The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-03-13
METHODISTS ARE
MUCH EXERCISED.
Waning 0fthe Church Influence
Generally
THE SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION
Talked About at Prayer Meetings and the
Report of the Bishop Discussed
and the Causes
Talked OF.

the Methodists of the First church in
this city, in particular, have been ask
ing anxiously the question: What is
the matter with the Methodist church?'
And they have not been able to answer
that it is, "All right" About four
weeks ago DR.. Manchester bore the un-
welcome news to his congregation that
the Methodist church in the last year
instead of taking a long stride forward.
had actually started on the down grade
and lost in a single year 21,000 MEM
bers. The figures startled the congre-
cation. Since that day not a meeting
has been held in the First church that
the subject has not been alluded to and
some solution of the difficulties sought.
1t has been in the prayer meetings and
in sermons. Since his pastorate in this
city DR.. Manchester has never come
across anything that seems to have SO
worried him as this retrogression of the
church of his choice. He has prayed
about it, he has preached about it, the
congregation has sung over it and there
has been great deal of serious think
ing going on as to the reason for this
wonderful slump.
| The question was up at the prayer
meeting a week ago on the idea of keep
ing the boys in the Sunday school and
| training. them into the church. There
was some good thought on the matter
but it did not seem to solve the prob
lem as to what is the matter.
| During the same week one of the con-
gregation who has been quite active for
some time past in special revival work,
and who is quite a philosopher along
| the line of sociology and advanced eco
nomic ideas, wrote to Dr. Manchester
and suggested that the cause for the
backsliding might be found in the at
| titude of the church on the great moral
and social questions of the day. His let
ter suggested that the Methodist church
| had lost her power over men because
| she had lost her spirit of aggressive
warfare upon the evils of the times.
She had become wealthy and popular
and refused to sacrifice either in the
| cause of the common people. Her vir-
tue had become of a negative quality.
She tried to refrain from doing wrongs
but winked at them in others and re-
Trained from taking up the right where
1T meant fight against popular preju-
dices. The letter dwelt especially upon
the thought that in the present social
inequality the church was silent as to
helping the common people or was even
on the other side of the controversy.
This letter brought a reply from DR..
Manchester at last Sunday evenings
service in the shape of a sermon on the
subject of the attitude of the church to
the social question. Nearly all of the
Socialists Of the city attended the SER
vice.
DR.. Manchester slIirted around the
edges of the problem and hurled a few
oratorical rocks at the heads of such
men as Carnegie and Rockefeller. He
also spoke in a general way against
trusts when they had reached the
stage OF depressing the people. The
sermon vindicated the church of not do
inc Htttxy In, In afaI Nl,l
sermon was acceptable to the congrega-
ton but did not fill the bill for the So
cialiSts. He never touched the ques-
tion of the system of capitalism.
At Thursday evenings prayer meet
ing DR.. Manchester had received the
letter of the bishops of the church in
which they discuss the question. He
read this to his congregation, and
adopted it as the truth as to the causes
of the trouble. The bishops generalized
and summarized the causes of the
churches loss of power as follows: /,
The gulf between capital and labor; 2,
aristocratic tendencies of the church;
3, Christian science; A, abandonment of
camp meetings; 5, pernicious literature;
6, amusements; Z, worldliness; 8, criti-
cism of sacred things; 8, higher criti-
cism.
These were broad enough to cover
about everything in a specific way but
the bishops were not specific and DR.. |
Manchester summed them up and fixed
as the whole cause a lack of spiritual
power in the church He said it was
no use to look outside the church for the
cause of decline. 1t is inside. If the
church gets lots Of the spirit it will have
power He wanted a revival of the
spirit and for this purpose it has been
decided to start a church revival and
try and enthuse. 1t will begin on March
25 and continue at least a week. He
wanted everyone to pray. He thought
1t would be a hard task to revive the
spirit for campaign was coming on
and he said campaigns We're always
demoraliZing.
The matter has reached the stage of
great interest and some contention in
the First church. Almost any one is
able to figure out some good reasons to
his mind why the church is going back
ward. The ones who are making the
most stir about their beliefs are those
holding advanced ideas on social ques-
tions and those who are active in the
work against the saloon. A couple of
this kind loitered in the church lobby
after the service Thursday night and
discussed the subject in an interesting
manner.
Both seemed to be impressed with the
idea that the church was being led into
the slough OF despond by it's leaders
WIN III luIu WClc Dllhuiy " lOl
of politicians. This is very tender
subject to the Methodist church
throughout America and especially to
the First church in Canton. Every
bishop in the Methodist church with
possible one exception stands by Nc
Kinley dspite his record on the can
teen, his permitting of the opening of
400 saloons at Manila, the repeal Of pro-
hibition in Alaska and various other
acts of his administration favorable
| to the liquor power. With the full
knowledge of all these things the First
church of Canton only few months
ago even elected him as one of her
trustees. The members in the lobby
Thursday night reviewed these things
in strong language and they were of
| the opinion that so long as the church
| followed such leadership, and honored
in it's ecclesiastical and political power
| such candidates, that a God OF right
eousness was not going to shower very