PRAISES WOMEN IN SPECIAL SERMON TO LOCAL MEMBERS Rev J. H. Wert Gives History { of Woman's Activity In World Affairs j USHERED IN NATIONAL WEEK'S OBSERVANCE Local Club Sends Delegation to Hear Sermon ? Beauti ful Tirbute Paid Rev. J. H. West^ pastor of the Bre- 1 vard Methodist church, delivered a special Bermon to the Business and , Professional Women's club Sunday night, ushering in the observation of the National Week, observed through out the nation in honor of the women in business' and the professions. Despite the extremely cold weather, as the snow storm from western blis zardy sent the thermometer down to a new low, quite a large delegation iroin the organization was in the congregation. It was a beautiful tribute that Rev. Mr. West paid to the women who are engaged in business and professional work, and is herewith reproduced in part: "We frequently hear the following questions concerning almost any or ganization. For what purpose? To what end? The motto of the Business and Professional Women's Club fur nishes a concrete answer to these questions with any others that may be propounded: " 'Better Business Women for a Better Business World.' "Pesident Hoover in a message to the National Federation on June 20, 1929, said, 'Women generally have a natural interest in# and vision of so cial problems. To this your association adds the educational work "necessary to help them understand economics as" related to business life, thereby rounding out the life equipment of thousands of women engaged in busi ness and the professions. This is a most useful service.' "Prior to 1919 the Y. W. C. A. car ried on a special club work for busi ness women. There were four or five states with independent clubs, but no state organization was functioning. At the close of the World War there was insistent demands for a separate organization. So in July, of that year in the city of St. Louis the Federa tion was formed. For almost 12 years now the National Federation has been the school of hard training, and the temple of promise, and Ideal is mfor American business women. "It was on Monday evening, Feb. 27, 1928, that Brevard women inter ested in business, and the professions, : joined the 55,000 who were already members of the Federation. The local club is to be commended for the very fine work it is doing in the interest of the Girl Scouts. And also for the spirit of cooperation extended to the various other organized groups in all worthwhile service. There is nothing that Brevard needs at this time more than this helpful spirit of cooper ation. i Acts 16:14:15 (text). "If I were charged with the respon sibility of finding a person whose character and ' service reflects the program of work proposed by your organization, I would present to you Lydia, who lived almost 2000 years ago. She is at once by reality and suggestion the incarnation of the pro posed activities of the Business and Professional Women's Club. If she lived in Brevard she would no doubt bccome a member of your organiza tion. And while she is the embodi ment of all that is best in your organ ization, she is a rebuke to all that is less than the best in any organiza tion. At once there is something about her that impels admiration. "She grips, and holds us with_her winsome womanliness. A mannish woman always spoils the music and harmony of any occasion. Boyish girls and mannish women are socially, and matrimonially more popular with cer tain men in every ' community than are the women of Lydias typo. I am about persuaded that it is more dif ficult for professional women to be womanly than it is for womanly wo men to be professional. "But "Lydia was winsome and wom anly in spite of the fact that she was an ideal business woman. She had a home but it is to be doubted if she ' was primarily a home maker. It is still an unsettled question as to whether Lydia was married. If all the men who marry would marry Lydias we would have mighty few divorce proceedings. At any rate she was a live wide-awake business woman. This makes her story sound very i . modern, for if she lived today she [ would be regarded as a model business j woman. There was a time when almost the , only vocation open, to women was j that of being a wife, a mother, a j home builder, but Christianity has J Brought her into a larger liberty. J There was a time when she almost j had to marry in order to have a j home, but today this is not necessary; j she can earn her own living and have , her own home without the responsibil- ! ity of supporting a husband. Her story is modern again in that she was not only a business woman, but a suc cessful business woman. She was per fectly capable of competing with men in the business world, and so are her sisters today. knew how to handle a fortune given to her, or to make one herself. But her success had no^ spoiled her fine womanly qualities. Her battle with the workF had not made her Coarse, it had not contamin ated her soul. She was still religious, for our text says, she was a worship per of God. The twentieth century business woman has not always done this ? she has sometimes lost hex faith. Her liberties and CMitacts have their dangeraftjrlanv.of alts bus iness girls and wowffef ?f today have temptations thai rAothers never dreamed of. I am praying that our girls and women may never lose their modesty out in the big business world. "God save our Business girls and women from the coarsenws of Flap perism. It is a fact that cannot be denied that 'some business girls and I women yield to the temptation of 'their association and environment, but the vast majority of them have kept their modesty and their religion. An illustration? I know a Poacher who has held some of the leadl?? churches of our denomination. H* gives this testimony: The majority of members in one of my pastorates was composed of business women and girls, but I have never been the pas tor of a church that was better at tended, and mere liberally supported. The Cfiurch of Christ today has no bimrer asset than the business and professional women who have held on to their religion in spite of big busi n?"it is most interesting to raise the question as to how Lydia came to be a Christian. She already had re ligion, but she did not have Christian ity; she had ntf knowledge of Christ, and her opportunity for this knowl edge was very meager. There was not even a Jewish synagogue, to say noth inK of a Christian church in Phii lippi. But every Sabbath day there was an insignificant prayer meeting held some distance from the city, by the riverside. It must have been a very tame affair, not very much spir itual life in it, yet Lydia went. In other words, this business woman made a business of her religion. She brought to her religious duties the same devotion and earnestness that she gave to her business. She thus declares that religion is good busi ness for a professional woman. With week day regularity in mat ters of business, she made a business of her religion on Sunday. She did not know what was going to happen on this special Sunday , therefore she could not afford to miss. And the thing that happened that day was one of the most far reaching things that could have happened. The thing made her name remembered while the em pire of the Caesars lies in the dust a""\Vhy did Paul go to. Phillippi? He went there to help, perhaps primarily to help the man he had seen in a vision of the night, but not a man could be found among those who were at prayer meeting that day. Why did Lydia go to prayer meeting that day Because she needed help. She needed the Christian religion in her business life. Paul might have said, I am not going to hold the prayer meeting be cause there are no men here ?the mistake of his life. "Just a brief presentation ot trie outcome, or results of her conver sion ? . , * "Lydia brought to Christ her com mercial enthusiasm, her finerbusiness intelligence, the same devotion and consecration that she had given her business. .. ?1 She won her household to tne Lord* "2 ? She changed her house into a church^j was known as a place of hospitality for Paul and his friends. . , ? , "She must have said to Paul and his co-laborers? You have helped me and I want to help you; make my home your home; you are welcome. Luke says she compelled us. She thus made a distinct contribution .to the establishment of Christianity in the Roman Empire.