The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-10-14
B|GiEL0N Gets | 5. LESSON |;
IN PAR0CA|AL SCHOOL
Congregational Preacher WHO
Refuses to Permit Bigotry
to Blind His Reason.
Tells of Recent Experience in
Catholic Soho Has Hope
for a Large Church.

Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 12-Rev Her
bert S. Btgelow of the Vine Street
| CONGREGATIONAL Church Of this city, the
church known for over half a. century
as the old abolition Church." proved
| in q sermon delivered last Sunday
morning that he belongs to new
school Of religious thought that Is be-
coming more popular each day.
With him bigotry has no virtue. He
speaks for that higher religious that
stands above narrow >sectarianism. He
| chose Cor his subject 1.-The Parochlal
| and Public School" He spoke as fol-
lows:
The parochial and the public schools
stand for different theories of educa-
ton, concerning which a man may
have a preference without being q
bigot.
How shall we know the things
which we are to believer" To this
question the children Of the parochial
schools are taught to answer:
From the Catholic Church of Cod
But there are some who hold that the
true function of education is not to
tell children what they must believe,
but to teach them to think.
One cannot order his opinions as he
would suit Of clothes. His aim
should be to do his own thinking, to
do it honestly and to maintain an at
titude of reverent independence before
God and man.
One may hold to the latter view
without being an A. p. A. One may
disapprove Of that spirit of authority
on which the Mother Church is found-
ed without harboring in his neart that
worse spirit Of intolerance from which
the world has suffered.
Nun and Teacher.
I visited, recently, one Of the par
ochial schools of our city. It was plain
| that the sister loved the children and
put her heart in the work. So did the
primary teacher in the public school
| near by, which I visited for the sake
Of comparison. One wore the garb OF
the nun. The other was neatly clad
in blue. But forgot the dress in eth
er case, for the smiles of the children
! were reflected in the faces Of these
| teachers. The garb was different but
the heart was the SAME.
SOM Of the Children.
In the parochial school, when the
clock struck ten, heard seventy little
child voices sing:
Holy Mary, Mother Of God! Pray
! for us sinners now and in the hour Of
| our DEATH" a..
This prayer had a strange sound on
these baby lips, for the sparkling eyes
| and fresh, pure faces were not those
Of sinners and they told, not Of death,
but Of life and Of JOY But I reflected
that these children would tmbibe the
| love Of the good sister and develop ac-
cording to an inner law. even though
! they were taught to pray like sinners
and to sing Of death. And remem-
| bered friends Of mine, se..,e of the most
single-hearted and truest men that
ever lived, who have come out of the
parochial schools and I determined that
I would let their lives teach me the
good in their religion.
Looking for Good.
| Then I noted the reverence of the
Catholic children which was indeed
grateful Moreover, said, the spirit
of devotion exemplified by the good
| sister is always, In any garb Whetso-
ever, a hallowed thing. And thought
also, of the men and women, sincere
worshippers, who bend before the mys-
tic affairs in the calm. cathedral, and
fancied that they may get keener
sense of God and the eternal verities
one can find In the glare Of reasons
Temple.
| So there came ito me q feeling OF
brotherhood which somehow bridged
the chasm Of the creeds. and I felt in
my Protestant heart that there was a
larger church to which we all belonged.
Then I remembered the lines Of Mat
| thew Arnold: .>,..-
| Children Of men-the unseen Power,
whose eye
Forever doth accompany mankind;
Hath looked on no religion scornfully
That men did ever find.
Which has not taught weak wills