THE DECLINE OF PREACHING.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 8350, 8 December 1892, Page 6

THE DECLINE OF PREACHING.

..—«• THB BDIXOB OF THB PRESS. Sir,—ln your "Topics of the Day" in to-day's issue I was pleased to notice that you have ventured to notice the decline of the preachers of to-day. As you say, English clergymen wrote the best sermons but were the worst preachers. 1 ; have to travel a good deal, and so manage to get to a good many different places of worship, and 1 find most ministers read their sermon, or the greater part of it, even amongst the Methodist Churches; especially is this so at Timaru, Geraldine and Ashburton. There is one thing our ministers tell us, and that is they are over-workeH with too large districts and much visiting, and with poor pay. Well, now,"l"know that our minister gets £250 a year and free house, with horse and bnggy, and has saved enough money to lend out. How I knew this was that the" party it was lent to paid all his creditors, minister included, at the rate of 4s 3d in the pound. I think if our ministers were to preach their sermons instead of reading them their churches wonld be better fillea, and there would not be so many who go to sleep during the service as is ; the case now.*— Yours, &c, An Attentive Listener.