New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1901-10-06
STABILITY OF SHAKERISN
ITS BELIEVERS HOLD THAT DESPITF
TEMPORARY DECREASE THEIR
SPIRITUAL VITALITY
CONTINUES.

To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir: recent article in The New-York Tribune. |
under the heading Decline Of Shakerism," was |
greatly appreciated by Shakers It's sympathetic
tone It's fairness of statement Its lucid expression
OF their distinctive beliefs and principles Its |
author sees In decreasing numbers decline in the
peculiar life. and from hard facts OF statistics
forebodes the extinction OF this people within a |
score Of years.
temporary decrease and apparent decline were
foretold by and prophets among the Shakers
long years ago. and have not therefore surprised
been encouragement to them As all of Chris
tianty was once contained in the person OF Jesus.
SO Shakersm which is but completed Christianity.
was embodied in Ann Lee. The life. the
truth is forever potent and while true Shaker
remains witness the earth, that one with
God, is majority. Organizations rise and fall
by law of social being. ocean tides ebb and flow
by law of gravitation. In past time, and
women. knowing little of nature. nothing of it's
laws saw God and devil. felt heaven and hell sin
and salvation. present entities. intense
s1tles to be dealt with by immediate action Deep
tides OF spiritual emotion swept the people,
from which came great religious revivals. whose
concrete results the churches OF to-day. Soon
after the American Revolution came a OF
spiritual power in conviction for sin and a mighty
turning to God. The older churches quick
ened, Methodist and Baptist denominations sprang
into being, and the Shaker church, which from
ll4 had been hidden in the wilderness of Water
vliet. in the humble Ann Lee and her eight fol-
| lowers. drew like mighty magnet souls from
affair." 1t spread through the Eastern States and
after her decease to the then distant West Or
ganization and gathering into community followed.
| Never has the number of its adherents begun to
approach that of the other churches whose begin
nings on American soil date from the same period
Therefore its decline is more apparent. In Mount
| Lebanon Society alone decrease in members from
800 TO leo In fifty years seems more than the much
| bewailed decrease in Methodism. for instance,
whose quaternial report that it's membership was
not increasing was falling behind, has startled the
| ears of that self-satisfed denomination. All have
| been affected by trend of mind.
! For twenty-five years social and psychic laws
| have operated in the ebbing of mans thought and
emotion away from his personal relations to God.
| Science humanity. commercial interests have
absorbed his attention. Shaker seers put it thus:
| Conviction is taken from the EARTH
| With Shakers spiritual vitality continues Every
| member counts as a spiritual force That is to
say. so vital is religion to-day that those who
enter our families. but do not become endued with
the JUNCTION of our faith uncomfortable. and
| eventually drop out. What if the
| applied to other churches? Suppose only those
members OF true spirituality, vitality OF soul life.
were to stand up and be counted. would the per-
| centage of shrinkage among Shakers be much
greater? Let the depleted pews, the empty prayer
| rooms answer Shakers have long lists of
! members whose wherea bouts are unknown. There
| are few deadheads. The nature of the work Is
such that the deadhead is out of his element, and
| cannot stay. We all here TO be counted and
some or us, according TO present lie average,
likely to be here twenty and forty from now.
| dear friend OF The Tribune, and never shall be
less Shakers than to-day.
| The tree culturist does fear when dead leaves
| fall. No surcr sign of life. he knows. than the
dropping of the leaves not from loss OF vitality in
| the tree but from the swelling OF new buds. Were
| our members becoming worldly. selfish sensual
| then should deeply mourn the decay in our
| order. But such is not the case. Never in the
history of church has the life of purity, self
4 and
| true $ now.
Our forces are not all visible. To the Shaker.
whose entrance into faith is the resurrection
| from the dead it matters not whether the man be
| here in earthly body beyond in spirit life and
| formal have work. testimony OF truth.
| TO uplift and save the souls of men, Our dead
| not dead they with us; they come into
our meetings. teaching and directing from their
vantage ground. Here alone exists pure spiritual
ism, controlled and natural. because directed by
| laws of spiritual life Spirits once power
| full earth mightier far to-day. Unfettered
by limitations of matter time and space. they are
prompting the minds of men and women in all
righteous movements of humanity
| In the September sunshine millions OF tiny. fairy
ships are floating. air drifted on their unknown
oa1 m re rd asy and seh of
Thus is It with the SEEDS OF truth hI prncipes
A writer Of the day who is moving the hearts
tune with the Infinite" has uttered not one truth
@ d ay nG 9ee daW ana peop
come to us from ali over this continent. from Eu-
F Spouse a9 to them heart dng here
home of the 10 soul Hsnsy souls nsD9s5 to
u.s. after long sunni day spent con 4
"oh, they have drained me dry! They were so
hungry for the truth Then, with the outhash-
give, the more l have TO giyer'
that our spiritual ancestors were stoned and i'm,
prisoned tor teacning- IAN we De 9iscouragea
have seen the light Never have men and women
been so mpqed NTH the prncipe piles, OF shaxers
How does that concern our special organization?
holds within itself principles which the developed
life of humanity demands to have embodied In
1t is not strictly true that families and societies
forces concentrated; Better would i be, under
present world Dc. conditions if consolidation were
you'd nddn Moa fT # spPs to oF PGR
to broader and more useful living
of real estate as recently in the case OF the Han
selling the homestead in either place; has IL
Of the from 10 Mo1t
As changes occur in material and industrial con-
spiritual powers come into ascendency. as earth
knowledge iengthens the span of life. just in pro-
portion VIII grow the necessity Of provision for hu-
Sha be iTss to I'VE The hlshsi spiritual iifs
and sisterkood cali for men and women Of health.
high purpose strenuous activity and utter conse7
sions homes Where d~iney Animated aetion shall
for humanity. along divinely directed lines
i" Sss S o
and spirit s psn ba5 eSs Of
nand lies in the principles contained in Mother
AHfs So a ths the
| Old forms must change. and we await only the
4 of aprto atad Pao,