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Letter to Editor
April 2, 1845
Morning Star
Limerick, York County, Maine
What is this article about?
In a letter dated March 10, 1845, from North Bridgton, Maine, H. Bickford writes to Brother Burr via the Morning Star, criticizing churches for dropping members from records upon moving without verification, which isolates them from Christian influence and misrepresents denominational growth. He calls for measures to address this.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
For the Morning Star.
North Bridgton, Me.
March 10, 1845.
Brother Burr:--I wish to state through the columns of the Star, to our denomination, that we have some hundreds of members less returned in the statistics than there would be if the churches all did their duty.—The cause of this deficiency is perfectly obvious when we take into consideration the fact, that many of the churches have been in the habit of dropping the names of individuals from their church books, when they move from the place where they are members, not knowing whether they had joined elsewhere or not. Now I think that this ought not to be, for various reasons.
First--Because it leaves many of those members who move from one place to another entirely beyond the reach and influence of the churches, and we all know how liable men are, when not surrounded by Christian influences, to forget their former happiness in serving the Lord, and too frequently by our own carelessness in not looking after these things, a reproach is brought upon the people of Christ.
Secondly--It lessens our numbers, and gives to the world a wrong impression of our growth and prosperity as a denomination.
I hope that some brother will propose measures to be pursued in such cases.
H. BICKFORD.
North Bridgton, Me.
March 10, 1845.
Brother Burr:--I wish to state through the columns of the Star, to our denomination, that we have some hundreds of members less returned in the statistics than there would be if the churches all did their duty.—The cause of this deficiency is perfectly obvious when we take into consideration the fact, that many of the churches have been in the habit of dropping the names of individuals from their church books, when they move from the place where they are members, not knowing whether they had joined elsewhere or not. Now I think that this ought not to be, for various reasons.
First--Because it leaves many of those members who move from one place to another entirely beyond the reach and influence of the churches, and we all know how liable men are, when not surrounded by Christian influences, to forget their former happiness in serving the Lord, and too frequently by our own carelessness in not looking after these things, a reproach is brought upon the people of Christ.
Secondly--It lessens our numbers, and gives to the world a wrong impression of our growth and prosperity as a denomination.
I hope that some brother will propose measures to be pursued in such cases.
H. BICKFORD.
What sub-type of article is it?
Persuasive
Ethical Moral
Religious
What themes does it cover?
Religion
Morality
What keywords are associated?
Church Membership
Denomination Statistics
Moving Members
Christian Duty
Church Records
What entities or persons were involved?
H. Bickford
Brother Burr
Letter to Editor Details
Author
H. Bickford
Recipient
Brother Burr
Main Argument
churches should not drop members from records when they move without confirming if they have joined elsewhere, as it isolates them from christian influence and misrepresents the denomination's growth.
Notable Details
Leaves Members Beyond Church Influence
Liable To Forget Serving The Lord
Lessens Numbers And Gives Wrong Impression
Calls For Proposed Measures