The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-06-19
From the .New. York Sun.


 Bowling alleys and billiard rooms, aaneing classes and tailor shopsl Queer things to be found under church roofs." said pr W H. Holman. director of the American Institute of Social Service.
 Dr. Holman was helping to box the pho tographic collection which the institute was sending to St Louis to illustrate the progress of the most salient quality of American genlus-a -adaptability
 We have a new church nowadays. just as we have a new education and a new woman: and they all come from the American expertness al adapting oneself to changed conditions.
 The old time conventional church seemed to exist wholly or principally for the purpose of offering the public op- portunlties for worship at stated times. It's practical work was genreally for the direct purpose of adding to it's own membership or raising money for its own expenses It's benevoIences were for the most part to multiply ehurces of it's own denomination in this or foreign countries and it's charities were inci- dental
 Two hundred thousand new people, moved into New York below Fourteenth street and seventeen Protestant churches moving out of the same neighborhood during the same period shows that the old time church failed at a certain point to meet the needs of a changing popuia- ton An institutional church in the same neghborhood will be iammed to the doors
 The Institutional church goes into such a quarter and finds that the people living around 1t have no opportunity in their own homes to take q bath. It fur nishes bathing facilities.
 Tt finds that the people have little or no social life Ii opens socal rooms and organizes clubs and societies.
 "The people have little legitimate amusement. 1t organizes dancing classes and dramatic clubs.
 They are ignorant of household eco- monies. It organizes cooking and sew ing classes.
 "The boys and girls are getting no in dustrial training It opens industrial classes and trade schools.
 They have few books and papers. It opens reading rooms and libraries
 'The new church tries to meet every need in the lives of the people around it. When. as in the case of Berkeley Temple in Boston. it is surrounded by a large DOdIullB iDuSF pbpuldilbii pi gbhhp iAi'ii and women who have come in from the country, these needs are chiefly eduea- tional and social
 When. as with the Jersey City Taber- nace, the surrounding popuatlon con- sists largely of men engaged in manual labor, the demand is mostly for baths and recrea ton. In q thoroughly mixed population the institutional church tries to meet the multifarious needs of whole community
 st Bartholomew's of this city is the most notable example of the latter. Eff teen years ago it had one Sunday school, with about forty pupils and six or eight teachers. Today if has six Sunday schools. two In English, one in German, one in Swedish. one in Armenian and one In Chinese, with an enrolment of nearly R,000 and III officers and teachers.
 Fifteen years ago. when it was an old line conventional church. it had no in dustra schools no guilds, no clubs, no kindergartens, TO employment bureau. no loan association, no clinic, no girls boarding house-no practical work at all but one little benevolent society Last year the fifty surgeons and physicians of itk staff treated over 13,o00 patients in it's clinic.
 'Its kindergartens enrolled nearly 300 children. It's employment bureau found places for over 5000 persons. Its loan association lent out in small sums be- tween eighty and ninety thousand dol lars and it's various clubs had a com bned membership of more than three thousand.
 Meetings connected with its work, so- rial, educational and religious, average thirty-two a day on week days and eighteen on Sunday. They believe in making Sunday day of rest, you see.
 "They have Sunday services in Ger
 s-l. ,fs,I., md and surpliced choirs Of each nationality render music in each language. Sunday school classes are taught in Syriac. Ar menian and Turkish.
 DO you know how they came to start the roof garden on the top of the nine story parish house? A little girl threw ner doll her only doll, on to a moving railroad train which was passing be- heath her When questioned. she said she wanted her doll to see the country. That remark eventually brought lilac pushes and syringas. honeysuckles and morning glories to the roof of St. Bar .holomew' s.
 'They have 25O children in the kinder garten, and it Is said that the public school teachers in that vicinity can spot child immediately that has come from the parish house Kindergarten, and also that these children go through the prima- " grades usually in one or two years Jess time than other children rounda- bout
 Their girls club of 90O members has mutual benefit fund which has sent sick girls to Saranac and other sanita- riums, and girls boarding house which Is always filled.
 "rhe boys club has 900 members. It has a dancing class, a debating class, drum, fife and bugle classes. a baseball nine football team, a battalion of three companies, summer camp, a cir ruating library, and it gave a play last year
 "All this work is typical of the institu- lion of social hetterment.
 We are sending along pictures of the work of institutional churches said he, "because it will be totally new to the foreigners. The institutional church Is m American invention
 Tt is not known on the other side, even in parliamentary form, It Is an il- lustration church in general. It branches out in different directions, according to the needs of the community
 ''The Baptist Temple in Philadelphia is one of the most remarkable. It con ducts the unique Temple college, with thirty-two courses. from the Kindergarten to the highest college grades, besides the