The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-03
Is Too Narrow
At Present.
CHURCH OF TODAY
Vigorously Criticised At the
Open League Convention.

The fifth annual convention CT the
Open and Institutional Church League
was begun yesterday afternoon in Pill
grim Church with small attendance
but with an abundant enthusiasm.
The work of the league is one that is
perhaps novel to many Of the church
going people of this section, and the
sessions of the convention promise to
furnish considerable food for enlarged
thought along the lines of more
broadly developed and advanced Chris
tianity.
The league has as its principal OBJ
Jects, as its name would signify, the
opening of Christian churches to peo-
pie OF all classes at all times, in order
that the full usefulness of house of
worship be recognized and made avail
able, and the federation of Ill Chris
uan denominations into a single church
of God.
The sessions yesterday were of great
interest, and some of the most liber-
al and earnest clergynen of the large
cities of the country were present to
address the delegates or behalf of the
work of the league.
In many respects it seems that the
broadcast sentiments of Christianity
that have ever been heard in Worces-
ter We're delivered at the convention
on the opening day. The remarks Of
william e. Dodge OF New York dur
ing the evening session were of an ex-
tfemely interesting character. and
showed study of social conditions
bearing on chum.' work that are too
often wholly neg ~ by church peo-
pie who are no DOUBT very earnest but
are equally narrow.
The afternoon session was given up
to the reaGfng Of reports from the va
rlous churches of the league, while the
exercises of the evening consisted of re-
marks by some of the most prominent
workers of the cause following an able
address of welcome to the city deliv-
cred by his honor, Mayor Dodge.
The convention opened at 2.30 o'clock
and in the absence of the president of
the league, Rev. DR.. Charles L. Thomp-
son, the session was brought to order
by the vice president, Rev DR.. Leigh
ton Williams of Amity Baptist Church
OF New York city. The reading of the
reports of the various churches occu-
pied the time until o'clock, when the
convention adjourned and was shown
through the church edifice with special
attention given to the institutional
features of its work by the pastor Dr.
Lewis. The reports read included those
by several clergymen whose names are
very prominent in this line of work
among them being that of Rev. DR..
George L. Perrin of the Every Day
Church of Boston, which is one of the
churches best known in the country
for the immense amount of good that
it is doing by means of it's institutional
features.
Another report that was of decidedly
local interest, was that read by Rev
Joseph j. Spencer of North Brookfeld.
Within eight years the church with
which this gentleman is CONNECTED as
pastor, has developed through the in
stitutional idea from small country
parish that was extremely contracted
In the scope of it's work, into q large
and f1ourishing congregation with a
church ediftce costing over $50 900 and
activities that influence for good near
~ the entire population of the place,
which, owing to the fact of the large
percentage of foreign population, is
one of the hardest in the state to work
satisfactorily.
Out of the institutional features of
this there have come inestimable ben
ef1ts to the town. There has been built
public library costing $45, 900 and the
town has been induced to build water
works and to install other public i'm
provements that have only been OBJ
tanned through the efforts of club of
citizens organized within the church
of which Mr.. Spencer is pastor The
church has converted the room beneath
the auditorium into a gymnasium for
the young men, and in the building
there is also a cooking and sewing
school for the girls. In this way the
interests of the young people is held
in the church., and there has ben a
most marked improvement in the
whole moral status of the town as a
consequence. The church is kept open
all the time, and is lighted and warmed
at all hours of the day, so that it can
be used by any one who wishes to do
so. 7
At the conclusion of the reading of
the reports the delegates attended an
exhibition of the kindergarten sewing
school connected with Pilgrim church,
and saw how the little tots were taught
the rudiments of needlework by the
ladies of the Sunday school, who give
their time to this form of instruction
at stated times each week. A great deal
of this sort of work is done at Pilgrim,
there being a large number of classes
for various kinds of instruction, in
Guiding physical training, carpentry,
cooking, and kindergarten work
Before the opening of the evening
session the cadets of the company con-
nected with the church gave a very
pleasing drill in the parish house to the
great qualification of the delegates.
who greeted their cleverly performed
naneuvers with merited applause.
The business of the evening began at
7.45 with Scripture reading and prayer
nv Rev. DR. Perrin of Boston. The pre-
siding officer, Dr. Williams. then intro
duced Mayer Rufus B. Dodge, Jr., who
welcomed the convention to Worcester
i'm the following words: Ladies and
gentlemen There is one thing in con-
nection with this convention that viii
always give me pleasure, and ! pro-
nose to enjoy it to the utmost While 1
am with you. That is the fact that I
was today taken to be a clergyman by
one of the visiting divines. 1t IS some
what dangerous to ask me to speak
from behind the pulpit for | once did
so In a church which I attended, and
a. was rumored that ever afterward the
minister was somewhat weak in his
theology.
chs changes that have taken place in
the scope of the church during the past
feyy score Of years. Once thee hurch
was supported by the town and the
two institutions were inseparable One
~ the first things that the town of
worcester did after its settlement was
70 appropriate thirty pounds year to
nrovide for transient preaching in the
3own I am afraid the preaching would
10 decidedly transient If we had to de-
nend on that amount of money to fur
Iieh OF nowadays.
There has been great progress made