The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-12-22
TABERNACLERS SAFE.
Miss Vance Cannot See How
Resolution for Elimina-
tion Can Apply
to Them.

Ever since Mr.. Charles Golden of the
resolution at the annual church meeting
last Wednesday night to the effect that
the roll of membership of the church be
gone over and those names of persons who
had died, moved away from the city, and
not been heard from in some time and
those who would be accounted as not be-
ing in good standing in the church, be re-
ported on by the prudential committee for
elimination from the roll Tabernaclers
have been wondering if it was some
scheme to get rid of them.
Miss Lillian Vance of the Tabernacle,
when seen by d News reporter this
morning on the subject, said that she was
not present on the occasion of the church
meeting, and had not heard the resolu-
tion. When it was explained to her, she
said, she did not see how it could apply to
the Tabernaclers, but that in cases here
tofore when names of those deceased, re-
moved from the city or from whom no
communication had been had in two
years. no resolution to that effect was
necessary She considered the Taber-
naclers were carrying on the institutional
work of the church and must therefore
be considered members in good standing.
Whether or not the Tabernaclers could
be brought in under Article XIV, With
drawal of fellowship, in "the habitual ne
glect of the communion of the church by
one whose conduct is not otherwise scan
dalous,' she did not know, but in that
case they must be dismissed on a two
thirds vote. and a two-thirds vote of vot-
1Te,rJ al
cult to get.
In a speech made either by Mr.. or Mrs.
Scudder fMiss Vance could not remember
which,, at the society meeting when the
sale of the Tabernacle was ratified, it was
stated that the Congregational Church
had made two moves-first, from the little
chapel on Grand street to the Tabernacle,
and then from the Tabernacle to the
Boyd avenue church. This, Miss Vance
said, was the first intimation the down
town people had that the church had
moved. They supposed the uptown
church was simply a branch.
Why the position of downtown Sunday
school superintendent should have been
declared vacant she did not know. Mr..
Hill was superintendent of the school,
and, as far as she knew, was eligible for
A News" reporter interviewed the
Rev. John L. Scudder yesterday and
asked him what his opinion was of the
motion passed at the church meeting last
Wednesday night in regard to the thin
ming out of the church membership roll
as told exclusively in "The News" Mr..
Scudder said
There is positively nothing more in
the motion than that this church and
every church has to go over it's rolls
at times and take from the list the names
of those persons who have either died
er whose whereabouts are not known to
the church. I do not think that the Pru
Dental Committee will take any action
in the matter for a long time to come
As for its having any bearing on the
members of the down town branch, there
is nothing to it for tll,s reason. We have
the names and addresses of all of them
and know where they are, so it does not
affect them at all. AS said before. no
action will be taken in the matter for a
long time.
Some people have come to me in the
past and asked why those who were act
ing in such an un-Cchristian manner were
not communicated, and I said it would
be best for us to act in a Christian spirit
and not to take such action. No, there
is nothing in that motion other than that
which every church does at certain
times"