Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1890-04-05
A NOTABLE DISCOURSE.

Delivered By Rev. DR.. Munger Mt Unit
cd Fast Day Service OF COngrega.
tional churches Yesterday Forenoon
-Chureh Endowment, n Necessity OF
i the New surrounding Conditions.
The united service of the Congregational
churches was held at the United church yes.
day forenoon. There was good sized con-
gregation present despite the rain. Rev. DR..
Smyth offered the invocation and Rev: NJ
Luckey read the hymns. The ha5diotion
was by Rev. Mr.. Meservs-Rev DIR. Mum
ger delivered the sezpeh, which was one of
striking intsEssss and the chief features of the
disooYSSs will command much attention, and
mot alone in Congregational circles.
His text was ''The church of the living
God, the pillar and ground of the truth"
In opening he said: The church is not
human institution, It has It's origin in the
living God. 1t Is not society for the dis.
cussion of religious truth, but is an organic
body oomprising, defending and perpetual
Ing II. The form and nature Of the in-
visible church is fxed and unalterable, but
the form of visible church may vary with
the varsity Of human nature, and even suffers
Itself to be cast In its moulds. This is un.
doubtedly In some ways an Advantage, but
these are evils. These evils Of SEQ
tarianism are not to be prevented
by an abolition of the sects. The question of
| unity and peace Ia to be settled in another
| way. Let MS assume that the various demon
nations are to remain and that If we were
to have the one visible church universal the
peace and unity we sought would not be
found. The chief evil of the de-
nominationsl system is the perple1-
ity 1t awaken in the minds
Of unevangelized nations. That system
L AZ = III - T.. - %oA1e
| In differing forms is fact hard to reconcile.
There are now large number of loyal men
who have sunk UNCONVENTIONAL rulings in
the sea of Christian love, holding
| that the truest churchman is he who does
most for the kingdom of God. just because
| of these changes there is much restlessness
aroused and many questions asked concerning
the future. One OF the most noticeable features
of the present ecclesiastical situation Is the
| fact that each denomination seems to be slip
ping away from its hold upon
Its fundamental principle, holding 1t in a
| new way and with disposition to add others
t. The EpsOopasns ILLUSTRATE this in
and so Of other large denominations.
The only thing that will meet and take up
the force of criticism is the living, fruit
bearing church. Let It be working church
organized to meet the wants Of the
age and the community. The world
10 tired Of metaphysical apol-
| ogies and Systems and defenses, of miracles
important need of the church in Its present
and clearer sense of its functions,
a wider view of its place and
work in human society. If We Congrega-
tionalists could by some art survey ourselves
We would see q certain meagerness running
through our entire church life.
/ ~ n1nf{ ya1y Ia nj a I'd
of spirituality or Christian activity. In
these respects, our churches are equal to any
In the world. 1t only means that the Con-
gregational churches have become too intelli.
gent to be satisfied with the simplicity. On
what 1t once fed 1t now starves. The main
thing is to get them to realize this fact; to
see what 10 the matter with them; to know
Why II has been dispossessed of the soil 1t
once wholly owned and is sliding rapid
ly toward second or third place
| who knows where IL will end7 where once 1t
was all, and long frat. Coming close home,
IL would be well to ask why here in New IA.
ven II takes twenty years to build up a Con.
grsgational church when other denominations
secure strong church In Eve; why, notwith-
standing the growth of the city, Congrega-
tionalism wears an aspect of decadenoe3 It
Is not due to lack of piety, nor money, nor
intelligence, nor personal religious activity,
| but to the want of proper methods, to an
absence of any plan or business like ways Of
maintaining an existence. This. is not q
a church must be very different
institution from what is was q
hundred years ago. 1t Is not fault unless
1t be fault not to discern the signs of the
times.
1t is not my purpose to-day to stir mp the
individual conscience, but rather to get be-
fore you the fact that the simplicity of our
i u6.rr, ID 20 ha n, al Co..
plsxity; that church needs to be regarded
more as an institution and to be maintained
as sucb; that 1t needs more thorough orgspi-
cation with view to doing more kinds of
work; and finally that 1t should be so pro-
viied and endowed that 1t can do this wider
and mul,itorm fork. 1t ia mainly to this
last point that I now direct your attention,
namely, the need of endowed churches.
1t may sound strangely to hear 9 call for
ecclesiastical endowment when in Europe
from Italy to Britain there is o cry for dis
endowment, with not little of IL going on.
will only say that IL is not necessary to
condemn endowments, because there are en-
dowments that ought to be condemned. The
reasons why the overgrown endowments OF
the prelatical churches in Europe should be
taken away from do not lie within the nature
of endowment itself, but are to be found out
side of 1t and even outside of it's perversion.
Many of them were essential robberies at the
outset. Nor is 1t anything agsinst
endowment that we sometimes hear
II said of churches in this
country that their funds are an injury-a re-
mark more easily made than confirmed
Such remarks fail to take in the fact that
risk and perverson belong to all things OF
value; that responsibility involves the danger
of misuse. In no one respect is there more
danger Of misuse than in the holding of prop
erty, but we do not therefore propose to
abolish IL, nor do we srgue against inheri
lance because now and then son turns ou
miser or prodigal. We strive to MAKE
tho inheritance Of property safe by combin
ing II with good principles. So a church
may safely be endowed in the expectation
!. that it's piety will prevent perversion. In
: deed one way to secure the piety is to Great
responsibility. II We were to pres
individual and an endowed institution, like
. church, the balance in favor would inclin
!. to the latter. The individual inhsrits earl
In life and comes into q sense of absolute an,
irresponsible ownership, while an lnstitu
o ton is managed by mature minds who ar
held accountable for their trust.
30 far from church funds proving an in
d Jury, there are many churches in New Eng
! land, especially in the country and in tn
I hill towns, whose existence has been pressrv
ed by the possession of an endowment.
may be only parsonage and few acres o
land, or an Income of few hundred dollars
but 1t Is enough to keep the church In exist
enos and to supplement a meagre salary a.
to the living point. The great misfortun
to congregations In New England Is tina
early In the history of the churche
. there was not inaugurated q system b.
which the churches, either at and by til
granting of lands or by gradual gifts, shout
/. come into the possession of inalienable prop
erty. Such an inheritance might easil
: have been secured by churches which hav
gone out of existence, or have been depend
emit upon the soant gifts of the Home Mis-
sionary society.
The preservation of the churches In tn
country towns is of immense Importance fo
two main reasons. The time is comm
when these hill-sides will once more becom
peopled. Already the tide is turning. B
whom they will be occupied is a question
but by whomever, 1t is Of in
finite Importance that the histori
cal church should be preserve
In vigorous existence, not only for the SAX
of the inhabitants, but of the cities. Th
care OF the country towns and their institu
tions Is matter of supreme importance an
has been greatly overlooked by rich men i
making requests and by city churches who
are fed by country churches. To sllo
these churches to decay is to cut off th
sources Of supply. To leave these towns o.
posed to the inroads of barbarisrn and IRE
ligion Ia to poison the life Of our citiel
This process Is rapidly going on, and or
cities and their churches are no longer reir
| forced by those healthful streams of religion