DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Decently and in Order Pastoral Suggestions in Matters Official and Personal By the Rev. Wm. C. DeWitt, S.T.D. of the Western Theol Seminary, Chicago Dean of the Western Theological Morehouse Publishing Co. Milwaukee A. R. Mowbray & Co. London i A j Ck COPYRIGHT BY THE YOUNG CHURCHMAN CO. 1914 TO ONE WHO FOR THIRTY YEARS AND MORE HAS SUPPLIED THE INCREMENT, IN MANY FORMS, TO SUPPLEMENT MY INEFFICIENT POWERS, I DEDICATE THIS SMALL TRIBUTE. [l PURLOINED HER NAME: SO HER NAME IS MINE.] W. C. D. CONTENTS 1. PREFACE An Apology xvii 2. AUTHORITY CONFERRED IN ORDINATION - - - 1 Authority a test of character Implies two- fold responsibility Exists under conditions Responsibility endures Responsibility of a priest to canonical authorities Common hon- esty Dishonest appeal to precedent Trifling with truth Authority to be accepted as con- ferred Some vows of the diaconate Plea for honest interpretation 3. THE DEACON 7 Abnormal conditions do not change duties Never in sole charge Duties of a deacon May not become rector May preside by cour- tesy Must know canons and mind of the Bishop Benefits of observing limitations Baptism of adults Solemnizing Matrimony Vesting 4. THREE SPHERES OF MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBIL- ITY 12 Priest, Pastor, Rector Priestly activities Pastoral activities Always a priest, pastor, rector Over-emphasis of priesthood; neglect of pastorate neglect of rectorate Over- emphasis of pastorate; neglect of priesthood Over-emphasis of rectorate; neglect of priesthood and pastorate Plane of rector- ate lowest Conventional but necessary riii DECENTLY AND IN ORDER CANONICAL REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING "CALLS" 18 Priest-in-charge Assistant Minister Rector Thirty days' notice Certificate to Bishop Certificate to secretary of diocese Con- tents of Call Permission requested of Bishop Resigning rectorship Serious mistakes 6. RELATIONS BETWEEN CLEBGY AND LAITY - - 22 Mutual dependence Neither exists without the other Result of discord Ordination does not change a man's nature Result of misunderstanding functions Layman credits every claim made good Credits and debits Authority vs. power Laymen interested in results Bad showing and great hopes Law of supply and demand unfavorable to laity Recalcitrant clergymen Useless questions Self-examination: Lay piety and intelligence often superior Hiding behind vestments Prescription 7. CEREMONIAL CLEANLINESS, AND PROPORTION 33 Taking one's bearings Cleanliness first essen- tial Useless articles Clean vestments prop- erly placed Silk Vestments Harmony of proportions second essential Disproportion creates dislike of ceremonial A blow at or- derly ceremonial Esthetic culture not created by force Considerateness 8. RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL 39 Definitions Ritual variable only by author- ity Ceremonial largely optional Rules for Ceremonial Ritual, Custom, Bishop's direc- tion English custom the basis of American revision Variety in American ceremonial Statement in Preface of Prayer Book Need of ceremonial code Article X of Constitu- tion Ceremonial must conform to authorized ritual Desirability no substitute for author- CONTENTS ix ity Catholic spirit seeks unity Partition of services 9. LAWFUL "ORNAMENTS" 48 Force of prefatory paragraph permissive Ornaments rubric Ornaments of American Church Altar Credence Cruets Al- tar - bread box Bowl Alms-basins Chalice Paten Fair linen Burse Pall Chalice- Veil Purificators Alb Chasuble Stole 10. HOLY COMMUNION 54 (1) Doctrinal Notes: Central act of worship A permanent Mys- tery Sacrament and Sacrifice Various as- pects Priest must be true to the Liturgy (2) Preliminaries: Name Time Equipment of Sacristy Serv- er's preparatory duties Women Quiet Collect Entrance Priest's preparation (3) The Office: Priest's position Rehearsing the Command- ments Posture of people during Epistle Change to Gospel-side Ceremonial of remov- ing Altar-desk Taking the offerings Pre- paring the oblations Leavened or unleav- ened bread Changing use Ablutions Use of handkerchief Exhortations obligatory Confession and Absolution Comfortable words Memorization Reading prayer of Humble Access Benedictus and Agnus Dei Elevation of Species Genuflections Priest's Communion Communicating the Choir Cleanliness Sentences Consuming residue Purifications Concluding notes 11. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION 83 No authorized provision for manner of receiv- ing auricular confession Charge to confes- x DECENTLY AND IN ORDER sion as well as counsel Absolution implied Reasons for priest's remissness Priest must be prepared Analogy of physician Webb's The Cure of Souls Exceptional cases "Some other minister" Compulsory confes- sion unlawful Precautions Dangers Dig- nity of priest Church the place Announced times for spiritual conferences Opportuni- ties in pastoral visiting 12. MORNING AND EVENING PEAYEE 91 Unconsidered words Value of these offices Disregard and bad reading Find places in advance Advice in reading Regard for the unmusical 13. SERVICES FREQUENCY AND OCCASIONS - - - 95 Ideals vs practicability Opportunity to some, not obligation for all Memorial calen- dar Minimum of services Two Celebrations for the same people Special services Mid- week service Lent Secret societies Open church 14. HOLY BAPTISM 102 (1) Doctrine and Practice: Baptism a saving ordinance No greater com- mission Discrediting one's own teaching Belief shown by conduct Sincerity is effec- tive (2) Baptism of Infants: Priest normal minister Reason for lay- Baptism Times for Baptism Requisites Special times Blank form Sponsors: Meet- ing difficulty of unfit persons, Double guard- ianship Infants brought in when wanted Place of Font Direction to congregation Clean Font Ewer and napkins Directions to sponsors Handling infant Shell or hand CONTENTS xi for carrying water Drying head Raising children to the font Benediction Parting words. (3) Baptism of Adults: Making the issue clear Avoid controversy in discussion Approach Creed from devotional point of view Prayer and fasting Devo- tional manual Confession Minister not self-conscious (4) Private Baptism: Rubrics against home-baptisms Home or delay Reasons for rubric Conduct in case of sickness When in doubt about death Hypo- thetical Baptism Insistence upon reception into congregation Public Baptism in homes 15. CONFIRMATION 116 Responsibility of God-parents Reminding sponsors Sunday school, choir, and guilds Notices from chancel, letters, and visits Desire and fitness determined after instruc- tion Requirements for Confirmation Ad- vantages of this rule Careful preparation necessary The Church not a machine Con- stant work securing candidates Suggested Courses Personal Conference Dress of wo- men and girls First Communion Final ap- peal Devotional manual and certificate List for Bishop Watching attendance upon Holy Communion 16. MATRIMONY 124 Discarded safeguards, Espousals, and Banns Refusal to marry any divorced person Believer and unbeliever Blank form In case of suspicion Not to marry persons un- known, or to any degree intoxicated Pref- erably in the Church Celebration of the Holy Communion License to be delivered Bad xii DECENTL7 AND IN ORDER taste Rehearsals Procession Business of ushers Diagram Espousals at chancel gate Office-book and certificate Choir Bridal couple ungloved Congregation stands Charges "Obey" Giving the bride Posi- tions Repressing nervousness Specific di- rections Two rings Prayers facing couple Charge Final details 17. -VISITATION OF THE SlCK 138 Notice to be insisted upon However, act upon information When not wanted Reasons for no welcome Visit to physician Two-fold purpose of visitation Office Conduct at informal visit Need for discre- tion in use of prayers Never assume uncon- sciousness Interfering Exceptional cases Infection Conduct in such cases Stimu- lants disinfectants Hospitals God's messen- ger Unction of the sick: Reaction from Ex- treme Unction Bishop to sanction Form of 1549 18. UNCTION OF THE SICK - 149 19. COMMUNION OF THE SICK 152 Rubric and Reserved Sacrament Reservation sometimes helpful to priest Rubrical re- quirements; Priest notified, "Two at least," Reception not necessary to reception Sarum rubric incomprehensible Advantage of a con- tagious disease Promptness What priest should take with him Inquiries Prepara- tion for celebrating Adaptation of voice Administering to patient Concluding the office Committal Patient left in quiet 20. BtTBIAL OF THE DEAD 159 Visit to home Demand upon minister to con- vey strength When office is prohibited Suicides not buried from church Coroner's CONTENTS xiii verdict Improper requests Music Home or church What should be done in both cases Sentences and Psalms Reading Lesson Creed Benediction Casket not to be opened Vestments Exposure at grave Committal 21. CHTJBCHING OF WOMEN 169 Office always optional Concluding prayer usually sufficient. 22. THE USE OF THE VOICE 170 Reading: Wilful ignorance, Seminaries not wholly responsible, Imagination, Tempera- ment, Mai-formations, Diversity of gifts, Imitation Remedies Singing Letter from an actress: Effect of asceticism, Relative at- tendance at Churches and theatres, Work as an actor works Weariness infectious 23. PBEACHING 181 Link between priestly and pastoral functions Laziness decries preaching Remedies for ineffective preaching Vigor in attacking sin Anecdote from mission field Interesting self Mush Beauty of virtues Present an incentive Sermon a reflection of preacher Small topics Bad argumentation Icono- clasm Various classes Impudence Read- ing a sermon Following notes Memorizing Nervousness Relaxed throat Ascription 24. THE PAEISH REGISTER 189 Extracts from canons Value of register Form and contents of register Card system Working lists Posting card-file Blotter Pocket-list Supplementary index for not- ing visits Posting the register Communi- cant cards Transfer of communicants No dismissing from Church membership Re- ports to Bishop Complete statement re- quired Vestry report xiv DECENTLY AND IN ORDER 25. PASTORAL VISITS 202 Pastor a shepherd Congregation to cooperate Visiting a sacred duty Difficulties must not deter Helpful discoveries Hearing gos- sip Giving confidences Four kinds of sys- tematic visits Method of procedure Effec- tive spiritual counsel and common-sense Furthering acquaintance Information and solicitation Maintain dignity Boring Some requirements of good taste 26. THE ECCLESIASTICAL CORPORATION - - - 213 Canon law must conform to civil law Whether parish or vestry is the corporation Vestry the Board of Trustees Responsibil- ity left with vestry Congregation's respon- sibility in electing vestry Annual Parish Meeting: organization, records, polls, nomina- tions, rector's report, treasurer's report, com- plications, minutes 27. THE VESTRY ... 218 Composition of vestry Danger of informal- ity in meetings Promptness Order of busi- ness Rector's vote Useless committees Rector's prerogatives conditioned Offerings not to be diverted Borrowing and paying Canonical offerings Embezzlement 28. THE CHOIR 223 The purpose of the choir Simple music for plain people Most useful choir is best choir Choirmaster makes or ruins Male or Mixed? Expenses Choir-mother Lavatory Discipline Music directory 29. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL - 229 The greatest interest of the Church Attrac- tive accessories Parental responsibility not CONTENTS xv released A last resort Modern pedagogy Purpose of the Sunday school 30. OTHEB ORGANIZATIONS 233 Broader interests encouraged by General So- cieties Parochial Societies Federation Ideals limiting practical influence Raffles Social Service: Importance, Shirking duty, Sermons, Getting Started, Literature, "Blow- ing up" Tammany method Pastor controls all organizations except vestry Report to rector Over-organized 31. RAISING MONET 242 Rector's duty to see that people give money Rector and vestry cooperate Illustration Pew-renting Pledge system Plate-offer- ings Christmas Easter Motive in solicit- ing Sincerity and simplicity Visual stim- uli Blank books Personal equation Legal notes Three methods of collecting canonical offerings Every-member canvass Special treasurer Good-nature and considerateness 32. KEEPING ACCOUNTS - - - 253 33. PERSONAL MATTERS 259 Finances: Rightful desires, Methodical financ- ing, Concentrating indebtedness, Supplement- ing salary, Honorariums, Secular employment Clothing and cleanliness: Idiosyncrasies, New York Central's order Loafing Reading, four rules Observation Indulgences: Smok- ing, Drinking Theatres Games Dancing Public opinion 34. PERSONAL MATTERS (Continued) 277 Getting married: Folly of haste, Choosing a wife, The wife's duties Gifts and favors: Circumstances determine expediency, Salary and honorariums a better basis, Sponging, The Physician, General rule xvi DECENTLY AND IN ORDER 35. RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS 284 Getting subscriptions Book-shelf Prayer Books and Hymnals Parish paper: Financ- ing, composing surplus funds 36. MEDITATION 290 Results of practising meditation In what it consi sts Cautions 37- SECURING CANDIDATES FOB HOLY ORDERS - - 294 Statistics Reasons for inactivity Difficulties not insuperable Fit men 38. MISCELLANY 298 Church architecture Pastoral Letters Par- tisanship Fasting and abstinence Reasons why Use of words Rector's boxes Alms boxes 39. LENGTH OF RECTOBATE 304 No rule for length of service Compulsory retirement Loss in frequent changes A life work Caution REFERENCE NOTES 308 INDEX 325 PREFACE The memory of my college and seminary days convinces me that the student attains far better results by following a text book than by merely taking notes upon lectures in class-rooms. There is a tendency at present, possibly arising out of the craze for "original research," impelling teachers in all higher educational departments to waive the use of text-books, and to write their own lectures, com- pelling the students to the drudgery of taking such copious notes in the class-rooms that all are sure to miss something, and many are sure to miss a great deal. Endeavoring to find a text-book for my classes in Pastoral Theology, for eight years I have sought out and read many books upon subjects involved in that department. Most of them the best of them dwell chiefly upon the all-important theme of the spiritual equipment of a minister of Christ. Others follow the rubrics of the Prayer Book offices, and give a vast amount of valuable suggestion and inspiration. Others, still, are ruminative, alive with interesting biographical material. Most of the books are written from an English point of view, and do not fit closely into the exigencies of Ameri- can pastoral experience. I have been constrained, therefore, to issue this volume. Nothing I shall say will be so well said, nor in some respects so important, as what is contained xviii DECENTLY AND IN ORDER here and there in a score of such books as are above referred to. I hope every student who follows these lectures will regard as a foundation for his pastoral life such books as Wilberforce's Ordination Ad- dresses, Benson's Fishers of Men, Liddon's Clerical Life and Work, Newbolt's Speculum Sacerdotum, Whitman's Holy Orders, Nichols' Apt and Meet, and the greater part of Paret's Pastoral Use of the Prayer Boole. But in the short time at my disposal in the class-room, I want to make sure that among some rather commonplace themes which are dis- cussed by every lecturer and writer in Pastoral Theology, at least a few matters which are seldom specifically alluded to, and which I think of great importance to a successful ministry, particularly at the beginning though in themselves they may appear of small moment are thoroughly under- stood. Who does not know many instances, especially in the newer dioceses of our Church, in which min- isters of great faith and deep piety, of unquestioned loyalty and consecration, have failed, time and again, in missions and parishes, just for the want of a little of that "common sense" which implies a knowledge of simple matters of which they are ignorant? And why should they not be ignorant if they have never learned? An ugly, yet God-designed skeleton underlies every beautiful form of Divine creation. To artic- ulate the skeleton never seems, at first, to a lover of the beautiful, so inviting or spiritual a task as to contemplate the ideal, in proportion, line and color. I am not going to try to articulate the entire skeleton of the Sacred Ministry, but I intend to ex- amine a few bones which became familiar to me PREFACE xix during the twenty years of my experience as a parish priest, and which I have viewed somewhat more critically since assuming the responsibilities of a professorial chair. I am fully aware that the copy I am sending to the press violates in its form some conventional usages in published books particularly in the em- ployment of the first and second personal pronouns, and in the insertion of some matter in the text which would be expected only in foot notes. A sec- ond thought will suggest my reasons for so doing. This is primarily a reproduction of my classroom lectures; not a scientific treatise. I have not given the specific number now desig- nating canons cited, because such numbers are changed with each General Convention. It is pos- sible that some of the rubrics which I have ven- tured to criticise may also be changed ere this edi- tion is exhausted. I am very grateful for the generous reception of the first edition of this volume. It has been impossible for me to incorporate in the second edi- tion all of the emendations and amplifications suggested; but I have been glad to accept many criticisms, to add a chapter on Accounting, and to insert a few words and paragraphs here and there. Some distressing orthographical and typographical blunders have been eradicated, and perhaps a few new ones made. But I am assured that the book is useful to young clergymen, and worth keeping in publication for a while longer until a better one appears from some other author, covering practically the same ground. W. C. D. August 20, 1919^ THE AUTHORITY CONFERRED IN ORDINATION KEFEBBING you again to the books men- tioned in the preface to these lectures for a general purview of the subject of ordination, let me direct your thought particularly to the critical words of the ordinal in "Making Dea- cons" and in "Ordering Priests." These words are "Take thou authority." It depends upon the character of the recipi- ent whether these words awaken within him a sense of responsibility, or merely delight him with a consciousness of power. How they have affected the man can usually be determined by anyone in the long run ; for, as Bishop Wilber- force has said, "as the rule, the ministry con- tinues in its leading character as it commences," But I want you to be sure, when the Bishop's hands are resting upon your head, and when he, exercising the authority which has come down from the Great Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, says to you, "Take thou authority to exercise the office of a deacon in the Church of God," you feel such a sense of responsibility as you never felt before. DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Implies two-fold Responsi- bility Exists under Limitations Responsibil- ity enduring Consciousness of authority without an ac- companying sense of responsibility is such a fruit of ordination as that which quickly ripened in the case of Judas Iscariot. To a right minded man the receiving of authority will imply the responsibility of agency; and agency implies responsibility to act under in- struction, under law, in the name of one from whom authority is received, and with respect to one who is the object of the action towards which the conferred authority looks. The re- sponsibility of authority is, therefore, two-fold, (1) towards the creator of it, and (2) towards the person or persons for whose sake the au- thority is given. It is of the nature of authority that it should exist under the limitations established when it is conferred; and it must cease is automatically non-existent when those limita- tions are transgressed. But responsibility does not so cease; for it exists until the agent has duly performed the duties assigned and as- sumed, and until the authority conferred has been lawfully terminated. While there can be no question but that a priest ordained by a Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, is a priest of the Church of God not merely of a branch of that Church yet there can be no more a question but that he has fully obligated himself to serve obedi- AUTHORITY CONFERRED IN ORDINATION ently under the authority of the Protestant Episcopal Church, until he has been by that authority lawfully released from such obedi- ence. Upon proper application, a priest may obtain such a release, and be transferred to the jurisdiction of any Church in communion with it. But no priest may rightly exercise his priesthood under the authority of any Church, while at the same time regarding himself prac- tically under the jurisdiction of another in matters in which the canons of the said Churches are disagreed. His priesthood in the Church of God gives him no license to vio- late his assumed obligations of obedience to that Church from which he received his orders ; but rather, on the contrary, binds him to such obedience. It is therefore important that the candi- date for Holy Orders before ordination to the diaconate, and the deacon before ordination to the priesthood, and the priest before consecra- tion to the episcopate, should settle these ques- tions of common honesty, "Shall I, or shall I not, under the most solemn vows possible for human lips to utter, bind myself to the service of the Church of God under the conditions im- posed by the authority (which I shall so rec- ognize) of that Church now known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America ? Or shall I, having by sub- Eesponsibil- ity of a priest to canonical authorities Keeping Ordination vows a matter of common honesty DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Dishonest appeal to precedent, and moral sense Trifling with truth terfuge obtained an authority which by com- mon honesty I could not have obtained, after my ordination do as I may please in the matter of conforming my practice to her requirements, so long as I am satisfied that, somewhere, at some time, and by someone, in the history of Christianity, there is to be found a precedent for my conduct ? Or, again, if I find, as I am inclined to think I may, that the progress of humanity is retarded by the Church as consti- tuted in the past and present, and that it is the duty of a priest under such circumstances to reform the Church from within; shall I not so construe my present ordination vows that I may be free to violate them in certain particu- lar instances with a clear conscience, and so at once retain my office and my income, while I increase my influence, and benefit mankind?" Of course these questions are readily set- tled by anyone who has any considerable re- spect for the truth and for that morality which is an axiom of Christianity. But it is most unhappily the case, that when a man allows himself to trifle with the truth in the least de- gree, he will find the way readily and logically to wholesale falsification. If two lines are not exactly parallel at their beginning they will be widely separated at their ends. A conscious distortion of a single element that goes into the vows of the deacon or priest or Bishop, as AUTHORITY CONFERRED IN ORDINATION 5 administered by the authority of "this Church," either at the time of ordination or later so long as one exercises the authority conferred is a crime of the first magnitude; for it warps the vision of truth, it attacks the integrity of the ministry, it is a seed of heresy or schism in the Church, it makes for anarchy in the King- dom of God and of His Christ. Therefore, let me urge upon you that you accept with all loyalty the authority of your diaconate and priesthood, involving that of your pastorship and rectorship, in the Church of God; that you so accept it implicity under the conditions imposed by that branch of the Church from which you have asked to receive it, and whose rightful authority to command obedience you have thereby recognized. Among these conditions are: (1) That you believe that you are truly called according to the Canons of this Church. (2) That you will so minister the Doctrine and Sacraments, and the Discipline of Christ, as the Lord hath commanded, and as this Church hath received the same, according to the commandments of God; so that you may teach the people committed to your Cure and Charge with all diligence to keep and observe the same. Warping the vision of truth Authority to be accepted as con- ferred Some vows of the Diaconate 6 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER (3) That you will be ready with all faith- ful diligence, to banish and drive away from the Church all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's word. (4) That you will reverently obey your Bishop and other chief Ministers, who, according to the Canons of the Church, may have the charge and government over you. piea for The plea which I have made may be offens- honest m . interprets- ive to some of you. It is a plea for an honest tionofvows . ... , . interpretation of words which are very clear to one who for all the world would not violate his oath. They are words full of confusion to many who not only have not learned the lesson that often the noblest use of liberty consists in its surrender ; but who are unable to appreciate the first principle of the philosophy that lies back of the obedience of a common soldier. It is, indeed, the principle upon which the idea of Catholicity rests the recognition of au- thority. When the honest man finds himself unable to take the oath of office, he will refuse to do so; or having taken it, when he finds himself unable to keep it inviolate, he will surrender his commission. 3 THE DEACON BECAUSE many deacons are thrust at once Abnormal J conditions after ordination into the relations of a pastor, without previous training for such responsibil- ities, there is often grave danger that there will arise a serious misunderstanding concerning both the responsibilities and limitations of the diaconate under such conditions. Let it, then, be understood at the start that no "peculiar circumstances" can add to or de- tract from the duties of a deacon as such, which are set forth in the ordinal. The deacon is a deacon, not a layman nor a priest. He is, as his title indicates, a "server." Under normal conditions, he would be serving by the appoint- ment of his Bishop, some priest in a parish, mission, or institution. He would be doing what he was specifically directed to do, learning by observation and practice how he should con- duct himself when ordained to the priesthood. Under abnormal conditions a deacon will sometimes assume that he is in sole charge of a mission or parish, because he is in no practical sense under the direction of a priest-in-charge. But in every case, the deacon is always under 8 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER the direction of his Bishop, and he has no autonomy whatever. He is a server, and his duty is to obey the directions of whoever is in immediate authority over him. The actual duties assigned to deacons have varied greatly in the Church's history. The first seven deacons were given authority to look after the distribution of food in the Christian community of Jerusalem. At one time it is possible that the Church in Rome allowed them to consecrate the chalice. 1 In our American Church their duties are designated: (1) To assist the priest in Divine Service, and espe- cially when he administereth the Holy Com- munion; and to help him in the distribution thereof; (2) To read the Holy Scriptures and homilies in the Church; (3) To instruct the youth in the catechism ; (4) In the absence of the priest, to baptize infants; (5) and to preach, if he be admitted thereto by the Bishop. And furthermore, it is in his office (6) where pro- vision is so made, to search for the sick, poor, and impotent people of the parish, to intimate their estates, names, and places where they dwell, unto the curate,* that by his exhortation they may be relieved with the alms of the par- ishioners or others. Over and above these duties, the deacon may, of course, assume the responsibilities of a lay reader, or other Christian man. THE DEACON The canons forbid that a deacon be made rec- tor of a parish. He may not assume the re- sponsibilities peculiar to a rector in vestry and other relations. He has no business at a vestry meeting, except by courtesy and invitation. By courtesy, however, he may represent, for special purposes, the priest-in-charge. In a mission, the deacon may preside at a meeting of the finance committee, if so directed by the priest-in-charge, or if there be no priest-, in-charge, by the Bishop. He has no canonical right to do so on his own motion. In order to avoid embarrassing blunders in canonical relations when ministering without immediate oversight, the deacon must study the canons of his own diocese and those of the General Convention, and stay well within their provisions and intent. In case of doubt, refer to the Bishop, but do not unnecessarily bother him with small matters. A distinct advantage accrues both to the parish or mission, and to the deacon, from a scrupulous observance of the limitations as well as of the responsibilities of the diaconate. Often a vestry or a finance committee will be awakened to new life if impressed with a sense of responsibility for matters which the deacon has no authority to attend to. Thus the significance of the Church's orders *will be em- phasized, and the importance of canon law will May not become rector May preside by courtesy Know canons and mind of the Bishop Benefits of observing limitations 10 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Baptism of Adults Solemnizing Matrimony be exemplified. The deacon will not be re- garded "as good as a priest," nor as useful as he will be when ordained to the priesthood. If he remain in the same parish or mission, he can stand the privation from dignity and in- come during his diaconate better than he can privation from the dignity and income of a priest indefinitely. Moreover, it is better to be what one is, than to seem to be what one is not. In the ordinal the wording of the duties of a deacon implies that deacons are not expected to baptize adults. It cannot be that there is any difference between the authority of the min- ister in the case of infant baptism and that exercised in the baptism of adults. The impli- cation seems to be that because a preparation of adults for baptism is required, a priest should be normally the minister in that case. If a deacon is in charge of a parish or mission, it would seem to be good doctrine, good sense, and not uncanonical that he should seek, prepare, and baptize adults. The question often arises whether a deacon may solemnize matrimony. Authority is not so given in the ordinal; and the blessing, which chiefly differentiates the ecclesiastical from the civil ceremony, cannot, according to Catholic usage, be given by a deacon. The reply that the "deacon as a civil officer may solemnize mat- rimony," is merely to excuse the deacon from THE DEACON 11 canonical obedience; while, in some states, his status as a civil officer competent for such ser- vice is doubtful, if not specifically denied. If the case presents the alternative between a schis- matic or a common law marriage, and marriage by a deacon, perhaps the deacon may feel justi- fied in solemnizing the marriage. But, what- ever may be said of the right of Bishops to give authority for which there is no canonical war- rant, it is certain that the deacon ought not to assume a responsibility which a Bishop cannot confer. The deacon, therefore, before taking charge of a congregation, should have the advice and direction of his Bishop concerning what he should do in the matter of adult baptism and solemnizing marriage. Let the deacon wear his stole as he is in- Vestin g vested with it over the left shoulder, and drawn over the right hip. As well may a lieu- tenant assume the regalia of a colonel as a deacon that of a priest. THREE SPHERES OF MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY Deacon advanced to Priesthood, must have a congre- gation Priest, Pas- tor and Bector Priestly Activities Pastoral Activities Sectoral Activities THE ORDINAL presupposes, and the canons of General Convention require, that when a deacon is advanced to the priesthood, he shall have a congregation to which to minister. In this Church, therefore, normally, the priest is also a pastor and a rector (or "priest-in- charge"). While the duties implied by these three titles are not capable of disjunctive classi- fication, yet there are many occasions when the minister officiates distinctly as a priest, again as a pastor, and again as a rector. Broadly speaking, at all administrations of the Holy Communion, whenever pronouncing an absolu- tion, whenever repelling any from the Holy Communion, whenever he gives the Church's benediction, the minister appears chiefly in his priestly capacity. When he preaches, visits the sick, looks after the welfare of his people temporal and spiritual he appears chiefly as A pastor. When he exercises his authority in matters appertaining to the parish as an eccle- siastical and civil corporation such as calling and presiding at vestry meetings, appointing MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY 13 guild officers, etc. he appears as the rector (or director). And yet it is important that the priest should realize that he is always a priest, and, when in sector' &nd charge of a parish, always a pastor and always a rector. For there are some priests who lay such emphasis upon the peculiar duties of their priesthood as to neglect those of their pastor- ate and rectorate. They are, perhaps, punc- tilious in the matter of a daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist; but they may not duly P astorat realize that two-thirds of their people receive the sacrament no oftener than once a year, and some of them never; and such priests may be practically oblivious of the fact that their ser- mons are all in a very narrow field, uninterest- ing, uninstructive, unhelpful. The very pioug priest, by neglecting his pastorate, may become so unfamiliar with the needs of his people, as to be practically useless to them. He may up- braid them for not receiving the Holy Com- munion, but they will not be within hearing of his admonition. He may command them, warn them, threaten them, with all authority, from the pulpit and in "pastoral letters," but they will not know the voice of a stranger. The utter failure of many priests is traceable to the attitude sometimes flippantly expressed in the 14 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Neglect of rectorate Over- emphasis of pastorate words, "I don't intend to spend my time climb- ing stairs and ringing door-bells." Again, a priest who is rector of a parish cannot with impunity neglect his responsibili- ties as the presiding officer of the vestry. He may feel that the business affairs of the cor- poration raising money, paying bills, build- ing projects, repair matters, with the frequent friction attending their discussion are not con- sonant with the exalted office of a priest. He may fairly groan inwardly when he is called upon to audit the accounts of the treasurer of a guild, or settle a difference between the choir- master and the mother of a dismissed chorister. But if he does not fulfil the duties canonically required of the rector, ills will soon grow out of the neglect that will make his priesthood un- profitable to the Church and to himself. Most priests feel the exaltation of service at the altar, and they dislike the descent to the lower planes of ministerial duties ; but the grace of the Sacra- ment is given not so much for use in the higher as in the lower altitudes of the lives of both priest and people. There is also the priest who so stresses the duties of his pastorate as to neglect those of his priesthood. He has a card-index of every fam- ily and of every individual not thus recorded, within the limits of his parish. He has noted the age of all children, whether baptized, MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY 15 whether confirmed, and similar data and more concerning all adults. He has them in a calling list, and every day he goes over it, and arranges his visits. When not on the street he is in his study, always accessible to visitors. According to his piety and temperament, his visits are more or less spiritually helpful. At any rate they "stir the people up to go to church" and the "congregations are pretty good." But the people may be so far ignorant of the place of the Sacraments in the Church's order of spir- itual life, that they wonder why their pastor should be called a "priest," while some will venture in close confidence and lowered voice to ask him over a dinner-table, "Do you believe in confession ?" Perhaps one of the chief practical uses of the conventional "clerical collar" and cassock- vest is that they tend to remind the priest of his priesthood when engaged in duties of his pas- torship or rectorship, or when, as is often the case, he is in danger of forgetting that he is something more than "just a man." One of the grave dangers which every priest over- 1 . , . emphasis of encounters whose pastoral work is carried on in rectorate new fields, and in old fields where constructive priesthood and reconstructive work are required to establish pastorate or enlarge foundations, is that of forgetting both priesthood and pastorate in the occupa- tions of his rectorate. This danger is particu- 16 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER larly a grave one in the case of the man who is fond of constructive work, who is a "natural organizer," who likes to get money, to buy and to build, to lead and to direct. The danger is emphasized in case of the young man who is not altogether sure of the supernatural character of the Sacrament of the Altar, and who finds it difficult to speak personally and privately, espe- cially to his elders, upon distinctly spiritual themes. To such a one the duties or opportuni- ties of his rectorate offer a refuge from those of his priesthood and pastorate. The plane of the rectorate is the lowest of the three. It is the plane in which a min- ister of ordinary business ability is least likely to be criticized for personal faults, failures, and sins. Here he can "make good" if he is a "good mixer," is "magnetic," and a "hustler," though no one attend the Holy Communion, and no one care for his presence at the death-bed. Such a priest may build a church, and leave it to his successor, a monument, never to be forgotten in the community, commemorating the lowest type of Christian energy, and charged against the "Episcopal Church" by all who recognize the difference between religion and travesty. It is evident that ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God may exercise their vocations as priests and as pastors, with- out the rectorate. The duties of the priesthood MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY 17 and pastorate are discernible in all the min- istry of the Incarnate Son of God. The duties of the rectorate are conventional, spring out of the necessities of organization, are important only as means often remote to the end in necessary view. And yet, because these duties are con- nected, and necessarily so, with the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God, with the establishing of its foundations near and far; and because they may be so badly performed as to injure that work, we shall devote much of our time to their consideration. CANONICAL REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING "CALLS" ASSUMING that a deacon, serving under a priest in a parish or mission, has been advanced to the priesthood, it is necessary that canonical action should be taken before he can have a recognized status either where he has been serv- ing, or elsewhere. This canonical action varies in some particulars in different dioceses, but the canons of this Church, supplemented by those of most dioceses, require as follows: " P r i es t i n charge: The Bishop under whom he has served his diaconate, may, upon his own motion, with the consent of the newly ordained priest, appoint him Priest in Charge of a mission. Assistant II. Assistant Minister: With the knowl- edge and consent of the Bishop under whom he has served his diaconate, upon invitation of the rector of a parish, and by the election of its vestry, the priest may become an Assistant Min- ister, after a certificate of his election has been sent to the Bishop by the rector and wardens. III. Rector: The general canons forbid an election of a rector by a vestry without a REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING "CALLS" 19 notification of thirty days' standing to the Bishop (or ecclesiastical authority) unless epis- copal assent be received in the meantime, favor- able to the person whom the vestry desires to elect. 1. After an election by the vestry, notice of such action shall be sent, signed by the church-wardens, to the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese. 2. If the ecclesiastical authority be satis- fied that the person so chosen is a duly qualified minister and that he has ac- cepted the office, the notice shall be sent to the secretary of the convention, who shall record it. And such record shall be sufficient evidence of the relation be- tween the minister and the parish. 3. The "call" of a rector by a parish should (a) certify that it has been issued from a duly convened meeting of the vestry, and is the result of at least a majority vote. (&) It should name a definite sal- ary, and how payable, (c) It should name any special conditions which are to become part of the contract if the call is accepted, (d) It should be signed by the clerk of the vestry as such, unless the canons of the diocese otherwise order. Upon receipt of such call, it is always cour- teous, and some canons require, that the Bishop Thirty days notice Certificate sent to Bishop Certificate sent to Secretary of the diocese Contents of a call Permission requested of Bishops 20 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Resigning rectorship of a parish Serious Mistakes of the diocese in which the priest is resident shall be notified of the call received, and if the priest desires to accept the call, permission asked to resign his present cure, before further action is taken. Similar inquiry of the Bishop of the diocese from which the call has issued, is also in order, that the priest may be assured of welcome by him. If acceptance of the call is determined, a written resignation should then be sent to the clerk of the parish (or to the Bishop, if it be a mission) naming the date upon which the priest's resignation is to take effect. And no resignation of a rector can go into effect with- out the consent of the vestry. He will then request a letter dimissory from his Bishop (or ecclesiastical authority) to the Bishop of the diocese to which he purposes removing. And he can have no canonical standing in such dio- cese until he has in his possession a certificate of his canonical reception by its Bishop, or "ecclesiastical authority." A great amount of misunderstanding be- tween the five parties concerned in a call arises from failure on the part of priests to observe the canons, and to require that they shall be observed by the vestries extending calls. A priest has sometimes resigned his parish, ac- REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING "CALLS" 21 cepted a call to another, obtained his letter dimissory, and actually landed in the parish which he thinks has canonically called him, only to find that the call extended to him is invalid. 6 RELATIONS BETWEEN THE CLERGY AND THE LAITY The distinction between the position of the clergyman in the Church and that of the layman in the same body is fundamental. It is also clear that the relations existing between the laity and dependence the clergy, who together comprise the body of the visible Church, are those of mutual dependence and cooperation. If it is true that without a Bishop there can be no Church, it is equally true that without laymen there can be no Bishop. After the analogy of a Sacrament, the laity are the outward and visible sign of that inward power which, in the grace and "charac- ter" of "order", becomes inherent in him who is thereby made a deacon, priest, or Bishop. That is to say, every element that goes to make up the exousia (authority) and the dunamis (power) of a clergyman, becomes effective of its divine purpose only as it is manifest in its effects. Or, illustrating the relation in another way, the laity are the members of the body, eyes, hands, and feet. The clergy are the brain- forces. A disordered brain makes an insane RELATIONS BETWEEN CLERGY AND LAITY 23 body; and a mutilated body makes the brain ineffective. In speaking, therefore, of the relation be- tween the clergy and the laity, let it be under- stood at the start, that neither clergy nor laity exist as such, without an established relation each with the other. When this relation is nor- mal, the Church is at her best; and when the coordination of the relative functions becomes imperfect, to the extent of that imperfection, the efficiency of the Church becomes impaired. As in the individual man, a disordered brain is sometimes associated with an otherwise sound body, or a sound brain with a weak body; so it is often, in the case of the Church, in diocese, in parish, and mission. The brain is always conscious of the weakness of the body, but sel- dom owns itself to be unsound; and the body, by talking, kicking, striking, and by the use of every member, will demonstrate to the doubter what it would be if it only had a decent brain to direct it. The clergy are fully conscious of the inefficiency of the laity, and the laity say they would be the means of converting the world if the clergy were of the right sort. I suppose the facts are these: The average clergyman is simply the average layman, plus a certain amount of special training, and plus a certain conferred authority. Because he is a clergyman, he has not necessarily any more Neither exists without the other Result of discord Evolution of a clergyman does not change his nature as a man 24 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Results of misunder- standing of functions common sense or any more native or acquired refinement. He has not a degree more fervor in promoting the interests of Christ's Kingdom for the glory of God though he may have for other reasons than he would have if he were a layman. In short, the clergyman, at the start, as a man, is no better, no wiser, no more cul- tured, no more anything as a man than the layman. So far as all that goes to make up his common not his theological character is concerned, he can be measured by the same standards that the layman is measured by. If he is a natural born leader of men, he would be so, clergyman or layman. If he is a natural born fool, his clerical coat gives him no wisdom though through the meekness and long-suffer- ing of the laity, it may save him some kicks. If he is a gentleman, he would be a gentleman, and if he is a buffoon, he would be a buffoon, as a layman. Now many of the difficulties that arise be- tween the clergy and laity come from the un- derstanding of these facts by one party, and the misunderstanding of them by the other; and it makes little difference which one is the party of the first part. If the layman thinks the clergyman, because he is a clergyman, because he has received authority the exousia and be- cause he has received the supernaturale donum, and is the accredited minister of Christ and RELATIONS BETWEEN CLERGY AND LAITY 25 steward of the mysteries of God, is therefore competent to "run the parish" without confer- ence, counsel, or advice, cooperation, or assist- ance from the laity, that clergyman is going to have all the honor he is entitled to for a week or ten days, and then he is going to begin to nourish a secret desire for the Presbyterian system of parochial government. Or, if the clergyman gets it into his head that he really is what, in the instance above men- tioned, he is thought to be, and his laity have an idea that all the wisdom in the universe isn't inside of one skull, and come to have their doubts about the limitations of the authority conferred by the laying on of hands and noth- ing tends to doubtfulness in this regard more strongly than its unwise exercise there is go- ing to be trouble in that parish, and an instance is going to be pointed out of strained relations between the clergy and the laity. Now, the average layman will give the clergyman credit for every claim that he can for every , . y - ,. claim made make good, as a man. li the clergyman believes in the Deity of Christ, the layman will say: "He will not only preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but he is going to do the works of Jesus Christ. He is going to be in dead earnest in the business of saving souls. He is not going to be a society ornament, nor a loafer; he isn't going to call around on the women and talk 26 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER nonsense. He is not going to hold over his people the whip of his divine authority when he speaks like a man and perhaps like a not very big man either. He has got to stand the test that Jesus offered 'Believe Me for My works' sake.' ' The layman will remember that the Master said to His disciples to whom He had given authority exousia: "Ye shall re- ceive power dunamis after the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses of Me." The layman is going to have serious doubts about the priest having received the Holy Ghost if he doesn't show the "power." In the course of years men become fair judges of their fellow-men. They know what characteristics are congruous in the same na- ture and what are incongruous. And if, by putting in the balance on the one side, a man's Accounting credits, and on the other side his debits moral or financial they come to the conclusion that he can't make good at the close of the day's business, they don't want to deal with him ex- cept on the basis of an honest understanding. It doesn't do much good for a man who is being sized up, to say that he represents a good house, and that he has full authority to transact the business of his department. The house itself takes on the character of its representative; and, whether the logic is good or bad, the cus- tomer is going to feel, if he does not say, 'So RELATIONS BETWEEN CLERGY AND LAITY 27 much the worse for the house if it confers authority upon such a representative, and backs him up.' There are, doubtless, a good many reasons for whatever lack of cooperation there may be between the clergy and laity of our communion ; but it is my judgment that the chief cause of it is a relative over-emphasis of the authority the exousia and an under-manifestation of the power the dunamis of Holy Orders. The officers of a bank have authority to receive de- posits, to make loans, and to administer trusts ; and when they station themselves at their ma- hogany desks inside the marble walls, with a retinue of clerks about them, and electric call- buttons at hand, the people are predisposed to trust them. They say they have the authority and they command the situation as bankers. But when someone detects a disastrous or a dis- honest transaction, the whisper goes around, de- posits are withdrawn, and the run begins. Men don't care much for the exousia when the dunamis is not in evidence. A doctor may have his license, but if he doesn't meet with success in his practice, Christian Science has a boom. Men are willing enough to grant a man's author- ity from the State or from God Himself per- haps too ready to do so but, as honest men, in very defense of the State and in defense of God, Over- emphasis of authority and under- manifesta- tion of power, the cause of discord Laity willing to grant claim of authority 28 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Laymen interested in results rather than theories they repudiate authority dishonestly or incom- petently administered. We do it ourselves. Again : Business men are not thinking much about the charter or by-laws of their corporation after it gets under way. They are thinking about the business itself. They want to know about the output, the profit, and the stock on hand. They want to know about the conditions that affect the market, and what the manage- ment and salesmen are doing. And when these business men come to church, they are some- times in a frame of mind to hear what their religious corporation is doing along the same lines. They have an idea that Jesus Christ came into this world to make it better, to make men more honest, more pure, more kind to each other. Long ago they have understood that the King- dom of Christ is established on the earth. They have a visible evidence of it in their parish church and in the fact that they are members of it and are paying for its support. The matter that interests them is : How is its business get- ting on? Of course they are particularly in- terested in their own immediate neighborhood, but they are also interested in the whole sphere of the Church's territory. And when the man- ager of the local agency gets up and tells them, week after week, in a half-hearted way, about the big dividends that are coming sometime when time shall be no more, if they will stick RELATIONS BETWEEN CLERGY AND LAITY 29 to the corporation; or about one little infin- itesimal incident in the business that is supposed to be encouraging; but never presents a really satisfactory statement i.e., nothing that seems to indicate that he knows what relation the pres- ent conditions have to the real purpose of the corporation a suspicion creeps into the minds Bad showing of the stockholders that the manager is more great hopes anxious to get funds enough to hold down his own job, than he is to create a dividend surplus for the benefit of the stockholders. Again : The law of supply and demand en- Law of i , supply and ables business corporations to select competent demand ,. , . , , , . , , unfavorable men lor managers, ouch is not the case in the to laity Church. Every priest is a manager of a local branch of the business of Christ's Kingdom. He is pretty certain of a position somewhere, because the supply is short of the demand. The clergy know it, and so do the laity or if the laity do not know it at first, they find it out after they have changed managers a few times. The laity come to understand that it is a des- perate case. Some way or another the business has got to get along here and there under an incompetent management. There are laymen in every parish who know that the clergyman is making one or a dozen mistakes in policy and in action every week of his life. They know that he is incompetent to discharge prop- erly all the duties that he has assumed. If the 30 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER clergyman is neither a liar nor a thief, does not get drunk nor commit any of the vilest sins, he may, nevertheless, be ignorant of human nature, he may be overbearing, he may be lazy, he may be a poet when a plumber is required, he may be weak in any one of a dozen or more ways. There is no help. This man is in charge, and they have got to back him up. clergyman 11 * Perhaps he won't be backed up. Perhaps he tells the laity just to mind their own business and pay his salary. They would like to advise with him. They have lived in that town for forty years, know its people, and they know how a procession of clergymen have failed and why. But, face to face, in sermons, by letter, or in the course of confidential conversation amongst the saints, word comes to the interested laity that Father Blank intends to run this parish, and when he wants advice he will ask for it. There are other reasons why there may be a lack of interest in the Church and of coopera- tion on the part of the laity with the clergy. Perhaps the majority of these reasons are based upon faults in the laity ; and it may be that we can charge the whole account to the malice and fraud of the devil and his angels. This would be a most happy solution of the ques- tion! It wouldn't hurt anybody, not even the devil. But if you are chiefly interested in the Useless questions RELATIONS BETWEEN CLERGY AND LAITJ 31 wrongs that you can help to right, and if you want to make the relations between the clergy and laity happier and more mutually helpful, you must look to your own faults first, and con- sider them without compromise. Who of us is there who does not know that, however high a standing our clergy may have compared with the clergy of other Christian bodies, or how- ever deserving we may be, as a body, of the respect of the laity, there is not one of us who can rightly be called the most genuinely relig- ious person in his own parish ? Who of us is there that does not know of the priest at his elbow he can't be expected to know it of him- self that he doesn't begin to be as intellectually acute, as ethically refined, as judicially compe- tent as some of the men in his congregation ? And the very moment in which we assume a position, as we are often tempted to do, of superiority, or of unwarranted autocracy; the moment we hide as just ordinary men, behind the character and authority of the priesthood; the moment we shield our weaknesses behind our official vestments from the justifiable at- tack of the laity which attack may be really a most friendly and pious attempt to further the interests of Christ's Kingdom that mo- ment, we may depend on it, some layman notes Remedy in self- examination Genuine piety often superior in laity Intellectual and cultural superiority Hiding behind vestments 32 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER the action, and a stone is laid in the wall of separation between the clergy and the laity, prescrip- It is not a universal specific for the ills of the Church, but I prescribe it as a possible remedy for the one we are considering: For the Laity Church Organization, 1 grain. Clerical Authority, grain. Lay Responsibility, 10 grains. Dogmatic Religion, 1 drachm. Practical Religion, 5 drachms. Personal Conference, 1 ounce. Aqua Pura Vitae, 8 ounces. Administer at discretion according to state of the pulse. For the Clergy before administering to the Laity Church Organization, 1 grain. Clerical Authority, \ grain. Rights of the Laity, 10 grains. Ordination Vows, 5 drachms. Self-examination, 1 ounce. Lay Counsel, 1 ounce. Syrup of the Simplicity that is in Christ Jesus, 8 ounces. Swallow entire prescription each morn- ing before breakfast. ceremonial CEREMONIAL, CLEANLINESS, AND PROPORTION THE PRIEST having arrived and settled in his parish will do well to make a careful sur- vey of the church-building and its contents with view to determining to what the congre- gation has been accustomed in the matter of ceremonial. And of first importance under this category is cleanliness. Of all the material abominations in Christendom none is more Cleanliness the first outrageous than a dirty Altar and a dirty sane- essential of i- . . .-r,! . tuary, except it be a dirty minister. Ihere is not a decent layman anywhere who will not gladly observe that the "new priest" has had the sanctuary cleaned. Perhaps a vestry-meet- ing will be necessary for repairing broken win- dows, arranging for more extensive improve- ments, and for proper janitor service. But the Altar is the very centre of worship, and its immediate environment should be first and at once looked after. The next thing is the sacristy. Perhaps it is the "vestry room" or a corner of it. Wher- ever or whatever it is, have it as clean as soap and water and paint will make it. And that SacriBt y DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Useless articles Clean vestments properly placed cannot be done until everything within it is clean. In most cases, there will be found a lot of "trimmings" dossal cloths, altar-front- als, super-frontals, pulpit and prie Dieu covers, dirty with uncleaned age, frayed, inartistic when new, horrible in decay. Tucked away in a corner may be a trophy from a great battle a pair of candlesticks, too beautiful or too ugly to be tolerated. Notice but one thing. The question is, "Don't you think they ought to be cleaned? They may be useful to someone at sometime." You see, everything you touch may have been made or given by some of your people. And the dearest saint of all may treasure the old 1860 Prayer Book, soiled and torn as it is her deceased husband having given it in memory of their son killed at Gettysburg. Clean up, but don't destroy. Wait a while and say little or less. Of course a priest who knows the symbol- ism of white will see to it that his official vestments are clean when he appears in the chancel. No decent Christian likes to see his pastor appear in a creased and soiled surplice, perhaps twisted at the yoke or hung up by the hem, where it failed to fall when carelessly flung over his head. Worse still, if the vestments be alb and chasuble, and the service be at the Altar. A word here will not be inappropriate con- CEREMONIAL, CLEANLINESS, PROPORTION 35 cerning silk vestments. They are difficult to clean, and therefore are frequently worn for years without cleansing. White silk chasubles and stoles are usually soiled at the edges. A priest who explained to an enquirer why he had introduced an elaborate silk chasuble, thinking a pragmatic reason would appeal to her, said, "It does not require washing" ; and met with the reply, "I suppose that is why you have a colored cook!" I have indicated that cleanliness is the first essential to a correct ceremonial. Happy the parish where this foundation is laid ! Un- happy the untidy priest who gets into it! The second essential of a correct ceremonial is harmony of proportions. It is impossible to make a church or a service attractive to a per- son of average esthetic culture, if its parts are out of proportion to each other. In nine cases out of ten, people who think they "dislike ritual," actually dislike the sin of dispropor- tion. They dislike a pair of expensive thirty- inch candlesticks upon a dry-goods box Altar. They dislike the lace on the priest's cotta as it is outlined against the ragged edge of a table- cloth serving as a "fair linen." They dislike a huge eagle lectern that springs the rotten floor. They dislike the inevitable choir procession that serves as an announcement: "These vest- ments are gifts from eight stocks of cast-offs," 36 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Dispropor- tion creates dislike for ceremonial A blow at "Catholic ritual" "No money for laundering," or "No comb in the choir room." The cross "going on before" may get the blame, but that will probably be because it attracts particular attention as the only decent thing in the exhibit. Take the whole congregation of a parish that "will not have candles" and will not have a "ritualistic priest," to York Minster, or any other great church, and no religious person amongst them except the possible few who speak from force of habit will raise a voice against the "beauty of holiness" witnessed, felt, in the majestic harmony of its elaborate ceremonial. Perhaps the conscience of one learned in canon law might move him to protest against the viola- tion of a rubric or a canon; but there would be no suggestion of such a commotion as would be raised if the attempt were made to transfer that service to their poor little 20 x 35 church, where it would be such a misfit as to become ridiculous; and the ridiculous in worship is a spiritual tragedy. I have seen a priest of very large physical proportions in a chancel less than fifteen feet square, with four acolytes bobbing about on all possible occasions, and glad of the chance making the floor creak with every movement, and attempting to intone the service with a voice that would shame a kettle-drum; sixteen lights burning upon the altar, nine boys vested CEREMONIAL, CLEANLINESS, PROPORTION 37 like ragamuffins constituting the choir, and everything else in discordant keeping with an insane attempt to "stand for a Catholic service in a godless community." Of course the "god- less communicants" who will not "attend mass" hate "ritual," and all that becomes so associated in their minds with a "Catholic service." It is the sin of disproportion. The priest who comes to a parish should carefully consider whether it is practicable by any kind of readjustment, to make the church- study of building, the furnishing, or the order of Divine Service more of a unit. The addition or sub- traction of crosses, candles, vestments, windows, pews, floor-boards, "decorations", should be con- sidered with reference to the harmony of all that leads to the end communion with God. Distraction must be reduced to a minimum. It is not cold air that produces the sneeze; but a current of cold air in a warm medium. And it must be remembered that, as no Esthetic r 'ii it i culture can amount ol persuasion will enable even certain not be artists to admire some paintings of the old f^ e ? dl>7 masters (however they may agree that the lnstairtl y colors are marvellous), so no amount of per- suasion will enable certain very earnest and devoted Christians, certain violent Protestants, and certain uncouth heathen for whose salva- tion and more abundant life the Church exists to admire or to be helped by an order 38 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER of ceremonial that may appeal strongly to the ethical sensibilities of others. ^ke sincere and discreet priest whose pur- pose is to feed the sheep of Christ with the Bread of Life, will consider first how he may gather them, and then what they will receive. He must lose none of the flock. He is shep- herd of them all. 8 RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL I HAVE no intention of attempting to settle any disputed point under the above caption ; * but, in view of the various kinds of trouble that many young ministers get into because they do not understand the limitations of their freedom in matters ceremonial, I feel it to be my duty to make a statement of some of the principles that underlie the legitimate conduct of a priest who is under vows to obey the canons of "this Church." Let us, then, observe that the words "ritual" Definitions and "ceremonial" are not equivalent terms. "Ritual" has to do with that fixed order for the rendition of services set forth by authority, which we find in the Prayer Book : while "cere- monial" is the practical interpretation of that order into conduct. Ritual may be varied from friable time to time, by the action of competent an- ^^ r ? t thority: ceremonial, while partly fixed by rit- Ceremonlal ual, is largely under the control of the Bishop largely 7 . . optional and minister, and even by the same minister may be varied from day to day, and from hour to hour. For example, it is easy to see that the ritual of our Prayer Book contemplates, 40 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER ceremonial 2. custom usually, but one minister in the chancel. This is not taken as a prohibition against two or more taking part in a service. Indeed, so long as the directions of the ritual are not violated, Bishops, priests, and deacons, and even laymen, may divide a service between them. The plain celebration of the Holy Communion to which most of us are accustomed at an early hour in the morning is directed by the same ritual as the more ornate service at the later hour. The difference is in ceremonial. Now, it is sometimes taken for granted that ceremonial is directed only by the rubrics ; and that where the rubrics are silent, there one either is under obligation to do nothing or is privileged to do as he may please. No rule can be laid down that will cover all cases of obligation or freedom in matters ceremonial; but I think one who really desires to exercise his freedom only so far as he may be assured of justification in so doing, can arrive at a suffi- ciently satisfactory conclusion without much trouble. ^ n ^ ne ^ rs ^ P^ ace > ne nas the ritual of his Prayer Book. One of the first things he dis- covers is that its rubrics omit to mention several necessary acts of ceremonial, and several other acts which are, at least, usual and reasonable. Exactly: in that fact is manifest one of the basic principles of ritual. Custom, prevailing RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL 41 custom, has been taken as the basis of every Prayer Book ritual from 1549 down to date. It has never been thought necessary to forbid the priest to come barefoot into the chancel, nor to require the congregation to sit down during the sermon. It has always been an understood principle of ceremonial, that where any doubt exists as to the legality or propriety of any ceremony, the Bishop has authority to s. Bishop's , . , J , 4 . / direction decide the matter. As a rule, ceremonial ru- brics mark a change in practice from a previous custom. When such a change took place as that from a language "not understanded of the people" to the vernacular, and from the doc- trine of (Roman) transubstantiation to a doc- trine of a more Catholic acceptance; it was necessary to enact rubrics to meet the situation. The rubrics of the Prayer Books of 1549 and 1552 are naturally in harmony with the eccle- siastical status in England at those periods. And so, when the Revolutionary War had necessitated the independence of the Church of England in the Colonies of America, the customs of the Church of England then in English customs the vogue in this country, were assumed as the basis of 1-1 -I i i i if American customs which would obtain in the Church lor revision an indefinite period, except as changed by ru- brical direction of the Prayer Book of 1789. "The Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 42 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER variety in cere e moniai statement States of America, in Convention, this six- teenth Day of October, in the Year of our Lord one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-nine," were well aware that there were even then several "uses" in the parishes of the Colonies, quite different, in some respects, the one from the other. What of it ? There always had been such differences in every Church, in every dio- cese, and in every parish at different times. Yet there were some matters of ceremonial that were thought of sufficient importance to en- join or to forbid or to make optional. Compar- ing the English Book of 1662 with the Amer- ican Book of 1789, it is fairly easy to see what these were; and the reasons for them can usually be determined with some degree of cer- tainty if one is able to furnish the historical setting of the Convention of 1789. The words of the frequently cited paragraph in the Preface * our Prayer Book are quite free from any sinister motive or casuistic intent: "It seems unnecessary to enumerate all the different al- terations and amendments. They will appear, and it is to be hoped, the reasons for them also, upon a comparison of this with the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. In which it will also appear that this Church is far from intending to depart from the Church of England in any essential point of doctrine, RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL 43 discipline, or worship; or further than local circumstances require." During the relatively short period of its existence, this Church has made some amend- ments in its ritual, but it has done very little in the matter of ceremonial legislation. 13 Some have felt that we should have further directions by way of requirements and limitations, in a country where so many new fields are being opened up, and where precedents are being formed without the constraint of previous local customs. One foolish priest can do a good deal of damage in a new mission. But what is, perhaps, more needed, is such a codification of existing rubrical and canon law, set forth by authority, governing matters of ceremonial, that Bishops and priests may be fully and mu- tually informed of their respective prerogatives in the premises. But it ought not to be nec- essary to remind any minister of this Church that neither he, his Bishop, diocesan nor pro- vincial council, has any right to amend the ritual of the Prayer Book in any particular. To do so is to violate the highest law of this Church: witness Article X of the Constitution for the government of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America: "The Book of Common Prayer . . . No al- teration thereof or addition thereto shall l>e made unless the same shall be first proposed in Need of cod- ification of laws now potentially active How alterations in Ritual may be made 44 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER one triennial meeting of the General Conven- tion, and by a resolve thereof be sent within six months to the Secretary of the Convention of every Diocese, to be made known to the Dioce- san Convention at its next meeting, and be adopted by the General Convention at its next succeeding triennial meeting by a majority of the whole number of Bishops entitled to vote in the House of Bishops, and by a majority of the Clerical and Lay Deputies of all the Dioceses entitled to representation in the House of Deputies voting by Orders. And provided further, that nothing in this Article shall be construed as restricting the authority of the Bishops of this Church to take such order as may be permitted by the Rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer or by the Canons of the General Convention for the use of special forms of worship. While a distinction may be claimed between an individual's local practice in deviating from the established ritual of the Prayer Book, and such an alteration or addition thereto as may be designed to become permanent ; yet no such dis- tinction is made either in the above article, or in the "Ratification of the Book of Common Prayer," in which the Church requires that its Liturgy be received as such "by all the mem- bers" of this Church. It follows, therefore, that whatever cere- RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL 45 monial is used in any service in the Church (unless it be a "special form of service" author- ized by the' Bishop of the diocese and permitted by the rubrics or canons) must be in accord- ance with the ritual. Local custom, or the precedent established by any number of priests who have not been cited for trial for disobe- dience, may mitigate the offense of a priest who violates the ritual law of the Church as others have done; but he is not entitled to the testimony of a good conscience. And it does not, of course, help his cause in the least, to say that the ritual and ceremonial that he has introduced or followed in this parish are en- tirely justified by the rubrics of the Roman Missal or even by the Prayer Book of 1549 or by any other authority, so long as it is not in conformity with the ritual of this Church in this year of our Lord. Observe this: There is a great deal of difference between arguing in favor of a change in our ritual, and making such change without Desirability ,, . -f . 7? P no substitute authority. It is perfectly proper zor anyone for authority to write a series of articles for a newspaper, or to publish a book, showing the desirability of amending our Prayer Book and our canons so as to permit certain practices. It is per- fectly proper to speak in behalf of such changes upon any occasion, particularly upon the floor of General Convention. Some of the younger 46 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Catholic spirit seeks unity Partition of services clergy read such articles and hear such speeches, are convinced by them, and immediately pro- ceed to demonstrate their desirability by adopt- ing their suggestions in the ritual and cere- monial of their churches. And if anyone ob- jects, they are ready for the defense which they have learned "Why, this is a Catholic prac- tice. It was used in the eight different prov- inces from A. D. 900 to A. D. 1400, and is now customary in the Greek Church. It has also been sporadically present in England be- fore and after the Reformation." Just bear it in mind that learned liturgiologists claim "catholicity" for almost nothing in the entire realm of ceremonial. There is a good deal of significance in the words of Walter Howard Frere, with reference to the Reformation pe- riod : "A distinct and interesting feature of the whole of the Catholic reform was the search after a closer uniformity in all matters of ritual and ceremonial. With Protestantism the case was directly contrary." The true Catholic spirit has ever been the spirit of unity, and recognizes law as the basis of unity. Before leaving this subject, let me particu- larly direct your attention to the advisability of giving the congregation as large a part in the various offices of public worship as the rubrics permit. A brief study of the liturgical practice of the Church will convince you that RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL 47 the present tendency to make the congregation listeners only, while it has appeared and dis- appeared several times during the history of the Church, is always in conflict with the prin- ciple that in corporate Christian worship, the priest, the choir, and the congregation, should all participate, and in appreciable proportions. LAWFUL "ORNAMENTS" Force of prefatory paragraph permissive, not com- pulsory IN THAT passage of the Preface of our Prayer Book in which it is said that "this Church is far from intending to depart from the Church of England in any essential point of doctrine, discipline, or worship; or further than local circumstances require" it is often assumed that we have a sufficiently definite ground for pleading the compulsory force of the rubrical law of the Church of England as applying to the ceremonial practice of the American Church, where such rubrical law is not contravened by our own legislation. This has seemed to many to be straining the signifi- cance of what was intended to be nothing more than an explanation of the intent of the Church in the revision which it had made. There is no evidence of mandatory intent in the paragraph. But it does imply permission, at least, to follow the practice of the Church of England so far as that practice remained unaltered by the Prayer Book of 1789. Everyone knows what a vast amount of dif- ference of opinion exists in England concerning the present legal force of some of the rubrics of LAWFUL "ORNAMENTS" 49 the Prayer Books of 1549, 1552, and 1559, and how difficult, if not impossible it is, to discover their exact present value. The "Ornaments Rubric" of the Prayer Book of 1552 is the basis of most of the ornamentation of churches in England and America. That is to say, in that rubric are mentioned most of the articles which then were, and since have been, used in public worship. The rubric is usually cited as sufficient authority for what it allows, rather than for what it commands or forbids. It is improbable that an indictment could lie against any priest of the American Church either for observing it entire or for failing to do so in any particular. It may be fairly said that the "ornaments rubric" furnishes rather a guide in the form of accredited tradition, than law, for the American Church. It would be quite impossible in such a book as this to mention and describe all the "orna- ments" which are used, and the method of their use, in what may be thought to be representa- tive American churches of various types of cere- monial; but I shall now endeavor to describe briefly some of the "ornaments" that will prob- American 6 ably be found in the average American parish church, used in connection with the office of the Holy Communion. The Altar may be of wood or stone, and Altar 50 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER should be of such proportions and pattern as to be in harmony with the chancel. It is the central point towards which wor- ship is directed, and is ever in sight of the congregation. It should be the best of the church furniture. It should, if possible, be of such height that the prayer of humble access may be read from the Prayer Book on the altar- desk by the kneeling minister about 3 feet, 3 inches. The mensa should be at least 21 inches wide. The length will depend upon the size of the chancel, say from five to twelve feet. Two gradines (constituting the re-table) are usual, 7 or 8 inches high. The "foot-pace" (predella) should be wide enough to free the minister from danger of stepping off backwards, and for comfort in kneeling, say 2 feet 9 inches. The permanent "ornaments" of the altar are (a) cross, (&) two candlesticks with candles, 8 (c) book-desk, (d) "fair linen cloth." credence The credence is normally a table, but may be a bracket with sufficient shelf -room for (a) two cruets, altar-bread box (or ciborium), bowl (lavabo), and alms-basins. In a small sanc- tuary where no server is expected, it is well to place the credence near the (conventional) south end of the altar. vessels The chalice and paten now commonly used are so made that the latter rests securely when superimposed upon the former. Where such LAWFUL "ORNAMENTS" 51 is not the case, a minister will ordinarily do well to arrange them upon the Altar before the service, rather than to carry them as he enters for the office. The chalice and paten should, of course, be of as costly material and work- manship as the ability of the people allows. (They should, therefore, when not in use, be kept as secure as possible in a vault or safe.) The chalice should be of such size as not to strike the rim upon the nose of the communi- cant. Neither chalice nor paten should be overloaded in administering; therefore a sec- ond chalice and paten may be useful for hold- ing the consecrated Species, and the supply may be taken from them as needed. Or the ele- ments may be consecrated in the cruet and box, if necessary; but this is unsightly. A chalice spoon, with perforated bowl, is frequently use- ful for removing any foreign substance that may be found in the wine. The spoon should be always in the burse, or on the credence table. The only eucharistic cloths ordered in our ciotts rubrics are the fair linen altar cover, and the fair linen for covering the consecrated Species. In addition to these there are others that have come into common use with more or less author- ity. Let me name and briefly describe them: 1. Fair linen altar-cover. 7 This should be a strip of linen of the exact width of the altar and two or three feet longer. It 52 should comply with the meaning of "fayer linen" in the sense of being of the best fabric and ornamented with such needlework as may be devoted to it. An edge of lace falling from its edge over the front edge of the mensa is in good taste. 2. The other "fair linen cloth" is called the corporal.' The standard size is 21 inches (3X7), but it should not be larger than the width of the mensa. When laid into three folds each way it lies 7 inches square. 3. The burse is a square, stiff pocket of silk over card-board, the standard size being 12 inches. Nine inches is more con- venient. 4. The pall is made of linen over card- board, 7 inches square. This should be so made that the linen may be frequently laundered. It is often made like an en- velope. In use it serves a purpose for which the corporal was partly intended. 8 5. The chalice veil is a square of silk, usually of the canonical color for the season, used to cover the paten and chal- ice before the beginning and after the close of the service. It should be of such size that when it is draped over LAWFUL "ORNAMENTS" 53 the pall, resting on the chalice, the edges will touch the mensa. 6. Purificators are pieces of linen for cleansing the chalice and paten. They should be about 9 inches square, and fairly heavy not coarse. Two or three should always be carried in the burse where large congregations are to be com- municated. Suitable ornaments may be wrought upon all these cloths. For celebrating the Holy Communion, the vestments priest wears (over the cassock) a linen alb, a silk stole, and a chasuble. For other offices said in the church, the cassock, surplice, and stole are normally the priest's vestments.* Ordi- narily it is better to purchase these vestments of a business house of recognized standing than to attempt to economize by patronizing home industry. They will probably be cheaper, of better pattern, and quite as well made if bought of dealers. Cf. Church of England "Interpretation Clause". 10 Central act of worship A permanent mystery THE HOLY COMMUNION DOCTRINAL NOTES THE HOLT COMMUNION is the Church's central and highest act of worship, ordained by our Lord Himself as a medium not only of association, but of effectual unity, between Himself and all who seek eternal life through Him. The transcendent importance, therefore, of this Sacrament, has made it, out of all the sacred treasures of the Church, the supreme object of most careful and devout study. So long as the record stands and is not amplified by another revelation from our ascended Lord, we shall not have the data that will explain the mystery of either of the two life-giving Sacraments that He ordained. Af- ter nineteen centuries of metaphysical discus- sion, the question of ISTicodemus is yet unan- swered, "How can a man be born when he is old ?" And the question of the Jews, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat ?" is met only as Jesus met it, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." It is a "hard saying"; and THE HOLT COMMUNION 55 many because of it, in every generation, still turn away : and yet the bond of His overmaster- ing Personality is ever compelling men in ra- tional faith to cry out, "To whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life!" When one studies the theological treatises that have been written by men who have under- taken to "throw light" upon this Mystery which the Son of God left as a mystery in the keeping of His Church His Body the reader is con- founded more than he is enlightened. True, he may learn how and why certain explanations of the divine method of giving men spiritual food through the Sacrament cannot be satisfactory. He may realize that there is in the Holy Com- munion something more than a subjective re- membrance of a past event; and that it is not practicable to explain a divine mystery by pos- tulating a universal deceit of the senses for which there was never a scrap of evidence. But from the whole field of discussion, one is eventually driven back and usually glad to get back to just those simple ideas which, while they are amplified by experience, a child may sufficiently apprehend in the liturgy of our Church. In that liturgy at least two fundamental sacrament ideas stand out distinctly, viz.: (1) the sacra- sacrifice mental, and (2) the sacrificial. And these, while distinct in conception, are inseparable in 56 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER action. The liturgy contemplates but one kind one united body of worshippers, who in the same manner are present to partake of the Sacra- ment, and as a part of that partaking, to make both a subjective and an objective memorial of the full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, obla- tion, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, various To some minds the subjective memorial is aspects emphasized the more prominent feature: to others the ob- jective memorial has precedence: to others, the former is preparatory to the latter: and I sup- pose there are thousands of devout communi- cants who think only of being very near to their Lord in a simple act of obedience, "Do this." To others, still, the chief thought is that of being supernaturally united with Christ "Whoso eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life ; and I will raise him up at the last day." And there will be others, who, in some great spiritual crisis, feel keenly the need of divine strength "If I but touch the hem of His garment, I shall be whole!" And it is probable, forasmuch as the liturgy sug- gests, in some place, each one of these ideas, that to a greater or less extent each of them is enter- tained by all. But how important it is that the priest in THE HOLY COMMUNION 57 his teaching and practice should be as large- ^"be minded as the liturgy, and in honest accord J^gy 1 * 6 with its teaching ! How unfortunate it is when a priest of this Church, celebrating this Sacra- ment, is not willing to be constrained by the limitations of the evident meaning of the text of the liturgy, but must endeavor to misinterpret it according to his fancy. There are priests who are so strongly averse to sacrificial teach- ing in connection with this Sacrament, that their conduct at the Altar lacks both the impres- siveness and reverence that is commanded by any possible right conception of it, however partial or incomplete. On the other hand, there are also priests who emphasize its sacrificial character so strongly, that they disparage that physical par- taking of the Sacramental Species which not only our liturgy assumes will take place, but which, historically, is inseparable from the Sacrament as instituted by our Lord. PRELIMINARIES Let us now suppose that you have arrived on Wednesday to take charge of a parish which has called you as its rector. You find it fairly well equipped with things desirable for public worship. You want all of the communicants to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Commun- ion with you next Sunday. You prepare a 58 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Name Time Equipment of Sacristy letter to that effect. What you put into that letter is of very great importance. I hope, when you refer to this Sacrament you will use a term which carries with it a sense of its nature, and one that will not arouse a spirit of controversy. Such terms are The Holy Communion, The Lord's Supper, and The Holy Eucharist. The term "Mass" is some- times used, and possibly it may be defended; but it is a highly controversial term, desirable only for its brevity, while everyone will grant that its associations are almost entirely with the errors of the Roman communion. If the term is already in use in a parish, one may conform to the custom; but does it seem quite loyal to your own ecclesiastical authorities to introduce a term for this central act of worship which term is not catholic and neither Anglican nor American? Whatever hour you have named for the early Eucharist, set your alarm-clock so as to give you plenty of time for a bath, dressing, devotional preparation, and getting to the church at least ten minutes before you are to enter the chancel. Arriving at the church you ought to find the sacristy equipped as follows: (1) a wardrobe in which to hang your coat, hat, and cassock unless such a place be elsewhere ar- ranged; (2) a wide chest of drawers for linens and other cloths and vestments, properly dis- THE HOLT COMMUNION 59 tributed so as to require little folding; (3) a closet for reserve Altar and credence furnish- ings, and for used' linens awaiting laundry; (4) a prie Dieu with. Prayer Book, Bible, and devotional manual; (5) a closet for eucharistic vessels, elements, and cloths with shelf large enough to arrange these for the service, unless a place be elsewhere provided; (6) a safe for the keeping of the chalice and paten; (7) a lavatory. If there is an Altar Guild or an acolyte or servers other server, you should find everything ready, as follows: The dust-cloth is removed from the altar, the fair linen spread, the candles trimmed, the altar-desk placed, the book-marks arranged; the cruets cleaned and freshly filled with the box for Altar-bread, bowl and towel (if you use them), and the alms-basin, all on the credence. You will find the eucharistic vessels thor- oughly cleaned and polished standing thus: the chalice with a purificator upon it (folded to the width of the chalice, and hanging on either side), the paten over the purificator; the pall upon the paten; the chalice veil over the pall; the burse (containing the corporal, two puri- ficators, and the spoon) over the veil. The taper-holders should be ready for lighting. The candles should be lighted five minutes before the service begins. 60 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Quiet in sacristy women It will be understood that no woman will ever remain a moment in the sacristy after the priest arrives. Nothing is more unwise than to challenge comment on this account. The priest who has to be vested and unvested by some woman is a sickening example of effem- inacy. It is well that no one should be in the sacristy immediately before a service except those who are to minister at the Altar. No theme will be discussed between the priest and the servers except what may pertain to the office in view. If the priest is alone, he will find it helpful to use the time at his com- mand at the sacristy prie Dieu. I shall not attempt to discuss in particular every point of possible ceremonial which may be and is practised in this Church; but to set forth only such directions as I think may be required by the custom of most parishes in this country, and are practicable in small churches. collect A prayer will, of course, be said immedi- ately before leaving the sacristy ; e.g., Grant, Lord, that we may so minister at Thy Altar, that we may receive the fulness of Thy sacra- mental grace; through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen. Entrance Within the minute of the time named for the service, bearing the chalice and paten if these vessels are made to be so carried the THE HOLY COMMUNION 61 chalice held by the left hand, and the paten kept in place by the right hand, both vessels being properly veiled, and held opposite the breast, preceded by any attendants, the priest walks reverently from the sacristy into the chan- cel. As he arrives before the Altar at the en- trance of the sanctuary, it is a custom fully warranted by canons and practice, to pause and bow the head, before ascending to the predella. Having placed the vessels on the mensa, at the left of the center, the burse is removed, the corporal taken from it, the burse rested on the mensa and against the re-table, the corporal spread in the center of the mensa, and the chalice and paten (veiled) placed upon the corporal. The priest having seen that the places are priest's rightly found in the Prayer Book, retires to J the lower floor of the sanctuary and offers a brief, personal prayer of preparation. THE OFFICE Returning to the Altar, the Lord's Prayer which is a part of the priest's private prepara- tory devotion is said in a lower tone than he uses immediately afterwards. A large controversy has been conducted over priest's the question where the priest shall stand at the * Altar. I will not say where he (rubrically) should stand, but in America he usually begins 62 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER the office at the (his) right of the center of the Altar as he faces it the "epistle side." If the altar-desk is on the left side of the center, the priest may remove the Book from it and place it upon the Altar on the right side, or hold it until after the epistle ; or he may begin the office standing before the center of the Altar, with the Book at his left. decalogue ^he "rehearsing" of the Commandments is often done by memory, without the Book. Something can be said both for and against such practice; but it is of very minor import- ance compared with that of the accuracy and impressiveness of the delivery. If they are God's words they must not be rattled off as though they were intrusive matter. It is some- what startling to hear a priest utter the familiar mandates of God as though they were a bore to him, and shortly afterwards, in a slow and im- pressive tone, announce the guild meetings for the week. If the Decalogue give place to the Sum- mary of the Law, there is no reason why the latter should not be "said" as the rubrics re- quire in the former case, "the Minister turning to the people." The introductory words "Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith," imply such an attitude. People are not ordinarily ad- THE HOLT COMMUNION 63 dressed with the speaker's back towards them. It is bad manners in church and out, as well as liturgicallj unauthorized.* Immediately following the collect for the day, in many parishes there is a moment or more of embarrassment; for the rubrics do not direct whether the Minister shall turn to the people and read the Epistle (or Gospel either) or whether the people shall remain kneeling or shall sit or stand. The custom in the matter, therefore, differs. Even in the same congrega- tion, one custom is followed at a Celebration without music, and another at a Celebration with music. At the more elaborate service the congregation usually sits during the Epistle. It seems as though it would be much better if the rule were here to prevail "kneel for prayer, sit for instruction, and stand for praise." The special reverence paid the Gospel in the act of standing (instead of sitting) is altogether lost sight of if the Epistle is received kneeling. And if the Epistle is addressed to the people there is every reason why it should be read towards them. 10 At the conclusion of the Epistle it has be- come customary (though not rubrically di- rected) for the priest to move to the opposite Blde end (side) of the Altar and there to read the Gospel. At the time of making this change it is desirable either to hold the Prayer Book and 64 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Dispensing with cere- monial of removing altar-desk carry it to the Gospel side, leaving the desk on the Epistle side, or to remove both Book and desk, or to take up another book, provided for the purpose. Where there is an acolyte, he usually removes the desk and Book from the Epistle side to the Gospel side. Where this is done quickly, quietly, and reverently, without making a fuss about it, it is perhaps most orderly. The desk and Book remain on the Gos- pel side during the remainder of the service. -1 Perhaps as much trouble comes from this insignificant act of an acolyte as from any other item of ceremonial. This is why: The current of devotion is arrested while an awk- ward boy with heavy, clattering, or squeaky shoes, mounts two or three steps, with more or fewer jerks of his half -combed head, grabs the altar-desk, turns around, clatters down, turns and jerks his head, goes diagonally up the steps to the other side of the Altar, drops the desk on it, and skips clattering down to his place with occasional unsteady movements of his members, while the priest and people wait the latter naturally watching the ceremony, and perhaps wondering what religious purpose is supposed to be thereby served. Many priests prefer to dispense with this dramatic opportunity, having the altar-desk placed at first on the Gospel side of the Altar, and, if necessary, holding the Prayer Book in THE HOLT COMMUNION 65 hand from the beginning of the Epistle to the end of the Gospel ; or, if the altar-desk is on the Epistle side, standing the Book against the re- table during the Creed. Opportunity for transposing the altar-desk comes with the preparation of the sacred vessels, if it must be transposed. The priest will carefully note that he is re- Nonces quired to give notice "What Holy days, or Fast- ing days are in the week following to be ob- served, and (if occasion be) shall notice be given of the Communion." It is sometimes thought that rather too Taking the offerings much of an event is made of the taking of the offerings. And some priests will say an offer- tory sentence in a hopeless tone, perhaps turn- ing away from the people before finishing it: while two laymen, ready at the far end of the middle aisle, with military tread come forward to receive from the acolyte the alms basins, and straightway proceed to pass the same to the con- gregation. The result is not always, but gen- erally, discreditable. But there must needs be the procession again from the far end of the aisle, and the presentation sentence, "All things come of Thee, O Lord, and of Thine own have we given Thee," or perhaps the Doxology, or some more elaborate expression of devotion. You will see the times many of them when you will think it a sacrilege for your congrega- 66 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER tion to engage in such a demonstration over their stingy contributions. Perhaps you will allow yourself the privilege of putting the alms basin and contents out of sight as soon as pos- sible. This is a mistake. Better have the matter over-done than slovenly done. The bearers of the offering ought not to delay the service by their processions: and yet there may be more real sacrifice in an alms-basin containing a dollar than in one containing a thousand. Re- ceive the basin, turn to the Altar, elevate it, lower it and let it rest upon the Altar, and then send it to the Credence table ; or it may remain upon the Altar until after the prayer for the Church Militant. If you think it desirable you may emphasize the words "accept our alms" in the prayer following. Preparing While the alms are being gathered, the oblations priest, if alone, will remove the veil, pall, and purificator from above the chalice and paten, and place the vessels at the end of the Altar near- est the credence. Going to the credence, he will take the bread-box and cruets, and put a suffi- cient quantity of bread into the paten, and of wine into the chalice, adding thereto a one-third part of water, returning the proper vessels to the credence. If the priest has a server, he will be served at the south end of the Altar. Care should be taken that the amount of Bread and THE HOLT COMMUNION 67 Wine is neither excessive nor insufficient. Ex- perience only will determine this matter. When the paten and chalice are supplied, the priest returns with them to the center of the Altar, and places the chalice back of the center of the corporal, and the paten in front of it. The chalice is then covered with a folded purificator and the pall. If the amount of Bread allows, the paten is sometimes placed over the chalice (a purificator intervening), and the pall laid over both. It is not a settled question whether our Lord avened used unleavened or leavened bread at the Insti- tution. It is certain, however, that both leav- ened and unleavened bread have been used ever since ; the former being the choice of the Eastern and the latter of the Roman Church. Both are lawful in the Anglican communion. It is a matter in which a priest may use his discretion. The following considerations may help one to a decision : The breaking of the Bread so that the con- gregation may partake of "one loaf" is undoubt- edly apostolic, and seems to preclude the use of individual wafers which have never been of one loaf, and certainly have not been broken at the Altar. The unleavened bread which may be made or procured in thin wafer sheets, creased for break- ing evenly, would fairly meet the requirements, 68 DECENTL7 AND IN ORDER were it not for the large residue of light par- ticles which are bound to escape from the paten, and for the distracting crackling necessary be- fore administering to a large congregation. A few priests use a cake or loaf of such un- leavened bread as the Jews still provide for their Passover, and take it to the Altar, breaking it there into a sufficient number of parts, at the words "He took Bread and brake it." The ordinary leavened bread is easily pro- vided, easily prepared for breaking, and the crumbs are really less likely to be blown or to slide from the paten, than are those of wafers. To some, however, whose minds are concerned with details, the flavor, freshness, or staleness of the leavened bread, and the sharpness of the crumbs in the throat if the bread is dry, make the wafers preferable. It is certainly more convenient for the priest to use wafers which may be kept for an indefi- nite time in the sacristy, and which are ready, with the wine, for immediate use in an emer- gency. changing It is quite natural that some communicants use to should be disturbed when a change is made from wafers to leavened bread, or vice versa. In making such a change it is just as well not to put the matter upon a doctrinal basis that dis- credits half of Catholic Christendom, on the one side or the other; but as a matter of con- THE HOLT COMMUNION 69 venience and propriety under existing condi- tions. The wine should be the purest procurable : any wine will deteriorate after opening. A highly flavored or a strongly acidulous variety should be avoided. Probably a port is as good as any. After the placing of the oblations upon the Ablutions Altar, it is a very decent act to cleanse the fin- gers in a bowl of water (lavabo) on the credence, using a towel (mundatory) for drying them. This may be made objectionable by display. The purpose of it is merely to remove such un- cleanness as may have accrued in handling books, etc., before consecrating and administer- ing the sacred Elements. Even if the priest is attended by a deacon or lay-server, it may be thought better form to make this ablution at the credence, than publicly at the end of the Altar." Of course there is ample symbolic justification for a public ablution. To the uninstructed it is not particularly edifying. The priest should be exceedingly careful in the use of his handkerchief. Have it accessible to the left hand, and use it with that hand only. Have a slit in the alb, and the handkerchief in a pocket of the cassock. If necessary, use the lavabo again during the service, but do it quickly. At least once in each month, the rubric com- Exhortations mands the priest to say the Exhortation after 70 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER the Prayer for the Church Militant. This may become tiresome to priest and people ; and it is certain to be so if the priest rattles or moans it at them. It will frequently prove of critical im- portance, if read as important. Perhaps even more useful, is one of the two longer Exhorta- tions (following the office), for they appeal to people who will not even come to a Communion Service, and so never hear the other Exhorta- tion. These words of the Church are more potent than any you are likely to frame, and it is your duty to use them as directed. 89 confession Although I shall speak of the matter else- at>soiution W h er6j j cannot forbear here warning you against a rapid utterance of the General Con- fession and Absolution. If a confession is real, it will be uttered slowly enough for the priest and people to interpret their own individual penitence into the words used, and to make their appeal to the Throne of Grace in a heartfelt and becoming manner. The priest who believes that he has received at his ordination a veritable commission to remit sin, will not fail, in the public exercise of this commission, to speak with a tone of dignity and authority as he might imagine Christ would speak. You will observe that the emphatic words are: "Have mercy upon you; Pardon and de- liver you from all your sins; confirm and THE HOLY COMMUNION 71 strengthen you in all goodness; and bring you to everlasting life" Observe, also, that the Comfortable Words SS 8 ortable are designed to be comforting words. Read them as to a broken-hearted penitent. They are designed for none others. Never mind the rest of the congregation. Only, don't be tearful in your sympathy. Preserve your dignity. It is well to memorize all portions of every Jf* orl2a ' public and private office, that one may not be- come confused in case of an unexpected emer- gency, such as the lights going out. But it is mere affectation to trust to one's memory at all times, and particularly if the memory be treach- erous, or if one be subject to diversion while en- gaged in the Service. The Prayer of Humble Access* 9 should be humble" said kneeling at such a point before the Altar as will enable the priest to read it from the Prayer Book on the altar-desk. This cannot be done if the Altar is too high, or if the priest is near sighted. To lose one's place in this prayer is almost a tragedy. One must not improvise. It is much better to kneel with a Prayer Book in hand than to use a hassock to raise one suffi- ciently to read from the Altar. Note the emphatic words in this prayer: "Whose property is always to have mercy. . . . Our sinful bodies may be made clean by 72 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER His Body, and our souls washed through His most precious Blood." Rising from this prayer, remove the pall and purificator from over the paten and chalice, placing the paten immediately before you, and the chalice behind it, both in the center of the mensa. Benedict The use of the Benedictus qui venit is quite Agnus Dei common in this Church. The legality of its use in England has been at least indirectly tested in the courts of that country ; but the order of the component parts of the Anglican office, differ- ing from that of our own, would affect the bearing of the English decision upon the use in America, even if we felt in any way bound by such decisions. The singular appropriateness of the words of the Benedictus as an introduc- tion to the Prayer of Consecration (though they be the words of the multitude on Palm Sunday), has been responsible for their insertion, some- times altered, in several liturgies, as in that of 1549. The reason for the exclusion of the Bene- dictus from the Book of 1552, was probably its then supposed intentional connection with the doctrine of transubstantiation. That it was not in the Prayer Book of 1662, is a sufficient rea- son for its not being in our Book of 1789. There is no rubric with reference to music in our Office at the point (after the Prayer of Humble Access) where the Benedictus is usu- TEE HOLY COMMUNION 73 ally inserted, if it be sung. There is such a rubric after the prayer following the Invoca- tion; and it may be suggested that the Bene- dictus at this point, immediately preceding the reception of the Sacrament, would be quite in harmony with the sense of the Invocation. To use the Benedicius here (where the Agnus Dei is often used), would require no special author- ization ; while one might feel that a priest would need episcopal sanction for introducing it else- where. The question may be raised whether there are not hymns or anthems quite as appro- priate as either Benedictus or Agnus Dei" and whether a little variety may not be from time to time desirable : e.g., the hymn, "And now, O Father, mindful of the Love " ' Before beginning the Prayer of Consecra- Recollection tion, make yourself conscious of the full mean- consecration ing of the ascription with which it begins, and of the stated reasons for the ascription, which follow. Observe that the sentence beginning "All glory be to Thee," does not end until the words "Do this as oft as ye shall drink it, in remem- brance of Me" ; so closely are the thoughts re- lated. If a priest has any sensibility worth speaking of, he will use such a tone in reciting these words, such emphasis, and such enuncia- tion, as will carry to the minds and hearts of the people, a sense of the Divine Presence into 74 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Elevation of oblations Sacrificial element Genuflec- tions which they are thus introduced. And he will not lower his voice so as to be inaudible at the most important words of the Institution. It is the custom of some priests to elevate the paten, and in due order, the chalice, im- mediately, in each case, following the words "Do this in remembrance of Me" ; and immediately after returning the same to the Altar, to kneel or genuflect, in recognition of the Real Presence. And sometimes the elevation is deferred till both Elements have been consecrated. The practice of elevating the consecrated Species is based upon a recognition of the sacri- ficial character of the entire Service, but par- ticularly of this portion of it. I shall not enter into the discussion of the highly controversial subject as to the meaning of poiein and anamnesis; but, whatever may be said of the meaning of these words in the Septuagint, in the Epistles or the Gospels, that a sacrificial strain runs all through the Office is unquestion- able ; and that this sacrificial strain should have a symbolic expression, ought not to be offensive to any, unless in the elevation there is manifest an intention of doing what has been distinctly forbidden in that which is liturgically known as the "Elevation of the Host." To the priest who is desirous of conforming his practice at the Altar to really Catholic or Anglican custom, it is important to note that THE HOLY COMMUNION 75 the "elevation of the Host and Chalice with sub- sequent genuflections had no official recognition in any branch of the Church until the twelfth century. The directions for the celebrant to genuflect at the consecration, first appeared in the Roman Missal of 1570, that is, within six years of the close of the Council of Trent, at which the Roman doctrine of Transubstantia- tion was formulated." 1 However, genuflection is not prohibited either by the Anglican or the American Church, 18 and it has been, more or less, practised in both communions. But it may reasonably be asked whether, if genuflection be thought to be justified by rea- son of wide-spread and growing custom, it is in place immediately after the words of Insti- tution. Some incongruity is apparent in ask- ing the Father "to bless and sanctify with His Word and Holy Spirit these His gifts and creatures of bread and wine," after the blessing and sanctification have been ceremonially as- sumed. The fact is that the genuflection follows the use of a liturgy in which there is no prayer of Invocation. Perhaps, however, the incon- gruity is rather apparent than real; for it can- not be doubted that the liturgies which have no Invocation of the Holy Spirit, have consecrat- ing efficacy. Or, again, it may be said that such an act of reverence need not be instantly 76 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Priest's communion concomitant with consecration, in order to be significant of the recognition of Christ's pres- ence. This is a matter that must be left to epis- copal direction or local custom or personal judg- ment. It is customary (but not rubrically directed) during the singing of the hymn following the Prayer of Consecration, for the priest to receive the Holy Communion, and to deliver the same to others in the Sanctuary. When administering to himself the rubric does not charge the priest to utter any words; but surely none more fitting will readily be found than those with which he delivers the con- secrated species to the people. The posture of the Priest in receiving the Holy Communion is also undirected by the rubric ; but it is a rever- ent custom, in keeping with the sacrificial idea and more convenient to receive each Species standing, and to kneel in private prayer a moment, at least, after such reception. Recognizing the choristers as ministers, and therefore communicating them before the con- gregation, is a significant and orderly practice. Where instruction has not been given in the Confirmation classes, or where long standing bad custom has habituated individuals or congrega- tions to unfortunate habits, it is a delicate mat- ter to inaugurate a reverent, cleanly, and or- derly communion of the people. It is noticeable Communi- cating choir Dealing with bad habits of a THE HOLY COMMUNION 77 in most congregations (especially where proper exits from the chancel rail are not provided), that the chancel is crowded, some kneeling, some standing, and some compromising by humping their shoulders, while those at the Altar-rail are being communicated. This should be corrected. 40 It is a matter of necessity in communicating a large congregation, and often a small number, that the priest should carry a purificator in his hand as he administers the chalice. There is no irreverence in cleanliness ; and if, as is often the case, the lips of some communicant contami- nate the margin of the chalice, it should be in- stantly cleaned with the purificator. In every case it is decent and reverent to cleanse the rim of the chalice after a rail-full have communi- cated. This should be done at the Altar. It is also considerate to revolve the chalice slightly while administering it, so that the lips of no two successive communicants touch the same place. It is difficult to say either of the Sentences in full to each person, as the "Bread" and "Cup" are being delivered, when there is a large number to be communicated. And it is right to bear in mind that there is a limit to the en- durance even of a pious patience associated with a strong constitution and a phlegmatic tempera- ment. The congregation tires of waiting, and many cannot wait. The priest may quite proba- bly become exhausted in the effort required in Cleanliness The Sentences 78 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER saying a full sentence, as he walks sideways and slightly bending forward, one, two, three, or four hundred times. Then, too, there is no suffi- cient reason why these sentences should always be said in full to each communicant. The dis- cussion which has been voluminous on this matter is not warranted by the rubric: And when he delivereth the Bread he shall say . . . The Minister who delivereth the Cup shall say Where the number of communicants is not large, particularly if time be not pressing, say the sentences in full to each person. There is something direct and personal in such admin- istration that ought not to be altogether lost. But when the number is great and time press- ing, it is not unrubrical or irreverent or inex- pedient to say each sentence reverently as the priest communicates three or four or even more persons. In such case the words should be so spoken that the entire sentence may be heard by each communicant. After the people have been communicated, paten ^ e p r j es t returns to the center of the Altar, and places the chalice, covering it with a clean puri- ficator folded so as to keep in place. If the paten is made to fit upon the chalice, so place it, and cover both with "a fair linen cloth." 8 In any case both vessels should be so covered that THE HOLY COMMUNION 79 none of the sacred Species will seem to be re- garded irreverently. After the remaining prayers and Gloria, or "proper hymn," the rubric directs that // any of the consecrated Bread and Wine remain after the Communion, it shall not be carried, out of the Church; but the Minister and other Com- municants shall, immediately after the Blessing, reverently eat and drink the same. Whatever ideas may have dictated this rubric, it is evident that the primary one was to secure reverence to avoid a sacrilegious dis- posal of the remaining Species. I have seen a priest take the chalice and paten into the sacristy after a Communion ser- vice, and eat the Bread, pour some water into the chalice, and throw the contents out of the door, while engaged in conversation. Such a priest in these days, is probably one in a thou- sand; and therefore the rubric is more fre- quently interpreted as having reference to the "Reserved Sacrament," and its use in sickness. Beyond doubt the rubric will be radically changed in the next revision of the Prayer Book. Now let me caution you against choosing the greater of two evils in the matter of consuming the remaining Bread and Wine. If you have so far overestimated the number of persons who would communicate, as to have left more con- secrated Wine than you can reverently and with- 80 DECENTL7 AND IN ORDER Purifications Wine and water or water only out criticism consume, it is far better to indi- cate to some who are near by that they should come forward preferably persons of whose piety there can be no question than to avoid this slight delay, by yourself consuming all that remains. It is a mistake to suppose that the priest's conduct in this matter is not noted in the congregation. It is a frequent subject of criticism where occasion exists. After the Bread and Wine have been con- sumed, the chalice and paten are taken to the end of the Altar nearest the credence, and a sufficient amount of water poured into the paten, and from the paten into the chalice. The priest then consumes this, and after pouring more wa- ter into the chalice from the cruet, and consum- ing it, dries both vessels with a purificator, and places in the chalice all purificators that have been used in the service. It is more than prob- able that after communicating a large congrega- tion, some of the Wine will have reached the fingers of the priest. It is right that this should be removed in the Sanctuary. It is, therefore, a proper custom to repeat the ablution of the fingers at this time. Some use the chalice itself for this purpose, consuming the water after the cleansing. It is a quite established practice to use a lit- tle wine with the water both in the cleansing of the chalice and of the fingers, the idea being that TEE HOLY COMMUNION 81 the percentage of alcohol in the wine assists in the cleansing. It may be questioned whether the value of the practice outweighs the unedify- ing spectacle of what appears to many as an un- necessary use of the wine. It is a matter for the exercise of discretion. Certainly it is de- sirable to make the final ablutions as simply and as quickly as is consistent with reverence and dignity. And let me say also, that the use of the chalice for the cleansing of the fingers is a frequent source of unhappiness. It is rarely really necessary even for the most scrupulous reverence. Rearrange the chalice, paten, corporal, and devotion burse as at the beginning of the Service. Some form of private devotion, standing or kneeling, should follow, not exceeding a minute or two, at the longest. The chalice and paten are usually borne from the Altar by the priest, in the same man- ner as they were brought in. They may, how- ever, be left on the Altar, and removed later. The congregation should rise as the priest turns from the Altar, and should kneel when he is heard to begin the Sacristy prayer. The purificators should be placed in a cov- ered bowl of water, and there remain until reverently laundered by some appointed person. If the Eucharistic lights are burning, the Qulet priest, or if he have a deacon or acolyte, one of 82 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER them, should as quickly as practicable, with an extinguisher enter the sanctuary and put out the lights. No conversation should take place in Sacristy, nave, or elsewhere, that can disturb one remaining for private prayer. Of all per- sons, the priest must not be guilty of such an indiscretion. See that all vestments used are properly laid away or hung up at once. If the priest has perspired freely, care should be taken to air them. 11 CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION THAT THE Episcopal Church in America has made no liturgical provision for carrying manner of out in a safe and fitting manner, the ordinance auricuiaf commonly known historically in the Church as confeB8lon Auricular Confession, is explicable in the light of the conditions under which her Prayer Book was framed. It is, however, a serious mistake to suppose that she means less than every word that her ordinal implies as to the authority of her priests to hear confessions and to pronounce absolution. The charge which she puts in the mouths of her priests, to be addressed to every congregation is nothing else than an invitation to a confession: "If there lye any of you, who . . . cannot quiet his own conscience herein, Charge to but requireth further comfort or counsel, let asweiias him come to me, or to some other Minister of God's Word, and open his grief; that he may receive such godly counsel and advice as may tend to the quieting of his conscience and the removing of all scruple and doubtfulness." Probably no priest who would pronounce the absolution in the Communion office, and as di- rected in the Visitation of Prisoners, would 84 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Reasons for remissness 1. No special place 2. Priest's unprepared- ness 3. Timidity hesitate to pronounce it after a personally heard confession on other occasions, if it should ap- pear to be expedient, as a part of that godly counsel, which should tend to the quieting of a conscience and the removing of scruple and doubtfulness. That priests are remiss in keeping in the minds of their people their right and duty to come to them in such confidential relations, is not unnatural for several reasons. In the first place, few parish churches or rectories are pro- vided with a suitable room or place, or are otherwise made convenient for such access. Secondly, the young priest, conscious, as he ought to be, of his inexperience in spiritual tragedies, and unacquainted with the use of remedies, realizing the extreme delicacy of the relations into which he often would be so drawn, may be disposed to defer such interviews as long as possible ; and perhaps he may do so for a life-time. Thirdly, a priest who lacks self- confidence will seldom attract confidence. And these reasons are sufficient to account for the fact that in most congregations about one-third of the recorded communicants are either con- scientiously or unconscientiously, prevented from receiving the Holy Communion. Of these a considerable percentage drift permanently from the Church. Nothing brings so clearly into the lime-light CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION 85 of truth the necessity of a priest being all that the ordinal requires him to endeavor to become, as the consideration of this essential relation of the priest to his people their counsellor, ad- visor, confessor. The familiar analogv of the medical profes- Analogy of . . . physician sion is apropos. A physician is not expected to prescribe until he has obtained full information both by voluntary statement and inquiry, con- cerning all constitutional conditions, habits of living, etc. He may then send the patient to a specialist, or, if there be none available, he may require the patient to come later, after he has looked over his books. But if the case be urgent, and if he be the only physician at hand, it is his duty to do his best. He has no right to un- dertake a profession in which he is not reason- ably competent. For him to excuse himself un- der such imperative conditions, on the ground that he is a theorist, or a lecturer, but not a practitioner, would be to make himself ridicu- lous or worse. So a priest upon entering a parish must be prepared by previous study of spiritual diseases and their remedies, to treat the souls of the peo- ple to whom he is sent to minister. As is the case in medicine, so in spiritual therapy, most diseases are the common heritage of mankind. It requires little knowledge beyond what will have fallen within the experience of the man of 86 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Exceptional cases "Some- other minister" Compulsory confession unlawful twenty-four years of age, who has earnestly striven to live a godly and Christian life, to en- able him to strengthen many weak and lift up some who have fallen. But, unless a priest has had most careful and painstaking instruction in the matter of hear- ing confessions, he should regard it as his first duty to become informed. Not many priests are competent to give such instruction; and I can advise no other book that is so helpful and satisfactory, so reasonable and devout in the treatment of this subject, as Bishop Webb's The Cure of Souls. By all means have a copy ready at hand even though you apprehend no imme- diate need of it. As for the exceptional cases, the young priest, and not a few of his elders, would do well to follow the custom prevalent in other com- munions, and ordinary in the history of the Church, of sending such cases to one who may be rightly regarded, if not appointed, as the Provincial Confessor. The warning, however, is important, that no priest of the Anglican Communion has canonical or other right to command, under penalty, that any person should make to him or to any other priest, a confession at a given time or at stated periods. The folly of such action will always CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION 87 become manifest in the discrediting of the priest ; for nothing is better known in ecclesias- tical circles than that such conduct is ultra vires. Facing the situation frankly, the priest must be provided with a place in which he may re- ceive not only men, but women, into most con- fidential relations. The physician has his re- ception room, and his consultation room, and his operating room, and his attendants. He is care- ful that a distinctly professional atmosphere should surround his personality, particularly when he is being consulted by a woman. Wo- men, in cases involving delicate examinations, either bring a friend, or the physician calls his female attendant. The physician who ignores such a precaution is far more culpable of an offense against a universal standard of propriety than the woman patient, whose inexperience may partly excuse her. By all means must the priest be guarded against the same danger that the physician pro- vides against, and for a weightier reason. The touch of sympathy may arouse the sleeping beast of passion. The glance of an eye may carry a poisoned message. The wife of Potiphar may become revealed to Joseph. Confidence is dan- gerous to him who gives and to him who takes ; and it can be attested by the experience of many priests that the knowledge of a common secret may become the ground upon which a passionate Precautions Dangers 88 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Dignity of priest The church Is the place "Oonfes- Bional box" nature will press to the very margin of fatality. A priest's error is usually his ruin. Important, above every other condition, is that quality in a priest which impresses the visitor with his consciousness of the dignity and responsibility of his priesthood. Out from it will come sympathy and severity that will sug- gest the sympathy and severity of the Master whose commission he bears. The priest must not undertake to receive confessions and give spiritual counsel in his office, where he may be entirely unattended, or subject to interruption. Ordinary conferences, of course, may be held anywhere ; but those that involve the opening of spiritual ulcers, and the probing of wounds, in which a soul will writhe, must be held in a guarded privacy. It would seem that the Church itself is the only proper place for such an appointment. The "confessional boxes" of the Roman communion, were it not that they are associated with the many errors and evils that cluster in history about them, would be ideal for interviews be- tween the priest and the penitent. A measure of protected privacy by this means is secured which ought to do more to disarm suspicion than any other device. But so strong and so general is the prejudice against the confessional box, that, except in a city parish, under rare condi- tions, it is unwise at present to erect one. The CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION 89 only alternative is the front pew, the priest sit/- ting, with cassock, on a chair before it; or an end of the altar-rail, the penitent kneeling, and the priest sitting near by, in the sanctuary. This position, however, at the altar-rail, presupposes that the penitent has come prepared for a sacra- mental confession. It would not be appropriate for a conference in which one seeks counsel and advice only. In a small community, particularly where it is not customarv for the people to consult their spiritual , , . f i f conferences priest in the relations of sacramental confes- sion, it is well to make public announcement of hours when interviews may be had upon spirit- ual matters. On such occasions it will not be impracticable to secure the distant presence in the church or sacristy of some one whose rever- ence for such occasions will secure silence. By far the larger number of opportunities opportuni- for giving spiritual counsel and advice will be pastoral found by the priest in his pastoral visitations. To most of his people these opportunities will be sufficient. The physician who wants to per- form a surgical operation upon all his patients in rotation, or wants to make each one think he is in need of heroic treatment, is no more un- reasonable than the priest who would bring all his people to a frequent periodic auricular con- fession. It is unquestionable that in the course of a life-time, and in most cases much more fre- 90 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER quently, it would do every Christian great spiritual good to go to a competent spiritual counsellor and make a confession of his spiritual disorder. What would be more pitiable in such a life-time's crisis, than for the grief-stricken soul to be received by a priest wholly unable to understand the situation ? 12 THE OFFICES OF MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER WHEN a young priest wants to show in one phrase the depth of his liturgical studies, he is likely to refer disparagingly to the offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, as "remnants of monastic offices." While there is no good rea- unconsi*- son for repudiating any devotional material words that may have come to us from monastic sources if it is fitted to our needs; yet it may be ob- served that the habit of morning and evening prayer, after the analogy of our offices, is as old as Judaism, and has come down through the history of Christianity. The chief point of attack is the opening exhortation "Dearly Beloved." No monastery is responsible for this exhortation, though it would be creditable to any, as a "short homily on Divine worship." Of course Morning and Evening Prayer are value ' & J these offices in significance incomparable to the Holy Com- munion; but they are none the less services that, in their proper sphere, are of tremendous and indispensible importance, particularly to such people as are not communicants, or who, being communicants, desire further opportunity 92 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Disregard and bad reading Find places in advance Advice In reading of common prayer and praise. And perhaps their greatest value is felt by many Churchfolk who are not quite "keyed up" to the strains of the great liturgy. I think, if you will take notice, that the clergy who dislike the offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, usually read them outrage- ously, showing a lack of appreciation both of the excellencies of their liturgical structure, and of the meaning of the plain English words and sentences of which they are composed. Let me commend to your particular attention the following matters: Have your places found and book-marks placed for the collects, psalter, and lessons, be- fore entering the chancel. It is not edifying to see the rector hunting up these items during glorias and canticles. It is really irreverent, and tends towards the degeneration of liturgical worship into "prayer-mill" exercise. The opening sentences should be read (or intoned) meditatively, relatively slowly, facing across the chancel. Emphasis can be expressed even in intoning. The exhortation should be read towards the congregation. It can be made very effective, particularly to strangers, if it be thoroughly memorized, and spoken (with Prayer Book in hand) as one would speak of any solemnly im- portant matter on any occasion. Whatever you MORNING AND EVENING PRATER 93 do, don't whine as though you were complain- ing of ill treatment, when you make this exhor- tation. Say it like a man addressing men. If used only once a week to the same people, it ought to be useful to every one of them. The "Dearly beloved brethren" is no more archaic than the "Dear Sir," with which we all begin our letters. The General Confession and Absolution are the most solemn, and should be the most impres- sive parts of the office. Do not hurry through them faster than thought can travel particu- larly such thought. The versicles are not mere liturgical formu- laries, but have been chosen for the depth of their concisely expressed meaning e.g., "O Lord, open Thou our lips ; And our mouth (the one mouth of the congregation) shall show forth Thy praise." If the Psalter is sung and it was written considerate to be sung (by a choir that could sing it) SSSSiSS and if the Venite is likewise sung, have some P e P le consideration for the unmusical part of the con- gregation, and don't compel them to stand through a long exhibition of the choir's ability in rendering the Te Deum through sixteen pages of sheet music. Every Sunday is not the highest festival in the calendar. It would be a great help to church-going if the canticles could all be put into plain chants for at least 94 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER most of the Sundays, and the anthem at the time of the offertory be left for the supreme efforts of the choir. Addressing Never forget Whom you are addressing in the prayers; and that the liturgical construc- tion of the collects is such that the opening clause or clauses of each are preparatory to the following petition. So read, as to bring out this idea. 13 SERVICES FREQUENCY AND OCCASIONS IN ALL parishes, if the minister and people could do what they would like to do, it would l ' mty be ideal to have a celebration of the Holy Com- munion and Morning and Evening Prayer daily in the church, with the Litany on Sun- days, Wednesday, and Fridays. But really there are not many, even among the most con- scientious communicants, who feel that God has called them to put so large a part of their time into just this kind of religious exercise. Never- theless, if the minister feels that he can, eco- nomically, afford to himself and to any others who may be so devoutly disposed, the oppor- tunity of such worship, it is most fitting that he should do so. It is not a matter to be settled in a moment, whether a priest is so constituted, spiritually, mentally, and physically, and whether the church building is so ordered, and the people so circumstanced, that such services can be maintained with a net balance on the side of community advantage. It is just as much a duty for a priest to make a spiritual prepara- tion before going to the Altar as for his peo- DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Opportunity to some is not obliga- tion for all Memorial calendar pie; and it is just as much his duty, if he is a husband and a father, to consider his family obligations in laying out the program of his official life. It is not particularly religious for a priest to leave his wife to make the fires, get the breakfast for the children and keep his warm, while he goes to the church to offer a Eucharist with one member of the Altar guild who is pledged to be present, as a congregation. And it may be a serious question whether the point raised by Mr. Jones is not a good one, that the coal required to heat the church every day for the parson's and Miss Smith's public devotions, is not really more needed by some of the poor families on the parson's list. However, where it is practicable, especially in a large parish, provision should be made for these services daily; in order to give the oppor- tunity to the few, who, from time to time, desire to attend them. For there is not a day in the year that has not a special significance to some- one in a fair-sized parish; and the changing circumstances of life make each day one of critical importance to some. Impressed with this fact, when my parish gave me an assistant, and a chapel, I instituted a daily morning service a celebration of the Holy Communion on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Holy Days, Morning Prayer on Mondays and Saturdays, and Morning Prayer and Lit- SERVICES FREQUENCY AND OCCASIONS 97 any on Wednesdays and Fridays. And then I issued a card inviting anyone to return it to me with the request that a special collect "be offered on a given day in the year, appropriate to a memorial of a birth, baptism, confirma- tion, marriage, death, or any signal event in one's life. Accompanying this request was the promise that the person signing it, or some representative, would attend the service. When a celebration of the Holy Eucharist was asked, it was always substituted for Morning Prayer. I then entered in a book which I called a memorial calendar the various requests, each under its proper day in the year. I had some reminder cards printed, which I sent in a sealed envelope, three days before a memorial day, to the person interested." The result of this plan during the remain- der of my rectorate, was a constantly increas- ing attendance. I remember one case of a man of large business interests not particularly given to church-going coming with his wife to give thanks to God for their wedding-day. Another was that of a member of the Congre- gational church who wanted a prayer offered for her deceased father. Similar instances were not uncommon. You would, of course, have to provide a number of appropriate collects and secure your Bishop's permission to use them. You can find 98 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER such collects in Wright's Prayers for Priest and People. Sometimes two or three would be said at the same service. I would think a minimum of occasions of public worship in any parish with a resident priest and a church building, would be those of Sundays, other Holy Days, and Thursday night or Friday. A very great obstacle only can excuse a priest from a celebration of the Holy Eucharist on each Lord's Day. brations e "for I would like to commend to your earnest thought the question of expediency in expect- ing the same persons to come to two celebrations in the same morning. I think the time will come when there will be a return to the ancient custom of expecting only the communicants "the initiated" to be present at the celebra- tion of the "Sacred Mysteries," and that then, unless uncfer discipline, they will be expected to receive. If this should be the case, there would be little difficulty about receiving fasting, about rubrical violation, or disingenuous con- duct on the part of the priest in instructing the congregation not to receive, and then offering to administer to them. This service would take place at some hour or hours before 9 o'clock; and the mid-day service would be such an one as would be understood more readily by those ' SERVICES FREQUENCY AND OCCASIONS 99 whom the communicants, in fulfilment of their Christian obligation, would endeavor to bring with them. The Church has not been unmindful of the desirability of providing a service even simpler than Morning and Evening Prayer, for various occasions, amongst which are those for evan- gelistic purposes: witness the words following the Preface of the Prayer Book : On any day when Morning and Evening Prayer shall have been said, or are to be said in the Church, the Minister may, at any other Service for which no form is provided, use such devotions as he shall, at his discretion, select from this Book, subject to the direction of the Ordinary. For days of Fasting and Thanksgiving ap- pointed by the Civil or the Ecclesiastical Authority, and for other special occasions for which no Service or Prayer hath been provided in this Book, the Bishop may set forth such form or forms as he shall think fit, in which case none other shall be used. 39 If you find your ministry in public wor- ship is being confined to the more faithful por- tion of your own parish, I advise you to leave the ninety and nine and go after the lost. Your Bishop will authorize some very simple service which anyone can follow; and all but the most selfish of your people will join you in an effort 100 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER to reach out into the highways and hedges. The Church's Prayer Book is "flexible" enough. The difficulty is in the stiffness, not to say the hopeless conventionality, of the clergy. j S p O k e of a service on Thursday night or Friday. Our Lord's passion began on what we call Thursday night, and ended on Friday at 3 P. M. This fact suggests. the significant period within which a weekly service may be appro- priately held. It is a mistake, very common in our parishes, to put this service on Friday night. The public school system arranges Sat- urday as a holiday. Friday night is the night when school boys and girls are free for social relaxation; and their parents naturally govern themselves accordingly. For a pastor without sufficient warrant to require the children of responsible age to come to the service on Friday evening, is either to cut them off from normal association with their friends, or to divorce them from the habit of obedience to the Church's teachings." Lent As for special services during Lent, they ought to be arranged with reference to the con- venience of the congregation. An afternoon service may be attended by teachers and pupils after school hours, and an evening service that men and families can attend, will be useful. It is a mistake, however, to hold so many ser- vices that few attend at any. The important SERVICES FREQUENCY AND OCCASIONS 101 matter is the quality of the services. The min- ister should study to make them attractive, de- vout, edifying, strengthening; and to do this, he should make his preparations and have his program ready weeks in advance. If he is adept at extemporaneous speaking, he may make a short address or meditation once each day, and read something at another time there are many excellent books for such reading. 15 You may be asked to hold a special service BO e ^ napkins, tepid, but fresh, pure water. A napkin about * at 8 by 10 inches in size, laid in three folds, should rest upon the edge of the Font. (Two or three of these are desirable in case of many baptisms.) The minister will turn as much water as is nec- essary into the Font and returning the ewer to its place, will address the sponsors. But if there are many children to be baptized it is well for the minister, before beginning the office, to say somewhat as follows : "The questions begin- Directions to sponsors ning at the bottom of page 247, are asked of each sponsor for and in behalf of the child for whom each sponsor stands, and are to be ans- wered by each sponsor as though there were no other child present." 1 Probably some sponsor may be playing with the baby about the time for the first reply. Wait till someone has put the Prayer Book where the sponsor may and does read the response but under no circum- stances must the minister show irritation. The sponsors should be impressed beforehand with the fact that they must make the responses. If infants are old enough to be frightened, they will probably cry, and they are likely to fight, especially when being transferred to the arms of the minister. Do not let this become ludicrous. Have the sponsor lay the child on 110 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER your left arm, with the head supported in mak- ing the transfer, and finally resting well up to- wards your shoulder. Be sure, all through the time you have the child, that you hold it firmly but gently. (Children often stiffen and give convulsive jumps.) Then, whatever the child does or says, go on with the office. If, for any reason, you dare not hold its head over the Font, why, the water will not seriously hurt your sur- plice. Some use a shell for the pouring. It use hand will probably arouse resistance. To dip the for conveying .,,,., water right hand in the water, and raise enough in the palm, each of the three times, to pour upon the forehead not into ears and eyes (1) "In the Name of the Father, (2) and of the Son, (3) and of the Holy Ghost," is customary. Then, especially if the water should be too cold, or the amount adhering be excessive, use the napkin gently as a blotter to dry the head. In case of children too heavy and too old to lift conveniently, a bench, stool, chair, or other support should always be accessible for them to stand upon. If the Baptism should occur apart from any other service, follow the exhortation to the spon- sors with a benediction, and a short private prayer as at other services. Then let the priest Dry the head Raising children to the font Benediction HOLY BAPTISM 111 retire not go visiting amongst the parents with, his surplice and stole on. If necessary, ask them to remain until you have removed your surplice. It is much more important to impress upon the parents and sponsors their duties to the child, than to congratulate the parents upon their "beautiful baby." They are not all beau- tiful, and the priest should show no partiality unless it be to the least favored. III. BAPTISM OF ADULTS In preparing adults for Baptism, make the issue clear Christ and His Kingdom on the one side; self and the world on the other side. Do not minimize the sacrifice that may be re- Making the quired of a man who "puts on Christ." Appeal to his manhood, to his sense of nobility, to his heroism. Christ died for him : Christ calls him to help save the world from sin and death. Bap- tism is the critical act of obedience, the witness before God and men that he is a Christian, and purposes to live as such. It marks an attitude of the soul a saving attitude ; and God responds with a saving grace, an assurance, a pledge. In giving instructions to adults on the sub- Avoid ject of the Church as a Divine organism, bring in instate- 7 out the essential ideas of the Kingdom, and avoid controverted subjects, such subjects as whether Apostolic Succession is necessary to the being of the Church; whether Presbyterians 112 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Approach creed from devotional standpoint Preparation by prayer and fasting Assistance have the Sacraments necessary to salvation ; and whether regeneration involves conversion, or vice versa. When the intellect gets to running along argumentative lines in the realm of dis- puted dogma, the heart grows cold. It is safe to make the creed, in its simplicity, the basis of instruction for Baptism. Approach it from a devotional point of view. Treat its articles as facts of the Faith, not as questions open to dis- cussion. Explain them, but do not enter into controversy if it can be avoided. Above all things, do not argue badly. If you are not ex- pert and you probably are not hand the can- didate some book that will meet his difficulties." The rubric requires that adult candidates for Baptism shall "be exhorted to prepare them- selves with Prayers and Fasting for the receiv- ing of this holy Sacrament/' It is not to be presumed that such persons can readily frame suitable prayers, or engage in profitable fast- ing, without specific instruction. A manual of devotion will be helpful not such a manual as is designed for monks and nuns, or for those of great spiritual attainment. The minister should ordinarily engage in prayer with and for the candidate, and explain to him how self-examina- tion can best be conducted. 18 If it be the desire of the candidate, no time is more suitable for a HOLT BAPTISM 113 confession ; but the absolution should be awaited in Baptism itself. As for preparatory fasting, it may be suffi- cient in most cases to recommend that the few hours immediately previous to the reception of the Sacrament be spent in seclusion, and if prac- , ticable, without food. It is equally important that a brief period of seclusion should follow Baptism. This the minister may secure by so arranging in advance. Let the minister absolutely forget his own Minister T i -, i ^ i T must not personality while he represents God in making seif- the Covenant of Baptism, and while he repre- sents the Church in bringing into its member- ship one of Christ's redeemed. IV. PRIVATE BAPTISM It is quite natural that the mother should desire to be present at the baptism of her child. There seems, therefore, to be an incongruity in the rubrics that direct, (1) that "the Minister of every Parish shall often admonish the People Rubrics that they defer not the Baptism of their chil- tome dren longer than the first or second Sunday after their birth, and (2) that "he shall warn them that without like great cause and necessity, they procure not their children to be baptized at home in their houses." The "great cause" is usually Home or a found either for delaying the Baptism for at usual least four weeks, or else for ministering Private 114 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Reasons for rubric Reason for accepting rubrical permission Conduct in case of sickness Baptism in the home. That the child should be baptized as soon as practicable after birth fol- lows from the Church's doctrine concerning this Sacrament. The high mortality amongst in- fants urges the same haste. The reasons that lie back of the rubrical di- rection are chiefly two, and they are important ; (1) that the presentation of the child in the church, and his reception by the congregation may be assured; and (2) that the Sacrament be not made an occasion of mere social festivity, as is often, if not usually the case when, except for sickness, the child is baptized in the home. But surely if any mother should desire her child to be baptized in the home shortly after birth, for the pious reason that she wants no de- lay in making him a member of Christ and the child of God, the case may be well assumed to present both a "great cause and necessity." When administering Private Baptism, there is usually necessity for such quietness and com- posure as befit a sick-room. Most physicians are good models for the young priest to observe. Having entered the house where the sick person is, before going into the sick-room, request that a bowl containing a little tepid water, and a small napkin or handkerchief, be placed con- veniently by the bed, perhaps on the medicine table. Then, previously having found the place in the Prayer Book, and having become familiar HOLY BAPTISM 115 V \ with the rubrics, enter the sick-room, and in a low but distinct voice, proceed to administer the when in doubt about bacrament. If there be the appearance, but not death the certainty of death, proceed as you have in- tended. Some physicians, and frequently nurses, will baptize dying persons. In such a case it is well for the priest to administer hypothetical Bap- Hypothetical tism, using such prayers as the occasion allows, unless he is fully assured that "all things were done as they ought to be" ; i.e., that the person who administered the Sacrament was baptized, that water was used, and "in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Even then, hypothetical Baptism by a priest is often desired. It is usually difficult to get parents to bring their children to the Church for either hypo- thetical Baptism, or for their reception into the insistence congregation, after Private Baptism. This reception should be insisted upon, and particularly be- cause the covenant aspect of Baptism has no ex- pression in Private Baptism. There are rare occasions upon which Public Baptism may be rightly administered in homes, Public l. ^ i. i- u -u- baptismln as when there is no church building, nor congre- homes gation, or when, in some emergency, the church is inaccessible. In such cases every precaution should be taken to assure such an atmosphere of reverence as would befit the church itself. 15 Responsi- bility of God- parents Reminding sponsors Sunday- school, choir and guilds CONFIRMATION NOTE THE CAPTION to the Catechism: An Instruction to be learned by every person before he be brought to be confirmed by the Bishop. The charge given the sponsors at the con- clusion of the office of Infant Baptism "Ye are to take care that this child be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him, so soon as he can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and is sufficiently in- structed in the other parts of the Church Cate- chism set forth for that purpose" clearly lays a responsibility upon the God-parents, to which, unhappily, few of them are faithful. It is, therefore, the duty of the minister, from time to time, and especially before pre- paring classes for Confirmation, to remind sponsors of their obligation in this matter. It is well to go over the parish register and note what children have not been confirmed ; and by letter or otherwise, to request the sponsors of such as are of sufficient age, to bring or send them to the classes. The Sunday school teachers will also ad- dress upon the subject such children as are CONFIRMATION 117 proper candidates, making calls upon parents where necessary. The choirmaster will be re- quested to use his influence, as also the heads of all guilds. In addition to notices from the chancel, letters to individuals, and a printed list of times and places for meeting children and adults, the minister will make many personal visits upon persons who should be confirmed. The important matter is to secure a full attendance at the start, upon the various start courses of instruction. The gradual filling up of classes after instruction has proceeded for some time, is an evil to be avoided so far as possible by an early beginning of the canvass of the parish. The mistake is frequently if not usually ? t cslre and made by both minister and people, of assuming determined that the questions of desire and fitness to be con- instruction firmed are to be determined before special in- struction. The cases are comparatively few in which children have been from infancy so con- sistently and successfully educated in Church doctrine that for sufficient reasons they can conscientiously and intelligently say they wish to be confirmed, before being specially in- structed therefor by the minister. It should be assumed that the questions as to desire and fitness to be confirmed are to be answered as the result of special instruction and examina- 118 tion, and not before. Emphasizing this fact will remove most of the obstacles encountered at the start, when parents say their boy is not good enough, and when girls who hope for a new dress make early application for enroll- ment, and when men say they do not believe in this or that teaching of the Church. "I am not asking you to be confirmed; I am asking you to come and hear what the Church has to say concerning your difficulties. I cannot hon- estly present anyone for Confirmation who is not ready and desirous when the time comes" this attitude will be helpful. Require- Whatever may be said about the various ments for ^ confirmation practices in the Eastern and Western branches of the Church in the matter of Confirmation, "The Church (i.e., this Church) hath thought good to order that none shall be confirmed but such as can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and can also an- swer to such other questions as in the short Catechism are contained." The Preface goes on to indicate that the ratifying and confirming of the Baptismal vows with conscientious in- telligence is, by the American (following the Anglican) Church, made an essential condition to the conferring and receiving of the grace of Advantages this sacramental ordinance. However individ- ruie uals may question the wisdom of this law, it certainly has the great advantage of fixing a CONFIRMATION 119 normal time in responsible age, when the chil- dren of the Church are called upon to review their relations with God, the conditions of membership in His Kingdom, the habits of their own lives, and to declare by affirmation or negation whether or not they accept their bap- tismal obligations. 18 That a period of such critical importance careful to a member of Christ and the child of God, necessary should be made one of careful spiritual as well as intellectual tuition and examination, is self- evident. The mechanical grinding of the eccle- siastical mill which is set agoing "for Con- firmation" once a year, some six weeks before the Bishop comes; just taking in whatever is offered and saturating all that is offered with fixed proportions of Apostolic Succession, fully explained sacramental mysteries, damnation of schism, ridicule of Rome, pet ritual precepts for or against the grinding of the mill which leaves out of consideration the personality of the individual, the love of God for His child, almost everything that the Word Made Flesh positively and certainly revealed to man; the grinding of the mill that never stirred a heart to love-engendered penitence, that never aroused an aspiration for that purity which is its own reward; the grinding of the Confirmation mill which turns out "the largest class," which "in- cludes three lawyers, one physician, and the 120 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER The church not a machine Securing and prepar- ing candi- dates for confirmation a constant work Suggested courses mayor"; the grinding of the mill that has to grind each year to keep the enrollment of com- municants up to where it has been for a decade, or to "show results" ; this grinding of the mill is not attuned to the melody, "God so loved the world." The minister of Christ, the steward of the mysteries of God, must, indeed, order his work methodically, but he must not forget that the Church is not a machine. It is a Body, the Body of Christ, indwelt by His Spirit. It is mobile, flexible, personal. The minister who believes that the Sacrament of the Holy Com- munion is necessary to salvation in any sense and that Confirmation is a fit and orderly preparation therefor, will not confine his efforts in the matter of influencing men and women to be confirmed, to any period of the year; but, nevertheless, as the time for the Bishop's visitation approaches, he will lay out courses of instruction covering at least twelve weeks i.e., if the Bishop will give him the opportunity. The size of the parish is not of essential importance in the matter. The fewer the persons addressed, the more direct and per- sonal may be the instruction and appeal. Such courses may be as follows: 1. A sermon setting forth the economy of order in all God's work : the order in the King- dom of Heaven : the order of law in the visible CONFIRMATION 121 Kingdom the Sacred Ministry, Holy Bap- tism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Church Calendar, Liturgy, ceremonial, etc. Growth means conformity with the Divine order. Con- firmation a step. [Do not explain Confirma- tion further at this time, but announce such ad- dress later.] 2. A series of Evidential Lectures on Sun- day evenings, following the articles of the Creed. 3. A series of lectures after the late Morn- ing Service, on "The First Principles of the Doctrine of Christ." All invited whether old or young, confirmed or not. 4. Children's classes preferably boys alone, and girls alone after school hours or on Saturday, or both. These classes using a Man- ual following the Church Catechism. 20 Self-examination daily should be urged, and enquired after, a form having been sup- plied each person, old and young. 20 A personal, half-hour conference with each individual should be arranged during the period of instruction, following upon a general notice that your purpose is to assist each one at that time in any difficulty, mental or spiritual, that may be made known to you. In case of ret- icence, be provided with subjects for your own discussion if possible, based upon your knowl- edge of the individual. Never suggest a sin 122 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Dress of women and girls First communion that is repulsive to the one concerned, nor one that is unknown to such person. It is not your business to burglarize a soul's secrets. Be sure that each one knows that to God all hearts are open. These conferences being required by you, and not sought by the persons coming to you, must not be made, unexpectedly, confes- sionals. No priest can make an auricular con- fession a condition to confirmation, without logically making it a condition to salvation. There is an appropriate symbolism in hav- ing the girls and women dress in white, or in white veils, at their Confirmation. The latter are usually preferable, as allowing little dis- tinction, and largely avoiding the obstacle of expense. It is well for the parish to supply them for the occasion. Warning should be given in advance that all display of jewelry, lace, or other ornaments will be in very bad taste. Assuming that preparatory instructions for the receiving of the Holy Communion have been given, appoint the time for the first reception of that Sacrament as soon as practicable. On this occasion do not break up family associa- tions for the sake of having the "class" all at one time before the Altar. If the time has not been sufficient, let the instruction for the first Communion follow soon after Confirmation. In any case, after that in- CONFIRMATION 123 struction, terminate the course by the most heart-felt appeal you can make, that everyone may keep in close touch with God, both pri- vately and through His Church ; and emphasize the duty of frequent self-examination, whether in anticipation of immediately receiving the Holy Communion or not. It is very much better, if possible, to hand each person confirmed a manual of preparation for the Holy Communion, with a written cer- tificate of Confirmation on the fly-leaf, than one of the card certificates, which are of no use. At any rate, see that each confirmant has a de- votional manual. After Confirmation has been administered, hand the Bishop a list of the names and ad- dresses of the persons confirmed. This is can- onically required. 48 Watch the attendance upon the Holy Com- munion of every member of your class every Sunday for a year, and act promptly upon cases requiring attention. Try and enlist every mem- ber of the class in some good work. Talk to them about the meaning of our Lord's parable of the "swept and garnished house." It is not a theory there presented, but an incontrovertible truth. Eemember that in the Spanish war more soldiers died in camp than were killed in battle. Inactivity is fatal. 16 Discarded safeguards The Espousals SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY IT WOULD SEEM as though the Church's efforts to stem the tide of divorce which is sweeping over America, and which threatens the foundations of all society, are beginning in medias res. Two ancient regulations are within her power to reestablish, which are at least capable of being made largely instrumental in preventing hasty marriages. The first of these is the Espousals, which were once held so sacred as to be made publicly in the church, and which custom, indeed, has precedents wherever on earth marriage is rightly regarded. 21 When this custom was overthrown in the East by an edict of Leo Phil- osophus, it was upon the ground that deferred marriages frequently resulted in broken engage- ments. If the practice could be restored to the Church, so that "engagements" could decently and reverently be made, instead of secretly, or merely by announcement in the society column of newspapers, a distinct force would be es- tablished by way of sanctifying marriage; and opportunity would be given the priest to give SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY 125 such counsel as he might find within his power and duty. And what is now permissory in the publish- ing of the Banns of Matrimony, might readily be made obligatory. This remedy is right at hand, and why it is not laid hold upon by our General Convention as a potent instrument in her warfare against divorce is not apparent. If, as the English law commands, a publication of Banns for three successive Sundays were re- quired, or even on one Sunday, clandestine marriages and all ill-advised unions would be effectively attacked. But as matters now stand, the least a priest can do is to make himself thoroughly familiar with civil and canon law upon the subject of marriage, and conform exactly to the spirit and letter of such enactments. The Church does not forbid the solemniza- Marrying tion of marriage at any season ; but it is evident i^nt that it is ordinarily inappropriate during Lent or upon any day of fasting or abstinence. It will save a conscientious priest much anxiety when a particular case comes before him involving the very questionable right of the "innocent party," if he is able to point to the fact that he is conscientiously and publicly Refusal to committed to refusal to marry any person who Svorced has been divorced, for any cause whatever. And while there appears to be no require- 126 DECENTLY AlVD IN ORDER Unbeliever and believer Blank forms ready for Questions in case of suspicion ment either in English or American canon law for so doing, bearing in mind St. Paul's words, 2 Cor. 6 : 14, one may well decline to solemnize the marriage of a communicant of the Church and an unbeliever or an unbaptized person. Some day you will be called from your study to meet a young man, or young woman, or both, who, with more or less embarrassment, will inform you that your services are desired at that hour, or at a time in the future, to solem- nize a marriage in which one or both will be involved as principals. It is important that you should have at hand a blank form containing all the questions^ and places for answers, that may be desirable in any case. Questions so asked will be readily answered without offense, which would cause embarrassment if asked conversationally. And no matter how well you may think you know a person, you will, in the course of years, find yourself surprised more than once by replies to questions you would not have asked if you had not followed the form in hand. 44 It is also right, where one has reason to question the discretion of either party, for the priest to ask them, together or apart from one another, such question as, "Are you sure you have income sufficient to support a wife ?" "Do you realize what a great confidence you are ask- ing of her how dependent she will be upon SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY 127 you?" "Will her marrying you cause any es- trangement between her and her parents ?" "Is this an elopement?" You will have occasional opportunity to advise a delay, and perhaps you may find it to be your duty, not only to refuse to marry a couple, but to persuade one or both that they ought not to be married, even though they may have legal and canonical right. Of course you are perfectly free to refuse any service to those who are not your parishioners; and it is rather a good rule not to solemnize marriage between persons who are neither known to you nor commended by witnesses whom you do know. In a large city, it is not an infrequent experience that couples come to a priest to be married after evident alcoholic stimulation. No self-respecting priest will marry a couple when either of the contracting parties is in such a condition. If the priest is certified that all is well, he will if it be practicable recommend that the marriage be solemnized in the church or chapel, stating (and such should be the case where necessary) that it may be so arranged as to involve no extra cost. In my experience many have been very happy to know that such a privilege is open to them ; and many have been drawn permanently to the Church by such asso- ciation. I have sometimes spread a five-dollar bill over several dollars more of expense, in Priest should not marry unknown persons Alcoholic stimulation Marriage preferably in the church 128 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Celebration of the Holy Communion License to be delivered order to bring a church or chapel wedding within reach of a rear-flat family, a former Sunday school boy or girl, an old chorister, or some other groom or bride who, I thought, would appreciate it. The priest or his wife does not always need the fee when so much good can be done with it. This is putting the matter very bluntly, but not too much so; for it is painfully true that the financial consideration is often too prominent in the priest's thought. If the bride and groom are communicants of the Church or either of them it should be suggested as a matter of course that they receive the Holy Communion on the morning of the wedding day ; or if this be impracticable, at the latest previous opportunity. The English custom, fixed by law, that all marriages shall be solemnized in the forenoon, between 8 and 12 o'clock, is based upon the propriety of a cele- bration of the Holy Communion following im- mediately after the marriage. The wedding breakfast is then served at the home. The priest will do well to request that the license if one be required by the state law shall be delivered to him at some time before that set for the wedding ; for it' not infrequently happens that the license is forgotten at the critical time, making it necessary either to delay the marriage or subject the priest to a fine for violation of the civil statute. Then, SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY 129 too, cases have been known in which the appoint- ment for a marriage has been kept by the priest only. Let us suppose that a public marriage of prominent persons has been arranged for. Un- marriages less the parties are people of unusually good taste, they will have arranged for a great show in the way of the inevitable "procession." No one knows how many bridesmaids and flower- girls, besides best man, maid or matron of honor, or both, ring bearer, pillow bearer, and ushers, can be jammed into a tittering, silly bunch at a "wedding rehearsal" in a church. In most cases these young people have each an idea how the ceremonies should proceed, and no two ideas will be alike. The priest should have cautioned the bride and groom in advance Reverence D required at that if a rehearsal be held in the church, it must be characterized by a fitting reverence for the place, and will be conducted by himself The priest . " determines wholly without advice. He should also have the < j i i .1 . ceremonial conierred with them concerning the ceremonial best adapted to the conditions involved, and should have arrived at a definite understanding in the matter; for there is no authorized cere- monial governing the entrance of the bridal company. It is very foolish to have a "large wedding" in a small church, and nothing is gained by an offense against simplicity. The groom and bride, a best man, a maid of honor, als ' 130 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Wedding procession Business of ushers two bridesmaids, and the father of the bride (or his representative) are all that a simple, dignified ceremony requires. Any and all others are a nuisance. Of course, if it must be, a "flower girl" can be taught to toddle in front, and four or fourteen bridesmaids can be trained on behind. There are several pleasing ways of forming a wedding procession; e.g. : 1. Ushers, Bride, Maid of Honor, Brides- maids. 2. Ushers, Maid of Honor, Bride, Brides- maids. 3. Ushers, Bridesmaids, Maid of Honor, Bride and Father, Ushers. 4. Ushers, Bride and Father, Maid of Honor, Bridesmaids. 5. Ushers, Bride and Father, Maid of Honor and Best Man. Frequently the bride wishes to go to the Altar with her father. This is in itself de- sirable, but it leaves the bride's mother in an awkward position. Should she desire to be with the bride, in procession and chancel, it is best that couples should be formed, Groom and Bride, Best Man and Maid of Honor, Father and Mother. The ushers ought, of course, to be either those accustomed to seat people in the church, SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY 131 or under the direction of such officers. They are not a part of the bridal company, except by courtesy. Their part is to show the congrega- tion the proper sittings, to see that the bridal party is escorted to the point from which the procession is formed, and to make clear the aisle. They precede and, if the number is sufficient, follow the bridal party to the chancel. They, in like form, escort the bridal party from the chancel to the carriages, seeing to it that they are not crowded upon by the congregation. The practice usually followed, of the ushers seizing upon the bridesmaids, when returning from the chancel is ceremonially ridiculous. As for their entering the chancel, the only pur- pose they can serve in so doing is to prevent the congregation from witnessing the marriage. In the usual ceremonial the positions can best be deciphered from the following diagram. Note that the rubric means that the bride shall stand at the groom's left hand. The second position of the bridal party in Espousals the diagram assumes that the address to the congregation and the espousals will be said at the chancel gate. Under present conditions there is not much significance in this arrange- ment, and the rubrics do not refer to it; but it is all that remains of the ancient custom be- fore referred to, of making the espousals here at a time preceding the marriage by days or ALTAR (SPRIEST PRIEST WAITS IN STALL ORGAN -M- + + + -*j ' Iff CQOg D SACRISTY OGROOM BRIDES MAIDS-: USHER G m USHER BRIDES FAMILY o -o- Q. o o- o o- GROOMS FAMILY tJSHERS MAID OF HONOR BRIDE BRIDES MAIDS O FIRST POSITION D SECOND POSITION +THIRD POSITION POSITIONS OF A BRIDAL PARTY IN THE CHURCH The advantage of this position is that it gives the Bride a "body- guard," and requires no reversal at the chancel. Returning, the Ushers are followed by the Groom and Bride, Maid- of-Honor and Best-Man, and Brides-Maids. Ushers 3 and 4 should follow Bridal party to the Chancel-rail, and return at once to guard the door. After the ceremonial they are in place for service at the door. SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMON7 133 even months. It is quite the rule, particularly at private weddings, to pass to the Altar with- out stopping at the chancel gate except for the groom to take the bride from the father's arm if she be so accompanied. When the organist is given notice that the bridal procession is formed, a few chords of the wedding march will start the groom, best man, and the priest to their respective first positions. (The priest will do well to use one of the inexpensive booklets containing the marriage office and the certificate, printed in good type, and bound in white.) 22 If there be a choir, it will enter singing a nuptial hymn, or sing it after arriving in the chancel. The bridal party may follow imme- diately, or wait until the hymn is concluded and enter with a wedding march. Having arrived at the chancel gate, or Altar rail, as the case may be, the right hand glove if not both gloves of both bride and groom should be removed. (It is distinctly bad form for the marriage vows to be made while joining gloved hands.) If the bride carries a bouquet or Prayer Book, the maid of honor will take such impedimenta at this time. If the priest observes an inclination on the part of the people to sit down, it is well, in a perfectly perfunctory tone, as though it were his ordinary duty, to say, "The congregation Priest, groom and best-man enter chancel Marriage office book and certificate Choir entrance Bride and groom ungloved Congregation stands 134 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Charges to people and couple "Obey" Giving the bride will remain standing throughout the service." But this may be avoided by instructing the bridal families in advance. He will then de- liver the charge to the people, and having some- what lowered his voice, the charge to the groom and bride. After a moment's pause, he will proceed to the questions. Frequently one or both parties (possibly with a legal intuition to avoid a multiple question) will make answer before the time. Treat such a reply as though it were expected, and go on with the rest. To meet the objection against the promise of the woman to obey the man, the priest will have explained previously, that there must be a head of the family, or discord; e.g., if the husband has a business opportunity for their mutual advantage which involves moving, the wife will be expected to go with him. Such is the meaning of the word. So explained it is almost never refused. If it should be, and the bride is willing to risk a "scene," just repeat the objectionable words as often as necessary. It is not for the bride to revise the Church's office ; nor has the minister that privilege. 39 The question then being asked, "Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?" the bride and groom face each other, and the father standing back and between them takes the bride's right hand, places it in the minister's, and the minister places it in the SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY 135 right hand of the groom. The groom and bride, throughout the movement of the hands, should couple partly face one another, so that the witnesses may see the joining of hands and placing of the ring. Observe that when the man takes the woman's hand, her hand should lie in his, and vice versa. The minister should not tax the memories of the contracting parties at this point, but give them the words of their mutual bridal obligation in short phrases. However, if there is evidence of a breaking down through nervous tension, one must use one's judgment about going slower or faster. A calm but firm tone on the part of the minister usually restores equilibrium. Very commonly the words "till death us do part" are transposed to "till death do us part," while the word "troth" is often unrecognizable. Where extreme nervousness is evident, break up the clause, "and thereto I plight thee my troth." It is usually necessary to say "Release hands," and then to the bride, "Take the groom's hand." And then, after the bride's part, "Release hands" ; and, turning to the best- man, say, "Give the ring to the groom" ; and say to the groom, "Place the ring on the book." The minister then may say, touching the ring thrice, "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," and hand the ring to the groom, directing him to place it 136 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Two rings Prayers facing bridal couple Charge Pronounce- ment Final details upon the fourth finger of the woman's left hand. The groom should hold the ring above the large knuckle until the words "In the Name," etc., when he will put it in place. Sometimes the bride wishes to give the groom a ring at this time. Such an incident may be given place, as it is an ancient custom, but, of course, should receive no further cere- monial attention than the blessing of the ring by the minister, and the placing of the ring on the groom's finger by the bride. The two prayers following are to be said by the priest, facing the bridal couple, all standing. At their conclusion the minister will take the right hands of the bride and groom, and uniting them, will say to the wedded couple as a charge to them: "Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." Then conies the pronouncement to the con- gregation, following which the bride and groom kneel for the benediction. This having been pronounced, the couple rising, the maid of honor throws back the bride's veil, and the wed- ding kiss may be exchanged reverently. 23 The maid of honor gives the bride her bouquet, Prayer Book, etc. Keeping his face towards the bride, the groom will take quickly one or two steps diagon- ally backward as she advances, so as to offer her his left arm in returning. The best man and SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY 137 maid of honor similarly return together, then the bridesmaids (probably with ushers at- tached) ; and the family of the bride and groom follow before the congregation is allowed to leave. 17 THE VISITATION OF THE SICK WE FIND at the beginning of the office for the Visitation of the Sick a rubric requiring that "when any person is sick, notice shall be given thereof to the minister" should b Perhaps no experience of the minister is insisted more exasperating than the prevalent expecta- tion that he shall find out for himself when his parishioners are sick, the degree of their sickness, and whether he is wanted or not. Rarely is notice sent to him by the sick person or by his family. Usually it comes in the form of a rumor, and not infrequently by the person of the parish gossip who calls purposely to be the first to bring the news, and who expresses surprise that "you have not heard of it." One is sorely tempted, after repeatedly having re- quested the congregation to send for the min- ister in such case, to wait till word comes in a proper way. Indeed, in a large parish, this is often necessary; for frequently a very large number of parishioners are more or less indis- posed at the same time, and to visit all would be impossible and undesirable. I have fre- quently called upon persons who were reported TEE VISITATION OF THE SICK 139 to be "very sick," only to find a mild case of lumbago, rheumatism, or dyspepsia. On one occasion the "sick man" came to the door in his shirt-sleeves and invited me in. Entering, I found him having a game of chess with a neigh- bor. I had walked a mile to see him. At the very best, you will probably be blamed more for inattention to the sick than for any other of your many negligences; and particularly will they be most offended who have not been sick enough to attract much sympathy. When you discover that a parishioner is However. act upon ill, you will probably make it a point to call information as soon as practicable. It is quite possible that you will be met at the door by one who will not invite you to enter, but who will say that the doctor has given strict charge that no one shall see the patient, and that the house must be quiet. It is usually better not to argue the when not matter, but to retire, with the request that your wanted card be given to the active member of the family. Or, again, you may be admitted to the house as a matter of necessary courtesy, but given to understand that your -presence is em- barrassing, and that the patient is "resting." When you get back to your study, write a note requesting that you be notified if the patient desires to see you, and suggesting that 140 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Explanation of no welcome Visit to physician a brief visit from the minister is frequently in every way helpful to one who has confidence in the efficacy of prayer. The difficulty in gaining ready access to sick persons has usually a very simple explana- tion. The infrequent visits of the pastor have accustomed the family to regard him as the advance agent of the undertaker; and they are afraid of the shock which the knowledge of his presence would give to the patient. Or, the physician, through inadvertence, or intention- ally, has excluded the minister; and the family have no conception of any incongruity in such an order. Or, the patient is really in some such nervous crisis that the hour is inopportune. (It is quite possible that the minister may come at a time when the physician himself would not disturb the patient.) In any case the minister must be very considerate of those whom he wishes to help, and in no case to show whatever chagrin or resentment he may feel. Sometimes one may visit the physician in charge of a patient and explain to him that the Church expects her ministers to visit the sick, and that it is usually thought that the physician and the minister can cooperate with one an- other. If in such an interview you can con- vince the physician that you have discretion enough to be trusted in the sick-room, you will very likely find that instead of excluding you, THE VISITATION OF THE SICK 141 he will thereafter notify you when one of your people is ill. A physician is quite right in advising that a minister be excluded, if he has sufficient reason to believe that such minister will injuriously affect his patient. And such will usually be the case if the minister in ques- tion be not carefully prepared. First of all, the minister must recognize that the purpose of his visit is twofold: (1) to administer spiritual uplift, and (2) to aid in physical recovery. He will have both these purposes distinctly in mind when he visits the sick. He will appreciate, of course, that he is at some disadvantage if he has no personal acquaintance with the patient; but a little ex- perience will convince him that human nature is much the same, and at its simplest and per- haps its best when self-confidence is gone, and the strong man is as the child, under the wither- ing blight of serious disease. Arriving at the house, by appointment if Procedure possible, the minister will lay off his wraps and remove his gloves, being careful, if the weather is cold, to warm himself sufficiently before en- tering the sick room. It is by no means to be assumed that the office for ... visitation Prayer Book order for the Visitation of the of sick Sick must be used in every case. Indeed, if, as is customary, the minister should frequently visit a patient during a protracted illness, it 142 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER would become very tiresome to deliver the ex- hortation on each occasion. This, of course, is not expected, and much less that the remainder of the office, including exhortation to make his will, should be repeatedly used. The Order is rather to be regarded as a form provided by the Church, to be used at the discretion of the minister. It presupposes the presence of one or more friends with the Prayer Book in hand, joining in the office. Unfortunately the condi- tions are usually such that the use of the office would be an ordeal for all concerned, by reason of their unfamiliarity with it. Yet, when the state of the patient justifies no apprehension that undue excitement or exhaustion will en- sue, and friends may be instructed to take their part naturally, the use of the entire office will be found very much simpler and more satisfactory to all concerned than at first it may appear. But it would be very foolish to use the office without previous notice to the family and to the patient. 89 Because notice to the minister is often de- layed until the patient has come to a critical stage of his disease, it is usually better, enter- ing the sick-room quietly, to go at once to the bedside, perhaps attracting the patient's atten- tion by laying your hand on his, and, it may Addressing be saying, "St. James tells us that if any are he patient sen( J f or ^ ne p r j es t s of the THE VISITATION OF THE SICK 143 Church, and that they shall pray over him. So I have come. Let us pray." Then use the Lord's Prayer, and the two prayers next follow- Prayers ing in the office for Visitation of the Sick, closing with the committal "Unto God's gra- committal cious mercy," etc. and making the sign of the cross upon the forehead, at its conclusion. The prayers for the sick person, "When there appeareth but small hope of recovery," the "Commendatory Prayer," and the prayer "In Discretion case of sudden surprise or danger," must be prayers used with such discretion as not to injure the patient perhaps in another room and to alter their wording if necessary, to suit occasions. It is very desirable that a minister should acquire the ability to offer extemporaneous Extempo- prayer. He will not find collects, without prayer much fumbling of his book, and often, not even then, to fit all occasions and conditions. He ought to be able to pray as readily as to con- verse. Familiarity with the Prayer Book, and other books of devotion will assist him in this endeavor. 24 Unless the minister knows that his presence Leaving or remaining is especially desired, he should not remain in the sick-room after ministering to the patient, if the patient is conscious. If death is evi- dently at hand, it is often, perhaps usually, 144 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Interfering Exceptional cases helpful, to read appropriate passages of scrip- ture and hymns, from time to time. 28 Never It should never be assumed that the person assume . . . . x . unconscious- who is dying is unconscious 01 what is being said. I once saw a man who had evidently been unconscious for several hours, sufficiently arouse himself to withdraw his hand from a meddle- some and noisy attendant's grasp, and to utter as his last words, "Let me alone !" The minister must not make the mistake of assuming the place of either physician or nurse, or of recommending a change in either, unless gross neglect or incompetency is evident. In cases of poverty, ignorance, or incompetency, a minister may feel free to advise and to act upon his discretion. I once found a man dying of typhoid fever, lying in a small, dark, and practically unventi- lated room. There was a relatively large south room, occupied by a cross old mother-in-law, whom no one dared to disturb. The attending physician allowed things to remain as they were. Upon my first visit I drew a large rock- ing-chair into the sick-room, and, after notify- ing the mother-in-law of a change in the house- hold arrangements, with the assistance of the man's wife, I slid him into the chair and drew him into the sunlight of the front room. We then changed the bedding, and when I left he was in the old lady's bed, and his room was THE VISITATION OF THE SICK 145 being disinfected for her use. The unexpected part of it was, that after her first forceful objection, she made no further trouble. The man, whose life the physician had given up, recovered and the mother-in-law was saved from the poor-house. The minister of Christ must not be afraid of infectious diseases. There is no more ex- infection cuse for such fear than in the case of the phy- sician. There is often, however, an inconve- nience that is peculiar to the minister's vari- form activities. As it has been questioned whether a physician should go from a case of malignant diphtheria into a house in the next block, five minutes later, so a minister may feel that he ought not to go from such a case to a guild meeting or into any company, without a pressing necessity, until he has taken proper precautions against spreading the disease. A minister, of course, is less likely to be inadvertently subject to infection than a phy- sician. He usually knows in advance if a pa- tient has scarlet fever, measles, diphtheria, small-pox, mumps, or grippe. He will not al- ways feel called upon to go at once into the presence of such sickness. It is usually quite possible to attend, first, to such matters as are urgent, requiring interviews, etc. Indeed, it is not indefensible, for sufficient reason, not to go at all, unless one be expressly sent for by a 146 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER sick person in imminent danger of death. Probably no one would blame a minister with a family of children, especially if quarantine laws should forbid, or if he were not in good health, if he should refuse to see a patient with the small-pox. He could send the assur- ance of his prayers and those of the Church, naming a time when such prayers would be offered, and giving written direction for the patient's personal devotions. However, in a city parish with all kinds and conditions of people, I have never realized such a necessity but once, and that was just two weeks before a Christmas which was to be a day of large importance to my parish, and every day meantime, my hands were full. I had had grippe every winter for five years, and knew that I had contracted it by infection. I was informed that one of my communicants was seriously stricken with the disease. I explained the situation to my informant, and said that I could not afford to be ill until after Christ- mas, and asked her to explain conditions to the family. Then, if the patient should not be re- lieved within the normal period, I asked to be sent for. I have ministered in the presence of every infection known to our climate, and have never contracted any of them except grippe and THE VISITATION OF THE SICK 147 measles. (The latter I doubtless contracted from a bride who had the eruptions at the time of the wedding.) It is well to take some stimulant, such as stimulants quinine, or strong coffee, unless one goes im- mediately after a normal meal, when expecting to be in the presence of infection. Especially should one take such precaution if he is not in good health. But no one should go into a sick- room with the odor of alcohol or tobacco on his breath. (A clergyman should be as careful about the condition of his breath as of his morals. ) As for disinfecting, a long brisk walk, in Disinfection the open air, with the outer clothing open as much as practicable, is usually thought suffi- cient. However, if one will make assurance doubly sure, a closet where one may hang one's clothing with a little open formaldehyde, and a bath cleansing the hair well will free one from his own and other's suspicion. (loused to visit the work-room of an undertaker, and change overcoats there, in case time was press- ing. And I had a special suit of clothes for visiting infected homes.) When visiting a patient at a hospital, be Hospitals careful to obey the rules as to the time of call- ing. In an emergency, the head nurse will ar- range matters. A priest should always be conscious in visit- 148 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER ing the sick, that he is engaged in a mission upon which God sends him, and perform that mission as His ambassador. 18 UNCTION OF THE SICK 39 THE CONVERSION of unction into a separate Reaction from office to be administered to the dying, is so extreme * unction evident an abuse of its original intent, that, like most abuses in religious practices, the re- action has been complete. And now we are at the point of reacting from the reaction, and it is a question whether the clergy will be content with such a use of unction as is really catholic. It is within the province of the Bishop to Bishop's * prerogative sanction a form for the administration of unc- to sanction office tion in his diocese. In such case he will con- secrate pure olive oil, and send it to the priest who applies for it. To be fresh, as it should be, it ought to be kept carefully in an air-tight bottle, in a cool place, and be no older than six months. If no special office be set forth by the Bish- op, with his permission, it is quite easy to in- troduce into any form of devotions which one is in the habit of using for visiting the sick, Form for T 11 unction in the form in the Prayer Book of 1549, which prayer book * of 1549 follows after the prayer, in the office for the 150 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Visitation of the Sick, "The Almighty Lord," etc.: "If the sick person desires to be anointed, then shall the Priest anoint him upon the fore- head or breast only, making the sign of the cross, saying thus: As with this visible oil, thy body outwardly is anointed, so our Heavenly Father, Almighty God, grant of His Infinite goodness that thy soul inwardly, may be anointed with the Holy Ghost, Who is the Spirit of all strength, comfort, relief, and glad- ness. And vouchsafe of His great mercy (if it be His blessed will) to restore unto thee thy bodily health and strength, to serve Him; and send thee release of all thy pains, troubles, and diseases, both in body and mind. And however His goodness (by His divine and unsearchable providence) shall dispose of thee; we, His un- worthy ministers and servants, humbly beseech the eternal Majesty to do with thee according to the multitude of His innumerable mercies, and to pardon thee all thy sins and offenses com- mitted by all thy bodily senses, passions, and carnal affections; Who, also, vouchsafe merci- fully to grant unto thee ghostly strength, by His Holy Spirit, to withstand and overcome all temptations and assaults of thine adversary, that in no wise he prevail against thee ; but that thou mayest have perfect victory and triumph against the devil, sin, and death; through UNCTION OF THE SICK 151 Christ our Lord ; Who, by His death hath over- come the prince of death ; and with the Father and the Holy Ghost evermore liveth and reign- eth, God, world without end. Amen," 19 Rubric and reserved sacrament Helpful to priest COMMUNION OF THE SICK 39 THEEE is a good deal of common sense re- ligion in the rubrical introduction to the office for the Communion of the Sick. There is nothing in this office that remotely suggests the administration of a "Reserved Sac- rament." There is a good deal to indicate that this Church has not intended it to be lawful. Whether or not this is a defect in our Prayer Book, is a question upon which much may be forcefully urged on both sides. Certainly the rubrics allow such a shortening of the office in an emergency as will meet the necessities of the large majority of cases. However, were the reservation of the Sacrament for the Commun- ion of the Sick the only issue in the matter, it would prove a distinct help to the priest whatever it might be to the patients on such high festivals as call for a large number of administrations in homes. In practical expe- rience, however, this necessity for reservation is not largely in evidence. It is probably con- fined to large parishes, or to times of fatal epidemics. Assuming what I have said in the discussion COMMUNION OF THE SICK 153 of the Visitation of the Sick, let us here ob- serve : (1) That it is (rubrically) the duty of the Rubrical ^ / / / / requirements sick person to give timely notice to the pri Minister of his desire to receive the notified Sacrament, and to specify how many there are to communicate with him. (2) The rubrics say there shall be two at least, except in times of contagious sickness or disease when none of the Parish or neighbors can be gotten to communicate with the sick, etc., when the Minister alone may communicate with him. (3) The sick person who, without culpable s. Reception neglect on his own part, is unable to sary receive the Sacrament, is to be in- structed by the Minister that if he do truly repent him of his sins, and steadfastly believe that Jesus Christ hath suffered death upon the cross for him, and shed His blood for his redemp- tion, earnestly remembering the bene- fits to be had thereby, and giving Him hearty thanks therefor, he doth eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Sa- viour Christ profitably to his soul's health, although he do not receive the Sacrament with his mouth. It would seem that there is in this rubric 154 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER The Sarum rubric in- comprehens- ible Disregard of these rubrics general Promptness (3) (taken from the Sarum office) somewhat of a mixture of reality and metaphor. Some priests would prefer to remind the sick person of his most recent communion, bringing it down to the present in his consciousness ; and then en- deavor to effect spiritual peace and comfort by reason of our Lord's promises. It is difficult for a healthy mind to grasp the meaning of this rubric, and much more so for one diseased. The principle of interpretation raises the ques- tion whether the Sacrament of the Lord's Sup- per can be received "profitably" or other- wise without receiving it. The great diversity of conditions which a priest meets in our mixed and floating Amer- ican communities has resulted in a rather gen- eral practical disregard of all the rubrics above cited. Sick persons who desire to receive the Sacrament and have no friends to receive with them are ordinarily not refused the blessed privilege because they do not happen to have a "contagious sickness." Priests knowing of sick communicants seldom wait for notification, but themselves arrange to administer the Sacra- ment. This, however, is not always easily ac- complished, for reasons which we have dis- cussed under the "Visitation of the Sick." When the priest makes an appointment for communicating a sick person, he should arrange to be at the bed-side promptly at the time COMMUNION OF THE SICK 155 named ; for it is not only injurious to a patient to wait in expectancy, but the visit of the phy- sician and the giving of medicine may be in- volved. It is very desirable that the priest should What priest should take take with him all that he requires, i.e., a "fair with Mm linen" (10 or 12 inches square) to spread upon a table or part of a table, a cruet of wine, a cruet of water, 28 a few wafers in a box, the chalice, paten, two purificators, and a small bowl or tumbler, and the office. It is desirable to wear cassock and surplice, but it is not ab- solutely necessary. (It is often inconvenient to find a room in which to vest.) It is much better to have a chalice and paten of some dignity of size, rather than the little "pocket set," which resembles in its case, both a camera and a homoeopathic pill-box. It is less con- spicuous on the street to carry a hand-bag, and you can so take all you will require. Arriving at the house, make careful inquiry inquiries concerning the condition of the patient (if critically ill) and use your judgment in the matter of abbreviating the office as the rubrics permit. Conditions will also determine whether or not you should speak to the patient, before you proceed with the office. It is well to in- quire, even in critical cases, whether the sick 156 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Preparation for cele- brating Adaptation of voice Administer- ing to patient person wishes to say anything to you in private ; but in event of an affirmative answer, the priest should encourage brevity and composure. The priest will place upon the table (or dresser, or wherever may be most convenient) the "fair linen," the chalice, paten, purificator, cruets, bread, and the bowl or tumbler. Pour- ing a little water into the bowl, he will cleanse his finger-tips, using one of the purificators. If the office is to be abbreviated, put the bread onto the paten and wine into the chalice before beginning, care being taken that no more wine is poured than will be required. It is well to have the office on the inner pages of a folded (and bound) card (5x7). This may be so placed as to be read without holding it. If a Prayer Book is used and relied upon, its back should be broken so that there will be no possi- bility of "losing the place." Such a misfortune is very unhappy in a sick-room. There is no occasion upon which the adap- tation of the voice is so important as at this time. It should be distinct, without a sugges- tion of nervousness, neither too low nor too high, too rapid nor too slow. If the patient joins orally in any portions, take your time from his utterances. Pronounce the absolution towards or directly over the patient. Remember to communicate the sick person last. If the patient cannot swallow without COMMUNION OF THE SICK 157 difficulty, and cannot be raised to receive the chalice, take a small fragment of a wafer (a spoon is useful here), dip it in the chalice, and administer, using the sentences as they stand in the office, the one immediately after the other; or, if your conscience allows "The Body of our Lord which was given for you; and His Blood, which was shed for you, pre- serve," etc. Concluding the office with the benediction, concinding . 'the Office proceed as rapidly and quietly as practicable to dispose of the remaining Species, and to put away the vessels, while the people remain kneeling. The consecrated wine if probably contaminated by the lips of the patient, should be absorbed by a purificator crowded into the chalice. (This will immediately be reverently burned, or taken home and cleaned.) However, in ordinary cases of Communion of the Sick, the ablutions should be made as usual. After putting away the articles used in the office, step to the bed-side, and, unless the pa- tient is strong enough to make further minis- committal tration expedient, say the benediction from the order for the Visitation of the Sick, making the sign of the cross upon the forehead at the words "give thee peace, both now and ever- more." 158 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER patient Then leave the room immediately, and have left In i mi quiet everyone else do so who can be spared. The patient should be allowed a few moments at least for private prayer. 20 BURIAL OF THE DEAD 39 WHEN a minister is notified of a death in his congregation, he should go at once to the house. Being admitted, he should ask to see visit to i _* t i i 11 home the family or those who are nearest to the de- ceased. (It is quite possible that they are rest- ing. If so, leave your card, and name the time by advice when you will return.) Usually the coming of the minister into the Trying presence of the afflicted is a hard moment for all concerned. There is no occasion in which the pastor is called upon for the exercise of his piety, common-sense, and sympathy, to so great Demand an extent. Every case is different from every SSn?ster other. Standing side by side are frequently the saint and the infidel, the old and the young, the Churchman and the schismatic, the heart- broken and the indifferent. Sometimes all are of one sort and sometimes all are of the other sort. Where conditions can be apprehended in advance, the minister will have determined what he will do and say; but at other times he will convey his message by a pressure of the hand and a mere "God's way is best." Some- times he will take the family, or some of them, 160 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Must convey strength Visit brief Office prohibited; reasons into the room where the body is lying and say the Lord's Prayer, the Commendatory Prayer, and possibly read the 23rd or the 130th Psalm, or Rev. 22 : 1-6, or some other passage of Scripture. 2 * In any and every case, the minister must convey strength. However he may be affected, he must be master of his own feelings. A matter-of-fact gentleness is much better than a trembling sympathy. Hysteria should not be mistaken for the agony which is often endured in silence. Frequently the most noise is made by some intruder, little concerned. The min- ister should address himself to the one upon whom the blow has fallen heaviest. This visit usually must be brief. Do not expect any arrangements for the funeral to be discussed unless they are forced. Even in such case, ordinarily it is best to ask the one who has the funeral in charge to step out of the room with you. Before leaving the house, tell some responsible person to see that you are consulted before notices of the funeral are given out. 45 Here it is important to observe that the use of the office for the Burial of the Dead is prohibited by the rubric, in the case of unbap- tized adults, those who die ex-communicate, and suicides. The reason for this prohibition is twofold; first, the office, if so used, would not BURIAL OF THE DEAD 161 only be inappropriate in the cases mentioned, but positively a travesty upon Christian doc- trine; secondly, so associated it would cease to be, what it is, hallowed by its sacred associa- tions in the household of faith. While it is a question whether the Church would not be in a stronger and more consistent position if she refused the ministrations of her clergy at the burial of those who have refused to recognize her authority during their lives; yet it cannot be forgotten that the office is really designed chiefly for the comfort and edification of the living. That such comfort and edification can honestly be given in many cases, to the family of those who "have laid violent hands upon themselves," there can be no question; and no less certain is it that a irresponsi- priest may without embarrassment officiate at the burial of a baptized Christian who has com- mitted suicide in a state of irresponsibility. However, in any case, the rubric should be unauthor- obeyed, and such an office used for the occasion omces as may be found with some degree of authoriza- tion in one of the Priest's Manuals." No un- baptized adult, no person dying ex-communi- cate, and no suicide should be buried from the suicides church. In the last named case, unless the act buried from of self-murder be beyond all question the result of insanity, the influence of such a burial from the church would be harmful, and the prec- 162 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Coroner's verdict Improper requests of minister Bad music edent would be likely to cause the priest serious difficulty in the future. Although we know that coroner's juries are frequently influenced by sentiments of sympa- thy in forming their verdicts, yet the Church must be law-abiding, and the verdict of the coroner's jury will usually determine for the minister the question of responsibility in the matter of suicide. The minister is often requested to procure pall-bearers and to "get a choir." There is no reason, ordinarily, why the undertaker should not render the former service, and the latter also, unless it is the church choir that is de- sired. Do not get into a way of being an under- taker's assistant. People frequently do not know what they are about, in arranging for funerals, and a minister can often direct them properly. Of course, he will do so in a most kindly way. As for the music, in most cases none is much to be preferred to that which is endured at home funerals. A boy to sing "Lead, kindly Light" is very nice theoretically, but he usually produces hysteria and other forms of grief. The woman with a sympathetic contralto, however she sings, generally produces the same effect. But what is sung is under the control of the minister. There are many beau- tiful poems as consistently heretical as an in- fidel would desire, and others as silly as possi- BURIAL OF THE DEAD 163 ble, which are sung "by request" or otherwise, in the midst of our office, at home funerals, simply for the lack of a little backbone on the part of the minister; and some of these poems are too long for endurance. If there must be music at the home funeral, have it Churchly, brief, and well rendered. The office for the Burial of the Dead, fol- lowing the Anglican office, is constructed with the primary expectation of its being said at the grave in "the churchyard." This is usually im- practicable; but, of course, quite in order, and often preferable to a "home funeral." But there are certain practical reasons for the com- where the mon custom of saying this office in homes, chief should be among which are the supposed convenience of the family. If the "funeral is private," only relatives and invited friends being present, as should always be the rule in cases of contagion, this reason is valid ; but if the funeral is public, in most cases a "home funeral" is far more inconvenient to the family than one from the church. For, in the first place, it requires a house-cleaning before the service and throws the home into a prolonged distraction, opens it to the curious as well as to the friends, and in many cases prohibits the attendance of some who cannot find place in the house. A little experience will convince most ministers that, if the church is at all commodious, it is best 164 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER In the house; positions etc. Minister goes to the house and then to the church that the Burial Office should be said there. Especially is this true if the deceased is a faith- ful communicant. If the minister presents the matter properly to the family, the church will usually be desired. Where the office is said in the house, before beginning it, see that the singers know when to sing. Note where the family are, and take a position such that they may hear the service. (It is appropriate, but not always expedient, that they should be in the room with the body.) Ask the people to stand until the lesson. Again, ask them to stand for the prayers. If you say the committal in the house, step to the casket and raise your hand over it at the words, "We therefore commit," etc. If the undertaker asks you to "invite the friends to view the remains," or to "take a last look," thank him for his courtesy, but request him to make the announce- ment, if it is desired. If the office is to be said at the church, the minister will ordinarily go to the house and be with the family, offering a prayer at the time the casket is closed. Sometimes it is best for him to remain in the room with the body and sometimes not, when the final leave-taking is made by the family This depends largely upon whether he can be of service. He will precede the carriages to the church, and will have all in readiness. When the hearse arrives, the BURIAL OF THE DEAD 165 choir will be either in the chancel or far enough up the aisle to allow the pall-bearers to enter the nave. The minister will precede the casket. Minister (The provision of a wheeled bier is very useful, the casket especially in a narrow aisle). The mourners follow, and are ushered into pews near the point where the casket is rested at the foot of the chancel steps. At the starting of the pro- cession up the aisle, the minister begins the Timing the sentences, reading slowly, and with such pauses between them, as to finish the last sentence when he enters the chancel. Then he, or the choir, begins the psalms. They may be read or sung either antiphonally, or by minister or choir alone. 28 Or, the sentences may be read with usual rapidity, and the psalms begun whenever the sentences are finished. The congregation should stand until the be- congregation i , , stands ginning 01 the lesson. Perhaps it may be nec- essary so to inform a few people in advance. The minister should read the lesson from the lectern, and should know how to interpret it by correct emphasis. Note the following em- phatic words: 1 Cor. 15:20: first-f. ruits ; 21, death, resurrection; 22, die, Christ, alive; 23, own order, Christ, first-fruits, afterwards, are Christ's; 24, end, (24, 25, 26, the pronoun "He" refers to Christ) ; 25, enemies, last death; 27, ("He," the Father; "His," the Son) all things, He, put; 28, himself be subject; 31, / 166 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Apostles' Creed Benediction Casket not to be opened in church die daily; 32, what advantageih ; 33, deceived; 34, some; 35, How, body; 36, thou, quickened, die; 37, not that body; 38, God, every seed his own body; 39, same, one, another; 40, celestial, terrestrial, glory; 42, so also, sown, raised; 44, There is a natural, spiritual; 45, soul, spirit; 46, not first, afterwards; 47, /rs_, second, Lord from Heaven; 49, /&ave borne, earthly, shall, heavenly; 50, inherit; 51, aZZ &e changed; 52, raised, incorruptible; 54, when, then; 55 (read as a question to be immediately answered in v. 55) ; 57, us; 58, steadfast, unmoveable, work of the Lord, not in vain in the Lord. The recital of the Apostles' Creed imme- diately after the hymn is appropriate, and espe- cially desirable if the remainder of the office following the lesson is to be said at the grave in which latter case the service in the church is often too brief to be dignified. At the conclusion of the service in the church, the appropriate benediction is Hebrews 13 : 20 : "The God of peace, who brought again from the dead," etc. It is frequently expected that the casket will be opened in the church. So long as the cus- tom prevails of having a corpse "lie in state" in the church, in the case of dignitaries, no good theoretical reason can be maintained for re- fusing to allow the corpse of a plain Christian, a modest privilege of a similar sort. However, BURIAL OF THE DEAD 167 'there are plenty of practical reasons why the casket should not be opened in the church, and there is no good reason why it should be. The undertaker frequently insists upon so exhibit- ing his handiwork. If it must be, let it be in the vestibule. The undertaker will have been directed to Turning i , , -, , . T tno casket remove the casket after the benediction. It is often impracticable to turn the casket without commotion. It is quite unnecessary that it should be turned. The minister should precede the casket to the nave door. There is no reason why he should go into the street in his vest- ments. If the minister goes to the cemetery, as he usuallv will in a small town, he may use his Wearing ,.;., i 4.1, Testments discretion about wearing nis vestments at tne grave. If the weather is moderate, at least the cassock and biretta are desirable; but if it be winter, it is reasonable, and therefore right, to wear an overcoat; and neither a cassock nor a surplice is intended to be worn over or under that garment. And in this connection, let me say that the foolish custom of men standing bareheaded through a service in the winter about a grave, is worthy of the protest of the minister. The word quietly given to a few unnecessary pall-bearers "Put on your hats" will be in order. Whether the committal is said in the "Earth, church or at the cemetery, it is not necessary dusv ; 168 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER for the minister to throw earth or ashes on the casket. The meaning of the rubric is that while the grave is being filled in, the minister shall say the committal. The toy spades and silver bowl of mixed sand and ashes sometimes fur- nished by undertakers are simply silly. If the body is to be immediately cremated, omit the committal, or use one authorized for the purpose. If the funeral service is said in a home, you may use your discretion about wearing your vestments. Sometimes you will be expected to wear them; sometimes it is very inconvenient. There is something gained, perhaps, in confining the use of vestments at any rate the surplice to the church building, unless there is a special reason for doing otherwise. 21 CHURCHING OF WOMEN THIS OFFICE has fallen into disuse except on rare occasions when it is requestsd. Indeed, its use has never been other than optional. The offering of the concluding prayer after an early celebration of the Holy Communion is quite satisfactory to nearly all concerned, and ful- fils the intent of the office. Even that collect might be considerably improved upon to bring it more into consonance with the facts in most cases; for while it may be granted that there is great peril of accident during the time of pregnancy, the peril in actual child-birth can hardly in these days be called "great." Where, in exceptional cases, the peril has been really great, the collect is, of course, most appropriate, and the entire office is in order. 22 THE USE OF THE VOICE Beading BAD BEADING is a sin of ignorance which becomes wilful sin when persisted in after in- formation. Of course education of the con- science enters into the discussion. Some men in every walk of life refuse to take a universal testimony as evidence of truth. They are like tenorunce ^ e I r i snman wno insisted that he was the only man in the regiment who was in step. Most clergymen are willing to become good readers. Perhaps a few are not willing. I know one or two of my brethren to whom the very sight of a Bible brings an apparent pang, and they drape their voices in mourning and use black rosettes for periods, festooning the song of Deborah and the triumphal psalms with long stretches of lugubrious color. I have head men weep at the killing of the prophets of Baal, and weep again because St. Paul bade the sailors be of good cheer. And you will never forget the man who, on the other hand, will have nothing dramatic in his reading of the Word of God. He just stands at the lectern, says "Here be- ginneth " presses the button, and the buzzer works on until the automatic brake falls at the THE USE OF THE VOICE 171 end of the chapter. He thinks it ought to be read that way. Now, I have never heard anyone speak of seminaries bad reading in the chancel, who has not thought "sponsiw* the fault lay in the theological seminary. I want to adulterate that idea to some extent. It is too strong. First, let me say that good reading is dependent very largely upon a quick imagination. In order to read a descriptive imagination narrative effectively, one must be able to form the picture the instant before the words are pronounced that are designed to reproduce it in the minds of the hearers. A man with a dull imagination is bound to be a poor reader, just as a man unendowed with a musical ear is bound to be a poor singer. Of course imagi- nation may be cultivated, but it is a very long process and the results can never equal those of natural endowment. Temperament enters largely into the matter. 2Jt' erar A nervous man will naturally read rapidly, and is likely to tie his words into bunches of three or more and toss them out to the congregation to untie and distribute. The phlegmatic tem- perament is marked in the reading of the man who plods along in a contented sort of way that seems to mean, "That is perfectly natural, and all's well that ends well no reason to be excited 172 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Malforma- tion Diversity Of gifts Imitation and this is no place for the expression of private opinion." Then there are the consequences of mal- formation of vocal organs and bad eyesight. Men so afflicted are under a permanent handi- cap. At best their reading can never be as agreeable as otherwise it might be. It may be amusing to imitate a man with a nasal twang or with a chronic catarrh, but it is not charitable. In short, it ought not to be expected that all candidates for Holy Orders can be brought to the same or even to an approximate pro- ficiency in the matter of good reading. Con- gregations calling clergymen will always have to take men with some weak points. Good theology may go with bad vocalization, and false doctrine, heresy, and schism with the most seductive eloquence. And yet there are other potent causes of bad reading that are commonly overlooked. A man arrives at the theological seminary at the age of about twenty-three. He can read a news- paper most entertainingly, a novel delightfully, but the minute he opens a Bible he becomes another man. Then he mourns, or groans, or he is flippant, ravenous, or, it may be, effem- inate. It is enough to discredit the Scriptures, and I think it is one reason why our laymen don't like to read their Bibles; the associations are TEE USE OF THE VOICE 173 disagreeable. But where does the reader get that idea of scripture-reading? I have looked into the matter somewhat, and I find as a rule fair ground for the belief that men who have listened to scripture-reading of a given type in their parish church for a number of years, un- consciously reproduce the style to which they have thus become accustomed. The style of reading is peculiar in its application to the Bible, and to the prayers of the Church, and to no other literature. There seems to be an as- sumption that the Word of God ought gener- ally to be read superhumanly, and certainly un- naturally. The errors and faults of the clergy have, thus, a tendency towards their own perpet- uation. It is a tremendous contract to place be- fore the professor of homiletics to get out of a man, who is one of several in a class, in one twelfth of the time given to the curriculum in three seminary years, the faults which have been commended to him by the most sacred as- sociations of twenty years, and which, con- sciously or unconsciously, he associates with vital piety. Now what can be done in these premises ? -k-r /HS ,1 i 1. Monitor Isoting (1) that no clergyman can criticize Remedies his own reading without the assistance of a sec- ond person, at an early period in his ministry he should secure the advice of a competent critic, who will hear him read and preach in 174 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER the church at a regular service, and tell him candidly of his faults. A man of good intelli- gence, thus knowing what his characteristic faults are, even though he has had no elocution- ary training, with the help of a good book on this subject, can make a marked improvement, if he can be made to realize that it is a question of success or failure in his vocation as it often is. But no one ever becomes so proficient in reading as to leave no room for improvement. One falls into bad habits from time to time, and a friendly monitor is an invaluable help. 2. cultivate (2) The imagination can be stimulated and cultivated. Suppose the first lesson next Sun- day morning is I. Kings 18. It is a magnifi- cently dramatic passage. What are you going to do with it? First, you want to know what sort of a man Elijah was, what he looked like, what were the characteristics of his presence, whether he was of a nervous or phlegmatic or normal temperament; whether he spoke and acted under a nervous tension, or whether he was calm with the confidence of prescience of the outcome. You want to visualize Mt. Car- mel, and the multitude of Israelites. You must know what the altars looked like, and see the gathering of the prophets of Baal; and so on with each actor and item in the narrative. Read the passage in your commentaries until you can see the whole scene in its dramatic progression. THE USE OF THE VOICE 175 Then be careful: don't try to be Elijah and the prophets of Baal ; but being yourself, and with your own voice, in your own church, be enough affected to interpret the events to your hearers. Perhaps most of your good effects will be secured by changes in rapidity, pause, and em- phasis. If your imagination is instructed, active, and if your vocalization is good, you are pretty sure to read such a passage, or any de- scriptive passage, in an edifying manner. (3) The faults of nervous, monotonous, self- 3. Practice conscious reading can be overcome by private practice with a little assistance, by anyone who is in earnest in the matter. It will, of course, require patience to overcome a habit of perhaps thirty years standing ; but it will not be so diffi- cult as one might expect allowing for occa- sional lapses. (4) Malformation of vocal organs, whether * Training in vocal congenital or acquired, are much more difficult exercises to remedy. There are some men whose throats seem to close automatically every time they open the mouth. They seem to speak partly through the teeth and partly through the nose. They are heard with difficulty, and the tone pro- duced is not pleasing. Persons with either mal- formations of vocal organs, or the equivalent, should put themselves under a competent in- structor and daily drill. The closing of the throat caused by defective breathing and result- 176 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER ing in "clergyman's sore throat," can be cor- rected, if taken in time, by any competent sing- ing teacher. If you find that your tone rises and gets thinner after you have spoken for half an hour, or that your throat aches, or that your voice is husky after a service, you have in any of these facts a warning that you are in need of vocal training. Do not neglect the warning. singing Singing is an accomplishment; but it is not essential to effective work in the Ministry. However, if one tries to sing any solo parts in a service, he should learn how to do it well. Nothing is in worse taste, nothing is more in- jurious to devotion, than to hear a priest sing, e.g., the versicles of an office, out of tune, or the "Comfortable Words" uncomfortably. In no sphere of the clergyman's activities is it more true than in music that "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Do not be too ready to be- lieve that you "sing very well." Some one who knows may tell you or someone else that your effort is simply unendurable. If you can't sing, and you must have a "choral service," per- haps you can recite the priest's part on one note, if the organist helps you, and perhaps you can't. But these choral services are only desirable when they are sung practically faultlessly. To those who do not sing they are usually tiresome. The priest who, without competent training es- THE USE OF THE VOICE 177 says to "sing a service" is the same man who picks up the two ends of a broken electric-power wire. Only, unfortunately, he may do the former act more than once. The following letter written by an "ad- Letter of j ^i i , an actress vanced Churchwoman 01 many years experi- ence upon the dramatic stage, is very suggestive, and worthy of careful consideration : "I enjoyed the services very much at , but could not help feeling that asceticism, as I Ascetism have seen it in the Church, at least, has its dis- advantages; for these priests seem so weary, that the service is lifeless. It is almost impos- sible to hear them without great straining their articulation is so bad. In fact I think it a vital error of the ritualists that, while they beautify the service of God in every possible way that appeals to the senses (which is quite right, for God gave us a sense of beauty, and its first-fruits belong to Him), and beyond that are careful that all this beauty shall have its spirit- ual significance, and treat it all in the most reverent manner, they seem to forget that these are only accompaniments to the Gospel message. When that is lost there is nothing left but a pageant, except to the initiated. "Think what the Saviour's preaching must have been, with a congregation of 5,000 in the open air, all spell bound not by oratory, but 178 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER by simple truth clearly enunciated: No idle repetitions, but words that burned into men's hearts and set them vibrating, because they felt themselves understood for the first time. That is the great thing for a preacher, to understand humanity; and this cannot be learned in the closet alone. There must be also intimate con- tact with human beings. "I think it must be the fear of contamina- tion that gives many priests their forbidding air of exclusion and seclusion. But in most cases an attitude only fosters the thing they wish to avoid, and is really selfish and cowardly, for they are holding themselves and their personal salvation above their mission and the salvation of others. For how can they save others except by going to them as Christ did ? . . . at church 06 "One of the priests remarked at an Alliance and theatre (Actors' Church Alliance) reception, that the smallest admission to the theater was 25 cents, while the Church was free. But I could not help thinking, if the same methods were fol- lowed in the theater that prevail in the Church, it would soon be empty. Every part which is unnecessary and unilluminating is cut out. To bore an audience is fatal. ISTot but that some people are bound to be bored by anything. But I am speaking of the aggregate. If a play is THE USE OF THE VOICE 179 hopelessly tiresome, it fails and must be taken off altogether. "Of course the Church service cannot be treated like that, but the preaching can ; and, if it is found that a man is hopelessly bad as a preacher, he should be given other work to do. But I believe that, if half the tiresome preach- work as an ers would work to perfect their technique, as every actor who amounts to something must do, we would find the people who now go only to the theaters, flocking to the churches as well. "In regard to the service itself, the nearest theatrical analogy to that is the Shakespearean play; which may not be tampered with in any of its vital parts. The only possible way to hold an audience, in the classic drama particu- larly, is to give every word its proper import- ance; and the more involved or less interesting a passage is, the more necessary it is to deliver it clearly; for if it is slurred, attention is lost and boredom follows. The moment players be- come careless, they are jerked up by a rehearsal, and they consume their best energies for their work. They could not succeed otherwise. "Weariness in a performer (such as shown WearlnesB by some of our over ascetic priests) communi- cates itself instantly to an audience, and care- lessness is unpardonable. Why should not the same principle be remembered in the reading of the Church's beautiful service ? I know a man, 180 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER not a religious man, whose sensibilities were racked and his prejudices deepened by a self- sufficient, metallic rendering of the Burial Ser- vice over the body of a very dear friend. "No one is more sensitive to mechanical reading than an actor, for he, too, has lines not his own to deliver, and knows that, if he is to make them real to his hearers, they must be real to himself at the moment of utterance. How much more so, the word of God !" 23 PREACHING PERHAPS it may be said that preaching is the connecting link between the priestly and between pastoral functions. That is to say real preach- jgtor 1 fi ai ing the kind St. Paul referred to when he said functionB (II. Cor. 4:5) "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus." It is a question whether the few priests ought to be dignified even by referring to them, who having no developed gifts as preachers, or being too lazy to prepare sermons Laziness which people will listen to, speak of preaching in its ordinary and historic sense as of practic- ally little importance. "The great Office of the Eucharist," say some, "is the most majestic ser- mon that can be delivered by human lips," etc., etc. "Why preach a sermon," say others, "when all the people want is to come together to pray ?" Depend iipon it, there is laziness, incapacity, imbecility, or some form of maudlin and un- manly sentimentality back of every such utter- ance. Just take your concordance and review the texts on "preach" and its derivatives. The priest who hides in his eucharistic vestments, secure of being able to read an office and admin- ister a Sacrament without the least drain upon 182 Remedies for ineffective preaching his virility, ought to follow St. Paul in his won- derful missionary journeys. A shipwreck, a night and day in the deep, a few stonings and beating with rods, might make a real man of him, and enable him to understand the logic of Romans 10 : 15. We shall have little to say upon this subject because it is a department of learning and prac- tice upon which many excellent books are read- ily available. If, however, a priest feels that he is deficient in ability to write or deliver a sermon forcefully; if upon experience, he finds his congregation going to sleep under his aver- age "effort," let me urge upon him to try one of several remedies; First, are you writing ser- mons easy to set to music, naturally rythmical, so that you can, and do, sing-song them, or whine- whine them? If so, come down to earth and listen to an Irish foreman talking to a street gang that he wants to do something. Get a good hard sin that needs smashing, and put it snow how-to before your congregation so they will hate it with good Petrine venom, show them the tools, and leave them to attend to it between Sundays. If, conscious that your congregation are gen- tlefolk of delicate sensibilities, you have fallen into a way of not asking them to take any in- terest in anything this side of the pearly gates ; wake up some morning, and read the Spirit of Missions through. Then mark the most sig- Show up a sin and "smash PREACHING 183 nificant anecdote in it one that will keep war- dens and vestrymen awake and, without apol- ogy or permission, just give them that story and ask them what they think about it. Don't be in a hurry to tell them what you think about it. Don't say just yet what "we ought to do." Wait till someone comes to you and asks some ques- tions. Then tell them about some other Church work. It may be as well not to use the word "missions" at all. Under no circumstances say "foreign" or "domestic" missions. So many battles have been won by stingy, godless, ignor- ant men, so many banners with this inscription have they captured, that its very mention arouses them to resistance. Call it Church- work, or Church-extension. Use Pauline dip- lomacy, and if you want the interest of one par- ticular man, remember the sermon on Mars Hill. Get yourself interested before you try to in- terest others. And how do you become inter- ested enough to attempt anything? There is lit- tle power in the approach of a man who says to you "Brother, you ought to be good. You ought not to cheat, or to lie, or to swear, or to eat too much; or to spend money on cigars or soda-water or candy, while heathen are lying in darkness and the shadow of death." But if a live man or woman presents to your conscious- ness a thing of moral, mental, spiritual or ma- terial beauty near enough for you to have a Anecdote from mission field No Interest- ing others without Interesting self Mush 184 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Generalities narcotics Show beauty of virtues Present an incentive The sermon a reflection of the preacher chance of getting it you will move. General- ities, especially negations, are narcotics. Men lie because they established the practice before they really understood that there was any beauty and strength worth having in the truth. Men swear because they formed the habit before they realized the attractiveness, reasonableness, and power of reverence. Men waste money because they really feel no incentive to use it better. Now that these habits are established, the preacher has, first to want to overthrow them, and to want to with a wholesome, manly, God- loving earnestness; and then he must expect to have to present a genuine dynamic in the way of an incentive strong enough for the case in hand. He has got to preach a sermon that he feels from soles to scalp. It will not be in blank verse with a rhyme at the end scouted out of "Golden Thoughts." Remember, too and it may help your mod- esty that the sermon is at least the reflection of the man. If he loves to preach about the Love of God, and never delivers a powerful sermon on the subject, it is good evidence that he does not feel the power of Divine Love, but only a certain or uncertain aspect of it. If he likes to get his material, and a good many long quo- tations (not clearly marked as such in the de- livery) from some printed sermons of great men, you may depend upon it, that he is a better fol- PREACHING 185 lower than leader. The people will understand that after a while. Of course it is better that it should be so than for a man with a corporal's capacity to attempt to be a general; but it is a pity that a corporal should not endeavor to fit himself for the office of a general when he finds himself in that responsibility. If a man preaches from preference on topics of relatively small small importance, such as matters of ritual, why women should wear hats in Church and why men shouldn't, how many Churchmen signed the Declaration of Independence, what the Pil- grims would have done if they hadn't landed, and why men don't come to church, his anxiety to save souls after the example of his Master will be correctly measured. If a preacher wants to carry conviction he must not be caught on the wrong side of an argument. One such mistake will discredit him for an hundred sermons. There are enough great, mighty truths, accredited by Holy Scrip- ture, General Councils and universal acceptance by the Church to furnish him with sermon ma- terial. These, and clear, complete and forceful application of them to contemporaneous and local conditions, will be the topics of a man who realizes that he bears a commission from God and from the Eedeemer of mankind. Do not preach what are merely your own, or your "party's" notions, as God's word. 186 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Iconoclasm Various classes addressed Impudence of no preparation Beading a sermon Never preach a sermon in which you ridic- ule or wreck with apparent pleasure the pious beliefs of others. Never break down anything without building something better and stronger. If you preach positively with sufficient strength and clearness, you will never have to preach negatively. Show the beauty of truth and right- eousness, and you need make few ugly pictures.^ Remember the different sorts or classes of folk in your congregation, and then remember the stranger in the back seat. Reach them all in the round of a few sermons if you cannot do it in one. Just a word about the machinery of a ser- mon. You have either written it and have the manuscript, or you have notes. Perhaps you are relying upon your phenomenal memory. Maybe you are impudent enough before God and man, to go into the pulpit without decent excuse, to deliver God's message, confident of a tongue hung so that the least mental wave will wag it. (Some call that "inspiration.") If you have written your sermon, you will have read over your manuscript so as not to be con- fined closely to it. You will be able to deliver sentences, perhaps paragraphs, looking at your congregation. The leaves should be large enough so that you will not seem to have one hand under permanent engagement. It is bet- ter, if the desk of the pulpit will permit, not to PREACHING 187 tie the leaves together, but slide them off to one side. If you have notes, follow them if they are Follow worth following. Otherwise you will preach in a rambling fashion, and too long or too briefly. If a man is saying anything worth listening to, a congregation is not diverted by a moment's time taken in honestly looking for the next point if it is a real division of the subject. If you have memorized your manuscript or Memorizing your notes, be careful that the effort at recollec- tion does not give to your congregation a sug- gestion of artificiality. If you are speaking without preparation, unless you have really been unable to prepare yourself, ask God and the congregation to forgive your impertinence. A prayer for the help of the Holy Spirit and Prayer for the will to be but a voice, is always helpful beginning immediately before the sermon. If nervous, Nervoasnesi breath deeply and slowly three or four times be- fore entering the pulpit. Say the invocation invocation with bowed head, facing the congregation, and if the sermon is written, as you open it. Try and keep a relaxed throat, and a carrying qual- Relaxed ity of tone throughout the discourse. Do not become so impressive as to make your voice in- audible or disagreeably noisy, especially towards the close of a sentence. (Speakers imitate 188 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Ascription others' faults as well as virtues.) The ascrip- tion is said toward the Altar. This, after a wretched sermon, seems almost sacrilege. A prayer composed as a part of the sermon, deliv- ered from the pulpit, is far more impressive and valuable devotionally ; and it may assist in keeping the points of the discourse in the minds of the people throughout and in spite of the anthem which usually follows. 24 THE PARISH REGISTER, ETC. The canons of the Church declare that It shall be the duty of every Minister of this Church to record in the Parish Register all Canons Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Burials, and the names of all Communicants within his Cure. The registry of every Baptism shall be signed by the officiating Minister. Every Minister of this Church shall make out and continue as far as practicable, a list of all families and adult persons within his Cure, to remain in the Parish for the use of his suc- cessor. (Marriage.) Every Minister shall without delay formally record in the proper register the name, age, and residence of each party. Such record shall be signed by the Minister who sol- emnizes the marriage, and, if practicable, by the married parties, and by at least two witnesses of the marriage. The records of a parish are not only inter- vaiueof esting, historically, but are often valuable in Eegister civil processes for establishing rights and titles, 190 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER proof of legitimacy, and for the punishment of the guilty. Few churches are provided with fire-proof safes or vaults. Every one of them should be so provided. The parties whose names are re- corded in the Parish Register have a right to expect that their interests will be safeguarded by ordinary fidelity to the trust given and ac- cepted. Form and The Parish Register should be in one of two register ' f orms : first, a large, strong volume, properly printed with headings and spaces, for a list of (1) families and members of the same, so de- signed as to allow notes of changes without com- plete erasure; (2) adult individuals not recorded in families; (3) who, of these, have been baptized and confirmed; (4) a list of Bap- tisms, with . spaces for place of birth, date of birth, date of Baptism, names of parents, and sponsors or witnesses, and their addresses, and signature of officiating minister; (5) names of persons confirmed, their addresses, and Bishop officiating; (6) names of persons married, their ages, whether baptized or confirmed, date and place, whether married before ; if so, name and date of death of the person deceased ; names and addresses of two witnesses; signatures of bride and groom, witnesses, and officiating minister; (7) name, age, and previous address of deceased person, single or married, date of death, cause, TEE PARISH REGISTER, ETC. 191 place of funeral, date and place of burial, signa- ture of the officiating minister. Second, in large parishes it is more conven- ient, and often a necessity, that there shall be a separate book for each class of above named records. This is particularly desirable when the number of any kind of ministration is ab- normally large, thus sometimes closing the volume when but partially filled in other de- partments. The card-system, now so largely in use, card system ought not to displace the Parish Register as a bound and permanent volume. It is very desir- able to use the cards as a working convenience in the matter of following changes in families ; but the Register should be posted from the cards at least annually. Unchangeable records should be entered immediately in the Register. Negli- gence in this matter is often serious in its con- sequences. When a minister enters upon his work in a parish or mission, he should find a Parish Reg- ister posted and correct to date. Such, however, is not often the case. The departing minister has so many personal matters to attend to, that he has neglected one of the most important of his duties. But, at best, this Parish Register will appear to the incoming minister as an in- adequate representation of actual conditions. One minister will never drop a communicant Working lists 192 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER from the roll so long as the said communicant is alive and has not been canonically trans- ferred; another will drop every name that does not represent a communicant actually faithful to his duties as such. Hence in some cases the lists will be overloaded, and in other cases not fully representative of the congregation. It is a good plan, therefore, where there is no other guide than a Parish Register, to take it at its face value ; and make a card-index of the (1) families and (2) individuals not in families; (3) confirmed persons ; (4) men; (5) women. Then proceed to hunt out these per- sons. In a similar effort I once called upon sev- eral who had been dead for a number of years, many who had moved so long ago that the occu- pants of their former homes did not know of them, and some whose names had been recorded in the Parish Register without their knowledge or consent. Posting Work on this index, adding to the cards daily such additional information as you can secure, and drawing out such cards as you will retire to the departments of "Dead," "Re- moved," "Disappeared." New families created by marriage will need new cards, and the old family cards will be altered accordingly. Blotter Have at hand in the church a book suitable for jotting down in pencil any memoranda that may occur to you in your working or leisure THE PARISH REGISTER, ETC. 193 hours, but particularly after you have greeted the congregation upon their entering or leaving the church. Many strangers may be met at that time, and to get their names and addresses on a pad of paper in your cassock pocket, should be one of your cares. Enter such names on your blotter. An entry may read "John Smith red moustache wife glasses thin son Charles about 14, not confirmed mole 816 Carroll Avenue." Don't try to get the whole family history in the vestibule. You will lose someone if you do. Put these people on your calling list for the week, and when you call, get all the data. After- wards, make out cards. 48 In the ordinary parish or mission, the Pocket pocket calling list is not so large as to require more than an alphabetical arrangement of sur- names; but in a large parish a street index as well as a surname index in the same book is most helpful. They can be had of Church pub- lishers, or will be made by any manufacturing stationer. While there is such a thing as having such supplement a complicated system of registrations that it will for noting take all one's time to keep it posted ; yet even another arrangement of cards is useful, viz., one in which all families and individuals are arranged in such an order that they may be visited in routine with the least loss of time and 194 strength. If one will hold himself rigidly to this order, at a glance he can tell just how far he has gone since the date indicated on Card 1. If a special reason should cause him to deviate from the path laid out, go back to the point of deviation and go on with the established order. After visiting, whatever the occasion, enter the date upon the card. This system enabled a minister of my acquaintance to prove the falsity of a charge made by one of his vestry that he had neglected the sick. He showed that he was very unusually faithful as a visiting pastor. But the ordinary value of this posting lies in its monitory use to the minister. It will tell him that he is going too frequently to one house, and not so often as he should to another. Posting The lists of families, individuals, and corn- register municants, contained in the Parish Register should not be posted oftener than once a year, in a small and fairly settled parish; but in a large or rapidly changing parish, twice a year may be advisable. This, of course, presuppos- ing that some sort of a careful and complete record exists elsewhere every day of the year. The Anglican Prayer Book contains a rubric requiring communicants to receive the Holy Communion at least three times a year, Easter being one. The purpose appears to be to name a minimum amount of devotion which the Church is willing to accept in her discipline as necessary THE PARISH REGISTER, ETC. 195 to "regular" if not "good standing." There is of course good reason to expect every communi- cant will desire to receive the Sacrament at these periods. And there ought to be some way by which a minister can keep account of such evi- dence of spiritual vitality amongst his people. In a large congregation, it is impossible for commnni- * if l7*l. l. n ct cards a minister to remember whether he has seen all his recorded communicants at the Altar within a year. And some may be receiving the Sacra- ment at other churches, in or out of the city. Some ministers, therefore, send out with their letters at Christmas or Easter, or both, a card which is to be returned, stating where and when the communicant received at the day (or within the octave) named/ 7 A communicant in qood standing, removing canon on . Transfers from one parish to another shall be entitled to, and shall procure from the Rector or Minister of the Parish or Congregation of his or her last residence, or if there be no Rector or Minister, from one of the Wardens, a certificate stating that he or she is duly registered or enrolled as a communicant in the parish or congregation from which he or she desires to be transferred; and the Rector or Minister or Warden of the Parish or Congregation to which such communi- cant may remove shall enroll him or her as a communicant when such certificate is presented, or on failure to produce such certificate through 196 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER No dismiss- ing from Church membership no fault of such communicant, upon other evi- dence of his or her being such communicant, sufficient in the judgment of the said Rector or Minister. Notice of such enrollment in such Parish or Congregation to which said Communi- cant shall have removed, shall be sent by the Rector or Minister thereof to the Rector of the Parish from which the Communicant is re- moved. The following article, taken from the Dio- cese of Kansas City, is so good that I venture to appropriate it and commend it to your use: "A letter of transfer to some other religious body, or of dismissal from membership in the Church, is sometimes asked for. The follow- ing is, substantially, the reply to such a request : "My Dear Mr. N. You have asked me to do something Almighty God could not do. You were born the son of your parents, your family is something you cannot cease to be a member of. Nothing you, nor they, nor even God Him- self can do could make you anything but a member of the family. You may call yourself by another name, live apart from them, refuse to acknowledge them, act so as to be disinherited by them ; but the fact remains you are still the son of the family and always will be. "In just the same way you were born by Holy Baptism into the One, Holy, Catholic THE PARISH REGISTER, ETC. 197 and Apostolic Church, which is the family of God; and it is as impossible for you to leave it as it is to leave your human family. You cannot cease to be a member of the Catholic Church. You may call yourself what you please, do or believe what you like, you may be excommunicated, that is, disinherited, but you cannot be unborn, you cannot get away from the fact that you are a member of God's family. "The only way one can come into the Cath- olic Church is by being baptized, born into it. Belief and conduct do not make one a member of the Church any more than believing you were the son of the family, and living like they lived, would make you such. It is the fact of birth, not of faith or manner of life that makes you the son of the family either of man or God. "There is only one Church, the Holy Cath- olic Church which Christ established. All other Christian organizations, call themselves what they will, are societies established by men, and have come into being long after Christ was on earth; so they cannot be the Church He established. There are three divisions of the Catholic Church : the Eastern, Roman, and Ang- lican. One may pass from one into the other, or be transferred from one parish to another, 198 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER but no one can be dismissed from the Church or handed over to any human society. "Canon law requires every priest to be at- tached to some diocese, so every layman is ex- pected to be attached to some parish. The Church knows no such thing as either a priest or layman released from membership some- where: hence dismissal from the Church is im- possible. You can be transferred to another parish, but not dropped from the Church. "You may refuse to exercise, or may be ex- cluded from, the privileges of membership in the Church; but you can never cease to be a member of it, either in time or eternity. For- sake Her if you will, but Her door will be always open for your return, and a hearty wel- come will always await your homecoming. I pray God it may not be long delayed." Reports to A canon of General Convention says: "It shall be the duty of every Minister of this Church in charge of a Parish or Congregation, or, if there be no Minister in charge, of th& Churchwardens, or other proper officer, to pre- pare upon the blank form adopted by the Gen- eral Convention a report for the year ending December 31st preceding, and to deliver the same on or before the first day of every annual Convention to the Bishop of the Diocese or Mis- sionary District, or, where there is no Bishop, to THE PARISH REGISTER, ETC. 199 the presiding officer of the Convention. This report shall include the following information: (1) the number of baptisms, confirmations, mar- riages, and burials during the year; the total number of baptized persons and communicants at the time of the report; (2) a. summary of all receipts and expenditures, from whatever source derived, and for whatever purpose used; and (3) a statement of the property held by the Par- ish, whether real or personal, with an appraisal of its value, together with a statement of the indebtedness of the Parish, if any, and of the amount of insurance carried. And every minis- ter not in charge of any Parish or Congregation shall also report his occasional services, and, if there have been none, the causes or reasons which have prevented the same. And these reports, or such parts of them as the Bishop may deem proper, shall be entered in the Journal. The Fiscal year shall begin January 1. All accounts, having to do with the receipt, and expenditure, or investments of money of all church organizations, shall be audited at the close of each year by a certified public account- ant; provided, however, that if the amount of income for the year, as shown by the account, shall be less than $3,000, or if a certified public accountant is not available, the audit may be made by an accountant bookkeeper in no way connected with the subject matter of the account, 200 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER This is ordinarily a considerable task, and it is often shirked. Like several other canon- ical duties, it tests the character of the min- ister for honesty, systematic thoroughness, and punctuality. It means that he must have his parish lists posted up to date, and be ready to account for every soul in his cure. He must see that the parish treasurer has his accounts accurately kept, the funds properly distributed, and balanced. He must have certified to the accuracy of the accounts the totals of which he will report of all organizations in the par- ish. It is unhappily true that now and then a minister has been known to have been influ- enced in making his report by a desire to make an appearance of parochial strength or weak- ness not justified by the facts. Failure to make these reports accurately and promptly will inter- fere seriously with very important administra- tive functions of the diocese and national Church. repor? ^ e minister should also be prepared, and see that the officers of his vestry are prepared, to make to the Bishop on the occasion of his official visitation of the parish, any reports that he may call for. It is the Bishop's prerogative in visiting the congregations of his diocese "to examine their condition, inspect the behavior of the Clergy, administer Confirmation, preach THE PARISH REGISTER, ETC. 201 the Word, and at his discretion celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper." Where an elaborate service is planned by the minister or choirmaster on the occasion of the Episcopal visitation there is frequently some disappointment unless the Bishop's wishes in the matter have been first ascertained. 25 Pastor is a shepherd, ergo a visitor Pastor and congregation co-operate in visiting PASTORAL VISITS You WILL OBSERVE that our Lord's most graphic simile of Himself is, "I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep." He tells us how the good shep- herd leaveth the ninety and nine already in the pasture, and goeth after the one which is lost. So, in the ordinal, the Church charges the dea- con to search for the sick and the poor and im- potent people, and directs priests to seek for Christ's sheep that are scattered abroad. This means pastoral visiting. It is very important that the congregation and minister should cooperate in this matter of visiting. The congregation should be taught, if necessary, that the first duty of the minister in the matter of visiting is not to those who may be regarded as the faithful part of the congre- gation, but to those who have become careless and unfaithful; and after these, to those who have never known the Master. Putting the matter in the right light before your people, you can secure the services of many of them in helping you to "canvass the parish," urging wanderers to return, and strangers to come to PASTORAL VISITS 203 the services of the Church; while all, knowing that you are actually doing the first pastoral duties first, will pardon a long delayed visit upon themselves. This whole matter of pastoral visiting Pastoral should stand upon a much higher and holier sacred plane than it often does. It is not merely a uy concession to an unreasonable demand of the people; but it is an act of obedience to the command of Christ. There is a divine law back of the fact that "a house-going parson makes a church-going people." When a minis- ter goes to visit anyone, it should be in the spirit of a prayer that his words may be ac- ceptable to God and helpful to the person ad- dressed. He should have a consciousness that certainly at such a time "for every idle word, God will bring him into judgment." If, in- stead of bringing back the lost into the fold, he drive one away from it; if he call in vain be- cause his voice is that of a hireling and not a shepherd, he may bear forever the responsibility for a lost soul. It is undoubtedly true that some may have a vocation to other ministerial duties, and not to those of the pastorate. But if a man accepts pastoral responsibilities he must not shirk them. There is a time when all ministers feel it Difficulties . 11 i i must not a hardship to go out and make parochial visits, deter The unfinished sermon, or Bible class lecture, 204 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER the interesting book or the inclement weather detains them. But where a pastor, after some experience, habitually yields to the inclination not to go, because he thinks it is a waste of time, it probably is so a waste of his time and that of his people. If he goes they will regret it as much as he. The minister should either become converted to his vocation, or be relieved from its responsibilities. Pastor's It is a habit of human nature to make the helpful discoveries best showing possible when in company. Every- body puts on his best clothes to go to church. There are congregations in which the best dressed women are amongst the poorest, just because they have on the clothes that rich rela- tives hand over quarterly. Vestrymen often think these people should give more money to the Church. The minister should be able to guess at the situation, having been in the home, and, possibly having been verbally enlightened. The cases are not few in which the men do not go to church because they have but one suit of clothes, and it doesn't go well with the family attire. Many are the delayed baptisms and confirmations arising from inability to buy the clothes. Many are the "occasional church- goers" who think they cannot afford to rent sittings or pay a weekly pledge. And many are they who suffer, more or less innocently, from the adverse criticism of the church "pillars," PASTORAL VISITS 205 because they are trying to "keep up appear- ances" in the community. Now a minister with tact and sympathy can do a great deal towards amalgamating such people with the congregation, securing such mutual understanding as he may, without viola- ting a confidence. Then there are the ancient wounds, some- times kept open by children's children. To * know what these are at first hand, one must know the people and the battle-ground. Some pastors decline to hear any recital of any alleged misdoing other than that of the complainant. To suddenly gag a mouth opened for the relief of the mind, is a capital operation that should not be resorted to in the first instance. The pastor ought to be able to trust himself not to repeat parish gossip. The fangs will be more safely removed after the venom has been dis- charged. But in such cases and in all cases be Being just careful not to offend the speaker's sense of jus- tice by taking the part over strongly of the per- son spoken against. Unless you are sure from adequate knowledge, that malicious injury is being wantonly done, and that such injury is habitual, do not severely rebuke the speaker. Even in such a case, never lose your temper, but speak judicially, kindly, firmly, and, if pos- sible, endeavor to bring the speaker to a better 206 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER mind before leaving. Such cases are not infre- quently met with where there has been a parish row under a previous rector. Then they will appear early in the new incumbency. confidences -^ me es P ec i a Uj warn you against giving any confidences until you thoroughly know your people, and then only where some important end is to be secured. Above all, never let a confi- dence given by you reflect upon your good sense, your integrity with respect to truthfulness, or your ability to keep a secret. Never be so proud of your weaknesses or of your virtues that you scatter the knowledge of them like garlic or roses in your own path. The people will find out both soon enough. Moreover, even the most trustworthy per- sons in your parish will admire the self-control of a pastor who can get along without sympathy in those sorrows which are distinctly personal, and in those difficulties which it is his business to meet and overcome. This does not mean that one may not wisely seek counsel and advice in issues grave enough to affect parochial interests in a large degree, and where cooperation may secure needed assistance. Sometimes, during pastoral visiting one may unite a parish in a common purpose by effecting a spirit of co- operation with the pastor in an issue in which PASTORAL VISITS 207 he alone could do little. But in such cases one must be on his guard against starting a prairie fire. Parochial visiting should proceed, as far as possible, systematically. There are four kinds : four klnds (1) to the sick; (2) for spiritual counsel; (3) for acquaintance' sake; (4) for inquiry or solicitation. These will not necessarily b$ made in the order above named. Indeed one visit will often serve two or three purposes. But, ' Method of visiting the sick always takes precedence ; after procedure that will come other occasional visits in the way of embracing a passing opportunity. Then go to your list of unfaithful communicants. When you have done your best with it for the time being, look at your list of those who have no religious status in the community. After you have made a reasonable effort in that direc- tion, look over your list of faithful communi- cants to see if you can find one or two men or women who will follow up what you have done and add their influence. Indeed, if the pastor works along that line he is likely to get all of his communicants busy in missionary work, and meantime, to have called upon all his "regular congregation." Such a method of procedure will give char- Advantage acter and purpose to his visiting, and will keep 208 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Previous announce- ment Effective spiritual counsel and common- sense the conversation in wholesome, helpful, relig- ious channels. In some city parishes, the pastor either an- nounces to his congregation, or sends notice by mail, saying that on such afternoons in the week he intends visiting the people of his congrega- tion who reside in certain named blocks. This is usually a precarious procedure, but it is sometimes effective of good results Of visiting the sick I have spoken else- where. Of visiting for spiritual counsel much might be said. This is the real business of the pastor; but it requires more than a spiritually minded pastor to make a success of it. It re- quires a man of good common-sense and with a fair knowledge of human nature. To take a woman from a half -finished baking or washing, or from the dressing of the children, and to engage her in conversation upon the state of her soul, will probably be unproductive of the best results. If the man has sense enough to tell her he will return at some hour she may name, on that or some other day, he will make a better start. But even then he must be able to estab- lish a point of contact in something of mutual interest. One cannot expect to do good and to be welcomed a second time, if he goes into every home with a set speech, lecture, sermon, or prayer. Desirable as it may be that the peo- ple should always welcome their pastor imme- PASTORAL VISITS 209 diately into their confidence, they will not do so as a rule. Confidence must grow ; it cannot be forced. If the pastor does not know the person well, or know something about the per- son's spiritual or material affairs, he must dis- creetly draw out such information as will give him a ground and direction for approach. It is, therefore, probably necessary that his first visit will have mostly the nature of a visit for acquaintance sake ; but it need not be devoid of some words upon a spiritual theme, that will remain in the mind of the one addressed. \ 7 isits for acquaintance sake are made either Furthering acquaintance upon strangers or upon those who are prac- tically such. Do not be too inquisitive. If you are newly arrived in the parish, don't criticise anything or anybody, but express your pleasure in everything possible, and also your hope that everyone will find something he can do for the work of the Master and His Kingdom. Keep that idea in your mind, and convey it to all do something for the Master. If it is to come to a service, do it not only to worship God, but as an example to someone else. If it is to at- tend a guild meeting, do it not only to become acquainted, but to promote acquaintance, and to further the work of the guild. People like to feel that they are helping. Visiting for information or for solicitation information will be introduced in a business-like way. Say solicitation 210 Retain ministerial dignity Avoid boring what you came for. Don't begin like a cheap book-agent by the mention of a mutual friend, and gradually wheel around to the pad in your coat pocket. If you are starting a Men's Club or a Girls' Friendly Society, soliciting money for any purpose, get at it first, if it is first in your mind. If you do not, it will be said: "Yes, he pretended to call, but he really came to get," etc. In all visiting, be natural, but be at your best. Never throw aside the dignity that be- longs to a minister of Jesus Christ engaged in His official business. Do not lower yourself to anyone's plane of conversation. But do not be so supernatural that you cannot bring them to yours. Some ignorant, uncouth persons are often living on a really higher plane than some clergymen. They will never be attracted to a pastor to whom they cannot "look up." Simple language, simple dress, simple, adaptable habits, easily accommodated to the elegant drawing- room, and to the poverty-stricken hovel, must be cultivated. And don't bore your people especially the ones you like best. Do not imagine that because you are warmly welcomed, and are requested not to "be in a hurry," that your visit has been mutually agreeable, or that the hosts have not said "He is a sticker," when you have gone. And remember this, too, that there is not a man PASTORAL VISITS 211 or woman in your parish deeply interested in the success of your work, who will not wish you would put in your time elsewhere, if you call on him or her merely for your own pleasure. Many a clergyman has disgusted the man chiefly instrumental in calling him to his cure, by getting too familiar with him at the expense of a wide, average acquaintance with the people of the parish. 1. Use simple calling cards, written or en- graved, not printed. goodtast* 2. Wear sole-rubbers, in wet weather, and remove them before entering a parlor. Don't spoil good furniture by wet clothing. 3. It is a good plan usually to say at once, "Please tell me if my visit is in danger of interrupting your convenience in any way"; and act upon the reply. Your consideration will be appreciated. Under ordinary conditions twenty minutes is a long enough visit for a busy pastor and parishioner. Ten minutes is often too long in a business office. 4. Do not lounge, tip the chair onto its back legs, or in any other way take the initia- tive in "making yourself at home." And do not rest your head on the wall your hair con- tains enough oil to leave your mark. 5. Then go when you start. Don't show 212 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER ill-breeding by saying, "I must go," and set- tling down again, or by getting your hat, and standing at the door, conversing. 26 THE ECCLESIASTICAL CORPORATION As EEGAKDS the holding of property and the canon law fulfilment of contracts, the law of the Church conform to i . i civil law must conform, to the law of the state in whicn the property is held or the contract made. It seems still to be an open question whether whether i 1-1 1111 i 11 parish or the parochial corporation should be that body vestry is the j * i_ T, * XT. *i corporation composed 01 such members ox the congregation as under diocesan canons are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of the Parish; or whether it is that body composed of the Rector, War- dens, and Vestrymen, known as the Vestry. In some states it appears that the statutes favor the former idea, and in other states the latter. 29 However, there is no question but that, whether the canon law of the diocese concerned makes the former or the latter body the cor- poration, the vestry in all cases are the trustees vestry is for the congregation, and are empowered so to Trustees act in all matters in which they are not ex- pressly restricted by canon law, civil law, or parochial by-laws. It is characteristic of most Churchmen when they have once become incorporated as a parish, 214 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER have acquired property, and have settled down into the rut of doing a slow business, that they absolve themselves from all further responsi- bility and interest in the parish as a corpora- tion. The vestry, once elected, runs the busi- ness end of the parish, and the rector the reli- gious end, or vice versa; and there are enough vestrymen out at the annual meeting of the parish to reelect themselves for another year, or their successors, if a canon so requires. This is not peculiar to parishes, but is the custom in most corporations where matters are running satisfactorily to the stockholders. And there is nothing gained by throwing a stick into a pond just to count the ripples. congrega- But it is always important to keep the really responsibii- thoughtful, religious, and energetic people of election of the parish mindful of the fact that as members of the parish, 30 they are responsible for the conduct of the vestry just so far as their influ- ence goes at a meeting of the parish, and particularly at an election. It is from the lack of a sense of personal responsibility on the part of the laymen of the congregation, that the Church at large suffers, in comparison with some other religious bodies. Whenever an oppor- tunity is afforded for arousing and deepening this sense in level-headed Churchmen, it ought to be made the most of. Such an opportunity is the annual meeting of the parish; and it is vestry THE ECCLESIASTICAL CORPORATION 215 desirable, also, that other opportunities should Annual be made at special meetings called by the vestry parish for the purpose of submitting propositions of considerable moment to the parish, even though they may lie wholly within the jurisdiction of the vestry. Unless otherwise ordered by civil statute, Rector ' chairman the rector will be the chairman of the parish- meeting. He will call it to order, first noting whether or not a canonical quorum is present. If not, he may ask for a motion for adjourn- ment to a specified time and place. Otherwise, he will engage the congregation in prayer, and immediately following, receive nominations for a secretary or clerk. It is usually desirable that this officer be the same person as he who holds the office of clerk of the vestry, and that the cierk minute-book be the same as the minute-book of the vestry. For the two bodies have frequent occasion to consult each other's records, and the clerk in each case should be familiar with both. However, if there be no by-law or established practice in the matter, the clerk of one body should not be asked to deliver his records to an- Eecords other. In such cases there should be two books, and both kept in a safe in the church. They should not be huge quartos, nor loose-leaved books. After this election, the meeting proceeds to Business the business before it. If it be a meeting likely 216 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Polls open Nominating committee Hector's report Treasurer's report Nominations Complica- tions to transact business of much legal importance, the names of all legal voters present should be entered in the record, and every detail in the routine carefully noted. In some dioceses the canons require that the polls shall be open for one hour. In such cases, it is usual to appoint a nominating committee and tellers, announce that ballots for persons to serve as wardens and vestrymen may be handed to the tellers at any time, without waiting for the report of the nominating committee, or without being re- stricted to the persons to be so nominated. The rector may then read his report, incor- porating, if he so elects, the reports of all organ- izations under his jurisdiction or such organ- izations may report directly. It is usually canonically provided that the report of the parish treasurer shall be presented at this time, and ordered audited. When the report of the nominating commit- tee is made, other nominations are always in or- der, until a motion is made and carried that nominations be closed. All kinds of complica- tions may arise from a large number of nomi- nations. The rector should know what canon- ical directions and parliamentary precedents de- termine the ruling in each case. 81 The election having been completed, the rec- tor declares "the following named persons duly elected to serve as wardens, vestrymen," etc. THE ECCLESIASTICAL CORPORATION 217 Ideally the minutes should be written out in Minutes full and read to the meeting before adjourn- ment. This is ordinarily impracticable. They should, then, be written out and attested as soon as possible by persons present at the meeting. The new vestry should meet as soon as prac- ticable, for organization. 27 THE VESTRY composition THE COMPOSITION of a vestry depends upon of a vestry . * r A . the diocesan canons involved. The number is within various limitations, and some vestries are composed of both men and women, all men or all women ; some dioceses require that vestry- men shall be communicants, and some do not so require. The rector may have been elected by the parish at a corporate meeting, but the Eector and vestry has "called" him. The chances are, there- vestry start -11 11 as friends i ore, that the rector can count the wardens and vestrymen as his personal and official friends from the start. Sometimes this friendliness is Danger a source of corporate degeneration. The meet- ings are called at the home of the rich man, pre- ceded by a dinner. When everyone is in a thor- oughly satisfied bodily state, and the cigars are being lighted, the host says, "Well, now, parson, it's your turn at the bat." It does not seem al- together congruous to say "Let us pray," under such conditions; and yet the rector doesn't like to enter upon a vestry meeting without prayer. And, don't do it. If there is to be an informal conference on the part of Churchmen who hap- pen to be members of the vestry, why a luncheon THE VESTRY 219 or dinner often helps it along ; but a vestry-meet- Place for i i i i IT meeting mg oi record ought to be held in a duly ap- pointed place, preferably the church, and en- tered upon with the dignity that becomes the occasion. Try and have the vestrymen prompt on the Promptness given minute. Those who "come early so as to leave early," will soon not come at all, if they have to waste half an hour waiting for a quorum. Having called the meeting to order, use an open with appropriate collect such as that for the seventh, ninth, thirteenth, or nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, or the "Direct us, O Lord ." Have an order of business and stick to it. Do not al- low long digressions, though an informal word here and there ought not to be silenced. The order will be : 1. Prayer. order of business 2. Roll call. 3. Reading of Minutes. 4. Election of Clerk (first meeting). 5. Election of Treasurer (first meeting), unless canonically otherwise provided. 6. Unfinished Business. 7. Treasurer's Report. 8. ~New Business. 9. Adjournment. The rector is entitled to vote as a member of 220 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER the vestry, and in case of a tie, to vote a second time, unless forbidden by canons or statutes. useless j) o no t have useless committees, nor any that committees ' . contravene the canons. In some dioceses the wardens have the canonical responsibility of a repair committee. A music committee may, if it is active, interfere with the rector's canonical privilege and duty. A finance committee may complicate the work of the treasurer, and usurp the authority of the vestry. A financial secre- tary is usually a nuisance in a small parish. Ordinarily it is quite as well to appoint special committees as they are needed. Rector's While the canons give the rector the entire conditioned 8 control of the music which includes choir, choir-master and organist the vestry must de- termine the financial appropriations therefor. Similarly, the rector may choose his own assist- ant, but the vestry must determine the salary. The rector may appoint the sexton, and hold him subject to his orders; but the vestry fix the stipend. In short, the vestry have sole author- ity to contract a financial obligation against the parish. 82 offerings Offerings not expressly determined for spe- nottobe . , , ,. r diverted cial purposes by the canons, are at the disposal of the vestry, and cannot be diverted by the rector. 33 Borrowing It is a large part of the vestry's business to see that bills are paid sufficiently promptly to TEE VESTRY 221 protect the credit and good repute of the parish in the community. To do this it is often nec- essary, as in most corporate enterprises, to bor- row from the bank; and this ought to be done whenever a treasurer reports obligations due, or to fall due shortly, in excess of income. This is likely to occur in summer or in the early autumn. Usually the banks will not lend money on the corporate note of a church, but require personal endorsements. Some partnership con- tracts forbid members of a firm to endorse any such paper. In case of default the bank may sue any one or all of the endorsers. Hence vestrymen are often loath to make such loans. The difficulty can be met by the vestry execut- ing a paper pledging the property of the parish as security to any persons endorsing such notes. Usually one or two vestrymen whom the bank will accept as endorsers, are willing to go on the paper, and the rest do the same. This note should be met promptly, or extended by mutual agreement, or partly paid and a new note is- sued. In this way many parishes carry current deficits from Easter to Easter, or between per- iods assigned for "clearing up the debt." It is not as ideal a system as one that secures at all times a balance of funds, with all debts paid; but it is better than forcing loans on unwilling 222 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Canonical offerings Embezzle- ment creditors, or than making pathetic appeals for money five or six times a year. In all dioceses offerings are canonically re- quired, usually at fixed times, for specific pur- poses, such as the Diocesan Fund, Diocesan Mis- General Missions, etc. Any offering sions, canonically required it is the business of the vestry to collect, and as the canon directs. If the amount which the parish must give is fixed as an assessment, any deficit occurring between that amount and the offerings, must be made up from other sources. And it is the vestry's busi- ness to see that this money is remitted promptly to the proper diocesan officer, and not embezzled temporarily or permanently, for parochial pur- poses, as is the dishonest practice of many of these otherwise honorable bodies. I shall have something further to say upon this subject under the head of "Raising Money." 28 THE CHOIR THE VALUE of a choir in a mission or parish church depends upon the contribution which it is able to make towards the purposes for which the Church exists. Ideally these purposes are three or three-fold, (1) the worship of God; (2) the evangelization of unbelievers, and (3) the strengthening of spiritual forces in believ- ers. With our liturgy it is almost impossible to ignore the first purpose; but the choir may do much in that direction. If, themselves unim- pressed with the nature of their office, the chor- isters are irreverent; or if the music is badly rendered; or, worse still, if the music is of the exhibition character which centers attention upon the singers for better or for worse the spirit of worship passes from the congregation. There are some priests who almost wholly ignore the purpose of evangelization. Of course, under such direction, the music is made to ap- peal almost altogether to those who are assumed to understand the Church idea, but are in sym- pathy with its esthetic development in an art- istic sphere only. In such cases we have sheet 224 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Simple music for plain people The most useful choir is the best choir The choir- master makes or ruins music for canticles, anthems galore, and new set- tings to old hymns. And when one stops to think how primitive is the average musical capacity of a congrega- tion, it should require no argument to convince one that the simple old chants and hymn tunes which have become old because they have been loved by generations of Christian people, are the kind of music that tends to strengthen the spiritual forces of God's simple folk. What- ever may be said in support of the propriety of the most elaborate music in the worship of God and no one doubts that it is fitting on certain occasions where it can be perfectly rendered I am very strongly of the opinion that the sup- planting of the simpler music by the more ornate in our public worship, has done more to keep people from going to Church than it has done to draw them; and has militated more against the spirit of worship, than it has in its development. Then comes the question, What sort of a choir is best? And the answer is, the kind of choir that can be taught to be content with do- ing what a choir is for. And that is not so simple a matter as it seems. Your choirmaster is a professional musician, and he wants to ex- hibit his own good taste in selecting music, and his skill in instruction. The first thing you know he will be planning, with the full and en- THE CHOIR 225 thusiastic cooperation of the entire choir, to pro- duce the Messiah, the Messe Solennelle, and other like compositions, in sections or entire, with a choir five per cent, competent. And then, when you step in and say, "We do not want this from the choir," you are told that it is impossible to keep the members together with- out interesting them, and without giving several of them solo parts in the services. And it will" probably be true under this choirmaster, espe- cially after he has given the suggestion. So here is a factor of chief importance of supreme importance if the rector is not musical the choirmaster. Of course he ought to be a communicant of the Church, a fine Christ- ian gentleman, manly, deeply devotional, with a good knowledge of church music, etc., etc. But such men are exceedingly rare; and are seldom found available in a country parish. What then? Well, necessity once forced me to engage a man who was a gentleman and a mu- sician, but an agnostic. I thought God would temporarily overlook the incongruity ; and I am sure He did; for this man became a communi- cant of the Church some years later. Just do the best you can: only, don't engage a mere musician, nor a mere Episcopalian musician, nor a man or woman of bad habits, nor one who will treat you as a necessary nuisance. Get one who can teach the kind of choristers you can 226 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER probably gather, the kind of music you want sung, or the kind you can get along with but no solo practising on a congregation met for Divine worship. Male or Male choir or mixed? That depends upon mixed , . * i. j i. i choir? what a community can furnish, and what a parish can support. Probably, with our choirs in the chancel, as they usually are, the ideal "boy choir" is the ideal choir ; but as between a boy choir, half trained and half vested, and a mixed choir of men and women well, anyone in the congregation may answer. Intelligence counts for a great deal in rendering sacred mu- sic; and boys of ten and twelve years cannot be expected to have much. The choir is a considerable missionary agency when it is well managed. Boys usually gain more by its associations than girls do. And this is a factor to be considered in deciding what kind of choir to organize. Expenses It costs a good deal to put a choir into cas- socks and cottas. (The mortar-board hat is a needless and meaningless expense. ) And unless the vestments are made to fit the wearer and remember that boys outgrow them within a few months they are unsightly and offensive to good taste. Large collars, falling well over the shoulders of boys, are frequently employed to cover defects in the fit of cassocks, and with good effect. But these collars must be kept ab- THE CHOIR 227 solutely clean, and that adds considerably to the laundry bill. The cottas, too, should always be clean. A fair sized vested choir will keep a guild busy half the time in repairing and mak- ing vestments. The choir-mother will have her hands full "Choir- . mother" on bundays fitting vestments to the boys, and laying the cottas away with wrinkles smoothed out, seeing that every head is combed, and that every pair of shoes and every pair of hands is clean. And she will also see that the hair- brushes do not pass from infected to clean scalps. The brushes and combs must be washed every week. The lavatory must be kept clean, any de- Lavatory filement of it being immediately enquired into. If you cannot arrange for these necessary conditions, do not have a "boy choir." Choirmasters are sometimes poor disciplin- Discipline arians. The choristers should be impressed with the sacredness of the precincts of the church and with the sacredness of the work in which they are engaged, even in rehearsals. If a lawless or frivolous spirit once gets into a choir, it is next to impossible to eradicate it except by annihilation of the choir and choir- master. The rector should, occasionally at least, at- tend the rehearsals ; but he should never inter- fere in the presence of any chorister, with the 228 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER authority of the choirmaster. Even in a case of trouble where the choirmaster is probably wrong, have it out with the choirmaster first, and let him straighten it. If you discredit him or weaken his authority, he will be a failure. Music Get two copies of Dean Lutkin's Hale Lec- tures on Music in the Church, and read one carefully yourself, and have your choirmaster read the other. It is the best guide that you can find concerning what to do and what not to do. (Morehouse Publishing Co., Milwau- kee, $1.00.) 29 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL As THIS SUBJECT now commands a course by itself in our seminaries, I shall here mention but a few matters. First, from every point of view, the Sun- Greatest day school represents the greatest interest of of the j.1- /^ii- T. Church the Church. Our Lord's emphasis upon the value of children as children, His "suffer the little chil- dren to come unto Me," remains perpetually mandatory upon His priests. Moreover, as a matter of mere diplomacy, any clergyman knowing that the children of to-day are the men and women of a few years later, should realize that in the children lies the future strength or weakness of the Church. It is commonplace to say that the time to lay the foundations of character, is in child- hood. If the clergy are not as foolish as the state, they will endeavor to inculcate such re- ligious principles in children, as will save them from the need of reformatory forces in later years. And who does not know that the hearts of parents follow their children? The clergyman 230 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER who enters upon his ministry by telling his people that his first work is going to be for the children, and who insists upon the parishioners making this their first parochial work, will, if he is a man of good sense, have the best part of the community with him ere long, if he persists. Attractive And one of the things necessary is to over- accessories . i i .I i come the idea that no special conveniences or attractions are necessary for the Sunday school. They are just as necessary, and more so, than for the public school. The children should have a well ventilated room or rooms, comfortable seats, good music, interesting lesson material, and competent teachers. As a matter of de- cency whatever the size of the school there should be separate toilets for the boys and the girls, with different approaches. (It is aston- ishing how many parishes neglect this desidera- tum.) It is next to impossible to have a suc- cessful Sunday school, to which parents will wish to send their children, and to which chil- dren will wish to go, unless hygienic and decent conditions prevail. The fewer It is both bad policy and bad religion to the children, , , ,. ,.,% t/ ,, . . , the more neglect the lew children there are in a parish, because there are not more. "It isn't worth while to try to do much with the Sunday school, because there are so few children to be had," is a confession of mental weakness. But, having said this much, let me add, THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 231 that the pastor should never allow his parish- Farenta L,. responsibih- ioners to think for a moment that the Sunday released school is intended to relieve parents of the duty of cultivating the religious instincts of their children. Always have in mind a few books which you can recommend to mothers to read to the little ones when they put them to bed. Probably the greatest knowledge of the Bible and its teachings which men and women have in mature years, was obtained in this way. And it is just possible that in some communities, through early neglect of the Sunday school, and A last perhaps because of conditions which cannot be at once overcome, it may be necessary, in order to save children from forming a hatred of the Church, and disgust for religion, on account of what they would have to endure in a Sunday school it may be necessary to instruct parents how to instruct their children at home. At one time I deliberately reduced a Sunday school fifty per cent, in this way, in order to secure time to find competent teachers. The modern treatises on Sunday school meth- ods are exceedingly important. The time has passed by when there is any excuse for dealing with children as though there were no science of pedagogy. And it is not enough that a mother has '^brought up six children." She 232 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER may not know much about her own, and a great deal less about others'. On the other hand, a scientifically trained teacher, who merely interests children, ; keeps good order, and has them learn the lessons, may purpose of be absolutely useless so far as the first purpose school ' of the Sunday school is concerned. To lay foundations for the development of religious character in a God-fearing and God-loving life, is the business of the Sunday school. To know how to do this is the science of Religious Peda- gogy. And this must be one of the first and constant studies of a faithful minister. 84 30 OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THE PARISH exists only as a part of the Church. Almost invariably the parish that practically forgets this fact, dies of dry-rot; while the parish that makes the most of it, flourishes. One way to encourage the broader Encouraging . . i broader hie of a parish, is to organize within it some interests of the general and diocesan societies, such as the General Woman's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions, the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, the Girls' Friendly Society, etc. Such organizations afford a method for doing church work, quite as good as any you can invent work that it is the duty of every parish to be doing and the stimulus that comes from the whole body to the individual members, makes for stability, encouragement, fraternity. Before starting such an organization, become familiar with its by-laws. 35 And. then there are parochial societies or- Parochial ganized to meet some real need, such as the Men's Club, the Young People's League, the Parish Guild, the Altar Guild, etc. It is a good rule never to organize a society unless you can find a competent leader. And it is safe to say 234 Federation Ideals limiting practical usefulness that you can always have as many useful societies as you can find competent leaders. And when you lose such a leader, or when the work for which the society was organized has been accomplished, or when interest fails and is not likely to be revived, suspend the meet- ings or disband the organization before it dies. Do not be responsible for wasting your people's time, and burdening their consciences with a sense of duty, by urging them to attend useless meetings. In order to unify the guild work of a parish and so prevent friction, it is a good plan to bind all organizations into a federation under one set of officers. This federation will meet once or twice a year. Its officers will be the Rector's Council. These officers will have fre- quent meetings with the officers of the organi- zations, discuss and divide up the work to be done, the times and places for entertainments, sales, etc. I suppose every clergyman has attacks of ideals. Normally, they are good things, but abnormally they are dangerous. Ideals are things to be worked towards, hoped for, but not hurried into realization, as a rule. When one begins to think about an ideal worship, an ideal congregation, and ideal way of raising money, an ideal way of securing Christian fellowship in the household of faith, he is pretty OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 235 apt to overlook something, and become foolish. For example, he will say he doesn't "believe in having sales and bazaars, for the glory of God. The people have got to give their money out of hand." Well, that sounds right ; but if some people can give their time and their labor and have not the money, why not let them do it? Moreover, crass as it seems, God made us so that eating and drinking are media of fellow- ship; and fellowship is really necessary to the well-being of human society; and the Church militant is on earth. Unless the Churchfolk of your parish are more than usually ethereal or snobbish, don't be hasty in issuing your bull against sales and dinners and entertainments, so long as they are properly conducted and do not involve the sacredness of the church build- ing. But if the Church's services are tem- porarily held in a parish house or in a rented store; under such conditions there will be no real offense in using the room for social pur- poses, if the Altar is not exposed. It ought not to be necessary, but let us Raffles, etc. make a paragraph to warn anyone who may need it, against allowing a raffle or other form of gambling, or any other violation of civil law, in connection with the activities of a parish. 236 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER SOCIAL SERVICE service Whatever percentage of the Church's busi- ness Social Service may be conceived to be, our Lord's definition of the term "neighbor," His statement as to which is the second com- mandment of the Law, and His description of the basis of the final Judgment of man, would seem to justify an opinion that altruism ought to be a very distinct characteristic of the Church's teaching and practice. shirking Qf course every clergyman will understand that it is the duty of his congregation to look after the material needs of the poverty-stricken people connected with the parish church; and sometimes this is a heavy burden upon a small alms fund. To do anything more than this along the line of social betterment, never occurs to some of our clergy. True, they may find that there is a tenement in which there have been several cases of typhoid and some of tuberculo- sis; but that is a matter that belongs to the Health Department to attend to. There are some children in the Sunday school who work in the canning factory, the woolen mill, or pos- sibly in the mine; but that is a matter for the Board of Education to look after. A boy was seen carrying a can of beer out the back door of a saloon yesterday ; but that is a matter that belongs to the Police Department. It is said OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 237 that some prostitutes are living not far from the High School; but that, again, is a matter that belongs to the police. And so it is with all violations of the laws of morals and health it is somebody's business, but not the minister's. But to the minister who regards himself not only as a citizen, but as one of the most influential citizens in town, and in addition to that, a man whose business it is to make and mould public opinion into conformity with Christian standards of righteousness; the in- terests of every individual wronged through the apathy of public servants or because of defec- tive laws, appeal to him as his own interests. And he is in a better position to help right these wrongs than if the wrongs were his own. It is quite probable that a minister may render a great service to the community through his sermons in which, having dealt with under- sermons lying religious principles, he illustrates or points his application by reference to specific local wrongs. But there is no use of creating a public opinion unless that opinion has some vehicle of expression. That means organiza- tion. Now, looking facts in the face, there is in Getting almost every community, more or less jealousy between the religious bodies. If one under- takes a popular movement, at least some of the others will antagonize it, or hold aloof; but if 238 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Temperate talk and proper occasions all the bodies of Christian people will unite in such a movement at its inception, they can carry almost any local reform, though no one body alone would be strong enough to accom- plish much. Indeed, if there is any non-relig- ious body whose interest can be had in such a movement, it is so much to the good. In such a case, if you set the movement going, be very certain about your facts. Don't mix up in political affairs without inside in- formation of strictest reliability. Then con- sult with some of your laymen, and talk mat- ters over with the most congenial of the sec- tarian ministers. After a while you will get all the ministers in town together, and with some of your and their laymen, if feasible. No fire-works are desirable, but plain, earnest, considerate planning of ways and means. Then organize in your own parish, if you have the material and you probably will have if you dig for it a Social Service Agency. Or you may be content with just one person to assist you, or to represent you if necessary, 'n this work. It will take some money, and to get it will be one of the uses of this agency, or "Secretary." Do not attempt more than one thing at a time; and don't talk your people sick about it. There are subjects about which it is not de- sirable to speak in detail from the pulpit, but OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 239 which can be handled frankly at a special meet- ing of mature people, called for the purpose. If you need literature upon the subject of Literature Social Service, take your Living Church An- nual, find "Social Service Commissions", and write to someone probably the secretary of the Social Service Commission of General Con- vention. The great trouble about all these "move- Blowing up ments" is that they are sprung by an unpre- pared minister upon an unprepared congrega- tion, and then the minister talks and preaches about nothing else till he has no congregation to which to preach. And let me here advise you of a plan which Tammany is essentially that of one of the most powerful political organizations in this country. It is a method by which you can reach your entire parish in a day with human voices instead of postal cards. You are the general. You appoint three colonels for men and three for women. Each group of colonels appoints nine captains, each colonel being responsible for three captains. Each captain, similarly is responsible for three lieutenants. Each lieutenant is responsible for three corporals. Each corporal is responsible for three privates. Each officer and each private is to obey the order of his superior. The rector 240 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER has received a telegram that the Bishop is pass- ing through town and will stop for an hour at the rectory. Tell your colonels to get a crowd into the parish house at exactly 12 :45 p. M. for a word of welcome and a four-minute reply. In ten minutes there will be a congestion in the telephone exchange. But if it is a matter of reaching all the members of the congrega- tion for a parish meeting, or all of the Men's Club, within a day or two, that is easy. Of course such a system requires a good deal of preliminary work, and a good deal of oversight to keep it in running order; but it has proven tremendously efficient in large and Distributes small parishes. Perhaps its greatest value con- sense of - !_ _C I responsi- sists in making so many leel a sense 01 respon- sibility for any and every parochial concern. If the system is not frequently used and it ought not to be used when the occasion does not warrant it should be tried out once a month to see what link is missing in the mesh ; and report should be made to the manager of repairs. A single guild or club could be or- ganized in this manner; or all the guilds could be so cooperated. Rector The rector will know and he will have the controls . organization people understand that no organization except the vestry, can exist in the 'parish without his consent, and that he has the sole charge of each OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 241 society except in so far as he delegates respon- sibility to officers. It is sometimes, perhaps always, best for him to appoint the directors or presidents, especially so if elections are likely to follow the first nomination, or to be governed by tradition or sentiment. At least once a year all organizations will Report to present their reports to the rector, accompanied by their books and accounts, for audit. And the members of these organizations have a right to expect that this audit shall be exacting and businesslike. If you do not want the work, appoint a good bookkeeper to do it one who will separate a contribution of a pair of shoes from the cash column, and put them where they belong. A parish may easily be over-organized if the over- . . . i i organized organizations are not efficient; but a rector has if useless little cause for complaint on account of the time they require of him, if they are useful. Of course they take time ; but that is one thing he has his time for; and he will frequently do more in ten minutes at an organization's meet- ing than he can do in a whole day outside. 31 Sector's duty to see that his people give money RAISING MONEY "!T is NO PAKT of the rector's business to raise money," is a saying very popular with some of the clergy. But if giving money is a Christian duty, along with saying one's prayers, then it is a part of the rector's business to see that money is raised and that his people give it. It may not be the part of the husband to wash dishes; but if his wife is sick and there is no maid, if he is half a man, he will wash dishes with alacrity. Most western missions and parishes afford ample opportunity, because of almost univers- ally "exceptional circumstances," for the rector to take an active part in the money raising. He may have some good business men on his vestry and finance committee ; but they may be under the delusion that a voluntary society like a parish, can be "run on business principles"; and in business the individual looks for the largest possible returns from the smallest in- vestment of time and capital; so the laymen may not be active. It is a great and good work to educate a vestry to do the money getting. Granted that the rector will not relieve the RAISING MONEY 243 vestry from any of the responsibility that be- Rector J .11- T and vestry longs to it in looking alter the temporalities, co-operate yet it is certain that the rector can do a great deal of what the vestrymen cannot do along that line; and if conditions warrant his doing a little or much, he ought to do it. First, he ought to see that there is an estimate made of the probable income and expenses of the parish at the beginning of the year. If the former is less than the latter, some "business man" will say, "We must cut the garment to the cloth." It is then time for the rector to re- mark, "There is a great difference between the actual income of this parish and its resources. Giving is largely a matter of conscience and of interest. It is conceivable that our income might be quadrupled. Don't let us spoil the garment until we see whether we have unfolded the cloth." Now the ordinary income of a parish comes from (1) pew rents, (2) pledged current offer- ings, (3) unpledged current offerings, (4) Eas- ter and Christmas offerings. 1. Some good people feel that renting pews p e w- is wrong in principle, because it seems to put the man with a gold ring in the best seat in the house of God. While one might note in passing that our Lord's criticism was upon a custom fol- lowed in what we would call a "free church," 3 ' yet waiving that fact, let us observe that in rent- 244 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER ing pews it is often customary to consider (a) the size of the family, (b) the probable fre- quency of attendance, and (c) the named amount which the applicant can give as pew- rent. I have known a $75 pew to be rented for $5 a year, and the richest family to prefer a rear seat near the door. Renting and assign- ing seats, by a discreet pew committee, need not involve the difficulty of unhappy discrimination between rich and poor. And, as for the further difficulty of holding sittings until belated pos- sessors appear, and then having them resentful if some stranger is seated with them; that can be made a matter of previous contract. In my own experience of twenty years in a pew-rented church, I recall no difficulty of this sort. It is generally confined to a few bad Christians in a few parishes. The advantages of the rented pew system are: (1) The American is more likely to pay for a "value received," than on a pledge. (2) The family pew helps to get the family out to services. (3) The family pew affords a place for family books, and conveniences. (4) The rector can tell who is absent. Pledge- 2. But the "Pledge Svstem" is often the system 1 i i e i better way 01 accomplishing the end now m view. If the building is small and the diversity of income marked, between members of the con- gregation, probably more money can be realized RAISING MONEY 245 by asking for pledges, and making sittings free though sittings may be assigned under this regimen. (And perhaps those who have bad ears, and desire to come regularly, might be as- signed sittings.) 3. Then there is the "loose offering" "Plate- ( which is usually "tight." Its ostensible pur- pose is to give everyone a chance to give some- thing for the support of the Church's work; and the pew-renter puts in his additional coin, and the pledge-maker puts in his envelopes, and the "occasional visitor" puts in his contribution. This would be the ideal way of supporting the Church if it were not for the fact that there are so many wet Sundays, and that the nickels slide under the envelopes, and the fact that so many people over-emphasize 'the Lord's loving a cheerful giver.' This offering can be made fairly regular in amount by having a special pledge for pew-renters, upon which they agree to give so much per Sunday as their offering, whether present or not. I have known a differ- ence of about 30 per cent, in the "plate-offer- ing" to be realized by this means in the course of a year. 4. But the two "special offerings" that most Christmas poor missions, unfortunately, have to count on to get them out of debt, are those of Christmas and Easter. A great many of the clergy do not realize that of all offerings, the one on Christ- 246 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER mas Day may be made to appeal most strongly to their people, in spite of the awful drain upon their resources which the extravagances of this secularized season seem to necessitate. "It is the Birthday of your Saviour. Will you not reserve your best gift for Him ?" is an appeal that will be listened to and acted upon if made as early as December first. Easter The Easter festival, following upon a good Lent, finds our Churchpeople either in a devout frame of mind or with a bad conscience. Both conditions are favorable to a good offering; and if such an offering is not realized, it is a sign of mismanagement somewhere. The people are ready to give. In my judgment the rector neg- lects his duty if he does not put some object be- fore them that should invite liberality, and so put it before them that they will respond. Of course the rector will not relieve the vestrymen from their responsibility in the matter: but it is right that he should enter heartily into their effort, and supplement their efforts, even to the , extent of doing most of the work. Motive in I have no sympathy with the notion that the holiest time even Holy Week is too sacred to urge upon Christians amongst other religious matters, their duty to give money for Christ's sake. But, be sure when you do this, that you are doing it for Him, and not merely to get your back salary, nor to make a reputation for RAISING MONEY 247 yourself. If the Easter offering is to pay you anything, don't touch the subject. But if it is to remove an old debt, go towards a new build- ing, pay a missionary apportionment, or enable the parish to enlarge its work, do not be too pious to write letters, make visits, and preach about it in its fair proportion, at any time not otherwise preempted. So far as the rector is concerned in raising sincerity money, he should speak of the matter sincerely simplicity and simply, as a religious duty, with no more embarrassment than he would feel in asking people to say their prayers. But he should go at it sympathetically, knowing that the financial ability of most people is over-estimated, and that their family obligations are seldom known. He should remember that in business, a man's credit is often his capital, and that to be thought poor, would be his ruin. Take no money for the Church, if you know that it belongs to the unpaid grocer. Tell your people to pay their past-due debts first, and give afterwards. If you have good reason to know a man is lying to you, don't be impressed. Perhaps the lesson might be on Ananias and Sapphira some Sun- day. Then preach a sermon showing why the incident found place in Holy Scripture be- cause Ananias and Sapphira were types of a class of men and women who in their Church relations are untruthful in financial matters. 248 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Only avoid personalities use "we," not "you," nor "a man I know." visual Visual stimuli are very helpful in raising money. Some of these work more upon the principle of letting one's light shine before men, than not letting the left hand know what the right hand doeth. picture If you want to build anything, get a picture made of it as it will appear ; and let the picture be a work of art. A picture of the proposed new church will help the vestry to authorize the movement, and it will help its members in their subscriptions. This picture in the show- window of the best store in town will bring a notice in the newspaper to the effect that "The new building for St. John's Episcopal Church will be a credit to our already beautiful city" ; and that notice will bring some subscriptions from townspeople as such. Blank- By this time you will have secured some decent little blank-books of about four pages and a cover. On the cover is printed the words : "Subscriptions for St. John's Church, Ephesus, Illinois. Solicited by ." On the inside, is a half-tone of the building, and ruled lines for dates, names, amount of subscriptions, and when paid or to be paid. These books should be small enough to slip easily into a pocket. Then get Distribution these books into the hands of every trustworthy man and woman of your parish. Get the guilds RAISING MONET 249 thoroughly interested, but not hysterical. So far as you can, see that the right person solicits from important individuals, remembering that Personal , , , . . . equation the psychological factor in some cases is going to make the difference between $5 and $500. Giving is largely a matter of being interested. Having a record of the books, see that someone Accountant keeps track of what is being done. Don't worry your solicitors; but have them impressed with Activity the idea that all must strike while the iron is hot. Pretty soon another subscription for a Y. M. C. A. probably will be on the street. Get ahead of it. Have a bulletin, perhaps in Bulletin the form of an area of cardboard divided into as many squares as you need dollars, posted up where at least your own people can see it oc- casionally. Blot out neatly in blue water-color, the squares that represent subscriptions made, from day to day or from week to week. Some- times the diagram is large enough to put the names of subscribers over the squares represent- ing their subscriptions. This plan works partic- ularly well in case of the purchase of ground so many feet front, and so many feet deep. Sometimes it is well to have subscriptions in L egai notes the form of legal promises to pay, that will be allowed in a probate court for not infrequently a very important undertaking is wrecked after 250 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Collecting canonical offerings Separate dates Budget Duplex envelope Every- member canvass its apparent successful completion, by the death of the principal subscriber. Following are several methods of securing offerings for canonical purposes : 1. Scattering the dates for taking these collections, and giving notice only immediately before the time of each. The advantage of this plan is that it invites giving upon the merits of the object, specifically set forth by an appeal, unprejudiced by other objects. 2. Combining all the objects into a budget, and asking for a lump sum from the parishion- ers, to be divided in some approved ratio be- tween each object named. The advantages of this plan are (1) that it enables the giver to know in advance what the objects are to which he will be called upon to give; (2) it assures some help to the unpopular object; (3) it does not depend upon the presence of a congregation at a given time. The disadvantage is that it is more or less "cold-blooded," inviting a contribu- tion without the stimulus of either the knowl- edge or appeal that can be given under plan 1, above. 3. The Duplex-Envelope is a means of securing systematic offerings weekly, for two purposes at once. It usually goes with an "every member" canvass of the parish, in which the effort is to secure a definite pledge from each person, for two objects, payable on Sun- RAISING MONEY 251 Special Treasurer days, in the envelopes. These objects may be "Parish Support," and "Missions," or any other objects. Its chief advantages are (1) encour- agement of methodical giving, (2) dividing up a large sum into small installments, (3) en- couragement to go to church for the envelope is a reminder. The disadvantages (which seem to be chiefly theoretical) are (1) it is something of a bother to get the right change into the right envelope, and (2) for the treasurer to keep cor- rect account of payments. An "every member canvass" of a parish ought to make almost any system successful that is associated with it. It is often desirable to have a special treas- urer for a fund that requires a large amount of work ; but such treasurer should pay over funds to the parish treasurer, that they may be prop- erly entered upon his books, before being remit- ted to their destination. Try and keep everyone good-natured and Good-nature . J .. ..f *xl. v i andconsid- conscientious, with a sense of the religious value erateness of the matter, while any financial scheme is un- der way. And don't forget that a family of husband and wife and four children are giving a good deal when they rent a pew, make offer- ings on Sundays, special contributions at Christ- mas and Easter, pay dues to the Woman's Auxil- iary, Men's Club, Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Sunday School, Choir fund, and make donations 252 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER in kind to supply materials for sales and din- ners. Don't make religious privileges so ex- pensive as to be prohibitive; and don't expect others to make sacrifices that you are not willing yourself to make to at least an equal extent. 32 KEEPING ACCOUNTS Because every minister has to handle trust funds, he ought to know how to keep track of them. He should also know how to instruct the treasurers of guilds to keep their accounts and to make their reports. He need not be an expert bookkeeper, but he must be ordinarily intelligent and accurate. Embezzlement is a crime, and misappropriation of funds is suffi- cient ground for deposition from the Ministry. Hardly any two business houses keep their books in exactly the same way; but the funda- mental principles of bookkeeping are universal. 1. A person who owes money is a debtor "Dr." 2. A person who pays money is a creditor "Or." 3. The amount owed is a debt. 4. The amount paid is a credit. A person receiving money as an agent be- comes a debtor to his principal by the amount received ; and the person paying money becomes a creditor by the amount paid. So, when a minister as agent for a parish, receives an offer- ing, he becomes a debtor to the parish by the 254 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER amount received ; and he cannot relieve himself from that debt until he properly disburses that money, and so becomes a creditor by an equal amount. Sometimes an offering for a special object may remain in his hands for many months, and he must be careful not to lose track of it or merge it with other funds. In a large parish, where the rector is likely to have several trust funds in his keeping, it will be necessary to keep a ledger; but ordinarily a cashbook with a few columns for distributing receipts and disbursements, will be adequate. The blank forms furnished by order of Gen- eral Convention for annual reports from par- ishes and missions, must furnish the basis for the minister's account books. These forms combine items for which the vestry is responsible with those for which the rector is responsible. They assume that the rector will submit to the parish treasurer annually a full financial report of all the organizations under his control, as well as an analyzed statement of his own official accounts. His own accounts must show the following items under Receipts: (1) Communion Alms, (2) Discretionary Fund; and under Disbursements, (1) For the Poor, (2) For any of the other thirty-two objects named in the list for which the rector disburses from his funds. There will be several other objects for which he receives and disburses funds officially from time to time. In KEEPING ACCOUNTS 255 keeping account of these and in reporting them annually he will have his own troubles; and when he and the parish treasurer get together to eliminate from their joint report the "items twice reported" and to produce a balance with a good conscience, there is bound to be a sad even- ing. But this goes to show the absolute neces- sity of explicit, orderly, intelligent accuracy on the part of the minister. Now then, if you are to report receipts under two heads (at least) you had better have (at least) two columns on the Debit side of your Cashbook; and if you are to report more than one kind of disbursement, you should have more than one column on the credit side of your cashbook. (Of course you might have but one column, and once a year pick and sort the va- rious kinds of receipts and disbursements; but that would be disorderly.) Probably some book can be found at the Church publishing houses adapted to this purpose. You had better get one if you can. But let me suggest the essential requirements : It should not be too big for your purpose, nor too small ; it will be ruled for the distribution on each side Dr. and Cr. of at least three kinds of receipts and disbursements ; it will have a few pages in the back for carrying memoranda of balances from unexpended special funds. This is very useful if you have some special fund to which you wish to refer fre- 256 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER quently and to report upon by itself. Such an account can ordinarly be kept upon the columns of the cashbook. While it will not be practicable for you to show vouchers, or receipts, for all disburse- ments, such as charity donations, yet, wherever practicable such vouchers should be obtained and put in successive order. This is readily done if one keeps an official bank account, and disburses by check. You can best secure uniformity in the re- ports of your parochial organizations by having a form printed, and seeing that books are kept consistently with it. In the books of the treas- urers of organizations two columns are ordi- narily necessary on the credit or Disbursement side: viz., (1) Maintenance, and (2) Realiza- tions. At the end of the year the result of sub- tracting (2) from the total receipts should bal- ance against (1). If the treasurer of an organ- ization is deputed to keep a record of "gifts in kind", value of mission-boxes, etc., such record should not get within speaking distance of the cash account until the two reports are complete. Then, for purposes of record, they may be pre- sented together, but not merged. KEEPING ACCOUNTS 257 JOHN SMITH, IN ACCOUNT WITH ST. JAMES' CHURCH DEBIT. Discre- 1920. Holy Com. tionary. Specials. Total. Jan. 4 Communion Alms 5.61 5.61 " 6 John Tyson, Playground... 200.00 200.00 8 Mrs. C. H. Jones, Pulpit... 100.00 100.00 9 James Snow, Thank Offg. . . 15.00 15.00 " 10 Charles Easton, Playground 100.00 100.00 " 10 T. C. Mercer, Choir outing. 10.00 10.00 " 11 Communion Alms 16.80 16.80 " 31 Thurs. Eveng. Offering 2.45 2.45 22.41 17.45 410.00 449.86 Feb. 2 J. G. Smith for R. S. F. rent 10.00 10.00 8 Holy Com. Alms 12.00 12.00 " 28 Baptism. Offerings 14.00 14.00 12.00 14.00 10.00 36.00 And so on through the year. The balance on hand at any given date will be determined by adding total receipts up to that date, and subtracting the total disbursements. At the end of the year, summarize : Receipts: January 22.41 February 12.00 Etc. 17.45 14.00 410.00 10.00 449.86 36.00 34.41 31.45 420.00 485.86 Open next year's accounts with the cash balances belong- ing to Holy Com., Discretionary, and Special accounts, dis- tributed as Balance Forward, 1920 5.91 4.95 314.00 324.86 To get the actual total receipts of the succeeding year these balances must be deducted from the total receipts which will be shown with these included. 258 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER CREDIT. Discre- 1920. Poor Fund, tionary. Specials. Total. Jan. 6 R. S. F. Part of rent 6.00 6.00 " 7 Printing Baptism blanks... 7.50 7.50 " 10 Communion breads 2.00 2.00 " 12 F. G. Foster, Playground . . . 96.00 96.00 " 14 Pledge for Social Service. . 5.00 5.00 " 16 Burial of C. S. B.'s child. .. 15.00 15.00 " 31 Treas. Outing fund 10.00 10.00 21.00 14.50 106.00 141.00 Feb. 4 C. S. G. medicines 3.00 3.00 7 " " groceries 4.50 4.50 " 27 Postals for Choir outing... 12.00 12.00 7.50 12.00 19.50 And so on through the year, balance being checked each month. At the end of the year, summarize : Disbursements: January 21.00 14.50 106.00 141.50 February 7.50 12.00 19.50 Etc. 28.50 26.50 106.00 161.00 In Bank 304.00 Cash in hand 20.86 324.86 485.86 MEMORANDUM FOR SPECIAL ACCOUNTS The Playground Fund 1920. Receipts. Disbur'ts. Jan. 6 John Tyson 200.00 " 10 Charles Easton 100.00 " 12 F. G. Foster Excavating 96.00 31 Balance Bal. 204.00 33 PERSONAL MATTERS VOCATION to the Sacred Ministry rests upon vocation a desire to give rather than to get. And I desireTo 011 think if there were an assurance offered by the * Church to her clergy so that they could be rea- sonably confident that no one immediately de- pendent upon them would ever be in actual need of the necessities of life, there would be very few ministers of Christ who would set about making or saving money for their per- sonal use. The question frequently arises in all our "The things minds whether, in any case, it is consistent with morrow" the teaching of Our Lord that His ministers should be much concerned about the financial necessities of to-morrow. Certainly where self- interest enters into one's work a self-interest separate from Christ's there will be aspects of one's pastorate in which the fact will be injur- iously manifest. On the other hand, in the case of the man who is not truly consecrated to the service of God, this self-interest will often pre- vent what would otherwise be a complete failure. He is a poor tool, but God may make some use of him. But, further, if self-interest becomes 260 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER the controlling incentive in a minister, it will not only kill his conscience and make his ser- vice a sacrilege, but will usually defeat its own purpose. I speak now with some hesitation, but I think, as social conditions stand, and under pres- ent ecclesiastical provisions, a minister is ordi- narily justified in desiring a sufficient salary or other income, (1) to enable him to live in the average comfort of those whom he is called upon to serve; (2) to furnish him with the "tools" which are needful for the most economical use of his energies; and (3) to prevent serious anx- iety of mind for those dependent upon him. That is to say, being such a man as he is, and fitted to his field, he is right in desiring to do his best, unhampered. Methodical But whatever one's income, the first thing financing one ought to do is to learn how to use it to the best advantage. Make an estimate: so much for offerings, so much for rent, so much for heat, clothing, food, books, and so on. There ought to be an unexpended balance at the end, which will tell you how much life insurance you may carry, and still leave a provision for emergencies like dentistry. And, if you can't get that balance, go back and cut down your estimate, and live within it. There is no sense in figuring that perhaps you can keep out of debt and spend more than your income. You PERSONAL MATTERS 261 may find that you can live in two rooms or in one, that you can save fuel by using some bed- ding over your shoulders when you are writing ; you may learn that you can thrive without meat; but you will never find that your influ- ence as a man or as a minister will stand the strain of unpaid bills. No one has any sympathy for the unmarried man, whether clergyman or layman, who, in fair health, cannot make a living. But the case is different if he is married. (And if a man does not want to be an object of sympathy, he had better be very careful about marrying; for in the married state he enters a wide sphere of conditions that he cannot control. ) Sickness, the birth of children, death, are events that can only be measurably provided against in advance out of a small salary. If you should find your- self in a predicament where debt is unavoidable, try and concentrate your indebtedness. If pos- concentrat- ., i j i. MI rfi , ingindebt- sible, secure one loan, and pay your bills. I hat edness will show, at least, that you have a proper sense of obligation, and are not abusing the confidence which has extended credit to you. There are resources for income apart from supplement- salary, which are perfectly legitimate. The first of these is the honorarium, which by com- Honorarinm mon consent belongs to the minister who solem- riages nizes Holy Matrimony. A man who cannot or will not pay such an honorarium has no busi- 262 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER ness getting married. The fee, equal to that of a civil magistrate, at least, can be collected. Most clergymen prefer to leave the amount at the option of the groom. My own practice has been to name an amount, when asked to do so. What that amount should be will depend upon the inconvenience to which one has been put, and the practice of ministers in the community. Funerals I know of no good reason why a minister should not receive an honorarium for officiating at a burial of the dead, especially if the family concerned are not contributors towards the maintenance of the Church. Of course the minister will consider before taking such an honorarium, whether in view of the expenses of the sickness and funeral, he is not called upon in charity to decline an honorarium. Some undertakers have such an item as "Ser- vices of Clergyman" in their bill-blanks. It occasionally escapes their minds to remit. I once went five miles from town on a very cold day to officiate at the funeral of an old Englishman who had died in a saloon, his hab- itual resort. I then went a few miles more to the cemetery. The only heir was a nephew, who, while interment was in progress, asked me what I "charged." I told him to call at my house later. He did so, and I said to him: "You say you asked me to officiate because your uncle was a baptized member of the Church. PERSONAL MATTERS 263 You also say you do not think he was ever inside of a church since his infancy. Now do you think a man of his means might not justly be expected to contribute towards the support of the Church each week as much as five cents the price of a glass of beer ? Very well. Your uncle was seventy-two years old. Say he has been self-supporting for fifty years. At five cents a week he owes the Church $130. That is my charge, and I will put it all into the building fund for our new church." I had to compromise; but the Judge of the Probate Court told me he would allow me twenty-five to fifty dollars if I would put it in a bill. I did not think that expedient. There is no reason why a minister who is merely used as an assist- ant to the undertaker, should be imposed upon to the last degree. But weddings and funerals are not largely helpful as a source of income to a minister in a small parish. It frequently happens that one has to turn to some secular employment in order secular to supplement his salary. If this is really nec- essary not merely a means of self-gratifica- tion there is a very good precedent in the case of Paul the Apostle, who turned for a while to tent-making. Of course the chief danger in the case of the ordinary clergyman, is that of stick- ing to tent-making, as a business, and drawing his salary as a minister for the little he does 264 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER for the Church, on the side. But if some of our poorer clergy would examine their talents, and find what they are able to do in the time they spend going around complaining, they would often find that they could raise a good garden crop, do some bookkeeping of an after- noon a week, help a young man prepare for college, read proof for a newspaper, or some- thing else that would do more, under the cir- cumstances, to enhance than to hamper their usefulness as ministers of Christ. It is a great deal more respectable to be a bit secularized than to be known as a "dead beat." But .there are very few communities in which a really devoted minister with average brains, has to make choice between these alternatives. Clothing Artists always represent the saints as mak- ing the best of whatever clothing they have. If it is the skin of a beast, or a tunic, it always hangs well. This represents a popular demand. And there is no good reason why a minister should not always be decently clothed if he has a right to remain undeposed. I am not saying that he should be expensively or immaculately groomed; but decently clothed. And that means that his heels will not tip his feet to an angle of 45 degrees, that his shoes will be pol- ished, that his trousers, coat, and vest will be pressed and at least fairly free from grease- spots, that his collar and cuffs will be clean and PERSONAL MATTERS 265 of proper size, and that his hat will be brushed. If it is beneath the dignity of a minister to brush his own shoes, to scrub out grease-spots and press his own clothes, his dignity is prob- ably distressing to his parishioners. And if a man does not know how to do these things, and cannot learn how, and cannot raise money enough to have them done for him, he ought to ask for deposition. Some men affect to be so deeply concerned with spiritual values that they will not be bothered about such trifles as order and cleanli- ness. Once in a million such cases the man is otherwise of such extraordinary calibre that this unfortunate weakness is overlooked. In the rest of the cases, it is fatal to his influence. Particular care should be exercised in the Poor i . i . j eye-sight case 01 a man whose eyesight is not good, or who is accustomed to engage in physical labor, that his fingers and nails are clean, especially before administering a Sacrament. A hand brush can be had for ten cents, and hot water, soap and brush will take even ingrained grease out of the skin. I know a bachelor minister idiosyn- / i crasies who trims his own hair with a safety razor, and looks well. I know a man who shaves at night, and goes around all day with a stubble over his face. Most men addicted to celluloid collars and cuffs could get a raise of salary sufficient to buy and launder their linen, if they would 266 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER New York Central on personal appearance promise to make the change. Some men as a matter of economy always have a bad odor. They have only one change of underclothing, and don't realize how easy it is to wash a suit out and dry it over night. You know the man who goes around all winter with a button hang- ing loose on his coat, and number one button in number two button-hole his ears haven't been cleaned for a week. Some years ago the following general order was issued to the employees of the New York Central Railroad. Every word of it applies with even greater force to the clergy: CAKE OF PERSON "The person should be scrupulously clean. The teeth, hands, and nails should be particu- larly so. The clothes should be brushed and free from spots. The one who is careful about his personal appearance will never allow a button to be wanting from his clothes, any more than he would tolerate a dandruff-covered coat collar. You know how you avoid the dirty barber and the slovenly waiter. Other people have the same likes and dislikes. The value of good personal appearance becomes a pre- requisite in any high-class organization dealing with the public. "Good appearance is also an individual as- PERSONAL MATTERS 267 set. It helps you get a position and helps you hold it. "Who are the men we desire to emulate? Not the fellow who goes all humped over, but the man who walks erect and carries himself in a manner to demand the respect of those with whom he comes in contact. The fellow with the good personal appearance that's the man to follow. And if your work is not quite so dainty as the bank clerk's, it is all the more to your credit when you outlook him. "Resolve to-day to start fresh on some one of our 'neglects' and add one at a time until we bring our personal appearance up several notches all of which will revert to our own good as well as of those we serve or meet in business." What shall be said of the minister who comes into a sacristy made clean and orderly by a careful Altar guild, and kicks off his muddy overshoes under a chair, puts his hat on the prie-Dieu, his overcoat in a mess on the floor, takes off his coat and vest and discloses a soiled shirt, wets a towel and rubs it over his face so as not to waste clean water pulls a comb through the front of his hair, leaving the back a pristine jungle, slides into a half-but- toned cassock, and goes out to muss up the chancel ? Perhaps he will preach that morning on The Call to the Sacred Ministry! 268 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Loafing Next to the crime of uncleanliness and un- tidiness, is that of loafing just naturally doing nothing. The chief occupation of this estate is contemplating how much there is to be done, and how little one is appreciated. The loafer is usually a man with a torpid liver, a bad breath, and considerable dignity. He is too lazy to take a rub in the morning, and exercise wearies him; so he sits late at the breakfast table, reading the morning paper, carries the paper to his "study," lights a pipe, and reads the paper through the advertisements. Then his mail comes, and he reads it, particularly the sheet telling about the hundred dollar shares especially issued for clergymen, in the pecan district of Mexico. That reminds him of his poverty, and that he had better go and see the richest man in his parish and tell him how much he needs money. So he strolls down town, turns familiarly into the private office of his victim, and finds him gone. But our min- ister thinks he will be back; and so finds a comfortable chair, a catalogue of a furniture factory, and proceeds to wait. After an hour or so Mr. Rich Man arrives, stepping briskly into his office. His countenance changes for the worse as he sees his spiritual adviser nodding over the inverted catalogue. The minister's awakening smile is lost on the hardening face of the object of his hope, while the words are PERSONAL MATTERS 269 sounding as from a refrigerator, "Well, sir, what can I do for you?" And the morning ends with the advice that in the business world a man is valued according to what he is worth, and if the minister can convince the community that he is worth more to it than he is getting, he may be enabled to buy stock in a pecan orchard. So our loafing pastor goes home to lunch, and after lunch takes a nap with his clothes on. Awaking in an hour, he sits up and watches the sunlight on the floor. The shadow creeps three inches in nine minutes. His collar is damp, and he sneezes. He moves and finds his shirt wet. He ought to call on a sick man, but he can't go out in damp clothing, and he hasn't time to change, make the call, and get to the appointed meeting of the Con- firmation class. So he telephones an inquiry concerning the sick man, regretting that he is so engaged that he cannot get over to-day. Oh,. it is a dreadful mess that this man makes of his vocation if he ever had one. Avoid drifting into the estate of the loafer, Make and by making for yourself as exacting a schedule as the hardest employer in town makes for his employes. You will have to adjust it from time to time, but when you get it down to a possible regimen, keep it there; and make it your mas- ter. Get into it a time for everything neces- sary to your health of body, mind, and soul, 270 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER and for the health of your parish. Have your week's engagement calendar standing upon your desk, and put into it things that are to be done, first in the regular routine, and then as they occur to you. And do them, every one, if it is a possibility, according to your calendar, or ahead of time. And if you have any time vacant, put it into sound reading or into visit- ing where you ought to visit. Reading: Reading is to the mind what eating is to the body. One should read (1) methodically, (2) with reference to nutritive value, (3) for "bulk," (4) not at one time more than one can assimilate. And that is about all there is to this subject except the working out of the plan. The minister who reads only as he "finds time" will become intellectually anaemic; he who reads merely the lighter literature will become very thin; he who reads only in philosophy, theology, and other sciences, will be very dry; and he who reads more than he can digest will worse than waste his opportunity. For a pastor and preacher not to read at all is simply suici- dal. It will ultimately kill the better part of him by sheer starvation. How often we hear from the pulpit the result of no reading in the squeak, squeak, squeak of the pump-handle try- ing to pull water from a dry well ! observation Supplement the knowledge you derive from PERSONAL MATTERS 271 reading, by that which you obtain at first hand by observation. Some men go about with a book in their pocket. I have seen a clergyman riding a bicycle, trying to read a book at the same time. Keep your perceptive faculties active as you go about. Notice the different classes of people, how they live, what they are doing. Catch the fragment of conversation as you go by. Watch the man carrying the hod of mortar, and see the skill with which he bal- ances it. Say "Good morning" to everyone you meet, except ladies whom you don't know. Touch your hat to the boys and pass a pleasant word their way. Note the ragged urchin, and find out who he is and where he lives. (If you get a pair of new pants onto him, he will not only be grateful, but will furnish you with material for a sermon, and be a first rate ad- vertising agent.) Granted that our Lord was not an ascetic, "induig- and that the Church is not warranted in ex- cluding a man from her communion because he sometimes smokes, drinks alcoholic bever- ages, plays cards, goes to theatres and horse- races; the question is yet open whether our Lord would do any of these things if He were living on earth in any American community. It is very certain that He would not do so care- lessly, or with good reason to believe that His 272 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER example would be harmful to the best interests of the community, morally and religiously. What a clergyman does should be determined by what our Lord would do. Smoking When a man has cultivated the taste for tobacco, it constitutes not only a source of solitary pleasure, but of social enjoyment. But that proves nothing. Opium does the former, and the common experience of thieves does the latter amongst thieves. Smoking in the com- pany of non-smokers does not promote fellow- ship. Most of the people in a parish are non- smokers; and I have yet to hear of a man of any strength of character who has been thought less of by smokers because he did not smoke. But I have heard of clergymen who carry about with them one of the vilest stenches that of stale tobacco smoke in their clothing and on their breath and who, in consequence, are re- pulsive in the extreme to everyone. But the worst features of tobacco smoking by a minister are, (1) his time being more largely at his own command than that of most men, he will so indulge himself that what was at first a luxury possibly with a good intent becomes to him a necessity; and so, eventually, he comes to dislike going where he cannot smoke. He then stays in his study more and more, and his constitution begins to be under- mined, not alone by nicotine, but from lack of PERSONAL MATTERS 273 air and exercise. (2) The next step is to smoke on the street, which is instinctively felt to be an undignified practice for any professional man. And when the smoking minister makes out his visiting list for the day, he tries to get near a box of cigars; and if he cannot do it in the day-time, at night he will get over to see Mr. Smoker. (3) Then comes the time when the digestion is affected, and the heart's action is erratic, and one cannot sleep. That means drugs or a little whiskey and water. So one resolves to stop smoking. Then he finds what a hold it has on him, and what a shock it is to his whole system to deprive it of this narcotic. Then, if he has a weak wife, she will say, "For goodness sake, stop being a bear, and smoke if you must." On the whole, it seems to me that a clergy- man who does not smoke is likely to be twenty- five per cent, more efficient than one who smokes habitually, and becomes dependent upon to- bacco. As for using wine and liquors, the argument Drinking for and against is about the same as in the case of tobacco. Of course, our Lord made a wed- ding gift of considerable wine, and St. Paul advised Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach's sake; and I suppose wherever the water is bad, and wherever there is sickness, wine, used as the orientals use it, may be rel- 274 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER atively wholesome. But I am not speaking about social or hygienic conditions in Palestine nineteen centuries ago. It is more to the point to speak of alcohol as the great American curse of to-day, and of the practically unanimous opinion of the highest medical authorities, that as a beverage, it is always injurious. It is said that a "cocktail" before dinner gives one a keen relish for the food, and that a little wine at dinner helps one to digest a heavy meal. And the clergy are invited to such dinners, and they do not like to appear singular or ungra- cious; and so the thing to do is to follow the custom of the guests. I have been to many such dinners, and I think it is quite the rule that some guest will usually either turn down the glasses, or leave them untouched. Indeed, I have seen this done by either host or hostess on several occasions. Moreover, I think the general sentiment upon seeing a clergyman drink at such times is against him, especially if he is not relatively abstemious. It is almost certain that no parents want their boys to know that their pastor "drinks." And when it comes to eating so much that one has to resort to al- cohol to dissolve the food, it is a good time for the minister to preach and practise a sermon on temperance. You will be a great deal more PERSONAL MATTERS 275 efficient if you never touch alcohol except on the advice of a competent physician and then be doubtful about the advice. The theatre as we have it, is a tremendous Theatres power for good or evil usually evil. But it is not to be condemned as an institution. I do not know exactly how a clergyman is to dis- cover the moral value of a new play that comes to town; but if he is fully assured that it is wholesome, it may be a good thing for him to see it. To be seen at the theatre will give him more influence in speaking against the general run of demoralizing shows, and perhaps help in that way to keep them out of the town. But this subject really belongs to the realm of Social Service. Don't be known as a "sport," a "fan," or a Games "fiend" of any sort. Some games are associated with perfumes, and some with a stretch of sod. I think a minister is usually accounted more of a man if he is seen on a baseball, or golf, or tennis field, rather than in a parlor at bridge. Chess is a diversion but not a recreation. Bil- liards is a matter of environment, bowling is preparation for a bath : and so on. All games have their proper place in the social order ex- cept such as are in their nature demoralizing. A minister who is fairly expert in some games may make them a source of needed recreation for himself, and a means of extending his in- 276 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER fluence. But the danger is, always, their se- ductiveness. It is so easy to spend more time in a pleasant recreation, than one ought in jus- tice to his work; and in company with the few friends he so meets, to neglect the many who wonder why they never see him. Dancing And shall I put down dancing as a minis- terial accomplishment? The possibility of a dancing priest would not occur to me if I had not seen one. All eyes were turned upon him as he glided around the room with an arm around a woman of his parish. It did not remind me of the doctrine of the apostolic suc- cession. public In all these matters it may be difficult to prove that there is any other good reason why a minister should conduct himself differently from a layman, except that public opinion re- quires that he should. And that is sufficient reason; for public opinion is the greatest safe- guard of a community, and it tells the minister where the lines of his best efficiency are drawn. 34 PERSONAL MATTERS Continued THE CHUECH needs a great many more Getting ministers than she has ; but she is not suffering from a lack of ministerial families. If candi- dates for Holy Orders knew or could be taught how much better it would be for themselves, for their future families, and for the Church, to put off falling in love and engagement to marry for at least five years after ordination, all parties interested would be much happier. Amongst educated people the modern clergy- man is probably the worst offender against the rule of common sense, "Don't marry until you are able to support a wife and family." I recently received a letter from a young roiiyof clergyman who wrote, "Hold me up as a hor- rible example of a man who married too soon. Neither my wife nor myself knows how to make ends meet, and another child will soon be born." If that man had accumulated a library, made himself acquainted with his work, and had put aside a little money, he would have saved him- self and his family a lifetime's regret. What lawyer, physician, or mechanic who has the least bit of sense, will marry before he 278 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER is fairly established in his vocation? But one constantly hears of young deacons marrying even before they know where they will be next year, or have the least idea what their salaries are to be. Then, instead of being able to go anywhere, the young man may be given a choice of two or possibly three places where the salary is theoretically large enough to "support" a good word a married priest. Again, when you run across a pretty, un- attached girl, don't get into the habit of wonder- ing if she is the one. And especially if she is unhappily circumstanced, be on your guard, choosing Don't marry a girl out of sheer pity. It will not help her any in the long run, if you do. When you begin to think that you have a rea- sonable right to consider matrimony, your ex- perience in the ministry ought to tell you what kind of a wife you want. You want one who will help you in your vocation not one who might better fit into the vocation of a dancing- master, a farmer, or a banker. Have a little sense about you, and don't commit yourself even to the first step, by an extra hand-shake until you have your bearings. Propinquity is danger- ous. If you find your mind recurring to the young woman whom you knew and admired a year or two ago, and whom you haven't seen PERSONAL MATTERS 279 since, that ought to be a fair suggestion, if you are sure you are ready for it. On the other hand, don't think that every young woman who treats you kindly, even con- fidentially, wants to marry you. (When you have daughters of your own, you will know how great such a mistake is.) Do not allow your- self the least familiarity that is not perfectly consistent with your ministerial dignity. When you have found the woman whom you have a right to ask to be your wife, don't mini- mize the privations she may have to meet, if she accepts you. Give her a fair chance to make an intelligent decision. That is not only hon- orable, but better all around. And when you are married, have it under- The wife's stood that your wife will assist you in your work in many ways; but so far as her own position in the parish is concerned, she will have no further duties than those which she will share with other communicants. It is a good rule not to appoint her to the leadership of any guild work so long as there is anyone else equally available. She will always be under the disadvantage of being supposed to express your opinion every time she speaks. If she gets into any trouble, that will complicate matters for you many times more than it would if she were not your wife. She will always be subject to criticism in any case, and it is better 280 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Gifts and favors Circum- stances determine expediency not to give a larger opportunity for it than is necessary. There is a difference in feeling amongst clergymen about receiving gifts and favors from their people; a difference accounted for by the different types of men and congregations. Some clergymen feel themselves to be in a really fatherly position in the parochial house- hold, and appreciate no incongruity in receiv- ing embroidered slippers on birthdays, and anything handy at Christmas; while pies and pumpkins are always welcomed at the rectory. Probably this is a very satisfactory attitude, all around, in some small missions and parishes. But, where such gratuities assume the character of the tips tendered an impoverished or faith- ful servant, they are not so agreeable; nor are they delightful when they mark distinctly fem- inine attention, contrasted with masculine in- difference, and possible feminine competition in giving. There is no reason why, in a frontier mis- sion, the minister's salary should not be paid in wheat, venison, and turnips; but a "pound party" in a community where money circulates freely, is simply an evidence that the minister is on the "poor list" of the parish. There was a time when physicians and clergymen public benefactors committed PERSONAL MATTERS 281 themselves to the community, giving their ser- vices freely, and taking in return any hono- rarium offered. As social conditions have be- come better organized, it has come to be more desirable for all parties concerned, that, save under exceptional circumstances, the physician salary and should send in his bill, and that the minister honorariums should be paid a salary, the latter supplemented basis* 61 by honorariums for services rendered at marri- ages and funerals. In fixing this salary, ves- tries usually figure on what it will cost the min- ister to live, with becoming economy, what he is likely to get in gratuities, and make the salary accordingly. I venture to say that in a small town a clergyman pays a big price, directly or indirectly, for every gift he re- ceives even for the chicken or turkey sent for Thanksgiving Day by the butcher. Do not accept vestments as a personal gift, until the parish church is properly supplied. In coming into a parish where such giving to the minister was a fixed habit, I knew a min- ister who told the vestry and the congregation that they might make his salary as large as they felt they could; but that he would really be happier if they would relieve him from any sense of personal obligation to individuals by refraining from making him any gifts for his personal use. He gave them plenty of oppor- tunities to show their sympathy in his work, 282 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER by calling on them to respond as they never had before, to calls for money and gifts in kind, for many worthy objects. The raising of his salary was almost an annual event, but he usually declined it on the ground that the par- ish could not afford it as it could not. Two or three times the rule not to make him presents was broken, not by individuals, but by com- binations of people, as upon the seventh and tenth anniversaries of his rectorship. Perhaps it is a question of circumstance and temperament, but I think a minister's per- sonal circumstances should not be in the fore- ground of parochial concerns. "Spong- The clergy suffer largely in common repute because of the habit of the turned up palm. It is right for the railroads to give reduced fares to such ministers as have to travel in the in- terests of the Church. The railroads get their business chiefly from communities in which the principles of Christianity are a powerful safe- guard. But when a well-to-do clergyman de- sires to go on a three months' vacation to Europe, there is no good reason why he should be favored with half-fare from Chicago to New York. But, in times past many a clergyman, under such circumstances, would start his in- fluence going till he received some sort of a pass over at least part of the distance. physician There is usually a physician in the congre- PERSONAL MATTERS 283 gation, sometimes several; and this fact con- stitutes, frequently, a source of considerable embarrassment. Practically, it would be to the man of small practice quite an advertisement to be known as the rector's physician. To the man of commanding practice, it might be a cause of chagrin if he were not invited to this responsibility. It is a delicate matter, and should be dealt with frankly on whatever ground the rector determines his selection. But it should be clearly understood that the minister reserves the right to change his physician if he feels so inclined. The matters of health, life, and death, should not be determined by con- straint. And the minister who insists upon paying his physician, is in a much more satis- factory position than one who accepts medical services gratuitously. Moreover, it is often the case that the income of the physician who con- tributes towards the rector's salary is less than that of the rector. There is no "professional courtesy" that justifies a clergyman in spong- ing upon a physician under such circumstances. The above instances are merely illustrations. General Do not allow yourself to become obligated for benefits of financial value to those to whom you are able to make a just return. 35 RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS I OTJE CITIZENS relied upon a speech at a mass-meeting once a week for their information on matters affecting their political, social and commercial life, it would be easy to understand why there is almost no current religious lit- erature in their homes. Even the "Family Bible" is full of photographs, clippings, valen- tines, and locks of hair. Getting It is one of the most evident of the first uons strategic duties of a minister to get his people to inform themselves about matters of religion, and particularly about events connected with the responsibilities and activities of their own Church and diocese. It is best done (1) by habitually introducing into sermons such ex- pressions as "Perhaps you saw last week in The Living Church" or "in The Spirit of Missions" "a most interesting account," etc. ; (2) by announcing from the chancel that the Publicity Committee of the Men's Club will be glad to receive subscriptions for the follow- ing periodicals or (3) "There are in the hands of the Periodical Club of the parish sample copies of , and . These will be dis- RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS 285 tributed in the vestibule to any who would like them"; (4) by running an occasional article on the subject in your parish paper; (5) by sending out by mail a notice to the effect that "It is difficult to speak in the time allotted for sermons, upon some of the most important prac- tical topics before the Church, because so few of the people can be assumed to have any knowl- edge of them. To meet the difficulty I am send- ing into all the families of the parish a sample copy of , and ; and inclose herewith some blank forms for subscription. If you are not now a subscriber and if you can afford to take either or both of these publications, it will help you, the parish, the publishers, the Church, and it will help me, if you will fill out and return in enclosed envelope one or both of the subscription blanks. But do not order either unless the publication will be read by someone." (6) A way in which you can partially "save some of your powder," is to write a general letter a short one saying about the same thing as above indicated, and give it to a guild to get results. The periodicals will usually allow a commission; but that is of relatively small importance. In some parishes periodicals are placed on a table in the vestibule of the church, with prices named on a card, and the money for them put into an adjoining box, or given to an at- 286 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER tendant. This makes a good deal of fuss, and doesn't bring very large results. "Book- Again, in some parishes there is a club or committee to look after what is called "The Book-Shelf." It is usually kept in some room in the parish house, or in the vestry room of the church. Here are a number of books which the rector has recommended in the parish paper. Some can be borrowed. But the Book- Shelf should at least be self-sustaining. Prayer Books, Hymnals, and religious periodicals are staples. Helps for Sunday school teachers come next, and then miscellaneous stock for various purposes. prayer Encourage your people to buy Prayer Books books and . __ ^ i , hymnals and Hymnals large enough, but not too large, to use with comfort. It is a pity that our stand- ard hymnals with tunes are so cumbersome. The very small books require better light than is usually secured in churches. See that the parish provides a sufficient number of Prayer Books and Hymnals with music to supply the congregation. These should be stamped with the name of the church and the number of the pew. Before they are put into use, the pews should be searched for unsightly books, and such should be destroyed unless privately owned. A stranger who finds decent books ready for his use, has a good start towards liking the surroundings. It is a good invest- RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS 287 ment every time. Once in a while the books should be gone over and damages repaired. There are times when a minister wishes to paper say something to his people that cannot well be put into a sermon. He wants to reach peo- ple who do not come to services, and he wants to do so pretty regularly. These are the chief reasons for starting a parish paper. But there are some serious obstacles: (1) it costs a good deal of money to print and mail it ; (2) it takes a good deal of time to compose and compile a paper that will be read; (3) it is difficult to restrict its contents if you ask for contribu- tions, especially if you have a poet in your congregation and there is always one. JSTow these obstacles are usually overcome, Financing (1) by securing a business manager for the paper. Tell him how much space you want, and how often it is usually a monthly, omit- ting July and August. Then he makes up a dummy, gets your approval, and goes to print- ing offices for bids. When he knows how much it will cost, he gets a list of merchants, and goes to them with a business-like proposition. The best "ad" ever run in my parish paper I secured myself when my business manager had run the paper into debt, and gone away with its money. I went to a prosperous merchant and said: "We have in our parish a monthly paper. We give away about 250 copies, and 288 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER have about 50 paid subscribers. As an adver- tising medium it is a gamble : sometimes it has been valuable ; usually it is not. The paper does a good deal of good. Do you think it morally lawful and right to take a chance of losing three dollars a month for a three-inch space?" He did, and kept it for at least five years. But don't let your manager blackmail a grocer by saying, "A good many of our people trade with you, and you cannot afford to decline to ad- vertise in our paper." Don't count on anything from subscrip- tions. You will not get much, and less each successive year. If your vestry or the Men's Club or some other organization will assume the cost of publication, it will be much more satisfactory than getting advertisements, which are usually reluctantly given. And the paper may be reduced to a very small form, and yet be useful. But, whatever the size, the paper should be an excellent piece of composition and printing. ]STo parish can afford to be repre- sented in a community by a monthly smear, composing (2) Let me warn you, if you do not know how to spell, punctuate, capitalize, and write good English, do not start a parish paper. (Even if you do, you had better get a school teacher to read the proof after you have done so. Another will detect errors which you will pass by.) But if you are fairly competent, RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS 289 have a box over your desk into which from day to day you can put a clipping or note to remind you of an item for your paper. When the day arrives upon which you write your copy, lay out these slips, choose your leader, and fix ap- proximately the amount of space to be given to each item. Then put your typewriting machine into good order, and get the job off your hands at one sitting. (3) It may be possible to get contributors to send in items about the Sunday school, choir, and guilds, so that you will not have to bother about them. I gave it up, except in special cases, and I refused to wait for the copy be- yond a date named. Personal items, except baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burials, are dangerous. If you say that Mrs. Smith has gone to St. Paul, you may not know that Mrs. Jones has gone to New York. Poetry contributed by "Cecelia" is the problem, when you know that "Cecelia" has considerable in- fluence, but has a mad muse. If a parish paper is worth while, the effort surplus should be to make it as useful as possible. It calls for at least as much careful labor as a sermon. I have known a parish paper to clear over $200 a year for several years, under good team-work by the editor and business manager. The money was used for improving the Sunday school and choir facilities. 36 MEDITATION IN VIEW of the great helpfulness, mentally and spiritually, of the exercise of meditation, it is remarkable that it is not more commonly practised by the clergy. The rules usually adopted are very simple, and very easily fol- Resuits of lowed; while the results are (1) the acquire- ment of knowledge by systematic reading of the Bible and commentaries, and thinking there- upon; (2) a quickened imagination; (3) deep- ened emotions; (4) definite determination of the will in specific directions ; ( 5 ) development of the power of extemporaneous prayer. In short, meditation as a devotional exercise, prop- erly and persistently practised, results in the orderly and systematic development of all of the interior forces. When a minister has learned how to med- itate privately, it is an easy matter to do so publicly ; and a congregation at a Lenten service will usually prefer to be led in a meditation, to listening to an ordinary sermon, address, or "talk" and get a great deal more out of it. RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS 291 Many discourses called "meditations" are really nothing more than sermonettes. The meditation is the orderly and devout in what it i j? J.-L j.- j.u consists exercise successively 01 tne imagination, tne intellect, the emotions, and the will, upon some chosen passage of Holy Scripture. 87 1. First, take a passage such as a miracle, a parable or complete statement of a doctrinal or historical fact, or a bio- graphical experience. 2. Read it slowly, attentively, inviting Divine illumination. Of the several thoughts by which you have been so im- pressed, make note of two or three that are associated. 3. Take up your devotional commentary (such as Isaac Williams') and read what it says about the passage. 4. Having done this, take up your Bible again, and give play to your imagina- tion : Reproduce the scene, picturing its background, then the persons and inci- dents in the foreground. Hear words spoken, and see faces. If the subject be abstract, imagine its effects upon dif- ferent kinds of people; imagine the speaker. 5. Then use your understanding: Go back to the thoughts that impressed you most during your reading; and add to them, 292 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER or substitute for any of them, what has occurred to you during the working of your imagination. Then break up the subject into two, three, or four heads, clearly contained in the text. Use all your knowledge upon their development. 6. Still following these heads, but clinging closely to the words of your passage, supplemented by correlative passages of Scripture, give opportunity to your emotions : "Thou, God, seest me. Thou art about my bed and knowest all my thoughts ! What wilt Thou have me understand in this meditation? It is as a child that I come to Thee, my Father, as a penitent child, or as one who desires to be penitent," etc. Com- pare any emotion in the passage with your own emotional state. Awaken hope, gratitude, joy, sorrow, love, all Godward. 7. Then use your will. Form one definite resolution for amendment of conduct, either positive or negative not more than one each day. 8. Conclude the meditation with an appro- priate prayer and the Lord's Prayer. cautions Be perfectly frank and natural in your meditation. It will be crude at first. After a time the mechanical form will become second RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS 293 nature, and you will enjoy this spiritual ex- ercise. Never preach a meditation. Some speakers Never use the first person singular even in public meditation meditations, as though unconscious of the pres- ence of a congregation. One may say we but never you. 37 SECURING CANDIDATES FOR HOLY ORDERS A survey of the Province of the Mid- West in 1918-19, made by the General Board of Relig- ious Education, revealed that in this Province to man the existing work of the Church there was a shortage of nearly ten per cent, of clergy- men; while out of 765 cures there were only 33 that employed more than one clergyman. The survey showed, as would be expected under such conditions, that the average salary was very low. Of course a sick Church will not show a strong pulse. One important item the survey could not show, viz., What increase in commu- nicants, what advance from a half-dead mission to a live parish, what increase in clerical salary could be effected by the consecrated service of fit men in the vacant (as well as in many of the "filled") posts. Granting, as, unfortunately, we must, that the Church's business organization for using her clergy effectively has been about as bad as pos- sible; granting that there are a great many unemployed clergymen, some of whom are com- petent; the fact yet remains evident that the SECURING CANDIDATES FOR HOLT ORDERS 295 Church cannot meet her responsibilities without a very large increase in the number of candi- dates for Holy Orders. "Make choice of fit men to serve" has become almost an irony. "Hobson's choice" is the only choice presented to many of our bishops and vestries. One would think the need of the Church would be so emphasized by the suffrage in the Litany and Ember Day collects, that ministers would constantly be alive to opportunities of influencing young men of good fibre to become postulants and candidates for Holy Orders. Some clergymen are so successful in this mat- ter, that they will have from one to half a dozen of their young men every year in preparation for the ministry. Other clergymen can not point to a single man in their whole career whom they have influenced in that direction. In the year 1918, the 5,939 clergymen of our statistics Church had 336 candidates to their credit. Each man remains a candidate, normally, for three years; hence the annual product may be estimated at 112. (A considerable number are never ordained.) This seems to mean that, on an average, each clergyman secures one candi- date for Holy Orders in a little over fifty years! These facts do not reflect creditably upon the influence and earnestness of the clergy. I suppose the chief reasons why the clergy are so inactive in this matter of such critical im- 296 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER net C1 "Pitmen" portance to the Church, are chiefly (1) that so few parents care to have their sons enter the ministry; (2) that few youths show evidence of such vocation; (3) that those who do show such evidence have not the money to go to college, and there are no available diocesan or parochial funds for the purpose; (4) that the minister wants to use such young men in paro- chial activities in the Sunday school, Brother- hood, choir, etc. But these obstacles are fre- q uen ^j f ar f rom insuperable. The way usually opens to the demand of conscience, backed by an earnest enthusiasm. There are laymen in some parishes, if not in yours, who would put your young man through college, or at least through a course fairly preparatory to the seminary ; and most seminaries will do the rest. You might find such a layman with the assist- ance of some clergyman whom you know, if you would get at it. Then, too, there are a great many young men who, after the first year in the university, earn more than their expenses. In fact the man who prefers to do all he can to pay his own way though the Church ought not to demand it shows the kind of spirit that guarantees future usefulness. "While it often happens that a most hopeless youth turns out to be a most influential man developing slowly yet the clergy ought to ex- ercise more discretion than some of them do, in SECURING CANDIDATES FOR HOLY ORDERS 297 recommending men to the Bishop to be made postulants. A good many young men would serve the Church splendidly as laymen, who are utterly unfit for the ministry, on account of some physical deformity or mental deficiency. If a Hebrew was forbidden to offer an imperfect beast for a sacrifice, surely a priest ought not to propose an evidently defective man for Holy Orders. Not only is it a great injustice to the man himself and to the Church's work in the specific field into which this man must be sent ; but nothing is a more effectual hindrance to the work of securing postulants than the example of such a minister. The kind of man the Church needs in the ministry is the kind that commands respect, not sympathy. Make it a part of your business to be a recruiting officer for the army of the Kingdom of your Lord. 38 Bad architecture common Causes Ecclesias- tical MISCELLANY CHUECH ARCHITECTURE : While one ought not to be inconsiderate of the circumstances under which some of the church buildings which deface an otherwise fair landscape were erected; yet that they are neither monuments to the glory of God, nor stand to the credit of the people who built them, is patent. In most cases the same amount of money used to erect a monstrosity, would have sufficed for the erec- tion of a creditable structure. In other cases, the amount of money could have been increased, had there been the incentive of an artistic plan from the pencil of a competent ecclesiastical architect. The usual causes of bad architecture are: (1) haste on the part of the minister, (2) a local architect who built the Methodist church and the Court House, (3) a local carpenter who does not need an architect, (4) a desire to get too much for the money. Anyone who has eyes can see how much an artist can beautify a architecture plan without adding to the cost. distinct type But it should be borne in mind by every minister that Ecclesiastical Architecture has certain historic characteristics, which are ab- MISCELLANY 299 solutely necessary in a building representing an historic Church. Few architects have had enough experience in building Episcopal churches, to have made a study of Anglican architecture. And a young clergyman cannot expect to make himself proficient in the matter, by a few hours' study of an encyclopedia article. The chances are that your Bishop, suffering as he must, in going into all sorts of badly built churches, will be able to tell you of an architect who has done good work. Consult him, even if what you intend to build is merely "tempor- ary." These temporary buildings might as well be attractive; and they sometimes last as long as those that are permanent. PASTORAL LETTERS are useful to remind the people of duties and privileges, such as attend- ing services at Christmas, Easter and Whit- sunday, and on any other occasion of special importance; giving particular notice of the be- ginning of instruction for Confirmation, of any especially important event or undertaking in which united cooperation can be expected only after proper information. These letters require careful and prayerful study, rewriting, amend- ing, condensing. They should be printed on full-sized letter sheets, in as large type as prac- ticable, and should be mailed in long envelopes. 300 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER A cheap mimeographed letter, on poor paper, is not in good taste, nor good policy. Partisanship PARTISANSHIP : Do not hastily ally yourself with any party in the Church, and so feel con- strained blindly to follow a leadership. Con- sider controverted issues judicially, upon their merits, in the light of your increasing knowl- edge and experience, and with regard to the present time and place, as well as past times and remote places. In some matters catholicity is a sine qua non of merit, but in others, cath- olicity is neither possible nor desirable. No term in these days is more abused than the term "catholic." A violent, anarchistic, turbulent, individualistic protestantism often masks under it. "Protestant" is, at best, the positive form of a negative idea; and applied to a party, needs daily definition. "Broad," "High," and "Low" seem each to confess a dimension in one direction only. Is it not better when possible, to conserve your freedom, and be simply a loyal Churchman ? Tasting FASTING AND ABSTINENCE : Do not tell your people "the Church requires you to go all day Ash Wednesday and Good Friday without food and drink," nor that "the Church's rule is that you should eat no meat on Fridays, Wednesdays in Lent, Rogation Days, and Ember Days," nor that "the Church requires all communicants to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Commun- MISCELLANY 301 ion fasting." The Church has always had better sense than to make such general require- ments without providing collateral rules for dis- pensation. Climate, occupation, condition of health, age, and other factors, enter into the question in each case. The pastor may and should recommend such practices, in the matter of fasting and abstinence, as are in accord with the intent of the Church in her appointment of "fasts" and "other days of fasting." But the pastor is neither Pope nor Council, nor even Bishop; and he should not attempt to exercise their authority, or more. "KEASONS WHY" : At proper times (not in sermons) instruction should be given on the traditions of the Church. Some of these are very important, such as the Church Calendar. Some are of less importance, such as the use of Altar lights and cross. And some are of practically no importance except to make a fuss about. In giving explanations, confine yourself to such fundamental and simple ideas as are actually, historically, at the origin of the tradi- tions named. Some people who object to the explanation that the "two altar-candles repre- sent the twofold nature of our Lord" (because they are separated), would quite agree that they are an ornamental reminder of the historicity of the Church and of the Sacrament of the Holy Communion; or they will agree with 302 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER Use of words Sector' a box Alms box Edward VI. that their significance is "that Christ is the very true Light of the world." And some who cannot think it worth while to go to the expense of a whole set of chancel draperies because "red is the color of the blood of the martyrs," would quite agree that it is well in some way to mark, visually, the Church's calendar. While it cannot be "swallowed whole," Walker's Ritual Reason Why (Mow- bray's), is a most serviceable manual for an- swering such questions. USE OF WOEDS : Learn to be accurate in the use of words, e.g. : "The Sacrament" is not a proper term for one of two sacraments, nor for one of seven. "Priested" is a slovenly ex- pression for ordination to the priesthood. The use of terms associated with English church law is often confusing: e.g., "vicar" cannot, without re-definition, mean simply "rector," or even "priest-in-charge." Names and phrases contained in the Prayer Book and canons of the American Church are likely to be better under- stood in America than words and phrases found in the English, Roman, Russian, Armenian, or Coptic formularies, even though they may mean the same thing. A RECTOR'S Box, hung near the entrance door of the church, is very useful for occasional communications. AN ALMS Box, hung near the entrance door MISCELLANY 303 of the church and chapel, may be used in lieu of "taking a collection" at services when a gen- eral collection may be undesirable. Or an alms-basin may be placed conveniently on a small table, with a card, saying, "Offering for Fund" These boxes should not be al- lowed to contain money over night. If locked, they will probably be broken open; and a suc- cessful robbery invites a repetition. No rule for length of rectorate No compulsion legal except for "cause" 39 LENGTH 6F RECTORATE THEEE CAN BE no rule by which it may be determined in advance how long it is desirable for a minister to remain in canonical relation- ship with a parish or mission. Sometimes all parties concerned know at the start that the period is to be a month, or a year, or two years. But the canons of most dioceses if the state law allows contemplate a life contract between the rector and the parish; and like all other legal contracts, this cannot be broken without the consent of all parties concerned, viz., the rector, the congregation, and the Bishop. Of course the rector may so conduct him- self as to secure the ready consent of a congre- gation to his departure, or that he may violate his contract obligations and so be canonically dismissed; and a congregation may so treat a rector that he will be glad to go, if he can, and if he feels it to be his duty. But it is a fre- quently tested and well-known, decision of the higher courts that, under the canons of most dioceses, any compulsion, such as "starving out a minister," is a violation of contract relations on the part of the parish, and may be success- LENGTH OF RECTORATE 305 fully resisted by the minister, if there is any property that can be attached for debt. 38 The circumstances are very rare in which it is nec- essary or right for a minister to resort to legal proceedings to maintain his position. The only excuse for such action is to teach a lesson to a rebellious parish, and for the good of the Church at large. The penalty will usually be the ruin of the parish and of the minister concerned, unless his motives are shown to be higher than personal. If at the start (as under the old Methodist regimen) it be known that the minister is to serve only for a given time, it may be possible to rally all forces, as for emergency action, and to accomplish more than otherwise would be realized in a much longer period. And it is true that congregations frequently "get tired" of a minister after a few years. And the theory that a "new broom sweeps clean," has much to commend it. On the other hand, it requires the best part LOSS in /. c i rr> frequent 01 a year ior a minister to become sufficiently changes acquainted in a community, to get himself and it together, into normal working order. There is a loss with every change ; and sometimes this loss is so persistent that after ten years of con- stant changing there is nothing left of what was once an active parish. Unless it be mutually understood to the Aiife-work 306 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER contrary, the only right way for a minister to enter upon his work in a parish, is with the feeling that it is to be his life-work. These are his people whom God has given him to work among, and to work with. The Church is to be built up here. The minister's policy will be laid out along lines that contemplate results years in the future. He thinks about what Sunday school teachers these children will make; and he sees in that boy a vestryman. He observes the drift of population, and locates a lot where the future church building and parish house should stand. Something is al- ways under way. He has no ear for "calls" to "wider fields of usefulness" his is so wide he has more than he can do. He doesn't go off preaching for advertising purposes, leaving a lay reader to conduct the services, and the Sun- day school uncared for, and the sick unvisited. He isn't using abusing his parish as a "step- ping-stone." (Stepping-stones often have a way of sliding just before one is ready to step.) No: the man who has a feeling of permanency is the man who does the best work, in the long run. But do not let this feeling of permanency degenerate into one of easy proprietorship, en- couraging laziness and stifling ambition to build LENGTH OF RECTORATE 307 for God and eternity, every passing day. Re- member that the vows of the rector are the right of the congregation. REFERENCE NOTES 1. Frere, Principles of Religious Ceremonial, p. 282, n. 10. 2. Historically, the term "curate" has various mean- ings. Here it designates the minister who has canonical charge of the parish or mission. 3. Frere, Principles of Religious Ceremonial; Blunt, Annotated Book of Common Prayer; Procter and Frere, History of the Prayer Book; Staley, Some Studies in Ceremonial; Dearmer, Parson's Hand- book; Barry, Teacher's Prayer Book; Wheatly on the Common Prayer, are books dealing sanely with ritual and ceremonial. 4. "The ultimate ecclesiastical authority for ceremonial directions is not far to seek. Ceremonies, like the rites which they accompany, are regulated by episcopal authority; and the ceremonial laws and customs of the Church form part of the general ecclesiastical discipline, of which the Bishop is the normal source and safeguard. The Bishop is the ordinary of his diocese, not only as ordinary judge, but also as ordinary promulgator of rules and regu- lations for the conduct of divine worship." Frere, Principles of Religious Ceremonial, p. 180. 5. Princ. of Relig. Cerem., pp. 187-188. 6. There are crosses upon small Altars that were made for large re-tables. The cross should be adapted to its position. If there is a cross cen- trally placed in the reredos, it is not in good taste to place a brass one in front of it. So also, in the case of a central painting. The cross is not a neces- REFERENCE NOTES 309 sary part of the Altar furnishings. The crucifix ought not to be upon the Altar or re-table. Its place is on the rood-beam, if it is used. Some cruci- fixes are so poorly made that they ought not to be placed anywhere. (See Dearmer, Handbook, pp. 88-89.) Two candles on the Altar are more ordinary than a larger number; but large Altars are frequently beautified by an indefinite number. Dearmer (P. Eh., p. 89) holds that two only are allowed by Anglican law and custom. 7. A cere-cloth (waxed fabric) is useful immediately over a marble mensa, to keep the fair-linen from slipping. Another cloth between the cere-cloth and the fair-linen is then practically necessary. To keep these clean is something of a care. 8. The use assigned to this fair-linen in the rubric, is hardly consistent with the usual use of the corporal. To comply with the rubric there should be a linen veil (or corporal) with which to cover the conse- crated Species. In using this veil, a purificator is laid over the chalice, the paten is placed over the purificator, a pall over the paten, and the veil is thrown over the pall. When the veil is made (as it usually is) of fine linen and lace, it cannot be laid immediately over the paten without catching some fragments of the Sacred Bread. The pall is evolved from the original "fair-linen," first by starching, then by stiffening with paste-board. Practically, the pall usually takes the place of the fair-linen above described. 9. The custom of reading the Summary of the Law, the Epistle and the Gospel, facing East, is, of course, the Roman use. Quite appropriate in the Latin office the people not being expected to understand the words it is an inexcusable practice at our Altars. See Staley, Frere, Dearmer, et al. 10. For an excellent treatment of this subject, see Ver- non Staley, Some Studies in Ceremonial. 310 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER 11. So few of our churches are provided with a sanc- tuary piscina, that its use has not here been con- sidered. The piscina is difficult to keep in order if it has running water. Not only are the pipes likely to freeze, but the water, seldom being used to any extent, is usually bad; and in any case the water furnished is seldom pure enough for sacra- mental purposes. 12. Luckock (The Divine Liturgy, p. 335) calls atten- tion to what he thinks to be a violation of the sacrificial teaching of the Office by the address to the Second Person of the Trinity, in the Agnus Dei. Several collects have the same address. 13. Staley, Some Studies in Ceremonial; Dearmer, Par- son's Handbook, pp. 203-206. It is interesting to note that in the Eastern Church, genuflection is made before, not after, the consecration; i.e., at the offertory. For just thirty years (1875 to 1905) this Church had a canon which forbade "the eleva- tion of the Elements in the Holy Communion in such a manner as to expose them to the view of the people as objects toward which adoration is to be made; any act of adoration of, or toward, the Ele- ments in the Holy Communion, such as bowings, prostrations, or genuflections." The repeal of this canon is an important factor in the discussion of ceremonial as allowed in this Church; although it would not be right to interpret such repeal as an authorization. The matter was so left for the de- cision of the authorities to which it belonged before the canon was framed. 14. Whether our ecclesiastical day begins at 6 P. M. or at midnight, there seems to be some doubt. (There are data enough to begin it at both hours.) Our calendar is, in this regard, so involved with monastic rules and practically obsolete practices, that there is need of modern, American definition. But the influence of such a community custom as that of the fixed practice of the public schools of the REFERENCE NOTES 311 country, is recognized in ecclesiastical precedents, as sufficient reason for modifying local liturgical practices. 15. Bp. Huntington, Forty Days with the Master; Browne, Wearied with the Burden; Bp. Brooks, The More Abundant Life; Bp. McLaren, Lenten Solilo- quies; Woodhouse, A Manual for Lent; Dover, A Lenten Manual. For Holy Week: Creighton, Les- sons from the Cross; Baring-Gould, The Passion of Jesus; Isaacs, The Sympathy of the Passion; Bel- lett, Good Friday Meditations (this is excellent for devotional instruction ) . 16. It is better to repeat all of the questions to each group of sponsors; but it is often impracticable to do so in the midst of another service. The only alternative where a considerable number of infants or adults are to be baptized, is to multiply the occasions for administering the Sacrament which means to divide the congregation. 17. Westcott, Catholic Principles; Sadler, Church Doc- trine and Bible Truth; Staley, Catholic Religion; Liddon, Some Elements of Religion. 18. Bishop T. N. Morrison's Prayers for Daily Use and for Holy Communion (30 cents, Morehouse Publish- ing Co.) is useful for this purpose. Any devo- tional manual will have forms for self-examination. 19. Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson, in his pamphlet, First Principles, puts this matter strongly. 20. There are a great many manuals for Confirmation Classes. Some are distinctly partisan; some too brief, and some too long. Some pay little attention to the meaning of the Catechism, and some do not give it all as it stands. Not a few are so worded as to overtax the intellectual ability of children. Some have no form for self-examination, and some are not preparatory to the Holy Communion. My own experience in this matter led me to publish a 312 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER manual, which I venture to suggest. (Morehouse Publishing Co., 12 cents.) 21. Wheatly, Common Prayer. 22. This certificate, having been filled out in advance, will be signed by the priest, and then given to the bride when the canonical certificates are signed in the parish register. But, because of the provision of the canon, requiring the signatures of the bridal couple and of the witnesses "if practicable", it is not necessary to delay the bridal party in leaving the church. The priest may, therefore, sign the certificate in advance (signing being incomplete cer- tification without delivery) and give the certificate to the maid of honor at the completion of the cere- mony in the chancel. 23. The marriage kiss was required in the early usage of the Church, and always has been a general custom. (Bingham's Antiquities, 1. c.) One would hardly look for a permissive rubric in this instance, because (with the exception of this act) the office is finished. However (as in the case of the second ring), one may be in doubt as to what he should direct. It is extremely silly for the priest to kiss the bride in the church. Indeed, the bride may well be advised to hold the number of her kissing friends at an irreducible minimum at the reception. 24. There are several excellent books for pastoral use. Were it not so large, Wright's Prayers for Priest and People ( Morehouse Publishing Co. ) would be the best. In any case, this book must be in the library of the pastor, for it is almost a necessity. Perhaps the most generally useful book that one can easily carry about in a pocket, is the Rector's Vade Mecum, compiled by James A. Bolles (E. P. Button & Co.). A Book of Offices for Priest and People, compiled by "Two Presbyters," is also excellent, and can be car- ried in an overcoat pocket without inconvenience. One can always put a few forms into a book. REFERENCE NOTES 313 25. Do not take ordinary bottles. Cruets may be fitted with rubber corks, and these corks exchanged for glass stoppers, when ready for service. 26. All pastoral manuals have appropriate selections for use in the sick-room. 27. Wright's Prayers for Priest and People contains excellent material for funerals at which the Prayer Book office is inappropriate. 28. Our churches so rarely have church-yards, that the intent of the rubric is here observed. 29. E. A. White, Church Law, Ch. III. 30. The author ventures to think that the persons elect- ing the trustees are better entitled to be known as the corporation, than are the trustees so elected. The permanent, active existence of the electing body, is canonically provided for. But, of course, the matter is determined in each case by diocesan canons and civil statutes. 31. Precedents for parish meetings can usually be had, by analogy, from the rules of order or canons of the Convention of the diocese. 32. Practically all authorities are agreed in this matter. For a full discussion, see White, Church Law, or Baum, Rights and Duties of Rectors. 33. General Canon: Communion Alms and contribu- tions, not otherwise specifically designated, at the Administration of the Holy Communion on one Sunday in each calendar month, and other offerings for the poor, shall be deposited unth the Minister of the Parish, or with such Church officer as shall be appointed by him, to be applied by the Minister, or under his superintendence, to such pious and charitable uses as shall by him be thought fit. Dur- ing a vacancy, the Vestry shall appoint a responsible person to serve as Almoner. The offerings at all early celebrations of the Holy Communion, at Baptisms, and at week-day services, are generally allowed for the Rector's Fund. From 314 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER this fund, the rector will usually purchase Com- munion Bread and Wine, assist the poor, contribute to Deanery and similar diocesan funds, purchase devotional and Confirmation manuals; and pay for printing and other items which he has purchased without order from the vestry. The rector should insist upon having his account audited annually, but confidentially so far as his charities are con- cerned. 34. Not to make the list too long, I would suggest the following books as those which will be most useful to the pastor in developing proper Sunday school forces: Dennen, Sunday School Organization; Kirk- patrick, Fundamentals of Child Study; Weigle, The Pupil and the Teacher; Wood, Adult Bible Classes; Lee, New Methods of the Junior Sunday School; Dubois, Point of Contact; Butler, Sunday School Methods. 35. One of the duties of a deacon in fitting himself for the responsibilities of a pastorate, is to possess himself of, and to become acquainted with, the liter- ature of the principal general and diocesan organ- izations of the Church. He will want some of them in his parish; and he should know enough about them to make a selection when the time comes. Likewise, he will do well to inform himself concern- ing the parochial organizations which have been useful in various parishes and missions. 36. There is no such thing on earth as a "free church." Someone has to pay the bills. It is not well to have Christian people think that they can get all their religious privileges for nothing; nor is it well for them to lean too heavily upon religious benefactors. If, because of a parish endowment or the equivalent, they are not called upon to pay pew-rent or con- tribute to the support of public worship in the par- ish, they should be called upon, and urgently if necessary, to make such contributions as they are able for missions and charities. REFERENCE NOTES 315 37. The rules for the meditation vary considerably, both as to subject matter and the method of dealing with it. I have given what I think is the simplest out- line. More complex forms which are followed to a greater or less extent by Anglicans can be found in the Science of Spiritual Life, edited by Fr. James Clare, S.J., p. 15 (London and Leamington Art and Book Co.). A little book that will help one a good deal at the start, in the matter of forming a simple and natural habit of meditating, is Knox Little's Treasury of Meditation. For cultivating a devo- tional habit of Bible-reading nothing is better than Isaac Williams' devotional Commentary (8 vols.) though now needing much revision. 38. White, Church Law, p. 179 and all other author- ities. 39. At the St. Louis General Convention in 1916, the Joint Commission on the Book of Common Prayer reported, advising a great many changes in rubrics, order of prayers, phraseology, additions, and omis- sions. It is possible that authorization for tentative use may be given for some portion of these recom- mendations; but forasmuch as it is probable that from six to nine years will be required to issue a revised Prayer Book, rubrics and other portions of the Book in which amendments have been reported are noted in this edition by reference number 39. 40 LETTERS AND FORMS It is well, after a few weeks of acquaintance with a con- gregation, to print and mail, or publish in the parish paper, something of this sort: It has occurred to me that the reverence which is so marked a characteristic of the congregation at the celebration of the Holy Communion, might be en- hanced by a more universal practice in a few par- ticulars 1. While promptness in coming forward to the Altar-rail is most desirable, yet it would be well to observe that only seventeen persons can kneel at the rail at one time. To kneel on the chancel floor is difficult, and crowding makes it more so, particularly for elderly people. 2. When about to kneel at the rail, it is oppor- tune for the younger communicants to observe whether they may give place to any who are infirm. 3. It is well to remove gloves before starting to- wards the Altar ; for otherwise they may be forgotten. (In such latter event, to avoid embarrassment, the priest will place the Bread in the mouth of the com- municant. ) 4. Where physical strength is sufficient, it is well to receive the Bread in the open palm of the right hand, resting in that of the left hand, and so raise it to the mouth without using the fingers. 5. While the priest does not (for safety's sake) entirely release the Chalice, yet the rubric requires that it should be delivered "into their hands." There- fore the communicant should take sufficient hold upon the base of the Chalice to lift and incline the margin FORMS 317 to his lips, and until the Wine has at least touched them. (Nervousness often causes the Chalice to in- cline too quickly. To guard against this the priest may seem, sometimes, to restrain the movement. It is difficult to estimate rightly in some cases.) 6. It is a reverent custom, and considerate of other communicants, for men with a moustache to raise it with the fingers of the left hand so that it may not fall into the Chalice when receiving. 7. It is very difficult to administer the Chalice to any who do not hold their heads erect, and par- ticularly to women whose hats forbid the priest to see their faces. 41 MEMORIAL CALENDAR -A THE CHAPEL or Sr. ANDREWS CHURCH. COR. WASHINGTON BLVD. A ROBEY ST. Chicago,.. ?, My clear ____.. : The Memorial Calendar of St. Andrew's Church indicates that next. _ is the anniversary of A Memorial Prayer will be offered at the o'clock service in the Chapel (entrance on Robey Street) that morning. If possible, we are confident you or some one especially near to you will be present. Faithfully yours, Rev. WM. C. DCWlTT. RECTOR. Rev. Ceo. B. PHATT, ASSOCIATE. 318 DECENTLY AND IN ORDER MEMORIAL KALENDAR B CHICAGO, _ To the Reverend- Please insert in St. Andrew's Memorial Calendar trader date of. **"> following baptismal name ; who, on that date L . i