Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-12-15

Assigning a pew or a seat 10 a man
helps to give him the impression that
he is paying for something for him
SELF, rather than making an offering
20 God. His offering is belittled by
the system, be his own motive never
so pure.
Present Preferences
/ Under the free pew system, while
anyone may sit where he desires
those who are accustomed 10 particu-
lar seats continue 10 use them All
that is necessary 10 accomplish this
is punctuality Ordinary courtesy
can be depended upon 10 prevent reg
ular church attendants from being
dispossessed; but the free system
rightly deprives anyone of the right
10 ask man TO leave a sitting he
may have taken
In 81 Anne's. the assignment sys-
tan ives never intended 10 be final
it YVES meant by a sanity predecessor
as a step towards reaching the ideal
which is now placed squarely before
the people More than eighty per
cent of the total sittings in all Epis-
copal churches throughout the coun-
try now have the method here pro
posed One of the most conservative
of churches-Trinity, New York-has
recently adopted it.
4 Good Example
St Anne's being the only parish in
Annapolis, il is especially important
that her members should exhibit in
every possible way whatever excel
lence the Church possesses, and the
deepest spirit OF friendliness. Here
there is no other parish TO take off the
edge of our mistakes. The great num-
Der OF new contributors requires Of
US either TO rivet the old, Outworn
system so tightly that it could hardly
be changed, or to go forward at once
to something better.
There is little risk of your mistak-
ing my meaning in another respect
Men and women crave companionship
and friendship. In the great, catholic
brotherhood, the church. friendly
consideration and greeting should be
a natural impulse. All who enter a
church door should feel the pressure
Of a warm sympathy. Yet this SYM
pathy and friendly interest are not
expected TO be a means of furthering
ones social aims outside of the
church In the long run we create
our own environment, and cannot ex-
pect to receive that which our talents
do not entitle us to. No one has a
right to try to use the church as
means to worldly aims. The church
ought to be made up of absolutely all
kinds of people, drawn together in
common worship not because they
know each other in a social way, or
expect to. but because they are chill
dren of one Father, with whom is no
respect of persons.
Previous Progress
Vixen the chapel services were dis
continued, the Vestry instantly and
unanimously voted to make all pews
free at the night service, because the
main chapel servic was at night. But
| have felt that this larger question
should not he cast as burden upon
the Vestry alone; and also that the
effect of the action which l hope you
Will take as a parish, and unanimous
~. will be the more impressive.
This demand will be the most eff
fective reputation of the action of
a very few people who have in. the
past misrepresented the real hospi-
tality of this congregation. You must
remember that our present system
places the church at the mercy of
each person who has Sitting. Any
one. whose manners we have not the
slightest way of knowing. has it in
his power to create an atmosphere Of
welcome or OF chilliness amounting
almost to rudeness.
Past Mistakes
There can be no question that in
the past some unfortunate incidents
have occurred. A very few people,
with rights to pews under the present
system, have abused those rights. Il
is an unnleasant recollection and