OCR Text |
Show Necessity for Definite Sociological Work BY D. V. FRANCIS. By LonsccJ Wire to Tlio Tribune. NEW YORK. Aujt. G. Tho necessity for dellnitc sociological work for the mon of the church Is being very gonornlly recognizecl ly tlio New York City churches and many of them already are busy alone linos which Intcront men In a particular way and with most L-rntlfy-Ins icsulLs In the way of enlivening the churches For Instance: St. Georpo's church men have succeeded In kecplnc tho streets surrounding the church and Stuyvesnnt park free from solicitation at night. The Washington Heights Baptist church has Interested itself In the hoys of the neighborhood, In the movement to change the amusements In Fort George park, and in obtaining playgrounds for children on tho heights. Tho men of St. Michael's havo aided the rector, Dr. Peters, Pe-ters, in the work of the committee of fourteen and in legislation considered at Albany. The men of the West End Presbyterian Pres-byterian church have attempted to interest inter-est tho small shopkeepers, clerks, etc., In their work. The members of the Brick Church Brotherhood have been organized organ-ized for some timo in commlttcos Interested Inter-ested in social and civic movements and are keenly awake. Two of tho members of the Pilgrim Congregational church arc on the Harlem committee of tho Charity Organization society. Tho organization has been conducting an unusual series of meetings on Sunday evenings which havo to do with social work. Tho men in the church of tho Holy Communion, under Dr. Mottot'H leadership, havo circulated petitions and been instrumental in obtaining ob-taining a public school in tho vicinity of Twentieth street, on tho East Side. In the Ml. Morris Baptist church the members of tho Bible class have gathered Information and conducted a discussion concerning poverty and Its causes. In tho campaign against the moving picture shows the Society for the Prevention of Crime was greatly aided by Individuals in churches throughout the city. Or ganizations also which have supported or opposed bills affecting tho social and moral welfare of the community have found Increasing support from those organizations or-ganizations both by letter or telegram and delegation. The Congregationnllsts. Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians have local federations and In each case havo Introduced social service serv-ice In the community as an object-It object-It Is Interesting to note also that In-tcrdemonlnatlonal In-tcrdemonlnatlonal groups havo been formed In various parts of Manhattnn and the Bronx which have begun to take up social questions. In some cases they are composed of representatives of churches alone and in others a combination combina-tion of the social and religious forces of the community. Sermon-Providing Agencios. While it is possible such things arc known in this country as preachers having hav-ing their sermons written for them by : others but up to this time it has not bo-come bo-come a regular recognized business un- dertaking as it has been in England. There are on the other side special ser-mon-providlng agencies which, for the sum of $1.25, will send a manuscript which has no duplicate: tho usual terms for one written specially are 2 GO. Gen-erallv Gen-erallv tho writers are clergymen, some J of whom have agencies of their own. but recently a new class has sprung into being be-ing constituted of ordinary Journalists who have turned to this branch of writing. writ-ing. But the agencies have men in their j employment who devote thoir attention to special branches of tho trade. Thus j one firm claims to have specialists in the i following branches: Foreign, home, mis- I sion, baptism, matrimony, funeral, flower. ! temperance, torrltorlals, introductory ana farewell. One advertisement reads: Modern Mod-ern sermons- Original written, by hand, j All subjects, 2s, 6d each. Special Harvest. ! 5s. Confined to the clergy. Edited by M. A. Oxon. I Another is as follows: Original sermons j in clear MS. lithography by beneficed , clergyman, late traveling fellow and chancellor's medallist of his university. In many cases there Is no false sentiment senti-ment about the trade, tho clerical authors attaching their names and addresses In full. These advertisements appeal to all. being specially prepared, for use by clergymen cler-gymen of the High church. Low church, and so on. Goods are offered for sale to suit even sect and every course. So far j has the business been organized that It is possible to become a member of a sermon ' circulating library. In fact, a special j service of "original sermons" is carried on In exactly tbc same way, lines being i the same as a circulating library, tho terms being based on a rate of 35 cents per sermon. Fancy listening to a scries of 35 cent sermons for a year! Still another an-other "service" offers its wares at an inclusive in-clusive charge, fixing Its terms at a low rate: "Quarterly subscriptions, ls.' fir' Frequently large members of sermons aro offered for salu by the oxocutorn of deceased clergymen, exclusive rights being be-ing given. In this way many "apparent" bargains are offered. Thus, one such ao-vcrtlscmont ao-vcrtlscmont offers "iiOO lithographed MS. sermons, the property of a deceased clergyman; well suited for a vlllago. congregation. con-gregation. Will accept 5pds. cash." Opon-Air Service. The roof garden in plnylng an Important Impor-tant pari in the open-air service campaign cam-paign this summer. At St. Bartholomew's Bartholo-mew's pariah house a big screen lias been set up, on which is shown tho com-plote com-plote oven Ing prayer service, so that neither lights nor prayer "bookB aro necessary nec-essary to the congrogatlon. Scenes mentioned men-tioned In the Bible lessons and texts arc also shown, and thus emphasized. Every Sunday morning there Is a Sunday-school Sunday-school on the roof, where thoro is also an Illustrated study of tho heroes of tho Old Testament. At the Madison Avenue Baptist church, the roof of tho parish house Is crowded dally from 2-30 o'clock until dusk with a crowd of littlo children, chil-dren, who play games, havo drills, or ro-celvo ro-celvo Instruction of a varied nature. An instructor looks after those little peoplo and keeps up constant Intcrost and enthusiasm. en-thusiasm. When the weather, docs not pormlt of these open-air plcasuros. there is an adjournment to the large, cool basement, whore iho programme goes on uninterruptedly. The Twenty-third streot Y. M. C. A. holds a roof service every Sunday afternoon at B o'clock, to which all men are Invited, and which In usually usu-ally well attended. Tho feature of these Voices Is tho talk which is given on The All-around Strong Man" and tho singing of popular and favorite hymns, ii , ro . Garden service is one moro step higher In ovangollcal methods, and has proven Usolf one of tho most popular of all the summer work. Tho Salvation Army continues to grow and expand, spreading itself in every part of the civilized world. According to ilic War Cry. tho official organ of the army, recent advances in Japan Include tho opening of corps at two Important Industrial centers Omlrja and S'hldzuoka. At. the former placo Is situated the government gov-ernment railway and engineering works. There arc a number of Salvationists already al-ready at work in tho town, and for somo time the War Cry has boon in circulation. circula-tion. A former restaurant, with accommodations accom-modations for both, has been secured for use as corps hall and officers' quarters. quar-ters. Shldzuoka lias a. population of ovor 50,000, and Is situated between Yokohama Yoko-hama and Nagoya rtecently, Hrlgadler Yamamuro, at tho invitation of several Inlluentlal townspeople, gave an address to 2700 apprentices In tho town. As a result of a fortnight's Salvation campaign cam-paign In the territory. 170 sought salvation, salva-tion, the rocruIt8' and soldiers roll wore increased by ninety-four, and eighteen local officers and eight corps cadets were secured. The campnlgn concluded with a united demonstration In tho capltnl, a feature of which was the swearing in of soldiers and recruits and the commissioning commis-sioning of tho cadets from the training home after they had been handed over to tho field department by Maor Beaumont. Beau-mont. Federation of Religious Forcos. A significant piece of nows reached me from England recently. Tho Wesleyan conference, sitting at Bradford, received ( a visit from the Bishop of ltlpon and a number of Anglican clergymen and laymen. lay-men. The bishop, acknowledging the welcome from the president, said that the time had come whon they should all lay to heart tho absolute necessity for the confederation of all thoir religious forces. There were forces working for a civilization civiliza-tion without God, and he feared lest when the groat struggle camo between cast and west there should be inability to take common action. |