New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-09-18
UTILITY OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.


TIE Rer Dr. H. ". Belloos al At Souls chu5eh tUnttardn)
The congregation of All Souls Church
UJntaranl aC East TwCntcth-st. and FOurth-aye as
sembcd yesterday morning for the first time since the
summer vacation. The Rev Edward Everett Hale oc-
cupcd the pulpit with the pastor, and assisted IN con
Quoting the services Or Belogs's text was taken from
Romans xy, 80 81, 49, Now bcsecch youlbrethren,
for the Lord Jesus Cbrss sake aud for the love of the
Spirit that yc strive together with me In your prayers to
God for me that may be delivered from them that do
not believe in Judea and that my service which have
for Jerusalem may be accepted Of the Saints that may
come unto you with joy by the viii OF God, and may
with you be refreshed" He spoke substantially as fol-
lows:
Every time we resume worship after vacation there
arises The question as to tine utility OF public worship
We bring to consderatonOf this question no th0ught
of withdrawal from worship. But, are We maintaining
The practice wOrshippng III pubic at great expense
simply because it Is an old established custom some
of the for this are gone M anu Deong 10 pdst
| ages. Then the clergy were the only ones VINO
could read, and the only BiUe m, e SaGS T6r
minister thns protected the poor ana weak from
Sne sye the Church and thus size alone could
guard them. What blessing then was sunday 10 tne
tons of hard taRkmasers and the floor OF the church
met plince aud peasant common level Iheie arc
h5 consider the sacraeDt5 necessary to an entrance
to e heavenly kingdom our custom-h0nses and post
Worship means having their papers properly ylstd Tor
the heavenly custom-honse But We cannot rest our
ent; prayer IS elcacOus every where Goo IS not only
where two or three arc gatnefeT % ~ in eysTy
hanse and tho right 60 study 1t belongs 10 every man
ana and ye boer AID better lives than the minister who
prcsides over it, and there arc upright pO dsinteI
ested people in every community who never attend
church az all other people attend church regularly, ana
are not ysbly improved by IT, ,.,... ...o,,.. 4,
And now having stated some of the reasons against IT,
we come again 10 the question, "Wny do We maintain
the Church % Because worship Is at times social ana
sympathetic act. as II is at other times private act
Ihc privileges of private worship not the same as
those Of puhic, more than the privileges OF home are
most are those the most perfect relations with
society. The henit looks straight up into the sun nnl
he lie 20 blinded that he fails TO humanity with the
rht that IL around HIM Men are not 0ne-tehlh paiI
men IN solitude. Religion calls for union because u is
the thing most common 10 us. inc man WIZ away ny
says NV Fatbey and Our Father is blinded to THIS
shall We nSU et common paycr Shall we be banded To-
geher as OF music lovers OF art ana lovers OF
science and lovers OF God ana thustaI 10 ENJOY IN
Cannon The worship of the God who made us In common
When a nations life Is threatened as whOie, docs IL
and butter and taxes Was IL with us in our late
struggle No! made our country part OF our le-
nl1r bseIs burdens that to-day wearing off the skin.
Men VINO colossal fortunes during the war are
Which placed them there, but the poor and the manned
do not complain. -, 49,. oo
counted We read with horror daily OF the struggle
between the Turks aud the serylans ana MGnteneslhs
for their creeds those costly struggles are bet
ter than secular Indifference. The times OF pelsecu0hs
were not the of least devotion TO the Church BUT
now the men who cry that One creed Is as good as
another are as cold and irreligious as they are
fnIeraDt Have we any ground devoted 10 30 good
q use az that on which the Church stands ]
| Yet some men complain because the Church IS
40 little used Is the value OF anything To be measured
by the number times 1t is used Is licboat useless
because n is launched 10 save life put once Year, oar
Churches are as useful shut they are open one OF the
Churchs best functions Is one-as mem
| orial pointing up to God and back TO Christ. H..
No class OF do work more indispensable than city
MINISTER'S Where would you 30 but for their voices
CRYING his Is the way walk ye in it," Nature is not
uarfan-see how large portion OF our planet IL given
up to the mountains she They cannot be used
for agricultural purposes, but they are the pasture.
ground of the soul; the mountains, IN rugged beauty.
rearing their peaks alOt To heaven and the sea- with It's
suggestions OF freedom, purity, and iDtnity. When
nature revoutOnzes her face aud sets apart
tans for eds the aud till then, will churches be-
come factories and ministers fishers not OF men, but OF
| herring aud cod.