Show churches utilize chartered buses to swell crowd philadelphia PA As a i r means e a ns a 0 f swelling attendance 15 philadelphia churches are engaged in a novel experiment of providing portal to pew transportation services the program involves buses chartered by churches to make scheduled stops at prearranged pre arranged street corners to pick up parishioners carrying them to church and then returning them home after ices the 15 churches hire from one to four buses regularly every sunday clergymen admit they are prepared to 11 cater C ter to members as a means of Jinta maintaining ining and increasing attendance attendance at holmesburg Holm esburg methodist church has been boosted 30 to 40 per cent in the year the church has used chartered buses historic gloria del old swedes protestant episcopal church situated in a neighborhood formerly residential but now entirely commercial commer mer ial also has resorted to chartered buses old swedes bus riders pay a minimum of 10 cents a ride with the sky the limit on a rainy sunday one grateful parishioner slipped the driver a 10 bill church officials agree that the transportation problem Is more pressing now than ever and that it effects affects all denominations many families have moved from the old neighborhood yet still desire to attend their old church in other cases public transportation Is not available to residents of outlying areas and new residential districts |