, 1876-03-05
CONGREGATIONAL SINGING IN CHURCH

CONGREGATIONAL SINGING IN CHURCH
The independent church movement
Prot. SWING, which attracts thousands
persons to McVicker's Theatre every Sunda
fair weather and bad weather, and turn
hundreds away simply because there is n,
room enough to accommodate them, h,
demonstrated some very pleasant truth
which are worth recalling First, it has show
that there is d strong religious sentime,
among the most Intelligent people Of larg
community, thrown out from the FELLOWSHIP
OF the organized churches on account of
failure to agree On some technical question {
dogma or form. Second, it shows that ther
IS not the necessity TINT has usually been fel
Of sustaining costly church edi6ce for th
| exclusive use Of ono day in the week
Third, it mny now be conceded that con
straint in pew-holding, church-building
the fairs, bazaars, lotteries, contribution
boz, etc., is no longer an indispeu
Sable requisite to church organization, bu
that the latter may be acquired and sustained
from Sunday to Sunday by the interest Of the
worshipers. Fourth, tho advantage of q cen
trd church, situated in manner ike othe,
places Of public gathering, so as to bo equal,
accessible from nll parts Of the city, has beer
| abundantly demonstrated But Tot the lens
among these aud many other advantages thai
are already apparent from Prof. SwrSGs new
movement must be reckonel the return tc
the good old practice of congregational sing
ing, which had unhappily been displaced al.
most altogether by tho modern quartette
choir. Of course, the chief attraction at
alcVickcrs Theatre every Sunday is the Ger
tainty of hearing one Of Prof. Swna's beauti-
full addresses, sure to be poetic transcript
ton Of some forgotten page Of morals, and
there is probably no other man in the city
who could assure similar prosperity to q
similar enterprise. At the sams time, there
is reason to believe that the personal gratif-
cation Of every devotional desire to sing forth
praises to the Lord, and the inspiring effect
Of vast audience joining in q common and
single swell Of worship and gratitude, have
been important elements in the great popu-
lar success Of Prof. SWINGS new church. It
is becoming too common 70 perform all re-
lgious devotions BY proxy. We send our
wives to church instead CT going ourselves;
We pay the minister for preaching, and ex-
pect him to throw in the praying; We hire
n choir, and so aiHpoint st fixed pay our mod
ern seraphiHs and chcrribims to chant tho
praises Of Jehovah, But this tendency of
tho time has found much opposition, and is
accountable for largo part of the quiet
dropping-awny from attendance atthe church
service There hGs come to be something
too conventional and automatic about the
average Sunday exercises. The minister and
his assistant, the organist and the quar-
tctte choir, the sexton and the passers
Of the contribution-box, have come to
absorb all there is to church organization,
snd the church-members as class have
grown to be mere lookers-on, who would ]
orget that they had any interest in the pro-
:eedings if it were not suggested by the calls !
N their purse The congregational singing !
It Prot. SwEa's church has given every
nan, woman, and child personal interest
md al important part in the service. 1t !
las also brought them nearer the worship
or which they are presumably assembled.
10 hear congregation Of 3,oU0 voices unite
n 'tOld Hundred" or "Nearer, my God, to
!hee, or the Do.ology, OF any of the familiar
nd stirring hymn-tunes, will excite more re-
gious devotion than the artistic execution
nd vocal grace Of all the quartette choirs
I the country. Prof. Sw1xG and his friends
nd advisers are to be congratulated upon
he adoption Of congregational singing, which,
s long as it remains exceptional, will bs
reat boon to all the religiously inclined who
eek his church. 1t is to be hoped and pre-
lmed that the SUCCESS in this instance will
ad to restitution of tho custom in other
1,1rches. In this way some Of the churches
ay dispense with choirs which they no
niger feel able to support; or, in case they
e not cursed with poverty, they can mako
leir choirs the nucleus for congregational
nging, or give choir solos and congrega-
onal choruses- One thing is certain every
'dy who goes to church ought to be encour-
,ed to sing praises for himself, and the re-
1t will be grander even for him who
erely listens.