Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-04-22
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
Interesting Possibilities Of the Mod
ern Merger System Suggest a So
luton Of Some Church Problems
by SARAH u. LOwRIE

FTNHERE are, between Broad street and
l. the Schuylkill river and Walnut and
Pine streets, eleven Protestant churches and
one Roman Catholic. OF the eleven. six
are Protestant Episcopalian, four are Pres
byterian and one is Methodist church. Or
the six Episcopalian, three are chapels or
missions. g., adjuncts of larger churches
so that technically il might be said that
there are three churches aud three chapes
supported by the Episcopalians within the
area in which Presbyteranism supports four
churches and Methodsm and Catholicism
each one.
In actual attendance, however, st. Pat
rick's. the Roman Catholic church, has
larger congregations than all four of the
Presbyterian gatherings put together and
nearly as many as any four of the six Epis-
cOpal parish centers. In order 10 accom-
modate all its parishioners on Sunday
mornings, however. st. Patrick's has a
service nearly every hour from until IL.
The congregations pour in and pour out,
nearly filing the building each hour.
In most Of the Episcopal churches there
fore IL o'clock. but there is no expectation
of a crowd except at one service.
The Presbyterian churches have one
morning service in each church, yet only one
of the churches of the four has what might
be called large congregation. One of the
four, with wide galleries and very broad
floor space for pews. could easily accommo-
date all four congregations at one service.
T WAS talking with a member of that
l. church the other day. and she called my
attention TO these facts in the course of cx-
planning 20 Inc her own and others desire
that there should be some sort Of a union
effected with three Presbyterian churches.
She felt that the Presbyterisns of fifty
years ago. who had built and endowed these
churches had overestimated the church
going procivitcs of the neighborhood and
f,Nisp lnfn hp lnrtf tnsa
versus some other Professionalism. Her feel
ing was that IL, like the Roman Catholics.
the PreSbyterians had considered the area
of one parish and built large church that
would have accommodated its congregation
by multiplying its services, this generation
of faithful churchgoers would not have been
disheartened by empty pews. depleted Sun
day schools and discouraged elders and
clergy
Her remedy for the original error was,
therefore to unite two and perhaps three
of the congregations in one or another of the
churches, combine the endowments, pool
the expenses and start afresh with at least
one with well filed pews.
DU'r she confessed that uniting was easier
- proposed than accomplished, since the
question of which would give up it's partic-
uar set of stained glass windows. not to
mention memorial accessories of wood stone,
brass and organ paraphernaia which
should move and which should stay. what
name should be the rallying name. what
type of theology should be the dominant one,
the Princeton Westminster Confessions
Shorter Catechism logic or the Union Theo-
logical Briggs Brown experimental ethics
or the Northfeld Moody Spear evangelistic
eloQucncC'
The one all compelling motive for uniting
forces-pOverty of funds-was lacking. be
cause owing to the past generosity of de-
ma pd IF nil inn
the churches could afford to have dwindling
congregations and still support lusty paid
choirs and discouraged pastors.
MOREOVER, one could not say that in
lNl unity only there was strength, because
one Of the four had taken on new life under
a good preacher and administrative pastor
and filled its pews and made Its parish house
hum with activities. proving beyond doubt
that men and women and children still like
nut street neighborhood, given "A certain in
contive of interest, plus congeniaity, plus a
feeling of success in the air.
Summing 1t all up, the faithful prop of a
has been congregation gave il as her
opinion that what one man has built up
under the present system another man, as
well meaning but not as effective. could pull
down. She felt that the fate of the church
that had her support might well be the fate
of the more prosperous congregation with
the death or the removal of the present
minister.
II was her opinion that as the sermon
for a Presbyterian was the be all and end
all of tn" Sunday service. anything short Of
a great sermon was n catastrophe. But she
admitted that great preachers were rare and
made not Overpractical pastors as rule.
Her way out of that was to separate the
preaching function from the administrative
in the manner of a cathedral with dean
and archdeacon for affairs Of the parish and