Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-11-01
CHURCH EXPENSES.
Obi ectiOnabie Methods for Raising Money for
Church Purposes-A sessonabie Hint TO all
the Various Religious Denominations.


! OBJECTIONABLE METHODS OF RAISING
MONEY.
| The Rev. Dir. White, of Tennessee,
in the Episcopal convention yesterday
offered the following:
| ReSotUed, That the right reverend
bishops be respectfully requested to
express their opinions as to the pro.
pretty OF the various instrumentalities
adopted for raising funds for the sup
port of the church.
/ Upon this resolution the author adj
dressed the house as follows:
Mr.. President--I assure you it is
with the deepest reluctance that |
rise to address an assembly so large,
SO learned, so experienced, and so pi-
GUS, on the subject | am about to
bring before it. If sense of duty
did not prompt me | would be silent,
and hope, gentlemen, to occupy your
attention only for few moments to
a matter that has given me much anx
iety. | have been minister of our
holy church for nearly fifty years; |
am attached to its form of worship, to
its doctrine, and TO everything con-
nected with il; and it it was neces-
sary, gentlemen, | would fight, al
though not naturally brave man, for
| every shred in the vestments and
every line in the prayer book. But
my attachment to the church does not
blind me TO an evil that extensively
prevails. DO you ask, gentlemen,
what is that evil? | answer, instru-
mentalitles that are used to secure
funds for the support of the church. |
am not Puritanical. | do not object
to mans kissing his wife on Sunday,
or-or anything of Purltanical ma
ture. Loud laughter | am fond of
innocent recreation renewed laugh.
ter and all who know me well will
testify with what zest enter into the
| innocent amusements of the day But,
gentlemen, protest against the in
strumentalities that are adopted TO
sustain our church. | must be very
particular now, gentlemen, and | tell
you what | object to. | object to ice
cream entertainments. | object to
voting for the prettiest girl in the
company. / object to rafting, OBJ
ject to values, and I object to round
dances, and to everything of this
kind. | believe, gentlemen, that the
evil spirit has never invented an en-
CINE more likely to demoraIize our
people than the methods now taken
to support the church. 1t throws
practical religion out Of the question I;
1t actually turns the young people of
our church crazy in regard to these
matters. Let me illustrate: Three
or four young men, having no position
in society, and DESTROYS of getting &C
quainted with girls, approach some
two or three old ladies of the church
and say, sDaa't you want an enter
tainment for the purpose OF paying
the minister's salary, or the assess
ment for the bishop, or to furnish the
minister with carpet or some other
article of furniture? If you will make
the arrangements we will see that the
expenses are paid" The ladies re-.
spond in the affirmative These young
men meet together and bear the ex-
penses of the entertainment and they
dance till two or three O'Clock in the
morning. The effect is to democrat
ize the people, and to make these
young people think that religion con.
slsts in matters of this kind. | OBJ
ject to these instrumentalities, because
am an advocate Of the offertory. I
think the man who contributes to the
church one cent is as much a wor-
shipper of God as the man who
makes the most ardent prayer. Civ.
ing is an act of worship. 1t is the
only way of giving recognized in the
Bible, and these fairs, entertainments,
and festivals, in my opinion, are con-
trary to the teaching of Scripture,
contrary to The dignity of the church.
We profess to be very aristocratic in
our notions, very exclusive we be-
long to the church. How notifying,
then, when pass through the streets
of the city and hear outsiders say, els
it possible that the Episcopal church
resorts to such methods as these to
support its ministers ? Even men of
the world are opposed to methods of
this kind"