The New York herald., 1871-08-13
The Great Camp Meetings Of the Season.
Camp Meeting Christiauity.

The Methodist Episcopal Church has now
in full operation magnificent camp meeting
at Ocean Grove, few miles below General
Grants cosey cottage at Long Branch. The
camp, in the midst of beautiful grove, is
fanked by pretty little lake, and in front
OLD Ocean rolls his cooling waves
Upon the burning sand.
Under the supervision Of Bishop Simpson,
encouraged and assisted by the President,
who in practical things is a good Methodist,
this Ocean Grove camp is rising to the dignity
of q permanent and prosperous settlement.
and few years hence it will doubtless be-
come one of the most attractive localities on
the Jersey coast to quiet people In search of
comfortable summer resting place. The pres
ent camp meeting, under the favorable skies
of the last few days, has been great success,
and with continuance Of this fine weather
to-day the multitude assembled at Ocean
Grove with the great encampment and all its
accessories, will form rare spectacle for the
| religious enthusiast, the poet, the painter and
! the philosopher.
| With the opening Of the fashionable season
| at Saratoga, last year and this year, the
Round Lake Methodist camp meeting in that
neighborhood proved greater attraction, not
only to the religious society directly con-
cerned, but to travelling health and pleasure
seekers generally, than all the fashionable
attractions of Saratoga hotels, springs and
lake combined. So it is with this Ocean Grove
encampment below Long Branch for as an
attraction to the fashionable world it COM
pletely eciipses the Monmouth Park horse
races, and is the greatest seaside hit of the
season. Indeed, whether in their mammoth
tent in Great Salt Lake City, denouncing In
the very face of Brigham Young the abomine-
tions of Mormon polygamy, or expounding to
the gay world Of Saratoga or Long Branch
the Aeeting deluslons Of ''vanity Fair" the
Methodists In their aggressive warfare upon
the strongholds of Satan, from their camp
meetings, find no difficulty in storming the
enemy's works.
Camp meetings are duly recognized reli-
gious institution Of this country. Though
originally founded and maintained wholly by
the Methodists, they are no longer peculiar to
that denomination, Every little village aud
meetings, and recently we have son the Or
gauization of National Association, designed
to travel at liberty all over the land, pitching
its tent "a days march nearer home, or fur
ther away, as the case may be, advocating the
doctrine of ssnctificatiOn, or the ''hgher
Christian life.
AS means Of grace camp meetings have
outlived their usefulness, but as means Of
relaxation and physical enjoyment for Chris
tian people they are highly profitable, and are
worthy Of the fullest encouragement. Spirit
ually considered their greatest worth consists
in being safety valves whereby the overpress-
ure Of highly charged temperaments is allowed
to escape on the wings Of the wind, uncircum
scribed by the cOnventionalities of city or viii
lage society. Some Of the most extravagant
ideas, expressions and theories, such as one
rarely hears elsewhere, are freely ventilated
at camp meetings But the evil is not I'm.
mixed with good. Converts to Christianity
| are obtained; hardly, however, in such num-
bers as to warrant us in including these meet
| ings among the regular means Of grace. The
| novelty Of these meetings long ago passed
| away, and they are not now SO fruitful in
spiritual results as they were formerly. But
perhaps the social Christian element which
they inspire and evoke, and which is so
greatly needed in our churches and among our
religious societies, in city and country, leads
to greater spiritual good in the fall and winter
succeeding. We know that the lack of this
element in our city churches and congrega-
tons is one of the most powerful hindrances
to religious revivals among us. Very few
Christians ha We moral courage enough to speak
to the unconverted about the souls eternal
interests without having had previous intro
duction-unless, indeed, the ''saint" be ven-
erablc maiden, mother or patriarch, and the
''sinner" an innocent child or bashful girl or
youth. If camp meetings shall break down
this barrier OF caste in the churches they
should be encouraged by every means. In our
everyday walks there is comparatively little
difference between the words and actions and
manner of life of the saint and the sinner and
caste should be forgotten and wholly ignored
when the higher interests of the future life are
involved. Every church in New York should
have its social meetings, so that the members
generally might be brought more closely into
each others sympathy and feelings than they
are at present. We know of churches and
congregations where men and women 60 in
and out year after year and never speak
word to their fellow saints OF sinners. Breth
rem, these things ought not to be. Yield your
prejudices or your bashfulness, and let your
selves down, if need be, If thereby you may be
able to raise one soul up to Christ. For ''ye
know the grace Of our Lord Jesus Christ. who
though He was rich, yet for our sakes He be-
came poor that we through His poverty might
become rich" He humbled Himself that we