in 
 the hand. It was found to be well to number the 
 parts upon the margin of the Prayer Book, so as 
 to correspond with the numbers on the list. The 
 eye could instantly catch these, and smoothness 
 and ease were assured. This is what is meant : 
 
 1. Sentences. 
 
 2. Exhortation. 
 
 3. Confession. 
 
 4. Lord's Prayer. 
 
 5. Versicles. 
 
 6. Venite. 
 
 7. Psalter ( day). 
 
 8. First Lesson ( ). 
 
 9. Te Deum. 
 
 10. Second Lesson ( ). 
 
 11. Benedictus. 
 
 12. Creed. 
 
 13. Collect for day. 
 
 14. Prayers. 
 
 15. Hymn. 
 
 1 6. Sermon. 
 
 17. Offertory. 
 
 1 8. Hymn. 
 
 19. Closing Prayers. 
 
126 LAY READERS. 
 
 The possession of such a list gives confidence, 
 and, as we have said, one unused to lead in the 
 service is apt to become confused, although he 
 may think himself familiar with the Prayer Book, 
 because he has used it long in the pew. 
 
 Of course the Reader will offer private prayer 
 before he goes in to the congregation. That will 
 tend to give him confidence and to collect his 
 thoughts. 
 
 The Reader's Dress. 
 
 In this the Bishop is the director. If the Bishop 
 has issued no directions, then the Rector should 
 do so. The Canon distinctly states that a " Lay 
 Reader shall not assume the dress appropriate to a 
 clergyman ministering in the congregation." 
 
 Before the introduction of vested choirs, Readers 
 wore the ordinary citizen's dress. But now the 
 largely prevailing custom is for the Reader to wear 
 the cassock and cotta, or the surplice. But it does 
 not follow from this that a Reader in any Diocese 
 can assume this dress. 
 
 This depends upon the regulations of the Dio- 
 cesan. We have before us the rules of many 
 Dioceses. In Central New York Readers are " to 
 wear citizen's dress, or if postulants or candidates 
 for the ministry, simply a cassock." In Southern 
 Ohio " the proper dress of a Lay Reader in the 
 
THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 127 
 
 chancel is the simple dress of a civilian, a dark suit. 
 There is no objection to his wearing also the 
 scholar's black academic gown. But he may not 
 wear a cossock or cotta or a surplice without: spe- 
 cial license." In California, the Bishop writes: 
 " The cassock and cotta seem to be fitting for those 
 of the laity who read, as well as to those who 
 sing, in the services of the Church." In Milwaukee 
 the Reader must wear cassock and cotta. In 
 Chicago he " may wear the cassock and cotta ap- 
 propriate to laymen when engaged in any public 
 service." It is safe to say that the rule of a large 
 number of Dioceses is such as that given in the 
 directions of the Bishop of Springfield : " It would 
 be most suitable for you, when they can be con- 
 veniently provided, to wear a cassock and chor- 
 ister's surplice as an official dress. As regards 
 this suggestion you must be guided by circum- 
 stances, as we by no means insist upon it." 
 
 The matter of vestments is more important than 
 one may think. The wearing of a cassock and 
 cotta is, to people generally, the sign of some 
 authority held by the man who appears in them. 
 With Church people ordinary choir vestments are 
 in no danger of being misunderstood ; they are in 
 too common use for that. They convey to Church 
 people no suggestion that the one who wears them 
 is in Holy Orders. 
 
128 LAY READERS. 
 
 With other people they at once carry the idea 
 that the man who wears them comes not of him- 
 self, but is sent by the Church, with authority to 
 hold service. They know nothing of Holy Orders, 
 but they look upon the Reader, when vested, as 
 having the same authority as the ministers of the 
 various denominations who come to them. This 
 estimation is helpful to the work. It is certainly 
 the estimation in which the Church would have 
 them received. Her commissioned Readers have 
 a ministry which she recognizes, while she cannot 
 officially recognize the ministry of those not of 
 her. 
 
 We have never known, nor have we ever heard, 
 of a Reader in any way assuming, in word or ac- 
 tion or inference, any function of the sacred minis- 
 try because he wore vestments ; on the contrary, 
 we have known it frequently give rise among t lie- 
 people to questions and instruction as to Holy 
 Orders. 
 
 There has been among our own people a preju- 
 dice against lay services. They have been poorly 
 attended. But there has been an improvement 
 since the Bishops have been careful to give to Read- 
 ers written commissions, and so official standing, 
 and since Readers generally have worn those vest- 
 ments which custom in the Universal Church has 
 from most ancient times prescribed for laymen 
 
THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 129 
 
 when reading, singing, or otherwise assisting in 
 the rendering of the services of the Church. 
 
 About one thing be careful : always have the 
 surplice clean. Learn to fold it so that there will 
 be as few creases as possible. A surplice or cotta 
 is a difficult article to fold and put into a hand- 
 bag. But there is a way to do it, which one can 
 only learn by practice. 
 
 In the Conduct of the Service. 
 
 It is best in the conduct of the service that the 
 Reader should follow the general customs of the 
 Diocese in which he is. If he is in parochial work 
 he will, of course, follow the general usage of the 
 parish. It is the best way and the right way to 
 avoid anything which would draw attention to the 
 individual by the obtrusion of his personal prefer- 
 ences in matters of detail, when they are contrary 
 to the use of the parish. If a Reader is assisting 
 a Priest in the services of the parish church, of 
 course he would strictly follow the use of the Rec- 
 tor. Nothing jars on one more than a lack of 
 harmonious action on the part of those in the 
 chancel. 
 
 In going to a new place where the people are 
 not familiar with the services of the Church, many 
 have the idea that it is the best way not to give 
 the service just as it will be given when the people 
 
I 30 LAY READERS. 
 
 are used to it. This is a great mistake. Let the 
 first service as nearly as possible be just what the 
 others are to be. It should be remembered that 
 while Churchmen in the congregation would at 
 once notice whether the thing done, or the thing 
 left undone, was that to which they have been 
 accustomed, yet those who are not Church people 
 are ignorant of the ways of the Church. To these 
 everything will seem strange, the surplice, the 
 "getting up and sitting down," the Prayer Book, 
 etc. They will expect strange things, and the 
 way you intend to have the service in the future 
 have it at once. If you change afterwards they 
 will notice it then. This " gradual " advance un- 
 settles people, and they begin to wonder what is 
 to come next. 
 
 . If you expect to wear vestments, wear them the 
 first time. 
 
 In a congregation composed largely of non- 
 Churchmen, it will be well to give a brief ex- 
 planatory talk before beginning the service as to 
 the ways of the Church in worship. If the people 
 are kindly and carefully told that the custom is to 
 kneel when we pray, to stand when we sing, and 
 they are asked to observe these postures, most of 
 them will do so. If a few words can be said about 
 a form of worship and its advantages, the greater 
 part will be glad to hear why these things are so. 
 
THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 131 
 
 Leaflets. 
 
 If there are printed leaflets for those unfamiliar 
 with the service, all will go well. But even if these 
 are provided it will probably be necessary for the 
 Reader to give directions from time to time. As, 
 for example, after the second lesson in the Evening 
 Prayer, it woulcj be well to say : " We will now sing 
 the Magnificat, which you will find in the first col- 
 umn of page , of the service leaflet." Or when 
 the Creed is to be recited : " Will the congregation 
 please join in reciting the Apostles' Creed," etc. 
 
 While leaflets are useful, yet as soon as possible 
 the people should be taught to use the Prayer 
 Book. As it is now paged with uniformity in all 
 editions, directions can readily be given, and the 
 places easily found. The Reader should encour- 
 age any member of the congregation who expresses 
 a desire to borrow a Prayer Book to " look over." 
 It is well sometimes to keep the congregation after 
 service and give the people a little drill in using 
 the Prayer Book. 
 
 If there are any Church people in a new mis- 
 sion, have them sit here and there in the congre- 
 gation, that they may the more easily show people 
 the places. Before service, privately ask those who 
 are familiar with it to make the responses slowly. 
 Until people are used to it the rapid response 
 
132 LAY READERS. 
 
 which Church people naturally make seems irrev- 
 erent These little things all help to make the first 
 service a success, and the people, having had part 
 in it, feel like coming again. We have found it a 
 widely prevailing opinion that the service was in- 
 tended for " our own people." The sooner all who 
 attend know it is for them, the better it will be. 
 
 The Offertory. 
 
 As soon as services are started be careful to 
 provide some " decent basin," to be used in taking 
 up the offerings of the people. Tell the congrega- 
 tion that the money given will go towards defray- 
 ing the expenses of travel, the providing of books, 
 and other necessaries. People always like to know 
 for what purpose their money is given. Believ- 
 ing that the offering of our substance is an act of 
 worship, the congregation of a mission should so 
 understand it from the start. We have known 
 Readers who have thought it would be well not 
 to " take up a collection " the first time of holding 
 service. We believe that to be a mistake. A feu- 
 words will explain the principle of Christian giv- 
 ing as a part of the worship on each Lord's Day, 
 and the object to which the money given will go. 
 Always in this matter make the idea of the " offer- 
 ing " prominent; and in the use of words, and in 
 
THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 
 
 133 
 
 instruction given, discountenance the idea of this 
 act being a mere " collection." 
 
 The Reader should see at the first service that 
 there is a proper plate or basin ready; we have 
 known this forgotten, and a hat used. Such oc- 
 currences hinder that reverence and regard for 
 the fitness of things which the people need to be 
 taught. 
 
 When the offerings of the people are brought to 
 the Reader, if in a church, he should not proceed 
 to the altar and present them as a Priest would. 
 Outward acts make strong impressions, and we 
 have known the fact of Holy Orders brought home 
 to men's minds by a Reader, on one Sunday, plac- 
 ing the alms- basin on the step at the entrance to 
 the sanctuary, or upon the desk, and the next Sun- 
 day a Priest offering the alms and placing them 
 upon the Holy Table. We think each Bishop 
 should issue instructions as to what his Readers 
 should do and what they should not do in such 
 matters. 
 
 In the regulations for Readers of the Diocese 
 of Southern Ohio, there is the following : " He may 
 not officiate in any other place in the chancel than 
 the lecturn and prayer-desk. When the offering 
 is taken he shall deposit the collection-plates upon 
 the chancel-rail, er other convenient place; not 
 upon the Holy Table." 
 
134 LAY READERS. 
 
 A Reader should, in all his actions, do nothing 
 that will make it seem that he is in Holy Orders. 
 This is the spirit of the Canon. He should pur- 
 posely study in these little distinctions, such as in 
 the offering of the alms, to show that he is not a 
 Priest. Such conduct we have found most useful 
 in leading to inquiries, and in teaching the people 
 as to the existence of Holy Orders. 
 
 While the alms are being collected it is a good 
 plan to have a hymn sung. This is the general 
 custom in England. If this is not done, it is well 
 to read several of the sentences as provided in the 
 Prayer Book. Either prevents an awkward pause, 
 and in a mission either seems preferable to the 
 mere playing of the organ. 
 
 Little Points which are Important. 
 
 In all actions during the conduct of the service 
 the Reader should cultivate repose of manner, that 
 there may be ease and smoothness. It certainly 
 inspires reverence if there is on the part of the 
 one who officiates a quiet dignity of manner. The 
 Reader should attend strictly to his work. If any 
 distracting thought is allowed to enter the mind, or 
 if the eyes wander to the congregation, the place 
 may be lost, as we knew it to be on one occasion 
 in the middle of the Psalter. Strict attention to 
 the work, absorption of mind and heart in the ser- 
 
THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 135 
 
 vice, not only makes it appear outwardly pleasing, 
 but in that wonderful interaction which there is be- 
 tween man and man, the condition of the officiant 
 is felt by the people. If the Reader is devoutly 
 absorbed in the service there will be a tendency 
 to produce a like state in the members of the con- 
 gregation. 
 
 The earnest Reader will desire to improve in all 
 that makes his service efficient. It will be well if 
 he can have in the congregation a friend who can 
 act as critic and make suggestions. Readers who 
 are blessed with wives will find them the most 
 frank and unsparing critics. If the Reader is 
 married we advise him to take his wife with him 
 a few times, and then we counsel him not to be 
 vexed with her for her criticisms, but attend to 
 them. She will be as anxious as he is himself 
 that he shall be without fault. 
 
 The Reader will probably have been given some 
 preparation, but a few points as to faults in those 
 who are new in the work may be helpful. 
 
 We have seen few Readers who, at the begin- 
 ning, have read loud enough. While shouting is 
 to be avoided, yet a full, round tone should be cul- 
 tivated. Many people are a little deaf, and when 
 those who can hear well sit at a distance and 
 have to strain their attention to catch what is said, 
 it is tiresome and annoying. Your friendly critic 
 
136 LAY READERS. 
 
 should sit at the back of the room and inform you 
 as to this. 
 
 In the General Confession, the Lord's Prayer, 
 and the Creed, the Reader should notice that there 
 is a division into parts by means of capital letters, 
 which it will be seen follow no ordinary rule as to 
 their use. As, for instance, in the Lord's Prayer, 
 " Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven." 
 Here " As " begins with a capital. Few Readers 
 when they begin notice this. These divisions are 
 made as a means of direction as to the portion 
 which is to be said before a dividing pause is made. 
 The General Confession was intended to be said 
 clause by clause, first by the Minister, and then 
 by the people. We have heard it so said on one 
 occasion in an English country church. But being 
 now said with the Minister, as the Lord's Prayer 
 is directed to be said, smoothness will be gained 
 by strict attention to the capitalization. We have 
 heard very jerky reading by inattention to this. 
 The Reader should practice the reading of these 
 portions of the service at a uniform rate of speed. 
 The Confession, it always seemed to us, should be 
 said slowly and carefully. The words are too 
 solemn and full of meaning to be " gabbled " over. 
 
 In announcing the Psalter, wait a few moments 
 that the people may find the place. If necessary, 
 announce the page. No Reader, whether old or 
 
THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 137 
 
 new in the work, should ever read the service in 
 public without having gone over the Lessons care- 
 fully, with reference to pronunciation and general 
 correctness. 
 
 In announcing the Lessons the Reader should 
 use the title of the book which the Church has 
 given to it, as found in the Holy Bible as authorized 
 by the Church. We have heard Readers who 
 were not prepared say, " Here beginneth the eighth 
 chapter of Matthew," or, " Here beginneth the 
 twelfth chapter of the Corinthians." There can 
 be no mistake if the Reader uses titles as given in 
 the Holy Bible. We would suggest, however, that 
 the usage of the Church in placing the word " Saint " 
 before the names of the Apostles be followed when 
 any of the Epistles are announced. As, for ex- 
 ample, instead of saying, " The General Epistle of 
 Peter," the usage of the Church is to say, " Saint 
 Peter," etc., although this does not appear in the 
 title. 
 
 At the close of the Lesson make a slight pause 
 before saying, "Here endeth," etc. Sometimes 
 it makes an absurdity if these words are carried 
 on as if they were a part of what is read. 
 
 And here let us make a suggestion : never tell 
 stories which have something funny in them about 
 any passage in the Bible. In the first place, it 
 tends to irreverence. In the second, the passage 
 
138 LAY HEADERS. 
 
 may come some day in the Lesson. We knew an 
 instance where a clergyman had told some parish- 
 ioners a funny story, made by twisting two para- 
 bles together, and when one of these parables was 
 read as the Gospel on the next Sunday, the 
 memory of it disturbed both Priest and people. 
 
 In the prayers, study their meaning, that you 
 may avoid laying stress on words which impair the 
 sense, or making pauses in the wrong place. For 
 example, in the prayer for the President, we have 
 heard men pause and slightly drop the voice after 
 the words "thy servant." The result has been 
 that it sounded as if the prayer was offered first 
 for the Reader himself, and then for the President. 
 And so in the General Thanksgiving, many times 
 we have heard emphasis laid upon " men," in the 
 first sentence. This at once gives the idea that we 
 are thankful for the blessings vouchsafed to men, 
 as distinct from women and children. Of course 
 if stress is laid upon any word it should be upon 
 "all." Inattention to little things like these mars 
 the service. 
 
 Uniformity in the Service. 
 
 Where Readers are working in an Association, 
 it is most necessary that there be uniformity in the 
 conduct of the services. It will be distracting to 
 have on one Sunday one thing done, and on the 
 
THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 139 
 
 next something else. If the work is in the See 
 city the Bishop will give instructions as to that. 
 If the work is from a parish, the Rector should 
 instruct the Readers just how the service is to be 
 conducted, even to the smallest details. A work 
 that is worth doing is worth doing with exactness 
 in the least particular. God Himself gave explicit 
 directions once as to the minutest details of wor- 
 ship. We shall certainly do well to have every- 
 thing done decently and in order, and, as we say, 
 with uniformity. 
 
 It would be well, then, that even in giving out 
 the text there should be some arranged form, such 
 as: In the first chapter of the Gospel according 
 to Saint Matthew, and a part of the twenty- first 
 verse, it is written, " And thou shalt call His Name 
 Jesus." 
 
 Again, if one Reader turns to the east at the 
 Creed, and another does not, it causes comment. 
 Let it be arranged what usage shall be followed. 
 And so of other things, about which questions will 
 come up from time to time when any work is 
 commenced. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 When the service is over retire quietly, and 
 pray that the words you have spoken with your 
 lips you may believe in your heart and show forth 
 
140 LAY READERS. 
 
 in your life, and that you may be the means of 
 doing good as a Reader in the Church of God. 
 
 The Reader should then go to the porch, if there 
 is one, and speak to as many of the people as he 
 can. As soon as possible he should know the 
 name of each man, woman, and child. This is one 
 of the reasons why where there is a Readers' As- 
 sociation one man should have the especial charge 
 of a mission. We do not mean by this that he 
 should hold service there every Sunday, but that 
 he should go there more often than any one else, 
 and be made to feel a responsibility for the work. 
 
 People, especially perhaps those in the country, 
 like to be spoken to. A shake of the hand and a 
 pleasant greeting have their use in mission work. 
 It makes people think there is an interest taken in 
 them, and they begin to have an interest in you, 
 and in the work. 
 
 Of course with practice the Reader's labors 
 grow easier for him. Most Readers are busy men. 
 But they find the Sunday duty a grand antidote 
 for worldliness. 
 
 Reports. 
 
 Every Association of which we know has blanks 
 for reports of the services held by Readers, which 
 are to be filled out at once, and sent to the secre- 
 tary of the Association. 1 In our work at San 
 
 1 See Appendix F for blank form. 
 
THE READER IN THE SERVICE. 141 
 
 Diego we have found that it has created a wide 
 interest to have these reports placed in a drawer 
 in the reading-room of the Brotherhood of St. 
 Andrew, which is in a business block in the centre 
 of the town. Here our Readers drop in during 
 the week to see what has been done on Sunday, 
 to learn of the congregations, the offerings, etc., 
 of the several missions. Here also are the volumes 
 of sermons, tracts, and books of instruction. In 
 a back room are kept the vestments, travelling- 
 bags, and other things needed in the work. The 
 room has also become a place of meeting for the 
 men of the missions, who, when they come to 
 town, make it their headquarters. The room costs 
 but little to keep up, and being in a block where 
 the janitor is a Churchman and a Brotherhood 
 man, it is all the more easy to manage. A Church 
 room of some kind in the heart of the city is of 
 great use in Readers' work. In the ordinary large 
 country town the rent of such a place is not high. 
 In places of greater population there is generally 
 a parish house which can be used, or in the See 
 city the Diocesan house. 
 
 Some Bishops wisely require written quarterly 
 reports from all Readers except those in associa- 
 tions. The Bishop of Ohio considers a failure to 
 make a report sufficient cause for revoking the 
 license. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 THE READER AND SERMONS. 
 
 THE matter of sermons is, perhaps, the most 
 perplexing one in the Reader's work. The service 
 is settled. The Church has provided that. The 
 Reader realizes more and more what a priceless 
 treasure he has in the Book of Common Prayer. 
 " With our Prayer Book and Churchly traditions, 
 no religious body can do such effective work in 
 decent and orderly manner," writes a Reader of 
 large experience. One often feels, after a hearty 
 service in a hall or schoolhouse, how adapted to 
 all sorts and conditions of men and places is the 
 Prayer Book ; and how uplifting are its services > 
 whether in a cathedral with all accessories, or in a 
 building with few conveniences, if only there are 
 worshippers in spirit and in truth. 
 
 With " the prayers " the Reader is well furnished 
 for his work as the leader of the worship of the 
 congregation. But as to sermons, we have never 
 met a Reader who had found just what he wanted. 
 Of course this is because, while the Prayer Book 
 142 
 
THE READER AND SERMONS. 
 
 143 
 
 represents the devotions of the ages, the outpouring 
 of the heart of humanity, a book of sermons rep- 
 resents the thought of an individual. No one can 
 make the sermons of another entirely his own. A 
 Reader may find a few sermons in a volume which 
 are suited to him, but it is quite probable that he 
 does not feel that the remainder are satisfactory, 
 or that he can feel just in that sympathy with 
 them which is necessary for their best delivery. 
 
 After a varied experience in the Buffalo Lay- 
 men's League, Mr. Lewis Stockton writes to us : 
 " My belief is that the best sermons for Readers 
 are not yet written." The reason is that the 
 English sermons written for use in missions are 
 often unsuited for American use, without much 
 alteration and modification ; and that the volumes 
 of sermons published in this country have usually 
 been preached before congregations in large cities, 
 and are not intended for use in missions. They 
 are usually of a high order, and many of them are 
 excellent for settled congregations of cultured Chris- 
 tian people, but they are away above the heads 
 and the hearts of the great majority of the men, 
 women, and children whom the Reader finds at 
 the missions. But the chief reason that the 
 Reader has not found the sermons exactly to his 
 mind is, of course, because they are not his own, 
 either in the thoughts they contain or in the Ian- 
 
144 LAY 
 
 guage which clothes them. He realizes in the ser- 
 mon that he is to deliver a message which has 
 not passed through his own personality, and so 
 his manner is restrained, and much of the desired 
 effect will be lost. 
 
 The only complete remedy is that the Reader 
 make exhortations, or expound Holy Scripture, or 
 deliver addresses of his own. But as most of the 
 men are not prepared for this, sermons must still 
 be read, and the best way to overcome the diffi- 
 culty should be carefully studied by the Reader, 
 and the one under whom he is placed. 
 
 We will give some suggestions from the experi- 
 ence of those in the work. In selecting a sermon 
 the Reader should take one which, as he reads, 
 he feels instinctively he can make in some degree 
 his own, because it appeals to his own mind and 
 heart. He knows that it has a message for him 
 personally, and that he can carry it in a measure 
 as from himself to other men. He may look over 
 a large number of sermons before he finds the one 
 he wants, but it will be worth the trouble if by 
 doing so he can obtain one which he can deliver 
 with that force which the assent of his own mind 
 and the response of his own heart can alone give 
 to it. When he has selected a sermon he should 
 try to thoroughly master it, to get into the spirit 
 of the message, as well as to be familiar with its 
 
THE READER AND SERMONS. 145 
 
 phraseology. For the best delivery of the sermon 
 he must, as far as possible, make it his own. 
 
 Often a Reader will find that this end will be 
 attained only by rewriting the sermon or parts of 
 it and putting it into his own language. Permis- 
 sion to do this could no doubt be obtained by one 
 who was approved as sufficiently instructed in 
 Church doctrine. One trained in theology knows 
 the necessity of exactness in language, and it is 
 often best when a Reader rewrites a sermon to have 
 it examined before delivery by the Priest in charge. 
 
 But whether written or not, let the Reader keep 
 continually in mind that he should try to deliver 
 the sermon rather than read it. It takes time to 
 be able to do this, but there are Readers who have, 
 by constant labor, attained the ability to preach 
 the sermons they select, instead of merely reading 
 them from a book. A Southern Bishop writes us : 
 " A good reader is essential. I remember I had 
 a Lay Reader who had a good voice and was a 
 good reader. The congregation said to me they 
 preferred to have him read sermons than to have 
 my assistant preach to them." He adds : " There 
 are very few sermons fit for general use. It re- 
 quires discretion in selecting and cutting down." 
 
 Readers who have their heart in the work can 
 make great improvement in a few months, with 
 proper training, in the delivery of sermons. This 
 
146 LAY READERS. 
 
 is certainly worth striving after, as on it depends 
 in large measure the success or failure of a Reader. 
 Whatever may be said of settled congregations get- 
 ting too much preaching, the people in missions in 
 town or country need sermons which shall arouse 
 them and teach them. They need sermons as well 
 as worship and the Sacraments. 
 
 In regard to the manner in which the Reader 
 should have his sermon before him, those most 
 experienced agree that he should not take a book 
 to the pulpit or lecturn. To do so creates a preju- 
 dice at once in the minds of those who are to hear. 
 It gives the mind, through the eye, a " booky " 
 impression. 
 
 To non-Churchmen especially it appears as if 
 the prayers have been read from a book, and 
 now the sermon is to be read from a book. It 
 was perhaps some service of this sort which led a 
 country preacher to object to the Church because 
 her clergy were obliged to read sermons written 
 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. 1 
 
 A book leads to the mental impression that the 
 Reader has made no preparation, as if there was to 
 be no "living voice to living men." One Bishop 
 directs his Readers to write out their sermons. 
 This is very desirable when it can be done, as it 
 not only makes the sermon familiar to the Reader, 
 
 1 This is a fact related by the Bishop of California. 
 
THE READER AND SERMONS. 
 
 147 
 
 but if he has permission to change the phraseology 
 when it does not appear natural to him, he will 
 eliminate some of the "bookish" element, and 
 bring it into every-day English as spoken by 
 himself. 
 
 If the Reader cannot write the sermon, there is 
 another way of dispensing with the book, which is 
 largely followed. The sermon is cut out of the 
 book and tied into a paper cover. There should 
 also be provided for each Reader a decent cover 
 of velvet or some material in which he may carry 
 his sermons, and in which they may be placed on 
 the lecturn. This will have the advantage of keep- 
 ing the sermon from slipping down, which it is 
 apt to do if in a paper cover only. A volume of 
 sermons printed for Readers should be so arranged 
 that each one can be detached from its place in the 
 book without carrying with it at the beginning or 
 the end a portion of another sermon. There are a 
 few books with which this can be done. All that 
 is necessary is that no part of one sermon shall be 
 printed on the leaf which contains any portion of 
 another. In binding sermons in paper covers after 
 being cut from a book, care should be taken to tie 
 them in very loosely so that the pages may turn 
 readily. The best way is to make holes with a 
 punch or knife towards the left-hand upper and 
 lower corners, and tie them loosely with string. 
 
148 LAY READERS. 
 
 The object in going to this trouble is not for 
 the purpose of deception. The people know the 
 Reader does not write his own sermons. It is 
 simply because it looks better, it is easier to carry, 
 it shows that a man has tried in some way to 
 make the sermon more his own, it takes away the 
 book. 
 
 One Reader of wide experience says : " Sermons 
 written for Readers should be lithographed rather 
 than printed, to avoid reading from a book." We 
 never permit our Readers to take the entire volume 
 with them. Before this rule was made the Read- 
 ers sometimes said that they felt that the effect of 
 the sermon was lost because they carried a large 
 book to the lecturn. 
 
 If the sermon is written the Reader should write 
 it plainly, so that it can be filed away for the use 
 of another man. Each Reader should be careful 
 after delivering a sermon to write upon it and the 
 paper cover which contains it his name and the 
 place and time of its use. This is the custom of 
 several associations. 
 
 In selecting a sermon, however, there is another 
 important consideration, and that is, the congre- 
 gation which is to hear it. Of course we do not 
 here refer to any prejudices which a congregation 
 may have, but to the kind of people composing it. 
 The Reader must be a man of judgment. He 
 
THE READER AND SERMONS. 149 
 
 must gauge his congregation, and give them what 
 they will understand and what they need. We 
 do not mean by this that he must have sermons 
 upon the faults or sins he sees among them, or 
 attack errors prevailing, so much as that he should 
 select sermons which will tend to build them up 
 by positive teaching in those things which they 
 lack. If there is some truth which is not known 
 to them, or is held in a distorted form by them, 
 sermons should be chosen which will present the 
 truth in all its fulness as received and held by the 
 Church. If, for instance, the error prevails that 
 children should be left to " choose for themselves " 
 in religious matters, sermons can be chosen which 
 present the Church's system of the birth of the 
 child into the Family of God, and the teaching and 
 training and nourishment provided in the Family. 
 It is surprising how this appeals in strength and 
 beauty to people to whom it is new, and who 
 come with " ears to hear." 
 
 What Sermons to Read. 
 
 And now as to the books of sermons suitable for 
 Readers. There are some Bishops who set forth 
 lists of books from which the Reader must select. 
 One names the following : 
 
 Canon Farrar, several volumes. 
 
I5O LAY READERS. 
 
 Bishop Temple, Rngby Sermons. 
 
 Charles Kingsley, National Sermons, etc. 
 
 John Henry Newman, Parocliial and Plain Ser- 
 mons. 
 
 Canon Liddon, Sermons to the People. 
 
 Aitkins, Around the Cross and IV hat is Yo in- 
 Life f 
 
 Dr. Vaughan, Public Worship and the Liturgy 
 and Heroes of Faith. 
 
 Dr. Dix, Christ at the Door of the Heart. 
 
 Sadler, Abundant Life. 
 
 Dr. De Koven, Sermons. 
 
 Bishop Brooks, several volumes. 
 
 A glance at this list will show at once that all 
 these sermons are of a high order. But we are 
 surprised that the simpler, plainer sermons of Bux- 
 ton, Norton, or Murphy, or that Bishop Hunting- 
 ton's Christ in the Christian Year, should not be 
 permitted. The list may suit the work of Readers 
 in one Diocese, but Readers in the West would 
 find very few among them that they could use in 
 missions. 
 
 The Bishops of fifty Dioceses have been kind 
 enough to send to us their rules as regards sermons 
 to be used. Nearly all of them leave the selection 
 to the Priest under whom the Readers work. 
 
 We have also corresponded with many Read- 
 ers actively engaged in associations or in parishes. 
 
THE READER AND SERMONS. 151 
 
 From their experience and our own we give the 
 following suggestions. 
 
 We put first of all the volumes of sermons by 
 the Rev. H. J. Wilmot Buxton. Of these Bishop 
 Gilbert writes : " Decidedly the best book of ser- 
 mons I know of for Readers is The Life of Duty, 
 by the Rev. H. J. Wilmot Buxton. They cover 
 the Christian Year, and are most acceptable." 
 Nearly every Bishop mentions Buxton's sermons 
 as in use. Some of them have to be slightly 
 changed for an American congregation. We speak 
 here of references to royalty, or to English institu- 
 tions or customs. But these can usually be easily 
 changed or cut out. No fewer than fourteen vol- 
 umes of his sermons are published. We know of 
 no books of sermons which have so few that can- 
 not be used. They have the advantage of being 
 brief, occupying from twelve to fifteen minutes in 
 delivery. They are plain, without loss of beauty 
 or force by their simplicity. They are full of sound 
 Church teaching. They are practical and didacti- 
 cal, and have in them a robust, manly ring. They 
 are suitable for any congregation, the city parish 
 or the smallest country mission. 
 
 The American sermons which have, perhaps, 
 been most widely used by Readers are those by 
 the late Dr. J. N. Norton. While there are many 
 very good sermons in the several volumes pub- 
 
152 LAY HEADERS. 
 
 lished, and while people of the congregations often 
 speak of them as being liked, yet few Readers 
 care to use them continuously. They are so full 
 of anecdotes that often the stories comprise the 
 greater portion of the whole. Few Readers feel 
 that they can tell these stories well, and the ser- 
 mons used show that most of the anecdotes are 
 stricken out. The numerous editions through 
 which Dr. Norton's sermons have passed show 
 that they have been largely read. This we be- 
 lieve is because they are simple, and more suitable 
 for mission congregations than any other sermons 
 by American authors. They have an advantage 
 in that nearly all of them have what Dr. Norton 
 calls, in quoting another, a " Church fringe." But 
 our experience is that in any volume of sermons 
 there are many which a Reader will not use if he 
 has several authors from which to select. Some 
 Bishops recommend Norton's sermons as particu- 
 larly adapted to hospitals and poorhouses. 
 
 Another writer whose sermons are mentioned by 
 many correspondents is the Rev. J. B. C. Murphy. 
 Through Fast and Festival, two volumes, will be 
 found excellent for general use. Five volumes 
 of his sermons are in print. 
 
 Murphy's sermons are something like Buxton's, 
 and, on the whole, will be found to be very useful 
 in mission or other work. Those of both men are 
 
THE READER AND SERMONS. 
 
 153 
 
 much freer from that which renders them unsuit- 
 able for American congregations than the sermons 
 of most English preachers, and have the advantage 
 of having been written for plain people. 
 
 There are sermons of other Englishmen which 
 can be used to advantage. Many recommend the 
 new series of Sermons for the People, published by 
 the S. P. C. K. They are by the " best preachers," 
 and have the recommendation of being but forty 
 cents per volume. While in such books there will 
 be found sermons which American Readers will 
 find of little use to them, as they have a foreign 
 air, yet many will be available. Our own Readers 
 have found, with some modifications, that Baring 
 Gould's Village Preaching for a Year contains some 
 very good sermons for mission use. This book is 
 mentioned on but one list sent to us. 
 
 Of Bishop Huntington's sermons nothing need 
 be said. In beauty of diction and grandeur of 
 thought Bishop Huntington is almost the only liv- 
 ing exponent of a style which marked the truly 
 great men of the New England school of writers. 
 His Christ in the Christian Year contains sermons 
 which we delight to read. They are largely used 
 by Readers throughout the country. They are, 
 however, too long, and suited for settled congre- 
 gations rather than missions. 
 
 In the Buffalo Laymen's League, Dean Burgon's 
 
154 J^y READERS. 
 
 Short Sermons are found very useful, as are also 
 the sermons of the Rev. Aubrey L. Moore, From 
 Advent to Advent, and some of Farrar's sermons. 
 
 The list of sermons permitted in the Diocese of 
 Central New York contains most of those already 
 named, with some not now in print, and in addition 
 the following: Mozley's; Goulburn's Thoughts on 
 Personal Religion; Thompson's First Principles; 
 Helps to a Holy Lent; and Snyder's C/n'ef Tilings. 
 These last would be excellent, used from time to 
 time, where the people need instruction in Church 
 principles; and where do they not need it? If 
 Liddon's sermons are read, care must be exercised 
 as to the capacity of the congregation. 
 
 The sermons of Bishop Brooks are much too 
 long for Readers' use, and generally one does not 
 care to cut them down. 
 
 The following are used by many : 
 
 Rev. Dr. J. Cross, Coals from the Altar, etc. 
 
 Bishop Magee, Sermons. 
 
 Living Voices of Living Men, by Bishops and 
 clergy of the Church; 2 vols., largely used. 
 
 Bishop How, Plain Words and Practical Ser- 
 mons. 
 
 Grou, On the Lord's Prayer. Selections from 
 this are suitable for prisons and institutions. 
 
 Sermons by Dr. Lewis are mentioned by many, 
 but they are out of print. 
 
THE READER AND SERMONS. 155 
 
 Rev. Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Cate- 
 chism and Characters of the Old Testament. These 
 are recommended by the Bishop of Louisiana and 
 others. 
 
 Rev. J. W. Hardman, The Preacher Prepared 
 and Stories and Teachings in the Matins and 
 Evensong. The last is most useful for the Cate- 
 chist. 
 
 Scott- Holland is used in the Buffalo League. 
 By far the best sermons we have seen for children 
 are Buxton's, in the volume The Lighthouse on the 
 Rock. 
 
 If a series of sermons is desired for Lent or Ad- 
 vent, such can be found in the catalogue of any 
 Church publisher. 
 
 Of course the kind of sermons needed differs 
 widely according to circumstances. Wherever 
 there is an organization of Readers, the formation 
 of a library is naturally begun at once, not only 
 of volumes of sermons, but of works on the history 
 and doctrine of the Church. 
 
 Where work is conducted on the Convocational 
 system a library should be commenced in a central 
 place from which Readers could obtain the books 
 as they need them. 
 
 It is generally agreed that sermons read should 
 be short. Some Bishops in their directions say 
 that they should be cut down so that they will 
 
156 LAY READERS. 
 
 not take longer than twenty minutes to deliver. 
 Many others of experience believe that it is a mis- 
 take to have a sermon which takes much over fif- 
 teen minutes to read. In cutting down, great care 
 should be exercised not to destroy the connection 
 or the force. Sometimes an illustration can be 
 crossed out. Occasionally an entire division of 
 the subject can be left out. There are sermons 
 from which a large part of the introduction can be 
 omitted. 
 
 The wise Reader will always, if possible, select 
 a sermon suitable for. the Church season and the 
 especial day, so that the whole service shall In- 
 harmonious. We have known men who were not 
 sufficiently careful about this. 
 
 If the text is taken from one of the Lessons, so 
 much the better. Many volumes of sermons avail- 
 able for Readers have their texts taken from the 
 Epistles or Gospels for the day. This does not 
 matter much on festivals, when the Lesson will be 
 upon the same subject, but on the Sundays after 
 Epiphany and the Sundays after Trinity it would 
 be better if the text were from the Lesson. 
 
 There are volumes of English sermons which 
 follow this course, but owing to the difference be- 
 tween the American and English Lectionaries, they 
 lose their value, as to this, in the United States. 
 
 There is a real need of books of sermons for 
 
THE READER AND SERMONS. 157 
 
 Readers, written by Americans, on texts found in 
 the Lessons for the Sundays of the Church Year. 
 What is wanted are plain, practical, and didactic 
 sermons which will take about fifteen minutes in 
 delivery. These should be printed and bound so 
 that they can be cut from the book entire. 
 
 Readers have frequently come to us and asked 
 for sermons which they have heard us deliver. In 
 such cases we have written the sermons out, and 
 had them copied by a typewriter. They have 
 been read in turn at the various missions. It is 
 but natural that the men have felt that these were 
 more in touch with the needs of the locality and 
 the day than those which ordinarily they could 
 obtain from a book. 
 
 Object of Sermon. 
 
 We feel that this chapter should not be closed 
 without reference to the object of the sermon. We 
 believe that while men need exhortation, they need, 
 most of all, teaching. The people of the missions 
 need to be taught. " Go, teach all nations/' was 
 the command, and we believe that the chief aim 
 of the sermon should be to teach the people " the 
 things concerning the Kingdom of God and the 
 Name of Jesus Christ." 
 
 Teach, teach, teach this we would have as the 
 idea in the mind of the Reader. The people get 
 
158 LAY READERS. 
 
 a surfeit of indefinite preaching. They need some- 
 thing definite. We do not mean by this a con- 
 tinual harping upon the constitution of the Church 
 in a semi-argumentative style. We mean system- 
 atic, definite teaching as to the " first principles 
 of the doctrine of Christ " ; Repentance, Faith, 
 Baptism, the Laying on of Hands, the Resurrec- 
 tion and the Judgment, with all that follows these 
 in the economy of the Kingdom of God. In ser- 
 mon, Sunday-school, and conversation with the 
 people strive to build up in them a definite faith, 
 that each man, woman, and child may be able " to 
 give a reason for the hope that is in him." 
 
 We believe that the Reader would be greatly 
 assisted in instructing the people as to their duty 
 to God and their duty towards their neighbor if 
 the Homilies of the Church of England were re- 
 vised and modernized for American use. There 
 is need now, as there was when the Preface was 
 written to the Homilies in 1562, of " the true set- 
 ting forth and pure declaring of God's Word, which 
 is the principal guide and leader into all godliness 
 and virtue to expel and drive away as well cor- 
 rupt, vicious, and ungodly living as also erroneous 
 and poisoned doctrine that the people may know 
 what duty they owe both to God and man." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE READER, HIS ADDRESSES AND EXHOR- 
 TATIONS. 
 
 IN the Jewish synagogue fit laymen were per- 
 mitted to expound the Holy Scriptures and to ex- 
 hort. At Antioch, Paul and Barnabas, as laymen, 
 were invited to give some word of exhortation. 
 
 Apollos was still a layman when he publicly 
 preached to the Jews at Achaia, " showing by the 
 Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ." 
 
 In Chapter I. was given ample proof that in the 
 post- Apostolic age laymen who were considered 
 able were permitted to address congregations even 
 in the presence of the Bishop. If the fourth 
 Council of Carthage (A.D. 398) ordered that no 
 layman should preach in the presence of the 
 clergy unless at their request, it is evident that it 
 was not an uncommon thing for laymen to exhort 
 the congregations. 
 
 The Apostolic Constitutions ascribe to the 
 Apostle St. Paul a direction that: "Though a 
 man be a layman, if experienced in the delivery 
 
160 LAY READERS. 
 
 of instruction and morally worthy he may teach, 
 for ' they shall all be taught of God.' " 
 
 It may be stated as a principle of the Church 
 that ordinarily the office of preacher belongs to 
 the priesthood, but that, under extraordinary con- 
 ditions, Deacons or fit laymen may be licensed to 
 preach the Gospel. 
 
 Extraordinary conditions are such as prevailed 
 in the first centuries, and such as have arisen since 
 at certain periods and in certain countries. When- 
 ever and wherever the Church has been in the 
 midst of heathenism, whether eighteen centuries 
 ago or to-day, the greatness of the work has always 
 led to the use of laymen as evangelists, exhort- 
 ers, and catechists. When heretical sects have 
 arisen, or unbelief abounded, or deadness has pre- 
 vailed among Priests and people, then the occasion 
 has been deemed extraordinary. This was the case 
 in the beginning of the thirteenth century, when 
 Mohammedanism and the rise of heretical sects 
 without, and lack of spirituality within the Church, 
 threatened its life, and gave rise to the preaching 
 orders. 
 
 When Francis of Assisi went to Innocent III. 
 for permission to gather a company of preachers 
 to go forth and convert the world, the Pope hesi- 
 tated. But he soon saw the wisdom of meeting 
 the growing sects by their own most effective 
 
THE READER AND ADDRESSES. i6l 
 
 weapon of preaching. He hoped that " the Poor 
 Men of the Church might outnumber and outlabor 
 the Poor Men of Lyon." 1 When Francis and his 
 " Little Brothers " were given authority to preach 
 everywhere, the leader himself was not in Holy 
 Orders, and it was some time before he was made 
 Deacon. 2 Many of the order were laymen. The 
 first company of Franciscans which landed in Eng- 
 land in 1224 was composed of four Priests and five 
 laymen. The mission of these preaching friars 
 infused new life into the Church. 
 
 In the latter part of the next century Wiclif s 
 Poor Preachers worked at first, in many Dioceses, 
 under Episcopal sanction. 
 
 Wesley wanted to have his lay preachers work 
 under authority, considering that conditions needed 
 such measures. If the Church refuses to recognize 
 extraordinary conditions and as a living body 
 adapt herself to surroundings, then the work she 
 neglects is attempted by men on their own author- 
 ity, and in their own imperfect way, to the rebuke 
 and confusion of the Church. 
 
 We can truly say that the conditions which 
 meet the Church in the United States warrant and 
 demand a departure from the ordinary practice 
 of confining the office of preacher to the clergy. 
 
 1 Milman, vol. vi., p. 30. 
 
 2 Robertson, vol. iii., p. 37- 
 
1 62 LA Y READERS. 
 
 Surrounded by sect and heresy and unbelief, she 
 cannot carry the Gospel of the Kingdom to the 
 people of this land without the extraordinary use 
 of suitable laymen as exhorters and preachers. 
 Will she as a living body adapt herself to the need ? 
 
 If the laymen of the Church, acting under au- 
 thority, do this work, they will understand that 
 they are like St. John the Baptist, preparing the 
 way for the Kingdom of God with its ministry and 
 Sacraments. If it is left to individuals and socie- 
 ties, repentance and faith will be preached, while 
 the other " principles of the doctrine of Christ " 
 will be ignored or slighted. 
 
 The need of the age and of the country is a 
 preaching order of Priests and Lay Evangelists. 
 
 It is not necessary to review the question fur- 
 ther, when we possess a report bearing upon the 
 matter presented to the General Convention of the 
 Church by learned Bishops, Priests, and laymen, 
 which report and its appended four resolutions were 
 approved and adopted without a dissenting voice 
 in 1877. The names signed to the report are a 
 sufficient pledge of careful investigation and 
 thought, as well as a warrant for its close adher- 
 ence to the principles of the Catholic Church. 
 These names are : Henry C. Lay, F. D. Hunting- 
 ton, J. B. Kerfoot, James Craik, D. B. Knicker- 
 backer, A. Toomer Porter, George F. Seymour, 
 
THE READER AND ADDRESSES. 163 
 
 Stevens Parker, William Welsh, Montgomery 
 Blair, Elisha Johnson, John H. Devereux, L. N. 
 Whittle. 1 
 
 After speaking of the conditions in which the 
 American Church finds herself, the report states 
 that : " The relation of the Church to society is 
 one of the most vital questions with which the 
 Church in every age has to deal, and her power of 
 organization is to be shown not by the mainte- 
 nance of a rigid inflexibility, but in her ability to 
 adapt herself to the changing conditions of human 
 society, and to meet its ever- varying wants." 
 
 And now to the point, for the employment of 
 Readers who should be permitted to preach, which 
 is the real burden of the report. 
 
 " It is a narrow and imperfect view of the con- 
 stitution of the ministry of the Church which re- 
 gards the priesthood as the only agency which is 
 to be employed in the extension of the Kingdom 
 of Jesus Christ in the world. To the priesthood, 
 indeed, is entrusted exclusively the administration 
 of the Sacraments, and to wait continually upon 
 the altar and perform the work of service there. 
 
 " But from the beginning, both under the old 
 and new dispensations, other agencies have been 
 used for the extension of the Kingdom of God, 
 both at home and abroad. 
 
 l Journal of 1877, pp. 267-69. 
 
1 64 LAY READERS. 
 
 " The prophets under the old dispensation did 
 not belong only or exclusively to the priestly 
 order. The same is true of the Christian dispen- 
 sation. In the days of the Apostles mention is 
 made of evangelists and teachers, as classes differ- 
 ing from the three orders of the ministry. In like 
 manner, the great preaching orders of the middle 
 ages, who more than any other agency, perhaps, 
 paved the way for the Reformation, were laymen, 
 who went forth and preached the Gospel t<> the 
 poor. . . . Nor can your committee overlook the 
 fact that Wesley, in his great effort to evangelize 
 the people of England, . . . called attention to 
 the fact that the priestly and prophetical functions 
 are not necessarily identical. . . . 
 
 " Impressed with these facts, your committee 
 recommend an earnest and well-directed effort to 
 secure a more widely extended use of lay sen -ice 
 in the great work of making known the Gospel of 
 Jesus Christ. ... In almost every parish there 
 are devoted and well-trained men and women, 
 who, under the direction of the Rector, might be 
 used in the work of evangelizing and teaching. 
 
 " It is the opinion of your committee that the 
 existing system of lay-reading does not meet this 
 want, especially among the colored population of 
 the South, and the agriculturists throughout the 
 country. It is defective in that which can alone 
 
THE READER AND ADDRESSES. 165 
 
 give such efforts a hold upon the people, viz., 
 earnest teaching and exhorting face to face upon 
 the things which belong to their eternal interests, 
 the salvation of their souls." 
 
 After mentioning various agencies in the 
 Church, it speaks of the duty of those " who hold 
 in trust the mighty forces of wealth, culture, and 
 social position " to show " that they have the faith 
 of Jesus Christ in their own hearts, and that they, 
 in the spirit of their Master, earnestly desire to 
 impart the precious gift to others." 
 
 In the first resolution adopted the two houses 
 of the General Convention " do most earnestly 
 entreat their brethren of the clergy and the laity 
 diligently to inculcate, and themselves to act upon, 
 the facts and suggestions of the foregoing report ; 
 and in order to accomplish more effectually the 
 purposes therein proposed, the parochial clergy 
 are requested to select and appoint from their re- 
 spective cures, with the consent of their several 
 Bishops, fit and proper persons specially adapted 
 to act as catechists and teachers." 
 
 We had not seen this report until this chapter 
 was commenced, but it is such an emphatic en- 
 dorsement of the movement of the use of Readers 
 and Evangelists that we have quoted freely from 
 it. We are aware that in Article xxiii. it is a 
 stated principle that : " It is not lawful for any 
 
1 66 LAY READERS. 
 
 man to take upon him the office of public preach- 
 ing before he be lawfully called and sent to execute 
 the same. And those we ought to judge lawfully 
 called and sent which be chosen and called to this 
 work by men who have public authority given 
 unto them in the congregation to call and send 
 ministers into the Lord's Vineyard." We are 
 aware also of the words used in the ordination of 
 Deacons and Priests, and of the 49th Canon of 
 1603, which last forbids any one to preach except 
 he be licensed. But yet in the Church of England 
 all this, and the long custom of confining the office 
 of preacher to the clergy, does not prevent learned 
 Bishops from licensing Readers to preach the 
 Gospel. They may not use the word " preach," 
 but when the Bishop of London issues orders ap- 
 proving of " Diocesan Readers " at extra services, 
 even in consecrated buildings, " giving addresses 
 and expositions of Holy Scripture and catechising," 
 the distinction must be very finely drawn if any 
 difference is shown. In fact, in a pamphlet pub- 
 lished for Readers by the Lay Helpers' Associa- 
 tion of London, by the Diocesan authority, are 
 these words : " If called upon to give exhortations, 
 be as simple as possible. It can scarcely be nec- 
 essary to utter a warning against controversial 
 preaching; your teaching should be constructive 
 rather than destructive." 
 
UNIVERSITY 3 
 
 J 
 
 THE READER AND ADDRESSES 167 
 
 It would be wearisome to refer to the many 
 Dioceses in the Church of England where Readers 
 and Evangelists are permitted to exhort. We will 
 mention one only. The Bishop of Sydney, Pri- 
 mate of Australia, has one of the best systems 
 of organized Readers of which we know. In his 
 license given to Diocesan Readers is the permission 
 to " expound the Scriptures and to exhort the con- 
 gregation," and in the instructions issued there are 
 the words : " Lay Readers are permitted to preach 
 from manuscript or otherwise, on obtaining a license 
 from the Bishop to do so." 
 
 In the United States the Canon which prohibits 
 the Reader delivering sermons of his own com- 
 position permits him; if licensed by the Bishop, to 
 make addresses, instructions, and exhortations as 
 a catechist in vacant parishes, congregations, or 
 missions." Acting under this Canon, nearly every 
 Bishop has Readers whom he has licensed, to all 
 intents and purposes, to preach the Gospel. Many 
 of these are engaged in rescue work in the large 
 cities, others are doing missionary work in the far 
 West. In South Dakota there are forty Indians 
 and six white men acting as Readers. All of these 
 are permitted to make addresses. In Alabama 
 the majority of the twenty- one Readers " are per- 
 mitted to accompany their reading of the service 
 with exhortation," which the Bishop " finds to be 
 
1 68 LAY READERS. 
 
 more effective and profitable, both to themselves 
 and the people, than sermons read." One half of 
 the Readers in the Diocese of Pennsylvania are 
 licensed to make addresses. In Iowa many 
 Readers are graduates of colleges or professional 
 men; these can make addresses. In Chicago 
 " several are licensed to exhort [students of the 
 Western Theological Seminary], more are per- 
 mitted to make addresses, quite a number give 
 talks at meetings of the Brotherhood of St. 
 Andrew," etc. In Central New York " Readers 
 are sometimes allowed to make addresses, but 
 must not take a text." Perhaps this might be 
 accepted as the distinction between an " address " 
 and a "sermon of his own composition." Our 
 clerical informant thinks it is " rather a fine dis- 
 tinction," and we agree with him. The Bishop of 
 Milwaukee allows his Readers to make addresses, 
 " but not more than on each alternate Sunday." 
 
 The Bishops of two missionary jurisdictions, 
 finding it impossible to get clergy for their work, 
 have made, and are carrying out, plans for the em- 
 ployment of laymen of good education, who will 
 take charge of missions under the Bishop, and at 
 the same time prepare themselves for Holy Orders. 
 The Bishop of New Mexico and Arizona told the 
 writer that this was the only way in which he could 
 work his field, and that he had several men of this 
 
THE READER AND ADDRESSES. 169 
 
 kind. The Bishop of Wyoming and Idaho writes : 
 " Owing to the great difficulty in securing men and 
 money in my poor jurisdiction, I have to utilize 
 the services of young men, and appoint them as 
 lay preachers rather than Lay Readers, though 
 strictly Lay Readers until such time as they can 
 pass their examinations and be admitted, first to 
 the diaconate, and then in a couple of years more, 
 if they can make sufficient progress, to the priest- 
 hood. I have several converts from the religious 
 bodies about us, whom I have put to work, per- 
 mitting them to make addresses and preach. In 
 many of our mining camps and ranch towns such 
 men do excellent service." 
 
 It is seen at once that in rescue work in cities 
 for a Reader to read a sermon from a book would 
 be ridiculous. He must talk to the people in lan- 
 guage they will understand; he must speak to 
 them as a living man to living men. And most 
 successful are many men so employed. 
 
 But if in rescue work in cities the reading of 
 sermons from books is useless, it is often felt to 
 be far from the thing needed in missions any- 
 where, in town or country. No Reader is long in 
 mission work without feeling this. Of course this 
 difficulty can be largely overcome by a Reader 
 acquiring the art of delivering a written sermon, 
 rather than merely reading it. But it cannot be 
 
I 70 LAY READERS. 
 
 entirely overcome until the Reader is taught and 
 prepared, and then permitted to exhort. We are 
 far from advocating the idea that a Bishop should 
 give any man who has the idea he can preach the 
 liberty to do so. But what we do assert is, that 
 the Church has thousands of godly laymen who 
 could, by proper training, be fitted to go forth and 
 preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Any one who has heard the ordinary country 
 preacher representing one of the numerous relig- 
 ious bodies has probably been impressed with two 
 things : first, his earnestness ; second, his ignorance 
 of what the Gospel of the Kingdom is. As a rule, 
 such preaching has one burden, " be converted," 
 with a meaning given to that word which has no 
 warrant from Holy Scripture. And yet to millions 
 in this country this is the only kind of preaching 
 within their reach. We have laymen who could 
 go to many of these people and present the truth 
 as Jesus Christ and the Apostles delivered it to the 
 saints, and as this Church has received it. The 
 Church has men who have the ability, and would 
 have the knowledge with training, and increased 
 interest and earnestness would come when once 
 they were engaged in the work. The Church, if 
 she is to reach men, must have lay preachers act- 
 ing under authority. If she has not, the self- 
 constituted, self-governed preachers will continue 
 
THE READER AND ADDRESSES. 171 
 
 to teach a partial, and often a perverted, Gospel. 
 Preaching the people will have, and preaching the 
 Church should provide for them ; and as she has 
 not enough clergy to do this, she should adapt 
 herself to existing conditions, and have thousands 
 of laymen working as evangelists, teachers, and 
 exhorters. 
 
 But we would go further than the idea that only 
 educated men should be permitted to exhort. A 
 man can be well grounded in Church principles, 
 and be an effective speaker, without having a lib- 
 eral education. We have all of us known plain 
 workingmen who have been remarkably sound in 
 their apprehension of Church doctrine, and able in 
 expounding it. We need men of the people to ex- 
 hort the people. A large part of the losses which 
 the Church of the English race has sustained has 
 been the result of its tradition that only the man 
 who was " a scholar and a gentleman " should be 
 an agent in carrying on the work of the Church. 
 We have nothing to say in regard to opening the 
 way for unlearned men " of the people " to enter 
 the priesthood, though, as the late John Henry 
 Hopkins shows in his pointed way: 1 " Our Angli- 
 can fad has been carried to such a ridiculous de- 
 gree that not one of the original Apostles could 
 possibly pass our regular canonical examination 
 
 l Church. Revieiv, January, 1891. 
 
172 LAY READERS. 
 
 for the diaconate. "... Wherever the bulk of the 
 priesthood has been taken from the bulk of the 
 population, so that social sympathy has not been 
 severed, there the Church has retained her hold 
 upon the bulk of the population. And though 
 there may have been evils and drawbacks, no 
 other religious organization has ever been able to 
 get the bulk of the common people out of the 
 hands of the clergy of the Church." 
 
 On the contrary, in England, with the ministry 
 of the Church exclusively " scholars and gentle- 
 men," " every schismatical movement, without ex- 
 ception, has been on a lower social level than the 
 bulk of the National Church," and the people have 
 gone out to follow those who had sympathy with 
 them without patronizing them. " The Church 
 must make up her mind to have Priests in social 
 sympathy with the different levels of the classes 
 among which she is to do her work." 
 
 But the grave difficulties in the way of admitting 
 unlearned men to the sacred ministry do not exist 
 in the consideration of admitting them to the minor 
 orders as Evangelists and Readers. We should 
 learn from history, and try to regain lost ground. 
 The lay preachers sent out by Wesley were so 
 marvelously successful in arousing and winning the 
 people because they themselves were of the people. 
 Their language was not always grammatical nor 
 
THF. READER AND ADDRESSES. 173 
 
 their manner refined, but their hearts were on fire 
 with zeal, and they had a good knowledge of the 
 English Bible. 
 
 In our own times, the success of the Salvation 
 Army is another illustration of the fact of which 
 we speak. When the Methodist ministry in Eng- 
 land rose in social standing and learning, it ceased 
 to be in social sympathy with the masses of the 
 people, and then the Salvation Army came into 
 existence to do the work which once had been 
 theirs. 
 
 Bishop Hare, in a letter from which he permits 
 us to quote, presents the matter in a few words : 
 "To reach the great, independent, self-sufficient 
 working-class, we need preachers, distinctly not 
 scholarly or scholar-like (this class does not like 
 scholarship), not refined in diction or manner or 
 dress, but men of the people, offhand in speech 
 and manner, occupied not with the refinements of 
 thought, but with great general truths, and in dead 
 earnest." 
 
 The Church Army in England is doing a work 
 there which the Salvation Army could not do, be- 
 cause it is working under authority and on Church 
 lines. It is doing permanent good, because it leads 
 people not only to repentance, but also to the 
 Sacraments. It carries the Gospel of the King- 
 dom, instead of the Gospel of Booth. By per- 
 
I 74 LAY READERS. 
 
 sonal observation and reading we know well the 
 great work which the Church of England is doing, 
 but she ought to have had lay preachers two cen- 
 turies ago. It was her " tradition " which kept 
 her from it, and the result has been the alienation 
 from the Church of a large part of the people. 
 
 We in the United States inherited the " tradi- 
 tion." If the Church emerges from its limiting 
 walls, we can hope to reach the people ; if we are 
 restricted by them, then the Church will continue 
 to be largely the Church of the respectable and 
 well-to-do. 
 
 All through the West bands of preachers travel 
 over the land, camping in country places, and pitch- 
 ing their tents on a vacant lot in town or village, 
 reach the people with their Adventist or " Holi- 
 ness " doctrine. The Church can do the same, 
 and her message of the full Gospel will be re- 
 ceived gladly. A Priest, and two or three lay 
 preachers " of the people " to do evangelistic work 
 in the rural districts of every Diocese, is what is 
 needed at once. If Bishops and Priests hold back 
 and doubt whether such work is " Churchly," an 
 opportunity will soon be lost which comes only 
 once in centuries. 
 
 If we have wandered from the immediate ques- 
 tion of the Reader and addresses, it is because a 
 digression was the natural prompting of a heart 
 
THE READER AND ADDRESSES. 175 
 
 filled with a sense of the necessity, and a mind 
 which believes in the practicability of meeting it, 
 and sees the evidences of the Holy Spirit prompt- 
 ing the Church to action. 
 
 In view of what has been said, we believe that 
 Readers should be trained and encouraged to pre- 
 pare and deliver addresses, talks, and instructions 
 in fact, to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. 
 
 One plan which we have found helpful is for a 
 man to write out a sermon, leaving a space here 
 and there for a few words of his own. This gives 
 him confidence, as he can return to the manuscript 
 if he gets nervous. Or he can add a few words 
 of exhortation at the end. 
 
 Another way, when a man has more confidence, 
 is for him to make an analysis of a sermon from 
 a book, and from this prepare an outline sketch, 
 which should be somewhat large at first, with the 
 insertion here and there of portions written out in 
 full. Sermons on the parables or miracles are usu- 
 ally easy ones with which to begin, as the order 
 of thought is more easily followed. With Trench 
 on the Parables at hand, an address can readily 
 be prepared. 
 
 When a man has found, from experience, that 
 he can speak a few words to a congregation with- 
 out breaking down, he will feel encouraged to do 
 more. One way to acquire sufficient courage is 
 
I 76 LAY READERS. 
 
 to prepare and give catechetical instruction to the 
 Sunday-school. In many missions Readers say 
 that they give the adults a good deal of instruc- 
 tion while ostensibly talking to the children. 
 
 In looking over outlines of sermons, as pub- 
 lished, there are few which can be considered as 
 really helpful. 
 
 Some consider Sadler's Sermon Outlines very 
 useful. But we have found that, in the beginning, 
 at least, an analysis made by the Reader himself 
 from some written sermon is the best. 
 
 Before any Reader is permitted to make ad- 
 dresses he should be obliged to pass such exami- 
 nation as the Bishop shall appoint upon the Holy 
 Bible and the Book of Common Prayer at least. 
 Have Readers make addresses as soon as possible, 
 but not until they are prepared for it. 
 
 We have thousands of laymen who could preach 
 far better than the ordinary "local preacher." 
 There is every reason that they should be set to 
 work. They must be, if the Church is to reach 
 the people of this land. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WHAT THE READER MAY DO, AND WHAT THE 
 READER MAY NOT DO. 
 
 CANON 12, Title I., " Of Lay Readers," has the 
 words : " He shall not use the Absolution nor the 
 Benediction, nor the Offices of the Church, except 
 those for the Burial of the Dead and for the Visi- 
 tation of the Sick and of Prisoners, omitting in 
 these last the Absolutions and Benedictions." 
 
 The reason of this is, of course, because these 
 prohibited portions can be said only by one who 
 has been given authority " to execute " the office 
 of a Priest in the Church of God. 
 
 Every Reader, before he is set to work, should 
 be carefully examined as to his knowledge of the 
 rubrics in the services he is permitted to use, and 
 as to his familiarity with the directions " Concern- 
 ing the Service of the Church," on page vii. of the 
 Prayer Book. 
 
 It will be well to state, in order, what a Reader 
 may do. 
 
 He may read Morning Prayer, using all parts of 
 177 
 
I 78 LAY READERS. 
 
 it before which the rubrics have the word " Minis- 
 ter"; he must omit the Absolution, before which 
 is the rubric stating that it is to be said by " the 
 Priest alone," and go at once from the General 
 Confession to the Lord's Prayer. 
 
 We have before us instructions issued by a Colo- 
 nial Bishop which state that the Readers in his 
 Diocese "may use instead of the Absolution the 
 Collect ' O God, whose nature and property is 
 ever to have mercy,' etc. (found on page 51 of 
 the American Prayer Book), or the Collect for the 
 twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity." Instead of 
 the Apostolic Benediction, the same Bishop per- 
 mits the use of the following : " The Lord bless 
 us and keep us; the Lord lift up the light of 1 1 is 
 Countenance upon us, and give us peace, now and 
 evermore. Amen." None of the above should 
 be said without the express direction of the Bishop 
 of the Diocese in which the Reader is at work. 
 
 A Reader may read pvening Prayer, with the 
 same prohibition as to the Absolution as in the 
 Morning Prayer. He may read the Litany, either 
 as a distinct service, or in the appointed place in 
 the Morning Prayer, or in place of the prayers 
 that follow the Collect for Aid against Perils, in 
 the order of Evening Prayer. 
 
 He may use any of the Prayers and Thanksgiv- 
 ings on page 37 ct scq., in their proper place be- 
 
WHA T THE READER MA Y DO. \ 79 
 
 fore the General Thanksgiving, or, when this is 
 not said, before the final Prayer of Blessing. 
 
 It is often asked whether a Reader can use 
 that part of the Office for Holy Communion 
 sometimes called the " Ante-Communion Service." 
 The Canon distinctly states that he shall not use 
 " the Offices of the Church, except those for the 
 Burial of the Dead and for the Visitation of the 
 Sick and of Prisoners, omitting in these last the 
 Absolutions and Benedictions." Many Bishops in 
 their printed instructions interpret the Canon as 
 positively forbidding the use of any portion of the 
 Communion Office. 
 
 The Bishop of Southern Ohio, in his regulations 
 for Readers, has the following : " He may not, ac- 
 cording to Canon, read any part of the Office for 
 the Holy Communion." The Bishop of Pittsburg, 
 in his rules, says : " They may not, according to 
 Canon, read the Commandments or Epistle and 
 Gospel, or any other part of the Office for the 
 Holy Communion." 
 
 Many Bishops in tHeir printed instructions posi- 
 tively forbid their Readers to use any portion of 
 this Office. Among these are the Bishops of West- 
 ern Michigan, Chicago, Springfield, Milwaukee, and 
 Western New York. 
 
 We think it would be well for every Diocesan 
 to issue instructions as to this, for we have known 
 
180 LAY READERS. 
 
 Readers in vacant parishes and missions read this 
 so-called "Ante-Communion Service." 
 
 In the Colonial Dioceses of the Church of Eng- 
 land there are some Bishops who do not forbid the 
 use of this portion of the Eucharistic Office, but, if 
 read, it is to be " from the prayer-desk." But the 
 Bishop of Nassau directs his catechists as follows : 
 "No part of the Office for the Holy Communion 
 can be said by a layman, from the beginning to 
 the end. It is a mistake to suppose that he may 
 i\ ad the first part any more than what follows. 
 The Communion Service is not divided really into 
 parts; it is an altar service throughout, and no 
 layman can take an altar service." This we be- 
 lieve is the position taken by the large majority of 
 the Bishops of the entire Anglican Communion. 
 
 We have been asked as to the use by Readers 
 of an ascription after the sermon. We have seen 
 no regulations which refer to it, but Bishops to 
 whom we have mentioned it advise against its use. 
 
 To a Reader in mission work will probably come 
 the question of Baptism in case of emergency. 
 We know many instances where this has occurred. 
 Readers should be prepared for this, so that they 
 can determine what their action shall be from a 
 proper knowledge of the subject. 
 
 Readers generally will know that in case of ex- 
 pected death, when it is not possible to obtain one 
 
WHAT THE READER MAY DO. 181 
 
 in Holy Orders, a layman can administer Baptism. 
 Ordinarily Baptism is administered by a Priest or 
 Deacon, and in the church. On an emergency, 
 when the careful and reverent judgment of a 
 Christian man decides that there is grave doubt as 
 to the possibility of obtaining one in Holy Orders 
 to administer this Sacrament, a layman can and 
 should baptize. The Reader in such a case should 
 know what to do, and the principle underlying his 
 action. 
 
 The whole Catholic Church recognizes lay Bap- 
 tism as valid. Tertullian says that it was the usage 
 for laymen to baptize in case of necessity. St. 
 Augustine says Apostolic tradition sanctions the 
 validity of lay Baptism. The principle is that 
 Baptism is not distinctively an office of the priest- 
 hood, for a Deacon is permitted to administer this 
 Sacrament. It would be impossible for a layman 
 to celebrate the Holy Communion; even should 
 he attempt to do so it would be invalid. But, as 
 St. Augustine reasons, the minister of Baptism is 
 not of the essence of the Sacrament, but, as he 
 frequently points out, " Christ is the Baptizer," 
 for the promise is, " He shall baptize you with 
 the Holy Ghost." The validity of lay Baptism 
 is not only recognized by custom, but by the law 
 of the Catholic Church. 
 
 In case a Reader is called to administer Holy 
 
1 82 LAY READERS. 
 
 Baptism, he must observe two points: first, the 
 matter; second, the form. 
 
 As to the first, he must use water, pouring it 
 upon the person (sprinkling is not allowable). 
 
 As to the second, he must use the words: " N., 
 I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." 
 
 In case of a Baptism in emergency, the Reader 
 should begin with the Lord's Prayer, then admin- 
 ister the Sacrament, then close with the thanksgiv- 
 ing: "We yield Thee hearty thanks," etc., and 
 " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," etc. 
 
 He should at once give notice of his action to 
 the Priest under whom he works, or in case there 
 is none, then to the Bishop of the Diocese. 
 
 He should also, if possible, arrange, as soon as 
 may be convenient, for the service of public re- 
 ception, as provided in the Prayer Book. 
 
 The Reader can catechise those who are brought 
 to him, or those whom he can gather together. 
 Frequently Readers prepare adult candidates for 
 Baptism, for Confirmation, and the Holy Com- 
 munion. 
 
 The instruction given by the Reader should be 
 supplemented by instruction given by a Priest when 
 it is possible. In our own work the Reader, who 
 has a class of this nature, usually attends similar 
 classes held by the Rector during the week, and 
 
WHAT THE READER MAY DO. 183 
 
 on Sunday carries what he has heard to the cate- 
 chumens. There is a large scope for the use of 
 Readers as catechists, both voluntary and paid, 
 in the American Church. 
 
 In one Colonial Diocese there are one hundred 
 and sixty-nine paid catechists. In our own Foreign 
 Missions there are many employed. 
 
 They might be used to great advantage, in city 
 and country, all over the United States. 
 
 Readers, whether voluntary or paid, can be of 
 great service in visiting the sick and prisoners, 
 using the Offices as provided, except the parts 
 prohibited. The Brotherhood of St. Andrew has 
 been the means of beginning and carrying on a 
 large amount of work of this kind work which 
 had been strangely neglected by the Church be- 
 fore the existence of the Brotherhood. 
 
 Prisons, almshouses, poorhouses, and institutions 
 of all kinds offer a wide field for Readers' work. 
 In service of this nature it is always best for two 
 or more to go together. The overworked parish 
 Priest cannot on Sunday take a service at the jail 
 or hospital, but there are laymen to whom such ser- 
 vice would be a positive means of grace and blessing. 
 
 If a service can be accompanied by a brief ex- 
 hortation, it will be all the more effective. An 
 outline for a suitable talk can be obtained from 
 some of Norton's or Buxton's sermons. 
 
1 84 LAY READERS. 
 
 Readers are often called upon to read the Ser- 
 vice for the Burial of the Dead. In our own work 
 we have endeavored to bury the poor who would 
 have had no service had we not told the under- 
 takers that we were ready to care for the dead who 
 were friendless, or for whose interment no pro- 
 vision had been made. A large number of these 
 burials have fallen to our lot. In many cases the 
 deceased have been women of evil life, and th<j 
 attendants at the funeral were of the same kind. 
 The Rector, and three or four Readers, who were 
 members of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, mar- 
 ried men of middle age, have held some suitable 
 service, and the effect has been always good. 
 We know of some who date the abandonment of 
 their sinful lives from such times. 
 
 We shall never forget the effect of some of these 
 services upon the Readers, nor upon the sinners. 
 One woman, at the grave, cast herself at full length 
 upon the ground, and remained there throughout 
 the interment. She arose never to return to her 
 old life. 
 
 Work such as we have here indicated can be 
 done in towns of from five thousand to fifty thou- 
 sand people better than in larger places. In the 
 large cities there will be, probably, city mission- 
 aries ; but then the Reader can often assist. 
 
WHAT THE READER MAY DO. 185 
 
 Readers in the Service when a Clergyman is 
 Present. 
 
 In the Canon of 1871 a Reader was forbidden 
 to " perform any part of the service when a clergy- 
 man is present." 
 
 This was afterwards amended to read as follows : 
 " He shall not without urgent reasons read any 
 part of the service except the Lessons when a 
 clergyman is present." There was an exception 
 to this in the case of students in a seminary, who 
 might be assigned parts of the chapel services by 
 the presiding officer. 
 
 In 1 886 all of this was stricken from the Canon, 
 and the Reader is now permitted to assist the clergy 
 in reading the services in the parish churches or 
 in the mission chapels. 
 
 Many of our clergy who have from three to 
 five services on Sunday make use of Readers to 
 assist them. The Bishop of Chicago writes : " Out 
 of regard for overworked clergy, I permit Readers 
 to assist in the services by reading the Lessons and 
 prayers, the clergyman being present. I do this 
 out of regard for the overworked clergy who have 
 to contend with a climate unfriendly to throats." 
 
 Unless the Diocesan forbids it, there is no rea- 
 son why parish Priests all over the land should 
 not have some capable Reader to assist them in 
 
1 86 LAV READERS. 
 
 this way. Many a Priest breaks down because he 
 has to use his voice too much on Sunday. Let 
 the Readers assist in the services as they did in 
 the Church of the first centuries. 
 
 Often the Rector of a parish would like, occa- 
 sionally or regularly, to have choral services. He 
 knows that his own voice is unfitted for this. He 
 may have in the parish a devout layman with a 
 good voice, who can be licensed as Reader. 
 
 Deacons cannot be had in every parish, but 
 there are few parishes in which cannot be found 
 one or two men who, after proper training, will 
 make excellent Readers. Often, after serving as 
 assistants in the services, they would become inter- 
 ested in the work for the extension of the Church 
 in the neighborhood. 
 
 The right men, with preparation, will become 
 of great value as parochial Readers. In America, 
 where conditions prevent the employment of cler- 
 ical assistants because of a lack of means, laymen 
 can be used to great advantage, and in ways often 
 little thought of. 
 
 One of the chief uses of Readers in England is 
 their employment in holding " extra services " in 
 halls, schoolrooms, in tents, or on the streets. 
 Outside of a few large cities, there is little of this 
 lay evangelistic work done by the Church in this 
 country. She leaves it to others. A glance at 
 
WHAT THE READER MAY DO, 187 
 
 the columns of an English Church paper will give 
 an idea of the character of such work, and the 
 amount done in that country. 
 
 In a copy of the Church Times before us, 
 there are eight advertisements referring to Lay 
 Readers. One of these, inserted by the Evan- 
 gelist's department of the Church Army, reads: 
 " Lay Readers and Evangelists, trained and experi- 
 enced, supplied to clergy, for short or long periods, 
 on due notice. Salaries, 155. to 325. Funds and 
 offertories urgently needed. Tents loaned freely. 
 Haymaker Evangelists provided/' etc. 
 
 At these extra services it is seldom that the 
 Prayer Book Services can be used entire. As one 
 of our American missioners has said, the " Dearly 
 Beloved Brethren " is for Church people, rather 
 than for the crowd which an evangelist would col- 
 lect in a hall. It certainly is meant for people who 
 come together to worship. Men must be led up 
 to the Prayer Book. It is often casting that which 
 is holy unto the dogs those who snarl and sneer 
 at religion to attempt anything in the way of 
 service but the singing of familiar hymns and the 
 offering of a few collects. 
 
 We need in America thousands of Readers of 
 all classes and conditions to do evangelistic work 
 not only by reading the regular offices of Morning 
 and Evening Prayer, but by taking such extra 
 
I 88 LAY READERS. 
 
 services as the Priest may direct and the Bishop 
 approve. 
 
 We need an American Church Army. The 
 man who organizes it on right lines will do a 
 blessed deed for Church and Country. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WORK IN THE MISSION. 
 
 BEFORE there is any organization, it is well to 
 select some of the people for special work. If 
 there are any young men in the congregation, 
 give each of them something to do, if possible. A 
 young man likes to feel that he has a responsibil- 
 ity, and it does him good to place it upon him. 
 Select one and ask him if he will be there each 
 Sunday to seat people and to ask them to sit 
 towards the front. Ask another if he will take 
 charge of the books, putting them in place before 
 service and collecting them afterwards, or, if 
 leaflets are used, that he will give one to each 
 person who does not know the service, as he comes 
 in. There are many little things which can be 
 assigned in this way. 
 
 As to the women, one can be asked if she will 
 
 see that the hall or schoolroom is in order ; as soon 
 
 as there are churchly ornaments they can be given 
 
 in charge of some one. One or two can be made 
 
 189 
 
190 LAY READERS. 
 
 a committee to visit the people of the neighbor- 
 hood and invite them to service. 
 
 Tlic Organization of Missions. 
 
 This, of course, will depend upon the Canons of 
 the Diocese and the directions of the Bishop. If 
 the work is from the parish as a centre of opera- 
 tion, we are strongly of the opinion that it is not 
 advisable to organize a Diocesan mission. There 
 is little need for it, and the work is often tentative. 
 If any local officers are needed, a provisional com- 
 mittee can be appointed by the Rector; but this 
 should be done only after it is known who are the 
 right men. It will be a mistake to be in a hurry. 
 It is easy to make mistakes and to have jealousies 
 and bickerings arise, which will kill the work. 
 There had better be no local organization than to 
 have trouble of this nature. It will be understood 
 that the Reader is sent to carry the services of the 
 Church to the people, and that he and the work 
 are under the Rector of the parish to which he 
 belongs. The congregational theory and practice 
 are the cause of the quarrellings, bickerings, and 
 jealousies which disturb the various denominational 
 societies in all country districts. Let the Church 
 be carried to the people of small places, and let 
 them look for direction to the Priest who has 
 charge. In our own work this course has been 
 
WORK IN THE MISSION. 191 
 
 the means of avoiding all trouble. If any question 
 arises, it is understood that it is to be decided by 
 the one who is at the head. 
 
 When advisable, a Warden can be appointed. 
 If the offerings of the people are to be kept at 
 the mission, there must be a treasurer ; but if the 
 Reader is to take them to the treasurer of the As- 
 sociation of Readers, as is often done, there will 
 be no need of such an officer, unless the mission 
 is collecting funds for the purchase of a lot or the 
 erection of a building. 
 
 There are those in the work who believe that a 
 man should be raised up in each mission as soon 
 as possible to act as Reader. We do not believe 
 that is the best way. It has been found that a 
 man from a city going out into a country place is 
 better received, is held in different estimation, 
 than one who lives in the village or settlement, 
 and is met day by day in business and pleasure. 
 We are simply taking human nature as we find it 
 and our own experience as a guide, and not argu- 
 ing whether people should feel this way or not 
 towards a godly man who lives among them. We 
 are merely stating a fact when we say that we 
 believe it better in every way for a man to go out 
 to the people, unless, possibly, there is a suitable 
 resident not engaged in secular pursuits. They 
 receive the ministrations of one who is sent to 
 
192 LAY READERS. 
 
 them in a way that they would not those of a near 
 neighbor. He seems to them to come with more 
 authority, and he is entirely outside of any local 
 partisanship or feeling. It is, of course, desirable 
 that in every mission some good man should be 
 selected and trained so that he can act on emer- 
 gency. But if the man, when trained, is found 
 fitted for the work, let him take a mission away 
 from his place of residence. 
 
 There are exceptions to what we believe should 
 be the general rule, but certainly one reason why 
 lay services have been poorly attended during 
 vacancies in missions is because the Reader is one 
 of the congregation, who in years past, perhaps, 
 has often acted without written license, and with- 
 out the dress appropriate to laymen engaged in 
 conducting public worship. 
 
 Guilds and Societies. 
 
 In the organization of any guild or society, care 
 should be taken to give it, as far as possible, an 
 aim and influence for the spiritual improvement of 
 its members. The ordinary Ladies' Society has 
 not done much to cultivate love for and knowl- 
 edge of the Church, nor to e-levate the spiritual 
 life. No society has really any place in the Church 
 unless its chief object is to help in the real up- 1 
 building of the Church, and to contribute to the \ 
 
WORK IN THE MISSION. 193 
 
 improvement of religious life among its members. 
 Mere money-making societies have been the cause 
 of more troubles, heart-aches, and jealousies than 
 anything of which we know. Many a promising 
 mission has gone under because of its Ladies' Aid, 
 or some such society, whose sole aim has been to 
 make money. 
 
 And yet some organization is necessary, and 
 the making of money is in a way legitimate, and 
 is, moreover, a great temptation in a small place, 
 where the people are few and have not much 
 money, and where " others " do these things, and 
 have all kinds of entertainments, even in their 
 meeting-houses. Then there is the social side of 
 the question ; the bringing of the people together 
 is often desirable. 
 
 It is well to understand at once that if the 
 Church is to win the people of this land it must 
 I win them from the spiritual side, and not merely 
 [from the social side. If the Church is to lift men 
 up it must go to them, not as a provider of enter- 
 tainment, but as providing for them worship and 
 work. We are convinced that such entertainments 
 or social meetings as are given had better not be 
 for money-making, should not be " for the benefit 
 of the Church." Let there be a committee on 
 social entertainment, if necessary, without regard 
 to pecuniary gain, if possible. 
 
194 LAY READERS. 
 
 We look back at the lotteries, which a past gen- 
 eration used to get money for the Church, with a 
 sense of shame. We believe that another genera- 
 tion will look back at much of the entertainment 
 business in the same way. 
 
 But how are we to make money ? is asked. The 
 answer is : Better not make it than to cultivate the 
 idea among men that the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
 and the spread of His Church depend upon 
 schemes to make money, which, nine cases out of 
 ten, are excuses for not giving it. 
 
 Women can generally see this, if it is put to 
 them something like this: If my wife needs a new 
 dress or a new bonnet, what would you think of 
 me if I were to propose giving a supper or enter- 
 tainment to raise the money? You would feel 
 disgusted with me, and ashamed for my wife. Yet 
 here is the Church, the Bride of Christ, and we 
 propose to "get up something" to purchase a 
 carpet for or to paint the roof of her house. Do 
 you not think that men will lose respect for the 
 Church, and have a sort of contempt for Chris- 
 tians, if they resort to entertainments instead of 
 giving the money? "But we can't give," says 
 some one. It can often be shown that the cost of 
 material given, without counting labor, will amount 
 to nearly as much as the entertainment will pro- 
 
WORK IN THE MISSION. 
 
 195 
 
 duce, and that all the work and the probable 
 troubles will be avoided. 
 
 Often the giving of cakes and provisions, and 
 then paying for the privilege of eating them, is an 
 unprofitable business. We remember once when 
 in charge of a mission it was proposed to give a 
 luncheon. We suggested that each woman be 
 asked what she would give, and then that she be 
 asked if she would give the cost of the provisions 
 instead. The plan worked well ; more money was 
 collected than the luncheon would have brought 
 to the treasury, and there was saved much weari- 
 ness of body, mind, and heart. 
 
 Of course, if money-making is the first consid- 
 eration, this does not apply. If doing the work of 
 Jesus Christ in a community is the chief consid- 
 eration, then we think it does. But it is a hard 
 question, and requires prudence and firmness to 
 meet it. 
 
 Let the Church societies work always for the 
 glory of God and the good of the Church, for the 
 developing of the spiritual life of its members and 
 the doing of the work of Jesus Christ in the neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 " But what can be done in a small mission ? " 
 
 First, a Guild should provide for its members 
 instruction in Church doctrine, Church history, 
 
196 LAY READERS. 
 
 and the Prayer Book. At each meeting some 
 time should be given to the reading of some book 
 which the Priest in charge will be glad to provide. 
 Occasional meetings might be given to reading 
 from the Spirit of Missions, and from Church 
 papers and periodicals. 
 
 Secondly, a Guild should provide work for its 
 members, appointing committees, as they are 
 needed, for visiting the sick, work in the Sunday- 
 school, etc. 
 
 Thirdly, if money is to be made, do nothing 
 without consulting the Priest in charge. Often 
 money can be earned by canvassing for Church 
 papers or books, or selling some useful article. 
 
 In forming a Guild a simple organization is best. 
 If the plan which is successful in some large parish 
 is adopted, it will be found impracticable in a 
 mission. Something like this is what we have in 
 mind : 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 ARTICLE I. This society shall be called the 
 Guild . 
 
 ARTICLE II. Its object shall be to increase 
 among its members interest in, and knowledge of, 
 the Church, and to help in systematizing and de- 
 veloping the Christian activities of the mission. 
 
WORK IN THE MISSION. igj 
 
 ARTICLE III. Any member of the congrega- 
 tion shall be eligible for membership. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. The officers shall be a President, 
 appointed by the Rector of - , and a Vice-pres- 
 ident, Secretary, and Treasurer, elected at the 
 annual meeting of the Guild. 
 
 ARTICLE V. The annual meeting of the Guild 
 shall be on - - (if the Guild is named after a 
 saint, the day set apart under that name in the 
 calendar should be inserted). 
 
 BY-LAWS. 
 
 1. The dues of the members shall be . 
 
 2. Meetings shall be on , or at the call of 
 
 the President. 
 
 3. At each regular meeting fifteen minutes shall 
 be devoted to reading from some book approved 
 by the Rector. 
 
 4. Each meeting shall be opened by the saying j 
 of the Lord's Prayer and such other collects as j 
 are desirable. 
 
 DUTIES. 
 
 1 . Each member should pray daily for the Guild 
 and the mission. 
 
 2. Each member should avoid all unkind criti- j 
 cism of methods or members, and should try in j 
 every way to maintain peace and harmony. 
 
198 LAY READERS. 
 
 3. If the Holy Communion is celebrated at the 
 mission, there should be added a clause as to the 
 duty of preparing for, and receiving, the Blessed 
 Sacrament. 
 
 The Sunday-school. 
 
 If possible, there should be a Sunday-school, in 
 which instruction should be given as to the things 
 "concerning the Kingdom of God." 
 
 It is desirable to have the Superintendent, a resi- 
 dent in the mission ; but if no one can be had 
 who is capable, the Reader should take this duty. 
 
 If the Sunday-school is to be a nursery for the 
 Church, then it must give definite instruction based 
 upon the Church Catechism. Every child who 
 can read should, during the lesson, have a Bible in 
 his hand, that he may turn to all references, and 
 in this way become familiar with the sacred vol- 
 ume. Of course the Priest in charge will decide 
 what books or papers are to be used. 
 
 In one thing no mistake can be made : a Church 
 Sunday-school is nothing if it is not a large Con- 
 firmation class, where children of all ages are 
 learning " those things which a Christian ought 
 to know " with a view to Confirmation, which 
 should be constantly kept in mind. Children are 
 little- benefited by learning mere generalities about 
 persons and things in the Old and New Testaments. 
 
WORK IN THE MISSION. 199 
 
 We may be sure that the Church's way is the 
 best way, when it has provided for the Confirma- 
 tion of children at an early age. The question 
 would not so often have to be asked, " What be- 
 comes of our boys after fourteen years of age?" 
 if, before that time, they had been trained and 
 brought to Confirmation and the Holy Communion, 
 and a hold gained upon them, and strength given 
 them just at the time they need it, before the worlcl 
 and the flesh have taken possession of their hearts. 
 
 In a country mission many children will be found 
 unbaptized; of course the first step to be taken 
 will be to get them baptized if their parents will 
 consent. 
 
 Instruction. 
 
 In the country, if the people are approached 
 carefully, they can be gotten to read about the 
 Church and her ways. It is almost useless to 
 scatter tracts broadcast. 
 
 The way to use tracts is, for the Reader always 
 to have an assortment with him, and to give them 
 as he finds opportunity, when an inquiry is made. 
 Every association must have books and pamphlets 
 to lend the people. What will suit one person 
 might not suit another. It takes care and some 
 knowledge of human nature to distribute Church 
 literature to advantage. One may be of an his- 
 
200 LAY READERS. 
 
 torical turn of mind. Another may say, as one 
 did to us, " I don't care what history says." To 
 this one something which deals in Holy Scripture 
 must be given. Another will be found with a 
 turn for strong doctrinal reading; and this kind 
 is not as scarce as one might think, as is shown 
 by the way the sects, which emphasize their pe- 
 culiar doctrines, grow, and how well-grounded and 
 argumentative their adherents are. 
 
 Many localities need special tracts. Generally, 
 however, it is by positive teaching rather than 
 by argumentative pamphlets that people are won. 
 Of one thing we are assured. Generally, people in 
 a country mission will read, if literature is provided 
 for them, and this should be done in a liberal way. 
 
 Some of the tracts which have been found most 
 useful in mission work are here given : " The 
 Church and Her Ways" (i cent); "Nineteen 
 Questions about the Episcopal Church" (i cent); 
 " Church Facts," Rev. E. W. Hunter (2 cents). 
 
 The Living Church Series of tracts are fifty 
 cents per hundred. Among the best of them 
 for missions are: " A Lost Art" (this relates to 
 worship); "Prayers Out of a Book"; "What 
 You Ought to Know"; "Let him Choose for 
 Himself"; "The Church that is not a Sect"; 
 " Not Good Enough " (relating to the Holy Com- 
 munion) ; " What Church shall I go to? " 
 
WORK IN THE MISSION. 2 <DI 
 
 Tracts on Baptism : " What Good will it do the 
 Child?" (Living Church Series); "Adult Bap- 
 tism" (Living Church Series); "The Sacrament 
 of Responsibility," Sadler (paper, 10 cents), P. E. 
 Tract Society. This last is full and excellent ; it 
 gives the teaching of the Church, the Bible, and 
 the Prayer Book, and meets objections in a read- 
 able way and in an admirable spirit. 
 
 Tracts on Confirmation : " Plain Catechism on 
 Confirmation," W. H. V. (5 cents); "A Plain 
 Tract on Confirmation," Bishop Quintard (10 
 cents). This gives extracts from the fathers, and 
 from the writings of men of various religious 
 bodies, as to the subject. " A Plain Tract on 
 Confirmation," P. E. Tract Society, New York. 
 
 Pamphlets which may be lent by Readers, and 
 which wide use has approved : " What is Chris- 
 tianity ?" Rev. W. H. Moreland (10 cents). Val- 
 uable for non-Church people; it shows from Holy 
 Scripture the Church as the Body of Christ. 
 " Reasons Why I am a Churchman," Bishop Ran- 
 dall (12 cents). Nothing can be better for a brief 
 and comprehensive review of the Church and her 
 position. " First Principles," Bishop Thompson 
 (15 cents). " Concerning the Kingdom of God," 
 Bishop Thompson (12 cents). These last are like 
 everything that Bishop Thompson writes, readable 
 and to the point. 
 
202 LA Y READERS. 
 
 There are tract societies from which gifts may 
 be obtained. 
 
 The P. E. Tract Society, of New York, 114 
 Fifth Avenue, has some good tracts for missions. 
 We have mentioned two. Three others are: 
 " Reasons Why I am a Churchman " ; " Baptism, 
 Confirmation, and Holy Communion " ; " The 
 Faith and Order of the Church." 
 
 The Episcopal Tract Society of Philadelphia 
 has also some good tracts. 
 
 Tracts on the Holy Communion should be se- 
 lected by the Priest in charge, with reference to 
 needs. 
 
 The list of books given on page 112 contains 
 many which will be useful to lend to those who 
 will read them. Many find the Manuals by the 
 Rev. G. W. Shin, D.D., excellent for this purpose. 
 
 The books of the Society for the Promotion of 
 Christian Knowledge embrace all Church subjects, 
 and are of great value. A catalogue may be ob- 
 tained of the New York agency. But the best 
 book to use in the work is the Book of Common 
 Prayer. The whole Church is being roused to 
 a sense of this fact. There are few Priests who 
 have not known in their own experience some 
 remarkable instance of the value of the Prayer 
 Book as a missionary. But if it is given away, 
 great care must -be exercised in placing it where 
 
WORK IN THE MISSION. 203 
 
 it will do good. It is useless to distribute it broad- 
 cast. In our own work we know from experience 
 that the best plan is to sell Prayer Books, even if 
 the amount obtained for them is only a fraction of 
 what they cost. If a man pays fifteen or twenty 
 cents for a book he will be more likely to study it 
 than if it is thrust upon him as a gift. Our men 
 sell the Prayer Book, and at the same time are 
 careful to point out its use and advantages, and 
 to give some directions concerning it. 
 
 Prayer Books should be placed in the hands of 
 the people as soon as possible. Leaflets at the 
 beginning are useful, but it will be a mistake to 
 continue their use too long. 
 
 Readers are in a position to distribute the Prayer 
 Book judiciously. The Prayer Book Societies, 
 which have been so helpful in the past, will, of 
 course, as they are able, continue to make grants 
 of books on application. Those referred to are : 
 
 The New York Bible and Common Prayer Book 
 Society ; the Bishop White Prayer Book Society, 
 of Philadelphia ; the Female Prayer Book Society, 
 of Philadelphia; the Margaret Coffin Prayer Book 
 Society, of Boston. 
 
 There are other Prayer Book Societies, but with 
 special reference to local needs. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE MUSIC AT THE MISSIONS. 
 
 Tins is a matter of very great importance. The 
 people like to sing. Even the light, weak, so- 
 called " Gospel Songs " are pleasing when sung 
 heartily. But people soon learn to appreciate 
 good music which is simple. With all the " songs " 
 which are the rage to-day and pass into oblivion 
 to-morrow, the grand old hymn tunes are really 
 liked best, and sung most heartily even by a con- 
 gregation which has used in turn numbers I, 2, 3, 
 4, 5, and 6 of the " Songs." 
 
 When the first service is to be held at a place, 
 the music should be carefully considered. If there 
 are Church people, get them to meet and prac- 
 tise some well-known hymns and simple, pleasing 
 chants. If this cannot be done, the Reader should, 
 if possible, take with him a man or a woman, or 
 both, who can play the organ or lead the singing. 
 In many States a reed organ forms a part of the 
 furniture of a schoolhouse. If there is no organ 
 in the building, one can generally be found in the 
 neighborhood. If there is none to be had, it 
 204 
 
THE MUSIC AT THE MISSIONS. 205 
 
 should be the first thing to be purchased by the 
 mission. 
 
 But if there is no organ, with a good voice to 
 lead, two or three familiar hymns can be sung. 
 If the first service is hearty, strangers will be apt 
 to attend again. Make as good an impression as 
 possible. 
 
 Steps should be taken at once to cultivate 
 hearty congregational singing. It is a good plan 
 to get the whole congregation to stay after service 
 for fifteen or twenty minutes to practise hymns 
 and chants. Better still will it be if those of the 
 people who sing can come together during the 
 week to prepare for the following Sunday, by 
 practising the canticles and hymns. 
 
 Many of the hymns are set too high for the 
 best results in congregational singing ; few in any 
 congregation can sing the parts. Congregational 
 singing must be largely singing in unison. If an 
 officiant look down into the congregation during 
 the singing of a hymn, he will find that the men 
 are generally silent, and yet there are very few 
 who cannot carry the air of a tune. Men would 
 sing if the tunes were not pitched too high for 
 them. If they start to sing, they have to retire 
 from the effort before the end of the verse. 
 
 It has been found that excellent results have 
 been obtained by selecting such hymns as will 
 
206 LAY READERS. 
 
 bear it, and transposing them to a lower key. Of 
 course there are some tunes which would lose 
 their life by this transposition. But there are 
 plenty of good hymns which can be transposed 
 without marring their beauty. 
 
 Even if the mission is fortunate enough to have 
 a choir, do not let it take the singing from the 
 people. Give the congregation plenty of good, 
 simple music. 
 
 If a Priest visits the mission regularly, or even 
 occasionally, the congregation may well be taught 
 to sing some simple Communion service. "With 
 this the service can be made interesting, and will 
 be enjoyed by the whole congregation, including 
 the children. 
 
 It is a mistake to think that people tire of the 
 same setting if it is really good. Who tires of 
 " Old Hundred," for " Praise God from whom all 
 blessings flow," or of the arrangement of Tallis for 
 the choir offices ? 
 
 If the mission is fortunate enough to have men, 
 it has been found a good plan at a practice after 
 service to have them sit together. Men gain con- 
 fidence when they hear other men singing, and a 
 good effect is produced by a number of men sing- 
 ing in unison, even if their individual voices are 
 untrained. 
 
 Avoid attempts at showy elaborate music in the 
 
THE MUSIC AT THE MISSIONS. 207 
 
 service, even if there is a choir anxious to try it. 
 Let such desire expend itself on the anthem. It 
 will be far more devotional, and in the end far 
 more attractive, if hearty congregational singing is 
 cultivated. 
 
 There are enough familiar hymns without using 
 those which are unknown. If four hymns are 
 sung each Sunday, forty would prevent a too fre- 
 quent repetition. People like to sing good hymns 
 often. 
 
 Of course hymns suitable for the day should be 
 selected. The Reader would do well to supervise 
 this himself. 
 
 It will be most helpful if the Reader has some 
 knowledge of music. If he has not, he will do 
 well to get some musician to give him suggestions 
 and assistance. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE READER, AND HIS ATTITUDE TOWARDS 
 CHRISTIANS OF THE VARIOUS DENOMI- 
 NATIONS. 
 
 THE Reader in the American- Church, especially 
 if his work lies in a .country mission, will be 
 brought into close contact with Christian people 
 calling themselves by all kinds of dividing names. 
 He must be able to meet them not only with an 
 informed mind, but with the " spirit of wisdom and ( ' 
 understanding," and a heart charged with divine 
 charity. 
 
 The Reader goes out to his work in the knowl- 
 edge that he holds a commission from a Bishop 
 of the Catholic and Apostolic Church. He does 
 not go into a village or settlement to further divide 
 the already painfully divided forces of Christen- 
 dom. He believes that all Christian people should 
 give allegiance to the one visible Body of Christ, 
 and he believes that this could be, because he 
 knows that it has been. He knows that division 
 is wrong, that our blessed Lord prayed that 
 Christians " might be one," that the world might ; 
 believe that He "came from God." 
 208 
 
ATTITUDE TOWARDS DENOMINATIONS. 209 
 
 He knows that St. Paul condemned those who j 
 would call themselves by the dividing names of 
 himself, or Apollos, or Cephas, or even of Christ. 
 He prays in every service for the unity of Chris-| 
 tians, and daily that the Kingdom of God mayl 
 come. He knows that no combination of Christian 
 societies, uniting on a common platform, would 
 constitute the Catholic and Apostolic Church in 
 which he declares his belief. 
 
 In this knowledge and belief the Reader goes 
 to his work. If it is in a village of a few hundred 
 inhabitants, he finds four or five rival places of 
 worship ; or if it is in a country settlement, his 
 congregation is made up of Christians of various 
 names. In the message that he takes, and fn his 
 conversation with preachers and people, what shall 
 be his attitude? 
 
 If the Reader goes with his eyes open, he will 
 see that these Christian people of various names 
 are zealous and godly men and women. He 
 probably finds that, long ago, some denomination 
 has been trying to do good work, while the Church 
 has neglected the field. He must feel and know 
 that these people have been in their own way 
 doing God's work, though he recognizes that it 
 has been in a more or less defective manner. He 
 will know that there have been substituted for 
 divinely appointed methods unfortunate attempts 
 
2IO LAY READERS. 
 
 of human invention, to make up for the lack of the 
 Church's order and system, into which she was 
 guided by the Holy Spirit according to the prom- 
 ise of Jesus Christ. There have been substituted 
 revivals, for instruction and training; the right 
 hand of fellowship, for Baptism and Confirmation ; 
 and the prayer- meeting, as a means of grace 
 superior to the Holy Communion. 
 
 In facing all this the Reader in the work soon 
 realizes that he must have an informed mind. 1 Ic 
 must be sure of his own position. He must be 
 well instructed in the things " pertaining to the 
 Kingdom of God." But he will make a grave 
 mistake if he thinks he can convince men by being 
 pugnacious and argumentative upon the least op- 
 portunity. A man, to be open to receive truth, 
 must have " ears to hear." If a man is bristling 
 with prejudices he is not in a mood to be taught. 
 When prejudice for a moment falls away and tin-re 
 is the spirit of the " little child " (i.e., willingness 
 to learn), then is the time to speak the word in 
 love. It is for this spirit that the Reader should 
 wait and watch and work and pray. 
 
 Let the teaching in the sermon, in catechising, 
 and conversation, be positive, but never let it be 
 controversial, denunciatory, or bitter. 
 
 To meet the difficulties the Reader should culti- 
 vate "the spirit of wisdom and understanding." 
 
ATTITUDE TOWARDS DENOMINATIONS. 211 
 
 This will enable him to see that whatever differ- 
 ences there are in regard to the Way, whatever 
 differences in the apprehension of the Truth, there 
 is one thing in common. It is the Life. What- 1 
 ever dividing name a Christian has chosen or in- 
 herited, by Baptism he has been grafted upon the 
 Body of Christ. The Reader cannot emphasize 
 too strongly the fact that every person baptized 
 by water applied to the person in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghosf 
 has been born into the Kingdom of God, and so 
 is a member of the Holy Catholic Church. He 
 will find people, generally, totally unused to this 
 idea, ignorant of this truth. If he asks them about 
 their Baptism they will say : " I have been baptized 
 into the A Church or the B Church." Then is 
 the opportunity to point out that " we are all bap- J 
 tized into one Body." 
 
 When men speak of the unity of Christians, we 
 always say, " Thank God, the unity is beyond the 
 power of man to break." There is unity in the fact ] 
 of a common Life from a common Head and Heart. 
 Christians in their divided state have not union 
 in the one organized kingdom, they have not uni- 
 son in the one faith delivered to the saints, but , 
 unity of Life they have. 
 
 The message which the Reader carries should 
 be, then, the essential unity of all baptized people, J 
 
212 LAY HEADERS. 
 
 and that no matter by what name a baptized man 
 may call himself, he is a member of the Church of 
 Jesus Christ. If men once grasp this truth it is a 
 good beginning. From that, something can be 
 taught as to the nature of Baptism as the Sacra- 
 ment of Birth, instead, as has probably been under- 
 stood, that it is a mere formal rite, obligatory and 
 significant, but without any special accompanying 
 grace. 
 
 It is well in a mission to positively ignore de- 
 nominational names. The Reader may well try 
 to avoid using them to others, and when occasion 
 arises, to make the request that no name be ap- 
 plied to himself except Christian or Churchman. 
 Readers in pure missionary work, as well as 
 clergy, will regret that it was not deemed best to 
 drop- from the Book of Common Prayer any title 
 that should, in the minds of people generally, con- 
 vey the idea that it is the book of a sect. It is a 
 hindrance to that union for which we work and 
 pray, for often the title seems to contradict the 
 message. 
 
 With this emphasis of the unity of birth there 
 should be plainly taught, also, that the Church 
 has something for these Christian people which 
 the various human organizations have not. The 
 privilege and the blessing of Confirmation should 
 be pointed out. It is astonishing how many 
 
A TTITUDE TOWARDS DENOMINA TIONS. 2 I 3 
 
 will be glad to receive instruction as to this. It 
 should be shown that it is not a form for " joining 
 the Church," but that it is the " laying on of 
 hands " which St. Paul tells us is one of the first/ 
 principles of the doctrine of Christ, which was} 
 practised by the Apostles, and has been continued 1 
 by their successors up to the present time. Offer 
 Confirmation to the people. Urge them to pre- 
 pare for its reception. Provide opportunities for 
 their instruction before or after service, or at any 
 convenient time. Often, by this means, without 
 even mention of any dividing name, people will 
 seek to receive the blessing which is within the 
 gift of the Church. 
 
 With a thorough understanding of the position 
 of the Church will come a large view of truth and 
 a never-failing charity towards all those who are, 
 by the Sacrament of Birth, members of the Catho- 
 lic Church. It is a great mistake to think that a 
 man must have a loose hold upon truth himself in 
 order to appreciate that other men have any hold 
 upon it at all. The more truly profound a Reader 
 is in his grasp of Catholic doctrine, the deeper will 
 be his charity. A man who stands truly high upon 
 the mountain has a wide range of vision ; he can 
 see the approaches from all directions to the posi- 
 tion which he occupies. It often happens that 
 those who think themselves at a great elevation 
 
214 LAY READERS. 
 
 are in some depression of individualism or partisan- 
 ship, which shuts off a comprehensive view, and 
 threatens to confine the heart's sympathies. A 
 man who stands out of the valleys and feels firm 
 beneath his feet the rock of the Catholic Faith is 
 the one who really sees the reaching out of men, 
 in their own poor way often, for the truth, which, 
 because it is Catholic, is comprehensive, including 
 all that any man or any society has, and much 
 besides. 
 
 The tendency of sect and party is, necessarily, 
 to hem a man in, in heart and mind. 
 
 As a Churchman, the Reader is accustomed to 
 look upon the great basic principles of the Chris- 
 tian faith as contained in the Catholic Creeds as 
 beyond controversy, but to regard the opinions 
 and views of individuals as to the personal appli- 
 cation of these verities of but little comparative im- 
 portance. He finds the people among whom he 
 works divided into sections according as they agree 
 or do not agree upon some peculiar view of truth 
 or some denial of truth. With these, when men 
 differ in opinion, this is considered cause for divi- 
 sion into societies to uphold that opinion. The 
 idea of truth as definite and yet comprehensive is 
 unknown to them. The idea of unity of belief as 
 to the facts and future events of the Creeds, and 
 wide liberty of opinion as to the philosophy con- 
 
ATTITUDE TOWARDS DENOMINATIONS. 215 
 
 nected with the personal application of the facts, 
 is almost a revelation to many. It should be em- 
 phasized whenever occasion presents itself. 
 
 And here let the Reader be warned against the 
 so-called " liberal " spirit of the day. Why the 
 term liberal is applied to a weak, halting faith it 
 is hard to say. Liberal means full, large, gener- 
 ous. Applied to faith, it should not mean the 
 holding fast to as little truth as possible, but the 
 holding fast to the whole faith once for all deliv- 
 ered to the saints. It should mean the holding fast 
 to the Catholic Creeds with all one's heart and 
 mind, with a vision that sees the breadth of their 
 application to all sorts and conditions of men. 
 
 There is an erroneous opinion also, among many, 
 that the exercise of charity towards Christians of 
 dividing names means some sacrifice of principle. 
 The sacrifice of principle not only does no good 
 in the cause of Christian union, but it always does 
 positive harm. It will always result in disappoint- 
 ment, and often in annoyance to the one who thinks 
 to gain favor by faithlessness to the sacred trust 
 of keeping the faith. It will be disappointing, be- 
 cause his " liberality " will be met by narrowness. 
 We know of a man prominent in the Church and 
 Nation, who, on one rainy Sunday, dropped into a 
 certain place of worship near his home. He found 
 that it was the day on which there was to be a 
 
2l6 LAY READERS. 
 
 commemoration of the Lord's Supper. He de- 
 cided to show his kindly feeling by remaining; 
 but when an officer of the society came to him 
 and told him that none but members could par- 
 take, he left in confusion and shame. 
 
 The charity of which we speak is that divine 
 love which wins men by its sympathy and power. 
 It has nothing of the spirit of compromise, or 
 smoothing over differences, but it has much of the 
 spirit which is kind, gentle, longsuffering, which 
 reviles not again, which can be silent, and which 
 can treat all Christians with respect. The Reader 
 will be called to exercise it as he comes in contact 
 with the people and the preacher of the denomina- 
 tion occupying the same field. 
 
 If only one denomination is at work, we have 
 found it wise, when it is convenient, to hold the 
 service of the Church at some hour which does 
 not conflict with the time of the preacher's service. 
 This will often avoid antagonism and the arousing 
 of ill-feeling. It is no sacrifice of principle, and 
 yet may gain the good- will of the preacher and 
 the community. We have known such an arrange- 
 ment to result in the preacher and a good part of 
 his people attending the Church services. If one 
 considers that probably the preacher has been 
 working in the place while it was wholly neglected 
 by the Church, there will be additional reason for 
 
ATTITUDE TOWARDS DENOMINATIONS. 21 / 
 
 the effort to make an impression that the Church 
 does not want to injure him personally, or cut off 
 any of his revenue. It will help to teach the 
 people that the Reader is not there for monetary 
 reasons. Nothing touches a man's heart sooner 
 than an exhibition of self-denial and unselfishness. 
 An instance came under our own observation in 
 the work of a Readers' Association, which we re- 
 late, not because we necessarily recommend the 
 policy, but to show the result pf kindliness of the 
 sort indicated above. 
 
 The Priest who followed up the Readers was an 
 uncompromising Churchman, but he had a heart 
 charged with chanty. At a certain place the as- 
 sociation began to hold services. One preacher 
 was in the field who had a very meagre salary 
 from the people. He began to suffer loss in this 
 respect from the work of the Church. The Priest 
 in charge regularly gave to the preacher the small 
 offerings taken at the services which he held in 
 the place. He did not take this means to gain 
 the good-will of the people, but it had that effect. 
 The people were so astonished that they said, " If 
 ever there was a Christian, that man is one." In 
 that place in less than six months two resident 
 preachers (not in active service) bore witness to 
 the value which they placed on Confirmation by 
 public testimony and example. 
 
2l8 LAY READERS. 
 
 As the work of Readers is extended, it will have 
 much to do with the matter of Christian union. 
 The most interesting questions in this regard come 
 up from time to time in the work of an association. 
 They require in dealing with them firm adherence 
 to principle, butn broad policy and a large charity. 
 While no canon must be broken in spirit or in 
 letter, yet sometimes the best way is to take a 
 question right back to the beginning, and ask: 
 What would Jesus Christ and His Apostles do in 
 this case? This is far better than to base one's 
 judgment upon custom or tradition alone. Human 
 fences, intended to guard the blessings which the 
 Church holds to dispense freely, sometimes not 
 only serve that purpose, but also tend to keep men 
 away from the blessings, even should they desire 
 to receive them. Human fences keep millions of 
 souls from receiving the Holy Communion but 
 once or twice a year. Those erected to guard the 
 heritage of the Church may hinder Christian union 
 by presenting unnecessary obstacles. The Church 
 has freely received ; she should be ready to freely 
 give, limited only by adherence to basic principles. 
 
 One question which will be asked of Readers 
 where the Church holds possession of the field will 
 be, " Can I receive the Holy Communion when 
 the clergyman comes?" The questioners will be 
 Christians of some dividing name known to be liv- 
 
ATTITUDE TOWARDS DENOMINATIONS. 2IQ 
 
 ing godly, devout lives. Now we know all about 
 the rubric at the end of the Confirmation service; 
 we know also what we should say if it were in our 
 Parish Church ; but we believe that it is a different 
 question in a place where the people have the 
 Church only, and where they are attending her 
 services and willing and anxious to receive the 
 blessings she has within her gift. That the bap- 
 tized can receive the Holy Communion before 
 Confirmation is undisputed. These people have 
 not received Confirmation, but it is through no 
 fault of their own. They never before heard that 
 there was such a blessing. 
 
 Experience shows that if such people are 
 anxious to receive the Holy Communion, they are 
 generally soon ready to be confirmed. Shall the 
 rubric be made to apply to the people at the mis- 
 sions ? The Rector or Priest in charge, with the 
 counsel of the Bishop, must decide this question. 
 We have known men of rigid principle hesitate 
 before refusing such people the gifts of grace, 
 which they were willing to receive, and of which, 
 by faith, repentance, and Baptism, they were qual- 
 ified to partake. 
 
 It has been suggested by some that Christian 
 union might be furthered if preachers of various 
 denominations were licensed by Bishops as Read- 
 ers. This, of course, is impossible under the Can- 
 
22O LAY READERS. 
 
 ons; but neither canon nor Church principle is 
 in the way of suggesting to a preacher the use 
 of the Prayer Book in his services, as the Wesleyan 
 Methodists use it in so many of their larger chapels 
 in England. 
 
 An interesting question arose in the work of a 
 Readers' Association. Services were begun in a 
 settlement where there was only one place of wor- 
 ship, in charge of a godly preacher. The Church 
 people were few, but the Reader's work diminished 
 the revenue of the preacher. The place was also 
 hard to reach. The Priest of the association called 
 on the minister and told him that he appreciated 
 his long and faithful service, and the pecuniary loss 
 he had sustained, and asked him whether he would 
 consider a proposition to read Evening Prayer, 
 and a sermon by a Churchman, on three Sundays 
 of each month, retaining the offerings for his own 
 use. On the fourth Sunday the Priest was to come 
 in the morning and celebrate the Holy Commun- 
 ion. Of course he was to continue his own morn- 
 ing preaching as usual. It was fully explained to 
 him that he could not be licensed as a Reader, not 
 being a communicant, and that this arrangement, 
 if made, could be broken by either at any time. 
 Before an answer was given the Priest suggested 
 that they kneel in prayer for guidance, and, doing 
 so, the one offered some suitable collects and the 
 
ATTITUDE TOWARDS DENOMINATIONS. 221 
 
 other an extemporaneous prayer. After rising 
 from their knees the preacher said that as far as he 
 was concerned he should be glad to make the ar- 
 rangement, provided that his deacons would give 
 their consent. 
 
 In relating this, we are not endorsing the action 
 or advocating any policy, we are simply relating 
 questions which have arisen in Readers' work, 
 showing the necessity of an informed mind, the 
 spirit of wisdom and understanding, and a never- 
 failing charity on the part of those engaged in it. 
 Men should be willing to sacrifice money, senti- 
 ment, pride, prejudice, and human tradition, and 
 bring all for judgment to the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, translated 
 in the Spirit of the King. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE READER IN HIS SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 SOME qualifications for the office of Reader 
 have been mentioned; but there is one which is 
 above all others in value, both to the individual 
 and the work. It is that the man shall be devout. 
 I use the word in the sense in which the Church 
 understands it, not as having in mind a particular 
 style for its expression, nor imagining that there 
 is a groove in which it must run. A devout man 
 is not necessarily one who can easily speak pious 
 platitudes, or talk religion with glib tongue. Per- 
 sonally, we are often afraid that this kind may 
 have bubbles and froth without depth of current. 
 We mean by devout, one who has so learned Christ, 
 and who has been so nurtured by the grace- dis- 
 pensing Church, that there is in him a manly right- 
 eousness in action and a manly charity in thinking. 
 
 It is not with boasting, but with profound joy, 
 that we regard the man whose life Christ and His 
 Church have moulded and nourished. The devout 
 Churchman is one who is in the world, but not of 
 a worldly and frivolous mind. He has not one 
 
 222 
 
THE READER IN HIS SPIRITUAL LIFE. 223 
 
 side of his nature cultivated at the expense of the 
 other. That is the fault, often, of religious sys- 
 tems which have abandoned the fact of the Body 
 of Christ and the Sacraments. There is a great 
 difference between a pietist and a pious man. The 
 first has dwelt upon and developed in certain ways 
 the spiritual side of his nature without having the 
 mental and physical balance. Man is body and 
 mind, as well as spirit, and the pious man is the 
 one who has each sanctified, and all harmonized, 
 by the operation of the Holy Ghost. A mere 
 " ghost religion " may be earnest, but it will be 
 fanatical, and unstable also. 
 
 The Reader, during the week, is a man of busi- 
 ness. A devout man will pray and strive that in 
 his business there may be nothing to offend (i.e., 
 to cause to stumble) the weak of the flock of Christ. 
 
 There is scarcely a Bishop who has not regretted 
 giving a license to some Lay Reader, because of 
 offence which has come. But there is scarcely a 
 Bishop, either, who has not had some one among 
 the clergy who has been a cause of sorrow and 
 disappointment. It is true that disastrous results 
 have sometimes come upon the work in a mis- 
 sion, especially in the West, where the Bishop has 
 licensed the only available man that the church 
 might be kept open during a vacancy. But we do 
 not believe that the cases have been more numer- 
 
224 LAY READERS. 
 
 ous, proportionately, than those occurring from 
 folly or evil living on the part of the clergy. Many 
 of the Bishops speak of the splendid body of men 
 which they have acting as Readers. Personally, 
 we never knew any hindrance to the work come 
 from ungodliness on the part of the Reader. The 
 Rector of a parish soon knows who should be 
 licensed: it lies with him to recommend men. 
 There is a temptation sometimes to recommend a 
 young, almost unknown man, because he is willing 
 to work. Do not be in a hurry. Wait and watch. 
 We hail with joy the young men offering them- 
 selves for the work; but they must be devout 
 men if they are to be of any use in upbuilding 
 the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. If they are not de- 
 vout, they are apt not to be humble, and then, as 
 one of the Bishops says, " they get the big head." 
 There is a success which comes from enthusiasm 
 and personal influence or through organization ; 
 but the only true success is that which comes from 
 work undertaken and carried on in a devout spirit. 
 The devout man is one who is in all things rev- 
 erent. He reverences sacred things. The Reader 
 must cultivate this spirit. If he is reverent it will 
 manifest itself in his actions, in his daily life, as well 
 as when reading the service. We once noticed a 
 Reader quietly and carefully gathering up service 
 leaflets and putting them into the stove. Inquiry 
 
THE READER IN HIS SPIRITUAL LIFE. 22$ 
 
 elicited the fact that he thought these papers, 
 which had upon them the Sacred Name, should 
 not be trampled upon nor put to any base use. 
 If we have love and reverence for a person we 
 shall treat with reverence the things closely associ- 
 ated with that person. A man cannot have proper 
 love and reverence for God who is not careful and 
 reverential in his treatment of the things used in 
 the conduct of His worship, or in his own behav- 
 ior when officiating. Unless a Reader exercises 
 reverence with sacred things, his conduct will tend 
 to make him irreverent in spirit ; while care and 
 reverence in outward things will react upon the 
 mind and heart, and develop the spirit of rever- 
 ence within. 
 
 In his life in the world this spirit will show itself 
 in his speech when using the Sacred Name or 
 speaking of sacred things. A flippant, irreverent 
 remark may entirely destroy the effects of much 
 earnest work. A Reader cannot -be too careful 
 in speaking of God or goodness, or of woman, 
 whether mother, wife, or maiden, or of anything 
 which has a holy meaning or blessed influence. 
 Reverence is akin to purity. The devout heart 
 reverences God, the pure heart reverences woman. 
 We shall never forget when Bishop Brooks looked 
 down into the upturned eyes of twelve hundred 
 men at Trinity Church, Boston, when speaking to 
 
226 LA Y READERS. 
 
 the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, in September, 
 1892, and said: " Sanctify yourselves. Be pure. 
 Oh, I do think, as one looks young men in the 
 face, more and more he wants to say to them that. 
 Be pure! Be pure!" 
 
 There is a peculiar power in the soul that has 
 reverence and purity, and the Reader needs that 
 power. 
 
 For the best results in the character of the man, 
 and the success of his work, there must be in the 
 Reader an all-pervading loyalty to Christ and His 
 Church. In that one word loyalty, it seems to 
 us, is summed up the burden of the Epistles of 
 St. Paul to the several churches. 
 
 It embraces, as we understand it, devotion to 
 the Head, Christ; faithfulness to His cause; will- 
 ing obedience to those set over us in His Church. 
 It carries with it the idea of sacrifice of self-inter- 
 est and pride, if these interfere with the extension 
 of His Kingdom or with peace within it. 
 
 The character and effectiveness of an army de- 
 pend upon the loyalty of the men who compose it. 
 If an army is to be successful the soldiers must be 
 loyal to the cause and to those in command. It 
 is loyalty which gives an esprit dc corps to any 
 organization in the unity of a common interest and 
 a common love. 
 
 Loyalty in the Church is a spiritual gift. There 
 
THE READER IN HIS SPIRITUAL LIFE. 22 7 
 
 is love in it ; there is humility in it, not thinking 
 of one's self more highly than he ought to think ; 
 there is forbearance; there is that one thing of 
 pressing towards the mark, a single aim, a single 
 hope, to attain which, there must be put aside 
 every weight. 
 
 Mr. S. S. Nash, in giving his ideas of the quali- 
 fications of a Reader engaged in missionary work, 
 says: 
 
 " First, a man must have a never-failing love 
 for the work and for his fellow- men. 
 
 " Second, he must believe thoroughly in the 
 righteousness of his cause, and that God will bless 
 it because it is right. Having trjis faith, he must 
 never flag in his zeal and in his work, however 
 discouraging it may seem at times from a human 
 standpoint. He can planfr the seed, but he must 
 trust God to give the increase, whether he behold 
 the fruit or not." 
 
 This contains all we need say about persever- 
 ance. A trustful man will be persevering and will 
 be hopeful, and both are essential to the success- 
 ful Reader. 
 
 It is unnecessary to go into detail as to the cult- 
 ure of the spiritual man. The means thereto are 
 so plainly marked out in the Church's system that 
 it is only necessary to refer to them. They centre 
 around the Holy Communion. The Church tells 
 
228 LAY READERS. 
 
 her children to prepare for the reception of the 
 blessed Sacrament by self-examination by the rule 
 of God's commandments. Some communicant's 
 manual will be found helpful in preparing one's 
 self. The Reader should be a frequent communi- 
 cant. If possible, before going to his Sunday work- 
 he should attend the early celebration of the Holy 
 Communion at his parish church. There can cer- 
 tainly be no such preparation as that for the duty 
 which lies before him. When this is impossible, 
 the Rector would no doubt provide a celebration 
 of the Holy Communion on some day during the 
 week. There should be arrangements made for a 
 corporate communion of the Readers of a parish at 
 stated intervals. Before starting new work we have 
 found such a service a great blessing. United 
 prayer before the altar of God for help and guid- 
 ance and blessing is something which no association 
 of Readers can afford to do without. 
 
 In his private prayers the Reader will find a 
 means of exercise for his soul. Let him never 
 forget to mention his work in his petitions. The 
 Bishop or the Rector should set forth a collect for 
 the use of the Readers and for the people of the 
 missions. Let the Reader become more and more 
 a man of prayer. 1 
 
 The Holy Bible should certainly be read daily. 
 
 1 See Appendix G for suitable prayers. 
 
THE READER IN HIS SPIRITUAL LIFE. 22Q 
 
 Let it be the first print that meets his eyes in the 
 morning, and the last at night. If the Reader is 
 a man of family, he should have family prayers. 
 If he has not been accustomed to it before, he 
 should begin it at once. Each day he should go 
 forth to his business with the strength gained in 
 private and family devotions. 
 
 But there is one means in the cultivation of the 
 spiritual life of which we speak particularly : it is 
 that which comes from the work itself. Without 
 any suggestion or inquiry on our part, Readers 
 have come and told of the blessing the work is to 
 them in a spiritual way. Readers from far off have 
 written to say : " Do not forget to call attention to 
 the blessings which come from the preparation for 
 the work, and from the work itself." One says: 
 " Let the keynote be, ' For their sake I sanctify my- 
 self.' " Culture, not undertaken for selfish ends, 
 but to fit one for doing good to others this is the 
 course which gives a man true spiritual health and 
 strength. In the gymnastic exercises, designed 
 for use in a man's study, calling for the selfish ex- 
 penditure of energy in order that muscle may be 
 gained, there is a wearisomeness that soon palls 
 upon one. But when exercise is undertaken, not 
 for the special purpose of building up one's self, 
 but for the purpose of doing some useful work 
 then the exercise becomes a pleasure, and health 
 
230 LAY READERS. 
 
 and strength are most truly gained. It is so in 
 the spiritual world. It is work in the Lord's 
 vineyard that invigorates and brings healthful 
 blessings to the soul. 
 
 The business man will find that the best antidote 
 for all temptation to bow down to Mammon is to 
 have definite work to do for the Lord God. It is 
 so with doubt. Many of the doubts which distress 
 men would vanish if they were to become engaged 
 in carrying Christ to men, and so, in doing 1 1 is 
 will, have made known to them that the doctrine 
 is of God. The solvent for many doubts about 
 truth is to put the truth into practice, and learn of 
 its reality through its results. While men were 
 busy arguing that no steamer could ever cross the 
 Atlantic, one man built a ship and steamed across 
 to New York. While some men are debating 
 about the failure of Christianity, other men go to 
 work and carry Christ to the bodies and the souls 
 of men, and in the lifting up and transforming of 
 these demonstrate that Christ is a success when He 
 is incorporated into a man's life. The faith of the 
 Reader is deepened and strengthened by his work. 
 
 Of late years the great value of Quiet Days, or 
 Retreats, for Lay Workers has been more and 
 more appreciated. In 1892, in England, there 
 were one hundred and forty-five occasions in 
 which these were provided for the laity, and 
 
THE READER IN HIS SPIRITUAL LIFE. 231 
 
 several of them were especially for Readers. In 
 London not only is there the annual Communion 
 and day of prayer and meditation at St. Paul's 
 Cathedral for Lay Helpers, but in the various 
 deaneries Quiet Days are provided. 
 
 At Keble College, Oxford, during the annual 
 four weeks' course of training for Readers, special 
 care is taken for the spiritual nurture of the men. 
 At the end of each fortnight a Quiet Day is held. 
 The report for 1 892 says : " The great value of 
 these Quiet Days cannot be brought home to 
 those who have not had the good fortune to ex- 
 perience them, but they are the crowning feature 
 of each course." 
 
 Several American Bishops have in mind and 
 at heart the holding of Quiet Days for Readers. 
 Nothing could be undertaken which would do 
 more for them and their work than the gather- 
 ing of Readers at central points in a Diocese for 
 spiritual counsel and instruction. If Readers in 
 any locality would ask their Bishop, he would, no 
 doubt, conduct a Quiet Day for them, or appoint 
 some fit person to do so. The result would be a 
 deepening of spiritual life, and an increase of 
 earnestness and zeal in the work. With the 
 growth of Readers' Associations opportunities like 
 these will no doubt be provided. May the day 
 be hastened. 
 
232 LAY READERS. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 Several Bishops, in their printed rules for Read- 
 ers, have words similar to those set forth by the 
 Diocesan of Central New York : " Lay Readers 
 will be expected to live without reproach in their 
 social or business relations, to be guarded and dis- 
 creet in all conduct and conversation, to visit the 
 poor for sympathy or spiritual counsel, and the sick 
 if desired." 
 
 The Bishop of Springfield in the License has : 
 " We would remind you, dear Brother, that you 
 are by this license set apart and devoted to holy 
 ministries, and that you must, in consequence, seek 
 God's grace to enable you to be a pattern to the 
 flock whom you serve in the virtues of a Christian 
 life." 
 
 Two promises made by the Reader of three 
 hundred years ago may well be borne in mind : 
 " I will use sobriety in apparel, and especially in 
 the church at Common Prayer. ... I will move 
 men to quiet and concord, and give them no cause 
 of offence." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 READERS OR PERMANENT DEACONS, WHICH ? 
 
 MANY whose hearts have been weighed down 
 by a sense of the insufficient number of clergy to 
 do the work of the Church in the United States, 
 and by a realization that money could not be ob- 
 tained to employ the thousands of Priests needed, 
 have advocated the ordaining of a large number 
 of men to the order of Deacons. The idea has 
 been that such men might continue to obtain their 
 means of support, wholly or partially, from secular 
 pursuits, ancj thus be available for Sunday services 
 at little expense to the Church's treasury. It has 
 been thought that in many small places where the 
 people could not pay the amount necessary to 
 secure the services of a Priest, some godly and fit 
 man could be selected and made Deacon, and as 
 such lead the worship of those whom he could 
 gather together, baptize the children, and preach 
 the Gospel, at the same time gaining his livelihood 
 in his secular business or profession. Such an 
 order of men, it has been thought, also would be 
 useful in assisting the overworked parish clergy. 
 233 
 
234 LAY READERS. 
 
 This scheme has been called the " restoration of 
 the permanent diaconate," and the provisions of 
 the Canon of '1871, respecting candidates for 
 Deacon's orders only, have given scope for the 
 trial of the plan. The idea has had a strong at- 
 traction for many who have longed to see the 
 Church cope with her work with an adequate force 
 of men. 
 
 We may be permitted to say that when we be- 
 gan preparing the material for this book, we re- 
 garded this question in much the same way as a 
 Western Bishop does, whose letter before us says : 
 " It is my opinion that the man who can restore 
 the permanent diaconate to the Church will be 
 the greatest benefactor of the nineteenth century." 
 Our view has been changed by a study of the 
 matter historically and practically, the latter knowl- 
 edge being gained from the written opinions of 
 some fifty Bishops upon the question. Now, our 
 judgment as regards this kind of diaconate is 
 nearly that of the neighbor of the Western Bishop 
 quoted before, who says : " I used to be an advo- 
 cate of the idea of an order of permanent Deacons, 
 but now I am opposed to it." 
 
 The letters in our possession show an important 
 difference in opinion. Many of the younger Bish- 
 ops, overpowered with a sense of the work before 
 them, look with more or less favor upon the idea, 
 
READERS OR PERMANENT DEACONS. 235 
 
 many of them declaring their intention, as they are 
 able, to put it into operation. The older Bishops, 
 who have in cases tried it, are usually positively 
 opposed to it, several of them using language simi- 
 lar to this, written by one of large experience : " I 
 would say that I will never make another Deacon 
 of that kind. It spoils a good layman, and makes 
 a poor Deacon." 
 
 That one may form a correct judgment upon 
 the question of permanent Deacons it is necessary 
 to review the subject briefly from the historical 
 side. If we consider the selection and ordination 
 of the seven Hellenist Deacons, as recorded in the 
 sixth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we see 
 that these men were set apart to be the helpers of 
 the Apostles, with especial reference to the care 
 of the Grecians i.e., Jewish Christians of foreign 
 birth, or Gentiles who had accepted Christ. The 
 functions of the office a* here indicated were not, 
 in a strict ecclesiastical sense, spiritual, yet at ordi- 
 nation these men received an ecclesiastical appoint- 
 ment and a part in the ministry. It is, however, 
 evident from the sixth, seventh, and eighth chap- 
 ters of the Acts of the Apostles, that the ministry 
 of the Deacons was not necessarily confined to the 
 affairs of finance or the care of the poor. They 
 could, and they did, preach and baptize. 
 
 The further mention which we have of Deacons 
 
236 LAY READERS. 
 
 in the New Testament does not give us much addi- 
 tional light as to their duties. In the earliest writ- 
 ings after the New Testament, Deacons are men- 
 tioned as ministers in spiritual things, assisting the 
 Bishops and Presbyters in divine worship. They 
 continued to be especially attached to the Apos- 
 tolic office. The statement is frequently made that 
 the Bishop cannot be without his Deacons. The 
 Apostolic Constitutions speak of the Deacon as 
 the Bishop's messenger and interpreter. To use 
 a modern word, they were the Bishop's adjutants. 
 The duties of the office were chiefly as follows : 
 I. To assist the Bishop or Presbyter in the adminis- 
 tration of the Eucharist. Justin Martyr expressly 
 mentions this. 2. They had the care of the sacred 
 vessels, and of the things used in divine worship, 
 seeing that they were in due order and proper 
 place. 3. They received the offerings and super- 
 vised their distribution, krpt the accounts, and 
 managed the property of the church. 4. They 
 read the Scriptures in the church, especially the 
 Gospel. 5. They read the exhortations in the ser- 
 vice. 6. They kept the roll of communicants and 
 other records, and made reports to the Bishop as 
 to the life and conversation of the people. 7. They 
 prepared candidates for Baptism. 8. They admin- 
 istered Baptism when it was necessary. 9. They 
 could preach, if permitted to do so by the Bishop. 
 
READERS OR PERMANENT DEACONS. 237 
 
 10. They superintended the minor ecclesiastical 
 orders and officers of the church. 
 
 It is important also to know that the number of 
 these permanent Deacons was never large. From 
 the fact that the order is not mentioned in the 
 Acts of the Apostles except at the places men- 
 tioned above, nor in the Epistles except those to 
 the Philippians and to Timothy, it has been thought 
 that for some time they were confined to the orig- 
 inal See city, Jerusalem. There certainly prevailed 
 a strong persuasion in the first centuries that there 
 should be no more than seven Deacons in any one 
 place that the original institution was a pattern 
 for the whole Church. 
 
 Eusebius tells us that in Rome in the third cent- 
 ury there were but seven of this order. Sozo- 
 men mentions that in his time such was the case, 
 but he adds : " The number varied in other places." 
 At the Council of Neo-caesarea, A.D. 313, the fif- 
 teenth Canon restricted the number of Deacons 
 to seven in one city. Jerome and Augustine both 
 mention that the power of the Deacons had grown 
 because there were so few of them. It was be- 
 cause of the paucity of their numbers that they 
 became self-important, and several Canons are in- 
 tended to remind them of their position and duties. 
 The eighteenth Canon of the Council of Nice reads : 
 " Let the Deacons abide in their own station, know- 
 
238 LAY READERS. 
 
 ing that they are indeed the ministers of the Bish- 
 ops, but that they are inferior to the Presbyters." 
 The thirty-seventh Canon of the Fourth Council 
 of Carthage says : " Let the Deacon know that he 
 is the minister of the Presbyter as well as of the 
 Bishop." 
 
 Without attempting to trace the steps by which 
 the diaconate ceased to be a permanent order and 
 became a stepping-stone to the priesthood, and 
 service in it a time of probation and preparation 
 for the higher order, it is well to remember that 
 the Deacon to-day is directly under the Bishop, 
 and that his duties lie within the limits of ancient 
 usage. If there is a real restoration of the perma- 
 nent diaconate, it will consist of an order of men 
 who shall relieve Bishops and clergy of much of 
 the details of business affairs, and assist in Dio- 
 cesan or parochial administration. 
 
 It would indeed be a blessed thing for all con- 
 cerned if the burden of matters of finance and the 
 temporal affairs of the Diocese and parish could 
 be largely given over to a diaconate trained to 
 the service. Many of our Bishops and Priests are 
 worn out with the attention they are obliged to 
 pay to details. One Bishop writes : " The order 
 of Deacons in a large city, with the temporal affairs 
 of the Church to look after, to care for the poor, 
 to teach classes of workingmen and others, to man- 
 
READERS OR PERMANENT DEACONS. 239 
 
 age the various societies of men, to care for the 
 sanctuary such an order would be of great service 
 to the Church." There certainly is great hin- 
 drance in this day because Priests and even Bish- 
 ops have " to serve tables," when they should be 
 relieved so that they can give themselves wholly 
 to the ministry of the Word and Sacraments. 
 
 However, the " restoration of the permanent 
 diaconate " which most have in mind is different 
 from the above ; it is like this of which a Bishop 
 writes : " The more I think of this subject, the 
 more I am impressed that an order of permanent 
 Deacons who have their worldly business is what 
 the Church needs. In cities they could assist the 
 clergy. In country places this is the situation: 
 There are many places which cannot support a 
 Priest. Here we want men who have enough to 
 live on, who can be on hand to baptize the dying, 
 who can bury the dead, etc. I am anxious to see 
 a revival of the order of Deacons. I know there 
 is much to be said against it, but after much thought 
 and some experience I have made up my mind to 
 try it." 
 
 The question has two aspects : one is the use of 
 such permanent Deacons in parishes, working under 
 Priests ; the other is their employment in isolated 
 towns and villages. In both cases it would be a 
 departure from the established sense of the Church, 
 
240 LAY READERS. 
 
 which is that those in Holy Orders should be set 
 apart for the work of the ministry, giving up secu- 
 lar pursuits. 
 
 A Deacon has been ordained, he has received a 
 liturgical character (oiay.ovia TTJ? Xsiioof/jfiac, 2 Cor. 
 ix. 12). . The permanent diaconate which the 
 Church knew in her early history was not com- 
 posed of men earning their living in worldly occu- 
 pations. 
 
 But it must be borne in mind that there is no 
 fundamental principle involved in members of the 
 ministry gaining their support by trade or pro- 
 fession. Even Apostles of the New Testament 
 period made their living by working with their 
 hands, some from necessity and one from choice, 
 that he might be able to say that he was " charge- 
 able to no man," though he had the right to be. 
 
 But we cannot overlook the universal usage and 
 sense of the Church in this regard, which is, that, 
 as far as possible at least, the time of one in Holy 
 Orders shall be given to the Church. Necessity 
 may compel some Priests to supplement their sti- 
 pend by teaching or writing, and there can be 
 little or no objection to a Deacon doing the same. 
 We have had for four years a permanent Deacon 
 of this kind in our own parish acting as precen- 
 tor and assistant ; and we can agree with a Bishop 
 living in a large city, who writes : " I wish we 
 
READERS OR PERMANENT DEACONS. 24! 
 
 could have Deacons in every parish." But it is a 
 different matter to contemplate the ordination of 
 large numbers of men who shall remain wholly 
 occupied with business six days in every week. 
 
 But what shall we do to give assistance to the 
 parochial clergy? The answer is, Train Readers 
 to assist them. A Reader can render all assistance 
 in the service which a Deacon can, except in the 
 one important particular of administering the cup 
 in the Holy Communion. But this is counter- 
 balanced by many advantages for the Reader. 
 
 In the first place, he is a layman, and therefore 
 there is no question about the expediency of his 
 engaging in any honest occupation. Again, if he 
 changes his residence he loses his commission; 
 the Deacon carries his orders with him. Here lies 
 the great objection to the whole plan. The per- 
 manent Deacons of the early Church had a per- 
 manent residence. To-day change of residence is 
 frequent. A Deacon with secular business might 
 work well -in one parish, and his services be valu- 
 able and highly appreciated; but should his oc- 
 cupation lead him to move to some other town, 
 the Priest there might not desire his assistance, 
 and might refuse to give him employment in his 
 office. The result would be many men in Holy 
 Orders who had no opportunity for the exercise 
 of their ministry. It would be bad for the Deacons 
 
242 LA Y READERS. 
 
 and for the people. This is not wholly an imagi- 
 nary state of affairs, and cases are known to-day 
 of this nature, resulting from experiments made. 
 
 As such permanent Deacons increased in num- 
 ber complications would arise, and Bishops might 
 refuse to give them canonical residence when they 
 moved to their Dioceses. If they became numer- 
 ous, laws would certainly have to be framed to 
 prohibit their voting with the clergy at councils. 
 
 While these objections and many others can be 
 brought against the multiplication of permanent 
 Deacons engaged in business, none of them can 
 be urged against the large use of Readers, for 
 the fundamental reason that they have no orders, 
 and removal from a Diocese brings a loss of com- 
 mission. 
 
 The second consideration is the selection of 
 godly and fit men in small places and making them 
 Deacons, with the understanding that they will 
 continue to follow their business calling. This 
 would be very different from the use of such men 
 in cities. There would be a restoration, with a 
 departure from the usage of the Church in one 
 important particular, which only great need would 
 warrant being broken. In the country place it 
 would not be a restoration, but an entirely new 
 use of the permanent diaconate, for men of this 
 order have worked directly with and under Bish- 
 
READERS OR PERMANENT DEACONS. 243 
 
 ops and Priests. If the conditions surrounding 
 the living Church called her to adapt this organ 
 of her ministry to an exercise of its functions 
 differing from all precedent, little could be said 
 against it. But are the objections to it so great 
 that nothing short of absolute necessity would 
 warrant it? And is there any relief for small 
 places against which no objection can be urged? . 
 
 We have already mentioned the sense of the 
 Church as to the ministry and secular pursuits, and 
 the hindrance of a frequent change of residence, 
 etc. Now we may ask, What would be the gain 
 in having permanent Deacons, over the plan of 
 having trained Readers? The Reader can bury 
 the dead ; in case of paramount necessity he can 
 baptize ; he can read the service, make addresses, 
 catechise, instruct candidates for Confirmation. 
 All these things Readers are doing satisfactorily, 
 as scores of Bishops testify. In fact, we have yet 
 to receive one word from a Bishop against the 
 enlarged use of Readers, and we have heard from 
 representatives of the Episcopate throughout the 
 Anglican Communion. 
 
 But what do these same Bishops say about a 
 permanent diaconate, composed of men who shall 
 continue in business? 
 
 A few think that the fact of a man being in 
 Holy Orders would add weight and dignity to 
 
244 LA Y READERS. 
 
 his ministrations ; but all except these few are of 
 the positive conviction, many of them after trial, 
 that no gain in influence or in effective work would 
 be made, but that there would be a distinct loss 
 in making permanent Deacons, instead of using 
 commissioned Readers. One Bishop, who has 
 many Readers in small towns and intends to have 
 more, and has had experience in the same way 
 with this kind of permanent Deacons, writes : " I 
 fail to see any gain ; indeed, a real loss. Better 
 have the example of devout, hard-working lay- 
 men, in secular business all the week, working for 
 the Church on Sundays for the love of God, than 
 to have ecclesiastical hermaphrodites. This half- 
 and-half business is a bad business : it spoils the 
 example of the devout layman. I have found 
 that it generally creates a local Pope, and when a 
 Priest is sent to the place there is usually trouble." 
 
 Another says : " I do not think Lay Readers 
 would do better work if they were made Deacons. 
 I may add that from experience I more than doubt 
 the wisdom or expediency of ordaining men to the 
 diaconate who are engaged in secular pursuits." 
 
 A Bishop of widest experience, West and East, 
 says : " My opinion is that Lay Readers' work as 
 helpers in a parish or in aggressive missionary 
 effort would not be bettered by ordaining them 
 permanent Deacons." 
 
READERS OR PERMANENT DEACONS. 245 
 
 Another who has given the matter a trial says : 
 " The permanent diaconate of the kind you men- 
 tion has been a conspicuous failure in the experi- 
 ments tried here. A good intelligent Lay Reader 
 does far better." 
 
 Another says : " There are Lay Readers in this 
 Diocese who are rendering very valuable services 
 to the Church, whose influence is greater than it 
 would be if they were in the permanent dia-conate." 
 
 The sum of the whole matter is this : the gen- 
 eral conclusion of those best fitted by observation 
 and experience to express judgment is, that the 
 idea of ordaining men to the diaconate with the 
 expectation that they will continue in business 
 does not work well when carried into practice. 
 As a Bishop says: " Our polity, habits, and tastes 
 are against it." It is also the opinion of those 
 mentioned above, that under existing conditions 
 it would lead to complications, troubles, and even 
 dangers. Trial has proved that it is not satisfac- 
 tory, but that Readers, carefully chosen and pre- 
 pared, are to be preferred. 
 
 It is interesting to note that Colonial Bishops 
 are of the same opinion. The Metropolitan of one 
 province writes : " We have one permanent Dea- 
 con in this Diocese, who during the week follows 
 his business as a druggist, but devotes himself on 
 Sundays to such work as he is assigned. He is 
 
246 LA Y READERS. 
 
 the last of several ordained a few years ago, some 
 of whom have been advanced to the priesthood, 
 some have practically relinquished their work, one 
 was deposed." The Metropolitan will not renew 
 the experiment. 
 
 The question of permanent Deacons who give 
 their whole time to the exercise of their ministry 
 has not been under discussion. The need or the 
 advisability of making the diaconate something 
 more than a stepping-stone to the priesthood has 
 not been considered. 
 
 We believe that there is a place in city and 
 country for perpetual Deacons working under the 
 Bishop or the Priest. 
 
 There are many places which can pay but from 
 five hundred to six hundred dollars per annum. 
 A man who in college and seminary has taken the 
 full course designed by the Canons for admission 
 to Priest's orders is generally unfitted for living 
 on such a meagre stipend. There are men who 
 could and would take these places and do good 
 work in them, who cannot take the full course of 
 study. If approved men of this kind were made 
 Deacons, and grouped under a Priest, it would 
 certainly be better than letting small parishes or 
 missions lie vacant, and the people drift away from 
 the Church. 
 
 With regard to the objection raised against the 
 
READERS OR PERMANENT DEACONS. 247 
 
 above, that the men soon desire to enter the priest- 
 hood, we have nothing to say. If a man seeks to 
 become a Priest he desires a good thing. The 
 Bishop and constituted authority can see that no 
 man slips in unprepared. We hope that the ex- 
 tended use of Readers will lead many of them to 
 enter the sacred ministry. Some of these Readers 
 know men, and that is at least as important as 
 knowing books. Many of the Western Bishops, 
 under the Canon regulating the admission to the 
 office of a Deacon only, have been enabled to do 
 work which otherwise would have remained un- 
 done. 
 
 Frequently a godly man of fair education has 
 been made Deacon, and has worked hard in some 
 out-of-the-way place, earning his living by his 
 ministry, while studying for the priesthood. Often 
 a Bishop in the Western Territories cannot get a 
 suitable clergyman from the East, but he can raise 
 up good men in this manner. Some of these men 
 are among the most earnest, able, faithful mission- 
 aries to-day. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE READER AND THE WORK OF THE FUTURE. 
 
 ONE who believes in the Church, and loves her 
 as a son should love his spiritual mother, must 
 feel his heart sink within him as he has borne 
 home to his mind the stupendous task before her 
 in this country. It is true that he rejoices as ho 
 reads of her really wonderful growth within the 
 past fifty years. He notes also the marvellous 
 leavening influence which the Church, with her 
 ways, her customs, and her thought, has had upon 
 Protestant Christians in the United States. The 
 trend has been all one way, in the structure of 
 places of worship, in the use of beauty and art, in 
 the revival of the idea of worship as the chief 
 object in the meeting of Christian people on the 
 Lord's Day, in unstinted laudation of the Book of 
 Common Prayer by the children of those who de- 
 spised and rejected it. The son of the Church 
 may well thank God for this. 
 
 If he goes into the libraries of Christian minis- 
 ters of any denomination he will find that, after 
 248 
 
THE WORK OF THE FUTURE. 249 
 
 all, it is the Mother Church of the Anglo-Saxon 
 race from which they obtain not only their Eng- 
 lish Bible, but often their commentaries, and the 
 greater part of their information as to the Land 
 and the Book. 
 
 The Churchman realizes that the Mother Church 
 is not only the source of all that English Protest- 
 ants have of the religion of Jesus Christ, but that 
 she is the great conservator of the faith which 
 they hold. Amid all the currents of speculative 
 philosophy which would carry them further from 
 the faith once delivered to the saints, she exercises 
 her continual attracting power, not only in bring- 
 ing back individuals to herself, but in keeping the 
 whole mass from that falling away which history 
 so plainly shows has been the end of separatist 
 bodies of Christians. 
 
 But this is not enough; Churchmen need to 
 be aroused from that calm satisfaction and quiet 
 confidence and placid enjoyment of their blessed 
 privileges, which so largely mark their conduct, 
 into a lively zeal for Christ and His Church. 
 
 Every man, woman, and child should be imbued 
 with a sense of duty and a spirit of enthusiasm in 
 carrying the Church to the people of this nation. 
 Not only does the answer of our Lord's Prayer 
 for the union of Christians depend upon the ear- 
 nest, self-sacrificing work of the sons of the Church, 
 
250 LAY READERS. 
 
 but the welfare of this great people and this glori- 
 ous country committed to our keeping. We fully 
 believe with the late Judge Sheffy, as quoted be- 
 fore, that the Church is the power appointed by 
 God for the conservation of public virtue and the 
 maintenance of the Christian religion upon this 
 continent. Believing this, can we be content to 
 stand still, idle and self-indulgent, while a partial 
 Christianity, and often an immoral Christianity, is 
 being carried to the people? We say immoral 
 Christianity advisedly, and say it as the word used 
 by the late Archbishop of York, Dr. Magee, who 
 in his clear, concise way once said that much of 
 the popular Christianity was not only false but 
 positively immoral, because, he says, it teaches 
 that no matter how bad a man is, if at the last 
 moment he experiences " religion " he receives a 
 passport direct to heaven, and a place of equality 
 there with the holiest of saints, who have given 
 God a lifelong service. The popular preaching 
 has little to do with the Church doctrine and Bible 
 truth, that men shall be judged according to the 
 deeds done in the body, whether they be good or 
 whether they be evil. The unreasonableness of the 
 idea that all that is needed is an "experience" has 
 caused the thinking men of the rural districts to 
 reject Christianity, as they think, although a few 
 questions will generally reveal the fact that the 
 
THE WORK OF THE FUTURE. 251 
 
 rejection is only the false teaching under which 
 they have been reared. 
 
 Most of us who have mingled with the people 
 have heard young folks say : " I don't want to get 
 converted yet; I want to have a good time for 
 some years, and then before I die I'll join the 
 Church." Is it strange, with such ideas, the nat- 
 ural result of much of the Christianity which is 
 taught, that there is a growth of lawlessness and 
 crime and unbelief? What the people of the rural 
 districts, especially, are often taught really puts a 
 kind of premium upon wickedness, for it makes 
 the great sinner and the great saint equal at the 
 last. It often takes the ex-thief or ex-villain and 
 sets him up as a public example and public teacher, 
 as a sort of model for others. 
 
 The writer does not speak from hearsay; he 
 speaks from the sad knowledge which has come 
 from a residence among the people in various 
 parts of this land, both before and after he him- 
 self heard of the Gospel of the Kingdom. From 
 years spent in country and city he knows of what 
 he speaks. He knows how the people of this land 
 need the Church with her teaching and training, 
 her faith and her Sacraments. 
 
 What is needed is that the clergy arouse the 
 sons of the Church to realize the situation. What 
 is needed is not so much money as men. We 
 
252 LAY READERS. 
 
 need men to rise to a sense of their duty ; we need 
 their energy, their enthusiastic service for God, 
 for Church, for country. We have the means ; we 
 have the opportunity ; we need men who will let 
 the Holy Spirit move their hearts to self-sacrific- 
 ing labors. 
 
 We need among the clergy that spirit which 
 shall desire the extension of the Kingdom of God 
 above the getting of a good salary or the pride of 
 a large parish. When the laity see real enthusi- 
 astic self-sacrifice on the part of the clergy they 
 will be imbued with the same spirit. A Priest 
 who wants to gather earnest, working laymen 
 around him can get them if he sets the example 
 and gives them work to do. We never knew it 
 fail. It will take time, it may take a long time, 
 but men can be raised up for aggressive mission- 
 ary work. 
 
 An outlook over the country shows one in every 
 direction ground which has been lost by the 
 Church, where work has been done by men more 
 faithful than the sons of the Church and more full 
 of the Holy Ghost, with hearts more on fire than 
 those of the children of the Church. This ground 
 must be regained. It can be, in time, if every 
 man is given something to do and aroused to 
 do it. 
 
 There are sections of this country where the 
 
THE WORK OF THE FUTURE. 253 
 
 very name of the Church is unknown. There is 
 to be overcome prejudice, custom, false ideas. 
 But there are many who, because of their very 
 ignorance, are without prejudice. 
 
 One day a young woman came to us and said 
 she wanted to be baptized. A few questions re- 
 vealed the fact that she had been born and bred 
 in the mountains, and had never been into a 
 church until she had attended service two months 
 before. She had a good common-school education, 
 but as to the Church she just knew that there 
 was such an institution, and that was all. No one 
 had ever said a word to her about it. She said 
 that she had come not knowing particularly where 
 she was going. We were anxious to know how 
 one so devoid of prejudice was impressed with the 
 service. " Ah," she said, " I never shall forget it 
 as long as I live ; when the choir came in I thought 
 I was in heaven." " Well," we said, "did you 
 not think it strange, did you not have to get used 
 to it before you liked it?" "No, sir," was the 
 reply, " it was all so beautiful, and some one gave 
 me a book and helped me to follow the service, 
 and I have been every Sunday since; and when, 
 last Sunday, you spoke of Baptism, I felt I must 
 be baptized." She has been for years a faithful 
 communicant, a loving child of the Church. 
 
 We mention the above because we believe she 
 
254 LAY READERS. 
 
 represents a class of people many of whom, were 
 the Church carried to them, would come as natur- 
 ally as she did into the fold. 
 
 The circular issued by the Buffalo Laymen's 
 League states that in the Diocese of Western 
 New York the population is 1,112,000, and the 
 number of communicants of the Church 15,169, 
 or a little more than one per cent, of the whole. 
 " Bishop De Lancey was consecrated May 9, 1839. 
 More than half a century of Apostolic ministry, 
 and less than two per cent, of the people con- 
 firmed." It was because of this the Bishop issued 
 his appeal for Lay Helpers. It was in answer to 
 the appeal that the League was formed, " to aid 
 the Bishop in extending the Holy Catholic and 
 Apostolic Church in the Diocese of Western New 
 York." There should be a league in every Dio- 
 cese yes, in every strong central parish. 
 
 To the people of the cities, to the millions in 
 our rural districts, the Church should be carried; 
 and since there are not enough Priests, there 
 should be trained and set to work Readers, Evan- 
 gelists, Catechists. If they are not, then unbelief 
 and paganism will increase, and the very institu- 
 tions of our country will be in danger. No man 
 can show his patriotism in such a genuine way at 
 this time as to engage actively in the extension of 
 the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in this land. 
 
THE WORK OF THE FUTURE. 
 
 255 
 
 If this work is to be done, it must be on the 
 lines of the primitive Church, " from Jerusalem " 
 and then from Ephesus, or Rome, or Alexandria, 
 or other centre. It must be from strong centres 
 outward. Clergy and laity must be impressed 
 with its necessity, and their hearts must be on fire 
 with zeal for Christ and His Church. 
 
 Will the work of the future be left undone, or 
 will the sons of the Church enter upon it as upon 
 a holy war which will involve sacrifice of money 
 and ease and place? Will the American Church 
 rise to a sense of the work and the responsibility? 
 This is the question for us to answer. The Church 
 of Rome, already strong in the centres of popula- 
 tion, is now, in certain parts of the country, moving 
 upon the rural districts. The devotees of strange 
 superstitions are actively disseminating their so- 
 called philosophies, and souls disgusted or repelled 
 by the divisions or doctrines of sectism offer fer- 
 tile soil for their lodgment and growth. What is 
 being done by the sons of the American Church? 
 What will be done by them ? We cannot believe 
 they will be faithless to their trust. If this book 
 serves in any way to inspire men with motive, to 
 arouse them to action, or to aid them in method, 
 the author will feel more than repaid for his pains. 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION AND CONSTITUTION. 
 ( The Laymen's Missionary League of Buffalo.) 
 
 Whereas : Our lot has been cast in a large city where multitudes 
 have need of the ministrations of the Gospel, and God has put it 
 into our hearts to endeavor to do some work for the upbuilding of 
 Christ's Kingdom, we, the undersigned, conscious of our privileges 
 and duties as members of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 
 Buffalo and vicinity, hereby associate ourselves for the purpose of 
 extending the knowledge of the truth as our Lord has revealed it 
 and as this Church accepts the same, and we adopt the following 
 for our 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 I. This Association shall be called " The Laymen's Missionary 
 League of Buffalo." 
 
 II. The purpose of the League shall be: the establishment 
 and maintenance of mission services, Sunday-schools, and Bible- 
 classes, for the furtherance of charitable work in the Deanery of 
 Buffalo, N. Y., under the direction of the Bishop. 
 
 III. The officers of the League shall be: a President, a Vice- 
 President from each parish, a Superintendent, a Secretary, and a 
 Treasurer, also an Executive Committee. Officers shall be elected 
 each year on the Monday nearest the feast of St. Luke. The Ex- 
 ecutive Committee shall consist of five members and the officers 
 of the League. 
 
 IV. Meetings of the League shall be held every two months or 
 oftener, as called by the President on request of any three members. 
 Any number assembled after three days notice shall be a quorum. 
 
 256 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 257 
 
 No action shall be valid which receives the written disapproval of 
 the Bishop, and the Secretary shall acquaint him with the action 
 of each meeting of the Executive Committee. Any vacancies oc- 
 curring in the Board of Officers shall be filled by the Executive 
 Committee at any regular meeting. 
 
 V. The members of the League shall be divided into Lay 
 Catechists, Lay Readers, Sunday-school Superintendents, Physi- 
 cians, Bible Readers, Visitors, and Helpers. 
 
 VI. The anniversary of the League shall be the feast of St. 
 Luke every year. 
 
 VII. This constitution shall be altered only at a meeting called 
 for that purpose, after notice given at a previous meeting. 
 
 BY-LAWS. 
 
 Members. The members of this League shall be the laymen 
 present at its first meeting, and such others as may be hereafter 
 elected subject to the provisions of these by-laws. 
 
 Any person may be elected to the League by the unanimous vote 
 of the Executive Committee at a regular meeting, provided such 
 person has been proposed for membership at a previous meeting 
 of the Committee. 
 
 Honorary members shall be those who contribute annually 
 towards the pecuniary support of the League. 
 
 Those willing to engage in the work of the League may become 
 active members. 
 
 The classification of the active members of the League shall be 
 approved by the Executive Committee. 
 
 Duties of Officers. The President, Secretary, and Treasurer 
 shall perform the usual duties of their respective offices. No 
 money shall be disbursed except upon order of the Superintendent 
 or Secretary of the League. 
 
 Vice- Presidents. The Vice-Presidents shall represent the League 
 in their several parishes, shall suggest names to their respective 
 Rectors of available nominees as Lay Readers, and each shall be a 
 committee to raise funds in his parish for the active work of the 
 League. 
 
258 APPENDIX B. 
 
 The Superintendent. The Superintendent shall be the executive 
 officer of the League, and, under the Executive Committee, shall 
 direct its work. 
 
 The Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall 
 manage and control all the affairs and works of the League. Three 
 shall be a quorum in meetings of the Executive Committee ; the 
 Vice-Presidents present shall be entitled to one vote collectively. 
 
 The above is the Constitution of the Pittsburg League simplified. 
 The last named provides for a Chaplain, and makes the Keet<>r^ 
 of the parishes of Pittsburg and Allegheny Counsellors of the 
 League. 
 
 APPENDIX K 
 
 THE ORDER FOR THE ADMISSION OF LAV 
 READERS OR CATECHISTS. 
 
 {Diocese of Adelaide.} 
 
 1. After the third collect (a hymn or anthem /nr.-ing been sung) 
 those 10/10 are to />( presented as Readers ii<ill assemble at the chancel 
 s/t'/>s, and there l>e presented to the Bishop or his Commissary by the 
 incumbent of tJie parish. 
 
 2. The Bishop shall then question each as folL- 
 
 Q. Dost thou desire to serve God in the office of a Lay Reader? 
 
 A. I do. 
 
 Q. Wilt thou in all thy service observe the order and discipline 
 of the Church of England? 
 
 A. I will. 
 
 Q. Wilt thou endeavor to frame thy life and conversation so as 
 to be an example to the people among whom thou livest? 
 
 A. By God's help I will. 
 
 Then the Bishop, handing to each his license, shall say : 
 
 Receive this license to act as Lay Reader in the district to which 
 thou art appointed. That which thou sayest with thy lips believe 
 in thine heart, and that which thou believest in thine heart practise 
 
APPENDIX B. 259 
 
 in thy life, and may the Lord bless thee in thy work, for His glory 
 and the good of His people. Amen. 
 
 Then shall they all kneel at the chancel steps, or at some other 
 meet place, and the Bishop shall say : 
 
 Let us Pray. 
 
 O Almighty God, Father of Lights, from Whom cometh every 
 good and perfect gift, we beseech Thee to enlighten and strengthen 
 these Thy servants for the work and service which they have now 
 undertaken, that they may ever set forth the glory of Thy Holy 
 Name, and promote the edification of Thy Church, and lay up for 
 themselves a good reward in the day when Thou shalt render to 
 every man according to his work. Through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 Then shall follow the Hymn and a Sermon. 
 
 OFFICE FOR PUBLICLY LICENSING LAY HELPERS, 
 WHETHER READERS OR EVANGELISTS. 
 
 ( The Form used in Pittsburg.} 
 
 A Priest shall present unto the Bishop such as desire to be ad- 
 mitted, saying these words: 
 
 Reverend father in God, I present unto you these persons to be 
 admitted Lay Readers (or Lay Evangelists). I have examined 
 and observed them, and also have inquired concerning them, and 
 think them both able and meet to fulfil this office to the glory of 
 God and for the edifying of His Church. . 
 
 Then shall the Bishop read the Canon on Lay Readers, and also 
 the Regulations touching the same, when ministering in this Dio- 
 cese. Which being done, he shall say to those desiring to be ad- 
 mitted : 
 
 Beloved, ye have now heard the duties and restrictions of this 
 office of Lay Reader in the Church of God ; are ye minded to take 
 this work upon you as the same hath been duly set forth in your 
 hearing? 
 
260 APPENDIX B. 
 
 And every one shall audibly answer: 
 
 I am. 
 
 Then shall the Bishop say : 
 
 Ye are not able to do these things of yourselves, nor to walk in 
 the commandments of God without His special help. See then 
 that ye diligently ask Almighty God to grant you such measure 
 of His grace that ye may perform your labors as well with humility 
 and godly fear as with steadfastness, courage, and perseverance ; 
 and that ye may have in you the mind that was in Christ Je>u-, 
 upon Whom alone can be builded any good work, well pleasing in 
 Cod's sight; and may ever, in all your doing, seek peace and 
 ensue it, and strive to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in 
 all things. 
 
 Hish^p. Our help is in the Name of the Lord ; 
 
 Ans^ver. Who hath made heaven and earth. 
 
 Bishop. Blessed be the name of the Lord ; 
 
 Answer. Henceforth, world without end. 
 
 Bishop. Lord, hear our prayer ; 
 
 Ansiuer. And let our cry come unto Thee. 
 
 jlishop. Let us pray. 
 
 Then all kneeling, he shall say : 
 
 Almighty, Everlasting God, vouchsafe to bless these Thy ser- 
 vants, who 'are now to be admitted into the ministry of Lay 
 Readers in Thy Holy Church; and evermore strengthen them 
 mightily by Thy grace, that they may serve before Thee to the 
 glory of Thy Holy Name and the welfare of Thy people. Through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Then shall the Bishop deliver to each one kneeling before him the 
 Book of Common Prayer, saying : 
 
 I admit and license thee as a Lay Reader (or Lay Evangelist} 
 [in the missions of the Laymen's Missionary League] ; in the 
 Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 Amen. 
 
 Which being done, the Bishop shall say ' 
 
 The Lord be with you ; 
 
 Answer. And with thy spirit. 
 
APPENDIX C. 26l 
 
 Bishop. Let us pray. Our Father, etc. 
 
 O Lord Jesus Christ, Who hast called us to be kings and priests 
 unto God, and Who hast commanded every man to render unto 
 Thee of Thine own gifts, according to the purpose of his heart ; 
 we bless Thy Holy Name that Thou hast put it into the hearts of 
 these Thy servants to offer unto Thee their bodily service as a 
 free-will offering ; and humbly we beseech Thee to grant that they 
 may, in their day and generation, show forth their faith by their 
 works, and sanctify their works by their faith. All which we ask 
 for Thy tender mercy's sake. Amen. 
 
 Direct us, O Lord, etc. 
 
 Then shall the Bishop bless them, saying: 
 
 God the Father, from Whom all good desires do come ; God 
 the Son, Who while in the flesh went about daily doing good ; 
 God the Holy Ghost, our Guide into the way of all truth and duty 
 bless, strengthen, and keep you, making you fruitful in every 
 good word and work, unto the praise and glory of His Holy 
 Name. Amen. 
 
 NOTE. Those who come to be admitted Lay Readers should 
 be habited in cassock and cotta, or otherwise, as directed by the 
 Bishop. 
 
 See also the " Form of Admitting Readers According to the Use 
 of the Diocese of London," in the Report of the Lay Helpers' 
 Association, 1892. 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 THE READERS' ASSOCIATION OF ST. PAUL'S 
 PARISH, SAN DIEGO, CAL. 
 
 I. 
 
 Membership.TM& Association shall consist of the licensed Lay 
 Readers of the parish, and such associate members outside of the 
 parish as may connect themselves with it. 
 
262 APPENDIX C. 
 
 II. 
 
 Officers. The Officers shall consist of a President, the Rector 
 of the parish, who shall be ex-officio President ; a Vice-President, 
 Secretary, and Treasurer, all of whom shall be elected annually. 
 
 III. 
 
 Meetings. The annual meeting shall be on St. Paul's Day. 
 Regular meetings shall be held on the second Tuesday of each 
 month, and special meetings at such times as may be named by 
 the President, or in his absence by the Vice-President. 
 
 RULES. 
 
 I. 
 
 The work of the Association shall in all respects be under the 
 direction of the Rector of the parish, in accordance with the 
 Canon. 
 
 II. 
 
 Reports of each service held shall be made upon the blanks of 
 the Association furnished for the purpose. 
 
 III. 
 
 An offering shall be taken at each service and accounted for to 
 the Treasurer of the Association. 
 
 Duties. In addition to the work assigned to the members, it 
 shall be their duty to pray daily for God's blessing upon the work 
 of the Association, that God may send forth more laborers into 
 His harvest. 
 
 That He will grant to the Readers favor in His sight and in 
 the eyes of those to whom they are sent, and that He will abun- 
 dantly bless the work of His Church everywhere, especially the 
 work of the Bishop of the Diocese and of the Rector of the parish. 
 
APPENDIX D. 263 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 
 No. . 
 
 IN THE NAME OF GOD. AMEN. 
 
 I, William Edward McLaren, by Divine permission, Bishop 
 
 of Chicago, do by these Presents give unto you, , 
 
 authority and license to perform in the Fear of GOD, the canon- 
 ical duties of Reader in Church, , from the date 
 
 hereof to the first Sunday in July, 18 , according to the require- 
 ments of the Law as printed on the reverse of this Commission. 
 You are authorized to read the following sermons and no other : 
 . And so I commend you to Almighty God, Whose 
 blessing I humbly pray may rest upon you and your work. 
 
 Witness my hand this day of , A.D. 18 , and in the 
 
 of my Consecration. 
 
 Bishop of Chicago. 
 
 DIOCESE OF CALIFORNIA. 
 Lay Readers License. 
 
 DIOCESAN HOUSE, 
 
 731 California Street, 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 In accordance with the provisions of Title I., Canon 9, of the 
 Digest of Canons, and at the Request and Recommendation of 
 - , I hereby license -- as a Lay 
 Reader in the Church of God, to serve at - in the 
 
 Diocese of California during the year beginning with Advent, - , 
 and ending with the next week before Advent, - . 
 (Seal.} 
 
264 APPENDIX E. 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 DIOCESE OF CALIFORNIA. 
 Application for Lay Reader's License. 
 
 189-. 
 
 RIGHT Ri:\ i RIND AND DEAR SIR: I hereby apply for a 
 
 license as a Lay Reader for in the Diocese 
 
 of California, during the year beginning with Adrcnt, , and 
 
 ending with the week next before Advent, , and append the 
 
 Canonical Request and Recommendation of 
 
 I also affirm that I have carefully read the provisions of Title I., 
 Canon 9, of the Digest of Canons as printed on the back of this 
 Application, ami will endeavor faithfully to observe the require- 
 ments thereof. 
 
 Lay Communicant. 
 
 The above application is made at my Request and Recommend- 
 ation. 
 
 189- 
 
APPENDIX F. 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 READERS' ASSOCIATION 
 ST. PAUL'S PARISH, SAN DIEGO. 
 
 265 
 
 REPORT OF SERVICES HELD AT 
 
 Amount handed Treasurer, $. 
 Deficiency, $ 
 Remarks : . . 
 
 Service 
 
 Sermon 
 
 Hymns 
 
 Reader. 
 
 Attendance 
 
 Men. 
 
 Women. 
 
 Children. 
 
 Offering, $ 
 
 Expenses 
 
266 APPENDIX G. 
 
 APPENDIX G. 
 
 PRAYERS SUITABLE FOR READERS' ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 The following are some of the prayers in use by the Pittsburg 
 League : 
 
 Bless, O Lord, this our Association. Increase the number of 
 its faithful members. Raise up many generous contributors to 
 supply its needs. Knit us together in Thy love by the bond of 
 orderly discipline and common devotion to Thy service. Prosper 
 our various works this day ; and remember, O Lord, for good, 
 our I'.i^hop, our clergy, and all our fellow-workers. Through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Bless, O Lord, the people among whom we minister ; that 
 their hearts may be ready to hear and heed Thy Word, and that 
 they may learn to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all 
 things. Save them from all error, ignorance, pride, and prejudice ; 
 deliver them from selfishness and sin ; and enable them ever to 
 seek Thine honor and glory. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Also the Collects for the Sunday next before Advent, and for 
 St. Barnabas' Day. 
 
 The following is in use by the Association at San Diego : 
 O Lord, without Whom our labor is but lost, and with Whom 
 Thy little ones go forth as the mighty, we humbly beseech Thee 
 to prosper all the works of Thy Church, undertaken according to 
 Thy holy will, especially the work of the Readers' Guild (at this 
 and other stations). 1 Grant both to the congregations and to 
 those who minister to them, patient faith, steadfast perseverance, 
 and sufficient success here on earth, and the blessedness of serving 
 Thee in heaven. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 1 To be said when used by the people at the missions. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Absolution, Readers may no 
 
 use, 178. 
 
 Addresses, Readers and, 159. 
 Alabama, Readers in, 167. 
 Anglican Communion, Readers 
 
 in, 24. 
 "Ante-Communion," Readers 
 
 and, 179. 
 Apostolic Constitution, mention 
 
 of Readers in, 17. 
 Ascription, use of, by Readers, 
 
 1 80. 
 Associations of Lay Helpers, 12, 
 
 Associations of Readers in con- 
 vocations, 67, 115 ; under Dio- 
 cesan, 70 ; in England, 63 ; in 
 English colonies, 76 ; in par- 
 ishes, 88, 95. 
 
 Atlanta, Readers' Association 
 in, 68. 
 
 Australia, Readers' Associations 
 in, 77. 
 
 Baptism, Reader administering, 
 1 80. 
 
 Berkeley Divinity School and 
 Readers, 65. 
 
 Bishop, work of Readers under 
 the, 70. 
 
 Books for Readers, 112. 
 
 Breck, Dr., and Readers, 66, 
 100, 103. 
 
 Brotherhood of St. Andrew, 12, 
 60, 99, in, 183. 
 
 Buffalo Laymen's League, 74. 
 
 Burial of dead by Readers, 184. 
 
 Buxton, Rev. Wilmot H. J., 
 
 sermons of, 151. 
 California, Readers in, 87. 
 Canada, Readers in, 81. 
 Canons on Lay Readers, 40; 
 suggested changes in, 53, 120. 
 Catechist, Reader as, 17, 182. 
 Central New York, Readers in, 
 
 126, 154. 
 
 Chicago, Readers in, 168, 185. 
 Children, sermons for, 155. 
 Choir at missions, 206. 
 Christian Union, Readers and, 
 
 218. 
 Church, need of her work in 
 
 rural districts, 58. 
 Communion, Holy, Readers and, 
 
 227; and Christians of other 
 
 names, 218. 
 
 Connecticut, Readers in, 33, 65. 
 Constitution for Readers' Asso- 
 ciation, Appendix A. 
 Convocations, Readers in, 67. 
 Cornwall, William, experience as 
 
 Reader, 37. 
 ountry districts, Readers' work 
 
 in, 89, 103. 
 
 Deacons in early Church, 19. 
 Diaconate in early Church, 235 ; 
 
 permanent, 233. 
 Diocesan Reader, 24, 120. 
 Dress of Reader in service, 126. 
 Durham, Readers in Diocese of, 
 
 109. 
 iarle, Major F. S., as Lay 
 
 Reader, 51. 
 
 267 
 
268 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 England, Lay Helpers' Associa- 
 tions in, 12, 63 ; lay preachers 
 in, 173; Readers in, 19, 186; 
 revival of use of Readers in, 
 20. 
 
 English sermons and American 
 Readers, 151, 153. 
 
 Entertainments at missions, 193. 
 
 Kxtra services, Readers and, 
 186. 
 
 Faribault, Readers' work from, 
 66. 
 
 Georgia, Readers in, 68. 
 
 (luilds, constitution for, 196; in 
 missions, 192. 
 
 1 1 arc, Bishop, and lay preach- 
 ers, 69, 173. 
 
 Huntington, Bishop, sermons 
 
 "f, 153- 
 
 Idaho, Reader! in, 37, 169. 
 
 Instruction by Renders, 199. 
 
 Iowa, Readers in, 68. 
 
 Kansas, Readers in, 68. 
 
 Kentucky, Reader in, 37. 
 
 Laity in early Church, 5; need 
 of aggressive work by, 12, <>i ; 
 need of organized work by, 13, 
 63; priesthood of, 56; preach- 
 ing orders of, 160; responsi- 
 bility of, 60. 
 
 Lay Helpers' Association, 12,70; 
 first in United States, 70 ; need 
 of, 12, 63. 
 
 Lay preacher, Origen as, 8. 
 
 Lay preachers, bands of, 10, 161 ; 
 in England, 166; in English 
 colonies, 167; need of, 169, 
 174; in United States, 167; 
 preparation for, 175 ; report to 
 General Convention concern- 
 ing, 162; Wesley's, n; Wic- 
 lif's, 10. 
 
 Lay Reader, canons concerning, 
 40 ; his right to read the serv- 
 ice, 23, 27 ; in colonial period, 
 29 ; in first part of this cent- 
 
 ury, 33 ; in the West, 36. (See 
 
 under " Readers " for other 
 
 references. ) 
 
 Laymen's Leagues, 71, 74. 
 Leaflets, use of, 131. 
 License, Reader's, 1 19. 
 London, Readers in, 21, 109. 
 Long Island, Bishop of, as to lay 
 
 work, 12. 
 
 Loyalty, Readers and, 226. 
 Maryland, Readers in, 32, 34. 
 tchusetts, Readers in, 29. 
 Melbourne, Readers in, 25, 78. 
 Milwaukee, Readers in, 68, 127. 
 Missions, in country around the 
 
 parish, 103; organization of, 
 
 190. 
 Moberly on lay responsibility, 
 
 56. 
 
 Montana, Readers in, 36. 
 Motive for Reader >' work, 58, 
 
 60. 
 Murphy, Rev. J. B. C., sermons 
 
 by, 152. 
 
 Musk at missions, 204. 
 N'a.sh, S. S., work as a Reader, 
 
 95- 
 NashoUh, Reader*' work from, 
 
 66. 
 
 New England, Readers in, 29. 
 New York, Readers in, 31. 
 Norton, Dr. J. N., sermons of, 
 
 'Si- 
 
 Offering, Readers and, 93, 132. 
 
 Olympia, plan for training Read- 
 ers in Jurisdiction of, 116. 
 
 Organization of Readers, 113, 
 
 "5- 
 
 Osborn, John, experience as a 
 Reader, 34. 
 
 Parish, the, as a center for Read- 
 ers' work, 84. 
 
 Parishes, founding of, by Read- 
 ers, 35. 
 
 Parker, Archbishop, and Read- 
 ers, 20. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 269 
 
 Parliament and Readers, 19, 21. 
 
 Parochialism, cure for, 114; hin- 
 ders work of Church, 60. 
 
 Pennsylvania, Readers in, 31, 
 168. 
 
 Pittsburg Laymen's League, 71, 
 no; training of Readers in, 
 no. 
 
 Prayer Book, distribution of, 203. 
 
 Preaching, lay, 8, 159, 162, 169. 
 
 Prisons, Readers' work in, 183. 
 
 Purity, power of, 225. 
 
 Readers, age of, 101 ; " Ante- 
 Communion," use of, by, 179 ; 
 assisting in parish church, 185 ; 
 attitude towards Christians of 
 other bodies, 208 ; baptism by, 
 1 80; blessing to, from work, 
 229; burial of dead by, 184; 
 as catechists, 17, 182; and 
 charity towards all Christians, 
 215; and Christian union, 218; 
 and conduct in the service, 
 129, 134; dress as officiants, 
 126; extra services by, 1 86; 
 first services by, 89, 107, 124; 
 founding parishes, 35 ; and 
 license, 119 ; motive for work, 
 58, 60; organizations of, 71, 
 74, 76, 82, 88; organization 
 of, constitution for, Appen- 
 dix A; in parish work, 186; 
 preparation of, 105, 107 ; qual- 
 ifications of, 101 ; reports of 
 work, 140 ; and reverence, 
 224 ; selection of, 99 ; spirit- 
 ual life of, 222; training of, 
 109. 
 
 Reading service, hints for, 135. 
 
 Reformation, Readers at time of, 
 19. 
 
 Reverence, Readers and, 224. 
 
 Rural districts, threatened pagan- 
 ism of, 59. 
 
 Salvation Army, 4, 175. 
 
 San Diego, Readers' Association 
 in, 88. 
 
 Scotland, Readers in, 25. 
 
 Seminaries, Theological, Read- 
 ers' work from, 64. 
 
 Sermons, preparation for deliv- 
 ery, 144; from a book, 146; 
 length of, 155; for Readers, 
 151; need of, by Americans 
 for Readers, 157; for seasons, 
 156; selection of, 152, 156; 
 writing out, 146. 
 
 Service, the first, 107, 124; 
 Readers in the, 129, 134; in 
 schoolhouses, 105 ; with non- 
 Church people, 104, 131. 
 
 Sewanee, Readers at, 66. 
 
 South Dakota, Readers in, 69, 
 167. 
 
 Spiritual life, the Reader's, 222. 
 
 Stockton, Lewis, opinions of, 4, 
 60. 
 
 Sunday-schools, 96, 198. 
 
 Surplice, use of, by Readers, 
 126. 
 
 Syracuse, Readers' work from, 
 67. 
 
 Tarborough and Readers' work, 
 
 95- 
 Tracts, list of, 200; societies 
 
 which give, 202 ; use of, 199. 
 Utah, Readers in, 36. 
 Vestments, use of, by Readers, 
 
 126. 
 Virginia, Readers in colony of, 
 
 29. 
 Western Michigan, Readers in, 
 
 68. 
 Western New York, Bishop of, 
 
 as to lay work, 14. 
 Work, blessing to Readers from, 
 
 229 ; future, 249. 
 Wyoming, Readers in, 169. 
 
 / OF THE 
 
 { UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
THE CHIEF THINGS; 
 
 OR, CHURCH DOCTRINE FOR THE PEOPLE. 
 
 By REV. A. W. SNYDER. 
 
 Cloth binding, $1.00. Paper covers. 50 Cents. 
 
 f< It is just what we want." Bishop Whitchead. 
 "It is an indispensable aid in parish work." Rev. C. W. 
 Leffingwell, D.D. 
 
 ' ' The author has gathered into a volume twenty-six essays on 
 just those topics and questions pertaining to Church faith and wor- 
 ship, on which a multitude of people, both without and within our 
 congregations, need to be instructed. The statements are always 
 clear, concise, direct, and persuasive. There is nothing extravagant, 
 overwrought, fantastic, or bitier. Many of the essays would make 
 excellent chapters for lay reading." Rt. Rev. F. D. Huniing'on, 
 D.D. 
 
 " It does not deal with the one thing needful in order to be 
 saved, but with a considerable number of things that is necessary to 
 believe, in order to be sound. It is written in a stirring, off-hand 
 way, and the person who reads it carefully, and uses it freely, will 
 be a perpetual thorn in the flesh of all sectarian associates, and 
 generally regarded by disinterested parties as decidedly a tough nut 
 to crack. The book is a beautiful specimen of typographical art." 
 Standard of the Cross. 
 
 " It enunciates the ' Chief Things ' so clearly that the way- 
 faring man, though a fool, can hardly mistake the meaning. The 
 thoughts are so clear and clean cut, that the book must be helpful 
 to many seekers after truth and the Church." Rt. Rev. W. A. 
 Leonard. D.D. 
 
 11 The Church throughout this land of ours is badly in need of 
 just such teaching as this book contains." Rt. Rev. E. G. Weed, 
 D.D. 
 
 *** Copies sent by mail, postage free, on receipt of price. 
 
 THOMAS WHITTAKER, 
 
 2 and 3 Bible House, NEW YORK. 
 
Buried Cities and Bible Countries 
 
 By GEORGE ST. CLAIR, F.G.S. 
 
 Member of the Society of Biblical Archaeology ; Member of the Anthropological 
 Institute, and ten years Lecturer for the Palestine Exploration Fund 
 
 8vo, 378 pages, with Maps and Illustrations. Price, $2.00 
 
 "As a lecturer for the Palestine Exploration Fund, Mr. George St. 
 Clair has had special opportunity and occasion to get correct information, 
 and his book has the great recommendation of being trustworthy in its 
 statements of recent discoveries." 7"he Nation. 
 
 "We desire to call the attention of all Bible students to a book whose 
 usefulness can hardly be overstated. The title is ' Buried Cities and 
 Bible Countries,' by George St. Clair, F.G.S. Some notion of its 
 character and value may be gained by mention of points of the account. 
 The Rosetta Stone and its bearing on the solution of Egyptian hiero- 
 glyphics, the discovery of the mummies of Seti I., Ramcses II., and 
 Manephta I., who were Pharoahs of the Israelite bondage ; the relation 
 of the Tellel-Amarna inscription ; the early history of the Semites, 
 Biblical sites in Egypt ; the route of Exodus ; the fate of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah ; results of the Palestine explorations in Jerusalem and < -No- 
 where, as throwing light upon, not the Old Testament alone, but the 
 Gospels also ; the excavations on the sites of Nineveh and Babylon. 
 These are some of the topics which are treated in a vigorous and trust- 
 worthy fashion. To each section is appended a set of rcfeiences to the 
 best authorities ; excellent illustrations and maps enrich the pages. We 
 find it clear as well as carefully condensed ; in short, a very valuable 
 book, surprisingly complete for its size, since in some three hundred and 
 eighty pages it gives the gist of many large and costly volumes. '* 
 
 The Christian Uni.-n. 
 
 " It would be difficult to overstate the value of this book r^ a brief 
 resume of the rich results of recent explorations in Bible lands. The 
 references to authorities are full and accurate, and the maps are very 
 fine." Public Opinion. 
 
 " Mr. St. Clair has given us in this book a carefully and conscientiously 
 written volume on a subject of the deepest interest to all Biblical readers. 
 His connection with the Palestine Exploration Fund has enabled him to 
 know thoroughly all about the subject on which he writes, and he has 
 evidently determined to bring forth nothing for which he cannot give 
 good and convincing authority." The Churchman. 
 
 "Mr. St. Clair has given us an interesting, readable, and also an 
 accurate book, which will prove of great interest to all Bible students 
 as well as to archceologists." Biblia. 
 
 " A score or more of illustrations assist the text, which may be pro- 
 nounced one of the most judicious and accurate popular presentations 
 thus far made of the results of excavation in Bible lands." 
 
 Boston Literary World. 
 
 THOMAS WHITTAKER, Publisher 
 
 2 and 3 Bible House, NEW YORK 
 
Standard Books of Illustration. 
 
 TOOLS FOR TEACHERS. A Collection of Anecdotes, Illustrations, 
 Legends, etc., for Teachers of Sunday-schools, Bible Classes and 
 Boys' Brigades. Compiled and Arranged by WILLIAM MoODIE. 
 Small quarto, 488 pages, cloth, $2.00. 
 
 This book is not intended as a repertory of stories gathered together for their 
 own sake. It is meant to be a practical manual and storehouse for teachers of Sunday 
 Schools, Bible Classes and Boys' Brigades, and generally, for all who have to do with 
 the moral and religious training of the young. 
 
 THE CYCLOPEDIA OF NATURE TEACHINGS. Being a Selec- 
 tion of Facts, Observations, Suggestions, Illustrations, Examples 
 and Illustrative Hints taken from all departments of Inanimate 
 Nature, with a copious index of subjects, and also one of Bible 
 texts. With an Introduction by HUGH MACMILLAN, LL.D. 8vo, 
 cloth, $2.50. 
 
 CLASSIFIED GEMS OF THOUGHT. From the Great Writers and 
 Preachers of all Ages ; in convenient form for use as a Dictionary 
 of Ready Reference on Religious Subjects. By Rev. F. B. PROC- 
 TOR, M.A. With a Preface by Henry Wace, D.D., Principal of 
 King's College, London. 816 pages, quarto, cloth, red edges. $3.00. 
 One of the most valuable, and the cheapest book of its class in the market. 
 
 THE DICTIONARY OF ANECDOTE, Incident, Illustrative Fact. 
 Selected and arranged for the Pulpit and Platform by the Rev. 
 WALTER BAXENDALE, with Index and Cross References and 
 Texts. Illustrated. 690 pages, thick royal 8vo, cloth, $4.00. 
 
 "This is a great book. He has here gathered fresh, pointed and varied illus- 
 trations for the pulpit and platform. We are surprised at the comprehensiveness of 
 subjects and the fullness of treatment. There are some six hundred topics. The paper 
 is good and the type clear. We predict for this book a generous sale." Zion's Herald. 
 
 THOMAS WHITTAKER, 
 
 PUBLISHER, 
 
 2 and 3 Bible House, NEW YORK. 
 
"Christ and Modern Unbelief," 
 
 By Rev. RANDOLPH H. McKIM, D.D., 
 
 Rector of Epiphany Church, Washington, D. C. 
 12mo, in cloth. Price, 31.OO. 
 
 "We welcome Mr. McKim's book . . . and 
 place it in the company of such works as Dr. 
 Young's 'Christ of History,' among useful apolo- 
 getic works." THE LONDON GUARDIAN. 
 
 ^* tt s***r**^**^\^*>>s\^*^*>*s~ l **s~^~^~^**s~*s~*^^ 
 
 CONTENTS: 
 
 LECTURE I. The Citadel and its Defence. II. The Theistic 
 Foundation. HI. The Unique Personality of Christ. IV. 
 The Plan and the Teaching of Christ. V. The Work of 
 Christ. VI. Miracles. VII. Theories of the Resurrection. 
 
 From RT. REV. THOS. F. GAILOR, D.D., Assistant Bishop of 
 
 Tennessee. 
 
 "At first I said to myself ' Is there any need for another book on 
 this subject?' But when I read it I was delighted. You have really 
 supplied a felt need and I have recommended the book to my students, 
 as a fresh, clear and able presentation in convenient form of the modern 
 problem with very admirable survey of the Christian argument." 
 
 From MR. JAMES L. HOUGHTELING, President of the Council 
 
 of St. Andrew's Brotherhood. 
 
 " I have this moment finished the perusal of your book ' Christ and 
 Modern Unbelief.' I write to thank you with all my heart. I thank 
 you first in my own behalf. I have been confused alike by the assaults 
 of foes and the defences of friends. . . . You have met my difficul- 
 ties squarely and have disavowed arguments which have seemed to me 
 untenable. I deem your argument conclusive. It is so to me at any 
 rate, and I believe the book will be of great use." 
 
 From REV. EDWARD WHITE, M.A., author of "Life in 
 
 Christ." 
 
 " I don't know where I have seen the things requisite to be said in 
 the present distress, better put, or in a briefer and more logical form." 
 
 THOMAS WHITTAKER, 
 
 2 & 3 Bible House, oth St. and Fourth Ave., New York. 
 
CATHEDRALS OF ENGLAND 
 
 By FREDERIC W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S., Archdeacon and 
 Canon of Westminster. Profusely illustrated, i2mo, 
 cloth extra. Price, $1.50. 
 
 "This is an attractive, popular volume on the seven most interesting 
 ' English Cathedrals.' The author describes the architecture with poetic 
 appreciation, and dwells as he does so on the faith of the builders and 
 the noble history of the English people and the English Church. The 
 volume is copiously illustrated with spirited woodcuts. " The Independent. 
 
 "It has been said the best supplement to a liberal education would 
 be a long tour among the Cathedrals of England, studying their mag- 
 nificent architecture, the symbolism of their splendid windows, and 
 everything else about these massive structures, which in their silent 
 grandeur teach history and poetry, science and religion, worship and 
 devotion, in lessons of enduring stone. Most of us, however, cannot 
 thus supplement our college days ; so we shall do well to obtain this 
 beautiful book, which, with its many graphic pictures, matched by the 
 graceful text by skilled writers, will tell us more than nine tourists out of 
 ten will remember for many a day spent under the shadow of these 
 magnificent towers." The Golden Rule. 
 
 STORIES OF THE CATHEDRAL CITIES OF ENGLAND 
 
 By EMMA MARSHALL. i2mo, cloth, illustrated. Price, $1.25 
 
 These stories are gathered from reliable sources in the hope of 
 awakening a lively interest on the historical memories in these great 
 relics of times gone by. While intensely interesting, they avoid mere 
 dissertations on architecture or minute descriptions of the buildings 
 themselves. 
 
 ENGLISH CATHEDRALS: 
 
 Their Architecture, Symbolism and History. Compiled by 
 E. W. BOYD, Head of St. Agnes School, Albany. 
 Fourth Edition. Revised. i6ino, cloth extra. Price, 
 60 cents ; also, in white and gold, 75 cents. 
 
 An extremely useful short account of the history, styles and traditions 
 of the English Cathedrals ; together with an illustrated glossary, giving 
 the definition and symbolism of the various parts. 
 
 THOMAS WH1TTAKER 
 
 PUBLISHER 
 
 2 and 3 Bible House, - - NSW YORK 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 AMERICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 
 
 FROM THE PLANTING OF THE COLONIES 
 
 TO THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 BY 
 
 S. D. McCONNELL, D.D., 
 
 RECTOR OF ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH, PHII.A. 
 
 8vo cloth, plain, $2.00 ; with gilt top, $2.25 ; 
 in half calf or half morocco, $3.00. 
 
 PRESS NOTICES. 
 
 "The book deserves many commendatory adjectives; for it is 
 learned, concise, well proportioned, dispassionate, frank and readable. 
 The author usually writes with adequate knowledge of the sources with 
 due spiritual insight, with patriotism toward his own Church, and with 
 catholic courtesy toward other Churches. Furthermore, he is in accord 
 with modern writers in his attention to social development." Sunday- 
 School Tinits. 
 
 "Without getting into details, it is enough to say that Dr. Mc- 
 Connell has made easy and sometimes racy reading out of a narrative 
 that in less skillful hands would have degenerated into mere chronicle." 
 The Epoch. 
 
 " This is a work creditable alike to scholarship, literary taste, and 
 heart of its author." Bibliotheca Sacra. 
 
 " Those who think that church history must perforce be dull, will 
 receive a new impression from Dr. McConnell's volume. He applies 
 the method of Macaulay and McMaster, and rivals the vigor and 
 vivacity of their style. Nothing which can fitly enliven his pages 'is 
 suppressed, whether it tends to edification or the reverse. He is a 
 Churchman, but in no narrow sense. The errors, false policies, and 
 failures, of the past are frankly recorded, nor does he scruple to go 
 beneath the surface, and trace movements to their sources in ideas. 
 There are paragraphs of brilliant analysis, and chapters, as full of 
 suggestion as of information." The Churchman. 
 
 THOMAS WHITTAKER, 
 
 PUBLISHER, 
 2 & 3 BIBLE HOUSE, NEW YORK. 
 
re (2832