The morning journal-courier., 1908-02-13
WHY CHURCHES DID NOT UNITE Rev. Jason N. Pierce Tells of Negotiations to Combine
 Davenport and Re
 deemer. NO FINANCIAL HINDRANCE Pastor Denies That Proposal Was Reflected Because His Church
 Would Get Worst of
 Bargain.
NO FINANCIAL HINDRANCE


 tween the Davenport Congregational church and the Church of the Re- deemer toward q combination of the two congregations came to an end is not the true one, as Rev. Jason N. Pierce of the Davenport church sees 1t, is very evident.
 Last night it was learned that Mir. Pierce and his deacons have been con- siderably put out with certain reports that have been published about the matter. He was seen at the parsonage of the church last evening and asked to explain wherein the reports had been wrong.
 Mir. Pierce gave complete history of the negotiations between the two churches. He said that the Davenport church had received a letter from the Church of the Redeemer in which the latter said that it had elected a com mittee of five members of its congre- gation. It asked the Davenport church to do the same and proposed that these two committees get togeth- CT to consider the advisability of form ing new church out of the two con gregations Nothing at all was said further than that, he declared. Fi- nances were not mentioned.
 The Davenport church did meet and elect such committee of five men The committee in turn asked the con gregation for its opinion as to the pro posed merger, These opinions were obtained by it in some detail, Mir Pierce said The committee, after in- quiring into the matter at some length, found that the whole concen- sus of opinion at the Davenpor, church seemed to be overwhelmingly against the continuation On tho committee were the following: George Wallace, Frederick H Brown, Frank w.. Pardee, G. Truman Smith and Robert Macarthur, jr.
 Three weeks ago tonight, so Mir Pierce says this committee met and | decided that Nwould not even arrange meeting wltS the committee from 1 the Church of the Redeemer simpl, because it felt that the Davenpor < church was practically unanimously ! against it.
 i Mir. Pierce said that any talk abou ! his church refusing to accept an! 1 proposal from the other church be cause it thought 1t would be gettln; the little end of the horn was entire i ly erroneous. Finances were not men | toned. he said. As he understood it far from having a biz church debt l the Church of the Redeemer was wei provided for with big endowmen fund and with bright prospects of ma terial additions to its funds in tn near future.
 | MT. Pierce said that he personal, was very sorry to see the combinatio fall through He said that he felt tn situation among the Congregations churches of New Haven was a peculia one He said he thought wit tionalists that did not pass one or tw the congregations attending church tn Davenport structure could be put t the best sort of use as a mission churc Nltn ltdiidn SpeihiHs hooloiS S' II thought that the Roman Catholi church on Wooster square did not ap peal especially to the Italians. The went to 1t, to be sure, at especial oc casions, as when they wanted bar tism. wedding or funeral, but the did so only because they could in tha church alone find a clergyman wh speaks Italian. With his present con sregation the foreign element was nc enthusiastically welcomed: There wer several reasons for this.
 He said that no negotiations were no' going on between his church and Ger ter church as has been suggested M Pierce made one significant remar when he said. "I cannot but think ths eventually the three churches mention ed will unite into one church. But tht may not he for twenty years"
 Mir. Pierce requested the Journa Courier to print q letter in referenC to the matter. He said the letter ha been sent to tho Church of the Redeem CT by his church ard read by the la ter church at its meeting a few nigh ago. The letter ran as follows:
 "We. the members of Davcnpoi church. desire to express our apprecii tion of the kindly and fraternal spir manifested toward us by the office and members of the Church of the R, deemer. Had we not felt that it w; our privilege and duty to maintain ou selves as an independent church W sbeuld have welcomed most hearth and with favorable issue, the invitatit . to consolidate with this our sist church. And though oe preserve se
 srate organizations. yet may we bound closer together in ties of felloy ship and service, and cooperate yhol
 heartedi~ h ti;s Kings Business.
 We greatly regret the appearances , an article in lcca' paper which W
 so completely erroneous, and so mi ? stated our position and malgned O motives as to cause Us serieIs emos rassment We repudiate in toto t statements therein set forth and | plore their publication
 , In Behilf of the Church, , GEORGE WALLACE.
 FREDERICK H BROWN
 FRANK W. PARDEE,
 CHARLES E. HART, 2 Y TRT-MAN SMITH