The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-10-29
No Lack OF Cordinlity.

the grace street presbyterian CHuTCH,
out the stranger and greeted her cor
daily after the service. Mention was
also made OF the courtesy and, polite
at several churches. where the visitor
was invited to come again.
AT the Sunday night service at. ST.
Paul's Episcopal Church. one OF the
So s Visited lie ree sa he ay
Robert w. Forsyth, referred Indirect
~ to the series OF articles, saying:
NO one can go away from service
here and say that welcome has not
been extended to hin, in ST. Paul's
services at ST. Paul's agree with the
rector. as 1t Is Mr.. Forsyth's custom
to extend q most cordial invitation
for his hearers to remain and meet
him personally at the close OF the
service.
NOT Fair to Churches.
The Rev. DR.. j. ]. Haley. D. D., pas
tor Of the Seventh Street Christian
Church, which has a general reputa-
ton in Richmond for Its hospltali.y,
and which was roundl lyy,, critieisS nndn ny
ing the differences between the SOCIAL
and religious functions of worship.
Dr.. Haley said in part:
"a chiel has been takin, notes among
3, e.
dozen of them. have been weighed IN
the balance and found wanting IN re- e.
spect to socialbi!ity and frienoahess ~
with regard to the method Of TINS
experiment I have only to say that IT
lis hardly fair to the. churches. Inc
test is distinctly inadeaua sag,s Ior
the duty of every church to extend
warm welcome to the stranger within
Its gates. but at the same time much
dspen,dss, on the stranger t himself dsnoI
nation represented by the congregations
with which he worships he should walk
down the aisle after the service, In
in ot turn viii introduce him to others.
and, believe me. that man will have no
reason to complain of cold reception.
Each man generates the atmosphere In
which he lives. and II he happens to be
Grated will be cold. and other people.
however different the. temperature of
their lives. cannot make 1t warm. He
himself friendly. If the outsider. who
drops into one OF our sanctuaries Is
outside of the fellowship of that church
or of all others he may walt for the
church visited to take the aggressive.
and 1t should not be long in doing 1t.
A More Important Question.
This experiment and enterprise OF
the Ladies' Home Journal has sug-,
gested to me question of much deeper
and wider Significance than the friend
ly attitude OF churches towards their
men and women when they go to
church? What should people go to
church for?
has occupied the central place in our
Protestant deyotions, has declined and
it Is tolerated to-day only on condition
of its extreme brevity. The spiritual
life Of our churches has so declined IL,
perficial age that We must cater to
unregenerate tastes by shortening the
sermon, sweetening the music and
lions to keep the it. organization going.
Is the game worth the candle?
THE Roman Catholic conception OF
divine service as pure worship with
social distractions and distinctions
ment ideal than ours. For my own
part, I like to goEquletly into church
In the midst OF silence that speaks
Ibaf to my
prayer may prepare me for the service
to follow. like to go out as I have
gone In. without the distraction OF
erase the holy Impression 1 have re-
ceiyeG from communion with God.
When we come back to the bedrock OF
spiritual reality and learn once more
thatswe are not to shorten the message
OF the prophet to lengthen the cere-
mony Of the priest and master the d.
vine secret that we are to worship God
In the beauty OF holiness, the. worldly,
spectacular and social attractions OF a
conventional religion will no longer
appeal to U.S. Then we will no longer
need honeylng and gcoaXtng and run.
ming after to get us interested In the
house of God, its services and acti-
vities. In the meantime our Protestant
conception OF religion that mixes the
social and the spiritual in the sanct-
uary will continue TO prevail TIL there
friendly. Miss Smiths experiment will
do the churches good, and they VIII 4,
be found mapping again when tina
stranger comes rounG
What MIR. Dadmun Said.
AT st. James Methodist CHURCH sun
day night. the Rev. z. T, 5Dadm IaI
mons, the subject, being The Open
Pew This VIII be f9lo e, rno On n 5ne'
Pulpit" and on the evening Of Novem-
Der 10th. BY Open communion|
In the southland". said aravd M A. pad p !
section Of our country. a stranger
entering one Of our churches rarely
leaves without elasplnE some nea, W sht n
some kindly eye. True. there are some
silly young people. in all churches who
object to sitting, In q pew With those
tor who severely criticized this class,
1T was not difficult in such cases,
he said to discriminate between the
shoddy and the genuine, One OF the
marks OF Christian citizenship, was. a
kindly word and a hrotherly feeling for
all Humankind
Mr., Dadmun here took up the stories
punished In the. Ladies' Home jour
nal. He claimed that the test was
not fair, and gave several reasons WHY
IT was impossihle-for pnstors to do all
that this writer seemed to expect or
them. While admitting that.theschurch
owes a clear and specific duty to
strangers. because the net OF extending
to them a loving greeting Is the same
as welcoming Christ Vet 1t is not faly
to the pastor or peonle to expect them
to single out one stranger in IA church
|contalning many strangers Elveryi
Schurch3 should be one great family of