City Work by J. O. Corliss

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 30, 1901

City Work

By J. O. Corliss

J. O. Corliss: The very first thing necessary in city work is to teach the people how to work. You may ask, What people?—The people you have with you in the faith. If there are no paid laborers, no accredited Conference workers at hand, call on members of the Church, no matter how humble they may appear, to assist in the work.

We may think, when we enter a place, that there are none there who have talent, but upon investigation one is surprised to find the amount of talent that is rusting in our churches to-day. We do not want to get the idea that because a man is not accredited by the Conference with credentials, he can not do anything in such work. I have found that when a person comes into the truth, he makes a better laborer than some who have been long in the Church, because everything he has received is fresh in his mind, and he knows better how to utilize it than do those who have been longer in the way, but have let the definite things of the truth fade in their minds.

Besides, new converts are more easily instructed in methods than our older people are. The older ones criticise methods that the younger ones readily receive and act upon. It is therefore well to begin training young converts as soon as they receive the truth. In San Francisco our best workers, outside of the Conference laborers, are those who have recently accepted the truth, and they do the most work.

The question arises, How can we get them into the work?—Not by preaching theory to them. They need preaching, but of that kind which will educate them in all branches of the work. But in our San Francisco work, a Bible study is given following the morning service, in which from seventy-five to one hundred take part. These are held with a view to teaching the people how to work, giving them an opportunity to ask questions. I have been astonished at the questions sometimes asked, which show an anxiety to learn all that is for the people. There we teach the people how to state this point of truth, or how to help in this emergency. If anything comes in to prevent our having such a meeting as that, the people are much disappointed, and they come to the front after the service, and say, “Why can we not have our Bible study to-day?”

But we have another preparatory work that I regard as one of the greatest factors we have in training workers. Every Thursday night, just as regularly as the weeks come, a doctor occupies the pulpit. In fact, there are two of them, who divide the time between them. There are Drs. Coolidge and Buchanan. They take up the most common diseases, and tell how their symptoms may be known. They do not talk in technical terms, but give popular talks, which a common person can receive. The people are then taught how to give simple treatments.

There are many poor unfortunates in the city who need help that they are not able to procure. Our people are instructed to go out, and wherever they find a soul that needs such work done, to take hold and do it free, without saying a word about their religion, or anything of the kind. But they talk to these persons, and console them with texts of Scripture, telling them that old, old story about Jesus Christ. The tears run down the faces of those addressed, and they say, “What church do you belong to?” Upon receiving an answer they say, “I have seen that little church a great many times.” When that person gets on his feet again, he is quite sure to appear at the church.

In our regular Sabbath congregation there are many who seem to have just as much interest in the services as our own people have. It is the work of the church that does it. The doctors in their practice in the city come across cases that they treat as charity cases. But in order that they may show interest in such persons, they offer to provide a nurse. Then the doctor comes to some one who has been sitting under his Thursday night teaching, and says: “I want you to take a case and nurse it for three or four days or a week, and do it for charity's sake, do it for love of Christ.” That individual takes the case, and nurses it through the extreme condition. One can not, after that, make such a patient think that Seventh-day Adventists are not Christians. In this way we reach many.

The one nurse we have who does most of the work of that character is also connected with the branch sanitarium. But she meets with us in our workers' councils, and so proves a link to unite the medical and evangelical work in the city. In fact, the boards of the medical institutions, and of the church, hold joint meetings, thus working in perfect harmony in every way.

Another branch of the work is that of the Christian Help Band. Although that is rather old, and has died out in some places, it is not so with us. I have not time now to read the report of what it is doing, but it meets once a week, in the basement of the church. There garments are made for the poor, and plans laid for aggressive work. Other persons in the church go out and collect food and garments. I can not tell you all that they do. But I know that it is common to see some one bring to the prayer-meeting Wednesday night a grain-sack full of bread, for the brethren to distribute where it is most needed. Hardly a week passes in which there is not at least one grain-sack of loaves of bread coming to the prayer-meeting in this way. Many are led to say, “Do not tell me that Seventh-day Adventists are not good people; if there's any religion in the world, they have it.”

We have also committees to visit old people. Wherever there are old persons who can not go to church regularly, those on this committee visit them as often as practicable. Others visit the sick and poor. Our people contribute regularly to a poor fund. All these committees report at the regular weekly workers' meetings. I have little else to do in these plans of work than to counsel with those engaged in carrying them out. This much seems necessary where so many are engaged in work, in order to preserve harmony and unity of purpose.

One important work is that of distributing the Signs of the Times, our pioneer preacher. Several bring in reports at each meeting of how many Signs they have sold during the week. They not only take the Signs of the Times, but the medical journal printed on the coast, the Pacific Health Journal. One sister has reported the sale of two hundred and fifty Signs in a week, and as many as fifty Pacific Health Journals. How she did it, I do not know. I only know that she has done it, and she is not a very strong woman physically either. When I think of this, I wonder what our young people are doing who are strong and able to work, but are waiting for the Conference to set them to work. These workers come to the meeting each week, and it would do you good to see the glow of grace and the smile of satisfaction upon their faces. I must acknowledge that they give me much courage. They never meet difficulties, even though their territory includes a large Catholic district. From among their readers they give out names and addresses to the Bible workers for the extension of their work.

We have also a Chinese work in the city; Brother and Sister Brand, members of our church, are doing the best they can for the Chinese in the city. They have a small work, but we do not overlook it. Of course there are great obstacles to meet in the Chinese work; But whoever goes into a large city, and undertakes to carry forward a work of that kind, will find difficulties without anybody telling him what they are. But these will cause him to seek God for wisdom, and he will be sure to have some original thought about his plans every day. He can not depend upon his past knowledge of the second or seventh chapter of Daniel, and say, “I can preach on that subject without study,” and then simply spend his time eating and sleeping and taking a little pleasure. A man working in a city goes there to study the situation from every detail he meets along the way.

We have workers' meetings once a week, on Wednesday evening. We pray together, and talk over the situation, ask and give counsel, so that everything may be understood for the week to come. If I were holding regular meetings every night in a city, and had a company of workers sufficient for the enterprise, I would have a workers' meeting every morning, where the workers could receive instruction. The reports of the day before would then be given, and the difficulties talked over. But in our circumstances we get together but once a week. But these meetings are blessed, precious seasons, and tears run down my face at times as I hear the workers tell what they have found and what blessings have come to them. Not a single murmur or complaint comes from them. The spirit they have is permeating the church, and many are beginning to desire to sacrifice for the Master's sake.

We have also a Japanese school. We have one Japanese brother, who works all he can in behalf of the truth. Not long ago he brought three Japanese, as noble-looking men as you ever saw, and said, “Sie wants baptism.” We baptised them. They stayed in the church for two or three months, when they had a burden to go back to Japan to assist in the work there. I hope the brethren in Japan will find them, and set them to work; for they know what it means to work.