Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-02-03
1000 CHURCHES MORE
THAN NEEDED PASTOR SAYS
Three Times as Many Seats as
Required, Says Pastor,
Urging Merger.
Nv A.,oc,.scd Pres. to Every Evening

By Assocn tcd Press 70 Every Evening
New York. Feb. 3.--Charging that
''the competitions and rivalries OF evan,
rehcal denominations in the United
states hayr resulted in astounding waste
and inefficiency" and that So per cent OF
the prot slant churches have total scat
inr capacity Of more than b3, 0oO,OUo, or
three times their requirement, hcv. Ut
Robert Westly Peach, pastor oil hN
formed Episcopal church IN Newark, n:
J., makes plea for organic union OF Y
national church bodies. :,
DIR. Peach's recommendations, to-geth-
or with others, will be discussed by the
Int r-Church Council on Organic Union,
which begins a four days session IN
Philadelphia today. The Newark clergy
man is one Of so composing the Ad In
term Committee, representing various
Protestant denominations which was APP
pointed last December upon an invitation
by the Presbyterian church, to approve a
plan for bringing about a merger. In his
statement, a minority report, he declared
that Professionals had built perhaps ''1OO,-.
600 s,lperfluous churches at cost OF
$500, OOO, OO0."
'If not single church had been built
in the past Is years." he said, those
standing in 1906 would accommodate at a
single service every Protestant communi-
cant of the year 1919 and every Roman
Catholic in our country, baptised IN
fants included, and, besides, every man.
woman and child in Canada, Cuba and
Porto Rico and there would still tie much
room to spare.
These Sc per cent of our churches re-
ported over three sittings for every com
municant. At the same time, the Roinan
Catholic churches reporting had one sitting
for every two and one-fourth memher-
a ratio of nearly seven to one In our us
favor. The Roman churches are crowded,
ours. on an average less than one-Quarter
6lld-for it is the exceptional church
which. at it's principal Sunday service, has
an attendance equalhng so per cent OF ITS
communicate roll.
The upkeep and the salaries incident to
maintaining services in Protestant church
rs. DR.. Peach said, make necessary the
raising annually of millions of wasted
dollars; make necessary, moreover, grueli-
ing efforts to raise this money. Inevitably
Order of Mendicant Pastors and Sisters,
unincorporated. Inevitably also has fol-
lowed a widespread detection of church
members, weary of continual solicitation
TO give outright and to buy tickets for
s,rppers, entertainments, hazaars, etc.
Not the giving has repealed, in most
instances" continued Dr.. Peach. for the
american people are gcnerous-but the
needless calls for uneconomic giving.
Upon members who remain steadfast
have fallen the heavier burdens" he said.
This detection also Is mainly responsible
for increasing the two out of three empty
pews caused by ovrr-churching To three
out of four. Let not the pastors and MEM
bers of exceptional congregations blindly
question the general validity of these
estimates. Withal, we have thousands of
settled communities without single
church. In Ohio, for example, the recent
Methodist Episcopa, survey has discover
ed scores of townships, six mics square,
without a single resident minister. To
wicked waste we add woeful inefhciency.
I'm our DIVISION" said DR.. Peach, "our
people are groaning under the burdens
caused thereby, and under the reproach of
incompetency, not only, but the I'M
churched masses ignore our weakened
testimony and reject our appeal; our
problems are multiplied, our fellowship is
narred, our Lord is dishonored. These are
the conditions organic unity Is set to cure. >"
Rev. William II. Black, d. D., of the
Presbyterian church, Marshall, Mo, an
other member of the Ad Interim Commit
tee, IN a minority report, advocated the
use OF the terminology of the United
States government for characterizing the
proposed new united church and opposed
''restatement of the fundamental doc
'rines OF Christian belief" declaring that
''sl evangelical churches recognize and
teach that the Holy Scriptures are tire
inspired word of God and are the only
iniallihle rule of faith and practice
Other suggestions and minority reports
which viii be presented to the council
We're made by Rev. John S. Rornig of the
Moravlan church. and Alfred c. Garrett
Of the Society of Friends, both of Phila-
deiphia. Invitations have been extended
TO u other Protestant denominations.