Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-09-10

always been DleSt or tOO In q marvel
Gus way. A conspicuous illustration of
that fact is seen in St Georges Epis.
copal church Of New York city. This
was once the famous church Of the
great DR.. Stephen Tying. This church
Is situated in East Sixteenth street. A
short time after the good DR.. Tying
died the wealthy parishioners OF this
church began to move away. There
was great talk at one time of abandon
Ing this site and going farther up town.
Then came DIR. Rainsford to this pulpit.
He is a big, warm hearted, practical
Christian. What did he do? Desert
that magnificent downtown field to
Satan, as many Of our downtown
churches have done? No; he made st.
Georges parish right about face. He
made that church appeal to the classes
around its very doors. He made 1t ac-
neighborhood through the social gate.
The result is st. Georges Episcopalian
church, great as its former pastors
were, never did the good that 1t is do
ing today. 1t is now appealing to the
great unchurched classes. It's parish
houses and social beehives are busy
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs
day, Friday and Saturday as well as
having its church auditorium open on
Sunday. 1t Is church of the glad
hand" and the every night WELCOME"
as well as the church Of holy prayer"
What is true in reference to St
Georges church Is true of the Judson
Memorial church of New York and Of
Russell Conwell's church in Philade-
phia and of the Park Presbyteria
church Of Newark, n. j., and in one
sense Of the Moody church of Chicago.
Oh, why will not all Of the churches,
like those named, learn the value Of
doing their work by appealing to the
social instincts?
In the most congested parts of our
cities the saloons have no difficulty to
live. They appeal to mankind through
the social gate. Upon their windows l
see these words advertised everywhere:
Free Lunch What does that mean?
Have the saloon keepers suddenly be-
come philanthropists? Are they ami
mated with the gospel desire to feed
the poor and care for the starving :?
Oh. no! The saloon keeper is a man
shrewd and keen in business. He says
"If l with a sandwich can only entice
my victims into my hell hole, then
can keep them here by the social In
stinct 1 will then surround them
with my hirelings and hold them in
grips Of steel" There is an old saying
In church circles. Give the people a
free lunch and there is no difficulty In
collecting crowd" If the saloon
every morning. noon and night in the
service of the devil do not believe it
a poor policy once in awhile on a week
night for the institutional church to
give a "free lunch" in the name Of
Christ
Evil Influences to Counterfeit.
When some months ago went
through the Chicago slums in company
with the officers of the law, hunting
for the debauched husband of one Of
my church members, I found In many
of these evil resorts that free vaude-
vile shows were given in order to de-
coy and draw in crowds. If the Satan
ic proprietor can afford TO do that l
do not believe it out Of place for Chris
tians on the week nights to offer re-
fined social entertainments to gather
the great unchurched masses into a
church fellowship In the name Of
Christ.
When go down the street of n Mon
day night, past church after church,
tomblike and silent and dark on &C
count Of their closed doors, and find
the billiard halls in full illumination
and crowded with the young men OF
our land, I know then that there Is
something wrong. I know that these
young men are not being appealed to
in the name of Christ through the So
cial gate. l know that the institutional
church is right when to counteract
tina. evil influence, it throws wide
open its church buildings and offers to
the young men and women Of its neigh
borhood libraries in which they can
read the best books. and gymnasiums
in which they can develop their mus
cles, and places in which they can be
brought into the best of Christian as
sociatiOn. You who decry the mission
of the institutional church. did you
ever stop to realize that in the longest
ed districts of your tenement buildings
there Is hardly n public place for
workingman to go and get warm ex-
cept to a saloon, there Is hardly n
place where he can go to meet the
ture except in a saloon? Therefore can
we and dare we decry the mission of
the institutional church in furnishing
wholesome and elevating amusement
for the workingman and a resort in
which he can spend a pleasant social
$ening?
But" some one says "how then do
you distinguish between the work of
the social settlement and the work Of
the institutional churchT" They are
diametricaily different. They are as
far apart as the arctic and the antarc-
tic poles. They have entirely different
purposes. The institutional church be-
lieves that the social gate" should be
the strait gate" leading directly to
the foot Of the cross. While the social
settlement is in nearly every instance
managed by Christians and while It is
inspired by Christian principles and
motives, it il compelled by the ext