The sun., 1919-01-06
DR.. HOLMES QUITS
THE UNITARIAN SECT
Pastor of Church of Messiah
Plans community" or
"Liberal' Church.
WILL RETAIN HIS PULPIT
Asks Congregation to Leave
Denomination and Abolish
Pew Rentals.

The Rev. DR.. John Haynes Holmes,
pastor Of the Unitarian Church Of the
Messiah. at Park avenue and Thirty
fourth street, announced yesterday
morning to congregation so large that
1t overlooked into aisles and even upon
the steps OF the pulpit. that he had quit
the Unitarian denomination and had
declined a call to All Souls Church,
Chicago
DR.. Holmes does not intend, however,
to give UP the pastorate OF the Church,
OF the Messiah. although simultaneously
with his personal announcement he
asked the church to leave the Unitarian
denomination for the sake Of greater
liberty OF thought. to change It's name
TO the Community Church" or Lib
erty Church" to make it's pews free
and to abolish the historic Unitarian
plan OF double membership, one par
ticular and the other general.
y programme of this sort had been
anticipated from DR.. Holmes. whose
pacif'sm before the United States en-
tered the war was n cause of consider
able friction In the congregation. That
the announcement was popularity re-
ceived might be indicated from the fact
that 13l persons applied for member
the service After the sermon II ap-
peared from the comments of members
Of the congregation that the church
would do all the pastor asked. There
were some dissenting, even angry,
voices. but the large majority seemed
to side with DR.. Holmes i'll all of his
recommendations.
Church Capacity Is Question.
There is TO be a meeting of the con-
giegation January Is, but 1t IL not ex-
pected that the changes will be made
or even voted Immediately. There are
numerous problems to he considered in
GLIDING a financial one. II the Com
munity or Liberty Church is determined
urnn the present property probably will
be used, the main question being IL the
present church and grounds are large
enough for the anticipated demands OF
the future.
\; the outset OF his sermon Dr.
Holmes announced he WAS committed
to the programme OF the British Labor
party and purposcd to speak and serve
for the specdiest and most thoroughgo-
ing social reconstruction
Livery ecclesiastical institution to -da y
is denominationai in character" the pas
tor continued. Sometimes the Centra
hc dy is narrow. 40 with the more ortho-
COX Protestant denominations some.
tines it IL liberal. as with Cnitarians
end 1'niversalistS This distinctive fea
turc had its origin and still finds it's Vi
tality in the thought and experience o,
an earlier age.
'Nt the great war has revealed any
thing in religion it is that the sectar1ar
divisions OF christianity are no longer
&c lee tolerated In the fusiug fires oi
battle Presbyterian. Methodist Episco-
palian. Unitarian and even Catholic
Protestant and jew have been melted
The new unit will not be III the one be
lic:. nor even the one spirit. but in the
one field OF service. We shall have group
ings not OF Methodist churches and Bap-
fist churches and Unitarian churches &c
remind the world Of ancient differences
but OF New York churches and Boston
churches and San Francisco churches &c
teach the world of present needs and
future hopes.