The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-14
Membership
Given to -Four
AT GRACE CHURCH,
Interesting Exercises At the
Annual Service.

Liz service ut CTItlCe CnuFcn last
night was the annual one under the
auspices of the Chinese Sunday school.
There was a large attendance of the
Celestials in consequence.
The exercises of the evening had
many features of interest, among them
being the admission Of four of the sons
of the east into full membership in
the church.
The pastor Rev. w. J. Thompson, ad-
| dressed the Chinese in their native lam
guage, and he achieved a distinct sue
cess as a speaker in this difficult
| tongue. To the initiated, the address
sounded like a fat-iron sliding down
a tin roof, but it made the faces of the
Cinnamon present glow with interest,
whether Of the subject matter Of the
speech or Of the pronunciation. it was
difficult to determine.
| The exercises were under the direc-
ton of Mrs. George L. Holden, who
has been in charge of the Chinese sec
| tion of the Grace Church Sunday
school for about 10 years, and who in
that time has done an inestimable
amount of good among the men of this
| back-handed nation.
About so Chinese members and at
| tendants Of the school were present.
and took part in the exercises The
| service was opened by the singing of
hymn by. the choir of the church.
Mr. Thompson then offered few in
troductory remarks, in the course of
| which he developed the effect that the
! tenacious and steadfast nature of the
| Chinaman has on his attitude. towards
religion, both before and after his con-
| version to Christianity. He referred 10
the TACT that the Chinese are the hard
est OF all the nations to reach. but that
when they are once brought to believe
IN Christ, they are the most steadfast
/ ana the best Christians in the world
Moy L. DOW, one of the Chinese who
| was iater IN the evening admitted to
the church, then knelt at the altar and
iead the congregation in prayer, speak
ing IN English. The effort was one
that was most impressive for the sim
pie earnestness and directness of the
| language used, as we'll as the mans
evident sincerity.
1t was thing that would touch MANY
VINO could listen to the most polished
utterances of famous divines without a
responsive chord being struck.
IN ADDITION to the pastor there were
seated ON the platform DR.. A. l.. Shap-
leigh, former missionary tn China
/ George
Tong and Chin Quong DR.. ShapIeimh
was dressed in the costume of a CHA
ese teacher with an artificial o11eue
OIL immense length hanging down he
nina. The dress of a missionary con
slsts OF a round black can with a If
ne red button at the top. a black coat
IKE the cape of an English maclxin-
tosh' sky blue skirt, tight trouser-
n loUms WIN an arIapgement like bicycle
us'leiS on lle ankles, yellow socks and
sandals of the house boat pattern.
me remarks of DR.. Shanleierh Ivaro
nstened to with much attention for
me speaker has spent over a wear in
emma, ana IS conversant with IFS Ian
udSe ana customs as are few others
IN worcester. He began his aCdress
py Illustrating in a striking manner tI7e
| eIiiorhlty or the population of the
10 owNery kingdom. He said that since
t tiie iAeetilig mad begun and up to the
tlnle ne had commenced to speak 1A00
Cinnamon had died in China. Over a
million of the inhabitants of China die
every month, and yet the population is
on the steady increase The Chinese
form more than a quarter of the whole
number OF people in the world. This
statement alone gives an idea of the inn
menslty of the work that is to be done
III ChristianiziDg such a multitude of
people.
The Chinese" said DR.. shapleigb
are the hardest people in the world
to touch They have in their language
no word that expresses love as we
know it. There is no love in China
between husband and wife, between
man and God. The nearest approach
to affection that there is, is between
parents and children, and that is more
traditional DUTY than real love- The
Chinese are welded to old customs. and
it is almost impossible to get them out
OF the ruts they have been in for CEN
turtles. Their greatest characteristic
is perseverance, stick to-it-fvenes
Thus it is that while it is almost i'm.
possible to get one to forsal1e the dark
ness and superstition of the old GUS
toms, yet when one does become a
Christian, he is absolutely unshakable
in his faith, and no torture nor perse-
cution can make him forswear his new
tenets
The language CT China is an extreme
ly complex thing, there being innumer-
able dialects which are quite uninteIli-
gible to those who live in any but the
native section OF each one of Them The
official language is called the North
Mandarin dialect, and this is the one
that the majority of the missionaries
learn
In discussing the status of the Chi
nese in this country DR.. Shapleigh ac-
corded to the Geary law, which pro-
hibits the entrance of the Mongolians
into the United States, sharp criticism.
He said that it was not because the
Chinese were lowering the price of la
Dor that they We're debarred from the
country, nor yet that they were inn
moral, but solely from the fact that the
merchants of San Francisco and the
other Pacific coast cities realized that
they could not compete with the inge-
nuity, tact and perseverance of the
Chinese. and that in the end they would
be driven to the wall by the exercise Of
these qualities on the part of the new
corners.
For this selfish reason alone the law
was passed. 1t is a disgrace to the
United States to have such a law ON its
statute books
AT the conclusion of DR.. Shapleigh's
address, four members of the Sunday
school. AIoy T. Dow Moy w. Hong,
Moy G. Yam and Chin Len Ong, who
have been on probation since May, were
made members of the church in regular
standing by the impressive ceremonies
that are used ON such occasions. The
four Cinnamon made very favorable
appearance and answered the questions
of the clergyman as to their belief and
aims in the most satisfactory manner.
Mr.. Thompson then read his address
in Chinese, during the course of which
he told the members of the school pres
ent some of the truths of Christianity.
He pointed out to them the advantages
of taking Christ as their guide and adj
vised the reading of the Bible as the
best safeguard against the temptations
they are likely to meet. He told them
that they should keep their places of
business closed on the Sabbath and be
careful not to work on that day. They
should be honest in all their dealings
and ready to help their neighbors who
might be less fortunate than them