Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-08-21

trustees un0er resolutions W0lcu axo
positively humiliating and utterly Inn
possible to the church." So II seams
to tho Nashville Christian Advocate.
which il but one Of q large group Of
southern Methodist Episcopal weeklies
to conclude that such thread u not
worth holding. Yet. on the other hand.
the decision is not only popular In
Nashville college circles, but "is ex-
tremely gratifying to large and infiu-
entail body" Of southern Methodists.
according to correspondent Of the In
dependent.
10 Christ in the Rented PewS
An appealing story IL printed in The
Living Church (sIilwaukes). from q
woman who sought church affiliation In
a new and strange city. and found 1t
impossible because she couldn't aford
to rent a pew. She was overlooked and
neglected. first In one church. then In
q second. and even her appeals for
some others more unfortunate in their
poverty than she and her family were
carelessly needed. 1--WE must face the
fact" adds Mrs. Virginia Lee at the
conclusion of her recital. that the
church il mot keeping the command
ments Of Christ. who gave her definite
work to do, the feeding Of tho hungry.
the clothing Of the destitute. the lifting
Of the ancient weight OF woe under
which the world is staggering" The
writer still feels that she should 30 to
church, but day by day IT is growing
harder to silence the protests OF our
spirits as we sit In the presence OF
this new entombment OF our blessed
Lord and Master"
More important than her story. per-
haps, because it takes a wider view
of the situation, is the editorial COM
ment accompanying it in The Living
Church 1T Is easy to show where the
it says. Both churches with which
she sought utilization rented their
pews":
1T Is not pleasant TO say It, and the
fact is disguised by most OF these
churches as successfully as they can
do 1t. but a church with rented pews
Is necessarily a church for people who
are able and willing TO rent pews. To
that extent the church Is the private
leasehold Of the pew-renters There
are always certain number Of pews
set aside for the poor The occupants
But they do not share equality with
pew-renters. They are labeled with
the badge of their opprobrium: they
are the poor They are present on suf-
france. They are the recipients of
charity
1.-The result IS that the poor In these
churches are largely confined to those
families for whom the rector occas-
ionally makes an eloquent plea for
umpty-nine Christmas dinners. or. in
the autumn, for warm winter clothing
They are the relics Of a feudal system
that has been extinct everywhere ex-
cept in the church for some four hun
dred years. They are the 'retainers
of those collective noble lords and la
dies who rent the pews. With becom-
ing tenacity they continue their con-
nection with the parish. their children
are invariably in their places in the
Sunday school, and their infants are
annually presented at the font for bap-
tism. arrayed in the finery that has
been bestowed by the Ladies' Aid So
ciety. With like becoming tenacity
they accept the aims OF the parish. But
the ladies and the women do not mix.
Those who sit In the seats Of the poor
and endued with becoming humility"