The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-01
A MODERN STRUCTURE
New Methodist Church Will Be
q Handsome Ediflce.
OLD CHURCH is TOO SMALL
Large Numbers of People Turned Away
Every Sunday for Lack of Room.
Governor Richards Talks of
the Enterprise.

Tonight the Mountain View NJ. e.
7 constituency will gather together in the
y old church and sing long and loud in
Ssjoyous acclaim. They are going to have
! "a new, large house of worship, one that
will accommodate the nultitudes who
desire ito attend the meetings every Sun
day. 1t is proposed to raze the present
{ building and erect on it's site $40, 900
4 house, modern in all its arrangements
= and furnished in up to-date style. There
will be new pews and a new organ
Maybe some good, benevolent soul will
Y make the church present of a grand
@Hpipe organ-great big organs are the
proper things in churches these days
4 Good music, vocal and instrumental
qssycombined, does much towards drawing
= large crowds to the churches. Take the
: music away and 1T Is declared by some
athat the most eloquent divine ON earth
: would not regularly draw enormous
houses.
Ex-Governor Richards said that the
: Mountain View church should have been
rebuilt three or four years ago. In adj
: dressing the board of control at its last
i meeting he said: when l returned
from Helena, where resided as execu-
G tive Of the state for four years, and
noted the absence of any improvements
, to this church building I was greatly
disappointed. Methodism in Butte must
= take the lead. 1t is growing at a re-
markable rate; believe 1 am warranted
in saying that the Methodist constitu-
ency numbers twice that Of any other
Protestant denomination in Butte. A
few years ago it was three times as
large. this fact brought out in a census
taken for the purpose of fixing the
church population Of Butte
This old church is too small Only
last Sunday night a great many per-
sons were unable to secure seats and
returned home. l noticed the ushers
were unable in instances to seat to-
gether man and his wife, the husband
finding seat in the back part of the
room and the wife geing given seal
away up somewhere in front. That is
no way for man and his wife to at
tend church. Yet much of this disagree
able business is done of necessity. I
don't know whether our pastor, Dr.. AL
britton, particularly noticed them or
rot, but when it was necessary to call
all the little boys and girls up in front
to take seats around the altar railing
in order to make room for adults, it oc-
CURED to me that it was indeed sorry
state of affairs when a preacher was
compelled to talk to congregation over
=
haved as rudely as they did
a. But we must not forget that we are
about to contract debt. 1t must be
our positive aim not to strike too high,
to be sure to fix the figure at an alti-
tude not too high for our financial abil-
ity to reach. Everybody in the church.
Of course, says let US build but before
we build let US fix the lines in which
we are to work, then push forward with
all our might"
DIR. Albritton, the pastor, was asked
TO express his sentiment in the matter
and he said: IF We're to consult none
but my own feelings, I would say: LIT
us not build. ! have had several ex-
perences in building enterprises and l
know what it is to be ruff1ed In the
first place, If we build, more than half
my time will be taken from my study,
time that should be devoted to my
study. There will be times when my
hair will be brushed the wrong way and
in the presence of my friends I may
appear to be harsh or gruff. 1t will be
an uneasy period in my life
Before I came to Butte I was given
a hint through Bishop Mallelieu as to
the conditions existing here. I saw a
carefully prepared letter written from
here to the bishop. 1t said, We are
badly in need of a new church. So
when I arrived in this city I was par
haiy prepared. met Governor Rick
ards, whose face was full of sunshine,
He introduced me to Brother Stevenson,
who cordially welcomed me. I was most
cordially met by everyone. We walked
about the city and when we reached
Quartz street, Brother Richards said to
me: am ashamed to show you fur
Their. Up there is our church.. I told
him we would so ahead and do the best
we could under the circumstances.
But if my congregation says build
build We will. We viii have a new
church and when it is well along and
everything in flourishing condition
the present pastors time will be up and
he must go elsewhere. But Butte Meth
odists will have a new church., even if
the retiring pastor is to be made a mar
tyr Of"