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Show "A CHILDLESS CHURCH." The childless home is bad enough, but the childless church is worse, because be-cause it indicates a number of childless child-less homes. Some of the ministers recognize the handwriting on the wall and now and then summon up enough courage to speak out in meeting. There was a dinner at the Hotel Brunswick in Boston last Monday under un-der the auspices of the Channing club. Rev. E. F. Hayward was one of the speakers. He said: "In the United States it is difficult for Unitarian churches to have Sun-da Sun-da v schools because there are so few children. Why, not long ago I was invited by a minister to talk to his Sunday school. I looked all around the building and finally saw a half-dozen half-dozen children in the front row. 'Is that the Sunday school?' I asked. Yes. said he. 'that's all the. children there are. and there are no more in prospect.' " We have frequently heard that one of the directions given for properly cooking cook-ing a rabbit is "first get your rabbit." This must have been in the mind of Rev. Mr. Hayward, as is evident from the following quotation: "One 'hears" it said that we must keep our young people in the church if we want the church to grow, but how can we keep them if we haven't got them? Recently I visited a Sunday Sun-day school, and happening to look over the roll of honor posted on the wall, I saw such names as Rothnosky and Wysanki. 'Why, I said, "this church has got a future.' Young ministers should enter upon their ministry with a sense of the importance of urging marriage upon the people. The dignity of the family life shculd be held up." We are well aware that there is a good deal of foraging and active recruiting re-cruiting going on by the emissaries of the Protestant churches. Rothnosky and Wysanki certainly are not the children of New England parents. The mess of pottage is readily given to attract the children of foreigi-born parents to the Sunday schools. Some, not realizing the danger, permit the children to go for "this once" to the Sunday school picnic or to the Christmas Christ-mas tree entertainment in the Protectant Prot-ectant churches, and finally ghe visits are multiplied until the net Is woven. Indifferentism may finally envelop and overcome the careless parents who be-guKe be-guKe themselves with the thought that they will finally return to the old church to die like prodigal children. chil-dren. The census returns of the United States show a large increase in population, popu-lation, and thij "Americans" swell their bosoms in pride and exultation as they contemplate the vigorous life of their country. They sniff at the foreigners and cry, "We are the people." peo-ple." The Rev. Mr. Hayward does not join in the self-satisfied chorus. He said: "The American woman seems to be the least prolific in the whole world. When a Morgan or a Rockefeller comes to me and offers to give a large sum for a female college on -condition that I and other people will make up a like sum, I say no. I'd rather give my money for the establishment of some monument to motherhood. We've honored hon-ored kings and princes; we've honored naval heroes, who proved that discretion discre-tion was the better part of valor; we've honored pretty much everything else, but we have omitted to do honor to that grandest thing of all, motherhood. mother-hood. "The childless church can it have a future? We see the shepherd always represented as carrying a lamb in his I arms. Heaven help the shepherd who has to preach to an old sheep." Catholic Cath-olic Universe. |