The London Welshman

CONCERTS IN CHAPELS. BY ICONOCLAST. During six months of the year-from about October to March-one of the most prominent features of religious life among Welsh Non- conformists in London is the series of concerts which are held in the various chapels of the different denominations. For many years past every winter and spring have brought forth successive crops of annual tea meetings and concerts and the season that has just closed has shown no signs that Welsh Nonconformists are decreasing their imports of this doubtful commodity. We say Nonconformists, as the Established Church has not yet sanctioned these gatherings within its sanctuaries. They are monopolised by the descendants of those godly people who were driven from the maternal fold of the Church in the days when religion was felt to be a sacred duty, which could not be matured by the singing of comic songs. Having made this latter statement we may assume that the concert in the chapel is an institution of comparatively modern growth. Its birth may be fairly ascribed to the latter half of the nineteenth century—the period following the great religious revival in Wales known as Diwygiad '59." Like the receding tides of the ocean every conspicuous movement in the religious world is followed by a period of reaction; and the closing decades of the last century were not marked by any stirring events in the religious life of our native land. During this period of inactivity the concert thrived and flourished, until for many years now it has become an established fact in the annals of our churches. In bringing a matter of this kind under the notice of the readers of the LONDON WELSHMAN, I have no desire to assume a goody-goody or sanctimonious attitude; but I consider that it is high time attention should be drawn to the matter if we wish to retain our good name as Nonconformists. For myself I should be very glad to see a conference called to consider the matter-and matters of less importance to religion have been the subject of conferences before now-and if found to be harmful in any way, or offensive to the feelings of certain brethren, and injurious to the growth of Christian character, let them be extinguished from the land—extinguished with the same thoroughness as our Puritan forefathers sup- pressed the sports and games which desecrated the Sabbath day in years gone by. In fact, I cannot see myself which is the less evil, whether to have a game on Sunday outside the sanctuary, or to convert the sanctuary itself On one or two nights in the year, into a kind of amateur music hall, when every one that enters the sacred edifice does so with the thought uppermost in his mind, of being amused and entertained. During the life of Jesus we read that on one occasion He went up to Jerusalem and went into the temple, and began to cast out them that bought and sold in the temple, and over- threw the tables of the money changers, and the Seats of them that sold doves. And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And He taught, saying unto them, Is it not written My house shall ^e called of all nations, the house of prayer, out ye have made it a den of thieves. I Question it very much whether, should our Saviour come to one of our places of worship when the high revelry of a concert is proceed- lng, He would not deal out to us a much severer punishment than He meted to the avaricious Jew in the historic temple in Jerusalem. By turning the temple into a market-place they were trampling under foot he most sacred associations and the finest traditions of the Jewish race, who, through the ong centuries had looked upon the temple as he only place where the Holy One' of Israel Manifested Himself to His people. And ought not our chapels be as sacred to us at the present juue) as the temple was to the Jew of old. ave not our chapels been consecrated to the worship of the Most High by His ministers, gathered together from far and near on the memorable opening day ? Have they not been hallowed by the prayers and exhortations of godly men whose voices and words remain in our ears long after they have passed beyond the veil ? Have they not been made sacred to all of us by memories and associations of the years that are gone, when in the innocence of child- hood we joined our fathers and mothers in the worship of God; and where, in later years, we were taught and helped to take a public part in the work of the church, in the society, the prayer meeting, and the Sunday school ? All these tended to create and foster in us a feeling, of sacredness quite different from what the concert can ever hope to do by its programme of love and comic songs. Now some people will argue that under the dispensation of the Gospel all sacredness, as applied to places and buildings, has ceased, and that we are to consider every place, and to look upon every building without making any dis- tinction as regards sanctity. It is true that Jesus in conversation with the woman of Samaria when she referred to the contention between the Jews and Samaritans regarding the temple, said Believe Me the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him." The main object of this passage to me seems to be that Jesus was anxious to do away with the erroneous idea prevailing among the Jews and Samaritans that not one place, and one place only, was henceforth to be considered as where God dwelt with His people, but that evermore, wherever man was found, even to the uttermost parts of the earth, there also could the Father be approached and worshipped in spirit and in truth. But, even should we allow for a moment that such is the case, do you think it would be advisable, and consistent with what we believe in our hearts, to inculcate in the minds of the young, or old, or to advance in the slightest degree, such a theory ? Does anyone believe for a moment that it would tend to the moral and spiritual advancement of a person to engender in his mind the idea that there is no difference between the village church or chapel and the village taproom, or between the House of God and the music hall in the busy town ? In fact, we as Nonconformists are already extremely wanting in our reverence to our places of worship. We have quite forgotten the words of the Preacher which have been handed down to us in the Scriptures, when he said Keep thy foot when thou goest to the House of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God for God is in heaven and thou upon earth therefore let thy words be few." May we not apply these words to many of us in our congregations. How little attention the reading of the Word of God, the prayer, and the sermon get during the service. How often have we seen the woodwork of our chapels, and also the Bibles and hymn books, desecrated by the pencil of some thoughtless youth, who takes more delight in composing funny sentences, and in drawing fantastic pictures, than in trying to put his mind on what the books contain. I have seen, and many of us have seen in Wales, the corners of the seats turned into miniature pools of tobacco juice manufactured during the progress of the service. But why should I multiply instances ? enough has been said to show the lamentable deficiency with which we treat our places of worship; and if we do not respect the house how can we worship the Master of the house as it should be done, in spirit and in truth. And to crown our want of respect we have for many years now introduced concerts to our chapels; yes, we have become daring enough to turn the house of prayer into a house of entertainment, and to get men and women- most of them I daresay not professing to be Christians-to amuse us with their comic songs. In my opinion the public singer and songstress are not very far removed from the actor and actress, and there is no need for comment on the usual characteristics which we associate with the glamour and glitter of the stage. And what about the songs that are sung in the House of the Lord ? In some instances concerts are labelled "sacred," when the singers have not quite such a wide opportunity of trotting out their comic ditties in Welsh and English. Many of them are not only without taste but offensive in the highest sense of the word. They have been sung in every chapel in London, which makes it unnecessary for me to expatiate on this painful subject. For myself I have no hesitation in saying that I should welcome the day when these malignant growths shall be torn away root and branch. Let the music hall songs of England and the love ditties of Wales—" Mentra Gwen," Y 'Deryn Pur," Merch y Melinydd," and many others-let them be cast away from the temples of the Lord, never more to be heard within their sacred walls, or to rouse a cheer in any place of worship throughout the land.