The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-09-06

Episcopal church and member of the
Colorado Conference, recently preached
sermon which is attracting wide
spread attention, owing to the pro.
nounced views, fearlessly expressed, re.
garding evils of the present time and
the apathy of the church in dealing
with wrong. We can only present a
few quotations from the sermon, which
was preached from the text:
81 haveset thee watchman unto
the house of Israel. -" Ezekiel 1877.
Feed my sheep."-John 2l:l5-l7,
Mr.. Passmore said: "Watchmen are
men who are appointed to look out for
danger, and when they see it to give
the alarm and warn the people.
"Shepherds are men who are to look
after sheep-aIl the sheep and all the
interests of the sheep.
"Studying the ministry of our church
from the standpoint of the above scrip.
ture, am impressed with the face that
Che greatest failure of the age is the
ministry. find the ministry in oul
church, as a class, the most worldly
unfaithful and cowardly that it has
ever been The church is worldly
formal and unspiritual. and has LOST
her power for good; yet the church is
on as high plane as her leaders.
when l look over the age see
crime of every description and violence
on the increase, murder, lynching
suicide, adultery; drunkenness, gam
bling, defalcation, the oppression,of the
poor, political corruption, the outrag'
ing of womanhood and girlhood;- in
word, the passion Of men-the worst
the most internal and devilish-are
running riot. l am constrained to
stop and ask what cur ministers, who
are supposed to be the .opposers of all
sin, are doing? am sorry to eay that
/ find them. even 10 our bishops, throw
ing their influence in favor of all these
sins and crimes. 1t is sad state for
the church, and a gloomy condition
for the country, when the ministry and
the corrupt and criminal classes are
working hand in hand, and walking
side by side, as the preachers, saloon
men and other corrupt and vile classes
are doing,
Just as the prea stood for the
divine right of kings in the days of
Crom we'll, and for the king and the
nobility in the days preceding the
French revolution, ard upheld the
slave holder in the anti-slavery strug-
gle; so our bishops, elders, editors,
college professors and the pastors of
our great churches are standing by the
rich and supper ting them in outraging
the poor. :.
"For men to pretend to preach Christ
and then go to the ballot box and sup
sort the worst men, and the most devil
fish and Internal sins and crimes of
this age, is about the baldest and loud
est hypocrisy that has been made open
to the.world for ages. How much more
staunch supporters of sin can our Dish
obs become than TO vor-lieensiDg
saloons, aud support 'sPartysthat now
favors licensing the prostitution of
womanhood? This is wdrshiping at
the shrine of the rich and the vile with
a vengeance. am no longer surprised
at the inefficiency Of the ministry, the
corruption in politics; the deadness OF
the church; the development of trusts;
the growth of monopolies; tie wealth
of the few; the poverty of the many;
the brutality of crime; the desecration
Of the Sabbath: the increase of in
fidelity; the rapid growth of i'm
morality.
81 am no longer surprised at the con-
dition of the church, the country and
the age. when think that our bishops
and great preachers, with few excep-
tions. have joined with corrupt poll
ticians. gamblers, saloon men, Sabbath
breakers, prostitutes, woney-ehsngers
and the opponents of the poor
and weak. Instead OF driving
the money-changers from the
temple, they are invited In