Article June 13, 1901 Issue

Religious Items

The followign are some extracts from a sermon by the Rev. F. A. Dillingham, of Bridgeport, Conn., which was published in the Universalist Leader:—

"The fact of non-church attendance and support is apparent. We find variations in the percentage of church supporters in the different localities, but there are many who neither go nor pay; many who go and don't pay; many who pay and don't go. But the unwelcome fact stares us in the face that not one-third of the Christian community goes to church. And the lack of church attendance is especially marked among Protestants.

"The average church has run behind financially during the last six years. Some have made extra financial effort and are just keeping head above water. Some are funding the debt and don't know what the future has in store for them. Others are resorting to the attractions of some novelty, to the concert, or the biograph, or the oratorio, or the theatre, or the comic opera. Many have lost faith in the ability of the church to grapple with the deep problems of life. Many honor the church for its history, its purposes, and its services, but regard it as powerless or inadequate to meet the vital questions of to-day in the light of science and philosophy.

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