themes are
various, a few may serve as specimens. "How to Keep One's Religion and
Make It Pay," "The Back Yard," "The Test of the Summer Time," "The Man You
Happen to Meet," "The Utility of the Yell," "The Wedding Bells and Funeral
Knells," "Dr. Charles M. Sheldon and His Ideas of an Educated Man," "Be a
Columbus," "The Keen Zest of Living." Any local topic of general interest
is taken up and discussed, and the activities of the church and the social
and literary doings in the various out-stations are brought before the
people. So they are kept constantly aware that something is going on that
is worth while throughout the parish, and I have an opportunity to keep my
ideas before the whole parish. This I consider one of my most valuable
ways of working, and I find that the Pastor's Column is eagerly looked for
and widely read.

This suggests the question whether in the past the pastors of our churches
have sufficiently appreciated the value of printer's ink as an adjunct in
carrying on religious and community work. If the pastor can speak through
the press as well as the pulpit, he is duplicating his influence.

6. The Benzonia Christian Endeavor Society purchased a stereopticon for
use in the Larger Parish. It was equipped with electrical apparatus to be
used in the villages, and with acetylene light for the schoolhouses and
country places where there was no electric current. It could be easily
carried from place to place, and became a very practical and useful
instrument in the work. Slides on various subjects were easily obtained,
and the effect of lectures and talks was greatly increased. The people in
these days want to see things as well as to hear about them, and the sight
helps out the hearing. They never get tired of looking at good pictures.
It became easy with the help of the lantern to provide an interesting and
profitable evening entertainment, and the people showed their appreciation
by their presence in large numbers and their careful attention. "The
Panama Canal" was thus presented and illustrated, and "The Other Wise
Man." Some lectures by the pastor--"On Horseback through the Holy Land,"
"A Week in and about Jerusalem," "Three Months on an Ocean Steamer"--were
made more vivid and attractive by views from photographs taken on a
foreign trip. In many ways the stereopticon has proved a valuable
acquisition, and especially in a country parish can it be used with great
profit and satisfaction.

7. In a lo