The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-10
ASBURYS MANY TENANTS,
Some Were Trading on the
Popularity of the
Church.
TRUSTEE WASTES SOLUTION.
Faith-HealerS and Millennium. Watch.
.ers Must Not Deface the
Building.
TRUSTEE WASTES SOLUTION.
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, |
D. L. a

oAkLAND OFFICE SAN FRANCISCO CALL
9OS Broadway, Nov. 8.
The trustees of Asbury Methodist
church were requested at Yesterdays
meeting to adiudicate one of the oldest
questions that has ever come before a
church board. Attached to the Asburv
Church is large meeting-hall. 1t is the
nrst story of the building, and it is on
account of the many creeds that are
preached in this hall that the present
difficulty arose.
VI course the church members think
they nave the exclusive right to whatever
popularity attaches to the building as
Asoury Church. The church as we'll,
however, Is popular and has large mem
pefshlp. Two weeks ago they engaged a
new pastor, Rev. H. w. MeKni chit. and
naturally Mcknight is somewhat Jealous
OF the reputation of his church, When
IIie new pastor went to his church a few
mornings ago he thought some one mad
De Geen playing practical joke on the pub
pense OF the public.
On one side of the church door was
sign which read, "Asburv Methodist
Church. Divine healing meetings every
week Just above it was a sign which
reaq, Aspury Methodist Church. Divine
week." '"ioe
The new pastor knew nothing about
ulVine heallng, either genuine or fake.
ana, as he passed the corner of his church
he saw on the other side a notice, as fol-
lows: "Asbury Methodist Church. Regu
lar meeting OF the Watchers once a week.
Prepare for the end of the world. which
may come daily"
Ih1s somewhat angered Mr.. Mcknight.
He knew nothing of a church society called
the Watchers, and he certainly had not
calculated TO week or so Just when the
world would end. Hardly had the new
pastor recovered from his surprise when
Methodist Church. Lecture by Professor
lie Conte before Institute of Applied
Christianity Monday night"
The pastor read it and wondered what
would come next. 1t came. There was a
little bulletin board which stated that the
building was The Asbury Methodist church,
ard that orthodox Christianity was regu-
larly preached within it's walls
Several members thought that these
Ideas were all fads of the new pastor and
went TO Trustee w. II. Waste. The trustee
went to the church and it looked like
deadwall used for advertising. Then an
explanation was made.
The lower part of the church was rented
to several parties, each of whom advocated
a different creed. There was the Divine
Healing Association, who believed in faith
healing at long range, and the Church of
Christ, headed by DR.. Truesdell, who be-
Heyed only in healing at short range.
The regular church congregation gath
cred In the nall recently to hold their reg
ular prayer-meeting and they were sur
prised to find several anatomical charts
on the wall. One of these protested to
show the evils of smoking and another the
danger of tight lacing. Trustee Waste
was shocked and Immediately turned the
pictures to the wall.
The sect known as the Watchers also
meets at the church, and, under the leader
ship of Rev. j. III. Allen, pray and look for
the second coming. A few weeks ago they
waited in vain for many hours and con-
Guided that the reason the world was not
already ended was owing to some miscal
culation of the man who fixed the time of
the stars and planets.
All these creeds reckoned on the popu-
larity enjoyed by the church to help their
causes. They stole the legitimate church's
thunder as it were, and when the new
pastor came he was surprised to see how
freely the little army of heterodox teach
ers used Asbury Church to help them pull
their chestnuts out of their fire.
1.-The matter was reported to me- said
Trustee Waste to-day, sand it was very
plain that something must be done to pre-
serve the dignity OF our church. We rent
the lower part as business proposition,
and we find that instead of renting to in
dividuals in some instances we have rented
it to organizations. Until these organiza-
lions were in opposition to each other we
had no trouble, but when each creed began
placarding the church the affair became
Iudicrous and ridiculous. 1t was evident
that some of the parties were knowingly
trading on the popularity of the church.
This we could not allow, and so we had
IF ha ~, or rIo,r
and decided that nobody should be given
the privilege to post any placards on the
church except the Asbury Methodist
Church proper. Our church is the quiet
est public building in town and is in de-
mand by many classes of people, but we
would much rather prefer not to rent at all
than do so with a loss of dignity