The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-01-24
ARE THE CHIMES a EuI sAKCE2
A Statement That Their Usefulness II as
Past-Religious Points.


Psst-Reiigious Points.
The missionary college at Aintab, Tur-
key. has been recently burned, entailing
loss of about $4,000. which represents
a great deal more than Il would here.
The Rev. NJ. A. Shepard. Free Baptist
min ister at Lebanon, ILL.,. has bu lit a
fioa ting church, a two story hatbo at, in
the upper part Of which ne will live,
while the lower part viii be used as a
church. He will 90 down the Mississippi
with the craft, holding meetings with the
boatmen, aud will have 1t towed back to
the upper waters to 90 down again.
The Protestant Episcopal Church has
4. 1853 clergy, 299 candidates for orders.
1850 parishes and missions and sos. .292
communicates. The number OF baplisms
last year was 81. .665, Of which nearly A.
600 were infants. The contributions for
the year are $12, f54. 767.
According TO the action of the last an
nual meeting OF the American Home Mis-
sionary Society. SUNDAY. February 8, has
been designated as home missionary day.
Every Congregational church is expected
to observe this day aud TO make an appeal
for offerings for the work Of the society,
whose fiscal year closes March 81. The
society needs to receive S225, 600 in the
three months which remain In order to
close its year without debt or detriment
DR.. Phillips Brooks attained his major
ity as rector of Trinity Church, Boston.
on the first Sunday In November At the
close Of the morning sermon he made a
touching reference to the history of these
twenty-one years. with words of warmest
thanks for the cooperation of the parish
toner's.
"Farmton" says in the AdUance:-"I do
not approve OF the church bell Poetry,
imagination, history are on its side; but
usefulness 10 against It. Formerly use
fulness was in Its favor. For formerly
watches were not common. and clocks
were less common than at present; and
care was not easily exercised as to the
accuracy OF these measures of time.
Parishioners needed the bell as an aid in
their Dromptness ut the service. But at
present every house has clock, and its
daily adjustment by the noon whistles Is
easy enough. The bell has become COM
paratively useless. But, further, the bell
has become IN many instances nuisance.
II every church in every one of our
cities had a bell ringing at the same hour
what commotion, worse confounded
than all Poe's poetry about bells
can suggest. Such commO-
tion is not pleasant for healthy folks; but
the folks whose nerves are ticklish it is a
torture; and to those who lie on beds of
sickness, either chronic or temporary,
these noises are a form of the barbarism
OF Christian civilization from which
they have the right To be freed. admire
the judgment. as well as the energy in
which the judgment was expressed, with
which DR.. John Hall declined TO have a
chime OF bells put into the steeple of the
Fifth Avenue Church. A gentleman
offered a chime OF bells. If it is ac-
cepted, the pastor is reported as saying,
the Fifth Avenue Church can be LOOKING
for new minister He had a heart big
for the suffering ones who lie in the
great hospital directly opposite his
church. No church bell should be al
lowed in city. In the country it is TAR
less Objectionable; and in a sparsely set
tied community IL may prove OF great
worth, miDistering at once TO aesthetic
delight and religious emotion, as well as
prompting to punctuality.n