a glance at the past

This month I thought I would share with you the following delightful report from our pastor, Rev. Maly, to the District Superintendent, for the fourth quarter report of the church year.  It seems that the church year began in September and ran through August, so this report was made during the month of August.  It is not dated, so I am not completely certain that it was submitted in August of 1942.  It could have been 1943 or 1944.  However I found it with the August minutes of the Official Board for 1942 and I will just assume that is the correct date for it.
           
Rev. Maly begins the report with a paragraph addressed to the District Superintendent, Dr. Paul Secrist, thanking him for his cooperation and fellowship, and wishing him well for the coming year’s work.
           
The rest of the report is, in Rev. Maly’s own words, a description of his past year’s work.  It is so different from the type of report we send to the District Superintendent today.  Ihope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did:
“As the pastor of this church I wish to make a report of some of the things we have done this year.  It would be impossible to bring a full account of the year’s work, for there are so many things that cannot be said about the work that is done, for many of the pastor’s duties spring up impromptu as the days come and go.  It is almost impossible to really keep track of the time a preacher spends in his study, in calling, in conferences of all kinds, in community and social work, in letter writing, in attending socials and in devotions.  So far in my ministry I have never been able to say my work was really done.  I have always discovered there are still sick to visit, problems to iron out, reading to be done, folks to love and fellowship with, letters to write, prayers to pray, boys and girls to teach and social work to be done.
 
 A Resume of This Past Year’s Work:

1.  I have preached 58 times in my morning services. Last summer we had two services a Sunday, the first service coming before Sunday School and the last one coming after it.
2. I have taught a Sunday School Class almost every Sunday.  I have had a class in Catechism and filled in as Sunday School teacher on other occasions.
3. I have preached about 25 sermons to other groups of people than my own.  This was all done gratis.  I was grateful for the opportunity to serve wherever I could.
4.  I taught a class for one week in the School of Ministerial Training at Ohio Wesleyan University.
5. I taught a class at Camp Fitch.
6. I taught in the Mid-Winter Institute and also in the School of Religion which is held in Warren.
7. I went to Lakeside to be with our young people.
8. I had 20 funerals, 10 weddings and 19 baptisms.  Many of these baptisms were adults in their own homes.  I have had some wonderful religious experiences in these meetings.
9. I have made over 700 pastoral calls.
10.  I have written many letters of all kinds, church letters, letters of recommendation, congratulatory letters and letters to the boys in the armed forces.
11.  There was a church bulletin to prepare each week, several special church services throughout the year and scores of telephone calls to make and answer.
12. I have attended an average of 4 meetings a week lasting from one-half to four hours in length.

 
We have made some progress this past year.  We have increased our attendance and decreased our indebtedness.  Our membership is still growing.  Our church finances have been better this year than any year since I have been here.  We have had several vital conversions.  We have added new people to the official family of our church and they have done an excellent job.  When we have fallen back on those of the church who have been the back bone of this church for many years we have found them to be ready and willing to help.  I feel we are on the right track and with the help of Almighty God we will do an even better piece  of work in the future.
 
Next I want to show my appreciation for the fine Christian woman who for some reason does not feel ashamed to call me her husband.  She has been wife, mother, secretary, treasurer and adviser in the parsonage.  I know a church does not hire a minister’s wife but a minister without a good wife to keep him straight is not as good a minister as he would be with such a wife.  I want to say here and now that I owe a great deal to Mrs. Maly for she has been a constant help and inspiration to me.
We have many plans for the future and all of them concern the forward movement of the church.  We pray for the guidance and help of Almighty God.  Our chief concern is that the Kingdom of God shall continue to succeed.  Mrs. Maly and I want to do all we can to help it succeed.  We appreciate your faith in us and the cooperation we have received from you in the past more than we can tell you, and we hope and pray for your continued faith and cooperation for the future.               Sincerely yours,  Rev. A. S. Maly”
 
This was our pastor’s report to the District Superintendent seventy-five years ago in our church.  In all the official reports I have seen, this one seems unique, and I just wanted to share it with you.