Evening star., 1937-03-07
Young People Aid Gains
In Church Attendance
Clergymen Give Encouraging Reports of Bet
ter and More Interesting Services, in Which
Youth Takes Part With Growing Zeal.

Of that age to be Sunday school teach
ers rs years ago"
Church services are "peppier" than
formerly, in the opinion Of Rev. q. @.
B. Pierce of All Souls Unitarian
Church, who believes the attendance
Of young people has been steadily TN
proving over period Of many years
due to q change in the manner Of
services.
The whole service used to be too
solemn" he said Sermons tended
to be lugubrious. fear may have
been guilty of it myself"
Another influence which has made
church-goers of youth is more music,
better arranged, according to Dr.
Pierce.
All Souls Unitarian has q church
school, graded to correspond in appeal
to courses in secular schools. There
are suppers for the young people.
dances, hikes, study classes and
movies. The Unitarians, according to
DR.. Pierce, were the first Protestant
denomination to introduce movies into
the church as a means of religious
education as well as for general en-
tertainment and instruction. This
was done about 10 years ago.
DR.. Pierce's church was presented
last November with q new recreation
center which affords playing space
for volley and basket ball, badminton,
dancing and tennis. The center Is
open daily, including Sundays.
Rev. A. j. Mccartney Of the Cove
nant-First Presbyterian Church took
the view that young people never have
lost interest in religion; that there
has been no change for the better or
worse.
THE reason there's a larger at
tendance of young people is that there
are more young people" he said.
There has been no proportionste
change in my 80 years in the ministry
no change in the past 200 years as
far as I know. It is all fiction that
there ever has been . change"
lONE Of the pioneers Of youth
movements" in Washington
churches is Rev. H. H. D. Sterrett of
All Souls Episcopal Church. Mr..
Sterrett's young people, . group Of
about 20, meet at the church every
Sunday night. Their programs vary.
One night they have an outside
speaker, usually some one qualified to
talk on some topic Of current interest.
Another night they are addressed by q
former member Of their group, who
leads q discussion. Or the meeting
may be devoted to a supper. Once
each month this group meets in the
church proper and conducts q service.
One of the girls plays the organ, two
Of the young men conduct the services
and a third gives the sermon. They
wear vestments and otherwise simu-
late the regular service, the procedure
being a short form of evening prayer.
The young men and women take turns
in these roles, each being given q
chance to participate.
Once a month, also, the juniors Of
the congregation substitute for the
regular vestrymen at the IL am. Sun
day service. It Is the hope Of the pas
tor that a representative Of the younger
crowd eventually will be named to serve
on the vestry.
This group" said DR.. sterrett. "is
the most alive, alert and interested
we've ever had"
DR.. Sterrett detects in the younger
members of his congregation an ever
growing interest In social and eco
nomic problems. He encourages this
interest and in other ways undertakes
to impress young people with the op-
portunities for happiness offered by an
active religious life.
iDR. CHARLES ENDERs said the
~ attendance Of young people ut his
Concordia Evangelical and Reformed
Church always has been good; that
any increase usually has been propor-
tjonate to increases in population and
total attendance. Once monthly he
has O service with sermon designed
to attract young people. There are
two youth societies, one for those be-
tween l3 and II and the other for
those from II to IS. One OF the FORE
most activities Of the latter n to stage
entertainments for the amusement or
old folk at q home. Social activities
include bowling, wiener roests and
hikes. There Is q church basket ball
team.
THE attendance Is increasing def
nitely," said Rev. Russell J. Clinchy.
referring to the number Of young peo-
pie who come regularly to Mount
Pleasant Congregational Church. We
have three societies for young people,
grouped according to age-high school
age. college age and "after-college"
age"
These groups meet every Sunday
evening. Their members "do a great
deal Of work with social agencies" ac-
cording to the pastor.
The renewed interest Of young people
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