17 OCTOBER 1952, Page 10

Sermons Right and Wrong

Ashas been indicated already in the Spectator, the number of papers (over 560) received on the two subjects which may broadly be described as " My message to the man in the pew " and " What I want to hear from the pulpit " has made the task of adjudication more formidable than was expected. Two short lists have now been compiled, and the adjudicators, Canon Edward Carpenter, Dr. S. M. Berry and the Editor of this journal, will make their awards in time for the first of the winning papers to be published in next week's Spectator.

Papers came from many quarters—Australia, Hong Kong. Germany, South Africa, as well as from all parts of the United Kingdom. They naturally varied considerably in interest and merit, those expressing the views of the men (and women) in the pew being the more suggestive; that could hardly be other- wise. Individual needs and desires were diverse—inevitably- but there was wide agreement on some points—notably that " the clerical voice " in sermons is to be avoided at all costs (surely it is very rare), that read sermons are a mistake, and that notes should be as brief as possible, that the sermon should bear directly on the problems of daily life, that it should " show us the Father," that it should come from the heart of a man who has dedicated himself in a special sense and can reveal_ something that he has discovered, that it should guide hearers into a spiritual world.

Many writers dwelt disproportionately on what they depre- cate in sermons rather than on what they want; some papers were much too brief to be of value, and one or two considerably exceeded the limit set. One headmistress conceived the happy idea of setting her sixth form to discuss the -whole ques- tion and then write essays on it. One, by a girl of seventeen, which was sent as a sample, has great merits. Altogether it is reasonable to assume that a study of a number of these de- mands from the pew, if they may be so described, would be a valuable guide to those called on to minister from the pulpit. Whether means can be found to give publicity to more of them than can appear in the Spectator remains to be considered. Meanwhile, the first paper will, as stated, appear in these