A Working Church by Ellet Joseph Waggoner

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 24, 1882

“A Working Church.”

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

THE following extract from a pastor’s report to the California Christian Advocate will show what, in the minds of some, a church must do in order to merit the name given above:—

“The —— M. E. Church has been honored with the title ‘a working church,’ and when I tell you of some of its doings, you will grant that the name is well deserved.

“On the Fourth of July, the ladies of our church and congregation gave an entertainment, and sold ice-cream and lemonade, realizing $42 net as the result.

“Then a few of our ladies concluded to surprise the pastor and family by giving them a ‘pound party,’ and at once went to work. On the afternoon of the 25th, the pastor and family were invited to spend the afternoon at Brother C. C. Scott’s, and returned in the evening just in time to see the friends, representing various sects and parties, thronging the parsonage, and bringing with them their gifts, till the table was loaded with good and useful pounds, all over-weight. As the evening was delightful, many occupied the yard, where seats had been provided. The —— brass band was in attendance, and enlivened the occasion with soul-stirring strains of music.

“At the proper time the ladies served the large company—at least one hundred and fifty—with ice-cream and cake.

“At a late hour the friends retired, leaving us enriched to the amount of nearly $80 in cash and goods. Everybody seemed well pleased, and surely this first ‘pound party’ in —— was a complete success; and too much credit cannot be awarded to those who had the matter in hand. May our dear Heavenly Father bless and reward each one of these kind-hearted friends, is our sincere prayer.”

Certainly no one can doubt that the title “a working church” has been fairly earned, but there may arise a question as to the kind of work—whether good or bad. Did the Saviour have reference to “pound parties” and “ice-cream and lemonade festivals,” when he said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven?” Is this the kind of work that is going to convert the world and bring in the millennium?

A recent number of the Advocate says of Seventh-day Adventists: “Their perverts, when made, are left in utter destitution of the aids which are necessary in securing growth in grace and in spirituality.” Putting the two things together, we judge that in its estimation “pound parties” and “ice-cream festivals,” are necessary aids to growth in grace and spirituality! We are willing that Methodist churches should monopolize all such “aids.” Should any Seventh-day Adventist church substitute the holding of pound parties for its regular missionary work, we would not call it “a working church,” but should say that its members were among the last-day professors whom Paul describes as “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

E. J. W.