The sun., 1910-01-09
THE CHURCH IN THE THEATRE.
Providence Pastors way Or Getting Al
''thc Great I'nchurchesi."

PROVIDENCE. X. l.. Jan. "a Provi-
dence preacher supplies evidence to
support the theory that people who could
not he dragGed into "a church by a yoke
OF oxen will flock enthusiastically. 10
identically the same sort OF service when
IL is held in a theatre. The preacher is
The Rev. DR.. Elijah A. Hanlev. pastor
OF the First Baptist Church, the society
Roger Williams founded. which claims 20
be the oldest Pa ptist church in America.
DIR. Hanley came to its pulpit a couple
OF years ago from Cleveland. He was
full OF energy and original ideas. and
his passionate down to date has been com
pletely successful from the point OF view
Of his deacons aud fellow pastors.
But he himself was not entirely salts
fed. In spite of all he could do to at
tract outsiders. he apparently soon
reached q dead wall OF indifference he
could not penetrate. He was conscious
that beyond it lay those who have come
to be known as the great unchurohed. {"
far outnumbering the regular attendants
upon church services and in greater need
OF religious mlnistration.
Another item OF DR.. Hanleys creed
was that the unchurched were as de-
sat weekly in the pews Of their favorite
denomination. II was perhaps as much
to test this theory as to extend his sphere
Of influence that the pastor of the First
Baptist Church made arrangements a
couple Of months ago to hold a service
each Sunday evening in the city's prin-
cipal theatre.
The results Of this departure from
custom have been astonishing. They
are a vindication OF DIR. Hanley's beliefs.
They have revealed that the rInchurched
want religious ministration and will
attend services in a theatre when church
offers not the slightest temptation.
Moreover, Of those who 60 10 the theatre
services about half are men. a larger
percentage than ordinarily found in
church. An examination of the figures
collected at one Of the Sunday evening
theatre services is OF interest.
On perforated ballots l.I23 Of a oongre-
I cation Of more than 200 answered ques-
| tions as to whether they attended any
church regularly, attended the First
| Baptist or some other church, whether
| they had attended more than one theatre
service. &c. IL was found that AIT per
cent. did not attend any church regularly
| l7.7 per cent. attended the First Baptis,
| Church and eos per cent. attended other
churches. Thirty six and one-tenth per
cent. were attending their first theatre
service on the night tho ballot was taken
while IT'S per cent. had attended more
| than one service. or these III had at
tended all six of the theatre services held
| up to the date OF the ballot.
| Getting down 20 the question Of sex, Il
was found that $40 per cent. OF the non-
| churchRoers were men and 37.J per cent
women. Among First Baptist Church
\ attendants 40.7 per cent. were men and
5s.2 women. or attendants upon other
churches see per cent. were men and
oS.1 women.
DR. Hanley's own conclusions from these
| figures are that those who are not regular
| church attendants and those who come
| from the First Baptist Church services do
| not detract from the work of any other
church. while those who came from otheT
churches probably did not. but went to the
theatre for q variety OF reasons. among
them that their own churches did not have
evening services, that they were in the
habit OF going to their own churches In
the morning but not in the evening and
] that wives went to the theatre with hus-
bands who were not In the habit ofattend-
1 ing any religious services.
| After shaking down all these classes
there remains a residuum Of 900 non
! church attendants, OF whom O. q per cent
were men. Thus the theatre services
/ no says. than could have been drawn. IA
the regular services OF the First Baptist
Church in many months. and OF those
4 not attending any church fortyrnine meT
had been at all the theatre services. Tc
interest and hold these forty-nine mer
alone is worth the whole effort. in ths
opinion OF DR.. Hauley,