OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS 1902-1903 President Rev. SAMUEL A. ELIOT, D.D., of Boston, Mass. Vice-Presidents Hon. JOSEPH W. SYMONDS, LL. D., of Portland, Me. Hon. WILLARD BARTLETT, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Hon. GEORGE E. ADAMS, of Chicago, Ill. Hon. HORACE DAVIS, LL.D., of San Francisco, Cal. Secretary Rev. CHARLES E. ST. JOHN, of Brookline, Mass. Assistant Secretary GEORGE W. Fox, Esq., of Boston, Mass. Treasurer FRANCIS H. LINCOLN, Esq., of Hingham, Mass. FINANCE.-Messrs. Lincoln, Little, Hutchinson, Ware, and Long. PUBLICATION.Messrs. Brown, Forbes, Wright, Fenn, and Mrs. Keyes. NEW ENGLAND.- Messrs. Garver, Boyden, Clifford, Ware, and Mrs. Keyes. MIDDLE. Messrs. Forbes, Hutchinson, Wright, Long, and Mrs. Hackley. SOUTHERN. Messrs. Little, Garver, Day, Frothingham, and Mrs. Morton. WESTERN. Messrs. Brown, Ames, Fenn, Day, and Frothingham. PACIFIC. Messrs. Irish, Ware, Frothingham, Mrs. Hackley, and Mrs. Morton. Messrs. Brown, Ames, Garver, Little, and Mrs. Keyes. EDUCATION.Messrs. Forbes, Boyden, Wright, Fenn, and Mrs. Hackley. EXECUTIVE. Messrs. Lincoln, Hutchinson, Boyden, Clifford, and Long. ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT THE work of your Association is in reasonably healthy condition. Your Directors make no boasts and no excuses. All debts have been paid, and the duties prescribed by your Constitution and By-laws have been duly discharged. The various heads of departments will, in the course of the day, present their reports in personal and concrete fashion. They will not argue: they will simply illustrate. They come with the credentials of experience, sometimes successful, sometimes unsuccessful. Their work is its own self-vindication. When, however, we pass from the limited sphere of the Association itself to consider the condition of the Unitarian body as a whole, a condition which this Association in popular estimation represents, but for which it is not permitted to be actually responsible, we discover no large cause for satisfaction. Our very discontent may be, however, a sign of health. A dead church does not cry out for fuller life any more than a dead man. The chief problems of our fellowship are: first, the more efficient organization of our associated life; second, the recruiting of our ministry with devout and able youth; and, third, the deepening of the spiritual life of the churches. It is obvious that the first two problems will be solved as soon as the third problem is solved. The development of the fuller life we crave is, however, a matter not primarily for the Association, but business here to provide channels through which that larger life may be sped. These channels are personality and organization. The quality of the young men who offer themselves for the service of our churches undoubtedly improves, but the number does not increase. Our religious movement cannot be regarded as a permanent contribution to the Christian forces of America until our churches produce and nurture their own ministers. The invitation to our ministry is not for those who, in the intervals of other business, would like to do a little good; but for those who love the risks of faith and the divine adventure, who can lose themselves in their enterprises, and live hard and like it. For such there is a clear vocation and career. The task of the Christian minister to-day is more difficult than ever before. The profession taxes every power and quality of the best manhood, and it is probably a good thing for the ministry and for Christendom that the challenge to this service is so serious a one. Nothing is to be gained by making the entrance into the ministry easy. It is not right that any flattering hopes should mislead our young men. Let there be no illusions. The ministry is not a place for slack or selfish persons. Good intentions and sincerity of purpose are not enough. Courage, however heroic, will not completely suffice. To give hope of a reasonable measure of success, these things are needed, but also the power to teach, to persuade, to console, and the possession, to some extent, of the gift of judicious leadership. Young men. preparing for the ministry must be trained in the atmosphere of freedom. They must be taught how to gather facts, to weigh precedents, to handle the past with rever |