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THE MIRROR " The Mirror's Reflection is Always an Attraction" No. 45 STRATFORD, ONT., FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 1925 Vek.2 Dr. S. J. Gordon Gave interesting Address Author and Lecturer Greatly Pleased Those Who Heard Him Dr. Gordon began his address to the congregation, gathered to hear this man speak in the Centennial church, Sunday evening, by asking: "Tf they ever spent a day with God? Even a day spent with your friends influences your conduct. There wers things when you were in their pres- ence that you refrained from saying, so careful were you of offending them. There is a story told of a man who did walk with God for a longer than a day. That man was Enoch. ' Dr. Gordon said he had been trying to find out for a long time what it really meant to walk with God. Does it mean recognizing his presence? He knew that anything that concern- ed him concerned the Master. Spending a day with God was made great time rery real and natural by the speaker. In every sphere of life, at the base- ball games, cricket and other sports as well as in the work shop. He told of how real God had been to a friend of his, and cited one of the many instances of the manner in which He helped him in solving every- day problems. This gentleman was a builder and had been asked to inspect a defective pbuilding. But not until he prayed was he able to tell where the defect was. The answer, said Dr. Gordon, came to his friend while he was on his knees. Bending the knees bends and flexes the will. Recognizing God's presence in all the things of life might be really what is meant by spending a day with God. Out of the 33 years of Christ's life he spent 30 of these years just living and work- ing. He loved to think of Jesus in the carpenter shop, and even thera he worked under the eye of his fath- er. Let us not even work but play as though the Master was here. I can find out what it means to spend (Continued on page 5) {2 iL ----S--S--S-------------- Ss FRANK O'DONOGHUE Plumber and Electrician Prompt Attention to all orders Phone 1191 45 Argyle St. 3 "Go To Church Sunday" Business men have their special effort events. Insurance companies have their special effort times, and now churches have recently taken a hold of the same idea and rightly so. Next Sunday is "Go to Church Sun- day." A preacher said the. other Sunday evening that if the picture shows were allowed to be open Sunday eve- ning there would be a small attend- ance at the churches. "As it is," he said, "many of the tabernacles that are filled on Sunday evenings are the ones which provide the best' enter- tainments," An actor once said that the reason why theatres are patronized, and churches so often empty was be- cause: "The actor made fiction real as the truth, but the preacher spoke the truth as though it were fic- tion." q While preachers may not be _ re- leased entirely of being responsible for the empty pews, they do not gen- erally get the support from the laity that they are deserving. Their pro- fession is not an easy one, and par- ticularly for the one who was never . jntended by nature to preach. In a place like Stratford where there are few who do not believe in a Creator and in the power of the Gospel, as well as its need, one would think all the churches should be fill- ed every Sunday, but they are not. Indeed there are hundreds in Strat- ford who are never inside a church from one year's end to another. Just before starting this article on "Go to Church Sunday," we asked a very fine man what church he attend- ed. He replied, "None." "No sir, I haven't been church for 6 years." "Did anyone ever invite you to go?" "Never once," he replied. We heard a man say the other day that the reason he did so much busi- ness was because his store was out of the way, and the kind of a store where a man could smoke his pipe, or run in and purchase what he want- ed in his work clothes when coming from work, without feeling embar- assed. Maybe Churches are too nice, or maybe the people who attend them have the same idea about themselves. This might be the reason why many inside 4&4 as" stay away. It is not given as the most important one, however. The very next man spoken to on this subject said that he came tc Stratford last October and had only been in church once. "Did anyone in the congregation speak to you then?" he was asked. His reply was "No sir, not one." But in spite of the fact of the great number who do not go to Church and the complaint that people are turning away from ideals, let the question and the answer be given. "Ideal what?" "Practical what?" The ans- wer is ideal ends and practical meth- ods. But in every generation there are periods of spiritual warmth, and periods of spiritual coldness. The world is better at heart today than it ever was. before. There are more great movements working to wards ideal ends than at any other time in the history of the world. The impelling force of all great move- ments must be love, and love seek: eth not her own. When this becomes the ideal of every preacher and every church mémber, and when the church has learned the skill of operating from the ideal to the practical, peo- ple will look forward to their spiritual regeneration with 'a greater expect- aney and pleasure than they ever have anticipated their physical needs. We believe it could truthfully be said though, that those who do the least, as a rule, in every good movement, are the ones who criticize the most severely. There is a reason, however, why so many people do not go to Church. as there is also a reason why there are not more Andrews in the Church- es. Some folks, as General Stanley Lee has said, can never understand how Jesus of Nazareth accomplished sO much without being on a commit- tee, and some have accused the church which claims His name as enly organizing committees and the committees pass resolutions and then | go home. Maybe one of the reasons why 8s.) | many people fight shy of a church 1s | that given in a recent issue of Har- | per's Magazine. j ' | 4 Fred Eastman, writ- ing of a "Minister's Dilemma," says (Continued on page 4) Shakespearean Pageant A Histrionic Success Staged by the Central Church Shake- speare Club in the City Hall. The Shakespearean Pageant by the Central Church Shakespeare Club in the City Hall, Monday and Tuesday evening, under the direction of Mrs. (Rey.) J. W. Magwood, drew appre- ciative audiences. The players, or those who took part, are deserving of much praise. When it is considered. that there was no dress rehersal pre- vious to the first evening of the pag- eant, all will agree, that the enter- tainers did remarkably well. hs The following are the names those who took part: of DRAMATIS PERSONAE MacBeth -- Hecate, Mrs. Woolner> Lady MacBeth, Miss Lillian Brown- ing; The Doctor, Mr. Price; A Gentle- woman, Miss Molly Wilson; 1st Witch, Miss Cooper; 2nd Witch, Miss Crookshank; 8rd Witch, Miss Malone:. Recate's Attendants--Miss_ Britnell.. Miss Helen Knechtel and Miss Helen Wilson. Merchant of Venice--Trial Scene-- Duke, Mr. Frank Wright; Antonio,. Mr. George Atkins; Bassanio, Mr, Em- merton Roberts; Shylock, Mr. Alvin Reavie; Gratiano, Mr. Marsh Mag- wood; Salario, Mr. Nelson Price; Por-. tia, Miss Carolyn Griffith; Nerissa,. Miss Lily Webb; Clerk, Mr. Manning;. Guards and Attendants. Romeo and Juliet -- Romeo, Price; Juliet, Miss Anna Kruspe. Julius Caesar--Mark Antony, Manning; Citizens and Soldiers. Mamlet--Hamlet, Mr. J. Dunsmore; Hamlet's Father's Ghost, Mr. C. Ding- man. Midsummer Night's Dream--Lysan- der, Mr. Dingman; Demetrius, Mr. Magwood; Helena, Miss Griffith : Hermia, Miss Georgie Cullis; Fairies, Mary Nethercott, Helen Dufton, Cath- arine Piggott, Margaret Ingram: Helen Hill, Thelma Allen, Dorothy Pratt, Margaret Hern, Edith Lennox, Ruth Lennox. Soloists--Mr. Tom McLean, Miss Lillian Browning, Miss Agnes Cullis, Culligan orchestra. Mr. Mr; Warned of Poultry Disease _ Members of the Poultry and Pet Stock Association here have been warned to guard against the introduc- tion of the European Fowl Pest into this country from United States.