Finally one delegate said no, they hadn't given any socials because the president of their official board didn't believe in holding socials in the church and it was Hard to get Homes. The district fourth vice said, "Isn't that too bad! Has any one else had better luck? Has anybody given a good or unusual social this year? If so, I am sure we would like to hear about it." The delegate from Strommerstown said yes, they had a new idea they liked real much. They had a social, where when the people came in the door they had their names pinned on them so as to get acquainted. Then they had a guessing contest and a vocal solo and the Fourth Vice cut out pictures irregularly and folks matched partners for the lemonade and cake. It had been a real nice social; the president of the Ladies' Aid had said it was and so had the Minister's Mother. The District Vice said it was a Lovely Social indeed and asked pleasantly if some one else did not have another lovely Social to add to their collection. No one else seemed able to untie his tongue, so the District Fourth Vice began telling them all what a great Responsibility was theirs, molding as they did the social life of the youth of their church. It behooved them, she said, to enter upon their next year's task with Earnestness and Zeal. Then she read a little poem entitled "Striving to Win" and tapped the closing bell regretfully, saying that she felt that much more might be said if there were only Time. Our Delegate was somewhat disheartened. Her mood did not change during the address of the Missionary from Africa, as he was one of those Long-Winded Missionaries who give the population of all the largest cities of a country, and the number of its rivers flowing into the sea, in Minute Detail. Our Delegate was seized with a sudden impulse to ask him if he ever tried to organize a Luther League among a band of cannibal chiefs, but she did not Dare. By the time the Missionary had closed with an impassioned appeal that the Luther League support his work in Africa for the next five hundred and nineteen years by an immediate subscription of two per, the Shades of Night had fallen. And the pages of Our Delegate's notebook were still quite blank. During the Dinner Hour while the ladies of the church passed Frankfurters and Potato Salad, Our Delegate introduced herself to the Girl sitting on the next Chair and they had a Conversation. "Does it seem to you," Our Delegate asked at length with some degree of hesitation, "that this convention is exactly going?" "Oh, no," said the Girl on the next Chair, with a superior air due to the fact that this was her eighth convention, "they never do, you know. Always frightful bores, but you get to see folks that you haven't seen for a long time and all that sort of thing." "But," persisted Our Delegate, in an unmannerly manner for one so new, "what about Luther League methods? We haven't learned any." "Oh, no," said the Girl on the next Chair, "that would be Too Startling." And she bit on her oyster cracker with a finality which announced the closing of the subject. After dinner every one Wandered About at ease for a time, chatting amicably and asking each other's names, addresses and condition of the League finances, etc., until it was time for the Speaker of the Evening. He turned out to be the State Senator, of whom Modunk was justly proud, and who also charged no traveling expenses. He spoke with eagerness and intelligence on the subject, "Politics and Religion-Do They Ever Meet?" and he referred ever and anon to our Leaguers as Makers of the America of Tomorrow. They all went home feeling Tremendously Responsible. Especially Our Delegate. She made an entry in her notebook: Form a citizenship club in third department; and went to bed to dream of Carrie Chapman Catt. The next morning so early that it was Almost Disturbing, she was awakened by three loud knocks at her bedroom door. When she opened it sleepily, lo and behold, before her stood the Girl who had sat on the next Chair the night before. In answer to Our Delegate's questioning stare the Girl who had sat on the next Chair grabbed her excitedly. "My dear," she said, "I was impressed by you last night— I really was. My boresome attitude was only a Pose. You may not know it, but I am one of the runners of this district and last night I had a consultation with our president, and we are going to make you District Fourth Vice." "But, my eye," said the delegate, somewhat explosively, owing to the fact that it was very early in the morning and she had had no time to develop her daily Portion of Poise, "my eye, I have never even been to a district convention before-what do I know about it?" "My dear," said the Girl who had sat on the next Chair, "that doesn't mean anything in this district. This sort of thing is very usual, I assure you." Our Delegate almost started to assure the Girl who had sat on the next Chair a few things as well, but suddenly she had a Sober Second Thought, an Idea, an Inspiration. She placed her right hand solemnly on the left shoulder of the Girl. "I'm with you," she enunciated; "if you will elect me I'll serve with a Vengeance." The business meeting took all morning, owing to the fact that district officers kept being elected and jumping to their feet immediately afterward to beg to be allowed to resign. Then voting had to go on all over again. When this happens several times, a morning has a way of eating itself up. By twelve o'clock, however, a sufficient quantity of district officers had been lassoed, Our Delegate had succeeded in having the next convention delegated to her town, and the Tootletown train was whistling at the crossing. As Our Delegate dashed for it, she yanked her notebock out of her pocketbook. Once seated in the coach she made her second entry: "Item! Podunk delegate elected Fourth Vice. O Boy! Just wait till I get started!" Our Delegate had made up her mind to start a Reformation. Before she got through she had a harder time than Martin Luther. She found that persuading a Leopard to change its Spots is as nothing to persuading a District Convention to change its Habits. She used up all the Habits. She used up all the letter paper her Grandfather had given her for Christ. mas, also most of the post cards in the Village Store, without arousing any Supreme Enthusiasm in the hearts of her fellow district officers. Fate seemed against her and she was in the process of Regretfully Resigning when all of a sudden Something Happened. The district president, who was a nice man but needed a little Pushing, accepted a business offer in the next town. Our Delegate stopped resigning and telegraphed him to come to Podunk for a conference. She was perfectly safe in doing this, as for some time now she had been flashing a Diamond given her by the Minister's Son, and the Town Gossips knew she had absolutely no designs on Anyone Else. The District President was a little hazy on the subject of conferences, but this sounded good and he Consented, arriving in Podunk on a Saturday afternoon. After a Large Lunch (Our Delegate was a politician all right) they had an Earnest Conversation. That is, Our Delegate Earnestly Conversed. The D. P. had no chance at all, but he was a Beautiful Listener. Our Delegate made a number of Points as follows: Point One. If a district convention is a mutual admiration society, by all means spend the greater part of the first session in papers on subjects of no particular importance. However, if a district convention aims to accomplish the most possible work in the least possible time, limit the opening exercises, including the (Un) Welcome speeches to a half hour. Point Two. Get a Convention song leader who doesn't sing through his nose. Fine hir. $10.33 for every s ssion he dares enter without picking out hymns ahead of time. Point Three. Don't hold all Round Table conferences at the same time. Many Leagues have but one delegate, and the Single Representatives return home with the minimum instead of the maximum information. Point Four. Do not make place for any extra speakers after the convention program has once been determined, except in very exceptional circumstances. Never let Cause Presenters loose on a convention without a muzzle. They have a way of rushing in where angels fear to Tread and the amount of Valuable Time they seem capable of consuming is something Appalling. A fine Muzzle is this: Speak of nothing at our Dist. Convention that is not Vitally related to the Luther League. Point Five. Continuing in the same strain: Never ask a man to be your Speaker of the Evening just because he is Mayor or Governor or President of the United States or some little thing like that. Ask him because you think he will send the delegates back home inspired to make greater efforts. After writing these points down on a large white paper that they might be made a Matter of Record, Our Delegate stopped and chewed her pencil reflectively. "Can you think of anything else to explode about?" she asked the D. P. at length. "Well," said that accommodating man somewhat timidly-it was the first chance he'd had to open his head-"if it wouldn't be too presumptuous I might suggest that work in a few Do's along with the Don'ts." "Quite Right," said Our Delegate, who was nothing if not Broad-minded, "and that brings us to the Resolutions. We just simply must make some of those. I dote on Resolutions." egate dearly adores to take down things in a notebook. (Believe me, Mr. D. P., said Our Delegate in an aside, that is only TOO True.) Resolved, That a half-hour period shall be given during the convention for a conference on Administration. This shall cover the work of the President, Secretary and Treasurer. These three officers work in such close co-operation that to consider their work separately is a Crime. Also a Waste of Time. Resolved, That a model social be held at which there shall be no Guessing Games, Weak Lemonade, Potato Races or Cornet Soloş. Resolved, That a banquet be held at which each district officer shall be asked to make a three-minute toast-to be timed with stop-watches. At the end of three minutes the stop-watch keeper to give the banqueters the signal to start clapping, so that if the district officer shall attempt to go on any longer he will be Quite Drowned Out. Resolved, That the district officers shall arrive at Podunk the morning before the convention is to convene, to go over the program together, and make last minute readjustments. "Keen resolutions those," said Our Delegate as she finished recording them. "I like them myself." Our Delegate was no Modest Violet, but neither has anybody else ever been who succeeded in stirring Anything Up. After arranging the Details of the Program, they had more to eat, talked earnestly about the publicity campaign to get a Crowd, and separated, Overjoyed at the Prospects. The Podunk convention was what is known among our leading slang artists as a Pippin. From the time when the district officers arrived early Friday morning and sitting around the diningroom table at Our Delegate's fair home, held a regular Peace Conference, to the time during the Model Social, when the most Dignified Minister in the district won the "bawl" game by throwing a beautiful "bawl" to the furthest corner of the building, everything was a howling success. One or two Tragedies happened, of course. At the end of the election of officers Saturday, the D. P. announced that this closed the work of the morning, whereupon the song leader said, "Let us sing, 'Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow'"; then the district superintendent's Baby fell down the altar steps on his Head, breaking up the administration conference temporarily; the district second vice forgot to say anything about Stewardship, and the Ice Cream for the Banquet got lost on the way. But these were Trifles compared with the fact that Enthusiasm Bubbled, Notebooks Filled, and Delegates talked eagerly about Regenerating their Leagues. As the shadows of evening began to fall the second afternoon and the convention neared its Close, the D. P. flourished a wreath of roses in Our Delegate's face and made a Presentation Speech. Then somebody started "They say that our district, she Got style all the while-" and the convention broke up in a Delirium of Enthusiasm. As Our Delegate and her Minister's Son stood on the Podunk railroad platform waving the rose wreath in a last farewell to the Departing Delegates, the D. P. leaned far out over the back platform and this chant floated back to the wavers: "Somebody said that it couldn't be done, But she with a chuckle replied, That maybe it couldn't, but she would be one Who wouldn't say so till she'd tried: So she buckled right in With a trace of a grin Without any doubting or quiddit, She started to sing As she tackled the thing That couldn't be done and she did it!" President Wilson certainly made no especial concession to the Vatican by his visit of courtesy apart from the visit itself. He was asked by the Vatican authorities to leave from the (Roman Catholic) North American College when about to make his visit. The reply made was that this was not deemed necessary. Actually he went from the American Embassy in company with the King of Italy, after a dinner at which the Italian sovereigns and officials were present, and was accompanied to the Vatican with automobiles of the Italian Government. So were the old precedents broken! To the request of the Pope for representation at the Peace Congress he formally replied, according to L'Information, that combatants alone were to be admitted. When he took leave of the Pope he informed him that he was going to greet his brethren of the faith, the representatives of the Evangelical Churches in Italy. Benedict expressed his pleasure at the prospect of this visit to "our Protestant brethren." This is the same Benedict who not long since described the same Italian Protestants as "robbers of faith" and in a discourse in 1917 to the auxiliaries of the Propaganda insisted on the necessity of Catholics "destroying the conspiracy" of Protestantism BY REV. C. P. HARRY. Lutheran Student Pastor at University of Pennsylvania. HE purpose of this series of papers is to call attention to the main features of Young People's societies and their work. It is a theoretical series. The problems of each local organization can best be met by those on the field. All that I can hope to do is to direct thought toward the essentials and to point out certain customary features and difficulties. There is a legitimate place for theory in our work. I have been called a theorist. I accept the title. Theory is the summing up of experience and the projection of it in orderly form so as to meet future contingencies. Theory is one of the great means of progress and one of the sources of knowledge. All scientific experimentation is begun and carried on by means of theory. If experiments prove the theory false, new theory is created to meet the enlarged situation. If we wish to build a house we secure the services of an architect who plans it on theory. The fact that he must often change his plans due to the inability to obtain material desired or due to other local conditions in no way invalidates his planning on theory. Our success in the war-gardening we have been doing rested on our having a theory of gardening, however crude that may have been. So I will present a theory of association and co-operative activity by which to judge existing organizations, to form new ones or conduct new activities in the old ones, or to cause them to function more fruitfully. No organization should exist for its own sake. It must have a purpose. Sometimes we run across societies which people are trying to keep active chiefly for the reason that once they were active. They are a cumbrance and a danger. Form an organization for a purpose and see that it sticks to that purpose. The main purposes for which Young People's Societies are formed are: 1. To deepen devotion among the young people. To stimulate greater spirit of worship and to draw the young people nearer to God. 2. To provide information for the Young People on Church work, doctrine and the like, so that they will form group convictions. 3. To promote co-operation among them in Church work. 4. To cultivate sociability among the young people so that they may come to know each other and be real friends and companions in the Church. 5. To enable the young people to function democratically in group form for the good of the whole Church. Young people can doubtless have part in the Church work directed by their elders. The older people should undoubtedly control the work of the congregation, but it is important that the young people should have the opportunity to engage in work which they shall direct as well as serve. It is important that they gain this experience of directing their own activity, worship and fellowship so that when they come to take their places as in turn the older members of the congregation they shall know how to plan and work together. THE PRINCIPLES OF ASSOCIATION 1. The Elements of association are, in addition to the common purpose already mentioned, common tastes, knowledge or convictions, experiences or memories. The strongest bond of union in an association is a common purpose. That unites where many other characteristics are at variance. A notable example of the power of common purpose in uniting people in organizations who never before had any intimacy with each other is familiar in the many Red Cross Chapters formed in almost all communities in the last couple of years. Here a common purpose united women of very different tastes and standards in a bond of common purpose. Common purpose finds a strong ally in common tastes or interests. Those who have like interests as well as like purposes will form a stronger association than those in which there is only one of these elements. Well-known examples of associations formed primarily on the basis of 'common interests are the Art Associations and Athletic Clubs. We used to have a boat club in which the only bond of union between the fellows was a taste for swimming and canoeing. Most of us never saw each other from one end of the year to the other, but we maintained our association in a flourishing condition for a long time on our common interest in sport. Common convictions are a strong bond of union. Dissimilar convictions cause disruption and division. The most familiar example of the force of dissimilar convictions causing dissociation even where the purpose and the tastes are very largely the same is in the denominational divisions of the Church. Here men with the same purpose and with strong religious tastes are kept apart by their convictions. Where taste, conviction and purpose combine we have strong and vigorous association. Common experiences or memories afford a further element of association. Veteran and alumni associations afford a striking illustration of the force of memory of common, experience in the forming of organization and the upbuilding of associations. The common experiences of most of our church members in a community ought to be a great help in the formation of associations. The differences of custom among the denominations causing different experiences of the Faith among their people are the explanation of the fact that many people feel more at home and more in sympathy with associations of "their own" denomination than in interdenominational associations. 2. The means of creating and strengthening these elements of association are mutual acquaintance, mutual help and cooperation, mutual forbearance and esteem (over against a spirit of criticism), good leadership, prayer. People must really know one another to form a strong association. Many organizations are weak because the members have not become personally acquainted and the bonds of common interests, tastes, knowledge, purpose and the help of common memories and experiences have not had a chance to grow. I knew a small congregation which grew rapidly. At first the members all knew each other and the progress and vigor were remarkable. As it grew, however, the people were not careful to keep up the acquaintances formed or to form the acquaintance of the newer members. In a few years the vigor of the congregation plainly declined and before long discord developed, due largely, I believe, to the fact that the people no longer knew each other. If your society is weak, see whether or not the trouble may not lie here. It is a commonplace of psychology that we love those whom we help more than we do those who help us. You ought never to say I can not love such or such a person. Begin to do things for them and you will come to love them. Mothers love their children as a rule more than the children love them. The reason is that the mothers do more for the children than they do for their mothers. I sometimes think that the reason we do not have the love we expect from our children is because we do not let them do enough for us. Here is a bond of union, a means of strengthening association-have the members do things for each other, or have them work together so that they are indispensable to each other in a common undertaking. If your society is weak, perhaps the members are not working together enough to come to take interest in each other. But all may be wrecked by the spirit of criticism and fault-finding. There is a right kind of criticism which sees manifest failure and aims to correct it. There is also a spirit of fault-finding which is merely destructive. Where this enters an organization, it is doomed. I saw one fine Luther League wrecked by this spirit recently. They began by criticising the Church, then they criticized each other and the society died. At the student conferences someone always says, "Now if our conference is to be of value to us, we must avoid the spirit of criticism." It will kill association. With all these things an association must have good leadership. I believe the good leader must have these qualifications: Knowledge he must know what he is trying to do, the goal he is aiming at and how to get there. Power or control-he must be able to direct the forces under his leadership so that the end is attained. Not only knowledge of what and how but the real ability to put that knowledge into practice. Adaptability of two kinds. He must be able to adapt himself to those whom he is leading, so that he can begin with them at the point where they are and lead them to the place where they ought to be. And he must be able to quickly and skilfully adapt means to ends. I heard not long ago of a chauffeur who, when the brake of his machine broke at a long distance from a garage in the mountains, made a brake of barbed-wire which held the machine safely until a garage was reached. A leader will be able to adapt unpromising material to his ends and to alter his program to enable the group to follow where he is leading. Enthusiasm. No man can lead without enthusiasm. It may be that quiet and steady enthusiasm which is such an inspiration or it may be more showy, but in some way it must be there. Vision. A leader must see the possibilities before the others do and show them the way. Last of all, prayer is a great force for the forming and strengthening of all association. Pray for leaders if you do not have them. I prayed for a leader for a boys' organization one time. I prayed for a year. Then the Lord sent the man, one of the best leaders of boys I have seen. Pray for the spirit of good-will and forbearance in your group. Pray that God will give you the organization and fellowship you desire. "Ask and it shall be given unto you." We do not have because we do not ask. |