Church Festivals | AdventAI

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 15, 1870

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 35, Nos. 8 & 9.

Church Festivals.

The following, which we clip from a secular paper, is worthy of consideration by all thoughtful people:

“We had a festival on Christmas, given by the M. E. Society, at which from a ‘tree’ was distributed several bottles of ‘Bourbon’ (sham of course), and of the amount imbibed, none but the most credulous would think that a dozen ‘mule’s ears’ full would be a safe estimate, which is nevertheless true. The proceeds of this (the Festival, not the Bourbon) is to be used for the purpose of liquidating church debts. Pecuniarily, it (we might say both) was a success; but we might ask, Is the cause of Christianity materially benefited, and is it Christianlike for a society to convert its house, a place consecrated to the worship of God, into a place of riotous confusion, even blasphemy, profanity, drunkenness, and all manner of sinful conduct, simply to pay off a church debt? Is there not a better way to raise money? Is it Christianlike for a society to tolerate such conduct in their house? It would, perhaps, be more difficult to raise the money by subscription; but every Christian should feel it his duty to contribute and expend liberally a portion of this world’s goods for the prosperity of the church, that pure and holy principles may be universally extended; he should loathe wrong-doing, iniquity, and that which is vile; avoid and abhor evil. Any one who will be guilty of such conduct in a church, certainly must be wholly incapable of shame. Any community possessing any so utterly debased, deserves pity.—H. W. in Sigourney (Iowa) News.