Article August 1, 1903 Issue

Religious Items

Walter M. Walker with contributions from Capen, J. Wilbur Chapman, H. Clay Trumbull, F. W. Robertson, George Eliot

The Standard

Rev. Walter M. Walker, D.D., in an article in The Standard under the caption, "What Shall We Do with the Prayer Meeting?" says:—

"So much for the past; when we turn to the present we find that one of the characteristics of this service to-day is a declining attendance. Apparently the great majority of Christians have lost their interest in this mid-week service. Inquiry made of many pastors reveals the fact that, upon an average, this service is attended by only about one in ten of the membership, while in some Churches the attendance is only one in twenty-five. The great majority think no more of going to the house of God on Wednesday evening than they would if they did not belong to the Church at all. They have wholly dismissed it from their calculations.

"As a result of this declining attendance there is a lessened interest. ... The failure of many, who are active in the Church, to attend this service helps to create the impression that it is really unimportant, and so the interest is lessened or destroyed.

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