St. Landry democrat., 1883-09-22
The ssTabernacIe," a Church
sOcIety-Fairs and Meetings.

his place nad royal tlne mere
IN Sunday last. A society called "The |
members of the Rev. MIR.
Gates church, went to the depot in
uniform to meet others of the same
order from Washington. After march
ing to the church they paraded around
the building and catered it. While
Oh account of the weather they were
kept inside most of the time, they were
edited by listening to sermons at
length from numerous "neW ministers"
and some of our local lights. In the
interval, to further the good work, they
took up a separate collection for each
minister who spoke. There being four
or five speakers collected for before our
local preachers got a chance, the
amount raised for them was insigniti-
cant. Now, we may be mistaken, but
our belief is that local ministers are
getting robbed and helping to rob their
congregations. Because, in the first
place their congregations will inva-
riably put their best foot foremost in
getting up good collection for stran-
gers. Suppose you do go to Washing
ton and they take up a collection
amounting to six or eight dollars to
be divided between two of you, it not
only costs you something to go, but all
who accompany you will some day have
to expend a dollar or SO to get back
what they consumed on the trip. Be-
sides this, all the preparation made to
receive them on their visits is a dead
loss to you, to say nothing of collections
taken up for them. You may say the
Lord will doubly repay you, but He will
no more encourage Sunday railroad
travel and participation in such things
than he will card playing; nor nom
self supporting congregation as much
HIS a circus; because it don't try to break
itself up. Sum up the outlay and you
find that it is losing game.
While we think of it, there might as
well be something said about fairs. They
are nuisance and an injury to your
churches. 1t would do well enough to
have one for the benefit of the church
occasionally, if there were not started
on the strength of it a hundred or more
private fairs perhaps for the benefit of
parties not contributors to the support
of any church or minister. Your mem
bers go to them and spend what little
money they make, aud when Sunday
comes they have nothing to give the
preacher, no religion, and actually go
to sleep while you are talking to them.
What hope of progress can they have
religiously or financially Z Aside from
this, when kept up every night by fairs
preaching, prayer-meetings, etc, they
are unfit for work, the public won't hire
them at scarcely any price, and you and
they are the sufferers. Now, we know
from personal experience, that it We
are kept up a night or two at balls OF
fairs, we can't get about with vim te
| accomplish any task. Again, these
long continued meetings-from one
YEARS. end to another-in town are 6
| nuisance in this respect, viz: They
are disturbance to the vicinity il
which they are held, in keeping peo
pie awake until twelve or ont
o'clock every night. In the mex
place, when long continued, a nois,
crowd Of outsiders, sometime boil
white and black congregate about TIN
church doors mixing" blows, ant
when this is the case the compound j
complete with "black-eyes" for all con
(cerned, half of your membership AM
the people whose peace has been dis
turbed being brought up as witnesse
against them at the magistrates offic
i next morning. We believe in freedom
in religion where tits not carried to tn
excess that it is detrimental to the gen
i eral welfare of the people, and wher
4 a continued disturbance is not the re
4 suit. We have even been present whe
the minister in charge had to call TO
| an officer to quell such disturbances
i To show that we are correct in sayin
that they are no unusual occurrence
we refer you to the many notice
!, of them which have from time to tim
appeared in this paper, and to tine mag
istrates of the ward who dealt with thel
accordingly We would not write
J, length on this subject it We were ne
] something like the preachers, Whe
we strike religious theme we hang
it as long as there is anything left
work on.
The Revised Bible is naturally
, failure. Whatever of love, reverent
and respect there is for the Scripture,
J a. +l,.4 E,,na Gin GIN O To the old YHrSiQ]