All of you feel the need of a church, which may be the outward manifestation of your faith and religious feeling, the vigilant custodian now and here of Christian doctrine and tradition. It sustains and keeps alive religion and individual activity, in virtue of that strong power of suggestion, which collectively always exercises on the individual.“Sir,” exclaims Johnson, “it is a very dangerous thing for a man not to belong to any church!”And this is true. How many of us would fall a thousand times were it not for this support!From the various churches and religious denominations, into which you Christians are divided, there arises a new unifying element, a noble aspiration, restraining too great impulsiveness, leveling dividing barriers, and working for the realization of the one holy church through all the children of redemption.
All of you feel the need of a church, which may be the outward manifestation of your faith and religious feeling, the vigilant custodian now and here of Christian doctrine and tradition. It sustains and keeps alive religion and individual activity, in virtue of that strong power of suggestion, which collectively always exercises on the individual.
“Sir,” exclaims Johnson, “it is a very dangerous thing for a man not to belong to any church!”
And this is true. How many of us would fall a thousand times were it not for this support!
From the various churches and religious denominations, into which you Christians are divided, there arises a new unifying element, a noble aspiration, restraining too great impulsiveness, leveling dividing barriers, and working for the realization of the one holy church through all the children of redemption.
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Church, Obligations to the—SeeObligations to the Church.
CHURCH ONLY A MEANS
A church is like the steps leading in to a beautiful mansion, but you do not sit down on the steps, you do not set up a tent on the steps, you do not live on the steps—the steps lift you to the level of the warm room, the blazing winter’s fire, the bower of home that receives you out of the driving rain or pelting snow. All the ordinances of the Church are steps that lead to the house of character, adorned with all those rich treasures, named truth, gentleness, meekness and justice and sympathy. The Church is a hostelry in which man stops for a night on his journey home. The end of the Church is character.—N. D. Hillis.
A church is like the steps leading in to a beautiful mansion, but you do not sit down on the steps, you do not set up a tent on the steps, you do not live on the steps—the steps lift you to the level of the warm room, the blazing winter’s fire, the bower of home that receives you out of the driving rain or pelting snow. All the ordinances of the Church are steps that lead to the house of character, adorned with all those rich treasures, named truth, gentleness, meekness and justice and sympathy. The Church is a hostelry in which man stops for a night on his journey home. The end of the Church is character.—N. D. Hillis.
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CHURCH SERVICES
Dr. Donald Sage Mackay remarks on the effects on communities of neglect of church attendance:
One of the papers in New York has been making a personal examination into the political morals of a certain New England State. It has been alleged that politically that State is rotten, that its voters are regularly bought and sold at every election. A detailed description of each of the most corrupt towns in that State was given, and this was the appalling fact brought out: The worst towns (some of them with a few hundred inhabitants), where bribery was most persistent, where illegal liquor-selling was most rampant, where immorality was most flagrant, were those towns in which there was no resident minister and where no Christian service was regularly held. For instance, in one town known as “darkest Exeter,” there were twenty years ago six churches; four of them are in ruins to-day, two are occasionally used, but there is no resident minister. The result is “darkest Exeter”—a New England farming town, once peopled by the sturdy sons of the Pilgrim, heir to all the noble qualities of a sturdy race.—“The Religion of the Threshold.”
One of the papers in New York has been making a personal examination into the political morals of a certain New England State. It has been alleged that politically that State is rotten, that its voters are regularly bought and sold at every election. A detailed description of each of the most corrupt towns in that State was given, and this was the appalling fact brought out: The worst towns (some of them with a few hundred inhabitants), where bribery was most persistent, where illegal liquor-selling was most rampant, where immorality was most flagrant, were those towns in which there was no resident minister and where no Christian service was regularly held. For instance, in one town known as “darkest Exeter,” there were twenty years ago six churches; four of them are in ruins to-day, two are occasionally used, but there is no resident minister. The result is “darkest Exeter”—a New England farming town, once peopled by the sturdy sons of the Pilgrim, heir to all the noble qualities of a sturdy race.—“The Religion of the Threshold.”
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CHURCH STATISTICS
The statistics and charts belonging with this illustration are taken from Bulletin 103 of the United States “Bureau of the Census” “representing conditions as near as may be, at the close of the year 1906.”The general order or rank of the principal religious bodies in 1906 with respect to organization is presented in Table No. 1. (See page104.)The distribution of religious organizations by principal families and separate denominations in 1906, in comparison with similar figures for 1890, is given in Table No. 2. (See page105).The seating capacity of the churches is given in Tables No. 3 and No. 4. (See page106.)
The statistics and charts belonging with this illustration are taken from Bulletin 103 of the United States “Bureau of the Census” “representing conditions as near as may be, at the close of the year 1906.”
The general order or rank of the principal religious bodies in 1906 with respect to organization is presented in Table No. 1. (See page104.)
The distribution of religious organizations by principal families and separate denominations in 1906, in comparison with similar figures for 1890, is given in Table No. 2. (See page105).
The seating capacity of the churches is given in Tables No. 3 and No. 4. (See page106.)
Diagram 1—Distribution of communicants or members, by principal families or denominations, for continental United States: 1890 and 1906.
Diagram 1—Distribution of communicants or members, by principal families or denominations, for continental United States: 1890 and 1906.
The value of church property, with gains by decades is shown in Tables No. 5 and No. 6. (See pages107–108.)The charts here shown exhibit at a glance (1) the comparative strength of denominations or families for 1890 and 1906 and (2) the relative size of the church and the unchurched population.[Note.—The designation “not church-members” in diagram 2, p.104, represents the difference between the number reported as communicants or members and the total population; it embraces, therefore, children too young to become church-members, as well as that portion of the population which is eligible to church-membership, altho not affiliated with any religious denomination.]Of the total estimated population of continental United States in 1906, 39.1 per cent., or not quite two-fifths, were reported as church-members. The corresponding percentage for 1890 was 32.7, or somewhat less than one-third, showing that the church has gained faster than the population 6.4 per cent.
The value of church property, with gains by decades is shown in Tables No. 5 and No. 6. (See pages107–108.)
The charts here shown exhibit at a glance (1) the comparative strength of denominations or families for 1890 and 1906 and (2) the relative size of the church and the unchurched population.
[Note.—The designation “not church-members” in diagram 2, p.104, represents the difference between the number reported as communicants or members and the total population; it embraces, therefore, children too young to become church-members, as well as that portion of the population which is eligible to church-membership, altho not affiliated with any religious denomination.]
Of the total estimated population of continental United States in 1906, 39.1 per cent., or not quite two-fifths, were reported as church-members. The corresponding percentage for 1890 was 32.7, or somewhat less than one-third, showing that the church has gained faster than the population 6.4 per cent.
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CHURCH, SUCCESS OF THE
Mr. Beecher arose in his pulpit Sunday after Sunday for forty years with the invariable fortune of looking at a crowded congregation, tho the most eloquent political orator in the country can not draw the same people to hear him five times in succession. A country town of 3,000 people will support from five to ten churches when it will hardly pay the rent of an amusement hall. For centuries, against intellectual doubt and the weakness of the flesh, the Christian religion has more than held its own in Europe and America, and while the theater could attract only by a continually changing appeal to curiosity, the church has retained its power with slight change and with only enough flexibility to adjust its forms of government to the character of different people.—Kansas CityTimes.
Mr. Beecher arose in his pulpit Sunday after Sunday for forty years with the invariable fortune of looking at a crowded congregation, tho the most eloquent political orator in the country can not draw the same people to hear him five times in succession. A country town of 3,000 people will support from five to ten churches when it will hardly pay the rent of an amusement hall. For centuries, against intellectual doubt and the weakness of the flesh, the Christian religion has more than held its own in Europe and America, and while the theater could attract only by a continually changing appeal to curiosity, the church has retained its power with slight change and with only enough flexibility to adjust its forms of government to the character of different people.—Kansas CityTimes.
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Diagram 2—Proportion of the population reported as Protestant, Roman Catholic, and “all other” church-members, and proportion not reported as church-members, for continental United States: 1890 and 1906.
Diagram 2—Proportion of the population reported as Protestant, Roman Catholic, and “all other” church-members, and proportion not reported as church-members, for continental United States: 1890 and 1906.
Table No. 1—Denominational Rank.(SeeChurch Statistics.)
CHURCH, THE
Harriet McEwen Kimball puts into verse a hopeful view of the triumph of the Church:
Be patient! bide His time who will not tarry;A thousand years He measures as a day.All human plans, since human, may mis-carry;His, never; keep His counsel, watch and pray.Put up thy sword, He saith;Be faithful unto death.Since the first saints embraced His cross, and dyingNo earthly triumph saw, yet were content,On His dear Presence, tho unseen, relying,His holy Church has walked the way He went;Afflicted, destitute,And sore from head to foot.Thou yet shalt see her, all her trials ended,Robed as in garments woven white of flame,When He “by thousand thousand saints attended,”Their lifted foreheads burning with His name,Shall come to claim the restWho wait His advent blest.She will be glorious; neither spot nor wrinkleTo mar the beauty of her holiness,And all the nations which His blood shall sprinkleThe bride and bridegroom shall alike confess;Forever one the twain;Forevermore their reign! (Text.)
Be patient! bide His time who will not tarry;A thousand years He measures as a day.All human plans, since human, may mis-carry;His, never; keep His counsel, watch and pray.Put up thy sword, He saith;Be faithful unto death.Since the first saints embraced His cross, and dyingNo earthly triumph saw, yet were content,On His dear Presence, tho unseen, relying,His holy Church has walked the way He went;Afflicted, destitute,And sore from head to foot.Thou yet shalt see her, all her trials ended,Robed as in garments woven white of flame,When He “by thousand thousand saints attended,”Their lifted foreheads burning with His name,Shall come to claim the restWho wait His advent blest.She will be glorious; neither spot nor wrinkleTo mar the beauty of her holiness,And all the nations which His blood shall sprinkleThe bride and bridegroom shall alike confess;Forever one the twain;Forevermore their reign! (Text.)
Be patient! bide His time who will not tarry;A thousand years He measures as a day.All human plans, since human, may mis-carry;His, never; keep His counsel, watch and pray.Put up thy sword, He saith;Be faithful unto death.
Be patient! bide His time who will not tarry;
A thousand years He measures as a day.
All human plans, since human, may mis-carry;
His, never; keep His counsel, watch and pray.
Put up thy sword, He saith;
Be faithful unto death.
Since the first saints embraced His cross, and dyingNo earthly triumph saw, yet were content,On His dear Presence, tho unseen, relying,His holy Church has walked the way He went;Afflicted, destitute,And sore from head to foot.
Since the first saints embraced His cross, and dying
No earthly triumph saw, yet were content,
On His dear Presence, tho unseen, relying,
His holy Church has walked the way He went;
Afflicted, destitute,
And sore from head to foot.
Thou yet shalt see her, all her trials ended,Robed as in garments woven white of flame,When He “by thousand thousand saints attended,”Their lifted foreheads burning with His name,Shall come to claim the restWho wait His advent blest.
Thou yet shalt see her, all her trials ended,
Robed as in garments woven white of flame,
When He “by thousand thousand saints attended,”
Their lifted foreheads burning with His name,
Shall come to claim the rest
Who wait His advent blest.
She will be glorious; neither spot nor wrinkleTo mar the beauty of her holiness,And all the nations which His blood shall sprinkleThe bride and bridegroom shall alike confess;Forever one the twain;Forevermore their reign! (Text.)
She will be glorious; neither spot nor wrinkle
To mar the beauty of her holiness,
And all the nations which His blood shall sprinkle
The bride and bridegroom shall alike confess;
Forever one the twain;
Forevermore their reign! (Text.)
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CHURCH, THE COUNTRY
J. S. Cheavens remembers the church in the country in a poem, of which a part is here given:
In pillar’d aisles of vast cathedrals old,Ablaze with splendor, garish gilt and gold,Where clouds of incense ever seemed to dwell,And rhythmic waves of music rose and fell—I’ve heard the priest, in pomp of vain attire,Prate ancient prayers that did no soul inspire,Nor reach God’s ear. Religion’s whited tomb,Appalling in its cold sepulchral gloom!How far removed by all vain rules of art,Yet deep enshrined within my loyal heart,Is that plain building, simple, unadorned,Loved by a few, altho by many scorned—Unknown by those who seek wealth, power or place,But very dear to those who seek His face—The Country Church! O holy, holy ground,For there the Lord Himself is sought and found!
In pillar’d aisles of vast cathedrals old,Ablaze with splendor, garish gilt and gold,Where clouds of incense ever seemed to dwell,And rhythmic waves of music rose and fell—I’ve heard the priest, in pomp of vain attire,Prate ancient prayers that did no soul inspire,Nor reach God’s ear. Religion’s whited tomb,Appalling in its cold sepulchral gloom!How far removed by all vain rules of art,Yet deep enshrined within my loyal heart,Is that plain building, simple, unadorned,Loved by a few, altho by many scorned—Unknown by those who seek wealth, power or place,But very dear to those who seek His face—The Country Church! O holy, holy ground,For there the Lord Himself is sought and found!
In pillar’d aisles of vast cathedrals old,Ablaze with splendor, garish gilt and gold,Where clouds of incense ever seemed to dwell,And rhythmic waves of music rose and fell—I’ve heard the priest, in pomp of vain attire,Prate ancient prayers that did no soul inspire,Nor reach God’s ear. Religion’s whited tomb,Appalling in its cold sepulchral gloom!
In pillar’d aisles of vast cathedrals old,
Ablaze with splendor, garish gilt and gold,
Where clouds of incense ever seemed to dwell,
And rhythmic waves of music rose and fell—
I’ve heard the priest, in pomp of vain attire,
Prate ancient prayers that did no soul inspire,
Nor reach God’s ear. Religion’s whited tomb,
Appalling in its cold sepulchral gloom!
How far removed by all vain rules of art,Yet deep enshrined within my loyal heart,Is that plain building, simple, unadorned,Loved by a few, altho by many scorned—Unknown by those who seek wealth, power or place,But very dear to those who seek His face—The Country Church! O holy, holy ground,For there the Lord Himself is sought and found!
How far removed by all vain rules of art,
Yet deep enshrined within my loyal heart,
Is that plain building, simple, unadorned,
Loved by a few, altho by many scorned—
Unknown by those who seek wealth, power or place,
But very dear to those who seek His face—
The Country Church! O holy, holy ground,
For there the Lord Himself is sought and found!
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Table No. 2—Distribution by Families and Denominations.(SeeChurch Statistics.)
[1]Exclusive of 26 organizations in Alaska.
[1]Exclusive of 26 organizations in Alaska.
[2]Decrease.
[2]Decrease.
[3]Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
[3]Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
[4]Per cent not shown where base is less than 100.
[4]Per cent not shown where base is less than 100.
CHURCH UNION
If this world is ever taken for God and its sins overthrown it will be by the marching of all the hosts of God in solid column to attack. The sixteen kinds of Methodists will come under one wing, the ten kinds of Baptistsmust come under another wing, and the seven kinds of Presbyterians under still another wing. After all the branches of each denomination have united then the great denominations nearest of kin will unite, and this absorption shall go on until there shall be one great millennial church, divided only for convenience into geographical sections and as of old it was the “Church of Laodicea” and the “Church of Philadelphia,” and the “Church of Thyatira,” so it shall be the “Church of America” and the “Church of Europe,” and the “Church of Asia,” and the “Church of Africa,” and the “Church of Australia.” Of that world-wide Church there will be only one article of creed—Christ first, Christ last, and Christ forever. (Text.)—T. DeWitt Talmage,Christian Union.
If this world is ever taken for God and its sins overthrown it will be by the marching of all the hosts of God in solid column to attack. The sixteen kinds of Methodists will come under one wing, the ten kinds of Baptistsmust come under another wing, and the seven kinds of Presbyterians under still another wing. After all the branches of each denomination have united then the great denominations nearest of kin will unite, and this absorption shall go on until there shall be one great millennial church, divided only for convenience into geographical sections and as of old it was the “Church of Laodicea” and the “Church of Philadelphia,” and the “Church of Thyatira,” so it shall be the “Church of America” and the “Church of Europe,” and the “Church of Asia,” and the “Church of Africa,” and the “Church of Australia.” Of that world-wide Church there will be only one article of creed—Christ first, Christ last, and Christ forever. (Text.)—T. DeWitt Talmage,Christian Union.
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Table No. 3—Seating Capacity of the Churches(less a percentage not reporting.) (SeeChurch Statistics.)
[5]Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
[5]Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
[6]Decrease.
[6]Decrease.
Table No. 4—Seating Capacity—Gain by Decades.(SeeChurch Statistics.)
[7]Estimated.
[7]Estimated.
[8]Includes the population of Indian Territory and Indian reservations.
[8]Includes the population of Indian Territory and Indian reservations.
[9]Not reported.
[9]Not reported.
[10]Reported as “sittings.”
[10]Reported as “sittings.”
[11]Reported as “accommodations.”
[11]Reported as “accommodations.”
CHURCHES AND THE CROWD
Jane Addams says that on a Sunday night in Chicago one-sixth of the entire population is packed into 466 places of entertainment. Churches? No—moving-picture shows! The churches on Sunday night in Chicago, and, we fear, in many other places, are not conspicuously crowded. The problem is this: If the Chicago churches had presented an up-to-date moving-picture show, instead of a sermon, would the crowd have followed the films? Inasmuch as the church admission is free and the theater admission is from five to twenty-five cents, it is a fair assumption that the churches would have been filled. Now, if the object of the Sunday-night service is primarily to reach the crowd on the street, and if, as has been shown, the moving-picture is a much more vivid and attractive way of reaching that crowd than is a sermon, why, in all seriousness, don’t churches give us the thrilling stories of the Old Testament, its beautiful tales of the New Testament, and its modern illustrations of Christian heroism in this and other lands, in the up-to-date form—in moving pictures? They may answer that they can not get hold of the films and the machine, but this answer is not a good answer. Excellent sacred pictures are shown in the present professional entertainments, and many illustrations of modern heroism, self-sacrifice, and virtue are in every program. Moreover, a demand for films for church use would enlarge the supply. Moving-picture machines are not expensive and can be easily operated. You can do it in your church. Why don’t you?—Woman’s Home Companion.
Jane Addams says that on a Sunday night in Chicago one-sixth of the entire population is packed into 466 places of entertainment. Churches? No—moving-picture shows! The churches on Sunday night in Chicago, and, we fear, in many other places, are not conspicuously crowded. The problem is this: If the Chicago churches had presented an up-to-date moving-picture show, instead of a sermon, would the crowd have followed the films? Inasmuch as the church admission is free and the theater admission is from five to twenty-five cents, it is a fair assumption that the churches would have been filled. Now, if the object of the Sunday-night service is primarily to reach the crowd on the street, and if, as has been shown, the moving-picture is a much more vivid and attractive way of reaching that crowd than is a sermon, why, in all seriousness, don’t churches give us the thrilling stories of the Old Testament, its beautiful tales of the New Testament, and its modern illustrations of Christian heroism in this and other lands, in the up-to-date form—in moving pictures? They may answer that they can not get hold of the films and the machine, but this answer is not a good answer. Excellent sacred pictures are shown in the present professional entertainments, and many illustrations of modern heroism, self-sacrifice, and virtue are in every program. Moreover, a demand for films for church use would enlarge the supply. Moving-picture machines are not expensive and can be easily operated. You can do it in your church. Why don’t you?—Woman’s Home Companion.
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Table No. 5—Church Property.(SeeChurch Statistics.)