The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1895-02-16

| s~~ON~~
Glasses,
As it Will Prove IF Interest to Each
Individual.
BE They Old or Young, Male or Fee
male.
The pastor OF the fashionable city
church and the minister OF the hum
blest country Westinghouse are alike
in one respect, ii dissimilar in many
others: they both want the young man
of to-day at church. Every pulpit
utters the cry. Yet the young men
do not come, and the pastor looks at
his elder, while the vestryman stares
at his rector, and each in turn asks:
Why9 He is ungodly, says the aver
age minister; he is Indifferent to religi-
ous teaching, says the more conserva-
tive pastor. He is tired on Sunday
from his weeks work, and sleeps away
the Sabbath church hours, says, per-
haps, the charitable preacher. But,
whatever the cause of the homecoming,
1t Is the young man. He is to blame
that is, according to the clergy. But
are the clergy right in this assump-
tiou? Is it not possible that some Of
the fault may lie with the pulpit, and
not entirely with the young man?
For period Of two or three years
past, having in view the writing uf
this article, l have canvassed both
among and outside the young men Of
my circle Of acquaintance to try and
see why they we're more frequently
absent from than present at church
services. have purposely pat myself
in the way Of caergymen, and tried to
ascertain how close they seemed to
understand the thoughts ard needs Of
young men. Whenever, In five differ
.ent cities. / have seen announced u
series of ''sermons for young men,
from some puap pit, have attended and
heard one Or more Of them. ~
| have talked with stewards of the
Methodist Church, with elders OF the
Presbyterian Church. with vestrymen
Of the Episcopal Church, and with
|cburchmen and laymen in general.
have probed their general views OF the
religious needs of the day; have had
them apply these needs to young men;
they have told me why young men
should come to church, and what they
might expect when they came. I feel
satisfied that l have looked at the ques-
tion from the different and more i'm
portant points Of view, and the result
of three years of this investigation has
convinced me that the blame cannot
be shifted entirely on the shoulders of
young men. I have failed to find the
young men with whom I have talked
either uugodly or disrespectful of
sacred matters; on the contrary, have
found them just as desirous of attend
ing church as the church is anxious to
have them. A spirit Of Indifference l
did find in some instances, but that is
all; irreverence failed to lind in a
single instance. The question that
naturally arises, therefore, is: II young
men want to go to church. what Keeps
them away from it? And It Is this
phase of the question which l purpose
to answer in this article
l am fully convinced that the present
attitude OF the church Is not CONDUCIVE
towards attracting young men closer
to it, and it is not too much 10 say
that they will never be brought into
the church by the methods at present
In vogue. When clergyman gets
the notion that he wants the young
men Of his neighborhood TO cOme 10 his
church. he, rs a rule, adopts either one
Of Two methods: he announces 4 series
Of sermons for young men, or he
gives It out that he will give Il series Of
Sunday evening talks on 1.-THE manly
sports and amusements Of the day."
This is The average minister's method
Of attracting young men; 1t u what
may be called the clerical bait. But
do the young men respondY OF course
not. And why should they?
1t is with the danger Of erring rather
on the side of the conservative than 1t
is to make exa. .,geration, when l say
that during the past ten years have
listened TO not less than thirty differ
ent sermons, Or series OF sermons, es-
pecially directed TO young men. l am
fresh from such sermon rs write.
OF all those sermons, cannot. with
one exception, which | heard five
years ago, recall single instance
which gave me one profitable thought