Visitation

Section 1. THE PLACE OF VISITING.

IT is generally thought that pastoral visitation is an integral part of our ministerial commission, based on the words that it is the office of the Deacon ’ to search for the sick, poor, and impotent people of the parish,’ and of the priest ’ to seek for Christ’s sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for His children who are in the midst of this naughty world.’ The Priest is also asked to use both public and private monitions and exhortations, as well to the sick as to the whole.’ These references show that the ministerial work is undoubtedly pastoral (Acts xx. 20; Eph. iv. 11, 12), and for this phase of our duty it would seem as though visiting were essential. Certainly if we may use the illustration of the physician we see at once the need of visitation and consultation. Church of England people as a rule expect their clergy to visit, and this gives us our opportunity. The position of the Church is thus a rare and fine occasion for genuine work, and yet it must not be forgotten that, as an article in the Guardian some time ago said, ‘This particular form of clerical work is almost peculiar to the Church of England, and, if we mistake not, to comparatively modern times.’ Every one knows that in Nonconformist Churches regular pastoral visitation is exceedingly rare, and the Roman Catholic clergy do not visit, in the Anglican sense of the word. Nonconformist ministers visit their own people, but of course feel no obligation towards others, while the Roman Catholic clergy with their use of the Confessional do not need to visit in order to keep in touch with their flock. The writer in the Guardian further pointed out that the Ordinal lays very little stress, indeed no stress at all, on regular house-to-house parochial visitation. But, as it will be seen, it emphasizes the importance of visiting for specific purposes related to the pastoral work of the parish.

There is no doubt, however, that visitation, when properly carried out, is closely related to a man’s preaching. It acts and reacts on what he says. Intercourse with his people will enrich his preaching, making it real, practical, sympathetic, and alive. The life of the preacher in the week will either deepen or remove the impression of the sermon. His people will naturally want to see and know whether he is the same in and out of the pulpit. It is also in many cases more likely that they will come to hear a man whom they meet in the week. There is a constant danger of a clergyman coming under the category of the Scottish pastor who was said to be on week days ’ invisible,’ and on Sundays ’ incomprehensible.’ But this is not to deny the necessity of allowing exceptional men like Spurgeon, Beecher, and Talmage to exercise their great preaching gifts apart from pastoral work. It must also be frankly confessed that in many instances it will prove a mistake to think that a Church Army Captain or a Scripture Reader will be more acceptable to the poor than will a clergyman. A friend of mine sent a member of his staff to visit a man in the! parish, and when he himself saw the man next time, he was told quite frankly that ’ it’s no use sending the likes o’ we to the likes o’ we.’ However unreasonable it often is, there is no doubt that people like and expect to see their clergyman.

But it must never be forgotten that the old adage, 4 a house-going parson makes a church-going people,’ is only a half-truth, and sometimes not that. There are many parsons who are ’ house-going ’ who do not thereby get hold of people for their church. The other half of the truth is, ‘A preaching parson makes a church-keeping people.’ If it should be said that * a visiting parson makes a fat church,’ it is equally true that a ’ visiting pastor often makes a lean pulpit.5 If there is to be a choice, people will much more readily excuse poor visiting than poor preaching, and it is imperative that our pulpit work should not be allowed to suffer even from pastoral visitation.

The relation of preaching and visiting is of course a difficult one in regard to the time and strength required. While what has been said about the value of visiting in enriching the preaching is perfectly true, there is another side which must not be forgotten. If a man spends his time in visiting to such an extent that his time in his study suffers, he will experience an intellectual and a spiritual deadness when he comes to prepare his sermon which will inevitably affect the reality of his preaching. A man who visits morning, noon and night, will find himself at the end of the week physically fagged, and intellectually unfit to brace himself for the effort required to prepare a proper sermon. He will then have to fall back upon helps, hints and scraps from other sources, which will inevitably do moral and spiritual harm to himself and his people. The man who is to preach acceptably must never allow anything, even pastoral visitation, to interfere with those hours which should be / given religiously to the work of study. Some time ago the letters of the late Dr. Marcus Dods were published, in which it was seen that during an early pastorate he devoted himself specially to the work of visiting. And yet as an acute thinker, the Rev. Arthur Hoyle, in the Methodist Recorder, well pointed out, if Dods had continued that type of ministry he would never have written his important works. Mr. Hoyle also remarks that if a man feels called upon to give himself to the work of visiting he cannot be expected to do proper justice to his study work.

‘The love of his books will go from him, and at the end of ten or fifteen years he will be done for. We shall never have great teachers, great preachers, that way. Such an one may have a great experience of the people; he may be loved and honoured, he may have done more work than some others who have taken another line — on all that I say nothing at all; but it is as sure as anything can be, that if he has not his times of meditation, and of prayer, his lonely wrestlings with the truth, and his feeling after God, he will be nothing accounted of when he stands forth, and he will have nothing to say to the man who has a grave problem or a desolating burden.’

If we keep the New Testament proportion in view we shall find that the emphasis is laid upon preaching and teaching, and everything else must be regarded as secondary. The absence of reference in the Pastoral Epistles to regular pastoral visitation may be fairly urged in support of the statement made above by the Guardian, that this particular form of clerical work is almost peculiar to our Church and is also comparatively modern. The proclamation of the Gospel to sinner and to saint is the supreme work of the ministry, and as it demands strenuous preparation of spirit, soul, mind, and body, it is obvious that nothing must be allowed to weaken it. But if visitation is kept strictly subordinated to preaching, it will prove one of the most unfailing helps of ministering to those who are familiar to the preacher, whose life he knows, whose interests he appreciates, whose joys and sorrows are his own, and whose life in Christ and for Christ is his constant thought and prayer.

SECTION 2. THE PURPOSE OF VISITING.

The primary aim of all our visitation must be spiritual and not merely social. Of course the social element must enter into it, but it certainly must not predominate. If we are to be guided, as surely we are, by the Ordinal, the intercourse contemplated between a clergyman and his people is almost wholly spiritual, and is intended to be constantly directed towards definite spiritual objects. Mere social visiting, to quote the Guardian again, ’ can be very easily overdone ... it is very easy to multiply visits, with no spiritual gain unless the clergy have a clear idea and a steady resolve.’ A clergyman once said that his people would do anything for him except come to church, and it is worth while remembering the words of a practical layman who remarked that, ‘If the parson spent less time in the houses and more time in the study, it would be better for the people, We must beware of gaining a reputation for attending afternoon teas. Spiritual work is practically impossible on these occasions, and we may be perfectly certain that the comparative absence of visitation among Nonconformists and Roman Catholics is due to some extent to the belief that visitation is not so potent a spiritual influence as it is some times made out to be. The character of our visiting is a real test of spirituality, and there is an almost constant risk of a clergyman losing his spiritual power by excessive social visitation. Our work is mainly and primarily that of teaching spiritual truths and ministering spiritual realities, and anything that tends to rob our life of spiritual force is to be guarded against and avoided. Of course this does not mean that we shall necessarily feel it incumbent to offer prayer or read the Scriptures every time we visit, but our message and our work ought never to be far away. It is significant that the poor soon notice if a clergyman comes again and again without speaking some spiritual word. Our visiting may fail either from being made too official, assuming the position of a priest or spiritual director, or else by being made too social, adopting the attitude of ’ a good fellow ’ only. We need to blend the true elements of the pastor and the friend in all our social efforts on behalf of our flock.

What then are we to do, if after a good deal of time and strength spent on visiting we do not find any increase in our congregation, or any apparent benefit to the people to whom we have paid social visits? We are inclined to answer this question by quoting the Guardian once more: ‘A clergyman who finds that successive visits produce no further pastoral intimacy, but that rather all his attempts to reach it are avoided, may well give up the social relations which have proved so barren. It is no part of his ministerial work to spend his time in afternoon calls on people who have shown that they will not allow him to be their pastor.’ Visiting among the poor is decidedly different, and there is much more opportunity for a clergyman to get in close spiritual touch with them by reason of a variety of circumstances. But the same principle may be said to apply even here, that a man must be constantly on the watch lest the social element predominate over the spiritual, and tend to shut out the very idea for which he was ordained. The diffi culty of correlating the spiritual and the social will of course prove a real one in many cases, but real or not, our duty is clear: we must visit; we must fulfil the duties laid upon us by the Ordinal; we must ’ show ourselves friendly; ’ and yet in all, and above all, we must be men of God, ever keeping in mind the great principle that, whether publicly, or from house to house, it is ours to testify ’ repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.5

SECTION 3. THE TIMES FOR VISITING.

The average extent of visiting can hardly be more than twelve hours a week, made up between afternoon and evening work. This would mean visiting on five or six occasions, and two hours at a time. In the afternoons, it is probable that from two to two and a half hours can be spent, and in the evening hardly more than two hours. At least one evening a week, and if possible twoi should be devoted to visiting, even though it may mean the omission of or non-attendance at parochial meetings.

Various authorities have endeavoured to strike an average of the cases that a man can visit in a week. The Bishop of Liverpool (Dr. Chavasse) has suggested forty a week in town, and twenty in the country. The Dean of Lichfield (Dr. Savage), in his little book, suggests an average of thirty a week. The late Bishop of Wakefield (Dr. Walsham How) favours thirty-six to forty. But it is difficult, and perhaps impossible, to give anything like a correct average. All that can be suggested is that a visit should not be too long. A minimum of five minutes and a maximum of twenty would make a very good and useful average rule. One man cannot possibly visit from house to house more than from 1,500 to 2,000 cases per year, and when he finds himself, as he often does, in a parish very much larger than this, he had far better first of all look after the aged, the sick and the infirm, and then visit only as many as he can of the rest. Any slipshod visiting just to cover the entire area of the district, or parish, will be altogether futile.

In the afternoon it will be wise not to arrive at a house before 2.15 or 2.30, when the children will have gone to school and dinner will have been cleared away. In the evening, visiting should not commence earlier than 6.30, especially if the working men do not reach home till some time after 5, and it is usually not wise to visit after 9.30. Care must be taken not to appear at meal times, and certainly never at the children’s bed time. Archdeacon Taylor speaks with point of a poor woman who described the Curate as ’ a kind gentleman, but I’d rather he would not call on the children’s tubnights and sit here while I’m a washing of ’em.’ l In a word, the times for visiting will, as a rule, be best discovered by the visitor himself, as he gradually gets to know the people and circumstances of his parish.

SECTION 4. VISITING THE WHOLE.

It is only possible to offer a few general suggestions based almost entirely upon personal experience, but they may perhaps suffice for comparison with other methods, and other needs as they arise.

I. How to Commence.

On going to a new parish it will be wise, if not necessary, to start with the Christian workers of the parish

1 S. M. Taylor, Ministers of the Word and Sacraments, p. 184.

or particular district. A new Curate should get to know them first and to visit them, making them his friends, and trying to stir up their interest on behalf of his new work. Then it will often be possible to obtain names through them. It will also prove of great value to make the acquaintance as early as possible of the Day School teachers, if there are Church Day Schools in the parish, and to obtain addresses of the children from them. If there should be no Church Schools it would not as a rule be difficult to make the acquaintance of Council School teachers, and to obtain from them a list of at least some of the children who live in the parish. The new Curate should also give earnest and special attention to those who may be called the official workers of the parish; the Scripture Reader, the Parish Nurse, the Bible Woman, and any District Visitors. The names obtainable from these sources will prove invaluable for the commencement of the work of visiting.

II. Visiting the Women.

This work will necessarily be done in the afternoon, for the obvious reason that the husbands are at work. It is recorded of two old college friends who met after their priest’s examination, that they compared notes of .each other’s experiences during their deacon’s year. ‘What have you been doing? ’ said one to the other. ‘Studying the Fathers,’ was the reply. ‘Oh! ’ said the other, ‘I never find them at home; I have been studying the mothers.’ This latter work often falls to the lot of the young Curate and will tax his powers in no ordinary way. Perhaps the greatest needs are sympathy and cheeriness. Life is dull, drab and monotonous for working women, and any real interest that we can show in their life will be useful and appreciated. As far as possible, we ought to work towards meetings and services. It is particularly useful to have and present a card, well printed, tastily got-up, giving a list of the chief services and other suitable gatherings. We are accustomed to leave our cards when visiting the rich, and this will answer a similar and a still more useful purpose when visiting the poor. At the foot it should have a line: ‘Presented by,’ with the curate’s name, and this will be specially helpful to leave if the person happens to be out when we call.

We must carefully watch against listening to gossip about neighbours, for if we do not keep a still tongue and a balanced judgment the result will almost certainly be disastrous. The young beginner in visiting will also do his utmost to get to know the husbands of all the women he visits. In some instances this will prove an obvious safeguard. An interest in the children will also be of great service, though particular care may be necessary in certain cases. It is said of a Curate who felt it his duty to make some remark about the children, and found it difficult to be sincere when the baby happened to be small and somewhat attenuated, that he hit upon a formula which he was able without verbal untruth to use on every possible occasion. He greeted every mother by saying, ‘Well, that is a baby.’ There is a similar experience told of another clergyman who, during one of his visits, was ushered into a room where the baby was lying in a cradle. He thought that it was one of his duties to praise the baby in order to interest the mother, and so he went across to the infant and exclaimed, ‘Oh, what a heavenly smile,’ adding some other more or less appropriate remarks concerning the qualities of babies, of whom he knew little or nothing. But on this particular occasion his eloquence was wasted, for the mother in her superior knowledge replied, ‘She’s got the wind, sir.’

In jotting down particulars of cases as a help to our memory in the course of visiting we must be very careful to do it out of the view of neighbours.

III. Visiting the Men.

For this work the evening is of course absolutely essential, and three characteristics of dealing with men must be constantly kept in view. We must be manly, brotherly and godly. This is only another way of saying once again that the key of our life must be ‘B natural.’ A Professor of Pastoral Theology once asked a question of his class in an examination paper, How can clergy get the closest in touch with working men? As he invited the students to be frank in their replies, one of the men put on his paper, * By being less of the priest and more of the man.’ We must try to get into touch with the interests of our men. Dr. W. M. Taylor tells a fine story of Edward Irving and an infidel shoemaker. Patent leather had then been recently invented, and as Irving’s father was a tanner he himself knew all about this new product. When he called upon the shoe-maker and endeavoured to engage him in conversation, the first question was, * What do you know about leather? ‘Then, as he discovered that Irving did know about leather, he remarked, ‘You are a decent sort of fellow, do you preach? ‘The very next Sunday the infidel was at Irving’s church, and when others present wondered at his being there and asked the reason, the shoemaker replied, ‘He is a sensible man, he kens aboot leather.’ l Interest in the children will also prove fruitful in work among the men, and any kindness we can show to them will prove a sure way to the father’s heart. If at all possible, we ought to work up to a Men’s Meeting, or a Men’s Discussional Bible Class, to show them that the church and its gatherings are for them, and to let them see that their manhood will find its complete realization only in fellowship with Christ and His people. We ought to have an especial eye for young men, as we do our visiting, and we shall find that the work will prove infinitely more fruitful than a succession of meetings where perhaps we are only called upon to preside or to * make a few remarks.’

IV. Visiting the Rich.

This is confessedly a very difficult part of the work, and

1 W. M. Taylor, The Ministry of the Word, p. 276.

for several reasons it will almost certainly fall mainly to the Vicar to do it. Yet it ought to be done, because the ’ poor rich ’ are in as great need of Christ as any others. The problem is to let it be known that the clergyman comes, not merely as a neighbour, but in his spiritual character. As we have already seen, five o’clock teas are no opportunities for pastoral intercourse, and some other methods must be discovered. We must also beware of gaining a reputation for dining out. If it comes to be known that the Vicar, or Curate, is constantly dining out, while the poorer people of his parish are attending Bible Classes or Temperance Meetings, it will not produce the best results of spiritual influence. Besides, unless the dinner is a quiet family affair, it is almost certain that the clergyman will be asked to take in some lady who has nothing whatever to do with his parish, and whom almost certainly he may never meet again, except under similar social circumstances. If the clergyman knows that a family belonging to his church will be having a quiet dinner alone, the occasion may be made a fine opportunity for social, and even pastoral intercourse. Or what is often better than this, the clergyman may go in after dinner for a little chat in the drawing-room and family prayer at the close of the day. Another method in certain cases would be to go to breakfast and to conduct family prayer either before or after that meal. Invitations to breakfast are fairly common in certain places, and might well be made still more frequent as opportunities for spiritual as well as intellectual intercourse. It will also be found useful in some cases to be ‘At Home ’ on one afternoon a week, and though this may prove not always, or often directly influential spiritually, it may easily lead to opportunities for definite spiritual work. Then again, an occasional meeting for the gentlemen of the parish or congregation after dinner at the Vicarage will be found useful. An ordinary invitation card may be sent announcing tea and coffee at 8.30, and a meeting at 9.15, when some leading man, clerical or lay, might be asked to introduce some general topic of spiritual interest.

This would be followed by discussion, and in due course the gathering would be closed with a brief word of prayer. This kind of meeting has proved on several occasions a useful opportunity for the gentlemen of the parish to get to know one another, to come in contact with their clergyman, and also to obtain some spiritual influence from a meeting such as has been suggested. Of course there are obvious difficulties in the way of arrangement, but these are to be faced and met as effectively as possible, The one thing to be borne in mind is that the clergyman has to take the social status and circumstances of his well-to-do and rich people as he finds them, and to make as full use of them as he can for the purpose of doing his Master’s work.

V. Visiting Public Houses.

This is a particularly difficult and trying phase of pastoral work. But it is not impossible, given the necessary wisdom, courage, and grace. Whatever views we may have as to the unrighteousness of the drink traffic as a system, we ought to remember that in many cases the occupiers of public houses are to be considered quite apart from the systems with which they are associated. At any rate, they should not be boycotted as social and moral lepers, but every effort should be made to keep in touch with them and to be of service. It is often possible for a clergyman to make a friend of the proprietor of an hotel, or a public house in his parish, and also to get in touch with the barmen and barmaids. Of course this will all mean tact, and what is called ’ sanctified common sense,’ but from personal experience, and acquaintance with those who have had more experience, it can be truly said that the task, however difficult, does not constitute an insuperable problem.

VI. Visiting Special Cases.

The visitation of the bereaved is a rare opportunity. Their hearts are softened and they will be further drawn out by the clergyman’s sympathy. Here, if anywhere, is the occasion for making a clear distinction between 4 pity ’ and ’ sympathy.’ Pity is feeling for a person; sympathy is feeling with him. Moody tells the story of taking his little daughter with him when he went to visit a woman who had lost her own little child by drowning. Moody offered prayer and expressed his sympathy in a sincere way, and yet there did not seem to be much power in it. As he went back, and they were walking along the river-side where the accident had taken place, his little girl said, ‘Father, suppose it had been me.’ This went like a dagger to Moody’s heart, and he turned back and went to the woman with sympathy this time, not with pity, and spoke and prayed with her, and then cried with her in her trouble. No one can estimate the value of loving Christ-like visitation at the time of bereavement.

The aged will also call for and repay all the attention that we can give them. Let us make much of these Fathers and Mothers in Israel. There are some clergy whose thought seems to be only for the young. Let us take care of the old as well. They will repay us by their prayers, and our ministry will be all the more fruitful as we try to smooth their pathway and cheer them along with the assurance that ’ at evening time it shall be light.’

The visitation of servants is another real difficulty, because of social limitations. But it is one that should be faced, for it would cause untold harm if the servants felt that the clergyman was only interested in their employers. Very often the clergyman is most welcome downstairs, and a call will be valued and remembered. He should work through the mistress of the house first of all, and ask, if convenient and agreeable, to be permitted to make the acquaintance of any of the servants who may come to his church. Then if the household is a large one he would naturally work through the head servants, and try to get into touch with all those in the household who may be regarded as his flock. There are few classes of people who will be found more responsive to spiritual teaching and personal influence than the servants in our houses, especially in our large country and town mansions. It was one of the greatest joys of my life to see the large number of servants at St. Paul’s, Portman Square (Portman Chapel), for it showed how greatly they had valued the teaching of my honoured predecessors and the spiritual opportunities of the Church. It was always a regret to me that I could not do more than I did on their behalf, but I shall not soon forget the frequent and close opportunities afforded at Confirmation seasons.

The visitation of Dissenters will probably face the clergyman more or less in his parish work. If he happens to be in a very large parish he will almost certainly find no time for regular visitation of members of other Churches, but if he can find time in his journeying from house to house he should certainly make no difference in his calling so far as Dissenters are concerned. Courtesy on the part of the clergyman will not only be a Christ-like act, but will do much to recommend the Church with which he is associated, and Nonconformists will often heartily appreciate any readiness to help in need, or to show sympathy in the time of sorrow. Without any change, or even lowering of convictions on either side, the clergyman as a servant of Christ can do much to recommend his Master by the way in which he approaches disciples of other communions than his own.

SECTION 5. VISITING THE SICK.

I. Chronic Cases.

In every parish some of these will be found, and it is imperative that a new beginner in the ministry should get a list as quickly as possible and keep it before him. This will mean a regular visit, whether weekly or monthly. We must never forget that these chronic cases are shut off from Church privileges, and will be only too glad of a visit from the clergyman. It goes without saying that we must be cheery and look on the bright side of things.

Who can ever forget the story of that * Great-heart ‘Phillips Brooks nursing the baby in the tenement house while he sent the poor tired mother for a little change and breath of fresh air? We may not all be able to do this, but the principle is obvious. Scripture and prayer are quite easy with chronic cases, for they will naturally expect us to minister to them in things spiritual. Very often we may pass on some thoughts or the outlines of a Sunday sermon, and if we can possibly do so, it will be found of immense help to sing some hymn. I have the most vivid recollection of visiting a poor crippled helpless young fellow in my first Currcy, who was able to play the concertina, and the hymns we sMig together were as great a joy to me as they were to him. Of course with such cases we shall pray extempore. Parts of the Visitation Office can be utilized, if we wish, but it will be found as a rule far better to use what is called ’ free ’ prayer. Chronic sickness is a golden opportunity not to be let slip, and we must either set apart one after noon for this work, or else in some way take great care that our visits are paid with regularity and fair frequency. We shall find among these poor chronic sufferers some of our warmest supporters who are ’ helping together by prayer.’

II. Special Cases.

From time to time the clergyman will be summoned to special cases of illness. He should go as quickly as possible when he is called, lest he should forget, and the need slip from his mind. If we have to visit women it will need wisdom and care, and when at all possible, some one should be present, at least for the first visit or two, until we are known to them. If the sick case is that of a man it will be found to be a rare opportunity of influencing him for Christ. If the children are sick let us make the opportunity of taking them flowers, or pictures. li In all this we must work as closely as possible with the doctor and the nurse, and we must not mind going again and again, if for any reason we cannot get in when we W.M. 19 pay an ordinary call. For hospital visiting it will be found advisable to avoid going on visiting day. A clergyman can gain an entrance at any time, but the friends of the sick person can only visit on the proper days, and it is a pity to rob them of the only chance they have of getting their full time with their sick friend.

III. The Dying.

In large poor parishes sudden calls to death-beds are occasions that test very severely a young clergyman’s spiritual life. He may often find himself at the bedside of one of whom he knows nothing. What is he to do? It will never do harm, and it will always do good, to make the Atonement as prominent as possible. The clergyman must be faithful at all costs, and, as far as he can, he must probe the conscience and find out any sin. But if for any reason all this is impossible, he may rest assured that the quiet, simple, clear, positive statement of the Atoning Sacrifice for personal acceptance by faith will do its own work, and God’s Word will not return to Him void.

If the dying man or woman is a Christian it will be found useful to emphasize the promises of God. Physical weakness often leads to spiritual depression and fear, and the earnest Christian may be tempted by Satan to question and doubt his own acceptance of Christ. This is the time for dwelling upon the positive Divine aspects of truth, and especially upon the ’ everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure.’ The teaching of such passages as Romans viii. 28-30 and Hebrews vi. 13-20 will come as balm to the soul, as we lovingly and earnestly show them that ‘God is faithful.’

IV. The Communion of the Sick.

In administration, we must as far as possible observe the rubric which requires two to be present with the sick person. This will not often cause difficulty, but if from time to time it is found impossible to obtain two, then we must be satisfied with one, or even with none, for in such cases necessity is above rubrics, and we must not allow the sick person to be robbed of what will be a genuine comfort. But although this is said quite frankly, we believe that it will be only on the rarest occasions that the presence of a friend or two will be found impossible. If the patient is not near death it will be wise to use the ordinary service for the week, rather than the special service for the sick. The Collect of the latter service tends to assume that the person may not recover, and for this reason the ordinary service, with the use of the Collect Epistle and Gospel, will be far preferable. It will not always, or even often, be possible for a sick person to bear the entire Communion Service, and a convenient method of taking the service is to open with the Introductory Collect and Lord’s Prayer, pass on to the Collect for the day, using the Epistle and Gospel if they can bear the length, and then go straight on to ‘Ye that do truly,’ etc. Here again, circumstances will guide. We may find it necessary in certain cases to disabuse the mind of the idea that the Communion of the Sick is a viaticum, while at the same time we lay all possible stress on the privilege of fellowship with Christ and anticipation of the ‘Marriage Supper of the Lamb.’ We shall of course do our best to make sure that those to whom we are about to administer the Holy Communion are really trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

It will be wise to take everything needed with us when we go to the houses of the poor. Our private Communion Service together with a supply of bread and wine should always be available. When going to the houses of the rich it will probably be found necessary to take with us the vessels only, though even here our own supply of Communion wine may prove convenient. Whether we are to administer robed, or otherwise, should be allowed to depend on the preference of the sick person, unless we ourselves happen to have any conscientious reason i against administering in our ordinary dress only. As a rule, it will be found that private Communions are much less formal and much more truly helpful if the clergyman is not vested in the robes used in church. But this is a matter for perfect liberty.

If there should be any danger of infection we should not only fulfil the rubric of ministering ’ last of all to the sick person, but endeavour to leave only just sufficient wine in the cup for the sick person to consume. From time to time we shall doubtless find the necessity of calling attention to the third rubric in the Visitation Office, which tells us that if a man is unable for any reason to receive the Sacrament, the clergyman is to instruct him

’ that if he do truly repent him of his sins, and stedfastly believe that Jesus Christ hath suffered death upon the Cross for him, and shed His blood for his redemption, earnestly remembering the benefits he hath thereby, and giving Him hearty thanks therefore, he doth eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ profitably to his Soul’s health, although he do not receive the Sacrament with his mouth.’

The more the great truth of spiritual feeding upon Christ in, or apart from, the Sacrament is emphasized, the greater the intelligence and the deeper the spiritual profit when the Communion itself is received.

V. Private Baptisms.

Here again is a genuine difficulty that will face many a young clergyman. He will be summoned to baptize a child who is in danger of death, under the evident thought that an unbaptized infant will somehow or other be in danger of suffering spiritual loss in the future. An earnest, true-hearted, spiritual man will take every opportunity of showing that baptism, whether private or public, is not a charm, and that the Church of England has repudiated the opus operatum theory of the Sacraments. This of course will be done without any reference to ecclesiastical controversy, but simply as a matter of spiritual teaching wherever it should happen to be needed.

The private baptism itself will often be the opportunity of ministering true comfort to the poor sorrowing parents, as prayer is offered and God’s Word is taught, and those present are assured of God’s favour and good will toward the little child. If only we keep in view the profound principle that baptism invariably refers in the New Testament, and also in the Prayer Book, to birth and not to life, to the introduction of an already living being into the new sphere of the Church of Christ, there need be no difficulty about any private baptism. It is an opportunity of assuring the parents that the child has been received into the congregation of Christ’s flock, and is undoubtedly included in the great Covenant of Redemption. If the child should recover, care must be taken to see to the public reception into the Church according to the rubric, and this will prove another opportunity of spiritual influence not to be overlooked, still less despised.

SECTION 6. SOME GENERAL SUGGESTIONS.

The following general suggestions are made, dealing with the entire subject of visiting, though again it must be said that they are necessarily only for comparison with other minds and other experiences.

I. A Visiting Register.

We Bought to make a careful register of our cases, and for this purpose the card system is far better than a visiting book. Cards are easily destroyed when changes are made, and will be found in every way more helpful than the old-fashioned register or book. It will probably be more convenient to have the cards arranged in alphabetical order of people’s names, though some clergymen may prefer to have them arranged in streets according to the address. Brief particulars will find their place on the card. For example, the name, the number in the family, and any special circumstances. But all these details will soon be remembered by the visitor without the need of reference to cards. It is important that the dates of our visits should be entered on these cards, for we are thus able to show, if necessary, when we last called, an important point if any one should complain of omission or neglect. These cards must be kept quite private, locked up in our desk, and not available for examination by landladies. I cannot describe what I owe to my dear friend, who was my predecessor in the Curacy of St. Aldate’s, Oxford, the Rev. A. P. Cox, now the Vicar of Christ Church, Cheltenham, for his provision of a book, giving me full details, in his own characteristic way, of all the people in St. Aldate’s parish, Oxford. How greatly I valued that book, and what it was to me in my first year or so in that parish, cannot now be expressed. It was a fine testimony to his intimate knowledge of the parish. But the information contained in it was kept strictly under lock and key, and before very long the entire book was carefully destroyed. A special list of the aged and chronic cases should also be kept, with dates of the visits noted. A little system of one’s own ’ hieroglyphics ’ will enable a man to indicate on the card whether the people were in or out, whether he had prayer, or Bible reading, and the occasions on which he ministered private Communion. System of some sort, at any rate, is absolutely necessary in connexion with parochial visitation.

II. Door to Door Visitation.

This is to be avoided, even though it may lead to fewer visits being paid in an afternoon. When a clergyman goes steadily from door to door along a street, people see and know of his coming and are ’ ready for him ’ in a wrong sense. It is far better to take a few in each street. Case-visiting or subject- visiting is the true method, only of course we must take the greatest care not to overlook any people that we ought to see. In our ordinary visiting we must beware of having l pets,’ especially as we shall find ourselves welcomed in some houses and regarded with indifference, or worse, in others. It is very natural for a clergyman to go often to houses where he will be received, but he must beware of favouritism.

III. Temporal Relief.

This in the minds of some is inextricably bound up with a visit from a clergyman, for they seem to think that he is a sort of relieving officer. A friend of mine sent a lady to visit a woman in the parish, and on opening the door and telling her errand she was greeted with the words, ‘Well, is there anything ‘anging to it? ‘This is the trouble in many cases; they think that money or other relief is ’ ‘anging to it.’ If on a first visit we find relief is needed, it should be given in kind, not in money. Indeed, experience shows that money should only be given when the people are thoroughly trustworthy. But it is far better to let it be known that the Curate is not allowed to give relief, and is to report the cases to the Vicar and the Relief Committee. I found on commencing work at Portman Chapel the admirable plan of a Relief Committee, which met every fortnight to consider all the cases, which were then decided on their merits. The Parish Nurse had authority meanwhile to give interim relief to all genuine cases which were reported at these fortnightly meetings. In this systematic way we not only provided for all the genuine needs of the people, but were enabled at the same time to dissociate the idea of temporal relief from clerical visiting. Every one in the parish knew that none were neglected, and that all cases would be carefully considered by this Committee. Some method of the kind should be adopted in all Churches, for there is scarcely anything more harmful to spiritual work than the consciousness or hope that the clergyman’s coming means a ticket for grocery or coal. There is far too much of a tendency to pauperize the people, and it would be in every way better for spiritual work if the clergyman only very rarely gave relief in person, but arranged for it to be given through some other channel.

IV. Rebuffs.

It is certain that our visiting will not always be welcome, and we shall experience either indifference or actual opposition. Whenever we are rebuffed we must accept the situation in a true spirit, and make it a matter of prayer, seeking for grace to ’ keep smiling.’ Above everything, we must respect individuality and never forget that ’ an Englishman’s house is his castle.’ There is a story told of a Scripture Reader who happened to possess a wooden leg, and when he saw any likelihood of a door being shut in his face he quietly planted his wooden leg in the doorway, and so prevented what he expected, and thereby utilized the opportunity for delivering his message. If we may assume this to be true, and it is a story often repeated, it is impossible to avoid expressing deep regret that such action should have been taken. Some of us, if we had been inside the house, would have felt very much tempted, but for the serious results to the man, to bring the door to bear very definitely on the wooden leg. No one has a right to enter our house unless we invite him, and we cannot be too careful in our visiting to remember that the most perfect courtesy should be shown to the poorest, and their self-respect considered. If we find, as we certainly shall, a genuine opposition to our message on the part of some parishioners, a letter written respectfully but kindly will often find an entrance where a visit would be unwelcome, and after a while we should go again and see whether there is any change of attitude. It is a frequent experience of clergymen that opposition to the Gospel does not last for ever, and that persistent, loving, wise effort finds its reward. Only let us ’ glorify God in our fires,’ and leave the results to Him.

V. Literature in Visiting.

It is very essential to have at hand a supply of suitable tracts and booklets which we can leave when paying calls. The written message will be heeded when the personal testimony has been forgotten, and the power of God’s Word in the printed page has proved itself again and again. Care must be constantly taken in the choice of booklets and other Gospel statements, because it is only too possible to give indiscriminately, and find that we have made a serious mistake. When a young girl in her distribution of tracts gave an old lady a tract warning young people against dancing, and when a man with a wooden leg received a similar tract, we can see the necessity of wise and careful choice. Then again, sometimes the very way in which tracts and booklets are produced does not commend them for ordinary purposes. No one to whom we may give a tract cares to find some sensational title of a series printed in bold type on the first page, like ‘Daggers for Doubters, 6d. a doz.,’ or ‘Slashes at Sinners, 6s. a 100 post-free.’ It would be a great help if any description of series, with price, could be put at the very end of the tract on the last page, and not given any prominence that tends to hinder the message from being accepted. For ordinary parochial purposes there are few series of booklets more helpful than those published by the British Gospel Book Association, 5, Hope Way, Liverpool, while the Religious Tract Society has the greatest possible variety of tracts and booklets suited to all classes and needs. A few such little booklets slipped into our pocket before going out for an afternoon’s or evening’s visiting will often be an additional message on behalf of Christ. Every clergyman should keep as wide an acquaintance as he can with the many attractive modern varieties of Gospel booklets, and should develop this sort of ‘Tractarianism ’ as much as possible.

VI. The Use of Scripture in Visiting.

Sometimes a request is made for a little handbook suited to the needs of parochial visitors, and it is difficult to suggest anything of the kind. A useful little compilation was available some years ago, called The Visitor’s

Book of Texts, by Dr. Andrew A. Bonar, but now this is only to be had secondhand. It is far more satisfactory, however, for every visitor gradually to make his own list of suitable Scripture passages, for there is nothing like the school of experience to learn what is needed for particular cases. He will certainly need such Psalms as xxiii.; xxvii.; xlvi.; lxv.; ciii.; and cxxx.; such chapters of Isaiah as xii.; liii.; andlv.; such chapters of the Fourth Gospel as iii.; iv.; xiv.; xv.; xvi.; such chapters of the Epistles as Romans viii.; 1 Corinthians xv.; 1 Thessalonians iv.; with the last two chapters of the Revelation. It will be surprising if these are not used pretty freely and frequently. Then again, the use of hymns in visiting will be found of great value, especially by reason of the power of old associations. Familiar hymns, like ‘Jesu, Lover of my soul,” Rock of Ages, 1 How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds,” Abide with me, and others, will be most welcome at sick beds and for use with the dying. Very, very often the old words will recall thoughts and places which will enable the clergyman to send home his message. A clergyman was summoned to a tenement house in New York some years ago to the death-bed of a Scotswoman. After trying several methods in vain without obtaining the slightest response, at last he thought of the Scottish version of the twenty-third Psalm, and repeated, —

The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want,

He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me,

The quiet waters by.

At once the woman opened her eyes, and said ‘I learned that as a bairn in Scotland?; and it proved the channel of spiritual blessing to her soul.

VII. Infectious Cases.

In these days of the immediate removal of infectious cases to isolation hospitals, the call on the clergyman to visit such cases is comparatively slight and infrequent, but as from time to time emergencies arise, the following simple suggestions may perhaps be ventured, based as they are upon information derived mainly from medical sources.

1. Visit, if at all possible, only after a full meal.

2. Avoid getting into the line of the patient’s breath.

3. Avoid touching the patient’s hand.

4. After a scarlet fever case brush the hair. The fine scales that float from the patient may easily lodge therein.

5. Wash the hands after visiting and use thoroughly a nail brush.

6. If the case is epidemic, keep on an old waterproof and then let it be well aired on returning home.

7. If smallpox, or diphtheria, or scarlet fever, an antiseptic gargle will be found useful. For example, a boracic gargle.

8. Do not visit elsewhere until at least half an hour has been spent afterwards in the open air.

9. Amid all these simple and useful precautions, take allopathic doses of St. John xiv. 1.

VIII. About Ourselves.

It is as true of visiting as it is of any part of our parochial work, that the man himself is the key to the situation. We should plan our season of visiting beforehand, and never fail to pray before going out. Then let us go in faith and expectation, depending upon the Spirit of God. At each door let the heart be lifted up in prayer and trust. If we feel at all nervous or hesitating, as will frequently be the case, let us seek grace not to show it.

Visiting is the opportunity for cultivating a number of the .Christian graces. Brightness of manner should certainly characterize our work. The grace of tenderness will also be required; not merely gentleness, which refers to manner; but tenderness, which is concerned with spirit. Gentleness is external, but tenderness is internal. In this tenderness there will be the true Chris tian courtesy which commends ourselves and our cause.

The grace of wisdom will also need cultivation. Much tact and ’ sanctified common sense ’ will be required, and the expression of this will show itself in a variety of small ways. The Bishop of Liverpool (Dr. Chavasse) did not think it unnecessary to suggest the avoidance of creaky boots while visiting. And if the clergyman should by any possibility happen to be a smoker, he will be well advised to avoid smoking immediately after lunch, lest his breath should be found disagreeable to some of the sick cases which he has to visit. Nonsmokers are usually keenly sensitive in the olfactory nerves, and to these a clerical smoker does not tend to recommend himself or his work. Not the least element of this practical wisdom will be seen in the occasional letter written to one whom our words may not have influenced. It will be found not infrequently that such a letter has been treasured, and used of God.

The grace of courage will certainly be needed, for no one can visit in the true and only way without much faithfulness being required. When men and women are brought to close quarters by means of earnest spiritual visitation, we must not be surprised if opposition is manifested, and this in turn will mean that the grace of patience will certainly be in request in connexion with visiting. There is scarcely a clergyman who has not felt the deepest disappointment in the results of his parochial visitation. At such times a prayerful, trustful meditation of Isaiah xlix. 4-6 will revive the drooping spirit.

All this may be summed up by saying that the one supreme need is spiritual life and power. There is a constant danger of our visiting becoming almost wholly mechanical and formal. We become tired at the close of an afternoon’s or evening’s work. We have entered into so many experiences, and physical, intellectual, and spiritual vitality has been strained and is liable to be sapped. All the more reason, therefore, for the spiritual life to be maintained at the true height and strength for this very taxing and exacting work. It may be said without any contradiction that the joys and the sorrows of the ministry will be more definitely experienced in our visiting than in any other department of clerical and parochial work.

In the course of reading I came across a prayer appropriate to pastoral visitation, and as it seemed so spiritually suggestive I ventured to get it printed on a card for distribution among Theological Students and Younger Clergy. I subjoin the prayer in the hope that it may thereby find a still wider field of usefulness: —

Grant, Lord, I pray, that this day I may be made the messenger of Thy mercy to many. Open in my nature deep springs of love and sympathy and understanding, that when I meet with those who are in deep waters, deep may answer unto deep. Bring me into the divine peace, and let me walk this day in the light of Thy countenance, that all the influences of my person and presence may make for helpfulness. Give me Thy comfort for the sorrowful, Thy cheer for the glad, Thy love for the lonely, Thy riches for the poor, Thy peace for the anxious. May children find me childlike, and the strenuous find me courageous, and the aged find me trustful. So use me, I pray, as to quicken life with the sense of its spiritual complement, where every valley is exalted and every mountain brought low. In Christ. Amen.