Christian Association

Sevural chinches in Aun Arbor gave up their evening services last Sunday, and fully 2,500 people gathered in Uoiversity hall to listen to the annua! addresa of the Student' Christian Associa tion by Rev. Washington Gladden, D. D., ot' Colurabus, O. A large choir nd the audience sang '' Revive us again," when Rev. W. W. Rnnasay of the M. E. church read the first Tsalco and a part of the fifth chapter of lst Thessaloniaus. A quartette sarg an nthem, " God is a spirit," which was followed by a praypr by Rev. S. Haskeil of the Baptist church. After thehymn " Coronation," Dr. Gladden gave bis addresa, " Hints to Christian Workers." It was an excellent one of its kind. He thougfat maoy labored under the morbid fear of making mistakes. During the war we liad generala who always blundered but who were always ready to undertake anything; and there were generala who nevar did anything because of thefe.tr of blundering. We shoul.1 learn to make mistaken, nd not be crusheJ by them. Why should a man be discour aged by his imperfeótions when he (èels that he ha something to do ? Do not be hsmpered by fear of failure. Mr. Gladden thought that some erred in attemptiog to do too much ; a good many were wearing themselves out in christisn work. It 8hould be put on record that the eloquent speaker cluimed to know ol one newspaper man who, a'ter his daily work en an afternoon paper, spent all his spare time in mis8ionary and Sunday school work, thus endangering his beahh. We should not wear ourselves out, because more could be accomplished by another cour8e. He thought there might be a half dozen in the audience to whom this wonld apply. Mmy workers lack concentration and defi'iiieness of purpoe; they attempt to spread their eflorte over too roany different linea of work. Many have an undervaluation of need of preparation lor chris tUn wotk. Most of the siudy of the Bible now is lamentably superficial, lt should be thorough. Those who go out to labor among the "masses" must know something about the great biirning qies tions of ibe day. Anolher error is lack of tact in reaching people ; it is citen positive lack ot cour'esy. We nced to put ourselves in syonpathy with those whum we wish to convert. An enihusiastic christian stage driver, when in a lanely prt of the country, suddenly tnrned to the only passenger he had, and said: 'Are you ready to die?" ''No," said the man, hurriedly jumping from the stage and running for tbe woods. We cannot reach people in that way. Don't be abrup:, and don't approach a person p-jblicly on his own religious expurierces. Mr. Gladden doesn't like the distribution of tract on trains and steamboats, and the revival meihod of forcing people to give some expression of their religious state. These things do no good. He t-aid that it was a mistake to suppose that religión was merely a scheme to get men safely to heaven. Christ omntt to bnng heaven down to earth. Sj we should not, in appea'ing to men, place all the stress upon i-elfish motives. At the clof e of the addres, J. E. Hodges, t!;e preident of the asociation, invited all to assisr their work; the hymn, "BU"-t be the tie that bindn," was sung, and Dr. Eddy, of the Presbyterian church, dehvered the benediction.