New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-09
. IN THE CHURCH PORCH.
FACTS AND PRORLEhIS.


duccd he certainly takes an honorable place among
the greatest hymuiss. Not only have the hymns
which he wrote become part ~ the very hore OF
Christian worship the world over, but be was tho
forerunner % a distinct school OF hymnsis who have
nobly en4chcd the anthology of Christian song
Among these may be mentioned such representative
evangelical names as Ray Palmer s. f. Smith, John
c. Whittier Nuremberg, Charlotte Elliot, Frances
Ridley Havcrgal Robert Lowry. Bishop Heber James
Montgomery Dr. Bonar and J. p. Bliss. And even
tho more churchly" hymnsts such as Fsoor New
man. Keble, Nealc and Bishop Wordsworth have
unoousclously felt tie influence OF bis groat person
allty.
II is an interesting fac; that really great hymn
Is scciaran The masterpieces OF Charles Wesley
could De used. and for aught know, have Deeh
used, in the services of the Roman Catholic Church.
Just as some Of Faber's beautiful though sehsuous
hymns are used IN Protestant Churches Churches
may anathematizo each other IN their prayers, out
I'm their HYMNS they can all unite, and forget Tor
time The party walls o. opinion and prejudice that
separate them.
Almost as important as the hymn is the music
TO which II shall be sung And II Is happy cir
cumstance that the tunes associated with most oi
the great hymns entirely worthy Of them Indeed
the tunes have become 50 much n part and parcel
Of tho hymns that they never be separated.
What Christian would like TO hear the old tunc Of
Grcenland's Icy Mountains Of Z" I Would Not
Live Away replaced by any other music, however
excellent No ono can properly estimate the pro-
found effect which Christian hymnody Is exercising
on The Church. Any religious reformcr might we'll
exclalm, " Let me but write the hymns and compose
the music Of the Church and not who breaches
the sermon"
It IS mistake to suppose that good hymn
music Is written nowadays. Tho work Of many
modern English and American composers has touched
the and Of
ton, and VIII live with the other classics Of sacred
music There Is daintness Of expression, COM
bIned with strength, IN modern religious hymn music
that not always found In tho older music. This
Is well exempllf"d IN some OF the music composed
by George William Warren, the orsanst Of ST.
Thomas's Church in this city, ard found in his book
Of hymns ard tunes recently published by Harper &
Brothers. And, by tho way, II any one wants per-
feet example Of one OF latter day ideals OF
religious music faul:lessly rendered, do not think
he do better than 20 20 81. Thomsss Church,
where lie will certainly find It.
used to think that the Annual Choir Festivals
OF Trinity Parish would embody for another, and
perhaps equally good, ideal Of religious music. But
! regret say that the last Festival whole,
not satisfactory from musical point OF view. Tho
fact is, 1t is almost impossible In this country 10
have a really good boy choir We shall never have
one until there is we'll equipped school for the
training of boy voices. Even Trinity Parish with
IT'S unlimited resources cannot produce en- ideally
perfect choir under the present haphszard system
The ecclesiastical ideal Of music which the cathedral
choirs Of England perfectly interpret IS a noble
one. Eut very much fear that people in this
country VIII become prcjudiced against It, simply
because Of the unworthy way in which II is rendered
by so many Of vested choirs.
The distinguished clergymcn and leynen who met
in Chiclcring Hall this last week 10 talk about city
do much What IS the in meeting together and
solcmnly saying what everybody Knows 10 be true
II nothing is going TO be done about II That there
arc grave and serious religious problems in our great
cities has been hsctncycd topic Of discussion in
the newspapers and magazines for years. That the
churches as present organized fail 10 reach largo
numbers of people is a seltevident truth And that
there are largo numbers OF grants in this and
every city for whom the churches are doing nothing
and for whom perhaps they do nothing under the
circumstances IS also se-cvdent truth. What
is needed Is not a conference Of wellmesning and
intelligent to thresh over this old straw but some
sort Of a practical cooperation on the pert of the
churches looking to more efficient work know and
am glad TO admit that all the churches are doing
what they can under the present methods. But the
methods themselves are at fault An organized
parish with rented pews is very well In settled
Christian community. But It won't do In dealing
with the raw and ignorant foreign population Of our
the UNCONVENTIONAL rus in which they run. and make
an effort simply to civzc and Christianize the
pagans among us, IL they wish to succeed Denomi-
nationallsm Is luxury which perhaps the welltO-do
and the refined can afford. But 1t ought 10 have
no place I'm dealing with that dense lower stratum
OF Ignorance and irreliglon which to-day threatens
the stability alike Of the Church and the state.
II seems to me that the churches sometimes fail
because they try do great work by fits and starts
They remain apparently obliy-ous to some growing
evil until 1t has grown so great that they can't help
seeing It. Then they suddenly look at It, become
appalled, at It's extent, and without any due prcpara
ton begin in fevcrish way TO grapplc with It,
OF course under such circumstances they work
under great disadvantage and in some cases are
utterly unable 10 make any Roadway. ! was not
surprised for instance, that the attempt which was
made the other evening, by the Young Mems
Christian Association, to tame and perhaps Christian
lie three or four hundred messenger boys was
deed failure. Even that eloquent and accomplished
preacher Dr. Paxton had TO retire in disgust Now
the moral of this is plain. II was the duty of the
churches IN the first place not TO allow such an
army Of young hesthenS TO grow up In CHRISTIAN
land And in the second place it was foolish to
suppose that they could be civilized In the Wholesale
way proposed Line upon line, precept upon pre-
cept Is the way OF the Bible and Of common sense
as we'll don't believe that the worst young
Comanchc among those boys the other night could
stand out for one week against the sympathetic kind
ness of a Christian or woman who took personal
intorcst in him The churches must learn that they
have not done their duty when they have hired
bau and invited sinners TO meet in IT, The per-
sonal house to house service Of sincere Christian
men and women VIII do moro 10 Chrstianize this
great city than all the conferences and lecture
courses that have ever been held.
Our Roman Catholic brethren are to celebrate In
fitting style the centennial of American Catholicism
,axt wear II was tine 9th OF November, 1850.
,bat The American hierarchy was founded by the
crsa,ion NJ tho hlshOpric Of Baltimore, and tH ap-
continent thereto of the Rev. Dr. joan carroll
Eeriicr I'm the .ame year, February 90 cones the
cem,enery Of Georgetown COllege. Cer'anly no
religious denomination in hi; country ho, MIR
communion. Ard without any disparagcment 81