,transcribed from the #ahgj ,w4 ,h4     
,bartlett and ,co4 edition by ,david    
,price1  email ccx#jgdpglaf4org         
,,lay ,,help ,,the ,,church',s          
,,present ,,need4                       
99 99 99 99 99                       ,a 
,,paper ,,read ,,at ,,st4 ,,mary',s     
,,schools1                              
,,west ,,brompton1                      
99 99 99 99 99                      ,,on
 ,,the ,,evening ,,of ,,november        
#ag,,th1 #ahgj4                         
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,by ,,william ,,baird1 ,m4,a4          
,,vicar ,,of ,,homerton1 ,,middlesex4   
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,published ,,by ,,request4             
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3                  ,w4 ,h4      
,,bartlett ,,and ,,co4  #ahf1 ,,fleet   
,,street4                               
#ahgj4          ,,notice4      ,,this   
paper is printed in obedience to the    
wishes of ,lord ,lawrence and  others1  
who heard it4  ,it was originally drawn 

up without any view to  publication1 and
 was read at more than one of the       
,conferences held in  different parts of
 ,london under the auspices of the      
,diocesan ,association  of ,lay-helpers4
  ,the writer could not but yield to the
 urgent request of  those who asked him 
to print the paper1 but at the same time
 he does so  with a full consciousness  
of its defective and fragmentary        
character4  ,such as it is1 he ventures 
to commend it to the charitable         
consideration  of his fellow-churchmen1 
and trusts that it may1 by ,god's       
blessing1 be a  means of promoting the  
practical good at which the revived     
organization  of ,lay-help aims4    ,the
 ,vicarage1 ,homerton4           ,nov4  
#ahgj4          ,,the ,,need ,,of ,,lay 
,,help1 ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,draw ,,it    
,,out4      ,,it is needless for me to  
enlarge on the vast importance of the   
subject  which we are gathered together 
to consider to-night1 for that          
importance  is on all hands confessed4  

,differ as we may on other points1      
,english  ,churchmen1 ,roman ,catholics1
 and ,protestant ,dissenters feel       
equally that  one of the great questions
 of our age is how to call out and to   
regulate  ,lay-help4  ,it may be that in
 this recognition of a common want we   
may  dimly discern the fact that1 if    
ever the scattered portions of the      
,church  are to be united in one1 it    
must be not only on the basis of the    
common  profession of abstract truth1   
however valuable such profession may be1
  but rather on the basis of common work
 for ,christ4  ,my object to-night1     
however1 is not to set before you any   
mere speculations1 but to put into      
shape some thoughts1 which may be       
helpful to us in any work which we      
undertake for the glory of ,god and the 
good of ,his ,church4    ,i believe you 
will find on reference to               
,ecclesiastical history that the  most  
healthy periods of the ,church's life   
have been those1 in which there  has    

been the largest development of ,lay    
activity4  ,the ,apostolic ,church  was 
one great community of workers4  ,true  
love to ,christ found its vent  in      
active ministries of love towards the   
suffering members of ,his  spiritual    
,body1 and in increased earnestness in  
carrying the message of  salvation to   
perishing souls4  ,throughout the       
,apostolic age the link runs  unbroken1 
8,epaphras our dear fellow-helper10 8the
 beloved ,persis1 who  laboured much in 
the ,lord10 8,euodias and ,syntyche10   
though not always of  the same mind1 yet
 striving to forget their differences in
 a common work4  8,clement and other    
fellow-workers whose names0 were 8in the
 ,book of  ,life0--these and many       
another1 whether ecclesiastic or        
lay-workers1 whose  names swell the     
goodly list of ,apostolic greetings at  
the conclusion of  each ,epistle1 show  
that the ,early ,church was a community 
of living  workers striving to spread   
the faith of a living ,lord1 not only by

 words  but by deeds4  ,so in succeeding
 ages1 whenever the ,church's life was  
abundant1 the principle of all helping  
in a common work was recognised4  ,the  
early ,christians in ,rome were marked  
out from all other forms of  so-called  
religion1 because they had one peculiar 
superstition4  ,they  sought out the    
poor and ministered to their wants4     
,the same practical  characteristic will
 be discerned in every age of the       
,church's history4  ,independent of the 
more formal aspects of ,lay-help        
represented by the  ,reader and the     
,deaconess1 we shall find that in the   
,early ,church after  ,apostolic days   
had passed there was a large band of    
willing workers ready  in ,christ's     
,name to do service to their brethren4  
,since that time every  season of       
religious awakening has brought with it 
a quickening of the  spirit of service4 
,the religious confraternities of       
,vincent de ,paul1 the  self-devoted    
labours of the ,wesleyan local          

preachers1 the good works of  ,hannah   
,more1 ,elizabeth ,fry1 and ,howard the 
philanthropist1 are but  varying        
features in the same great picture4     
,the mode of action might be  different1
 but the aim in view was essentially the
 same1 and the spring  of action in all 
these self-undertaken labours was the   
love of ,christ in  the heart of those  
who gave themselves4  ,only a short time
 ago ,i saw  somewhere an account of a  
missionary meeting4  ,one and another   
was asked  what he or she could give to 
the cause of ,christian ,missions1 and  
certain  sums were promised4  ,at last  
one young man rose at the end of the    
room4  8,what will you give80 said the  
president of the meeting4  8,myself10   
was  the laconic1 but courageous reply4 
,we want more of this spirit1 and ,i    
think it is among the most hopeful signs
 of a far from hopeful age that  there  
are many of our young men ready when the
 question is put1 8,what  will you give 
to ,god80 to answer with an unfailing   

heart and unfaltering                   
tongue--8,myself40    ,while1 however1  
,i thankfully acknowledge the growth of 
this spirit of  service1 ,i do not think
 all sufficiently realize their         
responsibility4  ,in religion we are    
fearfully apt to catch at a proxy when  
we can1 and ,i  can imagine some1 to    
whom the very existence of a ,diocesan  
,association of  ,lay-helpers may act as
 a sort of indirect excuse for doing    
nothing  themselves4  8,there are the   
,lay-helpers of the diocese2 they number
  #ajjj and upwards4  ,they undertake   
,lay-work1 and ,i am quite content to   
let  them represent the ,lay element in 
,church works4  ,if you want            
half-a-crown  or five shillings1 come to
 me2 but don't ask me to leave my       
arm-chair  after my ,sunday's dinner to 
go and teach in a close school-room4    
,let  these ,lay-helpers1 overlooked as 
they are sure to be most efficiently by 
the clergy0 7for objectors of this kind 
are clad in an armour of  impenetrable  

politeness and gracefully-fitting       
amiability7--8let them  distribute our  
alms1 but don't ask me to go up one of  
those dark creaking  staircases--don't  
ask me to do violence to my nasal organs
 by sending me  into a room which reeks 
with the combined perfume of soap-suds  
and  beef-steak4  ,my duty as a         
,churchman can never require this4  ,i  
am an  advocate for helping the poor1   
but this is going a little too far40    
,now  there is a ,book which it is the  
fashion to 8handle freely0 now-a-days1  
which seems to me to run entirely       
counter to the view which ,i have       
ventured to describe4  ,i read there    
that 8the ,son of man 4 4 4 gave to     
every man his work0 7,st4 ,mark xiii4   
#cd72 and again an ,apostle tells us1   
8,let every man prove his own work0     
7,gal4 vi4 #d72 and in the last chapter 
of this same ,book ,i find the saying1  
8,behold ,i come quickly2 and ,my       
reward is with ,me to give every man    
according as his work shall be0 7,rev4  

xxii4 #ab74  ,i merely give these as    
samples of the kind of teaching we get  
in ,holy ,scripture4  ,whether it is the
 ,divine ,master1 or the busy  practical
 ,apostle of the ,gentiles1 or the rapt 
,st4 ,john who speaks--all  tell us the 
same thing4  ,with one consent they     
point 8every man0 to 8his  work40  ,oh6 
you who are doing nothing for ,christ1  
ponder over those awful  words of the   
last chapter of the last book of        
,god--the latest message  which has come
 from heaven to earth--8,behold ,i come 
quickly1 and ,my reward  is with ,me to 
give every man according as his work    
shall be60  ,what then1  if you have no 
work to show8 what about the reward     
then1 if there be  not the work now8    
,independently1 however1 of the high and
 solemn view of the vocation of         
,christian men to ,god's work1 ,i want  
you to look at the whole matter from  a 
practical business point of view4  ,what
 should you think if you heard  of a    
house of business1 where all the work   

was done by the managers8 or  of a shop 
where all the selling was done by the   
master8 or of an army  where all the    
fighting was undertaken by the officers8
 or of a navy1  where all the ship's    
work was done by those in command8  ,you
 know well1  that the very idea is too  
absurd to be entertained for one moment4
  ,yet  it is exactly the way in which  
you are acting about ,christ's work in  
the  ,national ,church4  ,a ,church     
without a working laity is as great an  
absurdity as 7nay from its essential    
constitution1 a greater absurdity  than7
 a shop without serving hands1 a ship   
without a working crew1 or an  army     
without fighting soldiers4    ,the evil 
too is one which has avenged itself with
 a fearful power4  ,whence sprang the   
miserable notion1 happily now passing   
away1 that the  ,church consisted of the
 clergy alone8  8,from the arrogance of 
the  priesthood0 is the common answer4  
,if ,i said1 8,from the apathy of an    
uninterested laity10 ,i should be at    

least quite as near the mark4  ,if the  
laity will not bear their share of the  
,church's burden1 it follows as a       
necessary consequence that their place  
as counsellors is unrecognised2  and    
then from the consequent elevation of   
the clergy and depression of  the laity1
 results something very like a          
dislocation in the  ecclesiastical body4
  ,there were some limbs broken in the  
last century  and the early part of     
this1 and it will take some time to set 
them1 and  make them serviceable again4 
,a twofold difficulty has arisen from   
this  violation of a primary law of     
church life4  ,the clergy have a sort of
  lurking distrust of lay-help1 and the 
laity are dissatisfied with their       
position4  ,the clergy have been so     
unaccustomed to any help from the  laity
 that the more conservative among them  
regard such help as a novelty  to be    
introduced with great caution and       
surrounded by very definite  safeguards4
  ,the laity on the other hand have been

 so unaccustomed to  help that they     
either do too much or too little4  ,they
 want sometimes to  take the charge of  
the parish off the clergyman's shoulders
 altogether2  sometimes they have such a
 pious horror of trenching upon the     
ministerial  office that they are       
practically of little use4  ,these      
difficulties  however1 though           
troublesome1 are not insurmountable1 and
 are rapidly  disappearing as clergy and
 laity come to know each other better4  
,i  should scarcely have considered it  
necessary to refer to them1 had not     
some of the laity confessed their       
dissatisfaction somewhat strongly at    
the ,conference held at ,sheffield in   
,may #ahfi1 under the presidency of the 
,archbishop of ,york--a ,conference1 the
 ,report of which is well worth the     
study of any one interested in the      
lay-help movement4  ,it would take too  
long to enter into the details of the   
various plans proposed1 but one  thing  
seems to be strongly felt--,if the      

clergy give the laity work1 they  must  
also give them a voice as to the way in 
which that work is to be  carried on4   
,theoretically the ,vestry represents   
the voice of the laity1  but no one will
 contend that it is an adequate         
representation1 nor does  it touch the  
particular points1 on which an earnest  
lay-worker would wish  to take counsel  
with his spiritual pastor4  ,what we    
want 7it seems to me7  is a sort of     
,council of ,communicants--a kind of    
,kirk-session in fact--to  interchange  
thoughts and take counsel with the      
pastor4  ,i am convinced  that1 until we
 have some organization of this kind1 we
 shall have a  constant repetition of   
those mistakes1 which are often         
unwittingly made  by the clergy from a  
non-appreciation of the honest          
difficulties of the  laity4  ,i cannot  
do more than touch this point1 but ,i   
may perhaps be  permitted to say that ,i
 pray to see the day1 when the ,bishop  
shall take  counsel with his ,presbyters

 in ,diocesan ,synod1 and when each     
parish shall  have its own little synod 
of communicants gathering around the    
parish  priest4  ,then we shall have    
less jarring1 and fewer mistakes4    ,i 
must now consider shortly how we can    
draw out ,lay-help4  ,the best way  to  
draw it out is simply to state why we   
want it4  ,beyond the claims  which     
,god's work must make upon the heart and
 conscience of every  ,christian man1   
8is there not a cause80  ,take the large
 parish of ,lambeth4  8,the census of   
#ahea gives the population as #aci1cbe2 
the church  accommodation as #bb1ehi2   
that of dissent #aa1ehf2 but this       
includes the  wealthier districts of    
,kennington1 ,norwood1 ,brixton1 and    
,stockwell4  ,exclude these parts of the
 parish1 and the provision for the      
teaching of  the people is comparatively
 reduced1 whilst the attendance is in an
  inverse ratio to the wealth4  ,the    
poorer the place1 the fewer the people  
who enter any place of worship 4 4 4    

,the census returns for ,lambeth give   
one-third of the sittings as always     
empty2 it would be more than this in    
the poorer parts of the parish40  ,for  
this statement ,i am indebted to  ,canon
 ,gregory1 #aa;a and ,i can only say1   
8,is there not a cause80  8,in          
,southwark10 says ,dr4 ,hume1 8there are
 #fh per cent4 who attend no place of   
worship2 in ,lambeth #fj40  ,this       
evidence was tendered on oath before the
  ,lords' ,committee on ,church-rates4  
#aa;b  ,lord ,shaftesbury again         
calculates 8that only about #b in every 
#ajj of the working men are found  to   
attend any place of worship40  ,i say   
again1 looking at these awful  facts1   
8,is there not a cause80    ,now ,i ask 
you plainly1 8,can you expect the #dj   
clergy of ,lambeth 7for  that1 according
 to the #8,clergy ,list1' is their      
number7 to cope with this  unassisted8  
,what are the #bc clergy of ,southwark  
to do unassisted among a  population of 
whom #fh per cent4 do not attend        

service80  ,in saying this ,i  am not   
underrating the labours of              
,nonconformists2 but while we thank ,god
  for the honest hearty work of many    
among them1 we have no business to  take
 that work into calculation1 if we want 
thereby to lessen our  responsibility as
 members of the ,national ,church4  ,now
 you see the  extent of the evil4  ,how 
can it be remedied8  ,by multiplying our
 bishops1  no doubt1 and providing more 
clergy in each parish4  ,that will do   
good2  but it will be of no avail       
without a working laity4  ,if the       
working  classes are to be brought to   
church1 you must bring them2 and once   
brought1 we must keep them4  ,i want to 
tell you why you must bring  them1 and  
how you must bring them4  ,you must     
bring them1 because many  of them seem  
to think that we talk to them in a      
professional way2 we are  a sort of     
ecclesiastical barristers holding a     
brief for the ,bible4  ,it is  an unjust
 estimate2 but there are many unjust    

estimates in this world4  ,therefore we 
want laymen who will go from house to   
house--who will conduct  prayer-meetings
 and ,bible classes1 and cottage        
lectures--who will come and  say to the 
members of the classes alienated from   
the services of the  sanctuary1 8,i come
 to tell you about the religion of      
,christ1 because ,i  have found it      
helpful to myself4  ,i come to ask you  
to seek pardon from  ,him1 because ,i   
have found it myself4  ,i come to ask   
you to frame your  life according to the
 ,gospel of ,christ1 because ,i find it 
makes my own  heart happy and my own    
life bright with the sunshine of ,god's 
love60  ,we  want such helpers as these1
 and they must be laymen1 and laymen of 
different classes4  8,i proceed 4 4 410 
writes an earnest clergyman1 who  worked
 at one time in ,manchester1 8to        
indicate what appears to me to be  one  
of the greatest causes of the evils for 
which our large towns have  gained such 
an unhappy notoriety4  ,it is needless  

to say that ,i allude to  the separation
 of classes--a gigantic wrong1 to which 
it is not too much  to say may be traced
 all the physical and moral degradation 
and spiritual  destitution over which so
 many philanthropists lament1 and for   
which so  few seem prepared to offer a  
remedy40 #ac  ,we want to 8gather of    
every  kind10 to recruit from every     
class for the great army of             
,lay-helpers4  ,those who promote the   
work have no fear about this4  ,whatever
 ,god puts it  into a man's heart to do1
 that let him do in due subordination to
 the  ,church's primary laws4  ,will you
 resist this call8    ,this brings me to
 another point--the necessity of giving 
8to every man his  work40  ,each of our 
,lay-helpers should have his own        
definite work  assigned4  ,it never     
answers to stray over the whole field of
 possible  work1 and happily there is   
scope for every variety of natural      
temperament4  ,one is fond of           
teaching--then there is the ,sunday     

school and  the night school4  ,another 
has from ,god the gift of               
exhortation--8let him  wait on          
exhortation0 in the ,bible class and the
 prayer meeting4  ,another  is 8a son of
 consolation10 and has the precious gift
 of tender sympathy  for the needs and  
sufferings of others1 and for him the   
sick-room and the  home of poverty are  
the ground on which he has to do his    
battle for his  ,master4  ,as a district
 visitor and an almoner there is plenty 
for him to  do4  ,yet another has a very
 practical turn of mind1 and likes      
8business0  after 8business hours10 and 
for him the penny bank and the provident
 fund  afford a scope for the exercise  
of those talents1 which1 equally with   
the  others1 he has received from ,god's
 hand4  ,thus1 you see1 there is scope  
for every one4    ,a few words now about
 the value of the ,diocesan ,association
 as a  connecting link among            
lay-helpers4  ,we are all quite alive to
 the value  of combinations in political

 and social affairs4  ,that 8union is   
strength10 is a recognised maxim1 except
 in religion1 where1 above all  things1 
it is true4  ,the ,diocesan ,association
 of ,lay-helpers set out1 if  ,i mistake
 not1 with a twofold purpose4  ,it      
desired1 as far as possible1  to        
consolidate lay-help in the diocese1 so 
that by united prayer1  converse1 and   
communion1 those engaged in ,god's work 
in this great city  might be brought    
face to face with one another4  ,it     
desired also to  stimulate and to       
distribute lay-work--to stimulate it by 
being able  to show how many there were 
actually at work already--to distribute 
it1  by sending the superfluous wealth  
of lay-help in a well-ordered wealthy   
parish1 to supplement the poverty and   
the difficulties of the destitute       
districts4  ,in its work of             
consolidating and stimulating1 we may   
thank  ,god that the ,association has   
met with a fair measure of              
encouragement4  ,the work of            

distribution has proved one of greater  
difficulty4  ,i am1  however1 very far  
from being without hope that it may be  
compassed in  greater degree1 when the  
needs of the ,east-end and the poor     
transpontine  parishes are more widely  
known4  ,the ,twelve ,days' ,mission    
brought us some  help from educated     
laymen in suburban districts1 and ,i can
 not only  testify personally to the    
value of that help1 but ,i am thankful  
to say1  that in more than one case it  
has established a link which it would   
take  a great power to sunder4  ,the    
real aim of our ,association then is to 
put  earnest laymen in the way of       
getting work by giving them1 on their   
first  arrival in ,london1 introductions
 to clergymen in need of help4  ,it     
attempts no restraint on the parish     
priest4  ,it merely offers you the      
privilege of feeling that in your work  
you are at one with the chief  pastor of
 your diocese1 and that you have the    
comfort of knowing that he  prays for   

and sanctions your work4  ,in a less    
degree1 it is the same  blessing which  
the clergy have from ,episcopal         
supervision1 and with you1  as with us1 
if rightly valued1 will act as a bond of
 union4    ,before concluding1 let me   
say that ,i believe this to be one of   
the most  important ecclesiastical      
movements of modern times4  ,it is      
occupying the  thoughts of some of the  
most distinguished clergymen and laymen 
of our  day1 and formed the subject of  
the prayer of the ,archbishop of this   
province1 when he lay upon what we then 
feared was the bed of death4  ,the  next
 few years will probably see the        
question1 whether we are to continue    
the ,national ,church of this land1     
fought out in our legislature4  ,if we  
make good our claim1 it will not be by  
the prestige of our historical  position
 or by the associations of the past4    
,it will be by the living  work of the  
present that we must elect to be tested1
 and if our laity  realise their        

responsibility in time1 ,i firmly       
believe that all will yet  be well4     
,remember1 however1 that our present    
proportion of lay-workers  is miserably 
small1 and that every lay-helper has    
need not only to work  himself1 but to  
be a kind of missionary to persuade     
others to work--a  recruiting sergeant  
for the great army1 which comes 8to the 
help of the  ,lord1 to the help of the  
,lord against the mighty40  ,not only   
must we all1  clergy and laity1 work1   
but we must say that1 ,god being our    
helper1 we  will not rest till every    
churchman1 whatever his social position1
 feels  that he has a responsibility1 a 
work and a stake in our ,national       
,church4                                
99 99 99 99 99    ,,note4--,i cannot    
resist calling the reader's attention to
 the following  words of my friend the  
,rev4 ,w4 ,d4 ,maclagan1 in his essay in
 ,the ,church  and the ,age 7,murray74  
8,the ,associations and ,unions1 ,guilds
 and ,confraternities1 ,sisterhoods     

and ,brotherhoods1 which are springing  
up every day1 are surely not      only  
testimonies to a great truth so long    
forgotten1 that every      member of the
 ,body of ,christ has its special powers
 and special      duties1 but also      
preparation for the recognition and     
realisation of      another truth       
equally ignored1 that the ,church itself
 ought really to      be one vast       
,association of ,lay-helpers1 one       
glorious ,brotherhood and               
,sisterhood1 combined in one1 one great 
,confraternity of ,faith1 ,hope1        
and ,love1 labouring together with      
,christ in the extension of ,his        
,kingdom40                              
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99               ,,chiswick 
,,press3--,,printed ,,by ,,whittingham  
,,and ,,wilkins1                        
,,tooks ,,court1 ,,chancery ,,lane4     
,,footnotes      #aa;a  ,see 8,sermons  
on the ,poorer ,classes of ,london1     
preached before the  ,university of     

,oxford10 by ,robert ,gregory1 ,m4,a41  
,canon of ,st4 ,paul's1 and  ,vicar of  
,st4 ,mary the ,less1 ,lambeth4    #aa;b
  8,only one-sixth of the population of 
,london attend  ,church40--,christian at
 ,work 7,n4 ,y4 ,paper7 ,dec4 #ahfi4    
,such is the  ,american estimate of our 
religion4    #ac  ,huntington's 8,church
 ,work in our large ,towns10 p4 #ac4