Evening journal., 1913-05-23
ASKS
men TO LIVE
RELIGION
Despite Apparent Indifference
Dr.. FiSke Says Laymen
Are Interested in
Church
BOTTLED RELIGION"
DEPLORED BY SPEAKER

time man has done everything to
and with religion except to live il.
The ordinary man believes that the
church fails to see the fact that
man can be religious on Sunday and
not on Monday 1t is the same old
bottled and labeled religion. worth
nothing save to be recommended to
old women and children The aver
age man wants a religion that will
teach him how to live, as well as
how to die we'll"
These were some Of the thoughts
advanced by the Rev. Charles Fiske,
OF Baltimore, before seventy clergy
men and laymen of the Episcopal
Diocese of Delaware. at the fifty
nrst semi-annual dinner of the Church
Club of Delaware, in Wilmington
Country Club last evening.
The dinner was one Of the best
ever held by the club, and one OF
its most impressive features was the
presence of many prominent men in
business and social life, gathered to
celebrate the movement for the adj
vancement of the church and the Co
operation between its ministers and
| laymen that more and greater work
might be accomplished.
The dinner was strictly a gather
ing of men and not a common staid
affair, where every fellow waited TO
see what the other fellow was ding
to say before speaking It was a
! jolly good crowd and suggested a
/ gathering of old college friends rather
than a church meeting. Surely II
carried out the ideas of DR.. Fiske. for
a broad view of things.
The dinner was opened with a brief
address by the retiring church Club
president, w. w. Laird. who thanked
the members of the club for their sun
not during his administration. He
then introduced the new president
Chancellor Charles NJ. Curtis. who gave
a brief outline of what he expectad
OF the members OF the club and the
work that II would undertake.
The speakers of the evening were
the Rt Rev Frederick j. Kinsman.
Bishop Of Delaware: the Rev. Charles
! flske, OF Baltimore. and the Rev. BEN
l1amin + Thompson. of Dover. The
Hon. Everett p. Wheeler, OF New
York, was prevented from being pres
ent, but he sent a paper which was
rad by Colonel George A. Elliott.
Bishop kinsman was the first
Il speaker Of the evening. He deplored
the fact that the average rectorship
In lower Delaware is about three
years and said that the result was
that the Churches were suffering be-
cause he had no assistant and could
not take the time to go to all of them
as often as he should. He spoke of
the recent celebration at the seven
nd
Seaford and said he could not helm
comparing his thoughts with Bishop
Lea when he preached at the con-
lsecration of the church more than
seventy years ago. He said Bishop Lea
only had to preach two thirds as
many sermons as he did HE had
to travel about one fifth as far as / do
and about one third as many things
were required of him as of me.
AT that time Bishop Lea advocated
the direct charge of the pulpits in the
southern section of the state by the
bishop and I do not know of any one
thing that would give us a chance to
grow as the establishment of some
able membership of the clergy in the
Office of archbishop of the deocese." I"
The Bishop recommended the action
of the Church Club in appropriating
$50 to the fund to establish a parish
/ house at Delmar(, movement which
emanaled from a boys club.
THE Religion of the Man in the
Street" was the subject of the ad-
dress by DR. Fisk of Baltimore. BY
II the speaker said he meant the re-
ligion of the man who is active out
side and who is rarely ever seen in
the church. He said that some time
, ago he attended meeting where the
subject of the discussion was the
Borrowing Indifference to Religion"
Il do not believe there is any such
thing" said the speaker There
may be growing indifference to the
membership of the churches, or their
ordinances and the form of Worship
but men are today tremendously in
terested in the vital things in re-
llslon."
Dr Fiske said he had asked five
prominent men what their reasons
were for not going TO church and
among the answers that he got were
5 that the church has failed to see that
man can be religious on Sunday and
not in Monday: in other words thai
lhtN uiu not Inc touloIlnlcuL re-
ligion.
Al That it deals in bottled and label
Q cd religion: that it is lacking in
= leadership because ofteh times there
is to be found more vitality, leader.
e ship, energy and interest in a stree
5 meeting than is found among the
e members Of a church: that people arc
r not interested in the church because
a the church is not interested In them
= that the man in the street can no
see that the church man Nho is IN
? business IS any better than himself
! and that God can be worshipped out
side the church as well as inside.
These things are in some degree
the truth" said DR. Fiske. why dc
you keep still about the church Il
your fellows? Why not talk TO then
! about It? Convince them that they
should be on the inside. II YOU have
d political opinions you do not keeT
them to yourself But you never ge
excited about your church member
ship. You are as much the member:
= of the church as any minister. ane
= the church will never make progress
Continued On Second Page.
\ -