Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-09
"SAVING" CITY OF NEW YORK

~ : 4 : - Is Is ~ da
recent dispatch from New York city
says: Rev. James B. Ely. VINO has been
in charge of gospel tent work In Phiadel-
phia for the last seven years and has
come here to help 10 save New York from
becoming pagan city-a fate which some
clergymen think is impending-is an opti-
mistic man. With calmness he accepts the
fact that there is population of LOST. 762
without churches, and the further fact that
in three assembly districts the percentage
of nominal Christians is lower than in the
Island of Ceylon. When this state of af-
fairs is brought to his attention ne cheer
fully remarks that firm belief IT. two
propositions, God has sent me-" and THE
people will respond is practically all that
any evangelist needs in order to work Won
derS
1T is the hopelessness of Christian peo-
pie which holds back the evangeiZng Of
New York" Mr.. Ely said to a reporter.
There is not a bit of hopelessness about
Mr.. Ely. He thoroughly believes that at
least start toward evangelizing New York
will be made by his scheme. He began it
six weeks ago and will keep a it for ten or
twelve weeks
1t is a tent scheme. One day in May last
1900 persons representing many creeds and
religious denominations, crowded into Car
negie Hall to discuss the religious needs
of New York, an Episcopal bishop presid-
Ing The outcome of the meeting was q
subscription of $4,000 for maintaining five
gospel tents In the city during the summer.
Mr.. Ely took charge of the work and Is
now carrying 1t on.
Mr.. Ely has at the present time five tents.
In each of which Is held daily service OF
preaching. prayer and song. In addition he
breaches a daily open air sermon from an
automobile peddler's cart or the steps Of
public building. Before long he hopes to
have ten tents In operation.
ut is only question of money, Mr.. Ely
said Already 500 has been subscribed,
or enough to support six tents for the sea-
son, and every 5000 additional means an
other tent. We have the offer of all the
vacant lots we want All we need Is the
tents"
why do you suppose you can get to-
gether big audiences every night when the
churches find 1T hard to get sprinkling Of
folks to come in once a week?'
In trying to reach the unchurched one
must put himself in their place The man
or woman who has been in touch with re-
| ligious persons since childhood and accus-
toned to going TO church regularly falls. as
a rule, to understand the feelings OF per-
sons who would just about as soon think OF
| walking into strange private house ana
sitting down in the parlor as to walk Into
a church where the pews are rented.
1T is not SO much that they object to
| the architecture and stained glass windows
as TO pelng lookeo upon ds ihu uuciS CIV
] to the fact that they don't care for the
ordinary church service. anyway. 1t Is the
| business Of the evangelist to sit down and
| think of what sort of service the I'M
churched would be most likely to go to
and then try to give 1t to them.
..When went to India az missionary
did not wait to get church and q pulpit be-
fore beginning my work. No missionary
does that. He takes a Bible in one hand, q
| hymn book in the other and goes out to the
| people preaching the Gospel to them where
ever he finds them.
Men and women who couldn't be dragged
| into church will sit contentedly through an
| open air meeting. At the first tent meeting
| / held in Philadelphia there was q handful
| Of people inside the tent and a crowd out
| side who never budged from beginning to
| end Of the service. The next night the tent
was well filled and q few weeks later sec