Welsh Journals

(i^e lZewpoi[f £res6Yferian. /< MONTHLY NOTES. (November, 1895.) E look forward with great interest to the coming visit of the Rev. John McNeill, whose Mission in Newport will commence on Sunday, the 17th, and close on Friday, the 22nd. We have long wished that Newport might have an opportunity to hear this gifted preacher, and now it is coming to pass. To our mind he stands quite alone as a preacher of the Gospel. He has been " separated " by the Spirit for the work, and has been richly endowed with the needed qualifications. We would urge all our readers to make every effort to attend his meetings. • * Our appeal in our last issue has not been in vain. We have received several offers of help, both financial and literary, and we have therefore decided to continue the publication of the Magazine another year. Five young men have volunteered to act as a Committee, to solicit subscriptions, and to superintend each month the publication. Others have undertaken to contribute short articles, and to interest themselves in various ways in the work. Thus supported, we hope to make the Magazine more useful and successful than ever. * * We rejoice to understand that the Dorcas Society in Havelock Street has started its winter's work so well. In addition to their sewing meetings, the mem¬ bers have now started a Mothers' Meeting, and already twenty-six names have been registered. That is splendid. The Mothers' Meeting in Oaerleon Road is also doing well, keeping up its standard of last year, and promising even to go beyond it. Meetings of this kind are bound to be a blessing. They combine charity and instruction, clothing for the body and food for the soul. May we hope that all our sisters will join in such noble work ? * ♦ The Literary Society has also made a capital start. The Syllabus is now printed, and may be had of the Secretaries. On the whole it is an excellent programme of work, including a great variety of subjects and of speakers. The subjects for debate are particularly in¬ teresting. For those who are interested in social questions, there is the debate on Wealth. The author¬ ship of the Epistle to the Hebrews will interest Bible students. All who are concerned about the best methods of church work will find pleasure in the debates on Christian Endeavour Societies and the P. S. A. movement. The debate on the Novel will be helpful both to those who are fond of literary matters and to those who are charged with the training of the young, while all sections alike will find attractions in the debate on the Advancement of Women. In these six debates there is matter enough and to spare. # * We are exceedingly glad that Madame Brython Thomas has undertaken the duties of Music Secretary. Our Musical Evenings will be a great treat. We shall have high-class programmes that will be an attraction and an instruction to all. When we think how popular are the silly songs of the music hall, and how they vitiate the tastes of young people, we find it in¬ cumbent upon us to provide such music as will be pure and purifying. The debasing influence of impure music, particularly in the form of low saloon and street songs, is one of the most suggestive signs of the times, and we rejoice therefore to think that, under the wise and gifted superintendence of Madame Brython Thomas, our Literary Society will do its share towards counteracting it. * * Our Preparation Classes are not yet as well attended as they ought to be. The average attendance in the Teachers' Class is six, that is, one-third of the number of teachers in the school. We should be glad if it were possible to secure a larger attendance, as the discussion of each lesson would then be more widely shared, and the influence of the class would tell more effectively upon the school. The class is not confined to teachers, and we should welcome heartily the presence and help of others. * * The Class in Christian Evidences has a still more meagre attendance—an average of four. What a per¬ centage of our church members! If we were in a cynical mood, we would comment with much point upon its magnificence ! Out of a church of two hun¬ dred members there are actually four who find time and heart to spend an hour a week in a Christian Evidence Class! Others have told us that they are coming! We shall welcome them gladly when they will come, for we believe that no class can be more useful than a class to discuss the evidences of our Christian faith. Let us multiply the attendance by five, and by so doing we shall multiply its usefulness by twenty. It is gratifying to find that the attendance in the Church and Prayer Meetings is improving steadily. In our last Monthly Notes we ventured to ask, Where are the men? There is still pertinence in the question. The sisters are attending in large numbers ; but the brethren still hold back. Why ? Is there an honest reason why some are never found in a Prayer or Church Meeting ? What a blessing it would be, what an encour¬ agement to the minister, what an increase of power in the meetings, if the attendance were increased, especi¬ ally by a larger number of men. The spiritual work of the church would then be greatly enriched. Prayer and Fellowship would generate a moral and spiritual force that would act and re-act upon all departments of our church activity, and help to make us God's efficient workers in the redemption of our fellows.