The series of lectures opened auspiciously on Wednesday evening, January 18, with an audience of over two hundred, to listen to the inspiring story of the "Christ of the Andes" as told by Senorita Carolina Huidobro. It proved to be the story of the negotiations which brought about peace between Chile and Argentina in 1903 and of that wonderful outburst of popular sentiment which finally found expression in the erection of a colossal bronze statue of Christ upon the boundary line between the two countries. This is the "Christ of the Andes," a statue twen ty-six feet in height, upon a granite pedestal of twenty feet, and it stands upon a plateau 14,000 feet above the sea, the highest accessible point of the Andes. It is the work of a young Argentine sculptor Senor Mateo Alonso and the successful carrying out of the plan was due to the enthusiastic interest of the women of Buenos Ayres, led by Senora Angela de Costa. The dedication exercises were held on March 13, 1904, and were most impressive. On the base of the pedestal is the following inscription: "Sooner shall these mountains crumble to dust than Argentines and Chileans break the peace which at the feet of Christ the Redeemer they have sworn to maintain." Senorita Huidobro spoke with the ardor of one in love with her subject and she was fortunate in having a large number of unusually beautiful stereopticon views. On January 25, Rev. Bradley Gilman gave a most interesting and instructive account of his recent trip through Palestine, and on February 1, Prof. Barton made us realize what summer means in Greenland. The lectures to follow are "The Evolution of American Humor," by Rev. John Snyder. "The World's Fair at St. Louis," by Rev. C. R. Eliot, and "In the Woods with an Indian," by Mr. William Lyman Underwood. John Howard Lend-a-Hand Club. The Annual Meeting was held on Saturday, January 28, 1905, at the house of the President, Mrs. Eliot, there being nine members present out of a membership of sixteen. Several members were detained by sickness. The following officers were elected: President, Mrs. Eliot; Vice-President, Dr. Mary F. Hobart; Secretary, Miss Elinor W. Crocker; Treasurer, Miss Ella Stevens. Reports were read showing that much practical work had been done since the last meeting in October. The Gymnasium. We are glad to announce that the Gymnasium will soon be ready for use. It will be open for inspection after the lecture on February 8. Arrangements have been made as follows: 1. A class for women and girls over fifteen will be formed at once, to meet on Monday and Thursday evenings, under the direction of Miss Wilhelmina Morlock, a graduate of the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics. 2. Instruction for older boys and young men will be provided on Saturday evenings and the gymnasium will be open for their use on Wednesday evenings also. 3. Classes for children will be arranged for two afternoons each week, with competent instructors. That for boys will be conducted by Mr. Hobart W. Winkley. The membership fee (except for children) will be one dollar, including the use of the baths. An additional fee of fifty cents will be charged for a private locker. Boys or men wishing to join will consult Mr. Eliot, and women or girls, Miss Jones or Miss Stokes. The first opportunities will be given to those in any way connected with the Church, after that to their friends, or any for whom there may be room. All who wish to become members are advised to hand in their names promptly. Miss Morlock will meet her class for a preliminary talk, on Thursday evening, February 9, at 7 o'clock, in the gymnasium, entering by the west door. It is important that all should be present. The first evening for the young men will be Saturday, February 11. WATCH FOR THE PENNY SUPPER AND CONVERSATION PARTY Bountiful and Toothsome Cookery A Gay Round of Pointed Interviews An Evening of Jollity You Cannot Afford to Miss It SEE POSTERS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS "Not to be ministered unto but to minister." VOL. I. MARCH 1, 1905. The Savings Bank of Character. A Savings Bank is an institution where we may deposit money and from which we may draw in time of need. We cannot go to the bank for money unless we have previously made such a deposit. It is the same with the bank of character. We cannot expect to find faith sufficient for the hours of sudden darkness, or moral strength for times of unexpected temptation, unless we have built such faith and strength into our minds and hearts and made them a part of our very being. Why is it that some people so easily break down, surprising us by their weakness, when trials come? It is because they have no depth of religious experience, no profound, moral convictions or principles, no reserve fund of faith and hope and love. They had enough of character for the pleasant days and prosperous times, when the stream of life ran smoothly; but not enough for the days of misfortune or temptation or sorrow. Why, on the other hand, are we so often surprised, by the way certain quiet people meet their griefs, so calmly, steadily, even cheerfully? Because we failed to realize how much strength there was back of their unostentatious living. But they had the reserve fund, the bank deposit of character; that is, a well-balanced mind, a well-governed will, a loving heart, a fund of moral principle and religious faith. -C. R. E. Neighborhood Work. A church ought to stand not only for its own interests but for the good of its neighborhood. Its own interests are the upbuilding of its various organizations, the increasing of its membership, the strengthening of its members in loyalty to their church and in Christian character. But no church NO. 5 should limit its service to itself. No church should become an exclusive, religious or social club. No true church can thus limit itself, although there is always a danger of its being unfaithful to the larger vision. The ideal of every church should be to make itself strong, first for the sake of its own members, but chiefly for the sake of the influence it can thus bring to bear upon the community in which it stands. It should seek to be not only a happy family but a centre of neighborhood service. It should let its light shine not only within its four walls but throughout its social environment. It should endeavor to serve the people, in every helpful way, and to represent for this larger circle the ideals of friendliness, good citizenship and religion. It is our purpose, at Bulfinch Place Church, to cultivate this spirit of liberality and to enter into this fellowship of "all souls." As means to this end, we add to the usual work of a church, lectures to which our neighbors are invited, gymnasium classes and the Saturday classes, referred to elsewhere, the Eliot Circle social meetings, the summer play-room for children, and neighborhood visiting. These illustrate the spirit which we hope animates all our work, from beginning to end. We wish the people of the neighborhood to feel that our church, none the less ours, is nevertheless theirs. Eliot Circle. The Valentine meeting was held on February 3, the decorations being specially appropriate. Miss Mary Ellis gave an entertaining recital and Miss Sara Fuller of the Horace Mann School, gave an interesting account of the work of the school, helping us to a more appreciative understanding of the success accomplished in the education of the deaf. The Winkley Guild. A very successful meeting of the Boston Federation was held on Sunday, February 26, at Neponset. Seventeen members of the Guild attended, our own meeting for that date being omitted. At the evening session of this meeting a most interesting and practical address was given by Rev. Peter H. Goldsmith, D.D., of Salem, Mass., on "A message to our great-greatgrandchildren." It was a very helpful address and those who were present were unanimous in feeling that it was a vital message. We are glad to acknowledge in this issue the names of those who have greatly encouraged us by becoming Associate Members of the Guild. The following is the list: Rev. S. H. Winkley, Mrs. S. H. Winkley, Mr. Hobart W. Winkley, Mr. Wallace F. Flanders, Mr. George L. Gifford, Mr. George B. Thomas, Mrs. George B. Thomas, Mrs. Florence A. Coombs, Miss Henrietta Abbott, Mrs. Martha W. Suter, Mr. J. A. Barker, Jr., Mr. Orin B. Ray, Mrs. Orin B. Ray, Mrs. Jane Breed, Mr. Ezra Breed, Mrs. Ezra Breed, Miss Emma Wright, Miss Edith Crehore, Miss E. H. Smith, Mrs. F. M. Hubbard, Mr. Joseph Parsons, Mrs. Daniel Hirth, Mr. William Gifford, Miss Mary F. Jenks, Mrs. Mary M. Eliot, Miss Ruth E. Rowe, Miss Estelle Mendum and Miss Lombard. This is a generous list to start with and one which we hope will encourage others to join. It is a pleasure also, to mention that the "Penny Supper" held last month was a very successful affair. We are able to report a net increase in our treasury of about twenty-one dollars, as the result of this supper. Not the least pleasing thing about the supper was the presence of visitors from one of our sister guilds. It is always pleasant to extend the hand of fellowship and to form new ties of friendship. The Saturday Classes. Saturday is a busy day, from 9 A.M. to IO P.M. The morning is taken up by the work of the Sphinx Club, an organization of young ladies formed for the purpose of giving lessons in music, elocution, Three pianos sewing and embroidery. are kept busy for two or three hours each, with a total of twenty pupils. The teachers are doing careful work, with encouraging results. In the gymnasium a class in elocution is in progress from ten to twelve o'clock, and in the rooms below, the classes in embroidery and sewing. The total number of pupils (including the cooking class on Thursdays) is fifty-one and much credit is due to the members of the Club and especially to its president, Miss Foster, for their faithful and efficient service. At twelve o'clock, some of the children have luncheon with Miss Jones, who has a general oversight of the "Day's Work," and at half-past one the basket-weaving class meets. This is in charge of Mrs. Wells and numbers sixteen, a very lively and interesting group. At three o'clock, the Round Table Club meets with Miss Jones, and also the Mildred Ellis Club of little girls. At four o'clock, Mr. H. W. Winkley has an hour of gymnasium work and play with the younger boys, who also meet him on Tuesday afternoons; and at seven o'clock, the older boys and young men come together for an evening of physical training under the direction of their excellent teacher, Mr. Percy R. Carpenter, of Harvard University. Yes, Saturday is a busy and a useful day. It is the children's day and a hearty greeting awaits all who wish to come. The teachers will welcome new pupils at any time. Sphinx Club. The cooking class, which meets on Thursday afternoons at 2-30 o'clock; is attended with enthusiasm. There are now twenty members. Every lesson is full of practical suggestion. 9 A.M.-12 M. Sphinx Club. Classes in sewing, The Church will be open every day from 10 until 1 o'clock. Mr. Eliot will be at the church on Wednesdays, and on other days by appointment. Miss Jones on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and Miss Stokes on Tuesdays and Fridays. Lectures-Second Course. The stereopticon lectures have proved so successful, both as to quality of the lectures and the size of the audience, that a second course has been arranged as follows: March 1, "The Panama Canal," by Capt. Charles Mason Fuller. March 8, "Christian Rome: Its Churches and Its Art," by Mr. Ernest C. Marshall. March 15, "Beautiful New Brunswick and Historic Quebec," by Miss Minna Eliot Tenney. March 22, "The Yellowstone Park," by Mr. Arthur K. Peck. March 29, "Picturesque Devonshire," by Mrs. Mary Fifield King. Course tickets are for sale at twentyfive cents. Admission to single lectures, ten cents. About one hundred and fifty season tickets were sold for the previous course and we hope to do as well for this. The Church has received five beautiful pictures for its new rooms. Two are the gift of Mr. Alfred Elson, the well-known art publisher, namely "Sir Galahad," by Watts, and a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Another, a fine engraving of the Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci, is the gift of Miss Elizabeth H. Smith, a former teacher in the Howard Sunday School. The frame was given by Mr. Frederick C. Cabot. The fourth picture, Hoffman's "Christ in the Temple" is a memorial gift from Miss Phebe C. Bradford, in memory of her sister, Mrs. Eliza Bradford Livermore, who was one of the original pupils of the Howard Sunday School and was connected with it until 1841. Each one of these pictures is a treasure. They not only speak to us of the generous friendship of the givers but reveal to us in their own way, the ideals of the Christian life. Lincoln speaks to us of honesty and honor, Sir Galahad of purity, the youth Jesus, of fidelity to the Father's business, and the Christ at the Last Supper, of self-sacrificing love. Last, but not least, is the "Madonna" presented to the Red, White and Blue Club by the "mothers of the boys." This will hang in their club room as a constant reminder of that mother-love than which there is nothing on earth more divine or more powerful to keep men true to "the kindred points of heaven and home." In addition to the above, the Church has received six smaller pictures, including two of Michael Angelo's prophets, from Miss Elizabeth Parkman and a bust of Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Miss Eleanor G. May. A special interest attaches to the latter gift as it once belonged to Mrs. Ednah D. Cheney, having been given to her by Miss Abby W. May. |