The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-03-12
Officials Mad Clear Through
at Rev. DR.. Stoddard's
Criticisms.
NOT OPPOSED TO THE CHURCH
Features and Limits of Their
Work Among Boys
Want to Be Set
Straight.
NOT OPPOSED TO THE CHURCH

Secretary H. A. Meacham of the Young
Mems Christian Association issued Shis
afternoon reply to the criticism OF Fhe
Rev. Dr. z. L. Stoddard, rector of 81.
Johns Episcopal Church, upon the pro-
posed extension of the associations work
to young boys Secretary Meacham says:
Zone of the sad things we sometimes
see is that we,i-intentioned people fail to
understand one another and so work al
cross purposes instead of cooperating
An instance of this kind comes to US in
an article published recently in st. Johns
Bulletin. in which the author objects to
tho Junior Department of the Young
Mems Christian Association for reasons
which seem to arise from a. misunder-
standing of the work and the workers in
that department.
Objection is made on the ground tEat
children under sixteen years of age should
not be allowed to be away from home at
night Now the fact is that no boys liil-
der that age are allowed to be at the as
sociation rooms at night, with a very few
exceptions in cases in which those who
work during the day are allowed to at
tend the educational classes at night.
s.Dr. Stoddard seems to fear that some
strange doctrines will be taught; the az
sociation. composed as it is of people of
many shades of religious opinion Joining
hands for the promotion of Christ's king
dom on the earth. can and does teach
only those fundamental truths in which
all orthodox churches agree.
..As to the fitness of the young men TO
teach, ii is hard to see why young man
who teaches in st. Johns Church school
- e - fhp c3aD
Gospel in any proper place on other days
Zone of our Boys Bible Glass teachers is
teacher in St Johns schoolo
These objections we are told would be
withdrawn if the boys department were
limited to such as have no homes, and
we suppose that no objections would be
made to teaching such as come from non-
Christian homes, provided the parents OF
such boys are willing. 1t will be granted
that for us to discriminate as to which
boys would come under the required
limitations, or for us to discover without
impertinence in which homes there isAsank
of religious instruction would be difficult
stIn former times ii was a common mis-
take to think of the association as in OPP
position to the church. As a matter of
fact church membership is required of all
who are received as active members in
the association, and one of the first things
urged upon anyone who shows any in
tention of leading Christian life is mem
bership in Christ's Church. So far from
detracting from the various churches in
Jersey City, our association has sent
number of men who began a Christian
life in our meetings during the past year
into fellowship with the churches.
''The association does not take the
young men or boys from their homes; it
finds many of them on the street or in
worse places and invites them into better
company and urges upon them loyalty
to the home. membership in the church
and fidelity to church duties.
Most of the pastors of this city are
cordial supporters of the assoc alton, and
if DIR. Stoddard will take hold with US in
the work until he becomes familiar with
IT and it's results, we think he viii be-
come a believer in it,"
The officers of the association are mad
clear through, and speak of forcing DR..
Stoddard to retract his statements. Some
of the members do not take it seriously,
but. others high in the association. want
Dr. Stoddard, as they put it, to place the
association straight in the eyes of the
public.
Such attacks cannot hurt US, :, said a
prominent member, "for the parents of
boys who attend here know better than DR..
Stoddard how the work is conducted.
They realize what is being done for their
boys This institution Is a wonderful
work, and we have members here now
who owe all their education to instruc-
tions received in the association classes.
1t is a work deserving of better support,
but it is my opinion that it will not be
long before a new Y. M. C. A. building is
erected to carry on the work on more
extensive scale
A reporter endeavored to obtain inter-
views with some members of st. Johns
Episcopal Church last night, but failed
to induce any TO talk at length on the
subject Those seen intimated that they
would stand by their pastor. and that he
knew what he was about when he wrote
the criticism.
DR.. Stoddard will not discuss the mat
ter He would not even state whether or
not he would have more to say in this
weeks issue of the Church Bulletin
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